AmateurRadio.com

I was perusing eBay a few weeks ago and stumbled upon an interesting listing:

What is it? According to the listing, it’s a remote adjustable half-wave dipole antenna with an SWR of less than 1.5:1 from 1.8 MHz to 55 MHz. How does it work? From the listing:

By Extending or retracting the 2 Antenna elements until you have reached the point of Resonance for the desired operating frequency. There by providing maximum forward power and little if any reflected RF power.

You have effectively built a custom cut to frequency dipole antenna each and every time you change frequency with out leaving the equipment operating position.

The Antenna is controlled by the flip of a switch, or could possibly be controlled by the micro processor in most modern day transceivers and could possibly track the VFO as you move up and down in frequency so it would always be at its resonant point.

A little intrigued, I e-mailed the creator, Frank McGinley, WB4NWV, to inquire about it. I asked how he developed it and told him that I’d be interested in doing a little post on his antenna design.

THE TITLE OF THE THE STORY IS HOW FAR HAVE WE COME.

LOCATION FORT BRAGG NORTH CAROLINA, UNIT OF ASSIGNMENT,  50TH SIGNAL BATTALION ( AIRBORNE ), FIELD TRAINING EXERCISE.

IT WAS DARK EXCEPT FOR THE LIGHT FROM THE STARS, THAT SHOWN THROUGH THE CLOUDS , IT WAS BITTER COLD AND THE WIND WAS HOWLING , THE RAIN AND SLEET WAS INTENSE, AS I STUMBLED THROUGH THE BUSHES TRYING NOT TO GET THE DIPOLE ANTENNA ELEMENTS TANGLED UP IN THE SAME BUSHES, UNSUCCESSFULLY I MIGHT ADD,THE TIME 23:45 HOURS I HAD TO CHANGE THE LENGTH OF THE DIPOLE  FROM THE DAY FREQUENCY TO THE NIGHT FREQUENCY, AFTER A HECK OF A FIGHT TO LOWER THE ELEMENTS TO THE GROUND AND SPENDING 3 OR 4 MINUTES TRYING TO UNTANGLE THE HALYARDS, THE FLASH LIGHT WITH THE RED LENS HELD IN MY MOUTH AND MY GLOVES REMOVED, MY FINGERS  SO COLD THAT THEY DID NOT WANT TO COOPERATE  I WAS SHAKING SO BAD FROM THE COLD THAT THE LIGHT WAS HAVING A HARD TIME STAYING ON THE SPOT WHERE I NEEDED IT, MAKING IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO UNTIE THE TANGLED MESS ALL THE TIME TRYING TO HURRY TO BE BACK UP ON THE AIR BY 24:00 HOURS

WELL AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE  FOREVER I GOT IT BACK UP,AND RETURNED TO THE WARMTH OF THE RADIO TELETYPE SHELTER, AND BEGAN THE PROCESS OF CHECKING THE SWR, ONLY TO FIND THAT IT WAS TOO HIGH, WELL BACK OUT INTO THE COLD AND RAIN I WENT, THE ANTENNA WAS TO SHORT, ROUND 2 WENT ABOUT LIKE ROUND 1 NOT VERY SMOOTH, AS THE WIND HAD BLOWN THE ANTENNA ELEMENTS INTO THE BUSHES, IT TOOK ME QUITE A WHILE TO UNTANGLE THEM,  LENGTHEN THEM  AND PULL THEM BACK UP, BACK TO THE RADIO VAN, CHECK THE SWR AGAIN, NOT FLAT BUT GOOD ENOUGH, I WAS SOAKED AND FROZEN AND WAS NOT GOING TO TRY IT A THIRD TIME, NOT TO MENTION THAT IT WAS 00:24 HOURS,AND TIME FOR ME TO CHECK IN WITH THE NET CONTROL STATION, I HAD NO TRAFFIC AND THE RADIO CHECK WENT WELL, IT WAS NOW TIME FOR ME TO GET OUT OF MY COLD WET UNIFORM AND INTO A DRY WARM ONE, WELL AS YOU CAN IMAGINE I WAS NOT A VERY HAPPY CAMPER, AND TO THIS DAY I DO NOT ENJOY CAMPING OUT, THERE WERE MANY DAYS  AND NIGHTS LIKE THESE THAT FOLLOWED , EXTREME HEAT,EXTREME COLD, WET AND SOGGY, BITING  FLY’S, MOSQUITOES,  YOU NAME IT AND ALWAYS THE SAME PROBLEM, TO LONG OR TO SHORT, KNEE DEEP IN MUD, UP AND DOWN BACK TO THE VAN, UP AND DOWN AND BACK TO THE VAN,AND NEVER COULD I GET THE SWR FLAT, CLOSE BUT NEVER FLAT.

TIME FLY’S WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN,  SOON 20 YEARS OF FUN TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE  HAD COME TO AND END,  AND IT WAS TIME TO ENJOY H. F. RADIO AS A SERVICE,  WELL THE MORE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME,  MY DIPOLE ANTENNA CUT FOR THE HIGH END OF THE BAND WITH A CLIP LEAD EXTENSION TO MAKE IT RESONANT AT THE LOW END OF THE BAND, WELL YOU GUESSED IT, BACK OUT INTO THE NIGHT IN THE SNOW IN MY BEDROOM SLIPPERS  P.J.’S AND HOUSECOAT, NOT A GOOD THING,  I KNOW I COULD HAVE USED AN ANTENNA TUNER OR COUPLER AS IT IS CALLED,  BUT ALAS I AM A PURIST, AND DO NOT LIKE THEM, EVERY TIME I HAD TO DO THIS,  I KEPT HAVING FLASH BACKS OF MY MANY FIELD TRAINING EXERCISES , THAT WAS WHEN IT STRUCK ME THERE, HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY.

WELL I TRIED EVERY THING, G5RV’S, OFF CENTER FED DIPOLES, YOU NAME IT I TRIED IT,  WAS I HAPPY, TO PUT IT MILDLY,  HECK NO,  SO IT WAS TIME TO PUT ON MY THINKING CAP,  MY MIND WANDERED BACK TO WHEN I WAS THE NONCOMMISSIONED  OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE MARS RADIO STATION AT FORT BRAGG, WE HAD A DIPOLE MADE FOR COLLINS BY HYGAIN THE TD-1 IT WAS MADE OUT OF TAPE MEASURE TAPES, IT WAS A POOR DESIGN,  IF YOU USED MORE THEN 100 WATTS IT WOULD ARC INTERNALLY , BUT THE CONCEPT WAS THERE,  CHANGE THE DESIGN SOME ADD A 13.8 VOLT D.C. MOTOR, SOME LIMIT SWITCHES AND A CONTROL BOX AND , YOU HAVE A MOTORIZED ONE HALF WAVELENGTH DIPOLE THAT CAN BE REMOTELY ADJUSTED FROM INSIDE THE RADIO OPERATOR’S  LOCATION, WITH NO NEED TO SEE  IT OR GO OUTSIDE TO ADJUST THE ANTENNA.

YES 1.8 MEGAHERTZ TO 55 MEGAHERTZ AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN WITHOUT COMPROMISING,  PERFECTLY FLAT SWR 1 TO 1, AND NO NEED FOR THE INFAMOUS ANTENNA TUNER,  IN THIS AGE OF ALL MODE ALL FREQUENCY  H.F. TRANSCEIVERS, THERE WAS A NEED FOR AN ANTENNA THAT WOULD COVER THE ENTIRE H,F, SPECTRUM WITHOUT COMPROMISE,  MANY THOUGHT THAT DAY WOULD NEVER COME, ARE YOU SICK OF DUMMY LOAD ANTENNAS AND ANTENNA TUNERS,  GENERAL COVERAGE TRANSCEIVER MEET GENERAL COVERAGE ANTENNA,  I GIVE YOU THE AMAZING TUNE-A-TENNA.

Frank has a fascinating story and I salute his service to our country.

Pretty neat. But… well, $25,000 is a lot of money for an antenna.  What do you get? A patent (7,286,100B1), trademark (3,336,489), domain names, and a few prototypes. According to the eBay listing, Mr. McGinley believes that the right buyer could base a business around this antenna design and manufacture them for about $300 each:

Our best estimate, the cost to produce the final product for sale should be around $300, Possibly lower.

Our best Estimate of the retail price of the semi-auto version would be $825, which equates to $525 per unit. If you advertise wisely on Ebay, Qrz.com and QST Magazine you should have no problem netting $500 per unit profit, possible more?

Our best estimate of the retail price of the auto version would be $1,225 which equates to $700 net per unit possibly more?

What do you think?  Is there a market for such an antenna?  If you think so, check out the eBay listing or contact Frank. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.

Following the success of the Wouxun radios, we have a new Chinese handheld transceiver that has many hams excited – the Baofeng UV-3R. The UV-3R is a dual band (UHF/VHF) 2W “micro” transceiver manufactured by Vero Global Telecom and sold by Baofeng. While the Baofeng brand is the most popular, the radio is also sold as the Comtex UV-3R, the Magiksu UV-3R, and the Zastone ZT-UV3R. (Baofeng also sells the UV-100 and UV-200 models that share common internals with the UV-3R, but have some cosmetic differences. Also, on ebay.com you can find speaker mics for these models that are unavailable for the UV-3R.) One reason the UV-3R is so popular is its relatively low price – less than $50 via ebay and slightly more from the US suppliers. At this price and small form factor, it makes a great back-up radio to keep in a truck glove box or a laptop bag.

Cosmetically, the UV-3R is very similar to the Yaesu VX-3R.

The dimensions are the same, but the UV-3R is missing a few buttons on the front panel and the functions of the duplicate buttons are not the same as the VX-3R.  The UV-3R, in the fine tradition of Chinese radios, adds an LED flashlight. The radio also is available in red, yellow, blue, and camouflage in addition to the standard black. When holding both the Yaesu and Baofeng in my hand, it is easy to see and feel the superior quality of the Japanese radio.

A quick review of the technical specifications reveals that this radio is dramatically different from the VX-3R. The UV-3R is a 2M/440 MHz transceiver and FM broadcast receiver. An abbreviated list of its features/functions/specs is below. (A full list can be found here.) The radio is built by levering the power of the RDA1846 by RDA Microelectronics. This single transceiver chip provides most of the radio functionality – essentially making it a SDR.

Functions and Features
– 50 CTCSS, 104 CDCSS
– Time-out Timer (Off/30/60/90/120/150/180 secs)
– Shift Frequency
– VOX (Off/1-9 Levels)
– Call Tone (1750 KHz)
– Squelch Set (1-9 Levels)
– Electronic Volume Adjusting (8 Levels)
– Keypad Lock
– Backlight (On/Off/Key)
– Tail Tone Elimination
– Battery Save
– Restore to Factory Default
– PC Programming
– FM Radio Channel Storage

Technical Specification – General
Frequency Range | 136-174/400-470 MHz
Channel Capacity | 99
Channel Spacing | 5/6.25/12.5/25 KHz
Operated Voltage | 3.8V
Standard Battery | 1500 mAh
Battery Life | 10 hours
Dimensions | 1.9″ x 3.2″ X .9″ (Approximate)
Weight | 140g

Technical Specification – Transmitter
RF Power Output | 2W

Early adopters were “treated” to a version that appeared to be rushed to market – the units only had twelve menu options, the s-meter was worthless, and it came in a rather plain box. The subsequent version added six more menu options, improved the signal meter, and now comes in a more polished box.

The menu options are:

In addition to the cost and size, hams give the UV-3R favorable reports for both transmitted and received audio. On July 20, 2011, the UV-3R became Type 90 accepted by the FCC. The FCC documents can be found here.

The UV-3R is easy to use in spite of a somewhat confusing manual. ZL2GVA mitigated that short-coming by releasing an easy to use cheat-sheet.  While most folks find it easy to program the memories from the radio itself, the UV-3R can be programmed from a computer using a USB cable and software from Baofeng. In addition to the factory software, the UV-3R is also supported by the CHIRP cross radio programming application. (CHRIP may not program all features for all radios; it is intended to allow hams to transfer memories from one device to another with little effort.)

In addition to the USB programming cable, the radio has several accessories. It comes with the manual, charger, a charger adaptor (if needed), a charging stand, wrist strap, an UHF antenna, a VHF antenna, an ear bud/mic combo, and a belt clip. The shorter antenna (with a red ring) is for UHF. The longer antenna is for VHF. The UV-3R requires an antenna with a SMA-M connector. The antennas perform well, but many folks have wished for a dual band antenna. The Nagoya NA-701 and Nagoya NA-666 both seem to be popular choices. The antenna connector is fairly close to the LED, so some trimming may have to be done to get a good fit.

Car chargers, cases, and the USB programming cable are available as options or sometimes included as a bundle with the radio. The battery is a common NP-60 (FUJI compatible), so picking up an extra one is easy to do. Also, with a slight modification to account for the belt clip mount, the AA battery pack (FBA-37) for the Yaesu VX-3R can be used to run the UV-3R. For me, the car charger and the AA battery pack are the must have accessories for the UV-3R in its role as a backup radio.

The radio is not without some minor problems and quirks. For example, one oddity is that it uses the less common negative tip for the power plug. As for the problems, hams have reported issues with fit and finish – specifically plugs/sockets that result in loose connections. If pushing the plug with all your might doesn’t work, then try backing it out a little. Also, hams have found spurious emissions on harmonic frequencies.  There was a lot of debate about the severity of this issue on the UV-3R Yahoo group – bench vs. real world, letter vs. spirit of the FCC regulations, Type 90 Acceptance impact, etc. Whatever the severity of the emissions, it did not prevent the UV-3R from meeting the requirements of the FCC. Another common complaint was with the loud receive volume. Even at the lowest setting, the radio is quite loud. For that reason, I don’t like using it where it will bother others.

One of the advantages of an inexpensive radio is that you don’t risk much when trying to modify it. Disassembly mostly involves removing screws, but you will have to unsolder the antenna connector. Two mods seem to be the most common as they address some of the issues mentioned above. The first adds a capacitor to reduce spurious emissions on the harmonics.  The second also involves adding a capacitor to reduce the loud receive volume issue.  More frivolous mods include turning the LCD blue – but then you can have a blue radio with a blue screen.

For me, this little radio has provided a great learning experience as well as a good value for my money. It may not be the best radio ever, but the price, size, and overall good performance make it a good choice for backup radio or even one for a new ham to get on the air. It also has been interesting to see:

• the debates that sprung up around the severity of the spurious emissions,
• the wisdom (or not) of using a dual band antenna,
• the variety of applications from simple transceiver to APRS and tracking satellites

Credit goes to a lot of the guys on the UV-3R Yahoo group  – I don’t have the knowledge, tools, or time to do a lot of the research/testing/playing that they have done. I highly recommend the Yahoo group – although it has now reached a point where a lot of the same questions are being asked.

Editor’s note: I personally follow Brick’s blog and find it very worthwhile. While not all content is Amateur Radio related, I encourage you to check it out. -Matt W1MST

Brick O’Lore wrote this guest post and blogs regularly about a variety of topics at http://www.brickolore.com. Contact him at [email protected].

Congratulations to:

Jim, AF5S
Frank, NF8M
Francisc, YO4PX
Larry, KI6ZQY
Jim, KK4DJX

They’re the five winners of our Nifty Accessories giveaway!

Thanks to everyone for participating and stay tuned for our next contest.

Smoke rising from the World Trade Center site the day after the September 11 attacks. (W2VU photo)

From the top of my street in the wintertime, you could see them, reflecting the afternoon sun or the colors of a sunset. You could also see them from the CQ headquarters office, which is about as far east of Manhattan as my house in New Jersey is west of it, and from Sandy Hook, the northernmost point of the Jersey shore. The twin towers of the World Trade Center were a beacon for New York City, visible for miles in every direction. In the weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks that destroyed them, so was the seemingly never-ending column of smoke and dust that rose from “Ground Zero” (see photo). Even for those of us in the New York metropolitan area who did not know someone personally touched by the tragedy—and there weren’t very many of us—the loss was personal.

So here we are ten years later. How have our lives changed? How has ham radio changed? How safe are we from another 9/11-scale attack?

Some answers are obvious. Just try to get on an airplane. For all the questions that some people may have about how effective airport security measures really are, the fact is that there have not been any additional successful terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda in the United States in the past ten years. That’s not for a lack of trying, either. There have been several well-publicized attempts (along with others that we don’t know about, I’m sure), many of which have been thwarted by quick-thinking citizens.

Another long-term change as a result of 9/11 is that we Americans, as a group, have become much more proactive in protecting ourselves and our neighbors. The “don’t fight back” advice of the ’80s and ’90s has been replaced by a credo of “If you see something, say something,” and when the danger is imminent, do something.

This renewed ethic—a tradition that goes back to sheriff’s posses in the old west and the Minutemen of the American Revolution—has led to a greater acknowledgement by public safety officials that they can’t always handle everything on their own and that citizen involvement in our collective security is good and necessary. This has resulted in the creation of groups such as CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams), the involvement of schools and businesses in emergency planning, and a greater recognition of the value of amateur radio as part of an emergency or disaster response plan.

Since 9/11, ham radio has provided high-profile assistance in other large-scale disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Chilean earthquake, and this spring’s tornadoes in the southeast … and emergency management leaders have noticed. But there have been mixed results in putting this new-found appreciation into practice on the local level. While we have strong support at the highest levels (such as FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate; see “Public Service” on page 13) and some municipalities have welcomed ham radio with open arms, others have been more resistant, mostly because their communications systems have yet to fail.

To them, I offer these two quotes: (1) The director of London’s emergency medical service, speaking at a conference I attended, said “an emergency becomes a disaster when communications fail;” and (2) the former emergency management director in my hometown once told me, “The more sophisticated these (communications) systems become, the more likely they are to fail, and when they fail, we’re going to need you guys.”

But he retired … the new director doesn’t have the same vision, and ham radio no longer has a voice on the Local Emergency Planning Committee. This is despite the fact that ten years ago, just 15 miles away, perhaps the most sophisticated emergency communications system in the world failed when the twin towers literally collapsed on New York City’s Emergency Operations Center. And in those critical early hours, it was ham radio that kept city agencies in touch with each other until a backup EOC could be activated.

Ham Radio a Decade Later

How has ham radio itself changed since 9/11? There now seems to be a greater emphasis on our emergency communications capabilities, which is all well and good, except that it appears that a whole lot of people have gotten their ham licenses solely to be able to use amateur radio in the event of an emergency. Our licensing numbers are now at record levels, but many of these newer hams do not appear to be getting involved in the broader ham radio community by getting on the air, joining clubs, joining the ARRL, or subscribing to magazines. For them, ham radio is only a tool, not a hobby. But one of the reasons ham radio works “when all else fails” is because of hams who regularly use their equipment on a hobby basis and are familiar with its operation and capabilities so they can hit the ground running in an emergency. A ham who keeps a handheld locked in a drawer along with his or her license, waiting for the next emergency to arrive, won’t be able to do that. Besides the fact that the battery will likely be dead, he or she likely won’t have the training and experience needed to be truly useful as an emergency communicator.

Disasters such as the 9/11 attacks demonstrate the ongoing need for the services that ham radio can offer. But we must offer more than warm bodies with licenses and handhelds. Radio amateurs at the highest level of their game—be it in emergency communications, satellites, digital modes, or other specialties—are those whose thirst for advancement is insatiable, both technologically and operationally.

One group of hams who regularly stretch the limits of their equipment, their skills, and the ionosphere is contesters. This was demonstrated once again in the 2010 CW weekend of the CQ World-Wide DX Contest (results begin on page 31 of this issue), with record participation and several new scoring records, despite marginal band conditions. Contests such as the CQ WW demonstrate the dedication of participants to making sure that their equipment and their skills are always at peak efficiency. A combination of these factors is necessary to keep ham radio vital, growing, FUN when everything is working as it should be, and ever-more capable of helping our communities at those times “when all else fails.” 73, W2VU

AmateurRadio.com & Nifty Accessories
have teamed up to give away a
$20 Gift Card to FIVE very lucky hams!
Entry Deadline: 1 September 2011 18:00 UTC

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So after oversleeping this morning, I managed to find a nice video that I can share with all of you. It’s nothing groundbreaking. It’s just a time lapse video of a gentleman putting together an Elecraft K3 from unboxing to finish. Pretty interesting to see the process. I have yet to build from a kit, but this is pretty cool. So watch it and enjoy. In the mean time, I’m going to go have a snooze or something. But here ya go.

Do you ever look at a product and wonder if someone was asleep at the switch when they named it?

Trust Fire?  For batteries? REALLY?

Believe it or not, they actually get great reviews:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-protected-18650-3-7v-true-2400mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-20392