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International Ham Radio News & Opinion

Speculation-Biased Speculation…

9 May 2012 | by Kelly K4UPG | Leave a Comment (1)

If you are old enough, I bet you remember the game Fascination and that song in the commercial that stuck in your head all these years? For you new ones, here’s that commercial in YouTube format.

If you change the word fascination to Speculation, that naggy song becomes Speculation, Biased Speculation… the game we love to play! Seems like today’s political and journalistic culture has invaded ham radio if you follow the threads on QRP-L reflector about the Ten Tec 539 which is yet to be released. It has been diced, sliced and all sorts of factless speculation has already been thrown out as to why it won’t be popular or competitive with brand x’s new scrumpdillyicious xcvr. Whew!

I think it is a sad sign of the times that instead of waiting for things to be released publically and from the source, products are already condemned as unworthy and judged based on hearsay and not true facts. It is bad enough that our culture does that in tv news broadcasts. Everyday we endure seeing the accused virtually tried and convicted on the screen by endless talk show hosts and experts often months before the courts are convened. I hate to see that culture spilling over from the current US political context where finger-pointing, wild speculation, and always attempting to avoid responsibility and accountability begins to be spewed out on our hobby.

I for one will look forward to the final roll out of what looks like a very nice new transceiver from a US company before I make that buying decision. Might be something I want, but who can tell until the process is finished and we get to see the final product? From here, it looks promising despite the speculation that is taking over all the airwaves and culture here in the USA. As for me and my house, we will wait for the facts!

72,

Kelly K4UPG

Kelly McClelland, K4UPG, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Florida, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

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Early release of Dayton eye candy!!

8 May 2012 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (10)

Dayton with many more surprises

My issue of QST came in yesterday and the back page made the new Kenwood rig official !! There is a great pic there of the new TS 990S but with little to no spec's. The available spec's brag of a top RF output of 200 watts, HF and 50mhz, built in antenna tuner,built in power supply and really thats about all the info Kenwood released in the full page release. Viewing the picture one can see two USB ports which are nicely placed on the front of the rig. A very impressive color TTF display along with a band scope, not if the rig houses two independent receivers but it would seem so as there are independent controls for each receiver on the right hand side of the radio. Not sure as of yet what the optional components of the TS 990S are. So what are your impressions of the new kid on the block??

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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More KX3, iPad and PSK-31 Experimentation

8 May 2012 | by Jerry KDØBIK | Leave a Comment (1)

Last week I created a YouTube video to document some experimentation I had completed with the KX3, my iPad and the iOS PSK-31 app called PSKer. This week I made some modifications to my setup. This included adding a USB extension cable and I experimented with the VOX settings of the KX3.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Thank you for watching!

73 de KD0BIK

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

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Icom IC-E92D – Why This Is My ‘Staple’ Handheld

8 May 2012 | by Rob MW0DNK | Leave a Comment (0)

Every ham has a handheld in their collection of transceivers. I have one normal rig in my collection of handhelds. Nearly all the equipment I have can be held in my hand, chucked in the car, operated ‘portable’ or temporarily connected at home. It’s the capability that would suit a cold war double agent who has to move between a series of safe-houses at short notice. Everything I have, I can pick up and run with. Just as well I don’t have an HF vertical that looks like a porcupine then.

I’ve had my beloved Icom IC-E92D for a couple of years now and I spend more time talking though this than any other piece of equipment. Two years ago there was no DV (Digital Voice) or D-STAR activity in my area, but I wanted a dual band handheld that would be, to some extent, future-proof.

And before the rival Yaesu C4FM digital system is mooted, let me say that D-STAR is so firmly established, that a lot of infrastructure would be needed to better the existing system. Great advances have been made lately with the advent of the German DV-RPTR (‘DV Repeater’) boards as well as the new DCS reflectors. Having said that, I’m always keen to try any new digital modes.

I’m not going to dwell heavily on specification and features because this is not a newly launched product – there are plenty of excellent resources and reviews already available. But here are some things that have pleased me about both the radio and the technology behind it.

Icom IC-E92D

Let’s put the digital stuff to one side for the time being. I think the E92D is just an excellent FM transceiver in its own right. Its construction is solid and feels good in the hand. Used outdoors, it’s comforting to know that it’s waterproof. I live in Wales, after all. The send/receive audio quality is very good in all modes and the microphone doesn’t suffer from the aforementioned weather-proofing that blights some other units. It seems XYL’s sewing kits have been raided worldwide for needles to pierce microphone membranes.

I love using low power when I can. In DV mode you either get a R5 copy or rapidly nothing. Why not see how low you can go? The E92D will go down to 100mW and oddly enough I use this more than any other power setting. It’s also all you need for your home D-STAR hotspot, isn’t it? A group of three of us had a 2m net with a distance of 20 miles between the furthest stations. We all used DV mode and 100mW (external antennas, of course) for a full lock and quality audio output. Compare this with the FM mindset of achieving ‘full quietening’ in many local nets. Admit it - a small swell of pride is taken in how many dB’s ‘over’ are registered. With DV it is how few. Back to the E92D: If things get marginal and stressed then the next increments are 500mW, 1W and 2.5W. Unleash the whole 5W if it’s a national holiday or you’re feeling reckless. In common with many handheld owners, I also have an aftermarket antenna to add a little more gain when needed.

Built for the outdoor life - with HM-175
GPS Speaker-Mic

I have, and recommend, the RS232C remote cable and bundled programming software. There are enough people now who have kindly uploaded their files (called .icf files) to the internet with repeater and node settings for entire countries. You can enter or edit data manually from the front panel, but as with most radios a computer will save you time you can otherwise spend chatting idly. Seeing how the channels and banks are organised on-screen helps you properly exploit the memory capacity. Apart from the usual, I have also stored AMSAT, marine band, PMR and SWL channels. I travel a lot so it’s good to have repeaters stored by region too.

Dislikes? Only a couple and they’re not going to jaundice my high regard for this pleasure-giving, grown-up gadget. Most E92D owners acknowledge that although the battery life is good, there is little warning given before the battery dies. A bit like a pet hamster. Again, with four power settings you should optimise your battery life. Secondly, I don’t think many consumers would eagerly vote for an SMA antenna connector over a BNC, but we have to live with that. The main problem can be a snapped pin from an over-stressed SMA to SO239 adaptor, for example. This happens easily, frequently and on one occasion to me. I sent my unit back to Icom UK for repair, as the stuck pin could not be extracted. I must add that their support and service was fantastic. The repair was carried out quickly and was not costly. Chastened, I made a pigtail adaptor for use in the car, shown below.

SMA - SO239 adaptor

As far as accessories go, I have the HM-175 GPS speaker microphone. The embedded data channel in DV is something we’re only just starting to fully explore. GPS position and distance reporting between simplex users or posts on APRS.fi via a repeater are fun. I also have a two-pin mic/headset adaptor for mobile work.

Just download an electronic manual and have a look at the level of specification and configurability! You'll find a new feature every day for the first few months. There are now the lower-cost IC-E80D and 70cm-only IC-ID31E to supplement the range, of course.

So, after two years I think the big test for any bit of equipment would be “If it was damaged/stolen/confiscated by vexed YL/XYL, what would I replace it with?” For me, an exact replacement, no less. It’s a much of a staple as the King Edward potato.

Rob Law, MW0DNK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Anglesey, Wales. Contact him at [email protected].

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KX3 on its way?

8 May 2012 | by Juilian G4ILO | Leave a Comment (10)

I opened my mailbox this morning to discover the email that hundreds if not thousands of hams worldwide have been waiting for – a shipping notification from UPS to say that a 5lb package from Elecraft is on its way!

A 5lb package from Elecraft? What could that be? Ah. it must be the KX3 I didn’t order.

That’s right. Didn’t order. I haven’t ordered a KX3! I’m not saying I’m never going to, but I am not even going to think about it until such time as orders are fulfilled off the shelf. At the moment I believe that the lead time for an Elecraft KX3 ordered today is about 4 months. These days I just don’t plan that far ahead.

I forwarded the email to Elecraft Sales in the hope that they can figure out who this notification should really have gone to and why it came to me. But for a brief moment this morning I thought this was going to be my lucky day!

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

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Quick Announcement

8 May 2012 | by Larry W2LJ | Leave a Comment (0)

The official Web presence for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be:

http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/

Pardon how it looks for now. I’ll be working on it soon; but right now, helping my two harmonics with their science fair presentations is taking precedence.

It looks pretty crude as of right now; but hopefully I’ll be able to figure out how to make it more elegant looking by the end of the week.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

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The Bank Holiday weekend at G4VXE

7 May 2012 | by Tim G4VXE | Leave a Comment (0)

It’s been a busy but good long weekend here. On Saturday, we had a visit from John, G3WGV. It was great to catch up with him. John flew to Abingdon airfield in the SportCruiser aircraft he had built himself.

John was kind enough to take me up for a flight in G-JONL. What a splendid craft it is! We flew west from Abingdon, just to the south of Longworth and then south across the Ridgeway, across the M4 to just south of Newbury where we turned around and headed back to Abingdon.

The picture below shows our village from the air.

On Sunday, John, Julie and I went to the Abingdon Air Show which we all enjoyed.

Today has been a busy day. I wrote the VHF column for Practical Wireless as well as a review of three handhelds which should be published in the magazine soon. That did require a little bit of portable operating with the handhelds from Windmill Hill, just south of Hinton Waldrist, our neighbouring village.

Just as I was pressing send on the VHF column, I caught a quick 50MHz Es opening to the south to Spain and Portugal. I was particularly pleased to work Mark CT1FJC who is a regular correspondent for the VHF column.

This evening I have been doing a little reading and particularly enjoyed Ross G6GVI’s 1296MHz pages

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

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