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Chinese radio makers versus the big leagues, my perspective
14 July 2016 | by I have been a ham radio operator for most of my life, was a shortwave listener from my teens and still am, and of course was able to play in the CB craze that took place in the late 70’s and into the 80’s. High school was where I got my start at amateur radio and electronics. I am not an electronics technician, nor will I ever admit I am even close, but I am a guy who has had a blast and an addiction to ham radio, mostly QRP, CW and portable ops. Combine that with my addiction of outdoors, winter survival, canoeing, hunting and camping and those are some $eriou$ hobbie$. Oh and I cannot forget photography, heaven forbid..
In the radio hobby I like to play, test , trade , and swap gear all the time to use, if it is new I want it. Portable and low power gear and small antennas is where I like to be, but where am I going with this? I have owned, Heathkit, Swan, Kenwood, Icom, SGC, Yaesu, Hy-Gain, Tokyo, Index Labs, OHR, Alinco and more gear in the past as well as Elecraft whom I think I can throw in with the big boys as they have come the furthest out of the small guys.
Recently in the last few years I have been playing, testing, reviewing, been a beta tester, manual writer for a few of those in the Chinese market, (oh and lets not forget the European market as well, we are seeing rigs from Greece, Russia and all over). Among those is my friend Yimin who lives just outside of Toronto and is the owner of Youkits Canada. Yimin has tried his hardest to put out quality gear at a price that won’t break the bank. Some in kit form and others assembled, and still backs it up with support and returns, unlike some of the other builders out there.
On the market today we see Xiegu, Bofung, CRK Kits, BG2FX with his FX line of gear and others. I have had the Xiegu X1M, neat little rig but had many quirks. I have the X108G which has come light years ahead since it’s first days of life and still continues to get better, Xiegu also offers support, firmware upgrades and a return policy, they have gotten to be a fair size company.
What makes some of this Chinese gear look so good? Is it the fact that the price tags seem lower then the big guns on the market ? Does it stand up to quality control testing that the big guns do? Is it clean on transmit evading those spurious transmissions? These maybe some of the questions that get asked. For me it is just that I like new toys and like to play. Have I been burnt or disappointed? You can bet your bottom dollar I have, and many of my reviews and past blogs would tell you that. But I still like to play with this gear and see how it works. Dollar wise is another topic that is a hard one to stomach as most producers be it in China or other Countries sell in US$, so for me as a Canadian whose dollar is less, the exchange kills, and makes these radios no cheaper in the long run, tag on the fact that shipping from Canada is also very costly if I need to ship back to China, so how do you win?
Of all the radios that I was most disappointed wit it was the KN-920 that was built by I believe BA6BF and was sold via Aliexpress and a few other warehouse dealers. The KN-920 one weekend blew it’s finals burnt some of the PC board off. It was still under warranty but to ship back would have cost huge dollars. The builder send me 3 sets of finals to try replace with same result each and every time, the seller at Aliexpress was only concerned with the money he was going to lose if I was to get or return the item, at this point the consumer, customer or other meant $hit. I see on ebay they have a KN-850 now, I hope they learned something from it, but highly doubt it. Top that with no manuals, no instructions etc. Many of these builders do not speak English as is the case of BG2FX who builds the FX series of radios.
So why do we still buy or have a thirst for new gear? It is because we all want to play and not break the bank. Or in my case , that is it. I own a KX3 and just bought a KX2 for canoe trips, camping and more because it is self contained, small and does all bands and modes including digital , and also serves as a shortwave radio when out in the wilds.
So is all Chinese gear made the same ? I think not, some builders are using recycled products, out of tolerance products, solder that creates whiskers (both in part to lack of heat and the elements that make solder real , like tin and lead) and put together in their homes or offices and then put out into the market. Other builders like YouKits and Xiegu have put some thought into their builds and ideas and have actually looked at it from the consumer side, oh yea, there will be horror stories, but in my ham career I can tell you some about the big 4 as well in the past, mention IC-706 and see how many feathers have been ruffled and how long to get that beast right.
I need to add as a caveat that of all the portable Chinese radios that I have tried and do own, the HB1 series by Youkits is my favorite as a cw qrp rig. I own the MKII and MKIII and take those up North with me on a regular basis as they are also self contained with battery, light weight and cover the bands I use.
Just a quick intro to my YouTube Channel and look at a few of the rigs in action using the same antenna.
Have a great summer one and all, and don’t forget to practice your emergency plan, have a 72 emergency kit ready and stay safe on the road, lakes, fields or where ever you may be.
Again this is just my perspective.
Cheers
Fred Lesnick
VE3FAL
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Canada
Fred Lesnick, VE3FAL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
AmateurLogic 93: There’s RF in Those Woods
AmateurLogic.TV Episode 93 is now available for download.
ALTV’s 2016 Field Day excursion. The crew takes to the woods for this annual event. The fun ensues.
1:26:21
George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].
Nightly 75kHz WSPR Activity From Arizona – WH2XND
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| 2.5mH 136kHz loading coil at WH2XND |
For the past few weeks, Ron, NI7J in Phoenix, has been activating his experimental station, WH2XND, in the LF band ... on 75.550kHz (WSPR), where he is licenced to operate.
Last night I decided to put my nightly 630m WSPR beacon on hold and have a listen for Ron's signal using my 10' x 20' loop.
Ron's main experimental operating has been on 630m and 2200m WSPR mode but his recent activity on 75kHz has sparked a lot of interest among dedicated summertime listeners. WH2XND is licenced for 10W ERP on 75kHz, not a number that's easy to muster considering the poor antenna efficiency produced by typical amateur installations ... however, judging from Ron's coils, his installation looks far from 'typical'!
Ron's signal is being well heard, even up in Alaska, in spite of the noisy summer conditions and it will be interesting to see how well it propagates once we move into the fall and quieter winter nights.
The big loop seemed to do well with Ron's signal last night, resulting in 55 decodes starting at around 2300 local time and continuing to sunrise.
Timestamp Call SNR Grid
2016-07-12 12:28 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:20 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:16 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:12 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:08 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:04 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 12:00 WH2XND -29 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:40 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:36 WH2XND -20 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:32 WH2XND -18 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:28 WH2XND -18 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:24 WH2XND -19 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:20 WH2XND -19 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:16 WH2XND -20 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:12 WH2XND -20 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:08 WH2XND -19 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:04 WH2XND -19 DM33xt
2016-07-12 11:00 WH2XND -20 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:56 WH2XND -20 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:52 WH2XND -21 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:48 WH2XND -22 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:44 WH2XND -23 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:40 WH2XND -24 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:36 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:32 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:28 WH2XND -24 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:24 WH2XND -24 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:20 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:16 WH2XND -24 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:12 WH2XND -23 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:08 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:04 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 10:00 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:56 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:52 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:40 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:36 WH2XND -25 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:32 WH2XND -24 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:28 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:24 WH2XND -26 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:20 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:16 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:08 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 09:00 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 08:56 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 08:52 WH2XND -29 DM33xt
2016-07-12 08:44 WH2XND -29 DM33xt
2016-07-12 08:40 WH2XND -27 DM33xt
2016-07-12 08:36 WH2XND -28 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:44 WH2XND -32 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:32 WH2XND -31 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:28 WH2XND -31 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:24 WH2XND -30 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:20 WH2XND -30 DM33xt
2016-07-12 06:12 WH2XND -29 DM33xt
His signal peaked here (shown in blue above) about an hour before sunrise, with almost a dozen decodes in the -18 to -20 region ... not far from audible CW levels which will probably be seen in winter. It was interesting to note as well, that in several transmitting sequences, Ron's signal was stronger in Alaska than it was here and in Washington state ... just the opposite of what one might expect.
In the past, I have had good results on 75kHz with Dex (W4DEX), when listening for his QRSS CW signal, using my normal inverted -L with a 2.5mH RFC inserted in series with the antenna's normal loading coil.
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| 'XRS/5' on 75kHz from W4DEX in NC |
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
Weekly Propagation Summary – 2016 Jul 11 16:10 UTC
Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 Jul 11 0329 UTC.
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 – 10 July 2016
Solar activity was at very low levels from 04-06 Jul followed by low levels for the remainder of the period. Region 2561 (S16, L=344, class/area Cro/beta on 07 Jul) produced a C5/Sn flare at 07/0756 UTC. Region 2564 (N09, L=209, class/area Dai/120 on 10 Jul) produced all further C-class activity, the largest a C8/2f at 10/0059 UTC with an associated Type II radio sweep (1435 km/s). No Earth-directed CMEs were observed.
No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels from 04-08 Jul and reached high levels on 09-10 Jul following several days of enhanced solar wind speeds with a sequence of coronal holes.
Geomagnetic field activity was mostly quiet from 04-06 Jul with a few isolated unsettled periods under a nominal solar wind regime. Unsettled to minor storm conditions were observed on 07-08 Jul due to positive polarity CH HSS effects followed by unsettled to active conditions on 09 Jul as effects began to subside. Quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 10 Jul as CH HSS effects waned.
Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 11 July – 06 August 2016
Solar activity is expected to be very low with a chance for C-class flares and a slight chance for M-class flares through 24 Jul due to flare potential from Region 2564. Activity is expected to be very low for the remainder of the forecast period.
No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 16-19 Jul, 22-27 Jul and 05-06 Aug following recurrent CH HSS events. Normal to moderate levels are expected otherwise.
Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach minor storm levels on 11 Jul due to positive polarity CH HSS effects. Unsettled to active conditions are expected on 12 Jul as effects continue followed by quiet to unsettled conditions on 13 Jul as effects subside. A second CH HSS is expected to bring quiet to unsettled conditions on 14-15 Jul with active periods likely on the 14th. Mostly quiet levels are expected on 16-18 Jul. Quiet to unsettled conditions are anticipated from 19-24 Jul due to effects from a series of recurrent CH HSSs. Mostly quiet conditions are expected from 25 Jul to 02 Aug with isolated unsettled periods possible from 28-30 Jul as a few small CH HSS events move past Earth. Minor storms are likely on 03-04 Aug due to recurrent, positive polarity CH HSS activity, decreasing to active conditions on 05 Aug and unsettled conditions on 06 Aug as effects subside.
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What’s In Your Rubber Duck?
Anyone with a VHF or UHF handheld transceiver (HT) probably uses the standard “rubber duck” antenna for casual use. I often refer to the rubber duck as The World’s Most Convenient Crappy Antenna. To be fair, all antennas are a compromise…the rubber duck optimizes small size and convenience at the expense of performance. The Wikipedia entry describes the rubber duck antenna as “an electrically short monopole antenna…[that] consists of a springy wire in the shape of a narrow helix, sealed in a rubber or plastic jacket to protect the antenna.“
Being curious about what really is hiding inside the typical rubber duck antenna, I decided to take a few of them apart. I did not try to assess the performance of the antennas but just examine their construction.
Baofeng UV-5R Stock Antenna
I started by dissecting a Baofeng UV-5R antenna, which took some aggressive action with a diagonal wire cutters to split the rubberized jacket near the bottom. After that, the jacket slid off to reveal the classic spiral antenna element inside. You can see some white adhesive near the top of the spiral element (upper right in the photo).
The Baofeng antenna had a female SMA connector.
Note: You can access high resolution versions of the photos in this article by clicking on them, allowing you to see lots of detail.
Yaesu FT-1DR Stock Antenna
The Yaesu antenna was easy to disassemble. In fact, I chose this antenna because I noticed that the outside jacket had come loose and was starting to slide off the antenna. A steady pull on the cover exposed the antenna elements without any further antenna abuse. (I plan to reinstall the cover with a few dabs of glue and expect that it will continue to work fine.)
The construction of this antenna is quite different from the Baofeng. The main element is a very tightly-wound spring…so tight that I expect that it acts like a solid wire electrically. In other words, it doesn’t have the spiral configuration that makes the antenna act longer electrically. At the bottom of the antenna, there is a coil inserted in series with the radiating element (connects radiating element with the center pin of the SMA connector).
The photo to the right shows a closeup view of the male SMA connector and the coil.
Laird VHF Antenna
Next, I wondered if antennas for commercial radios had different design or construction techniques. Laird makes high-quality antennas for the mobile radio and other commercial markets, so I purchased one of their VHF rubber duck antennas to dissect. This model is intended for use with Motorola radios requiring a threaded antenna stud.
This antenna was a challenge to cut open. I used a sharp knife and diagonal pliers to cut the rubberized jacket and peeled it back using a needle-nose pliers. The rubberized coating was embedded into the spiral antenna element, so it did not come apart easily. It took over an hour fighting with the antenna and I gave up before getting the entire spiral element exposed.
The Laird antenna is clearly the sturdiest of the three antennas. The spiral element is much thicker than the Baofeng and the rubberized coating is tougher and molded tightly into the spiral element.
The Baofeng and Laird antennas use the same design concept…just take a spiral antenna element and apply a protective cover. However, the Laird construction was far superior, but not a surprise given that Baofeng is a low-cost provider in the ham radio (consumer) market.
My disappointment is with the Yaesu antenna. The antenna came apart after one year of not very heavy use. I expect I can put it back together with some adhesive, improving on the design in the process.
Anyway, I found this interesting and wanted to share it with you. What’s in your rubber duck?
73, Bob KØNR
The post What’s In Your Rubber Duck? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.
Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
IARU HF World Championship contest
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
IARU HF World Championship contest
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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