31 January 2017

Herts, Beds and Bucks Daily Net


Video:YouTube/Fredintheshed1



Video:YouTube/Steve Stevens

Some action from the Herts, Beds and Bucks Daily Net which can be heard across the South of England on 27.305 USB Monday to Friday 16:00-17:00 hours.

You can see the location of all the main UK CB Radio Nets on this map: CLICK

28 January 2017

CB Radio - Thursday Night South Coast/Southern Net - 26/01/2017

Video:YouTube/Tim H

A cracking video of one of the many nets which have sprung up in the UK since SSB and AM were legalised in 2014....

Check out the CB Radio Network Map here: CLICK


27 January 2017

QYT KT-8900D Mini Transceiver Menu & Function Walkthrough



Video:YouTube/Ringway Manchester

Homebrew Mobile Antenna For The County Comm Receiver



Videos:YouTube/M0DAD



Receiver Specs:
  • Radio: 225 hrs at 40% Volume 
  • FM – Stereo via stereo earphones / MW / LW / SW
  • FM – Stereo via stereo earphones / MW / LW / SW
  • FM Frequency range adjustable (76 / 87 / 87.5 ~ 108 MHz)
  • Antenna Length 18 Inches
  • 450 Station Memories
  • Multi Tuning Methods: ATS, ETM, Auto scan tuning with 5 seconds pre-listening for both frequency & memory (VF / VM), Manual tuning 9K/10K AM tuning step selectable
  • Silicon Labs Si4734 DSP chipset
  • LCD Backlight
  • Key lock function
  • External AM antenna Jack
  • Built-in rechargeable function (USB jack, 5V) ( can use rechargeable batteries )
  • Size: 53 (W) x 159 (H) x 26 (D) mm
Modes : AM, FM, SW, USB, LSB
  • FM: 87 – 108 or 76 – 108 MHz
  • MW/ AM: 522 - 1620 (9K tuning step) or 520 – 1710 kHz (10K tuning step )
  • SW: Extended Frequency Range to 1711-29999 ( higher and lower coverage )
  • LW frequency: 150 – 522 kHz (available for 9K tuning step only)

26 January 2017

TX Factor - Episode 14 (TXF014)



Video:YouTube/TX Factor

The latest episode of the Amateur radio TV programme...

24 January 2017

EMC & Shack Noise: Filtering the mains supply

Video:YouTube/George Smart

An interesing video for sure. I've tried this in the past and it makes no difference at my location, maybe my mains are clean to start with but it may help some people....


QYT KT-8900 Mini Transceiver


Video:YouTube/ecolive

Video:YouTube/Ringway Manchester



Video:YouTube/ANYSECU Technology

An interesting little radio for sure....


Frequency Range: 136-174MHz (RX & TX), 400-480MHz (RX & TX).
RX Only: 220-260MHz.
RX Only: 350-390MHz.
Output Power: VHF 25 Watt, UHF 20 Watt.
5Tone/2Tone/DTMF/CTCSS/DCS.
Dual Band, Quad-Standby.
Dual Display.
Cooling Fan.
25W Output Power (VHF).
External speaker/PTT
Mini Size Portable.
PC Program.
Remote Stun, Remote Activate, Remote Kill.
PTT-ID Code.
Long-distance Communication.
FM Radio.
Alarm Function.
Monitor.

Channel Capacity: 200.
Channel Spacing: 25KHz/20KHz/12.5KHz.
Frequency Stability: 2.5ppm.
Operating Temperature: -20 to +60 Degrees Celsius.
Operating Voltage: 13.8V DC ±15%.
Dimension (H x W x D): 98mm(W) x 43mm(H) x 126mm(L).
Weight (Without Accessories): 448g.
Color: Black.


Price around £69

CB Radio is NOT Dead!



Video:YouTube/47 Hobbies & Coffee



A bit of stateside CB radio action with a lovely looking Colt 485 Black Shadow!


Going Bicycle Mobile Good Budy!



Video:YouTube/2j4ez



Something I did myself many, many years ago. In my case I used a DV27 with a Cobra 148 and battery pack in a rucksack on my back!!!!

23 January 2017

The Sunday DX - Audioline 340



Video:YouTube/163CTX009

Some more UK CB radio Network action....


Gumball Rally 2017 - More Info


Gumball rally challenge 2017 - 3rd/4th June

Four starting points:

1. Hilton Park service’s M6 north 
2. Leicester forest service’s M1 north 
3. Charnock Richard service’s M6 south 
4. Wetherby service’s A1M south

One aim, find your way to the final checkpoint Gumball HQ

All teams must be at their chosen staring QTH and ready to start the challenge 9am.

All teams will be given a team card with a number this will have 10 photos and postcodes on its, then its up to you to navigate around the route ensuring that at each location you take a photo of your team card next to the checkpoint shown on your card.

Stay overnight in the hall or camping in field outside with BBQ and beers, bacon butties Sunday morning and leave when you’re ready

”Let the CHAOS commence”

Gumball Rally FaceBook Page: CLICK HERE

Keychain QRP - World's Smallest HF Transmitter


The 'Keychain QRP' is a tiny Morse transmitter and is said to be the world's smallest!


Output power is said to be 160mw and the unit can be supplied operating on any of the following frequencies:

00.61400 Mhz
01.00000 Mhz
01.84320 Mhz
01.85000 Mhz
03.57954 Mhz
03.68640 Mhz
14.31818 Mhz
21.16800 Mhz
21.20000 Mhz
27.00000 Mhz
28.22400 Mhz
28.30460 Mhz
28.32200 Mhz
28.63600 Mhz
50.00000 Mhz
50.35000 Mhz
51.84000 Mhz
53.24800 Mhz
98.30000 Mhz
100.0000 Mhz


Price around £33 + Shipping

More information: CLICK HERE



22 January 2017

Solar Cycle 25 Begins?



Video:YouTube/TamithaSkov



Apparently the first sunspot of solar cycle 25 has been seen....

21 January 2017

Scottish Pirates On The 2 Metre Band




Two Scottish fishermen heard off the Northumberland coast, operating illegally on the 2 metre band.

145.100 is the repeater input for GB3BT (The Berwick Repeater!)

Video: FT-991 The Final Analysis



Video:YouTube/Robert Nagy



An interesting review of the Yaesu FT-991...

18 January 2017

CB Radio Mid Week DX Quantock Hills 11/01/2017



Video:YouTube/26CTX1059


A great video featuring one of the many Mid Week Nets which operate in the UK.

Check out the 'UK CB Network Map' for information about all of the main UK nets...


Yaesu FT-991 Upgrade Kit - HOW MUCH?


Martin Lynch & Sons have announced the price of the long awaited Yaesu FT-991 upgrade kit which basically adds a true Real Time Waterfall/Spectrum Scope display to the radio.

And the price.... £480 + POSTAGE! (Chokes on my cup of tea!)

"This Upgrade kit allows Yaesu Musen Distributors and Repair Service Centers to add the following advanced features of the FT-991A to the original FT-991.

- Real-Time Spectrum Scope
- Multi-Color Waterfall Display
- Select from Seven Spectrum Scope Display Colours
- Select from Seven Display Colours or Multi-Colour Waterfall Display"



£480 to add a real time spectrum scope?????? (The multi-color features can be added for free via a firmware update!)

As an early adopter of the Yaesu FT-991 I have already paid out more money for my FT-991 than the upgraded FT-991A costs now so there is little chance of me spending another £500 for the single extra feature that this upgrade offers.
 
Link to ML&S Website: CLICK

17 January 2017

International HAM Stores Group Prepares For Move


Nevada have posted on facebook saying that they are in the process of beginning the move to Portsmouth as part of the new 'International Ham Stores Group'


The new group is a join venture between Nevada, Waters & Stanton, InnovAntennas and Trident. They will co-operate with the import and sale of Ham Radio equipment. 

You can visit their website here: CLICK

There are obvious advantages in working together, they should be able to keep costs down and hopefully pass the saving onto their customers.... Only time will tell I guess!


Mount Snowdon On The Air 21/01/2017


Heads up guys, Paul 26YM012 is planning a trip to the top of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales with a height of 1085 metres above sea level.

He will be operating on channel 26 UKFM (27.85125Mhz) from approx. 09:00 hours GMT on Saturday 21st January 2017.

So why not give him a shout? I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you all!

(Of course this activation is subject to change due to weather etc. so you can keep up to date by visitng the Charlie Tango DX Group page on FaceBook: LINK or check out the shoutbox on the Charlie Tango Forum on the day: LINK)

16 January 2017

Who Visits The Blog?


Just a quick look at where the Blog visitors originated over the past 12 months..... 


Below are the Top Ten countries where the Blog is viewed:

01 United Kingdom

02 United States

03 Russia

04 Germany

05 Italy

06 France

07 Netherlands

08 Spain

09 Brazil

10 Slovakia

(The Blog had visitors from over 150 countries in 2016)



The most popular searches which brought people to the blog were:

Anytone

President Lincoln 2

Yaesu FT991

SSB Nets

President Grant 2

Albrecht

CB Radio

HAM Radio

Amateur Radio

PMR446

(Most searches were directed to the Blog via Google's search engine - No big surprise there!)


Other items:

The majority of visitors were using the Chrome browser (55%) and were using a Windows PC (42%), however those viewing on Android devices were only slightly behind at 32% with iPhone users down at 6%.

Internet explorer users accounted for 12% of visits with Firefox users accounting for 15% of visits.

Visitor numbers continue to rise with December 2016 being the busiest month ever for the Blog!


We Are (No Longer) Superstar!


Well folks it looks like it's the end of WeAreSuperstar.co.uk with their website going offline.

Visitors to the site are now greeted with the message:


The idea was that several retailers would join forces to reintroduce the classic style Superstar 3900 into the UK under the branding of SuperstarUK. However before the radios even went on sale there were reports that the radios suffered from frequency drift. SuperstarUK responded with a detailed technical report which appeared to give the radio a glowing report. However potential buyers were not convinced and it would appear that the radios simply didn't sell. 

Price reductions followed and the radios are still sitting on the shelves? 

So it now looks like the venture may have come to a natural conclusion?

It's a real shame in many ways as this was probably the first time so many different retailers had joined forces to launch a radio. I really do hope that this endeavour will return maybe with a better radio......Ideas anyone????

15 January 2017

President Himalaya WB Unboxing



Video:YouTube/DrAwesome

So the new President Himalaya antenna is starting to arrive in the hands of users around the UK. 

14 January 2017

President Himalaya WB Due In Days @ Nevada


Nevada now say they they are expecting the new President Himalaya WB antenna within the next few days. Priced at £99.95 it's a bit more than you'd pay for the trusty Antron 99 so it will be interesting to see what the build quality and performance are like.



President McKinley CB Radio In Action



Video:YouTube/david snow


11 January 2017

NEW Luiton LT-198


Looking almost identical to the Albrecht AE6110 (And several other radios) this is the latest offering from Luiton, the LT-198. 

One major change is that the microphone is detachable, which is a welcome addition to this type of small radio. The radio also has a 3 colour backlight.




Price expected to be around £50-£60

10 January 2017

President Lincoln 2 + EXPORT MOD


Below you can find the EXPORT mod for the President Lincoln 2+ radio:



    (Click to enlarge images)

Original PDF document: HERE

CB Radio Network Map UPDATE


The UK CB Radio Network Map has had a few additions recently so why not take a look and see if you have any networks near you?

Gumball Rally 2017



Something to look out for this year.... The Gumball Rally!

Final details to be confirmed, but here is the message from their Facebook page:

"Hello and welcome to the Gumball rally challenge page for 2017, we can now confirm that a 2 day event is taking please on 3rd and 4th June 2017, please watch this page over the next few weeks for details how to register your team to take part. this will include an over night stay in a hall or camping in field outside with BBQ and beers."

Sounds interesting and intriguing at the same time!

Facebook Link: CLICK HERE

President Radios @ CES


President Electronics have posted photos of their radios on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Johnson 2 USA, Johnny 2 USA, Lincoln 2, and McKinley USA were all seen on the CB Distributing stall (President didn't actually have a stall of their own).



Apparently there is no truth in the rumour that the adjacent stall was providing cheap finance so that you could afford to buy one of the radios.....! 

5 January 2017

President ANDY AM/FM £129.95 @ Nevada


Nevada have announced their price for the new President ANDY AM/FM and so far they appear to be the cheapest at £129.95.

In my opinion this is still way too much for such a basic radio but we all know President like to charge that little bit more!!!!

Nevada website: LINK

4 January 2017

President BARRY FM/ANDY AM/FM UK Price Revealed


Knights Electrocom have announced prices for the new President BARRY FM and President ANDY AM/FM.

The President BARRY FM will cost £74.50 - LINK

The President ANDY AM/FM will cost £139.50 - LINK


Looking at the boards inside theses radios and it immediately becomes apparent that they are in fact THE SAME radio. The President ANDY simply has a few extra surface mounted components so how there can be such a large difference in the price is beyond me.

£65 more for a few tiny little components??? Really????

I'm not blaming the retailers by the way, President will set the prices and the retailers will have to charge the going rate!

If you accept that an FM only low end radio is worth £74.50 (I don't) then a more realistic price for the ANDY AM/FM would surely be £99.50??????

But £139.50 for a basic AM/FM radio when you can buy an Anytone 5555 for under £120......

(....Bangs head against the wall!!!!)



2 January 2017

Cobra 29LXMAX Buttons & Features



A bit more info regarding this new radio from Cobra....

   (Click To Enlarge)

The radio is 40 channels AM only with 4 watts output power. It has a selectable 4 colour display, 10 weather channels, SWR readout, Bluetooth with caller ID and phonebook features, Clock/Timer/Alarm functions....

But in my opinion... Looks bloody awful!

And the price.... Expected to be around $229 (Cough, Cough!!!!)


M0OGY: New Year Video!



Video:YouTube/M0OGY

Dave takes a look back at 2016 and looks forward to 2017....