Icom IC-7300 vs Yaesu FT-991 80m SSB Comparison

Video:YouTube/MLandSshop

Of course just one video and one comparison so difficult to draw any conclusions but to my ear the Yaesu FT-991 sounded slightly better....See what you think!

HF Pedestrian Mobile! - M0DAD

Video: YouTube/M0DAD

A great video from David, M0DAD who likes to operate HF Pedestrian Mobile from North East England with all his gear set up on a trolley. David has managed some amazing contacts with this set up and it's obvious that the seaside location (Away from all the electrical noise we have in our homes) makes a massive difference to the transmit and receive. 

Tim Peake's Next School Contact Announced

"The ARISS UK Operations team are delighted to announce that the ARISS Schools contact for the Powys Combined Schools has now been confirmed for Saturday 5th March 2016 at 1053UTC with Tim Peake on the International Space Station"

Thunderpole - New Look Forum

Thunderpole have updated their radio forum with a new clean look. The forum has been around for many years and provides lots of interesting and useful information. 

You can see the new look forum by clicking HERE  

The Thunderpole shop can be found HERE

Tim Peake Heard On The International Space Station 26/02/2016

Yet another video featuring Tim Peake on board the Space Station. 

Alinco DR-135UK - Only £99.95 @ Nevada!

Nevada have 100 Alinco DR-135UK radios at this special price so if you fancy one get straight over to their website: LINK

A decent radio and worth every penny at this price. 

Midweek Fun: Monkey Business On The Space Station!

Video:YouTube/News Today

It's good to know that they can find some time to relax and have fun up there!

Another Day, Another President Grant 2 Modification....

Video: YouTube/Klaus R.

An interesting video which appears to show a modified Grant 2 claiming a massive reduction in noise levels, with noise being reduced from S7/S8 down to S1/S3.

UK CB Radio: Single Side Band (Mobile)

Video: YouTube/Steve Stevens

In this video Steve shows us the advantages of using SSB even in flat conditions. Starting a chat with one other station and by the end of the video he has quite a nice little net going with stations in Luton, The South Downs, Peterborough and London.

SSB activity has increased dramatically in many parts of the UK since it was legalised in 2014 with many weekly nets springing up. Steve's video shows that a call on the UK SSB Calling Frequency (27.275 USB) can lead to some great contacts even in poor/flat conditions. 

So why not give it a try? Give out a call on 27 Mid Band (27.275 USB).

Tim Peake Heard On Board The Space Station 19/02/2016

This time I used one of my Baofeng UV5R radios connected to a home made horizontal dipole antenna which was on a 3m pole in the back garden. The horizontal dipole does a much better job of receiving signals from space than my normal home base vertical. This is due to the fact that the vertical is 'end on' to the direction of the signal source where-as the horizontal dipole is 'side-on'.

UPDATE: Tim's next contact will take place on 26th February 2016 at 14:40 hours GMT with City of Norwich Schools.

Magnum 1 - 11 Meters RX

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

In the third part of his review, Dave tries the Magnum 1 on 11m RX.

The radio certainly appears to receive very well, certainly a lot better than some of the other radios which have become available recently. 

I think this radio could do well depending on the price....! 

CRT 2000 - Video

Video: YouTube/CRT France

CRT France have posted a short video of the new CRT 2000 AM/FM CB Radio. I notice that there is no price as yet, and this will be what makes or breaks this radio. Priced too high and you may as well get the CRT ONE/Albrecht AE6110, both of which perform very well for little money. But if the performance is good and it is priced just right and this could be a winner.....!

Tim Peake's Next School Radio Contact Announced

It has just been announced on the Principia website (LINK) that Tim Peake's next contact will take place on 19th February at 14:23 hours GMT.

"Amateur radio call with Oasis Brightstowe, Bristol

Date: 19 February 2016 

Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm 

Tune into Tim’s radio calls to UK schools. Oasis Brightstowe in Bristol will be hosting the call and although there is no public access to the event, a webcast of the link up will be provided here

Time of call now confirmed for: 14:23 on 19th February

Media enquiries are welcome"

Tim Peake Heard On The International Space Station 11/02/16

Reminder: Tim Peake LIVE from the Space Station Today!

Just a quick reminder that you may be able to hear Tim Peake on board the ISS at approx 18:11 hours GMT on 145.800Mhz FM.

He will be attempting to make contact with The Royal Masonic School For Girls in Rickmansworth in the second of 10 planned radio events. 

So get your scanner/radio tuned in to see if you can hear him!

President Grant 2 - Another Problem Surfaces?

Video:YouTube/Trymtrains

President have certainly been plagued by reports of problems with their radios of late and this video appears to show yet another problem with one of their sets!

HEX (Hill-toppers and Extreme) Ground Wave DX NET

05/03/2016 - 27.405 USB

"Once again the chance to head for high ground and ping some signals around the Country, this is a contact / DX Net for those wishing to log as many +100 mile contacts ( as seen on the placement card ) as possible in a controlled environment .

It's all about the receive and power is not the issue , if you can't hear them_ you can't work them !
Hoping for better weather and Tropo conditions than in December and although I think we all had a great time with some cracking results it only ever reached around 25% of its potential in my opinion . 

QRM from Europe may be a problem and the Net(s) may have move to different channels at times around the mid-block on USB. 

I will be calling out from the Mendip Hills Somerset , at around 6pm on the 5/3/2016 and hope to make contact and be able to pass around as many as possible.

73 & Good DX
Kevin 26CT1685"

Source - Discussion thread on the Charlie Tango Forum: LINK

Magnum 1 - On Air Tests (SSB)

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

In the second part of his review, Dave tests the Magnum 1 on SSB.

Albrecht AE6110 - UK CB Radio Servicing Review and Testing

Another set of videos from the UK CB Radio Servicing channel on YouTube (LINK). On this occasion they take a close look at the Albrecht AE6110 CB Radio:

CRT One - UK CB Radio Servicing Review and Testing

Always interesting and definitely worth a look at is the UK CB Radio Servicing channel on YouTube (LINK). On this occasion they take a close look at the CRT One CB Radio:

Magnum 1 - First UK Review!

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

Dave, M0OGY, gives us the first UK look at this new radio from Magnum. Basically its a Maxlog 8800, but it will be interesting to see if there have been any improvements/modifications to the radio. 

Specs sheets are shown below(Click images to enlarge):

Tim Peake's Next School Amateur Radio Contact Confirmed

Tim Peake's Next School Amateur Radio Contact Confirmed

Following on from Tim's recent Amateur Radio contact with Sandringham School in St.Albans it has been announced that the next such contact will be with The Royal Masonic School For Girls in Rickmansworth on 11th February 2016 at 18:11 hours GMT.

Furthermore another 8 schools will hopefully get the chance to speak to Tim on board the International Space Station. 

"After the original competition to find schools that could demonstrate a commitment to Space, STEM and outreach was launched by ARISS in the UK and the UK Space Agency, we announced that ten schools had been shortlisted but that not all of those school would have an opportunity to talk to Tim Peake on the ISS.  In fact Tim himself announced at the UK Space Conference in July 2015 that there would be at least three such contacts and that he was hopeful of more.

The ARISS UK team, working with the ARISS International community, are now pleased to announce that after a number of discussions, all ten schools selected for the UK shortlist have now been scheduled. The proposed scheduled is as follows:-

Feb 11 @1811GMT : Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth
Feb 15 – Feb 21 : Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Bristol
Feb 22 – Feb 28 : Central Norwich Schools, Norwich
Feb 29 – Mar 06 : Powys Combined Schools, Powys, Wales
Apr 18 – Apr 24 : St Richards Catholic College, Bexhill on Sea
Apr 18 – Apr 24 : Wellesley House Schools, Broadstairs,  Kent
Apr 25 – May 01 : The Derby High School, Bury Lancashire
May 02 – May 08 : Ashfield Primary School, Otley, West Yorkshire
May 09 – May 15 : The Kings School, Ottery St Mary, Devon

These dates correspond to the predicted orbits of the International Space Station visible during the school day (typically 08:00 – 18:00hrs) and when it is orbiting over the UK.  A significant amount of planning remains to be carried out to turn these proposals into confirmed events – Tim’s on-orbit work schedule also has to be such that he is able to carry out the contact at the same time as the ISS is orbiting over the UK and the schools are available to make the call.  Not a simple task!

We will update this site with more information as it becomes available so make sure you keep checking here, on Twitter (@m0xtd) or on the UK Space Agency website.

In the meantime, make sure you join us for the next ARISS Contact at the Royal Masonic School for Girls on Feb 11th at 1811UTC.

73s
Ciaran – M0XTD ARISS Operations Lead in the UK"

  
Full Information: CLICK HERE

New CB Radio - CRT2000

A new radio has appeared on the CRT website - The CRT2000

The radio will be supplied with the AM/FM European Multi Norms but can no doubt be modded for export purposes.

CRT WEBSITE: LINK

CB Radio Featured In The Press

I came across this great little article about 40 years of CB radio in the North East of England. Not much to it but good to see CB Radio featured in the local press. It would be nice to think that people might read it, dig out their old rigs and get back on the air.

FULL ARTICLE: CLICK HERE