The Big Multimode Nets 2018

An early reminder that this years Big Multimode Nets will take place on Wednesday 27th June to celebrate FOUR years of legal AM and SSB here in the UK.

EVERYONE WELCOME - ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, WALES, EUROPE AND BEYOND!

AM calling will take place on channel 14 (27.125Mhz)

USB calling will take place on channel 27 (27.275Mhz)

Please remember to QSY once contact is made.

As a bonus many of the UK Mid-Week nets will also be celebrating the event on various frequencies on the EU (Mid) Band - More details to follow in the coming weeks. 

In previous years the event has proved to be very popular so why not take to the hills and see how many stations you can make contact with?

Check out The Big Net Facebook page for more information and make sure you post your plans for others to see - CLICK HERE

BTECH Power Amplifier AMP-25 Overview

Video:YouTube/BTECH Baofeng

A quick look at Baofeng's new power amplifier for use with handheld radios.

You can read a review by John K3NXU by clicking HERE

New 10m SSB Weekly Net

News from the Facebook page of The Southern And South Coast 10m SSB Net. Their first ever weekly SSB net takes place tonight (29/03/18) between 19:00 - 20:00 hours BST(GMT+1) on 28.410 USB.

They hope to be operating every Thursday evening from now on so listen out and join in with the fun.

Baofeng UV3R+ Inside

Seen this image posted on Facebook recently which shows the circuit board inside the Baofeng UV3R+ and thought you may like to take a look.

(Click images to enlarge)

NEW TYT MD-UV380 UPDATE - UK Price!

With thanks to Callum of Communic8 we have information that the expected UK price of the new TYT MD-UV380 is approximately £120 for the standard model with the GPS version coming in a little more than that. I must say that this price is very affordable and I can see this radio flying off the shelves at launch. 

MD-UV380 Call Features

Single/Group/All Call

• Emergency Call
• Group Call Match (Promiscuous)
• Private Call Match (Promiscuous)
• Mototrbo Tier I & II Compatible
• GPS optional
• Colour LCD Display
• Lone Worker
• Dual Time Slot for repeater and point to point
• 8 Hours Recording

TYT MD-UV380 Specifications:

• Frequency Range:  136-174Mhz - 400-480Mhz
• Channels: 3000
• Battery Capacity: 2000mAH Li-Ion
• Power: High Power 5W, Low Power 1W
• Dimensions: 131 x 61 x 36 mm
• Weight: 258g

The TYT MD-UV380 should be available soon.

Thanks once again to Callum, and you can see more information on the Communic8 website by clicking HERE

North West Net 2nd Anniversary

News that the UK's North West Net celebrates its 2nd anniversary on Wednesday 28th March.

So if you fancy taking part in the celebrations listen out on 27.125 USB from 19:00 hours (British Summer Time).

President Bill First Look Photos

Seen on the President Electronics USA Facebook page are these new photos of the President Bill mini CB Radio:

- 40 channels AM / FM 
- 12 V
- USB 5V / 2.1A
- Up/down channel selector
- Volume adjustment and ON/OFF
- Manual squelch and ASC
- Multi-functions LCD display
- S-meter
- ANL filter, NB, HI-CUT 
- F function key
- Beep Function
- Roger Beep
- Mode switch AM / FM
- Preset channel programmable
- TOT (Time out timer)
- Front microphone plug
- Microphone Electret or Dynamic
- External loudspeaker jack

Website says "Coming Soon"

NEW TYT MD-UV380 DUAL BAND DMR

Hot off the press is news that the popular DMR radio the TYT MD-380 is getting an upgrade and will now appear as the TYT MD-UV380 with dual band analogue/digital capabilities.

TYT are trying to get this radio out to dealers in APRIL and the price is expected to be in the region of $149 (No UK/EU prices have been issued as yet)

The radio comes with a 2000mAh battery and has 5 watts of output power. Other specs can be seen above (Click Images To Enlarge)

Video - CRT Xenon CB Radio

Video:YouTube/CRT France

So here it is, the very first video showing the new CRT Xenon CB Radio. 

New Radio - CRT XENON

Well that didn't take long! CRT have confirmed they will be releasing this new radio (as discussed on the blog yesterday) under the name "Xenon"

Features:

European Multi-Norm Channels (Can be widebanded with mod)

Autosquelch

7 Colour Display

Frequency and Channel Display

Removable Mic with RJ-45 Connection

4 Watts AM/FM (Higher power with mod)

Price: TBA

So keep an eye out on the CRT website for more details in the coming weeks.

(Hi-Res Photo: CLICK TO ENLARGE)

New Mini CB Radio

Seen this radio mentioned on Simon The Wizards blog this morning and it reminded me that I'd seen it a few weeks ago on Instagram.

Along the lines of previous mini radios but with more information on the screen and a few extra buttons.

Photos are from Instagram/oleksandr_ur5fkt

The radio is in production in China. Unbranded at the moment so I guess we'll just have to wait and see if any reseller is interested in putting their name to it.

I think this could be a winner as long as it performs as well as other mini radios out there such as the brilliant Albrecht AE6110. 

Yaesu FT-818 First 'Real World' photo(s)?

Make your own minds up about this folks but this image has been circulated on Twitter and appears to show the new Yaesu FT-818 in the flesh!

Real it Fake? I don't know! Let's be honest the FT-818 looks identical to the FT-817 so anyone with basic Photoshop skills could easily knock this up! 

UPDATE: A second photo has appeared.....

President Ronald 10/12m AM/FM Review.

Video:YouTube/MikesRadioRepair

For those of you (yes both of you) who are thinking of buying the Ronald 10/12m radio......

I recently did a bit of a survey on various Facebook pages regarding this radio. I asked "Will you be buying the new President Ronald 10/12m radio?", here are some of the responses.....

"Why would I?"

"Without SSB, it's nonsense"

"President does no cool radios anymore. For HAM use I would require a repeater shift and SSB"

"Would not waste my money on this radio"

"WOW - Didn't know President was still around"

"This is not a HAM radio"

"Without SSB it's a complete waste of time,  FM on 29Mhz is about all it could be used for other than as a CB.... and we all know it's a CB really"

"Why would you buy a radio these days without SSB on it?"

"Pity they don't put SSB on all radios"

"AM/FM radios don't do anything for me. I find it odd that they reused the Ronald name when originally the Ronald was SSB"

"Why would I want to spunk £150 up the wall on an AM/FM radio? Ooooo it covers the 12m band, shame the band is CW, data and SSB - not AM/FM. So this is a chocolate teapot. It's made in china and only costs £100 in the states"

"This is very good... for the CB band. It does 50w PEP on AM"


Now after that type of customer feedback there's no way any company would be considering bringing out another radio like this one yes????

.... Oh bugger! 

Radioddity GD-77 Update Incoming

Information from the Radioddity Facebook page is that there will be a software/firmware update in the next few days.

Current and previous versions have been rather buggy so here's hoping they've sorted things out this time. 

So keep an eye out on the their website and Facebook page for the latest release.

Something New From Kenwood!

Anyone want to take a guess?????

Yaesu FT-818 Official Photos & Manual

Hot off the press is news that Yaesu have issued official photos and the operating manual for their new FT-818 which is set to replace the trusty and very popular FT-817.

Looking almost identical to it's predecessor the FT-818 has been criticised by many for not being different enough and not having more features but I think Yaesu have decided that if it wasn't broken there's no need to fix it!

The real reason for bringing out this new radio is probably down to the difficulty in sourcing components for the old model rather than any need to update the features on the radio.

Anyway whatever your feelings about this new radio you can see high resolution images and download the operating manual from the Yaesu website: CLICK HERE

NEW K-PO Panther @ Thunderpole

Notified via email from Thunderpole here in the UK, with news that they now have the K-PO Panther handheld in stock.

Link To Thunderpole Website: CLICK HERE

Specs/Features: K-PO Panther

HANDHELD CB TRANSCEIVER 40 CHANNEL AM / FM

Multistandard

Squelch 6 levels.

Large multi-function LCD display with backlight.

Channel display or relative frequency.

Channel selector switch Up / Down.

S-Meter.

Scan function.

Roger Beep.

Dual watch.

Channel 19 emergency pre-set.

Switch High / low power.

Keypad lock.

Socket for external microphone / speaker connection with 2,5 / 3,5 mm mono

GENERAL 

Frequency Range: 26 ~ 28MHz. 

Frequency Control: Phase Lock Loop (PLL) synthesiser. 

Channel spacing: 10KHz 

Modulation mode: AM/ FM 

Frequency Stability: ± 0.005% 

Channel step: 10KHz 

Maximum channel: > 40 channel 

Operating Temperature Range: -25°C to +50°C 

Input Voltage: 7.4VDC 

Working Voltage: 6.8~8.4V 

Antenna Connector: TNC with 50 ohms 

Dimensions: 120(H)X54(W)X35(D)mm 

Weight: About 250g(Including battery) 

TRANSMITTER 

AM /FM Power Output: FM: 1/4W | AM: Carry power 1/3W with 50% modulation

Spurious Emissions: -55 dB. 

Carrier Suppression: -55 dB. 

Audio Frequency Response: 300Hz to 2.5KHz 

Max. Modulation FM +/- 2KHz | AM 100% 

RECEIVER 

AM Sensitivity For 10dB S/N: < 1.0 μV. 

FM Sensitivity For 12dB S/N: < 0.2 μV. 

Image Rejection Ratio: > -65 dB. 

Adjacent Channel Selectivity: > -55 dB. 

Automatic Gain Control (AGC) Figure Of Merit: 100 mV for 10 dB Change in Audio Output. 

Squelch Adjustable: 6 Levels 

Audio Output Power: > 0.5W 

Signal to noise ratio: > 40db 

Internal Speaker: 8 Ohms; 1 Watts.

Price: £139.99