This Friday - The Big Net - 37 Years Of Legal CB Radio

Time to dust off those CB Radios and get on the air to celebrate 37 years of LEGAL CB Radio in the UK.

UK FM CB Radio was legalised on 2nd November 1981 (seems like only yesterday) and in June 2014 AM and SSB were legalised also. 

Southern UK 11m SSB Net 25/10/18

Video:YouTube/2E0TWG_M6JVI_CT2116 TIM

Some of the great SSB action from the Southern 11m Net here in the UK....

It is truly wonderful to see how SSB activity has grown over the past 4 years since legalisation here in the UK. I remember prior to legalisation there were many stations saying that SSB on the mid band would be a complete flop and no-one would want to use it..... How wrong they were!

NEW Baofeng DM-1703?

Spotted this online but can't find much about it.... another DMR radio from Baofeng.

The Baofeng DM-1703 is a dual band, waterproof DMR handheld expected to come into production in the coming months so keep your eyes open for further details.

VU2OT (India) Heard On 20m 26/10/2018

Some good conditions on 20m this week....

Xiegu G90 HF 20W SDR Transceiver

NEW: Xiegu G90 HF 20W SDR Transceiver

Looks like our friends in China have been busy with the upcoming HF SDR radio the Xiegu G90...

Xiegu G90 Features

• High performance front end narrowband ESC preselector
• Frequency range of 0.5~30MHz, SSB/CW/AM
• 1.8 inch high brightness color TFT LCD screen
• ±24k bandwidth spectrum display with waterfall
• Software defined narrowband filter (CW mode: 300Hz)
• Detachable Front Panel/Display Unit
• Up to 20W of RF power
• Built-in wide range automatic antenna tuner
• I/Q output for interfacing with a PC or XDT1 panadapter

Xiegu G90 Receiver Parameters

• RX frequency range: 0.5MHz to 30MHz
• Modes: SSB/CW/AM
• RX sensitivity: better than 0.25uV @12dB Sinad (PRE: ON) Machine dynamic range: 90dB
• Adjacent channel suppression: 60dB
• Audio output power: 0.5W@ 4Ω
• Optional: SSB 2.4kHz / CW 300Hz
• Standby current: 750mA @ Max

Xiegu G90 Transmitter Parameters

• TX frequency range: all amateur bands 1.8 to 30 MHz
• Modes: SSB/CW/AM
• RF output power: 20W
• Spurious suppression: ≥50dB
• Carrier suppression: ≥50dB
• Sideband suppression: ≥50dB
• Transmit working current: 8A @ Max

Xiegu G90 Antenna Tuner Parameters

• Initial tuning time: ≤12s
• Re-entry tuning time: ≤ 2s

Xiegu G90 General Specifications

• Operating voltage range: 12 ~ 15V DC
• Operating temperature range: 0 ° C ~ 55 ° C
• Frequency stability: ±2ppm (after 30 minutes of power on)
• Size: 120*45*210 mm (without protrusions, head unit combination status)
• Weight: about 1kg

NEW President Ted - ANOTHER AM/FM Only Radio!

Adding to the ever growing long line of AM/FM only radios, President have announced the President TED ASC.

- 40 channels AM / FM
- Up/down channel selector
- Volume adjustment and ON/OFF
- Manual squelch and ASC
- Multi-functions LCD display
- S-meter
- ANL filter
- Vox function (Hands free)
- F function key
- Beep Function
- Roger Beep
- Mode switch AM / FM
- Preset emergency (EMG 1&2)
- Key locking
- Front microphone plug
- External loudspeaker jack

So only one more month of President's Anniversary year bonanza to go (!) and people are wondering if they have kept something/anything interesting until last? We can only hope as 11 months into the year we've had TEN AM/FM radios and only ONE SSB radio announced and most of the radios are still not available in the shops!

A year that promised so much but so far has delivered so little...…..

PMR 446 Contact Sussex to Brittany 257 Miles

Video:YouTube/Mike1074-DX M7MMC

A rather good contact on PMR446 (Yes, not standard gear but still a great copy)

Galashiels Radio Rally 2018

All the 'action' from the Galashiels Radio Rally today......

Yaesu FTDX 101D - Hamfest Update Video

Video:YouTube/ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast

A look at the upcoming SDR radio from Yaesu... Rumoured price online is $3500 for the 100w version and $4800 for the 200w version, but I think it may be a bit more than that! We shall have to wait for an official announcement on price I guess!

NEW Anytone AT-D578UV Dual Band DMR

Here we have the first photo of a new dual band DMR radio from ANYTONE, the AT-D578UV.

Not much information knocking about for this radio so keep an eye out for further details.

Space Station Contact 16/10/2018

With Sint-Jozefcollege, Turnhout, Belgium direct via ON4NOK/P

NEW 'M7' Callsign Heard

The first 'M7' amateur callsign has been heard in the North East of England. I was dubious having not heard anything about M7 callsigns being issued and the fact that the station in question has the callsign M7CON!!!!! 

Anyway it appears M7 callsigns are a thing and here is a short clip of Darren M7CON calling into the local GB2RS news roundup....

Well done for passing your exam Darren and for being the first M7 heard in the North East!

Nevada Open Day 2018

The guys at Nevada in Portsmouth, UK, are having an open day on Sunday 18th November and they promise 'Hundreds of bargains' and a FREE burger and drink for every visitor!

Open Day 2018 @  Unit 1, Fitzherbert Spur, Portsmouth   PO61TT

Don't miss this great event !  Sunday 18th November  10:00 - 16:00

• Hundreds of bargains on the day
• Tour our Warehouse
• Manufacturers displays
• Many clearance lines
• Live displays
• Plenty of food and drink ! One Free Burger and drink for every visitor

President Bill Hi-Power

Video:YouTube/Klaus R.

A quick video showing a modded President Bill with louder FM TX audio and increased output power of around 25 watts. Personally I think it's better just to use a small linear amplifier rather than put extra strain on the radio but it's still interesting to see what people can do with these little sets.

Hamfest 2018 (M0XMX Video)

Video posted by Mike M0XMX of the UK Hamfest 2018 at Newark....

Galashiels Radio Rally 2007 (Remastered + Extended)

Another 'Blast From The Past' with a re-upload of my Galashiels Radio Rally video from 2007 now in much higher quality and with added extras!

Wideband Interference to 70cm/UHF

Heard by many stations across Northumberland and Tyne & Wear(North East England), causes static noises on FM and 'musical tones' on AM. A very wideband signal of unknown origin. 

Can you identify this?????

Great Lumley Radio Rally 2007 (Remastered + Extended)

Remastered and Extended - Here's one of my earliest rally videos - now in much better quality and with added extras!

President Richard Display Animation + Photos

Somehow I can't imagine any Ham radio operators rushing out to buy one of these and I'm sure that any sales will actually go to the CB radio community but here are the hi-res 'Real' photos of the new President Richard along with an EXCLUSIVE animation of the display colours available on this radio:

(Click Images To Enlarge)

- Rotary switch channel selector
- Volume adjustment and ON/OFF
- RF Power
- Manual squelch and ASC
- Multi-functions LCD display
- Frequencies display
- S-meter
- Public Address
- ANL filter, NB and HI-CUT
- RF Gain / Mike gain
- Scan
- Talkback
- MENU function key
- Beep Function
- Roger Beep
- Mode switch AM/FM
- Tone
- VFO Mode
  (continuous scanning of 28.000 Mhz to 29.700 Mhz)
- Vox
- Echo
- Mic type electret / dynamic
- SWR (Power Reading /SWR)
- Preset emergency (EMG 1&2)
- TOT (Time Out Timer)
- Front microphone plug
- External loudspeaker jack
- USB 5V 2.1A

 Basically a President Walker II locked to 10m.....?

CB Radio - The Tumbleweed Net at Pepperbox Hill - 26/09/2018

Video:YouTube/26CTX1837

Some more UK NET action, this time Stuart is using his T2LT and President Grant II on 'The Tumbleweed Net' - So called due to low activity levels over the summer, but as you can see it is far from quiet this time!

Blast From The Past - The Northumberland Net 02/08/2009

A recording of The Northumberland Net during the Sporadic E season in 2009. You will hear the lads in QSO with stations in Cornwall.

Stan, Arthur, Bob, Alfie, Mac, Ian and many more......!