Another Upcoming Space Station Contact

An ARISS educational radio contact is planned with Kantonsschule Musegg, Luzern, Switzerland, direct via HB9HSLU. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS and the scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI. 

Contact is go for: Mon 04/02/2019 15:20 GMT/UTC, 44 deg. 

Downlink signals from ISS will be audible above Europe on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM; contact will be in English. RX only! 

Credit: AMSAT. 

(As previously announced there is also a planned contact on Saturday 2nd February at approximately 15:23 GMT/UTC with a school in Portugal)

Tuesday AM net 29/01/2019

Video:YouTube/brian badonde

Some action from the weekly Tuesday Night AM Net here in the UK....

NEW Ranger RCI-63FFD4 with 400 Watts Output!

Video:YouTube/Bells CB

Pity it's only AM but with 400 watts this thing is gonna be heard all around the world!!!!!

• New Final Amplifier Design
•  400 Watts PEP Output Power
•  RT-1 mosfet transistors
• Variable RF Power Control
• 6 Digit Frequency Counter
•  New Smoke
  Chrome Front Panel
•  Heavy Duty, High Power Heatsink
•  S/RF/SWR
  Front Panel Meter
•  Real Channel Selector Control
•  SRA-198 Chrome
  Noise Cancelling Mic Included
•  Variable Echo and Talk Back Controls
•  Dimmer Switch
•  Thru-Hole Component Circuit Boards
•  Cool Blue
  LED Channel Display
•  4pin Front Panel Mic Jack

Price: $549 (Yikes!)

CB Radio is Alive and Kicking with the 305 group in 2019

Video:YouTube/fredintheshed1

Fred with some action from the 305 net in southern UK....

Upcoming Space Station Contact

An International Space Station school contact has been planned between David St-Jacques, KG5FYI and a school in Portugal.

This is scheduled for Saturday 2nd February at approximately 15:23 GMT/UTC. The conversation will be conducted in English and will be a direct contact operated by CS5SS.

The downlink signals will be audible in many parts of Europe on 145.800MHz FM.

President Richard Spec Sheet

(Click to enlarge)

Here we have the official President spec sheet for the new President Richard 10m AM/FM radio.

Available now in the US, priced around $179 which is equivalent to £137 but the actual UK price will no doubt be considerably higher than that! 

The Saturday Freeband Net - SPECIAL EVENT

News from Mark posted on Facebook is that The East Midlands SSB DX Group have issued The UK Freeband Challenge to celebrate the 1st anniversary of The Saturday Freeband Net.

Six lucky stations will each receive a Pirate flag for the longest UK contacts logged by the chairs over 4 Saturdays starting 2nd February 2019.

The net takes place on from 13:30 hours (UK Time) on 27.515Mhz.

So why not tune in and give them a shout?

"Ahoy Shipmates!
This February we will be celebrating the first anniversary of the Saturday Feeband Net.
To mark the occasion we will be running a little competition over the four weekends in February.
The six stations that make the three longest UK contacts will each receive a 5x3 foot pirate flag and a personalised Certificate/e-QSL card.
Here are the rules and information :-

1. The contacts must be logged on the net by ANY of the chairs.
2. The nets will take place over the four Saturdays in February but if a net is cancelled for any reason we will try to get out on the Sunday.
3. Net start times may vary slightly from week to week but we will keep you posted as usual.
4. UK means ANY part of the UK including surrounding islands (If you are lucky )
5. Should there be an instance of a tie on distance the winners will be decided by myself on the toss of a coin.
6. All distances will be measured using google earth.

Cheers me hearties have fun.
73 for now
Mark
26TM575"

NEW Midland 42 DS CB Handheld @ Moonraker

Thunderpole, here in the UK, have the new Midland 42 DS (Digital Squelch) CB radio handheld in stock, at the very reasonable price of £119.99 (I paid more than that for my Eurosonic KH-104 back in the 90's).

Features:

• Multi Channel Operation (All EU Norms)
• 2-Level Transmitter Power (1W, 4W)
• Display of Channel, Band, Mode, TX Power, Etc.
• Dual Watch, Scan, EMG, Lock, LCD Backlight
• Battery indicator
• Adjustable squelch
• Can run from 6 or 8 x AA Batteries (not included)
• Standard 2-Pin External earpiece-microphone jack
• Car Kit Adaptor for mobile use
• Internal Speaker
• Digital Squelch
• Comes with accessories shown
• 72 x 40 x 145 (Including Antenna - 320mm)

I really like the look of this radio and could be tempted if I ever need to replace my ageing Eurosonic handheld.

Link to Thunderpole website: CLICK HERE

NEW Quad Band Wouxun KG-UV980PL

Another new radio from Wouxun in a familiar container. This is the Wouxun KG-UV980PL and it's great to see another radio which includes the 4m band.

The Big Net - Celebrating FIVE Years of Legal AM and SSB

Something to look forward to this summer, another chance to celebrate UK CB radio....

On 27th June it's the return of The Big Net, celebrating FIVE years of LEGAL AM and SSB CB Radio here in the UK.

The long-standing annual event is a great chance to contact new and existing stations around the UK, have a chat, reminisce about the good old days and forge new friendships, ultimately increasing the the number of stations on the air and helping to safeguard the future of CB radio in general. 

The event always proves to be very popular and there are sure to be many stations operating on the night from both home and mobile stations, from the top of hills and from the valleys below.

So dig those radios out and give a shout.

27th June 2019 18:00 - 23:00 hours (UK Time)

AM Calling on 27.125 (Channel 14 Mid Band)

USB Calling on 27.275 (Channel 27 Mid Band)

 

   

Introduction to the IC-9700 - VIDEO

Video:YouTube/Icom

Icom UK take a look at their new transceiver, the IC-9700

• All mode, tri-band transceiver covering 144 MHz, 430 MHz as well as 1.2GHz 

• Supports CW/AM/SSB/FM/RTTY and D-STAR Digital Voice and Digital Data modes

• 144MHz and 430MHz band is direct sampling. The 1.2GHz uses down conversions as well.

• Full duplex operation/ Dual Watch (no VHF/VHF or UHF/UHF capability.)

• PA will provide a powerful 100 W (144 MHz), 75 W (430 MHz) and 10 W (1200 MHz) output

• 4.3" touchscreen colour TFT LCD

• Smooth satellite operation with normal/reverse tracking and 99 satellite channels

• D-STAR provides clear digital audio

• Voice recording/playback function (SD memory card)

• Audio scope

• CW full break-in

Net List and Net Map Updated 14/01/2019

Just a short note to let you know that the Net List and Net Map have both been updated. You can see them by clicking on the links below:

Net List: HERE

Net Map: HERE

President McKinley - How Much Would You Pay?

 

So the President McKinley EU CB Radio is due out in the coming weeks and there has been much speculation as to how much this radio will cost. The only UK price that I've seen mentioned so far was £289 but as President have yet to officially announce the price we must take that with a pinch of salt for now. 

The Yaesu FTDX101D *VIDEO*

Video:YouTube/ML&S

Video from Martin Lynch & Sons who now have a Yaesu FTDX101D on demonstration in their showroom. 

With a rumoured price tag of £4000-£5000 it's certainly not cheap but this SDR radio is sure to work exceedingly well.

Now just need to decide which bank I'm gonna rob...….

Moonraker Sale Now On!

Moonraker UK have a selection of items in their January Sale, including:

The Intek M-799 POWER

Key Features/Specifications:

• 9 Bands Programmable (all European countries) - Expandable to 450 channels
• AM/FM 4W
• AM/FM 20W (Export)
• Extra large Blue Color LCD Display with S/RF Meter
• ESP COMPANDER (RX/TX Speech Processor)
• Manual or Auto (fixed) Squelch
• 3W Speaker
• ATT (RF Signal Attenuator)
• RB (Roger Beep)
• ANL (Automatic Noise Limiter)
• SCAN
• DW
• EMG (Emergency Channels) quick access
• Quick UP/DN channel selection
• Soft type microphone curl cord
• Dynamic MIC with UP/DN/LOCK controls

PRICE: £50.00

Why on earth would you want to spend nearly £200 on a President AM/FM radio when you could buy this little gem?

The Baofeng BF-9500

Key Features/Specifications:

• Display on a large LCD with adjustable brightness，convenient information access
• Distribute buttons reasonably, convenient for operation
• Adopt superior quality material, better technology and high quality radiator to ensure stable and durable operation
• 200 programmable memorized channels
• Using 5Tone to send Message, Emergency alarm, Call all, ANI, Remotely kill, Remotely Waken, etc.
• Programming different CTCSS, DCS, 2Tone, 5Tone in per channel, rejecting extra calling from other radios
• High/medium/low power, can meet the needs of long distance communication, more energy saving province electricity
• Automatic calling identification function by DTMA-ANI or 5Tone-ANI
• Frequency: UHF400-470MHz
• Channel: 200
• Channel spacing: 12.5/20/25kHz
• Frequency step: 2.5/5/6.25/8.33/10/12.5/25/50/100kHz
• Working Voltage: 13.8V 15%
• Squelch style: CTCSS/DCS/5Tone/2Tone/DTMF
• Frequency Stability: 2.5ppm
• Operating temperature: -20 C to +60C
• Dimension: 145x47x190mm
• Sensitivity(12dB SINAD): =0.25V/=0.35V
• Adjacent channel selectivity: =70/=60dB
• Inter modulation: =65dB/=60dB
• Spurious Rejection: =70dB
• Acoustic frequency response: + 1- -3dB(0.3-2.55k)
• SNR: =45dB/=40dB
• Audio distortion: =5%
• Audio Output Power: 2W@10%

PRICE: £75.00

You can see the full list of sale items on the Moonraker website by clicking HERE

Solar Cycle 25

With 2019 set to see the bottom of the current solar cycle all eyes are looking towards Solar Cycle 25.... When will it start? When will it peak? Is it going to be better or worse than Cycle 24?