Happy New Year!

As 2023 comes to a close I'd just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year!

President George FCC - 390 Wagonmaster

Video:YouTube/390 Wagonmaster

President George FCC - Farpoint Farms

Video:YouTube/Farpoint Farms

Merry Christmas!

 

INSIDE the George FCC!

Video:YouTube/cbrepairguy

Interesting video showing the inner workings of the new George FCC.

Note the board is almost identical to the George II (UK/EU Version) apart from a missing output transistor, white wire and jumper!!!!!

President George FCC - FIRST VIDEO & POWER TEST

Video:YouTube/Mike Cricket113

Here we have the very first look at the new George FCC including a power test!

Features:

- 40 channels AM / FM / SSB
- 12 V
- Manual squelch and ASC
- Multi-functions LCD display
- ANL filter, NB and HI-CUT
- Scan / Scan Skip
- 4 Memories
- F function key
- Beep / Roger Beep Function
- Dual watch
- Preset EMG 1/2
- Talkback
- Tone
- VOX
- Weather channel with Alert
- Front microphone plug
- External loudspeaker jack

President George FCC - $279

 

So people in the USA will be able to get their hands on the George FCC (The North American version of the George II) for only $279 which equates to £220 

When the George II came out at a price of £329 I did say that it was overpriced by around £100.....

President George FCC coming 2024

 

We discussed the rumours back in early July (LINK), exclusively confirmed the existence of the President George FCC in October (LINK) and finally the radio has appeared on the President website and is expected to be available in the new Year!

Early indications are a price equivalent to around £259 ($329) which is £70-80 cheaper than the cost in the UK (And some people still say that the George II isn't overpriced in the UK!)

- 40 channels AM / FM / SSB
- 12 V
- Manual squelch and ASC
- Multi-functions LCD display
- ANL filter, NB and HI-CUT
- Scan / Scan Skip
- 4 Memories
- F function key
- Beep / Roger Beep Function
- Dual watch
- Preset EMG 1/2
- Talkback
- Tone
- VOX
- Weather channel with Alert
- Front microphone plug
- External loudspeaker jack

Link to President Website: CLICK HERE

Quansheng UV-K5(8) Custom Firmware SSB Receive

So i thought it was about time I joined the Quansheng UV-K5(8) club....

Custom firmware installed in less than 2 mins!

Now AM/FM/SSB 18 - 1300 MHz

NEW - Moonraker Titan - Coming Soon!

 

A new radio to look out for from Moonraker in the UK - The Moonraker Titan

The Moonraker Titan 10m Multimode is 40W FM/SSB/CW amd 12W AM Transceiver

Specification

• Frequency range: 28.000 to 29.700 MHz
• Mode: AM/FM/USB/LSB/PA
• Output Power: LOW 4W, Middle 8W, High 40W
• AI noise reduce (Option)
• Step: 5Hz, 10Hz, 100Hz, 1KHz, 10KHz, 100KHz
• ASQ on/off
• ECHO on/off
• Output power adjustable
• Hi-cut on/off
• Beep on/off
• Dual Watch
• Noise Blanker on/off
• ANL build-in
• Scan
• Roger Beep
• LCR (Last Channel Record)
• Mic gain adjustable
• TalkBack
• Scan list
• TOT
• Digital RFG adjustable
• A-RFG (Auto RFG)

Link: CLICK HERE

Bishop Auckland Amateur Radio Rally (BARAC) 2023

A video from the Bishop Auckland Amateur Radio Rally which was held on 3rd December 2023

President Taylor IV DM (Digimike) Review

Video:YouTube/M0OGY

Dave is back, this time looking at the President Taylor IV which now comes with the Digimike!

South Coast 7th Birthday Net - TODAY!

The South Coast SSB Network celebrates 7 years of running their weekly nets tonight from 20:00 hours (UK Time)

Frequency: 27.395 LSB

NEW - Thunderpole Speaker Microphone

 

Ideal to use with your Thunderpole T-X handset is the new Thunderpole Speaker Mic

LINK: CLICK HERE

Thunderpole T-X Case Now Available - £9.99

 

Thunderpole now have a dedicated case for your T-X handheld.

Priced at £9.99 it's ideal for protecting and keeping your radio looking brand new. 

LINK: CLICK HERE

*NEW* President Taylor IV DM (Digi-Mike) First Look

Video:YouTube/M0OGY

Dave takes a look at the President Taylor IV which now comes with the Digimike in the box....

Hand Portable QRP UK/Tenerife/Australia

Video:YouTube/M0DAD

EA8/M0DAD (Hand Portable - Tenerife) with G4AKC (Bicycle Mobile - Blackpool) in QSO with VK3XXY (Australia) - AMAZING!!!!!

President George II Roger Beeps

Must say I'm not keen on any of them but Number 1 is acceptable I guess! 

Moonraker Black Friday Deals

Moonraker have announced that their 'Black Friday' event has now started!

LINK: CLICK HERE

President George II ONLY £296.96

Jopix CB-514 ONLY £80.96

MRW-27L - SUPER GAINER ANTENNA ONLY £16.16

President Digimike ONLY £53.96

MORE:

Quansheng UV-K5 firmware 'How To'

Video:YouTube/M0JCF Ham Radio

Charlie Tango DX Group now on Zello

 

Information from Tony 26CT1952 is that the Charlie Tango DX group are now on Zello.

You can search in the Zello App for 'CHARLIE TANGO DX' or scan the QR code below.

NEW: Anytone 6666 Pro With NRC

Video:YouTube/La 395 QRA "PePe"

First look at the new updated Anytone 6666 Pro which now has NRC and uses the same board as the CRT 7900V/3900/6900V/George II

EXCLUSIVE: President George II Service Menu

A look through the options in the service/engineering menu on the President George II CB Radio 

President George II - A Little Receive

The new President George II - Listening to the skip on 10/11/12m

Radio was bought from Moonraker in the UK - Current Price: £329.95

President Richard Amateur/CB Radio Review Part 1

Video:YouTube/M0OGY

Dave takes a look at the President Richard....

AM/FM/SSB On The Quansheng UV-K5(8) - New Firmware

Video:YouTube/OM0ET

It's amazing what has been done with these little handsets! 

Dodgy USB Chargers!

Video:YouTube/DiodeGoneWild

Well worth flicking through this guys videos on dodgy USB chargers. A cheap USB charger could burst into flames, damage or destroy your house or even kill you! 

42 Years of CB Radio - CB Radio is still cool!

Video:YouTube/andy kirby

UK CB Radio 42 Year BIG NET During Storm Ciaran

Video:YouTube/Fred in the Shed

42 Years Of CB Radio (In the Midlands)

Video:YouTube/AL 26TC101`s World of Radio

President George II - Back In Stock @ Moonraker

 

The President George II CB radios are back in stock at Moonraker today (03/11/23) but are sure to sell out quickly!

LINK TO WEBSITE

 

President George II SERVICE/ENGINEERING MENU!

 

As the information is now freely available on the internet we can now feature it here.....

For those of you looking for the President George II service menu....

(FOR INFORMATION ONLY - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK)

PRESS PTT+F+TB AND TURN ON THE RADIO

DISPLAY WILL SHOW 'TEST'

RELEASE BUTTONS

PRESS NRC THEN ECHO THEN VOX

WARNING: THE SERVICE MENU MAY DAMAGE YOUR RADIO

PMR446 Halloween Net

All across the UK on 31st October!

EXCLUSIVE: President George FCC - Confirmed!

 

Back in July 2023 we broke the news here on the blog that President were working on the George FCC (LINK) and now we have it confirmed, the George FCC will launch in the USA soon!

40 channel AM/FM/USB/LSB

26.965 - 27.405

4W AM/FM - 12W SSB

NRC (Noise Reduction Circuit)

VOX

USB Charging port

Memory Channels

Scan

Weather Channels

Talkback

Jopix CB-514 CB Handheld - Mini Review

 

Handheld CB radios appear to be all the rage recently with several models launching in a small space of time. 

The latest one to come through the doors of Delboy Towers is the Jopix CB-514 which is available from Moonraker, here in the UK. 

The Jopix CB-514 is a 40/80 channel multi-standrd radio with both AM and FM and a power output of 4w (High) and 1w (Low). It comes with a 'rubber duck' type antenna which is approximately 300mm long (10 inches in old money). The antenna attaches to the top of the radio via BNC connector. The radio has a good solid feel to it and is heavier than you might expect. All controls and buttons feel good with no wobbly knobs!

It has a backlit LCD display which includes channel, frequency, battery level and a signal meter along with indications for mode, power setting, squelch etc. The backlight can be turned on/off using one of the side keys just below the PTT.

There is a keypad on the front of the radio which is also illuminated so can be used in the dark.

The radio is powered by an 1800mAh lithium battery pack which is located in the rear of the radio. The battery is charged via a USB-C charger, just like those used to charge modern mobile phones. The radio can also be powered via an optional 'car adapter' if required. 

Other features include:

Squelch/Auto-Squelch(ASQ)

Roger Beep

Key Beep

Key Lock

VOX

LCR - Last Channel Recall

EMG 9/19

Scan

High/Low Power (4W/1W)

EXPORT MODE - 25.615 to 30.105 (Via keypress) 

NRC (Noise Reduction Circuit)

Left Side Buttons: PTT - High/Low Power - Backlight On/Off - Monitor

Right Side: Mic/Headphone Socket - USB Charging Socket

A quick word about the Export Mode....

This radio does include an Export Mode covering 25.615 - 31.105 however not all dealers supply the radio with this as standard so make sure you check before you buy. 

Moonraker supply this radio with Export Mode straight out of the box. 

   (Click to enlarge)

Export Mode can be accessed by pressing PTT and FUNC while turning on the radio, you are then presented with 6 options relating to different 'bands'. Option 2 provides the standard export channels (25.615 - 30.105) with option 3 giving the same but with '0' endings (25.610 - 30.100).

NOTE: The supplied antenna is tuned for the EU/UK bands and is not suitable for use outside of those frequencies, the SWR is likely to be very high, therefore be sure to use an alternative antenna if you intend to operate on other bands. 

Noise Reduction Circuit (NRC) - If there has been one real gamechanger in the CB radio world recently it has to be NRC. A type of Digital Noise Reduction previously only seen on Amateur Radio equipment. The Jopix has NRC and boy does it work... Stations down in the noise and barely readable suddenly come loud and clear when the NRC is engaged. Of course there is no miracle solution to all interference problems but the NRC on the Jopix certainly works very well and can make a real difference. 

A video showing what you get in the box:

On The Air:

When operating on a CB radio handheld you must have realistic expectations of what sort of performance you are going to get. The rubber duck antenna is a massive compromise on 27MHz. A half wave antenna on CB radio frequencies is about 5.5m long so a tiny little 30cm portable antenna is always going to struggle. DO NOT expect base station performance from a handheld!

Having said that the Jopix works amazingly well and much better than older CB radio handhelds from back in the day. The receive is excellent and skip contacts can be heard even indoors, although getting out into the open will improve reception massively. 

You can also buy a longer antenna such as the Albrecht CL27 which is about 54cm long or a telescopic antenna which is around 130cm long to help pull in signals. 

Transmission range, once again, is always going to be very limited from a handheld CB radio. On the supplied rubber duck expect a maximum range of 2 - 3 miles in a built up area when talking to a home base station but if you can get to an open space or to the top of a hill the range will increase significantly and users have reported contacts of over 20 miles from a good location. 

When testing the Jopix I received good audio reports from the people I spoke to, indeed they were surprised as to how good it sounded. Of course, don't expect base station performance, handhelds are always going to sound a little quieter. 

For maximum performance you can always connect you Jopix to a mobile or home base antenna using a BNC - PL259 adapter or the optional car adapter. You can also plug in an external microphone. 

Overall this is a very capable and versatile radio, and will surely give you many hours of fun. 

The radio is available from Moonraker in the UK and is priced at £84.95

LINK TO MOONRAKER WEBSITE

NEW Anytone AT-6666 II - Coming Soon?

 

So word on the street is that the new Anytone AT-6666 II may be on it's way soon!

Looking very similar to the Yaesu FTM-400xd, the radio covers 24.715 - 30.105MHz with AM/FM/USB/LSB and has a detachable front panel.

Certainly something very different to look forward to if true.

Other reports suggest that Anytone have abandoned this radio in favour of the 6666-Pro which is an updated version of the Anytone 6666 / CRT 9900.

 

Blackpool CB and Amateur Convoy 2023

 

(Click to enlarge)

News of this years Blackpool CB and Amateur Convoy which takes place on Friday 27th October:

"Yes it's that time of year again! Join us for our 3rd annual illuminations convoy. This one never disappoints! 

It doesn't matter what your radio background is, Join us on 145.300MHz and channel 21 UKFM for general chit chat as we make our way to Blackpool and pass through the lights. Please read the flyer as all information is on it. Don't worry if your a little late, we always have a short pit stop at Lytham and if you like, why not sample some fish and chips at the end. 

We regroup at the end on Sainsburys car park on red bank road so if your local, why not come and say hi. Hope to see as many of you as possible"

Jopix CB-514 Handheld CB - Does It Have Export Mode?

Thinking of buying the Jopix CB-514?

Make sure you check with your dealer first if you want export mode! 

NEW MAAS KCB-H-1000

 

Yet another variation on a theme as the MAAS KCB-H-1000 enters the increasingly crowded handheld CB radio market!

It's currently unknown if this radio will have the export mode which is available on some other versions.

Price around €119

Moonraker Visit Hong Kong!

 

The Moonraker team have been travelling the world in search of new and exiting electronic devices and they have posted photos from their recent visit to the Hong Kong Electronics Fair.

"We've just returned from the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) 2023, and it was a fantastic experience!

The fair served as a hub of electronic wonders, showcasing everything from consumer electronics to computing and gaming, automotive electronics to robotics and unmanned tech.

We had the privilege of connecting with top industry suppliers, building relationships, and gaining valuable insights into cutting-edge technology, as well as the industry's upcoming trends and innovations.

Keep your eyes peeled for more content from this trip!"

See more on their Facebook Page : CLICK HERE