'Mason's Dad' at The Blackpool Radio Rally

Video:YouTube/Mason's Dad

NEW - Radioddity CB-606 / CB-606 PRO

 

New radios from Radioddity in the form of the CB-606 and CB-6060 Pro.

LINK: CLICK  HERE

President Lincoln 2+ UK Price Revealed!

 

With stock due to arrive soon in the UK, Nevada have become the first to announce the price they will be charging for the updated President Lincoln 2+

Lincoln II Plus InformationLatest version of this very popular 10/12m all mode transceiver ! Makes a great mobile or base station, you can work some real DX on 12m (24MHz) and of course on the very exciting 10m (28MHz) band.
Features :- 

• Rotary switch and Up/down channel selector
• VFO Mode (continuous scanning of 24.880 Mhz to 24.980 Mhz and of 28.000 Mhz to 29.700 Mhz)
• Volume adjustment and ON/OFF
• RF Power
• Manual squelch and ASC
• Multi-functions LCD display
• Frequency display
• S-meter
• Public Address
• Vox function (Hands free)
• ANL filter , NB and HI-CUT
• RF Gain / Mike gain
• Clarifier
• Channels and memories scan
• 6 Memories
• CTCSS (38 tones)
• DCS (104 codes)
• Dimmer control
• MENU function key
• Beep Function
• Roger Beep
• Mode switch AM/FM/LSB/USB/CW
• Dual watch
• Key locking
• SWR (Power Reading /SWR)
• Preset emergency
• TOT (Time Out Timer) adjustable
• Front microphone plug
• External loudspeaker jack
• Back light colour selection : Orange/Green/Blue
• Dimensions H x W x D (in mm) : 52 x 170 x 250
• Weight : 1.4 kg

      Technical characteristics :-

• Bands 10/12m   24/28MHz
• Modulation modes    AM/FM/LSB/USB/CW
• Frequency ranges 28.000 MHz to 29.700 MHz / from 24.880 Mhz to 24.980 Mhz
• CTCSS 38 tones
• DCS 104 codes
• Antenna impedance 50 ohms
• Power supply 13.2 V
• Dimensions H x W x D 52 x 170 x 250mm
• Weight 1.4 kg
• Accessories supplied power cord with fuse
• 1 microphone and its hanger
• 1 mounting bracket with fixing screws

      Transmission

• Frequency allowance +/- 300 Hz
• Carrier power 12 W AM / 35 W FM / 35 W USB-LSB / 12 W CW
• Transmission interference inferior to - 50 dBc
• Audio response 300 Hz to 3 kHz
• Emitted power in the adj. channel inferior to 20 µW
• Microphone sensitivity 3 mV
• Drain 6A (with modulation)
• Modulated signal distortion 2 %

      Reception

• Maxi. sensitivity at 20 dB sinad 0,7 ?V -110 dBm (AM)
• 0,35 ?V -116 dBm (FM)
• 0.28µV-118 dBm (USB/LSB/CW)
• Frequency response 300 Hz to 3 kHz
• Adjacent channel selectivity    60 dB
• Maximum audio power 3 W
• Squelch sensitivity    :mini 0.2 ?V - 120 dBm
• maxi 1 mV - 47 dBm
• Frequency image rejection rate 60 dB
• Intermediate frequency rej. rate 70 dB
• Drain 400 mA nominal, 600 mA max

PRICE: £249.95

Link to Nevada Website: CLICK

NEW President Lincoln 2+

So the revisions to President radios continue. Following on from several revisions of the poorly received Grant 2 and previous revisions of the disastrous Lincoln 2, President have now modified the Lincoln 2 once more and we have the Lincoln 2+

So what's different this time?

Not a great deal by the look of it, a few adjustments to the way the controls work to make them a little more responsive and the Channel 19/9 has been replaced with a EMG 1/2 button which does exactly the same thing!

The internals look almost exactly the same, so not much to see there.

    (Click to enlarge) - Images:Neuner and SimonTheWizard

One welcome change is an expanded frequency coverage. This new version covers from 24.800 to 29.700 giving access to the 12m band if you have the licence to use it. 

    (Click to enlarge)

Simon The Wizard has seen the radio and reports that the receive is improved on previous version(LINK). This is good news but I'm sure many people will be thinking "I've heard all that before" with the Grant 2, Grant 2 Premium, Grant 2 Premium Low Noise Version which all promised much improved receive but for many just simply failed to deliver. 

Most of the 'problems' with President radios recently could have been avoided if they had just taken the time to get the radios right first time round. Many of the complaints are quality control issues and are quite frankly unforgivable.

So having owned 2 x President Grant 2's (One of which broke, went back for a repair then back again for a refund), a President Lincoln 2 (Which had to go on its holidays to France to have multiple issues resolved) and a President Jackson 2 Chrome(Which went back for a refund due to the god awful SSB and wobbly controls), would I want to spend more money on yet another President radio???????

Simple answer - NO!

Anyway you can see this latest revision on the President website: LINK or take a look at Simon's Blog for more photos/videos: LINK

Yaesu FT-891 UK Price Revealed!

In their latest advert in RadCom this month, Martin Lynch & Sons have revealed the UK price of the new Yaesu FT-891:

£599.95

So is that a good price? - I'm not sure, you can get an FT-857 for about the same price and that has 2m and 70cm (Missing from the FT-891) or you could pay little extra and get the FT-991 which currently has £80 cashback and effectively costs you only £819.95.

I think that this price may well drop a little over the next few months.....

Yaesu FT-991 Firmware Update (August 2016)

It's always a nervous time for me when updating my FT-991 firmware due to the fact that when I first got the radio I performed an update only to brick the radio! Phone calls to the dealer and to Yaesu failed to help but fortunately after several hours of stressful attempts I managed to sort it out myself....

So it is with trepidation that I installed the latest update this morning.... 

The latest update adds the multi-coloured waterfall feature to the radio. 

The update files and instructions (Please follow them VERY carefully) can be found on the Yaesu website: CLICK HERE

Kenwood TH-D74 UK Price Revealed!

I think we can safely say that the new Kenwood TH-D74 is a bit if a premium product! 

Nevada Radio are now taking orders for the handheld with a pricetag of £599!!!!

Imagine if you were to drop that on the pavement while out DX-Ing!

"Kenwood's TH-D74E introduces radio amateurs to a new world of technology. Equipped with APRS and Digital (D-STAR) capability on 2m and 70cm, this transceiver also provides features such as:

•  Built in high performance GPS
•  Transflective colour TFT Display
•   Weatherproof toughness meeting IP54/55 standards
•  Wide band and multi-mode receive (SSB/CW on HF, VHF, UHF with IF filtering / DSP)
•  Compliant with Bluetooth (allowing audio), microSD and Micro-USB connectivity"

Link to Nevada website: CLICK HERE

Yaesu FT991A - New Photos

    (Click Photos To Enlarge)

NEW ICOM IC-7610

Seen at the Tokyo Ham Show, this is the new Icom IC-7610. 

The IC-7610 is the successor to the IC-7600 and will be a dual-watch capable HF+50MHz 100W base station with built-in antenna tuner. The LCD will be touch screen and you will be able to connect an external display.

Price: TBC

Video:YouTube/IZ0KBA

NEW Yaesu FT-991A - Coming Soon!

Expected in October is the NEW Yaesu FT-991A - Building on the success of the FT-991 the new updated model will feature a REAL TIME SPECTRUM SCOPE and MULTI-COLOUR WATERFALL DISPLAY. (All other specifications are expected to be the same as the original radio)

The original model muted the receive audio when the scope or waterfall display was in use due to the radio only having a single receiver, something that was criticised by many when the radio came out. This update fixes this issue.

Furthermore existing FT-991 users who wish to have the new features will be given the chance to upgrade their radios by means of a hardware update (Price to be announced).

The upgrade is likely just a plug-in board which adds a second receiver to the radio along with a firmware upgrade to make use of the new features. 

The Recommended Retail Price for the new FT-991A is expected to be around £1189

Is My CB Radio Off Frequency?

Video:YouTube/Ringway Manchester

Take a look at this video, does the Midland 78 Plus have a problem?

My thoughts are that the Midland is working fine and the problem is actually with the male trasmitting station who is probably overdriving the audio on his radio or maybe is using an older CB or some HAM radio equipment set on 'WIDE FM'. The female station sounds fine.

Modern 'legal' CB radios have very tightly controlled specifications and the receive on these radios is very narrow. Anyone using older CB radios or incorrectly set HAM radios would sound distorted as shown on the video. If someone is using a HAM radio they should of course have it set to NARROW FM, wide FM just splatters over several channels and sounds awful.

But what are your thoughts? Please add comments to the discusion on YouTube!

OFCOM - New Online Licensing Portal - SOON!

OFCOM have announced that their new Amateur Radio Licensing Portal will be going live next week.

The new system will enable a more effective way of managing personal information and amateur radio licences, including club licences.

They expect the new system to be live on the OFCOM website from Wednesday 27th or Thursday 28th July 2016.

LINK: CLICK HERE

NEW: Baofeng UV-50X3 Tri-Band Radio

Baofeng have announced their new Tri-Band mobile radio - The UV50X3

(Click images to enlarge)

"The BTECH UV-50X3 is a tri-band radio with Full Duplex capabilities (which enables simultaneous TX/RX within VHF/1.25M/UHF) - as well as dual V/V and U/U receiver capabilities. The UV-50X3 operates on 136-174MHz, 222-225MHz, and 400-480MHz

The UV-50X3 is more than just a radio - it can also act as a full cross-band repeater! Allowing you to connect or extend the range of your repeaters, handhelds, and mobiles. The Cross Band repeater works in between VHF and UHF frequencies.

The UV-50X3 will transmit at 50 watts on both UHF and VHF; and it will transmit at 5 watts on 222-225MHz.

AIRBAND (AVIATION AM) AND WIDE RECEIVER RECEPTION

The UV-50X3 was includes a wide receiver that can receive beyond the transmitting frequencies on VHF/1.25M/UHF.

The UV-50X3 can also receive:

.5-1.71MHz (AM Radio)

76-108MHz (FM Radio)

108-135.995MHz (Air Band (AM))

136-250MHz

300-399.995MHz

400-520MHz

INDEPENTENT - VFO, AUDIO LEVELS, AND SQUELCH

The UV-50X3 includes separate volume adjustments for the independent VFOs. The UV-50X3 has dual speakers in the LCD panel - allowing stereo audio when one station is being received, but separate monaural speakers when both VFOs are active - which are controlled by the separate volume knobs. A third speaker is located on the radio body - which can be set as the only speaker, simultaneously be used with the panel speakers, or can be unused as well.

The UV-50X3 has both line-in and line-out jacks that allow you to output the radio audio to your own speaker system. The UV-50X3 allows you to listen to a line-in source while still monitoring your local nets.

The squelch is adjustable on each side of the display. Separate wide and narrow ceramic filters enable true narrow band operation.

1000 MEMORY CHANNELS

The UV-50X3 has 1000 memory channels and 2 separate memory banks (The Right VFO has 500 channels, the left VFO has 500 channels). You can program both active (TX/RX Channels) and passive (RX Only) channels into the same Memory bank.

SEPERATE, CUSTOMIZABLE FRONT LCD PANEL AND DTMF MICROPHONE

The UV-50X3 has a front panel that is separated from the main radio body. The panel is connected with standard Ethernet cable (15' included) allowing the radio body to be remotely (or trunk) mounted. The Front Panel includes several mounting accessories including a suction cup mount. You can set the LCD Panel to 8 different colors.

The Front Panel has a built-in microphone which allows you to either use either the included DTMF Microphone or Panel Microphone. The Separate DTMF microphone can also be plugged directly into the Main Radio Body.

PROGRAMMABLE AND CUSTOMIZABLE

The UV-50X3 can be completely programmed without a computer (including Channel Alpha-numeric names). 

The UV-50X3 is FULLY supported through the free CHIRP programming software (requires the PC05 Programming Cable). The UV-50X3 is the first radio to exclusively only use CHIRP software for programming. CHIRP is compatible on Windows, Linux and OSX (macOS).

GROUP TONES SUPPORTED

The UV-50X3 supports the most common Analog Tones. It supports CTCSS, DCS, and DTMF calling methods. Set-up your calling methods to call by group tones. Tone calling (private line) is required by most repeater applications and the UV-50X3 supports the latest standards.

The UV-50X3 can send DTMF tones. This allows for sending ANI (Caller ID) or remote commands that require DTMF tones.

THOROUGH QUALITY CONTROL

Each UV-50X3 is individually tested during extreme temperatures (-22 F) to ensure every radio can meet advertised performance requirements. 

The UV-50X3 can endure harsh environments and still perform in the most extreme situations."

Price: Starting at $339

NEW - Wouxun KG-D901 DMR Handset!

Seen on Martin Lynch & Sons Facebook page:

"Gary has been playing with the prototype of the Wouxun KG-D901 DMR handheld. Honestly, it really does exist!"

There has been talk about this new DMR handheld from Wouxun for months and here it is the first photo of the radio 'in the wild'.

(Click Image To Enlarge)

I'm sure it will be a cracking little radio but as it's a SINGLE BAND radio (VHF OR UHF) I think that Wouxun have missed a trick. Most people, including myself, are waiting for a DUAL BAND DMR handheld.

VHF Version: 136 - 174MHz

UHF Version: 400 - 470MHz

Price: TBA (Has been seen on some sites listed for 299 Euros - This is way too much and will need to drop)

Yaesu Radios - Now With 3 Year Warranty!

Martin Lynch & Sons have announced that all Yaesu radios now come with a 3 YEAR WARRANTY. This includes radios that have already been purchased!!!

Good news for all Yaesu owners or prospective Yaesu owners.

Link To ML&S Website: CLICK HERE

VIDEO - New Yaesu FT-891

Video: YouTube/Laboenligne.ca

Yaesu FT-891 - NEW PHOTOS!

Seen at the Daytona Hamvention, the Yaesu FT-891 is a new amateur HF transceiver covering the 1.8Mhz to 50Mhz bands with 100 watts output power. No word on price/availability yet!

(Click Images To Enlarge)

More photos: CLICK HERE

Tim Peake Heard On The Space Station 09/05/16

Tim went out with a whimper at my end! His final school contact proving disappointing with a very poor received signal.  However it's been a real pleasure to hear Tim over the past few months. He is a true legend and an inspirational figure for space exploration and for Amateur Radio. Well done Tim!

AURORA ALERT!

Aurora conditions are expected to be very high tonight across Northern Europe giving spectacular light shows in the sky and possible Auroral Propagation on CB and Amateur Radio bands!

So if you happen to to be awake late, take a look out your window and remember to switch your radio on as well!!!!

Expected Aurora levels for Europe can be seen on this website: http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forecast/

RSGB - Exams Standards Committee Report

From the RSGB website:

"The first annual report of the RSGB Examination Standards Committee has been released.

It includes details such as committee membership, results statistics and reports from officers.

The full report can be found on the RSGB website (12-page/88.2KB PDF)"

An interesting report which among other things show how many people passed he various stages on Amateur Radio exams between 2006 and 2015:

 

    (Click To Enlarge)

As an example, in 2015, 84.9% of those taking the Foundation Exam, 92.5% of those taking the Intermediate Exam and 68.2% of those taking the Advanced Exam achieved the required level to gain the qualification. 

So, with around 9 out of 10 people passing the Foundation and Intermediate exams there is no excuse for not giving it a go if you are someone who's been thinking about it!!!!