Another Day, Another President Grant 2 Modification....

Video: YouTube/Klaus R.

An interesting video which appears to show a modified Grant 2 claiming a massive reduction in noise levels, with noise being reduced from S7/S8 down to S1/S3.

President Radios With 'muRata' Filters - Any Point?

Following on from the President Grant 2 Premium which includes the much talked about 'muRata' ceramic filter, it would appear that President are adding the filter to other models in their range with the President Teddy and President William apparently getting the upgrade treatment. 

But is this just a marketing ploy to repair their damaged reputation following several recent gaffs?

Do these 'muRata' filters actually make any difference?

Looking at the Grant 2 Premium there does not seem to be much difference in the way the radio handles noise compared to the non-muRata 'standard' Grant 2. The Grant 2 Premium certainly continues to suffer noise problems so the filter is by no means a wonder cure for a noisy receiver.

Anyway time will tell I guess, videos will no doubt appear on YouTube in due course.

So, muRata Filers - Good idea or just a marketing ploy? Let me know what you think!

President Grant II Premium with DSP!

Video: YouTube/Klaus R.

So here we have a President Grant 2 Premium with a DSP board fitted. An interesting idea for sure but as the cost of the radio plus the cost of the DSP unit plus time and cost of having it fitted comes to about the same as the price of a Yaesu FT817 I can't see this catching on!

President Electronics Promotional Videos!!!

President have released several promotional videos for their radios, none of which appear to point out the many serious flaws in the equipment!!!! (poor echo, crappy audio, overload on SSB, noisy receive, ghost mic keyers, AGC problems, loose controls, channel skipping etc....)

And then they give us a video entitled "Good Old President" - Yes President that was when you did know how to make good radios......! 

Sadly no more!!!!!


Videos: YouTube/President Electronics

Modified President Grant 2 - Less Noise, Improved Receive!



Video: YouTube/prespostt.com

Text from their YouTube channel:

"RX modified Grant 2 in an electrically noisy environment coming from the antenna. Notice the dramatic change in NB operation

Stock on right and modified on left

Modified radio has a tunable S-meter and smoother RX audio modified to my own like. S-meter is very lazy on SSB with weak signals but it is set to 50uV S9 and 160uV S9+10dB and working correctly in all modes. Fix is about to come but have to figure out best way to do it.

Both radios have same sensitivity measured 12dB sinad in all modes. You have to use slightly more volume in AM/SSB to hear the weakest signals.

President should have done Grant 2 this way from the beginning

www.prepostt.com"


So the question has to asked - Why cant President make a decent radio when a simple mod is all that is needed????

President Grant II Premium PART 4 - Local TX and RX Tests

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

Dave takes a final look at the New Grant 2 Premium with some local RX/TX tests. 

President Grant II Premium PART 3 - Vs President Adams

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

In this video Dave pits the New Grant 2 Premium against the classic President Adams.

President Grant II Premium PART 2 - RX Tests Stateside

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

In part 2, Dave compares the RX on the original Grant 2 with the new Grant 2 Premium

The M0OGY Review - President Grant II Premium PART 1

Video: YouTube/M0OGY

Dave (M0OGY) takes a look at the latest, and hopefully the best, incarnation of the President Grant 2!

Earlier models suffered from minor niggles which annoyed some users. President do appear to have listened to their customers and have modified the radio accordingly.

In this video Dave runs us through the features and gives us a look inside the radio showing the differences between the new and old model. In PART 2 we'll see how the radio performs on air.

So You Send Your Faulty President Grant 2 Away For Repair.......

I am (or rather was) the proud owner of 2 President Grant 2 radios. However a few months ago one of them developed a fault. For no apparent reason the S-Meter would show a constant noise level of S8-S9 even without an antenna attached! (See video below)

So I contacted the retailer from whom I bought the radio, they were very helpful instructing me to return the radio immediately. 

The radio was sent and upon receiving the radio the retailer contacted me telling me that they had sent the radio to President for their assessment and action.

Several weeks went by and nothing heard so I contacted the retailer who in turn contacted President. President apparently informed them that they were having to completely replace the main board in the radio and it would be completed shortly.

Several more weeks went by and again nothing heard. By now the radio had been away for two months! 

I once again contacted the retailer who once again contacted President. They were informed that the radio would be returned soon.

A few days later I get a message that the radio had been repaired and is on its way back! Yipppppeeeee!!!!

The radio arrives, I open the box and I see my lovely President Grant 2 covered with greasy fingerprints. So covered in fact that when you held the radio you could physically feel the greasy residue on the radio. Furthermore, the front plastic screen on the radio was covered with scratches and marks which had not been there when the radio was sent for repair. I immediately contacted the retailer to inform them of this unpleasant discovery. They were quite naturally very shocked to hear about this and promised to take up the matter with President. 

However, after weeks of trying to get someone at President to return their calls/emails the retailer said they had given up and offered to sort out the problem directly with myself. Something that I very grateful to them for and I personally have now reached a satisfactory conclusion to this awful experience.

But it does raise the question about Presidents apparent customer service, How could they possible ruin a customers radio then apparently ignore all attempts to get it sorted out?

Makes you wonder!

Anyway here's a short video showing the state of the screen on my President Grant 2 when it came back from repair......

President Grant II Premium Against President Lincoln MK1

Video: Youtube/SimonTheWizard

President Grant 2 PREMIUM - ONLY £205 @ Radiozing!

President Jackson 2 CHROME:

Nevada Starts A Price War? - £239

So it's started, first we had Knights pricing the President Jackson 2 Chrome at £249. Now we have Nevada firing the first shot with a price of £239 (Thats when they get them in stock of course, so you may need to wait). LINK: CLICK HERE

As I have already said on the blog, I had one of these radios in my hands last week and was tempted but the price put me off. It has not gone unnoticed that some 10 days after the radios became available a search of YouTube comes up with ZERO videos of this new radio. That suggests that I am not the only one who thinks the price is too high. Normally when a new radio comes out you find videos/reviews on YouTube within hours of the radio going on sale. Yes they are in limited supply but there are now plenty of radio dealers around Europe who have them in stock. You'd think that SOMEONE would have bought one a stuck it up on YouTube!

Maybe the well publicised problems with the President Grant 2 and President Lincoln 2 are still playing on peoples minds?

Poor band conditions no doubt have also had a part to play. It is understandable that when the radio is so quiet people don't feel like spending hard earned cash on new equipment.

So I wonder, which supplier (if any) will be the first to offer this radio at a price under £200?

The answer is - Probably none of them! But I'm sure that if it were to happen, this radio would sell really well!

Knights - President Grant 2 PREMIUM On Sale Now £219

Well done to Doug from Knights as he appears to be first again with the new improved Grant 2 Premium.

LINK: CLICK HERE

CTX/Delta Alfa LOTA SSB and AM Weekend

Back Due To Popular Demand: Charlie Tango Xtreme AM Net

Following the great success of their last AM Net the CTX team are at it again. On Saturday 26th Sept 2015 from 18:00 hours - 21:00 hours(UK Time) they will be active on AM.

Calling on the UK AM calling channel 27.125MHz (14 Mid Band) then QSY after making contact.

The AM Net will be part of a fun filled weekend when they join the Delta Alpha group's LOTA weekend.

NEW: President Grant II Premium

Video: Youtube/SimonTheWizard

So here it is the NEW President Grant 2 - Now with added heatsink and extra output power. Plus UK40 available in EXPORT mode so no need to have a nasty little switch on the back!!!!

Video: Youtube/SimonTheWizard


So is it enough to make me want yet another one????

Probably not, unless I can can sell the two that I have already!