Monday September 25

Back From Summer Break

New Bands!

The FCC approved the two new bands, which we discussed previously:

2200 Meters - 135.7-137.8 kHz

630 Meters - 472-479 kHz

You must first notify the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) that you plan on using the bands.  If the Council does not respond within 30 days, you may begin using the band.

Full explanation and link to UTC is here: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/fcc-opens-630-and-2200-meter-bands-stations-must-notify-utc-before-operating

Great resources at http://www.472khz.org/

The bands are mostly for CW and narrow band digital modes.  There are some modern radios that can operate on these bands, sometimes with modifications and low-pass filers added on.  There are also homebrew projects, and transverters.  

See you on the air!

Monday June 5th, 2017

New DMR Radios!

TYT MD-2017 DUAL BAND HT
TYT / TYTERA Has finally released their dual band handheld, the MD-2017.  Only available from a couple of outlets so far.  They are claiming upgradable firmware 3000 channels and 10000 contacts.  Buy Two Way Radios is selling it for $220:  http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/tytera/md-2017.aspx

Alinco DJ-MD40 UHF DMR HT
Veteran Ham Radio manufacturer Alinco has jumped on the DMR bandwagon and we couldn't be happier to see one of the "Big Three-and-a-half" come out with a DMR radio.  Should be a decent product as most Alinco radios are.  Specs:  1000 Memories, 4 power levels, 250 zones with 64 channels per zone.  $200 at Universal Radio:  http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/2040.html

Monday, May 8, 2017

Here's today's news:

FCC Legalizes CB DXing
The FCC has lifted a regulation on communicating over Citizen's Band radio with stations further than 250 km. or 155.3 miles.  Apparently this was a restriction on CB previously.  Who knew?

FCC to change FRS and GMRS rules
The FCC will be splitting the two services to alleviate confusion over licensing of radios that work on both.  There will be additional channels added, and the new FRS-only radios will be allowed to use 2 Watts on the new FRS-unique channels.  GMRS radios will no longer cover FRS channels, and will be labeled that a license is required for usage.

New MF and LF bands are NOT ready for use in the USA as of yet
Amateurs cannot use these frequencies until 30 days after the Report and Order is published in the Federal Register and the final procedures for registering stations with the Utilities Telecoms Council (UTC) have been approved and announced.  Monitor the ARRL for news on this subject.  I will report on equipment as it come available.

Monday April 10, 2017

New Ham Bands!!

The FCC has issued rules for the two new LF bands: 630, and 2200 meters.  

630 Meters is 472 - 479 kHz, and 2200 Meters is 135.7-137.8 kHz.

Operation in 630 Meters is on a secondary basis.

Amateurs operating on 472-479 kHz will be permitted a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of 5 W, while Amateurs operating in the 135.7-137.8 kHz band will be permitted to run up to 1 W EIRP.

The bands would be available to General class and higher licensees, and permissible modes would include CW, RTTY, data, phone, and image. Automatically controlled stations would be permitted to operate in the bands.

See full rules and information here:  http://www.arrl.org/news/new-bands-fcc-issues-amateur-radio-service-rules-for-630-meters-and-2-200-meters

Now what about equipment?

Most LF equipment is homebrew these days with a couple of exceptions.  

Juma Radio makes 2 LF transmitters: http://www.jumaradio.com/

Hans Summers sells the Ultimate 3S QRSS/WSPR Kit with available bandpass filters for the new LF bands:  http://shop.qrp-labs.com

Texas Digital Radio TDR-6100 U Mobile DMR

Universal Radio is carrying a new DMR mobile radio from Texas Digital.  UHF Only, 45 Watts output.  1256 channels, and over 65,000 contacts.  Comes with a programming cable for $320

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/fm_txvrs/6100.html

Monday February 27, 2017

New Yaesu HT

The Yaesu FT-65R dual-band 2 meter/440 MHz has three output power levels:  5, 2.5 or 0.5 watts. Receive coverage is 65-108 (FM broadcast band), 136-174 and 400-500 MHz.  Comes with: SBR-254 Li-ion 7.4V 1950 mAh battery, SAD-20B AC adapter, SBH-22 rapid charger, SRA-15 reverse SMA antenna, SHB-18 belt clip and operating manual. Three year limited manufacturer warranty.

Retail: $199  Universal Radio selling for $169.

FCC Accepting Comments on 60 Meter Expansion

The FCC has invited comments on the ARRL’s January 12 Petition for Rule Making to allocate a new, contiguous secondary band at 5 MHz to the Amateur Service. The League also asked the Commission to keep four of the current five 60-meter channels — one would be within the new band — as well as the current operating rules, including the 100 W PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is the primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The FCC has designated the League’s Petition as RM-11785 and put it on public notice. Comments are due Monday, March 20. ARRL plans to file comments in support of its petition.

The proposed ARRL action would implement a portion of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for a secondary international allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service; that band includes 5,358.5 KHz, one of the existing 5 MHz channels in the US. The FCC has not yet acted to implement other portions of the WRC-15 Final Acts.  Links to the article and where to file are here.

Heathkit Releases First New Amateur Product Since Reorganizing

Heathkit has so far released a couple of AM Tuned-RF radio kits, and a modern sendup of their "most accurate clock" kit, and now their first new product for Hams since the nineties.  

The new Heathkit PIPETENNA is a 2 Meter and 440 vertical antenna designed to blend in with the background.  It looks like its name: A length of plumbing pipes.  Available in different colors to match the background.  DIY Kit: $149 from Heathkit.  Check it out here. 

Monday Feb 6, 2017

Icom 7610 to arrive soon

The new Icom 7610 is due to arrive soon.  This is another SDR-based transceiver for Icom.  The 7610 replaces the 7600, which evolved from the highly regarded 756 series.  Not sure of pricing, but the current 7600 model has street price of about $2700.  It is supposed to support dual watch in different bands and modes, and has a large hi-res touchscreen display.

See it at Universal Radio:  http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0610.html

Yaesu discontinues the VX-3R

A long staple of the Yaesu HT line, the VX-3R is finally going away.  Most retailers are already sold out.  No direct replacement for the mini handheld has been named.

Connect Systems CS580

Our friends at Connect Systems have come up with a new DMR HT to compete with the lower priced DMR radios like the TYT MD380.  The new CS580 looks similar to the TYT and other Chinese-sourced HTs and is selling for $130 direct from Connect Systems.  Handles 1024 channels, and 64 zones but only 250 contacts according to their website.  4 Watts out on UHF.

See it here:  http://connectsystems.com/products/top/radios%20CS580.htm

Monday, Jan 23 2017

Monday, Jan 23 2017

World's Smallest Transmitter?

Keychain QRP is the world’s smallest HF Ham Radio CW transmitter available for sale, and they are proudly handmade in The United States of America.
Available frequencies:

10m ham band: 28.224 MHz – Any Ham license
80m ham band: 3.57954 MHz – Any Ham license
160m ham band: 1.8432 MHz – General class or higher license required

FM broadcast band: 100.000 MHz – No license required
AM broadcast band: 614.400 KHz – No license required

Typical Power Output: 160 milliwatts max with 9v battery
Antenna Connector: SMA female 50 ohm

Built-in LED indicator to verify your battery is still good and that you are indeed transmitting when you key the transmitter.

Seems to be an ETSY product.  Sold out when I checked.

http://qrznow.com/the-worlds-smallest-hf-transmitter-made-in-u-s-a/

Raspberry Pi Alternative

The new Asus Tinker Board is a Raspberry Pi sized board with a more powerful processor and 2 Gig of onboard RAM.  Capable of playing 4K video.  About $68

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/23/asus-tinker-board/

RS-HFIQ 5W Software Defined Radio (SDR) Tranceiver

Thanks to Rich K2UPS

From a kickstarter project and brought to us by the same folks who make the HardRock 50  amplifier, the RS-HFIQ is an assembled SDR Transceiver for 80 - 10 Meters at 5 Watts output.  Requires a computer with an additional sound card (recommended card is on web site).  $239 and up

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hobbypcb/rs-hfiq-5w-software-defined-radio-sdr-tranceiver

Chinese Kit Market May Be In For Price Increases

Thanks to Craig KD2CXK

Due to potential, politically-driven changes the price of Chinese kits and radios may be increasing soon.  Grab then while you can from:

eBay

Ali Express

BangGood

Amazon