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.