Sunday, November 3, 2013

A Few Current HF Radios

  Just took a look on the internet at Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu. Took a look at some of the radios that came out in 2013 and all I can say is wow. I am impressed with the technology that is out there. I always appreciate the jumps in technology since loving electronics since I was 18 and going through Electrical Engineering in College. Of course I have been working as a computer technician since 1996, but that's a different story even though the technology has been awesome.

An Example of a Kenwood TS-2000

 
By Alex Alfenas (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons





  I have always loved the big beefy look of a radio with all the buttons and gadgets. I have a Kenwood TS 2000 and I tend to get a little lost in all the buttons, but I still love it. I looked at the info on some of the Icom radios and was impressed with the IC 7700. Here is a link to a video I saw at icom check it out Icom . This radio has been out for awhile, but I still like it.

By LuckyLouie at en.wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by N0ty at en.wikipedia. [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

By Jeff Davis (originally posted to Flickr as Icom IC-756PROIII) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

   Another HF Base that caught my attention was the Yaesu FT DX 3000. Once again I like that big beefy box look with all the different buttons, knobs and displays. The best advise I can give is go to Yaesu and check out all the specifications on this radio. I would also advise to check out any videos on you tube, which will give some added information. I did take a look at some of the reviews on Eham.net and they seemed to be very good with a rating of 4.7 out of 69 reviews.
                                                  Yaesu FT 450d
By Alex Alfenas (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
 
By M0TCX (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
                                          
                                              Yaesu FT-DX9000D
By Dave Parker (originally posted to Flickr as Pacificon 2010) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


  I did take a look at another Yaesu radio that I did take a liking to. It was the Yaesu FT DX 1200. It is not as expensive as the FT DX 3000 and may not have as many features, but still looks very impressive. I would advise to check out all the specs at Yaesu FT DX 1200 . I did check the reviews at Eham on this radio and even though there not many, the rating was still at a 5. I would just keep my eye on it.
  Well my final radios I took a look at were the Kenwood HF Base Radios. I saw two that I tended to favor. I liked the Kenwood TS 990s HF Base and the Kenwood TS 590s HF Base transceiver.Once again I like the big beefy radio with all the buttons, displays and features. I have to admit my TS 2000 does not have the big square look of these radios, but is still packed with lost of features and has worked really well. Both of these radios have a 4.7 rating at Eham.net and the reviews seem to be all very good. For more information on these radios check out this link Kenwood.

  As a final thought I did want to say that these are not all the radios out there and I do love all the different radios by all manufactures. These are only my opinions and I welcome all comments good and bad. I also love the older radios as well and when I hear anyone on the bands using an older radio it always impresses me how good they do and sound.
  Well Thanks For Reading. 73s from KC2YTI




SWR Analyzers

  I thought I would say a little something about an important tool that every Ham operator should have in their shack. It comes in quite handy for testing your antenna or if you like building or home brewing antennas it will be extremely helpful. I my self have an MFJ 259b antenna analyzer and it has helped quite a few times.
                                              MFJ-269 SWR Analyzer
By User:しまでん (A photo taken by the contributer User:しまでん) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


  It runs on battery power or an ac adapter. I would recommend getting some rechargeable batteries so you can use it when you are out doors. If you are using it in the shack ,then I would use the ac adapter. There are a number of videos out there on you tube that you can watch to give information on how to use the swr analyzer.
  There are also some accessories that you can purchase for the swr analyzer. Usually you will see grid dip coils, which can be used in the design of traps for a trap dipole antenna for a multiband antenna. There is also a handy carrying pouch that will protect the analyzer from the weather. You can also purchase the ac adapter from any of the distributors on the internet such as universal radio, ham radio outlet, dxengeering or  mfj.
  There are quite a few different MFJ SWR Analyzer models to choose from depending on the frequency range you are working with whether HF, UHF or VHF. Aside from MFJ there are also a number of other manufacturers out there selling SWR Analyzers. They tend to range in price due to features for the analyzer. I would recommend checking   http://www.eham.net/reviews/ for information and reviews for the various analyzers out there. Here is a  SWR Analyzers made by Palstar Inc. There are other manufacturers out there as well. 

                                      Palstar ZM-30 SWR Analyzer
By Dimitri Aguero (user Daguero) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons



  Well Thanks for reading. All comments or additional information are welcomed. 73s from KC2YTI




6 meter quad update

  Just a quick note about the 6 meter quad build. Had to hold up on further assembly due to the wonderful weather here in Rochester new york. My house and small garage are not big enough to work on it inside. If I get a break in the weather I will do some more.
  Thanks for reading. 73s from KC2YTI