The LDG Antenna Tuners Seem To Do A Nice Job

AT-600 Pro II

  I have been doing some research on the LDG Antenna Tuners . The AT-600 Pro II automatic antenna tuner gets a 4.4 out of 5 rating on eham.net, which is not a bad rating. Although there were only nine reviews they were all good. I have heard that they can seem a bit noisy when they are going through the automatic tuning process. If you would like to see a video on the AT-600 Pro II Antenna Tuner check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPLxPb-Umxw . I myself run the MFJ 993b auto tuner and when it auto tunes it can make some noise, but it only lasts for a few moments. The LDG AT-600 Pro II seems to be the same way, so it is not a big problem. My advise would be to buy one of the LDG meters they sell depending on what radio you are going to use it with. It is capable of handling 600 watts on ssb, which is not that bad. I have heard some stations running 200 watts to 500 watts and they sound awesome. It all depends on what antenna you are using and how much it multiplies the signal. Below are some of the specifications on the LDG AT-600 Pro II.

• 600 Watts SSB and CW, 250 watts on 6M. 250 watts PSK and digital. - Easy to read LED bar graph display for RF power, SWR and status
• 4,000 memories for instantaneous band changing - Two position antenna switch with memories for each position
• Tuning time: 0.5 to 6 seconds full tune, 0.1 second memory tune - Built in frequency counter for memory operation
• Frequency coverage: 1.8 to 54.0 MHz. - Tunes 6 to 800 ohm loads (16 to 150 ohms on 6M)
• Enclosure: 10.5D x 8.5W x 2.5H inches - Weight: 3 pounds - Includes DC power cable.

It's Summer Time And Maybe There's A Field Day Coming Up

   Now that the weather is getting warmer and nicer maybe you have a field day coming up. Most items are really Camping Gear. What made me think of this was that we went to the park for Memorial Day and we thought about bringing our tent and some tarps to sit under. I know that when I would go to the Hamfest here in Rochester New York I would see the various Ham Radio Operators set up under their tent or some just had a tarp set to sit under with their various Ham Radio Equipment. This was generally good enough unless the weather got nasty.
   Obviously you are going to need a table of some sort to sit your Ham Radio Equipment on. I think the easiest table would be just a folding table, because it is sturdier than just a card table. The card tables seem to be too weak. I would not want my thousands of dollars of Ham Radio Equipment crashing to the ground. The other thing you will need is some sort of chair to sit in. You could just use a folding chair, but may not be too comfortable. I think I would prefer some kind of a computer desk chair. That would be comfortable and give you some back support.
  Now if you are just going to the park then I would keep it as simple as possible. I would just get a cheap folding chair or a folding camping chair. The folding camping chair would be much easier to carry. As far as a table goes there are some simple folding tables usually somewhere. There may be something in the camping area or just find a picnic table. There are some simple tarp type tents that are easy to carry.
   The next item you may want to have is an extendable fiberglass mast that is light to carry. There are some made by jackite that do pretty good in the reviews. If it is close to you vehicle then you could go with one of the Rohn Push Up Masts. I would just make sure you have some guy rope anchor mounts and some of the Dacron Polyester Rope to guy your mast. I have seen some fiberglass that may be a military type mast that you can find through Ebay. The easiest antenna to work with may be a dipole antenna of some sort or a folded antenna. Some of these are multiband and may cover more frequencies.
   You may want to have some general tools with you. I would recommend a good hammer to pound in any guy anchor stakes. I would suggest to have some work gloves to wear. You can get some good mechanics gloves to wear to protect your hands from handling the fiberglass mast or the Rohn Push Up Mast. I would also have a good pocket knife to cut guy rope. If you are spending the day or night in the field then I would invest in some camping and cooking equipment. I would also recommend a good tent to sleep in. Also and most important bring a First Aid Kit.
  Well that's all I can think of for know. Thank You for reading and have a nice day from Dan KC2YTI 73s.   

Every Ham Shack Should Have A Good Scanner

Uniden BCD536HP Digital Phase 2

Uniden Beartracker BCT15X

 My first scanner was a Handheld Radio Shack Scanner. In fact I still have it to this day. My second scanner that I bought is a Uniden Bearcat BC898T scanner. It is a 500 channel base scanner with ten memory banks. It covers frequencies from 25Mhz to 800Mhz, which are quite a few different Ham Radio bands. You have coverage on fire, police, air and other groups as well. It also has the connection for a external antenna, such as a discone antenna. It has always been an excellent scanner and can be used in mobile situations.
  The newer model scanner from my Uniden Scanner is the Uniden Beartracker BCT15X. It does have the trunk tracker III technology, so you can keep track of Motorola, EDACS and LTR systems. This Uniden Scanner has a unbelievable 9000 channels available. It has the capability to be connected to a gps receiver. It has a frequency range of 25Mhz to 1.3Ghz, which is not bad at all. It has the weather alert system as well as many other nice features. There are other Uniden Mobile Scanners such as the Uniden Digital Mobile Scanner model BCD996XT. It to has an awesome array of features. Here is a list of some of the awesome features.

Uniden Digital Mobile Scanner  BCD996XT

1. Mobile BearTracker scanner with 25,000 Channels, advanced dynamic memory system, close call RF capture technology, and more
2. TrunkTracker IV technology lets you can keep up with the action on P25, Motorola, EDACS, and LTR Trunked systems
3. Connect compatible GPS receiver for location-based scanning, location alerts, crows-flight navigation, GPS control of sites/channel groups
4. NOAA weather/emergency with S.A.M.E. weather alert for tracking severe conditions in your immediate area
5. 100 system Quick Keys with 10-channel group Quick Keys per system; system/channel number tagging for rapid access
6. 100 system Quick Keys with 10-channel group Quick Keys per system; system/channel number tagging for rapid access
7. NOAA weather/emergency with S.A.M.E. weather alert for tracking severe conditions in your immediate area

   
There are some other base/mobile Uniden Scanners that do a nice job when starting out. One of them is the Uniden 500 Channel Clock/Radio Scanner. It does have the weather alert, which is a nice feature. It has about 500 Channels in 10 memory banks for storing your favorite channels for scanning. It has more of flat desktop look to it, so it would look very nice on your Ham Radio bench in your Ham Shack. It would also look very nice on your desk or a nightstand.
  Another type of Uniden Scanner is the Hand Held Scanner. These are more made for the person on the go or out there in the field on field day. They basically will fit in the palm of your hand. You can easily cover Ham Bands, Police, Fire, Emergency and Weather Bands. I did look at the reviews on these scanners and for the most part they were very good. It was funny, because one person had an old radio shack scanner from about ten years ago and they said it was like night and day. Ten years ago would be about how old my first Hand Held scanner is. They basically run on two AA rechargeable batteries.
  There many other Scanners made by Uniden that do a very nice job. There is even a nice model Uniden Scanner that even covers 11 Meter Single Side Band. I probably will get some heat for that band of frequencies. 
  Well I hope you enjoyed my short take on Uniden Scanners for your Ham Radio Shack. So take care and have a nice day from Dan KC2YTI 73s.