Christmas Is Coming So Whats On Your List For Ham Radio Equipment

  To all my Ham Radio friends out there do you have anything special your thinking of for Christmas this year. There are all kinds of Ham Radio Equipment to choose from. I might make a few suggestions for some awesome gift ideas. For example there are some nice wire dipole antennas out there. If you do not want to purchase one why not buy the supplies and build your own for whatever frequencies you may want to transmit on.
  If you are looking for a Ham Radio Transceiver , why not look at some of the portable base ham radio transceivers. Generally you will find Icom, Yeasu and Kenwood make some nice portable base  ham radio transceivers. The nice idea is if you are traveling you can run this type of Ham Radio Transceiver easily from you mobile home. They are big enough and have all the features you will need. Some are also waterproof, so if you are using it in the field it will not be destroyed. Generally they are not as expensive as one of the big contesting Ham Radio Transceivers.
  I did checkout Eham.net and the reviews are very good for this type of Ham radio. One of the first in this group is the Icom IC-7200. My second choice is the Yaesu FT-450D and my third choice is the Kenwood TS-480HX . All three are in the portable base transceiver class. Check out the picture link below for more information.

ICOM IC-7200

• The latest IF DSP technology is employed in the IC-7200. While the IC-7200 is an entry-class transceiver, advanced digital features are comparable to higher class transceivers.
• Waterproof protection technologies that are used in Icom's marine radios are applied to the buttons and knobs on the front panel to provide a measure of protection against water intrusion. *IC-7200 is not waterproof.
• AGC loop management Distortion and blocking from strong nearby signals are prevented by placing DSP functions inside the AGC loop. The AGC time constants are selectable from fast, slow and off for each operating mode.
• Digital IF filter Optional filters will never be required for the IC-7200. The built-in digital filter allows you to flexibly select the filter width and shape from soft and sharp* and provides cutting-edge filter characteristics. *Filter shape is selectable for SSB and CW modes only.
• Manual notch filter The manual notch filter delivers more than 70dB of attenuation. Strong interring tones will be eliminated without adversely affecting the AGC loop performance. ON the bottom right of the front panel, a dedicated control knob adjusts the notch filter frequency.

  

Looking For Some Ham Radio Videos To Watch Or Learn From On The Internet

  While at work testing and repairing computers I found Ham Nation on Twit. I needed a video to test with and listened to Twit Ham Nation. I was not only doing my computer repair job, but also learning things about my favorite hobby Ham Radio. So if you are a beginner, intermediate or expert I am sure you will find some useful information listening to their videos. You can watch them on youtube. Just type in Ham Nation and you will find the current up to date video or one from the past. Either way they are worth listening to. Here are a few examples below so just check them out.

               

  


               
   
  One of the things I like about listening to the show is learning about various types of equipment used in the Ham Radio Hobby. I also learned some information about the products from MFJ. I know some individuals do not like MFJ from various reviews I have read. I myself own some of their equipment like my MFJ Antenna Tuners and my Cross Needle SWR meter. They all seem to work very well for the cost. Yes I did have the dreaded power switch problem, but did rectify it by installing a toggle switch which is holding up just fine. I do have an earlier post on the subject.

             


  You will also be able to learn from the best like Bob Heil and Gordon West. The subjects they cover for example like building a dipole antenna will be extremely helpful. There is even some information in one of the videos on the Last Man Standing television show starring Tim Allen. Once again the information just keeps going on and on.


            

  Well That's all for now so Thank You for reading. I hope you enjoy the videos and go to youtube and look them. Once again Thank You from Dan KC2YTI  73s.

Why Not Make A Dipole Or Beam Antenna Out Of Hamsticks

  In my search to look for some kind of antenna that would have the turning capability to null out the noise, have some gain and not take up too much room I came across some information on using Hamsticks in a dipole configuration. I have seen some  Ham Radio Operators take Hamstick Antennas for various frequencies and make a dipole antenna out of them. I like the idea due to the fact that they do not take up a lot of room. They also seem to break down pretty easy. This would be very helpful if I were camping, so I could make a fast set up and get some decent responses from it.  From what I have read they seem to work pretty good. I have also seen some where they use four or more to design a two element to four element beam antenna. There are different brands besides hamsticks by Lakeview Company. There are also antennas like these made by Jetstream and MFJ. These would only be fore the Ham Radio Frequencies.  I would definitely suggest to use a fiberglass mobile antenna for this kind of dipole or beam antenna. All of the mobile antennas have different ways of tuning the antenna. If a desired swr reading is not obtained, I would try using an antenna tuner. The lower cost brands seem to be MFJ or Vectronics. There are many different dealers or resellers on the internet. If you looking into that choice I would check on http://www.resellerratings.com/ . I have used them many times and saved myself lots of headaches.