TYT TH-UV3R dual band VHF/UHF handheld

My latest purchase is a TYT TH-UV3R handset. It was bought from Ebay for £34 inc. postage from China. At this price I was prepared for the worst, but it really isn't that bad. In fact, I'm pleased with it. I like that it can be charged from a computer USB port (to mini usb on handset) and that it allows me to monitor 446MHz (that I use to keep track of my daughter when she's out playing) and my local 2m repeater at the same time (using the 'dual watch' or as the manual describes it 'dual wait' :-) feature). I have all the 2m S channels programmed in, complete with all the repeater offsets and CTCSS tones. It is really simple to operate, although the manual seems to be lacking a bit to the current firmware version, as some key sequences aren't as described. As long as you take the manual with a pinch of salt and experiment with key strokes, the correct function can be found very quickly. The build quality is excellent, the display is bright and clear and the rx audio is just like any other handset 5 times the price.

The TYT is shown here between the VX3 and VX7R handsets from Yaesu. Now to sell the Yaesu's!

K1EL WKUSB lite WinKey

A new product from K1EL
http://k1el.tripod.com/WKlite.html
These cw keyers are excellent to allow easy hook up between your favourite contest logger and your rig. The K3 doesn't really need this as it has PTT and CW key via the CAT RS232 RTS and DTR, but for all other rigs it's a must. I've just ordered one at $38 + $10 postage. I also have the WKUSB, but it's quite bulky and I've never used it standalone. The lite version also loses optical isolation and push button memories but the board is now only 2.5 x 1 3/4 inches. I always use mine in host mode with WinTest, so this should be just the ticket.

As you can see from the above picture, the finished result is much smaller than the original keyer and doesn't have those annoying buttons on the top that keep getting pressed in the rucksac. I have mounted the new keyer in a small enclosure from Maplin (£9.99). Just plug the key into the front 3.5mm stereo socket.

The USB connector goes to the computer and the CW and PTT lines (to the rig) now come from the tip and ring of the 3.5mm stereo jack located on the rear of the new keyer.

The kit kit arrived with a lot of components missing, but luckily I was able to source them from the spares box. There were too many many components missing for this to be an accident, so maybe K1EL is having difficulty meeting the initial order rush.

GB5SI Shiant Isles IOTA ref. EU112

After the successful activation of Lunga EU108 (Treshnish Isles) in 2011, our group (Consisting of GMDX group members) will be activating the Shiant Isles EU112 between 15/7/12 and 22/7/12. The Shiant Isles are located between the Isles of Lewis and Skye on Scotland's NW coastline. The Shiant Isles consist of 3 small uninhabited islands in very close proximity to each other (House, Rough and Mary Islands). We will be staying on the north west corner of House Island which should have a great take off from North west  through to South. A second station may be set up to cover the North east through to South east. Working condx are expected to be Elecraft K3 transceivers, Expert and THP linear amplifiers and predominantly vertical antennas. We expect to be active from 80m through 6m and on CW, SSB and RTTY modes. QSL route will be via MM0BQI.
Hope to work you all!

KOSS SB45 Headset with Elecraft K3

Bought this headset on Amazon for £20 after reading some mail on the Elecraft reflector. I wanted an electret mic so this meant either the SB45 or SB49. The only difference is that the SB45 doesn't have a volume control on the lead (which I think is a pest for radio use anyway).

The good:
The headset is very comfortable. So far 8hrs continuous in CQWW WPX and no issues. Fits over my big lugs comfortably and gives a reasonable amount of sound isolation.
Rx and tx audio are superb with the K3 (flat tx equaliser settings).
The headset can fold up into a very neat ball allowing easier packing for dxpeditions etc.

The bad:

The lead is very thin and I suspect has not much in the way of a screen, but so far no RF issues with a small ferrite placed half way along the lead (just in case).

The microphone stalk is very flimsy and not very adjustable, but it seems to sit in the right position.

Overall it's a great purchase and makes me a bit embarrassed at spending a comparative fortune on a Heil headset.

ERC (Easy Rotator Control) kit

http://easy-rotor-control.com/

One of my friends (MM0GPZ) put me onto this handy kit. It converts your old manual rotator controller to a PC driven one (retains manual capability). The photo above shows the new serial and power cables at the bottom right of the shot.

The advantage is that logging programs such as WinTest (wtRotators) can turn your antenna for you. If you enter a callsign and type (Ctrl-F12) for short path or (Alt-F12) for long path, the wtRotators program will automatically turn the antenna to the correct bearing for that station. The ERC uses the HyGain DRU-1 protocol so WinTest must be set up to expect this protocol and not Yaesu or whatever controller you are using. Once this is setup correctly, you get a nice on-screen digital bearing with manual adjustment icons all at the tip of your mouse.

I found a link on the internet describing GU0SUP's install in the same rotator controller case so I copied his installation location.
http://www.guernsey.net/~pcooper/ERC.html

The kit arrived in 5 days from Germany. It had 1x 22pF capacitor missing which I replaced from my spares box, but apart from that all went together in around 3 hours (+2 hours installation into controller) and worked first time.
I squeezed the ERC into my G-600RC rotator control box and connected it up to the serial com port on my PC. I used a wallwart PSU to power the ERC.

Rene DF9GR very gratiously allowed me the DXCC 10 Euro discount for being the first GM claimant. The final bill was 66 Euro.

Calibration went without a hitch. I tried transmitting 400w through a 3 ele yagi on the 10m band (approximately 15m away) pointed directly at the controller and observed no effects. I'm very pleased with the results so far.

Maxon CM70 cb radio, 10m FM/AM (new for £60)

Maxon CM70 on 29.100MHz (shown here in frequency display mode rather than channel display mode). In researching it, I hadn't found a picture of it displaying frequency so wasn't sure until it arrived.

Step is 10KHz with readout ending in a 0KHz (PO) or 5KHz (RU). I'm using it in PO mode in the picture. It is bang on frequency.

This CB radio has an incredible coverage of 25MHz - 30.1MHz. As shown in the picture, the output is approximately 3w on 29.100 (the start of the new simplex FM allocation in the UK).

There are no conventional rotary controls on the front panel which is good for reliability and robustness for mobile life. Most of the important features can be controlled from the microphone.

Audio souds strong and clear on both FM and AM. Time will tell how the rx is but reports are that is plenty sensitive on CB frequencies.

Electronics are mostly surface mount and build quality looks good apart from a large blob of solder which was rattling about inside the case on arrival.

Bought for £60 (72 Euro) from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/radi0shop. Free post and packaging from Greece. It took 5 days to arrive, truely a modern miracle. My thanks goes to
Yiannis Kontarinis for providing this radio at £40 less than anyone in the UK.

Black Sea Cup RN3F and UW1M

I was going to play on 10m this morning but couldn't be bothered due to the Black Sea Cup contest in full swing. I am a contester myself, so it wasn't that the contest itself was unpleasant, it was the standard of transmissions that immediately turned me off. RN3F was on again with an interesting variation on his previous poor transmission. I'd like to think he's trying to do something about the QRM he causes every contest, as there is a noted difference as shown below.

He now has a 300Hz wide chirp which means he is no longer the worst offender. That title has now got to go to UW1M (top left, above RN3F). He was 594K (actually 59+30dB) and approx 2KHz wide.

I had a look at QRZ for UW1M and he is sitting next to what looks like an IC7700 so it must be the dreaded home-brew amplifier or operator error (ALC or overdriving). No wonder contesters get a bad name.

I normally argue against the non-contest fraternity, that contesters are striving to improve themselves by perfecting all the radio disciplines pertaining to their station before the contest, the contest itself being the result of that hard work. The above station clearly needs to spend more time doing this.