Jump to content

axorlov

Members
  • Posts

    891
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    33

Posts posted by axorlov

  1. On 8/25/2023 at 4:31 PM, WRYC330 said:

    what isn't built in China today

    My company moved all production from China to Philippines and Mexico. It is some special-purpose electronic devices. It's better to build up a partnership with neighbors and allies then to feed a future adversary, even if it costs a bit more. My TK-3170s are all built in Singapore. Moot point, of course, today they are out of production.

  2. Dave Casler touched on important point, the common mode current, which J-pole antennas are very susceptible to. But on UHF frequencies this cute (rather ugly) loop of coax is not going to stop your common mode current at all. Better, expensive chokes are needed with UHF J-poles. This is the reason why Ed Fong antennas do not work when mounted on metal masts.

  3. 3 hours ago, WRXD372 said:

    There's no way to rule innocent men

    Haha, LOL!

    Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon are watching a parade on Red Square in Moscow in 70-s.
    Alexander: If I only had tanks like these I'd conquer all of Europe and also Asia!
    Julius: If I only had missiles like these I'd rule the whole planet!
    Napoleon: If I only had a propaganda machine like that one, nobody ever would know that I lost at Waterloo!

  4. 5 hours ago, JamesBrox said:

    I've quickly learned that the scan rate on a gmrs radio is very, very, very slow. Which is ok. I get it. My question to the group....How do y'all set up scanning on your gmrs radios or do you at all?

    Sure, proper scanner has a supersonic scan rate, comparing to a normal CCR, that is like a slug on a cold day. Different weight categories. However, my Kenwood TK-3170 scans fifteen 462MHz channels in about 2 seconds.  Not as terrible as CCR, but not a proper scanner territory. My mobile TK-880 has a similar scan rate. With that said, I only scan when deep in the woods, since normally I'm not interested in talking to strangers.

  5. 2 hours ago, muggz said:

    To me the real question is why TETRA decided to implement key length downgrade in the TEA1 cipher.

    Very likely a screw-up by people who implemented algorithm for particular hardware. I was at this very place some 20 years ago, working on TEA implementation (not related to radio). Used uint instead of int in one place, and it caused a degradation of entropy. Luckily, my mistake was caught in time and never went into production.

  6. 6 hours ago, ChaosActual said:

    Howdy folks, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction on some cables & adapters I might need to test my Wouxan KG-UV9GX on the SW-102. I bought some cables from Amazon but the little bastards heads are too big & cannot plug into the SW-102. Any and all help is appreciated.

     

    WRKQ838

    If you want to see SWR of HT antenna, save your money. It's fool's errand. You can't get any meaningful measurements with SW-102 or any other meter, it is simply not possible. You can test power output into the dummy load, though.

  7. 1 hour ago, WRQI583 said:

    Instead of it being a hobby of experimenting and being the leader in radio communication,  it has turned into a regressing place of competition on the HF bands.

    Ham is exactly a hobby. Some like to compete, some don't. HF bands give you a global reach, it draws people to HF. But many are fine with the local chats on repeaters.

    1 hour ago, WRQI583 said:

    The vhf/uhf bands have been abandoned

    What? You got to be kidding. Where I live VHF FM is packed to the brim, while 70cm is empty because military restricted use, to not have an interference for the PAVE PAWS radars.

  8. 1 hour ago, Lscott said:

    If he has a K1 type cable, which the Chinese ripped off from Kenwood BTW, for many of the Chinese radios it should work on those. I have around 8 to 9 of the 3170’s, same for the 3173’s.

    Yes! And the Baofeng/Btech external speaker-mic also works fine with 3170.

  9. 3 hours ago, WRWH978 said:

    Are the used kenwood radios on ebay worth considering or I have seen an actual new ones for higher $$$? I guess the used ones are worth pending on condition - also accessories included? Thx

    There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. Things to consider:
    - condition of the radio, how much it is beaten up;
    - condition of the battery, assume you will need to replace it;
    - speaker and programming port: 3170/73 have Kenwood port that is also used by the majority of CCRs, so cables and speakerphones work. 3140 has a different, more robust connector, but that means buying special programming cable that will not work with Baofengs. Do you have Baofengs? Do you plan to have Baofengs?
    - you will need charger, 3170/73 takes both LiPo and NiMH batteries, so makes sense to get universal charger KSC-25;
    - antenna connector, Kenwood radios generally not compatible with CCR antennas, you will need authentic Kenwood antenna, they are cheap though.

    In 2014 it was no brainer to get a pair or three of 3170 for $100 total, replace broken parts, get new batteries, and have a good radio for about $70 a piece. Today ebay prices on used Kenwood radios went up, so I'm not so sure anymore. New KG-805G is only $100.

  10. Looks like mechanical filters are still available for IC-706, while for FT-817/857/897 they are gone gone gone forever. Not available even at astronomical price. I recently bought Collins 500Hz filter for FT-817, just the filter part, and will have to roll the board on my own. 2KHz SSB filters are unobtanium now, although maybe not needed that much.

  11. GMRS is in the middle of business band, so the technical requirements are identical to Part 90. For example, stability must be 2.5ppm for 25KHz channels and 1.5ppm for 12.5KHz channels. Ham gear does not have such strict requirements. It is only recently (few years) when new ham HTs and mobiles started to satisfy that spec. Majority of older ham gear is drifty.

    This thread shows quite well, that when "I know what I'm doing" is uttered, it is a very strong signal that person has no clue. :rolleyes

  12. In addition to Wouxun, any commercial Part 90/95 radio will allow configuration of all memory slots. Many radios have 128 or more channels to program. I use Kenwood TK-3170. With buttons on the front panel programmed for "home channel" and "reserve home channel" and option to have busy channel lockout it could be very safe and reliable radio to give to 5yo or somebody who has no idea about radio.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Guidelines.