Digital and other features on a radio not built for it

[beerftw]

So I bought a retevis ailunce hs4 10m radio, one of the better ones in the entry price point that has full ssb capability. There is a speaker out and a cw port, but no mic out, this could be a problem as I could have hooked it up to a laptop for digital stuff using sound modem or other software. It has a standard round 4 pin cb adapter but I can not find any anywhere with a mic out port built after the 1970's, and to get dedicated audio it will need that for mic input.

 

  So I could find no modern devices that have such a feature, short of someone having a magic answer I will likely have to make a handset wired in with a mic output, or build a switchbox to add the capability. I have a baofeng handset for an ht that came with my gm5rh that has a headphone out, and have thought about taking it apart to see if the headphone out can be switched to be mic out while still going through the ptt switch, and ultimately wired for a cb 4 pin round.

[WRYZ926]

If the radio has a removable hand mic then it is possible to make a custom cable to interface with a sound card. A lot the export 10m radios are built to the same specs as CB radios and use round connectors. Most will use a 4 pin connector.

After looking, your radio uses a 4 pin connector. So you could possibly make a custom cable. You will need some type of external sound card.

As far as using a headset with built in mic, you would need the proper adapter cable. One part of the cable would plug into the radio's mic jack and the other would plug into the radio's headphone or external speaker jack. And you would also need an external PTT switch.  

The hard part is going to be finding a 4 pin adapter as most amateur radios use either a 6 pin or 8 pin round plug. You could make one as long as you know the correct pinout for the radio and headset.

[gortex2]

Rigblaster used to have what you want but as said you would need to make an adapter to go from 4pin to 8pin. With that said you will pay more for a rigblaster than your radio..

[WRYZ926]

Heil makes  8 pin round cables, Again those would have to be adapted to go down to 4 pins. At that point it might be easier to just make your own cable from scratch.

You might try looking at websites that specialize in CB radios to see if any have what you are looking for. Amateur radio specific sites won't have cable with 4 pin round connecters. 

I looked at Digirig's website and couldn't find any 4 pin cables for their sound cards.

[beerftw]

Well a decent 10m rig is expensive and I can see why the affordable ones reuse cb platforms to keep cost down, but it is looking more and more like I will just have to make my own accessories or simply upgrade. I do not plan to upgrade anytime soon though because buying gear to do everything I want at once is outside my budget and experimentation and building your own is half the fun with amateur radio.

 

  I will probably need to build a 6m radio at some point as well, as I can get a qrplabs radio at 5 watts for cheap that focuses on 160m through 10m, I can find many 2m and 70cm radios, but if I want 6m it is either fm only or I have to pay a premium because 6m is not as produced as the others. Either way I guess I will need to explore wiring diagrams more, I can already use standard car wiring diagrams, just need to translate that to understanding radio ones better.

[WRYZ926]

Keep an eye out for a used Icom IC-706MkIIG. They are all mode and all band radios. They cover 70cm through 160m to include 6m. And you can use any mode ie: CW, digital RTTY, SSB, AM, and FM on all of the bands. You can find them around $400-$500 used and in good condition if you are patient. 

The 706MkIIG does not have a built in sound card like newer radios. But Digirig does make their Digirig Mobile along with the correct cables for the 706MkIIG which is easy to setup. 

Another option is to find a reasonably priced used Yaesu FT-891. Again you will still need an external sound card for it.

A downside to the IC-706MkIIG and FT-891 is that neither one has a built in antenna tuner, which comes in handy when using multi band antennas.

And you can catch the Xiegu G90 on sale for not much more than some of those export radios cost.  It's not uncommon to catch the G90 on sale for $400 to$425. The G90 is HF only and does not include 6m. 

Or as you say, you can build your own. But watch which kit you buy, most are HF only and usually only cover 1-4 bands. And not all kits work on all modes.

[TNFrank]

This radio will do 6M.

https://www.amazon.com/TH-9800D-Transceiver-Cross-Band-Detachable-Programming/dp/B0G2BP7KFJ

[SteveShannon]

8 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

This radio will do 6M.

https://www.amazon.com/TH-9800D-Transceiver-Cross-Band-Detachable-Programming/dp/B0G2BP7KFJ

Yes it will, but will it do SSB? 
Personally I absolutely agree with @WRYZ926 in his post right above.

[SteveShannon]

41 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

This radio will do 6M.

https://www.amazon.com/TH-9800D-Transceiver-Cross-Band-Detachable-Programming/dp/B0G2BP7KFJ

Here’s the same radio, but at a different price and with reviews: https://www.amazon.com/TYT-TH-9800-Cross-Band-Mobile-Radio/dp/B00I53VUEY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

A friend of mine bought one.  She had problems with it.  Weird things like tuning just not working correctly.  I wouldn’t waste my money on it.  Especially if I was looking at getting my general license and getting more into HF.  Every $200 you spend on something like this just sets you back from getting something like this:

https://www.gigaparts.com/icom-ic-7300.html?utm_term=sku-zic-7300&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23169450131&gbraid=0AAAAAD_py5Eqa8XQAv_t3yTg5nizIVj52&gclid=Cj0KCQiAy6vMBhDCARIsAK8rOgnkMgjFpbYMKlrnXdGogfEnx1FYuEK-O5XIuGA1i5LN-aHdXUR-hMkaAonAEALw_wcB

[WRYZ926]

The TYT TH-9800 has been plagued with issues. I have to agree with @SteveShannon and can't recommend the TH-9800. Now I can recommend the dual band 2m/70cm TYT TH-7800. I have two of them and they have been solid radios.

If you are wanting to work 6m SSB using a mobile radio then you are limited to an all band-all mode radio such as the IC-706MkIIG and FT-981. There is the Icom IC-7100 but it is usually around $1200. All of the mono band, dual band, and multi band mobile radios, such as the TYT TH-9800, are going to be FM only. 

I can't recommend the Icom IC-705 or Yaesu FTX-1 for a beginner or first all band-all mode shack radio since they are QRP radios. They will require an external tuner and an amplifier to get above 10 watts (when connected to external power). Plus the FTX-1 has a lot of issues. 

[TNFrank]

Will the G90 do 6M?

[SteveShannon]

21 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

Will the G90 do 6M?

No, it goes no higher than 10 meters. 

[WRYZ926]

51 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

Will the G90 do 6M?

The only real negative about the G90 is that it does not have 6m. Otherwise its a great little 20 watt radio.

[WRYS709]

I just couldn’t resist purchasing one of these Ukrainian 28 MHz to 144/440 all mode Transverters:

https://ebay.us/m/u4t6GK

The price has increased since I purchased mine.  It sits in its original box and some day I will play with it, but added to a rig like the Icom 7300 or Yaesu FT-891, it does give you the missing functionality!

Here’s an informative article about them:

https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product/14939

[beerftw]

10 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

The TYT TH-9800 has been plagued with issues. I have to agree with @SteveShannon and can't recommend the TH-9800. Now I can recommend the dual band 2m/70cm TYT TH-7800. I have two of them and they have been solid radios.

If you are wanting to work 6m SSB using a mobile radio then you are limited to an all band-all mode radio such as the IC-706MkIIG and FT-981. There is the Icom IC-7100 but it is usually around $1200. All of the mono band, dual band, and multi band mobile radios, such as the TYT TH-9800, are going to be FM only. 

I can't recommend the Icom IC-705 or Yaesu FTX-1 for a beginner or first all band-all mode shack radio since they are QRP radios. They will require an external tuner and an amplifier to get above 10 watts (when connected to external power). Plus the FTX-1 has a lot of issues. 

For 6m and even 1.25 it seems I will have to be patient, the shack in a boxes like the icom models tend to work great but I can not afford that much since I am also rebuilding the engine on one of my motorcycles and that is eating part of my funds.

 

  I will likely wait until I find a good deal since those bands are less frequently used.

[WRYZ926]

I know guys that use transverters all of the time. They do work and also give you more options.

[WRYZ926]

You are going to want a HF/6m radio or a shack in the box radio if you want to use SSB on 6m. Most guys that use 6m are all on USB. The exception is if there happens to be a 6m repeater near you which will be FM.

New radios are expensive and that is why I suggested looking for a used IC-706MkIIG or FT-891. Yes the 706 is old and out of production but they are still great little mobile radios. They do 100 watts on HF/6m, 50 watts on 2m and 20 watts on 70cm. I have one that is in a go box along with a 12V mini computer for portable Winlink and other digital modes.

[beerftw]

10 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

Yes it will, but will it do SSB? 
Personally I absolutely agree with @WRYZ926 in his post right above.

I ordered a retevis a3 for a handheld, it does 6m fm only, and like most things ssb on 6m is a rarity it products yet the most desired function of 6m. I did not buy the a3 for 6m or 10 meter fm function, I bought it because it is fairly rounded on functions and can recieve most bands but is limited to fm transmit. Either way I am still waiting on my callsign from the fcc and my uv5r today picked up crystal clear ragchewing on 2m.

  I thought it was the repeater down the street from where I work but when I looked it up it was the repeater 2 towns or close to 20 miles away, coming in crystal clear on a super cheap uv5r with a whip antenna folded, and I thought might as well get a more functional ht if the cheapest of the cheap is impressing me.

 

  Either way it can only do fm 6m and fm 10m, it is supposed to show up on thursday, and the majority of even base stations ignore am and ssb for 6m. It just is more economical to retune the same mass produced fm tuners to 6m than to build a proper rig, just like many hf rigs are simply retuned cb rigs to cut costs, many actually just foreign cb rigs that could already use hf with the cb portion just blocked out.

[beerftw]

3 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

I just couldn’t resist purchasing one of these Ukrainian 28 MHz to 144/440 all mode Transverters:

https://ebay.us/m/u4t6GK

The price has increased since I purchased mine.  It sits in its original box and some day I will play with it, but added to a rig like the Icom 7300 or Yaesu FT-891, it does give you the missing functionality!

Here’s an informative article about them:

https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product/14939

I may have to look into one of those

[WRYZ926]

Most HF radios from the Big 3 - Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu, all include 6m which allows you to use all modes on 6m. 

If you want to use all modes on 2m and 70cm then you have to either buy the Icom IC-9700 or one of the many all band/all mode "shack in the box" radios.

[Jaay]

11 hours ago, beerftw said:

I may have to look into one of those

Plugging the Yaesu 991A since it Will do what you want, and Can be found used on Eham.com, and Qrz.com as well as the other used sites.  Buy once, Cry once ! 

[TNFrank]

As a general rule 10M is upper side band so you probably won't hear much on FM. 

The "go to" radio I hear 70+% of folks running is the ICom IC-7300. It seems to be the work horse of the HF Bands. Maybe one day I'll save up enough to get one. Until then the Radioditty QT80 isn't a bad way to go for $300. It'll get you 10M, 11M, 12M and 15M FM, AM, LSB and USB and is 80w so you can get out pretty good with a decent antenna. It has a built in SWR function that you can use to help tune your antennas. The only negative I've found is how the coax connects to the radio. It's a pretty tight area but I got around it by using a BNC adapter on the radio and coax so it's easy to connect/disconnect.  

[WRYZ926]

Most general and amateur extra license holders really don't use 10m FM unless there are 10m repeaters in their ares. At least that is what I have seen in my area. SSB has more range than FM.

The Icom IC-7300 is definitely one of the most popular HF base stations. It has an easy to use menu, especially when compared to Yaesu menus. You can usually pick up a used 7300 around $700 to $800 especially now that people are upgrading from the 7300 to the 7300 MkII. I know plenty of people even use the 7300 as a portable radio for POTA. 

[SteveShannon]

22 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

The Icom IC-7300 is definitely one of the most popular HF base stations. It has an easy to use menu, especially when compared to Yaesu menus.

This is very important. 

[beerftw]

15 hours ago, TNFrank said:

As a general rule 10M is upper side band so you probably won't hear much on FM. 

The "go to" radio I hear 70+% of folks running is the ICom IC-7300. It seems to be the work horse of the HF Bands. Maybe one day I'll save up enough to get one. Until then the Radioditty QT80 isn't a bad way to go for $300. It'll get you 10M, 11M, 12M and 15M FM, AM, LSB and USB and is 80w so you can get out pretty good with a decent antenna. It has a built in SWR function that you can use to help tune your antennas. The only negative I've found is how the coax connects to the radio. It's a pretty tight area but I got around it by using a BNC adapter on the radio and coax so it's easy to connect/disconnect.  

10m has upper and lower sideband and fm and am, but you would be right with usb being where it is at due to the fact every current license level can use it which means more users. The ham guys I talked to who said they used 10m fm said they did so because it was shorter range coms and most often because outside usb on 10m it was empty ie they were just using channels no one else was using at the time.

 

  I have the retevis ailunce hs4 I believe it is, which is a anytone 5555 clone, which is very similar to a radioddity qt60, the little brother to the qt80. I have thought about buying a qrp labs qmx+ that does 160m through 6m with digital and other support for around 200 bucks, but it comes as 5w only and is less icom level ready to go and most experimental level of quality.