Date: Sat, 7 May 94 04:30:29 PDT From: Ham-Equip Mailing List and Newsgroup Errors-To: Ham-Equip-Errors@UCSD.Edu Reply-To: Ham-Equip@UCSD.Edu Precedence: Bulk Subject: Ham-Equip Digest V94 #138 To: Ham-Equip Ham-Equip Digest Sat, 7 May 94 Volume 94 : Issue 138 Today's Topics: 2m HT: Opinions Please FT-530 AM Mode on 800 Band Possible? Icom 3220 problems ICOM W2A 440mhz problems Kenwood TS440AT Wanted Kenwood TW-4100A mods? Looking for IC725 Mods Need advice on mobile dual-bander Radio Shack HTX-202 Mods??? Timewave users: efficiency of NR (4 msgs) Send Replies or notes for publication to: Send subscription requests to: Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu. Archives of past issues of the Ham-Equip Digest are available (by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/ham-equip". We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 May 94 15:28:00 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: 2m HT: Opinions Please To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu Scott on 5 May 1994 wrote: >I'm looking to buy that 2m unit from Radio Shack; any experiences or >opinions from users? I'm on a tight budget, so I thought that might be a >good starter unit. > >Thanks. > >Scott I have had one of the Radio Shack 2m Rigs for some time and think that it is well worth the money. It has a couple of shortcomings but they are no big problem. They don't offer a case for it other than their generic scanner case that is about 5 sizes too big. I just made a trip to my local Tandy Leather store and the lady there made a very nice leather case for it out of upholstery leather. The other small problem is that the receiver is too hot for its own good. I work in an area that has more antennas per square INCH than my front lawn has grass! It is very sensitive to intermod. However, the repeaters that I frequent all transmit a tone so the intermod can be dealt with. It is a little strange however to see the S-meter jumping up and down with no audio. I am very satisfied with the battery that comes with it. I try to run mine down about once a month. It takes 18-20 hours to do so from a full charge. You can accelerate that by opening the squelch or turning on the light. The light will go out when the BAT indicator comes on. It has an auto-shutdown so it won't kill your battery. I think that Radio Shack should have come out with a dual-bander in stead of two separate rigs. Other than that I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good inexpensive 2m rig. Kevin (WB5RUE) muenzlerk@uthscsa.edu Legal stuff: The above opinions are my own and not necessarily those of the staff, faculty, or administration of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. ------------------------------ Date: 6 May 1994 16:58:54 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!convex!news.duke.edu!solaris.cc.vt.edu!spcuna!news.columbia.edu!news.cs.columbia.edu!news.boxhill.com!hill!ken@network.ucsd.edu Subject: FT-530 AM Mode on 800 Band Possible? To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu Can other owners confirm the following limitations of the AM mode on the FT-530? VFO Band AM Possible? ----- ------ ------------ Left 2m Yes Left 70cm Yes Left 800Mhz No (neither AM nor FM. Not tunable) Right 2m No Right 70cm No Right 800Mhz No (FM Only) I ran across this limitation of the right-hand VFO when trying to listen on the 800 Band in AM. Doesn't appear to be possible. Anyone else try this? (Replies cc:'d to ken@boxhill.com appreciated) 73! Ken Stamm N2TIA BBBB H H i ll ll (ken@boxhill.com) B B H H l l BoxHill Systems Corporation BBBB ooo x x HHHH ii l l 161 Avenue of the Americas B B o o x H H i l l New York, NY 10013 BBBB ooo x x H H iii lll lll Tel: (212)989-HILL (4455) Fax: (212)989-6817 S y s t e m s C o r p o r a t i o n ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 04:10:35 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!kd4nc!n4tii@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Icom 3220 problems To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu Hello Sports Fans... I have a friend that is having problems with his Icom 3220 dual band mobile radio. Here's what's wrong with it... On VHF band only, when the radio is keyed up, the rig show that it is in the TX state (the TX illuminates) but the S/RF bar does not "go across the display." This is true for all power levels.... In UHF band, the radio performs as normally. On VHF, there is RF getting out, as the radio will key the local repeater, but nothing else.... I have yet to get the radio out to check the signal coming out or the power.... William, N4SZP, the owner of the thing, reports that the radio started acting up after a real HOT day in Alabammy...it was so hot that the window blew out of his vehicle... so...possibly something got REAL hot on the radio and failed... Oh well..anyone got any ideas on what's screwed up on this thing? I've recommended that he do a "Reset" on the radio but he does not know how to do it....and I've yet to take a good look at the radio to see what the problem is... Thanks for the help! John -- ------------------------ John Reed - Gainesville, GA N4TII -- AFA2FH -- Redstar 204 HAM MARS C. A. P. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 07:48:37 -0400 From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!aw0g+@network.ucsd.edu Subject: ICOM W2A 440mhz problems To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu ICOM W2A On 440mhz transmit the red led would pulse once or twice a second. The power drawn on transmit dropped down as the led pulsed. Checking the power out with a meter it pulsed down to zero in time with the led and power. The problem used to go away if the unit warmed up (xmit into a dummy load for 60 sec at full power). But lately it had been still ticking no matter what and I couldn't get a packet connection. I posed to this list before and got six replies about grounding problems / plug connection problems in the 440mhz module. So last night I got out the jewelers screwdrivers and magifying loupe (sp?) and took it apart. I took out the 440mhz module and opened it up. Indeed there where two places where the shielding had problems there was a piece if tin that was supposed to apply presure to a module for a ground that was out of position and a one doubious solder joint. I bent the spring into position and twisted a piece of tin to put more pressure on the questionable joint. The joint was not reachable with the the smallest soldering iron tip I had due to components around it. I put it all back together and it works fine now. One post said that icom fixed his rig out of warenty for free saying it was a "cracked solder joint on 440mhz VCO". How are the rest of you W2A owners fairing in the 440mhz ticking battle? Aaron Wohl / ham callsign N3LIW / 412-731-3691 / 412-268-5032 ------------------------------ Date: 7 May 94 01:28:06 GMT From: world!jgarrett@uunet.uu.net Subject: Kenwood TS440AT Wanted To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu I'm looking for a Kenwood TS440S AT or comparable for my aging parents. They need something solid state that they don't have to fiddle with so much to get on the air with. Thanks John WN9T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 15:05:59 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!darwin.sura.net!news.Vanderbilt.Edu!news@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Kenwood TW-4100A mods? To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu I have a TW-4100A which is a good mobile rig except for one quirk. Most rigs have a repeater offset select button which toggles -/simplex/+ and possibly other options. The TW-4100A has a similar button, but it only toggles between simplex and the offset direction you selected in the configuration setup, along with the power level, scan step size, etc, etc. i.e. -/simplex or simplex/+. While it will memorize the offset in a memory channel, when you are on the road and scanning, you have a 50-50 chance of having to change the setup in order to use the repeater. Besides being a royal pain, it is a minor safety problem. I have looked at all the mod data bases I know and haven't found anything, so I was wondering if anyone had heard of a mod to allow the normal -/simplex/+ offset toggle? Alan WA4SCA Recommended four line signature. ------------------------------ Date: 6 May 1994 02:47:54 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!eff!news.kei.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!w1gsl@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Looking for IC725 Mods To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu I am looking for any mods to a Icom IC725. I have allready tried the data base at ftp.cs.buffalo and have found nothing. Thanks in advance 73 Steve F W1GSL ******************************************************************************* Steve Finberg W1GSL w1gsl@mit.edu PO Box 82 MIT Br Cambridge MA 02139 617 258 3754 ******************************************************************************* ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 14:01:49 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura.net!rsg1.er.usgs.gov!dgg.cr.usgs.gov!bodoh@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Need advice on mobile dual-bander To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu I will be buying a dual-band mobile in the next few days and would like some advice. I need a radio with detachable head (or no head) because of limited mounting space in my Caravan. I have eliminated the Yaesu based on comments of owners. I have eliminated the Kenwood 942, ICOM 901 and ICOM delta 100 based on price, but I may pick one up if the price is right. I have narrowed my selection to; Kenwood TM-733 Costs a bit more that the 732. Does AIP improve intermod? Kenwood TM-732 I've heard comments complaining of severe intermod problems. Kenwood TM-742 I've heard nothing but praise for this one. A buddy has 2 741's. Standard C5718 This looks neat and they have a good reputation. Is the head in the microphone a good idea/implementation? ICOM IC-2700H This is new - just saw the first ad yesterday. Has remote head. Any info on features, anyone see one at Dayton? I appreciate any comments that you can email me today. The reason for the rush is that if I decide on the Kenwood 742, the $40 coupon expires tomorrow. Thanks... -- +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Tom Bodoh - Sr. systems software engineer, Hughes STX, N0YGT + + USGS/EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, SD, USA 57198 (605) 594-6830 + + Internet; bodoh@dgg.cr.usgs.gov (152.61.192.66) + + "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends!" EL&P + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 05:41:38 GMT From: tribune.usask.ca!canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca!newsflash.concordia.ca!nstn.ns.ca!coranto.ucs.mun.ca!upei.ca!news.unb.ca!torn!uunet.ca!uunet.ca!iceonline!icebox!janc@decwrl.dec.com Subject: Radio Shack HTX-202 Mods??? To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu >Subject says it all. Are any mods possible for this radio, extended >RX? extend TX? Thanks for any input. > >John > THere aren't any. The radio was designed that way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ janc@icebox.iceonline.com : If you eat a live toad first thing in the : morning, nothing worse will happen to you all Fido: 1:153/7116 : day. Amateur Radio: VE7FJC : To you or the toad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: 6 May 94 15:54:00 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Timewave users: efficiency of NR To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu Ignacy Misztal wrote in digest 136, 5 May 1994 >I consider a purchase of DSP-9, 9+ or 59. How effective is the noise >reduction there? At home often I hear a steady power noise that is too >complex to be cut out by noise blanker. Will Timewave DSP help? I have the Timewave DSP-9 and have noticed that it has a problem with complex noise such as RFI that comes from a computer or other electronic equipment. It will however do a pretty good job of taking care of the buzzing that comes from high power lines. I also have a very old cordless phone that puts a hissing noise on 40, 80, and 160 meters. The DSP-9 takes care of that quite nicely. It is not a miracle cure, but it does a pretty good job. It reduces the noise anywhere from 10 to 20db depending on the type of noise. Where the DSP-9 really shines is on SSB and CW modes. It does a wonderful job of removing carriers in the SSB mode and the filter skirts on CW are very sharp and it doesn't ring at all. I also have the Radio Shack DSP-40 and it compares very well with the DSP-9 in all features except the NR mode. If you need the NR function buy the DSP-9. If you really don't need the NR function but need good SSB and CW filters, buy the DSP-40 from Radio Shack. I have both and for the little extra money I would buy the DSP-9 from Timewave. My rig is a Yaesu FT-890/AT. Kevin Legal stuff: The above opinions are my own and not necessarily those of the staff, faculty, administration, or lab animals (woof!) of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Kevin R. Muenzler, WB5RUE The University of Texas Health muenzlerk@uthscsa.edu Science Center at San Antonio, (210) 567-2095 Department of Computing Resources ** You can't write a program that I can't break! ** <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 01:46:03 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!rogjd@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Timewave users: efficiency of NR To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu Ignacy Misztal (ignacy@ux2.cso.uiuc.edu) wrote: : I consider a purchase of DSP-9, 9+ or 59. How effective is the noise : reduction there? At home often I hear a steady power noise that is too : complex to be cut out by noise blanker. Will Timewave DSP help? : Ignacy Misztal Ham radio: NO9E, SP8FWB : E-mail: ignacy@uiuc.edu : University Of Illinois 1207 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL 61801, USA : tel. (217) 244-3164 Fax: (217) 333-8286 Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I'd recommend trying to borrow one and see before plunking down the big bucks. -- rogjd@netcom.com Glendale, CA AB6WR ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 01:44:11 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!rogjd@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Timewave users: efficiency of NR To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu I use the TS850S/AT by Kenwood on Pactor; Pactor is my favorite mode. I use it with the optional dual 500 Hz filters in FSK mode. Most Pactor users use the FSK mode as opposed to AFSK on SSB. The TS850S/AT is probably unsurpassed as a Pactor rig. The filtering, if you use the dual 500 Hz filters in FSK mode, is about as good as filtering gets: you can pull in the weakest Pactor signals and achieve a good qso. The rig also has SELECTABLE FSK WIDTH, which most of the rigs lack, therefore you can set your FSK to the optimal, 200 Hz as opposed to getting by at 170 Hz which is what most rigs offer. I recommend the 850 strongly. I use the Timewave DSP 59 and find that it is occasionally helpful, and is definitely a "nice to have" accessory. But the 500 Hz filters in the 850 are more important to have than the outboard DSP unit, in my opinion. Hope this helps! 73 -- rogjd@netcom.com Glendale, CA AB6WR ------------------------------ Date: 6 May 1994 13:49:33 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!usenet@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Timewave users: efficiency of NR To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu In , rogjd@netcom.com (Roger Buffington) writes: >Ignacy Misztal (ignacy@ux2.cso.uiuc.edu) wrote: >: I consider a purchase of DSP-9, 9+ or 59. How effective is the noise >: reduction there? At home often I hear a steady power noise that is too >: complex to be cut out by noise blanker. Will Timewave DSP help? > > >: Ignacy Misztal Ham radio: NO9E, SP8FWB > >Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I'd recommend trying to borrow one and see >before plunking down the big bucks. >-- > rogjd@netcom.com > Glendale, CA > AB6WR One question more. Does DSP-59 deteriorate the signal quality of good-sounding signals? Radio Shack DSP does, particularily in CW modes, and N0ZEM has noticed the same with DSP-9 in the narrow CW position. I compared RS DSP with my home-build two-pole analog audio filter. Even though RS skirts were much sharper,the analog one was more pleasant to use, more efficient in digging out weak signals, and made copying all signals more comfortable than the RS DSP. Perhaps analog filters have much lower nonlinear distortions. Why am I still looking for a DSP: mu analog filter is not immune to RF, copies a strong local FM station, and has some hum. Ignacy Misztal Ham radio: NO9E, SP8FWB E-mail: ignacy@uiuc.edu University Of Illinois 1207 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL 61801, USA tel. (217) 244-3164 Fax: (217) 333-8286 ------------------------------ End of Ham-Equip Digest V94 #138 ******************************