Busy, Busy, Busy

I just checked and noticed that my last post was from very early January. Gawd, I'm behind! But in my defense I've also been very busy, both with Amateur Radio and life. I've got at least three blog posts brewing, but I don't have enough material yet to finish them off. They sit in the 'pending' queue waiting to be published.

So briefly, here's what I've been wrapped up with since January:

• I found myself purchasing my second Yaesu FT-891 mobile HF rig. I was an 'early adopter' of the FT-891 back in late 2016 but found it had too many rough edges and some questionable performance issues, so I sold it within a year of buying it. Fast forward two years and I'm looking for a small portable HF rig with good DSP filtering. Much to my chagrin the FT-891 is really the only viable option currently on the market. So I swallowed my pride and bought a second unit. The design still has flaws (mainly programming and firmware - the hardware seems solid) but Yaesu is deaf to the pleas of the radio owners to get these issues addressed. There'll be more discussion on this in the upcoming blog post.

• CommRadio CTX-10. I'm in the process of evaluating the new CTX-10 HF QRP rig from CommRadio in Colorado. This radio seems to hit all the sweet spots for a rugged, portable DSP-based rig. The problem is, soon after receiving it I had to send it back to the manufacturer to address some audio clipping issues, and I'm still waiting to get it back. In fact, CommRadio has had the radio in their hands longer than I had it in mine. But I'm willing to wait because I feel the design and execution is compelling, and if they get the (apparently widespread) TX audio issues figured out this little radio has serious potential to carve out a large niche in the QRP & portable HF segment. Once I get the radio back in hand and do some more testing I'll publish my impressions.

• Headphones. Like a lot of guys my age (rapidly closing in on Social Security eligibility) I'm starting to experience some minor hearing loss. Considering my past career (lots of time around lots of things that go 'boom!') it's to be expected. The weak, often muddy speakers built into rigs these days often just don't sound right. This launched me on a quest to find good, but not expensive headphones. To my surprise and delight I found that you really don't need to spend a lot of $$ to get really good communications headphones. 

So stay tuned, dear reader. More to come, and soon.

W8BYH out

YAFOD

That is, 'Yet Another Flurry of Development'.

What a weekend. On Saturday, January 12th the Georgia State ARES group holds its annual meeting at the Georgia State Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) in Forsyth, GA.

Without any presumption that I'd be able to get placed on the speaking schedule, a few weeks ago I started updating the Amateur Radio Repeaters in Georgia web map that I put together back in 2016, and blogged about a hear ago here.

At last year's ARES meeting I was given a chance to present and focus discussion on the sorry state of amateur repeater data in Georgia (it's actually a national issue, but my gaze only extends to the state borders). At last year's meeting I practically begged repeater owners to help me update the information by checking the map and sending me their updates. I got precisely 1 (one) update for the over 620 amateur radio repeaters in the state. One. Eins, Uno. This year I told the organizers (who happen to be good friends) that I planned to set up a 'repeater update kiosk' at the conference and try to snag as many passing repeater owners as I could find.

The web map has been clicking along just fine, getting a few dozen hits on most weeks. When bad weather approaches I'll put the reminder out to our ARES groups that the map was still an available resource, and it will get a few more looks. Over the course of the year ESRI made some improvements to the web mapping interface and provided access to new data layers - things like the National Shelter System laydown and the nationwide fire station and EMS station database - as part of their 'Living Atlas' series, so I decided it was time to refresh and update the map. One of the tasks I set for myself was taking another stab at updating the repeater information in the map. After scraping what data I could from open sources on the web I reached the same conclusion I did last year - this is a hopeless task.

I find it amazing that a group that sells itself as emergency communications experts is OK with having just a vague, imprecise idea of where its communications infrastructure is located and what that infrastructure is capable of. Oh sure, an ARES member in Clayton, (in north Georgia) will know precisely where his local repeaters are and what the coverage is, but what if he's asked to deploy to Waycross (in south Georgia) to support an EOC down there. Can he find reliable information about the repeaters in Waycross and get them programmed into his radios before deploying? Likely not, given the current state of available data. Even the two 'biggie' commercial repeater data sources - RFinder and RepeaterBook.com - often have wildly conflicting data on the same repeater. Different locations (sometimes over 50 miles apart), conflicting offsets (one says plus, the other says minus), one will list a PL tone, the other won't. On and on it goes. Hence the idea of trying to snag as many repeater owners as possible at the State meeting and squeeze repeater data out of them.

Then a few days ago I got a call from the State ARES Director telling me that because of the government shutdown the National Weather Service has bowed out of their presentations and that he's now got holes in the schedule he needs to fill, and could I do some presentations? Of course! But that meant a mad scramble to put together presentations on the repeater database issue and an issue that I've been working on lately - inexpensive ways for local Amateur Radio groups to set up badly needed web environments.

So it's back to the presentation slides and some final looks at the web map to make sure all is in order. Saturday could end up being quite interesting!

W8BYH out

AT-984 Antenna

I love eBay. I buy a lot of stuff off of eBay. (Although strangely, I've never sold anything through eBay. Does that make me a hoarder?) I also often turn to eBay for some laughs. Lately the eBay thing that makes me laugh are the prices folks are asking - and sadly getting - for an AT-984 long wire antenna for the PRC-25 or 77.

In the early 60's the Army recognized the need to extend the range of the PRC-25 beyond the (optimistic) five or six kilometers the radio was capable of when using the long (3 meter) whip antenna. The simplest way turned out to be the most effective - wrap some wire around the threads on the AB-591 long whip antenna base, screw it into the radio, pay out 150' or so of wire and you can easily double the range of the radio. The use of the AB-591 base was key, because there's an extra long 'nub' on the end of the base. As it screws into the radio that 'nub' contacts a switch deep in the antenna mount, indicating to the radio that a longer, more resonant antenna is in use. The Army wasn't content with telling RTOs to just carry an extra 150' or so of wire. Noooo - they needed to come up with an approved, type classified antenna system. Their solution was actually pretty neat (and cheap) - get some inexpensive commercial fishing reels (it looks like the Army selected the Pflueger Medalist fly fishing reel) and paint them olive drab, wind about 150' of thin but tough phosphor bronze wire on them, provide a crimped-on spade plug at one end of the wire to slip between the antenna mount and the antenna body, stick some simple user instructions on the reel, put it in a small canvas bag and name it the AT-984/G antenna. It worked great!

These things could not have cost Uncle Sam more than $15 each back in 1968. By all reports they were widely issued, so they were not rarities. But since they were not repairable I'm guessing a lot were broken or lost during combat and just written off. Surprisingly, I never saw one in the flesh in my 23 years in the Army (starting back in 1979), but I do remember seeing them in component listings for the PRC-77 radios. Our own field expedient manuals told us to just use a single 150' strand of WD-1 commo wire. A simple and effective substitution.

But I'm a military radio collector and dammit, I want a real, gen-u-ine AT-984 antenna for my collection! So this started me on the quest for a good example of an AT-984. I was surprised to find that there's usually one or two for sale on eBay. Great! But after a few weeks of tracking auctions (or buy-it-now sales) for these things it became apparent that everyone who owns an AT-984 thinks it's rare and valuable enough to contribute significantly to their retirement account. A hundred bucks seems to be the median value for these things right now, with the lower priced 'buy-it-now' ones moving quickly, the higher priced ones hanging around a bit longer but eventually selling for the asking price or racking up quite a few bids on auction. And condition is no impediment to a sale - I've seen beat-to-snot examples that were missing pieces and all bent up like they had been run over by a jeep sell for just as much as pristine, still in the wrapper examples.

Here's one currently on offer on eBay with a bent frame. It's in otherwise OK shape, and seems to be complete, but $104 plus $13.50 shipping for a damaged item? I guess because someone wrote 'B-1-135' (Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 135th Infantry? Armor? Aviation? Who knows) on it in red paint it's collectible. But remember, this is not an unusual sale - and by comparison with some of the others recently sold on eBay this one is in pristine shape.

So I wait and watch, ready to pounce whenever someone financially solvent enough decides to put an AT-984 up for sale at a reasonable price. Or the current sellers come to their senses.

W8BYH out

AM/FM Radio In The Shack?

Do you keep a consumer grade AM & FM radio in your shack?

Tecsun PL-310ET atop my Yaesu FT-991 - small but packed with features

Many of you will say, "Why bother? My all-mode rig does just fine."

True enough, but what happens in an emergency when you need to monitor both broadcast radio (say, for weather updates) and you are also working an HF disaster net? Some may say, "I'll just use my HT." OK, that may work. Lots of new(er) HTs  have the ability to pull in AM & FM broadcast bands. But what if you need to use the HT to monitor the local repeaters? Of course you could set up a scan memory group and roll the broadcast bands into a scan setup... at some point the issue over-complicates itself. The best approach? Get a good AM/FM receiver and incorporate it as part of your shack setup.

There are a lot of really good, and inexpensive, AM/FM/SW radios on the market. Sadly, many of the old-line makers of top-notch receivers like Sony, Panasonic, Grundig and Drake have either left the market, have been sold off to holding companies and are little more than badge names on second-tier electronics, or have gone under altogether. The good news is that several Chinese manufacturers have stepped into the market in a big way. You see, in most of the developing world (that would be what we call the 'third world') broadcast radio is still big, and it's a primary means of information and entertainment dissemination. Not everyone has gigabit internet service and a MacBook Pro. So Chinese manufacturers like Tecsun have moved into the portable AM/FM/SW receiver market in a big way, bringing great performing DSP-based radios to market at very low prices. Then there is a last holdout American firm, CC Crane, that still takes portable AM, FM & SW listening seriously, and makes an outstanding line of high performance, reasonably priced radios.

So what qualities does a good portable radio need to have to be considered for inclusion in a ham shack for emergency purposes? Well, for starters, good AM & FM reception. Next, the ability to run on common battery types (AAA, AA or D-cells). And last, the ability to accommodate an external long wire antenna, either a clip-on or plug-in design, for improved reception.

Down through the years I've collected (really, more like accumulated) a lot of portable AM/FM radios:

• Several classic (and very fussy) GE SuperRadios - a very good design that was a favorite of AM DXers for decades. Too bad GE/RCA didn't give a damn about quality control
• C Crane CC Radio EP - a product improved SuperRadio. Discontinued, but replaced by a better performing DSP model, the CC Radio EP Pro
• A classic old Panasonic RF-505 - amazing FM sound quality. It shows what the old-line Japanese makers were capable of when they were at the top of their game
• Tecsun PL-310ET  - a diminutive little radio (about the size of a large brick of sharp cheddar cheese) that probably offers the best bang-to-buck ratio
• C Crane CC Solar Observer - a seemingly awkward mash-up of AM/FM radio, weather radio, an LED flashlight and a solar and hand-cranked dynamo charger. But guess what - it works, and works quite well!
• Tecsun PL-880 - a simply amazing AM/FM/SW (USB/LSB) receiver that uses a hard-to-find battery
• C Crane Skywave - another diminutive top performer, but a bit pricey. Proof that C Crane knows how to design & build radios. This radio was recently updated to a full USB/LSB version
• Tecsun PL-365 - a revision of a design made for CountyComm by Tecsun for a US 'three letter agency' looking for  a small general coverage receiver that could fit in a bug-out bag. A remarkably good radio with an unusual (but very effective) external AM antenna. 
• Freeplay FPR2 wind-up and solar powered AM/FM radio. This is the radio, along with some sort of goofy wind-up laptop running Linux, that was going to save the third world from itself. The thing is heavy, flimsy and makes a gawd-awful racket while the wind-up dynamo is running. But it has decent AM & FM reception, and is quirky enough to cause me to hang onto it as an example of the precursor to the current generation of 'wind-up' radios.

You can see a pattern here - I like Tecsun and C Crane radios.

But which one would I run in my shack during an emergency to monitor local broadcast stations? Remember, my criteria are good AM & FM reception, the ability to run on commonly available batteries and the ability to accept an external antenna to improve reception.

My first reaction is to reach, almost reflexively, for the Tecsun PL-880. It is an outstanding receiver in all respects. But it has one huge failure - it uses non-standard and hard to find lithium-ion 3.7 volt batteries that can only recharge via USB while in the radio. Sorry, but I have enough to worry about without wondering if I've got the right kind of batteries on hand for my radio.

Next I'd reach for the C Crane Skywave. Excellent AM & FM reception, and really nice stereo FM reception with earphones. But for normal listening the speaker is too small and 'tinny'. A great bug-out radio though.

So what does this selection really come down to? The plain-jane AM/FM only C Crane CC Radio EP. It offers excellent AM & FM performance (FM sounds really good out of the big main speaker), runs on D-cells, offers precise tuning with good selectivity, has a very effective FM whip antenna, a 'tunable' AM antenna and the ability to accept a simple long wire antenna to improve reception. This isn't just a good radio to have around for emergencies, it's an enjoyable radio to listen to at any time.

CC Radio EP  - a truly great AM/FM portable

So what do you have on-hand for AM/FM reception? Remember, the day before the ice storm is a lousy time to decide you need a broadcast band radio. And Amazon doesn't deliver on ice skates.

W8BYH out

Backlit Buttons

I'm a huge fan of the IC-7300, and I unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone that asks me my opinion. I've been running mine for almost a year now and I'm convinced that it is the best HF radio in its market segment. Icom hit it out of the ballpark with this one.

If the IC-7300 has a serious shortcoming (not a flaw - just something big that Icom left out), it is the lack of backlit function buttons. I've brought this issue up on a number of forums. Some folks have said that my gripe about the buttons is overblown. I don't think so, particularly if you operate in a low-light environment.

I enjoy working in my shack with the lights out. I believe it helps me focus on the task at hand, and it's a bit more relaxing. Plus, every light is a potential source of RFI. Turn off the lights, lessen the potential RFI. Here's a shot of my IC-7300 (lower) and my FT-991A (upper) taken in my shack with the lights out. There is a bit of ambient light in the room, but this is pretty close to what I see (minus the computer monitor) when working under low-light conditions.

Yaesu FT-991A (upper), Icom IC-7300 (lower)

Some have commented that backlit buttons on the 7300 are unnecessary because everything important is done from the touchscreen. This is only about 80% true. There are still important functions (like switching between memory & VFO mode, activating a tuning cycle, locking or unlocking the VFO, stepping through memory channels, turning on and off noise reduction & blanking, etc) that are executed via unlit buttons.

Frankly, the the slightly less well performing FT-991A is easier to work with under low light conditions.

Is this a deal breaker when it comes to the IC-7300? No, of course not. The IC-7300 is a better radio on HF than the FT-991A. The IC-7300 also has a much better display (far better resolution & contrast). And of course the SDR-based signal processing in the IC-7300 is a good bit better - and has more upgrade potential - than the conventional triple-conversion signal processing of the FT-991A.

But for just a couple more bucks per unit Icom could have easily included a backlit front panel. Sheesh...

W8BYH out

The Radio As A System

A few days ago I was updating my Christmas wish list and decided I'd ask Santa for an AN/PRC-160 manpack radio - better known as the Harris Falcon III wide-band HF manpack radio. In concept this is a direct descendant of the PRC-77, so why wouldn't I want one?

Falcon III wide-band HF radio

I managed to find a copy of the GSA price sheet for the Falcon III and its components and two things struck me. First, this radio is jaw droppingly expensive. A well outfitted 20 watt configuration costs about as much as a new sub-compact sedan. Second, Harris offers one heck of a lot of components for the Falcon III. The component list is 8 1/2 pages long, and it's in small type. In fact, the Falcon III really isn't a radio, it's a system of components that make up various radio configurations. You buy the basic transceiver and then select the components needed to fit the intended use or mission. Going to use it as a manpack radio? Order the battery case, whip antenna and carrying pack. Going to use it mounted in your HMMWV? Order the vehicle installation kit, vehicle antenna mounting kit, antenna tuner and amplifier. Not sure exactly how you will use it? Then order the whole shebang and pray your Powerball numbers hit.

The same approach applies to Amateur Radio. An Amateur Radio transceiver should be thought of as a component of a system. The radio may be the key component, but by itself isn't much use. Only when you mate the radio with carefully selected components does it live up to its full potential. YouTube is full of radio fanboys appearing in silly and useless videos of themselves unboxing their new toys, showing the radio, the accessories, the manuals. What few do is go on to describe all the components that are necessary to make their new toy work: power supplies, antennas, headsets, cables, programming software, rig control software, the computers to run it all on. Minor stuff like that.

The FT-991A HF, VHF, UHF multi-mode radio.
It provides a wide variety of operating bands and modes and incorporates
an internal antenna tuner, and a sound card modem for digital operations
on the HF bands

I recently purchased a Yaesu FT-991A to use as the centerpiece of an all-mode portable station. I wanted something that was highly capable on both voice and digital modes yet is a small and easily transported package. The 991A seems to fit the bill nicely, but for for even the most basic operations it needs to be connected to a power source and an antenna. That's just to get a voice signal out. Taking advantage of the 991A's full potential requires a wide range of additional components that extend the radio's capabilities and add flexibility to its operating modes.

The rear panel of the FT-991A highlights why it is so versatile.
It offers connections for separate HF & VHF/UHF antennas, USB, serial (for GPS input)
external tuner and amplifier connections and external speaker connections

But what components to buy? To determine that we first start with what I call 'deployment scenarios' - how do you intend to use the radio? My deployment scenarios focus on what I refer to as communications dominance in an austere environment. That is, in an emergency situation, the ability to get a signal through regardless of band conditions and using all available frequencies and modes. This implies the ability to use voice and digital communications on HF, VHF and UHF on the allocated Amateur and MARS frequencies, and the ability to receive across a broad spectrum to monitor commercial and government broadcast systems.

The FT-991A is not best-in-class when it comes to pure transmit and receive performance but it is very near the top of its class, and its all-mode versatility is unmatched. This makes it an ideal radio around which I can build a very capable system. But what additional components do I need? Let's look at the basic requirements that need to be met to achieve communications dominance:

• I need to power the radio using both commercial power and batteries
• I need to effectively operate the radio in high noise environments 
• I need to connect the radio to antennas - HF, VHF and UHF
• I need to be able to match the impedance of those antennas across all operating frequencies
• I need a TNC to enable digital comms on VHF frequencies
• I need digital mode and radio programming software
• I need a dedicated computer to run all this software
• I need cables to hook everything up
• I need a way to safely and securely transport all this equipment

Let's translate this into real world system components:

Power: a lightweight 20 amp or better power supply and a capable battery power supply to provide back-up power

Operating in high noise environments: a headset/boom mic combo and hand switch. I find operating VOX to be annoying, and it can be hard to adjust in noisy environments, so I depend on a hand switch

Antennas: antenna systems need to be versatile, easy to transport and offer good performance. For HF I've settled on a combination of  both a ground mounted vertical and and end-fed wire, and for VHF/UHF a simple but extremely effective weather proof j-pole. Antennas are useless without coax cable to hook them to the radio, so I have 2 x 100' lengths of RG-8X coax. There will also be scenarios where you need to hoist these antenna components into trees or other supporting structures, so I've added 200' of 550 parachute cord and line-launching slingshot

Antenna tuner: the FT-991A comes with a very capable internal tuner, but it is designed to find matches for 'fairly resonant' antennas within the Amateur Radio bands. I need the ability to tune outside the Amateur Radio bands, on the allocated MARS frequencies. This means bypassing the internal tuner and using a more capable external tuner when necessary

TNC: the FT-991A comes with a built-in sound card modem for use on digital modes on HF, but lacks a TNC capability for Winlink or packet digital modes on VHF. This means a separate external TNC

Digital mode and programming software: Digital mode software implies two software packages - Fldigi and Winlink. For programming all my radios I use RT Systems radio-specific software packages

Computer: in this 'communications dominance' scenario the computer must be as rugged/survivable as the radio itself. Because of software requirements it also needs to be a Windows system. Fldigi and Winlink are low system demand applications; they can run just fine on a fairly pedestrian Intel i5 system. Any $300 Wal-Mart laptop could work, but this scenario calls for a computer with above average survivability - something that can take some bumps, knocks and a bit of water. I've actually addressed this issue in a previous post, so check there for more info

Cables: cables are the circulatory system of any radio setup. They make sure the electrons go where they need to go. Coax cables for the antennas, a coax jumper to hook up the tuner, a USB cable to connect the computer to the radio, power cable to connect the radio to the power source, a cable to connect the the TNC to the radio, etc.

Transport: cardboard boxes are a lousy way to transport sensitive electronics gear, even if it is ruggedized. The goal is safe, secure and watertight transport for all system components. It is unreasonable to expect every component to fit into a single case, so what I've done is separated components out by function. The FT-991A and it's key components (power cables, power supply, coax jumpers, headset/boom mic, manuals, etc.) go in one case, antennas and accessories go into another case. Outsized components like vertical antenna sections go in their own custom built transport tubes. Long lengths of coax go into a heavy duty canvas carry tote

One of the great things about being a long-time ham is that I've got most of this stuff already laying around. The only thing I needed to purchase new was a TNC (I went with a Coastal Chipworks TNC-X) and programming software from RT Systems. I'm not sure if this indicates I'm very well prepared, or if I spend too much money on radio gear. Or both.

So what does this component list look like when all detailed out? Here's a look at my packing list:

I know a number of folks will scoff at this - "You are clearly too anal (or self important) and you are just showing off your toys. This is little more than a super-sized version of the unboxing videos you mock in the opening of this blog post." 

I don't see it that way. I spent decades in the US Army managing systems - from simple truck tool kits at the squad level to the fielding of complex information analysis systems across the entire European theater of operations. I have deep experience in building out system components to meet specific mission requirements. If this mission is communications dominance across a variety of operating modes and conditions on the Amateur Radio bands then this system equipment list is the minimum  you will need.

So if you are involved at any level with ARES, SHARES, SATERN, or any of the other Amateur Radio groups that provide emergency communications support start thinking of your radio(s) as part of a system, then build out the system to meet your most likely deployment scenario. Remember, when you deploy don't deploy with a radio, deploy with a system.

W8BYH  out

Farewell To The Icom IC-7200

With no official announcement from Icom, this week US distributors quietly began marking the Icom IC-7200 as 'discontinued' on their websites

IC-7200 with the optional grab handles

This is a darned shame. The IC-7200 had something of a cult following; it was rugged, military like in it's design and it just looked cool. But it was no slouch - it offered great HF performance and incorporated a sound card interface that made using it on digital modes like PSK-31 or for Winlink a snap.

The IC-7200 was declared dead once before back in 2016, but a year later customer demand spurred Icom to put it back into production. One dealer, Gigaparts, capitalized on the radio's rugged appeal and offered the radio in several custom colors done up by an after-market paint shop. Some of the designs were a bit outlandish, but the 'Vietnam olive drab' option was an attention grabber.

I've owned my IC-7200 for about a year and was so impressed with its performance and rugged build that I was planning to buy a second as a back-up. Alas, it looks like I'll be looking for a used one if I don't move fast.

I'm also scratching my head wondering just why Icom killed off this radio but keeps the very long in the tooth IC-718 in production. The IC-718 went into production almost 5 years before the IC-7200 first came to market. It's a good radio, and Icom has sold truckloads of them, but it's an archaic design by today's standards and other than a low(er) price and the Icom name badge it really doesn't offer any thing that would make it competitive. In fact it's direct competitor in the Yaesu lineup - the FT-450D is a much better radio. The IC-7200 could hold its own against the FT-450D, but not the IC-718.

My guess is that Icom figured out that the IC-7200's sales were eating into sales of the IC-7100 'shack in the box'. Just speculation. Or maybe Icom's got a nifty IC-7200 replacement waiting in the wings. Maybe a ruggedized manpack HF rig, 20 watts out, internal battery pack, takes a whip antenna for operations on 10 and 6 meters, fully integrated handset. Hey c'mon Icom, make Daddy happy!

But in the meantime my IC-7200 will soldier on. I recently had the MARS/CAP mod done on it and it gets dragged to the field now and again for some fun.

IC-7200 running Fldigi from the back of my truck

It's a workhorse for sure. I'm keeping mine.

W8BYH out