First post from comms computer

I thought I’d make a post from the comms computer to make sure all is working, but I thought I’d also make a note of something else interesting that I personally have never come across before, my CB radio is powered up and on Channel 19 UK allocation, despite only being connected to a dummy load and SWR meter, some transmissions were received, they were close looking at the signal meter on the rig, leading me to assume a vehicle behind my home was the locale of the transmitting station, I do plan to get an antenna up soon, new year all being well.  This was also a good way to test my home made extension speaker, which sounded pretty good considering :)

That is all for now, but I shall return soon with more

73

Binatone Action 950 modifications

Note, For information only, I do not recommend or encourage modifying PMR446 radios, you do so at your own risk

One of my own Binatone Action 950s has been put forward as the radio, the other one of the pair will remain unmodified

This is the radio in question, this radio will be modified to include a BNC socket and antenna, a power mod does exist but requires some SMD components as well as a switch or two solder pads bridging, the bridge has been made but the components are not present so the radio is still at 500mW

This is the same radio as above but with the antenna removed ready for a BNC socket to be fitted

This is the radio with it’s BNC socket installed, the bottom part of the antenna has been used to accommodate the BNC socket, the BNC socket cannot be soldered directly to the board, a small piece of wire had to be soldered between the centre pin of the BNC socket and the antenna connection on the board, the ground is soldered to a nearby solder pad that connects to ground, for stability the area around the socket will be filled with some epoxy, this should stop it moving about as although the BNC socket is a tight fit, it does move a little so this is recommended

This is the antenna I intend to fit to the radio, Nagoya NA-771, this antenna is a dual band antenna for the 2 metre and 70cm Amateur radio bands, and as the latter includes the allocation for PMR446 in the US (where PMR446 is not used) this antenna proves somewhat suitable

And here is the final result, the radio now has the new antenna fitted, and seems to work fine and has survived it’s operation
Now to see how good it really is
73

Home made extension speaker

Now last night, feeling a little bored, I had a bit of a brainwave, to convert a broken shower radio into an extension speaker.  This involved removing the PCB, FM antenna, and internal wiring, leaving the speaker in the case, the speaker was then rewired to two long lengths of wire, and a spare 3.5mm plug I had lying around, this was then connected to a few of my radios for testing, though I can’t make a proper test until I connect it to a live radio, such as the Moonraker FA5000 CB as that is what it will be used with, given this was made from an old shower radio there is room for some improvements such as a volume control and a mute switch, I’ll post a picture soon

73

Edit, I now have a photo of the current stage of the speaker


The speaker has been labelled with a model number, to give it a little bit more of a professional look, though the labelling from the radio remains at this time, and the two holes allow for improvements such as a mute switch and possibly a volume control, though the rigs drive the speaker fine





The design of the case allows for the speaker to be mounted to a wall, as shown in the picture, thus freeing up the desk space for more important things