Handheld CB tests

I thought now would be a good time to test out both my handheld CBs ahead of time, the Midland 42 held charge nicely and transmits in both power settings no problem whatsoever, the radio with the power problem is, of course, the Intek H-520 Plus.

Firstly when I found the Intek it was pretty much dead, connecting the charger was the only way to get it working, removing the charger and keying up at 4 watts immediately after plugging the charger in resulted in the inevitable low battery alert and the TX cut out, same at 1 watt, however it lasted about a minute longer at 100mW, to be expected as the batteries were very low charge and are well due a replacement, and I suspect the charger supplied with the radio is absolutely dire and once I replace the batteries I will be charging them out of the radio with a charger rather than in the radio, I initially was going to swap the batteries out with Eneloop batteries however after doing some digging I found 7DayShop do 2900mAh AA batteries for a good price (Eneloop batteries only go up to 2500mAh, same as the Energizer batteries already in the radio), the good thing is that both radios key up fine.

The Grant II is subject to tests next and these handhelds will be used as part of those tests as well, for both AM and FM modulation, for SSB I will have to tune my RTL-SDR to the appropriate frequency I use to do the test as my handheld CBs can only demodulate AM and FM, however I am satisfied the CB HTs are both working as they ought to be.

These tests are required as a prerequisite of setting up internal comms for myself and guest(s) at the National Hamfest, once the H-520 batteries are replaced then I can focus on running more tests.

73 de 26CT730/2E0EIJ

T2LT revisited

I've been on an antenna theme recently, what with both a Slim Jim and a 2-meter dipole written about (the latter being made, the former an idea I can put to some use), and I continue with a favourite CB antenna of mine, the T2LT, the person who made the original video showing how to build this antenna, Gary 26CTX104, remade the video into a two-parter where he went into a little more detail and built another T2LT, it turns out the video was published well over a year ago and I'd not done a lot of CB at that point and was just starting out on Amateur radio, but CB is a bit of fun now and again but some good contacts can be made on 11 meters depending on the solar cycle amongst other things.

So, as you will know I already have a T2LT antenna built, and have tried it out but using only 4 watts into it (perhaps less on battery powered rigs as these radios are designed to run on 13.8V DC whereas my sealed battery is about 12 volts and a pack of AA batteries don't deliver much for long, handhelds are not counted here) though conditions were not favourable for me

So, the plan is this, get the antenna up on my fibreglass mast, inserted into a parasol base or attached to a secondary mast (no more than 1.5 meters) that will fit a parasol base (this avoids planning constraints as the antenna can be removed with relative ease), run a feeder to my "shack", plug the Grant II into it with my good SWR meter for CB in line (I have 3 CB meters and one VHF/UHF meter) and check to see how well it is tuned up, and try and make some CB QSOs (using my CT call if it is still valid which it should be), naturally I will be carrying out some other tests, I just need a volunteer to sit in the "shack" to transmit, as it's CB and anyone can use it without needing a license, for that test the CB magmount will go on my current car connected to the car adaptor of one of my handhelds, the Intek H-520 would be ideal for this as it has a large readable S-meter over the Midland Alan 42 Multi, though both have an S-meter.

So, I am keen to give this a go so Saturday will be a shopping day for some bits

73 de 26CT730

Equipment for PMR446 antenna upgrade ordered and a few other bits

I have placed an order for an SWR meter suitable for the PMR446 channels, I have also added tp this order some PL259s suitable for some cable I found I had lying about which is suitable for use on UHF but not as heavy as RG213, an SO239 coupler identical to what is fitted to the T2LT so the antenna and feeder can be connected together (I will be sealing this up with black sugru to protect it from the elements) and a SMA-F to BNC adaptor to fit the Wouxun in order to attach my Nagoya NA-771 to it when it becomes free again (once the Intek is on the bazooka and operating happily into it)

The SWR meter I have ordered covers from 140MHz (meaning I can use it on 2-meters to double check the slim-Jim on a radio and in situ once I have a license), all the way up to 525MHz (so PMR446 is included), my good CB SWR meter is valid up to 200MHz so for 2-meter antennas I can compare the readings.

The bazooka will be checked for SWR in two places, the first being at Whaston Road car park, my favourite DX spot close to home, the SWR will then be rechecked when the antenna is up in the air, I still need to add some rigidity to the driven element to keep it as vertical as possible (PMR446 units all have antennas that are near enough vertical as almost all type approved PMR446 radios are handheld units (the exceptions to this being the Intek DRS-5070 and it's cosmetically identical predecessor, the Midland BaseCamp446, and the Alan Base446, but these all can operate on batteries and are still portable rather than fixed like a base CB or home Amateur station, the BaseCamp446 has a mic holder on it's rear panel).

I expect to take delivery of the items I have ordered in the middle of next week, and I expect the PMR446 gateway to be moved off the Nagoya and onto the bazooka by the end of next week, range tests will then be carried out once the antenna is up, including to Northallerton, I look forward to seeing if at last I can make it there on PMR446, it's a big ask but it's worth trying.

73 de 26CT730

Tan Hill pre-DXpedition evaluation - video

Here is the video I took up at Tan Hill, it's taken me a while to get it ready for putting on here but I got there, it should give you some sort of idea of what I was talking about in my last post.

73 de 26CT730

Pre-DXpedition evaluation of Tan Hill

I took a ride up to Tan Hill today to evaluate how good a DX spot it really is, for PMR446 use I’d still advise on an external antenna mounted as high as possible, for CB a proper antenna would be beneficial, though I had stations incoming on a handheld, in this case the Midland Alan 42 Multi, notably some foreign stations on channel 8 midblock using AM. I did have a brief flick around on FM and also on 27/81 but AM appears to show more promise, SSB may also be very promising when I can finally give it a go, which may well be at Tan Hill.

I took some video footage on my phone and while I type this I am awaiting it to process before I upload it to YouTube, a later post will be that very video, which includes my very first call on AM, although because I was using a handheld I doubt anyone was able to hear me but with radio you just never know.

All I am left to do is sort out a shelter, build a T2LT and some suitable battery packs, acquire a pole to mount my antenna to, and hopefully I can get back to Tan Hill and keep DXing, I’d like to be up there in August on a Sunday.

So, a video is to come later one when it is finally uploaded to YouTube, and on Monday the President Grant 2 should be here on my desk.

 

73 de 26CT730

The DX5000, is it worth it?

I am looking into treating myself to the K-PO DX5000 for my birthday in April, the question is though, is this radio worth the money?

I have heard mixed reports about it, and over time it has got better, the current version is version 6.

This radio is also known as the Anytone AT5555, the Maas DX5000, the Intek HR5500 and other names

Out of the factory it is generally programmed for the 10-meter Amateur band and thus sold as a radio for that band, but it is expandable to cover the 11-meter band as well, generally this has to be done with a data cable.

Power outputs are reportedly 12 Watts AM, and about 40 Watts FM and SSB* however this is adjustable on AM and FM (not SSB as the power output is dependent on your audio going in).  Though the UK gets SSB and AM on the midband this year, the power output is 12 Watts PEP for a legal radio on SSB and 4 Watts on AM, and as this radio exceeds it it would not be legal to use on the midband for SSB and AM.

When I get this radio, I will hook it up to a dummy load and see what is what with it, and can report further, receive would require me to connect it to an antenna, the antenna that I have in my loft for the CB gateway works OK on receive but it also is very prone to picking up QRM owing to it's location, but at least I'll have some idea if I do, and having looked at the mic pinout it appears I can avoid plugging the mic in for receive, though to use my powered desk mic I'd have to wire 3 out of the 4 wires.

So, will this radio be worth the money I will be paying for it? We shall see, and I hope it to be the first radio I can connect to my Sirio GPE 5/8 as that antenna will be going up when I get a house, and there's only so much you can do in a council-rented flat, and an antenna with radials on it won't get past the planners, housing, or my grumpy downstairs neighbour, a shame really because I'm on a hill and that's a good location for good DXing.

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled, a DX5000 will hopefully be appearing in my shack very soon.

73 de 26CT730

*SSB power output is measured as PEP (Peak Envelope Power)

PS, I will probably make a small video on my thoughts of the DX5000 after I get it, that will be available here and on YouTube, probably with another video later, keep watching this space

Sign of things to come?

Yesterday I heard that there was some skip on the CB frequencies, I therefore took my trusty Intek H-520 Plus, switched it on, placed it in my kitchen window and had a flick through, the “muppet” band (also known as CB 27/81 due to the original 1981 type approval) was moderately more active than normal, and there’s hardly any CB users close to me in the first place, on switching to the CEPT band, there were stations coming in from various points on the European mainland, specifically I heard Germany and Holland I believe, if this is the beginning of improvements I may have some good contacts on my big DX day, this will take place during a dry day in the summer months
I took a short video of the possible skip, my H-520 Plus had it’s stock antenna (KA-520) fitted to it

This video will explain what I mean

I’ll leave you with this and you can make your own mind up
73