Gear/Gadgets Archives - Page 3 of 20 - KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

Increase in Internet sources for ham radio gear

February 5, 2013 by Dan KB6NU 5 Comments

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from the Amateur Radio Store. I’d never heard of this place before, so I clicked on the link in the e-mail to check it out. As I was surfing their site, it occurred to me that there are now a number of websites like this that sell amateur radio products.

I attribute this to the ease with which proprietors can set up shop. It’s relatively easy to register a domain name, download something like OSCommerce or an e-commerce plug for WordPress, and start selling stuff. In addition to the Amateur Radio Store, I’ve recently come across:

AmateurRadioSupplies.Com. (Full disclosure: AmateurRadioSupplies.Com is now an advertiser here on KB6NU.Com, and I’ve been doing some writing for this website.)
The DX Store.
The Ham Radio Store.
K1CRA Radio Store.

I’ve purposely left the major vendors off this list, such as HRO, AES, and Universal, because they maintain full-service, brick-and-mortar stores as well as having an online presence.

It will be interesting to see how many of these stores make a go of it. They are at somewhat of a disadvantage because the Big Three (ICOM, Yaesu, and Kenwood) generally won’t sell to them.

I’m really hoping, though, that they can stick it out. It’s great to have choices when it comes to buying ham gear. The key is going to be being able to provide both the selection and the service that the more established vendors can. Good service will build the solid customer base that these stores need.

Filed Under: Gear/Gadgets

From my Twitter feed: Ontario Science Center demos ham radio

January 29, 2013 by Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

VA3XPR
Ontario Science Centre Demonstrates Ham Radio Digitally Remastered http://t.co/sU2HgoYO

K5PO
My catch-phrase! RT @K5KVN: New meme! @K5PO says: Put A Ferrite On It! http://t.co/CxrqFIMY

wa5ray
Amateur Radio Quiz: A Log of dBs: By H. Ward Silver, N0AXn0ax@arrl.netI f there is a single unit of measurement b…http://t.co/lkdKX9cb

Filed Under: Communications Theory, EMI/RFI, Kids

Two Vintage Photos

January 28, 2013 by Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

This morning, I found two links to vintage amateur radio photos in my inbox this morning. The first one if from Wystan Stevens’ Flickr photostream. Stevens is a local historian here in Ann Arbor, MI.

W8ZRF 1953 QSL

W8ZRF is still alive and kicking and an active member of our local amateur radio club, ARROW.

The second one comes by way of the Glowbugs Google Group:

It comes from an article titled, “The Weirdest Photo Research of 2012.” The caption reads, “Sam Harris, of Medfield, MA, trims his beard with electronic scissors controlled by moon bounce signals. Bettmann/Corbis” Glowbug members quickly identified the ham in the photo as Sam Harris, W1FZJ, who is famous for the first 1296 MHz moonbounce contact.

Not only that, they identified the receiver as the Lafayette HE-10 (fully assembled) or KT-200 (kit). Says, Bob, W9RAN, “Really a nice receiver with and RF stage and transformer isolated power supply – definitely a cut or two above the S-38 that the dial was borrowed from. I like receivers like this for casual listening, as you can just spin the dial and always find something interesting to listen to. It certainly would have been usable by Novices and on AM, although tuning SSB on receivers like this or my Hallicrafters SX-110 kept the operator busy, tuning to compensate for drift and controlling the audio with the RF gain, but this soon became second nature.”

Filed Under: Gear/Gadgets, History, QSLs, Receivers

Having trouble finding tube sockets?

January 25, 2013 by Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

If you’re having trouble finding tube sockets, Hack a Day recently ran a story on a guy who uses a 3D printer to make his own tube sockets. How cool is that?

Here’s the video that shows how he did it:

There’s also an cool post on Hack a Day showing how to build a tube prototyping station.

Filed Under: Gear/Gadgets, Tubes

How do you choose an antenna analyzer?

January 22, 2013 by Dan KB6NU 7 Comments

A reader recently e-mailed me:

In the past you told me you started with the Autek RF-1, and later moved to the Palstar ZM-30. I am finally getting around to thinking about purchasing an antenna analyzer, but I am stumped by the choices. In order of increasing purchase price this is what I’ve turned up:

Autek RF-1 - $139.95

Autek RF-5 - $229.95

Rig Expert AA-54 – $340.00

Palstar ZM-30 $399.99

W4RT Electronics MiniVNA $399.99

Rig Expert AA-230PRO $690.00

Timewave Technology TZ-900S $899.99

How does one decide? Where does one go to find out the differences? Other than asking a fellow ham, how does one find out which one is the best antenna analyzer without paying an arm and a leg (unless the feature(s) so purchased are deemed worth the cost)?

Thanks! 73

He actually missed several other good choices:

Autek VA1 – $199. This is actually the antenna analyzer that I first purchased.
MFJ 259B - $240. This is arguably the most popular antenna analyzer on the market. MFJ has several other models with different feature sets.
YouKits FG-01 – $250. This is a very cute, little analyzer with a small graphical display. It seems kind of expensive, but the graphical display might be worth it.
Comet CAA500 – $450.

So, how do you choose just one from this list? Well, I think the first thing that you have to ask yourself is how you’re going to use the analyzer. If all you’re going to do is to check the SWR of your HF dipoles, then buy the Autek RF-1. It’s the least expensive unit, is reasonably accurate, and is small and lightweight, making it easy to use outside where your antennas are located.

The Autek RF-1 is inexpensive, and its small size makes it easy to use outdoors where your antennas are.

If you want to do some more serious frequency analysis, then you should be looking at the W4RT miniVNA or, if you have more cash, the Timewave TZ-900s. These instruments can help you do a lot more in-depth analysis of your antenna system. The figure below, for example, shows a plot generated by the miniVNA software. It shows the SWR of a multi-band vertical antenna from 3 – 33 MHz.

For more sophisticated frequency analysis, consider the miniVNA. It uses a computer to generate graphs like this.

Some antenna analyzers do more than just SWR. For example, what sold me first on the Autek VA1 and then on the Palstar was that they also measured reactance. So, you can use the antenna analyzer as an LC meter as well. Palstar also says that you can use the ZM-3 as a low-level signal source.

Next, you need to consider what bands you’ll be using it on. Many antenna analyzers only cover the HF bands. That’s a bummer if you like operating 6m, or like to experiment with VHF/UHF antennas. A friend of mine bought the Palstar antenna analyzer after talking to the company at Dayton. At the time, they said that they were planning to come out with a model that covered 6m, as well as the HF bands.

Unfortunately, they never did come out with a 6m version, and he was sorely disappointed. He ended up buying a miniVNA instead.

Asking your fellow hams about the antenna analyzers they have is actually a good way to figure out what’s best for you. If you ask nicely, they might even let you borrow their analyzers or come over and show you how it works on your antennas.

Reading the reviews on eHam is also a good way to gather information before making a purchase like this. You certainly have to take the reviews there with a grain of salt, but if several reviewers mention a particularly good or particularly bad feature of a product, then it’s certainly something worth taking a hard look at.

If you’re new to the hobby, starting out small and working your way up might be a good strategy. You could buy one of the less expensive models and get used to how they work, then sell it and make the leap to a more sophisticated unit. The way things are going, you should be able to sell your first antenna analyzer for at least 80% of what you paid for it.

Whatever you do, don’t fall victim to “paralysis by analysis.” Go ahead and buy one and start using it. This is a learn by doing hobby after all.

Filed Under: antennas, Gear/Gadgets, Test Equipment

EE Times Top 15 Hot Technologies

January 15, 2013 by Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

According to EE Times, 3D printing will be one of the hot technologies in 2013.

Lots of magazines publish articles such as EE Times’ “Top 15 Hot Technologies for 2013″ at the beginning of the year. Below, are a selection of what I found interesting or applicable to amateur radio.

Soluble ICs. Eventually, you may be able to wear these ICs like temporary tattoos, and after doing whatever they do, they will dissolve into the skin. Researchers think that they may be able to use the devices as miniature heaters to keep bacteria off a wound or as bio-monitors for use in both sports and medicine.
3D printing. EE Times says, “The transition to digital manufacturing crossed a line in the sand in 2012, proponents said. Desktop manufacturing with 3-D printers is now becoming practical for a range of products.”
Solid-state lighting. 2013 might be the year, LED lighting becomes practical for homes.
Improved solar cells using black silicon. Researchers in Germany have improved the efficiency of solar cells using black silicon by irradiating them with a laser using a specific pulse shape. This technology still needs to be commercialized, however.

You can read the complete article here.

Filed Under: Books and Magazines, Gear/Gadgets

Kaito Voyager KA500 good in an emergency

January 13, 2013 by Dan KB6NU 5 Comments

Kaito KA500 This Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a Kaito Voyager KA500 radio. This radio tunes

AM,
FM,
two shortwave bands: 3.2-8 and 9-22 MHz,
and the seven weather band frequencies: 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.50, 162.525, and 162.55 MHz.

It’s not the most sensitive SW receiver on the market, but it does pick up the big broadcasters, and I’ve had some fun playing around with it. There’s only a short whip antenna, and no external antenna jack, so that might be one reason the sensitivity is lacking. I haven’t yet tried clipping a longer wire onto the whip antenna.

I also wish it had a BFO, so that I could tune CW and SSB signals, but what do you want for $50 (at Amazon). There are several projects out there on the Internet for add-on BFOs, and TenTec even makes a kit, so I might be adding that on later.

One of the cool things about this radio is that there are six ways to power it:

dynamo cranking,
solar panel power,
three AA cells,
built-in Ni-MH battery pack,
optional AC adaptor, or
from a computer via the USB port.

I played around with the cranking feature, and you get about a half hour of radio operation for each minute you crank. Having said that, you probably don’t want to do this all the time. Not only will your arm get tired, but I don’t think the dynamo was made for heavy-duty use.

Other neat features include a five-LED reading lamp on the rear panel and a LED flashlight on the side. The radio can also charge other electronic items. It has a bi-directional USB jack that can connect with many standard USB enabled items like iPods, cell phones, etc. It comes with six cell phone tips that charge many cell phone models.

Overall, this radio has been fun to play with, and in an emergency, it could prove to be very useful. For more information, there are a couple of YouTube videos showing off the features of the KA500. Here’s one from UltraTechLife.Com.

Filed Under: Gear/Gadgets