I’ve been following the development of the latest SDR HF transceiver… the Flex-3000. This radio began shipping last week – so we should start to read real world reviews and hear them on-the-air. FlexRadio Systems is famous for their pc-driven ham radios without knobs and their high marks in the NC0B (Sherwood Engineering) Dynamic Range [...]
In their never ending quest to promote amateur radio to the general public, the ARRL announced a new marketing campaign today: “We Don’t Do That�. Over the past few years, the ARRL launched several new websites tied to promoting the many facets of ham radio: Hello-radio.org Celebrates global ham radio communications… all walks of life [...]
In the mid to late 1990s, I predicted that some ham radio suppliers would embrace the internet as a means of selling amateur radio gear while others tried to remain purely “bricks and mortar� shops. Years later, we see some vendors that are almost exclusively internet based businesses that seem to thrive. I caught a [...]
It’s that time of year again here in Iowa. Severe weather season is upon us. I can recall attending tornado spotting classes as a teenager ~25 years ago. Growing up in Central Iowa (the northern edge of “Tornado Alley�), there’s plenty of reason to keep a mindful eye on the weather from April through July. [...]
The IC-7600 (Icom’s much awaited replacement for the IC-756 ProIII) will soon be hitting the US market. Amateur Radio transceiver vendors have already started to post pages on their respective websites (usually minus pricing information). IC-7600 FCC Type Approval The FCC website shows details of the IC-7600 as tested during the certification process (required for [...]
Thanks to those who participated in my online poll regarding where you go to shop for ham radio gear. I was surprised to see that of the 70+ votes submitted so far, 41% use eBay. I certainly knew that eBay was popular with hams and I’ve used it myself for a few years now… but [...]
I see that it’s been over a month since I’ve posted to the blog. Lately, life has been getting in the way of spending much time with ham radio. While my career, family obligations, and just being “too busy� has kept me off the air – hopefully, the worst has passed and I can start [...]
In October 2007, I posted that I had purchased a ratcheting coax crimp connector tool for PL-259s. A year later, results with the crimped connectors have been good. I’m still using the crimped PL259s, but from time-to-time I still need to install a traditional PL259s. Preparing coax for PL259s has always been a painful task. [...]
Good news for those hoping that Icom will release its much anticipated IC-7600 in 2009… I’ve discovered that Universal Radio Inc. has now listed the IC-7600 on their website. They obviously don’t offer a list price yet and they do clearly state that this HF rig is not yet approved in the U.S. by the [...]
Ameritron’s 2009 catalog indicates that they will have a new solid state amplifier – the ALS-1300. Over the next 3 to 5 years I could be in the market for a new ham radio HF amplifier and, as I’ve said previously, a solid-state, idiot-proof, point-and-shoot unit might work best for my needs. The Ameritron ALS-1300 [...]
Loading ...