Baofeng UV-3R: Delivered!

The packaging looks like it came right out of a M.A.S.H. episode.

From Brick O'Lore

Rain Delays are Fun!

Baseball plus wrestling, curling, civil war reenactments, hunting, and so much more!

Life Lesson: Most Important Troubleshooting Question

The most important troubleshooting question is what changed?

New Kid on the Block

There is a new kid on the block making waves in the stock market. International Business Machines is about to pass Microsoft to become number two in market capitalization. I think the company makes typewriters or something. Wait, that can't be right.

Human Antenna

A neat article about using the human body as an antenna to control your lights, HVAC, or even act as a remote control.

"The experiments showed that electromagnetic noise is so predictable that it can be used it to figure out where a person is standing, what the person is doing, and even where a hand is placed on a wall. The team used a simple sensor that was essentially just a piece of metal, but Morris said that ultimately a sensor could be placed in the user's hand or anywhere else that the radio signals being picked up by the body can be gathered."

It wasn't what I was expecting based on the headline... I was hoping to run full legal power through my fingers to make contacts on 80M. Okay, that's unreasonable. How about 40M QRP?

Via AdaFruit

Baofeng UV-3R: A French Perspective

I took several years of French in high school and college, so I will take a shot at translating F5IYJ's quick review.

"BAOFENG UV-3R: a Y***u VX-3R for 38 of those European Dollars?

I found a small VHF/UHF transceiver (1.85" x 3.19" x 91" - the same measurements as the VX-3R), that delivers 2W, comes with VHF and UHF antennas (SMA adapter), a charger (French adapter) and base, belt clip, and strap [BRICK - process of elimination to get strap, since I know what is in the box] - see pictures.

For the price equal to a certain national brand will sell you a house [BRICK - that can't be right], I now have made several contacts on the local repeaters [BRICK - some guessing here].

It has 1750Hz and CDTSS/DCS which is indispensable for me because I am often in the US.

Briefly, for 38 Euros, a no brainer [BRICK - my wife said it was litteraly "no idea"]. The same Yaesu brand costs 200 Euroes with accessories here."

I checked my work on Google Translate. Yeah, "housse" is a bag. That was fun.

Baofeng UV-3R: Battery & AA Battery Case 2

Today, I got the AA battery case that is based on the Yaesu FBA-37 and should fit the Baofeng UV-3R. I already had a Yaesu case, so I am comparing it to the cheap eBay version. I hate to give away the surprise, but you get what you pay for... The $21 FBA-37 is clearly better made than the $10 eBay version.

The eBay case (right) had a film all over it. It wiped off easily, but it looked like it came from a dirty plant.


The Yaesu (left) is much better engineered. On the eBay case (right), the metal strips that run between the contacts are just roughly covered with some plastic tape.


Here is the eBay case on my VX-3R. It is hard to tell in the photo, but there is a gap along the side where it does not fit well. I think the batteries do not sit flush against the base of the case and this keeps it from close snugly.


As usual, once I get the actual Baofeng UV-3R, I will update when I try this case on it.

Previously Baofeng UV-3R: Battery & AA Battery Case

Baofeng UV-3R: My Orders

So far I've placed three orders from RadioShop888 for the radio, AA battery case, and the USB programming cable. I got the battery case today. I'll update as the others arrive.

UV-3R
Ordered May 6
Shipped May 6

FBA-37 (AA Battery Case)
Ordered May 11
Shipped May 11
Delivered May 18

USB Programming Cable
Ordered May 14 (Sat)
Shipped May 16

Gun Expert

Unless I missed an announcement about a completely restyled Walther P22 I think someone got copy and paste happy.

WB4GBI 147.075 Repeater is Down

Tim's 147.075 repeater is down because it is causing interference with W4KEV's 145.370 repeater. Repeater owner's are a special breed - donating their expertise, time, and money to provide a service for other hams. Tim may be in a class all his own. I'd like to have a fraction of his radio knowledge.

Speaking of Tim, he is going to be a guest speaker at tomorrow's Radio Amateur Club of Knoxville (RACK) meeting. Oddly enough, W4KEV will be there, too. Maybe they are going to duke it out!