Ham Radio Blogs to Follow

As ham radio continues to grow in the US, we can celebrate World Amateur Radio Day!

In honor of this international event, let me recommend a couple of ham radio blogs to check out.

LA3ZA Radio Amateur and Electronics Blog

Ham Radio Weblog PD0AC

PA1SBM

Enjoy!

AA Bang for your Buck

I continue to be amazed at what people can do with the Aruino.

LA3ZA Alcaline battery with most energy/money is RS Power Ultra? Measuring Battery Capacity w Arduino denishennessy.com/2012/04/08/mea… @denishennessyTue, Apr 17 01:43:58 from Tweet Button

Fix Faded Knobs

LA3ZA Now this is something I might wanna try: "How to restore shine to faded knobs" flic.kr/p/bMrGdZTue, Apr 17 22:20:23 from Tweet Button

QuanSheng TG-UV2

More than once, I've seen people post about the Quansheng TG-UV2 as an alternative to the Baofeng radios. So, I thought I would actually take a look. The eHam reviews seem pretty favorable for this UHF/VHF HT with a 4.7/5 rating. Hans, PD0AC, gives it the once over in a review - his conclusion:

"Pros: little money, great fun, excellent quality, well built, rain proof construction. I tried to be as picky as possible, but the lack of DTMF is the only con I can think of"

Some odds and ends about the radio on the http://tg-uv2.blogspot.com/ site. And, unsurprisingly, there is a Yahoo Group for the TG-UV2.

Baofeng UV-5R: SC33 Case Review by KC9HI

Jim, KC9HI, reviews the $11 USD SC33 Case for the UV-5R from the 409Shop:

"The case is definitely designed for the UV-5R and is a real snug fit. Almost too
snug. The radio loads into the top of the case. A top flap goes over the top of
the radio and snaps in the back. The top flap is notched for the antenna, but is
easier to put in place if the antenna is removed first. This is especially so
with the Nagoya NA-701 aftermarket antenna because the base is a little bigger
in diameter than the stock antenna. I was worried that the case might put
pressure on the antenna and eventually stress the antenna jack. There is also a
cutout for the On/Off/Volume switch and the flashlight LED.

The front of the case has a cutout for the VFR/MR button and TX/RX LED.There is
a small hole for the mic and a 3x3 hole grid for the speaker. There are plastic
covered windows for both the display and keyboard. I could easily read the
display through the display window. I never tried to operate the keyboard
through the keyboard window, though.

The PTT side of the case also has a plastic window to let you see and operate
the three buttons on that side of the radio.
The speaker/mic port side of the case has an opening that lets you open the port
cover so a speaker mic can be plugged in.

The back of the case is notched so it will also fit if the belt clip has been
installed.

Unfortunately the case covers the charging terminals on the back of the battery
and the charger base guide slots on the sides of the battery, so removal of the
case is necessary in order to charge the battery. For me, this pretty much makes
the case impractical so I decided very quickly that I wasn't going to use it."

409Shop SC33 for UV-5R

Failed North Korean Missile Test Video

I'm a little behind in my current events.

ConanOBrien The North Korean missile test has failed. Video here: bit.ly/HF5dXn Sat, Apr 14 14:51:12 from web

UV-3R: Prevent Transmit

If you are using your UV-3R to monitor frequencies where you do not have transmit privileges, you can program the transmit frequency to "0" or NULL. If you press the PTT, then the radio beeps at you, but nothing is transmitted.

BREAKING: #GameofThrones has been renewed for Season 3

Excellent! According to GRRM, the third season will only cover about half of the third book. I think that is a good sign that they want to stretch out the series. Of course, this also takes the pressure off GRRM to finish the next book. I had been predicting a race to publish the sixth book verses the HBO series catching up.

GameOfThrones BREAKING: #GameofThrones has been renewed for a third season. RT and spread the word to #GoTFans across the realm.Tue, Apr 10 12:46:17 from HootSuite retweeted by SimoneBoyce

Scary Video

Hide your kids. Hide your wife.



Via The Blaze

Vero UV-X5: Preliminary Pricing

From a Vero Telecom e-mail posted on the UV-3R Yahoo Group:

"Item:UV-X5 Tri-band dual display two way radios with 2W output power
Frequency range:136-174&400-470&245-246Mhz
MOQ Price:100pcs---USD38.00/PC(Ex work price)
Sample Price:USD43.50/PC(Ex work price)
Shipping cost:USD29.00 for 1pcs ship to USA by DHL"

I would obviously expect street pricing to be higher. It will be interesting to see who will be selling this unit, how much higher the price will be, and if it will be re-branded by the sellers.