DIY Arduino

It almost seems like EXTREME DIY!! hacking when you build your own Arduino.

Ham Radio Deluxe

I've given up on trying to keep tabs on Ham Radio Deluxe. There has been way too much drama since the new owners took over. The transition has been a little bumpy to say the least. The Yahoo Group has been flooded with complaints about the pricing and bugs in the newer releases. It seems to have brought out the worst in some hams. From a development perspective, it appears they took the classic "ready, fire, aim" approach.

I expect that things will level out and some lessons learned will make things smoother going forward, but hold on to your hats for now.

4,000+ Android Devices

Wow. More than 4,000 different devices are running Android. Contrast that with a few models of iPhones and iPads.

Baofeng UV-5R: Type 90 Accepted

Chris (NH7QH Radio Supplies) sent me a note saying that the Baofeng UV-5R is now Type 90 accepted by the FCC. He says he has them on order and will be selling them soon.

Quansheng TG-UV2: CHIRP Support

Looks like CHIRP support for the TG-UV2 may not happen in the immediate future:

"Dan replied to my inquiry with the following: " It depends on the radio, of course, but if it is going to happen, it would take less than a week of development time. "

He didn't venture when that week might occur. And that tiny word "if" looms large.

Ian"

I didn't see a way to vote/show support for a particular radio on Dan's site. He's doing this for free, so whatever he decides to do next is clearly up to him. As a quick data point, the relative Yahoo Group memberships are:

TG-UV2 - 431
UV-5R - 1,126
UV-3R - 3,118

[Updated June 29, 2012 - I meant Quansheng not TYT.]

TYT TH-UV3R: Giveaway

AmateurRadio.com and Import Communications are at it again. This time they are giving away a TYT TH-UV3R. Click on over for rules and details.

Stay On Call

My world...

Yaesu FT-1D

I'm gonna have to do a little research on this one... I'm behind the curve.

moleculo A leaked Yaesu fT-1D P25 digital HT photo: bit.ly/JeMTlN #hamrWed, May 09 13:23:57 from TweetDeck

TYT TH-UV3R: Shipping May 15

Ed will be shipping the TYT TH-UV3R radios beginning May 15. He's got them here for $65 + $7 shipping in red or black. He also mentions that:

"Display will be regular LCD, not dot-matrix.
(Disappointing news; takes away from its coolness factor.)"

I agree with him. Is there anything else (keypad?) that makes this radio standout now?

And early adopters should be aware the specs say (emphasis mine):

"2.5 kHz Tuning Step (this feature will be added to later model)
DTMF -- CTCSS -- DCS (DTMF feature will be added to later model)"

SDR Game Changer?

I think the Baofeng SDRs have been a game changer, but let's see what FlexRadio Systems rolls out at Dayton on the higher end of the scale.