Baofeng UV-B5: Miklor Reference

John (K3NXU) started with the UV-5R information. He added the UV-82. And now, you can get information on the UV-B5.

QTH Bathtub

That explains the rash of new Chinese radios that meet the MIL-STD-810 standard or the like for waterproofing.

AnyTone Intellectual Property and TYT

Ed (Import Communications) passed along the following:

To Whom this may Concern:

Please be aware that our Company, Qixiang Electron Science & Technology Co., Ltd., is the manufacturer and designer of the industry leading AT-588 mobile transceiver. We are sending you this notice as where we wish to inform you that our intellectual property has been stolen by a competitive manufacturer from Quanzhou City, China, TYT Electronics Co., Ltd.. 

They sold worldwide a copy of our radio, which they called the TH9000.

Based on the evidence presented to the courts,  the Intermediate People's Court of Quanzhou City announced after trial on June 17,2013, the following verdict:

1) It was found where TYT illegally obtained the technical files of the Model AT-588 (single band mobile radio) from Qixiang and used this information to produce a copy and sold their copied model TH-9000 to the industry. 

2)TYT was ordered to stop the production and sales of the TH9000 

3) TYT was fined 4 million RMB ($650,000 USD) for its tort and illegal activity as damages to Qixiang.

The decision of the courts was fair and just, and brings another level of integrity to the radio manufacturing sector in China.

It  also reminds all professional radio manufacturers in China to the intellectual property of others and this decision reminds of them what they cannot do.

We remind all TYT resellers and users of the TYT Model  TH9000 about this court decision and advise all TYT customers or others to cease from advertising, selling, or supporting  the TH-9000 model transceiver. Qixiang Electron Science & Technology Co., Ltd., will protect its intellectual property and will prosecute to the fullest worldwide anyone found to sell the products in question.
Meanwhile, we hope our customers will support our original designed products, this will be lead us to stable and continued long-term business.
2013-07-19
----------Best regards,EchoQixiang Electron Science & Technology CO., Ltd.
Website: <http://www.qx-tele.com>www.qx-tele.com

Wow.  I wonder if this will have any impact to all the other "clones" we see. I suspect many of the clones are sold by the original manufacturer and re-branded, but there are probably others out there that are not. And will they start protecting the intellectual property of non-Chinese companies? That has long been a concern of taking tech to China to be built.

Xiegu X1M: Platinum Edition Update

Some more about the Xiegu X1M Platinum Edition on the HelloCQ.net forum. Images are via the forum and text is via the forum by way of Google Translate.

X1M Platinum Edition (Overseas customized), is in the country X1M version, based on the appearance of the display, buttons, part of the circuit is optimized for a version, mainly to comply with EU mandatory technical requirements of relevant laws and regulations, as well as relevant FCC requirements.

The improved version of the following areas:

1, for a chip with a new, lower numerical part of the receiver;
2, for a solid OLED screen, to meet the sun observation, as well as the use of cold regions;
3, the replacement of the button improved touch feel;
4, significantly reducing the use of plug-ins that will replace most of the capacitor chip capacitors;
5, will be replaced by a capacitor LPF section COG chip capacitors, filter characteristics significantly improved;
6, the power amplifier section redesigned, converted to all-MOS amplifier, all using Mitsubishi RF power transistors, high gain RF specifications can be protected, each section were 4.5W maximum power over part of the band reaches 6.5W;
7, the control software for the rewritten and revised the CW portion of the bug, is zoned separation standards;
8, carried out on the machine EMC focus rectification, effectively inhibited the machine's various crosstalk;
9, to meet the requirements of domestic and foreign regulations and inspection machine, the software inside, on the amateur bands made ​​shield band emission (in the Project menu to open);
10, to increase the reliability of keys, key board uses a PCB gold plating.

To meet the needs of my friends and thank you for your continued support and concern that this X1M Platinum Edition Domestic sales are as follows: Price: 1180 yuan / Taiwan (only mainland China and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) including a full : Host a microphone in hand a power plug a 3.5 key plug an updated record: 2013.07.17: X1M Platinum Edition Quick Start Guide first release

Rotary Encoder

I got the rotary encoder in the mail today. Now, I need to carve out a little time to see if I can fix this thing.

KYD NC-UV90A: Dual Band Mobile Update Update

The previous update was "The price is not yet fixed now, but it will be around USD230. The item will be ready at the beginning of April. Right now it is under double testing and will start sample order later soon."

The new update is:

"As to the NC-UV90A, it will be available soon. Right now it is under final testing, and will get to production soon, maybe early of August. 

The price for it now is USD198. Hope it is workable for you."

Dead Man's Switch

Schneier points out that is works both ways for Snowden:

"I'm not sure he's thought this through, though. I would be more worried that someone would kill me in order to get the documents released than I would be that someone would kill me to prevent the documents from being released. Any real-world situation involves multiple adversaries, and it's important to keep all of them in mind when designing a security system."

TDXOne TD-Q8AH:

Via Nate... a followup on the TD-Q8AH.

The guy doing the video doesn't like it. And the batteries aren't compatible with the UV-5R.

Vichy DM4070 LCR Meter

I posted about the Leixen Frequency Counter and asked if anyone was using inexpensive Chinese bench equipment? PA1SBM posted that he got a new toy in the shack - an LCR meter.

Get yours at Amazon here or on ebay.

Brief Description 

This professional LCR meter (DM4070) is made by VICHY brand. It is a stable and accurate instrument with Large 3 ½ LCD display. It is widely used on measuringInductance, Resistance and Capacitance. It is ideal for testing SMD type components.    

The meter offers advanced features such as the ability to perform precision measurements. It is an ideal hand-held tool for labs, factories, radio technology and family use.  

Features    

• New type holster, streamline design
• 3 ½ digit Large LCD Display
• Measure Inductance (L), Capacitance (C) and Resistance (R)
• Metallic screen board with stronger antimagnetic and anti-interferential function
• Full protect function, capacitor with the function of self discharge
• Over Range and Low battery display indication
• Automatic Power Off
• Conformed with CE Standard 

General Specifications    

• Display: 3 ½ digit Large LCD (65 x 41 mm) with a max readings of 1999
• Measuring Range:
  • Inductance (L): 0.1 μH ~ 20 H
  • Capacitance (C): 0.1 pF ~ 2000 μF
  • Resistance (R): 0.01 Ω ~ 20 MΩ
• Zero Adjust: Capacitance under 20 nF is manual ministrant zero adjust
• Over range indication: displays "1"
• Low battery display indication
• Sampling Rate: 0 ~ 5 Times / Second
• Operating Temperature: 0 ~ 40 °C (32 ~ 104 °F)
• Operating Humidity: below 80 % R.H.
• Power: 1 x 9 V PP3 battery (not included)
• Dimensions: 185 (H) x 93 (W) x 35 (D) mm (7.28' x 3.66' x 1.38' inch)
• Weight: approx. 360 g (12.7 oz)    

Accuracy is ±(percentage of reading + number of digit) at (23±5) °C, Relative humidity<75 span="">  

Capacitance (C)                                                                                                       

Range	Accuracy	Resolution
200 pF	± (2.5% + 5d)	0.1 pF
2 nF		1 pF
20 nF		10 pF
200 nF		100 pF
2 μF		1 nF
20 μF		10 nF
200 μF		100 nF
2000 μF	± (5.0% + 5d)	1 μF

 Inductance (L)                                                                                         

Range	Accuracy	Resolution
200 μH	± (3.0% + 5d)	0.1 μH
2 mH	± (2.0% + 5d)	1 μH
20 mH		10 μH
200 mH		100 μH
2 H		1 mH
20 H	± (5.0% + 5d)	10 mH

 1 H = 10³ mH = 10⁶ μH 
 

Resistance (Ω)                                                                                      

Range	Accuracy	Resolution
20 Ω	± (1.0% + 5d)	0.01 Ω
200 Ω	± (0.8% + 2d)	0.1 Ω
2 kΩ		1 Ω
20 kΩ		10 Ω
200 kΩ		100 Ω
20 MΩ	± (2.0% + 5d)	10 kΩ

One Set Included    

• 1 x Digital LCR Meter
• Test Leads
• 1 x Instruction Manual
• Standard Factory Package

  

Best Chinese Dual-Band HT

Hans says with 100% absolute certainty that the answer to the question, "What's the best Chinese dual-band HT?" is:

It depends.