Baofeng Tech UV-2501: 220 Relay Noise

I was playing with the dual watch/TDR functionality and 220 on the UV-2501+220. I noticed this sound (video):

I made the connection with this post:

"Radio is sturdily constructed and amazingly small. Programmed it with the software from the miklor site and tried it out on my comet triband antenna on local repeaters in all 3 bands. Good audio reports although was noted as slightly muffled on highs. Power output is around 20 watts or a few under.

One odd behavior I did notice is TDR enabled or scanning from UHF/VHF to 220 results in relay noise.

Side a/side b noise (TDR on) 

Uhf/uhf no 

Vhf/vhf no 

Uhf/vhf no 

220/220 no 

Uhf/220 yes 

Vhf/220 yes"

And this explanation sounded reasonable to me:

"I suspect the 220 MHz band antenna lowpass filter is switched with a relay and the 2 meter lowpass filter and 70 cm highpass filters are switched with PIN diodes. A relay that completely isolated the 220 MHz RF filter is easier to do this than design a more complicated bandpass filter and the relay likely has less insertion loss and won't impact the RF performance of the 2 meter/70 cm bands. Based on that I would say the sound you are hearing is normal."

I e-mailed the Baofeng Tech guys and they confirmed this is normal behavior for the dual watch flipping between 440 or 2M and 220.

Hamfests and Gun Shows

Grapevine Amateur Radio will be setting up at a gun show. I'm surprised there isn't more overlap like this:

"You read that correctly - we will be at the Lewisville Gun Show on April 2.  Why?  Because we are new and innovative, and no one has done this before.  We do what other Ham Shops do not.  During the Belton Hamfest in 2014, when a Gun Show was happening in the other side of the Belton Expo Center, all you could hear on the local repeater was "Hamfest and Gun Show at the same place!  WOW!  I need to get back to the ATM!"  Hams were thrilled about a Gun Show right next door to the Belton Hamfest;  so guess what - we are bringing the Ham Radios to the Lewisville Gun Show, right here in our own backyard.  This will be a fun 2-day event.  Stop by the table and say hello, we will be the only ones there selling RADIOS and NEW TECHNICIAN books!"

Amazon Free Shipping

I have usually taken the slow boat option when ordering from Amazon, since it saves me a few dollars. Amazon is raising the threshold for free shipping from $35 to $49. I feel like this is a move to push more people to Amazon Prime.

Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220: A wee tiny radio with a lot of capability

Some initial impressions from someone that's picked up the UV-2501+220:

"a wee tiny radio with a lot of capability"

I agree with several of the comments there - especially about the size. It is small, but I didn't feel like the buttons were too hard to access. Using the mic to program in a repeater was not especially painful as those things go - I don't think manually programming 100 repeaters would be high on anyone's list. Getting the programming cable will make life much easier.

Magic Smoke

Sometimes the magic smoke escapes via the antenna...


Via reddit /r/amateurradio

The First Mile

The first mile always sucks. That's true for me. Even for longer races, I need a significant warm-up. I'm better off running the warm-up instead of "saving" my legs for the race. My current PR for a half-marathon (13.1 miles) was after a five mile warm-up before the race.

Baofeng Tech: Antenna Connections

A commenter wanted "to know if that antenna has any kind of O-ring or seal between the antenna and NMO adapter." Here are some close-ups of all the connectors for both the Nagoya TB-320A tri-band antenna and the Nagoya RB-35 5/8 NMO Mount. I don't see any o-rings/seals - just the insulators, but the fit was very good on everything and all the connections locked up nice and tight.

Ground Plane - Old PC Side Panels

I've appropriated cookie sheets from the kitchen in the past, but that always gets me in trouble. When I was going to recycle some old computers, I realized I could keep the side panels to be my ground plan. Here I've connected up the UV-2501+220 using the Nagoya TB-320A tri-band antenna and the Nagoya RB-35 5/8 NMO Mount.

Baofeng UV-2501: It's alive!

Powering up the UV-2501+220... it barely moves the meter.

(It's nice to have the cigarette lighter plug for quickly getting these radios going.)

The display looks better than these pictures show - it's very bright and overwhelms the camera.

Baofeng UV-2501+220: Unboxing pictures.

A few pictures of the UV-2501+220 unboxing... initial impressions of the build quality are favorable. For example, the mic feels substantial in my hand. I know you can't tell everything by holding a radio, but it is a good start.

Happy Valentine's Day

I've spent mine repairing a leaky toilet. My favorite thing is to fix one problem only to create another. Oh well, I'm sure the hardware store staff missed me.

Mad Magazine Fold-ins

I'm dating myself by confessing to remembering the Mad Magazine fold-ins. Although, in my defense, many of the magazines were my dad's.


Via @Caterina

Harry Potter: The Complete Collection

Well, I missed it... a Kindle version "boxed" set of all the Harry Potter books was on sale for $15.

It's back to $56 now. I'm posting it anyway, since the internet and this blog are substitutes for actually remembering anything.

Via Kinja Deals

Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220: Size Comparison

I'm amazed at how small the UV-2501+220 is. I used to think the Leixen VV-808 was small. The UV-2501+220 is on the top and then the left in the photos below.

Biggest Regret

Not...

Baofeng Tech: UV-2501+220 has landed!

Woo hoo! Thanks Baofeng Tech! What a great way to start the week-end:  UV-2501+220, Nagoya TB-320A tri-band antenna, and Nagoya RB-35 5/8 NMO Mount!

Baofeng - TV Darling

The UV-5R makes another TV appearance.

Fo Time: Ham Radio and Micro-controllers Podcast

Adding to my need to listen to list for the commute home.

Fo Time - Ham Radio Micro-controllers & Linux Episode 43: with KJ6VU and KF7IJZ

Baofeng Tech: Nagoya TB-320A Antenna

I got a delivery from Baofeng Tech yesterday, so I'm one step closer: Nagoya TB-320A tri-band antenna!

PRYME AL-800 Antenna System: Hans (PD0AC) Review

Reports of his retirement from ham radio were greatly exaggerated... Hans posted a review of the PRYME AL-800 Antenna System on the Chinese Ham Radio Equipment Google+ site:

"The PRYME AL-800 antenna system takes a whole new approach to the 'gain problem'. Instead of offering an antenna with a fixed length, the PRYME AL-800 is more of an antenna construction kit. 

What you get is a base with a connector of your choice (SMA, BNC) and two antenna extensions. One of the extensions is short and will perform much like any other helical antenna. The second one is a combination of two extendable whip antennas with a loading coil in between. The antenna will be 94,5 cm / 37.2 inches long when fully extended, which includes the base."