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Help with valuing transceivers
I have been asked by the family of a recently deceased ham friend to help them sell his gear.
What I need to do is determine the fair market value for this list of HF transceivers:
Icom IC-720A
Kenwood TS-60
Kenwood TS-120S
Kenwood TS-850S
Kenwood TS-940S
Yaesu FT-450
Your help would be very much appreciated.
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: Help with valuing transceivers
Posted by John Davis on May 02, 2019 at 07:35:25.
In reply to Help with valuing transceivers posted by John Bruce McCreath on May 01, 2019
I claim no expertise at appraising, but working for an auctioneer, I'm a believer in actual selling prices as a good source of comparables for determining market value. EBay lets you see selling prices of recently completed auctions, which are obviously much better indicators of value than "buy now" asking prices. I tend to check those against prices of used gear that has been sold by Universal Radio, which they obligingly let you view on their web site. Other dealers tend not to let you see that information, or show you only asking prices of gear currently available.
Unfortunately, some amateur gear values tend to fluctuate widely, varying not only with condition of the gear but also how many specimens of a given model are being offered for sale at the same time.
Here are some price ranges I turned up using the method outlined above:
IC-720A Asking on eBay from $295 to $599 for working ones, but only one sold in last 60 days was $375. Universal's last used one sold for $330.
TS60-S No recent sales on eBay; current sellers asking $450-$670. Universal actual: $599.95.
TS120-S eBay recent sales, $183-$287. Universal: $299.95.
TS450-S eBay seller asking $800; recent actual sales, $350-$450. Universal $650-$660, one at $800.
TS950-S AT eBay asking $730-$899, recent actual $329-630, one at $830. Universal $250-$630, one or two $800. Not sure why so much variation.
FT-450 Sellers on eBay asking $700 and up, but most recent actual prices were $443-$559. Universal: several, $450-$790, most common price being $599. HRO current asking, used: $625.
Again, this is no expert appraisal, but it may be enough to help you get started.
John
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by Lee on May 03, 2019 at 03:39:30.
In reply to Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning posted by John Davis on April 27, 2019
Thanks for that. I’ve said it before. If you record it I will listen to it .
Error in Operator Contact Info List
Posted by Jeff K8NDB on May 03, 2019 at 09:40:42.
John, The Operator Contact Info list appears to have a error for the AN beacon. AZ Yuma, AZ. See “NDB” should read AN Yuma, AZ See "NDB". Thanks for the good work! Jeff
Re: Error in Operator Contact Info List
Posted by John Davis on May 03, 2019 at 14:39:50.
In reply to Error in Operator Contact Info List posted by Jeff K8NDB on May 03, 2019
Thanks, Jeff, I'll fix that. It may have been from working too late at night when I was thinking of Zzzzz's.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Posted by Jerry on May 03, 2019 at 15:02:51.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time MMK and N1KGY off the air indeffinitely
Or listen online at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Reminder: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time..
Posted by Chuck, N1KGY on May 03, 2019 at 18:48:17.
Unfortunately Im going in for another back surgery. Dont know when or if Ill be able to return to my 'radio pasture'. Will keep tou posted here. 73, n1kgy
first contact
Posted by Adam/KE8DNU on May 03, 2019 at 21:49:14.
I just received confirmation that my beacon was heard by W2LID in Lakewood, NJ!! he mentioned my signal was quite strong on his end!!
very pleased with that, and i'll count it as a tremendous success so far. this antenna needs some work, but it does seem to get out.
4 milliwatts at nearly 500 miles broke down to nearly 12,500 miles per watt!!
73, Adam/KE8DNU
Re: first contact
Posted by John Davis on May 04, 2019 at 05:37:04.
In reply to first contact posted by Adam/KE8DNU on May 03, 2019
Great news, Adam. Congratulations!
Did he mention what time of day it occurred, and maybe how long reception lasted?
Re: first contact
Posted by Adam/KE8DNU on May 04, 2019 at 12:35:28.
In reply to Re: first contact posted by John Davis on May 04, 2019
hey john!
unfortunately no, he didn't get into great detail. i'm sending him a card back requesting some more information of possible. at any rate, i'm on cloud 9 at the moment haha
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by Clint KA7OEI on May 04, 2019 at 18:01:20.
In reply to Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time posted by Jerry on May 03, 2019
Notes on 4 May, 2019 LowFER net
On Air: Jerry, WA6OWR; Ed, KI6R; Clint, KA7OEI
Via web/email: John, AEØCQ
(WebSDR only: Richard VE7RY, Jim WB6QZL, Carl KJ6OHI, Keith KA6ASJ)
Ed - just before net started:
• Was RV mobile at the War Birds museum/swap meet - did not stay on very long. Reasonable signal into Utah. Maybe get together with Jerry later today.
John (via email):
• One of his contractors (putting roofing on his garage) ready to go, but had a fatal heart attack on Thursday; Scrambling to pay for already-arrived materials and find a new contractor.
• Finding a contractor to build a house on the same property as garage, considering the person who built the house he'd rented last year to do the new house/finish garage roofing.
• Needless to say, no "radio fun" this past week.
Jerry:
• Picked up a Handicap van. These use lots of control relays and sensors to make sure that the ramps/doors are where they should be - along with a control computer. Needed to replace battery, clean contacts, restraints, etc. - hopefully getting back to radio.
• On the docket this next week: Checking to see if his IC-7300 can be a viable driver radio for 630 meters.
Clint:
• Had been out of town on vacation this past week, busy when got back, so no radio other than having the computer "listen" for JT-9 and WSPR on 630 meters and for WSPR on 2200 meters.
• Noticed that WSPR had failed: Discovered that the "Dimension 4" clock setting wasn't synchronizing clock any more. Appears that it had "lost" permissions to do so, probably due to a Windows update.
73,
Clint
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by John Davis on May 04, 2019 at 18:34:22.
In reply to Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning posted by Clint KA7OEI on May 04, 2019
For anyone who wants all the details from this week's 22+ minutes, here's a 5 MB large MP3 recording of today's net:
As with last week's recording, this one will only remain on the server for a few weeks, so right-click to download the file to your computer if you want to save it for the long term.
Algeria 252
Posted by Mike Terry on May 05, 2019 at 07:23:53.
Has been temporarily off air, RTÉ 252 LW can be unlistenable in the south and south-east of England as Algeria has a transmission power of 1500 kW during the day and 750 kW at night.
BNC1 QSY plz give a listen
Posted by John on May 05, 2019 at 19:13:17.
I've moved BNC1 to 13.55518 (therebouts). It's a Epson crystal with a Black cat beacon keyer.
Status is 24/7 (solar recharged battery) and antenna is a quarter wave vertical. I'm still looking for my first reception report , so any loggings appreciated. I'll be changing to a QRSS keyer but wanted to see if this new antenna configuration helps any.
You can hear it from about 50 feet away by logging into:
mykiwisdr.hopto.org:8073
Re: Help with valuing transceivers
John, if you'd be kind enough to note the QSY in the index whenever you have time? Thanks es 73
John K5MO
Posted by KMONAS on May 06, 2019 at 01:55:11.
In reply to Re: Help with valuing transceivers posted by John Davis on May 02, 2019
Some of the variation is pricing can have to do with what filters are installed. Those Kenwood add-on fiters are spendy.
-Kirk
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by Lee on May 06, 2019 at 02:29:59.
In reply to Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning posted by John Davis on May 04, 2019
Thanxs for that.
Lowfer SIW QRT
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 06, 2019 at 13:07:42.
Lowfer SIW is QRT for the summer. Expect to return it to operation some time next September. The hifer and MEPT beacons will continue operating 24/7.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
EDJ testing TEMP beacon
Posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 06, 2019 at 23:33:16.
EDJ has been off for a while but is back on as an experimental temperature beacon.
Freq is approx 13555.450.
TX msg: TEMP XX.X C K about 10 WPM normal CW using a U3S. Temp is in C for now.
Repeats about every 2 sec for now. Will be less frequent in future code.
CW machine is a PICAXE 08M2+ reading a DS18B20 temp sensor.
If it's really annoying, I'll change freq. This is just a first shot.
Let me know if heard.
TNX Hifer RY Off for Summer
Bob EDJ Monroe, Ga.
Posted by John, W1TAG on May 07, 2019 at 23:25:52.
It's the merry month of May, again, and Hifer beacon RY from Raymond, ME is off the air until the fall. Not many reports received over the winter, except from the other end of my pipeline to KS. Those were most appreciated!
John, W1TAG
Re: Algeria 252
Posted by Mike Terry on May 08, 2019 at 09:18:36.
In reply to Algeria 252 posted by Mike Terry on May 05, 2019
May 8 2019
Algeria still off last night RTE coming through to UK with a clear signal.
Good time to dx RTE further away!
Re: Hifer RY Off for Summer
Posted by John Davis on May 08, 2019 at 17:27:58.
In reply to Hifer RY Off for Summer posted by John, W1TAG on May 07, 2019
I shall miss my most reliable standard-frequency signal.
JD
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Posted by Jerry Parker on May 10, 2019 at 14:52:34.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time Re: Lowfer SIW QRT
Or listen online at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Reminder: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time..
Posted by Linas KC9PCP on May 10, 2019 at 15:49:56.
In reply to Lowfer SIW QRT posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 06, 2019
I will miss SIW. Usually the only Lowfer I can recieve. Re: Lowfer SIW QRT
What is the MEPT beacon? I should be close enough to hear it.
Thanks,
Linas KC9PCP
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 10, 2019 at 21:20:44.
In reply to Re: Lowfer SIW QRT posted by Linas KC9PCP on May 10, 2019
Hi Linas, my MEPT beacon sends QRSS6 24/7 on about 10.140025 MHz. It runs 1/4 W to a dipole antenna so is more likely to hear on ground wave than my lower-powered Hifers. A nice site to what grabbers are receiving around the world is http://www.swharden.com/qrss/plus/.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Icom R-71A Repair
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on May 11, 2019 at 16:45:18.
Anyone know of a reputable, economical technician that repairs the Icom R-71A. I have one that is not working, again, and would like to get it going...if not too costly.
Another question....anyone using he Icom R-75? Comparison with the Kenwood R-5000?? Any comments....just in case the R-71A fix is too expensive.
Tnx...73 de Bill K4JYS Company called Monitor Sensors
Posted by Lee on May 11, 2019 at 22:34:23.
Monitor Sensors is a company that makes commercial transverter's in Australia. Any one have any news about the company.
Re: Company called Monitor Sensors
Posted by John KB5NJD on May 12, 2019 at 00:22:06.
In reply to Company called Monitor Sensors posted by Lee on May 11, 2019
Hi Lee,
What information are you looking for?
The transverters are very popular options for both 630 and 2200m. The units have protection circuits which make them more suitable for people who might be less careful about their match or not interested in building one of the other popular designs in the public domain.
Roger, VK4YB, designed the hardware and there was another fellow that did the firmware.
If you do very slow modes, there is a mod to improve stability and those who do the mod report that its vert stable. Its possible, but I dont know this, that new production models have corrected the freq stability issue.
If you are interested in pricing and shipping information, send an email to the sales address at monitorsensors.com.
I have also have a manual for the 630m version posted on the link at the bottom of the front page of my website...
If you have additional questions, I will be happy to try and help you but questions directed to Roger will always be the final word...
73!,
John
Re: Company called Monitor Sensors
Posted by Lee on May 12, 2019 at 00:38:56.
In reply to Re: Company called Monitor Sensors posted by John KB5NJD on May 12, 2019
Sent an e-mail to the sales address on Thursday. No response so far. I’m wondering if I have an internet connection issue. Thanxs
Re: Company called Monitor Sensors
Posted by John KB5NJD on May 12, 2019 at 00:54:31.
In reply to Re: Company called Monitor Sensors posted by Lee on May 12, 2019
Remember that if you sent it on Thursday from North America, that is Friday their time and you have the weekend to contend with as well so I'm not surprised that you've gotten no response. Roger has sold a lot of those units so I am sure you will hear from a rep early next week... 73/GL jl
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by John Davis on May 12, 2019 at 06:05:39.
In reply to Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time posted by Jerry Parker on May 10, 2019
This week's recording is longer than the previous two weeks, and is 9.48 MB in size. As always, it will only be a temporary resident on the server, so right-click and Save to download it to your computer, or simply click to stream.
websdr_2019-05-11_3927kHz.mp3
Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019 at 12:35:23.
In reply to Icom R-71A Repair posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on May 11, 2019
Bill,
I have the same issue needing R-71A repair. I had/have a guy in Tucker,Ga, forget his name, call something like N6XA. Probably could find him. He is very good but not inexpensive. I approached him on my 71A reapair. Mine has a bad display. He was reluctant to do it. He said could be easy or hard and costly. I chose not to do it.
I would if reasonable but who knows?
I think John Davis has an R-75 with TCXO option. I would go that route but don't want to spend.
Let me know if you find anyone.
I'm in Monroe,Ga. Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Bob WA1EDJ
Posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019 at 13:03:34.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019
https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2936 Paul Hansen
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by Lee on May 12, 2019 at 17:47:50.
In reply to Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning posted by John Davis on May 12, 2019
Thank you John
Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Posted by John Davis on May 12, 2019 at 21:26:07.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019
Bill wrote:
...anyone using the Icom R-75? Comparison with the Kenwood R-5000?
I use both an R75 and a couple of R-5000s. With the OCXO installed, the ICOM is distinctly more stable than either Kenwood, but the Kenwoods have a more pleasing sound to my ear. Apart from those two main differences, from HF down through mid-LF, both can be made to exhibit similar sensitivity and other reception traits. Unless I'm doing something that requires maximum stability over a wide range of temperatures, or unless I'm monitoring signals by ear for a sustained time, I can treat them as nearly interchangeable.
Here's a little more detailed breakdown of my impressions:
Stability (Temp.): The Kenwoods drift scores of Hz at 13.56 MHz during warmup, and can require as much as two hours to achieve final stability, depending on the difference between storage and field environments. The ICOM achieves its equilibrium in fewer than 20 minutes, most times. The Kenwoods can drift another 20 Hz or more from early morning chill to mid-day heat, while the ICOM will seldom drift more than 1 Hz under similar conditions. (Lots of sources refer to the ICOM xtal option as a TCXO, but it's actually an ovenized crystal.)
Stability (Voltage): One of my Kenwoods shows very little frequency change between the storage battery being near discharge and at full charge, while the other (the one I most commonly take to the field and refer to as Kenwood #3, "Old Drifty") may vary by as much as 2 or more Hz per volt. The ICOM lies between those two. When first checking out the R75, I was annoyed to see that much change on the Argo captures when I'd crank up the generator for recharging. Then I did some actual measuring and realized it amounts to 0.1 ppm per volt at the supply terminals, which doesn't sound so bad--but it's still not as tight, proportionally, as the temperature stability.
Total frequency error from all sources on the Kenwoods can amount to tens of Hz over the course of the day at 22 meters, but seldom exceeds +5/-0 Hz on the ICOM. At 2200 meters, the error is 1/100th of that, amounting to ≈ ±0.2 Hz for Old Drifty to a mere ±0.05 Hz on the R75. (It's not that easy to find an ovenized crystal for the R75 any more, but it is much harder to get one for an R-5000, which is why none of mine have one.)
Sound: Both radios do surprisingly well for such small speakers in a relatively small metal enclosure, frequency response wise. To me, it seems that there is slightly more distortion in the R75 audio, which combined with the rather grittier sound of its background noise (maybe an artifact of DSP?) leads to earlier ear fatigue for me.
Sensitivity: Kenwood is the champ as far as I'm concerned, but the ICOM is no slouch. At 22 m, both can hear exactly the same signals and track almost identically on the S-meter, but to do so, I generally find it necessary to use Preamp 2 on the R-75. Below the AM broadcast band, Preamp 1 is useful on the R75 (Preamp 2 doesn't work as well at lower frequencies) and makes the sensitivity comparable to the Kenwoods until you get below 1750 meters. From there on down, the ICOM's sensitivity gradually rolls off, and is distinctly poorer below 60 kHz. The Kenwood is nearly uniform all the way down to 30 kHz if fed from a true 50 ohms.
Spurs: Both radios have some internal spurious responses at LF. In John Reed's lab tests in The LOWDOWN over the years, the R75 had more and stronger spurs below 200 kHz than most of the others that I recall he tested. However, as long as I'm able to get sufficient signal from the antenna to the radio, this has never been a problem for me.
(You can read either John's test of the R75 alone, or all of John's tests of assorted past and present receivers at lwca.net/library/articles/jreed/index.htm.)
Noise Blanking: On one hand, the Kenwood gives you two blankers, with a little adjustment range; while the ICOM's single blanker with no adjustment, just an on/off switch, seems more effective against some types of noise. But they're both a mixed blessing. Even with their adjustability, the Kenwood's blanker(s) sometimes punch overly broad holes in the signal for some digital modes to decode readily, and at other times are helpless against deafening QRN.
The ICOM usually helps with the latter, but sometimes doesn't seem to work at all, and occasionally works TOO well. What does that mean? One night I was monitoring 630 meters while charging the batteries, and was amazed how quiet the band was--except, unfortunately, along with no noise I was also getting no signals. After much trial and error, including setting up the Kenwood for a while, I was shocked to find that the generator was producing an unusual amount of ignition noise that night. The ICOM blanker was able to remove exactly all of it! ...but in the process, because the ignition noise was SO bad that time, removing all of it ALSO removed nearly all the available signal energy.
Thus, for noise blanking, neither radio has a clear advantage.
Other Features & Ergonomics: My ICOM has what they call Noise Reduction as part of its available DSP functions, but to the extent that it thinks steady whistles are QRN, it's a detriment to narrow, slow digital signals. On the other hand, the manually tunable audio notch filter in the Kenwood is so broad that it's only of benefit in listening to voice or wider audio bandwidth signals.
Both radios have a choice of fast or slow AGC, and the ICOM lets you choose none at all. Of course, you'll usually have to switch in attenuation, and you have fewer options for that on the R75 than on the R-5000.
Both have variable IF passband shifting that works smoothly enough. It may be slightly more flexible on the R75, but I haven't found its second tuning control to be too helpful yet myself.
The R75 lets you select wide/narrow filters for each mode with the FILT button, if alternatives are installed, and it defaults to what you have pre-programmed as the normal filter for the next mode when you select a different one. With the R-5000, filters default to whatever you've installed as normal for each mode, but can be overridden by a rotary switch. Filters for all modes can be selected for any one mode that way (you could listen to SSB in bandwidths from 170 Hz to 25 kHz that way if you wanted, for instance), but with the drawback that you must the rotary switch back to default for the next mode you select to appear in its normal bandwidth. Each philosophy is different, not necessarily better or worse.
That can be said about the other design philosophies exemplified in the different controls. I like the ease of direct frequency entry on the R75, for instance, but I tend to be less confused by the R-5000's memory and VFO functions. That's just me.
Obsolescence: Neither radio is manufactured or available new any more. Subassemblies that may be needed for repairs at some point, like displays, controls, and circuit boards, are going to become increasingly scarce.
OEM accessories such as filters, high stability oscillators, DC power cords, etc., are often only available used, too, for both radios, even though the R75 was discontinued far more recently than the R-5000 was. You may still be able to find a few new-old-stock filters available for the R75, but definitely not all the selection that used to be offered. Filters for the R-5000 were used in a broad range of Kenwood gear at one time, though, so used ones and non-OEM versions have been available in a wide range of types...just be sure to find a dealer you trust, and just figure that they won't be cheap. I've had less luck lately than I used to have at finding specialized narrow filters and even the OCXO for R75's too (I do have another unit I'd like to equip for the listening post someday).
I hope this helps a little, Bill.
John
Re: Company called Monitor Sensors
Posted by Lee on May 12, 2019 at 22:20:18.
In reply to Re: Company called Monitor Sensors posted by John KB5NJD on May 12, 2019
Thanxs!
Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on May 13, 2019 at 12:20:22.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by John Davis on May 12, 2019
Tnx a lot John for that comprehensive review. At some point I will see what the cost of the R-71A repair will run. I like that rcvr and hate to see it thrown away. It is a good rcvr for using on the work bench. I notice that the R-75, at least on eBay, usually runs a hundred bux or so less than the R-5000. Depends a lot on what filters, etc comes with it. I would not be concerned abt the osc. accuracy/stability, etc or drift since I only receive using my noggin....hi. I have a Ten-Tec RX-340, which works fine, but never know when a spare will come in handy. Re: Icom R-71A Repair
73 de Bill K4JYS
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on May 13, 2019 at 12:22:38.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019
Tnx Bob for the info. Looks like he generally gets real good reviews...73, Bill
Re: Lowfer SIW QRT (the late news)
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2019 at 02:30:50.
In reply to Lowfer SIW QRT posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 06, 2019
Sorry to just now get around to posting my last capture of SIW for the season. Two weeks ago last Saturday was the final time before our rainy season set in that I was able to get a trace not impaired by excess QRN. (Also faintly saw WM's FSK for the first time since very early April. It shows up in the 60 second Argo trace, file attachment 27aprd1750.jpg, along with the ragged PLC carrier that nearly obliterates in in the 30 second version.)
I was hoping to do a 24 hour marathon capture, but the signals were swamped by noise before the late afternoon fade even began, and never returned to visibility during the evening. The next day in the "quietest" part of the afternoon, QRN was still bad enough to only yield faint hints of SIW. That's the last I saw of it before Garry went QRT.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 27aprc1750.jpg
File Attachment 2: 27aprd1750.jpg
Quadraphonic EARs
It was a pleasant surprise to see EAR last night despite near-continuous QRN. Skywave must have been quite strong from that direction for a while.
I had been watching late-night 22 meter activity until it faded out almost completely after midnight, so I tuned to 1750 meters with little hope of seeing anything. Surprise! This is already later into Spring than I was able to see EAR last year, so maybe next month too??? If so, that'd be like the good old days of solar maximum, when storms and their static used to quiet down before daybreak some mornings.
(Afterward, I returned to 22 m, with a few different stations starting to show up again.)
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 13mayc.jpg
Re: Lowfer SIW QRT (the late news)
John;
Thanks for the WM report. Back in April, in one of the toad drowning downpours we got, the top of my Helix can blew off. This allowed rain water to flood the loading coil and drench the electronics. The Lowfer hasn't been the same since.
I have cleaned and dried the coils, but I think the PCB's have sustained some internal corrosion causing the reduced power. I will get things rebuild over the summer, but for now I am letting it run at the lower power.
73 Mike
Re: Quadraphonic EARs
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on May 14, 2019 at 14:16:33.
In reply to Quadraphonic EARs posted by John Davis on May 14, 2019
Hi John....thanks for the report and Argo snip of EAR! There is no moat around the helix house, as there had been with all of the rain we've been having lately. It's nice to know that EAR is still radiating a good, strong signal.
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: Lowfer SIW QRT (the late news)
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 14, 2019 at 16:51:56.
In reply to Re: Lowfer SIW QRT (the late news) posted by John Davis on May 14, 2019
Thanks John for the final SIW report. If all goes well I'll have it back on next September running like a year ago with wspr-15 and opera-32 on the days at 185.185 kHz. I'll switch to EbNaut upon request. It's not really that hard to decode with a downconverter whose LO is locked to GPS. Spectrum Lab software already allows for correcting the sound card sampling rate using 1pps from GPS. The setup I use is described at http://www.n1bug.com/lfmf/ebnaut/K3SIW/Downconverter%20for%20EbNaut%20Reception%20using%20Sound%20Card%20Line-In_v2.pdf. The 10 MHz GPSDO can be homebrewed but is probably cheaper through eBay.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Notch Filter for MW "Distill AM"
Posted by Jason Goldring on May 15, 2019 at 13:57:42.
For a whopping $12 CDN or perhaps $8-9 USD you can get the NooElec (www.nooelec.com) AM Notch filter that apparently cleans up the AM broadcast band nicely. I have been using homemade filters which did an adequate job but noise was getting worse, IMD, etc pretty much to the point where 2200m and 630m only gave me a few WSPR decodes over the past several weeks. Now in possession of one to test, they more or less live up to their promise. It does not wipe thee entire MW broadcast band out if you are close to the transmitter station but attenuates it very nicely - No more noise outside the band! I have one hooked up to one of dongles on the RF input of the upconverter and I am hearing things that I could not in the past. It's definitely not a high end $$$ unit but for RX it does well enough for me. Just a FYI. Got mine from Amazon Canada. Cheers! Re: Notch Filter for MW "Distill AM"
Jason J1LPB
Posted by John Davis on May 16, 2019 at 18:29:09.
In reply to Notch Filter for MW "Distill AM" posted by Jason Goldring on May 15, 2019
Thanks for that info, Jason. I'll be interested in any further results of your tests.
If someone wants to look for the product, I recommend searching it directly on Amazon. I found NooElec's Web page to be a little too interactive...kind of like a page I wrote for a client one April Fool's Day several years ago, where the nominal object of the game was to try to grab a donut that was floating around the screen, but anytime the reader got near, the donut would perform evasive maneuvers.
At US$9.95, the price is not bad, but it may not be the ideal filter if one's target is 630 meters. The -3 dB point is a little under 380 kHz. Interpolating from the -8 dB spec at 526 kHz, it would appear that the 630 m band would see about 6 dB of attenuation. This may or may not be a drawback, depending on one's circumstances. I notice there is one customer review on Amazon where the guy says he's using it for 630 m WSPR reception successfully.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Posted by Jerry on May 17, 2019 at 16:01:59.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Or listen online at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Reminder: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time..
Posted by Tim Brannon, WA5MD on May 18, 2019 at 20:58:36.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by Bob WA1EDJ on May 12, 2019
Paul Hansen repaired a transmitter driver problem in my IC-746 this summer. Quick turn-around and a fair price. I think he's a real straight shooter and will tell you whether a repair is worth doing or not.
Re: Icom R-71A Repair
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on May 18, 2019 at 23:24:13.
In reply to Re: Icom R-71A Repair posted by Tim Brannon, WA5MD on May 18, 2019
Tnx Tim. From the reports on Paul and his work....looks like he is the man to check with. Thanks for your input....73 de Bill K4JYS
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by John Davis on May 19, 2019 at 14:25:09.
In reply to Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time posted by Jerry on May 17, 2019
This week's net recording. As always, will remain for only a few weeks, so right-click to download, or simply click to play.
websdr_2019-05-18_3927kHz.mp3 (6 MB)
Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning
Posted by Lee on May 20, 2019 at 20:02:08.
In reply to Re: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning posted by John Davis on May 19, 2019
Thanxs John
Re: Algeria 252
Posted by Mike Terry on May 23, 2019 at 09:04:27.
In reply to Re: Algeria 252 posted by Mike Terry on May 08, 2019
Algeria is now back on 252 kHz and its very strong with good audio. Same frequency as RTE in Ireland.
Beacons being decommissioned
Posted by Mike Terry on May 23, 2019 at 09:57:47.
"Beacons are being decommissioned at such a rapid rate that many listed here may already be off the air. By 2026, most of these beacons will be gone with only a few left, __mainly in remote areas." http://dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Posted by Jerry on May 24, 2019 at 15:06:03.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET.
Or listen online at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Reminder: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time..
Posted by Clint KA7OEI on May 25, 2019 at 18:14:45.
In reply to Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time posted by Jerry on May 24, 2019
Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET.
Please join us for the net at 0800 California time - or, at least, listen to it "live", from wherever you are, at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Present were--
On air: WA6OWR, Jerry; Clint, KA7OEI
Via Internet: VE7RY, Richard; John, AE0CQ
Pardon omissions/errors.
John (via email):
In the middle of some nasty storms - the worst mostly passed through, into Missouri. Lots of lightning, causing reticence to even do listening or constructing.
The nearby river has a flood warning (noteworthy for being "until further notice"): It's not too close, but still impacts what is going on, disrupting local activities.
Richard (via email):
Noted that HP-3586Bs can take an external 10 MHz reference
Note that some of these selective level meters can't adequately reject AM broadcast signals from nearby stations (low-pass/band-pass filters may be necessary)
Jerry:
Worked on amplifier, hoping for 50 watts-ish RF output power
Plans to use HP-3586B as receiver - got it for a nice price on EvilBay
Has external 10 MHz reference input for interfacing to GPS Disciplined Oscillator or other stable reference.
Berkley Nucleonics - 625 Function generator - as exciter:
This can produce the standard modulations - CW, FSK, SSB. By extension, audio from a computer could be fed to it to produce nearly any digital mode.
Appears to have external 10 MHz reference input for interfacing to GPS Disciplined Oscillator or other stable reference.
Looking at having RX whip antenna at house - likely another RX antenna on the mesa.
A bit of rain the past week - but hope to work on antenna(s) this coming week.
Clint:
Been running WSPR overnight during the past week - was "heard" in AK, HI and as far east as Indiana.
Because of bad weather in the past week the MF/LF bands have been noisy.
Jerry asked about my RF output power:
Homebrew single-ended FET-based RF amplifier - works both on 630 and 2200
Typical DC input for digital modes/CW: 110-130 watts
Measured RF output power: >85 watts
Typical antenna current: About 2 amps on 630 meters, about 1 amp on 2200 meters
Jerry asked about receive system:
Using a circa 1987 LF Engineering LF-400B whip: Does fine in rejecting signals from three "nearby" 50kW stations.
This antenna is mounted about 5 feet above my house's metal roof: Coax shield is bonded to roof.
There are two current-mode chokes on the loop's coax to isolate it to prevent noise conduction from house electrical system: One near the antenna, another in the shack. (About 20 turns on flyback transformer core from discarded TV/ monitor - about 3 milliHenries).
For 630 meters, using an (old) RFSpace SDR-14 USB-based receiver along with the "SpectraView" software to get USB audio.
For 2200 meters, using a "Softrock Ensemble II LF" receiver (usable from about 125 kHz to 3 MHz with a 192 kHz audio card) with the "HDSDR" program
Using the "Virtual Audio Cable" to split out the different audio streams: Have been running multiple WSJT-X instances - for 2200M WSPR, 630M WSPR, 630M JT-9: Can bring up other instances on either band for other modes as needed.
Noted to Jerry that if the TX antenna is connected to the transmitter during receive, a significant receive signal degradation occurs on the band to which the TX antenna is tuned: No effect on bands not being tuned by matching network.
Partly due to "suck out" by the TX antenna to signals arriving at the RX antenna and also from electrical noise from house being conducted onto the TX antenna.
I have an RF-sensing TX relay that, when not transmitting, disconnects the loading coil to quash antenna resonance.
Talked about the fact that "Most RF noise beging at home".
In talking to other people who have noise issues, they initially think it powerline noise - but discover that it's something (or several somethings) in their house that are the main contributors. Some people are more disheartened when they find it's coming from their house than, say, from the powerline...
Jerry and I talked about noisy power supplies - including computer supplies.
For extreme cases, I've had to resort to complete power supply isolation: ka7oei.blogspot.com···completely-containing-switching-power.html
73,
Clint KA7OEI
Re: Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET.
Posted by John Davis on May 25, 2019 at 21:09:32.
In reply to Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET. posted by Clint KA7OEI on May 25, 2019
Slightly late start; recording joins Clint's report in progress. As always, either stream by clicking the file or right-click and save to your computer, because these large files are not permanent residents of the server.
websdr_2019-05-25_3927kHz.mp3 7.7 MB
Re: Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET.
Posted by Lee on May 26, 2019 at 20:48:59.
In reply to Re: Notes on the 25 May, 2019 LowFER NET. posted by John Davis on May 25, 2019
Thanks John
Roadtrip Hifers
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 30, 2019 at 14:53:30.
Just got back from the annual Dayton roadtrip. On this trip I concentrated on hifer listening with no luck. One time during the last 3 weeks I heard a very weak carrier at the water hole, but that was it. No real surprise with these results given the solar situation, but it would be nice to hear something(!).
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Ward K7PO
Posted by Jerry on May 31, 2019 at 16:28:24.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Or listen online at:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
Reminder: Lowfer net 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time..
potrzebie