For the 6th week in a row I made an appearance for Simplex Saturdays, sponsored by TARA. For all but one of those weeks I went up to the Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to operate. The over 2000' elevation certainly is advantageous when trying to get a large footprint on VHF/UHF simplex.
This week I had company as three other hams came up to operate and to converse about the event.
Michael, KQ4MKV and Darrin KQ4RAY were up on the parkway with me to try and get a few more contacts under their belt than what might have been if they'd stayed at their home QTH.
I found out about 3 weeks ago I could be using POTA (Parks On The Air) for dual event QSOs as the Foothills Parkway is part of the GSMNP which has the POTA designator of US-0034.
On the way up I ran in to a ham on another pulloff who was operating CW for POTA. I was so excited I forgot to ask him his name/callsign!!!
I got up to the #8 parking area and made a slight change in operating. Over the last few operations, I was operating from the back of the vehicle (mine or my wife's) and was basically operating out of the trunk space. This time I ran the coax from the quad-band Comet antenna I had into my Durango and temporarily placed the Yaesu Quad-band 8900 on the center console connected to the battery box instead of to the vehicle. This helped as it was a tad chilly due to the shift in time to an hour earlier last Sunday morning.
I also put word out on a few nets, Facebook, and even on a livestream I tested during a weather net Friday evening about Simplex Saturdays. I think it paid off as I started off strong with a few contacts and using POTA as a duel event brought out the park chasers.
I brought my GoPro to film but due to hectic activity with all the operators I contacted and spoke to in person I wasn't able to set up the cameras.
Unofficially, I made 48 contacts across 5 bands (10m, 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm) but the contest did not include 10m initially, however I'm trying to convince them to use 10m, and I think they've counted my previous 10m contacts already.
Speaking of...I was trying to make local contacts on 10m and the 10m band was wide open on 29.600. I heard a station in Nevade (he couldn't hear me) and another somewhere in Mexico!
So far for now, I'm in the lead on the Simplex Saturdays contest log with 74 QSOs and Darrin has 2nd place with 20. These numbers do NOT include today's numbers, so I can't wait to see how it changes going into next weekend.
There's only 3 of us that have submitted logs thus far, and I've been encouraging others to submit. If they make just one contact, they can submit the log to be entered for a prize drawing in April 2026. So please join the fun. I've been having a blast going up to the mountains to operate!
The Tennessee Amateur Radio Association started up a special event that began last Saturday (4 October) where Tennessee stations can make contacts on VHF and up simplex frequencies (6m, 2m, 23cm. and 70cm):
Participants can download the log sheet (as an .xlsx) and then log their contacts, then upload them here to become eligible for prize drawings (prizes TBD) in April.
I decided to head up to the Foothills Parkway to get a little altitude for making contacts. Even with ideal weather, I’ve never seen the parkway as busy as it was when I arrived as a flood of cars from a nearby car show in Sevierville all made for quite the scene.
Because of other commitments, I couldn’t make it to the overlook until after 7 p.m., technically after the “event” had ended. The listing showed “5 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time,” but I wasn’t sure how official that schedule really was as I had heard conflicting info on the times to operate. So I went ahead and continued up to the overlook anyway. Worst case, I’d still get to make a few QSOs from atop a mountain—and catch the sunset while I was at it. Still a win in my book.
When I finally reached the overlook, it was completely packed—cars, bikes, and muscle cars everywhere, many from the “Slammedenuff” show in Sevierville (more on that in a bit).
I managed to snag the last parking spot and backed in. Out came my folding chair, battery box, and my Yaesu 8900 quad-band mobile. I set up my mag-mount quad-band antenna (10m/6m/2m/70cm) and tried to tune out the steady parade of muscle cars roaring up and down the parkway, each seemingly in a contest to prove who had the loudest exhaust. One driver even treated everyone to a performance of "jake braking" down the hill, letting the exhaust backfire twice, re-accelerating briefly, and then repeating all the way down the road.
There were park rangers stationed nearby, though not directly at the overlook, which I thought would’ve been the better spot to have crowd control. Still, it looked like they had their hands full. It may be that due to the overwhelming numbers of cars, they didn't want to escalate a tense situation with their presence.
Back to the radio bit. My first contact with with John in Southeast Tennessee, and despite the mountains in between us, I had him at an S5 signal. We talked for a few minutes and I started hearing another station attempting to contact me. Being up on the top of a mountain does incur a lot of stations who can hear me but not the stations I'm talking to. Kinda like 10 meters!
I got to enjoy the sunset and although I only talked to 3 people, we went across all four bands of my radio for 8 contacts total. We even did 10 meters FM to try it out and two of the hams were able to reach me with no issue (again, other than the mountain!). I packed up after about an hour as I needed to get back home.
So now my mind is stirring on how to actually incorporate the quad-bander into the battery box! I want to mount the quad-bander on either the side of the box or even on the top. I'm thinking the side would work better, but I may look at building a completely different box entirely for this radio.
A postscript to this, the cars that were part of the car show apparently were not getting the approval of the City of Sevierville, as they cancelled the 2nd day of the 2-day event. It looks as though the cars on the parkway weren't the only hooligans out of control, as incidents all across Sevier Co were overwhelming authorities. The event was not sanctioned by the city and there were warnings for participants to behave prior to the show. I'm sure the ones that were respectful were disappointed, but unfortunately those that think they are above the law decided to discover what the "Find Out" part was all about.
I'm just glad everyone at the overlook were (for the most part) behaved. A couple of visitors were asking about my radio setup. They were amazed I was talking to Chattanooga and thought I was on CB. If they only knew...
In June, France presented a proposal to make part of the band (144-146 MHz) part of the Aeronautical Mobile Service with Primary allocation. French defense contractor Thales is requesting that they have primary use of the bands, with amateur radio having secondary use.
Even though the proposal will not appear until the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2023, already Amateur Radio organizations in neighboring places like the UK and Portugal are voicing strong objections with it. While it's going to be an uphill battle for any entity to try and overtake the allocation of the amateur radio bands in any country, the fact that it is being proposed and considered is a sobering reminder that hobbyists' contributions to the world of communications are still secondary to everything else occupying the spectrum. No matter how useful ham radio is in regards to community service, weather spotting, experimentation, scientific studies, etc., we are given the access to the ham bands at the mercy of governing bodies such as the the ITU, and if an agency with a need, and money, wants to come in and try to overtake the bands, they will certainly try.
While I'm not screaming that the sky is falling, I am saying that we need to continue to show that we need our amateur radio bands around the world. 2 meters is arguably the most popular band in VHF, if not the most popular overall, offering new hams a chance to break in and get their feet wet with ham radio. Amateur radio repeaters are all across the band, so that you can talk on an HT from your car, or on a hiking trail, or on the side of the road, and reach somebody in another city or county whether it be for emergencies or just to pass the time talking with a friend or a complete stranger.
I've touted the benefits of SKYWARN and emergency services such as ARES, but other services benefit from 2 meters. Clubs will coordinate with community organizations to provide communications for events like triathlons, road cycling tours, and other public events. Nets are held on many 2 meter repeaters (and simplex) for a variety of clubs and topics. There's also other modes of communication used as well, such as APRS. 2m is a good place to test out new modes of communication and on occasion talk to the International Space Station!
In short, 2 meters is not something I see being given away anytime soon, but as long as businesses and governments are thinking that ham radio is "old tech" and "ancient" the best way to show them that it is far from the case will be to use these bands and use them constantly, consistently, and with the best intentions that ham radio has to offer.
Once again I'll be participating in SKYWARN Recognition Day, Starting officially at midnight UTC 12/1 until midnight UTC 12/2.
I'll be at station WX4MRX in Morristown TN during the "graveyard shift". I'm not sure how long I'll be there, as I have to be back home by sunrise.
I've participated in several of these from "MRX" and have enjoyed them thoroughly. Usually I end up all by my lonesome but last year a couple of guys were with me most of the time I was on station.
I'll try to post some pics of the current incarnation of the MRX station.
I'll try to update my frequency via my Twitter accounts @k4hsm and @etskywarn.
I hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day weekend. It's good to take pause and remember that many brave men and women paid the ultimate price for all of us Americans to freely express ourselves and enjoy the lives we live day in and day out.
I decided to take the family up into the mountains and watch a sunset from Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Monday. We were supposed to go on Sunday but plans didn't work out (as they never do with me!).
When we got I pulled out my trusty Wouxun 2m/220 radio and attempted to make some contacts on 6.52 simplex but, unlike 2 weeks ago when I went up to "the Dome", there was no one willing to talk.
As I trekked up the steep path to the overlook I made a couple of quick QSOs with locals on a repeater, and stowed my radio for use from the observation tower. As we got to the base of the ramp leading up to the tower, I looked up and saw a rotatable dipole jutting out from the side of the dome. I quickly realized someone else on the tower had a ham ticket and was tearing it up on HF!
W3FF Buddipole
I got to the top and met up with Lynn, KJ4ERJ who was visiting from Florida. I asked about his operation and he told me he was working "SOTA", or "Summits on the Air". It was the first I've heard of such a program (even though I've been a ham for 18-1/2 years) but sounded very interesting.
I was offered a chance to operate but declined. I was having enough fun enjoying listening to the contacts coming in from New Mexico, New York, Florida, Arizona, and New Jersey on his Yaesu FT-817.
I tried simplex again and wasn't successful. I made a couple more repeater contacts and stayed long enough to realize that the sunset I had hoped to view was lost to the clouds off to the west.
Lynn and his son Paul, KJ4DXK were hammering out contact after contact on the rotatable dipole (set up for 20m meters) and I had to find out more about the antenna. I discovered it was a "buddipole" and watching it in action showed its value, as Paul and Lynn continued to rack up contact after contact on 2.5W, getting 5/9 reports from almost everyone.
KJ4ERJ working a contact on 20m
I tried to drum up a few contacts for them by sending a message to my Twitter account, but I forgot, I'm on TOP OF A MOUNTAIN, and cell phone coverage didn't exist. Unfortunately I couldn't raise anyone on the repeaters in order to spread the word about their operation. Talk about bad timing!
Summits on the Air (according to their web site) is "an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas. SOTA has been carefully designed to make participation possible for everyone...There are awards for activators (those who ascend to the summits) and chasers." It sounds like something I need to investigate at some point. This may soon become another pet project!
The weather atop Clingman's Dome is some of the most hostile and unpredictable I've ever encountered. I've been up to the Dome numerous times, typically to stargaze after dark and on occasion to take my ham gear up and work some contacts, though it's typically on VHF. I've been up to watch meteor showers, join an astronomy party, and of course, enjoy the view. But you do need to dress warm for the trip. Memorial Day it was 95 degrees at my house, but when we got to the Dome, it was 60. And as the sun went behind the clouds to the west, the constant wind at the tower added a chill to the air that made us beat a hasty retreat back to the car.
One evening my wife and I ventured up to the Dome's parking area to watch a meteor shower, and it was one of the clearest views I've ever had of the stars. Then we go back a week later, and the weather in Knoxville is clear and dry, but high up on the mountain, when we arrived at Newfound Gap, just before getting onto the 7-mile road to the Dome, a thunderstorm brewed up from nowhere and made for a treacherous retreat from the mountain...back to a clear and dry Knoxville. More often than not, it's clear everywhere BUT the Dome, and when I arrive in the parking area, it's nothing but fog.
Still, going up to Clingman's Dome is well worth the trip. Whether it's to stargaze, enjoy the view, or work a few radio contacts, it's guaranteed to be an adventure.
Yeah, I know, it's been awhile. Fact is, I haven't been on the radio but a handful of times in the last few months. In fact, the most I talked on the radio was this past Thanksgiving while on the way to my in-laws for dinner.
I got on the radio a couple of days prior to that while driving home from work, but one ham whose name I won't mention seemed to think I was intruding on *his* QSO and basically snubbed me. This was after I'd stepped out of my vehicle to get gas and in the middle of a QSO with others that he apparently butted into the conversation on.
It really annoys the hell out of me when people just treat me with no respect when I've done nothing wrong to them. If I have, at least have the balls to man up and tell me to my face what it is you don't like about me...what, did I insult your mother? Take your money? Rob your life savings? B.O.?
Oh well, no sense dwelling on it...in other news, SKYWARN Recognition Day is set for this coming Friday/Saturday and once again I plan to do some overnight operating at the Morristown NWS. So if you plan to operate Friday night/Saturday morning, listen for WX4MRX on the air, chances are you might be talking to me!
Off and on I've been trying to find a way to listen to the meteor showers that frequently hit the Earth. The idea is that as a meteor hits the ionosphere, it scatters said ions and radio frequency signals that normally would just radiate into space are instead reflected back towards earth. Hams frequently use this method when making contacts via meteor scatter.
There are web sites set up for people to listen to the NAVSPASUR (Air Force Space Surveillance System) transmitters on 216 MHz. I've not been able to hear the transmitters even though I live close to the facility in Alabama.
I've tried to listen to the meteors using a "poor man's" method of listening to TV signals from stations in other cities like Chattanooga and Bristol, TN. That idea went out the window when the FCC kicked TV stations off the analog frequencies in 2009. I've tried listening to FM radio stations using this method, but the dilemma I have is that, with Knoxville being such a big radio market, practically every available frequency from 88-108 MHz is taken locally.
So now I'm left trying to find any good radio frequency that would work for me to listen to meteors "pinging" the atmosphere. It needs to be outside the Knoxville area, constantly transmitting, and with a high enough power to be heard distinctly when the meteors pass overhead.
If anyone can assist with this quagmire, I'd be most appreciative.
As I mentioned last week I got the Wouxun (pronounced "Oh-shing", close to the word "ocean") KG-UV2D handheld at the Morristown Hamfest last weekend. The radio is seeing a little bit of action, and needs some getting used to in order to properly operate it. After a week's worth of tinkering with it, here's my evaluation.
The KG-UV2D comes in 3 different versions, all using the same model number. On the 2 meter side, they all go from 136 MHz to 170 MHz. For the other band, there are three different frequency ranges. The one I have goes from 216-280 MHz covering the 1.25 (often referred to as "220") meter band. The others operate on the 70cm (often referred to as "440") band in 2 different ranges, one from 350-470 MHz, the other from 420-520 MHz. This review should cover most of what the 2m/440 radios have to offer as well concerning the functions of the radio.
Back to Basics!
First off, the relative simplicity of the radio is probably what will attract many hams (once they go past the super low price). Remember the Radio Shack HTX-202? That was a simple radio! Easy to use, clean keypad, not a lot of bells & whistles that some of today's HT's are overloaded with. It was a great first radio for may hams like myself, cutting their teeth in the post-apocalyptic no-code fallout back in the early 90's.
Don't get me wrong, it doesn't hurt to have too many gadgets on a radio to tinker with, but mess with the wrong setting, and you might have to do a hard reset of everything and start all over...
Wouxun was smart to not throw too much into these little radios. Put the essentials in (CTCSS/DCS tones, DTMF, Time-out timer, VOX) and throw in a few extras just to keep it interesting (FM radio, LED light, stopwatch, and alphanumeric memories).
RTFM (if you can)
One thing will be noticeable when you peruse the box and that is the owner's manual is not exactly, shall we say, proper use of the Queen's English...in fact, the "Engrish" is quite choppy at times. For example, the TOT function, what we call the "Time Out Timer", they dub it as the "Transmit Over Timer". There's quite a few others, but one thing I want to encourage is that, despite the rough translations, do not throw the manual away! It helped me figure out a few things I was doing wrong with the radio before getting on here shouting "this thing sucks" or something else...
I've talked with a few who went to the hamfest and got the radios (the 2/440 variety mainly) and a few were less than enthused with the radio. My first question to them was "did you read the manual?" and when they got done laughing, I reiterated "Seriously, read it!"
If you can overlook the grade-school-level translations of the Owner's Manual, reading the manual is not a large hurdle and you can get a better feel for this radio by reading it front-to-back. Right out of the box, you can figure out much of the functions with little confusion, but to get the full range of features, the manual is a must.
What happens in memory stays in memory
In one instance, I couldn't choose between high and low power via the keypad menu (more on that below). So if I wanted to shift from high to low, or vice versa, if I went through the menu options, and chose one or the other, the radio would beep three times, then reset back to the power setting it was on. As it turns out, I had to go to Menu 21 (the so-called "working mode") and set it to "FREQ" (a.k.a. VFO) before it would accept a change in power settings. If you are in the mode for the memories (CHFREQ, CH, or NAME) the power setting will not change. Whatever's plugged into the memory stays there.
Get your FREQ on
In "FREQ" mode you can direct-dial the frequency you want to listen to. You can scan to locate active frequencies if you are traveling. One of the things that is almost a must will be the need for the programming cable to quickly plug in frequencies that you plan to use. The cost will be around $20 give or take. I picked one up with the radio at the hamfest. You can program the radio manually, but the cable makes it easier by far.
Programming
While at the hamfest, I got a ham to go ahead and program my radio with whatever frequencies he had defaulted on his saved file. The software was easy to install (it runs off the executable, so no "install" necessary, just make sure you use the correct software for your operating system) and programming was not that complicated. It did not automatically shift the repeater inputs on the "TX Frequency[MHz]" column, so a knowledge of the repeater inputs (if applicable) is required.
Also note, if you program a frequency outside the transmitting range (such as NOAA weather radio on 162 MHz) leave the "TX Frequency[MHz]" column blank, otherwise you will get an error when trying to write to the radio. The error "Channel Message ## Out of range" appears, the "##" is the line number indicating which memory channel contains the invalid frequency.
The software also lets you program the TOT, frequency shift and offsets, the message you want to see when the radio is powered on, and several other features.
Selecting the COM port should be easy. On my computer, "COM3" was the only COM port available to choose. If your computer asks for more than one port, select the first one, and if the radio does not write, simply choose the "Communications Port" option and choose another COM port, then repeat until the radio upload commences. A progress bar across the bottom will move from left to right indication information is being written to the radio, and an LED light will blink on the radio.
The Good
I must say the light weight of the radio out of the box is nice. At just over 8 ounces you can almost forget you have it in your hand while walking.
I did have low audio on one repeater on 220MHz, but I determined it to be my location in the house, because when I moved to a different area (outside the house) my audio significantly increased.
I recorded myself using a local a couple of local repeaters here in Knoxville, one of which has 2 meters and 220 Mhz linked together, the other was a separate 2m repeater. The recording (which can be downloaded here, 39 seconds, 116kB MP3 file) is me first testing on the 2 meter repeater, then the 220 machine. I recorded off another radio plugged into the computer, so you will hear a buzzing noise which is NOT from my transmission, but from the radio with the carrier causing the noise. My 2m audio seems somewhat muffled on 2 meters as opposed to 220, which is why I tried it out on two different 2 meter machines.
I was told by a local ham about a mod on YouTube to increase the overall audio. I may give it a whirl soon with an update.
Voice prompts are a bonus as well. I like the feature of the voice telling me the battery voltage is low. It can also be fun to put it in Chinese to see what the different functions and channel numbers sound like.
The use of DCS and CTCSS is a good feature to have. Although I personally have not used DCS, some repeaters are employing this encode/decode method.
The dual receive on the same band is very helpful. You can monitor two 2m frequencies, two 220MHz frequencies, or one of each, or turn off the dual-receive and just monitor/use one channel. The FM radio feature also allows you to monitor your favorite repeater while listening to the local radio station of choice. Once the repeater keys up, it mutes the FM radio until the traffic has concluded.
The ability to store the FM broadcast radio frequencies into separate memory banks is also a bonus. I spent a majority of time listening to local radio stations while writing this article.
I've also programmed NOAA Weather radio into the memory so that I can take the HT with me to work and listen in if the weather gets bad.
The Bad
Just a personal preference for me, but I like a knob for adjusting the squelch. Having the radio determine the squelch via a menu setting can often lead to the radio becoming "deaf" when in the fringe areas of a repeater, or when trying to work a station on simplex. Perhaps an outside knob shielding the volume/power knob would be nice in a later version. You can temporarily kill the squelch by pressing and holding side key 2 (the lower button) but for me, I like to be able to use a physical knob to control the sensitivity of the receiver.
Next, the options for choosing high/low power, reverse (input), and repeater shift are options I would have preferred to be on the keypad or the side buttons. The menu process can be complicated just to change power level or choose a repeater shift. The lower side button (side key 2) only has two options, one for the monitoring (dropping squelch) of a frequency, or the built-in flashlight.
Side key 1 has four options to select from when programming the radio (FM radio, SOS help, scan, or lamp), so perhaps the side key 2 menu in a later model should be programmed to have the option of high/low power, reverse (input), and repeater shift. Better yet, I've always been keen on having the power button be it's own button, or a push-button switch like on the HTX-202's case. The important features (power, reverse, and repeater shift) should be a one-button function, or two steps using the "MENU" button first.
The VFO knob across the top got sticky on part of the turn when spinning it. It starts smooth (notching as you turn) and then it becomes increasingly harder to turn, as if it were tightening against something. Then as you continue to turn, the friction will ease up. I got some info (thanks, Rusty!) regarding the sticking tuning knob and was told that the plastic in the knob's base may have residue that makes turning the knob inconsistent with regards to the friction. I'm hesitant to crack the radio open right after I get it (and void that warranty!) so for now I'll live with it.
The stickers that ID the antennas (one for 216-239 MHz for the ham bands, the other antenna for 240-280MHz which is allocated for mobile, mobile satellite and fixed) are not held on very well. I simply took some scotch tape, cut it to the necessary width and length, and wrapped it around the labels to help keep them in place. See image to the left to see the scotch tape on the antenna's label.
Also, the "Wouxun" label on the front of the radio kept trying to peel off. A tiny swipe of super glue has resolved that problem.
The Ugly
The one thing I'm stumped on is why the need for a "Roger beep", and more importantly, why put it on the keypad and not something more useful such as repeater shift, MEM/VFO, or high/low power? Unless roger beeps are big in China, it's not useful here.
The owner's manual also needs to be "translated". After all we get these radios from a US distributor, so perhaps one should take the time to go through and clean it up?
The Rest
The KG-UV2D also features an "SOS" transmit for use in an emergency where it will sound an alarm for about 10 seconds and repeat this alarm approximately every 5 minutes. The SOS feature might be useful for foxhunting.
Here is a demo of the SOS feature I recorded:
It's best to use a programming cable when entering the memories you want for the radio. Using the keypad can take hours as opposed to just a few moments of programming the software, and just a few seconds of upload time to the radio.
The audio on the 2m side seems to need a tad more improvement, but, as shown by the audio recording, I was perfectly readable. Still, better audio quality makes for a better overall experience with any radio.
The Bottom Line
I do like this radio. On a scale of 1 to 10, I will give this radio somewhere between a 7 or 8. You will get your money's worth and then some with this radio. You can't beat the price of this radio, that's for sure! It's lightweight design will make it nice to carry around at a hamfest. When compared to other HT's, it's got enough features to compete, yet at the same time has a level of simplicity that makes it attractive to hams who might be intimidated by those HTs that have everything but the kitchen sink tossed in to the radio. It's not perfect, but then again, is there such as thing as a perfect radio? Some of the features a ham like myself would use more often should be easier to access, but once you get used to the radio, it should not be an obstacle. If you are looking for a good quality radio that will get you on the 1.25 meter band, this will suit your needs perfectly. If 220 is not active in your area, go with the 2m/440 version.
Wouxun is getting noticed with these radios, judging by the interest at the hamfest I attended. Perhaps this will open the market up for more 220 radios by the heavyweights like ICOM, Yaesu/Vertex and Kenwood, whose 220 product lines are all rather thin or even non-existent. It might get the competition to lower their prices on their current models (and/or future ones) in order to compete, not just the 220 market, but the 440 MHz dual-band radios as well. There are things that could be better on the radio overall, but this is certainly not a "knockoff" by any stretch, and does the job for those who may want a cost-effective means of getting on 220 or 440.
Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 brings much happiness to everyone out there.
I started 2011 off on the right foot by attending the Morristown Hamfest, which was held on New Year's Day. It's been a long time since I attended this hamfest, probably 10 years since my last visit there, I can't remember.
The building was actually an arena/expo center, where monster truck rallies and an upcoming demolition derby are taking place. It had seating for approximately 3000 people and looked quite endearing to a possible arena football team (of course I looked at ways to put a slab of ice down and house a hockey team!). The concourse area above the seats was where the vendor tables were. There wasn't any tailgating due to thunderstorms running through the area all morning. Had the weather been perfect like the day before (calm winds, warmer temps, sunny skies) there would probably have been a larger crowd in attendance. As it was, there was still a pretty sizable turnout.
I had one primary purpose for going, and that was to pick up one of the new Wouxun (pronounced "O-shing", sorta like "ocean") 2m/220 radios if at all possible.
I met up with Tom (KE4WFJ) and we arrived just as the doors opened at 8AM.
The first vendor to the right of the entrance had a HUGE sign advertising $110 with a picture of the Wouxun radios. Music to my eyes!!!
A friend who had just arrived said that another vendor next to them had the radios as well so I ran to check their prices and they were $105! But, no 2/220 radios. I hurried back to the first vendor, and he had 1 220 radio left. "SOLD!" I yelled, and pulled out the wallet!
I also grabbed a programming cable and then cruised the hamfest for about 3 more hours (also attending a SKYWARN gathering) before calling it a day and coming home.
Well, the radio had to wait as I was exhausted from, shall we say..."over-celebration" of New Year's (don't worry, I was home, and my kids had friends over, so I didn't get sauced) and riding on 3 hours of sleep wasn't going to fly, so I crashed until late in the evening, then went to run an errand before getting home to really put the radio to the test.
The vendor who sold me the radio (DBJ Radio & Electronics) was extremely helpful in ensuring I knew what I was getting with this radio. They checked the antennas (this model KG-UV2D comes with 2 antennas, one tuned for the lower portion of the 23cm band [216-239 MHz] the other the higher portion [240-280]) to ensure the correct ones were labeled and also a card with their web site to download the software I would need for programming the radio. Then when I spoke with another tech who was at the same booth he ran and got me a coupler for the SMA antenna that the first tech forgot to include for use on an external or mobile antenna. Service, baby!!!
So, now that I have "quiet time" I got the radio out and played with it. I downloaded the software from the DBJ web site and installed it and found the programming relatively simple but tedious, still, better than trying to program the radio manually. Once I plugged all the frequencies in and saved the file I uploaded the file and it went through in less than 10 seconds.
The radio took a few seconds to reset to the new memory settings and then when I unplugged the cable the radio spoke to me (in English)!
I tested the radio out on 2 meters first by checking some of the local repeaters and keying up to see if I could hit them on 5 watts. Most of them worked, but being midnight, no one was on (or cared to come back to my call) but on one repeater (147.360) I was full-quiet into the machine, and I was some 30 miles from the repeater! The station said my audio was clean and no noise or distortion whatsoever. A great start!
So now I move over to 220 and there's no activity. I turn on my 220 base rig and key up a couple of repeaters, one of which has a slight delay, so when I keyed it with the Wouxun I had an echo that startled me for a moment, but I used it to judge my audio into the repeater, and it sounded just as good as on 2m.
So now, as I have only had about less than 3 hours of time to dedicate to my new toy, I have found the following out:
The good:
Lightweight - Compared to the Yaesu FT-50R I recently acquired from a friend of mine, it's much lighter. Almost half the weight. But the FT-50R's battery is bigger, 9.6V/11mAh compared to Wouxun's 7.4V 1300mAh.
Easy to use(so far) - it took about 10 minutes for me to figure out most of the functions on the radio on my initial go-over of it. Of course we *all* RTFM when we get a new radio, right??? It was definitely a lot simpler than some radios I've used to figure out what buttons do what.
2m/2m, 2m/220, 220/220 monitoring -If you want to listen to 2 frequencies on 2 meters, 220, or one of each, you can listen to whatever frequencies no matter the band.
Easy to program (with cable) - getting the software installed took a minute in part because I almost downloaded the wrong version of the software (my bad, I momentarily forgot I was on Windows 7 and the software is different for Vista/7 than for XP) but once I did download the correct version, I simply moved it to my desktop (no installation of software needed, it runs off the executable) and started using the software. I plugged the USB cable in and it found the driver (which I installed just before I downloaded the software as a precaution) and all I needed to do was select the COM port (easy since it was the only one highlighted) and started working the frequencies in that I wanted to program in to the radio.
Illuminated keypad - the keypad below the LCD display lights up with the display on pressing of a button or tuning the VFO knob. Very nice to have when in low light.
Voice prompt - it comes out of the box in English, with the option to have Chinese or no voice prompt at all. I had fun with the Chinese part, and it might come in handy to learn when visiting my favorite Chinese restaurant...
The bad:
Power setting not switching between high/low - It's 5W on 2 meters and 4W on 220 for high power, and 1W on low for both. Even though there is an option for high and low power, if you are on high power and select low, it negates the change and returns the setting to high. I can only assume this is a future enhancement. However, when programming via the software, it does enable the low power.
"Rotary Encoder" knob sticks - this may be just on my radio, but the so-called "Rotary Encoder" knob (VFO knob) has some variable force needed to turn at certain areas. While twisting the knob it was easy to turn, then started to stick more and more, then eased up. I'm not sure how to remedy this (other than returning it, which is not a big issue for me at this time).
Memory display slow to change - if you spin the rotary encoder/VFO knob and it clicks 3-4 times the memory display will only move up one channel. A faster processor might be in order for a future enhancement.
A roger beep? - Seriously??? You can set it to beep before a transmission, after, or both. I wonder how popular that would be?
Computer program can be tricky - When I started to program the frequencies in, the Receive frequency and the Transmit frequency default to the same. You'll have to know the correct input and output frequency of the repeater you want to talk on. Leave them the same for simplex ops.
Muting of other channel can be tricky - I'm still working with this, but be careful about your encode and decode of CTCSS when programming a toned repeater, or one that's occasionally toned. I had one repeater set in there to send and receive CTCSS tone, and right now the repeater has no tone to use. While in QSO with the 2m station, the other channel keyed on and gave a dead carrier and muted the ham I was in QSO with.
Again, this is straight out-of-the-box tinkering, so I'm sure I'll be able to find out more about what works and what doesn't over the next few days. I'm trying to see if the radio will scan like it's supposed to, or if there is VFO mode to search, something I'm not finding yet.
I did find the FM radio for the broadcast band between 88-108MHz, so I listened to some music while hammering out this post.
Overall, it's a good start. I need more time, but wanted to give a quick evaluation of the radio.
Ever wonder just what the ISS hears when they try to contact stations on the ground? Commander Doug Wheelock (KF5BOC) treats us to a glimpse of the amateur radio station on board the International Space Station as he makes a pass over North America just before he returned to earth last week after spending 161 days aboard the ISS.
In the 20 minute YouTube video Wheelock introduces us to the NA1SS "shack" as well as a few of the US and Russian segments of the station before beginning his QSOs.
Some of the stations he worked this particular pass:
N6RSX
KD0EXV
N0KGM
N0WAR
N6RSX (again)
KF7IO? (he missed the suffix)
W0PD
W5SSV
As you'll hear, it's quite a pileup of noise as dozens of stations struggle to make contact with Doug. At one point he switches to what he referred as "Channel 5" which is a simplex frequency alternate he used to relieve the pileup he was getting on the primary frequency used over North America. I checked with a couple of web sites but no reference to a simplex frequency is mentioned.
If anyone knows what the "simplex" is he was using please let me know.
Skip to 10:30 for the NA1SS station and laptop used for them to monitor their location. 11:40 for the radio power-up.
So remember, the next time you try to contact the ISS and they don't hear you, chances are you're not the only station trying to talk to them.
