WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.779 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.779 --> 00:00:05.960 by Tower Electronics. For cables, connectors, 00:00:06.059 --> 00:00:13.099 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:13.099 --> 00:00:17.160 .com and by the HamStation. Get your new radio 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:23.199 or antenna by calling 800 -729 -4373 or go to 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:34.079 hamstation .com. Here we go Welcome to Hamtop 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:38.780 Live Calling Let's Talk Neil's your guy Hamtop 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:56.340 Live Here we go on Hamtop Radio Good evening 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:59.990 everyone time for another episode of HamTalk 00:00:59.990 --> 00:01:04.989 Live. This is episode number 46, receiver comparisons 00:01:04.989 --> 00:01:09.829 and beverages with Dave Anderson K4SV, recorded 00:01:09.829 --> 00:01:15.109 live on Thursday, January 5th, 2017. I'm your 00:01:15.109 --> 00:01:18.609 host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning into 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:22.280 this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight we'll be 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.959 joined by Dave Anderson K4SV. Dave is going to 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.299 take your questions about comparing receivers 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:32.540 and using beverage antennas. We'll take your 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:35.700 calls live in just a few minutes and I'll let 00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:39.599 you know when it's time to do that. Last week 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.560 Emmett was here, Emmett Honesty III, W0QH, the 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.359 chief engineer from Radio Waves, and he was here 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.400 to talk about antenna building. And we had more 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.799 calls and tweets than we could possibly handle 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.040 last week. So we're going to have him back soon. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.700 And we'll talk about the Hamvention Superstation 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:02.040 that's going to take place at this year's Dayton 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:06.060 Hamvention. And we'll take more of your antenna 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:09.719 questions. So we'll have him on in a few weeks. 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:12.639 So if we didn't get to you, we'll try to get 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:16.780 those taken care of at that point. If you missed 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:21.349 that show. All you got to do is pull up hamtalklive 00:02:21.349 --> 00:02:26.430 .com and you can listen on demand or if you're 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:30.669 a podcast fanatic, we are also on most of the 00:02:30.669 --> 00:02:33.430 podcasting services like iTunes, Stitcher, Google 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:36.849 Play, TuneIn, SoundCloud, YouTube, all those 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:40.370 kinds of things. So you can catch us on those 00:02:40.370 --> 00:02:45.629 as well. Before we take a break here and talk 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:49.699 to Dave, just want to mention That John Amadeo 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:53.659 NN6JA dropped me a note with some great news 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:56.819 saying that the ratings of Last Man Standing 00:02:56.819 --> 00:03:01.500 on ABC have continued to climb. They set a new 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:05.500 high mark in households total viewers at 3 .06 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:09.500 million and matching its all -time highs among 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:14.219 adults 18 to 49 and adults 25 to 54 a whopping 00:03:14.219 --> 00:03:19.840 43 % rating growth. since last man standing september 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.620 launch and there's indications that it's going 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:27.219 to keep going up so while some shows are known 00:03:27.219 --> 00:03:32.039 to experience growth in the first months in syndication 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:36.939 as new reviewers discover them they don't usually 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:41.659 have such a a steep upward trajectory so that's 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:44.240 kind of rare and right now they're the number 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:49.259 four ranked show in syndication so the syndication 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:53.000 thing is going really well for them and and gets 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.759 a little bit of word about ham radio out there 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:59.139 so if you want to hear more about last man standing 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:02.280 and how ham radio ties into that show check out 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:06.479 ham talk live episode number 40 when john is 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:10.780 on the air with us Okay, well get your beverage 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:14.340 questions ready to go and some receiver comparisons 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:17.579 Get those questions ready to go. We're going 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:20.480 to talk to Dave here for just a bit and then 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:24.019 we will take your calls How you can reach us 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:28.490 when it's time for calls? The number is 812 -NET 00:04:28.490 --> 00:04:33.870 -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. And you can also 00:04:33.870 --> 00:04:37.250 Skype us at HamTalk Live. You can also tweet 00:04:37.250 --> 00:04:39.829 your questions. Even right now, you can tweet 00:04:39.829 --> 00:04:44.610 your questions, and that's at HamTalk Live. But 00:04:44.610 --> 00:04:49.129 we'll take your calls live after we take a break 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:53.009 and talk to Dave for a while. So we'll be back 00:04:53.009 --> 00:04:55.850 with Dave right after this word from the Ham. 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:59.269 HamStation right here on HamTalk Live. This episode 00:04:59.269 --> 00:05:02.709 of HamTalk Live is brought to you by The HamStation. 00:05:03.029 --> 00:05:06.230 For over 37 years, The HamStation has sold new 00:05:06.230 --> 00:05:09.629 and used radios, antennas, accessories, and equipment 00:05:09.629 --> 00:05:13.410 to hams everywhere. Give Dan or Jeff a call at 00:05:13.410 --> 00:05:19.970 800 -729 -4373 or order online at hamstation 00:05:19.970 --> 00:05:23.529 .com. HamStation carries all the major brands 00:05:23.529 --> 00:05:27.560 like Icom. Zoo and Kenwood and they have a wide 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:31.139 selection of radio scanners, MFJ accessories, 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:34.579 Heil sound products, amplifiers by Mirage and 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:38.040 Ameritron, Cushcraft antennas and more. Easy 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.439 online ordering is at HamStation .com or call 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:47.079 1 -800 -729 -4373 to place an order and talk 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.120 it over with the experts. The HamStation, proud 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.970 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. Out 00:05:53.970 --> 00:05:56.649 of all of the ham radio podcast in the world, 00:05:56.990 --> 00:06:00.050 this is definitely one of them. You are listening 00:06:00.050 --> 00:06:18.790 to Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp WB9VPG. Welcome 00:06:18.790 --> 00:06:23.709 back to Ham Talk Live. HamStation has you covered 00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:27.089 with both the new and used equipment. Give them 00:06:27.089 --> 00:06:34.189 a call. Dan or Jeff at 800 -729 -4373 or go to 00:06:34.189 --> 00:06:37.170 hamstation .com. Tell them you heard it right 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:40.449 here on HamTalk Live. HamTalk Live is on the 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:42.870 air every Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern time 00:06:42.870 --> 00:06:46.389 right here on hamtalklive .com. And if you missed 00:06:46.389 --> 00:06:48.350 the show you can listen to the archive on the 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:52.839 website. or download it from most popular podcasting 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:56.819 websites. Dave Anderson, K4SV, was first licensed 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:00.620 as a novice in 1974 after learning about amateur 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:03.600 radio while living with his parents in Germany 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.860 for the United States Army. He liked electronics 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:10.000 and tinkered with simple circuits until he became 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.860 licensed. For his first job he was hired by a 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:16.300 ham to work as a repair tech in radio paging. 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.500 He went to school and became an engineer and 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:22.939 worked on telephone equipment and Dave met some 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:26.220 hams who owned some two -way radio companies 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.500 and they needed some new products that would 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:31.000 give them features that they could then sell. 00:07:31.529 --> 00:07:33.970 And so Dave started working from his garage to 00:07:33.970 --> 00:07:36.089 build innovative products to sell to these two 00:07:36.089 --> 00:07:38.970 -way dealers all over North and South America. 00:07:39.290 --> 00:07:41.829 Uh, as the business grew, which enabled him to 00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:44.889 quit his job and focus on expanding his company. 00:07:45.389 --> 00:07:48.870 Dave owns, owes his success in commercial two 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:52.470 -way radio to his hobby of Hammond radio. Uh, 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:55.050 because of his fondness of CW, he conducts code 00:07:55.050 --> 00:08:00.019 as well as theory classes. Dave is now at the 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:03.100 top of the DXCC honor roll having worked all 00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:08.750 339 DXCC entities. As a DXpeditioner, he's worked 00:08:08.750 --> 00:08:12.089 from many remote and much needed locations and 00:08:12.089 --> 00:08:14.930 has been as far south as Peter One Island and 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:18.829 west to Baker Island and Bhutan on to Africa. 00:08:19.670 --> 00:08:22.389 Dave is the director of CEDCO, that's the Southeast 00:08:22.389 --> 00:08:27.769 DX and Contesting Organization, and the W4 DXCC. 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:32.730 He puts many hours into bringing people into 00:08:32.730 --> 00:08:35.809 the a hobby. So Dave, thank you so much for coming 00:08:35.809 --> 00:08:39.409 on to ham talk live. Thanks a lot, Neil. And 00:08:39.409 --> 00:08:41.529 thanks for the invite. I'm always happy to help 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.490 out wherever I can. So if you guys have some 00:08:44.490 --> 00:08:47.710 questions, fire away, I'll be happy to answer 00:08:47.710 --> 00:08:51.450 whatever I can. Very good. And before we get 00:08:51.450 --> 00:08:53.669 going here, I do want to mention that Dave's 00:08:53.669 --> 00:08:58.269 been very, very generous to the high school club 00:08:58.269 --> 00:09:02.750 that I work with, that I sponsor, and has helped 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:08.529 us get some code classes going and get some equipment 00:09:08.529 --> 00:09:12.110 taken care of that really benefited the group. 00:09:12.970 --> 00:09:15.289 can't thank you enough for that. And I know that 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:19.129 you do all kinds of things to help bring people 00:09:19.129 --> 00:09:23.490 into the hobby and keep them going. And so many 00:09:23.490 --> 00:09:27.730 thanks for all that you do on that. Oh, you're 00:09:27.730 --> 00:09:30.889 very welcome. And thanks. I'm always here to 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:34.950 help whenever I can. Well, why don't you tell 00:09:34.950 --> 00:09:39.120 us a little bit about some of the evaluations 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.860 that you do of receivers and comparing performance 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:47.120 from one receiver to another and picking the 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:50.379 right rig for what you want to accomplish. What 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:55.159 are some of the things that you do to do those 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.899 comparisons? Well, I've been fortunate. I know 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:01.779 a lot of people and I've had a lot of radios 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:08.240 myself. My goal is DXing primarily. I chase DX 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:11.639 on all the bands from 160 through 10 meters. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:15.860 I've done some EME work and I've just done a 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:20.080 lot of different things. However, you know everybody 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.740 has a different budget. My budget may be different 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:28.460 than yours or someone else's and someone with 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:33.259 skill can make their rigs do just about anything. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:36.000 But not everybody has the skill and they need 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:42.899 to start out somewhere. So in my DXing and chasing 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:48.539 DXing I love 160 meters and that requires some 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:52.710 skill and some equipment. As far as receivers 00:10:52.710 --> 00:10:57.029 and being able to compare one to the next, the 00:10:57.029 --> 00:10:59.750 state of the art these days is excellent. You'll 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:03.870 find with most of the radios anymore, there's 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:07.389 not two bits of difference from a operational 00:11:07.389 --> 00:11:10.250 standpoint where the human ear can actually hear. 00:11:10.830 --> 00:11:13.629 There are radios tested by Sherwood that show 00:11:13.629 --> 00:11:16.970 up to be better than other radios, but if you 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:20.490 actually operate them, most people can't tell 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:22.789 the difference. between one type of radio and 00:11:22.789 --> 00:11:26.649 the other. So that really leads to the ergonomics. 00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:29.250 And in ergonomics, for those that may not know 00:11:29.250 --> 00:11:33.330 that term, are of the operational. Where are 00:11:33.330 --> 00:11:36.129 the VFO located? Where is the volume and the 00:11:36.129 --> 00:11:39.830 RF gain? And how easy is it to operate? Do I 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:43.710 have to go into a menu to operate it? Do I have 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:47.370 to have other equipment associated with it to 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:51.210 operate? So really, It depends on your budget, 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:54.950 but I really think that most radios that you 00:11:54.950 --> 00:11:59.029 find today under most conditions will provide 00:11:59.029 --> 00:12:02.269 about the same performance. Of course, you can 00:12:02.269 --> 00:12:04.970 spend a lot of money and get really great performance, 00:12:04.970 --> 00:12:07.169 or you can spend a reasonable amount of money 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:10.389 and get excellent performance. So, you know, 00:12:10.389 --> 00:12:13.509 I can't really put my finger on one or the other, 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:17.889 but the new DSP technology of today is pretty 00:12:17.889 --> 00:12:22.440 great stuff. Yeah, now we had Rob Sherwood that 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.279 you alluded to on back on episode 29 and it's 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.580 been one of our most popular episodes and he 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:34.019 gets in and talks about A little you know a lot 00:12:34.019 --> 00:12:36.960 about what you say is a lot of these rigs the 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.960 modern rigs are pretty equivalent. There's not 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.240 a huge difference in those and so it comes down 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:47.960 to you know other things and he does all the 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:50.500 measurements of you know what's going to get 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.820 the most out of the receiver but it also really 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:57.799 comes down to what you can afford and what you 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:03.039 like as far as the ergonomics and how clean the 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:07.960 transmitter is as well. So what are some of those 00:13:08.350 --> 00:13:11.690 things that you specifically look for when you're 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:16.460 picking a rig as far as the ergonomics go. Well, 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:20.139 you want to be able to have more of the new modern 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:26.779 features. So having a radio with a screen, perhaps 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:31.259 a radio with a spectrum analyzer on it, allowing 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:34.480 you to be able to look at the signals up and 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.879 down from where you are is beneficial, whether 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.039 you're using that radio for contesting or you're 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:45.120 using that radio for DXing and chasing signals. 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:48.460 finding out where people are calling the DX station. 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:54.000 Having a spectrum analyzer is today a very common 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.360 thing. Some radios have them as an external box, 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.639 such as the Ullacraft. Some of them have them 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.279 internally, such as some of the ICOM gear and 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:08.500 the Kenwood gear. Or radios like Flex, which 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:12.659 either use an external box called a Maestro, 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:17.480 which is kind of a radio front panel, or you 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:21.279 can use your computer. But in all these new radios, 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.940 they support a spectrum analyzer, which is very 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:28.659 beneficial. So when you use a radio, you need 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:32.159 at least to have a good RF gain control. Having 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:37.000 your radio at full RF gain is not always beneficial. 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:41.179 In the low bands, and as we move into the low 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:43.960 part of the sunspot cycle, we're going to find 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.720 that the lower bands are going to be where most 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.419 of the QSOs are going to be made over the next 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.600 few years. So if you don't have, I suggest you 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:58.559 put up an antenna for 80, maybe 160 meters and 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.820 certainly 40 and 30 meters, because I think we're 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:04.940 going to see most of the action below 17 meters 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:10.600 over the next few years. Yeah. And we're going 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:14.240 to have a show on sunspot cycles here soon. And 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:19.419 that it's definitely causing a change in those 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:24.000 bands that you. you pick out. So yeah, the analyzers 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.600 are great. Yeah, the spectrum analyzer anymore 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:31.200 is very handy Some of the radios have touch screens 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.220 where you can touch the front of it and make 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:36.399 the radio do things It's more akin to the state 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:39.440 -of -the -art much like a smartphone or an iPad 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:43.679 or a tablet of some kind where the humans are 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.740 now finding that the ergonomics on these things 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:49.919 are Transitioning between a box with just knobs 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.779 on it to a box with both touch screens and knobs 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:56.299 there were a combination of both, which makes 00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:59.779 it user -friendly where people can actually work 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:03.679 on listening to the actual signals on there. 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:07.659 Now, and I don't want to pontificate on a whole 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:11.200 lot of this, but I will tell you that really 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:16.600 a good pair of headphones, a good modern receiver, 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:21.299 even though you can use the HeathKit HW101 and 00:16:21.299 --> 00:16:23.620 still make contacts, there's absolutely nothing 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:28.240 wrong with that. But what happens is with signals 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.440 that are weak in the noise, you need a radio 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:34.220 that doesn't generate a lot of internal noise 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:37.399 in the receiver. most modern receivers have very 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:41.080 low noise so you're able to copy some receivers 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:45.080 have better software which allows you to copy 00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:48.580 weak signals in a noisy environment especially 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:51.299 on the low bands and that's where I hang out 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:56.159 and I have a few favorites that I use specifically 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.799 for just that reason as the software develops 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:02.019 on these radios we're going to get better and 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:05.259 better performance but as it is today we're going 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:09.579 to find that several of the top four of the radios 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:13.920 work better than others in this particular situation. 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.640 OK, very good. Some good pointers on picking 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:26.859 out a rig. Now, when we talk about receiving, 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:31.359 One of the things, and I'll admit I am not very 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:34.119 familiar with these at all, but one of the things 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:39.880 is a good receive antenna that kind of eliminates 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:44.640 some of that noise, and you're a bit of an expert 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:48.400 on these beverage antennas. So tell us a little 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:50.839 bit about the beverage antennas, how those work, 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:53.740 and what some of the pros and cons are of that. 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:57.680 Well, let me tell you you know again in the hunt 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.140 for DX I have 288 countries confirmed on 160 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:07.599 meters that's My passion, I love the low bands, 00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:10.839 but it's difficult. It's not like 20 meters where 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.119 you can turn on any time day and night and work 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.000 people all over the world. You have to wait for 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.680 specific times. And so to have that ability, 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:23.839 you need to actually put up what's called a receiving 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.480 antenna. And a beverage is a type of receiving 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:32.180 antenna. It's not a stack of beer cans. It's 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:35.619 actually a wave antenna that's... consists of 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:40.960 a wire of a decent length suspended over the 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.579 ground, sometimes laying on the ground, which 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:47.059 it's then called a beverage on ground or a bog 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:51.359 antenna. But a good beverage antenna is between 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:54.539 three and four feet above the ground, and it's 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:56.940 pointed in the direction that you want to listen. 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:00.759 It's easy to do, nothing scientific about it. 00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:05.890 my friend Bill W4ZV, which we call him Mr. 160, 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:09.069 he can hear everybody. So I went to his house 00:19:09.069 --> 00:19:12.930 to learn the magic of beverages. Well, believe 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:16.160 it or not, it's not very scientific. You can 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:18.960 read books and everything and they tell you need 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.839 to slope the ends this way and do this and adjust 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.380 that Well my experiences and I've got lots of 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:28.960 beverages and I've put them up in all my friend's 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.640 house That you and this is right out of Bill's 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:35.359 mouth He says run it as far as you can drop it 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.039 to the ground and terminate it. There's nothing 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:40.660 scientific But let me tell you what it gives 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:45.589 you is a directional antenna made from just $20 00:19:45.589 --> 00:19:49.910 worth of wire. The wire could be old aluminum 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:54.769 animal electric fence wire. It can be number 00:19:54.769 --> 00:19:58.289 12 house wire. It can be speaker wire. It can 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:02.220 be anything. So essentially you run it. from 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:06.180 one point in the direction that you want to listen. 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:11.119 And it provides a very directional antenna, attenuating 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:15.079 noise from the back and off the sides. And on 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:18.579 the low bands, and it works all the way up through 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:24.289 30 meters very well. You listen in a cone towards 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:28.150 the direction you're listening and it improves 00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:30.890 the signal to noise so you're not hearing noise 00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:33.950 from behind you and off the side of you. It's 00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:38.990 an excellent antenna and very easy to use. I've 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:42.549 probably put up 20 myself and my friends all 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:46.710 have them and you go to your favorite antenna 00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:49.920 store and mine is Home Depot. I go there and 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:53.180 I can source everything I need. I get the PVC 00:20:53.180 --> 00:21:00.079 pipe, the tees, the two -foot rebar, and you 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.240 take it home and you build yourself this antenna 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:10.910 and it works great. interface that beverage antenna 00:21:10.910 --> 00:21:14.410 into your station. So are you using a separate 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:18.549 radio? Are you using a switch? How do you how 00:21:18.549 --> 00:21:21.190 do you toggle between the two? Obviously, I guess 00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:24.369 a separate radio would be nice, but that's not 00:21:24.369 --> 00:21:26.950 always affordable. Yeah, that's not probably 00:21:26.950 --> 00:21:28.950 what you want to do because you're going to need 00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:31.490 to be able to listen and transmit. So here's 00:21:31.490 --> 00:21:34.869 what you need to do. Since this is just a receive 00:21:34.869 --> 00:21:39.849 antenna, it's a wave antenna, okay, and so if 00:21:39.849 --> 00:21:42.990 you can visualize for just a second, having a 00:21:42.990 --> 00:21:46.630 long piece of wire, and imagine the electromagnetic 00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:49.789 waves coming in from the direction that the antenna 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:53.750 is pointing to. As they strike the wire, they 00:21:53.750 --> 00:21:57.150 convert from a magnetic wave to an electric wave. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:05.019 excuse me, provide electric electron flow in 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:09.240 the wire and from the far side, which is generally 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:14.059 terminated with a 470 ohm resistor to a ground 00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:18.940 rod, the electrons are pushed by the radio waves 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:23.599 down the wire to the back side of the wire and 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:29.289 back there you wind yourself a 9 to 1 transformer 00:22:29.289 --> 00:22:33.710 made from a binocular core two turns to five 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:38.630 turns and those two turns come out as 75 ohms 00:22:38.630 --> 00:22:42.730 and use regular RG6 and you run it from a little 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:45.069 box that you make at the back of the receive 00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:49.160 antenna and you run it into the shack Now, depending 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:51.980 upon what kind of radio you have, if you have 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:55.019 a radio that does not have a receive antenna 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:59.359 input, and most of the modern radios do, you 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:03.420 can buy a couple interface boxes. One's made 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:06.839 by DX Engineering. Another one's made by MFJ. 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:10.359 And what it does is it takes your standard antenna 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:13.880 port on your radio. And when you're not transmitting, 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:17.700 it switches that antenna over to a second and 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:20.119 that's where you would hook your receive antenna. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.940 and you would receive like you would off of your 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.440 main transmit antenna, but it would actually 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:29.440 switch over on receive, and when you went to 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:32.380 transmit it switches back and then transmits 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:35.240 out on your transmit antenna. And that's the 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:39.059 general way of improving receive on the low bands. 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:42.900 If you have a receive antenna on your radio, 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:45.779 of course you hook that RG6 to the back of your 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:50.190 radio, select it on the radio, and now you're 00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:53.089 listening on the receive and transmitting on 00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:56.529 your transmit antenna. It's just about that easy. 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:03.349 The last trick to this is people always ask me, 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:07.509 should I put a preamp in there because the audio 00:24:07.509 --> 00:24:10.630 is really low and the signals are low? Well, 00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:15.220 not only is the signal low, but the difference 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:18.140 between the noise level and the signal level 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:21.519 has increased due to the fact it's a directional 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:23.880 antenna pointing in the direction that you're 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:27.039 trying to hear and this gives you a better signal 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:30.279 to noise and you can use the internal preamp 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:34.000 internal to the radio but the object is not to 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.559 amplify the heck out of it to a point where it's 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:41.140 just as loud as the transmit antenna. So that's 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:44.839 really the receive antenna in a nutshell. They're 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:48.099 very easy to make. All this stuff is available 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:51.900 at your local hardware store, and I can put up 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:55.200 one now in an hour's time, and they work excellent. 00:24:56.609 --> 00:24:59.690 Very good information appreciate you sharing 00:24:59.690 --> 00:25:03.450 that with us and I'm sure some people have some 00:25:03.450 --> 00:25:07.049 questions about that so when we come back we 00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:11.150 will start taking your calls again that number 00:25:11.150 --> 00:25:15.410 is 812 Net Ham 1 we will open that up shortly 00:25:15.410 --> 00:25:18.599 I'll let you know when when to do that, but you 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:21.140 can get ready to call in. You can go ahead and 00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:23.059 tweet us if you want to. In fact, we've got a 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:25.759 couple of questions already on Twitter. Our handle 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:30.799 is at HamTalk Live. So we'll be back with Dave 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:33.799 and take your questions right after this word 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:37.279 from Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.279 Live. This episode of HamTalk Live is brought 00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:43.970 to you in part by Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics 00:25:43.970 --> 00:25:47.190 has been the Ham's Dime Store since 1978. When 00:25:47.190 --> 00:25:49.910 you need connectors, mobile and handheld antennas, 00:25:50.170 --> 00:25:53.369 cables, or adapters, visit Scott or Jill at a 00:25:53.369 --> 00:25:56.769 HamFest near you. Or you can order online at 00:25:56.769 --> 00:26:04.470 PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. Stock up 00:26:04.470 --> 00:26:07.690 on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:26:08.109 --> 00:26:11.289 SMA adapters, audio cables, soldering supplies, 00:26:11.509 --> 00:26:14.289 mobile antennas, and hamsticks. Their silver 00:26:14.289 --> 00:26:17.210 -plated in -connectors are even used on the International 00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:20.529 Space Station. Tower Electronics carries MFJ, 00:26:20.769 --> 00:26:24.849 Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, Workman, and HamPro products. 00:26:25.309 --> 00:26:28.670 And don't miss their 0 % off sale going on now. 00:26:28.930 --> 00:26:33.269 Tower Electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud 00:26:33.269 --> 00:26:39.319 to sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. CQ, 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:44.599 CQ, CQ, you're listening to HamTalk Live with 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:49.900 Neil Rapp. Join the conversation. Call us on 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:53.039 voice with Skype at HamTalk Live or give us a 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:59.599 call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:04.660 Now, here's more HamTalk Live. Thanks to Scott 00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:06.960 and Jill at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.920 the show once again tonight and help bring you 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:13.000 HamTalk Live. They're taking a break from the 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.519 HamFest tour for a couple of weeks, but they're 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.859 gonna be back at it January 14th. They will be 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:22.039 in Orlando at UCF. That's the University of Central 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:26.990 Florida. And then Fort Myers, Florida, St. Charles, 00:27:27.089 --> 00:27:29.769 Illinois, Collinsville, Illinois, and of course, 00:27:30.029 --> 00:27:33.029 Hamcation. They'll be there. So in the meantime, 00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:36.750 give them a call if you need something. 920 -435 00:27:36.750 --> 00:27:43.009 -2973 or visit their website at PL -259 .com. 00:27:43.190 --> 00:27:45.410 Tell them you heard it here on HamTalk Live and 00:27:45.410 --> 00:27:48.859 be sure to listen. To us here on ham talk live 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:52.579 every Thursday night 9 p .m Eastern time right 00:27:52.579 --> 00:27:56.200 here on ham talk live comm also check out our 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:00.740 Facebook and Twitter Feeds we have stuff on there 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:03.519 between shows and also make some announcements 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:06.759 about the show just search for ham talk live 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:10.500 So now it's time for your calls So if you have 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:15.359 a question now is the time to call it's 8 1 2 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:22.569 net Ham 1 8 1 2 6 3 8 4261 or you can Skype us 00:28:22.569 --> 00:28:26.789 at HamTalk Live or you can also tweet HamTalk 00:28:26.789 --> 00:28:29.769 Live and we're going to start off with a question 00:28:29.769 --> 00:28:33.829 from Twitter. It's from KZeroMD Dr. Scott Wright 00:28:33.829 --> 00:28:37.230 and he says, Hi Dave, thanks for all of the technical 00:28:37.230 --> 00:28:39.789 evaluations and practical articles you write 00:28:39.789 --> 00:28:42.849 on the hobby and he wants to know what is the 00:28:42.849 --> 00:28:47.849 minimum DR3 and RMDR you think the low band DXer 00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:53.000 needs or the contestor needs. So, Dave? Well, 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:55.740 now we're getting a little bit more technical. 00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:58.339 We're getting just a little more technical, aren't 00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:03.460 we? So to not take it too into the technical, 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:05.400 because we could be here all night and I think 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:09.380 we'll run out of time, I will tell you that the 00:29:09.380 --> 00:29:13.440 high -end radios have very good reciprocal mixing 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:18.160 dynamic range numbers. Generally, as you know, 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.460 Sherwood measures all this stuff. Really it's 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:27.960 all about listening to signals without having 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:32.259 the radio cause you trouble through trying to 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:37.200 decode weak signals or strong signals that are 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.539 actually located adjacent to you. And in the 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:44.240 case of contesting, you want really good numbers 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:47.920 where you're not hearing the guy beside you. 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:50.759 But what ends up happening is the guy beside 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:53.859 you has not the best transmitter and you end 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:57.559 up having trouble with that. And so it kind of 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:03.269 affects your radio. So not to dodge. Scott's 00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:07.490 question. I think that really the key here is 00:30:07.490 --> 00:30:12.730 to have a radio that is able to copy weak signals 00:30:12.730 --> 00:30:17.569 and do it in such a way that the internal DSP 00:30:17.569 --> 00:30:22.390 can discern signals that are coherent, that are 00:30:22.390 --> 00:30:25.869 normal, what you would have with a intelligible 00:30:25.869 --> 00:30:29.490 signal versus wideband noise, and be able to 00:30:29.490 --> 00:30:34.509 decode the coherent signal during the weak conditions 00:30:34.509 --> 00:30:40.809 or perhaps in high QRN conditions and that I'm 00:30:40.809 --> 00:30:45.109 not sure is related necessarily to an RMDR or 00:30:45.109 --> 00:30:48.990 a DR3 number. I think that has to do a lot with 00:30:48.990 --> 00:30:51.250 the way the software is set up in the radio. 00:30:51.569 --> 00:30:54.009 So if that's an answer that's the best one I 00:30:54.009 --> 00:30:58.859 can give you. Without a couple hours of... Yeah, 00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:02.039 I mean, we'd have to open a beer or something 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:05.740 and talk over for an hour. So at this point, 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:10.039 I think your best choice is to find a radio of 00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:12.779 the available radios that works the best for 00:31:12.779 --> 00:31:17.180 you in that condition. All right. And speaking 00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:21.299 of that, grab your favorite beverage and then 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:25.700 give us a call. Not a beverage antenna, but give 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:29.559 us a call and ask about Beverage antenna or anything 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:33.579 else you want to ask Dave at eight one two net 00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:39.740 ham one for The alpha challenge that's eight 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:44.099 one two six three eight four two six one or you 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:49.319 can Tweet us at ham talk live or Skype us at 00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:53.440 ham talk live So we would like to take your questions 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:59.599 for Dave K4 SV So give us call 812 -NET -HAM 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:09.480 -1. Neil, I don't mean to interrupt, but I find 00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:13.299 in this hobby that everybody loves to do stuff, 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:16.579 but a lot of people are afraid to just go out 00:32:16.579 --> 00:32:20.160 and do something. For whatever reason, they're 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:23.940 unsure that the outcome will be a good one or 00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:27.019 not. Well, I think that everybody needs to go 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:29.619 build some antennas. First of all, they're not 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:33.880 super scientific. You can build simple antennas 00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:39.700 or complex antennas, but in reality, everybody 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:42.240 needs to have several different kinds of antennas. 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:46.319 So if we take our beverage antenna, for example, 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:49.519 people hear that and they go, oh, goodness, this 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:53.220 has to be difficult to do. Trust me, it is so 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:57.619 easy. I could give you a list. If you want to 00:32:57.619 --> 00:33:00.339 send me an email, I'll send you a list of parts 00:33:00.339 --> 00:33:03.720 you need to come up with. And the only complex 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:08.000 part in the whole antenna is sourcing a binocular 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.819 core. I think they're 55 cents at Mauser and 00:33:11.819 --> 00:33:14.839 you wind it with whatever wire. It's a very simple 00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:18.240 project. So what I would say is don't be afraid 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:23.220 to attempt an antenna project. You may be on 00:33:23.220 --> 00:33:27.029 a postage stamp size lot. That's okay. You'd 00:33:27.029 --> 00:33:29.369 be surprised at what antennas you could actually 00:33:29.369 --> 00:33:34.730 build and have a whole lot of fun operate Very 00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:36.890 good. Well, actually that was what I was getting 00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:39.190 ready to ask was how would you suggest going 00:33:39.190 --> 00:33:44.950 about making a beverage or a Similar antenna 00:33:44.950 --> 00:33:49.369 I also heard I heard on on a friend's podcast 00:33:49.369 --> 00:33:52.099 that Some people are saying that they're going 00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:55.640 to, instead of beverage antennas, they're going 00:33:55.640 --> 00:33:59.940 to multiple verticals. What's your thoughts on 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:04.119 that? Well, I will tell you that since we were 00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:08.280 talking about beverage, I have five, six different 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:11.480 types of antennas here at my house. I'm fortunate 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:17.250 I moved to the country. One of my best and best 00:34:17.250 --> 00:34:20.510 performing antennas is a product made by Hi -Z, 00:34:21.010 --> 00:34:24.929 now sold under DX Engineering. It's called an 00:34:24.929 --> 00:34:30.469 8 circle. It has 8 24 -foot verticals in a 200 00:34:30.469 --> 00:34:34.829 -foot diameter circle, and its primary job is 00:34:34.829 --> 00:34:38.920 a rotatable directional antenna. Now it doesn't 00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:42.940 physically move. You switch the direction remotely 00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:47.000 from the shack and you point it in whatever direction. 00:34:47.059 --> 00:34:52.619 And it has a very good RDF value of 12 -13, which 00:34:52.619 --> 00:34:56.659 is very directional. That is a great antenna. 00:34:56.760 --> 00:34:59.260 That's maybe out of the range for a lot of people 00:34:59.260 --> 00:35:02.820 because of its physical size. However, you could 00:35:02.820 --> 00:35:05.639 go with a smaller antenna called a four -square. 00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:10.260 It uses also 24 foot high verticals. You rotate 00:35:10.260 --> 00:35:14.139 it in four different directions. It's easy to 00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:18.099 hook up and make that work. You can also build 00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:21.380 what's called a waller flag, which is essentially 00:35:21.380 --> 00:35:25.920 a couple vertical loops. that are rotatable. 00:35:26.659 --> 00:35:29.760 You can have a number of antennas, and the key 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:33.079 to it is some days the beverages work better, 00:35:33.300 --> 00:35:36.460 some days my rotatable 8 circle works better. 00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:39.539 So really, if you have all that, you're in high 00:35:39.539 --> 00:35:43.880 cotton. All right, very good. And we do have 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:51.429 a call on the line. Who's this? Hi, Brian. Thanks 00:35:51.429 --> 00:35:54.309 for calling in. What's your question for Dave 00:35:54.309 --> 00:35:57.849 tonight? Yeah, I'm curious. Has he ever messed 00:35:57.849 --> 00:36:00.570 with the beverage on the ground, the type of 00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:05.329 beverage on tenner? The very standard beverage? 00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:10.480 Yeah, Brian I actually have I've installed bog 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:13.780 antennas beverage on ground antennas There's 00:36:13.780 --> 00:36:17.400 nothing wrong with a bog antenna The only downside 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:21.360 is is it's located Since it lays on the ground 00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:24.340 a lot of the signal that is picked up by the 00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:27.039 antenna is coupled directly to ground So what 00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:30.420 you will find is that the signal coming off of 00:36:30.420 --> 00:36:34.679 a bog antenna. It's still directional is lower 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:37.699 than which would get from a regular beverage 00:36:37.699 --> 00:36:41.500 three or four feet off of the ground but it is 00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:44.840 a directional antenna. A friend of mine lives 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:48.480 in a city when he needs to work DX he goes out 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:51.760 at night and he lays an antenna right on the 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.940 street. couple bricks in the curb and right over 00:36:54.940 --> 00:36:57.139 in the cars drive over it and everybody's happy 00:36:57.139 --> 00:36:59.760 and he lays it out across the neighborhood and 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.960 when he's done he rolls it back up there's nothing 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:05.159 to matter with the bog antenna they're just lower 00:37:05.159 --> 00:37:09.480 signal output brian go ahead okay well i thank 00:37:09.480 --> 00:37:12.980 you and uh thanks neil for the show i'll be listening 00:37:12.980 --> 00:37:15.679 to the rest of it all right brian thanks for 00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:19.920 giving us a call okay no problem all right bye 00:37:19.920 --> 00:37:24.760 now 812 net ham one eight one two six three eight 00:37:24.760 --> 00:37:28.159 four two six one is the phone number or you can 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:32.039 Skype us at ham talk live we have about five 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:35.380 minutes remaining so if you want to make a call 00:37:35.380 --> 00:37:38.860 and ask a question now's the time to do so it's 00:37:38.860 --> 00:37:42.239 eight one two net ham one or you can tweet us 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:44.920 you can reach us via Twitter if you don't want 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:51.880 to call in that's at ham talk live So yeah, I 00:37:51.880 --> 00:37:55.639 kind of heard about the vertical thing and found 00:37:55.639 --> 00:38:02.139 that interesting. What's your feelings on the 00:38:02.139 --> 00:38:05.780 SDR versus the Super Heterodyne? I know you said 00:38:05.780 --> 00:38:09.340 you like the ergonomics of having the analyzer. 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:13.440 What's your thought on that? Well, Neil, I'm 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:19.340 fortunate. I have a Flex 6700 and an ICOM 7851 00:38:19.340 --> 00:38:27.139 and a K3 here. And all of them I use. The newest 00:38:27.139 --> 00:38:30.440 technology out is what's called direct sampling. 00:38:30.619 --> 00:38:35.440 That's what you'll find in a ICOM 7300 and the 00:38:35.440 --> 00:38:40.940 new announced 7610 that will be available probably 00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:44.579 around date and time and what the Flex does. 00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:49.880 Flex came out with it first and it's a really 00:38:49.880 --> 00:38:54.300 cool technology. It takes RF and directly to 00:38:54.300 --> 00:38:58.320 baseband into the DSP. The DSP does all the detection 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:02.280 and provides see audio to the human who needs 00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:05.260 it in analog form. One of these days we'll get 00:39:05.260 --> 00:39:10.059 it in digital form, but not today. As soon as 00:39:10.059 --> 00:39:13.320 we get assimilated by the Borg, is that? That's 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:16.860 absolutely right. You hook it up to your input 00:39:16.860 --> 00:39:20.039 port and you're good to go. But really, truly, 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:24.579 all the radios work very well. I'm an old guy, 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:28.539 I guess I'm 60, and I really like radios with 00:39:28.539 --> 00:39:32.119 knobs. And I will tell you, when you're listening 00:39:32.119 --> 00:39:35.179 on the radio, it doesn't matter what band. When 00:39:35.179 --> 00:39:37.840 you're trying to listen for a weak signal while 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:43.340 DXing, you have to concentrate. And I find it 00:39:43.340 --> 00:39:48.500 best with a radio with knobs because my brain 00:39:48.500 --> 00:39:51.760 tells my fist to move the knob one way or the 00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:56.369 other to... allow my brain to tweak in the signals. 00:39:57.639 --> 00:40:02.380 My preference is rather than a PC based SDR and 00:40:02.380 --> 00:40:05.059 they've got them all over the place now from 00:40:05.059 --> 00:40:09.019 very low cost $20 things through hundreds of 00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:12.900 thousands of dollar SDRs. They all have their 00:40:12.900 --> 00:40:16.139 merits and they're all great but I really truly 00:40:16.139 --> 00:40:19.260 like something with a knob because it provides 00:40:19.260 --> 00:40:24.519 the human control over the actual listening of 00:40:24.519 --> 00:40:28.880 a signal directly without having to move a mouse 00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:32.440 or roll a wheel or do something like that. So 00:40:32.440 --> 00:40:35.940 that's my personal preference. As far as performance 00:40:35.940 --> 00:40:42.800 goes, I have all three radios and I tend to want 00:40:42.800 --> 00:40:49.239 to use the radios with knobs versus my PC controlled 00:40:49.239 --> 00:40:55.420 ones. So if that helps you at all, and the radios 00:40:55.420 --> 00:40:58.739 of today are awesome performance. I just think 00:40:58.739 --> 00:41:04.119 they're great. Yeah, they are. And I too, I got 00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:06.920 to have that knob now. It could be, you know, 00:41:06.980 --> 00:41:10.099 a USB knob, you know, it could be something like 00:41:10.099 --> 00:41:13.980 that, but just, and it's got to be a heavy knob 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:17.820 too. It can't be some real light knob. It's got 00:41:17.820 --> 00:41:20.860 to be a heavy knob. Yeah, and I think somebody 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:25.360 that has maybe a hand -me -down TS -520 or a 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:27.940 radio like that, which is perfectly fine, that 00:41:27.940 --> 00:41:33.019 wants to jump into the new radio. You know, I 00:41:33.019 --> 00:41:35.699 hate to recommend one brand over the other, but 00:41:35.699 --> 00:41:39.739 you need to look, when you buy a radio, what 00:41:39.739 --> 00:41:42.360 features you can get for the amount of money 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:45.719 that you're going to spend. And I think the best 00:41:45.719 --> 00:41:52.070 deal on the market today is the ICOM for a ham 00:41:52.070 --> 00:41:55.630 that is trying to replace an old radio that wants 00:41:55.630 --> 00:41:58.469 some of the features like a spectrum analyzer 00:41:58.469 --> 00:42:02.849 and DSP and direct sampling the ICOM 7300 is 00:42:02.849 --> 00:42:05.190 hard to beat and I think it goes for about $1 00:42:05.190 --> 00:42:10.030 ,300 these days but for a starter radio or someone 00:42:10.030 --> 00:42:12.170 is just getting into the hobby that would like 00:42:12.170 --> 00:42:15.190 to buy something modern and state -of -the -art 00:42:15.190 --> 00:42:20.929 I don't know that is a hard hard choice of course 00:42:20.929 --> 00:42:24.429 there's lots of used gear and I'm not discounting 00:42:24.429 --> 00:42:29.130 that there's a lot of good stuff but for the 00:42:29.130 --> 00:42:32.750 dollar spent and the bang for the buck the ICOM 00:42:32.750 --> 00:42:36.469 for me is a good choice and I usually recommend 00:42:36.469 --> 00:42:39.590 that to a lot of people that ask yeah it's an 00:42:39.590 --> 00:42:43.800 excellent excellent choice and I've been a Kenwood 00:42:43.800 --> 00:42:48.159 fan all my life, but this the 7300 is starting 00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:53.670 to make me Shift a little bit because well You're 00:42:53.670 --> 00:42:58.409 right. When I first got licensed in 1974, I had 00:42:58.409 --> 00:43:04.969 bought HeathKit HR -10 and a DX60B and a HG -10 00:43:04.969 --> 00:43:09.369 VFO. And I got my advanced a few months later 00:43:09.369 --> 00:43:13.030 and I went to Henry Radio at the time. I think 00:43:13.030 --> 00:43:17.300 HRO used to be a lot of the Henry stores. And 00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:21.820 I bought, with my mom's help, for $629 a Kenwood 00:43:21.820 --> 00:43:26.179 TS -520. And boy, was that a great radio. I had 00:43:26.179 --> 00:43:28.820 Kenwoods all the way up through the eight seventies, 00:43:28.840 --> 00:43:33.360 and I ended up switching over to an ICOM 756 00:43:33.360 --> 00:43:38.880 Pro from Ray Novak. And I really love the ICOM 00:43:38.880 --> 00:43:43.059 stuff. The spectrum analyzer for me is a key 00:43:43.059 --> 00:43:45.800 feature of using the radio. Yeah, I'm going to 00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:47.699 have to cut you off. Sorry, but well, that's 00:43:47.699 --> 00:43:50.960 a wrap for ham talk live this week. Be sure to 00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:53.519 join us next week John Davis will be here to 00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:57.780 talk about D star So seven three seven five and 00:43:57.780 --> 00:44:11.519 may the good DX be yours Seven three and good 00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:13.699 luck from ham talk live