02 July 2009

ARO 243, a perfect and reliable 4x4 for ham operations













Astazi am scos ultima achizitie, un ARO 243, la plimbare la Comana. Deh, la cate statii sunt pe aici, era necesara si o platforma pe care sa se desfasoare.
Urmeaza amenajarea interna, cu echipamente si ce mai trebuie radioamatorului cand pleaca in expeditie.
Propagarea nu am cum sa o indes in masina!
Primul drum a fost la Comana, in judetul Giurgiu.
Pe masina a fost instalat un FC40, vizibil in consola de pe capota. La ATU a fost conectata o antena din undita pentru HF.
VHF/UHF am folosit o antena Comet, dual band, lambda/2.
Transceiver FT 857D si sursa Proxel.

Alte imagini de la Barajul Bolboci. By the way, am reusit legaturi in VHF pe direct cu Bucurestiul
Echipamentele:
-Kenwood TM V71
-Yaesu FT817ND
-Antena COMET VHF/UHF
-Antena Midland CB145
-Antena HF 2m

Plus cateva imagini de la intalnire cu membrii forumului Aro4x4.net.

04 June 2009

Motorola MTS2000 S-record

If anyone has the unpacked S-record for a Motorola MTS2000, please drop a line on reply!
The Model number is: H01KDH9PW1BN

18 May 2009

Motorola GP-360

Ultima achizitie, o Motorola GP360. Primele masuri, ca de obicei, antena noua si acumulator nou, de capacitate mare.
Sunt obisnuit cu Motorola, pe care o consider una din marcile cu excelenta in domeniul radiocomunicatiilor, echipamentele lor fiind robuste si de incredere. Nici GP-360 nu face exceptie, fiind o statie portabila destinata utilizatorilor din sfera serviciilor profesioniste.
Dispune de o serie de functii specifice, cum ar fi "Lone Worker", "Voice storing and forwarding" etc.
Pentru identificare si transisie de date, utilizeaza Sel5, sistem tonal.
Receptia este excelenta, statia fiind sensibila si, datorita demodulatorului PLL, raportul semnal/zgomot este deosebit de bun pentru semnalele slabe, la care, de obicei, celelalte statii ofera un semnal zgomotos si aproape neinteligibil.
Squelch-ul este ferm si nu "sare: la semnale perturbatoare.
Cat despre rezistenta la interodulatii, ewfortabil fara sa mai trecem prin meniul extins al statiei.
Facilitatile comerciale ale statiei nu sunt prea utile in regim de radioamator (telegrame, call forward, lone worker etc) dar, prin extinderea dotarii cu statii Motorola in randul radioamatorilor s-ar putea imagina o serie de aplicatii care sa exploateze aceste facilitati.
Ca aspect general, statia este ergonomica, usor de operat cu o singura mana. Dimensiunile sunt apropiate de cele ale unei alte portabile "legendare", GP300. Similar si greutatea. Spre deosebire de predecesoare insa, exista posibilitatea montarii unui acumulator optional Li-Ion care ii reduce sensibil greutatea si dimnesiunile, acesta fiind mai plat intrucatva decat pack-ul Ni-Cd sau Ni-Mh.
Acumulatorul standard de 1200 mA asigura utilizarea statiei pe receptie cu volumul la 75% pentru aproximativ 20 de ore sau aproximativ 14 ore cu emisie moderata (aproximativ 20 minute per total).
Acumulatorul de 2400 mA nu a fost inca adus in starea de descarcat...
Este de retinut ca afisajul statiei ofera indicatie asupra starii acumulatorului.
In imaginile de mai jos, statia este prezentata cu antena VHF 136-152 MHz de 4 inchi si acumulatorul "extended" NiMh 2400 mA.
In unele flyer-e de prezentare se spune ca afisajul poate indica si nivelul semnalului receptionat insa eu nu am gasit aceasta optiune in meniuri si nici in soft-ul de programare. Posibil sa existe aceasta posibilitate pentru versiunile trunk.
Totusi, ceva ceva este acolo, intrucat statia are posibilitatea de a efectua"voting" pentru a alege canalul cu semnalul cel mai bun acolo unde exista sisteme "multicast" (ce emit aceeasi informatiei pe frecvente diferite.




Iata ce spune producatorul despre aceasta statie:

Features:

  • Signalling
  • The radio software encompasses Private Line™ and 5-tone selective signalling

  • Channel Scan
  • Allows activity on different communications channels to be monitored and answered

  • X-Pand™ Voice Compression and Low
  • Level Expansion Crisp, clear and strong audio quality in virtually any noisy environment. Low level expansion allows further improvements in audio quality by reducing noise usually heard during pauses in conversation

  • Voice Operated Transmit (VOX)
  • Hands free operation when used with Vox headset accessory

  • Emergency Signalling
  • Sends a help signal to a pre-defined person or group of people. The help signal can contain a pre-recorded voice message enabling your whereabouts or status to be determined immediately by the receiving person

  • Lone Worker
  • Added security and safety for individuals who work remotely from their team. The radio enters emergency mode if the user does not respond to the warning signal

  • Option Board Expandability
  • You can expand the existing capabilities by adding one of the following option boards:

  • Encryption for message security
  • SmarTrunk II for low cost trunking
  • Voice Storage option board provides
  • voice recorder features allowing you to store and retrieve messages

  • Whisper
  • Allows a user to speak quietly into a radio and still be heard clearly

  • Call Forward
  • Allows calls to be forwarded to another radio user if you are unable to answer your calls personally

  • User Information
  • A14-character alpha-numeric display contains a battery gauge and signal quality indicator and provides separate distinctive tones plus name decode for many incoming calls

  • Ease of Use
  • Simple menus and an alpha-numeric contact list make the full power of GP360 simple and intuitive to use

  • Status Calls
  • Pre-defined text messages which allow the user to send meaningful messages without talking

Frequency Range: VHF: 136-174 MHz; UHF: 403-470 MHz

Memory Channels: 255

Dimensions: 137mm x 57.5mm x 37.5mm

Weight: 428g

17 May 2009

Zetron Model 30 Worldpatch

I am desperately seeking a instruction manual for a Zetron Model 30 Worldpatch (repeater controller with phonepatch operation) in order to enable a phonepatch for our club in UHF.
If anyone has a scanned copy of this manual, please leave a short comment with some informations on how to proceed. Thank you!
73 de yo3hjv, Adrian


LATER EDIT.
Ladies and gentlemen, the workd's most wanted Zetron user and installation manual is ... here!
I found it!
If anyone need this....DOWNLOAD HERE


Or from here, alternate download.

10 May 2009

Portable HF operations

As I am going to go portable again in this summer, I revisited my Yaesu FT-857D backpack and fitted with some new accessories.
This new "toys" are:
-A antena matching unit;
-The second one doesn't carry a name but serves to connect the solar panel (15W-12V) and the SLA battery (12v-7 Ah) to the radio. It also contain a 6V/600mA NiCd pack and a digital panel-meter (for DC monitoring).

Last time when I was portable (In Elba Island) I used the Yaesu FT857D with Alinco DMV330 and a 40m dipole with a LDG Z-100 ATU.
This year, I plan to go in Sardinia (another island) and I want to change something in my setup.
I will no more take the Alinco switching power supply. nor the LDG Z-100 ATU.
Instead, I will use a 12V/7,5 Ah battery and a selectable UnUn (Unbalanced to Unbalanced broadband transformer) wich is tested to work very well from 800kHz to 55MHz.
The antenna will be a random wire. I made some tests yesterday while in my balcony and, with a 12 m of wire (random, balancing under) and I have had a QSo with ZC4TS in 18 MHz with only 10W...
So, I will test the gear in the future weeks before the real operation.
Below are some pictures and the schematics. Sorry for the uglyness but I am writing them on my tablet as I am not used with CAD software...
The schematics:
-Antena Matcher:

-Power patch:

-ATU analysis (SWR vs Freq.) - the test was carried on a 450 Ohm resistive load on the 1:9 ratio.

... and some photos:


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