[amsat-bb] Very Interesting Radio - Possible Sat Use

[Thomas Doyle]

Thanks to everyone who shared their opinion of my dual UV-X4 full duplex
project. It was very interesting to read the variety of opinions people
have. Back in the day we used to say that if you had a room with 10 hams in
it there would be at least 20 strongly held opinions on any topic. Glad to
see that is still true today. The first UV-X4 is great and has worked out
so well that I ordered the second one and hope to work you with the full
duplex setup someday soon.

73 W9KE Tom Doyle


On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Thomas Doyle <tomdoyle1948 at gmail.com>
wrote:
> This may have been discussed previously but just in case it has not.
>
> I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to
> operate full duplex on the FM sats.
> The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on
> both 2M and 70cm. It has
> almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi.
99
> memories - tone squelch ...
>
> In addition to the low cost the radio is very small. See pic - I have
> fairly normal size hands so you can see how
> small it is.
>
> http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg
>
> I purchased it expecting the worst. Much to my surprise it actually works
> quite well. The menu system is
> the most intuitive I have found on any radio. The only negatives I could
> find were
>
> - no channel lockout when scanning - I put the local weather station in
one
> of the memories.
>  Since it is always on you can not use the scan function.
>
> - I fully expected a radio of such a small size would not have adequate
> sound from the speaker.
>  In fact the sound from the speaker is really loud. Everything is set
> using a rotary digital switch
>  with detents. This works great for selecting channels and using the menu
> functions. There are
>  only 9 detent positions for the volume. The lowest volume setting is
> mute, one click up and it is
>  loud and it keeps getting louder as you go up. There was nothing wrong
> with my radio - they
>  all do it.
>
> - no DTMF pad
>
> None of these negatives affect the use of the radio with an FM sat. You
> could buy a pair of these
> for $130 including shipping. Add a diplexer and Elk/Arrow antenna and I
> think you would be good to
> go with a very compact low cost full duplex portable FM station.
>
> I bought mine from http://www.maintradingcompany.com and received
excellent
> service. In case you
> were wondering what the goofy looking LED between the switch and the
> antenna is - it is for the
> flashlight function the radio offers as a feature. The flashlight feature
> is invaluable :-)
>
> Sent from my computer.
>
> W9KE  Tom Doyle