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Admiral wrote:Thanks for the mini-review, but what's the market? 446, 70cm, UK light or a mixture? It just doesn't seem to fit a mainstream audience to me, which normally means it will disappear as quick as it appeared. Does it do offsets?
I agree completely, its a bit of an oddball searching for a niche, I suppose its like one of the great many 888 clones and repackagings over the past few years. Obviously it can do all of those, but its 446 only for me until I get my Foundation sorted. I've seen on another forum people using them as "shirt pocket" scanners for a couple of local channels. It'll do offsets, yeah. You just program the TX and RX frequencies separately.
I recently ordered 4 of these funny radio's. Great fun! Audio quality is loud and clear.
I noticed that the squelch opens slow by default. First word was often lost. I guessed that it had something to do with the energy saving. And yes, when disabling the energy saving (with the programming software) the squelch opens a lot quicker!
Other funny thing. It is a DUAL BAND radio! You can change this with the programming software and programm VHF and UHF frequencies!
For me it's a real winner as I can monitor VHF and UHF repeaters at the same time!
That's 14 more than my first Yaesu, Stan. That had two channels, then I had an Icom that had 6 - Luxury! The Icom was also four weeks wages at the time! This is fish and chips money- what do you want?
It looks tacky in white, but as they can be gotten for £11 per unit who's complaining?
As paulears says, my first venture into UHF was a single channel, ex-plod, circa 1971 Pye Pocket Phone converted to GB3PB (RIP) and cost me about a weeks wages for the unit plus a 'conversion kit' which consisted of two xtals, one ceramic capacitor and a xeroxed A4 guidesheet that was barely readable.
And for youngsters that joke about damp-string antennas, mine was a large paperclip unfurled.
Winner of the 2017 IBTL 'Summer Sizzler' competition
Nostalgia time - I wonder how many people can imagine using TWO radios - the Pocketfone receiver in one hand and the pocketfone transmitter in the other! Often seen in some episodes of the Sweeny, when magically the transmitter appears to receive too!
Some really novel gadgets too - the Burndept vehicle adaptor, where the handheld radio was slotted into the housing when you got in the car, and then when you pressed the PTT on the mic, a plunger prodded the PTT on the handheld in the housing. External aerial too. It even worked! For eleven quid, these new radios are amazing devices really.
paulears wrote:Nostalgia time - the Burndept vehicle adaptor, where the handheld radio was slotted into the housing when you got in the car, and then when you pressed the PTT on the mic, a plunger prodded the PTT on the handheld in the housing. External aerial too. It even worked! For eleven quid, these new radios are amazing devices really.
The external aerial was switched over by a magnet in the vehicle adapter. Looking back it was a piece of poo but was cool at the time...
Mike
Connect Systems CS750 and CS800, Hytera PD-365, Motorola DP4600.
Raspberry Pi 2 and DV4Mini HotSpot.
AOR AR-DV1 Digital Voice Receiver / eSPY on ARD V1. Whistler WS1088 / TRX-1 / Whistler Q / UBCD3600XLT / WTR Browser.
Ah memories !!
In the days when Legoland was Windsor Safari Park I was handed by a keeper a BE470 for repair that has passed through the digestive system of an elephant, luckily it was in a plastic bag.. They just wanted it written off so they could claim on their insurance
Mike
Connect Systems CS750 and CS800, Hytera PD-365, Motorola DP4600.
Raspberry Pi 2 and DV4Mini HotSpot.
AOR AR-DV1 Digital Voice Receiver / eSPY on ARD V1. Whistler WS1088 / TRX-1 / Whistler Q / UBCD3600XLT / WTR Browser.
I would like one for my boating friend. It can do the 446 channels and vhf ch74 used by the locks and freight. Most locks would rather you used the radio than the phone. If it could do just 9 channels to keep it simple, that would be great.
Unfortunately the lead is a prolific nightmare. I only use serial programming cables. I have a long history of computers installing the latest drivers, which the real chip manufacturer releases simply to stop clones working. It's well documented and I have no idea how anybody ever gets one to work, and I never do without reinstalling windows and not rebooting. It's my biggest failing in life, that I can't overcome. A USB lead.
There is a guy making a serial cable, but it costs a few radio's and likely isn't as it seems.
If anyone gets tired of theirs, and can program it, I would be interested in buying it from them.