Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Greg Hathaway, who writes:
Hi there –
I bought a Belka-DX recently and am really enjoying it! The stand from my Uniden Home Patrol 1 scanner works great with it. The stand is sold separately by Uniden for those who may be interested.
Best,
Greg Hathaway
Thank you for sharing this, Greg. You’re right: that little Uniden stand fits the Belka perfectly!
There are a few hobbies and activities that always seem to tie radio enthusiasts together: topics like aviation, astronomy, trains, languages/travel, and the weather.
The weather is a big one for amateur radio operators because it’s often one of the ice-breakers used while connecting with a fellow operator over the air. I suppose it’s for this reason, I can’t remember a single Hamvention that didn’t include at least one vendor exclusively selling personal weather stations.
A few weeks ago, SWLing Post sponsor Radioddity reached out and asked if I would be interested in reviewing and evaluating a new weather station they’ve started selling.
I’ve always wanted a proper personal weather station with built-in automatic rain gauge and an anemometer to measure wind speed in real-time. Many years ago, we purchased a commercial-grade Davis weather station for my brother-in-law who is a complete meteorology/weather geek. If memory serves, the entire system cost well over $500, but the Davis is a station that’s robust enough that scientists purchase these for remote monitoring, and research.
My brother-in-law used this station for many years until he moved to a ground floor apartment where he simply had no way to install it. He gave it to me, but I never installed it at our house because doing so with wires would have been challenging and, frankly, not terribly neat–black wires would have been running along our our exterior walls.
I considered purchasing a wireless station, but many were either too expensive or I didn’t know the company well so questioned the quality.
I get a lot [understatement alert!] of requests to review products from various companies and decline almost all of them. The reason is, I’m not persuaded by free products and my time to actually do reviews is very limited and precious to me. I stick with reviews directly related to the radio world and products I feel might be useful to our community.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who recently mentioned that he’s on the hunt for quality 18650 Li-Ion cells.
Like Mike, I’ve a number of shortwave portables that use 18650 cells, so I understand where he’s coming from: he’d like 18650 cells that are both safe and have a long life. Even though most radios that use 18650 cells have internal chargers, I also assume he’d welcome quality external charger recommendations.
Mike said he’s willing to pay a premium for quality cells but frankly, I’m not sure what to suggest because it seems most of the ones I find are the average eBay and Amazon variety (ie. pretty darn cheap).
I know there are some here in the SWLing Post community who are flashlight enthusiasts and others who are well-versed in the world of rechargeable batteries.
If you have any suggestions, please share them in a comment! Thank you in advance as I’m also keen to hear your comments!
Over on QRPer.com, I just published a post on portable power that was The Spectrum Monitor magazine’s April 2021 cover article.
This article is essentially an overview of a few different types of rechargeable batteries including pros and cons of each chemistry.
While this article focuses on use in ham radio field applications, it also applies to anyone powering receivers–especially those without an internal power supply–in the field.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Markku (VA3MK), who writes:
I just received this stand today, works and fits well with my orange Tecsun PL-368.
Click here to view at CountyComm.
What a nice and simple little stand! Thanks for sharing this, Markku. This would work (I assume) with any of the CountyComm and Tecsun Portables with a similar form factor.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Recently I received from AliExp two 18650 3000mAh batteries to replace the aging original XHDATA for my D-808.
As you can see they are ~3mm longer than the original.
They still fit, but the spring is crushed to its minimum and the cover will not fit nicely unless I trim its inning a bit, with a knife .
A shorter one was on the page pictures when I order on AliEx, but I did not have the option to select it and I didn’t ask the seller.
The added 3mm is a new protection circuit
I charged them in the D-808 and, so far, they preform very well.
In order not to damage the spring, I decided to use these batteries only on long listening sessions and then put the original 18650s in, when the D-808 is at rest.
So when one is out there shopping for 18650s, it’s important to take note of their size.
Regards, Adi
Many thanks, Adi. I do see where the seller is noting the increased length of each cell to accommodate the protection circuit. It might be difficult to judge in advance, however, if a particular radio or device can cope with these slightly larger cells. Thank you for sharing this, Adi!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who shares the following video and notes:
I recently bought a Tecsun S-8800 to be used mainly on shortwave. I carry it in an aluminum case to use it everywhere:
Many thanks for sharing this, Giuseppe! I love the integrated antenna–so clever!
Post readers: Giuseppe has had issues with the S-8800 accidently turning on in the case. Can anyone describe the button combo needed to lock the dial and controls during transport? I checked the manual but have found no reference. Please comment if you can help!