Category Archives: New Products

A short review of the KX3 helper: a simple, effective non-slip pad

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KX3-Helper-WithKX3

I recently purchased the KX3 helper from Steve (W1SFR) and can report that I’ve been very pleased with this uber-simple, affordable, non-slip tilt pad.

KX3-Helper

While I like the built-in tilt legs on the Elecraft KX3, I prefer slightly more angle for operation on my desktop.  The KX3 helper allows you to chose a number of positions and angles for the KX3.

KX3-Helper-Side

What I love most is the fact that it will not slip while you’re tuning or making adjustments to the KX3 (even if inserting Mic or Key plugs).

KX3-Helper-TopView

The little shelf on the back of the KX3 helper is the perfect place to hold your microphone when not in use.

KX3-Helper-FullView

 

Though Steve produces a number of non-slip wedges (and many other accessories), I find the size of the KX3 helper to be ideal for many of my portable shortwave radios as well. Here’s the Tecsun PL-600 for example:

KX3-Helper-PL-600

 

KX3-Helper-Tecsun-PL-600

At $13.45 US shipped, I believe the KX3 helper is a true bargain. Plus, you’re buying from a fellow radio hobbyist who does this sort of thing out of his passion for radio.  Check out all of Steve’s radio accessories by clicking here.

AirChat: Long-distance digital communications via radio

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AirChatLogo-001Last month, I was interviewed by NK News regarding the possibility of using inexpensive SDR dongles as a means for citizen journalists to receive and potentially send information across the North Korean border. Of course this is possible: digital communications over radio is becoming easier and more accessible all of the time.

While not yet as portable as an SDR dongle, Anonymous is developing a tool called AirChat which will allow long-distance communications via radio. AirChat borrows from Fldigi: a free application that decodes a variety of digital modes and has been used by amateur radio operators for years. Indeed, Fldigi is the same software you’ve used to decode broadcasts from VOA Radiogram and the new STF Radio.

Many thanks to the excellent  Southgate ARC news site for this article about AirChat:

(Source: Southgate ARC)

The International Business Times reports that the online hacktivist collective Anonymous has announced that it is working on a new tool called Airchat which could allow people to communicate without the need for a phone or an internet connection – it uses radio waves instead 

Initially the data mode software AirChat used code from ‘minimodem’ and then from ‘soundmodem’ sources but they say after suggestions from radio amateurs involved in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), they decided to make it modular to use the Fldigi software, a broadly deployed solution for use with ham radios.

They say “So far we have played interactive chess games with people at 180 miles away. we have shared pictures and established encrypted low bandwidth digital voice chats. We have 3D printed over distances of 80 miles and transmitted medical orders at distances of over 100 miles.”

So far Yaesu FT-897D’s amateur transceivers have been used and the developers are also looking at using low-cost ($40) VHF/UHF handheld transceivers.

Read the International Business Times story 
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/anonymous-airchat-aims-allow-
communication-without-needing-phone-internet-access-1445888

LulzLabs AirChat
https://github.com/lulzlabs/AirChat/

You can read about the goals of AirChat on their Github site and follow AirChat on Twitter with the hash tags #lulzlabs and #AirChat.

Anonymous has also posted the following video–a demo of AirChat:

Airchat from #lulzlabs on Vimeo.

FDM-DUO SDR to ship May 2014

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FDM-DUO-opening

I’ve just learned from the Europe-based retailer, WoodBoxRadio, that the new FDM-DUO software defined radio will begin shipping end of May 2014.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the FDM-DUO transceiver, you’ll need to submit a 30% deposit (315 Euro) based on the full price (1,159 Euro). The pre-order price is 1,049 Euro.

Go to WoodBoxRadio for more details.

CommRadio introduces the CR-1a

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CommRadioCR1a

Many thanks to Dave Zantow (N9EWO) for apprising me of an update to the CommRadio line: the new CommRadio CR-1a.

Based on information published by CommRadio, it appears that the main difference is a change to the USB hardware which has been improved to provide:

  • Digital I-Q (for third-party SDR developers), and
  • One-step user programming (versus two-step with the CR-1).

Other differences are minor, and primarily cosmetic: for example, the CR-1a OLED display is now amber instead of green. Also, the CR-1a lacks the 1/8” HF antenna jack found on the CR-1 (CommRadio notes that the HF-BNC jack is superior).

Software updates and RF-analog DSP architecture are identical to the original CommRadio CR-1.

To me, the USB update is significant in that it results in the CR-1a’s ability to export IQ data via a USB cable.

This could make the CR-1a a very versatile and portable stand-alone or computer-linked SDR. Better yet, it can even be battery powered: the only SDR I know of with this feature.

For more details, check out CommRadio’s website.

Just arrived: the Tecsun PL-310ET

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The Tecsun PL-310 as it arrived in the post.

I confess, I have well over twenty portable shortwave radios at the moment…So why am I still so enthusiastic when a new one arrives in the mailbox?

My Tecun PL-310ET just arrived, purchased from my favorite eBay seller, Anon-Co. And I just can’t wait to compare the PL-310ET with my PL-380.

Perhaps this will become another opportunity for a blind radio comparison by you, our community of listener-readers.  Dare I say, a community equally enthusiastic?

By the way, I plan to publish the results of our recent weak-signal comparison on Tuesday of next week. I’m still impressed by your responses. But there’s still time to submit your vote.  Stay tuned…!

New feature on 2014 Tecsun PL-660

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Tecsun-PL660Many thanks to my buddy, David Korchin (K2WNW), who noticed that Anon-Co is selling a new 2014 production run of the Tecsun PL-660, which includes an Auto Sorting Memory feature.

AMBWbuttonPL660Anon-Co states that Auto Sorting Memory organizes all stored station memories automatically, removes duplicate stations and “sorts the sequence of stored stations.”

The new feature is enabled via the AM BW button.

Click here to view the new 2014 Tecsun PL-660 at Anon-Co.

UPDATE: Tom Stiles noted that his PL-660, purchased in September 2013, has this feature as well.  I just confirmed my PL-660 (purchased around the same time and pictured above) has it too.

RF Nomad: Synthesizer meets radio

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RFNomadModularGridFor electronic musicians who love the sonic texture of shortwave radio, check out the RF Nomad, under development by Evaton Technologies.

Evaton describes the RF Nomad module:

“RF. Radio Frequency. The stuff that Marconi made famous. Or maybe it made Marconi famous. Either way, it’s not just for listening to hockey games anymore.

The RF Nomad voltage-controlled sideband shortwave receiver Eurorack module is currently in final stages of prototype evaluation.

The RF Nomad adds the squealy, squelchy, noisy, unpredictable vintage sounds of shortwave radio to your modular. But this is no ordinary shortwave; it’s been designed to be extra noisy, extra squealy, extra gritty, and just downright nasty. No built-in output filtering means that a rich spectrum of harmonic content is available on the audio output jack. Audio levels can be driven to distortion. CV control lets you add your own creative spin on sound design.

Hissy interstation audio. Squealy heterodynes. Fading stations. Atmospheric noises. Faint voices in foreign languages from distant broadcast stations. Fire and brimstone. It’s all in there, just like your granddad’s old tabletop shortwave.

But, the RF Nomad adds a twist: The tuning is voltage controlled. Sure, when you were a kid, you discovered you could make spacy noises on Papa’s shortwave by slowly turning the tuning dial. But just how fast could you twist that dial? Faster than an audio-rate LFO? Hardly. Voltage controlled tuning means that the RF Nomad will let you explore sounds you never imagined you could get out of a shortwave receiver.”

Check out this demonstration video:

Many thanks to Mitsuhiko Kagawa for the tip!