Tag Archives: Dave Zantow (N9EWO)

Milwaukee AES to become Ham Radio Outlet store

logo_hamradioMany thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, for sharing the following press release from HRO:

(Source: Ham Radio Outlet)

RE: HRO-Milwaukee, Amateur Electronic Supply’s closing on 7/28/2016

On July 1, 2016 Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) made the decision to close down their entire organization and terminate all retail operations at their Las Vegas, Cleveland, Orlando and Milwaukee locations.

Upon hearing the news, and with the concurrence of AES senior management, Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) sent senior management to each location to interview the staff with hopes of acquiring some of the Amateur Radio retail employee talent in each of the current AES locations.

Together with this interview process, HRO examined what it would take to perhaps acquire one or more of the AES store locations. At the time of these interviews, many opportunities were explored with current AES senior management.

We are very excited to announce that HRO was successful in providing offers of employment to a number of soon to be former AES employees and that to some, we have offered positions that involve HRO sponsored and funded relocation.

We are also extremely pleased to announce that, after the closing of the Milwaukee AES location on July 28, 2016, Ham Radio Outlet will begin an extensive remodeling project to create the largest Amateur Radio retail showroom in North America. We will open our newest and largest Ham Radio Outlet in Milwaukee at the end of August 2016.

Effective at the closing of AES on July 28, 2016, all former AES locations’ direct telephone numbers and toll free telephone numbers will be redirected to the closest HRO location so as to not disrupt providing service to the AES customer base. Additionally effective on July 28, 2016, the www.aesham.com website will be directed to www.hamradio.com also so as not to disrupt service for the AES online customer base.

Steve Gilmore, National Sales Manager for HRO states, “We are extremely excited to have a store in the Central Northern part of the United States. It will minimize shipping times for our products to be able to be delivered in 2 days or less in most of the lower 48 United States. We are building a showplace that all must come see! It will be expansive with massive inventory levels and a large all encompassing demonstration area featuring nearly all of the Amateur Radio transceivers on the market today.”

Robert Ferrero, President of HRO tells us, “It is with great pleasure that we are able to continue Terry Sterman and Phil Majerus’ legacy of providing a fantastic Amateur Radio store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is our immediate goal to have the largest, most well stocked Amateur Radio retail store in North America and perhaps even the world.”

HRO is a family owned business with 14 sales locations throughout the United States which includes a formidable presence on the Internet, making it the largest Ham Radio dealership in the world.

HRO has been continually expanding with our most recent location in Plano, Texas which opened on February 2, 2015. HRO is also continuing to evolve with the relocation and expansion of our Portland store which will open on July 25, 2016 at 14405 SW Pacific Highway, Portland, Oregon 97224.

Ham Radio Outlet – Milwaukee is located at 5710 W Good Hope Rd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will be open for business at the end of August 2016.

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Dave’s review of the Icom IC-7300

Icom-IC-7300-Front

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares a link to his excellent review of the Icom IC-7300:

Click here to read Dave’s review.

I can tell Dave has put a lot of time and thought in this evaluation of the IC-7300–it’s a worthy read, especially if you’re considering an IC-7300 yourself.

Overall, Dave’s impressions of the ‘7300 are similar to mine (click here to read my ‘7300 review). The IC-7300 is a great rig and (though there are a few minor tweaks needed) the general coverage receiver is sensitive and selective enough to satisfy even the seasoned SWL DXer. Dave even pits the ‘7300 against the WJ-8711A commercial receiver.

Note Mike commented in a previous post that the IC-7300 had difficulty coping with the RF-dense environment of Field Day, but in truth, that is one of the most difficult environments for any ham radio transceiver.

If you own an IC-7300 and have any comments or impressions, please share them with us!

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The Icom IC-R75 is being discontinued

Icom-R-75I’ve learned through a couple of sources that the Icom IC-R75–which has been a staple tabletop shortwave receiver for 16 years–is being discontinued by Icom. Here’s what Dave Zantow (N9EWO) announced on his website:

“Last Call” ICOM IC-R75 Table Top HF Receiver : Yes, it’s true and is not a misprint (news as from a solid reliable source) , Icom has discontinued the IC-R75 HF receiver. It had a great 16 year run on the market. I would NOT look for Icom to replace the model.  As I type this entry most US Icom dealers had limited remaining stock. But you can count on those to get slurped up fast !! So if you ever desired a NEW sample, you MUST do that NOW !!

Only a few weeks ago, in my presentation at the Winter SWL Fest, I noted that the IC-R75’s days–as one of the last “legacy” tabletop receivers–were certainly numbered. Since the R75’s introduction, a lot of the receiver market has shifted to SDRs and SDR-based tabletops (like the CommRadio CR-1a).

The IC-R75 must have one of the longest runs (with various iterations) of any tabletop receiver ever on the market–most impressive!

Universal Radio has a special package price of $619.98 for the IC-R75 which includes the DSP option and Joe Carr’s antenna book and free shipping. Click here to view on Universal Radio’s website.

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Dave notes that the Icom IC-7200 is being discontinued

Icom-IC7200Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dave Zantow, who notes that the Icom IC-7200 general coverage transceiver is being discontinued.

Dave notes the following on his website:

Icom IC-7200 “Last Call” : It appears that the Icom IC-7200 DSP HF Transceiver is discontinued (or near of being discontinued) and dealers are now selling the last production samples. Information as via the Gigaparts (US Icom dealer) web site. If you always wanted a brand new Icom IC-7200 model , better grab it while you still can. Yes…here we go again, but the model is on the way out for sure this time. […]

Continue reading on Dave’s site…

Readers may recall that I listed the IC-7200 as a transceiver with a very good general coverage receiver.  Check out my article, The best general coverage transceivers for shortwave listening.

Icom-IC-7200

Though I don’t own an IC-7200, I’m a little sad to see that it’ll no longer be produced. I’ve used one on the air before and thought it packed a lot of performance for the price. I think it’s an ideal ham radio club transceiver as it’s easy to use and has virtually no learning curve (for those who are familiar with transceivers)–a very good choice as a field day rig.

Universal Radio still has the IC-7200 in stock priced at $890 US. Gigaparts also has the IC-7200 priced at $895. That’s a good deal for a 100 watt, full-featured HF transceiver.

Thanks for the tip, Dave!

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Dave reviews the Yaesu FT1XD

Yaesu-FT1XDSWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), has completed a review of the Yaesu FT1XD (FT1XDR) “System Fusion” Digital-Analog Handheld Transceiver.

The FT1DX 2 meter/440 HT provides both analog and digital communications on both bands with up to 5 watts. It also has wideband receiver that covers from 500 kHz to 999 MHz (US version, less cellular) including the AM and FM broadcast band. It even has a built-in ferrite bar for mediumwave/AM reception.

What does Dave think?

Click here to read Dave’s full review.

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Dave says not all Jameco power supplies are linear and regulated

Note that not all power supplies are listed as "regulated linear"

Note that not all power supplies are listed as “regulated linear”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who replies to a post published yesterday regarding some of Jameco linear power supplies. Dave writes:

“A bit of a caveat on Jameco’s these so called Linear power supplies. This is based from my own experiences so is not fiction.

Bottom of this page : http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/catalogs/c151/P92.pdf

Over the years some of (but not all) these Jameco linear regulated power supplies are no longer clean for radio use.

Without changing the model number or description of the product, they have made changes with some (or much of ??) this “Linear Regulated” adapter line. Indeed they are still using a good old power transformer, but when it comes to the regulator part of the adapter, they have gone to switching type regulator device. So it produces a nice strong whine on a radio receiver just as a full fledged switching supply.

I had purchased a number of these so called linear supplies (sorry I no longer have the exact model number noted that I ordered) and experienced awful interference with any radio receiver. So I cracked open one of these to see what was up here and sure enough it was using a MC34063A inverting switching regulator .

Called Jameco and they flat out denied that they were using any switching devices in this Regulated LINEAR Jameco ReliaPro adapter. So I then sent a nasty gram email to the CEO of Jameco. I received an email back (was from the CEO too) and after some research they FINALLY did admit a change was made in some of the product line to use of a switching regulator . But he strongly made the point they would continue to still market these adapters as totally linear (yeah right ….nice guys).

I must add here that it does (or did not) NOT affect the entire line of these linear regulated adapters. About a year ago I ordered more (already had a few before) of the 12 volt 1 AMP model 170245 , and these are (or were anyway) totally clean and are excellent.

Also note that Jameco purchases up surplus “linear regulated” adapters from time to time. This 6 volt 500 ma one here is an example and is (or was anyway) nice clean one and uses no switching regulators. Our 2 tested samples of this adapter from about 5 years ago used a nice 7806 analog regulator. Perfect for use with many SW portables, (including the Sony ICF-SW7600GR with a plug change). But a warning again from experience , they are all subject to changes without any warning (and this one may have changed too for all we know ??)

They appear to stick the ReliaPro name as the manufacture on all adapters (if it was made by Jameco or not)

So Caveat Emptor.”

Duly noted, Dave! I’ve also noted that not all of the power supplies on their linear power supply page are listed as being a linear supply (see screen grab at top of page).

I may contact Jameco about this too and see if they can adjust their search results to properly reflect a selection of regulated linear supplies.

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Dave Zantow’s Grundig G2 Notes

(Photo source: Eton Corporation)

(Photo source: Eton Corporation)

After posting the recent mini review of the Grundig G2 Reporter, Dave Zontow (N9EWO) notes:

I just completed updates on my reviews page regarding these models.

http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/g2reporter.html

Owners should take note for the cure with excessive battery consumption when OFF . It’s not covered well in the owners manuals (if at all depending on the variant). One toggled in the menu’s, it pretty much squashes the issue.

Many thanks, Dave for your very detailed review of the Grundig G2!

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