The 4 m Forum

GW4GOQ

Hi

My Ascom seems to be a bin job, so I am now looking at options for restarting on 4M.

So far I have ideas for:

1. Buying another converted PMR rig , e.g. the Phillips PM1000 ?
Cons: Would this be another duff unit lasting 6 months.

2. Building the Spectrum transverter.
Cons: My near sight is so bad it means anything closer than 4ft is invisible, although building it would be a challenge.
Pros: Using it with one of my 2M/10M rigs would give me all modes.

3. Buying the Wouxun KG699E handheld FM transceiver.
Pros: Since I do my Dxing on 6M, no need for SSB on 4M. There appears to be some FM nets in Llanelli near my home QTH plus I can go walkabout or use in the car.

Can anyone tell me if Wouxun KG699E Antenna connector is male or female as I have a couple of male sma to female N type connectors in my junk box, so if the 699 is female , I don't need to buy a converter. Thinking of external antennas here.

TIA

Paul

G7JJZ · Posted: Thu 22 Jul 2010, 11:39 Post subject:

Hi Paul, sorry to hear of your Ascom misbehaving, I gather this is quite unusual. Are you putting it on ebay for spares? I use a PFX on 4, it's great on rx, but really needs an external antenna to tx more than a few miles, I'm guessing the wouxon will be similar. The fm1000's are pretty solid though.

73

Phil JJZ
_________________
Phil JJZ

GM4FVM · Posted: Thu 22 Jul 2010, 17:12 Post subject:

Paul

This is going to sound awful as it looks like I have started a rig museum. I do have too many, but I plan to reduce the stock.

1) I have a Simoco 8010 PMR rig. Works well and not expensive. As I have too many rigs it is for sale on ebay right now ...

2) I have a Spectrum transverter. As I cannot see any better than you (and have a prism and a cylinder in my prescription as well as vari-focals - my optician is planning to retire after my next visit) I got a built one. It is great but if you get one I bet you will use it on SSB and want something else to monitor FM, as I did. I admire your plan to use it on FM, but I found the joys of 4 metre SSB too hard to resist and now I am totally hooked. If you do DX on 6 you might find the comparison is endlessly surprising.

3) I started out with a Wouxun. Very neat bit of kit for almost no money. The socket is male SMA (not reversed SMA) and accepts a female SMA antenna. Maplins sell a female back to back SMA which will fit your converter, but that is so many sockets that you might be better to buy a female SMA to 239 socket adapter for that purpose only. Not sure if you can get female SMA to BNC. The Wouxun has the advantage of being able to transmit all over the band where the DX is hiding. It is very versatile and I still have it though that flexible antenna is not up to much. I used it in my car until I changed the car and the new car gives the Wouxun convulsions.

So, my suggestion for a 4 metre FM rig is ... The Garex 4001 (or AKD 4001 as was). It goes as far down as 70.250 to find the DX, it has good sensitivity, and it runs comparable power to the people you are likely to want to work. They turn up on ebay from time to time or you can still buy them new. I find the performance comparable to the PMR and so far it has been 100% reliable.

Handy as the Wouxun is, the lower power output is frustrating if it is your only rig. Downside - the Garex does not scan. But then neither does the PMR.

If I had to manage with just one 4 metre rig (like most humans seem able to do), I would keep the transverter.

Four metres is habit forming. Once you get on you just have to have another rig. Just one more, honestly. Then I will give up buying them. Honestly.

Jim
GM4FVM

GW4GOQ · Posted: Thu 22 Jul 2010, 22:07 Post subject:

Thanks both

So my choices seem to be:

1. Spectrum transverter £184 kit, £271 built, 25W output.
2. Wouxun KG699E handheld FM transceiver,£100 from ML delivered, 5W output.
3. Phillips FM1200 from tetra £72.50 delivered. 25W, Does this rig have a scan function ?.
4. Garex 4001 £159 delivered, 20W. Again, does this rig have a scan function?

Thoughts are a scan function would be useful considering the low activity (in some areas) on 4M.

Again TIA

Paul

edit, sorry you said the garex nor the pmr scan.

G3ZOD · Posted: Fri 23 Jul 2010, 09:21 Post subject:

The transverter page http://www.70mhz.org/transvert.htm mentions the HA1YA transverter http://ha1ya.config.hu/htmkepek/4mtransverterspec.htm , but no prices specified on the HA1YA website as far as I can see.

I wonder if anyone is using one of these?
_________________
73 de Graham G3ZOD FISTS #8385
http://www.fists.co.uk

EI3GYB · Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 14 Location and locator*: io53ot

The Philips/Simoco 1200FM has a scan function.
I have 45 frequencies programmed into the rig from 69950 to 70500 Khz and it is scanning all day long here.
The AKD has no scan function.
I have a Spectrum transverter as well. Monitoring 70200 KHz in SSB all the time.
Not too much activity on the band, though. Outside the E-season it is more or less dead. So don't invest too much into it.
73 de Michael/ei3gyb

M0XVF · Posted: Sat 24 Jul 2010, 10:41 Post subject:

Echo the above post.Dont waste £100 plus on something for FM it isnt worth it and you will probably regret it as half the time there is no activity,just go for a phillips or similar PMR job.They will work as well as you will need for FM.
Spectrum transverters are good but expensive,it depends what output power you need.A Meon transverter is very sensitive on RX but will only give you about 5-8watts output,and you will find them on Ebay for half the price of Mickey Mouse or Spectrum ones.This is all I use and have worked all over Europe from Portugal to Italy on E's this season with a HB9CV in the loft.

73
Jeremy
M0XVF

G4KLX · Posted: Sat 24 Jul 2010, 17:05 Post subject:

There is also the DF2FQ transverter http://www.df2fq.de/produkte/Catalog-Engl.pdf, I have one here. It's not state of the art, but neither is the Spectrum transverter either.

Jonathan G4KLX

GW4GOQ · Posted: Wed 28 Jul 2010, 10:47 Post subject:

Thanks for all the replies

In a previous post I described how I thought my TX dead Ascom was always a bit deaf.

Now my 4M antennas are not all that gainy, so can anyone comment on the sensitivity of the Phillips FM1200.

Thanks

Paul

G8VOI · Posted: Wed 28 Jul 2010, 13:26 Post subject:

Hi Paul,

The receiver performance of the FM1000 series is quite reasonable, the 12dB SINAD was pretty close or exceeded the manufacturers specification on a couple I have measured on 4m. The good thing with them is the receiver front end is tuned using varicaps linked to the VCO voltage so tracks pretty well.

Converted ex PMR radios often get an unfair press, perhaps because they have not been converted correctly.

Many of the types around were split band TX 66 - 77MHz and RX 77 - 88MHz. Some of these (Key KME80 and KM80) will tune without any modifications and are some of the most sensitive FM receivers I have come across, others like the Maxon PM150 require 13 capacitors changing to convert it from the 77 - 88MHz RX version to the 66 - 77MHz one. Without the conversion the sensitivity is around 30dB down on a modified one!

I have converted over 50 ex PMR low band radios, mainly Key KME-80's and Maxon PM150's along with a couple of MX294's, PFX hand helds and FM1000's. Whilst not quite up to the KME-80, the FM1000 is pretty good and I use one as a back up to my KME-80, for scanning and the ability to vary the power quickly from the menu options.

Only use a simple dipole here, but adequate for local QSO's and sporadic Es ones.

73, Bob G8VOI

GW4GOQ · Posted: Wed 28 Jul 2010, 18:53 Post subject:

Thanks Bob

Seems just what I need.

Paul

G3LVP · Posted: Sat 31 Jul 2010, 21:29 Post subject:

I would definitely go for a transverter unless you are sure that there's enough local FM activity to make a single mode rig worth while.

No one has mentioned the PW 'Meon' transverter, you could build one of these for less than the cost of a kit.
I'm not sure what constitutes 'state of the art' or whether it is even necessary for 4m but I've used my Meon which usually does duty as my 4m/M rig driven off the IC706 on 2m & driving a Pye A200 amplifier on a number of contests & find that arrangement works quite well although I wouldn't use the 2m IF from my fixed station.

You can get reprints of the Meon article from PW & maybe the PCB's are still available but I made my own.

73...

Ken

G3LVP

GW8ASD · Posted: Sat 31 Jul 2010, 22:56 Post subject:

I'm in agreement with Ken here.

If all you want is casual access to the band something basic will give you access and be fine, even some DX when the band is wide open with ES.
If you want it to be usable all the year around, for ES, tropo, MS etc, then better antennas, power O/P etc. will be required.
It's all a matter of what you are trying to do.
I listen on 4M most of the time looking for beacons and random calls.
Use of FM is very rare the contacts this year being a handful of locals plus IK, OH, S51, LA.
24 FM contacts out of a total of over 600 4M QSOs in the last year.
So being FM only will seriously limit your activity.

There’s the OZ2M kit http://rudius.net/oz2m/70mhz/ which many have had great success with.

Cheers

Tony