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2009 Dayton Hamvention Coverage
- Thread starter Moleculo
- Start date
Buddipole collapsible capacity hat
Here is a brand new product from these guys (Buddipole) that isn't even on their website yet:
This is a collapsible capacity hat that works just like aluminum tent poles with the bungee cord inside. It has a center hub and steel aircraft cable around the outside. Here's a pic of the Buddipole guy opening it up:
And here it is assembled. You can tell by the roof tiles how big this thing is. This would be a really great improvement for field verticals.
The one thing I wasn't clear about is if you could put a standard 3/8-24 threaded whip on top.
Here is a brand new product from these guys (Buddipole) that isn't even on their website yet:
This is a collapsible capacity hat that works just like aluminum tent poles with the bungee cord inside. It has a center hub and steel aircraft cable around the outside. Here's a pic of the Buddipole guy opening it up:
And here it is assembled. You can tell by the roof tiles how big this thing is. This would be a really great improvement for field verticals.
The one thing I wasn't clear about is if you could put a standard 3/8-24 threaded whip on top.
I just made some corrections on an earlier post about the Icom 7600. Click the link below to go directly to the post:
http://www.worldwidedx.com/general-...09-dayton-hamvention-coverage.html#post141336
http://www.worldwidedx.com/general-...09-dayton-hamvention-coverage.html#post141336
Jetstream meters
One more quick note about the Jetstream products. We went back because I wanted to look at a few more of their products. I picked up a 2 position coax switch for $19.95. These are the EXACT same switches that have the Daiwa brand name on them, but they're $10-$15 less. I have a few Daiwa switches that have part number CS-201 on them. The Jetstream part number is CO-201
Here are some meters that they had for sale. These are also the same as some of the Diamond and MFJ meters. It looks like the same company is producing all of these brands:
One more quick note about the Jetstream products. We went back because I wanted to look at a few more of their products. I picked up a 2 position coax switch for $19.95. These are the EXACT same switches that have the Daiwa brand name on them, but they're $10-$15 less. I have a few Daiwa switches that have part number CS-201 on them. The Jetstream part number is CO-201
Here are some meters that they had for sale. These are also the same as some of the Diamond and MFJ meters. It looks like the same company is producing all of these brands:
Icom 7200
Here is a picture of the Icom 7200 that came out recently. This rig is smaller than I thought it would be...it's similar in size (a little bigger) to a Yaesu 857d. This unit is ruggedized and weather/water resistant. The Icom guys said they basically took a 718 and ruggedized it for portable/field use. It looks like it is very well built and would be a good choice for the field environment.
Here is a picture of the Icom 7200 that came out recently. This rig is smaller than I thought it would be...it's similar in size (a little bigger) to a Yaesu 857d. This unit is ruggedized and weather/water resistant. The Icom guys said they basically took a 718 and ruggedized it for portable/field use. It looks like it is very well built and would be a good choice for the field environment.
bhi DSP
This product has been out for a little while, but I thought I would show it for those that are unfamiliar with bhi's DSP products. This is a DSP speaker unit:
The left side has a couple of buttons to toggle DSP filtering on and off, as well as set it to one of the five DSP filter levels. This is the same company that makes the DSP units for the GAP Hear-It speaker. In fact, they said that the GAP product is made by them, branded for GAP. I asked him how his products compared to the SGC speakers (since I have one). He showed me the audio graph of the SGC speaker, noting how it was very "rippled" I can attest to the fact that the SGC unit makes the audio sound warbled. A brief demonstration of this device showed that it's DSP is very effective at targeting just the audio portion without much distorion.
One design issue that I see with this unit is that it is difficult to use this in a mobile environment, where it is actually most desirable. The typcal mobile user that doesn't have a lot of dash/cab space for radio gadgets is going to want to install this under the seat or out of site. That means you're going to want to engage the DSP filter, set the desired filter level and then just forget about it, wanting it to turn on whenever you turn the vehicle on. Unfortunately, this device uses a little push button contact switch to set the level and engage/bypass the DSP, so you can't use it remotely. The rep said that the unit will remember the filter level, but not automatically engage the DSP filter after it loses power. I asked him if they could make a version that used an on/off toggle switch (or similar) to engage the DSP filter to solve this issue. He replied that I was the second person of the day that asked that question so he would talk to his engineer to see about designing something like that. If they come out with it, you heard it mentioned here first
This product has been out for a little while, but I thought I would show it for those that are unfamiliar with bhi's DSP products. This is a DSP speaker unit:
The left side has a couple of buttons to toggle DSP filtering on and off, as well as set it to one of the five DSP filter levels. This is the same company that makes the DSP units for the GAP Hear-It speaker. In fact, they said that the GAP product is made by them, branded for GAP. I asked him how his products compared to the SGC speakers (since I have one). He showed me the audio graph of the SGC speaker, noting how it was very "rippled" I can attest to the fact that the SGC unit makes the audio sound warbled. A brief demonstration of this device showed that it's DSP is very effective at targeting just the audio portion without much distorion.
One design issue that I see with this unit is that it is difficult to use this in a mobile environment, where it is actually most desirable. The typcal mobile user that doesn't have a lot of dash/cab space for radio gadgets is going to want to install this under the seat or out of site. That means you're going to want to engage the DSP filter, set the desired filter level and then just forget about it, wanting it to turn on whenever you turn the vehicle on. Unfortunately, this device uses a little push button contact switch to set the level and engage/bypass the DSP, so you can't use it remotely. The rep said that the unit will remember the filter level, but not automatically engage the DSP filter after it loses power. I asked him if they could make a version that used an on/off toggle switch (or similar) to engage the DSP filter to solve this issue. He replied that I was the second person of the day that asked that question so he would talk to his engineer to see about designing something like that. If they come out with it, you heard it mentioned here first
DXEngineering tilt over vertical & HexBeam
This is a tilt over vertical antenna system from DXEngineering. This particular one is the 160 meter vertical. They didn't have the whole antenna due to height restrictions, but they had similar versions for the other low bands. The base has the standard DXEngineering radial plate. If you have the room to erect this beast, you wouldn't want to do it without this tilt-over crank system!
This is a picture of a 10/12/15/17/20 meter HexBeam. These have been around for a while, but I had never seen one close-up and in person. This is a very nice pre-built antenna that is made to be very simple to assemble. You can tell how light weight the whole antenna is by the size of rotor being used to turn it. You can get more info at www.hexbeam.com if you wish to buy instead of building one yourself.
This is a tilt over vertical antenna system from DXEngineering. This particular one is the 160 meter vertical. They didn't have the whole antenna due to height restrictions, but they had similar versions for the other low bands. The base has the standard DXEngineering radial plate. If you have the room to erect this beast, you wouldn't want to do it without this tilt-over crank system!
This is a picture of a 10/12/15/17/20 meter HexBeam. These have been around for a while, but I had never seen one close-up and in person. This is a very nice pre-built antenna that is made to be very simple to assemble. You can tell how light weight the whole antenna is by the size of rotor being used to turn it. You can get more info at www.hexbeam.com if you wish to buy instead of building one yourself.
One more quick note about the Jetstream products. We went back because I wanted to look at a few more of their products. I picked up a 2 position coax switch for $19.95. These are the EXACT same switches that have the Daiwa brand name on them, but they're $10-$15 less. I have a few Daiwa switches that have part number CS-201 on them. The Jetstream part number is CO-201
Like this?
Tokyo Hy-Power Linear Amplifiers
Here are a few shots of the Tokyo Hy-Power Line-up, including some new models. These amps are truely things of beauty. When you study them, all you can see is attention to design and detail. I would love to get my hands on one or more of these.
Here is the New Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.1Kfx. It's a 600 watt HF amp with built in switching power supply.
Here are the specs of the HL-1.1Kfx in detail:
Here is a clos-up of the HL-1.1Kfx filter board:
Here is a Tokyo Hy-Power SWR/Power meter they were using to demonstrate with. This isn't a product that is for sale. They said it was something they just "threw together"
This is the HL-2.5Kfx, 1.5KW HF amplifier. It has auto or manual band switch, Nice meters and a digital display that also tells you what your operating band is, internal temperature, and a few other details
Here's an inside shot of one of the other amps. Unfortunately, I forgot which one this is
Here is the new HL-45B, 45watt HF amplifier that is intended to be used with QRP rigs:
This is the HL-350V, 300+ watt 2 meter VHF amplifier.
This is the new HL-500V, 500 watt 2 meter VHF amplifier.
Inside the HL-500V:
Both the President and Chief Engineer where there and were very proud of their products. I would be too! I chatted for a bit with the President who told me that there aren't many reviews of these products around because some of them have not been certified by the FCC yet. I told him I didn't care and if he wanted to ship me one to evaluate, I would be happy to write up a review :tongue:. If I was in the market for a new amplifier, I would give these serious attention.
While talking to the President of Tokyo Hy-Power about his products, he said that the VHF amplifiers cut off power output pretty quickly outside the lower portion of the 2m band, but would work up to about 152Mhz or so fairly well.
Here are a few shots of the Tokyo Hy-Power Line-up, including some new models. These amps are truely things of beauty. When you study them, all you can see is attention to design and detail. I would love to get my hands on one or more of these.
Here is the New Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.1Kfx. It's a 600 watt HF amp with built in switching power supply.
Here are the specs of the HL-1.1Kfx in detail:
Here is a clos-up of the HL-1.1Kfx filter board:
Here is a Tokyo Hy-Power SWR/Power meter they were using to demonstrate with. This isn't a product that is for sale. They said it was something they just "threw together"
This is the HL-2.5Kfx, 1.5KW HF amplifier. It has auto or manual band switch, Nice meters and a digital display that also tells you what your operating band is, internal temperature, and a few other details
Here's an inside shot of one of the other amps. Unfortunately, I forgot which one this is
Here is the new HL-45B, 45watt HF amplifier that is intended to be used with QRP rigs:
This is the HL-350V, 300+ watt 2 meter VHF amplifier.
This is the new HL-500V, 500 watt 2 meter VHF amplifier.
Inside the HL-500V:
Both the President and Chief Engineer where there and were very proud of their products. I would be too! I chatted for a bit with the President who told me that there aren't many reviews of these products around because some of them have not been certified by the FCC yet. I told him I didn't care and if he wanted to ship me one to evaluate, I would be happy to write up a review :tongue:. If I was in the market for a new amplifier, I would give these serious attention.
While talking to the President of Tokyo Hy-Power about his products, he said that the VHF amplifiers cut off power output pretty quickly outside the lower portion of the 2m band, but would work up to about 152Mhz or so fairly well.
Like this?One more quick note about the Jetstream products. We went back because I wanted to look at a few more of their products. I picked up a 2 position coax switch for $19.95. These are the EXACT same switches that have the Daiwa brand name on them, but they're $10-$15 less. I have a few Daiwa switches that have part number CS-201 on them. The Jetstream part number is CO-201
Yep, that looks like the same product, too.
New TenTec 238C High Power Tuner
Here's a new product from TenTec, the 238C High Power Tuner. It also has a built in 4 position antenna switch:
Peak/AVG meter and power level switches
And finally, the inside:
This is basically an upgrade to their previous tuner, adding the cross needle meter, the Peak/AVG functions and the variable power levels. I played with this thing for a few minutes, and it is smoooooth.
Here's a new product from TenTec, the 238C High Power Tuner. It also has a built in 4 position antenna switch:
Peak/AVG meter and power level switches
And finally, the inside:
This is basically an upgrade to their previous tuner, adding the cross needle meter, the Peak/AVG functions and the variable power levels. I played with this thing for a few minutes, and it is smoooooth.
Dishtronix Amplifiers
Here is a product for those of you that can never have enough power for very long periods of keying: The Distronix DX2400L1 amplifier. It is rated at 2400 watts PEP and 1500 watts continuous duty on SSB, CW, RTTY. This guy ran this amp for the entire convention at about 1300 watts. I don't think he ever turned it off. It is also really quiet; you probably wouldn't even know it was on without the lights. It is also massive!
Front face with watt meter showing about 1300 watts output:
Bird Meter showing the amp output:
Here is a product for those of you that can never have enough power for very long periods of keying: The Distronix DX2400L1 amplifier. It is rated at 2400 watts PEP and 1500 watts continuous duty on SSB, CW, RTTY. This guy ran this amp for the entire convention at about 1300 watts. I don't think he ever turned it off. It is also really quiet; you probably wouldn't even know it was on without the lights. It is also massive!
Front face with watt meter showing about 1300 watts output:
Bird Meter showing the amp output: