Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a “but”!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
73bob
Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a “but”!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
73bob
Well as you know the bands have been fairly poor so I have no stories to share with you about “Rare DX” and even my Parks on The Air (POTA) activities have been less than usual.
A while back I did post about the “New” Xiegu X6200 and how it looked impressive “on paper” and was waiting to get more info before making any opinions (good or bad) on the unit.
Above picture from Xiegu website.
Well the X6200 is now available for sale and from some actual dealers rather than the usual Chinese companies…
The information I comment on today is from the Waters & Stanton website who are selling the unit in the UK….
The prices I quote are from their website including their estimation of Duties and Taxes in Canadian $$$.
The price of the radio is 795.00 in Pound Sterling and from there the websites calculates the following…
So if you take in the above sub totals it looks like the converted price of the radio is $1389.70 (CDN) then you add the Duties and taxes of $226.73 (CDN) giving a total of $1616.43 (CDN)
But remember the disclaimer from above:
The estimated duties and taxes are based on CA$1,389.70 of product and may fluctuate due to changes in currencies, shipping costs, clearance fees or how the items are classified by customs. Duties and taxes may be collected upon delivery of the items.
So at this point I am guessing (yes guessing) that the retail North American Price will be fairly close to the above price in the range of $1600 -$1700 (CDN) but remember that is my “Best Guess”.
From what I can see of the details of the 6100 they will be in competition with the ICOM IC705 and the ELECRAFT KX3.
Lets see the reviews that should be available on YouTube very soon and then make your decisions from there.
If it is as good as it seems… It still could be a contender in the upper end of the QRP rigs.
73bob
Disclaimer: This post is me thinking out loud. I am not recommending or endorsing any of the products listed above. I believe that you if you are thinking of purchasing one…. That you should do all your research and draw your own conclusions before you buy one from whatever source you choose.
Its all up to you.
Well as you know the bands have been fairly poor so I have no stories to share with you about “Rare DX” and even my Parks on The Air (POTA) activities have been less than usual.
A while back I did post about the “New” Xiegu X6200 and how it looked impressive “on paper” and was waiting to get more info before making any opinions (good or bad) on the unit.
Above picture from Xiegu website.
Well the X6200 is now available for sale and from some actual dealers rather than the usual Chinese companies…
The information I comment on today is from the Waters & Stanton website who are selling the unit in the UK….
The prices I quote are from their website including their estimation of Duties and Taxes in Canadian $$$.
The price of the radio is 795.00 in Pound Sterling and from there the websites calculates the following…
So if you take in the above sub totals it looks like the converted price of the radio is $1389.70 (CDN) then you add the Duties and taxes of $226.73 (CDN) giving a total of $1616.43 (CDN)
But remember the disclaimer from above:
The estimated duties and taxes are based on CA$1,389.70 of product and may fluctuate due to changes in currencies, shipping costs, clearance fees or how the items are classified by customs. Duties and taxes may be collected upon delivery of the items.
So at this point I am guessing (yes guessing) that the retail North American Price will be fairly close to the above price in the range of $1600 -$1700 (CDN) but remember that is my “Best Guess”.
From what I can see of the details of the 6100 they will be in competition with the ICOM IC705 and the ELECRAFT KX3.
Lets see the reviews that should be available on YouTube very soon and then make your decisions from there.
If it is as good as it seems… It still could be a contender in the upper end of the QRP rigs.
73bob
Disclaimer: This post is me thinking out loud. I am not recommending or endorsing any of the products listed above. I believe that you if you are thinking of purchasing one…. That you should do all your research and draw your own conclusions before you buy one from whatever source you choose.
Its all up to you.
Recently (at least for me) the bands have not been the best (understatement) and so rather than tell you about the contacts I have (or not) made …. Here is a bit on a new radio coming that if it lives up to its hype might wake up the QRP market a bit.
DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING POST IS NOT A ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCT LISTED BELOW. IN THE PAST WE ALL OF HEARD ABOUT GOOD THINGS AND BAD THINGS ABOUT 1ST ATTEMPTS OF A NEW RADIO.
If the early info give to us by XIEGU is accurate this could be a welcome addition to the QRP part of the hobby.
Draw your own conclusions from the post and then make your own decisions…. Buyer Beware
==========================================
The radio is the Xiegu 6200 which is from the company that has given us the G90 and the X5105 both of which are excellent radios once the “gremlins” were removed from the firmware.
Although I never operated a G90 I know quite a few operators from the POTA world who did (and still do) and they never complained about it (at least to me) and their signals always sounded great
I did operate a X5105 as my POTA radio for a while and foolishly sold it.
So let me show you the Xeigu X6200
All the following info comes from the Radioddity site: https://www.radioddity.com/products/xiegu-x6200
so once again do your research and come up with your own opinions…
Looks good but looks can be (might be) deceiving.
So its “eye candy” Looks great but what about the stats?
Once again from their website.
Xiegu X6200 – A new generation flagship ultra-portable transceiver that uses a high-performance DRFS platform architecture and offers a convenient user experience for amateur radio enthusiasts.
It has a 4-inch color screen, a built-in battery pack, an automatic antenna tuner, a microphone, and a recorder. It also supports various SDR features, such as digital filters, noise reduction, pulse interference elimination, and spectrum/waterfall display. It has two USB interfaces, an ACC interface, a 3.5mmKEY interface, and an S/P interface. It has two external expansion component slots for additional applications and peripherals.
Highlights
– HF/50MHz all-mode
– Detachable battery pack
– Built-in efficient automatic antenna tuner
– Integrated standing wave scanner and voice pager
– Integrated modem, preset message, CW automatic call
– Integrated USB line control/transmission, built-in sound card
– Support remote control, wireless FT8 operation
– WFM broadcast reception, aviation band reception
But what about the specs?:
Xiegu X6200 Sneak Peek
on March 21, 2024
1. The images currently displayed are only of the engineering prototype, they do not represent the final form of the product.
2. For more latest news, please subscribe to the Radioddity newsletter.
3. Please credit the source when reposting the images.
All the data used in this blog posting has been provided by the Radioditty Website and or the groups i/o site via a link on the above mentioned website and I thank them for it
My comments follow:
Yes…. its output is 5w….. but it is a QRP radio so….
From what I see so far this radio could/might be a contender against the IC705 and the KX3 from the expected price point. How will the 6200 perform? This depends on the firmware and has yet to be seen.
DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE POST IS NOT A ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCT(s) LISTED ABOVE . IN THE PAST WE ALL OF HEARD ABOUT GOOD THINGS AND BAD THINGS ABOUT 1ST ATTEMPTS OF A NEW RADIO.
If the early info give to us by XIEGU is accurate this could be a welcome addition to the QRP part of the hobby.
Draw your own conclusions from the post and then make your own decisions…. Buyer Beware
Am I rushing out to buy one? NO!!! but it does have my attention and I will be following the reviews and if they are good…. you never know it might make it into my radio kit
73bob
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