Thursday, April 9, 2009

Puxing PX-777 (VHF) 128 channels




Another Cheap Chinese import radio is probably what your saying. I said the same thing myself when I first came across these selling for around $70 USD shipped. This one though has a little better specs and a lot more features for the money than my previous reviewed FDC-460A. The big difference is that everything that they left out on the FDC is included on this radio.




This radio was ordered from the all mighty E-bay and arrived in the same amount of time as the last (8 days). The packaging was pretty much the same and the box was a high gloss finnish with a molded plastic cradle for the radio, charger and accessories. After removing the radio, the SMA male antenna fit snuggly into position at the top of the radio and was a sturdy and forgiving build that matched the radio nice. The radio itself seems to be made out of a tough plastic similar to what Motorola and Kenwood are using for the commercial gear they produce. The battery is a 1200 mah Lithium Ion chemistry pack that is not only light weight but offers a nice snug fit to the back of the set with no play. The desigh of the battery and it's terminals on the radio show that some thought was put into the design with a orange color gasket that surrounds the radio side of the terminal as to block moisture should you get it wet. The manual that is included is also of a high gloss cover with Chinese instructions followed by English, the grammar and spelling are again a downfall (seems to be trend here). The battery charger for this unit is very nice and offers a guide that the radio follows down to the contacts with the keys not being effected (the FDC's bottom row keys rubbed against the side of the charger... ouch!). I will say that the radio is very light weight! It almost feels almost like holding my cell phone! As this is the VHF version (136-175 mHz) with 5 watt output power, I decided to throw in a couple of local 2 meter repeater frequencies in the radio and give it a little test. The reports were the same as my VX-170! People could really not tell the differance! As I mentioned above, this one has many features that the FDC left out. The memory system can hold up to 128 channells. Alpha naming of the memory channels is supported as well as a fully functional DTMF keypad. A rotary VFO (encoder) between the antenna and the on/off voulme. A multi color user selectable display (option of Purple, orange or cool blue). The scan feature is very slow! I don't use it that much anyway. The radio also came with a very cheaply made earbud and ptt mic for hands free operation. I also purchased a SMA to BNC adapter so I can use the other antennas I have laying around and maybe even with my arrow sat. antenna.....With a big list of features for $70 you can't go wrong. The only thing negative I can really say about this radio is it's extrememly slow scan feature, but for $70 USD shipped I still think the radio is worth it. Try one out! These are available in VHF with a 136-175 mhZ or the UHF version 400-470 Mhz. I have another short video of the radio being used in receive mode so you can get an idea of what it looks like and sounds. **Puxing has just recently released an updated and newer model called the PX-888**




Sunday, April 5, 2009

Chinese Import radios (rice boxes!)




Anyone who has been on Ebay before and is tech savvy or a ham has seen these chinese radios selling for around $50-75. I went ahead and ordered one just to see what they are all about and if they are truly worth the money. To say that I am surprised at the performance versus the price is a understatement. It actually works pretty good!

The FDC-460A UHF FM Transceiver

The radio was purchased on E-bay and shipped to me from Hong Kong. 7-10 days for shipping is what they advertised so I was not surprised when it arrived 8 days later. The package was wrapped in green outer paper with a customs sticker and bubble wrap on the inside. After opening the box I got exactly what I ordered. The radio was nicely packaged with the antenna and desktop charger which in my opinion needs to be redesigned (more about the charger later!). The battery slips on the radio tight and secure with no play. The manual has two sets of instructions one being English and the other at no surprise Chinese. It is understandable however a little hard to follow as the translation will lack proper grammar and spelling at times. I plan on making a more simplified manual and posting it for others. The radio fits good in your hand and not to bulky which is always a good thing. The screen is a nice blue that cannot be changed but for $50 it looks pretty good (see video below). After turning the radio on you will note a small tone burst that last two seconds and the screen and key will light up. Programming is straight forward if you read the manual you will see that everything is dependant on the "F" key with the 12 keys under it acting as a menu list so to speak, I plugged a couple of local 70CM repeaters in and received fair reports. The Desktop charger is my only gripe as the bottom row keys on the radio are half depressed when you put the radio in to charge, Oh well it still charged the radio in about 8 hours. This review is only a short one as I only received the radio yesterday and have not had a lot of time to use it. Oh, the other thing is there is no Alpha tags in the memory system, remember your paying $50! No DTMF supported either! The radio can hold up to 99 channels with repeater offsets and supports standard CTCSS/DCS codes. Not a great radio but not a bad radio either for the price. Check the short video out for a quick Demo. Mike KC2PLJ










So you get a little idea on how it looks and sounds. You can thank the Syracuse PD for the audio on the radio as that was one of the receive only frequencies I plugged in. As I said before, reports on the 70cm repeaters were not bad at all.

10 meter contest

A while back I participated in the ARRL 10 meter contest and made a lot of contacts from the apartment here with my small set up. I also managed a small video of me on my FT-857D, I think this was the December 08 contest if I'm not mistaken and the antenna was a W3FF buddistick. Enjoy...Mike KC2PLJ

Some of my rigs


The New FT-950 is a great rig and the closest thing to a high end rig that I can afford anyway! The receiver is very impressive and has two antenna ports as well as an internal tuner (it will only match a 3:1 load)

So far I am impressed with the performance, I miss the FT-897D that I had to sell to help fund this one.

I posted a brief video of the FT-950 in action.






The antenna I was using was a W3FF buddistick witha counterpoise appx 14 feet log.
Usually I can get into Europe with no problem and even farther depending on conditions
of course. Enjoy the short show!.... Mike

Hello and Welcome....

Well hopefully after being lured here by QRZ or Eham or any other ham radio website you can look around at some of the equipment I use for HF, and VHF/UHF communications. Most of my equipment is made by Yaesu as I am used to the design. I also have a couple of the Chinese import radios that seem to be all over ebay. Reviews and personal opinions will follow as time allows. Plesae feel free to look around and comment about the site. Mike KC2PLJ