FT5ZM. Easy :)

FT5ZM are on Amsterdam Island at the moment. A Dxpedition to an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I worked them easily the other morning on 40m SSB! That’s all I need for DXCC! Another country in the bag!

FT817 Kranker Knob

Everyone kept saying “knob, knob, knob” about my ft817, i didn’t know what they meant, so I googled “817 knob” and discovered the Kranker Knob from the W4RT shop. This store has all kinds of ways for me to spend my money on the FT817! I ordered a knob, just on $30 with postage and exchange…

LOTW DXCC

I haven’t ever really played serious DX HF, Ive used it to chat around Australia while exploring the country and for the occasional chat overseas while driving, but thats not a serious effort. In recent weeks (and with the CQ WWDX Contest) it spurred some interest in me, that my small bit of random wire…

Icom IC-7100 Omnirig INI File

Peter, VK5KX has modified my IC-9100 INI file to work with the new Icom IC-7100. He has modified the radio address (hex) only, and the same operation and limitations as my original IC-9100 version of the file. I don’t have a IC-7100, thus have not tested this file, but their is no reason it should…

Minikits Components Adelaide

Just a quick post to help promote a company in Adelaide who I recently used for some parts that will go into an antenna project that I have underway. The company is run by Mark, VK5EME. I was after a T106-2 Toroid core. And found one on the mini kits website. I also took the…

SelCall Tone Generator App Review

Black Cat Systems has produced a simple iOS and Andriod App that will let you send Codan* (and other tones such as DTMF, CTCSS and many HF radio communications formats) from your smart phone over the radio to connect to and interact with many radio communications standards. *23/8/13 the app has seen a version update,…

Codan Land Mobile Radio

I’ve been planning a trip to the Kimberley for a while now, and part of this process has been setting up the car. Satellite phones are now common, and many people have moved to this technology for remote area contact, but many still use the good old RFDS/HF radio phone network. I was lucky enough…

HoldMyPhone No Drill Mounts

We recently got a new car, and with this came the old issue of “where to mount radios” One of the forums i read, pointed me to this neat and nifty “no holes” holder system from HoldmyPhone The system uses brackets specifically designed to click on vents and dashes for a range of cars without…

Quick Mount IC706 Head

Modern cars are fantastic, but not always conducive to mounting radios. Its easy to take to them with a screwdriver, but modern plastic and resale value really takes a whack!, to solve this with my old car and my icom 706 head unit, I looked wider and came up with the below. Taking a screwdriver…

YouKits FG-01 Antenna Analyser

A neat little toy, the Youkits HF antenna analyser, its handy to check the resonance of my antennas’ small, portable and quick!. my version goes from 1-60mhz, and have adjustable tuning control. you can read the manual at http://www.youkits.com/ its pretty simple, and has a built in Li-on battery. this is a version one model, the…