AA8IA.Org

Uniden BCT-15 Scanner Review

Mike — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:05:30 +0000

I’ll make it short, but hardly sweet.

1. Assuming you already have a conventional system created, it takes a minimum of six button presses (and one or more rotations of the knob, PLUS entering the frequency, in order to store a single damned frequency in a system.

If you don’t already have a system created, it takes much longer

2. Its search speed and scan speed are incredibly slow

3. It’s sensitivity on any band can’t hold a candle to a PSR-500/600, PRO-106/19, or even a 996/396.

4. Given its lack of sensitivity, you would figure it would be much less prone to overload / images. Incorrect to the Nth degree. I suffer VHF overload more on this than I do on either a PSR-500 or a PRO-197, and both of those are significantly more sensitive

5. It doesn’t know how to zero in on the correct frequency in a search. For instance, if I scan VHF-HI, I know of 10 frequencies off the top of my head in which it will not stop dead-on

6. It’s display color sucks – there is not enough contrast on the best of days between the backlight and the text color.

7. Not enough audio output

8. You must have a serial interface or you’ll need to get a USB-to-serial adaptor. BS
I really have nothing good to say at all about this scanner. It’s a royal piece of shit

RS PRO-197 Digital Scanner Mini-Review

Mike — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:01:44 +0000

Radio Shack has recently made available the PRO-197 mobile and PRO-106 handheld digital scanners. These scanners are made by GRE and more than resemble the GRE PSR-600 and PSR-500.

From what all has been said, the guts of these new Radio Shack scanners are the same as their GRE counterparts, and the features mimic those features found in the GRE PSR-500/600. Obviously, there is not much more I can say about these scanners that has not already been said about the GRE counterparts.

I own the GRE PSR-500, and so I can only compare the PRO-197 based upon the fact that it is a mobile scanner. All of my other scanners are handhelds so I am not used to using a mobile/base scanner.

The main thing I noticed is that the audio quality from the speaker is magnitudes better than the audio quality from the PSR-500 handheld speaker. This difference in audio itself makes the mobile so much more pleasant to listen to than the handheld. Although, they really should have put the speaker on top instead of on the bottom. I find that unless I use the mobile mounting bracket, mounted facing the bottom so as to lift the scanner off of the desktop and expose the speaker, the speaker audio is a bit muffled. If you purchase this scanner, the first thing you will want to do is make sure that the speaker on the bottom is unobstructed to ensure that you achieve the best audio.

Another thing I really like is the backlight. The backlight has various brightness levels (up to 16). By default it is set at 16. There is a DIM button on the front panel that allows you to switch, at the push of a button, from full brightness to reduced brightness to turning the backlight off totally. I found the display to be very easily readable with the backlight on in all conditions, even if the brightness is turned down. All buttons on the PRO-197 are backlit, and you can choose to have the backlight turned on for the display, the front panel buttons, both or none.

Access to the PC/IF port is via the front panel, as is headphone audio output. On the back you have the power supply jack and an external speaker jack.

The squelch knob and volume knob are on the same post, but they are easily differentiated and they are precise. I hate a sloppy squelch, and there are no worries here.

The multifunction button for nagivating the menu and selecting options in the menu is a pain in the ass. You can’t expect to navigate the menu unless you are either holding onto the scanner casing or have the scanner mounted firmly somewhere. Otherwise, when you press one of the buttons or use the menu navigation button you will find the scanner sliding all over the place.

The scanner case is quite solid, similar to that of the Uniden BCD996T. The scanner comes with a DIN sleeve, a mobile DC cable for powering the scanner from battery, the mobile mounting bracket, the DIN mount and associated mountingscrews.

Performance-wise, the scanner performs just the same as the GRE PSR-500/600, as one would expect since this scanner shares the same guts. This of course is great if you are in need of high sensitivity. But, if you are in a high RF environment you most certainly will find yourself battling front end overload resulting in desense and you will find a lot of imaging in various bands. I suspect this scanner is just as likely to be swamped when using it in a high RF urban environment. The ATTenuator will be a godsend in those situations. Of course, using the attenuator defeats any bonus of added sensitivity once you turn it on. Perhaps one day we’ll find ourselves with the choice of a scanner that has the sensitivity of the PRO-106/197 and PSR-500/600 and much greater selectivity and immunity to front end overload.

I am pleasantly surprised at how well this scanner sounds on the digital systems in the area. Sure, the audio quality is significantly better than that which you will hear from the speaker on the PRO-106 or PSR-500, but I also have to wonder if there is some better firmware in this beast. The digital audio from the local digital systems appears to be significantly more clear with the PRO-106 versus my PSR-500 handheld. If the PSR-500/600 and PRO-106/197 do indeed share the same guts, the only explanation for better sounding digital audio could be the firmware.

The firmware that came with the scanner is v1.6 (and the latest for the GREs is v1.6 also), and so far there hasn’t been any updated firmware. The firmware for the PSR-500/600 and the PRO-106/197 are supposedly not compatible. So, I’m not sure if use RS users can expect the same number of firmware updates as the GRE users get or not.

In summary, this scanner seems to perform exactly like my PSR-500 handheld with the exception of substantially better audio quality from the speaker as well as the perceived better digital audio quality while monitoring the local digital system (Ohio MARCS, Ohio County Public Safety).

Radio Shack had an insane multi-day sale on the PRO-197/106 starting on the 18th of December 2008 and ending on December 25th. The sale price was $299.00, and you there was a coupon code you could use to get another $20.00 off. That made the scanner $279.00 plus tax plus S/H. For many people they paid just a tad under or a tad above $300.00. $300 for a $500 scanner? You can bet that shitloads of these scanners were sold. I needed another digital scanner like I needed a hole in the head, but I couldn’t pass up the sale pricing. I figured if I didn’t like it, I could easily get all my money back. As it turns out, I won’t be selling it. I did see another person on RadioReference selling five of these for $375 (shipping included) brand new in the box. Most assuredly he bought them all at the sale price and is unloading them for a small profit. Even at the $375 price, it’s still a great bargain.

Purchased an RS PRO-197

Mike — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:30:01 +0000

Recently Radio Shack came out with the PRO-197/PRO-106 (mobile / handheld equivalents to the GRE PSR-600/500). Shortly after, they had a sale (3 or 4 days in Mid December 2008) – these normally $500 digital scanners were selling for $279 (with a 20 dollar coupon) + tax. Insane pricing. Everybody and their mother (including myself) went out and bought one.

I’m still awaiting mine, but my buddy Rick was up today with his PRO-197 to get a programming primer since he owns predominantly Uniden gear. Working with the PRO-197, I can’t wait to get my hands on my own. Should be here by the 27th. I’m tired of having all handhelds considering most of my scanner listening is done within the confines of the home. I think the PRO-197 is a beautiful looking scanner, with a substantial feel to it and a solid case. I’m interested in giving it a workout. I’m sure the overall report would be exactly what I gave for the PSR-500 since they both have the GRE guts in them. But overall I’ll really enjoy this mobile scanner using it as a base scanner.

Uniden BC396XT Scanner Announced

Mike — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:00:07 +0000

niden recently sent out a news release to its scanner users regarding some new scanners. UPMan over at the RadioReference forums posted the details there as well.

You can read the post here: http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120243

BC396XT

Trunk Tracker IV – follows trunked traffic on APCO 25, Motorola, LTR, and EDACS systems (including EDACS systems using ESK)

The EDACS ESK support is new for Uniden. GRE has it available already in PSR-500/600 scanners, but it was not originally available – rather it was added as part of one of the more recent firmware updates.

The GRE PSR-500/600 have provided support for all other types of systems listed above from day #1 – and so have high end Uniden scanners. This isn’t a groundbreaking feature.

25,000 total channels

This is pretty impressive. Having not used a Uniden scanner for a while, I forget just how this would compare to previous BC396T/996T scanners or how it would compare with PSR-500/600s. But I’m thinking this is substantial.

Personally though, I think that for most users there is a practical limit to the amount of storage of systems, frequencies, etc. Sure there are people who would program in every trunked system in the US if they could, even if they would never use 99% of them… but most people have more than enough room in their 396/996s and 500/600s.

NAC Decoding – allows specific agencies to be monitored on P25 conventional channels

This is a new feature for Uniden scanners, but GRE has been doing it for a year. Can you say coattails?

P25 One-Channel Trunking – supports P25 conventional systems that include both NAC and TGID access control on a single frequency

This is a new feature for Uniden. I’m not sure if it is something GRE scanners already do or not have any P25 conventional around here to monitor. I bet GRE can do it though – or if they can’t, they likely will in a future firmware update.

Automatic P25 Threshold – fully automates the optimization of P25 reception

I’m not sure if this is a feature or not. I’ve never monitored a P25 trunked system on a Uniden scanner before. On a GRE scanner I’ve never had to manually tune any P25 – it always sounded fabulous out of the box. So I would expect this as a defacto standard in a scanner and wouldn’t call it a ‘feature’ at this point.

Multicolor Display Backlight – allows the selection of backlight color to meet the user’s own aesthetic taste

I’m sure the diehard Uniden users will get their rocks off on this feature. Me? One color is fine. I don’t need a psychedelic scanner. I’m more concerned with function. The PSR does not do this though.

Visual Alert Notification – lets alerts be assigned to specific display colors, flash patterns, audible tones, and volume levels

This is new for Uniden. This is not new for GRE. Gre has had alerts that will flash a light on the top of the scanner in a particular color, etc. I’m not sure about different volume levels. To me this ranks right up there in importance with the multicolor display…. not very high.

500 TGID Channels per trunked system – doubling the number of channels that can be programmed into a trunked system

This is new for Uniden, doubling the number of TGIDs per system. GREs aren’t this limited as far as TGIDs.

Temporary Lockout – allows a channel or system to be locked out for a single session and restored by cycling power

GRE already does this. Coattails.

100 System/Site Quick Key’s – provides a way to quickly turn on or off scanning for groups of systems…a feature that provides users of Uniden scanners the most flexibility in programming and operation

GREs and 396/996s already do this. This is not new, but its a significant increase in quick keys. Of course, Sites on a Uniden have always been better than the GRE counterpart. On a GRE, you can’t lock out individual sites in a multisite system – but in Unidens you can. Nice increase.

Startup Configuration Keys – lets specific systems be locked or unlocked automatically when the scanner is powered on

Unique to Uniden as far as i know. I can think of circumstances where this would be useful. Nice addition.

System/Channel Number Tagging – makes it easy to jump to a specific channel

I don’t remember if this is new for Uniden or not. It is a nice feature though. I don’t remember if GRE has an equivalent… I don’t think they do. To be fair, on a GRE you can jump to a specific TGRP, TSYS, CONV object – if you remember it’s unique number. It’s convoluted and I never use it because it’s easier most of the time to just manually go through rather than try to remember a unique number. Good move for Uniden.

Multisite Systems – includes support for large systems such as those being installed for statewide operation in some areas.

This is nice and was definitely needed. Coattails. Hopefully this will work similar to GRE scanners in that you can set it up to scan each site in a system if sequentionally for a period of time, or you can set it to lock on to the strongest CC in the system, or you can set it to stop on the first active CC and monitor that until that signal no longer exists. I’m unsure of the completeness of this in the new Unidens yet though. If they are wise, it will work at least as well functionally as the GREs do. This is really great in GREs and I use it all the time.

Priority ID Scan — lets the scanner apply priority to channels as they become active on the system

Unsure if GREs already has this or not. I don’t fully understand this at this point, but it’s a plus either way for Uniden.

Preemptive Priority (Motorola only) – monitors for priority traffic, even when the scanner is receiving a transmission on the system.

I don’t think GREs do this at this point – I could be wrong. Judging by what some say on the RR forums, it sounds like many would find it useful. I wouldn’t though.

Assignable Search Keys – give quick access to favorite search modes

Unsure if there is an equivalent on GRE scanners. I like the idea though.

IF Exchange – lets the scanner use an alternate IF (intermediate frequency) to help avoid interference sources.

I’m not sure of the details on this. If it is what it sounds like, it could be very useful in many instances. Add this to the win column for Uniden.

Negative dropout delays – resume scanning after the selected time to keep the scanner from hanging on stuck mics or other continuous transmissions

I don’t think there is a counterpart for this in GRE scanners. I like the idea of this feature. A win for Uniden.

Close Call® Temporary Store – buffers the most recent Close Call hits and scans them conventionally

Not sure if you can do this on the GREs or not. I don’t use the signal stalker stuff much. It’s a nice feature though and I think it will be useful.

Location-Based Scanning – when a compatible GPS unit is connected, turns on and off systems, sites, and channel groups as the location changes

I can think of very rare circumstances where this would be extremely useful. Otherwise it’s fluff that 99% of the people will never use. This isn’t available on a GRE, and it has been available, at least in some sense or another, on the 996 I believe. Interesting one.

Location Alert Systems – allow location-specific alerts to be programmed for such things as dangerous intersections, dangerous roads, or general points of interest.

Interesting feature. I don’t know if i’d ever use it, but it’s nice enough.

Band Scope – gives a rapid graphical display of the strength of signals within a specified range of frequencies

GRE doesn’t have this. Big win for Uniden in my book. I’d find it useful.

Key Safe Mode — prevents naïve users from accidentally changing programming … a feature that has been a big request from public safety and media radio system managers

I don’t think GREs have this… not sure. It could be useful for some. I could care less.

Private Systems — prevents a system from being modified or read by PC, to help protect confidential radio system programming

I can think of a shitload of RR people who would completely cream themselves over this… It certainly would be useful for agencies who use scanners to have the ability to protect others from reading the details. Average Joe has no need for it though.

Control Channel Data Output – allows the analysis of control channel data without the need to perform invasive modifications to the scanner

GRE did it first, and probably does it best [although I have no way of comparing]. It’s a great feature, and Uniden users deserved it. Not everybody likes to open up a brand new $500 scanner and add a discriminator tap. With this feature, you don’t need to modify your scanner to monitor control channel data. The data is converted internally to a sensible output suitable for various programs to take that data from the serial port and display trunked system details. Again, great feature – and kudos for Uniden. But to be fair, GRE did it first

Volume Offset – lets individual channels be programmed with a volume offset to help balance between channels that are louder or softer than other programmed channels

This is certainly useful. You can already do this on a GRE, at least to some extent. On a GRE this would be audioboost. The GRE may not have the level of adjustability that the Uniden does – I don’t know. GRE has two settings, OFF/ON.

EDACS ESK Tracking – tracks systems that have implemented EDACS System Keys

Big deal for a very few, insignificant for most people since they don’t have any ESK systems to listen to. GRE did it first, and it was available as a firmware update.

Fire Tone-Out Tone Search – identifies tones used by agencies using two-tone paging for alert signaling

I’m sure a lot of whackers will find this useful. I am unclear on whether you can only search for FTOT or if you can actually use what you find to only play the audio when the scanner hears a certain FTOT. So I’m unsure if it’s useful or not.

DISCLAIMER: I don’t have one of these, nor do I plan to any time in the foreseeable future. I’m stuck on GREs. Their support is excellent and their scanners have insane sensitivity [which of course can mean trouble in areas with high power local signals]. I’m happy with the GRE. If I were to get another Uniden scanner, it would be a BCD996T again. I love that scanner as well. I don’t want a handheld. And it appears that there will be no 996XT.

I also don’t work for either company or get any compensation from either one. I feel that I have spoken as objectively as possible considering I have owned a Uniden BCD396T and BCD996T before and currently own a PSR-500 and prefer it over either of the Unidens.

You should consider keeping up to date with regard to this new scanner by reading the threads on RadioReference. Discussions of all scanners are very detailed at RR.

PSR-500 CPU Firmware 1.6 Released

Mike — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:41:43 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted. GRE continues to go above and beyond what any of us users have come to expect. Not enough good things can be said about GRE Support.

CPU Firmware 1.6 has been released for the PSR-500/600. DSP Firmware 1.3 is still the latest DSP code. In reading what was fixed/added in the CPU 1.6 update, there really wasn’t much of anything that interested me. I think CPU 1.5 fixed a lot of issues people were having.

Below are some links to download the latest firmware as well as read what the firmware updates provide.

PSR-500/600 DSP and CPU Firmware <– Click to get latest from GRE

CPU Enhancements/Fixes Readmes

- 1.6

- 1.5

- 1.3

- 1.2

DSP Enhancements/Fixes Readmes

- 1.3

- 1.2

On The Soapbox – Helmet Laws ?

Mike — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:27:36 +0000

You know, all of my life I’ve ridden motorcycles / ATVs. For the most part, I wear a helmet. I don’t like the thought of having my brains ooze out after an accident, and if there is a chance that a helmet may prevent that should a situation arise, you can bet I hope I’m wearing a helmet.

I just saw on the local news where [I think] the mayor of Martins Ferry OH is lobbying for an Ohio helmet law. As you know, in Ohio if you are an adult you aren’t required to wear a helmet. I’m all for a helmet law.

Tell me – Does it make sense that we all must wear seatbelts (as a matter of law) but there is no requirement in Ohio for motorcyclists to wear helmets? That’s BS.

I don’t look at the statistics, and I don’t give a damn what the statistics are – logic tells me that if I’m in an auto accident I have a better chance of surviving and even possibly coming out unscathed than motorcyle riders… yet the law wishes to force me to wear a seat belt while the boozed up numnut with a doo-rag for a helmet goes cruising by me on the interstate. Sorry, but I can’t process this.

Let’s add insult to injury – Let’s imagine if that numnut also has a wife and a few kids and/or other dependents and loved ones. Why in the hell would they want the increased risk of riding without a helmet? You can’t be a husband, father, brother, son, etc. if you’re a vegetable hooked up on life support for the next umpteen years.

Hey, my gripe really isn’t with the A.B.A.T.E. noodleheads – so don’t go soiling yourselves en masse. I’ve got a few good friends who ride motorcycles but refuse to wear helmets… they’re pretty bright guys. They didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. They aren’t dumbasses. I’ve got a family member (technically an ex family member) who rides without a helmet. He’s got three kids. Imagine if those kids had to hear the news that he died in an accident (or was in the hospital in a vegetative state) due to not wearing a helmet and that investigators deemed it could have been prevented merely by wearing a helmet?

This is just a little rant… I don’t give a damn what my friends do as much, but I do give a damn about family.

There should be a national helmet law….. would save a few lives [quite possibly including some friends and family members], and wouldn’t make me feel so much like i’m being jipped out of what I think should be a personal choice, wearing [or not wearing] a seat belt.

GRE PSR-500/600 – Another great firmware update

Mike — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:32:55 +0000

As has been very typical of GRE thus far, they have released yet another firmware update that has fixed a few small bugs as well as added a few new features.

Read the full news entry for the update here: http://www.greamerica.com/support/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=12

Judging by the discussion on RadioReference , the new features were very well received by users (including msyelf). The most noteworthy new feature is the ability of the scanner to display the Radio IDs of radios transmitting on P25, Motorola, and EDACS trunked systems. The scanner will not display the radio ID of the radio 100% of the time on certain systems, depending on how the systems are set up. This isn’t a limitation in the scanner. You can alpha tag the radio IDs as well. For instance, if you know that Podunk PD Car 5 has the radio ID of 5805, then you can add a private call object mapped to that radio ID and tag it so that when that radio transmits it shows Podunk PD Car 5.

Another new feature is the ability to set a power-up password. This allows the scanner to not function upon power-up until the user enters a password.

GRE has also changed the way certain items are displayed on the display at certain times.

Click here to download the firmware from the GRE Website (both CPU 1.4 and DSP 1.3 firmware is available).

I kept this short purposefully. Everything that you need to know is available on the GRE website as well as in various threads on RadioReference. In every way GRE is a top notch company, first by producing a top notch scanner and then by supporting/updating features on it. The more I own my PSR-500, the happier I am.

PSR-500 : Updated Review After Nearly 4 Months

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:59:45 +0000

It has been ~ 4 months since I wrote my first semi-review of the PSR-500. By no means did I [or will I] write a comprehensive review. But I’ll give readers a taste of what I think after having become familiar with the scanner and having relied upon it for a scanner feed for some time.

PERFORMANCE

The PSR-500 is extremely sensitive as compared to many other scanners I have owned [including a Uniden BCD396 and 996, a PRO-97 and a PRO-90]. To maintain some objectivity, I do my comparisons using the same antenna for both scanners – a RS 800 Mhz antenna. On all bands the sensitivity is significantly better than that of any of the scanners listed above. On 800 mhz I can often hear and reliably decode digital trunked traffic. Part of this is because the PSR-500 is so much better at decoding every digital signal I’ve run across than previous scanners I’ve used, but part of this is simply because it is more sensitive than other scanners. I cannot speak of the scanner’s performance on VHF-AIR, MILAIR, or VHF-LO because that is not where the signals are that I care to listen to. On VHF-HI, the scanner is extremely sensitive as well. [Read about the VHF-HI sensitivity caveat further down]

Digital decode on Astro Analog-Digital systems as well as P25 conventional frequencies is outstanding. On my 396/996 I would routinely experience the proverbial “motorboating.” For those of you who do not know what that is, that is the word used to describe the sound one years when the scanner is trying to decode digital audio but for whatever reason cannot – the resultant digital sounds interspersed throughout the decode session. On my PSR-500 I haven’t encountered a single occasion where I had an issue with motorboating – unless it was specifically due to interference from other equipment in the house or car that was mixing with the digital signal and causing decode problems. This is not the fault of the PSR’s decoder. On a clean signal the PSR-500’s digital performance is head and shoulders above any other scanner on the market… hands down… bar none – even if the signal isn’t very strong.

SENSITIVITY CAVEAT (OR NOT)

Due in part to the scanner’s great sensitivity and due in part to the lack of superior filtering circuitry [in any scanner below $1000], I have run across problems where strong signal overload from nearby VHF-HI stations (TV station, FM Radio station, Paging system, Amateur Radio repeater) can swamp the frontend [receiver] of the scanner. If you are in a high RF environment with a lot of strong signals on VHF, you may end up having to purchase a filter [such as a PAR Electronics filter] to filter out the offending signal. I had a TV station on CH 9 that was severely degrading VHF performance. With such a strong signal hitting the receiver [due to lack of necessary filtering], the receiver cannot cope and basically goes dead/silent. You end up having to turn on ATT [the attenuator] in order to attenuate the culprit signal enough so that the receiver functions properly – and of course when you do this, you are left with mediocre reception of VHF signals.

Of course this will not happen to everyone, and for those it does happen to it may or may not be a dealbreaker. If you are a casual VHF listener you likely won’t care about this. If you live in a rural area or an area with no strong local transmitters, you won’t suffer from this problem. Even if you do live in an area with strong RF, a PAR filter is definitely a reasonably cheap investment that can usually take care of a strong signal out of your listening band.

It is very important to note that strong signal overload is more likely on the PSR only because the PSR is more sensitive. Pretty much any scanner you buy under $1000 is going to have mediocre filtering in place to combat strong signal overload. There is a reason commercial radios cost thousands of dollars – and part of that cost is the extensive filtering in place to ward off strong signal overload.

DISCRIMINATOR DATA VIA PC-IF CABLE

The PSR-500 has a computer interface. The scanner comes with a PC-IF cable, which is a proprietary USB cable that interfaces with the PSR-500. For many trunked system listeners, they find it very useful to use programs like Unitrunker to monitor trunked systems. The PSR-500 and PSR-600 provide discriminator data over the PC-IF cable. Note that I did not say discriminiator audio. The discriminator data can be read and processed by Unitrunker (thanks to Rick). So for those people who do not want to open up a brand new scanner under warranty to install a discriminator tap, this is something you will love.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

The folks at GRE are a very helpful bunch. They are also a very attentive bunch. By far the largest forum on the internet for scanner discussion is http://www.radioreference.com . The folks at GRE routinely read comments / concerns posted by their product consumers. You may not see any of them responding in official capacity on RR, but they are there waiting to hear what their customers are saying.

There have been multiple firmware updates released since the scanner was first put on the market. Each of these firmware updates was easy to perform and resulted in increased the functionality / performance or corrected bugs.

GRE has a support website that you do not have to jump through hoops to access. And you as a consumer can open a ticket regarding a scanner product in order to dialog with GRE about problems you are having. Again, they are very attentive to your concerns, are very helpful, and will bend over backwards to make sure you are a happy customer.

For a $500 wideband digital scanner, you are getting a helluva a bargain when you purchase a PSR-500. Great sensitivity, great performance, good flexibility in programming, great support. Go buy your GRE scanner today!

Recent Changes: I moved / R-75 / EZ-SWL / quiet HF

Mike — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:55:53 +0000

I made the move to a new place a few weeks back. This place is only a few minutes from my old place, but for HF listening it’s a dream for me.

The neighborhood has all underground utilties. No more AEP poles, distribution lines or high tension towers surrounding my property. Did I mention AEP sucks? Well they do.

I’m restricted as far as putting up antennas, but I was able to get a PAR EZ-SWL antenna and string it up between my back porch deck and a tree at the end of the yard.
This antenna is an end-fed 45 foot piece of wire, with the SO-239 and some grounding screws securely mounted on a block. Depending on the type of noise you get, it may be possible to eliminate or lessen the noise depending on how you ground things.

I threw up the EZ-SWL in this location and immediately I could tell it was much much quieter than my old place. Because I have so much less external noise (no power line noise at the moment), I am not able to hear the RFI inside myself. So I started shutting off my various computer components to figure out what the biggest offenders were. My Linksys WRT54GS router is nasty, especially when the connected computers are running 100 mbit. I set all hardwired computers to force 10 mbit/full duplex. I don’t particularly like the slower speed across the LAN between computers, but it has tremendously cut down on the RFI I get from the Linksys. I’ll be investigating the various ferrite beads / torroidal cores for eliminating the RFI across the board.

My sister has an office here. All of her computer components are plugged into a 6 port surge protector / power strip. Even with all of her components turned off, as long as the power strip is turned on there is some leftover RFI. If I turn off all of her equipment and then shut the power strip off, there goes most of my RFI.

At the same time I was moving, I bought an Icom R-75 off of Ebay. It has the UT-102 voice synthesizer (no big deal – useless) and the UT-106 DSP (again useless since it is an AF-stage DSP and not an IF-stage DSP). The R-75 though is a great receiver for the money.

Last night after I got done ridding myself of some RFI within the house, I decided to tune down to 500 khz and below (something I never bothered to do before because for 13 years I had S20+ signals from 160 m (2 mhz) on down. Anyway, much to my surprise and happiness I was hearing beacons all over the place below 500 khz – tons from canada, ohio, PA and some other areas. It was nearly silent down below 500 khz. It was absolutely great. I never realized how much I was missing.

I then tuned to 160 m – same thing – near complete quiet. The 160 m stations were booming in. I had no trouble listening to long conversations on 160 and 80 m because the quality was so good and the noise was nonexistent. Now, this is what HF monitoring is supposed to be about! At about 2 AM I was listening to stations from England on 80 m that I would never have heard from my old location.

The move was a good move, from every standpoint. I could not be happier with my new location, my R-75, or the PAR EZ-SWL. Everything is working great!

AEP noisemaking contraptions

Mike — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 04:51:38 +0000

You know what I’m talking about. The transformers, insulators, and other garbage that eminate huge amounts of static. They are all over the neighborhood.

Years ago I attempted to get something done about it, but nothing happened. One of the AEP guys who came out was a ham. I’m betting he thought he knew it all. They weren’t going to do the DFing. I showed them what was going on – gave them examples on an AM radio and an FM radio of the noise generated from one or more poles. They didn’t fix a damn thing.

I suppose I could press the issue and contact them, but only after I do an assload of pinpointing of the problems. That’s a load of horseshit. I’m not the one whose equipment is generating the noise. I could go back and forth with them for a year, and then when they don’t do anything about it I could contact the ARRL and get them involved as a liason in the matter with the FCC to get AEP to fix it. But again, why should I have to do all the work. My word out to be good enough.

I’m not your average dumbass whacker ham. I know what the hell I’m doing. When I say the noise is eminating from their equipment, I’m not making it up hoping that it’s true.

Anyway, it’s not worth the effort since the hobby has went to hell in a handbasket with the removal of code and influx of whackers. The local hams are either 100 years old or assholes, or both. I really get no enjoyment from associating with people like that.