Category Archives: News

Ten-TecModel418 — The Ten-Tec Model 418 100 Watt Linear Amplifier (Click to enlarge)

Along with the newly released specs of the Ten-Tec Model 539 Argonaut VI transceiver, Ten-Tec has kindly provided QRPer with a spec sheet of their new Model 418 100 watt solid-state linear amplifier.

This versatile amp shows promise, and may turn out to be a really big seller for Ten-Tec. Perhaps their biggest. Here’s why:

The Model 418 amplifier will work with almost any QRP rig on the market (new or used)
Just 5 watts in, delivers 100 watts out
It covers the full HF spectrum plus 6 meters
It has 2 HF antenna inputs with a manual switch, and a separate 6 meter antenna port that is automatically engaged when you switch to 6 meter operation
It offers an easy bypass mode
It offers auto or manual band selection
Power, SWR and voltage are all displayed on the back-lit LCD panel
It offers 13.8V DC input with standard Anderson Powerpole connection

Ten-Tec will announce the price of the Model 418 at the Dayton Hamvention this Thursday. We look forward to that, and once announced, will be sure to post it here, same day.

The upshot: If priced competitively, the Model 418 is basically a little box that can turn your Argonaut V, Argonaut VI, Yaesu FT-817, Icom IC-703, Ten-Tec Cub, Elecraft K1, K2/10, K3/10, KX3, Index Labs QRP+, or most any other QRP radio on the market into a 100 watt rig. It appears to be truly plug-and-play, too, with auto band switching.

In my case, for example, this would be a very useful product. Though I primarily operate QRP, I do on occasion like a shot of extra power, such as when conditions are bad or I’m trying to bust through a particularly heavy pile-up. I rarely–if ever–run more than QRP when operating portable, though. The Model 418 could plug into my K2/10 while in the shack, and I could pump up the wattage as needed. It would also work with any future QRP rigs I may buy. When operating Field Day with my club, I could take the K2 and ‘418, which would give me a 100W transceiver without adding the 100W module to the K2, thus keeping the K2 lighter for my portable operations outside of Field Day.

Yep, as you’ve guessed, I want one already…!

••••••••••••••••••••

Again–just to be clear–this is not idle speculation; the facts I’ve posted above, including the spec sheet, came directly from Ten-Tec today. We appreciate that Ten-Tec has provided us with the spec sheets for the Model 539 and the Model 418 prior to the Dayton Hamvention, exclusively for QRPer readers. Thanks, fellas!

News, Product Announcements

FlexRadio Systems announces a “game changer”

May 13, 2012 k4swl 1 Comment

This year at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention, FlexRadio Systems will be joining the line-up of manufacturers introducing new products. On the FlexRadio front page, they’ve posted the following graphics along with the promise of more to come. It’s a Dayton teaser, but I will be posting updates with firm facts as they become available. Follow our tag FlexRadio for more…

Announcements, News, Product Announcements

Kenwood publishes first photo of the Kenwood TS-990S

May 7, 2012 k4swl 23 Comments

1-QSTBackMay12-Kenwood-ts990S — The Kenwood TS-990S. Click to enlarge. (photo: Kenwood)

When you open your June 2012 issue of QST, you will find that Kenwood has published a photo and ad (see below) of their new TS-990S in advance of Dayton.

We also know a few specs/features:

Full HF bands and 6M
Built-in switching power supply
Built-in automatic antenna tuner
200 Watts Output
All mode
COM port, USB A/B & LAN

For further updates and hi-res photos from Dayton, follow our tag: TS-990S

Announcements, News, Portable, Product Announcements

Updates: The Ten-Tec Model 539 QRP Transceiver and the Model 418 Amplifier

May 2, 2012 k4swl Leave a comment

Ten-TecModel539FrontFace — Prototype of the Ten-Tec Model 539 QRP transceiver

I just received this update from John Henry (Ten-Tec Software Engineer) this morning:

Hi Tom,

We are making progress in several areas on the 539, it is coming along, and improving every day. We don’t have a price point we can speak about yet, as we are still trying to find the best working parts for a few of the items on the rig. And those parts, may affect our target. But still, we will surely beat the <$1k price that we have mentioned already. The speaker is now enclosed within the unit, similar to the 599. This is something that we knew we would eventually get done, just didn’t have it ready in time for the ham ventions to date. We will have a fully functional 539 on display at Dayton. Pre-orders at Dayton? I don’t think I will be confident enough on a real ship date yet to be able to take orders at Dayton. I don’t want to take orders at Dayton, promise a ship date, and then have it delayed for parts reasons. So, as soon as we know the parts are final, and FCC has passed, and we have all of the lead times and production times worked out and in the schedule, then we will be able to take orders. We do have the 539s in beta testing now, tweaking software here/there, finishing a few features, and soon will be able to send it to others for their inputs.

The Ten-Tec Model 418 100 Watt Amplifier on display at the 2011 Ten-Tec Hamfest. Click to enlarge.

The Model 418 100w amp is in the hands of external beta testers, and we are scheduling production start for end of May, beginning of July. The software is basically done, but of course, we are still tweaking it by adding a bit more protection and user features. We will have those added / tested / approved in the coming week or two. Beta tester input is extremely positive and they are sure we have a big hit on our hands because of everything that this amp provides is phenomenal.

John plans to give me another update just prior to the Dayton Hamvention.

Articles, News

The Toronto Star publishes my thoughts on the cuts to Radio Canada International

May 1, 2012 k4swl Leave a comment

Other than being a QRPer, I’m also an avid shortwave radio listener and international broadcasting supporter. Below is a post from my other blog, the SWLing Post, that I hope you will read and share:

(Originally posted on the SWLing Post)

As many of you know, I find the downsizing of major shortwave broadcasters around the world deeply concerning, especially since so much of the world still relies on the medium as a source of news and information, and for some the only source of potentially life-saving information.

The recent cuts to RCI, however, were particularly painful. In one stroke of a pen, many people lost their jobs, and RCI’s already-skimpy budget was reduced to virtually nil. What’s more, their only international transmitting station–in Sackville, New Brunswick–is slated to be shut down, meaning there is no intention to continue the service, ever.

The Toronto Star has kindly published my thoughts on the matter. You can read the full article here.

News, Product Announcements

Kenwood press release for the TS-990

April 19, 2012 k4swl Leave a comment

Kenwood released the following press release today. I had hoped it would contain more information. We did recently learn about some TS-990 facts, and now, through this Kenwood PR, we learn that the TS-990 will not see production until late 2012 and that the model on display at the Dayton Hamvention will be a “reference exhibit.”

(Source: Kenwood)

April 18, 2012
New Amateur Radio Product to be Exhibited Prior to Worldwide Launch

JVC KENWOOD Corporation is proud to announce that the prototype of a state-of-the-art Amateur transceiver scheduled for worldwide launch under the Kenwood brand in the winter of 2012 will be unveiled as a reference exhibit at Dayton Hamvention 2012 to be held in Dayton, Ohio, USA (May 18-20). It will also appear at events in Germany and Japan.

Reference exhibit model: TS-990 HF/50 MHz Transceiver
Featuring a dual TFT display and dual receiver, the TS-990 is a top-of-the-range flagship model in the Kenwood Amateur radio line-up.

Prior to the launch of the TS-990, a prototype will be displayed as a reference exhibit at Dayton Hamvention 2012 in Dayton, Ohio, USA (May 18-20), at HAM RADIO 2012 in Friedrichshafen, Germany (June 22-24), and at Ham Fair 2012 in Tokyo, Japan (August 25-26).
Please note that as this product is under development, published information is subject to change without notice.

News, Websites

QTH.com offers a warning about classified scams

April 10, 2012 k4swl 4 Comments

I have used the excellent QTH.com classifieds site for many years to buy and sell radio equipment. I think it’s a great alternative to eBay.

I subscribe to the QTH.com classifieds newsletter and, this morning, Scott (KA9FOX) sent the following warning, which I am publishing to help spread the word. In summary, QTH.com is still a great place to buy/sell equipment, but they, along with other classifieds sites, have seen an increase in scam activity. Know the signs:

Dear QTH.com Ham Radio Classifieds user:

We’ve seen an alarming increase in the number of scammers utilizing our website (and it seems most other ham radio classified sites, too, based on reports coming in). I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what some of these scammers are doing, in hopes it will better protect you from them, when you are selling equipment on the QTH.com Classifieds at http://swap.qth.com.

Common scammer traits:

1) They will use some else’s callsign, and they will create an email address that contains that callsign, usually with a free email provider like gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc. They sometimes pose as foreign callsigns (especially UK and Spain) but recently have been using USA callsigns.

2) They will sometimes post “For Sale” ads, but also will sometimes answer “Wanted” ads. Usually the prices are a little too good to be true.

3) They will use pictures of equipment they have found on the Internet (they don’t really own the equipment).

4) They seem to like payments via Western Union (no protection for the buyer), but will also use PayPal (hoping to drain their account before the buyer realizes they have been scammed).

5) They seem to know ham radio jargon. For all we know, these scammers are hams, but we can’t be sure.

6) They are sophisticated enough to use “proxy servers” so their IP address cannot be easily detected. This makes it difficult for us to block the scammers. We are constantly tweaking our filters to block these guys when possible, but it is a constant cat and mouse game.

What can you do to protect yourself?

* Ask for a phone number and call the person before agreeing on any deal. This is probably the #1 way to expose the rats.

* Check to see if the email address they used matches what is listed for that person on their QRZ.com profile. It could be a red flag if there is a mismatch.

* Be especially cautious of dealing with foreign hams. Not all foreign hams are scammers, of course! Just be extra careful!!

* Never use Western Union. Be very cautious of using Money Orders and Cashier’s Checks. PayPal and Credit Cards seem to be the best option, as far as having any buyer protection. Money Orders & Cashier’s Checks are perfectly acceptable if you are absolutely sure who you are dealing with.

* Read all of my “Safe Trading Tips” at http://chat.qth.com/viewtopic.php?t=12

About 100,000 ads are placed each year in the QTH.com Classifieds, and only a tiny, tiny fraction wind up being fraudulent. I do not want to scare you into thinking that it is unsafe to trade online. Rather, I simply want to arm you with knowledge, so that you will be able to sniff out the bad guys, and stay safe.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].

73 – Scott KA9FOX
QTH.com Ham Radio Classifieds
http://swap.qth.com

Announcements, News

Price, Size and Availability: a Kenwood TS-990S update

April 5, 2012 k4swl 4 Comments

There is still very little known about the yet-unreleased, highly-anticipated Kenwood TS-990S HF transceiver, but we’ve confirmed just a few details from a contact at Kenwood…

Size:

The TS-990S will be the size of theTS-950SDX 200 watts, and have a similar footprint.

Price:

The TS-990S is expected to retail in the $5,000-6,000 US range.

Availability:

No promises on ship dates yet…but they have confirmed that the new rig will be on display at the 2012 Dayton, Ohio, Hamvention.

To be clear, Kenwood did not confirm the model number of TS-990S; it was implied.

Check back with QRPer.com as we will post early photos from Dayton.

Morse Code, News, Videos

Gmail Tap: I only wish it were true….

April 1, 2012 k4swl Leave a comment

Google has once again featured morse code–this time (unfortunately) as an April Fool’s joke! This video will explain it all, then, raise your hand if you’re disappointed.