A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

ELAD FDM DUO & ART 120A

QRP is my main interest and always will be, no matter which licence I go for, so I'm naturally attracted to that type of radio. And I'm very interested in radios that ALSO give you the ability to extend their abilities by connecting to a PC. For that reason I am attracted to SDR radios.

Additionally, I'm looking to find a linear amplifier which will not only work with my SDR radio, but also with any other radio (and in particular, my IC-705). I nearly got it right with the Elecraft KX3 and KXPA, but of course when in the shack, the Elecraft had no PC software.

So which combo would give me everything I want? Well, I think I've found the best match - the ELAD FDM DUO and the ELAD DUO ART 120A. A match made in heaven?? We'll see.

For a start, the FDM DUO is a high-spec, fully standalone, compact QRP transceiver with 5-9W output. It is big enough to be used as a base rig in the shack and small enough to be used outdoors. When connected to a PC/Tablet and running the amazingly good software which ELAD has provided with the radio, you really start to benefit from the power of SDR.

The DUO ART 120A amplifier seamlessly connects to the FDM DUO, taking care of band-changes, etc, and providing up to 120W of power in a beautiful package which includes a colour screen to display a multitude of information. It also has a built-in ATU which makes for a very compact and convenient shack. That's further enhanced by the fact that the DUO ART can power the FDM. In fact, it can power the optional amplified speaker too! 

So just think about that - instead of a PSU, RADIO, AMP and ATU, you have all four in a compact package! And it doesn't end there!!  The screen on the amp can be changed from a PSU-Info page to  a scope and waterfall!! How cool is that?

But really, the biggest attraction for me is the FDM-SW2 software. It's amazingly good and like I pointed out in a previous post, the software gives you a staggering amount of control over the radio - much more than any other SDR software out there! And another plus point about the Elad combo is that unlike many SDR's, the dependence on the PC to do all the processing is not there, because most of that is done in the radio itself, which means that the PC is under a relatively light load and occupies very little of the CPU's time.

The DUO ART amplifier will also work well with my IC-705 and other radios and that's a real bonus because I've been looking around at amps for the them for ages, but they all seem to be risky purchases in that they are often unbranded or little known bits of kit from China.

Like I said, I'm BIG into low-power operating, but in order to future-proof my purchase, it makes sense to have the provision to operate QRO if/when I decide to upgrade my licence. It also makes a lot of sense to use an amplifier if you do a lot of digital operating (as I do), because you're not punishing your QRP finals - you're passing the job over to the much beefier transistors in the amp, which would allow you to run 25W digital all day long if you so desired.

So there you have it - I think I might (at last) have found my perfect partner. Let's hope we don't end up in the divorce courts again!

1 - Main power supply Power switch, fuse holder and 100-240Vac power supply connector.

2/3 - PTT in/out - 3.5mm jack connectors. PTT in Input for transmit control, connect TIP to ground to put the amplifier in transmit state.  PTT out The TIP goes to ground while transmitting. RING connection is not used.

4 - RTX connection SO-239 connector. Transmit path with the FDMDUO interface. Reception and transmit paths with the other interfaces (Generic and FT-817).

5 - RX connection SO-239 connector. Reception path with the FDMDUO interface.

6 - Antennas SO-239 connectors to connect up to three antennas.

7 - RS-232 port DB9 connector for the FT-817 interface acting on an RS-232 serial link.

8 - AUX USB port - Reserved for service.

9 - USB connection - USB type A female connectors for host type connections.

10 - Output power supply - Allows to power other devices without the need of other power units. Max 2A. Powerpole connector type.

11 - LAN connection - RJ45 connector for LAN connection.

12 - EXT I/O - connection t0 external hardware such the FDM-DUO.

13 - Ground Connector 

FT3D WHIZ SOFTWARE

FREE FT3D PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE

Hard to believe it, but Yaesu (at the time of writing) have no programming software for their flagship handheld transceiver - FT-3D - and have no plans to offer any!

Thankfully, someone else by the name of Brek Martin in New Zealand wrote some software and put it into the public domain. It's called FT3D WHIZ and is available here...

I strongly urge you to do the right thing and make a donation to Brek for all his hard work.

LDG Z-100PLUS ATU REVIEW

LDG's "ZERO CURRENT" ATU

When using a portable radio (eg..ICOM IC-7100) during a Field Day Event I need an autotuner. I could of course use my diminutive Z-817, but that can only handle around 20W which would be no good if one of my radio-club colleagues wanted to sit at the mic.  So the answer was to find a small, light ATU and a quick search resulted in me choosing the LDG Z100PLUS.

It's similar to my LDG Z817 and shares the same "Zero Current" technology which means that in standby-mode there is virtually zero current draw - which is why there's no ON/OFF switch. The unit is powered from internal batteries (which should last for approximately one year) but can also be powered (and controlled) by the radio if you purchase the appropriate lead.

With the control lead fitted, the unit takes its power from the radio (the IC-7300 Molex connector in my case) and also permits the radio's "TUNE" button to be used instead of the LDG's. 

The Z100PLUS can handle 125W which makes it perfect for most of today's popular rigs. It will also handle about 30W in Digital mode. It has 2000 memories for near-instant tuning of previously tuned frequencies.

The LDG Z100PLUS also interfaces with the QRP ICOM IC-705 superbly, using a regular 3.5mm jack to jack stereo lead, so it's a great option for that too. Makes a nice change from having to buy expensive interface leads (are you listening Yaesu?). I think you can also program one of the 705's front-panel buttons to act as a TUNE button. For the IC-7100 you’ll need a 3.5mm to Molex interface lead available from TechnoFix…

I see Waters & Stanton posted a video on 14 Aug 2021  virtually claiming that this ATU was designed specifically for the 705 but of course it's not - the Z-100PLUS was in production way before the 705 hit the shelves.

The ATU weighs 570g. Download the manual here.

Since writing this post, I've also bought an Elecraft T1 for portable use with my IC-705. The LDG is much cheaper and performs extremely well in terms of what it will tune-up. It's a great little ATU and I recommend it highly!

Thanks for visiting - please take a minute to leave a comment below 

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

NISSEI NS-1230D PSU

THE DIGITAL SCREEN PSU

Nissei have been producing electronic goods for over 50 years and I've found them to be a reasonably good product at the price point. This NS-1230D psu is the updated version of the 1230M and now includes an attractive Digital LCD screen instead of the older analogue meter.

NISSEI  NS-1230D  30A  PSU

This Switched Mode Power Supply unit provides up to 30A (surge) at 13.8V, although a maximum constant draw of 25A would be more realistic. The unit is incredibly compact for such an output, measuring just 127mm wide! On the front panel it has the large and bright display showing the output voltage and current, a variable voltage dial (4-16V) and two banana/binding posts for quick connection.

At the rear is has two sets of powerpole sockets. Personally, I've always used 4mm banana plugs and sockets, but I'm slowly moving over to Anderson Power Poles.It seems to me that everyone favours the powerpoles but in all honesty, I don't see a great advantage other than they can be stacked.

The NS-1230D has short-circuit and output over-voltage protection, so there's little chance of accidental damage to the unit by ham-fisted users. The psu is enclosed in a smart steel case and it weighs just 1.35Kg. The fan is reasonably quiet.

I plan to use this Nissei NS1230D to power my VHF/UHF radio and let my Alinco DM-330FX power my HF radio and the rest of the shack components.

SHACK PIC

Yes, Another Shack Photo!

Changed things around so that even the portable/mobile stuff is stored in the shack instead of being in cases.

QSL CARDS & CAP

NEW QSL DESIGN

Last night I had a little time on my hands so I designed a QSL CARD and ordered some to be printed by VistaPrint here in the UK. I also ordered a baseball cap.

ICOM IC-7400

And it arrived.....

The Icom IC-7400 arrived and I must say, it is MINT+++ with not a single mark or scratch on it. Very impressed! But how does it work?

Well after faffing around connecting it to power and to the MFJ 993B ATU, I soon discovered that yes, it works fine. Nice audio from the built-in speaker and without reading a single word of the original manual, I was soon chatting away on 40M SSB. I then flicked it over to 2M and chatted to some local friends who reported good signal and audio.

I was using the supplied (original) microphone but I will probably also buy a lead to give me the option of using my Adonis AM-708E desk-mic. The radio has built-in speech compression and you can also tailor the transmitted audio, with adjustment to both treble and bass.

The screen is big and bright - love it! There's lots of button, knobs and dials and they all have a great feel to them apart from the four tiny rotaries on the bottom left of the rig - they're just a bit too small for my liking. And they're proportionally longer than they need to be which always gives me the feeling that they'll be under undue lateral load over the years. It's also quite annoying not having a readout for the power-setting; you have to key-up to see the power on the bar-meter.

Moving from band to band and mode to mode is very simple and so too is the tuning - be it fine or coarse. The menu system is pretty intuitive and like I said, I've not had to pick up the owners manual yet.

At the back, the radio provides two HF antenna connections and one for 2M (all of them being SO-239). There's connections for a linear, data, tetc, etc and one for an external tuner. Speaking of tuners, the radio has one built-in and it's good for up to 3:1 matches.

It has a bandscope (of sorts) which was probably considered very good in its day, but it seems a bit old hat now that there are so many rigs with high resolution panadapters and waterfalls. It's one of those passive things that you have to manually set sweeping and the audio cuts out while it's doing so.

The filtering on the radio is pretty impressive and you can adjust the filter shapes in SSB & CW even on 2M! The radio uses the same 32-bit IF DSP as used in the IC-756 PRO-2 and overall, I really warmed to this radio right from the get-go. I look forward to using it more and will probably set it up in the shack for winter so that I'm completely familiar with it by the time it goes out on any field days.