ALIEXPRESS BARGAINS?

QRPGUYS EFHW

These "NO TUNE EED FED HALF WAVA" are obvious rip-offs of QRPGuys' antennas. I'm the very first person who screams out that it's wrong to steal other people's property - either physical or intellectual, and yet here I am, supporting the thieves by purchasing these copies from AliExpress!

It's outrageous how Chinese manufacturers get away with all this theft, but then again, it's because people (me included) enable them.

When the copied product is something simple like this antenna, the buyer isn't even risking anything because I dare say there'll be barely any difference between the original and this fake - or is there???

The genuine No Tune End Fed Half Wave came to me as a kit and it looks like this....

You can see straight away that the original uses what appears to be a better quality toroid and the wiring of the toroid is different too! The genuine one has three primary turns of twisted wire, where the copy only has one properly twisted loop.

So in real terms, what does that mean? Well for each of the antennas I made up, I cut a length of wire to make it resonant on the required band using my RigExpert, so despite any differences in the wiring of the toroids, the end result is a resonant antenna. I might (for the hell of it) replace the toroids and wire them as per the original.

Some people warn that the quality of the copy-pcb may not be as good as the original but I don’t think it’s going to be any different at all - probably made at the same factory, knowing how the Chinese operate. Someone also suggested that the plastic-bodied BNC connector is not as good as a metal-bodied one, but the original unit has the same plastic BNC and I’m sure it’s absolutely fine at QRP power levels.

Anyway, all that aside, these super compact antennas are so cheap (£3) that I have a few of them. I'd be happy to pay £3 just for the pcb and hardware! Instead of buying one and changing the wire to suit the band I wish to work on, I simply fit the appropriate wire and wrap it around the pcb in a figure-of-eight to avoid tangling.

I have a 10M, a 20M and a 40M, ready to go. No tuner required. Super quick and easy to deploy out in the field. 

You might ask why I don't just use the one antenna and carry three different lengths of wire. Well that's because I'd have to carry one antenna and three wire-winders. I prefer the former.

DO YOU knowingly buy copies?? Let me know.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

CW PUTIKEEG MINI PADDLE

£18 PADDLE BARGAIN!

I didn't need it, but with an AliExpress Discount Code, I couldn't resist it! For £18 including free postage, I got this wonderful little paddle made by Putikeeg. Despite the postage being free and the huge distance involved, the package arrive in the UK pretty quickly!

I didn't realise it at the time of ordering, but it actually comes with a very neat plastic storage case which is padded to protect the key in transit. Additionally, it came with a tiny spanner and a hex-key to adjust the device! And to add even more value, they threw in a 3.5mm lead!

The paddle looks really cool and while it's not Begali, it ain't that bad! After adjusting it to suit your own particular preference, it actually works quite well. The adjustment is a little fiddly because once you've found the sweet spot, you have to tighten up the nut, which then moves the sweet spot. It's a case of anticipating how much the final tightening will alter things. It reminds me of adjusting tappets on a pushrod engine 😂

The paddle has a 3.5mm stereo jack socket and a micro-switch for reversing the dits and dahs. On the base there are three neodymium magnets which do an amazing job of keeping the key secured to whatever steel base you use (usually the top of your radio or to a steel clipboard).

You also get a set of thin, self-adhesive silicon feet to reduce movement when not taking advantage of the magnets and the good news is, the magnets are still 100% effective with the silicon pads fitted anyway.

This paddle in TINY and is perfect for those hikes up hills and dales. One of my favourite places to operate from in the summer is a place called Nicky Nook which is a Trig Point near my holiday home in the Forest Of Bowland  and while it's not Mount Everest, it feels steeper and steeper as I head towards my 70's 😂. Any weight-saving is very welcome. 

So how good is it in use? Hell, I don't know - I'm not qualified to say. It feels fine to me, but a proper CW operator who works at normal speed, might find it wanting. But who cares? It functions, it's tiny, it's reasonably well made, it's cheap and it makes me smile 😀

That'll do!

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

available in other colours
(and exaggerated sizes)

😂

 

R.S.GOOD.BYE

RSGB PRICE HIKE

I've been an RSGB member since I got my license and I have done it to support the hobby rather than for any sort of personal benefit. I don't really use the QSL Bureaux that much anymore and as much as I like the monthly magazine, I've decided enough is enough. The amount of money I have left to spend on non-essential stuff is rapidly dwindling.

I know £72 isn't an enormous amount of money, but in the current climate, I can find better things to spend it on. I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions.

73, Tom, M7MCQ

CW BEGALI BLUE TRAVELER LIGHT

THE NOT SO LIGHT TRAVELER!

I already have a Begali Simplex Basic, so that's up for sale to pay for this new replacement. Why change?? Well because this replacement was so cheap I'd have been crazy to turn it down. How often do you see these come up for sale on the used market??

The Blue Traveler Light (aka Magnetic Traveler Light) is something which will better suit me in the long term because of its suitability for outdoor work. Why they call it "Light" at 700g though, is beyond me - it's far from light.

 

Thankfully, the item arrived pretty much as it was shipped to the original purchaser, complete with all the bits and bobs including the feeler-gauge, qsl card, beer mat, etc. It also included the telescopic storage box which I'm really pleased about, since it offers great protection for virtually no weight penalty.

That plastic storage container had me looking a bit stupid at first, because I struggled to open it. Eventually, I discovered that you've got to give it a bit of a twist and then it slides apart 😂

When you see the paddle for the first time, it's a nice feeling! This is a beauty for sure! Begali gear is just so wonderfully put together and this one in particular is very, very nicely finished. 

The Traveler is available in black or blue and to be honest, I was especially pleased to find this blue one. The Traveler is fitted with two swing-out wings to give the key stability and they double-up as protective shields when in storage.

There's also a couple of belt-brackets for those who wish to strap it to their leg. Personally, I think that's a bit silly given the weight of the thing. Far better to just use it on a table-top, although there's probably some who would disagree with me.

This key has no springs - it uses repelling magnets and it feels fantastic. The barest touch of the paddles produces a clean, sharp dit or dah. Gold contacts, sealed precision bearings and superb engineering will see this key outlive its owner by quite some margin!

Unlike the Basic, the Traveler has a 3.5mm TRS socket built-in which makes life easy. As you can see from the photo above, there's a matching blue lead.

Underneath the key it looks every bit as well finished as it does from above and you can see in this shot that there are four rubber feet to aid stability on a desk surface. Having said that, with a heavy hand I find that it still moves about quite a bit if it's sat on a polished, smooth surface. Best to use a little non-slip mat with it.

As for my progress learning morse, I have to admit that it's going slowly! I've been trying to take the advice of others by focusing on listening rather than sending, which is what I was foolishly doing originally.

I find myself being drained of energy at work (mentally, not physically) and then when it comes to leisure time, I feel like I've got so many things to do that it's a constant battle to find spare time.

I've been trying to commit to 15-30 minutes a day to make progress and finding it hard to do. Maybe it's time to tell myself to just commit to a smaller timeslot of 10-15 minutes and let it grow from there.

At the end of the day though, I know I'll get there in the end. I should just chill out and it will be what it will be 🌝

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

QRP-LABS QMX

QMX: a feature-packed, high performance, 5-BAND 5W, CW and Digi-modes transceiver kit, including embedded SDR, 24-bit 48 ksps USB sound card, CAT control, synthesized VFO with TCXO reference.

I am only just starting out on the looooong journey to learn Morse Code and I already have a few radios perfectly capable of transmitting CW, so why purchase a QRP-LABS QMX??

Well apart from the fact that I just love to build kits,  I also have an enormous amount of respect for Hans Summers’ amazing designs. I have already built two of his magnificent QDX Digital Transceiver Kits and they perform so incredibly well. The transmitted signals are so pure and clean and everything just works without any fuss or trouble.

The QMX is no different but in addition to being a first class 5W, 5-Band Digital Transceiver,  it has the added bonus of having CW Mode with built-in keyer and decoder! And the high performance microcontroller provides a pure signal with click-less operation in Full or Semi break-in.

Did I order the self-build kit??  I looked at the Assembly Manual and also read about a lot of the problems that constructors were experiencing and thought that it might be a step too far for me. The QDX kit is relatively simple, but the QMX is definitely not for a beginner like me - for a start  it has a 6-layer PCB which means that any reworks greatly increases the likelihood of PCB damage, so I ordered a pre-assembled unit.

PLEASE NOTE that at the time of writing, there is a SIGNIFICANT WAITING LIST for assembled radios and when you order one, you are placed in the queue. I was at position #630 and they only assemble about 25 per week, which roughly equates to a 6 month wait! 😵

With the assembly fees, an aluminium enclosure and postage to the UK, the final price might seem a little choppy compared to something like a (tr)uSDX (a superb all-rounder), but the QMX is in a different league and is much more ‘focused’.  Although the truSDX performs well with CW (as well as SSB), the fact is, it’s an 8-bit system and is being pushed to its absolute limits all the time. The QMX on the other hand is a very high performance bit of kit with a 24-bit USB soundcard and an embedded SDR receiver.

>>>UPDATE<<<

I decided to cancel my fully assembled

QMX and order a kit instead!

As usual, the supplied (online) construction guide is absolutely first class!! There's no way you could improve on this (except for a couple of generic images) and I'd suggest that you read all the way through it prior to starting your build.  Hans' support has always been excellent, so if you do hit a problem, I'm sure he'll be there to help you one way or another - along with all the fine constructors in the GROUPSIO forum. 

There's probably less than 150 solder-joints to be made in this kit, which seems like nothing to the 800+ of the Radio-Kits Explorer, but I fear this build much more than I did the Explorer.

To avoid spending hours of frustrating trouble-shooting, I'm really going to have to pay attention to this build and use every ounce of my (limited) kit-building experience to avoid silly errors.

The first step (for me) is to read through the manual looking for all those little "warnings" and "cautions" which, if ignored, could lead to big problems. I use a bright orange highlighter pen to make sure that I don't miss them once I start the build.

Another useful thing to do is to put aside components which have "special needs", such as those which are soldered to the underside of the pcb when they could easily be soldered to the upper-side by mistake.

Also worth noting are the necessary mods which are highlighted on the QRP-Labs website such as the potential Q103/Q104 drains short which needs checking before applying power for the first time.

So it's Easter Weekend and that's the perfect time to start the build. I'm off to the caravan tonight (Thursday) for a nice, long weekend and I hope to have finished the kit by the time we head home on Tuesday.

Results to follow...

APPLIANCE OPERATOR

I've become aware that there are operators out there who refer to some other hams as "Appliance Operators". This is clearly meant as a derogatory slur on the ability of these 'lesser mortals' to do anything more than use off-the-shelf equipment. 

Truly worthy hams always take the difficult path - investing time and effort in gaining a deeper understanding of electronics, enabling them to design and build their own equipment.

This mocking expression obviously makes them feel superior but it doesn't take into account the fact that many hams (especially those relatively new to the hobby) just don't currently have time to invest in deep study - maybe they have a family and need to assign a large portion of their leisure time to their spouse and children.

Maybe they have a full-time, demanding, stressy job too, which impacts on the amount of free time they have. Maybe they have a few other hobbies in addition to radio. Or maybe they just don't want to do much more than go down to the shops and buy a transceiver off the shelf and enjoy a simple bit of chin-wagging with someone across the globe!

I find it quite annoying when I see these sort of attitudes, especially when the same people are always the least helpful to newcomers and would rather see the hobby die a slow, lingering death than reach out to someone with a few words of kindness, encouragement and help. 

Don't get me wrong - there's nothing worse than someone who just wants everything handing to them on a plate - but when someone is looking for  a bit of a leg-up, then why not try to help them??

Thankfully, for each one of this type of person, there are twice as many positive operators who are kind, helpful and eager to encourage growth in the hobby.

Whinge over!

73, Tom.

HAND-HELD PC

GPD WIN MAX

Three years ago (doesn't time fly?) I bought a used notebook to take with me out in the field and it's served me well, but it's not the fastest thing in the world and it's not the smallest or toughest, so I gifted it to my mother-in-law and it suits her low demands perfectly.

So I wanted to replace it with something very small, light and pretty tough. I didn't need blisteringly fast performance, but I certainly wanted something with an above average GPU, fast ram and an SSD. I own a very fast Gaming Laptop, but it's just way too big to be lugging around with a radio.

I looked all over and was pretty shocked at the prices of things, so I turned to the second hand market. It was there that I came across something for sale right here in my hometown. It's something I'd heard about before when I was searching for my gaming laptop, but it didn't appeal due to its small screen.

The PC I'm referring to is the tiny hand-held GPD WIN MAX. Looking at the specs and the construction, it seemed like it might be the perfect device for my needs, so I started to find out more about it on the internet and I read a whole bunch of very complimentary reviews.

It's approximately an 8"x6" clamshell design with nice rounded corners and it's about an inch high. Under the lid is an 8" Touch-Screen - perfect!  I can't tell you how many times I find myself prodding dumb-screens with my finger, lol. The screen also benefits from the use of Gorilla Glass which is pretty darned scratch-resistant.

Despite the small dimensions, the GPD WIN MAX features a full QWERTY keyboard including F1-F12 function keys and number keys.  Above the keyboard is a Touch-Pad which supports multi-finger gestures and clicking.

In the upper corners are a number of gaming pad controls, plus two very high quality James Alps analogue sticks which are robust and work incredibly well. For gamers, there's the familiar L1/2 and R1/2 buttons on the outside edges. 

Under the covers lives an Intel i5 cpu and Intel Iris Plus 940 graphics processor, which makes this a great little performer! In fact, it's primary role is gaming - including the ability to emulate other platforms such as Xbox and PlayStation. Not something I'll be doing, but I'll certainly benefit from the added ooomph!

This is backed up with 16Gb of DDR4 ram running at 3733MHz and an M.2 PCIe 512Gb SSD.  If 512Gb storage isn't enough 😂 you can also take advantage of the built-in SDCARD slot which is A2 compatible - mine had a 256Gb Sandisk A2 Extreme Pro already fitted. Of course it's also extremely easy to add an external drive in the form of a plug-in USB SSD (if you work with large video files, etc).

Connectivity is great - there's Wi-Fi 6 built in and Bluetooth 5, along with an Ethernet RJ-45 socket for direct connection. The good news is that that the PC recognises my AirPod Pros and that includes full and proper use of the Airpod's microphone!

Other connectors include a full-size HDMI, two USB-A, one USB-C and one ThunderBolt 3. The USB-C port acts as the charging port and the Win Max comes with a 65W charger.

One of the very best connectors is the Thunderbolt 3. With this, it is easy to expand your machine and make it even faster and more convenient by adding a Thunderbolt Docking Station.

This allows you to have a single cable from your PC to the dock and have all the other connections provided at the hub, including ultra-fast transfer speeds, multiple external monitors and more. This is fantastic if your GPD WIN MAX is your only machine and you use it as your home-base computer as well as your portable.

Anyway, for me it's just a compact PC to take out in the field. On it I will have all my radio-related software and little else. It comes in a faux leather pouch and will easily drop into my RuckShack.

Battery-Life is claimed to be over 10 hours, but we all know that's a load of nonsense. For that to work, you'd have to switch on every single power-saving function and avoid running anything which caused the cpu to speed up. In real-life terms it seems to be around 6 hours, which is plenty for a day out playing radio.

I managed to get a free upgrade to Windows 11 and everything is running fine. All my regular Ham Software is installed and I'm extremely happy with this tiny marvel.

Connecting to the FlexRadio 6300 remotely was no problem and running two panadapters was effortless - no glitches or stuttering at all. It was all very fluid and enjoyable.

Up to now I've not hit any problems with anything, so it's all good. I'm not sure if the top bank of gaming controls can be configured for other uses - it would be handy if they could! 

So in summary, I reckon this will be a pretty darned handy device for SOTA/POTA work. It's very light and compact and yet powerful and fully featured. On the secondhand market you can buy them for around £350, which is a bit of a bargain.

73, Tom, M7MCQ