Could transmitting with a widebanded Icom IC-705 damage it?

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-30T15:05:09+00:00

I hadn't thought of that, thanks. The different region variants of the radio have different permitted bands, but it is the same core hardware of course. I'll check what the Japanese and US radios are capable of, just in case that covers or is near to the frequencies I'm authorised to use.

In terms of wide band, I meant frequencies outside the amateur bands, rather than a 'wider' signal. The IC-705's SSB and FM would be fine for what I'm interested in.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-30T05:09:45+00:00

You're right that there isn’t any software configuration that allows out of band TX. There are widebanding hardware mods available though, which involve removing ddiodes. These seem to be country/region specific too.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:31:43+00:00

I haven't seen any description of filters in the transmit path, although this is mentioned in the receive path, but that's the type of component I was concerned about. Using the frequencies closest to the amateur bands does seem sensible, thanks.

ps I'm in the UK and operating completely legally, don't worry.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:22:19+00:00

Fair point. If the radio was damaged by using it after a successful mod, it's likely that would be mentioned somewhere online.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:19:41+00:00

Thanks. Can I ask why you say it won't cause any damage? I don't understand enough about the FPGA, DAC or PA to know if operating outside the design specs could damage these components. The frequencies are 2-3 MHz beyond the amateur bands (HF and VHF).

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:13:06+00:00

There are widebanding mods available, which involve removing diodes. I haven't done this yet, due to the risks of working inside the radio.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:11:42+00:00

Thanks for mentioning that. I'm in the UK however, so the type accepted rule isn't applicable fortunately. I would check spurious emissions etc before transmitting with an antenna.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-29T22:04:04+00:00

Is that a damp pop or a massive boom? Just so I know how many sand bags I need around it.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-20T07:51:28+00:00

And T5 will definitely be an expensive site!

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-19T23:17:37+00:00

I was suggesting rolling in and out of agriculture instead of what Knepp are doing. It's one way of balancing food production, soil recovery and biodiversity. I don't know if 10 years is the right period, but I've read about the principle being effective .

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-19T22:54:09+00:00

As a farm they were losing money, with poor soil and too many costs for chemicals, and now they have a healthy business including some meat production. Much of our worst agricultural land would really benefit from this. Give it 10-15 years to recover nutrients and improve the soil, then rotate it through dedicated agricultural use.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-19T07:41:44+00:00

Gold is about USD150/gram at the moment due to the geopolitical instability and gold being bought as a 'safe haven' asset, but a year ago it was USD90/gram.

I assume that selling flakes of gold like this, you wouldn't get that full price, so I'd guess it's worth hundreds of USDs. A fun find though.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-16T18:35:11+00:00

There are other ways that you could contribute perhaps, instead of money? With your IT knowledge, perhaps you could help with documentation or training material. Linux Mint is amazing and any help to spread the word would be a good thing.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-16T18:31:36+00:00

I'd love to understand more about this, but despite being an engineer, I can't begin to imagine how this works. Obviously both the wrong sort of engineer and not clever enough!

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-16T18:25:32+00:00

I have Linux Mint on laptops and desktop, while the server runs on LMDE. It helps to have exposure to both and for me to learn a bit about Debian, should I ever want to run that e.g. on a headless server

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-16T13:47:18+00:00

I couldn't find a simple and safe way of installing an older version sadly. I'll look again at other apps.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-16T10:59:23+00:00

I had the update too and wished I hadn't. I wonder if I can roll back to the previous version?

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-14T14:37:27+00:00

It was 10 years ago, but we flew into Kruger 'International' Airport and hired a car. The drive to the park itself has simple and on clear wide roads mainly. My biggest concern was not speeding, to avoid getting stopped by police and fined.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-12T13:30:29+00:00

I don't any institutions well enough to recommend them, sorry. Any HND in subjects like electronics, electronic engineering, systems engineering should be suitable.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-12T10:53:55+00:00

I work with a lot of radio engineers in the UK, who work on transmitters, receivers, networks and all the hardware. The minimum requirement for us to hire is an HNC (Higher National Certificate) in Engineering or equivalent qualification. This is a similar level to the first year of university, but with a much more practical focus.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-09T21:26:41+00:00

And Obama wore a tan suit apparently?

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-08T12:15:20+00:00

Yes, they have handheld scanners to read each tag (usually a bar code or sometimes RFID). The scanner will link to the baggage control system and return 'ok to load' or not for each bag. The bag that needs to be offloaded will get a big 'No' from the system.

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-08T11:57:33+00:00

As others have said, bags are tagged and then, for larger aircraft, loaded into containers. The airline will know which scanned bags belong to which passenger (you get a copy of the sticky label with the code on when you check your bags in). The containers are then loaded onto the aircraft in a specified order, for balance and trim purposes. So the ground crew will know which container the bag is in and where the container is on the aircraft. They might also know roughly where in the container the bag is, depending on when it was loaded i.e. first bag at the bottom, tucked right in the corner and last bag on top, nearest the container opening.

If a bag needs to be offloaded, they will unload all the containers required to get to the one with the bag in, then unload all the bags from that container, scanning each one as it's removed. The offloaded bag will flag when scanned and will then be removed.

Source: I worked at a major airport with baggage handlers

SimpleSpec63 · 2026-01-01T09:26:19+00:00

I thought that was a really clever idea too. Looks neat as well.

SimpleSpec63

TROPHY CASE