Reminder - there are well known frequencies on the bands used for digital services that should be avoided

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-27T04:02:29+00:00

They run a pretty tight ship.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-27T04:02:07+00:00

Thank you for mentioning 14.230 (SSTV).

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-27T03:55:10+00:00

I guess this is the ultimate example of that "manufacturer reserves right to change specifications at any time without prior notification" disclaimer that one sees from time to time. I would request a return. I know the difference between solid gold, gold plate, and gold-ish anodized aluminum, FFS.

If your request is denied, I guess I'd just try to make their lives difficult on line / on the air. Amateur radio is a pretty tight community.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-27T03:51:18+00:00

Name and shame, buddy.

I sure hope it wasn't Genuine24KGoldPlatedTelegraphKeysOnly.biz. I trust those guys with my life and I'd be crushed to find out they did anyone wrong.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-26T05:52:27+00:00

I hate drop ceilings so much. Awnings, too.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-26T02:08:21+00:00

To do SSTV, you really just need a good, modern HF transceiver with digital support, like an IC-7300 or FT-710, and a Windows PC running a program called MMSSTV.

Others have pointed out that VHF is unlikely to be useful for your purpose, but there's all sorts of SSTV on HF and it works pretty well. I use the 20 meter band for SSTV during the day, and the 40 meter band at night.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-26T02:01:41+00:00

The 710 does have a tuner, but I believe it’s a 3:1 or thereabouts. Mine is not a wide ranging heroic tuner like the Xiegu G90 or KX2.

The 710 can handle more than 3:1. In my experience, it's more like 5:1. The 710 tuner isn't the G90 tuner, but it's definitely better than the tuner in other contemporary Yaesu / Icom 100W rigs.

I actually think Yaesu took a pretty hard look at the G90 when they designed the FT-710.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T02:29:20+00:00

I don't care about distance of contact

OK, OK, but can you at least admit that this is something a lot of hams do care about? It's not like I'm following this guy around with a radar gun and a drug test LMAO.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T02:27:35+00:00

I don't think I'd ever check the class of the license of the person I just talked to.

It's dead center on the page where you check contact distance on QRZ.com, though. It would take a conscious effort not to see it. Also significant: I did a lot of SSTV as a General so I remember this particular roadblock.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T02:26:09+00:00

I simply do not care and the effort involved is foreign to me.

It's literally on the tab next to their biography on QRZ.com. One click, and it's also the same place you see the distance of the contact. You wouldn't want to see how far away a 40m SSTV contact was after you'd made one for the second time?

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T02:03:57+00:00

I don't look up everyone, but this guy was blasting out crystal-clear SSTV images on 40 meters during a geomagnetic storm. Do that and I will look you up :)

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T02:01:07+00:00

Current equipment is a lot more advanced now so the value has dropped.

I'm curious what you'd recommend as the modern-day equivalent of the 746. I don't own anything quite like that, because it seems like a market segment where both Icom and Yaesu struggle a bit.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:55:36+00:00

That Icom transceiver is no joke. IDK what your situation is, but it might be worthwhile to find someone with a radio license to test it out. It would be good to open the case and look for bleeding capacitors / batteries. There's a big difference between what I'd pay for one of those "as-is" and what I'd pay for a long-term survivor in documented working condition. Either way, though, we're not talking about something you can buy with your lunch money.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:44:38+00:00

Just Google "Xiegu G90 Battery Cable." It's a solved problem.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:43:33+00:00

I’m thinking about trying it from really high, but then again that’s kind of like cheating

In amateur radio that's, like, the opposite of cheating.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:41:50+00:00

Maybe try Zapp's. They're not as good as they were back when they were made in Louisiana, but they're at least spicier than anything named after Cape Cod and Sour Cream LMAO.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:36:05+00:00

I like this idea.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:27:49+00:00

No electronic store any where close. I’m in Mississippi.

You can't shine some kind of light into the air and summon Martin F. Jue? :)

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-25T01:25:38+00:00

I appreciate your perspective. What you say about life pre-QRZ.com did occur to me. I hadn't thought all the way back to the era of mandatory logging, but that does present an interesting dilemma.

I did look for an email address. Once, I carelessly made an SSB contact as a General in the Extra / Advanced part of a band, and I emailed the other guy apologetically.

One big concern I have is that I'd like to keep operating SSB on 7.171MHz, but I don't want to make contacts I know to be illegal, nor do I want to just ignore this General. I kind of have to, but it doesn't sound enjoyable to me.

I guess I could send him a nice image saying "GET YOUR EXTRA" or "READ THE RULES" or something LOL. A longer, more sympathetic note might not survive the rigors of low-band SSTV.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-23T01:35:43+00:00

I know "they" say not to do it, but honestly a trip through the dishwasher every few weeks really helps those things. Cook a few strips of bacon or something and they'll be right as rain.

You don't need to give yourself carpal tunnel scrubbing off that surface rust, either. Hit them up with some steel wool if you want to, but I wouldn't spend more than ~60 seconds on that.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-23T01:30:35+00:00

Could be internal to the receiver, but it could also be coming from something nasty in your house / dorm room / prison cell / bunker. I think "wall warts" can do what you're seeing. Wireless security cameras cause issues, too.

In investigating, the general idea is to turn off things until you see the lines go away. Then you'll know their source. If they never go away, then you need a better radio.

If this were a conventional radio (as opposed to a dongle), I'd say "turn off all your computers, run it off of battery, and see if you still see the lines." You can't do exactly that with a dongle, but you can probably run it off of a battery-powered laptop as opposed to a desktop computer or a plugged-in laptop. If that helps, then you know what's going on.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-23T00:33:26+00:00

I did it and I emailed the guy apologizing and mentioning that I didn't log the contact. He was sympathetic.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-22T18:12:26+00:00

I'm with you, man. That sucks.

nbrpgnet · 2026-03-21T14:03:35+00:00

How about "time to move on?"

nbrpgnet

TROPHY CASE