Random Wire Review 109: September 27, 2024
Following up on thrift purchases (Grundig radio, vintage Heathkit gear, Audio-Technica AT2020 mic) and new devices (TD-H3 radio, H2T Meshtastic device). Gear for the Wichita trip.
Topics in Issue 109
1. Following Up on Thrift Purchases
1.1 Grundig AM/FM/SW Table Radio
1.2 Heathkit HM-11 Reflected Power Meter
1.3 Heathkit Hybrid Radio Patch HD-15
1.4 Audio-Technica AT2020 Microphone
2. Following Up on New Devices
2.1 TD-H3 handheld radio
2.2 muziWORKS H2T Meshtastic device
3. Gear for the Wichita Trip
3.1 Mount adapter
3.2 Tri-mag mount
3.3 Multi-band VHF/HF compromise antenna
3.4 Magic carpet for groundplane
3.5 Other trip preparations
3.5.1 Extra microSD cards
3.5.2 Camera tripod and primary lens
3.5.3 HF radio and antennas
4. Not Radio
5. Closing
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1. Following Up on Thrift Purchases
1.1 Grundig AM/FM/SW Table Radio
Last week, I reported on this purchase in a Goodwill auction:
Recently, I won an auction for a Grundig Classic International AM/FM/SW Stereo Table Radio Model 960. The price was right at $51 + $5 shipping. That puts the cost a bit lower than similar items I’ve seen on eBay.
This isn’t a tube radio. It’s a circa 2000 reproduction by Grundig of the Classic 960. My guess is this means it is more likely to work than an older original. It is also likely to be safer to operate. Reviews are often not positive about this radio but the only way to know is to try it. For the price, it is unlikely I’ll lose much on this deal.
What isn’t working right now is shipping. Although the auction closed last week, the radio still hasn’t been shipped. The selling Goodwill store says:
We are currently experiencing a shipping delay. Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this issue.
I’m hoping it is waiting for me when we get back from Wichita.
1.2 Heathkit HM-11 Reflected Power Meter
Also last week was the report of receiving a piece of vintage Heathkit gear, the HM-11 Reflected Power Meter. What I have in mind is not well formed, but I’ve been noodling on an all-in-one AllStarLink node with a Raspberry Pi inside the HM-11 case. I think for now, this one goes on the shelf where I can see it and think about it from time to time.
1.3 Heathkit Hybrid Radio Patch HD-15
I also reported on the Heathkit HD-15 device last week. I like the look and feel of this device with the reasonably sized meter and three rotary controllers. Might it be convertible to become an AllStarLink audio interface? I don’t know . . . yet!
1.4 Audio-Technica AT2020 Microphone
The Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone was a Goodwill auction purchase. I got this for $31 plus $12 for shipping and handling. I’ve been using an Audio-Technica AT2005USB microphone with a pre-amplifier for the Random Wire Reflections podcast. For $43 total, the AT2020 seemed like an affordable upgrade.
New, this microphone is $99 on Amazon. Purchasers on Amazon give it a 4.7 of 5 stars rating. They like the:
Sound quality
Value for money
Functionality
Quality
Looks
Ease of use
Liked somewhat less by buyers are microphone quality and cable quality.
As long as it hasn’t been abused, it should be a good upgrade. The AT2020 is a condenser microphone so I expect it will be more sensitive than the dynamic AT2005USB microphone has been. The AT2020 will arrive sometime during our two-week trip to Wichita so it will be a few weeks before I get to test it.
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2. Following Up on New Devices
2.1 TD-H3 handheld radio
The TIDRADIO TD-H3 handie talkie arrived just before I left for my trip last week to Omak, Washington. I’ve had time to charge it but I haven’t turned it on yet.
I bought this in the most obnoxious green color you can imagine. I should be able to include a photo of it in this newsletter. I don’t think I’ll lose it in the sea of black HTs I already have.
I wear a men’s size medium glove and this radio fits my hand just right. I’ll be reviewing some basic information on YouTube to help me get started with this handie talkie.
2.2 muziWORKS H2T Meshtastic device
It turns out there is a Bluetooth problem with the muziWORKS H2T Heltec T114 development board. The symptom is: Bluetooth connections to your phone don’t always persist.
There are many threads on this issue, for example:
Meshtastic pulled the firmware for the T114 from their flasher.meshtastic.org page this week, making it a bit more difficult to flash T114 devices. I already have a couple of the firmware files, though, and I understand the firmware files are still available on Github.
I temporarily solved my problem by flashing the newest available firmware but that’s not a long-term fix for the problem. In response to some reports, I’ve also turned down the power output on the LoRa radio as some users think there is interference between the LoRa radio antenna lead and the Bluetooth antenna.
I am confident that Heltec and muziWORKS will get this figured out soon. It is a new development board, after all, and there are bound to be some bugs.
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3. Gear for the Wichita trip
3.1 Mount adapter
I purchased a CB Antenna Connector Adapter 3/8 x 24 Threaded Antenna Mount to UHF PL-259 (SO239 Mount) to connect my tri-mag mount (see below) and my 17-foot telescoping aerial antenna. However, as I thought might happen, the threads don’t match. I wasn’t sure what threads were on the telescoping aerial and now I know they aren’t 3/8 x 24!
No worries, I’ll toss the adapter into the parts bin for a future setup with different antenna bits.
3.2 Tri-mag mount
I picked up the TWAYRDIO Triple Magnet Magnetic Mount SO239 Connector W/16.4ft Low Loss RG58 Coaxial Cable PL259 Connector for HF VHF UHF CB Radio Antenna Mobile Use to use with the telescoping aerial, but as you’ll see below, I had a backup plan in mind (a multi-band compromise antenna).
This tri-mag mount seems sturdy enough. Each magnet is covered with a rubber-like boot to help protect your vehicle’s finish. Warning: these rubber booties are easily lost. I’ll be using some pieces of tape to make sure they stay together.
3.3 Multi-band VHF/HF compromise antenna
When I saw the GRA-750B 7-56MHz Wideband Broadband HF Vertical Mobile Antenna, 120W(SSB), 40W(FM), 48.03 inch, PL259, it struck me as a reasonable antenna for portable (on the vehicle, but not moving) use. As a multiband short antenna, it’s a compromise antenna by definition. What it provides is the ability to set up quickly and compactly.
The base coil is bigger than I expected. It’s a chunk. I cannot attest to the strength of this assembly, though. Some reviewers felt the antenna was a bit fragile.
My first challenge with the antenna was assembling the antenna segments. The center coil (?) uses two set screws on the bottom. One of the two set screws had been screwed all the way into the antenna aerial channel. The set screw had rotated off axis and was jammed in the channel. It took me about 30 minutes with a dental pick, magnet, and Allen key to get the screw rotated and extracted from the aerial channel. Once that challenge was overcome, the assembly process went smoothly.
Per the instructions included with the antenna, it looks like the SWR might be good enough to use this antenna without a tuner on some bands, specifically:
6 meters (50.0-54.0 MHz)
10 meters (28.0-29.7 MHz)
12 meters (24.89-24.99 Mhz)
15 meters (21.0-21.45 Mhz)
17 meters (18.068-18.168 Mhz)
20 meters (14.0-14.35 Mhz)
30 meters (10.1-10.15 Mhz)
The VSWR in the 20 and 30-meter bands is floating between 1.5 and around 2 which is probably the highest most folks might be willing to go. A tuner is recommended, if only to provide an additional margin of safety for the radio.
I haven’t used the antenna yet. My plan is to use it for HF with the tri-mag mount, portable, not mobile. Fingers crossed.
3.4 Magic carpet for groundplane
I also picked up some Faraday cloth to use with the 17-foot telescoping aerial antenna:
I consider myself to be a somewhat lazy ham, so the idea of tossing a sheet of fabric on the ground with a few rocks to hold it in place is more appealing than spreading various wires around.
3.5 Other trip preparations
3.5.1 Extra microSD cards
I bought some extra Sandisk microSD cards so I can put repeaters in different states on the cards. I have my Oregon and Washington repeater set already on a microSD card. I’ll add Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Wichita to some cards. This will make it relatively easy to switch repeater sets in the Yaesu FTM-300DR mobile radio.
I’ve purchased this set three times and have not had any trouble with the microSD cards:
It’s $34 for a 5-card bundle. The microSD card reader that comes with it is really cheap but serves okay as a just-in-case spare card reader.
I also picked up another 1 Tb microSD card for the Insta360 Ace camera:
For $66, this is a great deal. The first one I bought has worked very well in the Insta360 Ace. Having a spare will help me enjoy the trip a bit more.
3.5.3 Camera tripod and primary lens
The Insta360 Ace action camera and my Canon mirrorless camera will both benefit from a tripod. I can’t afford a professional quality tripod so I read reviews for a couple of hours and settled on this one:
The K&F tripod has enough weight capacity to easily hold either of my two cameras. Having a cellphone clip also means I can use this in a pinch for podcasting, vlogging, and Zoom meetings.
My Canon camera is the EOS R50:
I’ve had it a few years and I’m still learning how to best use this good quality, intro-level mirrorless camera.
I am adding another camera lens to my kit for this trip. This lens will let me take some quick snapshots and do some minor macro work, too:
3.5.3 HF radio and antennas
I’m going to take the Yaesu FT-891 transceiver. It gives me more flexibility in operating.
I’ll have the GRA-750B antenna for use on the tri-mag mount. I’ll also have a 17-foot telescoping aerial antenna on a ground spike.
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4. Not Radio
In a fit of nostalgia, I bought an old Optimus 8R white gas camp stove on eBay. It looked to be in very good condition. Upon opening the box, I was pleased to find it is in slightly used condition, which for its age, means it is in fine shape.
You might note the metal match container sitting in the open lid of the stove. It came with matches just as old as the stove! When I removed the tank cap, the odor of white gas was evident.
Other views:
I wonder how many of us used one of the standard stoves of the day way back in the 1970s: the Svea 123, the Optimus 8R, or the Bluet butane stove. Great memories are attached to all of these, I’m sure.
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5. Closing
For my road trip, I'm going to have long days and lots of photo opportunities. I’ll have my mobile radio (Yaesu FTM-300DR) operating on FM and running on 144.39 MHz (APRS) as KJ7T-9.
Good health and safe journeys to all, always, and 73,
We had a primus stove and a great memory of simmering hotdogs on the stove while fishing for Salmon/Sea Trout on the river Earn in Perthshire with my father. Didn’t catch anything but a fun day out.