10 replies to this topic

[satyan]

hello oms and yls

i am Satyan call sign vu3mes from Chennai India. located in the eastern coast of India Chennai is a metropolis which has a poignant history and cultural backgrounds originating from long back. we have celebrated the 375th birthday of the city last week. here is a link to my qth

http://www.findu.com...cgi?call=vu3mes


hope to learn more from here on ham radio and wishing you all a happy week end.

thanks also due to the admin for letting me in

73

Satyan
vu3mes

[Shortwave]

Hi satyan!

Welcome to our group!

I had a look at the locator link in your post and from it I see that you are only about three miles inland from the Indian Ocean. I wonder if you get much chance to visit the beaches there, and maybe operate portable?

We could do with some of your sunshine over here in the England at the moment, it's fairly cool and dull

Best 73, Mark.

[Shortwave]

satyan, on 29 August 2009 - 09:06 AM, said:

...thanks also due to the admin for letting me in

73

Satyan
vu3mes

No problem

Admin.

[satyan]

G0KZZ, on 29 August 2009 - 12:05 PM, said:

Hi satyan!

Welcome to our group!

I had a look at the locator link in your post and from it I see that you are only about three miles inland from the Indian Ocean. I wonder if you get much chance to visit the beaches there, and maybe operate portable?

We could do with some of your sunshine over here in the England at the moment, it's fairly cool and dull

Best 73, Mark.

Hello Mark,

Yes you are right we do stay very near to seashore, the beach is Marina Beach one among the longest beaches of the world. Honestly it is always crowded with visitors most of the time, so mobile operations are ruled out. however we do have a local club encouraging local hams and arrange get togethers and fox hunts etc.

try these links please for more info. www.chennaihams.blogspot.com
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Marina_Beach

73 have a nice day satyan vu3mes

[Shortwave]

Hiya satyan

Wow, what a long beach, and very nice it looks too.

If you think that's crowded here's a photo of Blackpool beach (a typical UK seaside town)

http://dancull.files...2/blackpool.jpg

The tower that you can see in the photo is Blackpool Tower (abt 500 feet tall) which is our equivalent of the Eiffel Tower hi hi.

Most of our northern beaches tend to be fairly cool most of the time, and fairly windy too.

Best 73, Mark.

[satyan]

G0KZZ, on 31 August 2009 - 03:09 PM, said:

Hiya satyan

Wow, what a long beach, and very nice it looks too.

If you think that's crowded here's a photo of Blackpool beach (a typical UK seaside town)

http://dancull.files...2/blackpool.jpg

The tower that you can see in the photo is Blackpool Tower (abt 500 feet tall) which is our equivalent of the Eiffel Tower hi hi.

Most of our northern beaches tend to be fairly cool most of the time, and fairly windy too.

Best 73, Mark.

Hi Mark

the picture is nice, a crowded beach indeed. the tower awsome, i wonder if you can anway use it for ham activities there.

73 take care. satyan

[Shortwave]

satyan, on 01 September 2009 - 04:11 AM, said:

...i wonder if you can anway use it for ham activities there.

I visited the tower about 20yrs ago, and took a 2m FM transceiver up to the top with me. However, despite the 500 foot 'mast' I was standing on I failed to make a single contact!

At the time I was VERY puzzled by this, but when I returned home and asked around some of the local stations a number of them pointed out that the 70cm band (430-440MHz) was the main band used by 'locals' in the Blackpool area.

I don't know if it is still the same these days, but it does show that it is a good idea to do some research on what frequencies are popular in an area BEFORE you go on a DXpedition there!

Again, nowadays this situation would not be a problem since most rigs (handhelds) these days can cover 2m and 70cm, and also 6m and 23cm in some cases. Not like the 'good old days' of single band sets that had only a few crystal controlled channels!

How times change!

By the way, I see from your profile that you use an FT-101E for HF. I tested and aligned one of those recently at work and found that on most bands it could still produce nearly 200 watts CW with the original PA valves!


73, Mark.

[satyan]

G0KZZ, on 01 September 2009 - 11:03 PM, said:

I visited the tower about 20yrs ago, and took a 2m FM transceiver up to the top with me. However, despite the 500 foot 'mast' I was standing on I failed to make a single contact!

At the time I was VERY puzzled by this, but when I returned home and asked around some of the local stations a number of them pointed out the the 70cm band (430-440MHz) was the main band used by 'locals' in the Blackpool area.

I don't know if it is still the same these days, but it does show that it is a good idea to do some research on what frequencies are popular in an area BEFORE you go on a DXpedition there!

Again, nowadays this situation would not be a problem since most rigs (handhelds) these days can cover 2m and 70cm, and also 6m and 23cm in some cases. Not like the 'good old days' of single band sets that had only a few crystal controlled channels!

How times change!

By the way, I see from your profile that you use an FT-101E for HF. I tested and aligned one of those recently at work and found that on most bands it could still produce nearly 200 watts CW with the original PA valves!


73, Mark.

Hello Mark

Qsl all the info, yes things have changed a lot in all fronts on ham radio, both technologically and operating procedure wise. crystal controlled limited single band radios on vhf has been replaced by multi-band, multi-channel handies capable of dlink and aprs.
On HF boat anchors have given way to sleek Japanese black boxes which has its own advantages. i cant think of carrying my ft101e on a short trip outside the city or on a train journey to my home qth. where as the new 857d along with the ldg z11pro and a fold able
wire antenna can be taken anywhere, i must tell you it is a made for each other pair LOL. My 101e is still on its original final and driver valves and still put out 130 watts on ssb. i made two contacts to Brazil last year, when propagation conditions were marginally better using this rig. i always wanted to own a ft101zd but could not locate one here.

73 Satyan vu3mes

[Shortwave]

Hi satyan


The FT-101ZD is a fine old radio, but they do sometimes suffer with a display problem.

The 101ZD uses a true frequency counter for its display, and once in a while some of them do fail.

The problem is trying to get hold of the original chips they used for the counter/display driver, they just don't seem to be available any more.

However, if you do a search on Google for the number on the top of the main IC, among the listings you will find a Japanese Radio Amateur who has developed a plug-in board using a PIC to act as a replacement for the dead chip.

I have his details somewhere, I will dig them out and post them on the forum as others may be interested to know about his site.

I think that his replacement board is around $20-30.

I found out about his board from a ham operator in this country who has used the new PIC board and he says it works fine.

73, Mark.

[satyan]

G0KZZ, on 02 September 2009 - 10:30 PM, said:

Hi satyan


The FT-101ZD is a fine old radio, but they do sometimes suffer with a display problem.

The 101ZD uses a true frequency counter for its display, and once in a while some of them do fail.

The problem is trying to get hold of the original chips they used for the counter/display driver, they just don't seem to be available any more.

However, if you do a search on Google for the number on the top of the main IC, among the listings you will find a Japanese Radio Amateur who has developed a plug-in board using a PIC to act as a replacement for the dead chip.

I have his details somewhere, I will dig them out and post them on the forum as others may be interested to know about his site.

I think that his replacement board is around $20-30.

I found out about his board from a ham operator in this country who has used the new PIC board and he says it works fine.

73, Mark.

Hi Mark

Thanks for all the info on ft101zd. if you can put those details here i am sure someone will surely find it much useful. even a friend of mine who has an ft101ee had problems with his vfo. we got it from an auction site of spares for yaesu by paying us$ 20. i know of this site dealing in ft11zd parts - http://stores.shop.e...QQ_fsubZ8828481 i hope someone might find it useful.

Propagation conditions are very poor at our end.with limited activities at 7 mhz band in mornings and evenings. this has resulted in more action taking place in vhf bands.

73 satyan vu3mes

[Shortwave]

OK, my mistake


The replacement counter chip/board was developed by a German ham from what I can find on Google.


You can find the page here:

http://www.hed-tafel.../msm9520en.html

He sells them for 34 euro.

The displays of the following radios can be repaired with his chip:

FT-101 Mark II (has WARC – with 30m 17m 12m)
FT-101 Mark III (has WARC – with 30m 17m 12m)
FT-107
FT-707
FT-901 D / DM – early series
FT-902

As for other spare parts you could try some of the various Ham Radio equipment stores around the web. Very often (if they have their own workshops) they will have old radios that they are breaking for spares, so it might be an idea to send them an email and ask if they have what you are looking for.

Do be specific though about the parts you require. The more to the point about what you need so the more accurate they can be giving you an answer as to the price and availability of any items.

Also, don't expect radio equipment stores to just desolder one or two components, most of the ones I have dealt with prefer just to sell complete modules or boards rather than single components (though you could always try asking I guess).

It may amaze you but you can sometimes still get new spares for these old transceivers, I have ordered one or two items for 30year old Yaesu tranceivers and found them to be still available!

You could also try asking around the various forums on the web, again someone may have the part/s you require, or even a full rig laying around...

Mark.