USED HAM GEAR PRICING

AND QSO "NUGGETS"




Question:

"What's the difference between a used Yaesu FT-100D and a used FT-891?"

BIG BUX

Answer: 20+ years and $100!! (pony up the extra $$$ for the FT-100). 

The FT-891, using the latest technology, is tracking about $400-$475 in the used market, while the nearly-20-year-old FT-100D (with all of it's well known issues) is advertised quite frequently in the $500-$600 price range.



YAESU FT-891

[Over a decade apart and Yaesu advertisements keep them on 15m, 'Nuff Said]

YAESU FT-100D

Granted, the FT-100 has VHF/UHF capabilities, however, it's almost TWENTY YEARS OLD.

The display is nice, but I guess I'm wondering why would you buy one, given its age and more-than-likely "un-obtainium" parts. Okay. Bad example. Look at HF vs. HF: Compare the FT-891 with --->

The Kenwood TS-50 was a great mobile rig in it's day, and a used one can be yours for (on average) $350 - $500. It doesn't have even offer 6m (for 6m you have to find a TS-60), and this HF transceiver is OVER 25 years old.



KENWOOD TS-50

Don't blame the radio. Blame the owner, blame the buyer, and blame the mindset.

It's a well known fact that older Ham radios are like money in the bank - they will almost never decrease in price after an initial depreciation, and possibly become more valuable over time.

It's not just these rigs in particular, but the used radio "business" as a whole. No matter how old most transceivers get the offered selling price will tend to bottom out around $500 and stay there, only varying by 50 bux or so. It has been this way for 40 years or longer. Do you want a Kenwood TS-430? $300-$400. How about a TS-440at? $350-$450. The 430, Kenwood's answer to the Yaesu FT-757GX, was a very good radio 30 years ago. It, and it's follow-up, the TS-440, surely have leaking dielectrics, and solder fatigue at this geriatric stage. You really have to ask yourself if it's worth over $300 to buy one now, or, should the seller offer it to a new ham for $100, better yet - give it to him/her.

YAESU FT-101E

My favorite example is the venerable Yaesu FT-101 series from the mid-70's. I've owned a half dozen of these over the last three decades and if there was ever a litmus test for transceiver pricing, the 101 series would be it.

I think the first one I owned was in 1984. I bought it "used" for about $350.
It wasn't a lettered model (101B,E,F), which made it about 10 years old when I got it. Since then I've found used 101's for around $300-$400 in the 1990's, 2000's, and most recently, 2015. For the most part, this rig, while it's internal components continuing their aging process will not get any cheaper (as a rule). Blame the owner, the buyer, or the mindset...

Truism: "Hams are cheapskates as a buyer, and Rockefeller's as a seller"

Many Ham radio operators deal in radio and radio equipment to make money or otherwise improve their shack wealth. To borrow a word from the Investment community, they could be considered "arbitrageurs" of two-way radio equipment.

BEST BANG-4-BUCK

A used Yaesu FT-991A (the "A" model). These rigs sell for around $1150 *NEW*, but like many high-end cars that drop a lot of $$$ once driven off the lot, these "months-old" Yaesu's selling for the mid-$700 range to $850. A new Ham interested in HF-UHF, plus Fusion, would do well to keep their eye out for one of these pre-owned specials. I'm not overwhelmed by any one thing in particular about a 991A, but, it's a decent HF-440 rig to get started with, especially if you wait for a good price. 


QUICK SNAP

 FT4 vs. FT8

FT4 has come raging into the forefront as an alternative / replacement for FT8. Both are very similar, but a biggest takeaway is that with FT4, the sequences are only 6 seconds long which makes it about 2.5 times faster than it's older brother FT8. Someone wanting to use FT4 for QRP, using a mediocre antenna, for contesting, or any combination of the three could benefit from the shorter-faster program.

QUICK SNAP

3885

The afternoon show on 3885 AM is only one example of entertainment to be found on this frequency. Set your browser onto your favorite East coast SDR each morning to catch some interesting and sometimes endless AM discussions. Transmissions are long. Very long. These guys key / lock their microphones and start talking about one topic that can easily slide into another before they un-key the mike. Once you get over the lengthy transmission (and intermittent belching), you could sit back and listen for awhile. Great lines can be heard like:

"Right now, if you took my pulse, you'd have to subtract 8"

Or,

"Anything that doesn't kill you makes you very weak".

AVANTAGE 2

ANOTHER SDR ADVANTAGE

It's easy to detect chatter going on many kc's above and below where you are currently listening, which allows the discovery of frequencies that you might not normally associate for daily traffic. Specifically I'll use 11m as an example. I've found that while listening to 27.385 that I will see traces on the waterfall of other SSB QSO's going on. As you might expect, .365/.375/.395 and .405 are often hotspots of activity, but so are: 27.445, 465, 665, and higher. I also found out that many use 27.402.5 as a designated go-to frequency for various reasons nationwide.

I'll end this with another "nugget" I heard the other day -

 “When I was a teenager, my Dad was an idiot. Years later I figured out that he was a genius”  😎


'Nuff Said,
Woody

DEFINITIONS MAY LEAD TO QUESTIONS



ON THE SIDE

"Sandbagging" (listening in on others without talking or making one’s presence known, for entertainment or for collection of information on others.), "Copying the mail" (listening with little, or No talking.), or "On the side" ( just listening), is one of the "Great American"

pastimes (although, if you were literally "copying the mail" the USPS would certainly disapprove). 

(Are you a "sandbagger"? Or, Do you know one?)

Well to continue, I was (insert one phrase from above) on 11m and came across some QSO's of interest....

Some guy on an AM frequency (27.285 MHz) was wondering what it meant when someone replied to a radio equipment for-sale post with nothing more than the word "Next", after someone had already replied with "Interested".

His buddy (no - NOT 'Good Buddy') replied that, before answering the question he had to interject how upset he was every time someone replied to an Ad with "Interested".

He said if someone was "interested" they should just contact the guy directly. It appeared to him that the guy, (and others who also typed "interested") were putting onus on the seller to ferret out each one and send them a personal text / email, when the whole purpose of the group posting was to make it easy to sell something. But, as he digressed, so have I...

Regarding "Next", as in what you'll see on many Facebook For Sale posts. This was a discussion on yet another SDR site and frequency. "What's up with that?" asked one fellow. Google had the answer -  'To let the seller know they are interested in the item if someone has already shown interest before them'.

(Without someone typing "Interested" beforehand it makes no sense to type "Next"), and for the guys that follow a Next with "Next-Next" or "Next-Next-Next" - No Comment.


Channel 6 (THE Super Bowl) has been around for decades, yet someone in the Mid-West apparently heard it yesterday for the first time and asked about it while on-the-air. A pileup ensued as many tried to educate him all at once.

Ch. 6 as heard on http://sigmasdr.ddns.net:8073/

I'll explain to others who may be in the dark about this channel, and why you hear them even in poor conditions.



KEY DOWN CONTEST

Even if band conditions are sketchy these guys seem to use blunt-force trauma (many kw watts) to make their own opening. With good band conditions it's truly over kill, as observed the other day. Splatter box comes to mind. You might think that the FCC had already taken them "Down" but... Nope.

These guys run serious wattage and can only be compared to as Mini-AM Broadcasting stations (like the ones you listen to on your car radio). * [Also, Google "Keydown Contests" or, be lazy and click-on-that-link]


Haven't heard of it? Just Google "cb channel referred to as the Super Bowl" to find everything you didn't want to know, or, as previously written - "click on that link". And yes - I have heard this frequency referred to (many times) as "The Super Bowel").

On another SDR-site, on a different band, I listened to one guy trying to explain to another guy how a "Heat Pump" works. His explanation led to more questions (including me) which were quickly answered by everyone's best friend, "Google".


'Nuff Said,

Woody

ADD-ONS

[ADDITIONAL STUFF FROM RECENT POSTS]

This past Monday (6/3) 10-11-6m was super HOT! Not just for 15 minutes, an hour, or even half a day, this lasted until the wee hours of the next morning (good times, good times). Things seemed to have quieted down by 11p.m. but I got up around 3a.m. and still heard chatter going in the shack. I think the 'ol 138XLR was a bit shocked to have dc running thru it for so long :)

SDR Stuff

I'm still hanging out on 3885 AM on WA1QIX's SDR web site, usually between 3 and 5 PM (CST), but I've also looked around for sites that have definite 11m band selections, so here's what I've found so far -

http://rx.jimlill.com:8073/ 11m

http://kiwisdr.surriel.com/ NH

http://k2sdr.homelinux.com:8073/  NJ

http://kiwisdr.k1ra.us:8073/ VA. No waterfall but gd rx

http://ka7u.no-ip.org:8073/ Idaho. Eh,Okay.

http://skhicks.ddns.net:8073/ Kingwood Tx.

http://g4bkhkiwi.ddns.net:8073/ UK

http://southwest.ddns.net:8073/ UK

http://kiwisdr-m0kwr.ddns.net:8073/ UK
 
http://sigmasdr.ddns.net:8073/ CT/MA *** I highly recommend this one for several reasons: 1. Easy to navigate 11m w/ch.No.'s ,and, 2. If it wasn't for Rob, the CBGazette may never have been!!

http://huntingdonsdr.ddns.net:8073/ UK

The sites listed above will NOT work with IE. I've abbreviated their actual locations as well. Only the site below will work on IE -

http://82.8.140.204:8901/ UK w/IE

I listed several from the UK because I'm hoping one of them will p/u "Fred-in-the-shed" and the 27.305 USB group he features on many videos.

MLA STUFF

I'm still (albeit slowly) working on a post about everything I'm learning about Magnetic Loop Antennas. It's taking a lot more time than originally estimated, so it may end up as a multi-part article.

However, if you are interested in MLA's (or antennas in general) you should check out Kevin Loughin's YouTube channel. Most recently, he has been dissecting the Chameleon P-Loop 2.0 (interesting stuff).

Not specifically tied to MLA's, I'll once more mention OH8STN's YouTube channel. He is honestly brutal when it comes to reviewing equipment on its own merit or by comparing one mfg. product vs. another's. Don't pass his channel up, especially if you are into SOTA, POTA, or EmComm.

That's it for now.
'Nuff Said

SLIDE'N

Back in the heyday of "CB radio" 23 channels were just not enough. With a busy Sunspot cycle driving DX you only had a short window to be able to talk across town with your friends, and that window-of-time lay somewhere after 3a.m. only to end about 3 hours later, returning to near full S-meter readouts with a wall of noise led by occasional voices from far away.

The 11m operator had few avenues in search of a quieter channel -

• Pony up big $$$ and buy a Browning or Tram, and operate off the VFO to slide in-between channels (Ch.3A was a popular hangout). This was a HUGE investment for anyone to undertake. A $700 expenditure in 1970 was equal to over $4500 in 2018.
• Take what was available within most radios by "Cutting-the-color-wire" on the channel selector. This gave you channels 22A and B.
• Find a compatible external VFO (Siltronix, PAL) for the radio being used and get the ability to slide in-between channels, not to mention below ch.1 or above ch.23.

Another approach to this was presented by HyGain in the form of their Hy-Range V (model 674) and Hy-Range VI, the matching VFO (model 675), pictured above. This presented the buyer with a matched pair of devices, both solid-state, allowing a person to listen to frequencies on-channel, in-between channel, and slightly above the 23 channel frequency.

Model 675 VFO ends some where above 27.400 MHz

The Hy-Gain "V" had several different releases, one with a dedicated VFO socket on the rear panel, and two without the socket. The 675 VFO could be hardwired into many other Hy-Gain radios and included the instructions on how to do it within the instruction manual which came with the unit.




BOTTOM OF 675 VFO

TOP VIEW OF 675 VFO PCB

While you will run across these on Ebay auctions or garage sales, the instructions on how to get this to work aren't so easy to find (read: VERY hard to find). Owners today are hard pressed to find anyone with the knowledge that these existed much less modified (still alive to talk about it). Every one wanted to know what to clip in the transceiver to allow Xmit when the VFO was plugged in.

But, what if the modification wasn't in the radio itself? Hmm...

In January of 1977, sales of 23 channel CB's were banned by the FCC in lieu of the new 40ch. PLL models, which were supposed to be harder to modify (I guess we know how THAT worked out. eh?)

The December prior to that had enormous discounts on 23ch. rigs! SSB transceivers which normally sold for $300-$400 were marked down below $50. Eventually entire inventories of new PCB’s found their way to the aftermarket for $5-$10, and Hams converted these to 10m fairly easily. There were quite a few articles in various magazines about how-to do the conversion. Hopefully they can still be found archived, and I believe that if you were so inclined to do something like this you would find it much easier to re-work a non-PLL CB to 10m vs. one w/PLL.

Today, with prices being what they are (Old CB's are now priced as "Classics", and Ham gear selling for good prices), a 10m conversion would only be good as a electronics project, and only if you had one stuck in a closet somewhere to experiment on.

WE PAUSE NOW FOR A BRIEF STAR WARS VIDEO
 

AND NOW, WE RETURN TO NORMAL RADIO CHATTER...



 

SDR WEBSITES

SDR (Software Defined Radio) radios are all the rage now, from $30 receive-only-to-very-expensive transceivers. In the very beginning many folks said that SDR wasn't a "Real" radio, but times have changed.

With a small monetary purchase you can buy one of the lesser expensive receive units found on Amazon, Ebay, (and just about anywhere else you'd find radio equipment for sale), but you can also get a feel for what SDR is all about through several Internet locations around the country / world.

I found several sites just by Googling "SDR Internet", and now keep them in my favorites for quick access. Why would you be interested in "Receive Only"? Well, besides trying it out, when band conditions are rather dead I enjoy listening to QSO's and Nets while doing something else in the shack, or, on my tablet while on the couch.

Once, while checking in on a 14.300 net I had a hard time making the Net controls audio due to local interference, but was able to hear him via one of my SDR Web-links easily.

To save you a Google search, here are a couple links:

K3FEF WebSDR in NE Pennsylvania - This was the first one I linked up with. You'll hear 160-17 meter coverage, CW-AM-AMnrw-USB-LSB-FM, with the ability to save certain frequencies and modes so that they'll be easily accessible later.

 

 

Northern Utah WebSDR #2 - This site covers 20-6m with a link to the other location which will give you coverage up to 2 meters!

 

 

 

Aside from that you may find that catching up with Nets that were once local to you is fun, and sometimes you run across QSO's that tend to take on a life of their own, day-after-day, and if you've caught any of these on WebSDR's before you may already know where I'm headed - 3885 AM "Late Afternoons w/Clark and friends". (a smorgasbord of topics).

 

It is no coincidence that several WebSDR sites default to 3885 on AM, with one site in particular giving you a listen, and a chatroom just for that - WebSDR - Radio Engineering, located in Townsend, MA and run by Steve, WA1QIX.

 

Enjoy your SDR listening!

 

 

 



A DETOUR FROM RADIO TO:

"THE BLUES"

20 yr. old Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - Outside Of This Town

SHORT POST
















( BELOW - VIA YouTube, VIA "SDR_PLAY" blog, from 2017):

"Testing to see how bad powerline internet connections can be for HF reception.

These devices allow you to use your house power cables as a convenient Ethernet connection for sharing the internet. However they are extremely noisy and can wipe out the entire HF band. Also known as powerline networking and powerline communications (PLC).

Using a TP-Link Powerline Adapter, Wellbrook Loop Antenna and Airspy R2 with SpyVerter to show the spectrum. The last part of the video shows a 20 MHz view in the wide band viewing software SpectrumSpy.

Interestingly it appears that the amateur radio (ham) frequencies are actually carefully notched out and those frequencies remain relatively clean. But international shortwave radio is still wiped out which is bad news for SWL hobbyists. In the video you can see where the ham bands are by the red marking blocks in SDR#.

It doesn't seem that the device is designed poorly, but rather that it simply just uses those shortwave frequencies to transmit the network data."

SUN FORECAST MAY 15-17

 

DO YOU NEED A NEW / LARGER BATTERY

 

FOR YOUR BAOFENG?

 

I happened upon a "Sale" today regarding a heavy-duty battery replacement for certain Baofeng HT's (like the BF-8HP).  I don't when it ends, but I decided to order one for my BF-8+ because...it was so cheap!

It is $16.89 on AMAZON, and there is a $5 coupon. If you click on the coupon before checking out, the cost is only $11.89 +tax (and in my case, being a Prime member, no shipping charge).


I've owned Baofeng HT's for at least 7 years or so. Every time I think about getting rid of it and buying an HT from the "Big 3" I force myself to remember that I really don't use HT's much at all, so I would truly be wasting money on something that had Fusion or D-star.

Just click (above) on Amazon for the link.

20M CONTESTS ARE "AFOOT"....














Popped into the shack briefly to check email when I heard activity on 20 meters. I took a few minutes to make a few contacts  calling for the "New England QSO Party".

The first contact was made by tuning the MLA by ear. Afterwards, I was surprised to find that due to being mistuned my output was really only a couple watts (vs. 15).

I decided to tune the antenna properly, then made one more quick contact before writing this post. AA1ON is really doing a sustained 57-59 as I'm typing!

Thank you Payton, and Martin, for the returned call.

 

 

 

A QUICK NOTE...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm working on my antenna "sojourn" blogpost which has quickly become plural, making them "blogposts".

 

When I started to write the article I realized that I should start at the beginning of my search for an indoor antenna, then work my way to the conclusion (my MLA). Hopefully I'll get PART ONE posted in the next week -

 

 

73,

 

Woody

 



 

Recently I've been acutely aware of certain descriptions and methods when selling HAM gear online. I'll start with the most glaring offense - TYPING IN ALL CAPS. Perhaps there is a good explanation as to why certain people list items for sale using lengthy "ALL CAP" text, but from a viewers perspective it's easy for your eyes to get fatigued to the point the ad has to be read several times just to get the specifics about the item, or even to find the price ($$$).

Like those trick images you find on the web that hold a hidden object, you have defocus your eyes to delve into the mysteries of that ad. I mentioned this to another Ham-friend of mine and we both agreed that it's easier to just skip an "ALL CAP" ad than spend more time than necessary in reading all of the block letters...

Another pet peeve of mine is how some items are described, for example:

"Gently used xxxxx"

 

"Gorgeous xxxx"

 

"Lovingly used xxxx"

 

(I wonder what XYL's have to say about those relationships?)

 

A borderline description might be "lightly used xxx". Not bad for a rig only a few years old, but many times applied to equipment that is 20-30 years of age. Lightly used or not, it is still ancient, and more than likely impossible to obtain parts for (read - Finals).

 

Other 'peeves' that I've pondered on would be -

 

"Pictures available on request", ???, put the photo(s) up to begin with, along with "I don't have a digital camera to take pictures", ???, use your cellphone, borrow a phone or camera from a friend or family member, and ditch that excuse.

 

Regarding the payment. "NO PAYPAL" is written in a good deal of advertisements. Jeez...YOU may love getting  a money order (or cash) in the mail, but it's a pain in the butt to get one and mail it out vs. just clicking "PAY NOW" in Paypal. The Paypal fee? Just include the 3.9% in the price, or add to the sale total.

 

Returns. Too many "This is a no return sale due to dishonest Hams", or "No returns due to parts swappers". If I believed that everyone who puts this in their ad had been rooked at least once, I'd only buy new. Just tell it like it is: 'I don't take items back for any reason'. No one likes to give refunds, but I'm not sure how many "dishonest, Part-swapping" Hams there are out there (or if they are always lurking in the background).

 

Finally, unless you are really set on buying the item, refrain from asking them a question via email! I've been curious a time or two and have had sellers "haunt" me with exuberant zeal either wanting to know if I'm going to buy it or, that it's still available for sale (weeks after the ad was placed). Exception being ads on QRZ, where all messages are posted within the advert.



NEW SUBJECT #1 - MLA

 

 

 

Living in a severely limiting HOA I've started to experiment with MLA's (Magnetic Loop Antennas). I must have watched nearly every YouTube video on them, as well as scoured many (MANY) websites devoted to the subject before dipping my toe in the magnetic waters, so to speak. I'm not ready to lend any opinions one way or the other yet because I'm still learning.  I'll try and devote an entire blog post about them in the future!

 

NEW SUBJECT #2 - Power Supplies

Not having a local Amateur radio store has it's complications, especially when you're in the market for these two items, power supplies and speakers. I used up too many hours/days while researching them. Time I won't get back. It was a grueling, mind-numbing experience and anyone who has recently purchased the same know what I'm talking about.

My Kenwood PS-30 power supply is over 35 years old and I figured it was time to get another power supply now, rather than wait until the Kenwood stopped spitting out DC. I went to eHam's website and read countless reviews, along with the pro's and con's of each supply. While I'm sure that switching power supplies have come a long way, I still had memories of injected noise and other nasties from switching supplies of years past, so I decided to go "old school" and look at the options I had with linear power supplies. I ended up getting Yaesu's FP-1030.

The 1030 does 25 amps continuous, and 30 amps peak. It is (as far as power supplies go) a nice looking addition to the shack, with its dual meters and various connections. The initial experience I had was with the 25a connections. The two studs (Red/Black) were threaded but I soon found out that the circular caps did not screw off completely, so, a crimped ring connector would not work. I tried several local stores (EPO and FRY's) but neither had an open forked connector for that particular size stud, or rated amperage. Online I found possibilities, but nothing that said "Buy me, I will fit".

Off to Home Depot and...'nada. Being stubborn, I went to Lowes and...they had exactly what I needed, as well, the aisles were arranged much-much better than the Depot's aisles. I found the forked spades within 5 minutes after walking thru the door.

The only other aspect of the power supply that needed attention were the two meters, which were not lit. I will remedy that very soon with a couple of inexpensive "grain-of-wheat" bulbs, the kind you might use for your model train or H.O. slot-car layout.

NEW SUBJECT #3 - Speakers

"external speakers also cost an arm and a leg"

How do you pick an external speaker for your rig if you can't hear what it will sound like? Read a bunch of reviews! The internal speaker of the Yaesu FT-991A really sucks. It has no range and can't handle too much audio without crackling. But, external speakers also cost an arm and a leg and I wasn't prepared to spend 1/4th of the cost of the rig on...an external speaker.

From the reviews, I got a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get (used), and what I wanted to avoid,  (i.e.- SP-10). 

What did I pick after all of that research? Nothing. I went into the garage and pulled my old Yaesu SP-901P (P=patch), which no one paid attention to at a recent ham fest, and plugged it in. I will purchase something newer sometime this year, but it will be used and at the right price.

SIDE NOTES

If you're into SOTA or POTA, (or maybe you are just a "prepper") I've discovered an excellent You Tube channel that you should check out!

It belongs to OH8STN , and he hosts a variety of topics including comparisons between one brand or another. I have gained a lot of knowledge from him, and perhaps you may too!

'Nuff Said,

Woody

 

FALL BELTON REPORT

10-04-2014

The weather was good - a weak front had just passed through leaving temperatures in the low 80's with low humidity. We had a couple tables way in the back corner [not too far from Houston Amateur Radio Supply], and the parking lot was packed. After unloading the truck I drove outside to find a spot to park, which turned out to be a good stretch from the entrance, but before parking Robin called me about the prices on a Transoceanic and some other items. By the time I got back inside they were sold.

And that's the way it went the whole time we were there; a few moments to collect our thoughts and then the next wave of buyers were upon us. No complaints, but there weren't a lot of potential buyers walking around unlike other years.

I can remember aisles packed so full people could hardly stop to take a look at an item, but I also remember those times weren't especially productive - many "Tire Kickers" and few buyers whereas this past weekend had less tire kickers and more buyers than in recent years.

I meant to go outside and see the "Friz" but I couldn't get away from our tables, nor did I see Val or Steve this year, although it could have been that we were too busy to look up and see who was 50 or 100ft. away from our area.

One thing I did notice was the Belton group only had one of the large front openings open, and all of the side doors were closed creating a stagnant trap of air without the benefit of the breeze from outside. I heard it was because they were trying to keep people from sneaking inside without paying, but it made for some discomfort amongst those of us stuck behind our tables.

If you were there, I hope you had a good time...

'Nuff Said,
Woody

THE TEXAS STATE OF HAM RADIO STORES

SHRINKING

In Texas, dedicated CB shops, for the most part are gone. It's not that popularity has dropped so much in the past few decades, but Truck stops have taken over a lot that territory AND Internet sales [thus avoiding sales tax].

HAM radio stores took a sharp hit several decades ago when Madison Electronics in downtown Houston went under. It was not only a store selling gear, but an informal meeting place for local area HAM radio operators. They had stuff packed from floor to ceiling, with many accessories left over from bygone eras.

That left Austin Amateur Radio, Texas Towers, as well as Houston Amateur Radio Supply. The "Grapevine" has been fluttering as of late with word that both Austin Amateur Radio and Texas Towers will close shortly, leaving Houston Amateur Radio in the North Houston/Spring area, and MTC in Paris Texas.

Or does it...?

[ed. - yeah, it kinda sounds like something you'd hear just before the commercial break on the latest murder mystery being shown on the news show "Dateline"]


"Instead of going to Houston Amateur Radio and getting the benefit of the owner's decades-long knowledge , experience, and advise only to buy it online the sale of the equipment will stay where you got all of that help and knowledge so they can continue to grow."

Moving into Texas Towers backyard is HRO [Ham Radio Outlet], the "Walmart" of Amateur radio with multi-store buying power, it will be curious to see how things play out. The Texas store is not listed yet on their website, but a visitor from that area stopped by Houston Amateur Radio recently and said that he thought it looked open, but HRO's official press release puts the opening around the first quarter of 2015.

The biggest impact of Amateur Radio operators here in Texas was the advantage of buying from HRO out-of-state and benefitting from no sales tax. This will be a benefit Hams will no longer have.

For large purchases this eliminates any tax free bliss, but it also gives the remaining Amateur Radio stores in Texas the ability to play on an even terms [ed. - yep, there are still other HAM radio stores where you can buy equipment tax free, but HRO, being one of the largest in the U.S. sucked a lot of $$$ from your local HAM radio store's income].

Instead of going to Houston Amateur Radio and checking out the latest gear, getting the benefit of the owner's decades-long knowledge, experience, and advice, only to leave and purchase it from HRO to save on sales tax, perhaps now the equipment purchase will stay where you got all of that help and knowledge so they can continue to grow.

Previously, if you were looking at a rig that sold for $1449, you would save about $120 in sales tax by purchasing it online from HRO, but now the field is level PLUS you'll get instant gratification by walking out of your local HAM radio store with your new rig under your arm rather than biting off your finger nails waiting for it to arrive.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HAM RADIO STORE

Houston Amateur Radio Supply is located at: 2558 E. FM1960, Houston Texas 77073 [not far from their old location on Cypresswood].

PHOTO: COURTESY HARS WEBSITE

'Nuff Said,
Woody

DO YOU LIVE IN A SUB-DIVISION WITH DEED RESTRICTIONS AGAINST ANTENNAS?

THEN START CALLING, EMAILING AND WRITING YOUR REP IN WASHINGTON!!

From the ARRL news [in part]:

A bill with bipartisan support has been introduced in the US House of Representatives that calls on the FCC to apply the “reasonable accommodation” three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions.

 “There is a strong federal interest in the effective performance of Amateur Radio stations established at the residences of licensees,” the bill states. “Such stations have been shown to be frequently and increasingly precluded by unreasonable private land-use restrictions, including restrictive covenants.”

Go to the ARRL website to read full story - then start making noise so this thing gets passed...

'Nuff Said,
Woody

TEXAS HAM FORFEITS LICENSE

FROM THE ARRL NEWS...

Texas Radio Amateur Gives Up License As Part of Enforcement Action Settlement

A Texas radio amateur has agreed to turn in his Amateur Extra class license as part of an agreement with the FCC to settle an enforcement action against him. The FCC earlier this year issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) to James R. Winstead, KD5OZY, of Coleman, Texas, after determining that Winstead “apparently willfully violated” FCC rules by interfering with Amateur Radio communications. The Commission had proposed a $7000 fine. The action was in response other radio amateurs’ complaints of intentional interference on 7.195 MHz.

“Mr Winstead has admitted that his actions violated the Commission’s rules and agreed to voluntarily relinquish his amateur license and make a $1000 voluntary contribution to resolve the [Enforcement] Bureau’s investigation,” the FCC said in an Order released April 22. The Order adopted a Consent Decree between the Enforcement Bureau and Winstead that spells out the details of the settlement.

According to the Consent Decree, Winstead will make his “voluntary contribution” to the US Treasury in 12 installments. He also agreed to relinquish his Amateur Radio license, prior to signing the Consent Decree. Such agreements between the FCC and violators have become more common recently in both Amateur Radio and non-Amateur Radio cases.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, gave kudos to the Enforcement Bureau “for bringing the matter to a prompt conclusion.”

Last January 21 an agent from the Commission’s Dallas Office used direction-finding techniques to positively identify the source of interfering transmissions as Winstead’s address. After monitoring the transmissions from the station for about a half-hour, the agent heard Winstead “replay multiple times short sentences or conversations that had just been transmitted, and occasionally speak the word ‘George.’” 

“Mr Winstead replayed recorded conversations so frequently that other licensees were unable to complete their conversations,” the NAL stated. The agent estimated that Winstead disrupted approximately 20 minutes of conversation over a 30 minute period by making up to 15 minutes of short transmissions. The agent subsequently inspected Winstead’s station, observing that his radio equipment was tuned to 7.195 MHz.

“During the inspection, Mr Winstead showed the agent how he recorded and retransmitted other amateur licensees’ communications,” the FCC said. “He also admitted that he intentionally interfered with amateur communications on 7.195 MHz and had an ongoing disagreement with another amateur licensee named George.”

The FCC said the evidence in the case was sufficient to establish that Winstead had violated Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 97.101(d) of the FCC Amateur Service rules.

As part of the Consent Decree, the Enforcement Bureau, “to avoid further expenditure of public resources,” agreed to terminate its investigation and not to use facts developed in its investigation to institute any new proceeding against Winstead “concerning the matters that were the subject of the investigation.”

Ed. - It never fails to amaze me how someone will climb the license ladder and make it up to an Extra class license, then allow the dumb-ass in themselves to prevail...

'Nuff Said,
Brian