[FADCA] 9k6 radios

[Dale Coleman]

At 10:39 AM 10/17/02, you wrote:
>After looking at some of the material Russ sent me, I started
>looking at the fine print (some like Alinco and Kenwood make
>more to do about it) I see that Alinco, Kenwood and Yaesue are
>making radios that have a connector on the back which is supposed
>to handle 9k6 packet data.
>
>The prices on some of these radios are not that high, and if
>you consider the cost to get and modify radios (unless you have
>a lot of time on your hands) some of these boxes are becoming
>quite attractive price wise in order to get those 9k6 paths that
>we need.
>
>Alinco is pushing their digital voice system which does CVSD
>voice at a 14k data rate, I wonder just how much modification
>is needed to that radio to do 19k2, perhaps just a filter change,
>and it is on 19k2.
>
>If anyone has purchased these radios and are using them on packet
>I sure would like to know how they are working out. Perhaps it is
>time to start looking at these as a solution to our backbone link
>needs, if they will do the job with a minimal amount of work.
>
>If we can get two radios together to test at 9k6 that would be
>even better, then we would know first hand how well they work.

Hi Chuck and the group, I have two Yaesu rigs that I have used on packet. I 
have used the FT-8100R on both 1200 and 9600 (receive only) and it worked 
very well. The FT-8100 is a dual band VHF and UHF rig. One of the things I 
did not like about the FT-8100 is each time the PTT is keyed the fan comes 
on for a minute or so, somewhat annoying.

If you can get by with using only 2 meters the Yaesu FT-1500M might be 
worth looking at. It is a very simple and easy to hook up rig that really 
works very well and the price is very low. This rig also uses a interesting 
case that serves as a heat sink. It runs cool when used at low power and is 
completely silent.

The Yaesu rigs use a min din connector on the back for packet and this may 
be the best reason for using them. The connector is the same as a PS2 mouse 
and the cable can be found at most computer stores. The hookup using this 
connector and cable is very easy. You can change the speaker volume and 
leave the mic attached without affecting the packet operations, a big plus 
for a part time user.

I have a 9600 tnc but just never got around to getting the deviation set 
for 9600 - that's why I only used the FT-8100 on receive.

I hope this helps,

Dale