[GreenKeys] ST-8000A Price War Continues on eBay!

Wed Jan 28 12:35:35 EST 2009

Dino,

Thanks for the heads-up on this unit.  Especially timely for me since 
I already have one of these units in my possession from the same 
source as yours, hi.  Yes, I saw that they could be had cheaper but 
with out mating connectors.  Knowing the cost difficulty of find 
circular mil connectors like this out in the real world, it was an 
easy decision pay the extra to get a NOS unit with the correct 
mates.  It saves kludging up the unit.  I'd say your dongle idea is 
the way to go.

What does V1.9 firmware provide over the existing version?

Scanning through the manual section on Remote Control, it seems that 
unless some fancy handshake were required etc, a simple comm program 
similar to "Hyper Terminal" or "Procomm" would work.  A simple comm 
prog would not provide any kind of tailor made graphical interface 
but it seems like it should talk to the unit.  Please let me know if 
I'm missing something here.

I don't have a receiver to use with the ST-8000A yet (R-390A rx is 
still a work-in-progress) but it was comforting to see Built-In-Test 
on the unit pass 100% after unpacking it from all of it's anti-jungle 
rot packaging!

Regards to all,
Jon Schlegel - WA3MVM

At 09:57 AM 1/28/2009 -0500, Dino Papas wrote:
>Disclaimer -- I have NO connection with any of the sellers, however
>the seller referenced  in the item identified below is the one I
>bought my unit for (for more $$, nuts should have waited!).  But
>since several guys have purchased these units recently I thought
>others might be interested as well.  For me I just couldn't pass one
>up at the price they're going for (love those flashing lights!)
>
>That said, the price war continues....just noticed that one seller
>has the NOS, still in the Mavel Seal, units now offered for $249.99
>plus $1.99 shipping.  The item number is 130284268961.
>
>The good news about these units is that they are in fact NOS, have
>the manual ($50 from Hal) and the complete set of Bendix circular
>connectors required to interface to the rear panel (expensive!).
>
>Now the bad news....anyone purchasing one should know that they
>really aren't as suitable for ham use as their predecessor the
>ST-8000 which has become rare as hen's teeth on eBay these days.
>  From a previous note I sent to the group here's what you should
>consider to be a informed buyer:
>
>-----------------------
>
>(1) Already owning two ST-8000's I'd say that the older 8000's are in
>several ways more versatile in the ham shack.  The 8000A lacks the
>tuning CRT that is an integral part of the 8000....the LEDs that
>display the strength of the Mark and Space tones are harder to use
>with any accuracy.  To use the 8000A here I've connected it to my
>Kenwood SM-220 scope used in the RTTY configuration to give you the
>crossed ellipses for tuning.
>
>(2) The 8000A doesn't have the front-panel memories switch accessible
>(the 8000 has eight); the 8000A and in some ways is really more
>suited to use with a computer terminal to do parameter controlling
>via the remote connection.  If you're only going to do 45 Baud 170Hz
>shift then that's really not a big deal.  Don't get me wrong, the
>front panel is very versatile however.
>
>(3) On the plus side, the 8000A doesn't use the NVRAM Dallas 1220Y
>chip to maintain the memories parameter settings.  These chips have
>an internal lithium battery that lasts about 10 years and the 8000's
>are now well past that age.  If anyone is in need of replacing that
>chip in their 8000 contact me directly for more info.
>
>(4) If you still want to get one of these units (I just couldn't
>resist, especially for the prices they're going for -- Hal still
>sells them for >$5K!!!) make sure you get one of the NOS (new old
>stock) units.  These come in the original sealed packaging along with
>the full set of Bendix circular connectors that are needed to make up
>all your hook ups to the back panel.  I used the connectors to create
>a set of "dongles" that then attach to more common connectors.  It
>also comes with a copy of the manual which you really need and will
>cost you $50 from Hal.  I'd strongly recommend you only buy one in
>this condition.  Just to get the connectors and manual separately are
>probably going to cost you quite a bit.....this is the biggest
>consideration in my opinion.....note you'll see several units
>advertised that are obviously from DRMO surplus sales; one seller
>notes that his comes with a "rare connector" which simply looks like
>the power cord.  Caveat Emptor on those.
>
>(5) These original units probably come with an older firmware chip
>that you may want to consider updating - the latest firmware V1.9 is
>also available from Hal for $50.
>
>(6) If you're going to use the 8000A (or the 8000 for that matter) in
>a standalone configuration you will need the software to control it.
>No software comes with any of the units.  The good news is that Hal
>still sells the "DSRTTY-Win" program ($100 is a little steep but it's
>the only game in town) available which does a pretty good job.  There
>is also an older DSRTTY program available for DOS for those who need
>real legacy software.  Bertrand's note just popped up as I've been
>typing this so checking out his TTYterm program may be worth taking a
>look at.
>
>(7) An alternative application is to use the 8000/8000A as a "front-
>end" for a old TNC.  I use my 8000 in front of a PK-232 in a receive
>only application.  In that way you get the benefits of the 8000's
>filtering and the ability to use your software to control the TNC and
>you retain the ability to use other modes like PACTOR.
>
>ST-8000's have become pretty rare on eBay and the current "pricing
>war" among several sellers makes the ST-8000A almost too good to pass
>up (more toys to play with in the shack!).
>
>Mark Prather WB9HFK (mprather at halcomm.com) at Hal Communications is a
>good POC to work with if you have technical questions, hardware
>needs, etc.  Joe Witmer K9SZ (jwittmer at halcomm.com) is their software
>guru and was also very helpful to me as I was getting my unit up and
>running.
>
>Hope this helps....let me know if I can answer any other questions on
>my experience.
>
>-----------------
>
>For those interested, the way I understand why there is an abundance
>of these things around is that the government bought a bunch of them,
>put about half into service and then stored the rest.  They are still
>in use but many of the used units have made their way into the DRMO
>channels and are the ones you'll see on eBay without cables, manuals,
>have the yellow DRMO sticker attached etc.  The new ones that were
>stored were sold off at auction and are now being sold as
>well....again, my recommendation, especially at these prices!
>
>73 -- Dino KL0S
>
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