[ICOM] New shipment of IC-746Pro's at AES

Wed Nov 10 13:59:40 EST 2010

Gary,
Very cool!  

I spent an hour or so today playing with my IC-746PRO on HF and really had a
nice time.  I also have opened mine up so that I can use it to listen to low
band and also to drive my 222 MHz transverter at 30 MHz, which keep down the
cross-talk with the 28/432 MHz transverter setup.  I was looking for good
ways to set it up to use with the transverters.  It is really hard to judge
the difference between the 144 MHz transverter with the IC-746PRO and the
IC-746PRO itself on 144 MHz.  I wonder if anyone has tried that experiment? 

I have been playing with D-Star lately as well!  I have an IC-80AD and the
GPS mike.  Works very well!  I also have an IC-91AD in the shack.
Currently, I have a D-Star Hotspot using an NI2O board and an Alinco DR-135.
Soon, I'll be receiving a second board and will set them both up somewhere
else, but on 2M to make it somewhat like a split-site repeater.  Currently,
it is connected to Reflector 20A and I expect that it will remain so once
the second system goes in.  If I could find a 2m duplexer I would make it
into a full blown one site D-Star repeater, and then use the second hotspot
board as a mobile access point with a cell modem as my uplink from the
computer and router.

One thing that I'm considering it to make the IC-80AD and GPS mike my
personal walk-around rig for D-STAR and to install the IC-91AD in the truck
with an external GPS.  By using its speaker/microphone, the heat should not
be an issue.

In any case, the HTs around here are Kenwood TH-F6As, a couple of TYT's, and
some old IC-2A/T rigs which I use as fox hunt foxes.  FM mobiles are pretty
much a mix of ICOM 2100/2200/207s and Alinco DR-135/235/435s.  Some are
mobile, others fixed and some in go kits.

My wife is patient and I am blessed in that respect, but there are times
when she just gives me a deadline to move things out of the way and I get it
done in order to not be a total nerd about gear!  She has an IC-2100 station
at her desk in the corner of the kitchen/dining room and often checks into
nets from there.   

Thanks & 73,

Gordon Beattie, W2TTT

201.314.6964

-----Original Message-----
From: icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On
Behalf Of Gary P. Fiber
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 4:44 PM
To: ICOM Reflector
Subject: Re: [ICOM] New shipment of IC-746Pro's at AES

I did enjoy reading about what your doing Gordon both messages :-)

I don't have quite so much. Most of my time is spent letting the magic 
blue smoke out of projects I build ;-) And picking up the hot end of the 
soldering iron, hate it when I do that.:-D
I put together a PC Board CNC machine using a Gecko 540 controller and 
EMC2 running under Ubuntu. Sort of fun to sit there with a diet soft 
drink and watch the thing move about chewing its way through copper clad 
circuit board and it even will drill the component holes. Beat the heck 
out of the dremel tool drill press.

I have to decide what I am going to do with the IC-T22A, T-42A,  Alinco 
DJ-280 with 200 memory channel and My IC-718 are all are not being used 
right now. May list them here later in a couple of weeks. Need to check 
them out again and make sure they are clean.

With my Dayton earnings I picked up a 92AD with GPS mic, still need to 
fully program it for D-Star locally.
I also have a Kenwood TH F6 for 220 MHz mostly, though due to its size 
and being 3 bands it's handy. <- Don't tell Pat from Icom, she'll 
clobber me ;-)
I am smart enough not to take the TH-F6 with me to Dayton. I'll take the 
92AD this year if I am lucky enough to be asked to go. They have to take 
me I have a now call sign hat, much cleaner than the one I wore last year.

In the mobile I have an IC-208H, soon an IC-7000 with a Better RF 
antenna controller attached to a HS1800/Pro replacing the 706MKII and 
AM-COM controller. Alinco DR-235 220 MHz, Kenwood commercial moved to 
amateur 900MHz rig, a 1.2 GHz that travels back and forth from the 
mobile to the apartment.
Also installing APRS using a Argent Data Tracker 2, thinking of using an 
IC-H8 for it, need to build a DC supply in a battery case though or I 
have a Yaesu FT-2600 I bought on closeout several years ago for $108.00 
that would work too. Need to find some sort of display for the Argent, 
you can add a LCD, I found an old Panasonic Toughbook CF-27. Been trying 
to get Linux to install in it. Not to much luck but have not played with 
it in a couple of months. Might run Xastir mobile if I can get it to run 
in 128 Megs of ram.

Dang truck looks like it has quills, oh yea have a M2 HO Loop for 2 
meter SSB and now will get a UHF HO Loop for UHF SSB.

I am building up a small portable box for hill topping and portable 
operation. Might use the " retired" IC706MKII for it. I have a PAC-12 
antenna and will be picking up a MFJ-259B this week. Also ordered a 
VK5JST analyzer from Australia, its a kit and was shipped yesterday.
I live in a small apartment and one wall is an electronics bench in the 
living room. Since I am not married I can get away with that.
Have a couple pieces of test gear to build, M3 LCR meter, KA7EXM PIC 
Watt Meter Time to get the soldering station hot and try not to burn my 
fingers.

*OK BACK to Icom before Dick gets after me...

How many here have felt it necessary to send off their IC-7000 mic to 
have the chap modify it? OR found that merely adjusting the settings of 
the IC-7000 were sufficient. *

-- 
Gary P. Fiber K8IZ

General Radio Telephone Operators License PG-19-6691,
with Shipboard Radar Endorsement.
Washington State Resident.

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