[Kenwood] Yes! - Kenwood SM-220 Station Monitor is a great way to

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

W4KWD pointed out to me that I must have seen the 230 at AES.  I'll buy that
as I'm sure they wouldn't charge $850 for something that normally goes for
$300.  I'm not at all familiar with these things as I have always considered
them pretty exotic.  Sorry for the mixup.  Seems to me that there ought to
be a way to get a PC to do what the 220/230 does.

rob/k5uj



----- Original Message -----
From: "peter markavage" <manualman at juno.com>
To: <kenwood at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2005 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Kenwood] Yes! - Kenwood SM-220 Station Monitor is a great way
to


> SM-220 no longer manufactured. Average price in great condition should be
> around $250 to $275. Maybe $50 to $75 more if the BS-5 or 8 is installed.
> As a station accessory to monitor your transmit signal, it's a nice
> accessory. As a band scope/spectrum scope, it's only fair; maybe cute is
> a good word to describe it.  Not highly accurate and limited in its
> ability. Kenwood, SM-230, also discontinued, is also a good replacement
> for the SM-220, if you can find one. Better band scope/spectrum scope,
> but again limited in its ability. Both are great conversation pieces.
> Great spectrum analyzers can be found on the used market but usually are
> pricey but much more accurate and versatile.
>
> Anyone paying $850 to $900 for a SM-220 probably needs some counseling.
> External circuitry to emulate the BS-5/8 functions to interface with an
> external scope is possible, if one is willing to spend the time effort to
> design the interface.
>
> Pete, wa2cwa
>
> On Sun Mar 13 14:19:44 2005 k5uj at mc.net writes:
> >
> > I'm sure the kenwood station scope accessory is nice to have, but is
> > it still being made?  if so, what does it cost?
> > I saw a used one for sale last summer at AES Milwaukee and I think
> > they wanted around $850 or $900 for it.  For a nonessential station
> > accessory, that seems like a hell of a lot of money for what seems
> > to me to be a specialized oscilloscope.  If it were generic enough
> > to work with a wide variety of rigs I'd think differently about it.
> > what would be needed in the way of external circuitry to get a scope
> > to do what a sm220 does?
> >
> > rob/k5uj, cheap ham.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: wd8arz at ix.netcom.com
> > To: k5uj at mc.net
> > Sent: Mar 12, 2005  8:37 PM
> > Subject: [Kenwood] Yes! - Kenwood SM-220 Station Monitor is a great
> > way to
> >
> > Conrad, once you use a SM-220 with the Panadapter installed, you are
> > in for
> > a new enjoyable way of linking up to the 'ether'. Not even covering
> > the
> > other aspects of the SM-220 scope, but focusing on panadapter
> > spectrum view
> > only, makes the ownership of this grand piece of equipment a
> > fortunate
> > experience. Keep in mind that the IF connection point in the first
> > IF must
> > be wide and not limited by a front end roofing filter, or the
> > panadapter
> > feature is useless.
> >
> > For those that can integrate what they see on the display, tune on
> > their
> > radio, and hear with their ears, the world of exploring radio gets
> > changed
> > forever. It is difficult to do with out this added dimension to our
> >
> > enjoyable hobby that explores what is out there, once you have
> > opened the
> > door and stepped through it with this visual add on. It becomes
> > special to
> > find that elusive special signal, to feel connected to world that we
> > explore
> > with our minds through our senses, not just hearing, but also now
> > with our
> > eyes.
> >
> > Adding this visual mode to the tuning listening experience, is a
> > added
> > dimension that gives much more to the exploration of the radio
> > spectrum. It
> > can help absorb you into 'being out there' from your arm chair. How?
> > Simply
> > by expanding the bandwidth of the information that is going on
> > around the
> > area you are tuning, you will find much that is going on that is
> > simply not
> > detectable from the narrow slice of the spectrum you tune through.
> >
> > Much of the utility stations, military broadcasts, and even laid
> > back
> > conversations with lots of pauses, are easily tuned through with
> > even
> > knowing the frequency is active. However with the spectrum display,
> > you see
> > signals pop up above and below the slice you are on, or tuning
> > through. You
> > instantly know which way to tune, and how far, to catch those
> > elusive
> > signals. Even if they are quiet when you tune to that general spot,
> > you now
> > are on a quest and will get them on a future transmission. By having
> > the
> > graticule in place, you can actually adjust the span of the display
> > to allow
> > calibration of the marks to represent frequency units. By noting
> > where the
> > signal was that popped up, you can actually add or subtract that
> > amount to
> > your display, and tune so close to the actual frequency, that you
> > only have
> > to do a fine tune on the next transmission to captured that signal.
> >
> > The finding of active transmissions improved significantly with this
> > visual
> > aid. It is a must have for tuning the shortwave spectrum with the
> > multitude
> > of signals and modes to discover.
> >
> > With practice, you will recognize the mode type of a signal, you
> > will see
> > sweepers moving up and down the band. You can actually see where the
> > tuner
> > upper moving around the dial found a spot to roost and is calling
> > cq.
> >
> > On wide mode, you can see the condition of the band. By seeing how
> > much
> > energy is above the base line for the whole spectrum, it provides a
> > good
> > indication of propagation condition. You can see how tight an
> > antenna is by
> > the decreasing signal strength around the listening sweet spot. Of
> > course
> > you can see how wide a signal is, and if it is related to the
> > splatter your
> > hearing ........ gosh, once you get absorbed into the panadapter
> > display
> > experience, it becomes so natural to relate what you see to what you
> > hear,
> > or will hear by tuning with the added information you now have about
> > what is
> > going on around the frequency of interest. Your situational
> > awareness goes
> > way way up!!! ... and with that, your enjoyment of a great hobby.
> >
> > For the ham bands, it is a god send to see where the open spots are
> > for a
> > qsy, to look for transmissions of interesting to discover, to see
> > those
> > sudden meteor scatter signals pop on, and then fade out ..... I
> > could go on
> > and on.
> >
> > The experience that is had with a spectrum scope is only limited by
> > the user
> >
> >
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