Tuesday, January 6, 2015
HamCation 2015 Orlando
Its that time of year again. The Orlando HamCation is being held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on February 13, 14 and 15th.
What is it: It is one of the largest hamfests in the US. It is also the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention.
I went last year and and can not recommend it highly enough. If you can, you need to go. I am not sure you really need to go all 3 days but going all day Saturday is advisable.
If you have never been, it is a huge ham flea market. Several buildings full of new gear, several buildings full of tables of people selling used gear and acres (and I do mean acres) of people selling gear from their tailgates. If you need it, they have it here.
Last year it rained all day Friday and Saturday. Sort of killed the outdoor portion of the sales, but there was enough stuff for sale inside to cause my head to spin. You really need to go with a list of what you are looking for and what it would normally cost. There are some bargains, some not bargains, and some products that you have never seen before and will just have to have. Things that will give you ideas and need more research.
People are willing to bargain so come with cash and a full credit card. The normal ham dealers such as HRO and AES are there as well and manufacturers such as MFJ have booths and things to show and sell.
Information is at http://www.hamcation.com . Put it on your schedule. It is the largest Hamfest in the Southeast.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Baofeng Pofung BF-F8HP
A christmas present arrived a little early, but I did not get a chance to play with it until the break. I got a F8HP 8w VHF/UHF HT.
I have had the UV5R for a while and I have been very happy with it. Some people hate them but for $30 dollars the UV-5R has been the best little HT for the money. Seems to work as well as my Kenwood and I don't worry about loosing or breaking it. Well I saw that a newer version in the for form of the F8HP was out and it was christmas so I figured I would give it a try. I read the reviews and saw where there were some early software issues but then saw that they were mostly solved. The reviews looked good, even better than the UV-5R so I ordered it from Amazon.
I have been running it for the last three weeks and it has been great. The antenna that comes with it is much better than the older unit so you do not need to get a replacement antenna to begin with. All of the old accessories work with it so I was off and running.
I got it and programmed with the Chirp software (daily build) . Copied the normal repeaters out of the old Baofeng and dropped them into the new Baofeng and was on the air.
What I have noticed so far:
Receive - Receive is better, MUCH MUCH better. I swapped antennas and in all cases the
F8HP is more sensitive than the UV-5R
Transmit - Cant tell if there is any difference at least with the repeaters in Tallahassee.
It works with full quieting, but that was the same on the UV5R. 5 vs 8 watts, can't
tell the difference so I leave it on medium power.
It actually came with a decent manual, but you could download a decent manual for the UV5R
So I guess the main question is it worth the difference in price. I paid $30.00 for the UV5R + a little for the better antenna, Lets call it $40.00. I paid $63.00 for the F8HP.
So is it worth $20.00 extra. If I was starting out, I would say yes.
Would I replace the UV5R if I was happy with it, No. If you want the latest and greatest and want a new toy, (like me) I would go for it.
I have had the UV5R for a while and I have been very happy with it. Some people hate them but for $30 dollars the UV-5R has been the best little HT for the money. Seems to work as well as my Kenwood and I don't worry about loosing or breaking it. Well I saw that a newer version in the for form of the F8HP was out and it was christmas so I figured I would give it a try. I read the reviews and saw where there were some early software issues but then saw that they were mostly solved. The reviews looked good, even better than the UV-5R so I ordered it from Amazon.
I have been running it for the last three weeks and it has been great. The antenna that comes with it is much better than the older unit so you do not need to get a replacement antenna to begin with. All of the old accessories work with it so I was off and running.
I got it and programmed with the Chirp software (daily build) . Copied the normal repeaters out of the old Baofeng and dropped them into the new Baofeng and was on the air.
What I have noticed so far:
Receive - Receive is better, MUCH MUCH better. I swapped antennas and in all cases the
F8HP is more sensitive than the UV-5R
Transmit - Cant tell if there is any difference at least with the repeaters in Tallahassee.
It works with full quieting, but that was the same on the UV5R. 5 vs 8 watts, can't
tell the difference so I leave it on medium power.
It actually came with a decent manual, but you could download a decent manual for the UV5R
So I guess the main question is it worth the difference in price. I paid $30.00 for the UV5R + a little for the better antenna, Lets call it $40.00. I paid $63.00 for the F8HP.
So is it worth $20.00 extra. If I was starting out, I would say yes.
Would I replace the UV5R if I was happy with it, No. If you want the latest and greatest and want a new toy, (like me) I would go for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)