Jonhny, 

Hi Gary!

Great, thanks so much for the great background and information!

REALLY appreciate it.


Johnny  :)

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 12:28 PM, Johnny wrote:

What would be a good group recommendation for discussion and loggings related to those radios that would not be considered Ultralight?

Thanks for the tip, I don't want to post non-ultralight information here of course.

Johnny

Johnny,

Any loggings or information concerning non-Ultralight live DXing portables is welcome on this site. I am the Owner/ Moderator of the group, so I should know :-)

My recent 2021 Ultralight Radio Shootout article included 7 pages on the non-Ultralight XHDATA D-808 model, and I have used that model (as well as the CC Skywave) during all my ocean cliff DXpeditions for the past two years. Do I lose any sleep because the model isn't an "official" Ultralight? No.

"Official" Ultralight status is relevant only to the Awards and DXing Records programs, both of which have been in limo for years because of a lack of volunteers. Use whatever portable you feel comfortable with, and enjoy live DXing (and life) any way you wish.

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

 

Hi all,

What would be a good group recommendation for discussion and loggings related to those radios that would not be considered Ultralight?

Thanks for the tip, I don't want to post non-ultralight information here of course.


Johnny

Hi AF7KR (vbifyz) and group,

I just bought the Koss Titanium headphones mentioned and REALLY like them!

Lightweight and good sound with a good price point.

Thanks!


Johnny

The following files have been uploaded to the Files area of the main@UltralightDX.groups.io group.

• /2 General Information/Guide to Airband Listening With UltraLight Radios_May2021.pdf

By: Paul Blundell <tanger32au@...>

The following files have been uploaded to the Files area of the main@UltralightDX.groups.io group.

• /2 General Information/Tasmanian_Airband_Frequencies_May2021.pdf

By: Paul Blundell <tanger32au@...>

Description:
Tasmanian Airband Frequencies - May 2021

On Sat, May 15, 2021 at 05:33 AM, n2_ss wrote:

Gary, did you ever give any thought to going to a small custom fab shop and getting a quote on a small quantity build of your small design FSL? These kinds of shops specialize in small run custom production. I suspect you would have no problem selling them!

Tony

Thanks Tony,

Your suggestion is appreciated, but construction of an FSL requires a lot of diverse skills like PVC pipe gluing, Litz wire coil wrapping and high wattage soldering, not to mention the superglue-stabilized ferrite assemblies and waterproofed variable cap. The supply chain for the components is also pretty convoluted, including Russian surplus ferrite rods from the Ukraine, Litz wire from China and the variable cap from the USA. The tricky supply chain, painstaking construction and high cost components have probably all contributed to the rarity and high demand for the antennas.

Gary

Hola Jorge,
The PL-398MP and PL-398BT, along with the older PL-390 are identical electronically. The closest to a single speaker version is probably the PL-310.


Peter

Best distance for an ultralight at my present location.
Obviously better on the Tecsun PL-398MP.
Both radios used "barefoot" (just their internal ferrite rods).
https://youtu.be/xUFfkRuliVo
The online distance calculator was wrong thanks to Noel for alerting me. 10960km is correct
Peter
Botswana

Yes, that's the way Phillips! 

The PL-398MP is much better on FM than the XHDATA-D808.
The D-808 wasn't able to pass this test when using a vertical FM dipole.
https://youtu.be/OPZI5_PsH-Q

FM stations 100kHz apart can be separated. 96.2 Gabz FM Gaborone/ Gabane Botswana 69km 96.3 OFM Schweizer-Reneke South Africa 209km

Peter

Hola Jorge,
There is an antenna socket on the left-hand side of the D-808 which works on SW and FM.
There is some evidence of overload using a yagi on FM. I'd imagine the overload will be worse in Spain.
An outdoor FM dipole might be a better choice.

The D-808 has poor selectivity on FM when compared to Tecsun DSP portables. The D-808 also has several birdies on FM.
RDS on the D-808 only works on strong signals. The audio in my video was good but no RDS was decoded.

Peter

Hi Peter, 

I use the Sony MDR Wrap Around Yellow Sports Headphone family. Great sound and sensitivity.    Sony MDR-W07 Yellow Sport Headphones  Sony MDR-W14 Yellow Sports Headphones. Sony MDR-W07 Yellow Sport Headphones   73 de jordan ve7jjd jjdobrikin@... Sony MDR-W07 Yellow Sport Headphones   Sony MDR-W10  Yellow Sport Headphones    Sony MDR-W15 Yellow Sports Headphones. I also used the C.Crane for their "Designed and Built for Voice Clarity" also found it was q pretty good music (Classical/Opera) as well

 

On Wed, May 12, 2021 at 07:46 AM, Peter Laws wrote:

If you are ever looking for a test site in, say, the southern plains
... near a man-made lake ... in a state park ... let's just say "I
know a guy" that would be willing to host your test antenna. :-D

Thanks Peter,

After Paul Walker's DX-ploits in Alaska the demand for compact FSL's has gone off the charts, but I appreciate your interest, and will put you on the waiting list.

73, Gary