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Re: Possible Contenders for the Ultralight Radio Summertim...
Hello Carl,
Although I am not a member of the Ultralight
Definitions Committee, their definition guidelines for Ultralight radios affect
all of the activities of the Ultralight enthusiast group, including the upcoming
2008 Summertime Shootout.
You are correct in that radios with built-in mp3
players, cassette recorders or other peripheral devices are not currently being
considered as qualified Ultralight radios, as defined by the Committee. As
such, the contenders in the Summertime Shootout will not include such "combo
units."
However, externally connected audio recorders
are perfectly acceptable for any Ultralight radio, as well as externally
connected speakers, batteries, antennas, etc. Such external attachments
may place the radio in a "modified" (non-stock) status for competitive purposes,
but will not affect the qualification status of
the attached Ultralight radio.
Thank you for your question, and for your interest
in the upcoming Summertime Shootout.
73, Gary
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Re: Possible Contenders for the Ultralight Radio Summertime Shootout
Hello Dave,
Thank you for your suggestions of the GE #7-1637A
radio, and the Sony WM-FS493 radio-cassette combo unit, for the Ultralight
Summertime Shootout.
As you may be aware, the rules for shootout
"contenders" are very close to the rules set by the Ultralight Classifications
Committee for Sprint contests, and for competition for John Bryant's List
of Firsts and Records. Basically, this means that possible contenders must
qualify as an Ultralight radio (as defined by the Definitions Committee), and
must be generally available for purchase (as new units) by interested AM-DX
hobbyists.
In some instances, such as the E100 and SRF-39FP
units, there is a constant possibility that approved but discontinued units may
no longer be available for purchase, but once the model is approved by the
Committee, the model's qualification will almost certainly be
"grandfathered" by the Committee, for future qualification.
Otherwise, the Firsts and Records List would need to be altered each time an
approved unit was unavailable for NOS purchase on eBay.
As you may be aware, the Classifications Committee
has issued a general guideline that radios in combination with peripheral
devices (cassette recorders, cameras, mp3 players, etc.) are not currently being
considered as qualified for Ultralight Radio designation. This guideline
is also being observed for qualification as an Ultralight Radio shootout
contender. Radios that follow the definitions guidelines set by the
Committee AND available for new or NOS purchase by AM-DX hobbyists will be
considered for the Summertime Shooutout, although if the units are not generally
available from eBay or other common sources, they may fail to
qualify. As such, your suggestion of the GE #7-1637A model will be
accepted if the radio can be purchased from eBay (or other common sources) as an
NOS unit. The reason for this requirement is so that interested hobbyists
can easily order any shootout contender they desire, rather than
face the frustration of tracking down a rare discontinued unit.
73, Gary DeBock
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Re: E100 Notes + Stuff
C B
--- On Mon, 6/23/08, John H. Bryant wrote: From: John H. Bryant
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Re: E100 Notes + Stuff
John H. Bryant <bjohnorcas@...>
I finally googled the stormwise site, Guy.... very impressive. I can't wait until you have your big bar onna E100 and compare it to about the same length Amidon half-inch dia. bar of about the same length with Gary. As I understand the theory (and I'm not sure that I do) The 1" stormwise ought to be twice as sensitive to 4 times as sensitive per inch of length.... were the ferrite mix the same. REALLY going to be interesting to compare them. I was impressed with several things on the Stormwise site, but especially his prices for big ferrite bars. http://www.stormwise.com/ Please refresh my memory: do I need to take an inductance reading of the STOCK loopstick on the E100 while it's in the "peaked on 600 kHz" position? I take it that this value is what I shoot for with the new Litz wire coil on the big ferrite rod. That is what Gary and I did. We peaked it up at 600 kHz. and then measured the inductance (mine was 250.3. His was somewhat higher.) We then created coils that matched that inductance. I positioned my test coil halfway between the center and the end of the bar as I took off turns to hit 250. The nearer the end of the bar, the lower the inductance and resonant frequency... nearer the center, the higher the inductance and resonant frequency. Also, John & Gary, what is the linear distance on the ferrite rod between the peaked at 530 kHz and peaked at 1700 kHz? Are we talking fractions of an inch between the two sweet spots? Surprised me with the distance needed to travel. My sweet spot at the low end o the dial is about 90 percen of the way to the end. The high end sweet spot is nearly in the center... That is with the .5" x 7.3" Amidon bar. The fatter bar ought to change inductance of the coil more quickly ????
Yes, I was surprised, too. I'm going to have to try to align that thing and try again, only A/Bing with the E100+Amidon 7.3" They should have ben more competitive. I don't want to give up on the E10. Given the quality of the E1 and the E100 on MW, I just can't believe that the E10 issa turkey.
John B.
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E100 Notes + Stuff
John H. Bryant <bjohnorcas@...>
Gary, Guy and I continue to work on hotrodding out individual E100s in
various ways. In conjunction with that effort, I had an informal shootout
this afternoon amongst all of my Ultralights that don't rely on
exterior wire antennas. I also threw the Eton E10, the big brother of the
E100 into the mix. I started out with a totally Barefoot E100 as
base receiver. It had been aligned but that is all. It was fairly
sensitive on MW, top and bottom and did not overload in the RF cesspool
on far suburban Vancouver, BC, where I live.
I was using a homebrew audio switching device that allows me to compare the audio from two receivers, one in each ear, or have the audio from one of the two receivers in both phones. I first compared the stock E100 to an aligned barefoot SRF-39FP. The SRF-39 was a bit more sensitive at both the top and bottom of the band. '39 also seemed to be slightly more selective, though that was harder to discern. Of course, the E100 was ever so much easier to operate, etc. I then compared the SRF-39 to a DT-200VX with an upgraded filter. The SRF-39 held its own in sensitivity, but GUy's new filter in the DT-200VX gave it the nod. From there, I went to the newer (to me) radios and also used my 1" x 12" Booster Bar with the T615 stock and my DT-200vx. The three newer radios were the barefoot E10, an SRF-39FP with an Amidon .5" x 7.3" ferrite bar and new coils out of 40/44 Litz wire, and an E100 with a similar Amidon bar and new coil, but this time, with the coil able to slide on the bar to "align" the radio on each station for optimum performance.... a new strategy that Gary sort of discovered and I adopted even before he got his built :>) The notes: E10: The E10 is far too large to be an Ultralight, but I was hoping it might be competitive enough with the E1 that I could consider taking it overseas instead of the E1 in future travels... It is about 4 times the size of the E100 but only 1/8th the size of the monster E1. Frankly, on MW, the E10 is a piece of trash as a DX radio.... at least in this RF-heavy environment. Its selectivity was pretty awful, actually very noticeably worse than the E100!!! And it was fairly insensitive, too boot. I was very disappointed. This was a unit which has not been hand aligned and maybe that will improve sensitivity, at least some. It should be amenable to inserting the wonderful narrow filter from the E1 and that may (should?) improve the selectivity quite a bit. I'm glad that I bought the radio (at close-out prices), so that I have one example of each of the Eton Elite original series (E1, E10, E100) but mine sure was awful in today's test. SRF-39FP: This unit was fabricated by Gary and is a very hot performer with its new Amidon ferrite bar and new larger diameter coils. It was the second most successful set of the afternoon. There was no noticeable overloading, but tuning required safecracker hands and it also placed second in selectivity to the E100. One of the more telling tests was hearing KPOJ-620 in Portland, which puts in a fairly weak daytime signal here that is nearly swamped by the CKBD-600 Flamethrower here in Vancouver and KCIS, Edmonds, WA a 5KW station about 50 miles of mostly seawater to my south. With the most careful of tuning I could hear KPOJ audio in one spot with the hotrodded SRF-39FP.. The level was enough for language recognition, but following the program was impossible. E100: The E100 with a 7.3" Amidon bar and the coil arranged so that it could slide was noticeably more selective and sensitive than the SRF-39FP. The differences were significant and somewhat unexpected (see the barefoot comparison above.) The sliding arrangement increases the sensitivity throughout the band, so I expected that the peaked-up E100 might be the same or better than the '39 at the upper 2/3 of the band. However, I did not expect the E100 to be better than the '39 down low around 600 kHz. Afterall, the '39 was low band aligned at 600kHz and should be peaked up there. Instead, the E100 was head and shoulders above the '39 in the KPOJ-620 test. The KPOJ program on the 100 was easy to follow... a little scratchy and with a few vestiges of splatter, but ever so much better than on the '39. Even though I don't think that the slider coil had anything to do with that reception, over all, it sure made the little E100 into a DX Animal! My tests were not nearly as formal as Gary's Official Shoot-outs and the findings may well vary somewhat (tho' my money is literally on the E100... I just bought another this evening, making a total of FIVE E100s here.) I'm really glad that Gary is going to do a Summer Shoot-Out. Enough things have changed since the last one (especially the E100, IMHO) that his services are badly needed before the Fall. Oh, I forgot to mention the tests with my 12" Booster Bar. I put a Barefoot E100 on the booster bar and it was no where near as sensitive as the Amidon-equipped one discussed above. Also, the T615 was not a success in this RF-rich environment when used with the Booster Bar. It overloaded some and just generally misbehaved. I'm unsure whether my Booster Bar is just a poor one or whether none of them can compete with a new Ferrite bar by Amidon, transplanted right into the receiver circuitry. I've more comparison work to do there, but I doubt that booster bar will be in my line-up in the fall. The E100 with an Amidon bar (or maybe three Amidon bars) darn sure will. In any case, it was a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon on the deck, with light breezes and temps in the mid-60s. Have a great week!
John B.
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Re: E100 Notes + Stuff
John,
Your "Amidon E100" and "Amidon SRF-39FP" daytime
DX shootout was also tried here, with similar results. The "sliding coil"
trick improves the sensitivity of the hot-rodded E100 from modest to
magnificent, and it also gives it an extra edge in selectivity, when the
loopstick coil is peaked on each desired frequency.
The hot-rodded SRF-39FP is a very sensitive
performer, but without some help in selectivity (a challenge because of the 50
kHz IF), it has trouble splitting off the 9 kHz signals at Grayland.
Presumably, a "sliding coil" trick could also help the SRF-39FP, at least on the
lower frequencies. But I doubt it would improve selectivity to the point
where it would be competitive with the hot-rodded E100, since its aligned
loopstick frequency (600 kHz) is almost the same as the 620-KPOJ frequency,
where it failed your selectivity test.
Guy's premium 455 kHz IF filters may be almost the
last thing the modified E100 really needs, to shine at Grayland.
That, plus a shotgun-barrel sized composite loopstick should do the trick
:>)
73, Gary Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.
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Ultralight Radio Summertime Shootout
Hello All,
Prompted by many requests for a comparison of the
Eton E100 with other top Ultralight radios, and also the interest of many DXers
in the new Sangean DT-400W model, a full review of these and other pocket radios
is scheduled for this summer.
The other contenders (already on hand) are
the Sony SRF-M97, and the Sony SRF-S84. If any AM-DXers would like to
suggest other pocket radios for consideration, please do so without delay.
As in previous shootouts, "contenders" should have competitive AM sensitivity
and selectivity, and are subject to elimination before the competition, should
they fail to perform at an acceptable level.
Following the format of the January 2008 Shootout,
the top surviving contenders from the previous competition (the SRF-59/39FP,
SRF-T615, DT-200VX, DT-210V and SRF-M37V) will be judged against the
current contenders during the live signal competition, for ultimate Ultralight
DXing glory.
A very extensive record of quality control data
(and modification potential) has been collected since the January shootout,
so this additional information should prove very useful to any interested pocket
radio DXer. Thanks again to all who have made Ultralight Radio DXing such
a great success, especially to the 51 members of the Ultralightdx Yahoo
Group site.
73, Gary
DeBock Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.
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Ultralight Radio Founders Awards
Hello All,
The newly created Ultralight Radio Awards
Committee is pleased to announce its initial awards, in honor of four
outstanding DXers who truly set the highest standard, during our first exciting
season. These individuals astonished all of us with their amazing DX
accomplishments, which proved to all that these innovative pocket radios
are capable of incredible long-distance DX.
The recipients of these unique, special
awards are:
1) Allen Willie, St. John's, Newfoundland (for
outstanding accomplishment in Trans-Atlantic reception of multiple countries in
Europe, Africa, and Asia)
2) Robert Ross, London, Ontario (for outstanding
accomplishment in reception of multiple domestic and foreign stations, including
the reception of 304 stations within a 30-day period)
3) Dennis Vroom, Salmon Creek, Washington (for outstanding
accomplishment in reception of multiple Trans-Pacific stations, including the
record-breaking reception of VOA-1575 in Thailand)
4) Paul Logan, Linaskea, Northern Ireland (for outstanding
accomplishment in Trans-Atlantic reception of multiple stations in North
America)
Co-founder John Bryant prepared some very
attractive Award Certificates for these honored DXers,
who have received their awards as of June 15th. We wish to
invite all interested DXers to prepare for the exciting upcoming Ultralight
Radio DX season, with various award categories organized by John Bryant, Robert
Ross, and myself. Our goal is to create interesting and challenging
incentives for DXers at every level, to encourage interest in our
exciting new AM-DX niche hobby, and the supreme fun it offers.
73, Gary DeBock Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.
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world time and calendar site
Carl DeWhitt
Some of you may already know about this site,but this is a new one to
me.It is one worth bookmarking. http://www.timeanddate.com It gives you the local time in may cities around the world as well as sunrise/sunset information and a calendar with national holidays for many countries.Check it out.
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
Mark and Others,
E100 experimentation here has already produced
models significantly more sensitive than a stock 2010, but we (John, Guy and I)
are attempting to create radios with both sensitivity and selectivity
improvements, which will be capable of receiving multiple DU's on ocean beaches
this summer.
Receiving DU's on Ultralights is a tough
challenge, because not only are signal levels generally weak, but the
directional bearings are usually in-line with Seattle and Vancouver adjacent
QRM, making it impossible to null the locals. It's almost the same
situation as you described a few months ago, referring to QRM from NYC and
other semi-locals, as you chase TA's in Massachusetts-- only in this case,
the DX is much weaker. John was able to log multiple DU's at Grayland with
his directional Wellbrook array hooked up to an E100, but for stock
Ultralights, the DU action has been rare indeed. Last Sunday at Grayland I
was able to barely hear audio on 738-Tahiti on an SRF-T615, and on April 20th,
had unID audio on 531 looping in the DU direction. But the tinkerers
here in WA are looking for a lot more than that, hi.
In about a month or so, Mark, it should be clear
how successful we will be, in creating the "Ultimate DXpedition
Ultralight." Assuming there is progress, I would be happy to modify an
E100 for you, although it would be primarily for fun, not $$. We hope
many more highly successful DXpeditioners like yourself will take up the
challenge of Ultralight TA chasing, especially if the E100 can be
hot-rodded into a "dream machine."
73, Gary
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
MarkWA1ION
I too went for the E100 deal from Fry's (price a bit over $40).
My house interior is so riddled with RF digi-hash that I couldn't really give it a fair sensitivity test yet. I'll have to take it outdoors during the day over the weekend. I have also noted the 1 kHz high readout quirk. A station on 1030 sounds best on 1031. Furthermore, selectivity seems sharper on the lower side of an AM signal than when you go higher in frequency. Roll-off 2 kHz below the apparent center occurs about as you would expect it: the higher frequency audio gets scratchy and splatter- like. But going 3 kHz above apparent center, perfectly readable audio can still be had. At some point (about 2 kHz above center) it actually sounds more muffled and bassy rather than the expected scratchy / trebly sound that typically occurs when you tune to the side of an AM signal. This just seems weird to me and makes me think that something besides the center frequency readout accuracy needs to be aligned. In general I think the receiver has possibilities and, since I have a number of other ultralight and semi-light portables, I'd consider it a good "guinea pig" to send out to Gary to have him rework for a larger external ferrite rod and to do whatever other magic he may wish to perform (for a fair price) to turn this thing into a DX machine capable of beating a stock Sony ICF-2010 or ICF-S5W, at least in the sensitivity department. Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, USA << Hello Paul (and John, Rob and others), I'm glad you enjoy using your new E100, Paul. The 200 memories and 1 kHz digital tuning steps give this model an edge over other Ultralights, as proven by John's reception of multiple DU's, while hooking it up to his Wellbrook array at Grayland. Even for casual DXers, it has many superb capabilities. The E100 just barely missed the cutoff for the 2008 Ultralight Radio AM-DX Shootout (published on dxer.ca in February), so its relative capabilities were not closely investigated at that time. Because of that, and because other capable Ultralight models have been "discovered" since February, a "Midsummer Ultralight AM-DX Shootout" is seriously being considered (if there is sufficient interest). This would compare the E100 and other new "contenders" with the top models from the February shootout (SRF-39FP/59, DT- 200VX, SRF-T615, DT-210V, etc.) in the same format as the February shootout, now posted on dxer.ca. What do you guys think? John is correct in that 3 Washington state tinkering fanatics are making 3 different E100 hot-rodding designs in 3 different, bizarre ways. May the more reasonable, mainstream Ultralight enthusiast group have mercy on us. 73, Gary
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G6 Aviator
lrdheat
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
Hi Dennis,
I have owned a E10 for a while, and today received a couple of E100s that were display models (got 'em for a song). I believe John Bryant has the E10 too..and we both have the big brother Eton E1. I also got my E10 from Fry's for $30, and I really like the IF shift feature, mainly because it means there is a 455 kHz filter inside, easily swapped out for a narrower, better filter! So many of the small portables these days have the tough to find 450 kHz IF filters. So far I've been happy with the stock performance of the E10 on MW, but its somewhat behind the DE1103. 73, Guy Original Message: ----------------- From: Dennis Gibson wb6tnb@cox.net Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:31:48 -0000 To: ultralightdx@yahoogroups.com Subject: [ultralightdx] Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments Does anyone here own both an E100 and an E10? I bought a refurb E10 for $30.00 (that's not a misprint) from Fry's and am quite happy with it; especially with the IF shift feature. From what I'm reading they must be about the same on MW. Mine's not as quite sensitive as my unaligned SRF-39FP and 59 (Gary currently has both) or Kaito KA1103. The E10 is too big to qualify as an ultralight. I wouldn't pay list price ($130.00) for an E10. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com – Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft® Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
Dennis Gibson <wb6tnb@...>
Does anyone here own both an E100 and an E10? I bought a refurb E10
for $30.00 (that's not a misprint) from Fry's and am quite happy with it; especially with the IF shift feature. From what I'm reading they must be about the same on MW. Mine's not as quite sensitive as my unaligned SRF-39FP and 59 (Gary currently has both) or Kaito KA1103. The E10 is too big to qualify as an ultralight. I wouldn't pay list price ($130.00) for an E10. --- In ultralightdx@yahoogroups.com, "kg4ruw" <p_weiss@...> wrote: Fry's.
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
Hello Paul (and John, Rob and others),
I'm glad you enjoy using your new E100, Paul. The
200 memories and 1 kHz digital tuning steps give this model an edge over other
Ultralights, as proven by John's reception of multiple DU's, while hooking it up
to his Wellbrook array at Grayland. Even for casual DXers, it
has many superb capabilities.
The E100 just barely missed the cutoff for the
2008 Ultralight Radio AM-DX Shootout (published on dxer.ca in February), so its
relative capabilities were not closely investigated at that time. Because
of that, and because other capable Ultralight models have been "discovered"
since February, a "Midsummer Ultralight AM-DX Shootout" is seriously being
considered (if there is sufficient interest). This would compare the
E100 and other new "contenders" with the top models from the February
shootout (SRF-39FP/59, DT-200VX, SRF-T615, DT-210V, etc.) in the same format as
the February shootout, now posted on dxer.ca. What do you guys
think?
John is correct in that 3 Washington state
tinkering fanatics are making 3 different E100 hot-rodding designs in 3
different, bizarre ways. May the more reasonable, mainstream Ultralight
enthusiast group have mercy on us.
73, Gary Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
Rob Moore <rmoore5@...>
Hi John,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Along with an SRF-39FP, I also have an E100 and have to say that it's a great little radio! I like the digital tuning and the 9Khz/10Khz modes. I'll be interested to see your hot-rodding "How to" pages when you get them up on the web. Rob "John H. Bryant" wrote:
Great, Paul... Glad that you like the E100. I now own FOUR!!! (Well, one is a broken "parts" set.)
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
John H. Bryant <bjohnorcas@...>
Great, Paul... Glad that you like the E100. I
now own FOUR!!! (Well, one is a broken "parts" set.)
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
If you ever get interested in tinkering with this little gems, the E100 is perfect and easy to hot rod in a number of different ways. Gary DeB, Guy A and I are going crazy doing all sorts of semi-obscene things to our E100s. We are planning a series of two page "How-To" articles to start in the early Fall./ Personally, I'm convinced that the E100 will be the Ultralight Digital Classic, just like the SRF-39 family is for the analog sets. Glad that you took the plunge! John B.
At 02:06 PM 6/19/2008 +0000, you wrote:
I would like to thank John, Gary, Rob and George for answering my
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Re: DT-200VX vs.E100 Comments
kg4ruw <p_weiss@...>
I would like to thank John, Gary, Rob and George for answering my
questions. The answer to these questions lead me to buy the Eton E100. I could not be happier with my new radio. I paid about $40.00 from Fry's. I was looking for a digital radio that I could use for the ULr Sprints, use for MW DX every night as I fall asleep and take with me when I travel (so I needed a small battery powered radio with no external antennas). My other ULr is a Sony SRF-59. While I really like the 59, I wanted a digital radio to better compete. In the Sprints I feel that for the barefoot class you should not have to use a spotting radio. The E100 is more than capable of being used stand alone for any Sprint. If you look at the last Sprint, it was a Sony SRF-T615 that won the barefoot class and a Sangean DT-200VX (modified with a booster bar) in the Unlimited class. I wanted a radio that I could use barefoot with the qualities of both the 615 and 200. I think I found it in the E100 at a cost below either radio. Thank you, Paul --- In ultralightdx@yahoogroups.com, "John H. Bryant" <bjohnorcas@...> wrote: photo. I am looking at a simple digital ULr to run barefoot.I really think that the one to get is the Eton E100. They are still
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Re: Strange Observation
Dennis Gibson <wb6tnb@...>
You've got a free passive loop. Enjoy it but don't hook up the wires.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Disaster could happen.
--- In ultralightdx@yahoogroups.com, "kirk74601" <kirk74601@...> wrote:
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Logs on SRF-M37V June 17/08
Allen Willie
Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr!
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