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Carr,
To your first question.? I live in a dense neighborhood (yes...antenna restricted) with both above and overhead powerlines and two shopping centers with buildings ranging from 75 to 250 yards away.? As a result, the baseline noise here is at S5 to S7 on 40 and 20 Meters just using a short vertical wire in a tree.? So, operating the TX-500 in such an environment is difficult, but so is operating my Elecraft K2, K3, KX3 and SGC SG-2020.? I am planning a portable operation at a beach location this coming weekend for the ARRL Sweepstakes Phone Contest so I hope to give the TX-500 a good workout alongside one or two of the other radios.? Although I have had the TX-500 over a month now, business trips have prevented me from getting out of my neighborhood to see how well it performs on the air.
To your second question about the I/Q outputs.? I have not used those outputs yet.? I did use that port (REM DATA) to obtain audio for a powered speaker.? At 68 years young, I found the connector pins to be very small and close together such that soldering wires without creating shorts is difficult.? My suggestion is to cut off the connector pins that are not necessary for your intended connections. This will free up some space inside the connector.? Also, use a small vise or mechanism to hold the pin shell to prevent it from moving when touching the pin lugs with a wire and solder.
I am not familiar with the Elad unit.? You can find some POTA reviews of the TX-500 and IC-705 by K4SWL at QRPer.com and SWLing.com.? Rob Sherwood just posted the receiver data for the IC-705.
73, Henry - K4TMC
I have been reading here pretty extensively. From the US but live in Ecuador, retired and limited budget. Have not been on the air since 2012.? I have been looking at Sherwood's page. While its a starting point,? it wont? be my ultimate decider. I am looking for a radio I can use portable, POTA/SOTA...and I am a cyclist? and spend a lot of time in the mountains so to be able to throw a rig in a bag on the back rack with a battery, small tuner and antenna would work really well..... limited budget? says what ever I buy is going to have to be used for a while at home too. Where I live is in a fairly noisy environment plus? third world electrical system plus looking at the ITU world atlas for ground conductivity, its not much in the volcanic soil where I am in Northern Ecuador.....
So a couple of questions- I am curious if anyone has used the Lab599 in a noisy urban environment.? Thats a difficult question because? noisy? can be somewhat subjective here- before I sold my station in the US and moved, my main transceiver was an Icom 756 Pro III so thats a bit of what I have as a reference. In the US where I lived last time on the air was also a noisy urban environment but in an area? with really good ground? conductivity. Even so the noise would be at times so bad that I ended up putting up? a 160M horizontal loop which helped a lot over what? a doublet or end fed antenna would do.? Next question- has anyone? used the I/Q outputs? of the radio? with? any programs like GNU Radio or others which lets you do a lot of signal processing on a desktop or laptop??? With programs like (for Linux users) GNU Radio, you can build your own filters and lots of other stuff thats done internally on radios like the IC 7300/7610 with the FPGA? (although the 7610 does have I/Q out).? Curious if any one here can share? anything on what I have asked.?
I like very much what I see on the Lab599 web site. The radios I am considering are the Lab599, the Icom IC 705 and the Elad FDM Duo. The IC 705 does not have I/Q output. The Elad does and...the Elad really shines when hooked to an external computer with enough capacity to use the? I/Q outputs? for a number of things-and their software suite? looks to be really excellent as well. The FDM Duo seems from what I have read somewhat delicate. The IC 705 is pretty, builtin GPS yadayadayada lots of features but where I am I dont really need V/UHF either.? My main concern is a top notch receiver, more tx power can be resolved? in a number of different ways but an Elmer told me many years ago something to the effect that if you cant hear 'em you cant work 'em.
Thanks for the expertise? and sharing experiences with this new radio.
Regards from Ecuador &? 73
Carr
KF4VAR
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Well I think you will have hard time to get the lab599 one of the US dealer told me that it will take very long time if ever there is some issue I move on and order something better if you look for something cheap go for ft 817 put tcxo and cw filter I had kx3kx2 didn¡¯t like the plastic kit was cracking so I sold them some time ago as well they supper expansive to buy so to go there there is many option out there I hope may be in some years to come lab599 will be who know they not even answer email I will never buy a radio that the owner company not answer? Vy 73 enjoy ?
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On 15 Nov 2020, at 14:50, Henry Pollock - K4TMC <kilo4tmc@...> wrote:
? Carr,
To your first question.? I live in a dense neighborhood (yes...antenna restricted) with both above and overhead powerlines and two shopping centers with buildings ranging from 75 to 250 yards away.? As a result, the baseline noise here is at S5 to S7 on 40 and 20 Meters just using a short vertical wire in a tree.? So, operating the TX-500 in such an environment is difficult, but so is operating my Elecraft K2, K3, KX3 and SGC SG-2020.? I am planning a portable operation at a beach location this coming weekend for the ARRL Sweepstakes Phone Contest so I hope to give the TX-500 a good workout alongside one or two of the other radios.? Although I have had the TX-500 over a month now, business trips have prevented me from getting out of my neighborhood to see how well it performs on the air.
To your second question about the I/Q outputs.? I have not used those outputs yet.? I did use that port (REM DATA) to obtain audio for a powered speaker.? At 68 years young, I found the connector pins to be very small and close together such that soldering wires without creating shorts is difficult.? My suggestion is to cut off the connector pins that are not necessary for your intended connections. This will free up some space inside the connector.? Also, use a small vise or mechanism to hold the pin shell to prevent it from moving when touching the pin lugs with a wire and solder.
I am not familiar with the Elad unit.? You can find some POTA reviews of the TX-500 and IC-705 by K4SWL at QRPer.com and SWLing.com.? Rob Sherwood just posted the receiver data for the IC-705.
73, Henry - K4TMC
I have been reading here pretty extensively. From the US but live in Ecuador, retired and limited budget. Have not been on the air since 2012.? I have been looking at Sherwood's page. While its a starting point,? it wont? be my ultimate decider. I am looking for a radio I can use portable, POTA/SOTA...and I am a cyclist? and spend a lot of time in the mountains so to be able to throw a rig in a bag on the back rack with a battery, small tuner and antenna would work really well..... limited budget? says what ever I buy is going to have to be used for a while at home too. Where I live is in a fairly noisy environment plus? third world electrical system plus looking at the ITU world atlas for ground conductivity, its not much in the volcanic soil where I am in Northern Ecuador.....
So a couple of questions- I am curious if anyone has used the Lab599 in a noisy urban environment.? Thats a difficult question because? noisy? can be somewhat subjective here- before I sold my station in the US and moved, my main transceiver was an Icom 756 Pro III so thats a bit of what I have as a reference. In the US where I lived last time on the air was also a noisy urban environment but in an area? with really good ground? conductivity. Even so the noise would be at times so bad that I ended up putting up? a 160M horizontal loop which helped a lot over what? a doublet or end fed antenna would do.? Next question- has anyone? used the I/Q outputs? of the radio? with? any programs like GNU Radio or others which lets you do a lot of signal processing on a desktop or laptop??? With programs like (for Linux users) GNU Radio, you can build your own filters and lots of other stuff thats done internally on radios like the IC 7300/7610 with the FPGA? (although the 7610 does have I/Q out).? Curious if any one here can share? anything on what I have asked.?
I like very much what I see on the Lab599 web site. The radios I am considering are the Lab599, the Icom IC 705 and the Elad FDM Duo. The IC 705 does not have I/Q output. The Elad does and...the Elad really shines when hooked to an external computer with enough capacity to use the? I/Q outputs? for a number of things-and their software suite? looks to be really excellent as well. The FDM Duo seems from what I have read somewhat delicate. The IC 705 is pretty, builtin GPS yadayadayada lots of features but where I am I dont really need V/UHF either.? My main concern is a top notch receiver, more tx power can be resolved? in a number of different ways but an Elmer told me many years ago something to the effect that if you cant hear 'em you cant work 'em.
Thanks for the expertise? and sharing experiences with this new radio.
Regards from Ecuador &? 73
Carr
KF4VAR
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Hi Henry
Thanks very much for sharing the information. I look forward to hearing your experiences out of the neighborhood where its quieter.
Regards & 73
Carr KF4VAR
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Hello Henry
Did you decide to stay at the beach longer? Hope everyone and everything is ok. Many anxiously await your weekend with wires in salt water report !
Regards & 73
Carr KF4VAR
Note- photos of the beach, the setup and various flora and fauna also appreciated!
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Carr,
The ARRL November Sweepstakes Phone contest is not until 11/21 - 23.? I am headed to the beach tomorrow with lots of toys to play with.
73, Henry - K4TMC
Hello Henry
Did you decide to stay at the beach longer? Hope everyone and everything is ok. Many anxiously await your weekend with wires in salt water report !
Regards & 73
Carr KF4VAR
Note- photos of the beach, the setup and various flora and fauna also appreciated!
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Hi Henry
My error I thought it was this past weekend. Have an excellent time and do well.? Looking at the sun this morning there are some sun spots coming into a geoeffective position so maybe by the weekend conditions will be better? for the contest.
73
Carr
KF4VAR
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Speaking of sunspots, I just found this report from NCAR on anther forum.
McIntosh has some provenance as deputy director of NCAR in Boulder.? The report was published 13 October of this year.
Regards & 73
Carr
KF4VAR
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Well said Paul.
The TX-500 is a magnificent radio, with excellent receiver performance. As someone doing 99% weak signal work with preamp disabled, I found it a real workhorse.?
I don't care about a bunch of numbers I don't understand. The only concern should be real world performance, which was quite amazing.
73
Julian oh8stn?
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So don't buy one Elan! Or if you do, buy through a distributor who has taken the risk for you.
By the way, didn't catch your callsign Elan.
73
Julian oh8stn?
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This is also my experience. Usually got a reply back within 24-48 hours of sending an email. I understand it's an unknown company, with an unknown developer, but it's such an Innovative radio, that I'm willing to take the long term risk.
73
Julian oh8stn?
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Julian, yes it appears to be a very innovative radio, can't tell from first hand because still waiting for delivery, but I keep comparing it to everything else that is out there (including the 705) and I keep coming back to this radio for the best solution for portable operations, still waiting , Geoff??
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I was just re-reading this thread and again, found it all very interesting.
I have a TX-500 along with an Elecraft KX3. I really like both radios.
Yesterday and today I did a bit of a-b testing between the two.
I must state up front that I only work CW. So all my opinions go in that direction.
Yesterday the TX-500 handled the RAC ?cw contest just fine. No front end overload and
I could easily separate close strong signals. Of course the KX3 ?handles these situations well too.
the KX3 also has the optional extra filtering installed.
Today I did some a-b comparisons on weak signals. The TX-500 could easily hear anything that I could hear on the KX3.
But I am in an urban area with mild S3 noise levels. So, maybe in a very low noise environment such as I see on SOTA outings the KX3 may excell.?
One thing I did notice was that the TX-500 was a bit noisier than the KX3. I even tried adjusting RF gain and preamp on the TX-500 but
could not decrease the noise. This is with both radios with NR off.
Personally, I really like the TX-500. When I need to pack a radio on my back it is my first choice. Plus I don¡¯t have to worry about getting it wet or dirty.?
I know from experience that I small amount of moisture on a KX3 can shut it down.?
So, the TX-500 may be way down the Sherwood list, in ?the real world it just does not pan out that way for my uses.
Larry
n0sa
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On 12/31/2023 10:42 AM, Larry Naumann
wrote:
So, the TX-500 may
be way down the Sherwood list, in ?the real world it just does not
pan out that way for my uses
It's worth bearing in mind (and Rob is always upfront about this)
- his ranking is based on only one performance criteria:? close-in
dynamic range.?? Because to him, as a contester, that's the most
important receiver performance factor - the ability to copy a
desired signal in the presence of other strong signals very
nearby.?? It's also pretty meaningless to try to rank receiver
performance by lots of other possible criteria because there would
be little discernible difference.????
Rob always points out that there are a number of other factors to
select the "best radio" for any particular purpose.?? Which just
underscores your point - the best radio for a given purpose is the
one that works for you, and as he says "Don¡¯t
select a new radio just from my chart ! "
73, Bob W9RAN
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Exactly my point Bob, Although it is way down on the list, this tiny little radio packs a pretty big punch.
plus it is kind of a niche radio. It just works and is tough as nails.
Although definitely not for everyone. To me it is the perfect SOTA radio emphasis on ¡®to me¡¯.
And I have owned a tried a bunch of them.
Larry
n0sa
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Julian OH8STN
Larry Naumann