Re: Updating and programming the Ft 60 - How To Use CSV Files
Good Morning, Mr. Bradford;
I have been using CHIRP for many years, even on a new FT-4X. ?What is Yaesu's reasoning for not using CHIRP?
Thank You,?
David J Ziskin AG6E
On Saturday, August 1, 2020, 08:26:48 AM PDT, Clint Bradford via groups.io <clintbradford@...> wrote:
This is for CHIRP ... and Yaesu does not recommend that we use CHIRP on our HTs.
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Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Re: Updating and programming the Ft 60 - How To Use CSV Files
This is for CHIRP ... and Yaesu does not recommend that we use CHIRP on our HTs.
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Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Updating and programming the Ft 60 - How To Use CSV Files
This page explains?How To Use CSV Files to program and update the Ft 60
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
You may want to also consider a counterpoise. Of course that does not explain why the stock antenna is so much worse the FT415's. A counterpoise generally improves the performance of any HT. Ed Fong's jpole has a special feature to flatten its pattern at 440. He wrote a nice article about why that feature works and, very nicely, how to make one yourself. Andy On Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 9:11 PM Christopher Larwood <christopherlarwood@...> wrote:
There are large windows which would normally permit a VHF/UHF signal to easily get through. Old parts of the house have very solid thick brick walls - built 1915 so reception in those areas is going to be flakey/marginal at best. Even an improved antenna might not help.
I do have a homebrew J pole that I will be setting up at another location ( Goolwa, South Aus) as I'm frequently portable there. Operators from the township do hit the Adelaide repeaters and I will check if this does the trick or something directional is needed.
To connect an external antenna to the HT - what coax type is suggested ? - just mindfull of losses at VHF-UHF. Also, does getting an antenna high and clear outweigh a longer cable run - particularly with a low power HT?
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
There are large windows which would normally permit a VHF/UHF signal to easily get through.?? Old parts of the house have very solid thick brick walls - built 1915 so reception in those areas is going to be flakey/marginal at best.? Even an improved antenna might not help.
I do have a homebrew J pole that I will be setting up at another location ( Goolwa, South Aus)? as I'm frequently portable there.? Operators from the township do hit the Adelaide repeaters and I will check if this does the trick or something directional is needed.
To connect an external antenna to the HT - what coax type is suggested ? - just mindfull of losses at VHF-UHF. ? Also, does getting an antenna high and clear outweigh a longer cable run - particularly with a low power HT?
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Hello Christopher,
What type of construction is your house?
My FL QTH is concrete block with stucco on the outside. Stucco is essentially wire mesh embedded in concrete. A pretty effective shield. 440 much better than 2m, I suspect because of signal getting inside through windows and doors.
There is a big difference between signal strength outside vs inside. Sometimes inside is OK if there is a large window in the right direction.?
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-------- Original message -------- From: Christopher Larwood <christopherlarwood@...> Date: 7/29/20 6:25 PM (GMT-06:00) Subject: Re: [Yaesu-FT-60] FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
An update after some further investigations. ?I'm now thinking the standard antenna is OK outdoors but quite ineffective inside the house. ? I heard a mate I wanted to catch on 2m repeater last night and wandered outside to check how much that improved recd signal. ? I was receiving S3 or 4 inside but once outside had full scale signal - even though I was merely 5 or 6 meters from where I stood inside. ?Still to do a 70cm test but got a excellent copy from the 2m repeater. ? ?I'd rather not have to head outside on cold mid winter nights to have QSOs so looking at a Nagoya or Diamond antenna as a replacement.
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Christopher:
? If you have a lot of metal in your walls or foil backed
insulation, that will act as a shield and block the 2M signal.
Dave - WB6DHW
On 7/29/2020 4:25 PM, Christopher Larwood wrote:
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An update after some further investigations. ?I'm now thinking the
standard antenna is OK outdoors but quite ineffective inside the
house. ? I heard a mate I wanted to catch on 2m repeater last
night and wandered outside to check how much that improved recd
signal. ? I was receiving S3 or 4 inside but once outside had full
scale signal - even though I was merely 5 or 6 meters from where I
stood inside. ?Still to do a 70cm test but got a excellent copy
from the 2m repeater. ? ?I'd rather not have to head outside on
cold mid winter nights to have QSOs so looking at a Nagoya or
Diamond antenna as a replacement.
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Yours is an excellent "illustration" of how I explain "range" to my audiences: when asked, "How far will these?
radios talk?" I reply ...
From 20 feet to 450 miles ...
(I wait for the puzzled and.or amazed faces to relax ... )
If you're locked up in a bank vault, your 5W won't penetrate the walls, and you'll talk within the room. Twenty feet, maybe.
But here's an audio clip of me working the International Space Station when she was 450 miles downrange - and I turned?
my FT-60R's TX power DOWN to 2W ('cause I didn't need any more power than that with my $15 tape measure beam) ...
And I play the snippet of Commander Wiseman coming back to me.
It is all "line of sight," Christopher. Mountain-top-to-mountain-top, you'll go 50 miles or more. But there is something in your walls that is not allowing that "clear shot" to the rest of the world ...
?
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Good work! Now build yourself one of these options:
-The roll-up J-Pole from Ed Fong - and hang from a curtain rod.
-or-
-The PVC Ed Fong J-pole.
Or, if you want some real gain, build one of the handheld beams ...
ALL these projects waiting for you on the ANTENNAS page at
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
An update after some further investigations. ?I'm now thinking the standard antenna is OK outdoors but quite ineffective inside the house. ? I heard a mate I wanted to catch on 2m repeater last night and wandered outside to check how much that improved recd signal. ? I was receiving S3 or 4 inside but once outside had full scale signal - even though I was merely 5 or 6 meters from where I stood inside. ?Still to do a 70cm test but got a excellent copy from the 2m repeater. ? ?I'd rather not have to head outside on cold mid winter nights to have QSOs so looking at a Nagoya or Diamond antenna as a replacement.
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Agreed! The FT-65 is like a Boafeng. Yaesu is trying to hit the Chinese like radios for a cheaper price. Stick with the FT-60. ? Ron W8HBF ? ? Re: FT-70D or FT60
From: Clint Bradford
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2020 20:26:10 PDT Good info. Just avoid the FT-65 - a much LESSER HT than the FT-60R.
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
I was thinking - the OP said he had the duckie that came with an aging FT-415. I think it would be an interesting experiment to see, on 2m at least, how the 415's duckie performed on the FT-60. Is it the 2m receiver in either radio or the antenna?
73
-Brian n8wrl
The FT-60r by itself has a sensitive and well-built receiver; however the rubber duck that Yaesu supplies is notoriously poor when compared with other stock stubby rubber duck antennas.? If functionality is to be your priority replace it with just about any other handheld antenna. Comet, Larsen, Nagoya, MFJ, and others make extended flexible? rubber ducks 15"-19" that are much more efficient. Be careful to get the right gender SMA connector.on the antenna (SMA Male). You will experience a different world.
73
?
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
The FT-60r by itself has a sensitive and well-built receiver; however the rubber duck that Yaesu supplies is notoriously poor when compared with other stock stubby rubber duck antennas.? If functionality is to be your priority replace it with just about any other handheld antenna. Comet, Larsen, Nagoya, MFJ, and others make extended flexible? rubber ducks 15"-19" that are much more efficient. Be careful to get the right gender SMA connector.on the antenna (SMA Male). You will experience a different world.
73
?
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
I purchased a SMA to BNC adapter and connected my external diamond which is mounted on a chimney via J mount so quite high and clear. ? After connecting the radio to this antenna, RX was good - same as the mobile Icom used in the shack, so radio appears working as it should.
I followed Clints suggestion for a full clear and reset as well.
With the standard antenna and the antenna from the other HT the strongest local repeater was noisy, 3-5 bars signal. ? This is inside the house but I am in clear line with the repeater which is at a high point in the Adelaide Hills and has good coverage over a large area. ?
I will do some checks with other locals about how their coverage is with HT and if replacement HT antennas are the norm. ?Looks like that's the path to take but quite surprised how ineffective the supplied Yaesu antenna is. ? Not good form to make a neat product and ship it with a dud antenna. ?How does that make for a good user experience?
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Good morning? The first thing i did when i bought my FT60 a long time ago wss replace what seemed to be a barely functioning duck with a Diamond SR77. No complaints
Every HT i have has one on it.
Hope this helpe. Great little radio.
Frank KB3PQT
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
OK - so not "new" - an impact with the antenna on can damage the antenna's center pin: Does it look ok, and doesn't "wiggle" if you use a ballpoint pen or X-Acto(tm) knife to try moving it?
Try a friend's antenna ... and try a simplex test with them.
Did you reset the unit before working on it - especially since we don't know what the previous owner may have done?
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1. Turn the radio off.
2. Press and hold in the MONI switch (just below the PTT switch)
while turning the radio on.
3. Rotate the DIAL knob to select one choice from the reset menu:
F1 SETRST: Resets the Set (Menu) mode settings to their factory defaults.
F2 MEMRST:Clears the Memory settings to factory defaults.
F3 MB RST: Clears the Memory Bank Assignments.
F4 ALLRST: Clears all memories and other settings to factory defaults.
4. Press the [ F/W ] key momentarily to complete the reset procedure.
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
Thanks for the replies- the FT-60R I've purchased is used but as new condition.? No sign of ever been dropped, rough treatment of any type.? It's immaculate.?? The standard antenna does have a slight bend in it but certainly not broken or bent/straightened.
The next test I will do is to get an SMA to BNC adapter and try the otehr Yaesu HT antenna for 2m and also my external 2/70 cm diamond antenna mounted up on the chimney.
That WX frequency would be hard for me to RX from my location in South Australia!
If the RX is still poor using known good antennas, the radio itself becomes suspect.? I've not reset it or fiddled with any settings.? This FT60R might become a boomerang and be returned to the seller but hope not.?
Vk5LTD
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Good info. Just avoid the FT-65 - a much LESSER HT than the FT-60R.
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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SSTV from ISS Next Week - FT-60R is IDEAL
MAI-75 SSTV activity planned for Aug 4 and 5, 2020
Jul 27th 2020, 15:33, by ARISS
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The final crew schedule for the week of Aug 3-9 was released recently and it showed a MAI-75 activity scheduled for Aug 4 and 5. This is soon after the Space X Demo-2 undock so changes to that event could impact the schedule.
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The current dates and times of the activity are as follows:
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Aug 4 (12:25-18:10 UTC) is setup and day 1 operations.
Aug 5 (11:15-18:45 UTC) is day 2 operations and close out.
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This is the Moscow Aviation Institute SSTV experiment that is activate for orbital passes over Moscow, Russia. It has traditional been PD-180 or PD-120 and transmitting on 145.800 MHz.
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/end/
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Receiving beautiful images from the ISS when they run SSTV projects can be as simple as holding your HT up to your Smartphone equipped with a $3 app ...
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http://work-sat.com/SSTV.html
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And from M5AKA - ESA Education has released tutorial videos explaining how to make use of various computers and mobile devices to receive the International Space Station SSTV transmissions on 145.800 MHz FM that are expected for the 45th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission.
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Apollo–Soyuz was the first international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in mid-July 1975 and ESA Education say the anniversary will be marked by SSTV transmissions from the ISS.
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See the collection of Tutorials videos on how to receive SSTV pictures from the International Space Station for specific operating systems such as Windows 10, Apple iOS & Mac OSX, Android, Raspberry Pi, etc at ...
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https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Sets/Radio_ISS/(result_type)/videos
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ESA Education -? https://twitter.com/ESA__Education/status/1281140713237946370
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Wiki Apollo-Soyuz -? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo–Soyuz
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Read the Raspberry Pi article Pictures from space via ham radio ...
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https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/pictures-from-space-via-ham-radio/
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ISS SSTV info and links -? https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/
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What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio
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Free UK amateur radio online training course - https://www.essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/
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Clint K6LCS
AMSAT-NA Ambassador
http//www.work-sat.com
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Re: FT-60R Standard Antenna- Weak RX?
There is nothing inherently "wrong" with the stock antenna. I mean, I can hit? scores of 2m and 440 repeaters where -I- live: in Southern CA, in a valley, surrounded by hilltop repeaters. Can you hear your local NOAA WX frequency in the 160mHZ range? Are you the original owner, and unit was new? For aftermarket antennas, nothing beats the Smiley Tri-Bander.
The Smiley operates?...
- 1/4 wave 2M fully extended
- 5/8 wave 440 2 sections down
- 1/4 wave 440 fully collapsed
- 1/4 wave 220 4 sections down
?????
It has a tuned coil/spring which protects your delicate HT antenna connector, and is available with just about any connector. The flex coil matching network provides at band center low SWR as well as a +/- 5 MHz band center. Length is??4.5" down and 16.5" up.?NOT the gain for satellites - but a great alternative to stock HT antennas!
?????
(And the Smiley is HALF the price of the popular Diamond SRH-320a!)
Link to it on the ANTENNAS page at http://www.work-sat.com BUT - I would like to know the answers to the questions - ownership and if it was new. SOMEthing might not be right ... -- Clint Bradford K6LCS http//www.work-sat.com
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Clint Bradford
Dora Tamilta
Christopher Larwood