Power Plant.

ICDX Equipment reviews. 

 

1) TV Sets
2) VCRs
3) Tuners
4) Cassette Radios
5) Scanners & Receivers.
6) Antennas/Aerials
7) Specialised Equipment.
8) VHF/UHF scanner receiver comparison report


    This is a guide to some of the equipment you can find on the 2ndhand market and use for TV/FM DXing.. The Equipment Reviews presented here are based on articles published in "Crossfire".

TV Sets:

  1. P45 TV set,Philips P45 VHF/UHF b/w 4" portable TV: This TV is excellent when travelling. It has a manual varicap tuner with continuous dial tuning indication, and is capable of tuning into and in between an channels of VHF and UHF TV bands in and outside of Australia.  It has an inbuilt telescopic antenna and can be connected to outdoor antennas via 300 ribbon cable.  A balun is needed to connect coaxial cable.  The set can be powered from the household mains, a car cigarette lighter socket, or nine "D" size batteries.  Can receive DX on its telescopic antenna.  Not quite as powerful as the older National Ranger TR505DU but has the advantage of UHF. Adjacent channel rejection is good but not quite as good as the Toshiba C531 Portable Colour TV.

  2. National Ranger TR404DU b/w 5" VHF TV: This TV is excellent for mobile/portable[Ranger 515 TV] DXing.  Works well with an outdoor antenna, but can receive DX on it's telescopic antenna.  Power can be mains, nine "D" size batteries, or a car cigarette lighter socket.  The tuner is the older turret type and is very sensitive.  Although b/w and VHF only, these TVs are a good 2ndhand buy and can be had in very good condition for a small price.



  3. Toshiba C531 Colour 4.5" VHF/UHF TV: This TV works best C531 Colour portable.on an outdoor antenna.  Not as sensitive as the Ranger but sensitive for a colour TV, it has much better selectivity than the Ranger.  Like the Philips P 45, it has manual varacap tuning and a radio dial indication. AV input and output sockets are provided on the side.  The sound mutes unless video is present so here's a little trick to get around that.

    a) purchase two short RCA-RCA leads.
    b) use one to connect Audio out to Audio in.
    c) use the other to connect Video out to Video in.
    d) find the Monitor switch between the sockets and move it to "monitor".

    The tuning lights on the dial indicator won't work in this mode but neither does the sound mute!

    The C531 can be powered from mains, car/truck (12 or 24V leads were avail), or a battery with the optional battery holder. Again, this set is an older model so you'll find them on the 2ndhand market.

  4. Casio TV-470 LCD Pocket Colour TV: This little TV is a good fit in all but the smallest pockets. TV 470 Pocket TVIt runs on 4 AA (penlight) batteries or any external 6Volt power source/adaptor with a suitable plug.  Power drain is rather heavy at 400mA so alkaline batteries are best.  It works well on NiCd rechargables but remember a 400mA/h battery will last barely 1 hour.  Tip: Carry two batteries, use NiMH batteries for double the time. Sensitivity is excellant on UHF, picking up the relays in South Melbourne from as far North as Digger's Rest.  Around Epping it brings in Traralgon in Victoria's SouthEast, a long haul over the Dandenong ranges. VHF is good in band III but, as is common with these sets, is a little deaf on band I  A tip, open the antenna less than halfway then place you hand on top.  The capacitance of your body tunes the antenna to appear far longer than it really is.  Improves band I reception significantly.  Selectivity is very good, I've seen Ch 8 Traralgon between local 7 & 9.  Sound mutes/screen mutes to black, but it opens on very little signal.  PAL version doesn't lock on 60hz NTSC, so PAL playback of NTSC tapes can't be viewed on this set.  Otherwise it handles poor signals well. Automatic tuning only, but seems to lock on very weak signals.   Picture can be a little feint while the backlight warms up.  A plastic support on the back allows the set to stand on a table for hands-free viewing.

  5. Casio TV-200 b/w Pocket TV: A very small pocket TV, features a thumbwheel driven dial tuning system similar to a radio.  No muting.  Sensitivity is good, however selectivity in the Pal model suffers from an image of channel 10 blocking channel 2.  Otherwise a handy little set which runs for several hours on 2 'penlight' or AA batteries.   The small LCD screen is viewed in a mirror and lit by whatever light is available.   Unlike the TV470, it can be viewed in strong light, the picture can be poor in low lighting however.  No external antenna socket, but there is an external power socket..  The markings on the tuning scale are a bit out on band I but fine elsewhere.   Unlike the TV470, there is no internal speaker.

  6. THE CITIZEN TC53 VHF/UHF WALKMAN COLOUR TV: The Citizen TC53 VHF/UHF Walkman Colour TV is the same size of the average Walkman receiver. The features are as follows:

    Advantages:

    1) Runs on four "AA" batteries or 6V power.
    2) Has an inbuilt extendable rod antenna.
    3) Covers the following frequencies: (VHF: Ch0 to Ch12; UHF: Ch21 to Ch69).
    4) Can be connected to an external antenna via an 3.5mm output jack on top of the receiver.
    5) Has an inbuilt speaker.
    6) Has a mono earphone jack.
    7) Has manual tuning.
    8) Does not have any mute.
    9) Has reasonable sensitivity and selectivity for its size.
    10) Has its own leather case.
    11) Has analogue tuning dials for VHF and UHF.
    12) Is pocket sized.
    13) Has a 7cm screen.
    14) Appears to work for long periods using long life batteries.

    Disadvantages:

    1) Does not have a digital dial readout.
    2) Has no video/audio in and out sockets, apart from the earphone audio out socket.
    3) Has no access to connect to a car cigarette lighter.
    4) Has a plastic lever for standing, though it tends to come apart from the set and would not be very useful to hold the weight of the receiver.
    5) The set is not easily available and would be more likely to locate in the second hand market.
    6) The inbuilt speaker and earphones can be heard in mono only.
    7) Tunes very quickly across the dial, when tuning at normal speed.
    8) Difficult to see the screen in bright sunlight.
    9) Gain reasonable, but could be improved.
    10) Has no access to change colour picture to black and white.

    Summary:

    This receiver has been tested in various areas and it seems to surpass most walkman TV receivers of similar size. The receiver seems to be quite sensitive and capable of receiving DX reception under favourable conditions on its own antenna, or for the hard to get signals, using as little as an external Tandy pocket indoor amplified antenna. It is an excellent set to use when travelling on holidays and just generally while on the move.

VCRs:

  1. National G16 Videocassette Recorder: This VCR has manual varacap tuning (thumbwheel presets) as well as pushbutton selection.  It will record any TV without muting (blue screen, no sound) even a screenful of snow.  Excellent for videotaping DX.

  2. JVC HR7700/Videostar A823/AKAI VS-10/Ferguson 3V23/Nordmende V-500/Thompson VK-37
    Made by JVC but marketed by many companies, feature-packed, top of the line 2 head machine. This machine is large and was made in 1981.  On weak signals the tape servo could be a bit wobbly but otherwise it was a good machine in it's day.  Has a camera socket (rare and no real standard as to what the pins do).  Having three motors it's hard to jam and has few electronic faults. Dolby noise reduction was an unusual feature of this machine.  BNC video sockets. Backspace edit was new then but the manual didn't tell you how to do it.  Easy, hold Record while you press Pause, machine goes directly to record-pause and backs-up to sync to previous recording.  Release Pause and the tape rolls, completing the edit.

Tuners:

  1. Teac T515 AM/FM Stereo tuner.: An excellent perfermer for FM dxing. however, is does have mute circuit in the FM stereo mode.  Fortunately there is a simple way to disable this.  Switch off and disconnect from the mains.  Open the top cover and locate the BROWN wire, cutting this wire disables the mute.  The T515 will then provide excellent DX reception in stereo.  The T-515 has an analogue dial and all tuning manual via the large front panel knob. DX signals can resolved within 200Khz of a local FM station, conditions permitting of course..  DX reception can be very good even on indoor antennas, the Dick Smith "T" shaped 300ohm antenna is a popular choice.  No longer a current model, but you should be able to get a 2nd hand unit at a good price. Some version have AM stereo (C-Quam) and others have SW.

The Teac T-515 is an excellent tuner for FM dx, though in major city areas with a large number of high power FM tx'ers nearby , the tuner can suffer from overload and cross modulation problems.

  1. Teac TX-550 AM/FM Stereo Tuner: This set similar to the the T-515 in performance etc, but is much larger. Is also has a switchable mute, so no modification is need to disable muting. Another good 2nd hand buy.

Cassette Radios:

  1. Realistic Minisette 16: AM/FM Radio Cassette recorder: This set, originally avainable at Tandy/Radio Shack performs quite well for DXing on the move, allowing the DXer to record reception while travelling.  Its mono only and has a conventional dial.  Power is 6xAA size 'Penlight' batteries or separately available mains adaptor.  Although it has a telescopic antenna, there is no provision for an external one.  It's easy to improvise though, and a wire connected to the built-in antenna with an alligator clip works well! Another good 2ndhand buy as this model is also discontinued.

  2. The AIWA JS145 Pocket Cassette radio:

    The AIWA JS145 would have to be a very unique Walkman receiver. The features are as follows:

    Advantages:

    1) Runs on two "AA" batteries or 3V power.
    2) Takes standard size cassette tapes.
    3) Plays and records (Mono AM and Mono/Stereo FM).
    4) Can be connected to earphones, which also act as an FM antenna.
    5) Has a built in speaker, which can be switched on or off, regardless of the earphones being connected or not.
    6) Has a stereo microphone, which plugs into the receiver.
    7) Plays and records on both normal and metal cassette tapes.
    8) Has separate pause on and off switch.
    9) Has a tape counter.
    10) Can be connected to an external antenna, using the earphones socket and can be heard via the inbuilt speaker.
    11) Has super sensitivity and selectivity.
    12) Has large tape control buttons (Play, Record, Fast Forward, Rewind and Stop).
    13) Has large clear analogue dial frequency readout.
    14) Is totally manual and no mute.
    15) Is pocket sized.
    16) When recording via microphone, it is possible to hear the recording as it is being made.
    17) The AM reception is quite good and will work even better with a AM loop antenna.

    Disadvantages:

    1) Does not have a digital dial readout.
    2) Has no built in microphone.
    3) Has no graphic equaliser.
    4) Has a plastic lever for standing, though it tends to come apart from the set and would not be very useful to hold the weight of the receiver.
    5) The set is not easily available and would be more likely to locate in the second hand market.
    6) The inbuilt speaker can be heard in mono only.
    7) Has no AM stereo.
    8) Can record from other receivers through the microphone input, but not very well. (There may be ways of improving this).
    9) Has no narrow AM/FM or any SSB facilities.

    Summary:
    I have tested this receiver in various areas and it surpasses any other receiver that I have heard of equal size. It is even capable of receiving FM DX reception in stereo, under favourable conditions, using just the earphones as an antenna. It is an excellent set to use when travelling on holidays and just generally while on the move.

Scanners & Recievers:

  1. Realistic Pro 2004/2005/2006 scanners: These scanners cover frequencies from 25 to 1300Mhz with PRO2004 scannera gap in the UHF TV channels.  The scanner operates Narrow FM, AM, and Wide FM modes.  It has 300 memory channels and can be modified to 400.  Digital readouts are standard in these receivers.  From 30 to 70Mhz, a DXer can listen to paging stations and monitor for TV video and audio carriers.  Very handy as a DX early warning system as you can hear TV signals at much lower strength than could be seen on a TV set.

  2. DX400 SW Receiver.Realistic DX-400 SW Receiver: This SW/FM radio was only available for short time at Tandy/Radio Shack. The DX440 took over at an early time.  Like many later models it has a digital readout and keypad.  The up/down buttons are fair but a traditional tuning knob would have been better.  It also has a scan function which is not of great value on SW, good for local FM/AM/Longwave broadcasts.  Power can come from mains, internal battery of 6xC size, or any 12 volt source.  The backlight should have had a switch so it could be turned off if the external power is a small battery. Nevertheless performance is very good, although some breakthrough/overload is evident on LW frequencies.  It is possible to modify this set to cover the old European/OIRT/Japanese FM band down to 76Mhz but it would need realigning to ensure good performance.  The antenna trimmer can be a nuisance but gives excellent results once you get the hang of it.  SSB reception is double sideband, which is good, but obvoiusly a proper SSB filter would be a big help.  The simpler BFO circuit seems to work well enough, and stable enough to decode ham digital signals. A wide/narrow switch give 4.5Khz or 2.4Khz between 150Khz and 30Mhz.  It has a telescopic antenna and screw terminals on the back allow for external antennas, essential for SW.  The FM section is a good performer, though it does image on strong local signals.

  3. GRUNDIG YACHTBOY - 400 RECEIVER: Features

Accessories included: 7m SW antenna, carry case, Book on SW reception - prepared by DW.

Positive Features

Negative Features

Summary

     In all it is a great little travel companion, lightweight and small. However, the price tag is over inflated for the quality of the receiver. The memory banks are very easy to use.  Hooking up an external MW antenna can be achieved by soldering a wire on to the ferrite core.  However, attaching a 300m long wire can result in a lot of LW breakthrough.  In spite of this, one can log east coast USA MW stations from eastern Australia, providing they are dx'ing from an area clear of local stations, (city areas, etc). Really though, one is mostly paying for a name, when it comes to the YB 400 receiver.  It may be worthwhile to keep a lookout for a cheaper alternative.

 

Antennas/Aerials:

  1. MATCHMASTER G8 FM ANTENNA: This antenna is available through JTC Antennas, 69A Gipps Street, Collingwood Vic 3066 Australia.  The antenna performs well for local and dx on the FM band.  When mounted low to the roof, it is possible to null out semi-local signals to allow dx to over-ride.  This also can help if the aerial is at opposite polarisation to the majority of semi-local stations and works best with a rotator.

  2. JAYCAR 91 ELEMENT UHF TV ANTENNA: This antenna is available through Jaycar Electronics, http://www.jaycar.com.au who have branches in most Australian capital cities.  The antenna performs very well for both local and dx signals and works best with a rotator.

  3. [CX 28] SUPER CROSSFIRE CX SERIES TV ANTENNA: This antenna originally created by Ferris Channelmaster, is still rated as the best VHF only antenna for dx'ing on bands 1, 2 and 3. These days, one has to look for second hand equipment or order direct from Channelmaster in the USA, as Channelmaster, in recent years, were bought out by Hills Industries, here in Australia and the antennas were eventually taken off the market. Other companies, who originally sold the antennas were: O'Donnell Griffin, Sydney NSW, Best Vision, Melbourne Vic and they were even available through Radio Rentals back in the 1970's.  How times change!!! The antennas came in several sizes: 13 element, 17 element, 22 element, 24 element and 28 element.  To purchase from the USA Write to: Channel Master Inc, 1315 Industrial Park Drive, Smithfield NC 27577 USA or Stark Electronics, 444 Franklin Street, Worcester MA 01604 USA.

  4. 'T' SHAPED INDOOR FM RIBBON ANTENNA: This antenna is available from Dick Smith Electronics and at a very low cost, provides DX possibilities on an FM tuner or radio with external aerial outlets.  For the dx'er just starting out, on the move or short on finance, this antenna is quite useful.

 

Specialised Equipment:

  1. Antenna Phasing Unit. An enthusisast is building these units which are used to null out, or reduce the strength of, a local signal to allow reception of distant signals on the same channel. Essentially it works by conbining the signals from an antenna (aerial) pointing at the distant station and another antenna pointing at the local station.  The local signal is first phase-shifted, with the amount of shift being adjusted by the user.  Then passed through a variable attenuator allowing the user to adjust the signal strength, finally it is combined with the signal from the DX antenna to cancel out the unwanted local signal.

    The method of operating is quite simple, first adjust the attenuator to bring the two signals to roughly the same lavel.  Now adjust the 'Phase' and 'Balance' controls to remove or reduce as much as possible the unwanted local signal.

    These units generally work well enough to reduce the strengh of a local station some 5km nearby to a snowy picture.  You could easily see Sporadic E and troposheric DX over the local station.

Scanner receiver comparison report:

  1. MULTI VHF/UHF WIDEBAND RECEIVER COMPARISON REPORT (with Jim Cotterill).

    I just completed some comparative tests on the following receivers:

    ICOM IC-R8500
    ICOM IC-R9000
    YAESU FRG-9600
    AOR AR3000A
    AOR AR5000A

    The idea was to evaluate each receiver on its real world performance. Technical specifications can tell a lot about the performance of a radio, however in the real world, what's important to the DXer is which receiver will provide intelligible sounds from the weakest signals. After all a sensitive receiver is of no use if the noise floor is high and the audio output stage is noisy.

    The tests were conducted on various frequencies and modes, each individual signal selected had to be local or semi local so fading would not be an issue. I then attenuated the signal to a point where (on the IC-R9000) it was weak but voices were on the threshold of being 100% intelligible. I then swapped the output from the attenuator to each receiver and documented the results. I used the ICOM IC-R9000 as a benchmark so I had a standard to compare the other units with.

    I also documented the features and functions of each receiver and ranked them on a score of 1-5. I now have 4 pages of tables full of data and subjective comments, if anyone is interested I can email the tables to you directly.

    Here is the ranking in order from best to worst

    1. ICOM IC-R9000 Standout best receiver overall, audio quality, sensitivity, noise floor, phase noise, IMD response are all first rate.

    2. AOR AR-5000A Came a close second on performance but has certain operational difficulties. AOR designed this unit for enthusiasts with little fingers

    3. ICOM-IC-R8500 Performance wise this receiver should be better, ergonomics are great- very easy to use, looks great, has great potential.

    4. AOR AR-3000A Not far off from the IC-R8500 in overall performance, but ergonomics are shocking I hated using this receiver-sorry AOR.

    5. FRG-9600 Performance is woeful, definitely not in same league as the radios above Ergonomics are good and unit looks great

    NB: After a few basic tests I decided to exclude the FRG-9600 from the comparison. Its performance was so bad I didn't want to waste any time on it.

    BTW: I have also tested the AOR AR8600MKII but I couldn't include in the comparison (I sent it back to the retailer) I wasn't overly impressed with it, but I'd say its performance would come close to the AR3000A.

    So what's the ultimate receiver (out of the box) for TV/FM Dxers? I would definitely rate the IC-R9000 as the best, no doubt about it.

    What is really exciting is its potential for improvement and I'll be exploring those options over the coming weeks.

    The AR5000A would be my second choice, but I would recommend controlling the unit via PC - its ergonomics make it just a tad annoying to use

    The IC-R8500 would rate as a very close second, ergonomics are great and its a pleasant radio to use in every respect, performance needs slight improvement and a few filter mods may help. Internally the radio is built like a tank and there is plenty of room to install mod boards.

    My personal recommendation...

    If I were cashed up for an IC-R8500 I would use the money to purchase a good second hand IC-R9000. If I had the money for a AR5000A I would still purchase a second hand IC-R9000 and use what's left over to replace the amber CRT for a white CRT and a few new filters.

    The AR5000A is a great radio and I'm very impressed with it, I'd rate it as the best radio for TV/FM DXers that's still in production.

    I was lucky to have all 5 receivers at the one time, I don't own them all, just the IC-R9000 and IC-R8500. I was sent the AR5000A and AR3000A to evaluate pending a swap for my IC-R8500 and an IC-706MK2. The comparison was to help assess if the swap was going to leave me with a better radio.

    After I completed the tests I decided to send back the AR3000A and swap the IC-R85000 for the AR5000A. Bit sad to see the IC-R8500 go, I was really impressed with the quality of that radio, if the AR5000A didn't pip it in the performance tests I would have kept it.

    The IC-R9000 never ceases to amaze me, the audio quality is something else, and now I have changed the amber CRT to a white phosphor CRT I can watch TV without needing sunglasses :-) The amber CRT was a bad idea, I don't know what ICOM was thinking when they dreamt that one up. The later versions (IC-R9000L) have a LCD unit instead of the CRT but the quality for TV reception is no where as good as the white phosphor tube. The white phosphor tubes can be purchased from the U.S.A for $110 USD

    I did try all the radios on MW however its a bit difficult to perform an subjective evaluation as most have an attenuator permanently inline for those frequencies.

    HF performance: the IC-R9000 shone above the rest with the IC-R8500 second, the AR5000A trailing closely.

    Initially I was going to test each receiver with a sig gen, so I borrowed some gear from work took it home set it all up, then promptly discovered the sig gen was faulty!

    A different approach was needed, I got to thinking and came up with the idea of testing each radio on how well they reproduce an intelligible signal In other words what I was looking for was the bare minimum amount of signal required to understand what is being said. This I believe this is a true test as it takes into account noise floor, audio stage noise / distortion and sensitivity.

    In the tests atmospheric and man made noise were not an issue as I took strong local signals via my presselector and attenuated them down to minute levels. The coaxial cable used was a single run of 3/4 inch Andrews Heliax with the test antenna being a VHF/UHF log periodic. Each of the receivers were fed identical level signals straight from the attenuator.

    Lab tests provide a method of evaluating performance characteristics however these tests are providing singular results, and whilst useful do not tell the DXer if he will 'hear' an intelligible signal at X signal level. I believe both test methods are equally as important but in the real world when a comparison is being performed based on lab tests alone then unfortunatly, to the DXer, the results have limited value.

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