G8IFF/KC8NHF wrote:
Nate Duehr wrote:
I think what you meant to say is... "only little old ITU Region 2 has that band". Canada, Mexico... etc...
I guess so but I would suspect that the USA has the majority of the amateurs in Region 2. I suppose my gripe is that too many Americans appear to believe that the USA is the centre of the universe and the rest of the world should cater for their needs.
(GRIN)... understand.
If there really is demand for a VHF/UHF multimode satellite capable radio with 220 and 1296 then there are several American manufacturers (TenTec, Elecraft for example) perfectly capable of the task. They obviously don't see it as a viable product.
Wish they did. That's why I gripe in public. (BIGGER GRIN)
Yeah, yeah... so they can build modules for the bands you guys have that WE don't, too. (GRIN)
Band modules are a great idea. It's a pity more rigs don't come with bays for plug in transverters but it leads to a larger chassis that many wouldn't need or be prepared to pay for. Tektronix have made 'scopes for centuries with plug in modules so it's hardly a new idea. The Ft-736 had transverters but it needs to be a front panel plug in to allow for easy selection of facilities.
I like the modular rigs. Icom made a nice modular rig that had stackable modules and fiber optic connections in the 80's or 90's for mobile work that has become a workhorse in the "remote base" world, since then... and of course the Yaesu FT-736R and a few others, less known. Those were the "good ones", that I've seen.
Would be nice to see someone do it again... especially for SSB.
From the discussion earlier this week about there *maybe* being D-Star support in the upcoming IC-911D... that's interesting, but I wish Icom made a desktop rig that did what the IC-910 does with HF also... I need 28 MHz for some IF's for the transverters!
The FT-847 just sits here doing the workhorse duty in my shack, and FT-857 mobile, because they do so much for so little money... but the transverter "mess" can get annoying, especially since I sometimes take the whole show on the road as a VHF+ rover station... what a logistics nightmare. The FT-736R could be picked up and carried out, and you're done... four bands mobile... take two, and you could cover more bands... but at only 10W on most bands... then you need amps... and the resulting mess from that...
Sigh... (GRIN)... it never ends... but it's great fun! Sorry a bit OT for AMSAT-BB, but these rigs all do various things that help ya work the birds, too!
Bumper sticker idea:
"AMSAT is for the birds!" ????? Nah... that doesn't sound right at all! (BIG GRIN)
Nate WY0X