The Lowe PR-150 Antenna Preselector.

Lowe produced a antenna preselector for the HF-150 to overcome the problems associated with overloading from strong signals, Lowe PR-150 preselector and preamp. The PR-150 covers 100 kHz to 30 MHz in seven bands segments. Each band segment comprises of a dual-tank LC filter circuit, each of which can tune over 2.5:1 within the intended frequency range.

Each filter is passive. For additional gain, there is a built in UHF bipolar transistor preamp which has low noise performance with a high dynamic range. There is also a broadband setting that can be used. The preamp may be switched in or out. The PR-150 also features an Attenuator and A/B antenna switch for 2 antennas.

It is built in a very solid metal alloy case matching the HF-150. On the back panel there is an Antenna A input (SO-239 or Hi-Z terminals) and an Antenna B input (Hi-Z terminals). Output to the receiver is 50 ohm impedance - SO-239. The unit requires 12 VDC at 50 ma. (and has a duplicate socket for power loop-through to other accessories).

The overall performance of the HF-150 is improved many fold when fitted to the PR-150 and I would deem that this is an essential component for the HF-150 if you wish to receive peak performance from your HF-150.

Even if you do not have a HF-150 and you are looking for something in the way of a preselector for your HF receiver, the PR-150 is probably a very wise choice.

Link to PR-150 Operation Manual (Pdf)

Specifications

Frequency coverage ......... 100 kHz to 30 MHz Connections ................ Antenna A (SO-239 or Hi-Z terminals), Antenna B (Hi-Z terminals) Attenuator ................. -16dB Preamp ..................... +10dB Insertion Loss ............. 5-10dB Output to the Receiver ..... SO-239 50 ohm nominal Power Requirement .......... 12 VDC @50 ma (11-15 VDC) Size ....................... 7.25 x 3 x 7 inches (185x80x175 1.1 kg)matching HF-150

Michi

Robert John: Sad Eyes.

Рефлекс [REFLEX]

China Joins Super Computer Club on 29th October, 2009.

by Xinhua writers Yu Fei, Bai Ruixue and Wang Yushan 　 CHANGSHA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) unveiled Thursday China's fastest supercomputer, which could rival the world's most powerful computing devices. The supercomputer, named Tianhe, meaning Milky Way, is theoretically able to do more than 1 quadrillion calculations per second (one petaflop) at peak speed. A single-day task for Tianhe might take a mainstream dual-core personal computer 160 years to complete, working non-stop -- if it can last that long. NUDT president Zhang Yulin said the 155-ton system, with 103 refrigerator-like cabinets lined up on an area of about 1,000 square meters, is expected to process seismic data for oil exploration, conduct bio-medical computing and help design aerospace vehicles. China's national high-technology research and development program and the Binhai New Area, a major economic development zonein the northern port city of Tianjin jointly financed Tianhe, which cost at least 600 million yuan (88.24 million U.S. dollars). Tianhe's peak performance reaches 1.206 petaflops, and it runs at 563.1 teraflops (1,000 teraflops equals one petaflop) on the Linpack benchmark, which was originally developed by U.S. computer scientist Jack Dongarra and has become an internationally recognized method to measure a supercomputer's real performance in practical use. Zhang said the technical data of Tianhe had been submitted to the world Top 500 list, compiled by the University of Mannheim, in Germany, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee in the United States. The next Top 500 supercomputer list will be released in November. The performance of Tianhe would have made it the world's fourth most powerful supercomputer in the most recent ranking in June. "I was shocked at the milestone breakthrough, which was beyond expectation," said Zhang Yunquan, a researcher with the Institute of Software of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and an organizer of the China Top 100 list, which was released at a national conference on high-performance computers Thursday. "I previously forecast China's first petaflop computer no earlier than the end of 2010," Zhang said. The giant device, a product of 200 computer scientists and two years' work, was housed in the NUDT campus in Changsha, Hunan Province, and would be moved to the National Supercomputing Centerin Tianjin at the end of 2009, said Li Nan, chief coordinator of the program. Equipped with 6,144 Intel CPUs and 5,120 AMD GPUs, Tianhe was able to store all 27 million books in the National Library of China four times over, said Zhou Xingming, an academician of CAS and a professor with NUDT. "As far as I know, a combination of CPU and GPU is something new used to make a petaflop computer. A GPU, or graphic processing unit, plays a role as an accelerator to make the computer run faster, but reduces its power consumption and cost," Zhou explained. "After it's installed in Tianjin, we plan to add hundreds or thousands of China-made CPUs to the machine, and improve its Linpack performance to over 800 teraflops," Zhou said. Although its annual electricity bill can be as high as 18 million yuan, Tianhe could have been ranked the world's fifth greenest supercomputer, according to Green500 List in June, compiled by researchers at Virginia Tech aiming to provide a ranking of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world and serve as a complementary view to the TOP500. Of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers, the United States alone has invented 291, including the top 10, Europe has 145 and Asia 49, the June World Top 500 List said. In the same list, the Chinese mainland has 20 high-performance computers, with CPUs all supplied by foreign manufacturers. China's Dawning Information Industry Company is attempting to build its own supercomputer that overcomes the petaflop barrier by2010.

Editor: Lin Liyu

Lowe HF-150 Communications Receiver: Small Footprint Icon Receiver.

The Lowe HF-150 is an icon for small footprint communications receivers, indeed it's performance puts many of the larger and more expensive communications receivers to shame. Outstanding performance with minimalist functions for bare bones operations. Lowe is no longer producing any of these fine receivers and they are available and well sought after on the second hand market.The dual conversion design features selectable IF bandwidths of 2.5 and 7 kHz. Sixty memories store frequency and mode, which is adequate.

It has only three push buttons, a volume control and a headphone output jack. The display isn't lighted and there's no meter or tone control although many have added their own external S meters. One important control has been moved to the back of the HF-150 is the 20 dB attenuator. Since the new set doesn't have any RF bandpass filters like its older sibling, it can be overloaded by strong SW and MW signals. A good preselector such as the matching Lowe PR-150 would help in this respect. The synchronous detector is extremely easy to use, and it works extremely well. The tuning knob allows digital tuning that is so smooth and easy to use.

If you are interested in a small receiver with great performance this may be a good choice for you. The unit supports sync. AM but does not have FM band, only MW through to 30MHz. It supports CW/SSB and AM mode reception.The only main problem as mentioned earlier with the HF-150 is that it was designed with the lack of proper bandpass filters in the antenna input front end circuitry of the receiver. The first mixer circuitry is prone to pick up all sorts of different signals in the receiving range of the receiver from 5 kHz to 30 MHz and can result in overloading problems when the receiver is used near strong local MW stations or with large outdoor antennas. A MW BCB rejection filter placed at the antenna input will help. This front-end overloading can show up as increased noise, local signals mixing with shortwave signals and as “ghost” signals. If the HF-150 is connected up to the matching PR-150, this will relieve the problems mentioned.

The LCD Display is not back lit, although later models such as the HF-150 Europa apparently have back lighting. Many users have added their own back lighting to the set.


There are also two battery compartments that hold four AA cells each. The HF-150's built-in NiCad battery charger performs perfectly. It is designed for continuous battery charging, when your not listening to the radio. The charger was designed properly, so the so called NiCad memory effect does not occur. All in all this is a very nice compact receiver with very good performance.

Principle: Superhet, double/triple conversion; IF-Freq. 45000/455 kHz

Wave bands : Wave Bands given in the notes.

Power type and voltage: Dry Batteries / 8 × 1,5 Volt

Loudspeaker/pwr.out: Permanent Magnet Dynamic (PDyn) Loudspeaker (moving coil) / 1.6 W / Ø 7.5 cm = 3 inch

Material: Aluminium Metal case

Shape: Table top model

Dimensions (WHD): 185 x 175 x 80 mm / 7.3 x 6.9 x 3.1 inch

Notes: Lowe Communications Receiver HF-150.
Frequency range: 30 or 150 kHz to 30 MHz (depending on region); Modes: AM, Sync, LSB and USB; 60 memories; external power supply (12 VDC) possible. Optional Plug-in numeric keypad for direct frequency entry. Optional remote control system.

Adding a IR Remote Control to the HF-150:

The optional keypad is difficult to be found these days, so I did the next best thing and added an IR remote control system to my HF-150 would does the same thing basically and allows added flexibility of wireless control of the receiver. These remote controls are available from SWL Remotes: http://www.swl-remotes.com/features/lowehf150.html


KPAD-1 Clone Keyboard:
For those who want a Keypad, there is a KPAD-1 clone available from: Wirechief A picture of the Keypad borrowed from Wirechief, I have not used this keypad so will refrain from any comment.


Excerpts from Original Lowe Brochure showing specifications and parameters:



Some Lowe HF-150 Web pages:

Palette House: Radio (Japan)

Mds975 (United Kingdom)

Kanuchin.com (Japan)

Boesch (Germany)

Fenu Radio

RF Systems AA-150 Active Antenna for HF-150


HF-150 Block Diagram:



The Radio Netherlands HF-150 Review:

Below is the extract of the original Radio Netherlands review on the HF-150:

Radio Netherlands Review of the Lowe HF-150

Year Introduced: 1992
Power: Mains, battery operation optional
Size: 185 x 80 x 175 mm
Weight: 1.3 kg (1.5 kg with batteries)
Coverage: AM (synchronous modes too: ASD, ASF, ASL, ASU), USB, LSB, 0.03-30 MHz

Value Rating 5/5

Introduction

Holland and Britain seem to be the main marketplace for Lowe receivers so far. This English company started making radios to its own design and specification a couple of years back, with the launch of the HF-125 and HF-225 receivers. The approach has been to try and make a simple to operate radio with the best specifications for the price. Compared to Japanese competition the radios look quite plain, but performance wise they score well. At the end of 1991 Lowe announced it was launching a small receiver for the bottom end of the market as an alternative to Japanese push button portables... sets like the Sony ICF2001D. In March 1992 we tested an off-the-shelf example of the HF-150, putting it through a series of laboratory and practical listening tests. In June 1995 we re-tested an off-the shelf sample. The results were similar to the test in 1992.

For a price of £419 in Britain (including VAT), you get a table-top communications receiver which at first glance looks surprisingly small. The case is made of metal, not plastic, and measures just 185 by 80 by 175 millimetres. It's quite light too, just 1300 grams without the 8 penlight batteries which fit into two special holders at the back of the set.

Simple Controls

From the front there are just 5 controls... a combined on-off switch and volume control, three buttons which have several functions including the selection of the mode and memories, and a large tuning knob. A large 5 digit liquid crystal display shows the frequency you're tuned to within the nearest kilohertz, If you push a button the display gives you information about the receiver mode and memory number, but normally it shows only the frequency, and there's no light to illuminate it. That's it. Lowe sell a keypad as an optional extra that plugs into the back of the set and you place in front of the radio as you use it. That's essential if you want to move quickly about the dial... otherwise you have to move up and down in frequency by spinning the tuning knob. Getting from 30 kHz right up to 30 MHz, which represents the full coverage of the set, could take some time.

The set has no signal strength meter, you can't add extra filters at a later stage for very narrow bandwidth reception of Morse code, there's no notch filter, no noise blanker, and no tone control. But if these are extras that you can miss, then what Lowe have put inside the box turns out to be very acceptable indeed.

Performance

The dual-conversion super heterodyne design is quite straight forward. Signals come in from an external antenna. You can switch in an antenna amplifier if you're using an indoor whip, although in practice we didn't need that at all in this part of Europe where signals are always strong. Signals go through a 30 MHz low pass filter before they hit the mixing stage of the radio. Of course there's a lot of energy coming off most shortwave antennas, bearing in mind the powers used by broadcast stations.

More expensive radios use a series of filters to make sure that if you're listening to 15 MHz short-wave for instance, strong medium wave signals, or stations in the 41 and 49 metre band are attenuated before they get to the mixing stage of the radio. Too much energy at the front end of the sensitive input circuitry can lead to overloading, and the appearance of signals on the dial which are the result of mixing products inside the radio. Having said that we measured the intercept point as +3 dBm using two signals 30 kHz apart. This gives you a dynamic range of 86 dB which is a fair-to-good value for a radio of this price. We disagree with the instruction book though, that recommends a long wire of up to 30 metres. Our tests in Holland showed that if you connect a wire longer than about 12 metres, you get enormous overloading problems once the sun sets. That will be less of a problem in low signal strength areas such as the Pacific or the American mid-west.

Attenuation Tricks

It's often assumed that the more signal you pump into a radio, the more distant stations you'll be able to hear. Well that's not the case. We found that late at night, weak and difficult signals were more intelligible if you switch in the 20 dB of attenuation. But that control is on the back of the set which is not easy to get at. If you use the set in Europe you might want to consider a separate aerial attenuator which say steps of 6, 12, 20 dB of attenuation, and give it try on weak signals.

Sensitivity and modes

We measured sensitivity using a signal modulated at 60% using a 1 kHz tone. We found that our measurements corresponded well with the results given by Lowe in their instruction book. Between 50 and 500 kHz the sensitivity is around 1.8 micro volts, and around 0.8 micro volts for the medium and short- wave part of the dial. There's much difference in sensitivity between the wide and narrow filters used in the HF-150.

The radio has various modes. USB, LSB, standard AM, and you can also use what's termed synchronous AM. Unlike other Lowe sets available until now, the HF-150 allows you to listen to either the upper or lower sideband of a broadcast signal whilst in the "sync" mode. That's extremely useful when there's a strong interfering station 5 kHz away from the station you're trying to listen to. You can also use synchronous detection to reduce at least some of the effects of short-wave fading. The use of synchronous detection though in the double-sideband mode leads to some slight loss of sensitivity, but that's nothing to be concerned about. The background noise also rises slightly on the example we've tested. The radio takes up to two seconds to lock onto the desired signal, but once it's locked the radio does an excellent job of keeping in lock even when the signal fades to almost nothing.

Battery drain high

Battery consumption of the receiver is quite high, especially when compared to similar priced competition, anything up to 275 mA at full volume. We put in a set of 8 fresh alkaline batteries and got the radio to work for just 6 hours before they were flat. You can purchase rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries. When the set is switched off they automatically charge up. It takes about 16 hours to get a full charge after which you can use the radio for portable work for about 3 hours before you need to recharge again. The cheapest solution of all is simply to use the supplied external AC adapter which plugs into the back of the radio and gives all the power you need without any hum problems.

The HF-150 has two filters that have a bandwidth of 7 and 2.9 kHz respectively. These ceramic filters have a good shape factor for the price paid. So if the signal you want to listen to is strong you can really sit back and listen to the programming. The design of the automatic gain control is excellent, so no unwanted pumping of signals. The signal distortion is very low for a radio of this time, and if you connect the radio to a hi-fi set you'd be surprised what fidelity you can get out of a strong short-wave broadcaster.

Accessories

Lowe offers accessories for the HF-150: a plug-in numeric keypad; an accessory kit consisting of a whip antenna, rechargeable batteries (described above), a carrying handle and a shoulder strap. Additionally there is an excellent (though costly) preselector, a speaker with audio processing controls, and a computer interface. The computer control commands are ASCII text strings, making programming easy. There are a number of software programs available in the third party market.

Tom Sundstrom found an easy solution to those wanting to use the keypad and the computer interface, or a tape recorder and a digital signal decoder, simultaneously. The Radio Shack (Tandy elsewhere on the globe) stores sell a molded audio plug adapter that takes two mono 1/8" plugs in and outputs to a 1/8" mono plug that fits very nicely into the HF-150 rear apron jacks. It's the 274-310 (US$2.49 in the 1998 catalog, page 122).

Summary

In short, the Lowe HF-150 is an excellent choice as an entry-level communications receiver. It gives much better performance than sets like the Kenwood R-1000 which were on the market 20 years ago for the same price, showing that it is still possible to improve on performance and keep the costs reasonable.

The HF-150E

A "Europa" version of the HF-150 started shipping in late 1997. Check Lowe's Web site for details. We have not yet tested this new model.

Portable Shortwave DSP PLL radio - Kchibo KK-D96L.

The Kchibo KK-96DL is the highest ranking portable DSP equipped radio in the Kchibo stables currently and represents a new trend in portable world band radios to incorporate DSP as a standard feature.

Heads up Kchibo Designers:

If any of the Kchibo designers by chance read this blog, well heads up. The design of the "radio" is nice, but! A big but, as with the S500, all the functions are printed in Chinese and you need to have English printing if you are to export this product as well as way finding around the radio which can be nightmare at first. Also You left out the "i" in "Radio" and you have printed "Rado" on the receiver, the bag and other locations! You need to get it right.

Can you extend the frequency coverage of your radios up to 30MHz?

Features:

Jog Dial to choose the step tuning pace:

Mw step 9KHz (1KHz/9KHz) / 10KHz (1KHz/10KHz),

SW Stepping 1KHz/5KHz,

FM stepper 50KHz/100KHz.

* The use of U.S. special software radio digital signal processing chips;

* Use of digital filter design, with high-performance imaging and anti-interference capability;

* Dual 16Bit DAC with low distortion audio output;

* Multi-level large-scale use of AGC circuits, radio reception strong signal handling is better;

* Wide-band tuning of the automatic circuit design, high-sensitivity receiver;

* Built-in (40 step) Electronic volume control circuit;

* DSP software, DSP on AM / FM processing, demodulation;

* Built-in high-speed MCU circuit (in the role of AGC AFC IIC PGA VOL CRT ... ...);

* Professional-grade radio, specifically :

Built-in FM frequency coverage choice, AM / FM sensitivity,

1dBu resolution of the antenna signal input intensity signals;

* Lock function to prevent misoperation;

* Can store 900 stations;

* AM / FM frequency directly or fuzzy logic input, AM frequency input accuracy up to 1KHz;

* provision of stereo earbuds, allowing you to listen to radio programs from time to time in stereo on FM bands;

* Kchibo use their own R & D and produced rechargeable lithium-ion battery-powered, 2 nos. are supplied;

* Shutdown timer for sleep, time boot function, with perpetual calendar;

* Display with battery power indication, the local dot-matrix display screen.

1. Frequency range

Frequency Modulation (FM) 87-108 MHz

64-108 Mhz (DIY)

Medium-wave (MW) 522-1710KHz (9KHz step)

520-1710KHz (10KHz step, DIY)

Short-wave (SW) 2.30-21.85 MHz

2. The number of radio frequency memories (total 900)

FM (FM) 300

MW (AM) 300

SW (short wave) 300

3. Noise limited sensitivity

Frequency Modulation (FM) better than 2 uV

AM (MW) better than 2mV / m

Short-wave (SW) better than 20 uV

4. Signal-to-Noise Ratio:

FM signal to noise ratio: > 55dB

MW signal to noise ratio: > 45dB

SW-noise ratio: > 45dB

5. Power:

Power transformer: AC220V DC 5 V

Batteries - rechargeable lithium-ion battery (3.7V/1000mAh)

Li-ion battery Model KL-1000

External power supply 5V 300mA

6. The highest current consumption level is less than 250mA

7. 100mW maximum output power

8. 25dB stereo separation

9. Speaker size Φ57mm / 16Ω/0.25W

10. Output Φ3.5mm 32Ω external headphone

11. Dimensions 145 x 90 x 23mm

12. weight of 200g (without batteries)

Lithium battery voltage: 3.7V Battery capacity: 1000mAh

Sommerkamp SLB-300 HF Linear Amplifier

Specs:

Frequency HF
Supply 110 or 230/240 Vca
Input energy/power 600 VA
Input power 1 - 25 W
Output power 250-300 W
Mode All
Fuse 4A
Size 155 x 355 x 270 mm
Weight 9,5 Kg.
Antenna preamplifier 10 - 30 MHz


Features:

• 1.5 - 30 MHz All-Mode All-Band

• Electronic switch

• PTT input - ALC output

• Watt Meter

• Tunable antenna preamplifier

• High antenna SWR protection

• Excessive input power protection

• Excessive temperature protection

• 6 Low-pass filter manual selected

• Forced multi-speed ventilation

RX and TX Distribution Management.

Well I decided to do a bit more about my station RX and TX distribution and tidy up the cable management and distribution at the same time, this will be the first in a series of distribution panels that I will be putting together for the station. This one primarily deals with the mounting of various splitters that I use for my communications receivers, 50MHz low pass and bandpass filters and two Kenwood SWT-1 & 2 VHF/UHF tuners.

The equipment on the distribution panel comprises of:

RX Side:

1. 1 x "Eight" 8 way passive RX splitter PAS-SPL 8, 5-1000MHz;
2. 1 x "Super" 2 way passive RX splitter 1022, 5-1000MHz;
3. 1 x "Super" 3 way passive RX splitter 1023, 5-1000MHz;
4. 1 x "Maspro" 4 way splitter CSP4D, 10-2655MHz;
5. 1 x "Maspro" 3 way splitter CSP3D, 10-2655MHz;


TX Side:

1. 1 x "ICE" 412W, 50-54MHz Bandpass Filter, M-norm;
2. 1 x "ICE" 426, DC-54MHz, 9th degree Low Pass Filter, N-norm;
3. 1 x "Kenwood" SWT-1, 144-148MHz tuner;
4. 1 x "Kenwood" SWT-2, 430-450MHz tuner.

For my next panel I will be do a coaxial switching arrangement for my HF Bandpass filters.

Timewave DSP-59+ Digital Audio Filter.

The Timewave DSP-59+ Digital Audio Filter uses 16 bit linear Sigma- Delta processing and the signal processor is a 16 bit, 77ns Analog Devices ADSP-2105. Unfortunately you cannot find this filter anymore as a brand new item off the shelf since is is no longer manufactured, the good news is that they are readily available secondhand on eBay and are relatively cheap. It is certainly worthwhile picking up one if you have one of the older vintage analog communications receiver.

My DSP-59+ is a version 3.0 and is permanently now connected between my JRC NRD-515 receiver and the NVA-319 speaker.

The adaptive NR works a dream on AM removing allot of unwanted noise making listening much more pleasing to the ear and less fatiguing. On SSB generally it does well, but some noise is difficult to remove, I would only rate it a 4 out of 5 for SSB.


The unit does really well with RTTY and CW though.

The different bandwidths that can be set for CW really make a difference and with the NRD-515 filter on narrow and the DSP-9+ on narrow, the recovered audio is clear and sharp down to very low signal levels.

The auto audio notch filter is extremely good and will remove the carriers that tune are on your frequency whilst you're trying to receive a DX station, although there is some interaction when you select the notch and the noise reduction simultaneously.


If you can get one of these Timewave DSP-9+'s for the right price, then buy it if only to get rid of the occasional carrier on the frequency when chasing DX.

It will improve the audio on noisy bands and make listening easier in most cases but not all.

Masda WA722TG Omni Directional LPA VHF~UHF Antenna

The Masda WA722TG is an unusual Omni Directional LPA designed antenna for use from 45MHz to 860MHz with a built in preamplifier. It is designed by Zhongshan Masda Antenna Appliance Co., Ltd. in China and was originally designed for VHF and UHF TV signal recption, but I have taken out the preamplifier which is housed in the plastic black box at the mast head since I only wanted the antenna for use with my VHF~SHF wide band radios and the amplifier would be a limiting factor to the frequency range and would in all cases overload the front end.

So the amplifier has been removed! The antenna is not of heavy duty construction and is of very light weight built, but at US$35.oo if it lasts for 2-3 summers then it is already enough. The antenna can be assembled in 5 minutes (not counting the amplifier removal).

The Masda web page is: Masda WA722TG

Masda WA722TG Omni Directional LPA VHF~UHF Antenna Specs.:

* VHF~UHF multi-direction receiving TV signal antenna.
* With super-low noise and high gain amplifier built in.

SPECIFICATIONS
Channels:VHF1-12 Frequency (MHz) : 45-230
Gain (dB): 20
Impedance: 75 Ohms;
Power Consumption: 2W
Power: AC220V ±10% Channels:

UHF21-69 Frequency (MHz) : 470-860
Gain (dB): 30
Impedance: 75 Ohms;
Power Consumption: 2W
Power: AC220V ±10%

Ronnie Laws - Flame.

Lionel Richie - Stuck on you.

Kiss - I was made for loving you.

HB-1A 3 BAND TRANSCEIVER DESIGNED AND BUILT BY BD4RG

The HB-1A ultra-compact 3-band CW QRP transceiver is designed and manufactured in China by BD4RG, a ham by the name of BU XIANZHI in the city of NANJING, CHINA. My HB-1A was supplied to me by Vincent, VR2UDU of FeatureTech. In fact it's outlook is similar to the Elecraft KX-1 and offers switching between the 20, 30 and 40 Meter bands. It puts out 4 Watts on a Mains connected 12 Volt DC power supply and 2 watts nominal on the 8 internal AA batteries.

HB stands for Home Brew and was originally designed as a kit. Today the HB-1A is offered as a complete product professionally assembled with Surface Mounted Technology. My unit was supplied ready built and tested. On hooking up and testing I would describe the performance of this unit as outstanding, I did not experience any overloading of the front end when hooked up to my 40M vertical antenna. For CW and SSB the selectable IF bandwidths are great, but for AM I would hope for a wider bandwidth setting then 2.2K for better reproduction. On SSB the bandwidths for LSB and USB are 1.6k, 1.8k, 2.0k AND 2.2k. For CW the bandwidths are 400Hz, 500Hz, 700Hz and 900Hz which should be adequate for most CW operators. Audio is adequate to drive an external speaker and the menu buttons are fairly easy to navigate and understand making the unit very user friendly. This is a very impressive little radio. Here are the features:

•20 meters, 30 meters and 40 meter amateur bands.

•Receiving from 5 MHz to 16MHz continuous.

•Maximum transmission power of about 4 watts for CW.

•Weight 12 and 1/3 ounces (approximate).

•Battery compartment holds 8 rechargeable AA cells.

•Built-in auto function keys.

•DDS VFO with 20 frequency storage memory, very stable.

•Blue Digital dial with LCD technology.

•Automatic keyer with the CQ programmable with your call.

•RIT 10 Hz, 100 Hz.

•Frequency conversion superheterodyne receiver.

•Unit will operate with voltage supply from 8-14 VDC.

•Built in AGC function.


The blue LCD digital display offers power output, RIT, storage frequencies as well as short-wave radio receiver functions and a bar graph S meter. The current drain is of a low-power design and allows approximately 50-75 mA on receive. The designer rates the unit, using 2200 mA rechargeable cells at 2 watts output power at 15-20 hours with receive and send ratio of 2:1.

This is a nice little radio and performance is great to boot.

Radio Sweden International

Broadcasts to Asia and the Pacific All times UTC (unless otherwise specified) Shortwave: Through October 25, 2009 0230-0300 11550 (50°) via Madagascar 1330-1400 15735 (55°) 1430-1500 13820 (120°) From October 25, 2009 0230-0300 11550 (50°) via Madagascar 1330-1400 7465 (55°) 1430-1500 9400 (120°)

Radio Japan (SEA)

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN

(English Shortwave Broadcasting)

March 29 - October 25, 2009

Southeast Asia

Frequency Chart

Broadcasting time(UTC)*	Frequencies (kHz)
5:00 - 5:30	17810
9:00 - 9:30	11815
12:00 - 12:30	9695
14:00 - 14:30	11705
0:00 - 0:20	17810 13650

*UTC(Coordinated Universal Time)

Top Notch Premium Communications Receiver: Racal 6790GM.