[aprssig] Re: Japaneese had invaded Ham Radio

[Scott Miller]

I've made TNCs at home, does that count?  =]  The Tracker2 was available 
as a kit up through Proto C, but the production version is all surface 
mount.  As I've been telling people on the Tracker2 list, if you'd 
prefer a kit, just apply a heat gun for several seconds at 350 C and 
smack the board upside down on your bench.

Figuring out which unmarked capacitor goes where is left as an exercise 
for the builder.  =]

And if you don't like Japanese radios, how do you feel about Chinese 
ones?  I just spent most of the day walking around a gigantic 
electronics fair and checking out (among other things) VHF HTs.  The 
Chinese stuff is getting a lot better, though not many models have FCC 
approval.  Turns out the one I like best already has an exclusive 
distributor in the US - who puts their own name on it and lists it for 5 
times the wholesale price!

There are other options, though.  I found another one that'd be a good 
alternative, if some effort was made to develop a native English manual. 
  Depending on the shipping and duties, it might be possible to sell it 
for under $100 - not bad for a small 5-watt HT with Li-ion battery and 
drop-in charger.  And hang glider and paraglider pilots ought to be able 
to use it legally on the USHPA commercial frequency.  It's brand new, 
though, so I'll reserve judgment until I get a sample in my hands to 
play with.  The speaker/mic connection is the same as the Kenwood, so 
there's no shortage of accessories.

Scott
N1VG/VS6

jecksons at softhome.net wrote:
>> I will always use standalone external TNCs...VK4JRC
>> One day I'll try to squeeze my MFJ1270 into my Icom IC2A handheld and 
>> then I'll be up to date....vk2tv
> Still. We're used ICOM and Kenwood stuff.
> I hope there was homemade TNC/APRS and homemade Transciever.
> Vy 88
> 
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