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As a QRP operator this is amazing and thank you for sharing. RF into the antenna is so important and especially at low powers it just shows after this were my power was going!! Best 73 Dave M0GGK

This is very very helpful

This is very very helpful

Great job thanks 73 from kb2uew

Me to! picked up one today at the goodwill for $5. you are right cool case.

Ceramic capacitor?

Nice video , thanks a lot

Found the Mayday II at a thrift store today with faux leather case, antenna mount, antenna whip, minty condition for $2 Works with 10 AA batteries and a USB to power plug compatible with power port. Have not had a chance yet to test it outside of turning it on LOL =D

Lol

Excellent video. Thank you !

Thank you. I think this would be my first radio.

Hi, i saw a tutorial from a french guy hwo has soldered all the jumpers to unlock his FT 817. Do you know if there are different setup ? maybe FT 817 and 817ND are not exactly the same ? how to know exactly wich modification is ok for a specific model ? - thank you for your answer :)

do you need sim cards to use them ?

I'm getting one of these for field day and portable ops! Jeff - W3AAB

Hi Brett. Thanks for the outstanding review of the BKR 9000. Just what I was looking for.

great video really enjoyed it

It's the size and dimensions that account for the differences. That difference however, are limited to single core use. The fat cores cannot be stacked like the 240's.

Thanks a lot for this video, it was very good timing as I am actively seeking quotes to purchase this personally to supersede my XTS5000 handhelds. Unfortunately the price point of less than $6k for a loaded radio is not true in my experience so far as 2 quotes I've received have been $6-7k (not loaded with features). I have seen some concerns or issues with the encryption concentric switch, where in apparently if you turn the volume there is the possibility of turning the switch, have you noticed anything like that? Thanks!

What is the photo that you used in the thumbnail ?

Great video. What is the advantage of dogbone insulators over egg insulators ?

Hi Brett. Really enjoyed the video. It’s nice to see the instrument testing of these as opposed to just putting it on the air for a QSO. Thanks for what I’m sure is a time consuming breakdown on these. If you know, what are the crypto options on the BK? Thanks for adding the Baofeng testing in there as well. Another example of you get what you pay for.

Nice review. BK definitely has a long-standing reputation in the wildland firefighting field. The BK is very price competitive in the public safety P25 multi-band radio arena. I would like to see a drop test on those large unprotected pots for on/off/volume & channel selector knobs. That and the rubber overmolding may be the achilles heel. I have long been amazed at the compound used by Motorola in their mic cables, programming, cables, and knobs. Over time, they split and crumble. Is there an "Impres" battery option for the BK?

Are you aware of any ISM band repeaters?

Can't find a price on this thing, and I'm not calling a salesperson.

What is the size of the fabric? Also please describe your radials: length, number, layout; all on the ground (i.e. not elevated)?

I have this exact Antenna ...It's a winner for 2 meters Thank You Well done

I tried this and it didn't set for me. Maybe grape juice was too hot when I added the pectin? Maybe I didn't hard boil it enough with the sugar? Don't know. Have to figure out how to fix it now...

Excellent video. I have both, the AH-710 and the B&W90. Your approach and clarity surpasses what is available from both companies and what is written on the net. Your meticulous attention to detail is superb. Kudos to you sir. Fernando N2FQ

Great video, Nice to see and listen to someone who knows what they’re talking about, much appreciated, after nearly 60 years, I now now where most of my losses are, (in the Ferrite cores) BTW like the use of the vice, makes it look perfect, thanks for sharing 👍😃

Would it be realistic to keep a mini kit have the subscription paused & in an emergency ie cell towers & grid power down. Be able to turn the subscription on?

picked up one today at the goodwill. you are right cool case. Here is some info on it www.prc68.com/I/RF204.shtml

Wow..incredible review. You certainly know your stuff and made it easy to understand for us that do not know the science behind these antenns. I have the micro version of this antenna with a 9 to 1 transformer and it has its place when I cannot deploy a wire do to space or my nosey neighbors in my HOA that see my putting up masts in the yard. It works , and when conditions are great I have made a ton of contacts with little power, 5 to 10 watts. But an EF always seems better on the amount of contacts I can make and the strong signal reports I receive. My favorite part of this antenna is the quick deployment and the ease to ground spike, attach to a table or fence with the optional mounts and quality of components. The worst part is the cost. Chameleon should send you gear to tear apart and review, you are the perfect person to give an unbiased review. Again, great review, very much appreciated.

A REAL MONEY/TIME SAVER. Thanks

I want to build the 3 wire version (T3FD). Let's say I use a 1000 ohm termination resistor. There seems to be disagreement about the balun. Can you explain how to choose a balun ratio of 9:1 vs 12:1 vs 16:1?

Works great

Hello SurvivalComms, thank You for this excellent video. My guess is that Chameleon, Alpha and other antenna companies are influenced by military. Easy to use and NVIS purposes. I was 30 years in a desaster releave organisation here in Germany and our equipment followd the same approach: easy and fast to use, also for non - technician. I watched a lot of MPAS videos but noone did such an in deep research as You. Thank You again for that. In Germany this antenna system is extremly expensive, too. But i'm looking for a SOTA or travelling equipment, easy to install vertical. With the learnings out of Your video i will spend some time and build my own "rebuild" with modifications shown by You. By the way: immediately put an abo on Your channel!

where can i get this prep tool?

The JT was one of my favorites. We sure have come a long way in radio technology! This sure brought back old memories. When I first began as a volunteer for my small local volunteer FD, we had a rack charger with a few HT220 2-channel portable radios that were mostly used by the officers and EMS crews. Our small town shared a single VHFHigh-Band simplex frequency with 4 or 5 surrounding town for police use and a second freq for fire and first aid squad (now called “EMS”) use. Everything was carrier squelch and transmit discipline was pretty decent. Surprisingly, there was not much abuse. The biggest problem was lack of radio to radio comms without involving dispatch center as the “middle man” and too much traffic during major events. Plectron 2-tone sequential paging on the fire channel and every firefighter was issued a home alerting receiver with Nicad internal battery that worked only long enough to go to the grocery store and back before recharge was required. THIS also caused issues during large events. Each PD had a base station at HQ and some had remote transceivers using DC remotes over copper RTNA leased circuits from the phone co. When our PD’s detectives upgraded radios, we got their “hand me downs”. P220 “Slim” portables. I believe they were only 2-watts ..? They did not have the fire frequency installed, so we had to have channel elements and crystals ordered to “upgrade” them. It took weeks, if not longer, just to get the parts in. We eventually got a few MT500’s, but didn’t have the funding for quality gear, so we’re sold on the Midland/Regency radios by a local radio shop in the late 1970’s. They lasted under a year or so. You get what you pay for. Then Radius P200’s and HT-600’s (same ?) and then HT1000’s for in town and JT1000’s for mutual aid out of town use. Then came 9/11 and the nightmare of lack of “interoperability”. It’s been a nice advancement since then, but with too much unnecessary encryption and the “T-Band UHF” nightmare initiated by the Obama admin. President Trump must have had a knowledgeable source from FDNY or NYPD brief him on the looming disaster of losing the spectrum and their phenomenally performing system. They ditched the “T-Band Take back” from the Obama era “Stimulus Act” before it went into effect. But, most large agencies had already jumped to 700/800MHz, for fear of losing their allocated + licensed T-Band spectrum. The world has changed so much. Mostly for the better. Sadly, the tragic attempted assassination on President Trump exposed the lack of “interoperability” in emergency communications still exists. DHS-HSI & SS / PA State Police / Butler - county are all on different systems. Each wirh encryption. Not great. Thank you so much for your videos. 😊

Thanks ! I really like the concept. Over decades of collecting odds & ends of connectors and adapters, from top of the line to Chinesium, tarnishing has been a factor with most. I USED to do my most used adapters, especially the silver plated ones, using Flitz metal polish, a toothbrush and old T-shirt rags. After doing a few, I always found another project that was more important. ANY project! LOL I have advanced A.S. (ankylosing spondylitis) now, so it’s almost impossible to do anything by hand. Even though I’ve either donated or given most of my gear away to deserving younger fire dept volunteers, I still keep a few for emergencies. This will now be my new cleaning method. 👍🏻 I kept my largest collection of older silver-plated “UniDapt” connectors. They were a minor $ fortune, so I’ll definitely use the air compressor option and possibly use distilled water. These adapters/connectors have been my favorite emergency “go to” for so many years. I even used the blue color RG223 double shielded / silver plated pre-made cables with their proprietary “UniDapt” connector on each end. Incredibly good quality and not too pricey if purchased in sets of 6 or 10. I just can’t recall the mfg now, but they are USA mfg’d. I recently bought a new, smaller (40pc?) Chrome Plated generic set on eBay as a gift to one of the young kids starting out in world of radios and electronics. I was so disappointed with the quality. Thank you again for a great idea and great channel!

You are killing me! The pain caused from watching the concrete hit required enough aspirin that i emptied the medicine cabinet. 🤣 I’m getting most of my spare gear to donate to our local volunteer fire department who are still using low band VHF simplex to page / dispatch / and use for fireground communications. (46.xx) with GM300 mobiles and beat up P200LB portables. A jump to UHF and a pair of Quantars w/ Hytera PD782 Portabłes / MD782 mobiles and Motorola XPR7550e / XPR5550 radios, they should be a bit better. I had a few Anytone portables, but didn’t even offer them up. (Actually kinda nice for ham/personal use on a budget) but I cracked up when I heard your commentary 🤣. I’m gonna stick to a pair of portables in my old age years. I wish some of the multi-band, multi -protocol radios included analog/p25 phase 1+2 AND DMR. You’ve had one of the best RUclips channels for quite a few years now. Thank you.

I got my dad's. Still works.

Great tip using the vise.. Good video thanks..

I tried this modification and my radio will not power up. Am I missing something?

Very informative video Thx for sharing

This is a very *USEFUL* series. Ideally, I would buy a *_Chameleon_* antenna system, but … I can’t afford it, so building a _field expedient_ antenna is the next best thing, especially if I had a Chameleon but it wasn’t with me, was too heavy, etc. There are some really *tempting* antenna systems, but they sound like _”snake oil”._ You know the ones with a single vertical element, a _”magic black box”_ at the bottom, no radials required, and claim 80-6 meters *WITHOUT* a _”tuner”!_ Plus they’re a bit bulky and made of pure _”unaffordium”_ and _”unobtanium”!_ 😣 *73 de AF6AS*

That worked. Thank you!

Snagged my EFHW on a branch and broke it, using too much force. Have not had to splice an antenna wire in eons and found your video. Ant is back up in the air with a permanent fix, thanks to your quick video refresher. 73!

Thank you for sharing. Definitely loving this set up! Question, What size Wire Connectors Nuts did you use?

$600 bucks in the US , same dish in Panama $200. Starlink a little price gouging

This looks like a game changer for those deployable assets. Thanks for the informative video Brett