Thanks for the watch and comment. Once we stopped buying CB radios the Japanese needed something to keep the money flowing, and once FM was established and popular sales began to drop, so they added SSB to the mix.
The IC-290 was my first VHF SSB/CW rig 40 plus years ago. They still are a good, cheap way to start on VHF weak signal work. They are a bit drifty, but by not engaging the RIT and just fine tuning the VFO as the QSO goes on, you can stay on frequency. Yes, there is little activity on 144.200 USB. But most major cities have local groups with nets where you can work others in your area. An internet search will let you know of one near you. On 2 meter SSB the antennas are horizontally polarized. Using your FM vertical will work, but you will experience a 3 S unit loss on receive AND transmit, so even a simple dipole is much better to use than your vertical.
Thanks for viewing and commenting. Everyone knows that Swans and Siltronix radios drift, but we just assume that the newer radios are drift free. Mine will drift about 200 Hz from cold, then move another 300 Hz when I actually talk on it. I was going to take it apart but I'll leave it alone.
I played around with 2M SSB about 40 years ago and learned the hard truth about it then... Around western Pennsylvania, if you don't live on top of a good hill your experience will be less than satisfying. This is why repeaters were created. Propagation is highly dependent on the weather. Temperature inversions and frontal passages often yield the best conditions for the casual operators. Hard-core ops embrace meteor scatter, auroral scatter, and moonbounce. Long before POTA, western Pennsylvania hams flocked to "hilltopping", driving their cars equipped with Saturn basketball hoops for 6 and 2 meters, using their Clegg and Gonset transceivers to have a good time far from any houses that might experience TVI. There is a strange dichotomy here. Horizontal polarization is known to reduce natural noise, but QRN isn't really a factor at 144 MHz. I had a dual polarity beam and never saw any difference between the two. Around Pittsburgh, not only are there very few CB users but there are no 2m SSB ops. I occasionally talk to a friend, who also uses a vertical, on the calling frequency. In the past that would have earned a chastisement from The Faithful, which actually would have been welcome, but no one ever jumps in. Sometimes I wish that KC4TVZ would have his beacon on 144.200.
Always hoping the Oriental Radio Manufacturers (7 major brand names) would get some vhf/uhf ssb radios into reality. That is a rare unit!!! red led theme locked in!!!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I wasn't looking for this radio, or anything like it, but it looked good, had the mike and power cord, and was priced right. VHF/UHF SSB in western Pennsylvania isn't very popular because you really need to be on a hill to have a chance. I have to give props to the one enthusiast that I hear occasionally that goes hilltopping in search of a contact.
@@spaceflight1019 Well, thinkin inverted may be in order, fm simplex or repeater sniping through a valley! 146.52, and 146.49 are always on a scanner. Gotta get that ctcss chip in the radio or play it safe and make a unique desk mic that adds tx encode tone to the vocals. I had a 2at ht with the thumbwheels that worked wonders, no tones, but the 600 shift button and open repeater or simplex did fine with 1 watt. There are still open repeaters out there to this day.
Great review and history
Thanks for the watch and comment. Once we stopped buying CB radios the Japanese needed something to keep the money flowing, and once FM was established and popular sales began to drop, so they added SSB to the mix.
The IC-290 was my first VHF SSB/CW rig 40 plus years ago. They still are a good, cheap way to start on VHF weak signal work. They are a bit drifty, but by not engaging the RIT and just fine tuning the VFO as the QSO goes on, you can stay on frequency. Yes, there is little activity on 144.200 USB. But most major cities have local groups with nets where you can work others in your area. An internet search will let you know of one near you. On 2 meter SSB the antennas are horizontally polarized. Using your FM vertical will work, but you will experience a 3 S unit loss on receive AND transmit, so even a simple dipole is much better to use than your vertical.
Thanks for viewing and commenting. Everyone knows that Swans and Siltronix radios drift, but we just assume that the newer radios are drift free. Mine will drift about 200 Hz from cold, then move another 300 Hz when I actually talk on it. I was going to take it apart but I'll leave it alone.
I played around with 2M SSB about 40 years ago and learned the hard truth about it then...
Around western Pennsylvania, if you don't live on top of a good hill your experience will be less than satisfying. This is why repeaters were created.
Propagation is highly dependent on the weather. Temperature inversions and frontal passages often yield the best conditions for the casual operators. Hard-core ops embrace meteor scatter, auroral scatter, and moonbounce.
Long before POTA, western Pennsylvania hams flocked to "hilltopping", driving their cars equipped with Saturn basketball hoops for 6 and 2 meters, using their Clegg and Gonset transceivers to have a good time far from any houses that might experience TVI.
There is a strange dichotomy here. Horizontal polarization is known to reduce natural noise, but QRN isn't really a factor at 144 MHz. I had a dual polarity beam and never saw any difference between the two.
Around Pittsburgh, not only are there very few CB users but there are no 2m SSB ops. I occasionally talk to a friend, who also uses a vertical, on the calling frequency. In the past that would have earned a chastisement from The Faithful, which actually would have been welcome, but no one ever jumps in.
Sometimes I wish that KC4TVZ would have his beacon on 144.200.
Always hoping the Oriental Radio Manufacturers (7 major brand names) would get some vhf/uhf ssb radios into reality.
That is a rare unit!!! red led theme locked in!!!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I wasn't looking for this radio, or anything like it, but it looked good, had the mike and power cord, and was priced right. VHF/UHF SSB in western Pennsylvania isn't very popular because you really need to be on a hill to have a chance. I have to give props to the one enthusiast that I hear occasionally that goes hilltopping in search of a contact.
@@spaceflight1019 Well, thinkin inverted may be in order, fm simplex or repeater sniping through a valley! 146.52, and 146.49 are always on a scanner. Gotta get that ctcss chip in the radio or play it safe and make a unique desk mic that adds tx encode tone to the vocals.
I had a 2at ht with the thumbwheels that worked wonders, no tones, but the 600 shift button and open repeater or simplex did fine with 1 watt. There are still open repeaters out there to this day.