That’s my advice. There is a newer version with the Megatron M17 mods and I was led to get it from the Deepelec website. After installation, the new version showed a Deepelec logo when I boot the device, but more importantly M17 broke the mute button (the zero key). The mute becomes erratic and you have to push the button many times. This is awful for comparing two radios. I reinstalled M16.
I’ll revisit the decision when the mute button is fixed.
No posts for a while. I have two projects in the works and they aren’t progressing as fast as I would like.
One is a comparison between the Sparkelec DP-666 and my other TEF6686 radio, the Qodosen DX-286.
The other project is a comparison between 5 PLL superheterodyne models: Tecsun PL-660, Tecsun PL-990, Kaito KA1101, Grundig G4000A and Sangean ATS-909. The feature comparison is done, but I need a good bit of on-air testing.
My DP-666 finally arrived today. It’s based on the NXP TEF6686 chip, designed for automotive applications. The contents of the box bore an uncanny resemblance to the seller photo (what we call a “good thing’), and here it is:
I am happy to report that the signal general generator does work (turns on and outputs RF), despite all the YouTube repair videos.
My first experiment was to hook up the Signal Generator to an SDR, the RTL-SDR Blog V4, controlled by SDR++. I more or less randomly picked 17 MHz for the frequency.
I pressed the F1 button until the “<” sign appeared on the top row. In the preceding photo it’s after “017.0000.” It points to the parameter being set, in this case the frequency. To directly enter this frequency requires keying all 7 digits, “0170000.” Once you start keying a number, you must finish before going on. When the 7th digit is keyed, the frequency changes.
The number on the upper right is the signal strength in dB. The number lower left is a subcarrier tone frequency used by some devices (turned off here). The middle bottom number is the modulation frequency (0 for no modulation), and finally on the bottom right is what looks like a firmware version that hasn’t changed for a couple of years at least.
Here’s what the signal looks like on the SDR++ display.
When I take the generator setting of -71 dB and add the gain setting on SDR++, the result is -37.2, which is pretty close to what SDR++ shows using the scale on the left.
This generator only does FM modulation, narrow band FM in particular. That’s not my target use, testing portable shortwave radios, but AM radios do attempt to decode signals of all types, and a pure tone FM signal is detected, sort of. I heard a “warbling” tone when I set SDR++ to AM, and a similar sound from the Qodosen DX-286.
The good news is that it arrived early from AliExpress. It arrived in a gray plastic bag, enclosing a shipping box that I will not be reusing.
The bubble-wrapped contents fared better:
And that was it. The power cable had a connector only on one end.
Continue readingI have 4, perhaps more, radios that have a capability to display both local time and UTC. They are: Eton Elite Executive, Qodosen DX-286/SR-286 and Sangean ATS-909. I don’t understand the setting process fully, and the manual didn’t help.
Let me say at the outset that the User Manual clearly shows how to initially set up the Qodosen SR-286/DX-286 radios. And if it isn’t clear enough, I wrote up the steps in my own words. That works; what I haven’t figured out is how to adjust the time without repeating the same rather lengthy procedure.
I remember back when I got my Eton Elite Executive, I couldn’t figure the time zone out. I just set the clock for whatever it displayed and stayed on UTC. Now with my latest acquisition, the Sangean ATS-909, it’s the same problem. I read the manual. I consulted an AI. When nothing worked I said “enough!” I am going to figure this out on my own.
The 3 types of radios are presented in the order of their introduction into the marketplace, perhaps to show some hints of evolution.
Continue readingHello darkness, my old friend.
I’ve come DXing you again.
Because a signal softly creeping
With the signal strength increasing,
And the image on the screen of my SDR,
From afar,
Emerging from the wells of static.
With apology to Simon and Grundig
With a little help from the OfficialSWLChannel YouTube chat members.
