KC9NCF
03-02-2009, 03:49 AM
I have had some time now to use the first two pieces of gear mentioned above: The Kenwood TMV-71A and the Diamond NR770HNMO with a Comet NMO Lip Mount.
The Kenwood radio is superb! With a full 50 watts of output on VHf and UHF, this radio works great! Even at the lower power levels, I get out really well!
At the beginning, I had some problems with getting clobbered by intermod but the VHF and UHF AIP features work amazingly well!
Signal and audio reports on repeaters and simplex have given me nothing short of crisp, clear audio and stable signals as good as 30 plus (Simplex). On simplex, I have been able to be heard as far as the south side of Chicago from the northwest suburbs, and as far northwest as DesPlaines from Downtown Chicago.
Being that it is winter and the band hasn't always been open on VHf or UHF, I give this a 5 star rating. I attribute these reports in part to the excellent performance of the Diamond NR770HNMO dual band mobile antenna I am using. This antenna has performed with more than satisfactory results so far. It hears VERY well even on the extended receive frequencies as far down as 118.000Mhz. The 800Mhz and above receive is also outstanding.
The one thing that I am not happy with is not being able to be heard by repeaters to the south of wherever I may be at. Yet, at home on a 50 watt base / mobile with an antenna with the same gain on both VHf and UHF, I can get those southern repeaters just fine. (As far south as Will County). We'll call this one difference due to height of the antenna systems.
The Comet mount I'm using was a great fit for my vehicle!
On to the Kenwood TS-570D. The audio on receive leaves something to be desired and I usually have to use headphones to hear real well. The Xmit is awesome! All of the functions work very well to include the speech processor when it's needed.
I'm using a Kenwood MC-60 Mic and have been told I can sound "tinny" sometimes. Other than that, no one has complained about how I sound and it works very well. The scan function could be faster, and it is usually better if you spin the VFO yourself.
One unusual thing I see with this radio is that if you want to do any local MW listening or even SW monitoring, that Antenna tuner needs to be turned off or else you lose signal on receive. The antenna tuner on this rig is excellent and has the usual limitations that any other AAT has. I recommend getting an external tuner for better tuning.
When the band opens up, you want to keep your mic gain at 30 and no higher or else you'll sound distorted. I found this out the hard way.
The best feature of this rig is that it has a monitor that allows you to hear how you sound on Xmit!
On to the G5RV: The G5RV Multi-Bander at 102 Feet long, when put up at 80 feet or higher works well! Now, I had to cut some coax to put a new PL259 on, and as a result of this, it will NOT tune to 160 Meters on Xmit. This antenna was NOT meant for 30 meter Xmit either. (unless you can get the external tuner on it and see where your SWR is). I have gotten out with this antenna as far away around the globe as the Netherlands-Antilles on just 100 watts, no amp!
Canada has no problem hearing me, neither does the extreme west coast of Canada in Yukon territory. I have yet to make contact with Hawaii, so still working on that. This antenna hears extremely well on all bands. Calimexifornia has some trouble hearing me, but not by too much of a stretch. The east coast of the U.S will always get me the best reports, as will Puerto-Rico, and the rest of the east.
My antenna is stretched horizontally east to west, so the north and south also have zero problems hearing me unless the band is just in bad shape. With any luck, I'll be able to use it well on the MARS freqs once my mod is done. Overall, I have had no problems hearing nor being heard.
The Kenwood radio is superb! With a full 50 watts of output on VHf and UHF, this radio works great! Even at the lower power levels, I get out really well!
At the beginning, I had some problems with getting clobbered by intermod but the VHF and UHF AIP features work amazingly well!
Signal and audio reports on repeaters and simplex have given me nothing short of crisp, clear audio and stable signals as good as 30 plus (Simplex). On simplex, I have been able to be heard as far as the south side of Chicago from the northwest suburbs, and as far northwest as DesPlaines from Downtown Chicago.
Being that it is winter and the band hasn't always been open on VHf or UHF, I give this a 5 star rating. I attribute these reports in part to the excellent performance of the Diamond NR770HNMO dual band mobile antenna I am using. This antenna has performed with more than satisfactory results so far. It hears VERY well even on the extended receive frequencies as far down as 118.000Mhz. The 800Mhz and above receive is also outstanding.
The one thing that I am not happy with is not being able to be heard by repeaters to the south of wherever I may be at. Yet, at home on a 50 watt base / mobile with an antenna with the same gain on both VHf and UHF, I can get those southern repeaters just fine. (As far south as Will County). We'll call this one difference due to height of the antenna systems.
The Comet mount I'm using was a great fit for my vehicle!
On to the Kenwood TS-570D. The audio on receive leaves something to be desired and I usually have to use headphones to hear real well. The Xmit is awesome! All of the functions work very well to include the speech processor when it's needed.
I'm using a Kenwood MC-60 Mic and have been told I can sound "tinny" sometimes. Other than that, no one has complained about how I sound and it works very well. The scan function could be faster, and it is usually better if you spin the VFO yourself.
One unusual thing I see with this radio is that if you want to do any local MW listening or even SW monitoring, that Antenna tuner needs to be turned off or else you lose signal on receive. The antenna tuner on this rig is excellent and has the usual limitations that any other AAT has. I recommend getting an external tuner for better tuning.
When the band opens up, you want to keep your mic gain at 30 and no higher or else you'll sound distorted. I found this out the hard way.
The best feature of this rig is that it has a monitor that allows you to hear how you sound on Xmit!
On to the G5RV: The G5RV Multi-Bander at 102 Feet long, when put up at 80 feet or higher works well! Now, I had to cut some coax to put a new PL259 on, and as a result of this, it will NOT tune to 160 Meters on Xmit. This antenna was NOT meant for 30 meter Xmit either. (unless you can get the external tuner on it and see where your SWR is). I have gotten out with this antenna as far away around the globe as the Netherlands-Antilles on just 100 watts, no amp!
Canada has no problem hearing me, neither does the extreme west coast of Canada in Yukon territory. I have yet to make contact with Hawaii, so still working on that. This antenna hears extremely well on all bands. Calimexifornia has some trouble hearing me, but not by too much of a stretch. The east coast of the U.S will always get me the best reports, as will Puerto-Rico, and the rest of the east.
My antenna is stretched horizontally east to west, so the north and south also have zero problems hearing me unless the band is just in bad shape. With any luck, I'll be able to use it well on the MARS freqs once my mod is done. Overall, I have had no problems hearing nor being heard.