[ARDF] 2 Meter receivers

[Kenneth E. Harker]

I try to keep the IARU Region II ARDF web site as up-to-date as I can
regarding equipment options:

http://www.ardf-r2.org/en/equipment.shtml

It looks like the ROX-2T is the current production G3ZOI design 144 MHz 
ARDF receiver: http://www.open-circuit.co.uk/rox2t.php


Currently, the easiest way to get on 80 meters would have to be getting 
a WB6BYU design receiver from Marvin Johnston KE6HTS:
http://www.rain.org/~marvin/wb6byu.htm

The most popular 2M receiver i've seen at recent USA/RII ARDF championships
has been the VK3YNG Mark IV Sniffer paired with a WB2HOL design tape measure 
yagi. http://users.bigpond.net.au/vk3yng/foxhunt/2m_sniffer/manual.htm and
http://home.att.net/~jleggio/projects/rdf/tape_bm.htm.  Not everyone 
likes the way the VK3YNG receiver works on keyed AM, though - I think 
the G3ZOI receiver was the next most popular option at the 2006 USA ARDF 
championships, but unfortunately you cannot buy it as a kit or assembled.


Finally, buying rigs from eastern Europe is possible if you can get someone 
going to a World Championship to shop for you.


On Tue, Jul 18, 2006 at 07:16:52AM -0700, Dale Hunt WB6BYU wrote:
> 
> 
> Dave wrote:
> > 
> >  I'm looking for a 2 meter receiver such as the one Ron Graham has
> > advertised or the one G3ZOI has advertised.  Does anyone know if either of
> > these radios are still available?  The sites showing these radios appear to
> > don't seem to work anymore.   Thanks in advance.   Dave
> 
> 
>     I fixed the attenuation problem with my Ron Graham
>     with a fairly simple internal mod - think it was just
>     changing a resistor, but I'll have to open it up and
>     see.  Kuon missed gold medals in two competitions due
>     to not being able to take bearings within 15m before
>     I fixed hers as well.  My main problems with it are
>     the tuning rate (especially trying to find a transmitter
>     among all the strong signals in Los Angeles) and the
>     fact that I can't hear both the modulation and the signal
>     strength at the same time.  (This is a problem when hunting
>     a continuous carrier FM signal, but often can be accomodated
>     by shifting the tuning a bit.  It isn't a problem with keyed
>     carrier transmissions as are found in most European events.)
> 
>     But I now use a VK3YNG sniffer, and was able to get a bearing
>     faster than a very experienced competitor with manual gain
>     when the transmitter first turned on.  (He than outran me,
>     of course.)  You might find a Ron Graham receiver surplus
>     from someone who has upgraded to a blue box.  (But that
>     doesn't mean I'm not working on some other ideas for
>     receivers...   just don't hold your breath: the last one
>     took 5 years or so.)
> 
>     I think the G3ZOI kits are still available but the website
>     has changed.  A Google search on "G3ZOI" should find it,
>     otherwise I should be able to track it down.  The one
>     problem with this approach is that it uses a 455kHz IF and
>     you may have image problems if there are strong signals
>     910kHz away from the transmitter on either side.  This isn't
>     as much of a problem in Europe, but can be if you are in a
>     heavily populated area here in the States.
> 
>     One thing I recommend is trying out a number of receivers
>     to see how they work for you.  If you are anywhere near
>     Portland you are welcome to try out my collection and see
>     what you like.
> 
>     Happy hunting!
> 
>         - Dale WB6BYU
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-- 
Kenneth E. Harker WM5R
kenharker at kenharker.com
http://www.kenharker.com/