Hi.  Yeah, I have ordered several times from Universal and the main trouble is that they don´t notify me about back orders...and there is a back order of some little thing just about every time.  Still, no real problems and I LIKE that they are serious about SWL...how do you think I became interested in amateur radio?  Exactly.  A little more consideration and a real name on the email replies (which take a couple of days but so what)would be nice, but it is hard to be friendly and helpful all the time when you are at a place eight or more hours a day.  In short, three or four stars...and I will be using them again, especially for large purchases.  After all, they do have a repair shop.  Also, shops like Gigaparts and AES have annoying websites and look too much (over the internet, at least) like Best Buy or some such.  Perhaps my impression would be different if I´d visited any of these shops in person.

Hi, this (older) thread caught my interest as I recently got back a 909 from Radiolabs and ordered (separately) a multimeter from them as well.  I have to say mostly positive things about my experience, though the multimeter went on sale at Sears a couple of weeks later...sehlah.  As for the Sangean, it took two months to get it back from them but that was my fault.  They had sent an email to me about a week after I sent it to CA, some problem with my address.  Yeah, all the databases list my town as Perth Amboy but I live in Hopelawn, NJ...same zip code.  Anyway, for some reason I missed the email but they sent the darn thing eventually.  Now that I have the modded radio, I might add that it is indeed improved in sensitivity, though the new antenna jack makes it hard to fit the device into its case.  

It is indeed wise to put this "terrorism" stuff in perspective.  Household accidents (like keeping a lead-acid battery in your room) and auto accidents are far more likely problems in real life.  But if it is important to you, why not put a couple of deep cycle batteries outside/on the balcony/etc and rig them to an isolated trickle charger/switcher like the one from westmountainradio.com?  If you have the cash, solar is the way to go for trickle, but the mains should be adequate if the emergency doesn´t last more than a day or two...and tell me one continental US emergency that has.  Lead acid batteries also require good wiring (number 2 or lower is not overkill) to keep voltage up when you need them.  As a member posted previously, HF communication is less likely to be useful in anything short of nuclear war than VHF, so you might want to think about a solar charger for your HT batteries (universal-radio.com sells one but I don´t know how well it works).  

The firearms aspect and my two cents:  My personal choice is a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch with a small Leopold scope and a case of military ball, a Mossberg Cruiser 12 gauge with plenty of buck, and a .38/357 or .44 Special revolver (any, maybe small frame...S and W makes some great ones these days, up to 8-shot, but a cheapie will do).  If you aren´t a gun nut, just the shotgun would be the safest choice.

Just trying to help,
73 Randy

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the variety of information this forum provides...that means thank YOU!  Anyway, I should pick up a decent electronics textbook to better understand this stuff though, as the Stooges once crooned, "I´m learnin´ fast."  In fact I am studying a general book now, but, really, the electronics there are not much more than in my high school physics class twenty years ago.  At least I am learning more about signal propagation...back on track, I do appreciate that the point of this MFJ wonder is to hook up a random/insulated wire, not to hook it up to station ground (!), and wondered if and how it could work.  Your comments have helped there.  So far, the conclusions:  1.) It won´t replace a good RF ground. 2.) An RF ground is not always necessary if the antennas are correctly set up. 3.) Forget about using this device with a built-in radio antenna tuner.

How about this:  I run coax (again, no chance of ladder line in this house, or out I think) from the antenna(s) (from the balun, if appropriate) down to the literal ground, where I stake a couple of I.C.E. arrestors/grounders to ground the coax shield (thinking of using Bury-Flex for HF and up to 70 cm) and then run more coax up again to the second story room and directly into the radio.  Whadda ya think?

Thanks again,
73 Randy

Well, there is so much to learn about radio electronics!  When I saw this item in the MFJ catalog, it seemed too good to be true for someone living on the second floor (like me), but the reviews here on eham say it does work.  I´d like to solicit more comments about this device, see what people´s experience has been.  There are actually two products, the 934 combo tuner/artificial ground and also a plain "artificial ground."  I guess this works as a sort of tuned counterpoise?  Would this be affected by RF noise (my PC is terrible) in the shack?  Could the plain (and cheaper) model work with a radio´s built-in antenna tuner (I am considering the Kenwood 2000)? My current residence is a brick (solid) house, the room is indeed on the second floor with wire or whip antennas planned for the balcony above (there is a balcony over this room, a bit strange I admit).  

OK, I do thank you for your help (it seems that 500 Hz is indeed a good size for CW type operations) and, to be clearer, I would like to work digital modes with a Rigblaster.  So, again, is the high stability deal needed? Thanks again, Randy

OK guys, I´m finally going beyond the VHF range and, despite the desire to buy American, it seems that the best "do it all" choice is this radio.  Thing is, what about all of these options?  Outside of the fact that the "high stability" option should of course be standard, how useful is it really? What does it really do? Is it worth the money?  And the filters...I want good SSB but also CW (just ordered a Begali Spark key) but can´t afford every option.  Is a CW filter (I assume 500, but?) really needed on this set? Thanks very much, you guys have really helped me in the past and hope that I will be able to help in the future.

Well, it´s always something.  Today I read a comment on another eham forum that the batteriesamerica T90a battery isn´t so great, that it has some compatability problems.  Great.  Any word on the W and W Associates version? Will I end up buying that $80 ICOM battery after all?  Does anyone care?  By the way, regarding my last post, further reading on eham suggests that GMRS operation of an amateur radio would be illegal, though the reasoning is, in my opinion, dubious at best (FCC certification of the transceiver...is this really important in the real world? Outside of fines, etc...I have no patience with meaningless laws).  Just BS-ing again...Randy

Dear James,
Thank you for your advice.  Actually, I had already seen some reviews here on eham, but the truth is I don´t know much about power supplies and how they work...but I´m learning!  Indeed, I will probably order an Astron unit from Universal Radio (their customer service really isn´t that great but their website is easy to use) in the summer.  I hope a switching supply will filter the line noise well enough here in the Czech Republic, where the mains current is somewhat irregular.  Again, I appreciate the timely (unlike this reply!) and sound advice from the members of this site. Randy

Larry, thanks for your additional help with the battery situation.  It´s good to have a choice of places to order from.  By the way, I do now have the T90a, though not the license (oh dear) and have been using it as a scanner.  Frankly, I am not impressed with the sensitivity, but of course I am using the rubber antenna.  As for the batteries, it is true that the stock batteries aren´t much for all-day use, but I am still going to go with a second factory-type battery instead of a home-made (and much stronger) setup.  Yes, I got the ICOM cigarette adapter, batteriesamerica had one slightly cheaper but I like how the factory one plugs into the side of the unit instead of replacing the battery pack.
Otherwise, but still on the T90a, I have to wonder about the legality of something I am, uh, tempted to do.  As everyone knows (but seldom mentions on this site), it is possible to open up the transmission frequencies on these VHF/UHF radios.  I have a couple of GMRS radios and would like to use the T90a with them. Since the GMRS info I have states that up to five watts is acceptable (or perhaps I am reading it wrong), it would seem legal but I am not sure.  If anyone wants to weigh in with an opinion, I am interested.
Thanks again, Randy

Hello, sorry to bother you guys again (you really helped with my T90a battery question) but, now that I am planning a sort of base station, I need a power supply.  There are many available, but which would be a good choice?  For the time being, my interest is in technician/class 2 operation, I am thinking about the Yaesu 8900.  My preference is for an American-made power supply, perhaps linear but not necessarily, and with a cigarette-lighter plug included to easily use my walkie-talkie.  Yeah, that could be added later, but I like things to be neat and compact.  Speaking of which, the supply had to be reasonably light (less than twenty pounds or so) as I will haul it to Europe this summer.  Likewise, it has to be 110/240V, without major modification.  
Thanks in advance for your help.
Randy

Guys, again I want to thank you for helping out with this admittingly minor problem.  I did order the T90a, from Universal, but haven´t received it yet. After I physically check out the stock battery, I will decide what solution to use for additional power.  Since I chose the T90a in part for its small size and light weight, the likely route will be a replacement/third party LiIon pack.  For me this will probably be easier than gel cells or other external batteries, but who knows in the future...thanks again, Randy

Thank you KG4YJR, I just had the the URL singular instead of plural...yes, batterIESamerica.com does offer much more reasonable prices.  But,uh,any suggestions on cheaper VOX headsets?  I just paid 15 USD each for a pair of Motorola headsets for their no-licence radios and thought that was more than enough...thanks again, I see the amatuer communitiy does like to help out.  Randy

Hi,

I am trying to break into amateur radio and am considering the Icom T90a as a first radio.  Not a controversial choice, but the accessories are, as noted by several eham reviewers, quite overpriced.  One reviewer noted that "batteryamerica" offers more reasonably priced LiIon battery packs and perhaps chargers for the T90a, but upon checking this site (literally batteryamerica.com)I discovered them to be  a professional supplier and I could not find any T90a stuff.  Can anyone help me find and confirm cheaper (than Icom) batteries and other accessories (I want a headset, too)?  I want to buy new and stay away from ebay.  Thank you very much for your help.  Randy