Yeah, that is what I figured. The guy I bought it from claimed both batteries worked before he shipped them out....figures. This is the second time I have been burned buying used equipment on this website.

Buyer beware....

I just purchased a used TH-G71A online. When I drop the radio in the rapid charger, the charging light blinks red. The light never stays solid red or turns to solid green.

Does anyone know what this means? I can't find anything in the manual.

I purchased a used Kenwood radio with the rapid charger. I notice that the red charging light, blinks. I couldn't find anything in the manual about a blinking red light.

Does anyone know what the means? Are the batteries junk?

I currenty have an Icom IC-R75 SW receiver. I have it hooked to an RF Systems EMF wire antenna. Currently, part of the antenna is taped to the wall of my apartment with the remaining six feet dangling off my window blinds. The antenna is not mounted in a straight line, but rather thrown across objects.

First question: What is the difference between an active and passive antenna?

Second question: Should I consider an active antenna for my radio? If so, which brand/model?

Third question: Does it matter that my current wire antenna is not mounted in a straight line?

Fourth question: Any advantage in a loop antenna over a wire antenna?

For the most part, I am getting fair signals with my antenna, however a good SINPO rating quickly falls to a bad SINPO rating after listening for only a few minutes. I didn't know if it's due to my antenna mounting, type of antenna, or just the time of year for listening.

I enjoy listening to my SW receiver, but have become very disappointed in how fast the reception drops out.

Please be, "easy" on me. Although I am currently studying for my General certificate, antennas and propagation have been tough areas for me to grasp.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

73's.

-Chris

Yeah, I purchaed an RF Systems EMF antenna from Universal Radio. It seems to do ok. I have it in my apartment.

One of the problems I am finding though, is that I can't keep a signal for very long. It will start out strong, but then start to fade or get full of static. I then have to search for a different freq.

I am currently a Technician, working on my General as I speak.  

I have been doing a bit of shopping for a nice HF rig. I would appreciate any ideas as to what rigs to avoid and what ones to look at. I have read the product reviews, but that has made me more confused as to what to buy or look for in a HF rig.

Ideally I would like to buy new, but my budget may force me to buy used. I have looked at everything from an IC-746pro, to a FT-1000MPV. I would like to stay under the $2,000 mark.

Unfortunately I have zero experience in HF rigs, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

73's,

-Chris

I just purchased a new Icom IC-R75 and should be getting it today (Monday). I ended up selling my Grundig Satellit 800. The Grunding was just too big for me.

For the people that own an IC-R75, how do you like it? I have read great reviews on the radio for quite somtime now. It seems like it is the best bang for your buck as well.

Ok, thanks for all of your help. I look forward to studying for the General! I just ordered the latest edition from ARRL.

Now that the FCC is dropping the morse code requirement, I would like to go for my General license.

Can I study out of the current test book and just skip the morse code part?

Also, when I pass the General test, will I get a new call sign?

Thanks,

Chris

The antennas for the airport are located about 1,000 feet away from the tower.

It would be nice if these handhelds had better shielding from electroinc interference. When I get near computers the squelch breaks. It is very annoying. Our DPS Motorola radios do not to this. But I am sure that is a totally different radio.

I just purchased an IC-24A handheld aviation transceiver. Although I like the layout of the radio, I am having a heck of a time picking up the tower and pilots. I work at an airport and my office is one floor below the tower. You would think I would be able to pick the tower up crystal clear, but I can't. The sound is very faint and fuzzy. I actually pick the pilots up while on the ground, better than I pick up the tower.

I also purchased a VXA-300 handheld to try out. I ended up returning it due to the radio always breaking squelch. The swivel belt clip was a bad idea as well, due to the radio easily coming off the clip.

In my opinion Icom has a much better and more practical radio. It is a bit bigger than Yaesu's which makes it easier to use. It also has a larger display and buttons. I may end up returning this radio as well though, if I can't get a better signal with it.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated (including buying a better antenna or different radio).

-Chris

I can't get my radio out of memory mode. I reset the memory, took the battery out, and still nothing. Any ideas would be helpful!

Has anyone experienced poor reception with the stock antenna on their Uniden BCD396T? I was getting alot of cracking and popping with the stock antenna.

I live in a 800MHz trunked county. So basically all I listen to is in the 800-900MHz range.

I just purchased a Max Systems 8HH antenna that is suppose to give better reception in the 800MHz-900MHz trunked systems.

I have noticed some improvement but not as much as I had hoped.

Has anyone had a good experience with an aftermarket handheld scanner antenna?

Scannermaster.com seems to offer quite a few aftermarket antennas, but they just look like larger versions of my stock antenna.

Does anyone know how long it's suppose to take to charge the 3 AA rechargeable batteries that come with this scanner? The manual says 14 hours, but I have had my scanner charging now for almost two days.

It says, "Normal Charging" on the display. When the scanner is fully charged it is suppose to say, "Charge Complete."

The ony cables that came with the YSK8900 kit are for the speaker (pointed ends) and the face plate extension(flat ends). I misspoke when I said data cable.