‰ NOW 40 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM NOVEMBER 2012 QST PAGE 62‰ SIGNALS FROM THE WHIP AND TUNER. ON RECEIVE, I HAVE HEARD SEVERAL STATIONS CLEARLY WHILE USING THIS ANTENNA, BUT AS OF THIS WRITING HAVE NOT WORKED ANYONE WITH THE HT 7. MORE TESTING IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE. THE LOOP OFFERS AN EASY ALTERNATIVE TO THE OPTIONAL WHIP ANTENNA. R. CAPON, WA3ULH, YOU CAN BUILD A COMPACT LOOP ANTENNA FOR 30 THROUGH 12 METERS, QST, MAY 1994, PP 33 36. PAST QST ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE TO ARRL MEMBERS ONLINE AT WWW. EFFORT, I WAS ABLE TO CONTACT WELL KNOWN AM ENTHUSIAST TIM SMITH, WA1HLR, IN SKOWHEGAN, MAINE A DISTANCE OF 250 MILES. TIM REPORTED AN S8 SIGNAL WITH GOOD TRANSMITTED AUDIO. A HALF HOUR QSO ENSUED, POINTED WITH LAUGHTER AND APPRECIATION FOR THE NOVELTY OF A LOW POWER, HANDHELD AM TRANSCEIVER. AT HOME, USING MY FULL SIZE DIPOLE ANTENNA, THE HT 7 RECEIVES WELL ENOUGH TO PICK UP THE TYPICAL ATMOSPHERICS AND MAN MADE NOISES COMMONLY HEARD ON 40 METERS. AMATEUR AM STATIONS ARE RECEIVED LOUD AND CLEAR, PROVIDED THAT RECEIVED STATIONS ARE TRANSMITTING ON OR CLOSE TO 7R290 MHZ, THE HT 7S SINGLE CRYSTAL CONTROLLED OPERATING FREQUENCY. AT A MINIMUM, THE HT 7 MAKES A GOOD 7R290 MHZ MONITOR. WITH GOOD CONDITIONS, I EXPECT TO MAKE CONTACTS WITH MY DIPOLE ANTENNA BUT THE HT 7 IS DESIGNED FOR WALKING AND TALKING. I FOUND THE OPTIONAL WHIP AND ANTENNA TUNER A 57 INCH WHIP AND MIRACLE ANTENNA DUCKER IL MODEL TUNER TO BE ADEQUATE FOR LOCAL CONTACTS. I ALSO DECIDED TO EXPERIMENT WITH A LOOP ANTENNA FOR WALKING AND TALKING SEE SIDEBAR. THE OPTIONAL 11R1 V, 4000 MA/H LI ION BATTERY PACK IS WELL WORTH THE 45 PRICE TAG. IT HAS A BUILT IN CHARGING CIRCUIT THAT PREVENTS THE FIRST TIME. BACK AT THE SHACK, I FOUND IT BEST TO ADJUST THE CARRIER RV1 TO 600 MW RF OUTPUT POWER AND THEN ADJUST THE MICROPHONE PREAMP GAIN RV2 FOR MAXIMUM GAIN WITH OUT DISTORTION. WITH THE INTERNAL 11R1 V DC BATTERY PACK, I MEASURE SLIGHTLY OVER 1R6 W PEP RF OUTPUT POWER. TESTS THE FOLLOWING DAY WITH W1AW STATION MANAGER JOE CARCIA, NJ1Q, CONFIRMED THAT MY HT 7 WAS NOW TRANSMITTING CLEAR AUDIO. LAB TESTING THE RECEIVER CURRENT CONSUMPTION IS COMPARABLE TO MODERN VHF/UHF HANDHELD TRANSCEIVERS. WITH THE OPTIONAL 4000 MA/H BATTERY PACK, I COULD PROBABLY OPERATE THIS TRANSCEIVER FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE A RECHARGE WOULD BE NEEDED. SPURIOUS EMISSION SUPPRESSION IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN SPECIFIED, AND THE HT 7 MET ITS SPECIFIED RF POWER OUTPUT OF 2 W PEP WITH 13R8 V DC APPLIED. THE RECEIVER SENSITIVITY DID NOT MEET THE SPECIFIED 1 UV. I CAN COMFORTABLY HEAR AN 8 UV SIGNAL, BUT CAN BARELY HEAR A 2 UV SIGNAL. NO AUDIO DISTORTION IS NOTICEABLE AS THE INPUT SIGNAL DECREASES TO THE POINT OF FADING OUT. REDUCED SENSITIVITY IS NOT ENTIRELY DETRIMENTAL, CONSIDERING THE LOW TRANSMITTER POWER. REALISTICALLY, THE HT 7 WILL BE HEARD BY STATIONS THAT ARE RECEIVED LOUDLY THROUGH THE SPEAKER. ON THE AIR TO MAKE MY FIRST DISTANT CONTACT EASIER, I ATTACHED THE HT 7 TO W1AWS 2 ELEMENT 40 METER YAGI ANTENNA, PERCHED ATOP ITS 120 FOOT TOWER. WITHOUT ‰ END OF 40 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ