A £45 Budget Air Band Radio Scanner!? - Talkpod A36 Plus
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2023
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Air Band Improved Firmware:
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Never been this early to a new RM video!
I wish more companies made clear cases for all forms of technology. You can learn a lot just from being able to actually see what’s going on in there.
Prison electronics are clear, super neat if you can get your hands on them.
@@RT-qd8yl Yep stops the prisoners from hiding contraband in them My friend is a prison guard and uses a clear CRT TV with his commodore 64 which also has a clear case (he had it made especially for his C64). Inside the TV you can see the cathode warm up, the flyback transformer and all the other electronics that make a CRT TV work.
The inside should be coated with a metallic film to prevent interference.
You can't actually see very much inside this - just a metal screening can. It does look neat lit up though.
Does the new air band firmware reduce any capabilities that the radio had in any other aspect before?
Thanks for sharing this overview. I bought it mainly to listen to air-band in the car, which has plenty of USB-C outlets and so I can run and charge it there without a charger or adapter.
This little radio has AM Narrow and AM Wide modes and I noticed that weak signals have a better signal to noise and surprisingly the radio seems to automatically switch to Wide if the signal strength is at a higher level. So listening to strong signals there seems to be no audio difference between N and W, while on weak signals it is useful and clearly audible. For this reason I defined all Air-Band frequencies as narrow band I am quite happy with it. The AGC attack issue you can hear clearly seems bandwidth independent but after the first few hundred milliseconds it settles into a reasonably good sounding AM demodulation, not like an air-band scanner, but good enough for these 50 bucks.
The front end is wide open and when any local utility or BC transmitter is near you will only be able to get a good S/N if using an external band filter. The overall sensitivity seems quite good but selectivity is a major issue. I have seen one guy building a I believe small portable 3 element turnstile antenna for 255MHz SatCom and to my surprise his reception was pretty good standing on the ground while holding the antenna in his hands (not on an elevated tower), so sensitivity and low noise seems to be great.
I have not yet set up my RF lab to check the purity of the TX signal but since it can transmit almost everywhere (above Air Band) I would not wonder if this created strong harmonics, but so far this is just a negative presumption that isn't proven yet. I will not use its transmitter unless I have checked the TX spectrum, which is pretty scary on some of the recent Chinese handheld radios, when harmonics are just a very few dB down from the actual signal - yikes. Be careful when operating some of these Chinese crackers on a wideband antenna like e.g. a discone or log-periodic, since this might get you a letter from authorities and possibly a fine.
On the ham bands its sensitivity is also pretty good, but as mentioned selectivity could be much better.
Anyway this is an interesting ultra cheap USB powered compromise to get started, having a relatively good audio RX wise and TX on dummy load, and we will later see if transmitting with this is good idea or gets you into serious trouble.
Thanks for the shoutout Lewis! Great video! It looks pretty sweet in the clear case too.
From a market perspective, i like the fact these cheap new models are coming out, it keeps the 'big brands' on their toes - i.e. they must justify their cost ! also, anything which gets people into the hobby, always good ! Nice video and have to say enjoyed the sound track - do you have a link to a longer version :D
More interesting content from yourself as usual, Lewis. Thanks. V informative. 👍
The clear plastic reminds me of 90s gadgets!
For a cheap radio it does airband exceptionally well. I bought it originally to replace my dualbander bt once I found out from Hayden that its TX performance is crappy with spurious signals all over te placd I relegated it to scanner duties.
Although I live here in Blighty, I have a Ham & GMRS licsense for the US. So with that said I found this video quite useful. May well pick a US model up just as cheap unit to play with. Thanks for the Video.
Agree with the clear case, it looks cool - and a decent job with airband RX for 45 quid! Thanks Lewis for another excellent video! 73
Thanks Clint! Check yer messages ;) 😂
I read years ago on _SWLing_ about the Sony SRF-39FP (Federal Prison AM/FM). He found it got 165 hours on one AA. There's also an interesting article in The New Yorker (The iPod of prison). Probably hard to find as it's bad luck to take it them out of prison. Should do a vid 👍
I'm waiting for one of the imports to incorporate MilAir (UHF AM) into one of these. The only rig I'm aware of that has MilAir is the new Icom DStar
Hmm audio sounds s a bit rough to me like very wideband AM or close to AM being heard in FM mode but the see thru case and various colors you can switch to will appear to some I guess. Can't beat a uniden esp a 2nd hand one imo !
Lewis with a scanner do you still have to scan threw channels or does it just receive on all frequencies
Thanks for the reviews. I've just received mine direct from the Manufacturer and think it's not bad for what it cost. It receives FM radio and AM airband pretty well. However ... and there's always a however .... I checked its output with a Siglent spectrum analyser, and found that although the output on the 433 MHz ham band was pretty clean, on the 2 Meter 145MHz ham band, it was dreadful. Second harmonic (289MHz) was only -8dB relative to the fundamental, 3rd (434 MHz) was -11dB, 4th (548MHz) was -29db and 5th (724MHz) was -43dB. For its price I'd say its OK on UHF or as a receiver or scanner, but transmitting on VHF could cause severe interference to other radio users and should be avoided.
Hard to tell but it doesn't sound much better than my Radtel/Socotran or the Jianpai 8800. Find the Jianpai the best of those. Been using a 80cm telescopic antenna lately from the top of a local hill with great success. Definitely in to the clear aesthetic though!
Like the clear case.
Nice mood lighting there Lewis!
But I will stick with my Icom IC-RX7 thankyou.
Cheers as always Adam
I asked for a unlocked international model I’m completely new to radio but I know it is unlocked because it doesn’t say cancelled when I input a air band frequency but is it normal to say H NAM at the top because in your video it only says H AM (UK) using A36Plus
Im reading this AFTER i bought it because i couldn't find the airband. Its gmrs. Does the firmware change let me listen on airband ?
How do you remove the static after they have talked
Anybody recommend a PTT Handheld mic for this device?
Nice lookiing radio. But I don’t want one due to the fact that it struggles as soon as it receives a stronger signal, it distorts in such a way you can’t hear what’s being said. A major set back, my cheaper alternatives don’t have that flaw.
True mate, seems really hit and miss with these sorts of radios at the moment
Have you got the link to purchase? Thanks
Case alone makes it worth buying.
Nifty radio, but that over-modulated sounding bit for ~500 mS when the AM squelch first opens is off putting.
I don't like the return of mullets or denim jackets/shirts, but if the 90s revival means transparent-cased electronics make a comeback I'll let all the rest slide!
I had a quick check on your link, shipping to the UK (worldwide actually) is $15.
Edit: you might get stung for import duty/VAT/importer fees etc.
I filled in fake information to get to that screen so that you don't have to... Why they aren't upfront about shipping costs beats me tbh.
You might like techmoan's YT video on clear electronics cases and how they're predominantly used in prisons.
I have a uniden bearcat ubc335clt what would be the best antenna to get and put on top off my garage for listening to airband
Have a look at broadsword antennas
@@RingwayManchester I will check this out thank you
Just ordered one on aliexpress for £33 👌
what adapter do i need to plug my a36 into my homes TV antenna, genuine question i just want to see what happens 😅
I wouldn’t bother, you’ll pick nothing up at all
Sounds a bit scratchy on some TXing on airband, but not too bad I suppose?
Its a modified firmware used in the Radtel RT-490 and other rebadged models. The fw was kicking around a while back but never released on the 490. No 8.33kHz step and it stops at 135.975 and not 136.975. Better than nothing but really lacks attention to detail.
I ♡ Hayden as well :)
PTT + 9 + ON = Fun!❤
Spurious emissions, just a way to share and meet new people! 🙉
Does the clipping only happen when scanning, or does it happen if you're listening on a single frequency?
I had an Anytone D878UVII and it had a squelch that annoying slow to open so it always clipped the start of the over.
When listening too Peter
I have a question, I am a total noob when it comes to this kind of stuff and I subscribed to learn allot more as it's something that interests myself. I am looking for something that would work with a Motorola walkie, would something like this do that? Sorry for the noob question 🤣
I bought the green one! Cannot wait for it to arrive 😊
Airband is much better than cheaper Amateur HTs from China including the Quansheng K5-8 and Baofeng radios that have Airband, although obviously not quite as good as a scanner. yes apparently spurious emmisions are bad on some bands. Fast forward to January 2024: according to Aliexpress, there A36 Plus version is switchable between three different modes: GMRS only, Amateur only, and Open to all bands. they claim this can be done when powering up with a combination of key presses. but Iam assuming some changes have come since you did this video.
A great radio to replace baofeng ? I think so 👍
My god that’s shocking. 45 notes or not
How much cost please 🙏
I think I'll stick with my yupiteru 7100
If you still have the radio, can you please test if it will be in AM mode on 136.050Mhz frequency?? My national frequancy is 136.050Mhz and the radio switches to FM mode, I have emailed them about that, so I'm curious if new update will fix that.
It makes no difference in either mode no matter what you select. 118-136 is automatically AM
@@RingwayManchester But I can hear that transmission is coming on national freq. Which is 136.050Mhz but I can't understand it since it is not in AM mode on that frequency, that's what I wanted you to see, does it stay in AM mode or return to normal mode on that freq. But thanks anyway
they must of discontinued that radio not on there site anymore
Of course it’s not it’s brand new and definitely on the website
@@RingwayManchester your link in the description has some funky symbols so it 404's.
Works for me?
I’ve put a different link in anyhow cheers
That frequency 145.500 isn't air coms ..its ham radio 2 metre.i know as i use it and air comes won't use it
Why comment before watching??? we all know it’s not air band. Maybe there’s a second vfo???
Sim card support sir
Chip?
What about it?
Can get an actual airband transceiver for about the same price as the Uniden.
No you can’t!
@@RingwayManchester You can in the US. Yaesu has some.
They’re about £50-£70 more expensive at least
@@RingwayManchester Only about $30 here. I mean you only get airband you don't get everything else like the Uniden.
Flightstore prices, £175 for the Uniden 125, £195 for the FTA-250. (£150 for the Uniden, £179.95 for the FTA-250 in Martin Lynch, £189.95 for the FTA-550 AA battery version).
Awesome, a prison safe two way. All the better to keep up with those pesky CO.
Sorry, but the airband is not supposed to sound like that. I don’t think that they have the channel spacing correct. It should be 8.33 kHz wide with 25 kHz spacing.
The background noise is too much too niosey
Why would you actually want to listen to such broadcasts in the first place??? I mean, it's an aircraft pilot? Right? Having a routine conversation with a control tower I presume? ...and so what? Can someone explain the attraction to such a mundane and seemingly uninteresting activity? I also imagine once you've heard one such conversation you've heard them all?
Mostly spotters use the airband, handy for them I suppose. I had a really good one years ago, can't for the life of me think of the name, it was airband onlt but was very clear, hardly any background noise/hiss.
As for rhe clear case to me that is a gimmick, what can you see, a light, nothing moves in there?
Talkpod A36 has Horrendous 2nd and 3rd harmonics
It does. I said that in the first 10 seconds
Rubbish, better off with a 125
Good jod as always! 73 de sv7gbi operator Konstantinos Macedonia Greece
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