• Number 10 on yO!.lt FflIdba
additional modules: one for a nine-cell ICOM BP-5, rated at 450 mAh, and one tor an ICOM BP-7 containing seven cells, rated at 800 mAh. Up to three of these modules plug into the base 01 the unit. The th ree-pos itio n rotary module select switch on the front of the unit selects the module to be used. It is possible to order an extra side plate with a lWelve-position rotary swilch and additional module holders, allOwing you to use up 10 fourteen modules. One module slot is used to plug in the module extension board. This extra is available for an additional $89. The AcId Test I was pre-sold, but I did hesitate at the price . Even with the usual Dayton d iscount, it seemed a lot 10 pay just to charge the batteries. That's whatllhought on that Friday. I couldn't wait to try it out Friday night back at the motel. I fed all 01 my batteries, both good and bad, to the charger. At this point the first weakness showed up . The original version 01 the documentatio n was a poor copy, and poorty written. CPU had spent good money on a nice double-sided promo sheet, but stopped when it c<strong>am</strong>e to the instruction sheet. (Note 10 develope rs 01 hardware and software: Either hire a professional with good technical writing skills, or ask people who are unf<strong>am</strong>iliar with your product if they can figure it out from the instrucuc ns.) I couldn't tell if the unit was set up properly. Some 01 the batteries didn't seem to charge long enough before the green light c<strong>am</strong>e on. I got very strange results when I went to charge the BP-5. Oops, my fault, I had selected the BP-3 battery module. I understand CPU is working on a better instruction sheet. Saturday was the acid test. For some reason the batteries didn't seem to last very long. Fortunately, there were enough spares. Saturday evening all the batteries went back to the charger. Sunday noon I went back to see Joe Fell at me CPU booth. On the insistence of my YL, I took the charger along also. It turned out that the voltages were set about a volt too low for each olthe batteries. There is a procedure in the instructi ons to remedy this situation , but it wasn't that clear to me because I didn't understand the documentation. Joe was very cooperative in adjusting the unit A word about the connectors: They plug into the unit with banana jacks, which is fine. The battery end, however, is a lillie L-shaped hook . This works o ka y on older ICOM ba tteries, but not the newer ones. You have to design and b u ild yo u r own battery connector. Ultimately Inexpensi ve The week end provided a nice shakedown of the unit. Despite the minor voltage adjustment, inadequate instruction sheet, and awkward connectors, I really liked the unit. It will Charge ANY NiCd from one to twelve cellsit's definitely not limited to h<strong>am</strong> radio applications. It is also not limited to any one brand of battery. You can use this unit to charge NiCd eettenee for flash lights, video ca me ras, smoke detectors, toys, laptop co mputers, portable stereos and tape recorders, to n<strong>am</strong>e a few items. This is where I started to ret h ink the cost. How often do you buy a new hand-held radio and have to start alt over again with another expensive quick c harge r? Whe n tCOM introdaced the BP-a battery, my old quick charg er would n't Charge it. That's why I never bought a BP-8 . Commercial users have the s<strong>am</strong>e problem if they change vendors of two-way radio serv ice. When you add up the cost of buying new quick chargers every time you c hange radios, it doe sn't take long to get to the price of the CPU GM8-403, even without a Dayton discount. When you consider that this unit is a universal charger, the cost appears quite reasonable. ArIOther nice feature is a by-product 01 the charge cycle. The battery doesn't heat up or overcharge. This advantage, combined with the memory erase feature , should make your batteries last longer than you would expect. Have you priced new NiCds lalely? I no longer worry abOul my NiCds. They j ust sit q uietly on the shell until they' re needed. If th ere 's any doubt about their condition, a half hour or so in the GM 8-403 and they're ready to use, good as new. This is an excellent unit, and one of the few that properly conditions and maintains NiCd batteries.III DOWN EAST MICROWAVE ...e_AVE AHTEN-" QSCAA _ .. T'........ ~ I ~t1:' l U I 23DO 30114 ..... 2305 LV osa; Ii'\l$ loIH. 20
- Page 1 and 2: JUL Y 1989 ISSUE #3-16 USA 51.95 CA
- Page 3: FOUR user selectable operating mode
- Page 8 and 9: TS-790A Satellite Transceiver The n
- Page 10 and 11: , Hum",3 on your FeedHet< e.rd RX.
- Page 12 and 13: • IS TH-215A/315A/415A Full-featu
- Page 14 and 15: , Number' on ,our Fee
- Page 18 and 19: Number 5 on ~ou r Fft'dbKk C8n:l In
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- Page 26 and 27: « transminer output. All other spu
- Page 28 and 29: • Number 7 0n your Feedback e-I'd
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- Page 34 and 35: composite). resolution, and speed o
- Page 38 and 39: • • unl err $12,000,000 Scanner
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- Page 46 and 47: Number 13 on your Feedback card 73
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- Page 62 and 63: • (See Photo A) . This is analogo
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- Page 66 and 67: - • HAMSATS Andy MacAflister WA5Z
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- Page 70 and 71: HOMING l~m""o " '~'F""''' k '''' Ra
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- Page 74 and 75: h UNCLl WA\'Nl'S BOOKSnlLf "" ';tlt
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- Page 78 and 79: • = UH F - Pl-Z 39 COST $ 100 US
- Page 80 and 81: • • TYPE CONNECTOR SMA TN C C _
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