21 January 2012

New 2012 el-cheapo Handheld Ronson RT966


I got quite a number of inquiries from individuals on a lower priced handy. Some of them could not afford to get those fancy high-end walkie-talkies for their beginner status. Some of them just need a radio for monitoring purposes only.



This is a new product from Ronson, that might be interesting to these people. It is fully functional with all the basic radio should have, and most importantly, you can get it as low as RM290.00 per piece.

Click here to know more.

11 January 2012

Soalan Lazim - "Berapa jauh walkie-talkie boleh 'cakap' (berkomunikasi)?"

Bagi saya yang dah beberapa tahun berkecimpung dengan bidang komunikasi amatur ni, dan juga berniaga dalam bidang ni secara kecil-kecilan, saya sering ditanya dengan soalan ini, "bang, walkie-talkie ni, berapa jauh boleh cakap?". Saya yakin, kawan-kawan lain pun mesti pernah dengar atau pernah tanya soalan yang sama.

Pada pengamatan saya, orang yang bertanya begini, kebiasaannya masih baru dalam bidang ini. Atau baru nak mengenal tentang komunikasi radio dua hala ni. Apa yang boleh kita jawab jika ditanya sebegini? Cakap je "dalam 5 kilometer boleh la" macam tu? Kalau nak senang, itu je jawapan dia, tapi dari segi etika, saya kurang bersetuju kalau nak jawab macam tu.

Bagi saya, tiada jawapan yang 'definitive' untuk isu ini. Pun begitu, saya rasa sedikit terganggu bila sesetengah orang yang biasanya penjual alatan ini dengan sewenang-wenangnya memberi jawapan seperti itu bila mempromosi alatan radionya.

"Walkie talkies for sale. 5 kilometers range!" Macam tu lah lebih kurang kalau kita tengok dalam laman popular macam mudah.my. Kurang-kurang pun, beritau la anggaran dalam 2-5 kilomter ke, nampak la legit sikit, ni sedap jek tulis '5 kilometers' gitu. Tak berapa jujur pada hemat saya. Tengok contoh di bawah ini saya ambil dari mudah.my (credit to them).



Jadi, kalau ia ditanya kepada saya, saya akan beri jawapan yang terbuka, tapi kadangkala tidak memuaskan hati yang mendengar, nak pulak orang yang berminat untuk membeli dari saya. Saya cuba untuk jujur, tapi pahit untuk diaorang telan kadang-kadang...

Bakal pelanggan : "Berapa jauh boleh cakap ni?"
Saya : "Bergantung pada banyak keadaan"
Bakal pelanggan : "5 kilometer boleh sampai tak?"
Saya : "Dengan situasi yang betul, boleh sampai lebih dari itu. Encik nak guna untuk apa?"
Bakal pelanggan : "Untuk radio amatur"
Saya : "Oh kalau radio amatur, encik boleh cakap sampai ke Thailand"
Bakal pelanggan : "Biar betul! Itu dah berapa ratus kilometer!!"
Saya : "Ya betul tu, tapi macam saya kata tadi, dalam situasi yang betul, boleh pergi sejauh tu"

Inilah lebih kurang yang selalu saya hadapi bila dapat panggilan dari orang yang berminat, serta baru nak belajar tentang komunikasi radio.


Contoh penggunaan repeater yang mampu meningkatkan 'kejauhan pemancaran' dengan sangat ketara.


Apa yang saya maksudkan dengan "dengan situasi yang betul" tu? Banyak faktor sebenarnya, antara contoh ialah, faktor kedudukan altitud (ketinggian) pemancar dan penerima, faktor gangguan komunikasi, faktor kekangan macam adanya sebuah bangunan di antara dua pengguna ini. Itu tak masuk lagi bab-bab lain. Tapi inilah realitinya, dan ini juga 'beauty' dalam komunikasi radio ni. Sekiranya hari ini kita boleh memancar sejauh 20km, tak semestinya esok pun boleh menjangkau sejauh itu. Itulah sebabnya dalam dunia radio amatur, antara takrifan "apa itu radio amatur" ada disebut tentang ujikaji. Menguji dan mengkaji alatan radio dan penggunaannya. Itulah 'kecantikannya'!

Banyak sangat kalau nak dibaca dari sumber internet tentang ini, dan kebanyakannya dalam bahasa inggeris. Cubalah semak-semak, ada jawapan dalam tu. Kadang-kadang sampai tak terbaca sebab tak tau mana nak mula. Wallahu'alam.

10 November 2011

Penggunaan radio "Walkie-Talkie" di dalam SRS / KRT untuk pemantauan kejiranan


1.0         OBJEKTIF

Tujuan artikel ini adalah untuk memberi informasi ringkas namun penting kepada pihak yang berkenaan tentang penggunaan radio komunikasi (atau dipanggil ‘walkie-talkie’) di dalam SRS / KRT di kawasan yang berkenaan.

2.0         LATARBELAKANG

Komunikasi adalah salah satu perkara wajib yang kita lakukan saban hari. Ianya pengubat kepada banyak permasalahan antara manusia. Kita sentiasa menggunakan telefon untuk bercakap dengan seseorang yang berada di lokasi lain. Alangkah baiknya jika kita tidak perlu berbelanja untuk berhubung dengan seseorang?

Di dalam soal keselamatan, komunikasi yang segera dan cekap adalah sangat penting. Setiap saat yang berlalu pada masa kecemasan, jika dimanfaatkan dengan berkesan boleh menyelamatkan nyawa serta harta benda.

3.0.   PENGENALAN TENTANG KOMUNIKASI DUA HALA

Sistem komunikasi dua hala sebenarnya berlaku setiap hari. Penggunaan telefon sebagai contoh, adalah satu cara berkomunikasi dua hala. Cuma, ianya berbayar. Setiap panggilan telefon kebiasaannya akan dicaj penyedia perkhidmatan.

Penggunaan alatan yang lebih dikenali dengan nama jolokan ‘walkie-talkie’ adalah sangat praktikal bagi ahli SRS / KRT. Ianya murah bila dilihat untuk jangka panjang. Setiap perbualan tidak dicaj dan yang paling penting, hubungan komunikasi itu berlaku sepantas kilat dengan tiada masa menunggu.


4.0.   FAEDAH

Beberapa pulangan yang dijangka bakal diperolehi adalah seperti berikut:
  • Pengetahuan dalam asas frekuensi di dalam komunikasi kepada ahli
  • Perkongsian maklumat di antara ahli SRS / KRT serta masyarakat sekeliling yang berlaku dengan lebih efektif.
  • Pengendalian komunikasi yang lebih efisyen pada sebarang acara atau ketika waktu kecemasan dan bencana.
  • Satu ‘panggilan’ boleh menghubungkan ke semua alatan radio yang lain (yang berdekatan & berkongsi frekuensi yang sama) secara serentak jadi maklumat disampaikan ke ramai orang dalam satu-satu masa.

5.0    CONTOH SENARIO KEJADIAN KECURIAN

Rumah Pak Ahmad dimasuki pencuri. Pak Ahmad menyedarinya tetapi pencuri sempat melarikan diri. Pak Ahmad merupakan salah seorang ahli SRS / KRT di kawasan kejiranan beliau.

Pak Ahmad lantas menyebarkan perkara kecurian ini menggunakan alat radionya dan maklumat ini terus diketahui oleh semua ahli lain yang mempunyai alat radio masing-masing secara serentak. Dengan ini, secara cepat mereka boleh menghalang setiap laluan keluar di kawasan tersebut atau bersedia di tempat strategik untuk cuba menangkap pencuri tadi.

Bayangkan komunikasi ini berlaku sangat pantas, dan penggunaan telefon bimbit pada ketika ini mungkin akan merugikan masa kerana kelewatannya untuk menyebarkan maklumat kepada seorang demi seorang. Kelewatan bermakna pencuri tadi dapat melarikan diri.


6.0    KESIMPULAN

Tidak dapat dinafikan, penggunaan alatan radio ini sangat penting dalam kelancaran penyampaian dan penyebaran maklumat kritikal kepada semua ahli SRS / KRT. Maklumat yang pantas mampu menyelesaikan perkara dalam hal kecemasan dan keselamatan.

Kekuatan komunikasi di kalangan ahli SRS / KRT juga secara tidak langsung mampu menggerunkan individu yang berniat untuk melakukan jenayah di dalam kawasan terlibat. Ini boleh menghalang atau setidak-tidaknya mengurangkan jenayah itu dari terus berlaku.

Kini, anda tahu kepentingan alatan ini dalam kejiranan anda sendiri. Anda juga kini tahu alatan tersebut boleh di dapati dari kami. Hubungi kami untuk maklumat lanjut. Nombor kami ada tertera di laman ini. 

Hakcipta RadioMeal.Com - salinan dan penerbitan semula dalam apa cara sekalipun adalah tidak dibenarkan jika tanpa kebenaran bertulis dari pihak kami. 


22 March 2011

Positive review of Ronson RT26V / RT-26V VHF handheld transceiver / radio

** Please note: At the moment, we have stopped supplying this model. An upgraded version is available from our e-commerce website, i.e. Ronson RT88. Click HERE for more info. **

At first when I got this radio, I was quite surprised to see how small it is. On average, the size is similar to Yaesu's VX3R. It is like a mobile phone except with an antenna outside its body. Of course, the weight is just around 200 grams (with antenna and battery installed) this is surely one lightweight radio!


In my opinion, the built quality of this handheld is very acceptable. It doesn't feel as flimsy like some of its counterparts. Quite solid I might say, as much as the price you paid for.

The design for the keypad is somewhat different with common handheld looking at its arrangement. They are put in two rows for the numbers 0 - 9 and a column of function / setup keys (please see the above picture). For those who are well accustomed with the commonly 3 rows x 3 columns number keypad settings might find this one a bit awkward at first but it only takes a moment to get used to it.

The knob on the upper side of the body serves three distinctive purposes. Turning clockwise  / anti clockwise cycles through the menus or channels / frequencies. With a press of the lowest side button while turning it will adjust the volume. Finally, a push downward will cause the radio to turn on or off. Pretty neat!


The audio output is quite loud for its body. A volume at 0 level does not put the radio in full silence though. It will still have a little audio out at that level, just a little audio that is.

Another good thing about this radio is, the battery. It uses the 3.7v battery that can easily found in mobile phone shops. It is similar to those Nokia batteries commonly used today. This just tells us that we don't need to worry about replacing it in the future when we can get it at our nearby phone shop.


The maximum TX power is just 2 watts, suitable with its size and battery power. It has two power level of high and low.Though its only a small amount of battery power supplied to the radio, it is acceptable that the standby life with occassion TX, can 'live' the radio for around  2 days. I guess that is pretty much standard to most radios anyway.

The channel names can be labelled up to 6 alpha-numeric characters. This is pretty good as some radios can only fit 5 characters. For Malaysian amateur radio users for example, the repeaters name are usually comes in 6 characters callsign (for example 9M4RCD) so this is very helpful.


Channel scanning mode is available, but a bit slow when in operation. It also has FM radio receiver built in so we could listen to our favourite FM broadcast stations anytime. The earpiece/microphone-ptt jack is using the standard 2.5mm plug type. 

In short, I think this radio is worth for its money paid. For just RM250 (normal price), it is a very good deal! By the way, it comes with FREE earpiece!


Published specifications from manufacturer:


1) CH 128 , All channel scan and priority channel scan

2) Scan types :Carrier, time and search

3) Busy channel lock: carrier/QT/DQT

4) VOX sensitivity:0-9 levels adjustable
5) Transmitter power:High power and low power switchable
6) Squelch opening threshold: Receive field intensity should accurate (use the sq level to show the intensity)
7) Led backlight: On/off/automatic
8) Beep set: Beep on/off
9) Keypad lock function: Manual/auto optional
10) Transmit limited: off-270 optional
11) Offset set:0-xxmhz optional (confirm the max offset according to the band after adjusting)
12) CTCSS and DCS setting
     1. Receive only
     2. Transmit only
     3. 50 CTCSS and 104 DCS
13) +/-offset:+/-frequency optional
14) Offset step optional:12.5k/25k
15) Use Dot Segment to display on LCD
16) Select the LED/emergency call by programming software
17) Volume control knob to turn on/off the power
18) PC programming and store channel
19) Can use car charger
20) DC 3.7V single li-ion battery compatible with mobile phone battery
21) MINI compact size 84*48*25 cm
22) Output power: VHF 136-174mhz 2w
23) With most competitive price
24) CHANNEL step :  6.25/12.5/ 25/50/100khz

06 January 2011

Jingtong JT988 / JT-988 VHF Transceiver

This is a basic review of what I experienced in playing with this little VHF handheld transceiver from Jingtong, from China. It is called Jingtong JT 988.


It is a small sized handheld, suitable for a good grip. The buttons are wide enough for easy operations. The built is quite solid and does not really feel flimsy whilst holding it comparing to other few China made handheld radios.

The channel names can be labelled. No more boring "CH1" on the display, instead, we could name it for up to 5 characters/numbers per memory channel. Of course, some might comfortable seeing the frequency instead of channel name, and this can be done too.


Reverse mode is available for this radio. Sometimes, this feature is important when using the repeater where we could easily approximate other parties' distance while they are transmitting on the frequency. If a close distance transmitting friends are detected, it means we could move (QSY) to simplex channel so that the repeater could be used for other long distance communications.


The supplied operating manual is in English, though there are quite a number of spelling and grammatical errors discovered. Still, it can be used as a basic reference on how to operate this radio. Quite useful too!


The battery is 1300 mAh Li-Ion type, with a desktop charger that stops charging when the battery is full. Also, the radio also comes with an earpiece ptt/mic free of charge.


A couple of neat features for this radio are the LED flash light and FM radio capability. The LED is situated on top of the radio, and it can be handy if you need a quick illumination assistant when in the dark. The FM radio reception is also good to listen for broadcast frequencies available around you. Yes, these frequencies can be saved into the memory too!


All of these, for only RM290.00. Very good deal. Offer not to be missed!!! Contact us for details.

Please note, if the stock is unavailable, it may take 2-3 weeks for each order to be delivered (after full payment is received).

05 April 2010

LED Dash Strobelight


This time, its a little out of my ordinary topic of communications equipment. Though it might have some tiny link to it, but surely it is not an everyday item. Its a LED dash strobe-light that delivers what you want with a reasonable price tag.


At first I thought this is just one of those LEDs found in ordinary car accessories shops locally, but I thought wrong. This is one of those good LEDs around, though it doesn't have the brand names like Whelen, Federal Signal, Tomar or etc, I think it gives a reasonable satisfaction to the owner. Me too.


It comes with 8 LEDs (4 LEDs x 2 units). Each LED's lifespan, usually last thousands of hours. Though it has only 3 patterns to cycle, with a press of a button at the back of the case. The video below could show you how it is.



The case is made from aluminum, so it is light enough to be 'hanging' on your windscreen. Also, it is strong enough to withstand the heat generated by sun ray. I have seen other people uses similar type of strobe set with a plastic case. They ended in being warped or bent by the sun heat. There are four suction cups so you shouldn't be worried if it is dropped on your dash. Though you need to check on the 'holding strength' of the cups once in a while to ensure it is properly 'sticked' to the glass.


The bracket is designed in a way that it will reduce the back flash (when turned on) so the driver should be not really annoyed or interfered by it especially during night drive. The LED head-case itself is adjustable (up / down) to fit your requirement.

 The power button is situated conveniently near the cigarette-plug for easy access. The operation is very simple; plug in, turn on the power and select your favourite flashing pattern. No wiring is necessary. A real Plug and Play item.


The price for this item is only RM250.00 not including postage. Allow 1-2 weeks before delivery and it is stock dependant. Some of the available LED colour is Red/Red, White/White, Amber/Amber and etc. Please ask around for more information.

The item can be seen from our online shop, please click here.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

This item MIGHT be illegal to be used on Malaysian public roads without the consent and authorisation from the Malaysian authority (RMP/RTD/etc.). We will not be held responsible for any outcome from the usage of this item by you anywhere and anytime.

16 October 2009

RMC77 Handheld Carrier

I think this new item is better compared to my previous items Universal Carrying Case in terms of few significant things.



First, the new case has a bigger compartment for larger handheld. Example of handheld is the Yaesu VX170. This is one of our hams favourite handy knowing for its submersion ability and its tough built. I heard that some rescue officials in neighbouring country use this item as their standard issue.






Anyway back to topic, second difference is the built material. Comparing to canvas, this one is basically water resistant. Though I don't have specific IP standards on its water resistance, I can vouch it is better than the canvas type.




Thirdly, the introduction of the shoulder strap for better protection against handheld drops. For those who uses this item in a risky area such as near pool of water, high elevated workplace, I am sure the shoulder strap is a bonus. Just in the event of the case slipped out from its belt clip (which rarely happens), the shoulder strap will be a life saver.

Fourth difference is the ruggedness. The looks is promising much as what Motorola is offering for their professional range handheld case. Not as big, but close.


Lastly, the 'smart' belt clip for a quicker release. Ever happened to you when you can't take your handy out from your belt? This should be eliminated using this kind of belt clip with just simple movements. Twist your handy (with the case) upside down and pull uprwards to take them out. Easy peasy!

For as low as RM55.00 per piece. Surely this is a must have!! To order, and to have more pictures, click here.