Yeti's NEW Dream Rig
11m DX Activities Oz can report that Dave and Mike from Oceania Contest sponsors Yeticom have been busy with several manufacturers discussing future design specs for an innovative new rig dedicated to the Freeband DXer. The main aim appears to be combining outstanding elements from a number of different rigs to create a killer SSB DX machine — one that will out perform a Ranger 2950 or an AR3500 on RX and TX and be far more user friendly.
So what’s been done so far…?
According to Dave (91DD018), initial testing of the prototype rigs which have the complete 40 channel NZ band with the correct frequencies and channel numbers on a multiband CB radio has just been completed. As well as the Kiwi channels, the models cover from 25.615 MHz to 29.700 MHz in 9 additional bands.
The use of a microprocessor control enable many design ops so there’s also talk of programming this new super rig to have the marine CB frequencies built in and available from the front panel with the push of a knob and a scroll via the channel selector.
By all reports, the dream rig will be similar to the Dragon 485 and Magnum 257 however the grunt is likely to be greater and capable of 50w PEP plus out from the MOSFET twin finals.
The fellas are also working on a different CB chassis with a white neutral screen to distinguish it from the yellow Dragon/Albrecht and blue Magnum 257 screens, as well as a 6 digit frequency counter, and removing the existing echo, talk back and roger beep functions so as to bring the radio back to basics.
So where to now…?
As you might expect, the guys from Yeti are keen to canvass the opinions of hobbyists as to the features they would like to see on their ultimate SSB CB. Which features, therefore, are desirable in YOUR eyes? Which features would YOU like to see on a rig especially designed for Freebanders? Where would you like them too? How big? How small?
On the other hand, which features typically found on 10/11m CB rigs are undesirable? Which ones would you rarely or NEVER use? Which ones are a waste of time?
And lastly, what would you call it?
Please comment!
New Yeti Rig
Wowsers...now I bet this little b*&^tch would scream!!!!!!!!!!!!! ill ave to throw in a paper log 4 the contest to be in with a shot 4 once. Reckon this new rig would eat the 144 alive yeah.
Cheers and Lotsa Beers,
Cambo
43DT111
'The Taxi DXer'
6Khz TX + RX
of course for the audio people out there 6Khz transmit and recieve would be a nice function
"26TRC155"
Marcus
Split
Hello,
Don't forget a split function please! A design looking like the Magnum 257 would be nice! Not too big ;)
73
de 16AT444
Split
Adjustable split already built in!
10m and freeband modes only.
CAT Feature
Hi All,
It would be nice to have the CAT to enable external software via the PC.
And what about an EQ?
73 de Darren
43DA010
Admin
CAT and Equalization
Nope! That is pushing things a bit too far!!!
I will be happy with real good audio and 5khz steps!!
11m Dream Machine
This is great news to hear that someone really cares about those of us that enjoy 11m SSB radio operations. The things that I would like to see in a rig like this is a 7 digit frequency display, Dual VFO, and selectable If filtering. The 50 watt output is ok but 70-100 watt would be better. The NB/Channel guard that Doug mentioned would be great or better yet a selectable level NB would allow the end user to adjust it as needed. Last but not least an RCA jack in the back for keying external equipment when the mic. is keyed..
I cant wait to see the final product, something the 11m SSB operator can really proud of. Good luck and thank you to YettiCom.
73'
Eli
NeedleBender 2811
2WR2811
2SE2811
Sacramento, CA. USA
7 digit display
It has been tried but the 7th digit will not be constant on TX and becomes an eyesore. The radios are just not stable enough.
Dream SSB CB rig..
I like the idea of the 7 gigit display also. Means we have to have a very stable VCO or the 7th digit might tend to flicker a lot! I will see what can be done! The addition of the channel guard is always an option...Mike swears by them but we may be able to get of a lot of the crud with better components in the standard circuit. To add a channel guard would put about US$35 on the sticker price and we do need to keep the price well under an entry level HAM radio. Is anybody still getting splattered these days? Don't want to start making too many alterations to the motherboard design either at this stage. That would really jack the price up! Now the President Lincoln is no longer being produced we have lost the only other real SSB CB rig that was out there.
It will be real hard to beat an AR3500 and I doubt if we can. The front end of my AR3500 had amazing sensitivity and selectability...better than a lot of Ham rigs even today. The AR3500 was my rig of choice on an 11m contest (hooked on to a DX1600!)
We are not designing from scratch but defining an existing design for SSB operators instead for AM truckies.
Got to watch just how much power we squeeze out these boxes as they are not very big. Need to leave some headroom.
Look what Cobra came up with with their "designed by committee" GTL200. What a mess. It was horrible. How could they have got it so wrong?
Have not looked into the Dual VFO's. (i think we could possibly simulate something with the memories to achieve this end...)
The first radio will be based on the magnum 257/albrecht/dragon etc design as we feel it offers the best bang for the buck out of the box and that most of the changes can be made in software.
The second one will use a superstar/magnum S-9/Galaxy/ranger type of board. 5khz steps is one of our main wants! Mike says he can do a variable IF shift with the addition of a few components so he better come up with it before too long!
There is a limit to what is affordable and practical.
We hope to have the first whitescreen 50W PEP plus "OPTIMA's" on the bench by December.
Dream Rig
Hi all. Good to see someone trying to do do something to improve an 11 metre rig. I would wish for better filtering or channel guard as it's called and increased noise blanking too as many radios seem to not make much difference. DSP......now I am dreaming lol!
I would definately get rid of echo and talk back also. Channel scanning would be nice too for when it's quiet.
That's my dream rig!
Cheers,
Doug 43AR491
SE Queensland Australia
scan
Working on it.
I assume you want the scan to stop on a busy channel?
Some scans look for empty channels.
Looking at getting that sorted.
It has scanning but not sure just how functional it is.
Scan Function
Hi Dave and All,
Yes a scan would be great! I would use it to scan through the various call frequencies which I usually monitor. (See http://www.delta-alfa.com/swl-world/856/ ) It would save having to do it manually ;-)
73 de Darren
43DA010
Admin
scan
Not sure exactly how much control we are going to have on the scan. Would like it to scan memories and scan for a channel in use. Thing is that if we are in freeband mode with a 5mb coverage it will take a while!
The mag 257 and the Dragon 485 already scan the selected 40ch band and will stop on open squealch.
Must check the 257 to see if the scan operates any differently in the 10meter mode
scan
None of them scan the memories..just stop on the open squelch. Shift function (10m only) on 257 is adjustable "Plus" or "minus" and the split in KHZ. (norm is 600khz but can be adjusted) We intend to bring the shift function into the freeband mode as well.
Repeater function (10m only) has a tone burst but I don't think adjustable.
If you have used a dragon or a 257 in 10m or freeband mode you will appreciate the 5khz steps on the OPTIMA
Yeti's NEW Dream Rig
there all good suggestions, for my 20 cents i would strongly suggest repeater off set (100khz) or at least a split you can adjust, as any radio that can go up to 29mhz it's a must. you don't want like what happened to the realistic HTX 100 to ever be repeated again.....lol. A data port in would be nice, so you could do sstv/packet/psk31 ect. USB interface so you could plug in the computer for remote control.