The Ramblings Of G7SYW
The square halo, or squalo, for 6m originally designed by John (KG4OSA) and published by Jan (PA3EGH) is a square, folded dipole that can be easily constructed from some copper tubing.
The basic design of the antenna is a fairly simple folded dipole.
As standard the Kenwood TS-2000 is shipped with an amber display, while the backlights for the keys are green in colour. This how-to shows you how to change the amber display to almost any colour you want. Colour options are only limited by the LED’s available.
As with any mod or repair, if you’re not confident working with SMD components, don’t attempt the work, making a mistake could result in a ruined radio. Doing this mod will void any warranty you have.
The Kenwood TS-2000 is an all band HF/VHF/UHF transceiver with exceptional features and versatility. Wide band Main HF reception includes: 30 kHz-60 MHz. On VHF/UHF you get 142-152MHz and 420-450MHz. The rig appears menu intensive, but really isn’t and working through the menu is not a huge chore. Many are set and forget. Most needed features are on buttons or knobs, with a number of the buttons accessing a secondary function via the “Function” key.
Receive audio is quite good and pleasant, not at all tiring, while the DSP is very functional and easy to use and can cut out nearby signals fairly well. The filters are adjustable very simply by a quick turn of either the high or low cut knobs on the front panel.
The Cobra 200 GTL-DX has a built-in talkback function. Some models allow switching this function on or off as desired, others have the ability to adjust the volume. This particular version of the Cobra 200 GTL-DX has a fixed volume, which the customer doesn’t want.
Luckily, the service manual has details for a mod to adjust the preset level of the talkback function. The mod simply comprises of changing the value of a single resistor, in this case R109. The resistor is a33K ohm SMD device, and located in a quite densly populated area of the PCB.