As we posted earlier, an AH-100 and AH-50 had landed on the Gazette's doorstep and here's our observations on the AH-100 :
The AH-100 is a very small AM-SSB 11m walkie-talkie. If you've seen the AH-27 then this will come as no surprise to you. Two controls are at the top of the unit, they are:
Besides the antenna/bnc connector there is also a MIC/SPK connector as well. The Clarifier as you would expect, only varies the receive signal, but the unit we had was almost dead-on frequency so I didn't get any complaints about my transmit audio. The front display gives you an option of channel number readout or frequency display. When the "light" button is pressed you get a nice backlit amber glow which makes it easy to read in night time situations. There is a bar-graph meter for both transmit and receive on the bottom of the display as well. Other features include: Instant channel 9, Memory (4), frequency/panel lock, Mic gain, RF gain, Scan and Memory scan. On the side of the unit you have the press-to-talk, channel UP and Down buttons, and the backlit light button. A slide-on rechargable battery is included as well as a cig. lighter adapter for auto use.
Like the AH-27, the little duck antenna supplied is no help. Cherokee offers a 28" flexi-duck which I used, and unless you're talking around the block, you should use as well. Just like any radio setup the antenna really makes or breaks your shack and this is no different. The other night the band was open and my base rig was 3/4 scale with signals from Indiana. The AH-100 only picked up the strongest station with the small duck, but did better once I put the 28" duck on it instead. The background noise picked up, other stations were heard, yet I still wasn't satisfied - so I hooked it up to my Valor "Big Bubba" on the van and THEN the receiver came to life! I'm not sure why they don't offer one, but I'd sure like to see a telescoping antenna option; one with a center-loaded coil and a whip that extends waaaaay up there...without something like this, you're limited.
I took the spkr/mic off my Dual-band HT and found that it worked fine on this radio. Range with the small duck is about a mile on a clear day. With the 28" duck, about 3 or 4 miles tops. With a REAL antenna I found an acceptable 10-15mile range. I liked the auto adapter because it had the cig. lighter cord AND a cable with a SO-239 connector on it which made it easy to connect to my other antenna. You slide the battery off and this adapter on (which is much smaller and lighter). This makes for a nifty one handed, lightweight ssb radio...
If you don't expect miracles (talking skip with an 8" duck), you'll find this little rig fairly useful. I do wish they'd get a better antenna, and a noise-blanker! MOD's- I only know of the 10 meter mod, which is great for us QRPer's! Maxon makes a telescoping antenna which, so far, is the best choice for this little gem.
The 10 meter modification was very easy to do, and I was anxious to try it out - unfortunetely the conditions weren't in my favor and I had to wait a few weeks for a good opening appeared. Once it did I was able to make several out-of-state contacts on 10 meters, using the Maxon telescoping "Duck" antenna. Signal reports were fair, but we were both surprised that it worked (Well....actually, the other fellow in N.Carolina was more surprised than me).
73
Woody
This website is my hobby, as is the WoodyWorld CB Museum! If you have a nice looking older rig that you'd like to donate contact me first to make sure it's something I need. If you have a nice photo of an older piece of equipment that you'd like to see in my book, send it in along with your name (for proper recognition).
Last Update: 09/10/97
Web Author: Woody
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