Dumb Questions - VHF Transverter for Flex 6400

rbenton01 · May 2023

The need - HF works great from my QTH, VHF not so much, as I'm kind of located in a hole. There are many times I want to hit distant repeaters I can only hear. With my YAESU FTM-400, I looked at the possibility of increasing power via an amplifier for those occasions, but maybe a 150w tranverter such as L144-28HP150 from Q5 Signal that was discussed on Tim's video is a better option.
Questions -
1. How do you achieve off-set frequencies to align with VHF repeaters? I assume you would use Flex' FDX in some fashion.
2. And with the off-set, is there a global way to set those, making it easier when tuning frequencies?
3. The $849 pricetag for the Q5 Signal 150w VHF unit seems a bit high. Worth it? Other units with a better value?
73 - Ray, KE0YXX

KD0RC · May 2023

Notice on slice B, set to FM, that I clicked on OPT to show the FM options. I set the offset to 0.6 (same as 600 KHz) and in this case, I set it to a minus offset. This repeater uses a 100 Hz subaudible tone, so I selected CTCSS TX and 100.0 Hz. Note that I have slice B set for TX. With this setup, I will transmit on 146.100 and receive on 146.700. Even with a 6400, I can simultaneously receive another frequency (146.52 simplex, in this case).

2. The easiest is to set up the repeaters in memory.

3. The Q5 transverters are a bit pricey, but are among the best available. Mine is a cheap one that works fine for me (weekly FM club nets, etc), but if you do a lot of 2 M work, it may well be worth the money to get the Q5. If I didn't already have an 80 W amp, I probably would have bought the Q5.

Gord-VA7GP · November 2023

Like @rbenton01 I want to hit FM repeaters near my home-station, when I am remote.

Looking at the transverters, they all talk about 144MHz - 146MHz, seemingly aimed at EME, weak-signal (SSB, CW), but they lack information about FM, repeaters, and 146MHz - 148MHz.

An inquiry to HA1YA reveals that his transverters are fine for 144MHz - 148MHz. So that RF-out is good.

http://www.ha1ya.hu/htmkepek/me2t_protransverterspec.htm

But what about the input? They all call for 28MHz-30MHz as the I.F. which gives you only 2MHz of coverage (then they mix with a 116MHz local-oscillator in the transverter).

QUESTION: Can the FlexRadio 6400 "Transverter" port give me +10dBm TX from 28MHz - 32MHz? This "extended coverage" beyond operating on 10m would address my desire.

Thanks in advance!

(and thanks to @KD0RC for screenshots showing CTSS, offsets, memories and other FM-ish stuff 😀

KD0RC · November 2023

Hi Gord, the simple answer is "Yes".

Your 6400 transverter port will transmit places that the regular antenna ports will not. This gives you full coverage of the 2 meter band if your transverter is up to it.

KD0RC · November 2023

Hey Gord, I just looked at the nice specs of the HA1YA transverters. The products look great, but I don't see any prices listed there. What did it cost to get it shipped to BC? Have you tried it yet with your 6400?

Gord-VA7GP · November 2023

I had to ask for pricing; I don't have it yet, as I'm "radio-$$$ challenged" at the moment 😯 and Christmas is right around the corner. I was quoted shipping (Can / US) at 55Euro via FedEx.

I'm attaching the .PDF, but the summary: around $1000 Euro for single-band. Pricey.

M_E2023pricelist.pdf

On the website, the specs look good (hopefully this link remains for later Googlers):

http://www.ha1ya.hu/htmkepek/me2t_protransverterspec.htm

KD0RC · November 2023

Wow... More expensive than Q5 by quite a bit. The 150 watt Q5 is around $800 USD. The 25 watt Q5 is only $500 USD.

I thought it might be a little pricey given the excellent specs, but I didn't think it would exceed the Q5!

Bill AB7AA · November 2023

I also would like to add my endorsement of Q5 equipment as they perform very well. Corey does an excellent job of supporting his products.

Bill AB7AA

Sprocket · May 19

KD0RC, thanks for the screen shot of your setup. I’m somewhat confused about something Split A shows a frequency of 146.520 while B shows 146.700 which is 180 khz but your text says 146.100 for A I’m assuming the text is correct. I’m using SmartSDR for MacOS and the setup is very similar I’m able to transmit on B but there’s no signal shown being transmitted. A is showing a signal but I am getting no audio. Suggestions?

73 Sprocket

KD0RC · May 19

Don't try to do it using split and two slices. When I get home, I will get into the detail of how it works. In the meantime, check out the Flex Repeater Spots utility, I think it will make it all pretty easy to use.

Dumb Questions - VHF Transverter for Flex 6400

Comments

Leave a Comment

Categories