UPDATED
FEBRUARY, 2003
RADIO SHACK'S 10 METER RIG - AM - FM - SSB
(no CW)
Not a bad rig for the price, picked mine up for $139
on sale (reg. $149).
The
word now is that Radio Shack is getting out of the Ham Radio biz
and
the price has been reduced to $89. All of their other rigs
have
also been reduced in price for quick sale.
Central
/ Southern N.J. 10 meter "net"...
A friendly
group of fellows in the Central / Southern NJ area meet daily on 28.410 MHz.
This informal "net" is open to all regardless of QTH. They start early
in the morning and there is usually someone listening or talking throughout the
day with a variety of subjects discussed. I try to check in as much as possible.
"Other Info"
This radio is also sold under different
names.
There may be slight differences
between these and the HTX-10
Check out the Magnum 257. The
Magnum homepage is here.
The Albrecht AE 485S (German), schematics and board
layouts here.
At a recent hamfest I saw a radio, which appeared to
be the same as the HTX-10, under the name of Titan. A "dealer"
was selling them for $99, a great price! He also had Titan 10
meter HTs on sale for $135. You can see a photo of both radios
here.
Repeater access
tone...
It seems that the radio will transmit a 88.5 Hz tone
burst. This is not in the HTX-10 owners manual. If you use the
radio outside the USA maybe this is useful.
To activate the 88.5 Hz tone burst, press the FUNC
control and then press the LCR/4 button. RPT will appear on the
LCD indicating that the tone burst will now automatically be transmitted
whenever the PTT is pressed. To deactivate, repeat
the same process.
I've tried this with my rig, RPT does appear on the
LCD. I don't hear a tone burst in the transmit audio, maybe it
is subaudible.
CW "MOD"...
Here .is a small circut you can build that will enable
you to use CW on the HTX-10. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader
to view this page, get it here.
Transmit "shift"...
The radio has a transmit
offset (they call it shift) for repeater operation and it can
also be used to work split frequency. The amount of offset can
be changed but what they don't tell you is the
offset can only be changed in 10 KHz steps. So what do you do
if you are trying to work a station and they are listening 5 KHz
up or down (or some other odd split)? Save the receive freq in
one memory and the transmit freq in another memory and switch
between the two. It takes two hands, one to operate the microphone
and one to press the memory buttons. Yeah it's crude but it works.
If somebody knows a way to change the offset in something other
than 10 KHz steps let me know and I'll put it up here.
The HTX-10 is not a CB
radio!
The radio cannot be
modified to go below 28.000 Mhz. So if you are thinking about
buying one and using it to go down to 11 meters.... forget
it!
There are several mods floating around the net but
it seems that none of them work on the HTX-10. There are several
versions of this radio sold by different companies some of which
use a different CPU which will allow the radio to go "out
of band". If this is the case then the CPU in the HTX-10
would have to be changed, not an easy task as it is soldered to
the board. The HTX-10 has been on the market for a few years now.
If there was an easy way to extend the frequency range I'm sure
someone would have found it by now!
Back in the 1980s Radio Shack sold a 10 meter rig,
the HTX-100. I had one of these, it was a little larger than the
HTX-10. I've heard that this radio was easily modified
(I never tried it on mine) and Radio Shack got into some trouble
with the FCC as a result. To avoid having the same problem with
the HTX-10 they had the radio made so it would not be easily modified.
The FCC frowns upon using
modified equipment on 11 meters! If you get caught doing so, oh
well.
If you are looking for a radio which will go
on 11 meters the HTX-10 is not for you.
A word about "freebanders"....
I have heard "freebanders" (people who operate
outside the regular CB channels using modified equipment) from
25 MHz all the way up to 30 MHz! Some of you may not realize this
but you may be interfering with other services that are authorized
to use frequencies outside the regular 40 CB channels. I do know
that if you operate from 28.000 MHz to 29.700 MHz you are in the 10 meter amateur band! If you just can't resist going outside
the regular 40 channels please stay below 28.000 MHz! Interfering
with authorized users on frequencies you are not allowed on is
a good way to get caught. If you want to operate on other frequencies
without the fear of the FCC knocking on your door why not get
into Amateur Radio. There are many frequencies and modes of operation
to choose from. Hey, if you get your license you'll be able to
use that HTX-10 without any modifications!
Click here to check
out Amateur Radio
Fine tuning control...
The Fine Tune control on
the front panel not only changes the receive freq but also changes
the transmit freq accordingly... a nice feature.
FM
receive audio quality (the lack of)...
There is a cure for the
poor receive audio quality when using the FM mode. It seems that
the radio was not tuned properly at the factory and requires a
slight adjustment. While receiving an FM signal adjust T3 for
the best audio. A quarter turn should be about enough. Use the
proper alignment tool and not a screwdriver or you may
crack the slug! If you feel unsure about doing this then find
someone to help you. Opening up your radio and making adjustments
will probably void your warranty. The photos below show the location
of T3. Adjust
T3 only, nothing else! It's
not going to sound as good as a $300 2 meter rig but it is an
improvement.
The bottom
cover has been removed and the front panel is to the left in each
photo.
Click on each
for a closer view.
You do this adjustment
at your own risk, if you break something I am not responsible,
sorry!
Tips from other
Hams...
From
Dan, N2AYM: "
RV3 " is the FM deviation adjustment. My radios came with that adjustment
rather low so I bumped it up a little.
From
Bob, WA5LGG: My observation during many contacts with guys using the
HTX-10 (late model rigs that were produced in 2001 and later) are complaining
about mushy, basey audio. After finally determining that the mic was
causing very flat audio (lacking any highs), adjusting the mic gain on my rig
just increased or decreased the mushy symptom. I sought to try some other mics
in hopes to improve the intelligibility and clarity. More audio wasn't my
objective. the supplied mic is sufficient in driving the tx to full power. I
settled with the RS dynamic mic cat. #21-1172 . It drives the tx to full power
on all modes too, and critical reports are that the audio is excellent
especially after first demonstrating the supplied mic. 100% of the time the guys
prefer the 21-1172. A lot of guys say its the best audio they've ever heard from
an HTX-10! Here is the pin out wiring: Pin #1: white and blue paired. Pin #2:
black. Pin #3: red. Pin #4: open. Pin #5: shield. *Pin #6: open. *Caution: 13.8v
is present on Pin #6 or the center prong of the radio and this voltage is
transferred to the corresponding center pin or pin#6 of the connector. I simply
snipped the prong off of the connector as an extra precaution.*
Thanks for the tips!
A note about amplified microphones
(power mics)....
The radio does not need
one, the supplied mic works well. As a matter of fact you will
probably have to turn the mic gain down to keep from overdriving
the radio. If you try to connect a power mic to the radio and
don't do it properly you may cause serious damage to the radio!
Work
the world with 25 watts!
I plug mine
into the cigarette lighter, throw a mag mount antenna on the roof
and I'm ready for mobile operation. I've worked
a number of countries with my HTX-10 from home and from the car. This 25 watt rig and decent antenna should get you where
ever you want to go. Chances are if you can hear 'em you can work 'em!
Well that's it from here. If you have any good tips or
suggestions e-mail them to me and I'll put them on this page.
