Re: " I know Houston Amateur Radio Supply is out of buisness. Is there a supply or a repair anywhere in Houston? " per Gayle Dotts ( [email protected] ) Answer: It depends upon what service you want for your amateur radio needs... One example would be installation and possibly some repair services for your radio itself. If you need just an installation, you may find that River Oaks Car Stereo would be a good place to start. ( I have no fiduciary [fancy word for financial or money] interest in Eddie's business or that of any mentioned below ). They are located just northwest of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, east of the junction of highway 59 and the west side of loop 610 along Richmond. You should consider calling ahead as this shop keeps a limited number of folks working (to keep prices down). Another way to proceed would be to call commercial radio shops ( usually listed under 2-way radio ) and ask if they have any amateur radio operators on staff. They would probably report that their technicians have General Radiotelephone Operator Licenses and are therefore qualified. They also might ask you about whether or not you have an account, because the credit situation is such that many would require pre-payment or refuse service. They often will service only selected manufacturer's equipment, for which their technicians have factory certifications. Some do have certifications for Motorola, Icom, Kenwood, and Vertex *business-band* radios. They may ask if you have the specific programming adapter and software needed in order to ensure a complete repair. They may also inform you that a full schematic ( wiring diagram ) might be required at a typical cost of $50.00. A third way of having your amateur radio equipment serviced would be to look for someone advertising repairs on the amateur radio website www.qrz.com - There is a forum there listed between "Amateur radio for sale" and "General Equipment (ham related)" which addresses "Ham made equipment". From time to time, radio operators will advertise the specific brands ( usually Kenwood, Icom, or Yaesu ) that they have experience working on. There is also a forum for recommendations about honest deals and complaints. It would be wise to look at the rules for these postings in advance of any purchase of goods or services. The service person selected may or may not live in Houston. If you are looking for a source of amateur radio related supply, that is another story. If you want a radio that can only talk on the amateur radio band, you may have to travel north of Houston (Paris, Tx.?) or place an Internet / mail order. One alternative would be to wait until March for the Houston Area Ham Radio Festival held just southwest of Houston. Dealers from other cities will attend. If you want a commercial radio that can be operated on the amateur radio frequencies, there are at least five dealers that can sell one- yet the price may be higher because the commercial two-way radios under current manufacture have narrow-band transmitters and are built for a wider overall band of frequencies ( usually 136-174 Mhz. for VHF ). If you are looking for installation supplies ( cables, antennas, power supplies, etc. ) then you have plenty of options. A quick look at QST magazine would point you to ABR Industries(tm) or www.abrind.com for coaxial cable. Their ad would point to frys.com as one distributor. There are plenty of different companies which would sell a generic RG-58 cable in Houston, yet larger companies might expect a minimum order of over $500.00. The same can be said for 2-conductor stranded wire, commonly known as 'zip cord'. Many of the automotive car-stereo folks would gladly sell this 'zip cord' at higher prices than what their 100 or 500 foot rolls should cost. If you choose to select a nearby Radio Shack(tm) store, it may be wise to call ahead on the telephone. Many are now closed or selling Sprint(tm) cellular phones, accessories, and batteries. They do have some electrical connectors, tools, and soldering supplies in selected stores- and may have some of what is in the online Tandy Corporation catalog. At one time, that included 2-meter magnetic mount 5/8 wave antennas and transceivers- portable and mobile. These radios were manufactured for Tandy and closely resembled Icom radios in some portable versions. There are also some installation parts which are common to citizen's band radios. Many truck stops and larger recreational vehicle makers stock the electrical connectors, fuse holders, fuses, wire, etc. which can be used for a radio installation of any kind. Hardware stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace ), MicroCenter and Best Buy may have some wire / connectors / fuses as well. For a good amateur radio installation in a vehicle, beginners should be reminded of three important fundamentals: 1. Always be carefull about where you drill- know what is on the backside- to avoid costly mistakes eg. punctured power steering / air conditioning / air bags. 2. Always be certain that your wiring will not cause damage ( or a possible fire ) due to routing or sharp edges, especially at the firewall. 3. Mount the equipment so that in the event of a sudden stop, folks should not collide their face with it. Mount it firmly, so that it will come loose easily.
Jon L. Livingston, Electronics Technician 17722 Fieldglen Drive ( SE of FM529 & B.Cypress) Houston, Texas 77084 [email protected] (832)-591-0082 mobile Cellular General Radiotelephone license PGGB062294 CET Wireless Communications WCM-R150251 Amateur Radio license KB0MNM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gayle Dotts via BVARC" <[email protected]> To: "BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB" <[email protected]> Cc: "Gayle Dotts" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 1:33:50 PM Subject: [BVARC] Radio repair or supply in Houston I know Houston Amateur Radio Supply is out of buisness. Is there a supply or a repair anywhere in Houston? _______________________________________________ BVARC mailing list [email protected] http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
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