You can get (almost) anything on eBay - NOT amateur radio

eBay is an online resource from which it appears most things can be obtained. I came across this by accident as an example. It allows you to hide small things in your car. As all things on eBay caveat emptor (buyer beware). Never, ever, buy medicines via eBay as you have no idea what they are. The only trusted source is a pharmacy or your doctor.

433MHz superhet modules - dirt cheap

Although my health precludes doing much RF design and construction these days, I see you can buy TX and RX module pairs for 433MHz for about £3 with free postage on eBay.  I guess a half capable designer could build a useful pair of transceivers for local 70cms AM comms for under £10. There may already be designs published, although I've not seen these. If you have, please share a link.

Try looking on eBay for "433MHz RF modules". To a capable designer, these could be quite useful. No doubt with a bit of digging you can get these for even less!

UPDATE 1345z: Check out the YouTube videos by VK3YE who has done some interesting tests with similar modules. It appears you can get FM or AM with these and some useful ranges.

eBay deals - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/ 

There are some amazing deals on eBay. For example, you can buy a brand new Vivitar 4.1 megapixel camera with SD slot, with a manufacturer's warranty for 12 months for just £5.99. This is supplied from a dealer in the UK too.

It is some years since I last used eBay. At this price it is very tempting.

Low cost ASSEMBLED unit from China

This morning, I received this email from Andy Cutland:

Check out this item I found on eBay: it comes ready built and has a nice side tone. Mine arrived today and works fb.

73's
De Andy

End time: 23 Feb 2015 07:21:07

Item: Frogs UltimateV3 version CW transceiver/telegraph/shortwave radio Finish product

URL: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=261576017759&alt=web

How do they make a profit?

On eBay I have just seen a complete LM386 amplifier kit on a PCB for $2 with free shipping.  G1KQH has spotted Pixie transceiver kits for £5 with free shipping.  How do they make any money?

QRP kits search on eBay

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=qrp+kit .

Occasionally I look on eBay to see what is on offer. Searching for "QRP kits" throws up quite an interesting selection of stuff, much of it only available by eBay and not otherwise advertised. Some of these items are good bargains.

Touch wood, I have never yet had a bad experience on eBay when buying or selling. Mind you, I would be very careful and not spend too much. Some dealers are good (the vast majority) but there are always a few "bad eggs".

Caveat emptor.

Another G1KQH eBay bargain

Our old friend Steve G1KQH has found another bargain on eBay.  As before, you see this as I do - I've no knowledge of the supplier or goods. At 99p it is low cost!

See:

....and another handy tool Roger,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-IC-SMD-Easy-Pick-Picker-Up-Hand-Tool-Vacuum-Sucking-Pen-3-Suction-Headers-/121219424659?pt=UK_Baby_BabyFeedingUtensils_EH&hash=item1c393da193

          73 Steve

http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

Another G1KQH eBay find - pen multimeter

Another G1KQH eBay find:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-Pen-Type-Autoranging-Multimeter-MS8211D-voltage-current-LOGIC-Test-probes-/380887668542?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item58aeac973e

At  £15.11 this looks good value with free post and packing. Of course, the supplier is in China.

More eBay items for sale

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/rlapthorn

As part of our de-cluttering session before we move, I've listed some more items on eBay. This time it is mainly new or nearly new children's clothes, a couple of women's clothing items (tops) and a couple of non-radio books. All the clothes items are in very good condition (some are brand new) and these may be of interest to the XYL or YL.

The Galapagos book cost £18.99 and is in MINT condition. 

The Cinema of Isolation book is a very interesting study about how physical disability has been portrayed in the cinema over the last 100 years showing how attitudes have changed.

Royal Mail - postal/packet costs

I'm frustrated and actually quite annoyed with Royal Mail.  Have you visited the barely understandable Royal Mail website recently?  All I wanted was to find out how much a small parcel (a book - the Scatterpoint compendium sold on eBay) would cost to send to Germany on Tuesday. It appears you now need a PhD to navigate the darn website and understand all the options. It is nearly as hard as trying to find a utilities tariff.

Having done a bit of eBay trading this last few weeks, I'm surprised how expensive it now is to send a small packet by post using Royal Mail or Parcel Force, even more so if sending it abroad. Unless I have misunderstood the incredibly confusing information on how to send a small packet to Germany, one weighing 760g costs an astounding £6.62. Go above 1kg and the rates are extortionate.

Thankfully we still have a helpful local post office staffed with people who try to sort this out for you. Not having receiving my doctorate yet, so unable to navigate the Royal Mail website, I'll have to ask the nice lady at the local PO for the price and a stamp.

Why can't we have a SIMPLE postage tariff based on weight and whether it has to go surface or by air? OK, add a few options if you want a guaranteed delivery.

More books on eBay

A couple more books have been listed on eBay this afternoon which may be of interest to readers. They are the RSGB's latest VHF/UHF handbook and the Backscatter Technical Compendium with articles from Backscatter (UK Microwave Group) from 2004-2008. The auction ends next weekend.

I have an almost complete set of SPRATs from the early 1980s to today that may be listed soon: as I have the CD, the paper copies are taking up shelf space. Paper copies are easier to thumb through though, so I may decide to keep these. We'll see.

There are a few other books and some baby clothes too if you, or your XYL, are interested. My aim is to declutter the shack as much as I can before the house move. The other books include some on disability related subjects, psychology and the Galapagos Islands (the latter is a very nice BBC book).

Last week's auction was very successful with all the books (and the fireplace surround!) finding new homes.

eBay is quite fun in small doses: I don't like to do this all the time - too much trouble packaging and labelling things and making the trip to the post office to send them off, but from time to time it is fun, especially watching the last minute rushes!

More books, including a few more obscure non radio related ones, will be listed next month.

My books on eBay

This week I have 8 items for sale on eBay including a few radio books. I am trying to de-clutter ahead of our house move in a few months time. It is proving harder than I thought to get rid of things and in fact I am still collecting more things than I am disposing of!

The radio books are QRP Basics by George Dobbs. This is an essential guide to low powered radio operating. As I have the newer edition, this first edition version is for sale. Highly recommended book.

The next is LF Today by Mike Dennison G3XDV which is the first version of the guide to LF operating especially on 136kHz, although invaluable for 472kHz too. I used this version extensively when first setting up to TX on 136kHz.

The next is The Comprehensive Radio Valve Guide which is a Babani series book listing every radio valve since 1956. As a semiconductor man I hardly ever looked at it.

Another book is the 6 Metre Handbook, a guide to the magic band by Don Field G3XTT. This book is really aimed at 6m DXers and I was a bit disappointed that it didn't say more about using the band for simple local communications.

There are also a few other good books listed and a mock marble fire surround which my local builder tells me should sell for over £100.

You can find all 8 items for sale via http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/rlapthorn .

Get bidding if you are interested as they are sure to sell.

Square trade eBay Warranties - any good?

Just looked on eBay for various amateur radio items and noticed the Albrecht AE2990 10,11,12m handheld on sale from various UK suppliers from around £150. Now also shown was an optional 3 year warranty - see http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/buyingwithconfidence/warranties/index.html which cover failures to the device outside the manufacturer's warranty period. So, for less than £200 you can have a multimode HF handheld complete with 3 yr warranty.

Peace of mind 3yr warranty for £27 - too good to be true?

My question is this. Has anyone here bought an eBay item with one of these warranties - they seem to be widely offered - and had to make a claim?  It sounds almost too good to be true. These warranties are also available on low cost VHF/UHF handhelds as well where the warranty cost is only around £8-9, which looks remarkable value if the product fails. This is as long as the warranty is a decent one that is honoured and the small print doesn't render it worthless. They also offer a 5 day repair or replacement service.

Ceramic filters on 472-479kHz?

An eBay seller from Hong Kong has 100 off 472kHz DIP ceramic filters on sale for £5.31 delivered to the UK. See item number 400305093888.

Some filters similar to this have useful bandpass characteristics and acceptably low insertion loss (around 3dB), so may be seriously useful for 472-479kHz rigs and transverters. For example, as a roofing filter to protect a RX after a small gain stage, or as a filter to clean up the output of a transverter at low level before applying a signal to a driver and PA. I guess they must also be useful in a ceramic stabilised oscillator.  Anyone used these in similar applications?

Ham and other books on eBay - still time to grab a bargain

My ham and other books including some magazines about the remote island of Tristan da Cunha (ZD9) selling on eBay still have a few days to run, so you still have time to get a bargain. Check out http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/rlapthorn

Some ham books of mine on eBay

Today I've put a few of my books for sale on eBay. They include RSGB and ARRL handbooks. If you are interested do take a look. If you live in the Cambridge area and want to pick them up locally then there will be no postage to pay. See http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/rlapthorn