Hultafors HVK GH Knife

Hultafors HVK GH Knife


Manufacturer: Hultafors, Sweden
Model:  HVK GH
Blade material: SK5 high carbon steel
Blade length: 93mm
Blade Width: 2.5mm
Grind: Scandanavian
Handle material: High density PP plastic with Santoprene rubber grip
Overall weight: 80g
Overall Length: 208mm
Price: £5.34
Source: Tools direct
Shipped from: UK

Introduction
The Hultafors HVK GH is a budget swedish craft knife based on the traditional Puukko of finland.
These knives are the staple tools of  Swedish craftsman ranging from wood carvers to electricians but recently have also been repurposed by the growing number of "Bush crafters" and "Preppers".  Hultafors knives promise offer high quality at bargain prices and this model comes in at a very reasonable £5.34 which is a good start.

The knife blade is made from SK5 high carbon steel which is hardened to around 58-60 HRC, promising high strength and a long lasting edge. 
Blade thickness is 2.5mm and length measures around 93mm. The knife isnt full tang, meaning it does not extend to the end of the handle. Rather this is more three quarter tang which is a good thing. The blade will stand less chance of breaking in the handle if excessive force is applied. Compared to some bargain knives (which have very short rat tail tangs) this adds a little extra piece of mind.
The spine of the blade is rough and rounded. Not finished with a flat edge. Nothing that cannot be remedied with a file after all, they are selling these at a low price so attention to the cutting edge is more important.

The handle is made from tough polypropylene plastic with a Santoprene vulcanised rubber covering which ensures a high performance grip.
Ergononically the handle is well shaped to fit most hands although would probably suit those with a shallower grip profile.

When it comes to criticisms then the only one would be the quality of the cutting edge. Its sharp and everything but cut at different widths on either side of the blade. Hard to explain really. It's not the end of the world but it's annoying when you are reminded of it.
Overall build quality is good for the money and as the price is so low they are pretty much disposable. Who cares if you lose it?
As a tool its offers a wide range of uses from peeling vegatables to the fine carving of wood. Probably not the type of knife for prying or using as a axe - its not heavy duty. A useful knife to have about for everything else though. Not bad at all.

Floureon FC200 - Walkie Talkies (PMR/FRS)

Model: FC200 (twin pack)
Manufacturer: Floureon
Price: £8 a pair with free postage
Channels: 16 channel PMR 446MHz  (also available in 22 channel variant for USA market)
Power: 0.5W (low) / 1W (high) selectable
Power supply: 3 x AA batteries with recharge circuit for using rechargables
Type Approved: Nope!
Source: Ebay
Shipped from: UK - 3 days

Introduction
The price of decent two way radios have come down dramatically in the last couple of years. It sort of started with cheap amateur radios such as the Baofeng 888s being sold for £5 a piece and now we move onto license free radios which operate on PMR in europe and FRS etc in the states.
How about two fully functioning 16 channel PMR radios for £8? Sounds unbelieveable?
Enter the Floureon FC200. A real bargain bucket radio which doesn't look like a child's toy.
The story used to be when you wanted a set of bubble pack radios you went to Argos or Maplin (in UK) and paid upwards of £30 for a set of Cobras or Binatones. And if you really felt rich that week a set of Motorolas which could cost over £100 in some cases. The inevitable result was that no matter how much you spent on a set of radios you always roughly got the same features and performance. The reason for this is because all PMR radios must have a fixed antenna and must only push out a maximum of 0.5W.  The strict limitations imposed on manufacturers severely reduce the radiated power of PMR radios making any differences between radio models minor.
These days the chinese are flooding the market with very cheap PMR rigs which in some cases deliver twice the power that is allowed and this Floureon FC200 is one such radio.

Features

• 16 Channel PMR
• 121 CTCSS tones
• 0.5W and 1W power
• Dual channel watch
• USB charging port for AA batteries
• One touch scan
• 10 call tones
• Lamp

Stand out feature
Selective scan - The ability to remove channel/s from the scan list on-the-fly.
Useful if the scan keeps sticking on unwanted channels.

Construction
When you pay £4 a radio you don't expect Motorola build quality so it was a surprise to see that the FC200 is quite well made. Not in the same league as a motorola but not a million miles behind either. The plastic housing is quite tough despite being made from cheap plastics and the antenna is stronger than it looks. The radio doesn't really feel cheap in the hand. It feels solid and sturdy, perhaps comparable to a more expensive binatone radio.
The FC200 has function buttons that are made from rubber which appear to be hard wearing and offer a small amount of water resistance. 
The antenna on this radio is semi-rigid and made from a coiled wire wrapped in a soft feeling plastic - it looks familar? maybe off a motorola?
Compared to other non-removable PMR antenns this one seems quite long. There may be an advantage in range if the coil inside is the same length.
Whilst the FC200 doesn't look like a professional radio it doesn't look like a toy either.
The menu system is very easy to use and features a nice green back lit display. The function buttons are the usual soft rubber type but don't feel cheap and nasty. The FC200 features a lamp which can be operated by pressing a button on the front of the radio. This feature can be operated if the radio is switched on or off making it very easy to activate the lamp when inside a pocket or bag. To avoid accidental battery drain it's best to remove the batteries when not in use.

Good Points

• Good build quality
• Bright back lit screen
• Sound quality
• Standard AA batteries or rechargeable AA
• Full 16 PMR channels
• One touch scan feature

Bad Points

• NOT type certified
• Lamp can be operated by mistake - Draining batteries

Testing
The sound quality of the speaker when recieving signals is very clear and quite loud in terms of volume.
It certainly isn't the most refined speaker out there but at this price point is more than adequate.
When it comes to transmissions the FC200 delivers a clean, crisp signal which is slighly under amplified if anything but above average compared to more expensive sets.
No long distance testing has been carried out at the time of this post but short distances have been very successful. When used in a built up area these radios perform more or less the same as the Baofeng UV-5R ham radio which runs at around 4 Watts on high power. This is not surprising as the extra power doesn't always equate to further range. Despite having the ability to run at 1 Watt full power, the FC200 radio are still limited by their fixed antennas. Longer aftermarket antennas are not an option here so range distances will always be the same.
The real distance test will be when used from altitude  - Hill top to hill top etc.
The extra half a Watt in power (over normal PMR radios) may be more noticeable when operating line of sight on a hill.

Embracing the New
The PMR 446Mhz band used to be limited to just 8 channels but as the band became increasingly more populated it was widened to 16 channels. This change happened a while ago and not many manufacturers have embraced the change and updated their radios. I suspect there are millions of old 8 channel radios to get rid of first. Thankfully though Floureon have made this radio 16 channel which is welcome news. The ability to now find a quiet channel is great. The new upper 8 channels are silent 24/7 probably because everyone else has an 8 channel radio. This state of affairs may not last long though!.

legal to use?
Believe it or not it isn't!. The reason is because it has the ability to transmit at a higher power than is allowed on the PMR446 band. The FC200 passes every requisite in being legal to use on the license free band except for the power aspect. Who really is legal to use this radio on the set PMR channels? A licensed HAM radio operator? No. Once again because the radio is not type approved then it is illegal for anyone to use this radio on PMR. Excatly the same as if using the Baofeng 888s  A minor detail! It doesn't stop people using them on the 446 band and because the license free band is not monitored by OFCOM (in the UK) they won't have anyone knocking at their door anytime soon. It's a matter of personal choice as to whether someone breaks the law or not.
Rather contradictory when the radio you buy cannot be legally used!?

Size comparison 

Conclusion
Legalities aside, these Radios are superb value for money. These FC200's appear to be the cheapest PMR walkie talkies anywhere! The build quality far outweighs the cost and the functionality rival many of the expensive models. Recommended definitely.

CS Tactical Blade Antenna - SMAF Dual Band

Model: AR-152A
Manufacturer: Unknown
Design: Flexible blade antenna
Type: Monopole Dual Band (2m/70cm) SMA female connection
Frequencies: 136Mhz - 520MHz
Length: 47cm / 18.3in
Weight: 82g
Gain: +2.5db
Price: £6.50 shipped
Source: Ebay seller
Shipped from: UK

A New Antenna For My Baofeng!?
When it comes to aftermarket antennas for chinese radios there is no getting away from the millions of fake Nagoya's or Diamond stubbies swamping ebay and amazon. Ocassionally something new comes along which looks a little different.
This new tactical blade antenna is certainly different from what we are usually presented with. First off is it's looks. Reminiscent of a tape measure some would say. It is quiet large compared to the NA-771 for instance. Flexible to be practical is the key word here with the blade having the ability to be folded in half and even into thirds when stowing away.
Apparently this design is based on a Harris PRC-152 flat flexi antenna used on military radios but it certainly isn't like one of those at all! Instead only the shortest part of the complete set up is supplied (The stump piece and blade) and the antenna extender is also missing but nevermind, it's a new Baofeng antenna!

Why a blade?
As well as looking a little daft, these type of blade antennas have some noteable qualities. One of which is the ability to act as an omni-directional monopole antenna acheiving good coverage over two different RF bands. This attempts to create a broader band antenna compared with a single wire monopole. An improvement on regular antennas seems to be the main selling point for this type but does that hold up when the logic is applied to a cheaply made chinese offering?
Another advantage to the blade is the ability for it to be folded down to a small size for storage. When attached to a soldiers webbing additional cable extenders can be used between the radio and the blade allowing free movement for the soldier when the antenna is on their back.

Build
This antenna comes as four separate parts.

• SMA connector piece  (Base piece)
• Blade section
• Velcro strap
• Spacer/washer

In terms of build quality the blade antenna is as good as any cheap aftermarket antenna.(not good)
The plastics used in the cover of the base piece is cheap and nasty. The metals used in the base piece are also below par. That's not a surprise really. The upper blade section is basically a trapezoidal shaped piece of alloy metal covered in a plastic heat shrink material. Not really high quality.
Considering the function of this antenna is to be bent in two over and over again one wonders how long the thin sheet metal blade will last before snapping?
Along with the two piece antenna is a spacer for fixing to the radio connector. A waste of time when all said and done and a magic velcro strap. This is actually quite good. It's like micro velcro, thin and very sticky for hog tying the antenna down.

Compatibility?
Don't expect this antenna to fit on every radio. The diameter of the antenna base is much bigger than most. Only radios which have a shallow antenna housing and space along the top will be able to use this. Forget the Baofeng GT-3 for instance.The GT-3 has a plastic lip around the antenna socket preventing the antenna screwing down at all. In testing the blade did fit the Baofeng UV-82, Baofeng 888s, Baofeng UV-5R and Pofung GT-1 at a pinch. The UV-82 had to have its flashlight reshaped with a knife just so the antenna would sit down nicely. It's not an ideal situation.

Good Points

• Sensitive
• Can be folded in half

Bad Points

• Very large and unwieldy
• Only fits on selected radios
• Top heavy 

Basic Testing
As I still don't own a power/SWR meter the tests were simple and non-scientific.
The blade antenna was tested against a Nagoya NA-771 and a Retevis elite RHD-771 on a Mistuta UV-82+ radio.
The test area was flat farmland at distances of around half a mile to a mile.
RX seems better on the new blade than on the NA-771 and The RHD-771 both of which are similar in length. The blade stands roughly 2-3ins higher than the others.
When it came to TX the blade seemed better than the NA-771 but similar to the RHD-771.
The blade overall seemed an improvement over the others which was a surprise. One wonders if the slightly longer length made a difference?
The tests were carried out with the antenna fully extended of course. Transmitting with the antenna folded in half might not be the best thing to do. Surely the SWR readings will be different? maybe not for the good. It is probably not advisable to TX at half mast. Listening only!.

WARNING!
Caution must be used when unstrapping the antenna. The blade is like a wound spring when it's doubled up and has a tendency to snap outwards. The antenna should be pointed away from the user when extending.

Conclusion:
To be honest the blade antenna is a mixed bag. Performance is better than the ebay favourite Nagoya Na-771 and it can be folded in half for storage purposes. However, It's heavy, long and has a habit of toppling the radio over. Worth buying for airsoft maybe or just because you don't have one already.