Audio Message:
CRT-SS9900 Superstar 9900 radio:
This is a fantastic, rugged transceiver. All modes, AM FM SSB, covering the 10 and 12 metre amateur bands as well as all 11 metre frequencies. 15W AM, 45W FM and 60Watts SSB. CTCSS / DCS selective calling, scan, echo function, SWR protection, PC programmable.
The radio covers 24.880MHz – 30MHz and, with CTCSS and shift, this is a great radio for 10 metre repeaters. I’ve set the radio up for our local repeater, GB3CQ. Everything is fine, except… the CTCSS works on receive as well as transmit. I can’t find a way of disabling the tone on RX. Am I missing something? All I can find in the menu is CTCSS on or off, and the tone frequency of course.
The controls are rather small and fiddly, but that’s not really a problem. There’s an RF power knob, and an RF gain control. It’s nice to have proper control knobs for these functions rather than menu buttons. The other knobs are volume on/off and squelch and clarifier. The clarifier works well on SSB. The squelch is automatic when turned fully to the anti-clockwise position. The menus are easy to bring up and straightforward.
I’m very pleased with this radio and, now the sunspot cycle is nearing maximum, I’m going to have some fun with it. If a radio like this had been available in the 1970s and 80s when CB radio was extremely popular, the 11 metre band would have been jam packed! For anyone just getting into amateur radio, this is a great rig for starting out on 10 metres.
BAND A – 27.60125 TO 27.99125 UK 40
BAND B – 26.065 TO 26.505
BAND C – 26.515 TO 26.955
BAND D – 26.965 TO 27.405
BAND E – 27.415 TO 27.855
BAND F – 27.865 TO 28.305
BAND G – 28.315 TO 28.755
BAND H – 28.765 TO 29.205
BAND I – 29.215 TO 29.655
BAND J – 29.665 TO 30.105
BAND K – 24.8850 TO 25.3650
BAND L – 25.3750 TO 25.6050
CTCSS code list here.
SWR problem:
I use a 5/8 wave CB aerial for the 10 metre band. When I installed the aerial, I think I set the length to resonate at around 28MHz. The problem I had was the radio shutting down because it didn’t like the SWR. The radio covers 25 to 30MHz so the SWR will be high at some frequencies. The answer was to use an old modified ATU with an SWR meter. Problem solved. I was checking the radio on channel 19 CB and a chap in a recovery vehicle replied to me. He was on his was to Peveney Bay. The radio will be used mainly on the 10 metre amateur band but it’s nice to have the CB option.
Programming the radio:
The pic below shows some of the programming information for the CRT SS9900. In the TSQ box, you can select the tone or turn CTCSS off. But there’s something odd about this. The CTCSS works on both TX and RX. I don’t want it to operate on receive, but there’s no choice. If the repeater isn’t transmitting a CTCSS tone, as some don’t, then I won’t hear it. Apart from that, the programming is fairly straight forward.
Frequency bands:
You can find the frequency band list here.
Instruction Manual:
Thanks to John for the manual here.