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Reviews (2)
Nov 26, 2018
Decently-priced way to get certain Icom radios on D-STAR
I've owned an IC-9100 for a couple years, and although my interest is primarily in CW/SSB on VHF/UHF, eventually I figured D-STAR was worth a try.
I found installation to be simple; remove top/bottom covers, two front-panel screws, loosen two others, the radio face folds down revealing a socket, and you just plug it in.
The module decodes reliably down to about S4, which I'm led to believe is about typical. It is my first and only experience with D-STAR, so perhaps others will have more value to add here.
Personally I hear FM simplex fine, down to about S1 so I can't quite buy the hype that D-STAR is "easier to understand, farther out" as some would claim... but for sure digital repeaters will not rebroadcast received noise in payload of their transmitted signal, so the overall experience is better in the use case of a weak FM signal user talking through a repeater, hands-down.
Whether it is "a good value" depends on the user's circumstances. Is there enough activity nearby, or are you willing to be the first (maybe only) adopter in your area? Do you want to deal with the learning curve? If there is no nearby activity, you can get on the air with "hotspots" to link you in via a sort of VoIP - at a cost of another $100-200, by which point you are getting close to the price of a good radio again. Whether one is an experimenter or an appliance user will also help determine one's level of fun received for the money.
Another alternative could be a D-STAR dongle for a PC, if you don't care about on-the-air communication, so much.
I do think the module is a bit overpriced at $150+, and on the used market you need to watch out for details like whether it is packed in anti-static packaging or whether it includes the adhesive pad (so it doesn't jolt loose).
Overall, I would recommend the UT-121 to any technical user interested in trying D-STAR but not quite ready yet to break out the wallet to get a $400+ dedicated D-STAR rig.
Jan 04, 2022
A decent finger-aware VR controller, if you have the money
3 of 3 found this helpful I originally bought a 2018 HTC Vive system which goes through SteamVR and has the 1.0 lighthouses and standard Vive "wands." Upgrading to the Index controllers worked flawlessly, as advertised. Of course you can only use one or the other, but you can switch back and forth during initial pairing as your game choice requires.
The Index controllers are a great, innovative way to get finger-by-finger "tracking" into virtual space. The controllers strap onto your palm, enabling you to open your hand fully with the controller still there, or else just use one or more fingers. There is a "pad" along the front of the controller that senses the proximity of each finger, and also it has a switch of sorts to indicate when and how hard you are gripping the controller.
The good news is that this makes for a very immersive experience in cases where you are doing a lot of interaction with the environment, or in social applications like VRChat where you want maximum expressiveness with your hands - even unintentionally, as it often is the case that somebody will type or drink a glass of water with the controller on, and others can see their fingers move.
These controllers will detect partial closure of fingers, but the movement is not proportional - if you can imagine it this way, 0-100% of hand-opening in-game is achieved by roughly 0-30% of hand-opening on the controller. This isn't necessarily bad, but just be aware that it will not match your movements exactly, like some of the pull-type sensors do.
Finger tracking will sometimes flake out, with fingers getting stuck together, or sometimes a single finger remaining closed or open. This is probably due to subtle movement of your hand over time. To some extent this can be fixed by clenching and unclenching your hand or various fingers a few times rapidly, and the controller will usually "figure it out" and make corrections. It's nice that it's this smart, but frankly I would expect a bit more consistency at this price range.
A number of people report controller drift or other technical problems after several months. Usually Valve is good about warranty support for such issues, but if you're purchasing the controllers used, or if the problem comes up after warranty, it could be a concern.
For these reasons I have to say 4/5, but it is a "high 4" I would say. Dropping a few hundred dollars for a couple of glorified joysticks is never a "good value" but people looking for these are likely more concerned about top feature content than they are about value, and the Index controllers definitely deliver a compelling experience, consistent with what they promise.