APRS Tracker for the Bosch KF163

This APRS tracker module is especially designed to fit in the Bosch KF163 transceiver. It is the successor of the well known KF161-Tracker. Stock levels of the KF161 have decreased to almost nill at the Amateur Radio Museum “Jan Corver”, and the KF161-Tracker kit is also out-of-stock. Luckily the Museum also has stock of the KF163 transceiver. Bosch's KF163 is from a later generation transceivers than the KF161. It is smaller, delivers more RF output power (12W), but yet it is still built with mostly conventional thru-hole components. This makes the KF163 very suitable for amateur-radio use in the 2m band.

It takes hardly any effort to convert the KF163 for usage in the 2m band. The only things that need to be done are re-tuning of the front-end and adjusting the VFO. No special equipment is needed. A signal generator (or a low-power transmitter on a dummy load placed at some distance) a voltmeter, and an oscilloscope or RF-voltmeter. The KF163s from Museum "Jan Corver" contain a PLL built around a for Bosch custom made IC. This KF163 variety is also known as the "dig X" variety. (X because originally this was a 10 channel transceiver) The KF163-Tracker kit actually contains two modules. Apart from the APRS tracker module, it also contains a small module to control the PLL synthesizer. This small module is in fact a functional replacement for the now obsolete and hard to get CDP18U42 EPROM.

The kit consists of circuit boards and components for both modules and a building guide. The kit is easy to build and needs no adjustments. The assembled tracker circuit board is simply plugged in the KF163 where the tone lock decoder used to be. And the PLL controller module plugs into the socket where the CDP18U42 EPROM used to be. For APRS usage we only need 1 frequency. But it is possible to add switches for channel selection. There are 5 address lines available to select up to 32 channels. The PLL control module has been pre-programmed with these frequency settings.

1: 145.2000 MHz
2: 145.2250 MHz
3: 145.2500 MHz
4: 145.2750 MHz
5: 145.3000 MHz
6: 145.3250 MHz
7: 145.3500 MHz
8: 145.3750 MHz
9: 145.4000 MHz
10: 145.4250 MHz
11: 145.4500 MHz
12: 145.4750 MHz
13: 145.5000 MHz
14: 145.5250 MHz
15: 145.5500 MHz
16: 145.5750 MHz
17: 145.0000-145.6000 MHz
18: 145.0125-145.6125 MHz
19: 145.0250-145.6250 MHz
20: 145.0375-145.6375 MHz
21: 145.0500-145.6500 MHz
22: 145.0625-145.6625 MHz
23: 145.0750-145.6750 MHz
24: 145.0875-145.6875 MHz
25: 145.1000-145.7000 MHz
26: 145.1125-145.7125 MHz
27: 145.1250-145.7250 MHz
28: 145.1375-145.7375 MHz
29: 145.1500-145.7500 MHz
30: 145.1625-145.7625 MHz
31: 145.1750-145.7750 MHz
32: 144.8000 MHz

KF163-TRACKER

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€ 27,50 KF163-Tracker & PLL controller module DIY kit, KF163TRKPLL32-KIT (excl. shipping)
€ 3,50 Shiiping/handling (priority mail Europe, no tracking&tracing)
€ 4,50 Shiiping/handling (priority mail Worldwide, no tracking&tracing)

kf163-tracker_layout

KF163 complete with built-in trackers are still available from the Amateur Radio Museum “Jan Corver”.

For customers within the EU a bank transfer is the most economical way of paying. Bank account information can be found here. You can place an order by simply sending an stating what you would like to order and the shipping address. Payments via PayPal are best if you would like to get your order quickly, or if your bank has high charges for an international bank transfer. PayPal accepts major credit cards, and a number of other ways to pay for your order. If you don't already have a PayPal account it can be created on the fly. Read also our shipping policy.

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Shipping

We will ship goods within 3 days after receipt of payment at the latest. But usually goods will ship the same day. Exceptions are goods for which a delivery time is indicated on the web-site.

Postage and packaging cost depends on size and weight of the goods. In principle we ship at lowest possible cost. Many items are small and the order value is low. Therefore we ship those items using the Postal Service (TNT Post) as priority mail. This is inexpensive and for most destinations reliable, but does not offer the possibility to track and trace the shipment. If you wish a more secure shipping method (some destinations with insurance) then this is possible. Please contact us before placing an order to agree alternative shipping method and cost.

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ILLUMICON is not liable for loss and/or damage of your order during shipment. At the moment we offer the package for shipment at TNT, the risk and liability is transferred to the customer.

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© 2006 Arno Verhoeven en/ kf163tracker.shtml , 2010-05-31