Help me decide which Nady

lighterknot

lighterknot

New member
OK I have decided to build my own e-caller for now and picked up what i think will be a very easy to use MP3 player from E-bay. I want the player to have good quality sounds, no popping and a pretty decent range. Other than price what are the differences between these 3:
NADY DKW-1
Nady 151-VR-LT
Nady 351-VR LT

The DKW-1 i have found on E-bay as low as $50, it says it has a 250 ft range with up to 500 ft line of sight and designed to eliminate on/off popping noise. Which is a huge plus in my book.

The other two I am not so sure what they do better but they are around $100-$110 new from planetdj.com.

Your thoughts?
 
I used the 151 on my preymaster and unless I understood what I have read wrong I would choose the 151 over the 351 anyday. Seems you have to choose the frequency on the 351 but on the 151 if you got any outside noise source it seems you can tune it out on the 151. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

t/c223encore.
 
well looking on Nady's website I can't see that they are differnet other than the 351 is smaller, i'll go read it again and see if it mentions the frequency adjustability. The DKW-1 seems to have the same features for half the price, but something has to be different.
 
On the DKW01 you will have to make some modifications, and some technical knowledge will be helpful. There will be some soldering involved.

The main advantage of the 351 over the 151 is the size, and I believe the receiver is slightly more sensitive.

As for frequency adjustments, I don't remember that, but again, if you have technical knowledge, you can do some tuning internally should you run into that problem.

That said, I would HIGLY recommend that you do your homework on frequency selection prior to buying. First, look at the NADY website asnd determine what channels are being used in your hunting area. Next, by all means monitor those frequencies prior to your selection to determine the least amount of interference.

Lastly, there isn't that much price differential between the 151 and 351 in my opinion. So, my preference was the 351.

Regardless, either will do the job, and good luck with your project.

Bill /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Thanks Bill, that's what i was thinking only $10 difference between the 151 and 351 and to me it is worth it to have the smaller one. I have no electrical or comm knowledge but I have a friend that does and would be able to help me if I needed it. Do you get any popping when starting and stopping sounds with the 351? The popping is the only reason i was interested in the DKW-1 because it said it has circuitry built in to eliminate that.
Where can i get a scanner to monitor those frequencies?
 
Lighternot,

I agree with you on the price difference. IMHO the 351 is the way to go. You can use a smaller case for the remote caller, and there are no modifications to be made on the 351 to put it into usage.

I never had a popping sound problem with my unit. Its mostly a matter of balancing out your audio into the transmitter. If, you overdrive the audio signal to the transmitter, it will cause what we call "clipping" on the FM transmission. I think that is the prime reason for popping to develop. Just turn down the audio of the input to the transmitter, and I believe you will control it to your satisfaction.

If, you have any Ham friends, they will probably have a scanner. If not, then try some deputy dog types, or EMT types. They may have one you can borrow. Would not recommend that you buy one just to check out the frequencies. Too expensive. Wish we were close, as I would let you use mine.

Good luck with the project.

Bill /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Well a buddy of mine works in the ground communication shop in the Alabama National Guard...he does maintenance on all of their radios and their shop may have one I can borrow. Is it just a regular VHF scanner?
 
Right. All you need is a tunable scanner, or a digital scanner that will allow you to monitor the various frequencies. Its really a simple task, but worth SO much to you when you get it all put together. Correct frequency selection can make a tremendous difference on success of your system.

BTW, NADY makes the same units in UHF as well, and there are frequencies for its usage. However, if you are going to hunt in a heavily wooded area, and especiaslly where pine trees are present, it is not as effective as the VHF system. Pine trees will absorb UHF frequencies, and it will reduce your range considerably.

You won't need to use the scanner for long. Just to check out the various locations where you will be hunting.

Good luck on your project, and let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Bill /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Boy I may have blew it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif...have a 351 on its way and I just chose a frequency that was clear and as far away from from the ones in my area as I could. Hope it works, I've no access to a scanner cept to buy one, but 2 late now, unless I can exchange it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
In fact, the 151VR-LT unit I have does induce a pop (more like a "pop-thud" than a pop, actually) when switching on or changing tracks. Not a real big deal, obviously, as I've lived with it for going on three years. But yes, it does this regardless of Tx input trim pot settings, or Rx mute or output settings. With my MP3 hardwired to the Velleman 7W amp with a patch cord, mine no pop. Don't know that I've ever had a predator flee because of it. I rationalize that prey getting whomped by a predator creates a lot of extraneous thrashing around sounds going on, besides. Pop can be eliminated whenever critical need arises by using the transmitter standby switch as a mute button. Also, tracks that are looped don't do it. My style for cats is to call nearly continuously, so that helps, too.

As far as the Nady 351VR-LT being better re: the pop, I've gotten reports from guys that have used both who tell me it is; others suggest it's a hit or miss thing having as much to do with the interaction of individual components as anything. One of these days I'll order up a 351VR-LT receiver to find out for myself if I can be rid of the pop without starting over from scratch.

Other than this one issue, there's not much to find fault with on the 151VR-LT. To me, the dimensions of
the receiver being smaller is no big shake-- the transmitter piece that stays with you is exactly the same with the 351VR-LT set, and there's plenty of room for the longer 151 Rx case inside my ecaller. Any weight savings would be inconsequential.

You shouldn't have any problem utilizing a DKW-1; so long as it's the lavalier version (LT), it ought to be plug and play without any need for soldering. (Someone here once bought a karaoke style HT mic version off ebay by mistake, then went to some lengths to make it work--even posting an illustrated tutorial--but I'd think it'd be much easier and greatly preferable to get the correct version out of the box.) You'll need to know upfront that the DKW-1 receiver uses 12 volts, not 9, but this may be just the ticket for someone planning on using a bigger amp since there are many more 12 volt options available.

LionHo
 
LionHo How do I use a 12 battery pack 8AA's to run a 9V nady and a 12v amp at the same time and charge it too?
 
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Looked into using a Zener to drop a 12V gel cell battery to 9V but there was the issue of losing battery efficiency and creating heat.

Instead, an 8 AA Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack specs out at about 10.8V fully charged. Luckily, the Nady 151VR-LT works well at this voltage. (Had to make a dummy battery with a pigtail soldered to the tab, though. Used a dead 9V transistor battery shell, filled with 5min epoxy). I've never used the Nady 151V with 8 AA alkalines @ 12V, so can't recommend it, you're on your own there. If I wanted to use an amp that required a 12V supply I certainly wouldn't hesitate to give the DKW-1 a shot, instead.

But since the Velleman 7W amp works with a supply voltage ranging from from 8-18 VDC, this was another great reason (second only to the excellent frequency response spec) for going with this particular amp for use with the Nady 151VR-LT or 351VR-LT.

I soldered and heat-shrinked together a wiring harness that included a the pigtail, a molex connector for the amp, a push-on/push-off power switch, and a charging jack. Slow charging is done with a cast-off wall wart of the correct voltage, or one of the newer "smart" chargers (fast charge). Much more convenient than pulling the caller apart after every session just to charge the batteries.

LionHo
 
Thanks for the Info.I'm using the Minaska 12V amp with a Nady 151LT. I'll try using both units on the same power source.8AAs NI-MH
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, I can see that having some technical knowledge would make things a lot easier. Here in the southeast there is a lot of pine forest so i will stick with the VHF models. Is using an amp in conjunction with the Nady system critical? What is the drawback of not using it? I imagine it would determine how big of a speaker I could push but this is a guess as my finance background doesn't help me with squat about electronics /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 


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