AmateurLogic 191: Tool Time


AmateurLogic.TV Episode 191 is now available for download.

Can’t find the tool you need? Make it.
Economical heat shrink tubing labels.
Emile’s out of this world NASA adventure.
Mike’s BitX40 build part 2.
Kicking the tires of Icom’s IC-905.

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George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

NanoVNA and checking a common mode choke

 


Last week a new toy arrived a Nanovna and I have been playing around with it and learning the ins and outs of the unit. This unit allows me to check antenna SWR, attenuation and coax switch isolation to name a few things. I am not going to get into the details of the Nanovna as there is lots of information for those interested available on the internet. My first project was to check the attenuation on one of the common mode chokes I made. It was made from RG316 coax, FT 240-31 mix toroid and had 10 turns on it. I never put this common mode choke through any testing as I did not have anything to test it. I was going by some charts, the type of toroid mix and the number of turns needed for 40m to 10m. 


Now that I had a Nanovna I could perform an attenuation test on the common mode choke I was using and see some actual numbers. I have been reading and -30dB or more across 40m-10m is great for a common mode choke. I calibrated the Nanovna and performed an attenuation test and to my surprise, the common mode choke I made failed! The common mode choke I made was above -30dB from 40m to 10m. It was not time to fix the problem and bring my readings below -30dB. 

The red line is the results

 

I tried reducing the windings around the core increasing them and doing a Nanovna sweep each time to see the results. My final result was 14 windings and that gave me the ideal results. The Nanovna indicated -35dB on a full band sweep (6.5MHz to 30MHz) on individual band sweeps the readings were 10m -44dB, 15m -34.5dB, 20m -35dB and 40m -35dB. I am much more pleased with these readings. 

Full band sweep


The software to display the readings is called Nanovna saver, it's free and works great. I am very pleased with the results from the Nanovna and I was able to check and fix my common mode choke. I will now move on to the next project and that is the isolation between antenna 1 and 2 on my LDG AT200pro2 but more on that in another post.


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Fraser Does Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak is a great summit for a SOTA activation. You can hike up, drive up, or take the cog railway to get to the top. Pikes towers over eastern Colorado and has an excellent radio horizon in all directions. It is easy to work a bunch of stations on 2m FM. With a bit of effort, you can work Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and New Mexico on VHF.

Fraser/MM0EFI was visiting from Scotland, operating here in the US as W0/M0EFI. Here’s his HF operating experience, with cameo appearances by Carey/KX0R, Christian/F4WBN, Elliot/K6EL, and Steve/WG0AT.

Now for the VHF fun on 2m FM. I happened to be on South Monarch Ridge (W0C/SP-058) that day and we completed a Summit-to-Summit contact on 146.52 MHz, at a distance of about 80 miles—easy contact using just HT’s on both ends.

Fraser, thanks for the fun videos from America’s Mountain.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Fraser Does Pikes Peak appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.


Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 323

Amateur Radio Weekly

2024 ARRL Field Day Theme: Be Radio Active
The theme encourages Radio Amateurs to take advantage of the peak of Solar Cycle 25.
ARRL

Installing VARA on Debian 12 Linux
I thought it best to document it here, and maybe help another poor lost soul.
The Modern Ham

QLog
A cross-platform logging app with rig control, cluster, WSJT-X support, and more.
OK1MLG

Girl Scouts gear up to talk to International Space Station
Here’s how they’ll do it.
The Sacramento Bee

My ATU is soooo good, it will give a perfect match on anything
Even without an antenna connected.
owenduffy.net

CATS APRS alternative featured on Hackaday
CATS uses raw FSK rather than the inefficient AFSK used by APRS.
Hackaday

Low band VHF tests in Western Australia
The frequencies were 30.8761 MHz , 36.6073 MHz, 39.1467 MHz and 40.6864 MHz.
EI7GL

How I do it: A complete POTA activation from start to finish
Watch me, in real time, as I deploy an end fed half wave antenna, set up my station on a picnic table, and do a QRP (5 watt) POTA activation on the 15 meter band.
KB8VBR

Handmade QSLs from the 1930s
Hams would purchase post cards from the post office (only a penny each, including postage!) and created their own designs.
KB6NU

Source of major RFI identified
You may note that it is at least 5,9+10dB.
Johnson’s Techworld

APRS RX comparison
Anytone 878 vs Yaesu FT-5DR.
W0RMT

Video

Portable DIY adjustable 2m J-Pole
Peel and stick some metal tape on a strap, cut out a J-Pole pattern.
VA5MUD

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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

ICQ Podcast Episode 425 – Getting Ready For Successful Portable Operation

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Bill Barnes (WC3B) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Getting Ready For Successful Portable Operation.

We would like to thank an our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

  • Bob Heil, K9EID, Silent Key
  • YLRL Celebrates International Women's Day with Special Event
  • ARISS Celebrates 40 Years of Hams on the Radio Space
  • Lunar Lander Still Functions Despite Landing Issues
  • UK Amateurs Start to Use New Privileges
  • Brandmeister Adds TETRA Based Network
  • Applications open for YOTA Czechia
  • Pop-Up Net Celebrates National Pi Day

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

LHS Episode #535: Saturday in the Park

Hello and welcome to the 535th installment of LInux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts cover changes to the Parks on the Air (POTA) program, HDMI's AMD denial, the passing of ham radio icon, Bob Heil (K9EID), KDE's new mega release, SDRtrunk and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew


Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 322

Amateur Radio Weekly

Bob Heil, K9EID, Silent Key
Heil was known as a mentor who enjoyed helping others find success in Ham Radio.
ARRL

America’s last Morse-Code station
The Radio Squirrels keep the tradition alive.
The Atlantic

EchoLink Web
An edition of EchoLink that runs entirely within a Web browser.
EchoLink

At peace with Amateur Radio over Internet
Internet is so integral to the current generation that any communications technology that doesn’t incorporate Internet to some degree might be perceived as irrelevant.
Zero Retries

New Amateur Radio newsletter
An emphasis on radio experiments and the VHF bands.
EI7GL

First SOTA activation
My furthest contact was with Z36T in The Republic of North Macedonia at 1501 miles.
GM5ALX

Restoring a mystery key
It didn’t have any markings on it and the seller said he thinks it was home made.
QRPer

Installing your Ham Radio mobile antenna on a vehicle
We will explore everything from the simplest configuration to the most complex.
OnAllBands

Winlink wishlist
Have officially supported clients for Mac and Linux.
W0RMT

Video

D75 versus FT5
Let’s take a look at the Kenwood TH-D75 radio compared to the Yaesu FT5.
KM4ACK

Hidden APRS Igate in your Yaesu mobile radio
Plug your radio into your PC or Raspberry Pi and install Ygate.
KM6LYW

ARRL DX Contest from the nuclear bunker
We return to the nuclear bunker on the North York Moors UK.
ianxfs

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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

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