AmateurRadio.com

I don’t often look for PSK warbles on 6m but am glad I did this evening. Obviously others were looking for someone as well I1YTO and I ended up having a brief QSO before he faded away again, up to 599 then down to nowt in a matter of seconds. Nice whilst it lasted

A couple of years ago I attempted to upgrade my rig to a more ‘vase’ station type. I really like my IC7000 and have thoroughly enjoyed using it but I have also enjoyed operating from larger rigs more. There’s less need to get a PC up and running and to use that to drive the menu’s. The reason why I didn’t get a new rig last time is because a more pressing need was there, we needed a new car.

Well now I get to think about it all over again. I’ve got a figure of around £1500 in my head and thought that the TS590 might do me well. Other options would be a second hand K3 but they are rarer than hens teeth and likely to be more money and an ideal would be a new Hermes SDR, but then again that would be more like £2000+.

I found this decision quite difficult before but the issue doesn’t seem to want to go away in a hurry. New or second hand I’m not really bothered. I just want the best I can for the money. HF & 6m are a must. 2m would be great and 70cm’s as well so i can do some satellite work but I’ll happily drop the VHF for a better HF rig. The TS590 does seem like the best choice so far.

The new edition of Radcom arrived a little while ago and I had a chance to have a read through it yesterday and there was a review for the new Kenwood super rig. It certainly looked an impressive site, but what struck me the most was not the features it had but the sheer cost of the thing. It tips the scales at over £6k. The cost of my last car!

Radcom also features a section every now and again about how they are trying to attract new members and potential people into ham radio. Can I give them a little hint, start working on cheaper rigs. The evidence was even strong as I went through the pages and it showed individuals, who know doubt deservedly, won trophies and prizes for all manner of things. There wasn’t a single one in the 16-24 bracket, in fact I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a soul under 45 in there.

Can I make a suggestion?

Can we please take a look at providing cheaper gear that doesn’t need building, say a £100 rig that will get people on air. If we can produce a funcube dongle for a little more than that which seems like an amazing piece of kit, why can’t we produce a rig that is universal, cheap, useful and worth having rather than producing for the wealthy ‘person of a certain age’. That way we may be able to see talent in the younger age bracket collecting trophies.

If you’re looking for a volunteer to project manage it then just ask. If you’re looking for a technical whizzkid then you’d better look elsewhere

Guess what?  Its sunny and there’s Es to be had about. After several months of not really touching the radio at home because of the various commitments I made to a certain cycle sportive I took a week off work and decided to catch up on the family and my hobby. After a nice long weekend away with the kids in Centre Parcs (If you don’t have kids then it’ll be hell on earth, otherwise I can recommend it, especially the security at Sherwood after our friends bike was pinched. The Muppet got nicked at the gate and is now at her majesty’s pleasure)

Back to radio though…A few quick fire contacts on 6m soon had me back in the swing although an attempt at FSK was a step too far today. Still nice to work a few stations and to see the sun out. The Powabeam is doing the business on a Moonraker mast. Not an ideal set up but useful.

Some good planning on Sarah’s part yielded a bridal shower for her sister scheduled on the same weekend as the Hamvention.  Huge win.

1. Speaking of huge wins, there was no sewer back up this year.
2. Like the last time I attended in 2011, I’m pleased to see more younger (than me) hams in attendance.  A high-ranking ARRL official noted to me the “energy and enthusiasm” present in this generation of young hams that was not present 15 years ago (this year marks my 20th year as a ham, but I didn’t mention that).  Attendance was still thin compared to my first visit in the mid 1990s.
3. Deals.  I stimulated the economy by purchasing a small CDE rotor for my VHF activities, an HP server power supply for a future solid state amplifier project (>55 amps at 50 volts), a couple of 900-MHz antennas, and some miscellaneous small parts.  I sold some junk to partially cover that expense.
4. People.  Ran into a lot of old friends and made some new ones.  This is really why I go to Dayton, well, that and the junk.  K8MFO tells me there are Bureau cards coming.  W8AV has 930s for me to work on.  W2NAF had people for me to meet.  AD8P was able to win himself a pizza from an unnamed W5 in the “SB-200 challenge” of correctly differentiating an SB-200 from an SB-220 at a distance of 20 feet—a tribute to the W5′s failure to distinguish the two until after the sale last year.
5. W2NAF has written an article about our trip to Adak (NA-039) that was published in the June 2013 issue of CQ.  It has a lot more background detail than what I wrote on the blog.  Check it out.  I picked up a copy of that and the May 2013 issue which has the 2012 CQ WW CW results in it.
6. Products.  I just don’t care that much about new products.  The Ten-Tec Rebel that several people have already discussed is a cool idea.  I know that Ten-Tec took some flak for not opening up the Orion SDR core when they produced it.  But, let’s be realistic, people.  Hams would have bricked those suckers in a heartbeat.  A sandbox “open source” radio is a step in the right direction, but I question what a ham can really customize that matters without screwing it up.  Maybe I’m just not visionary enough.  Almost 10 years ago now, I interned in the R&D lab at a large consumer appliance manufacturer as an undergraduate my supervisor was always saying, “How can we make this attractive to the [hardware] hackers?”
7. Guns.  The Hamvention web site was very specific that the Trotwood Police Department would be actively enforcing Hara Arena as a non-gun zone.  Seriously?  It’s a ham radio convention.  Bill Goodman is there at least once a month the rest of the year.  Do hams bring their go-kits to gun shows?  They must.  Inquiring minds want to know…
8. Suites.  I did not do the contester suite thing.  Was thinking of going on Friday night but fell asleep in my in-laws’ living room.  This is a recurring problem when I visit so no one bothered to awaken me.

Was the trip worthwhile?  I think so.

A ham with a parrot on his shoulder walk into a bar.

Barkeeper asks “where did you get that?”

“Dayton” says the parrot.

Readers, check out the Cyclone 40 in this release:

A new kit from the Four State QRP Group and David Cripe (NM0S)

NM0S’s Cylcone 40M QRP transceiver. Look for it at Four Days in May!

Arising from Dave’s entry in QRP ARCI’s 72 Part Challenge Design Contest in 2010, the Cyclone 40 is an enhanced version of the original design. The transceiver designed for the design contest had 72 total parts, performed well, and won honorable mention. This improved version has less than 100 components and even better performance! The kit features all through hole parts and easy assembly. The receiver is a superhet design with very good sensitivity and selectivity, and tunes the entire 125 kHZ CW segment of the 40M Band – and does so at a comfortable tuning rate. A frequency readout is included so you know where you are at all times.

This is a complete kit, including the enclosure. A high quality board package includes the pc board, front and back panels, the sides, and top and bottom all of which make up the enclosure. The control and jack labels are silk screened in white letters and vividly contrast with the black solder mask, and the holes for the connectors and controls are pre-drilled. The ends are “dovetailed” together making a very rugged, easy to build, and attractive enclosure.

Features and Specifications

General

• Enclosure: A very nice predrilled and silkscreened enclosure is included. It’s easy to assemble and looks great.
• Ergonomics: Smooth solid tuning, a quiet receiver with QSK and well behaved AGC. Nicely laid out front and rear panels.
• VFO: The VFO is a simple PTO design, is very stable, and also quite easy to build
• Sidetone: Included!
• AGC: Audio derived, fast and smooth.
• Frequency Range: 7.000 – 7.125 typical.
• Tuning Speed: 10kHz/knob turn typical.
• Stability: 300 HZ the first 5 min after power up, less than 10 HZ/hour after that.
• QSK: Fantastic QSK! Full Break in, excellent muting, really fast!
• All Through Hole Parts There are NO SMT parts in this kit, and only three easy to wind toroids.
• Dimensions: 4.4 x 3.6 x 1.9″
• Power Connector: 2.5×5.5mm coaxial, center positive. Should be fused at 1A, fast blow at PS
• Antenna connector: BNC

Receiver

• Configuration: Superheterodyne, 11 MHZ IF, 4 Crystal IF Filter.
• Sensitivity: MDS (Minimum Discernable Signal) -125, Typical, below the normal 40M band noise level.
• Selectivity: Four crystal, 500 HZ IF filter
• IMD3: 90 dB typical, better than most commercial gear!
• IP3: +10 dBm typical – another very good number
• Frequency Readout: 3 or 4 digit CW, 1 kHz or 100 Hz resolution (user selectable), developed by Adrian Hill, KCØYOI.
• Band Edge Marker: A band edge marker is heard at 7.001 MHZ
• Headphone Jack: 1/8″ stereo, standard earbud/Walkman® headphone compatible
• DC Current consumption: 30 ma typical at 13.6 VDC.

Transmitter

• Configuration: Stable, Wide Range VFO (PTO design), Efficient Class E Final.
• Spectral Purity: All harmonics and spurs less than 50dB below the carrier.
• Output Power: approximately 4W into 50 ohms
• DC Current consumption: 500ma typical at 13.6 VDC Will operate down to 9v DC.
• Key Jack: 1/8″ stereo, grounded shell, switching the tip keys TX. Contacts accessible for an internal add-on keyer

Kits should be available at QRP ARCI’s Four Days in May conference at Dayton, and will be for sale on the Four State QRP Group’s web site approximately May 20th. The final price hasn’t been determined yet but should be less than $100 plus shipping.