AmateurRadio.com

Recently the Arduino has been making its way into the skies.  ArduSat is a project to build and launch an Arduino-powered satellite into space.  Here’s a video describing the project:

A little closer to Earth, Michael Doornbos, N4LNX and founder of Evadot, is working on an Arduino-based board for using in balloon payloads.  The unit is called FireFly and features wireless capabilities, a data acquisition and storage subsystem, and is solar power ready.  It’s intended to pack a lot of functionality in one easy-to-use unit and save time and effort for those building payload computers for high altitude balloon experiments.

Here’s a short video showing reception of data bursts from a FireFly on a Yaesu FT-857:

This project is really timely considering the recent increase in interest in balloon experiments in amateur radio.

Just a few days after I wrote that the AlexLoop WalkHam is a great companion for the Elecraft KX3 and here is a video by Steve WG0AT showing the combo in action.

5 and 9 using QRP SSB! I can’t wait until I’m fit enough to take the KX3 and loop to the outdoors myself.

I used my KX3 for the first of the 2012 Summer 20 Meter Fox hunts tonight – and it was great!

Using the K2, you hit the “split” button and you tune each, VFO A and VFO B with the same main tuning knob.  You have to switch back and forth between the two VFOs in order to tune each one.

Not so with the KX3!  Hit “split” and tune VFO A with the main knob and tune VFO B with the smaller, side tuning knob.  No need to keep switching between VFOs to tune each one!  This made things so much easier.

I worked Paul K4FB pretty much right off the bat.  Don NK6A in California was more of a challenge. He was weak, but was picking up in signal strength as the hunt progressed.  Nabbed each pelt using the Butternut vertical.

This was a great way to start the Summer season. Hope it stays this good!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

On Tuesday evening, I made the 80 minute or so trip up the M40 to visit the Wythall club in south Birmingham to present the ‘My World of VHF’ talk to them. It was a very enjoyable evening – the meeting was well attended and there seemed to be more interest in VHF matters than there sometimes is. Thank you to all everyone at Wythall for their warm welcome and a fun evening. It’s always interesting presenting the talk as it’s a reminder to me of the various aspects of VHF/UHF operation. Somehow talking about simple 50MHz portable activity struck a chord with me.

And so it was this morning that I headed out on my bike with the FT-817, the ATX Walkabout antenna and the Baofeng UV-5R. I rode up onto Windmill Hill, a couple of miles from here.

I knew 50MHz had been in and out as I’d made some QSOs from home before I headed out. Although I didn’t make any 50MHz QSOs, it’s always interesting to listen on the little whip antenna – and to hope that signals will come up. The furthest I heard was an LZ2 station and the strongest was an EA5, but not really strong enough for a low power QSO. Once again the GB3MCB beacon from Cornwall was audible and I heard a station from the South West (IO70) – so it’s a fair path over the Ridgeway.

Funnily enough as I was packing up, I overheard a QSO on a 145MHz repeater about how there was never any activity on 50MHz. Really?

When your PSU gives in, a replacement part costs an arm and a leg and 6m is up?

Not a lot it seems. My ft817 was hearing a lot of eastern and western European stations but with 5w max and a home made  antenna you’re not going to get far despite some patient operators on the other end.

Still it was worth a go and thanks to DL5EL for letting me have more than my fair share of attempts.

VY2 portable K4SWL!

This year, during our family’s summer holiday, I’m enjoying the hospitality of Prince Edward Island, Canada (hence, the lack of recent posts).  This is our family’s second visit to the maritime island, and each time we’ve been  fortunate to stay at the same off-the-grid cabin on the eastern coast, less than twenty meters from the water.

Of course, staying in an off-grid cabin comes with its radio challenges—namely, supplying power—but also comes with one supreme advantage:  no noise from the typical electrical devices that plague most of our homes. What’s more, this cabin sits on 60 acres, so not even a neighbor’s home appliances disturb my RX ears.

On our previous visit, I brought my (then) Yaesu FT-817, a 9aH gel cell, Micro M+ charge controller, 10W Solarex PV panel, some 300 ohm window line, loads of 22 AWG wire and an LDG ATU.  Unfortunately, I found I had very little time for radio, and propagation was dismal. Indeed, it was during that trip that I discovered my FT-817’s finals had blown, so part of the time I was transmitting less than QRPpppp levels.

This year, since I knew the site well, I came better prepared.

My full 2012 setup consists of the following:

• An Elecraft K2/10
• An Elecraft KX1 (4 band w/built-in ATU)
• Elecraft T1 ATU
• LDG 4:1 Balun
• One 35 aH gel cell
• Two 9.5 aH gel cells
• Two PowerFilm Solar foldable 5 W PV panels
• My radio toolbox with various connectors, crimpers, cutters, wires, caps, multi-tester, etc.
• Enough wire and 300 ohm antenna line to make a couple of wire antennas

So…how’s it all working out? Brilliantly!

In the past few years I’ve done a lot of QRP CW—mainly rag-chews with some buddies on the lower bands. I’ve done less QRP SSB phone. When I first arrived at the cabin and began the process of unpacking, I couldn’t find the jumper cable to attach to my Vibroplex single-lever paddle (the paddle being a Dayton 2012 find, by the way). So, I plugged in a microphone and tuned to the phone portion of the 17 meter band.

Talk about radio fun!

I’ve once again re-discovered the joy of operating QRP SSB. It’s challenging to make those DX contacts and to transmit a long call sign (“VY2 portable K4SWL”) across the ether,  but occasionally the propagation gods smile upon you, and you’re able to participate in a good rag-chew or quick DX with a 57 to 59 signal report.

Being 20 meters from the salt water is a bonus I don’t usually enjoy in my US hermitage. Due to its excellent propagation characteristics, despite my lower power set-up, I have easily worked stations from Russia to North Africa, from  the Caribbean to Japan.   I am thoroughly reveling in it, and the process has re-connected me with my ham radio roots.

As Gunter, VA3GA, told me in a recent Canadian rag-chew, “ham radio holidays give you a chance to explore areas of the hobby you don’t normally think to enjoy.”

So true, Gunter. That’s what I love about ham radio in general– the hobby is so broad, you constantly discover and re-discover favorite elements about it.

Introduction:

• “You know it’s summer in Texas, because all the truck tires shed their winter coats.”
• This episode, an interview with David Rowe, VK5DGR.

Topics:

• Our hosts conduct a lively conversation with David Rowe, VK5DGR, from Adelaide, South Australia.
• David is the author of Codec 2,, an open source speech codec designed for communications quality speech.
• You can find more information about David and his project on his blog.
• Powerpoint presentations and Youtube videos of how Codec 2 works are available on his Codec 2 blog page.
• You can see David’s presentation of Codec2 at linux.conf.au here.
• David then describes the Mesh Potato project, an open hardware product designed specifically to build telephone networks without infrastructure like cell phone towers or land lines.
• The Mesh Potato is available for purchase.

Contact Info:

• Contact Richard at [email protected], Russ at [email protected], or both at the same time at [email protected].
• Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
• Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
• Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
• Sign up for the MAGNetcon mailing list.
• LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
• Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

• None.