AmateurRadio.com

Since the fall is coming and kit building will be on the rise I wanted to recycle this post from last year...
When I decided a few years ago to venture into a new area of amateur radio.....kit building. I did  some research on the internet to see what I was up against. Having never built a kit and not really having any electronics background I did not want to get in over my head. So it was a simple kit to begin with but at the same time something I would use and not just become a home to dust bunnies. I decided on the Elecraft KX1 kit as it would I hoped turn out to be a functioning radio. One I could put to use in portable operation again this was another area of amateur radio I had yet to discover. So I practiced my soldering, put together some tools and one thing that kept waking me up at nights....(not really) was the TOROID WINDING!!!!!!! There is lots on the internet on how to go about winding a toroid. With the KX1 kit I found myself trying the different methods and at times  having to rewind some toroids many times. A few weekends ago during slow times in the ARCI contest I decided to do some toroid winding for my on going KPA100 100 watt option for my K2 Elecraft radio.

I added Soft rubber to jaws of the vise

Chopstick method

I just want to share some of the ideas I tried during my trial and error periods of toroid winding. Also the process I go through from start to finish. As with most any kit I have worked with you are given a recommended length of wire to cut and I have found at least with the Elecraft kits the total wire given is always more than enough to wind all the toroids. Now comes the fun part the winding, there was three methods I tried. The first was putting the toroid core in a vise and winding the wire through the core. I found this to be somewhat awkward for me, some may find it works for them but I was opening and
closing the vise and moving the core around more than winding the toroid. Using the vise seemed to take a very long time. But having said that if your hand is not steady the vise is a very good alternative. The vise did  great to just hold the toroid for the later step of stripping the leads...more about that later. The next idea that came across my path was the use of a chopstick, I included a picture of what I am taking about and we all know how a picture is worth a thousand words.
Using the chopstick I was able to form the turns of the wire nicely around the inside of the toroid. At the same time space the turns out so the toroid looked very balanced. I used this method with building my KX1 and as I wound each turn I inserted the chopstick and inspected the toroid. As I progressed to my next kit (Elecraft K2) I used the chopsticks for eating and not winding toroids. As it turned out this too was a method that just seem to complicate the winding process. As I gained confidence  winding  toroids I just put on my magnifying head set and wound them by hand!!! This proved to be the road for me in regards to gettin r done with the infamous toroid. See the link at the bottom of post to see how winding a toroid by hand is done.  Once the toroid is wound you have to remove the coating of insulation on the wire. In this regard I read of sanding it off, using a lighter or flame of some type to bun it off or a hot solder blob. I tried the sandpaper method but I found it to be a little hard on the toroid windings and sometimes the sandpaper got to close to the turns of wire and removed some insulation there as well. I gave the open flame a go but found I was just heating up the wire and really did not have any control over removing the insulation and heat required to remove the insulation.

Tinning leads

The method I settled on and works great for me is the solder blob method.  I use a type of mini vise with alligator clips on the ends to hold the toroid in place I then change the solder tip to a larger one.  The soldering station is turned up to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit the hot tip is placed on the lead to be tinned and solder is applied to tip and wire until a small amount of smoke begins to form. At that point the solder and soldering iron is moved slowly along the toroid wire adding solder as I go along. At this point I also want to mention that I also use a solder fume extractor when ever I am soldering and for sure when tinning the toroid leads. There are many on the market for a reasonable price.

                                            SOME TIPS I FOUND HELPFUL
1. I always recount the number of turns just before the last turn is done. I find sometimes more turns are needed or I lost count and I have the correct turns already.
2. Just before placing the toroid into the circuit board one lead is cut shorter than the other. I find this makes placement of the leads into the board holes easier. 
3.  I ALWAYS use an ohm meter to check that my tinning job worked and the insulation is stripped.
4. Once the toroid is soldered in place before cutting the leads flush with the  board I double check again with the ohm meter for continuity.

With practice I found the toroid winding can go smooth and it can be pleasurable as well.  

1 hour and 20 minutes of toroid wind.

                                     Links  that deal with toroid winding

The vise method   Once you are at the web page click on the upper left link "Toroid winding"

     


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

And finally the podcast is caught up. All the back episodes have been edited and released and now Russ is taking a break, breathing a little easier and hiding from the hell sheep. In this episode, the hosts talk about the new release of Ubuntu (formal review coming later), the KDE desktop, doing noise cancellation with Audacity and much more. They address feedback from listeners and encourage everyone to support the show by calling in some voice comments, making a donation, becoming a member or purchasing show-related merchandise. Sorry for the advertisement, but sometimes it just has to be done. Thank you for being a listener. Peace, love, ham radio and Linux. Good times.

73 de The LHS Guys

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].

Does anyone out there have any suggestions for an Android or iOS smartphone app to help learn Morse code and improve speed and accuracy?  I’ve been poking around the App Store and Android Market.  There are MANY choices and I’m hoping someone will be able to save me a little time and frustration.

Something’s come over me lately.  I’ve had this renewed interest in learning Morse code.  Well, not really “learning” — more like “re-learning.” I had to learn the code when I became licensed twenty years ago, but like most things I studied at the time, I promptly forgot it after the test was over.  What a shame, really.  I honestly viewed it as an antiquated, useless requirement.  I never imagined that I’d ever want to use it.

I’m looking for a new challenge.  For me, I think that challenge is QRP CW.  I love this hobby.  There are so many aspects that it literally can take a lifetime to explore them all.

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

I don’t know if anyone has ever asked this question before, so I will ask. And if someone did and there is an answer, could you direct me to it. And if there isn’t, maybe someone from one of the modern Amateur Radio manufactures can answer it. Why isn’t there USB on modern rigs? What’s the catch to getting it added?

I mean, with USB, you could make it much easier to setup the frequencies in the memory or the radio. It’s faster through put then serial, so you could get a lot more data from the rig. It would be a simpler setup for interfacing it by just plugging it in and making APIs available for software developers to write code that will talk to it. Apple revolutionized the MP3 and smart phone markets by making it easier to interface your devices with your computer. They’ve moved on from USB to WiFi and cloud based service now. While a modern rig is still using serial ports.

When I talked about a “Smart Rig” back when Google bought Motorola, I was hoping someone may seize in that and go to the next step. But I also understand, many companies don’t share plans for upcoming products with the public. But could you give us a hint? A small clue that something, anything is going to be available at some point? I love my FT-847, but it if used a USB interface that I could hook up to my Mac, I would be in heaven. And a USB accessible rig, makes for much less clutter. Radios are getting smaller and smaller, and adding a USB based interface or even a soundcard capable to allowing you to do APRS, PSK31, etc… is that too much to ask for?

I know there will be folks that say, “West Mountain Radio” makes interfaces, why do you need USB? Simple, I like clutter to be kept a minimum myself, and the ease of one connection to troubleshoot is also nicer. Not to say West Mountain doesn’t make great products, because they do, sans the Mac support. But think of how easy you could explain how to do a digital mode if all you said was, “Yep! I just plug it in the USB port and put in all my favorite frequencies in the radio. Then I start up the software for the mode I want to run and I’m off!” compared to, “Well, you’ll need a serial to USB interface, and drivers have to be installed, then a serial cable and make sure it’s a null modem cable too…” Have I lost anyone yet? Because I need a compass right now.

Hopefully you see where I am going with this. I would have thought after the 15+ years that USB has been around, someone would have came up with a rig with USB to interface it to your computer, giving you the tools to write your own code for your computer. Windows, Linux and Mac, not to maybe mention, Amiga or MorphOS or AROS. So I ask, why don’t modern rigs have USB ports? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.

Rich Gattie, KB2MOB, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New York, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Never Quite Good Enough, Yet!

A few days ago I had a CW chat with a guy in Illinois; nothing note worthy about this, yet! W9XS, Ron is a VFB CW operator as evidenced by his perfect code even though he was mobile at the time of our QSO. I complimented him on his fist and he replied that he has been doing code ever since his novice days, so fast code was no problem for him. I said I was not that good a code operator to be able to drive a car and do CW at the same time, to which he replied, “I’m on a bicycle, not in a car”!

My mouth literally dropped open. /M on a bicycle and churning out perfect code. He uses an Icom 706M2G for his bicycle/m work and there is a photo of him on his bike at his QRZ web site. Look him up. I greatly admire this man! We ended our chat just as he pulled into his drive way, he said over the air.

I have been trying to become a good code operator ever since I became a ham. I’m better than I was, but no at good as I want to be. My problem is that I get distracted with other things, modes, ham radio building projects and CW takes a back seat. Once again, I determine to reach my goal of becoming a good code operator. I’ve done this before, only to become distracted yet again.

This time for sure!

de AA1IK

Geezer on the porch in Steinhatchee, Florida

Ernest Gregoire, AA1IK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Florida, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! That is what you will probably hear a lot of when the Zombies attack. And with Zombie attacks on the rise, Scouts are preparing for the worst this Halloween season. They’ll be working with First Responders as well as public safety communications professionals and Amateur Radio operators to earn their radio merit badges as part of scouting’s world-wide Jamboree on the Air.

During the weekend of October 15th, Troop 7, from Coral Gables, Florida, will be learning about wireless communications equipment learning about all aspects starting with some of the basics and working into professional broadcasting, and also public safety. This is all for the annual Jamboree on The Air, sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America and The ARRL.

From the article at Southgate’s website:

The troop has invited local First Defenders to participate. “If there are Zombies around, we definitely think that the police and fire departments should be involved,” said Dan Deveson, an assistant scoutmaster with the troop. “We wanted to find a way that the boys could learn how the pros use their radios, and few things are so important to a 12-year-old as thwarting Zombie attacks.”

The troop will be broadcasting Zombie Action Reports around the world using amateur radio equipment provided by licensed radio operator volunteers. “In case of hurricanes, or Zombies, amateur radio operators often work with public safety professionals to provide community support. That’s exactly the sort of activity that modern scouting is all about,” said Deveson.

I gotta say, this is a pretty fun way to get the kids involved and to also have it educational. And plus, you can never tell when a freak Zombie attack could take us by surprise. So to Troop 7, I say “Well done!!” To to prepare more, I suggest watching Shaun of the Dead. There are some well thought out plans of actions in that movie should you find yourself in the middle of a group of brain hungry zombies.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.

Rich Gattie, KB2MOB, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New York, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I just came across this fascinating post on Roger G3XBM’s blog.

The openings from Europe to Japan – and perhaps Europe to West Coast USA on 50MHz sound candidates for this. Many years ago when I was part of the Square Bashers Expedition Group that activated squares around the UK mostly for 144MHz meteor scatter, we found that we could work well equipped Scandinavian stations such as SM2CKR pretty much any time we wanted. At the time we thought it was ionoscatter, but perhaps not.

I’ve got some reading to do now. Thanks Roger!

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].