Front USB ports on your PC.

 

The finished product.

Once a year I take some time to open up my PC and give it a nice cleaning out. I am shocked at how much dust collects just after one year. I built the system and spent some money on it so I want to do my best to look after the upkeep. My computer is tucked off to the side of my desk on a shelf built for it. Taking it out is a chore and I have to make sure each USB cable goes back exactly where it was removed. If not when I start my virtual com port program I get an error message that certain com ports are not working. 


I have been doing some reading on RFI these past few months and along with that comes the subject of grounding. One topic that came up over and over again was the front USB ports that some PCs have. Mine has such ports and it has been mentioned that most of the time these ports are not grounded to the chassis of the PC. They in most cases are grounded to the motherboard via the control cable that makes its way out to the USB  front board. 


Sure enough, my PC was one that did not have a chassis ground for the front USB ports. It was easy to do and was a jumper wire from the USB board to the PC chassis. At the time I had no green wire and had to use red but I will know what it is for. While I had the PC  open I did check the onboard USB ports and I have 11 of them and they are chassis grounded.


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

ICQ Podcast Episode 443 – Multimeters Revisited

In this episode, we join Martin Butler (M1MRb, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwelll (M0SGL) and Leslie Butteresfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio News. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and this episodes feature is Multimeters Revisited.

We would like to thank Steve Anness (KJ5T), Brad Councilman (W1BCC) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

- Rare California Island to be Activated for Armed Forces Day, First Time in 53 Years - Turn Your Android Phone into a Ham Radio with this Open-Source Project - ISS SSTV Event Celebrates Amateur Radio in Human Spaceflight - ARRL Members Raise $47,000 for STEM Education in Online Auction - HAMSCI Receives Grant - 2024 ARRL Field Day Results Published - RSGB launches its 2025 Construction Competition - Special Event Station - AU2JCB


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

AmateurLogic 199: Random Intelligence


AmateurLogic.TV Episode 199 is now available for download.

Tommy prepares for Parks on The Air activation. Mike visits the Communications and Electronics Museum. George creates Random Intelligence (or not) while exploring the recent Arduino Uno Rev4 WiFi board. Emile displays his mad slacking skills.

Download
YouTube


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].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 356

Amateur Radio Weekly

The 52 Week Ham Radio Challenge – 2025
This is meant to inspire you to extend your horizon in Amateur Radio.
DJ5CW

The cavity duplexer [PDF]
If you are like many Hams and two-way radio professionals, you likely have more questions about duplexers than answers.
W6NBC

Packet radio fun on the Mac: A beginning
Packet radio on a Mac Mini and an Icom IC-7300.
KC8JC

Packet radio build: Windows Server configuration for BPQ32 and Winlink
It stands on much more solid ground than running a specific wine version, with a very old version of .net, or hacking together a client to stop all updates.
The Modern Ham

Commercial HF Radio
Cisco Systems holds a license that lists their San Jose and Research Triangle Park campuses, besides a nationwide mobile location.
Computers Are Bad

Deep Space Exploration members competing in Ham Radio competition
The Deep Space Exploration Society will utilize their 60’ dish for ARRL’s EME contest.
Kiowa County Independent

HamSCI Newsletter volume 1, number 1
Issues contain news about past and future HamSCI happenings, such as research projects, in-person meetings, and on-air events.
HamSCI

Six weeks and 7300 miles: Activating on the road
A driving trip across the United States and back that included activation of Parks on the Air (POTA) entities in 21 states.
QRPer

Video

From NASA missions to Ham Radio
Dr. Patricia Reiff W5TAR shares her journey.
W1DED

Parks on the Air step-by-step
A complete real-time guide to a POTA activation.
KB9VBR

Microcontrollers are just radios in disguise
Ways to leverage every cycle of underpowered microcontrollers to get them doing the work of parts ten times their price.
Hackaday Supercon 2024

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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.

LHS Episode #561: HamClock Deep Dive

Hello and welcome to the 561st episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts discuss the HamClock application. Topics include how to access, download and build the application. Then it's on to initial configuration, features, operational logic and more, including some hard to find and esoteric features that make HamClock an invaluable resource in the shack. 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].

What does RFI have to do with Pins…….

 


I have been doing some RFI investigating, which has sparked my interest because I have been having some RFI issues of my own.  In my travels, I have read of something called Pin 1 problem. I went to a few websites about this and had a glance here and there but never looked at it closely. This past week I did a bit more of a deep dive regarding the Pin 1 problem. The name came from Neil Muncy in 1994 he wrote a paper entitled Noise Susceptibility in Analog and Digital Signal Processing Systems. In it, he describes how he found the common  XLR connectors used in the audio industry pin 1 was always connected to the cable shield connection. The audio gear would connect equipment pin 1 to the equipment metal enclosure, over time Neil noticed that this practice stopped and pin 1 shield ground was being connected to the circuit board common trace and somewhere on the circuit board the common trace had a jumper wire to the chassis ground. This allowed the RFI  that was picked up on the shield of the audio cables to travel. As Jim  Brown K9YC puts it:


"If the shield goes to the shielding enclosure,  current stays outside the box. If the shield goes to the circuit board then the current gets inside the box!" 


In the ham radio world, we use computers, external sound cards, USB hubs and ham rigs. All these could have a Pin 1 problem that may be our thorn in the flesh. Now when I say  "pin 1" problem with our gear there may not be a pin 1 used for shield grounding like the XLR audio connector the issue is the shielding or ground pin on the connector does not go to the case ground but to the circuit ground and then to case ground. The label of  Pin 1 came from as said earlier the audio XLR connectors pin 1 with was always the shield connection pin. When dealing with radio gear it's not Pin 1 per say but the connector ground connection does it go to the chassis but to the circuit board to possibly cause issues. 


If you find your radio gear has a Pin 1 issue such as your headphone plug metal housing does not go directly to the chassis ground but to the circuit board most times you don't want to get the soldering iron out to fix it. If stray RF is let's say getting into your USB cable from your rig to PC for rig control and you find you are having issues. I would suggest you first look at the grounding a bonding of your gear, it is a quality USB cable as all are not made alike. Finally, try a quality ferrite on the USB cable if it is stray RF is going places it should not. I mention ground and bonding of your gear because if your gear has proper chassis grounding but you either do not have it grounded or it done incorrectly you could be compounding your RFI issue. 


I did look at my Icom 7610 shop repair manual and most if not all critical RF potential grounding is chassis grounding. On the other hand, in my personal PC, well many items are routed to the circuit board ground and then a jumper to the chassis ground. As  K9YC put it regarding my PC "current is getting inside the box". 
So the Pin 1 problem is something for us to be aware of and to consider when going after RFI. Now when I say RFI I am including both reception issues and equipment acting up. 


Below are some great reads regarding the Pin 1 problem. 

Pro-sound website 

K9YC 

N4XL


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

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 355

Amateur Radio Weekly

Zinc creep and electroplasticity
Why Arecibo collapsed.
Hackaday

What’s new at Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications
The 50 MHz DX Bulletin, the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin, Numbers & Oddities Newsletter, The Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review, and more.
K6KJN & Zero Retries

HamSpace.me: The social media alternative for the Ham Radio Community
HamSpace.me is looking for a new maintainer. Contact KI6DTC if you can help.
HamSpace.me

Open Source FT8 transceiver
A highly portable stand-alone FT8 GUI Transceiver.
WB2CBA

How to build a radio
Using analog tech to teach kids about STEM.
LAist

Slinky antenna revisited
It was soon discovered that connecting two Slinkys end-to-end significantly boosted the antenna’s efficiency.
K0PIR

WKHS makes international contact with Amateur Radio
Chris Singleton, broadcasting teacher and manager of the high school’s radio station 90.5 FM WKHS, introduced students to Amateur Radio.
Radio World

Video

The haunted band workshop
A presentation, review, and Q&A for proposed rulemaking to the US FCC for Restoring Amateur Radio Service use of the 219 MHz Band.
Open Research Institute Inc.

Radio receiver using old TV tubes
Superregenerative FM / VHF radio receiver using electronic tubes PCF82 and PCL85.
Perian Marcel

Introducing the Faraday Cloth Antenna
The Fara-J – a cutting-edge 2m-70cm Ham Radio antenna crafted from Faraday cloth.
Ham Radio Rookie

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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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