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Hand-carrried QRP antennas VK3YE

21 August 2016 | by Steve G1KQH | Leave a Comment (1)

The maestro of the Ham video VK3YE has written his 2nd ebook for the kindle. Peter kindly sent me the details as below:

Summary of Hand-carried QRP antennas

Whether through choice or circumstance, more radio amateurs than ever before are enjoying portable operating.

Suitable equipment is widely available but what about antennas? Manufactured antennas exist but only some suit lightweight portable activity. And, it’s easy to overpay for something that’s too heavy and too lossy for successful QRP.

Hand-carried QRP antennas takes the mystery out of portable antennas. After inviting you to assess your needs, it discusses the pros and cons of popular types. Its style is brisk and practical with almost no maths.

Many ideas for cheap but good materials suitable for portable antennas are given. Beginners and those returning to radio after a break should especially find this section handy.

Finally there’s construction details on a variety of simple but practical antennas and accessories suitable for portable operating. All have been built and tested by the author over almost 30 years of successful QRP activity.

Hand-carried QRP antennas is an ebook readable on most devices. It’s the author’s second book, following on from the top-selling Minimum QRP, released in 2015.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter (mis?)spent his youth at rubbish tips, taking apart given radios and TVs and building electronic projects that mostly did not work. He avoided soldering until figuring out that new solder works better than reusing solder from terminal strips in valve radios.

Milestones included the construction of a crystal set in 1980, discovering shortwave broadcasting on a valve receiver in 1981 and a simple ‘electronic organ’ in 1982 from a Dick Smith Fun Way book. Hours were spent putting wires into springs on a Tandy 150-in-1 electronics set. Amazingly some wires could be pulled out and the project would still sort of work with only half the parts in circuit.

Two back to back AM/shortwave radios led to the discovery of amateur SSB activity and a novice licence in 1985. The following year was spent building transmitters no one heard. A one valve crystal controlled CW transmitter from the 1973 ARRL Handbook provided the first contacts – mostly CW/SSB crossmode on the 3.579 MHz TV colour burst crystal frequency. The value of frequency agility was an early lesson and various VFOs were built, most of them drifty.

The 1990s brought more bands, more modes and smaller gear. Projects included a 7 MHz VXO CW direct conversion transceiver, 2m FM portable transceiver, and a 14 MHz CW transmitter for Cycle 22, then near its peak. Later favourites included HF DSB and SSB transceivers (often using ceramic resonators, ladder crystal filters, NE602s and BD139 transistors) and phasing SSB equipment.

Limited space led to experiments with magnetic loops and HF pedestrian mobile. The joys of the latter (along with the perils of a trailing counterpoise) were first discovered with a converted Johnson Viking CB on 28 MHz. This was mounted in a carpeted chipboard box with battery and 1.5 metre whip. A move to a bayside suburb brought further HF portable and pedestrian mobile activity which remains an interest to this day.

More details from the VK3YE website http://home.alphalink.com.au/~parkerp/handqrp.htm

Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

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ICQ Podcast Episode 218 – Having Fun with Morse Code

21 August 2016 | by Colin M6BOY | Leave a Comment (0)

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Matthew Nassau M0NJX to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is Having Fun with Morse Code.

Radio Amateurs Facing Unnecessary Restrictions
Wireless World Magazine Archive
Switched-Mode PSU Jams Communications
US Air Force to Improve HF Communications
Symbol Rate Discussion Open Until October
IRTS Free New Member Offer
4m Ham Radio Band for Australia?

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

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ICQ Podcast Episode 218 – Having Fun with Morse Code

21 August 2016 | by Colin M6BOY | Leave a Comment (0)

Radio Amateurs Facing Unnecessary Restrictions
Wireless World Magazine Archive
Switched-Mode PSU Jams Communications
US Air Force to Improve HF Communications
Symbol Rate Discussion Open Until October
IRTS Free New Member Offer
4m Ham Radio Band for Australia?

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

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100mW’s of raw power!!

20 August 2016 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (0)

The other evening I was having a cup of tea and checking out my new QST that just arrived and found myself very interested in a piece written by Steve Ford in his column Eclectic Technology. The title caught my eye "When a signal is barely a WSPR" Steve looked at how the Raspberry Pi could be used for WSPR transmissions. Seeing I have the Raspberry Pi3 this sparked my interest. It was pointed out that all you need to turn your Pi into a WSPR transmitter is a board from TAPR called QRPi. The board is offered at a very reasonable price of 29.00 U.S and it's set for 20m at 100mW. Before I got to excited about this little project I wanted to see if using 100mW's would net me any results. I have seen other hams in the past net great results with far less than 100mW's and WSPR is known for it's great decode at very low power........BUT.......I do have a challenging setup here. On Friday late afternoon I gave WSPR a go on 20m at 100mW and was I impressed with the results. I was received by DK6UG for a distance of 39383 miles per watt and also ON7KO for a distance of 37285 miles per watt. I was amazed that my setup was able to produce those results! Now another question I wanted to consider is at 100mW how much of that actual power makes it to my antenna? To do this I referred to a coax calculator I punched in the type of coax (RG8X) the SWR (1.4:1) the length (30 feet) the frequency (14) and finally the power (100mW) The calculated amount I was informed was 92mW of raw power! So this bumped my miles per watt to 42810 for DK6UG and 4053 for ON7KO! It's not timo look more into the TAPR project!!

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

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100mW

20 August 2016 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (4)

The other evening I was having a cup of tea and checking out my new QST that just arrived and found myself very interested in a piece written by Steve Ford in his column Eclectic Technology. The title caught my eye "When a signal is barely a WSPR" Steve looked at how the Raspberry Pi could be used for WSPR transmissions. Seeing I have the Raspberry Pi3 this sparked my interest. It was pointed out that all you need to turn your Pi into a WSPR transmitter is a board from TAPR called QRPi. The board is offered at a very reasonable price of 29.00 U.S and it's set for 20m at 100mW. Before I got to excited about this little project I wanted to see if using 100mW's would net me any results. I have seen other hams in the past net great results with far less than 100mW's and WSPR is known for it's great decode at very low power........BUT.......I do have a challenging setup here. On Friday late afternoon I gave WSPR a go on 20m at 100mW and was I impressed with the results. I was received by DK6UG for a distance of 39383 miles per watt and also ON7KO for a distance of 37285 miles per watt. I was amazed that my setup was able to produce those results! Now another question I wanted to consider is at 100mW how much of that actual power makes it to my antenna? To do this I referred to a coax calculator I punched in the type of coax (RG8X) the SWR (1.4:1) the length (30 feet) the frequency (14) and finally the power (100mW) The calculated amount I was informed was 92mW of raw power! So this bumped my miles per watt to 4281 for DK6UG and 4053 for ON7KO! It's not timo look more into the TAPR project!!

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

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Review – BTech UV-5X3 TriBand Handheld

19 August 2016 | by Hans PD0AC | Leave a Comment (3)

by John ‘Miklor‘

UV-5X3
Although the case design is familiar, the radio inside is not. BTech has recently introduced the new UV-5X3 to the US Ham Radio market. This radio is a true triband transceiver with internal filters specifically configured for triband operation.The firmware in this radio has been reworked to include several new features not found in similar appearing radios.
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In the Box
Included with the radio are the:
– 1500mAh Li-Ion Battery **
– 85 page User Guide – English
– Charger base & AC adapter
– Hand strap
– Belt clip
– PTT Earpiece / Microphone
– Antenna (1) – VHF / UHF 6 3/4″ (17cm) A-V85
– Antenna (2) – 220 MHz 6 1/4″ (15.5cm)
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** This is the identical battery that is commonly mislabeled as 1800mAh on some handhelds.

Tri-Band – VHF 220 UHF
The UV-5X3 was specifically designed as a Tri-Band transceiver. The internal filtering allows not only the traditional VHF and UHF frequencies, but also includes the 222-225 MHz Ham band for the US.

Case Design
The UV-5X3 has the traditional case design, which allows me to use my high capacity BL-5L 3800mAh battery with no alteration to the base. Accessories such as my mobile battery eliminator, Spkr/Micr, etc. are fully compatible.
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Transmitter
The frequency range is VHF 130-176 / 222-225 / UHF 400-480 MHz, supporting both Wide and Narrowband with 2.5kHz steps.The radio’s filtering scheme allows for full power on all bands. My OTA audio reports have been clean with clear with mellow audio. Power levels are respectable using a Bird VHF/UHF Termaline.

UV-5X3	146 MHz	224 MHz	446 MHz
High	5.2	4.2	4.6
Low	1.7	1.6	1.6

DTMF / IRLP Access
Something new also appearing on this model is a DTMF gain adjustment, allowing me to adjust the DTMF audio to the transmitter to a comfortable level for both repeater control and IRLP access.

Tone Burst
If you are in a area that requires tone burst for repeater or network access, the 1000Hz, 1450Hz, 1750Hz, and 2000Hz burst are accessible by pressing the PTT along with one of the four pre-assigned keypad keys.

Receiver
The receiver sensitivity is excellent, and the audio quality is clear, loud, and undistorted. Along with the 3 TX/RX bands, the receiver also includes the traditional commercial FM radio band. (65MHz-108MHz)
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Tone Scanning – The receiver also has the ability to identify the tone of a repeater being transmitted by a received signal.

Scan Add / Delete
This feature gives me the ability to add / delete channels from the scanning list using the keypad. No longer a software only function. The more I can do from the keypad, the better I like it.

Scanning
A Long Press of the [*SCN] button will start the scanning process.Channel Mode – When scanning with the Display Sync set to ON, the upper and lower display will scan together. This is explained below under Display Synchronization.Frequency Mode – When entering Scan, the image below will appear on the screen. Enter the first 3 digits set the range start, the second 3 digits sets the stop.
Example: Entering 146 : 146
Start the scan range at 146.000
Ends the scan range at 146.999

Antenna
I found two antennas included with the radio. One was the standard upgraded A-V85 antenna, and a slightly shorter one for the 220MHz band.
Antenna (1) – VHF / UHF 6 3/4″ (17cm) A-V85
Antenna (2) – 220 MHz 6 1/4″ (15.5cm)
The separate antenna specifically tuned for 220 MHz is a great addition. The SWR shows 1.3 which is excellent. No compromise. I labeled my 220 antenna, as they are very close in appearance.

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Display
The radio has a tri-color display, allowing the color options of the blue, orange and purple. The LCD can be formatted in either of three formats. Choices are Frequency, Channel number, or up to 6 Alpha Characters.Display Synchronization
The UV-5X3 supports display syncing, which gives ability to track both the upper and lower LCD. I keep mine set to display the channel name in display A, and the frequency in display B. When you change the channel, both the upper and lower displays move together.

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Programming
Manual programming is pretty straight forward once you enter a few channels. A programming guide can be found at Manual Programming with a Menu Definition summary available at Menu Definitions.

Software
The software support for the UV-5X3 can be found in the Latest Daily Build of CHIRP. There are a few new options that will be added to the 5X3 in the near future. One is the ability to Stun, Kill, Revive. This gives you the ability to disable your radio remotely.

3rd Generation Chipset
The new chipset (RDA1846S and RDA5802N) provides reduced AGC switching noise and a low-IF digital audio processor for improved sound quality.

Programming Cable
The programming cable requires a traditional two pin Baofeng / Kenwood style. There are several cable available. The generic cables may require special drivers, due to the use of cloned chips. For Plug and Play, a cable using an FTDI chip is recommended.

Conclusion
The UV-5X3 firmware has obviously been reworked to include:
– Tri-Band Support: VHF/1.25M/UHF
– D-ANI (Display incoming DTMF Tones)
– Synchronized Displays
– DTMF audio gain level adjustment
– Add / Remove Channels from Scanning list via keypad (LCD Dot Indication)
– On the Fly scanning by Frequency Range
– 4 Tone Burst options
– Remote Stun, Kill, Revive

It appears that BTech has once again managed to stay one step ahead of the curve. With the 220 MHz ham band operation back on the rise in the US, this radio hit the market at the right time. Even if 220 isn’t popular in your area, the additional new features still give it an edge over the traditional dual band series.

More Information: Miklor.com, BaofengTech, CHIRP

Hans, PD0AC, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Almere, The Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

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JT65 Bringing New Activity To 50MHz

17 August 2016 | by Steve VE7SL | Leave a Comment (8)

JT65 Waterfall

As mentioned in previous blogs, this summer's Es season on 50MHz has seen a huge increase in the number of stations using the weak-signal JT65 mode.

Although this mode has been around for a few years, for some reason, it really took off this season. I witnessed many long-time, 'CW-forever' operators (myself included), gingerly move up the band to see what this mode could offer.

At first I thought the activity I was seeing was probably mostly from magic-band regulars, who like me, were also curious ... but I now think this is not the case.

Normally, my 6m summertime Es activities result in just one or two stations requesting a QSL to confirm the contact. These are usually guys that either need a VE7 card or are looking to confirm my grid-square ... just a few cards arrive, in spite of many dozens of contacts over the summer months. This summer I noticed a much different pattern.

This summer saw a tenfold increase in the number of QSL requests and every single one was for a JT65 or JT9 digital mode contact! It soon became apparent that these were not 6m diehards that had just moved up the band, but rather, very enthusiastic newcomers to the band ... what an exciting thing to see! Many of the cards did not have any grid-square information ... the telltale sign of all VHF operators. They had discovered the magicband, using JT65.

Perhaps these were mostly 'no-code' amateurs or those living in antenna-challenged situations such as condos or apartments. Whatever the reason, it really is interesting to see such a profound change in 6m operating tactics, by both the veteran ops and by the newcomers ... all happening so quickly. Hopefully some of the new arrivals will venture down the band to try CW or SSB where contacts can be made much more quickly than on the digital modes but all of this new activity is wonderful to see.

Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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