AmateurRadio.com

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 63 is now available for download.

Tommy and George visit the Jackson Amateur Radio Club’s 2014 Capital City Hamfest and bring back some unique stories. A special appearance by the guys from Ham Dynasty. Peter talks All About Radio. Tommy shows us simple tips to Secure Your Pi. And George brings us some Soldering Tip Tips.

1:04:52 of ALTV with the usual suspects.

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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].

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

Another enjoyable evening getting familiar with my radio and competing in the RSGB 432MHz UKAC.

I rewired the 7-element ZL-Special on Monday night, and adjusted it to get an excellent VSWR of nearly 1:1 and mounted to the pole.


Setting up last night I raised up the pole around 19:30 and a quick check showed the VSWR was over 1:2!

Yesterday it rained and sleeted very heavily, as suspected the culprit was where I joined two pieces of coax. I had used plugs and a coupler but had run out of self-amalgamating tape to waterproof it, so had resorted to wrapping it in insulating tape... bad idea! Removing the tape it soon became evident that everything was very damp, I quickly dried all the connectors down and gave it a quick blast with a hot air gun. All sorted, the VSWR was back to just over 1:1 (must visit Screwfix for some more tape)

I was much more relaxed for this contest, it was an enjoyable but difficult evening and made just 8 contacts, claiming 762 points. I heard quite a few calls but just couldn't make myself heard. I kept popping out the shack to turn the antenna, listening to other QSOs I was able to use the locator to determine the optimum bearing.

One observation I made was the apparent poor front to back ratio, some calls coming in loudly despite the antenna being in the opposite direction which suggests the phasing isn't quite right.

The map below shows my results.

A night off next Tuesday as it's the 23cm contest, but hoping to be better set up for the following weeks 50MHz contest, hopefully getting better results than I did last time.



View UKAC 432MHz 11-Feb-2014 in a larger map
Andrew Garratt, MØNRD, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from East Midlands, England. Contact him at [email protected].

OK, so I couldn’t get into FT5ZM’s log … but I did snare both Foxes in the 40 Meter Fox hunt tonight. So I guess not all is lost. The fact is that both Paul K4FB and Kevin W9CF have fantastic ears, and I owe my call in their logs to that fact.

I used my new Begali Simplex Mono as my CW sending weapon of choice. It took a lot of trial and error over the last few days to get it set up the way I wanted. But now that I have it set up to my liking, I have to say that, “Yes, Begali keys ARE what they are cracked up to be.”

The key is silky smooth with a minimum of movement. It feels as close to using a touch paddle as you can get without actually using one. I can send at about 25 to 28 WPM effortlessly, even though I prefer my cruising altitude of about 23 WPM. The paddle’s sexy good looks don’t hurt, either. I would not hesitate recommending a Begali to anyone.

And to think, I bought the econo model. I can only imagine how the luxury version drives!

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

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

After completing a kit or small project I have a terrible habit of not finding a suitable box to put the thing in. This is partly due to the really unappealing array of cases on offer. Sverre, LA3ZA recently posted something regarding the ultimate qrss kit v3 that I gave a quick response to and this is supposed to be the long winded response.

Sometimes these cases are blow moulded polypropylene or extruded aluminium that needs better tools than I possess to make holes, especially square ones for things like USB connectors and LCD’s. So what’s the answer? well I prefer to use simple acrylic cases like those made by Dangerous Prototypes in a range called Sick of Beige (or SoB). these are simple flat sheets of acrylic that are laser cut and have 4 holes for fasteners. A really nice idea but its only half way there.

This company also like to encourage you to complete a project that looks nice. Not just with the case but also the PCB. They offer a few tools to help you do this. There are a few routes to take and I have found that with a bit of extra time you can make a really well finished project.

 1. PCB sizes

CADSoft Eagle is a piece of software that allows you to draw out schematics and then layout a PCB. There are loads of alternatives (Fritzing, KiCAD, DIP Trace etc.) but in order to make use of the tools. Eagle is the way to go.

DP offer a library of PCB sizes that fit their cases. Easy, just use one that fits the project you are doing. Just install the library and pick the right size of case. Take a look here for some more info. You’ll find links to the libraries there too.

2. Case design

Now it gets a bit more complex, but not too hard. You’ll need to look at some mechanical design tools. In simple terms we need to draw something that a laser cutter can cut out. In general the ones I’ve come across use .svg or scale vector graphics files to do the cutting. Not everything produces these files in an easy way. There are loads ways to do this, it just depends on your preference. I prefer to use SketchUp as it has a handy feature I’ll come onto in a moment.

The simplest way to modify one of these cases is to use the guide by Dangerous Protoypes themselves. This is available here

I’m not going to explain how to use SketchUp, there are loads of really good tutorials about and you can build up your skills using those. I tend to go for YouTube ones as they give you the basics you need quickly and easily, without too much jargon.

I’d suggest picking a standard size case first off and then using the other tools when you get the hang of things. Use tools like offset in SketchUp to get things lines and don’t forget about tolerancing to make sure there is a clearance where you need it. It sounds simple and it really is, just put the extra holes in where you need them and hey presto, nearly done.

Export to SVG using the tool and check with something like Inkscape to make sure your case looks right.

3. Case manufacture

As I said earlier, many of the machines I’ve come across just need the data. Seeedstudio is one manufacturer but there are plenty of others. Follow their instructions and upload your files. Pay the man (or woman) and you’ll get your sheets of laser cut material back in no time. You’ll need to get fasteners and your favourite supplier may be able to help. I have a really good industrial supplier a couple of miles down the road who gets excellent quality fasteners, otherwise Farnell, Rapid or RS will give you options. Failing that try eBay if you must.

4. Going a bit further

There is an Eagle Plugin that will give you the chance to export your (empty) board to SketchUp and almost certainly you will find the parts or near equivalents in the 3D warehouse to place on the board. Just remember that whilst SketchUp is good, you need solids to be able to line up properly and whilst a free (or £500 pro version) CAD package is going to give you most of what you need. It isn’t AutoCAD Inventor or Solidworks (at almost 10 times the price). I would suggest getting a handle on the software first before getting too embedded as you may find it frustrating if you can align holes for example.

If you do go for it then you can create some really good looking CAD drawing that can be rendered into photo realistic parts. Here’s one from the website.

The range of free tools available to the hobby user is now amazing and no doubt will only get better over time.

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

And a very quick confirmation with eQSL.

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].