AmateurRadio.com

It would seem that software and ham radio can get along very well and there is an abundance of software out there to choose from. Some software is free other are available for a price, I have both here at VE3WDM. There seems to be some myths about both the free software and the software for a price. Regarding the free software I have read and heard.....
1.  It's no good as it's not supported.
2. Since it's free it must be very simple and buggy
3. I am sure it's not updated.

As for the software for a price I have heard and read......
1.It's way over priced.
2.Why pay when free software is out there?
3. Someone is just trying to make a buck.



I have both free and software I had to paid for and am very happy with both products. My software is not  the be all and end all but it's what works for me. There is some fantastic software out there that can make you grow in your ham radio journey. I hope to just excite  you to look to see what is out there.
Here is what I use and as most ham I know they love free stuff and here is the free software I use.

1. DXlabs for my every day radio adventures I am sold on DX Labs! This software has rig control, logging, world map view of DX, QRZ (and many more) look up feature and much more. With this software and with the click of a mouse able to use many features of my K3. At a glance I am able see on a world map DX spots, I am told if  I worked this country before....on what band.....and what mode. There is a huge amount this free software can do. As for updates it seems that it's almost daily this software is improving. Oh and as a side note updates are a breeze to instal and no need to jump through hoops to get the latest and greatest upgrade. If you are not sure about a feature or if the software does not seem to be doing what it should, support is fast and readily available on the internet.

 2. If you are into contesting (like me) then once again the free stuff comes to the rescue. N1MM seems to be one of the staples for contesting. Again it has rig control features, CW and SSB features, VFO A and B control, spotting networks this is just to name a few things this amazing software can do.
There are regular updates and bugs are very few and far between. Again if you have troubles the support is there and it's fast.
 
Ok lets talk crazy now.....paying for ham software

1. When contesting I said I use N1MM but I also use a rig control program by N4PY and it's not free but WOW does it enhance my contesting. (now this software is not only for contesting I just chose to use it this way) This program allows me to adjust most of my Elecraft K3 controls with the mouse or keyboard. I can used my K1EL keyer, this program allowed me to use my Flexcontrol knob.

2. Another program I dished out some coin for and never looked back is MRP40 cw decoding program. Now I know what your thinking "there are lots of free CW decoding programs out there" This is true I have tried them and they are good BUT MRP40 is GREAT. In contesting when the speeds get to what I call "crazy speeds" this program has no trouble at all decoding them. 

Lets say  you want to have multiple programs work together without a hitch.........

 3. Then LP Bridge or  VSP manager come to the rescue. These are free programs and will allow your computer to set up virtual ports thus having multiple programs working at the same time and talking to each other. These programs work like a dream and as far as my needs go no bugs at all.

4. If you are into the digi modes like I was and in the near future hope to be there is a free program called Quickmix. This program will remember all the audio settings you use for each digi mode, so for example when operating PSK and you want to now switch to WSJT-X which has new audio settings for you PC. You no longer have to remember them Quickmix can in the blink of an eye adjust the sound card to the new settings for the selected digi mode!!

Rigol DS 1052E now DS 1102E scope

For some time now I have been in the market for an oscilloscope. Like most hams I don't want to break the bank but at the same time want good value for every buck that is spent. My travels lead me to the Rigol DS 1052E 50mhz  dual channel scope. The scope comes in at the low end  price but has had some very glowing reviews. Also one major plus was the ability to "hack" this scope up to a 100 mhz unit! This a a software hack so no need to get into the SMD nightmare. This may not be what is called a 100% ham blog posting but I do know that lots of hams and non hams are looking for a great scope as well info on how to hack this one to a 100 mhz unit. I am going to run down the process (and mistakes) I went through to finally jack the DS 1052E up to the DS 1102E 100 mhz scope.


1. The first thing I had to do was to check what software version was on the scope. To hack the scope your software version has to be 2.00 or 2.02 SP2. Well I checked by simply turning the scope on and looking at the start up screen  mine was 4.00.

4.00 software

2. Now I would have to downgrade to ver 2.00 and on the net I found 2.02 and that was just fine. I loaded it on a thumb drive and plugged it into the scope and the software was downloaded and I was now at ver 2.02.
3. This is were the fun begins....I had to hook up a serial cable (not crossover and female to female) from the scope to pc. It was now time to enter some code via Hyper Terminal!! The instructions are very very very clear on the net.....you mess up the code and you could "Brick" your scope. Looking up "Brick" in a nut shell meant rendering it useless until MAJOR programing or hardware issues were dealt with.

Down grading to 2.02

SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS MODE BE VERY CAREFUL CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK CODE LINES. Having said that I did mess up the code but in the end all did work out.....(side note going to buy lotto ticket seems lady luck was on my side)
4. I entered the code in Hyper terminal asking it to connect to my scope and it did by giving me the serial number of the scope.
5. I then entered code to change the scope from model DS 1052E to DS 1102E and then (according the online instructions) entered the serial number but changing one specific letter to a " B". I then entered that line of code.
6. It was now time to restart the scope and see from the systems info menu if the model changed to DS 1102E and if the serial number had changed to the new number with the "B" in it.
7. It was successful (after a few hiccups)  and I could further verify by turning the horizontal scale down and if it went to 2 nano seconds things were good to go!

Downgrade done

Here are some of the mess ups that happen to me.
1. I was not able to connect the scope at first to the PC hyper terminal program. Turns out I just changed RS232 ports on the PC and all was ok.
2.When I installed a lower software version into the scope and then went to hyper terminal to confirm I did not get any serial number. I restarted the scope and ran the commands in hyper terminal again and I was good to go.
3. For some reason lady luck had me put the "B" letter in the wrong part of the revised serial number. That resulted in a new serial number of @@#$#%%$$% (ya no numbers just junk) on the Rigol start up screen. That was fixed by reloading version 4 software and then in hyper terminal changing the serial number back to the original number. It was then time to start all over again and change the model and serial but pay more close attention this time.

model and serial change

 I am going to be adding a page to my blog in the very near future that gives more detail of the "hack" and were to get the 2.02 SP2 software and the 4.0  you need to upload that as well. The Hyper terminal code needed. How to setup hyper terminal to connect to the scope and finally how to change the serial number and model number of the scope through hyper terminal.

Upgrading back to 4.0 software

2.000ns means 100mhz scope

4.0 upgrade good to go

The K2 ready in it's Pelican case to be shipped

For some time now I have been looking at my Elecraft K2 sitting on my radio desk doing nothing. A conversation has been going on for some time within me to keep the rig...I built it and it's a fantastic radio. Again I had been looking at the radio just sitting on the desk doing nothing. There may be a time when I need a QRO radio...again I had been looking at the radio just sitting on my desk. It then came time for me to realize the K2 has to go to a ham who is going to run it through the paces. Give the rig the exercise it was

All is packed and ready

meant to have. I put the radio up on the market last week and it was sold within 24 hours and as I write this post is on it's way down to Nova Scotia. Thomas had a K2 at one time along with the antenna tuner and 100 watt amp. He sold it and has been wanting one.... so serial number 6613 K2 is on it's way down to him. Sound kinda funny to miss a rig like this but this rig was built with my own hands and I was very very proud of the work and the performance of the radio. In the box is the rig, combo ATU and 100 watt amp, dust cover from Rose, Pelican carry case, A & A engineering charger for the internal K2 battery and a load of internal upgrades in the K2. At the home station there is a hole were once the K2 called home and soon my KX3 will move in. This is begining to sound like a sad soap opera....lets turn things about 360 degrees.......the rig is gone and there are some extra ham bucks to spend. Not sure what is going to be added to the shack.....I do have some ideas.

Where the K2 used to be now a bare spot

Alpha Delta DX-EE with balun.

Hy-gain noise antenna

Being in an antenna restricted community.....now when I say restricted it is in the most extreme way. We have what I call the "condo cops" they do a walk around at least once a month to make sure all is well. If I ever even had a temporary antenna up I would be under their watchful eye!! In a way it's kinda comical it's like these folks on the board have nothing else better to do with their time.....maybe they should get a hobby. Anyway it was time for me to head up to the attic to check on the antenna farm. It has been cool these last few days which makes the attic a bit more bare-able. I have done some reading and it seems the attics in the States have A.C. units, furnaces and even plumbing. Up this way it's great for antennas as there is nothing other than electrical wiring (which can have it's own challenges). I always like to see how the Alpha Delta DX-EE is looking making sure the supports are secure and in good shape. I was good to see the center support rope is in good shape along with the support ropes at each end of the dipole as well.  I did notice one of the 40m traps was sagging a bit......BUT......as they say "if it's not broke don't fix it" Goodness knows if I tightened up that leg (just for my piece of mind only) Murphy could have a hay day with me!!

H-900 active antenna

The antenna looked fantastic other than the sagging I mentioned.....but they say that comes with age!! Anyway I did want to make a minor change for the antenna. I wanted to add a 1:1 balun at the antenna to improve the coax isolation. I have used Balun Designs baluns for all my attic antennas and they are very good quality and super support. Before making any changes I used my trusty MFJ-259B antenna analyzer to check all the bands SWR. I wanted to see if adding the balun changed the SWR at all. I did find that the SWR did go up on some bands and down on other after the balun was in place. It was a very insignificant change in either direction. The other antennas that I have in the attic is an old Hy-gain 18TD portable dipole  that winds in and out like a fishing line and can be set to individual bands. It's similar to  a measuring tape so you can set it for the wave length of the band you want to use. I use this antenna as a "noise" antenna, the MFJ-1026 needs to have a separate noise antenna for the unit to work. The unit does come with it's own telescoping antenna but I did not want to have that antenna extending in my shack. I also have another antenna with is the LF engineering H-900 active antenna. I use this in conjunction with my Elecraft K3, it is the antenna for the sub-receiver. As a side note I just was looking up the Hy-gain 18TD antenna to provide a link......came across someone who sold this antenna on Ebay for almost 500.00!!! Are they going for this much???? If so I can part with it and raise a another noise antenna!

Sagging 40m trap

My contest screen

Ham radio is very diverse and has something that seems to click with each radio operator. One of my "clicks" is contesting and I also add to it the flavor of QRP (another one of my clicks). I enjoy using my PC in conjunction with ham radio and when it comes to contesting a PC is almost a must have. The program I use for contesting is N1MM logger. It 's a great program and works very well, has great support and I'm not sure of any contests that it does not support. Over time I have added some programs to my contest repertoire. I found that controlling N1MM got me used to using my mouse and that is the way to go when it comes to contesting. I then came across N4PY's rig control program. It's another way to incorporate my mouse to allow me control of my K3 during contests. This program is very well supported and the times I have emailed questions and got a reply within 1/2  hour!! This program will allow you to control most if not all functions of your radio with the click of a mouse. In a contest this is great because you are not going from mouse (N1MM logger) and back to the radio. For me it's more of a smooth type of operation using the mouse.  Hold on....my contest hangup gets weirder.....I have a keyboard tray that supports my keyboard,
Begali Contour key and why not VFO control as well!!!  Now comes the Flexcontrol VFO knob. This is a USB device that allows  you to tune your rig (and more) from where you ask.....well the keyboard tray of VSP manager to the mix. This great little program (that is free to hams) allows all the programs to live happily with each other.

FlexControl knob

coarse!  N4PY's programs allows you to interface the Flexcontrol with your rig through his program. I did say the Flexcontrol did more than just tune, it has 4 memory buttons that can be programed through N4PY's program to preform often used radio functions.  Also the VFO knob can go from fine tune to three other tuning choices by just clicking the knob! To do  this the radio, Flexcontrol knob and N1MM all have to be happy coexisting with each other. To do this  I added
You all know how it is when you have had a nice dinner and there is still room for a nice desert......well my nice dinner on my keyboard tray was the Flexcontrol knob, Begali Contour key and the mouse....there is still room for one more item! I added the K1EL USBwinkey which I assembled myself.  The N1MM contest program is able to incorporate the Winkeyer in it's program, so when I program the CW messages into the winkeyer they will be used by N1MM when I mouse click on the N1MM macro button. This is great because the Winkeyer is very easy to program and you can save various keying programs into individual files. This way I will have a file for each CW contest and just a mouse click to program N1MM for each CW contest.  If all files are stored on my PC and the Winkeyer is set up via the PC and CW is set through N1MM logger then why the heck does the Winkeyer have to be on the tray!!! Well Winkeyer has a nice variable pot control that can vary the CW on the fly. This way for op's who are sending slower or faster CW you can be varied  by a simple turn of the Winkeyer knob.

Keyboard tray setup

Finally there are those out there that subscribe to the KISS theory.....Keep it simple stupid......and this is true when you introduce other factors with ham radio. As for me trying and sometime failing is well worth it when in time all comes together and works well.

The last time I was out and about with my KX3 my re-chargeable internal batteries let me down.........actually it was user error as I failed to charge them the evening before. Planing is everything they say so the spur of the moment thought of taking my KX3 to the field did not work out so well for me!  The weather forecast has been known to change from rain to sunshine on any given day. To me that is translated as  a non KX3 day thats transformed to a perfect KX3 outing day. To avoid my radio let down I went online and ordered a 12 volt portable 9800Ah Li-ion rechargeable battery pack. It has a wall wart for charging and seems to be a nice little unit. Larry W2LJ has the same pack and it seems to be working well for him. This

My Blue solution

way next time when the internal KX3 batteries TRY to let me down......I will plug in the "Blue solution" As a side note Elecraft offers (which I purchased) an internal battery charger called the KXBC3. This way you can load the KX3 with rechargeable batteries and just plug the KX3 into your power supply and have the KX3 charge the batteries on it's internal timer. Unfortunately this unit does not (as of yet.... but I'm hoping) have the ability to trickle charge the internal batteries. This way it's always ready to go! That is the only downfall to the KXBC3 I have found.

This sure was a weekend were the solar activity played a huge role in contest endurance. I entered the contest QRP at 5 watts. I did not turn the rig on Friday evening as I find the start of these contests can get very very busy. I was on and off both Saturday and Sunday. I put in about 5 hours on Saturday and on Sunday it was around 3 hours. Sunday was spent getting household chores done and spare time was on the radio.

Lots of  Solar action

I had a total of 92 contacts my score was 18,800 points and 80 WPX contacts. I did have a blast when I was in the contest and for the first time ever I was contently having to repeat my call and my exchange due to solar conditions.

1. When running N1MM logging program, N4PY rig control software and the Flex Radio Flexcontrol vfo knob all together through LP-Bridge some very very strange things can happen. This resulted in some lost contacts and down time due to software issues.Going to have to get these programs to shake hands and get along.
2. Funny thing.....I have been practicing my contest CW code with Morse runner and using my laptop. Well it would seem that my fingers became very familar with the smaller keyboard on the laptop. When I contested on my home PC and regular sized keyboard I was making mistake after mistake while keyboarding calls and exchanges. I do have a smaller keyboard for the desktop PC and started to use it towards the end. Going to have to stick to the same keyboard as it seems size does matter.