What did you do today with your radio (or amateur radio related)? - Page 9

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What did you do today with your radio (or amateur radio related)? (Page 9 of 10)

Posted: 3/31/2017 4:08:56 PM EDT

[#1]

Ordered an ATTiny187-XMINI dev board from microchipdirect.com . 9 bucks!

Hope to design a capacitive touch paddle/keyer with it since it supports two Q-Touch cap inputs and controller. I plan on programming in learning modes and memories to store contest strings, auto increment contest counters, menus for speed, 1/4" input for use as a keyer for another paddle, etc.

Should be a fun project. Since it's a microcontroller, whenever I think of something new it should do, I can just fire up Atmel Studio and add it! The cool thing about these boards is they support standard Arduino shield pin form factors so adding optoisolation from the radio is super easy. Lots of real estate if I use a blank shield.

Posted: 3/31/2017 5:37:53 PM EDT

[#2]

Getting ready to add insulation in the walls of the toy hauler. Once that is done I can start mocking up wiring and antenna hook ups

Posted: 4/2/2017 1:47:33 AM EDT

[#3]

Went to NV Con. Was planning on coming home with a brand spanking new FT60. Except they had the FT65 at the Yaesu booth. Unfortunately (fortunately?) they didn't have any in stock at the HRO booth (although they would ship at no cost at the same price of the FT-60) Yaesu informed me they would be shipppng the FT-70 (FT-65 with Fusion With an MSRP about $200.

So, not to leave empty handed I picked up a Comet GP-1 antenna, an Elk 2m/440 antenna, a Motorola mobile speaker from the swap meet, and a tech study guide from Gordon West himself who was there and signing books/QSL cards for a interested non-ham friend. Hopefully he'll get certified in time for hunting season. But at least I can tell the wife I didn't come home with any new radios.

Posted: 4/3/2017 12:45:32 AM EDT

[#4]

I put my HF antenna back up today and got my new MFJ travel tuner hooked up and it appears to work well. I have a z817 for the FT-817ND but I think I might like the manual tuner better. Once you have the settings for each band figured out, tuning a manual tuner is faster than a forced tune on an auto tuner. Right now I have it hooked up to my FT-450D.

Posted: 4/4/2017 11:04:41 PM EDT

[#5]

Programmed and installed a Connect Systems CS-800 DMR radio in my truck.

Posted: 4/5/2017 12:31:21 PM EDT

[#6]

Built a little BNC antenna switch for QRP operations, though it's likely good for 100+W. I looked around for something commercial, but found nothing. Feels better to build it yourself anyway. My test run of the BITX40 into my 130' EFHW showed a 1.5:1 SWR direct, and a 1.6:1 SWR going through the switch, so the loss was negligible.

Posted: 4/5/2017 12:42:14 PM EDT

[#7]

Today I looked at my OCFD wire which has stretched under snow load and procrastinated on trimming it so that it is tuned again.

Hey, procrastination is doing something! It's got to quit raining here sooner or later

Posted: 4/5/2017 4:19:13 PM EDT

[#8]

I finished the PDC-1 kit from HiResCom.com a while back, but finally got around to installing it in the MFJ-998. It is a peak hold circuit for the forward power meter. I brought the lines out to a DPDT switch so it is selectable for peak reading or averaging. Adjustment was simple (two pots on board) and it is powered from the same source supplying the meter lamp.

Nick

Posted: 4/7/2017 9:56:38 PM EDT

[#9]

Made my first contact with the new setup for remote usage. IC-7100 and raspberry pi set up remote. Using VNC and fldigi to work psk31. Next up jt-65.

Posted: 4/7/2017 10:11:51 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
Made my first contact with the new setup for remote usage. IC-7100 and raspberry pi set up remote. Using VNC and fldigi to work psk31. Next up jt-65.

View Quote

Pritunl is an awesome free vpn based on open vpn and can easily run on a $5/month linode

Add mumble and you can do voice.

Posted: 4/8/2017 8:28:14 AM EDT

[#11]

Got the Brandmeister DMR repeater locked down a d operational at low level.
Hope to get it moved to it's permanent home in a couple of weeks when the snow is gone.

Posted: 4/9/2017 12:58:44 PM EDT

[#12]

I did a pre-buy on TYT MD-2017 Dual Band DMR HT.

Now if I could just get my wife to get her Tech license !!!

Posted: 4/9/2017 9:20:35 PM EDT

[#13]

Did the firmware upgrade on the MD-390 and loaded up MD-380 tools and the user database so I can see call signs and user info rather than just ID numbers. Plus opens up promiscuous mode and gives you way more flexibility in settings.
(hope Dave dont mind --He ran the TAC 310 net tonite)

Posted: 4/9/2017 9:45:24 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
Did the firmware upgrade on the MD-390 and loaded up MD-380 tools and the user database so I can see call signs and user info rather than just ID numbers. Plus opens up promiscuous mode and gives you way more flexibility in settings.
(hope Dave dont mind --He ran the TAC 310 net tonite)
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g306/offctr/DSCF0187_zpsgez9wwao.jpg

View Quote

I did the same over the weekend.

Posted: 4/9/2017 9:57:23 PM EDT

[#15]

Tried WSPR for the first time today. Sent one frame on 40m and one on 20m and neither showed up on the WSPRnet map.

I was only using 500mw and my FT-817nd connected to my phone through a Wolphilink running WSPR beacon app. I had the app set up for the correct power levels and bands. I might have to try again on 40 or 80 meters later using 5W.

No idea why it didn't work, but I don't have a very good antenna so that could could be it.

Posted: 4/9/2017 10:54:28 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:

I did the same over the weekend.

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Everyone told me it was easy and it was relatively painless ---- there were a few heart in mouth, push enter moments when you hope you didnt just brick $100 !!! but otherwise it went very smooth.
I still think we need an arfcom talkgroup.

Posted: 4/10/2017 8:44:02 AM EDT

[#17]

I built a 40M/20M dual band dipole antenna and had my first QSO on 40M!

Posted: 4/11/2017 9:45:23 PM EDT

[#18]

The SharkRF open spot showed up yesterday so I got that hooked up and programmed and it works great. Have it setup to run DMR/Brandmeister via the FT1DR fusion/C4FM. Also got the UPS up and running and hooked up to the router, hub and openspot to keep the more frequent power outages from shutting everything down like it had been. It is cool to key the repeater on tac310 or 3100 via the MD-390 and have it pop out over the fusion radio.
I have not figured out yet if there is a way to change talkgroups directly from the Yaesu yet.

Posted: 4/11/2017 10:18:16 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Tried WSPR for the first time today. Sent one frame on 40m and one on 20m and neither showed up on the WSPRnet map.

I was only using 500mw and my FT-817nd connected to my phone through a Wolphilink running WSPR beacon app. I had the app set up for the correct power levels and bands. I might have to try again on 40 or 80 meters later using 5W.

No idea why it didn't work, but I don't have a very good antenna so that could could be it.

View Quote

If you have 30m antenna capabilities, that is the band to use. It seems that there are the most people listening on 30. Also don't be afraid to go up to 1 watt or 2.5w. I always advise against a full power transmit on digital modes, full power out for 2 min was above my comfort level when I had an 817.

Posted: 4/12/2017 1:29:46 AM EDT

[#20]

Last week we survived hurricane force winds. Bunch of trees fell in the area. One huge branch fell of one of the trees on my property. I was scared to even go check my tower but everything was fine. Whew!
Finally sat down today and built a new portable 40/75/80m fan dipole with a 1:1 balun. For 80m I'll simply connect two extensions at both ends, with two Powerpole connectors. I'm tempted to add a single wire reflector for 75 meters to improve NVIS efficiency. The reflector will be on the ground.
Also got a set of two W3DZZ traps from SotaBeams and will also build a W3DZZ doublet to cover all 80-10m bands. I still prefer to use my Tarheel mobile vertical antenna for 20-10m bands cause it works amazingly well.
I may go and play Guerilla Portable (Copyright - Piccolo) radio on my friend's 900 acre property. I found a nice spot on top of a hill, perfect for camping. I'll post time and frequency if anyone wants to have a QSO. Bad part about getting to that spot is that I need to drive through a deep muddy hole. Last time I almost got my 4x4 Jeep buried down to the bottom of the doors, in sticky mud. Small price to pay to get there, I guess.
Funny thing is that the more I operate portable the more I end up using my FT-857d only. Perhaps I need to sell my KX3 and FT-817 radios and use the money towards another tower at the house.

Posted: 4/12/2017 8:38:41 PM EDT

[#21]

Got in a "new" toy, '90s vintage PK-232MBX TNC unit. Firmware is dated 1991. It came with a power cable, 1 radio cable and a copy of the Technical Reference Manual... Printing out a copy of the operating manual now & have some connectors on order for the FSK & radio connectors to make up some new custom cables for the 590 & the 732.

Nick

Posted: 4/13/2017 12:58:42 AM EDT

[#22]

Put a Comet GP-1 on my roof. When connecting the coax I noticed it has a spot where it had rubbed against something going through the jacket and took out some of the shielding on it. Fortunately it's dry here so moisture isn't the concern and the damage is a couple feet from the end. I've got plenty of slack in the line (like 15 feet worth) so I'll be crimping a new end on at some point.

Posted: 4/13/2017 1:21:19 AM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:

If you have 30m antenna capabilities, that is the band to use. It seems that there are the most people listening on 30. Also don't be afraid to go up to 1 watt or 2.5w. I always advise against a full power transmit on digital modes, full power out for 2 min was above my comfort level when I had an 817.

View Quote

Thanks for the tips. Yeah even at a half watt the 2 minute key down seemed unnatural. I will see if I can get a match on 30m and give it another try.

As for what I did today, not much. Yesterday I finally got LoTW and TQSL working with a certificate and I uploaded my logs from JT65-HF. I need to upload my paper logs too, but that will have to wait for another day.

Posted: 4/13/2017 8:32:15 AM EDT

[#24]

Got a peice of paracord over the pine in the back yard yesterday

Posted: 4/14/2017 12:04:26 AM EDT

[#25]

I stopped in at an HRO retail location today for the first time. I wish there was one closer to home. I could have spent hours there. Bought an ft65 walkie and programing cable. I still think the vx6r is a better radio because of the multi band receiver. But for the price this new ft65 seemed like it was worth a try.

Posted: 4/14/2017 5:42:31 PM EDT

[#26]

Put up an antenna mast (finally) and put together a Ringo Ranger that will go on top of it, hopefully tomorrow. Also figured out that I have just enough distance to run a 10/15/20 fan dipole from the mast to a nearby tree, and it will have it's sides facing NE and SW, perfect for Europe and most of the US for me.

Posted: 4/16/2017 1:53:31 AM EDT

[#27]

Just built my K9JEB PowerPole Distribution Center kit. I haven't had much radio time with my work schedule the last few months, it was nice to be able to sit and inhale some solder smoke. Next up is the HamRadio360 antenna analyzer. I also have a pile of parts that wants to be an AR15 (my first) waiting for me to have some free time. Someday!

edit: this is turning into a productive weekend

Attached File

Don't think I'm going to get to the analyzer today, though.

Posted: 4/16/2017 2:50:44 PM EDT

[#28]

Started on a breakout box for the TS-590S ACC2 and Remote DIN connectors that will replace existing hardwired connections with a set of plugs/jacks & allow easier addition of new items (like the PK-232MBX FSK RTTY connection). Bringing out all signal lines as 1/8" (3.5 mm) jack tip connections w ring being respective grounds, the exception being the mic PTT connector which will be 1/4".

Nick

Posted: 4/16/2017 3:41:00 PM EDT

[#29]

Strung up a 130' EFHW 8010 in a 2 story condo in a descending square helix

. It sort of loads up. May set up the mag loop for comparison. Having the BHI DSP in my FT817 and FT857 makes me want to order one for my FT897. Just can't decide whether to spend the extra $100 and get the external compact model.

Posted: 4/16/2017 7:30:29 PM EDT

[#30]

Printed the "advanced manual" for my new Yaesu FT-65. I learned that my printer can print 2-sided pages, so I tried the "booklet" option from the print dialog and sure enough, it printed the page numbers correctly to make little booklets bound on the left edge. I have a heavy duty stapler that I use for work (I deal with a lot of big documents) and it works well.

Since each piece of paper equals 4 pages in booklet format, I only had to print 13 sheets for a 52 page booklet. I cut all but the first sheet in half, then tucked the pages inside the first sheet and stapled through on the left edge. Then I trimmed the right edges of the pages even using one of those big paper cutters. The result is a nice, neat little booklet that doesn't require batteries to read.

Posted: 4/16/2017 8:04:53 PM EDT

[#31]

Shack computer HDD crashed, lost everything

Lesson learned: Back yo stuff up!

Spent the weekend installing a SSD and reinstalling all of my software. Had thought that my log info was lost to the world, but found out that you can download a somewhat limited ADIF from ClubLog. Thank God! Most of my log info has now been restored!

Posted: 4/18/2017 4:49:27 PM EDT

[#32]

15m is doing well this afternoon. Getting into central Russia and South America with various digital modes from Central Virginia. JT65 and Winmore mostly.

Posted: 4/18/2017 5:01:49 PM EDT

[#33]

Tuned in to the 40m CW band as I drove home and practiced copy by head.

Posted: 4/21/2017 5:30:29 PM EDT

[#34]

Mobile command center, back on the air

Attached File

Posted: 4/22/2017 3:04:39 AM EDT

[#35]

Called CW CQ on 40 meters and made several nice DX contacts with only 50 Watts. One guy tried calling me for about 30 minutes. He was using a straight key. I could not copy his callsign, no matter how much I tried. I do realize that some people are learning CW and need practice but this guy (or girl) was by far the worst one I heard so far. I felt bad but had to tell him that I could not copy his call.

There was something wrong with his signal too. I think he was from Cuba because the first letter kind of sounded like C. He stretched the first and third 'dash" for like 2 seconds and his "dots" were like 2 microseconds

. O boy, I hope he was not offended.

Posted: 4/22/2017 3:10:37 AM EDT

[#36]

Did some research into an upcoming kit build, downloaded a schematic and studied it a bit.

Also got on LoTW and set up a WAS account. I have 7 states on JT65 so far. I really need to get back to working it more but I want to switch over to WSJT instead of the JT65HF I've been using. I just need time to fiddle with it.

Posted: 4/22/2017 5:09:27 PM EDT

[#37]

Bands not working well here in Tulsa today and I got bored with stateside JT so I decided to figure out RTTY.

Installed MMTTY and got the radio set up, stored the settings to SD, thought "OK, it's time to figure out all the buttons."

Tuned around until I found some RTTY, turned the 7300 output to zero, and started playing with buttons.

Clicked a call sign..cool, it sticks it up there. Clicked another button and my radio starts transmitting..cool..no output so no way he can hear me anyway.

Wrong. He comes back. OH CRAP! What button do I push now?

So I reached Mexico City on a 13' portable antenna with the radio output set to zero so probably about one watt to the antenna.

ETA Maybe I'll tune to 10m to test but I was able to CW to Colorado on 10 today. 6m it is. No way I can get out on 6m.

Posted: 4/23/2017 9:48:09 AM EDT

[#38]

Attended comm academy. So far I've sat in on a DF lecture, a weather lecture, and some active shooter training.

The two cops teaching the active shooter training think weapons-free zones are ridiculous.

Posted: 4/23/2017 4:55:35 PM EDT

[#39]

I ordered some RG316 for my Chinese amp kit build. The kit should be here Monday but I will need to wait for other parts and supplies to arrive before I can complete it. I still need to order some other parts but I don't want my wife to see the Amazon order until I get paid again.

Posted: 4/23/2017 6:26:11 PM EDT

[#40]

Getting ready for some warm weather camping. Broke out the KX3 portable setup and tried out a little WSJT-X.
20m JT9 DX QSO with France using EndFedz antenna and battery powered 5w.
Amp is in the pack, but not required today.

Who's ready for another ARFCOM Ham Radio camping trip?

Posted: 4/29/2017 9:19:19 AM EDT

[#41]

Quote History

Quoted:
Getting ready for some warm weather camping. Broke out the KX3 portable setup and tried out a little WSJT-X.
20m JT9 DX QSO with France using EndFedz antenna and battery powered 5w.
Amp is in the pack, but not required today.

Who's ready for another ARFCOM Ham Radio camping trip?

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m17/BigDaddy0004/20170423_174319_zpsfwvriwb8.jpg

View Quote

When are you going? I'm planning to operate from a remote location on field day.

Posted: 4/29/2017 9:41:50 PM EDT

[#42]

Replaced my antenna cable on the run under the house. Puppies had chewed it up a couple of times and I had patched it but was concerned about all the extra connections.

Also smoked a brisket.

Posted: 4/29/2017 9:47:17 PM EDT

[#43]

Programmed 3 XTS3000's, 3 Astro Sabers, 1 Astro Spectra, an XTL2500 and a XTL1500 today for our new system, program the Quantar repeater tomorrow and test the digital side (P25) and if all clicks, take it to the shop and replace my analog repeater so I can hear nice clean audio when talking

Posted: 4/30/2017 3:13:54 AM EDT

[#44]

Pulled the trigger on a Yaesu FT-1XD. Seems like a lot of radio for the price ($250 at HRO). I was looking at the FT-70DR but the 1XD seems to offer a lot more for only an extra $50 over the cost of the 70.

Posted: 4/30/2017 11:30:55 PM EDT

[#45]

Last night I soldered my first surface mount kit. It went ok. I messed up a few things like getting solder in some holes on the board for through hole components, but muddled through.

It is a low pass filter for 10 meters. I think I am going to order a multiband LPF to use with my amp kit when I get the courage to begin that build. It really won't be much harder than the LPF. It will just require a really steady hand for a couple of the smaller components.

Posted: 4/30/2017 11:40:56 PM EDT

[#46]

My back has been hurting too much in the last couple of days and i could not spend much time in my shack. The shack is located in the back ot the property, about 80-90 yards from the house. There is an old ground mounted Butternut vertical antenna installed near the house. I had used that antenna a lot before I installed my new Yagis and other antennas. The Butternut has not been used in several years. I removed all the radials thinking about relocating the antenna but never got to it.
So I dragged a 150 ft. long coax from the antenna to my living room and plugged in my old trusty FT-817. I sat in a comfortable recliner and called CQ on 40m CW. To my surprise a guy from IL answered my call and we had a very long chat at a comfortable 25 WPM. This is the first time I had such a long chat on CW. Usually I prefer to have a "standard" short QSO.
Surprisingly the guy gave me a 579 report. He was at S9 here, running 100 watts into a dipole. I was running CW at only 2.5 Watts, off a set of AA Eneloop batteries.

This is all I wanted to share today. 73 y'all!

Posted: 5/1/2017 1:37:58 AM EDT

[#47]

Installed the IC-5100's Bluetooth module and the app in my phone and the tablet. Neat features. Still exploring it.

Posted: 5/1/2017 9:59:25 AM EDT

[#48]

Squirrel chewed through the hoist line (paracord) of the tree hung 80m FWL ladder line feed point, so I had to shoot a new pull point with the wrist rocket. Between wind & new growth leaves, it took a few tries before getting the 2 oz. weight to the ground w/ an acceptable location (feed point now @ about 45'). Had better height on an earlier shot, but would have fouled the 160m FWL due to shot travel angle ... Not optimal, but acceptable for now. May re-do in the fall after the leaves fall.

Nick