tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29369542815702431522024-03-14T15:25:19.670+00:00OZ9QV : Amateur Radio, Propagation and ElectronicsAmateur radio and other radio related activities of OZ9QV, and more...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-19493950316885520502024-03-11T17:46:00.003+00:002024-03-11T17:46:39.637+00:00Fault in the 23cm Antenna System.<p>There seems to be a fault in my temporary 23cm antenna system.</p><p>The signal disappears intermittently, and I suspect a fault in the connector for the cable bypassing the rotator. I have ordered better cables and N-connectors, so as soon as possible that cable should be replaced. Another option could be intermittent voltage to the preamplifier from the radio (IC9700), but the cable/connector fault is the most likely.</p><p>I will need to get some assistance from some local ham(s), as the antenna should be mounted about 2m higher, still in a temporary position. I cannot do that alone. The risk of damaging the antenna is too high.As the antenna is standing in my backyard and surrounded by houses and trees, every meter in height will help, so it will be interesting to see how much the signals will improve.</p><p>At a later stage I epxect to mount the antenna in 8-9m height. That is what I can do here. There will still be trees in the way in some directions, but it should be above houses in most directions.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-72156002019408176412024-03-08T19:51:00.005+00:002024-03-09T00:31:06.510+00:00Intermistic 1296MHz Yagi Setup.<p>The past few days I have worked getting a bit of activity going on 1296MHz.</p><p>The antenna is a Flexa Yagi model with 16 elements, for mounting behind the reflector.</p><p>The mast at the moment os just some military stackable pipes, and I could not handle more than 4m length alone, so that is the height of the antenna right now.</p><p>Results are varying. A station about 20km away could not hear my 5W at the antenna. He is in a poor direction, as the signal has to pass through my house, so maybe not too surprising.</p><p>We have had a bit of tropo propagation, so the beacon in Kiel, about 200-250km away is quite strong. In that direction the antenna points over free fields, and at the moment the signal from DB0VC is S9. During the day it was audible at all times. </p><p>I do have a preamplifier near the antenna, so reception is quite decent.</p><p>At a later stage the antenna can be mounted at about 8m height, but the results are encouraging.</p><p>I did try to send a few CQs on 1296.200, but no replies. </p><p>In the SE direction I can hear very strong radar signals, S-meter shows up to s9+30 in the peaks.</p><p>Next step will be getting the antenna higher up and see what happens. I will need assistance from some local hams, so it may take a little while.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-67553668855715267452024-02-18T18:59:00.001+00:002024-02-18T18:59:02.809+00:00A Bit of HF Activity.<p> Today I put my first HF QSO of the year in the log. I didn't do much last year either, due to other commitments.</p><p>Today I made one of my forst QRP SSB QSOs in years. Some local stations had goe to Greenland and they have been quite active.</p><p>When they were reported on 18MHz I tried with just 5W SSB form my IC-705, even though the signal was not very strong. Much to my surprise OX7AKT came back to my call after one or two times, and we made the QSO. It is extra fun to do that with just 5W SSB and a half wave vertical.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-67881257699665740362024-02-08T10:23:00.002+00:002024-02-08T18:32:51.993+00:00More 8m Activity.<p> Since last entry the solar activity dipped a bit and came back up. </p><p>There were a few days without signals decoded, but a few came through.</p><p>PJ4MM Several days</p><p>ZS6OB and ZS3/V51PJ one day</p><p>The setup is still the IC703 and the 10m half wave vertical.</p><p>I am still running my 6m monitor, and I get European signals every day.</p><p>I need to expand the setup to 10m, and to more VHF (and UHF) bands.</p><p>Let the monitoring continue.</p><p>Update: ZF1EJ also came through today.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-45061487089875764622024-01-31T18:41:00.003+00:002024-01-31T18:41:57.766+00:00PJ4MM on 40MHz Again Today.<p> Another good day for the 40MHz band.</p><p>One more time PJ4MM was coming through with up to 0dB S/N. </p><p>It will be interesting to see how the 8m band monitoring will turn out this spring.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-30981645090246785442024-01-30T14:39:00.005+00:002024-01-30T14:39:55.963+00:00Monitor on 8m (40.680MHz)?<p> I made my first test, listening on 40MHz. There is some experimental work going on on 40.680MHz with weak signal modes.</p><p>A local station with indoor antenna reported decoding PJ4MM, so I started testing</p><p>So I had my IC-703 connected to the 10m half wave antenna, and set the frequency. Pulse noise up to around S7. The noise blanker (NB) of the 703 seemed to make little difference. I tried to get the NB setting, and set it to the highest level. That reduced the noise, even if it is still not good. No S-meter reading.</p><p>Then PJ4MM came up on screen, starting with a S/N of -20dB, and for about 20minutes of the signal was there. Best S/N has been -7dB until now.</p><p>Not a bad beginning, given the severe pulse noise. DX heard on 8m.</p><p>Right now I am not going noise hunting, it is still winter time, and I have a cold, or the flu. In the spring I may try, and along with that, maybe try to make some phasing out of that noise. After all, it's only a single "channel" I need to cover. </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-64204993757893901662024-01-22T22:30:00.000+00:002024-01-22T22:30:09.816+00:0010GHz Transverter, Continued.<p> In the autumn/fall last year I was out making a receive test of a 10GHz transverter briefly described a few days ago in the previous post. </p><p>When I should have had a signal from the OZ7IGY beacon about 25km away, there was ... nothing.</p><p>I started the fault finding with a measurement of the LO module, and it did look pretty good. So Now the down converter should be tested.</p><p>I located a signal generator (low cost Chinese circuit with the ADF 5351 synthesizer. As the signal generator has a fixed output, I made a small loop for 10GHz, soldered to a low cost (chassis) SMA connector. Measure on the spectrum analyzer (with built-in frequency counter the signal generator seemed to stay within a few 100 Hz, with a fixed offset of about 10kHz. Good enough for a first test.</p><p>Power up the transverter with 12.5V, the IF connected to a Malahit DSP2 SDR set to 144MHz, and let the system warm up a bit. The 12.5V was about what the battery delivered at the test. <br />It sounded absolutely dirty, with some irregular jumps in frequency.</p><p>Where was the instability? I tried connecting the FT-290 and it was the same. Apparently I could eliminat the possibilty of the Malahit going faulty. Now remains the LO of the transverter or the signal generator.</p><p>Next test was, let us see what happens if the supply voltage is increased.</p><p>Bingo. at 13.5V the LO apparently jumped to the correct frequency (well, about 3kHz low) and stayed there, the tone sounds good, all the dirt gone from the audio, and the sensitivity looked much better. You may laugh, I don't mind, because I foind the fault.</p><p>Connecting back to the Malahit SDR, and it looked good.</p><p>The Chinese signal generator, though has a rather noise output. Good enough to test the system, but the phase noise is atrocious, only about 10-20dB below the carrier. I heard that a ham not too far away has made some modifications, and I will look into that.</p><p>So what to do when I do go out into the field? I need 13.5V and the battery delivers only 12.5V. Too low for a good function.</p><p>I think I will try first with a different battery and a DC/DC converter. I know that the DC needs extra filtering, but it should be usable for the first field tests. Next step: check the TX function.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-15707839314224111732024-01-18T19:22:00.007+00:002024-01-18T19:22:54.698+00:00Fault Finding in an Old 10GHz Transverter.<p>In the autumn I made a first test of a home-made 10GHz transverter I got my hands on, and started testing.</p><p>The initial test was a simple connection to an older FT-290 transceiver, and going out to spme place a bit higher than where my house is located.</p><p>I was listening for the beacon OZ7IGY at a distance of about 25km. Nothing in the garden. If I placed an satellite TV LNB about 4m above ground I could hear the beacon, very weak, because it is behind some hills about 30m higher than where I am.</p><p>I tried to go to a place somewhat higher with the FT-290/transverter setup on a tripod, and tested. Absolutely nothing heard. tuning about 30kHz to either side of the beacon frequency.</p><p>So now I got started fault finding.</p><p>The first suspicion after talking to a local ham was the 2556MHz local oscillator module. Testing on a spectrum analyzer showed a nice signal with an offset of less than 600Hz. Not bad, this would give an offset of less than 3kHz. The output (to the Qualcomm up/down conversion module) is close to 5dBm, so that looks quite good. I can safely say that the LO module works nicely.</p><p>Now more tests are necessary.</p><p> I do need a small 10GHz signal source, and I have thought of using one of the following:</p><p>- a low power (0.5W) 70cm FM transceiver with an attenuator and a single diode as multiplier</p><p>- a synthesizer PCB with a AD 4350 or 4351 chip, just using the 3rd harmonic. </p><p>At least I can test those with the spectrum analyzer, so I know if there is a strong enough 10GHz signal.</p><p>I think the simplest of the two is the attenuator/diode multiplier, so I think I should start there.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-2191110695103223212024-01-18T19:02:00.003+00:002024-01-18T19:02:41.848+00:00A Bit of New Stuff, Arrived From China in December and January.<p> I have ordered a few things from Ali Express recently, Some of this arrived in December last year, and this year until now.</p><p>Some of it still needs to be tested, but here are a few things that may be of interest.</p><p>Some time ago I got a collection of used 18650 Lithium Ion cells, so now I got myself a capacity tester. This needs to be tested.</p><p>I am slowly starting doing some experiments on the microwave bands, so I got myself a log-periodic antenna covering 800MHz - 6GHz, covering the amateur bands 1296, 2400,3400 and 5760MHz. Intended use is mainly for antenna testing, but it can also be used to feed a parabolic dish.</p><p>I am beginning to dismantle some older electronic equipment for (some) parts, so I got myself a desolder station.</p><p>A couple of LNAs claimed to cover 10MHz to 6GHz. Should be tested.</p><p>A Malahit SDR receiver, self contained with LCD screen and built-in speaker. A quick test shows an OK receiver. Nothing spectacular, officially covering 10kHz - 380MHz and 404 - 2000MHz, with spectrum display (max. 192kHz wide) Nice little receiver, can be useful for many tests, especially with portable equipment, but also converters and transverters (receive part only).</p><p>There is more, but those are the more interesting things for me.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-49186126771191001382024-01-06T10:57:00.004+00:002024-01-07T14:12:45.675+00:00Monitoring on 10m. Updated.<p>I got a bit of space on the lab desk by now. Still much more tidying needed.</p><p>For now, part of my monitoring system for 10m consists of a half wave antenna, connected to my modified IC-703 with a loop-back for the receiver signal.</p><p>The receive signal is running through a power splitter, so part og the signal goes back to the receiver section of the '703 and two outputs go to other receivers. Two is not quite enough, as I want to monitor several frequencies around the 10m band. Some amplified power splitter is needed.</p><p>The frequencies I want to monitor on 10m are, at least:</p><p>- 28.200 (International Beacon Project) (with audio)</p><p>- 28.074 (FT8 frequency)</p><p>- 29.600 (FM calling frequency)</p><p>- 27.555 (Used by CBers as a calling frequency. Excellent propagation indicator for 10m)</p><p>- 28.126??? (WSPR and QRSS frequencies)</p><p>I have a couple of "transistor radio" portable receivers with a jack connector as external antenna connectors, so I made two cables with F-connector to jack plug. They should be used for the 27.555 receiver (up and running), and FT8 monitor receiver. I still need to set up a computer with sound card input for that purpose. </p><p>I have a monitor system like that running on 50MHz, and I would like to continue using that. Possibly a Raspberry Pi set-up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Last year was a bit low on radio activities. I should have had a better antenna system up, but other, more urgent activities came in the way. The solar power system also needs an update. This should be a busy year. 4m and 6m antennas have priority, as the bands are good due to high solar activity. Some activity on microwave bands should be made, too, and I should finally get up a rotator, so I can rotate a small VHF/UHF/SHF antenna system. We shall see how much gets done this year.</p><p><br /></p><p>Update:</p><p>It looks like the Sangean receiver is not suitable for FT8. (noisy local oscillator?), or not sufficiently sensitive so I will have to use another radio for that purpose, or build one myself. Still looking around.</p><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-5071359708868244402023-12-07T19:52:00.002+00:002023-12-07T19:52:32.712+00:00More to Salvage.<p> I looked into more old stuf I have lying around.</p><p>Found some ancient analog satellite TV receivers, and as no one used those any more, and we are likely to be unable to use the 1240MHz band for analog FM TV, I have decided to discard them and salvage some components, such as tuner modules.</p><p>The same gors for some old digital satellite TV receivers, onlt capable of DVB-S(1), and not DVB-S2. </p><p>The casings could be used for some small non-critical projects, so I will keep them, too.</p><p>One I could not open, because some of the screws are incompatible with my bit-set for screwdrivers. I might just drill them out if I can not find a suitable screwdriver bit.</p><p>Next in line are some stone age cable TV receivers covering 50-450MHz. The casing is plastic, but the screw heads I have never seen before. Then again, I am not planning to use the plastic casings for anything, so I will probably just have a go at them with my hacksaw, so I can get to the internal parts.</p><p>All in all, this winter I should get some of this done, so I can make enough space in the lab/workshop to make some new projects. That part is a bit tricky right now, but I will get there.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-17521457109500437962023-12-01T19:25:00.007+00:002023-12-01T19:25:58.030+00:00Tidy, Or Untidy? That Is the Question.<p> My house has grown very intidy the past few years, after having had to do chemo therapy and an operation, then starting to recover, then the COVID-19 pandemic started, I have not had too much energy to do both, some radio activity and getting more tidy.</p><p>Well the radio activity is an ongoing thing, has been for 50 years now, so I am not planning to stop that.</p><p>But now I got started with a process that will take months, possibly years, or is it another ongoing process? Yes getting the house more tidy, and getting a few things working again, in the house.</p><p>Today I finally got two middle-age computers disassembled: An old Pentium 2 and another oldie, a Pentium 3. Those were "compact" Compaq's, so they took time and not so common tools (especially screwdrivers) to take apart.</p><p>I will only recycle very few things for my own recycling, everything else goes to the "official recycling".</p><p>- the top and bottom covers can be used as "chassis" for some projects, or as a support for a mag-mount antenna.</p><p>From the PC boards very little is useable. Some toroids can be used for EMC means, and there are some SMD inductors, too. Other parts, yes, maybe some power supply ICs and crystal oscillators, possibly a few of the connectors. That is all. The rest goes to "official" recycling.</p><p>There is more ancient computer stuff, and most of that will be treated the same way.</p><p>Then there is some stone age test equipment for my radio like:</p><p>- a 10-500MHz synthesized signal generator</p><p>- ancient Marconi signal generator, so old that it uses a classical free running oscillator.</p><p>- a signal generator for 1.7-4.4GHz. Real stone age, built with a klystron (tube/valve) oscillator.</p><p>For those heavy pieces there will be a bit to salvage. I suspect that I can easily salvage the step- and variable attenuators. Attenuators are always useful. Some cables, connectors, knobs etc, then decide what more useful material can be found in there.</p><p>Yes it will make for a busy time, but it will provide me with more space to do radio, and other activities.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-54571091543610871662023-12-01T19:04:00.001+00:002023-12-01T19:04:13.457+00:00Openings on 50MHz.<p> Occasionally I have seen DX openings on 50MHx this year. </p><p>As my monitor antenna is very low, and only a half wave vertical, it is limited what I see</p><p>Mostly in the autumn I have seen openings to Southern Africa, Like ZS. This could be F2, if it happened in the middle of the day. If it is late afternoon, or in the evening, in my opinion it must be trans equatorial propagation (TEP), extended by something else, like sporadic E from here to the Mediterranean Sea.</p><p>Very occasionally, with solar flux above the 170 mark, I have seen one or two stations in the Caribbean or Central America. Just one or two FT8 spots from my monitor receiver.</p><p>Today was different. I spotted Florida, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Bonaire, with the very poor antenna. I could see others in Northern Europe working far more stations than those. </p><p>I think it is time to get my IC-7300 up and running with FT8 again.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-20746682259828087802023-11-18T19:55:00.000+00:002023-11-18T19:55:06.554+00:00New Toy. IC-9700.<p>I have been thinking of getting myself a VHF/UHF transceiver with a matching screen, like on the IC-7300 I already have for HF, 6m and 4m. </p><p>I already have my older IC-910, running okay on 2m, 70cm and 23cm. It a good transceiver, especially after I replaced the standard reference oscillator with a high stability one, and installed a 1200MHz module. It's perfect for general operation. It does multimode, including SSB and CW, but I have missed the possibility from my newer HF rigs, for having a spectrum display. But the '910 is an ageing transceiver, and who knows when it might break down?</p><p>For 2m and 70cm, this can be achieved with the IC-705, a bery nice l0ow power transceiver with a neat spectrum display, like the one in the '7300. However, I have plans for trying 1296MHz again. I did that some decades ago, and found it good fun.</p><p>Enter the IC-9700. This transceiver This comes with all three bands included as standard, 144MHz, 430MHz and 1296MHz, and it does have the spectrum display, much like the one in the '7300.</p><p>I found a used one recently, with 6 months remaining warranty a few days ago, and decided to make the jump.</p><p>The box arrived yesterday, and after a bit of work installing it, it is now running on 144MHz with a Big Wheel antenna, and on 70cm FM using the 70cm part of my V-2000 antenna (via a triplexer) I still need to test it on 1296MHz, but my antenna for this band is still mounted very low, and it's difficult to make even local contacts. Yes, there is low activity on that band, but I hope to get more stations running, as a lot of fellow hams have '9700s with an unused 1296MHz band.</p><p>So next year I should try to make the update of my antenna system, for various reasons I did not get that done this year.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-8977337887186654012023-11-14T13:52:00.000+00:002023-11-14T13:52:09.361+00:00QCX Test and Ideas.<p> I got the receiver checked. </p><p>Sensitivity on 30m looks good. a signal from the generator at -130dBm is clearly audible. at -135dBm, it's barely audible. This looks quite good for the 10MHz band. </p><p>The audio filter sounds good, with a bandwidth of about 400Hz. That works nicely for me.</p><p>I have not yet gone through the alignment process, but I should do that before mounting in a casing. It is probably well adjusted by the previous owner, but it does not hurt making a check. </p><p>Now I need to add an AGC circuit (yes, it's necessary to protect my ears), and use a suitable box. I am likely to add an audio amplifier for use with a speaker.</p><p>I will need to move the display, the AF gain potentiometer, the rotary encoder, and the connectors.</p><p>I may build a power amplifier to get the level up to about 20W, making this a neat 10MHz CW transceiver.</p><p>I am likely to try using a dedicated 10MHz antenna, but initially I can use my 30m long wire antenna.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-5639635761152029752023-11-09T13:58:00.002+00:002023-11-09T13:58:26.446+00:00More Openings on 6m.<p> Moments ago I saw two spots on my 6m FT8 One from South Africa and one from Botswana.</p><p>I am guessing that it's some kind of propagation to the Mediterranean sea, extended by F2, given the time of the day. If I remember correctly, it would be a bit early for Transequatorial propagation from the Mediterranean to Southern Africa.</p><p>All this with a very poor antenna on the receiver. </p><p>If the solar activity increases to a solar flux of about 200 for more than a week, and without too much geomagnetic storms, within the next 4 months, we could get some really spectacular world wide propagation on 6m. </p><p>But then again, prediction is difficult, especially about the future ;)</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-44154686448374955212023-11-07T11:43:00.002+00:002023-11-07T11:43:27.728+00:00Rally, "Amatoertraef Fyn". QCX PCB.<p> In the past week end I went to the annual HAM radio rally, "Amatoertraef Fyn".</p><p>There are a few presentations, and a license exam at the event, and of course a flea market.</p><p>I was close to get a MCRF SDR, but passed on that.</p><p>At some comissioned stand there was a neat little thing:</p><p>- An assembled QCX transceiver (CW single band, with the option for transmitting WSPR)</p><p>- An assembled filter switch board for 5 filters</p><p>- 6 assembled low pass filters for 6,10,15,20,30,40m</p><p>Not a bad catch for DKK 200 (about $30)</p><p>At the rally no one knew the band that the transceiver was built for. someone said 15m, but looking at the toroid phase transformer that looked like it had too many windings. My guess was 20 or 30m.</p><p>Time to look at the stuff:<br />As I brought it home, I found that the PCB still had some solder flux residue, but otherwise the soldering work looked good. A bit of cleaning with isopropylene alcohol and a toothbrush cleaned that up, and the test begins.</p><p>Switching on the transceiver starts up on 30m, as shown on the LCD display. A quick TX test shows about 2W output (a bit low for the 5W spec, but as there is no cooling of the PA transistors this should work nicely I will leave it at that. The TX test was easy, as there is a spring/microswitch on the PCB, so I could just key the TX.</p><p>The TX frequency was shown as 50Hz off on my TRX tester, so I went into the adjustment menu and fot the synthesizer reference oscillator frequency adjusted. The TX is now within +/- 10Hz of the nominal frequency. </p><p>This will work perfectly for CW work. For WSPR work the reference oscillator should probably be replaced with a TCXO, so it remains stable enough to 1-2 Hz.</p><p>The only serious draw back of the original QCX is a lack of AGC function. However, there is an add-on for this, so I should order the kit PCB for that, and for the other two QCX+ kits I have already, and should start building (for 20m and 60m).</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-80650936347618081612023-11-02T11:35:00.002+00:002023-11-02T11:35:46.725+00:00Surprise. 6m DX Opening With my Poor Monitor Antenna.<p> For 6m FT8 monitoring I am using the 6m part of the R-6000 antenna. </p><p>This antenna works fine on 20-17-15-12-10m. On 6m it's a poor performer.</p><p>The past few days I have had many European spots, and I suspected that it was F2 back scatter signals.</p><p>This morning a surprise spot appeared on PSK reporter. I decoded DU3LA (Phillippines) in the PK05 square. The first station in Oceania I have ever received on 6m.</p><p>The solar flux has not been particularly high the past few weeks (130s), but jumped up the last few days, to about 160.</p><p>Who knows, if the solar flux stays high, we might get some interesting DX on 6m.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-11188874101151265722023-10-19T11:59:00.004+01:002023-10-19T11:59:27.148+01:00A Bit of Antenna Maintenance.<p> There was a solid wind blowing from the East this morning.</p><p>Looking out at my rather heavy (and high wind load) R6000 antenna, it was swaying quite a lot in the wind. The top moved 1/2 to 1 meter.</p><p>A quick check showed one guy wire to slack. </p><p>Yes, I got a small step ladder, as I could grab the lower end of the wire from there, and added some stronger guy wire from that point.</p><p>The antenna is now rather steady in the wind, as the other guy wires are now quite tight.</p><p>There will have to be more maintenance next year, but the antenna should be okay for the winter season.</p><p>The R6000 has also lost a bit of its "radials", but as it is a half wave vertical (10-12-15-17-20m), it will work okay-ish for the winter season. I will order spare parts so I should have them before the spring antenna work begins.</p><p>Next, I will have to add new guy wires to my 10m EFHW, as the old ones are gone by now It does stand steady at the moment, but I should take no chances, as it's mounted at the gable of the long shed.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-37858276727726933622023-09-26T23:16:00.003+01:002023-09-26T23:16:37.540+01:00A Bit of MIcrowave.<p>A while ago I went to a rally and got myself power amp for 1296MHz.</p><p>The amp is built with 4 10-15W power modules and has a built-in linear power supply. It is quite heavy, so it is not suitable for portable use or outdoor mounting. The nominal output is about 50W.</p><p>The amplifier has no T/R switch relays built-in, so I will have to make myself an external relay system. As I am using a preamplifier I will have to use a sequencer as well, as I would not like to destroy the preamp.</p><p>Yes, I have already destroyed one preamp for 1296, not by transmitting reverse into it, but likely for one of 2 reasons. Either a lightning strike nearby, or (more likely) transmitting up to 100W on 2m from an antenna a few meters away. The antenna for 1296 was a 3 band antenna for 144/432/1296MHs, with no 1296MHz filter. </p><p>I noticed it one day, when the preamplifier was switched in, the noise increased, but the signal from the local beacon went down into the noise. Bypassing the preamp reception had a much better signal to noise ratio. I can replace the preamp for a next try, and I intend to mount a triplexer (144/432/1296), so the 2m and 70cm signals into the 1296MHz preamp will be attenuated considerrably. More to do, once again, and I will need to call for assistance to get the system up and down.</p><p>I am still thinking of a portable system for 1296MHz, so I can operate from hilltops or other suitable places. That is a bit further into the future.</p><p>Now for some 10GHz news.</p><p>I found an old transverter, built with much assistance from a friend. It has been dormant for several years, and I have retrieved it from my storage. A mounting plate for a tripod is included, so the system is made for portable use.</p><p>This is a quite old construction built with modified modules from Qualcomm, and should privide about 500mW of power. </p><p>The system was "born" with a home made waveguide transition and a 48cm dish. During transport the dish has been bent out of shape, so it will need some repair.</p><p>I intend to use a smaller horn antenna (15dBi gain) with WR90/WG16 waveguide for the first experiments.</p><p>The wavequide was using a non standard flange, so I deeded to use a modified waveguide extension, modifying the flange used at the transverter end, and standard at the horn antenna. That modification is done.</p><p>I also got myself an old FT290R (1) transceiver that should be suitable for controlling the transverter. The T/R switching uses a DC (bias) voltage (>5V) for switching into TX mode, and the FT290 should provide that voltage to the transverter through the antenna cable. Unfortunately the voltage drops below that threshold when the transverter is connected (only 2V). Not good, so a modification or repair of the FT290 is needed, or maybe a modification of the sensing circuit in the transverter.</p><p>The receive side appears to function properly, there is a sufficient increase of noise in the FT290 RX when the transverter is switched on.</p><p>When the TX part is activated, however, there appears to be a quite low output from the transverter, the needle of the built-in power meter hardly moves, but it does move. More to investigate.</p><p>There is a possibility that the negative gate voltage for the PA stage has dropped out ... Oops, new PA module needed. It's not a disaster if this is the case, I do have another PA module.</p><p>We shall see when I get more tests done, and when I can get it up and running. Hopefully before winter.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-84153442377371834702023-09-22T16:23:00.003+01:002023-09-22T16:23:21.850+01:0010m F2 Going Well.<p> I have not had too much radio activity lately, mostly just monitoring 10m.</p><p>Most of the day I have a receiver running on 28.200, monitoring the International Beacon Project.</p><p>In the past few weeks I have heard the beacons from VK, (ZL, I think), JA, VR, 4S7, 4X (every day I have listened), CS3, LU, CE, OA, YV and 4U1UN.</p><p>Today I made 2 CW contacts, to the North-Eastern US, with just 5W. Not too bad.</p><p>Now we can hope that the solar activity continues rising, so we might get openings on the 50MHz band.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-11997872870274248612023-08-12T14:40:00.005+01:002023-08-12T14:40:53.801+01:00More Solar Power for the Shack.<p>July and the beginning of August has been low on the radio activities. Mostly because of traveling (and the preparations). Now I should be getting back to some radio.</p><p>But first, solar power:</p><p>Today I made a small improvement of my solar power system in the shack.</p><p>The old system had just 2x130W panels (designed for 12V systems).</p><p>Those are now replaced with 4x100W panels in series. How will this work with the 20A MPPT charge controller I am using? We shall see. The absolute peak voltage of the panels is less than the 100V open circuit the controller can handle, so having 4 panels in series, providing less than this is quite acceptable.</p><p>The current/total power handling is another matter. The peak power of the panels is 400W. This is only achieved with the panels fully illuminated with direct sunlight, at right angles to. While this happens sometimes I am hoping the controller will be able to handle it.</p><p>The controller spec says that it will limit the charge current to 20A, so I hope it will work nicely.</p><p>The lower light charge current with the 2x130W panels was quite low, down to about 300mA which cannot get the batteries fully charged every day. With the 4x100W in series, this looks more promising, but as I have just made the modification, I will need to check this in the coming days, so after some more tests I will write another post on this.</p><p>I do have another of the MPPT controllers, and I have the idea to mount some other solar panels connected to this controller, for boosting the possible charge power.</p><p>For this I want to use two or three sets of 4x50W panels, mounted for "seeing the sun in different directions:</p><p>- One set on the South wall of the out-house, for winter/low angle sunlight.</p><p>- one at the West wall of the main house, for catching some late afternoon and evening light.</p><p>- maybe one at the other end of the garden, for catching some morning light.</p><p>While this adds up to a total of 600W peak power, I think that this will never be reached from this system, as the optimum angles for the 3 panel systems are too different. I suspect that it will end up providing max 300W for charging the shack battery.</p><p>Even in the winter this system should be able to power a minimum set of radios for some monitoring, but I do suspect that in midwinter it will probably need some assistance from mains power charging, if I want to operate more radios. We shall see.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-53306900511743504562023-06-24T13:32:00.001+01:002023-06-24T13:32:56.115+01:00FT8 Monitor Now On 6m. And IC-X02 update.<p>The receiver in the portable (handheld) CB radio, a multimode from Albrecht, I was using for 10m FT8 monitoring looks like a very poor choice. I have used it for 10m FT8 monitoring for a while, and while it does work, it is not very good.</p><p>If I will venture a guess, it is due to a poor performance of the PLL circuit. The FT8 signals look very wide, so I suspect excessive sideband noise.</p><p>The advantage was a relatively low power consumption, less than 120mA @ 12V. Good enough when using solar power.</p><p>The other reason to change is simply the season. It is the season for sporadic E (Es) propagation on the lower VHF bands, and occasionally on 2m.</p><p>So, for now I picked one of my FT817s to set up for FT8 monitoring. It does have a higher power consumption, 300-400mA @ 12V, but especially in the summer time it is working perfectly for 24/7 monitoring. The two inputs of the FT817 mean that I can also connect an HF or VHF/UHF antenna to the RX, and use it for FT8 monitoring for everything from 160m (630m?, 2200m?) to 70cm. One band at a time.</p><p>The 6m receive input is connected to the 6m part of my R6000 multiband HF/6m vertical, via a HF/6m diplexer.</p><p>This is the least efficient antenna I have for 6m, so if I can get signals on that one, it shows that 6m may be sufficiently open to make contacts with my station.</p><p><br /></p><p>Small update on the IC-X02 transceivers:</p><p>As I decided to use those mostly for monitoring SSB/CW on 6m/2m/70cm, I decided to leave the two IC202s as they are, only making the modification of the power plug.</p><p>The 6m one got a cable through the hole for the power supply plug/cable, so an external power supply only is used. I removed the battery connection inside the battery compartment, so it can be used for experiments like adding a CW filter and other niceties. For the 6m band monitoring I still need to build an amplifier/power splitter, so I can use the monitoring on at least 3 receivers: 50313USB for FT8, 50100USB for SSB/CW and 515xx (or so) for FM monitoring.</p><p>The IC202 #2 has a modified connection to the power plug, so I can use my standard cables/plugs for this one.</p><p>The IC202 #2 (heavily modified) and the IC402 still need power plug connections modified. The IC202 #1 also still needs some detective work to see what the modifications are doing. One is a switchable audio CW filter, so that is a start.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-42098206400134640912023-06-21T11:10:00.002+01:002023-06-21T11:10:27.178+01:00A Bit More on the IC X02s and Propagation Monitoring.<p> I have made some tests of the two IC202s, the IC402 and the IC502.</p><p>These are the preliminary results, essentially my notes after testing:</p><p>1) Ancient (my first) IC 202 #1 (2m):</p><p>Some modifications were made:</p><p>- Antenna connector changed to BNC and moved. PL connector disconnected.</p><p>- Telescopic antenna removed.</p><p>- Audio CW filter added with switch at the top. In working order.</p><p>- unknown veroboard with ??? circuitry connected to main board main connector.. Detective work needed.</p><p>- Some relay circuitry and ???. Detective work needed.</p><p>Most of the mods are in the original battery compartment, replaced with a copper clad PCB</p><p>- This one looks like it has a connector for an external VFO. Could be useful making a more stable LO. Need to find the appropriate info if I want to build/connect one.</p><p>- TX out CW: 30mW Detective work needed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Use as back end for transverter ot down converter?, or just 2m monitor (144.300)?</p><p><br /></p><p>2) Also a quite ancient IC 202 #2 (2m):</p><p>- PL connector replaced with N connector (good move).</p><p>- Some Veroboard modification at the mainboard main (long) connector. Detective work needed. Looks like RF output power control circuit. </p><p>- This one also looks like it has a connector for an external VFO. Could be useful making a more stable LO. Need to find the appropriate info if I want to build/connect one.</p><p>- Zero out put in CW. Detective work needed.</p><p>- Still needs a check.</p><p>Use as back end for transverter?</p><p><br /></p><p>3) IC 402 (70cm):</p><p>- quick check, and seems to be in working order.</p><p>- Need to change power connector (I do not have any "male" 3-pin-plus ground connectors for power cables, so will likely let a filtered cable out through the power connector opening.</p><p>- TX out CW: just under 3W @ 12.5V Looks OK.</p><p>Build external VFO? (e.g. in the battery compartment)</p><p><br /></p><p>4) IC 502:</p><p>- Checked the IC502. VFO looks rather unstable. Contact spray helped with RIT and a bit with the fine tuning. Still not quite good, but could be used for "fixed" frequency monitoring, e.g. +/-50.100.</p><p>Should probably (long term) be replaced by a Si5351 synthesizer w/Arduino control (e.g. in the battery compartment) </p><p>- Need to change power connector (I do not have any "male" 3-pin-plus ground connectors for power cables, so will likely let a filtered cable out through the power connector opening.</p><p>- TX out CW: 2W @ 12.5V Looks OK</p><p>Final result: </p><p>All radios seem to work fine in receive mode (a bit more testing, and maybe alignment, will be in order.</p><p>The '402 and the '502 appear to work nicely overall.</p><p>The two '202s need some work to get TX working properly again. Those could still be used as monitor receivers without problems.</p><p>Epilogue:</p><p>I do have some FT817s. One with a blown PA, the three others okay. Here is the thing:</p><p>I want to do as much general monitoring as possible on solar power. This means minimizing power consumption.</p><p>The IC-X02s use about 100mA @ 12.5VDC</p><p>The FT817s use 3-400mA. </p><p>So for monitoring, I could power 3 or 4 IC-X02s for the power that the FT817 draws. Yes, I want those up and running.</p><p>The IC-X02s will not be suitable if I want to monitor digital modes like FT8. for that I need to use the FT-817, maybe later build some simple crystal or PLL controlled receivers.</p><p>Yes, still far too many things to try out.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2936954281570243152.post-21288591621780086612023-06-18T12:02:00.002+01:002023-06-18T15:03:02.223+01:00Ancient Icom Radios: IC202 etc.As I am trying to get more radios up monitoring different frequencies, here are a few things to consider:<div><br /></div><div>First of all, building kits, and possibly modifying some of them are good for monitoring HF frequencies is a good idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, of all, for VHF monitoring, using the modern radios (with spectrum display etc) for all day monitoring, even when I am not close to the radios, seems to me like a waste of energy, as many of them use more than 1A, just in RX mode.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enter the old IC-202. I have two of them, one heavily modified (I need to determine what I did with them), one that I got later, and it seems to be in order. Those are good for some SSB/CW monitoring, where the exact frequency is not all to critical. The great advantage when using them for all day monitoring, when in the house, but not near the radios, is the much lower power consumption. </div><div>The IC202 is a 2m VXO controlled SSB/CW transceiver with max 3W out, and a stand-by RX current consumption of less than 100mA.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have another old ICOM in the same family: The IC-402 for 70cm. About 100mA consumption on that one, too. Good for 70cm monitoring. When checking that one, I found that I had not removed the old Alkaline batteries, but the leak did not appear to have caused damage. </div><div>The 402 could also be used as base receiver (or even transceiver) for down converters or transverters for microwave. </div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth transceiver found in the cupboard is the IC-502 for 6m. It covers 50-51MHz with a VFO, also with a current consumption of about 100mA. This one, I suspect will be a bit tricky to tune to the correct frequency, due to the larger coverage. For monitoring I may use one of the other transceivers to provide a "tuning aid".</div><div><br /></div><div>I am trying to run more and more of my operation on solar power, so the power consumption will be critical, especially in the winter time when very little sunshine is available. Reducing the stand-by RX current to about 350mA for 6m, 2m, 70cm all-day monitoring is a big step forward, compared to several amps used by the "big" radios, just for general monitoring of 50/144/432MHz.</div><div><br /></div><div>These radios will likely need to be checked and aligned, so here is another project for the late summer to winter activities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, the current solar power system still needs to be improved for winter use. Still, I expect to need to need topping up the battery storage in the months of December and January. That is okay, if I can use the station on (mainly) solar power most of the year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Update: Did a check of the IC-502. </div><div>The VFO frequency is rather unstable and very sensitive to very small movements in the casing.</div><div>Volume control and RIT/fine tuning (all with potentiometers)got some contact cleaning (without residue after cleaning), and so did the on/off/light switch.</div><div>The volume control and the RIT work perfectly now, as does the on/off/light switch.</div><div>I suspect that the fine tuning pot could get a better cleaning, as it still shows some roughness. This may require some disassembly of the set.</div><div>For now I will leave the set on for a while with low supply voltage (8V in place of 13.8V), to see if the electrolytic capacitors are in working order</div><div>I also have to remove the power connector, as I do not have a corresponding plug for the 3-pole connector mounted.</div><div>A modification for feeding power is needed. Probably using a cable soldered directly into the transceiver</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, after a longer power-on test, I think that this set can be used as a monitor receiver for, say, 50.100MHz, the general CW/SSB calling frequency.</div><div>Current consumption with moderate AF out was about 90mA, as I expected.</div><div><br /></div><div>For 50MHz general propagation monitoring I expect to use the 50MHz part of my R6000 for now. With a modest amplifier indoors, and a satellite/TV power splitter, I should be able to use that antenna for this, with at least two receivers connected:</div><div>- The IC-502 for SSB/CW</div><div>- The old Tokyo HyPower handheld for FT8 monitoring.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0