The Official amateur radio thread

Chris Wilson · 26 Feb 2018 at 12:28

RTL SDR stick are very limiting if you want to go on HF or LF, far better to spend a bit more on a Softrock SDR receiver. best bang for the buck IMHO.

My Softrocks hear the equal of a Kenwood TS-590 which is highly rated and many many times more expensive. Network wise the KiwiSDR seems superb, you can monitor one on your PC remotely at :

http://g0lujkiwi.ddns.net:8073/?f=1823.5cwz6

Ian_Eb · 26 Apr 2018 at 16:39

Bought cheapo Baofeng for now. Just to get an idea of what is/isn't happening around here (Not much on the standard antenna)

Chris Wilson · 26 Apr 2018 at 16:48

My experience of these is they need a decent outside VHF antenna in many areas
, but then they work well

Ian_Eb · 27 Apr 2018 at 12:22

Oddly enough, I was going to say that the built in antenna is less than stellar.

Given current budget constraints, I may have to build an antenna rather than buy.

Chris Wilson · 27 Apr 2018 at 12:46

I bought a better (bigger) handie mounted one off Ebay that was a marked improvement, but where I am I can only open one repeater with it on its own aerial, and then only if I stand outside in JUST the right spot.

Chris Wilson · 27 Apr 2018 at 12:54

I am very keen on low frequency work on 2200 meters (137kHz), and was honoured to achieve the world first two way QSO across the Atlantic from here in Shropshire to Maine USA by normal licence holders last month. We used home built aerials in our respective gardens and slow Morse and I ran about one thousand Watts and N1BUG in Maine about four hundred Watts. I said to the wife "We are in the history books!". She asked if the royalties would pay the current (BIG) electric bill.... They just don't understand, do they?

Ian_Eb · 27 Apr 2018 at 14:05

Marvellous. Now to do it on 100mW or something :-)

On a more serious note, any sensible (cheap) designs for 2m/70cm base type antennae? Currently FM only so vertical polarisation i guess :-)

Chris Wilson · 27 Apr 2018 at 14:07

Copper J Pole is as cheap as chips to make. 70 cmms and 2m easily made. (And a kilowatt into an antenna as inefficient as this on 2200 meters is actually less than 1W ERP

)

Feek · 27 Apr 2018 at 15:04

Chris Wilson said:
(And a kilowatt into an antenna as inefficient as this on 2200 meters is actually less than 1W ERP )

Just as well, aren't we limited to 1W ERP on 2200m?

Chris Wilson · 27 Apr 2018 at 15:29

We are indeed, but it takes a bit of doing getting a genuine 1W ERP, I can tell you. If a market opens for dead FET's I am a wealthy guy

stigggeh · 27 May 2019 at 21:23

@Feek did I dream it or did you have a hexbeam on the tower? If so could you signpost me to pictures.

Cheers

Feek · 27 May 2019 at 21:38

Yup.

The birds love it.

Ian_Eb · 21 Jul 2019 at 23:44

So, just obtained an Alinco Sr-DX8 from a friend of a friend. It came with an EDX2 antenna tuner for use with long wires. All connected up and appears fine, but I either have an issue with the radio, tuner or antenna. Don't even. get BBC R4 on 198 LW. Any thoughts at all?

I am thinking at first to just throw a wire out and go directly to the radio to see if that changes anything. if it does, then I will revisit the tuner and long wire. If not, then I suppose I need to take it and get it checked on a known good antenna etc? Does that sound a reasonable set of steps?

Feek · 22 Jul 2019 at 07:40

I'm not sure that tuner would be good on 198kHz. If you want to find a frequency that's going to be busy every day during daylight hours, tune to 14,074.000 kHz USB and see if you hear data noises in 15 second bursts. If you're not hearing anything there whatsoever then I'd get the radio checked.

Ian_Eb · 22 Jul 2019 at 10:04

Lovely. Last time I did anything on HF was probably 30 years ago, so I am somewhat rust on whats likely to be on anywhere.

Ian_Eb · 23 Jul 2019 at 14:30

Maybe getting somewhere.

Replaced the antenna with a Nooelec Balun-one-nine and approx 4m or bog standard tri-rated 0.75mm cable on each side (Red if you're interested

) R4 on 198 suddenly appears and a whole load more stuff besides.

Beginning to look like the ATU has a fault of some sort which is not switching the antenna in circuit on receive. Off to scopes and circuit diagrams then!

Feek · 23 Jul 2019 at 14:41

That's good, you'd rather it was the tuner than the wireless.

Chris Wilson · 23 Jul 2019 at 15:07

Glad you are getting somewhere, how how will the rig tune? My pal G6ECH is here and commandeered the aerial to try out his amp I built for him yesterday. He's on WSPR dial frequency 474.200 kHz. In Congleton he should be a strong signal. Ideally you need a resonated antenna and a band pass filter to remove the commercial stations, but worth a go if it will tune down there? Not enough people on MF and LF!! The TX audio on those rigs has always been really good, underrated bit of kit IMHO.

EDIT:

He's getting out, the thing seems to work! It's just a single FET amp driven with 0dBm from my TS-590

2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 -12 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0RDT JO11tm 452 107
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 -24 0 IO82qv 0.2 M0AQY IO81re 190 178
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 +15 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0LUJ IO83ls 101 344
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 +9 0 IO82qv 0.2 M1LCR IO82od 84 188
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475751 -15 0 IO82qv 0.2 G4ZFQ IO90ir 258 159
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475751 -18 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0EHG JO22hb 499 98
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475751 -5 0 IO82qv 0.2 G8LCO IO91vu 201 124
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 -6 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0EZY/SDR1 IO93ln 129 54
2019-07-23 13:58 G6ECH 0.475750 -13 0 IO82qv 0.2 SWUKSDR/2 IO80pw 218 182
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 +9 0 IO82qv 0.2 M1LCR IO82od 84 188
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 -14 0 IO82qv 0.2 SWUKSDR/2 IO80pw 218 182
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 -6 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0EZY/SDR1 IO93ln 129 54
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475751 -18 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0EHG JO22hb 499 98
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475751 -6 0 IO82qv 0.2 G8LCO IO91vu 201 124
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 -12 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0RDT JO11tm 452 107
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 -24 0 IO82qv 0.2 M0AQY IO81re 190 178
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475750 +14 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0LUJ IO83ls 101 344
2019-07-23 13:56 G6ECH 0.475751 -15 0 IO82qv 0.2 G4ZFQ IO90ir 258 159
2019-07-23 13:52 G6ECH 0.475750 +14 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0LUJ IO83ls 101 344
2019-07-23 13:52 G6ECH 0.475750 -24 0 IO82qv 0.2 M0AQY IO81re 190 178
2019-07-23 13:52 G6ECH 0.475750 -6 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0EZY/SDR1 IO93ln 129 54
2019-07-23 13:52 G6ECH 0.475750 -14 0 IO82qv 0.2 SWUKSDR/2 IO80pw 218 182
2019-07-23 13:52 G6ECH 0.475750 -11 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0RDT JO11tm 452 107
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475750 +9 0 IO82qv 0.2 M1LCR IO82od 84 188
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475752 -15 0 IO82qv 0.2 G4ZFQ IO90ir 258 159
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475752 -18 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0EHG JO22hb 499 98
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475752 -6 0 IO82qv 0.2 G8LCO IO91vu 201 124
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 -30 0 IO82qv 0.2 PI4THT JO32kf 646 93
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 -5 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0EZY/SDR1 IO93ln 129 54
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 -13 0 IO82qv 0.2 SWUKSDR/2 IO80pw 218 182
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 -11 0 IO82qv 0.2 PA0RDT JO11tm 452 107
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 -25 0 IO82qv 0.2 M0AQY IO81re 190 178
2019-07-23 13:38 G6ECH 0.475751 +14 0 IO82qv 0.2 G0LUJ IO83ls 101 344

Ian_Eb · 23 Jul 2019 at 15:46

Not back in front of anything until later. Will get the tuner off the wall and begin investigations.

Feek · 28 Jul 2019 at 17:31

I've been hanging aerials all day ready for next weekend.

(Holy huge image, batman)

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