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spankmeister
Jun 15, 2008






i've always wondered if there are old crotchety ham dudes that refuse to use meters and talk about bands in imperial?

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Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
nah, a good bit of early radio development was done by europeans and metric was pretty in place at that time. you will hear them refer to hertz as "cycles" though sometimes. Also it seems as though HF frequencies on 40 meters and below are specified in KHz (or kc). "meet me on 7180" versus "meet me on 14.313*"


cjs: copied a CW CQ from one IW9HKM. listening to euro airwaves owns



*NO ITS A JOKE DONT GO TO 14.313

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

14.313, the superbowl of 20 meters

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
i want to get my General and set up an automated SSTV station that transmits a never-ending stream of corgi photos, one every five minutes

spankmeister
Jun 15, 2008






Jonny 290 posted:

nah, a good bit of early radio development was done by europeans and metric was pretty in place at that time. you will hear them refer to hertz as "cycles" though sometimes. Also it seems as though HF frequencies on 40 meters and below are specified in KHz (or kc). "meet me on 7180" versus "meet me on 14.313*"


cjs: copied a CW CQ from one IW9HKM. listening to euro airwaves owns



*NO ITS A JOKE DONT GO TO 14.313

Yeah the CB band here is still called 27MC for megacycles.

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp

atomicthumbs posted:

i want to get my General and set up an automated SSTV station that transmits a never-ending stream of corgi photos, one every five minutes

quite possibly the only possibly-NWS post in this thread









slow scan TV is the coolest thing.

Mundane and cute:





Tightening up the graphics on level 3:



going down the rabbit hole



funny, that doesn't look like a "tony"



wait



uhhh



hrm























And a cat to clean things up.

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
i'm the pussycat

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
ok after an hour of drills and a day of listening to 40m CW on the utwente SDR server, i'm almost 100% copy on anything below 10 WPM.

ive never actually made a CW QSO though so i'm skittish about all the prosigns and the protocol etc etc.


also i want a gd paddle


http://www.radioqth.net/cwmanual
http://cw.dimebank.com/cak/k6dbg/k6dbg_cw.html





i.....i think my beard is trying to level up


e: oh my god http://cw.dimebank.com:8080/ live streams of CNN's twitter feeds, converted to morse

Jonny 290 fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Mar 24, 2014

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

johnny if you want to practice on air when you get a key PM me

also, if you want to learn to use a paddle and keyer IMHO you should get a double lever paddle so you can learn iambic keying (more pro than traditional single-lever keying)

if you decide you want to go the traditional way by learning on a straight key look into SKCC (http://www.skccgroup.com/)

you can get a SKCC number (it's free) and hang out in the slow areas of 20 and 40 and you will find all kinds of people to help/work you. they will usually go as slow as you need them so and everyone is very patient. only catch is they only use manual keying

FISTS is another CW club but i'm not a member of it.

both FISTS and SKCC have activity nights and weekend mini-contests that are usually pretty fun.

i didn't bother using a straight key until later, i started with a paddle right off and it didn't kill me or anything contrary to what everyone says.

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
oh hell naw i'm not going to try to go nuts with a straight key, i used to be able to bang it out on a bencher twin paddle and i'll probably lean towards one of those unless the quality has gone to poo poo

this sounds like the perfect opportunity for an arduino keyer project too

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
got my RTLSDR and immediately rediscovered how bad all radio software is

can we hire a user interface designer or something? just one good program is all I ask

coffeetable
Feb 5, 2006

TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

quote:

In recent days Inmarsat developed a second innovative technique which considers the velocity of the aircraft relative to the satellite. Depending on this relative movement, the frequency received and transmitted will differ from its normal value, in much the same way that the sound of a passing car changes as it approaches and passes by. This is called the Doppler effect.

The Inmarsat technique analyses the difference between the frequency that the ground station expects to receive and one that is actually measured. This difference is the result of the Doppler effect and is known as the Burst Frequency Offset.

The Burst Frequency Offset changes depending on the location of the aircraft on an arc of possible positions, its direction of travel, and its speed. In order to establish confidence in its theory, Inmarsat checked its predictions using information obtained from six other B777 aircraft flying on the same day in various directions. There was good agreement.

While on the ground at Kuala Lumpur airport, and during the early stage of the flight, MH370 transmitted several messages. At this stage the location of the aircraft and the satellite were known, so it was possible to calculate system characteristics for the aircraft, satellite, and ground station.
During the flight the ground station logged the transmitted and received pulse frequencies at each handshake. Knowing the system characteristics and position of the satellite it was possible, considering aircraft performance, to determine where on each arc the calculated burst frequency offset fit best.

The analysis showed poor correlation with the Northern corridor, but good correlation with the Southern corridor, and depending on the ground speed of the aircraft it was then possible to estimate positions at 0011 UTC, at which the last complete handshake took place. I must emphasise that this is not the final position of the aircraft.

There is evidence of a partial handshake between the aircraft and ground station at 0019 UTC. At this time this transmission is not understood and is subject to further ongoing work.

No response was received from the aircraft at 0115 UTC, when the ground earth station sent the next log on / log off message. This indicates that the aircraft was no longer logged on to the network.

Therefore, sometime between 0011 UTC and 0115 UTC the aircraft was no longer able to communicate with the ground station. This is consistent with the maximum endurance of the aircraft.

This analysis by Inmarsat forms the basis for further study to attempt to determine the final position of the aircraft. Accordingly, the Malaysian investigation has set up an international working group, comprising agencies with expertise in satellite communications and aircraft performance, to take this work forward.

longer version (posted by malaysia on facebook lol)

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=740971779281171&id=178566888854999&stream_ref=10

coffeetable fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Mar 25, 2014

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

yeah the airline also apparently notified the passengers' families by text message

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
REDNECKS ON THE RAAAAAAAAADIO

quote:

An Oklahoma Amateur Extra class licensee is facing a $12,000 fine for operating his Citizens Band radio to “interfere with the communications of other CB stations,” the FCC said in a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) released March 21. In May 2013 an FCC agent used mobile direction-finding techniques to positively identify the source of a continuous carier of CB channel 19 (27.1850 MHz) to the residence of Orloff Haines, KF5IXX, in Enid, Oklahoma. Haines was not at home, but his wife showed the agent her husband’s CB station, which was transmitting on channel 19.



“Mrs Haines stated that Mr Haines was ‘keyed on,’ or continuously transmitting on channel 19, because other CB operators in the area were harassing her,” the FCC reported in the NAL. The agent telephoned Orloff Haines during the station inspection, and, the FCC said, he admitted that he was transmitting a continuous carrier on channel 19. Mrs Haines “voluntarily turned off” the CB transmitter at the end of the inspection. The FCC said the carrier was interfering with CB communication within an approximately 2 mile radius.

Prior to last May, Haines had received two written warnings from the Dallas FCC office, advising him of the consequences of intentionally interfering with other CB communications. “The fact that Mr Haines interfered with other CB communications despite being twice warned in writing that such actions violated [the Communications Act] and FCC rules demonstrates a deliberate disregard for the Commission’s requirements and authority,” the FCC said, in justifying an upward adjustment of $5000 in the proposed forfeiture.

The FCC gave Haines 30 days to pay the fine or file in writing for reduction or cancellation of the proposed fine.

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/radio-amateur-facing-substantial-fine-for-cb-violation

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

Jonny 290 posted:

REDNECKS ON THE RAAAAAAAAADIO

quote:

Prior to last May, Haines had received two written warnings from the Dallas FCC office, advising him of the consequences of intentionally interfering with other CB communications.

yeah... i think i'd probably knock it off when the feds sent me a letter

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
dude's wife is PISSED

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
off topic but the thing i think i like most about ham radio is its pretty blind to socio-economic status, even if its all white men for the most part. some redneck rear end dude from OK can pass the extra exam. theres a dude on local repeater who has his general license. he works construction and is like >50 years old. there's also a chemistry prof from the university and maybe even a doctor in the local club. Not a lot of things are like that, at least around here. idk i hope i don't sound like a rich kid right now i just think its rly cool

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

If anyone needs a 2m rig Gigaparts has a great deal on the TM-281A ($137)

http://www.gigaparts.com/Product-Li...gn=BuzzerBeater

Expires today I think

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
i dig those new big monobanders with the front firing speaker. wouldnt fit in the bimmer but i'd sure love to slam one in my truck, save an external speaker

e: "new" anything newer than mid 90's is a "new radio" to me. icom 746? thats a fuckin new radio! ts-2000? poo poo that thing still has the wrapping on it

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

yeah i have 12 year old icom v-8000. it puts out 70 watts and has a loud-as-poo poo 3 watt front-firing speaker that will wake the dead

i'll never get rid of it ever ever ever

i use it as a base now but back in the day i had it in my pontiac shitbird

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
70cm seems to get as much use as 2m here so id hold out for a dual bander

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
icom needs to make an updated R3 with a DSP and poo poo for decoding all sorts of things

longview
Dec 25, 2006

heh.
got my basic 23cm transceiver topology done for now, gonna build it as a front-end preamp+PA and remote modulator/discriminator, basically a transverter in a box near the antenna with two pin-diode switches for TX/RX switching

the transmitter will be a single conversion solution, modulating a 86.85 MHz carrier (true FM) using a VCO+synth, the front-end will mix it up to 1240-1300 MHz (LTC6946-1 VCO and LTC5510 active mixer), filter and amplify, a second T/R switch and a helical band pass filter, assuming i can hack it, will eliminate harmonics and image frequencies for the receiver
the receiver will use the same VCO in the front-end, but with 1-2 low noise MMICs to provide good front-end gain for a low noise floor, then mix it down with another mixer to 86.85 MHz, a basic BPF to eliminate images of the LO then transfer that over the same coax to the head-unit

the VCO and T/R will be controlled over a bidirectional serial bus, probably RS-422, i'll be using linear tech mixers and VCOs, the VCO has a SPI interface and they provide arduino code for all the interfacing and PLLWizard to calculate the settings and loop filter, I'll put a 10 MHz TCXO in the front-end and a separate one on the head-unit to provide stable timing

the head unit will have a matching T/R switch and a second microcontroller to provide a UI and control the second LO and general radio stuff
to make the TX signal a MC145170 based PLL circuit and a commercial VCO will be configured to generate a 86.86 MHz signal, by designing a slow loop filter overriding the tune signal from the synth should allow me to modulate the signal and the synth will make sure the average frequency is correct
a SAW filter with 50 kHz BW will ensure no splatter or harmonics are transmitted

for RX a MC3372 single conversion narrowband FM detector IC will be used directly on the 86 MHz LO, the modulator LO will have a selectable loop filter to provide a low phase-noise signal for the receiver, and the frequency will be offset by 455 kHz since the discriminator uses an internal mixer to demodulate at 455 kHz, obviously I'll disable the modulation input when receiving
the MC3372 also provides the RSSI metering, IF gain+limiter and squelching (i'll probably build my own soft squelch with a variable gain amp at some point though)

there's gonna be some IF amplifiers in there somewhere, just have to read the fine print wrt. levels in and out to ensure everything's to spec

the good part:
should provide good RX performance, although i had considered a triple or even quad conversion system i don't think there's enough interference sources to warrant that kind of over engineering
can add a bigger PA as needed
the head-unit could be modified for wide-band tx and RX without changing the front-end, just bypass the SAW filters
SAW filters are nice
could add an IF output port for a SDR dongle or second discriminator
can use standard RG-58 coax over to the front-end
should be fairly compact

the bad:
probably gonna take a few months before i can do any real testing, it's basically impossible to breadboard a QFN package with a thermal pad in the middle, so kind of hoping i get it right the first time
will require modified or two complete radio sets to do full duplex

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
One week left to try to grab TX6G

http://tx6g.com/




Fuckers. I've tried for them on 12, they are booming right in at 24.94 most afternoons, no luck yet though

split operation is weeeeird

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
my sdr dongle is cool but is there any way to get rid of this bullshit



and all the other apparently spurious signals scattered around which, since they stay in the same place on the waterfall as I tune, I'm guessing are generated by the tuner

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

just worked Mongolia on 10m CW

357 degrees from here, almost a complete polar path

on 10meters

at night

awesome

SO DEMANDING
Dec 27, 2003

atomicthumbs posted:

my sdr dongle is cool but is there any way to get rid of this bullshit



and all the other apparently spurious signals scattered around which, since they stay in the same place on the waterfall as I tune, I'm guessing are generated by the tuner

yeah, ive got loads of crap like that going on, trying to listen on police bands in the ~450MHz range and its a total mess. i dont know enough about radio to figure out if this is poo poo caused by the dongle, the crappy antenna, interference from poo poo in my room, a combination of all that, or what. gotta try getting this set up on my laptop, find a better spot for reception maybe

any recommendations for a better antenna for a total moron like myself? would want something relatively small and for indoor use. i know thats probably not optimal but im a total n00blord here with no electronics skills so stringing up a shitload of coax up in the attic or whatever isnt an option at this point.

SO DEMANDING
Dec 27, 2003

meanwhile ive started decoding pager signals! :munch:

HAS CATHETER BLOOD IN URINE

PLEASE CALL T1 AT 2610. THANKS, DICK im pretending "dick" is being used as an insult here

Strong need for Social Worke?r in the East Wing starting now.

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

SO DEMANDING posted:

meanwhile ive started decoding pager signals! :munch:

HAS CATHETER BLOOD IN URINE

PLEASE CALL T1 AT 2610. THANKS, DICK im pretending "dick" is being used as an insult here

Strong need for Social Worke?r in the East Wing starting now.

i like the beeps it makes at the end of the message its :3:


it looks like there's 2 discrete signals also



and why aren't those freqs in radio ref DB for my county?

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp

PuTTY riot posted:

i like the beeps it makes at the end of the message its :3:


it looks like there's 2 discrete signals also



and why aren't those freqs in radio ref DB for my county?

we were irc chattin bout this, its prob b/c technically pagers are illegal to receive/decode

its not like you cant find them. scan the bands and look for the loving enormous splattery FM signal that overloads the piss out of your radio

(as a ham i am sworn by generations of intermod-caused hate to despise pagers)

oh and

Dijkstra posted:

just worked Mongolia on 10m CW


this is really cool i am way inspired. 10 meters is one of those bands that i want to love and use all the time but its so rarely hot in my ham career. i came in at the top of a cycle in the 90s and talked to argentina with a borrowed hr-2510, but that was the extent of my HF experience till i was 22 and bought the 735. but then i was in poo poo apartments and it was the bottom of a solar cycle, radio habana was about all the fun i could have

now its great and though i'm going nuts packing up to move, i am trying to sort out my antennas for HF and operate a bit. my goal is to have basically a 100% complete field day class station, portable but still usable in a semi permanent environment. that way i can just load my radio case and antenna bag in the back of the blazer and go camp on a colorado hilltop for a weekend and work everybody i hear. better than trying to eke out a home station when i'll be renting for the next 5 yrs

Jonny 290 fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Mar 26, 2014

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
i've never heard of these guys but this could be some big news:

quote:

Connect Systems, Inc. has been building analog and DMR (MOTOTRBOtm compatible) digital handheld radios for commercial service pretty cheap. CEO Jerry Wanger recently learned that hams have been using them on the ham MOTOTRBO systems and getting pretty excited about them. So he's building a model tailored more for hams (keyboard programmable, etc), and he's planning a model that will combine MOTOTRBO and D-STAR. That would make his model CS7000 the first D-STAR radio not made by ICOM.*


http://connectsystems.com/index.html

their "untitled document" bad html page only lends credibility to their products imo. theyre probably too busy selling radios

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
More bloggin'

http://www.rtl-sdr.com/reverse-engineering-rf-controlled-ceiling-fan-rtl-sdr/


seriously people are hacking on all the RF systems with these things. we're at a big turning point, get on board if you're interested

longview
Dec 25, 2006

heh.

Jonny 290 posted:

i've never heard of these guys but this could be some big news:



http://connectsystems.com/index.html

their "untitled document" bad html page only lends credibility to their products imo. theyre probably too busy selling radios

whoah sweet, a combination dmr/dv radio would be great for the dmr community, i've been considering buying a dmr radio for a while so getting a useful dstar radio at the same time would be a big plus for me

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

Jonny 290 posted:

More bloggin'

http://www.rtl-sdr.com/reverse-engineering-rf-controlled-ceiling-fan-rtl-sdr/


seriously people are hacking on all the RF systems with these things. we're at a big turning point, get on board if you're interested

dis owns i wanna automate all the fans + garage door and poo poo.



also if i had a repeater that could send sms somewhere else i could do a wireless alarm system w/ no monthly fee. thats still acceptable amateur-type use right?

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
honestly i am still trying to slog through all the 'unattended station' rules because i want to build a simplex repeater, and want to make sure it's done legally

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
when googling for that i found this gem

quote:

Dear Mr. Decho:

On August 23, 2001, we wrote you in reference to a March 20, 2001 complaint that your repeater system KE6FX operating on Mt. Disappointment in the Los Angeles area on 447.250 MHz was causing interference to coordinated repeater WA6UZS. The March 20 complaint stated that your repeater was not coordinated, operated 10 kHz away from WA6UZS, sometimes operated in a beacon mode and sometimes identified every ten minutes 24 hours a day without input.

Our August 23 letter stated that there were also reports of dead carriers that last for weeks, a tone that lasted continuously for three weeks, weekends of 2 meter repeater rebroadcasts and a repeating CW identification that lasted for weeks. Finally we pointed out that it appeared that the system was operated with no apparent control operator, during which times violations of the Amateur Radio Service rules were taking place. We requested that you provide certain information regarding the operation of KE6FX, pursuant to Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

We stated in our August 23 letter that, under Section 97.205 of the Commission's rules, you are responsible for preventing interference to the WA6UZS system. We further stated that the beacon identifier that you were been using with no operational input, the re-broadcasting of other repeater traffic, any dead carriers, continuous tones or repeating CW identifier must cease immediately; and that normal repeater traffic, if any, must not interfere with WA6UZS. We notified you that failure to protect the coordinated repeater WA6UZS would result in enforcement sanctions ranging from license revocation to a monetary forfeiture.

You responded by letter dated September 10, 2001 raising various arguments and general complaints about frequency coordination for repeaters and other matters. You stated that "KE6FX has for the last 20 years operated as a remotely controlled base station, using frequencies above 220 MHz for remote control of a synthesized VHF transceiver, to communicate with the general Amateur population on Two meters".

You claimed that as a "remote base", KE6FX in Los Angeles does not need coordination. You have, on the other hand, submitted out of date coordination documents. You raised various objections to frequency coordination principles but without any indication whatsoever of what steps you were taking to resolve the interference.

For over two years your Mt. Disappointment KE6FX station has been characterized by lack of control and identification problems. For example, In April 2000 it broadcast a continuous tone on 447.250 for 9 days. On July 4, 2000, it broadcast a CW "P" every second, with identification every 8 to 10 minutes, for over 6 hours. On July 8, 2000, it re-broadcast repeater traffic from 145.300 all day with no other identification.

On July 25, 2000 KE6FX on Mt. Disappointment was broadcasting a dead carrier and had been doing so for over 64 hours. When the control operator was contacted, he stated that he had been "out of town and had not noticed the problem". In January 2001 KE6FX was identifying every 8 to 10 minutes twenty-four hours a day in CW without any input activity. All of these problems occurred even though you had knowledge of interference allegations.

Over the July 4 , 2002 holiday period, re-broadcast of other repeater traffic by K6CPT lasted for eleven hours while numerous attempts were made by the WA6UZS repeater personnel to contact you. In an August 27, 2002 response, you stated that over the July 4 holiday you operated the station to monitor the K6CPT Disaster Communications Service because that was "a good way to keep tabs" on any possible activations. However, you stated that you were not a DCS member, but that your control operator was a DCS member. You stated that your control operator "cannot hear K6CPT except through the KE6FX auxiliary". Finally, you stated to this office that you were aware of attempts by WA6UZS to contact you, but ignored those attempts.

http://utahvhfs.org/fcc_coord.html

duTrieux.
Oct 9, 2003

Jonny 290 posted:

honestly i am still trying to slog through all the 'unattended station' rules because i want to build a simplex repeater, and want to make sure it's done legally

another example of FASCIST GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS keeping down the hard-working business-man THANKS OBAMA

Dijkstra
May 21, 2002

i don't know whats more annoying, the slurring rednecks on 75 meters complaining about obama or SA posters doing ironically

spankmeister
Jun 15, 2008






Dijkstra posted:

i don't know whats more annoying, the slurring rednecks on 75 meters complaining about obama or SA posters doing ironically

it's ur posting

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atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
hmm multipsk can decode a whole bunch of digital modes, AND directly control an RTLSDR dongle. guess I'll give it a tr

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