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I've programmed old Motorola gear from the 90's. Vintage computers do make this easier, I have an old 386 "laptop" that has been useful. That said I did successfully use dosbox emulator and a usb to rs-232 converter on a GM300 in early 2015 successfully on a "modern" windows 7 PC. Edit: on the dosbox emulator I had to turn the CPU speed WAY down to make things work right. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Oct 1, 2016 |
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Oct 1, 2016 05:04
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:I've programmed old Motorola gear from the 90's. Vintage computers do make this easier, I have an old 386 "laptop" that has been useful. That said I did successfully use dosbox emulator and a usb to rs-232 converter on a GM300 in early 2015 successfully on a "modern" windows 7 PC. I used to do that with some old Kenwood TK-250Gs, but this runs in Windows XP/Vista/7. I tried d/l a Virtualbox image of Windows 7 but had trouble getting the usb to serial dongle configured. I cleaned out my shed a few days ago and found a copy of Win XP, may try to find a machine I can install it on.
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Oct 7, 2016 01:27
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Hey guys, Bought myself a Baofeng UV-82, just getting used to it. However, when I try to put in new frequences in frequency mode, when I enter the last digit it says CANCELLED and resets the digits. How do I work around that? I've added the frequences I want to use using CHIRP, on this and both my UV-5R but the 82 can talk to the 5R but the 82 can't hear the 5R, even through the CHIRP settings are the exact same. Any advice on these problems? Thanks!
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Oct 7, 2016 01:42
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StuntKid posted:Hey guys, Check your frequency step mode when inputting frequencies manually. Amateur frequencies tend to be in 5khz steps, but public service uses 6.25, so there will be frequencies that can't be entered in one mode or the other because they don't line up. If both radios are on the same freq and not talking, you've either got a coded squelch set, or you're transmitting on an offset.
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Oct 7, 2016 03:04
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I made some progress on the Galaxy 5 Transceiver. I found a seller on ebay that offered a kit to make a new 6ft interconnect cable for the Heathkit HP-23 Power Supply. I happened to have the correct female cinch-jones plug to mate with the Galaxy. Soldered up the the cable and replaced one dried out electrolytic cap in the power supply and this is the result: https://youtu.be/yrOkI1rcOmM  Galaxy 5 Is Alive! I'm not out of the woods yet. The 10 meter band is dead, from what I can tell it's looking like a dirty or corroded bandswitch. The S meter works during final tuneup but is non-responsive on receive. The radio has some paper and small electrolytic caps in the solid state audio output stage that definitely need to go before I can put it into everyday use. The tuning vernier is full of dried grease and stiffer than it should be, but all in all, I consider this to be pretty good progress for one evening. Edit: I forgot one thing. The 12VDC rail needed to operate the RX/TX relay and transistor audio amplifier for the speaker is being fed by a wall wort from a long dead linksys router. The Heathkit doesn't have a 12vdc rail but there is an unused 6.3V 5A filament winding on the power transformer that I will eventually use to drive a rectifier and voltage doubler to get the 12V 1A I need rather than the janky Linksys hackjob. MullardEL34 fucked around with this message at 09:43 on Oct 10, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 06:43
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Sorry for the double post but here's a couple shots of the vacuum bulbs. Its amazingly compact for a tube rig. These were very popular as HF mobile rigs in the 60s. This one came with a massive under dash mounting bracket that I will never ever use. 
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Oct 10, 2016 21:20
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Neat stuff! Makes me want to start making a vacuum tube CW transmitter.
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Oct 11, 2016 13:38
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My homemade CW paddle got extremely hot a few minutes ago. I made a homebrew CW paddle for my FT-450D out of a binder clip. A friend and I were trying to see if we could reach each other on 40m so we picked a frequency and I started keying. I kept increasing the power until 100w. After a few moments, I had to stop. The binder clip kept getting hotter and hotter so I unplugged it and stopped touching it. The antenna I'm using is an end fed wire, about 30ft long, hooked up to a 9:1 UnUn, with no counterpoise. There's about 20 feet of coax between the radio and the feedpoint. It's going into an antenna tuner, as well. Did I experience an RF burn? It wasn't a zap. The binder clip just got really hot to the touch (and continued to be for a few seconds after I unplugged it). Is this a grounding issue?
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Oct 13, 2016 01:18
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That was not an RF burn. You would not have been able to keep touching it, and it would not have been hot after unplugging. If you get an RF burn, you would not ask if it was an RF burn. Imagine a very sharp, stinging, pain that goes straight through your skin to your bone... nothing else I've felt is like it. If it was hot, the only thing that causes is too many amps for a given conductor size.
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Oct 13, 2016 03:11
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you need a counterpoise and some RF choking at your antenna feedpoint. if there is no other side of the antenna, it _will_ use the coax as a counterpoise and shoot RF back up the shield. end fed wires should be renamed 'very close to fed-at-one-end-dipoles' - even a 0.05 wavelength counterpoise is often plenty - but it's gotta have something to work against.
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Oct 13, 2016 05:22
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:That was not an RF burn. You would not have been able to keep touching it, and it would not have been hot after unplugging. If you get an RF burn, you would not ask if it was an RF burn. Imagine a very sharp, stinging, pain that goes straight through your skin to your bone... nothing else I've felt is like it. Are you referring to the gauge of the antenna wire? Sorry for all this... I'm just new to the hobby. Jonny 290 posted:you need a counterpoise and some RF choking at your antenna feedpoint. if there is no other side of the antenna, it _will_ use the coax as a counterpoise and shoot RF back up the shield.
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Oct 13, 2016 05:30
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Macintosh HD posted:Are you referring to the gauge of the antenna wire? Sorry for all this... I'm just new to the hobby. No I’d be referring to the conductor size in your home-made paddle. That said the radio shouldn't be putting alot of current through it so I dunno. To Jonny's point you do need a counterpoise so RF was floating around but the way you describe the burn it doesn’t' sound like RF to me. Granted I've only ever been bit once, so for all I know RF burns could manifest themselves in differnet ways. Easiest way to test this theory is with a dummy load, plug that in the radio and try the home-made paddle again and see what happens. If you are still getting burned you got some issues to investigate, if you don't then it must have been an RF thing because of end fed wires. (It is worth noting the one time I got an RF burn was when I was loving around with an end fed wire. I have not even contemplated end fed wires since.)
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Oct 13, 2016 12:34
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:No I’d be referring to the conductor size in your home-made paddle. That said the radio shouldn't be putting alot of current through it so I dunno. To Jonny's point you do need a counterpoise so RF was floating around but the way you describe the burn it doesn’t' sound like RF to me. Granted I've only ever been bit once, so for all I know RF burns could manifest themselves in differnet ways. Thanks. I'll try it out with a dummy load. I forgot to mention that the paddle does not get hot when using it with the radio's keyer without transmitting. That makes me believe the issue isn't with the keyer itself.
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Oct 13, 2016 15:54
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Can't say I've experienced RF burn myself, but is it possible he was touching a high-current point in a standing wave? In a normal, resonant dipole, the point closest to the feed is usually high-current, low-voltage, while the ends are high-voltage, low-current. Wikipedia images demonstrating this  I'm making shots in the dark here, I don't actually have a good enough understanding of RF behavior to know if I'm talking out my rear end or not. In light of all the shady dorm antennas and things I've done just to play around on the airwaves, I'm actually surprised I don't have more first-hand experience. xergm fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Oct 13, 2016 |
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Oct 13, 2016 16:04
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Well, this is th le "paddle" I was touching. It's just a home brew I made to mess around with before buying one. http://m.imgur.com/FvZXBRI?r The binder clip is common ground and each paper clip is a conductor. It only got hot when transmitting, not practicing with the radio's keyer. EDIT: I switched out the end fed antenna with a 20m dipole for testing and the paddle did not get hot. It must have been the lack of counterpoise on the endfed? Macintosh HD fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Oct 13, 2016 |
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Oct 13, 2016 16:49
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In that event, yes, you did experience an RF burn due to no counterpoise.
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Oct 13, 2016 19:44
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Keen on getting into HAM but i'm in the middle of london. I bought a baofeng HT and programmed in the local repeaters but i get jackshit when i tune into those frequencies. Really don't want to drop £500 on a fancy radio to see if like the hobby. Thinking of dropping into the local hackspace to get help there but so busy at work at the moment not going to have much time in the evenings. Are there any good simple antenna designs that work well in cities?
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Oct 16, 2016 22:23
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the stock antenna on the baofengs is pretty garbage, yeah. Something like a quarter wave whip would probably fare better. I would imagine tons of activity in London, for sure. This is just an example but you might want to pick up something like this. Basically pay attention to the length, you want something 15" or longer. https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-NA-771-15-6-Inch-SMA-Female-BaoFeng/dp/B00KC4PWQQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1476653420&sr=8-3
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Oct 16, 2016 22:33
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Jonny 290 posted:the stock antenna on the baofengs is pretty garbage, yeah. Something like a quarter wave whip would probably fare better. I would imagine tons of activity in London, for sure. I bought a replacement antenna already though i'll have a look at getting that. Got access to a roof so happy to mount something relatively discrete there too if its not too costly to build
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Oct 16, 2016 22:37
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I have that Nagoya and it is much improved from the stock stubby. I also have one of these ladder line things soldered into a jpole and the reception is incredible: http://www.2wayelectronix.com/ . You can look around as a bunch of people make them, or you could make one yourself.
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Oct 16, 2016 22:57
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Jonny 290 posted:the stock antenna on the baofengs is pretty garbage, yeah. Something like a quarter wave whip would probably fare better. I would imagine tons of activity in London, for sure. Thanks for posting that link! I picked up a Baefeng UV-5RV2+ off of amazon just to dick around with picking things up until I get my license. Coworker is letting me borrow his ARRL handbook too!  I think I should just go ahead and get a better antenna for this thing in the meantime, too.
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Oct 16, 2016 23:04
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It's burgin' time! 
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Finally got the old radio in the mail, an Alinco DJ-580 with manual and everything. Have no idea what I'm doing currently but it is in great shape.
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Oct 16, 2016 23:31
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those were seriously good HTs from the golden age, when manufacturers cranked out beautiful full size dual banders with full duplex and all sorts of neat toys. An excellent radio. e: go to repeaterbook.com and do a proximity search from your location, program in everything on 2m and 70cm within 30 miles, program in 146.520 (the national simplex frequency), and hit scan
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Oct 16, 2016 23:54
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So totally last minute, but seeing this thread reminded me that I should try to get something going on my business trip next week. I'll be in Singapore. Every search I've made so far turns up what look like either outdated or disappointing information on getting permissions to transmit there as a US license holder. Anyone here have any experience pulling this off?
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Oct 17, 2016 02:03
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Looks grim, and one of those situations where if it was 6 months out and you knew a Singapore ham, you'd have a chance...otherwise....yeah, see the sights.
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Oct 17, 2016 02:22
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Jonny 290 posted:Looks grim, and one of those situations where if it was 6 months out and you knew a Singapore ham, you'd have a chance...otherwise....yeah, see the sights. lol yup, that's what I thought. Since it's a legit site for my company I just might be back so I'm willing to play the long game here if it makes any sense.
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Oct 17, 2016 03:22
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What better way to test receiver sensitivity of my new SDR Play RSP than to listen to post-debate ragchew on 80m.  Seriously though, I'm really impressed by this little thing so far. xergm fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Oct 20, 2016 |
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Oct 20, 2016 04:29
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What do you have it hooked into?
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Oct 20, 2016 04:51
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Directly into my tuner, which is fed by an open-wire dipole. I can't say how it performs against >$1000 SDR rigs, but I think it's worth the extra price compared to an RTL dongle if you're just listening around. Buying a decent RTL stick and an upconverter already puts you halfway there in terms of price, and this just has much better resolution. Way more fun hunting for signals too when you've theoretically got 10MHz worth of bandwidth*. *Greatly depends on your USB port's bandwidth. I was able to get around 8MHz before my USB port failed to keep up.
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Oct 20, 2016 14:21
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Finally got something on one of the repeaters in london. It was diarrhoea chat and moaning about women drivers, might have been because it was during the day though.
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Oct 20, 2016 21:45
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Loving Africa Chaps posted:Finally got something on one of the repeaters in london. It was diarrhoea chat and moaning about women drivers, might have been because it was during the day though. Sounds like a 2m repeater.
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Oct 22, 2016 17:32
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Working CW with an Intel Compute Stick and a Heathkit HW-100.  The Galaxy V has been sidelined for the time being because the bandswitch has a cracked wafer. I'll have to keep digging through "surprise bins" at Electronic Surplus International until I come up with something suitable. http://www.electronicsurplus.com/ 
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Oct 23, 2016 08:28
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Is there a secret to soldering the braid on coax? I just built my first antenna (a full-wave helical broadcast FM receive antenna I attached to a $10 clock radio just to try it out) out of some solid core wire and coax and everything soldered fine but even with my iron cranked up, supplemental flux, and years of regular soldering experience the stuff just beads right off the shielding.
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Nov 5, 2016 05:04
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poeticoddity posted:Is there a secret to soldering the braid on coax? I just built my first antenna (a full-wave helical broadcast FM receive antenna I attached to a $10 clock radio just to try it out) out of some solid core wire and coax and everything soldered fine but even with my iron cranked up, supplemental flux, and years of regular soldering experience the stuff just beads right off the shielding. Are you using standard 75 ohm coax? I've seen some of that stuff seems to have either aluminium or surface coated braiding + foil that won't solder at all. Standard RG-58 is almost always a pure copper braid or a tinned copper braid that sucks solder right up.
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Nov 5, 2016 12:53
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longview posted:Are you using standard 75 ohm coax? I've seen some of that stuff seems to have either aluminium or surface coated braiding + foil that won't solder at all. Yeah, I picked up the cheapest 75 ohm coax I could find at Walmart for this particular experiment. It's good to know that the issue is the coating and that I haven't become woefully terrible at soldering. Thanks. I'll have to look around at my local options for coax and see if that beats internet ordering options.
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Nov 5, 2016 17:02
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The cheap stuff usually has aluminum or some other form of compromise metal for the shielding braid. i nipped the end off my LMR400 spool to show Good Braid - here it's tinned copper. Solders right up.  There's a reason the clamp/compression F connectors for 75 ohm cable is so popular - no soldering needed, or possible. however, I bought a 50 footer of 75 ohm coax from Home Depot to feed my 20m delta loop and it had nice copper braid instead of the aluminum crap. Kinda just luck of the draw.
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Nov 5, 2016 20:29
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Jonny 290 posted:The cheap stuff usually has aluminum or some other form of compromise metal for the shielding braid. I appreciate that you took the time to show a good braid, and I'll be on the look-out for that while I search for coax.
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Nov 5, 2016 23:18
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Just a question from someone who knows very little about modern amateur radio. My interest comes from the world of aviation. I have been helping out quite a bit with the Stratux ADS-B project and cannot make full use of it because the network of ground stations simply do not exist (and probably never will) in Canada. I'm thinking that because Stratux uses SDR's and can be tuned to just about any frequency why not make my own ground station operating on an amateur band (with the appropriate lisences). Is this a stupid idea? Is a constant digital broadcast like this frowned upon in the amateur radio world? I there already a network that can handle the data required to transmit weather data (Mostly text based but also radar imagery).
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Nov 12, 2016 22:45
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helno posted:Just a question from someone who knows very little about modern amateur radio. Yeah that's totally something people do! One example is APRS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Packet_Reporting_System Google mapped transmitters here: http://aprs.fi
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Nov 12, 2016 23:10
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I had seen APRS and am wondering if it can handle the volume of data required to transmit weather radar. There appear to be ways to automatically upload METAR's to it so that is nice. Where things get a bit fishy is do I just start a web service pulling data from official sources and sending them to the APRS network via the intenet and it will automatically get broadcast by the network? There appears to be a guy with a tower in my town so I might just have to get in touch with him and go from there.
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Nov 13, 2016 00:33
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