|
This thing is fine. I picked it from amongst the cheap ones because it was used in a lot of smart peoples’ youtubes. It doesn’t feel as heavy as I’d like, and I find the knob arrangement unintuitive, but it works. DC Power Supply Adjustable (30V 5/10A), Eventek Variable Switching Regulated Digital Power Supply with Alligator Leads US Power Cord (30V 10A) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TW8H2S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_AVM3WFG4C3N3FSBW9GX3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
|
# ? May 28, 2021 00:55 |
|
|
# ? Jun 13, 2024 05:27 |
|
powerful arguments
|
# ? May 28, 2021 00:57 |
|
hopefully by the time im studied up ill still be able to do the test online because honestly gently caress going out to do it in meatspace i want to gently caress around with radios not feel weirdly patronized by people three times my age
|
# ? May 28, 2021 03:16 |
|
Pham Nuwen posted:I need a bench power supply for building small stuff. I just need something that can put out 0-24V and a few amps that won't set my workbench on fire. God knows I'd love to get a good HP unit or something but they go for a lot--I'd like to stay around $100 or so. Recommendations? I see a bunch of stuff around $60 on Amazon, most of which look to be the same hardware in a slightly different case with different knob positions and, occasionally, labels like "VOLTACE"... I use the https://powerwerx.com/ss30dv-desktop-dc-power-supply-powerpole for powering most of the things I use for radios, the bench DC power supply I got is pretty lovely in the sense that trying to dial in exact volts/watts/whatever is a pain, but I don't have any issues using it on electronic projects. So basically, my understanding of DC bench supplies is they'll work, but how long is the thing. If you're just doing hobby poo poo, you probably wouldn't notice a variable in the power waveform.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 03:53 |
|
that you should have no problem with( online testing ). the pandemic brought in a lot of new people to the hobby and at the same time a few places built out a network of volunteer examination coordinators and some software to do it all online. Its how I upgraded my license during the pandemic. would recommend https://hamstudy.org is the big one. Local clubs are doing zoom meeting tests periodically as well if you have contact with someone locally.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 04:00 |
|
hbag is in the uk
|
# ? May 28, 2021 16:05 |
|
hbag posted:hopefully by the time im studied up ill still be able to do the test online because honestly i am excited and will help you along the way (as will everybody else in this thread!) the only way we're gonna save ham radio from the boomers is to get younger people into it and then we wait for grandpa to keel over.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 17:48 |
|
I checked Craigslist, found a misspelled listing, and scored a Tektronix PS280 for $100. It's pretty drat clean:
|
# ? May 28, 2021 21:18 |
|
Well, I did a rather ill-advised power experiment today and killed my Kenwood F6/7 handheld. I’m looking at opening it up now (just need something thin for the locking nuts) and wondering how hard the repair is. I’m assuming I’ve blown the fuses somehow. If that isn’t it though I’ve no idea what I’ve done. Anyone here with any experience in this area? Was trying to feed the battery terminals using another radio’s battery. Definitely double checked the terminals. Not sure how I could have killed it. Voltage was absolutely the same.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 21:24 |
|
I'll put good money on the 'reverse polarity protection diode' fritzing out. See if you can track that down and inspect, i bet it's failed closed-in-both-directions.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 21:54 |
|
Jonny 290 posted:I'll put good money on the 'reverse polarity protection diode' fritzing out. See if you can track that down and inspect, i bet it's failed closed-in-both-directions. Looks like possibly a few to check? I still need to get into the thing. Those diodes usually break when something goes wrong with the DC in I thought? Not through the battery terminals, but I suppose it would be stupid to not have it protect the battery inputs too. http://www.fracassi.net/iw2ntf/manuali/kenwood_th-f6_th-f7_serv.pdf
|
# ? May 28, 2021 22:03 |
|
Jonny 290 posted:I'll put good money on the 'reverse polarity protection diode' fritzing out. See if you can track that down and inspect, i bet it's failed closed-in-both-directions. I did a stupid "how many volts is too many" thing with my Yaesu, and it make smoke come out, and replacing the fuse was not enough. It wound up being the zener diode, which I replaced, and now everything works great again. During the diagnosis and repair, I learned that the only reason the zener diode was put on the board was so it would destroy itself if an idiot like me were to provide too much voltage. The zener diode is a special little bugger, which fails closed. So you get one rated for like 18 volts, and then when some jackass puts 19 volts into your thing rated at 10-15 volts, the zener diode fails, suddenly there's a short circuit, and the fuse blows. It's pretty clever!
|
# ? May 28, 2021 22:20 |
|
hahah, yeah. That's traditionally called a crowbar circuit (because if the voltage rises too high, a 50 amp Astron lets a zener diode 'drop a crowbar on the terminals') but outsourcing the VERY IMPORTANT 'fuse before the crowbar' part is pretty novel.
|
# ? May 28, 2021 22:25 |
|
Jonny 290 posted:hahah, yeah. That's traditionally called a crowbar circuit (because if the voltage rises too high, a 50 amp Astron lets a zener diode 'drop a crowbar on the terminals') but outsourcing the VERY IMPORTANT 'fuse before the crowbar' part is pretty novel. I guess if you leave the fuse out and short the zener diode, you have a "somebody else's problem" circuit. Maybe a "lol I hope you have a switching power supply" circuit?
|
# ? May 28, 2021 22:33 |
hbag posted:hopefully by the time im studied up ill still be able to do the test online because honestly I did my online testing for Technician and General with PARC. They were efficient, but friendly. Just do what they tell you to do and don't question them. It was $15 for each test. You have to use a laptop and phone logged into Zoom. I have a phone holder and tripod and that worked out really well both times. Set up my laptop on a camping table in the bathroom.
|
|
# ? May 28, 2021 22:46 |
|
I think D2 and D6 in the schematic may be the diodes I need to look at. I think I have identified where they are on the PCBs so now it’s just a case of disassembling the boards :-/ So, probes on each side, and if they make my meter buzz in both directions the diode has failed, right? And my meter has to be diode test mode? Never checked one before. If those are broken I’ll see what I can replace them with, but I also assume some wire or a blob of solder if possible would also do it? And then no more pissing about with it ever again, Christ... thehustler fucked around with this message at 07:08 on May 29, 2021 |
# ? May 28, 2021 23:18 |
|
thehustler posted:I think D2 and D6 in the schematic may be the diodes I need to look at. I think I have identified where they are on the PCBs so now it’s just a case of disassembling the boards :-/ I'm pretty sure you need to take the diodes out in order to test them. I had to, anyway. And just get the replacement part, don't jury rig your protecting circuit.
|
# ? May 29, 2021 00:47 |
|
Update: this is too small, I’m bailing before I break it more. How much are F6/F7s worth for parts?
|
# ? May 29, 2021 13:35 |
|
thehustler posted:Update: this is too small, I’m bailing before I break it more. How much are F6/F7s worth for parts? This is your chance to learn SMD soldering! Go get a gikfun kit on Amazon and some flux and maybe a new tip, and go nuts! My bad diode wound up being a big ol through hole component. But now I know how to do surface mount work, and I'm really glad I do.
|
# ? May 29, 2021 14:41 |
|
cruft posted:This is your chance to learn SMD soldering! Go get a gikfun kit on Amazon and some flux and maybe a new tip, and go nuts! Heh, these are definitely SMDs... I don’t know, it also wants me to desolder some things to gain further access and at that point if I can get 50-100 pounds back for it it’s essentially most of a new handheld.
|
# ? May 29, 2021 14:56 |
|
Aw man. I hope you can get it fixed, I’d hate if my F6 bit the dust.
|
# ? May 30, 2021 04:11 |
|
manero posted:Aw man. I hope you can get it fixed, I’d hate if my F6 bit the dust. I am taking it surprisingly well because I know any outburst would be ridiculous because I caused this all on my own, but yep. It's the best little radio and I can't listen to HF anymore and now I have decisions to make. Edit: Another down (up?) side is that I don't get to hear the local older guys badmouthing people on 144.300
|
# ? May 30, 2021 12:03 |
|
Do I need an 878, or is an 868 just fine for like 99% of use cases? You can tell I’m rocketing towards a decision here. £30 extra doesn’t seem worth it for APRS - what else can an 878 do? The 868 is a better bet than an analogue-only radio like a Yaesu FT4X, which seems stupid to buy in 2021. And it means I still have some pennies left for an FT817 later in the year.
|
# ? May 30, 2021 14:04 |
|
thehustler posted:Do I need an 878, or is an 868 just fine for like 99% of use cases? I personally dig APRS, but I don't know how good the implementation is on the 878. I also don't have any experience with the Anytone radios, or DMR in general really. It might be worth it just to have the flexibility down the road if you decide to get into APRS though. E: According to this thread, it's TX-only at fixed intervals, and doesn't receive/decode APRS packets, which IMO is just as useful. So maybe not worth the extra cost. manero fucked around with this message at 15:05 on May 30, 2021 |
# ? May 30, 2021 15:02 |
|
The main difference between the 878 and 868 is 150k vs 200k users of contact memory. I think there’s like 180k registered users worldwide, but you don’t really need to carry the whole list if you want to save some money. The new 878Plus has analog APRS decode, but it’s a big jump in price. I paid extra for the Bluetooth module in my 878 but I’ve never used it.
|
# ? May 30, 2021 15:18 |
|
I think that’s decision made on the 868 then, but awaiting some other Internet canvassing too. 878 has Bluetooth but only the later model which is even more expensive. Also I just remembered I broke my handheld. That was silly, wasn’t it?
|
# ? May 30, 2021 15:48 |
|
Hidden node problem aside, I consider it irresponsible to run a TX-only APRS transmitter. Save a few bucks imo.
|
# ? Jun 1, 2021 22:25 |
|
Fairly new to DMR, and am playing around with programming. To program in a cluster like this: Do I program in talkgroup 2, or talkgroup 310593?
|
# ? Jun 4, 2021 18:02 |
|
blugu64 posted:Fairly new to DMR, and am playing around with programming. To program in a cluster like this: It's Time Slot 2 into Talk Group 310593 if that's the TG you're trying to connect to. This is an indicator though that it's a dynamic list and the radio making the request can use the timeslot for another talk group.
|
# ? Jun 4, 2021 22:34 |
|
drunk mutt posted:It's Time Slot 2 into Talk Group 310593 if that's the TG you're trying to connect to. This is an indicator though that it's a dynamic list and the radio making the request can use the timeslot for another talk group. Perfect thank you. I wasn’t quite sure about that 2-> in the icon. It’s a repeater local talkgroup, and I wanted to check that it was kosher to hop on talkgroup 1 and explore. Though looking at the logs it’s not terribly busy.
|
# ? Jun 5, 2021 00:42 |
|
blugu64 posted:Perfect thank you. I wasn’t quite sure about that 2-> in the icon. It’s a repeater local talkgroup, and I wanted to check that it was kosher to hop on talkgroup 1 and explore. Though looking at the logs it’s not terribly busy. Generally repeaters will use TS 1 for a static linked group for locals, and use TS 2 to allow people to connect to TGs on their radio's will. It becomes difficult when the time slot is heavily used, as you'll get pushed out of your TG from time to time.
|
# ? Jun 5, 2021 01:54 |
|
got my hf rig receiving (not trying transmission with this setup yet) after being lazy with my license for almost a full year; just recording wwv this week (can't hear rwm well enough unfortunately) for this: https://hamsci.org/june-2021-eclipse-festival-frequency-measurement surprised at how well a g5rv mini is working in nyc, the cw is pretty clear
|
# ? Jun 7, 2021 19:14 |
|
I posted these on the Discord but may as well share them here too. I did ISS SSTV for the first time today after previously doing some terrestrial QSOs with it. It came out so well for a first attempt and I can't believe I got images from space. Antenna was the Slim Jim up the 4 metre pole, which I had assumed would be poo poo for this kind of work, especially with a 39 deg elevation pass. I had expected to need a beam of some kind. But no, extremely loud signal even given the extra distance and it was an incredibly easy copy. The sight of me jumping and punching the air in the park would have been amusing to onlookers, certainly. I also brought my neighbour along for the fun who was not expecting it to be quite so good and was quite excited by the whole thing. Ace afternoon in the sunshine, best radio fun in ages. https://imgur.com/a/ZxlGQX1
|
# ? Jun 11, 2021 10:32 |
|
thehustler posted:I posted these on the Discord but may as well share them here too. I did ISS SSTV for the first time today after previously doing some terrestrial QSOs with it. It came out so well for a first attempt and I can't believe I got images from space. super cool! that's the radio trick that made me want to get a license in the first place years ago, so i should get on doing that myself after all this time, thanks for the reminder!
|
# ? Jun 12, 2021 16:22 |
|
ARISS SSTV event from June 21-26: http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/2021/06/ariss-amateur-radio-on-shuttle-mir-and.html?m=1
|
# ? Jun 14, 2021 20:37 |
|
thehustler posted:ARISS SSTV event from June 21-26: http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/2021/06/ariss-amateur-radio-on-shuttle-mir-and.html?m=1 drat didn't expect another so soon, lots of overflight opportunities
|
# ? Jun 15, 2021 14:58 |
|
xpost from the yos thread built an outdoor tuner used it to tune up 2/3 of an old antron 99 that i gutted check the capacitance hat! Two 60 foot radials strung along the chainlink fence and it's pulling in 40m really well. the switches let me bypass and (later on) switch in a second matching network. bypassed my autotuners will tune 40 through 10 inclusive and the manual tuner obviously has no problems and its perfectly resonant on 30m in bypass without even trying for it except for 10 bucks of switches and the box everything was scrap/out of the junkbox Jonny 290 fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Jun 21, 2021 |
# ? Jun 21, 2021 04:43 |
|
Are there any rfi from those electrical thingamajings in the picture?
|
# ? Jun 23, 2021 18:14 |
|
Reasonably quiet. I hear some peoples' laptop chargers now and then but the transformer and fiber box is clean
|
# ? Jun 23, 2021 18:47 |
|
|
# ? Jun 13, 2024 05:27 |
|
I am studying for Tech. I don't want to use this crappy baofeng anymore! What HT and antenna combo will let me hit digipeaters/sats from a good distance?
|
# ? Jun 24, 2021 03:15 |