Support QRP CoA Everywhere

Monday 28 December 2009

GQRP Winter sports

Having fun sending what is probably really bad cw from shack (brr it's cold in here).

tx is a FCC-1/FCC-2 dds vfo fed to a hastily built, on the dinning room table, J310/2N3904/2N4401 buffer and a IRF510 PA and LPF. I key the drive to the buffer stage, with the PA voltage being constantly applied, (Look at the TX circuit in the HB-1A, I copied it). I think I get about 4.8W out but not sure my VSWR has gone open circuit and it's too damned cold to fix it. The MFJ-993 tuner says 4.8W but it's never accurate at low power.

There is a norcal power meter I built last summer in a box in the shack somewhere but not found it.

rx is softrock V9.0 using a separate antenna (long wire, non resonant) with Simon Brown HB9DRV new SDR-Radio software.

I was going to use the SR V6.2 I have as a tcvr but using that right now for a MOBO build.

Keying is using a K1EL keyer chip.

Lots of fun....

Sunday 20 December 2009

Salvaging Components using B&Q 1800W heat gun

Was asked what and how...Salvaging Components using B&Q 1800W heat gun.

I have a somewhat huge pile of PCB with both through hole and smd components and it is time to clear some shack space out.

I used to salvage with a normal soldering iron and suction pump. This is a faster but needs a bit of care to always produce usable components, especially where they have plastic involved.

Through hole is easy, clamp the PCB vertically in a vice, with the component side partially facing downwards. Then with the heat gun running hot for a few seconds before you bring it near the board bring it up to the solder side. It takes seconds only for the solder to heat up enough and the components fall out or you have to 'encourage them' with a pair of long nose pliers. If you work from the top of the board and move to the bottom in time the board will be completely salvaged. The leads can be bent over so this might cause a problem so you may need to pull them out..

For smd the method is a little different, the board is best held in one hand, the solder is heated to point where it is melted slightly, then with the board held over an aluminium foil sheet on a hard board hit one corner hard, either hit the PCB onto the board or hit the pcb above the board. It will be a matter of trial and error but you will soon figure out how hard. Anyway, a nice pile of solder splatters and components will appear. IC are obvious, R will have values on them but C and L will not. I found an easy way to ID the L was to mark the L SMD with a small permanent marker (fine gold spot).

Note that SMD discrete components range in size from 0402 to 1206.

Some PCB seem to be much more susceptable to burning before the solder melts so the ability to salvage components will vary.

Only do this in a location with LOTS of ventilation as all sorts of fumes will be created. And exercise extreme care with some components, especially small electrolytic or tantalum capacitors will have a tendancy to 'detonate' if over heated so only apply heat to the solder side.

The B&Q heat gun by itself has a 2" nozzle, this works but it also has a couple of attachment nozzles and I started with the 2" reduce to 1" reduction adapter. This may be enough but I also dug through the copper pipe connectors in the garage (we had some plumbing done) and found a 22mm to 15mm reduction adapter and this fits exactly in between the heat gun adapter and the main nozzle. I added some self tapping screws to keep the adapters in place.

NB Use a set of safety glasses when doing this along with a set of leather gloves so you don't burn your hands. Proceed without either and frankly you are asking for trouble.

Make sure you have a bucket of water or similar close by if the board bursts into flames, one will at least! I measured the jet of air produced from the heat gun after 10 minutes running and it was at almost 600 degrees C. The nozzle will stay very hot for a long time after use, as will the salvaged PCB so keep fingers away unless you want to remove all finger prints from them and don't bring anything flamable close by.

I would not use the method on a board you intend to use again afterwards.

Saturday 19 December 2009

SDR Remote Update

Been in the shack today, braving the cold, salvaging components from some PCB (B&Q 1800W heat gun) and listening to remote users using the 80m SDR rig. There seemed to be a contest on this w/e as I heard plenty of "cqx2 test".

I also swapped the setup SLA as it had dropped below 12V, that was the first time in 4 days operating, so not bad, and most at minus something too! The laptop and subsequent WiFi network connection is kept running with a large 110AH leisure battery with a solar panel recharge that operates during daylight.

Yes it really is a 96KHz laptop sound card. The 80m SoftRock Lite II kit provides a simple to build SDR receiver with a fixed center frequency of approximately 3.522 MHz. When used with a sound card that can sample at 96 kHz, the band coverage is from below 3.50 MHz to about 3.57 Mhz. Note I have really good isolation interface filters between the Softrock and the PC sound card so the signal should be very clean, no central bump. If you scan through the other SDR-IQ and Softrocks on the remote server lst you'll soon see who has not done this.

Eventually when you use the console you will be able to set the centre frequency to 3.522MHz but Simon had not included that functionality yet.


So what will you get if you log in (this was a capture running my own server remote just now, a high resolution image too open it in another browser window) ignore most of the garbage below 3.5MHz, the big broad signal. The lowest part of the band is actually just below 3.500 on the scale (the calibration is really in terms of KHz either side of a central point). As you can see plenty of 80m cw signals. Obviously 80m during the day in UK is going to be pretty quiet, night time has much more activity.

Someone emailed and asked who had logged in and from how many countries... I've not analysed it yet but the country count is growing fast!

Simon's software automatically grabs the logged in user, system name and IP address and logs it. This is from the server. The empty entries seem to be caused when the server was restarted.

Start End User Country Address
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19/12/2009 15:56:59 19/12/2009 16:00:31 sv3fuk on SHACK European Union 150.140.229.211
19/12/2009 15:53:53 19/12/2009 15:54:54 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.64.141.105
19/12/2009 15:36:40 19/12/2009 15:37:50 Chris on BACKROOM2 United Kingdom 80.5.212.144
19/12/2009 15:22:28 19/12/2009 15:22:46 1 on 1-PC United Kingdom 86.130.55.242
19/12/2009 14:51:44 19/12/2009 14:55:57 Paulo on PCP-AFA6EF46EF1 Brazil 189.41.244.184
19/12/2009 14:41:22 19/12/2009 14:42:15 Paulo on PCP-AFA6EF46EF1 Brazil 189.41.244.184
19/12/2009 14:30:53 19/12/2009 14:31:46 Administrator on PC4DUAL Canada 99.251.242.2
19/12/2009 14:11:37 19/12/2009 14:12:30 EMILIO on EMILIO_DESKTOP Netherlands 83.163.119.185
19/12/2009 06:11:24 19/12/2009 06:12:21 Mark Millman on BACKSTREETS United States 24.193.186.176
19/12/2009 05:05:39 19/12/2009 05:15:58 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 72.152.253.86
19/12/2009 00:52:03 19/12/2009 00:55:28 Bill on BILLNETBOOK United States 64.183.182.249
18/12/2009 22:45:12 18/12/2009 22:47:07 lipe on LEN8 Italy 217.201.71.140
18/12/2009 22:15:17 18/12/2009 22:20:06 Wilfried on PC306 Germany 84.140.65.4
18/12/2009 21:46:55 18/12/2009 21:47:14 nyadmin on RADIO1 Denmark 94.145.68.23
18/12/2009 21:15:37 18/12/2009 21:21:44 hp on HP-PC Brazil 201.15.162.183
18/12/2009 20:42:51 18/12/2009 20:43:58 gary on UP-9BEB2F679254 United States 75.47.101.166
17/12/2009 17:27:29 17/12/2009 17:29:42 Ted on YOUR-LYUHSZGO6D United States 141.158.214.70
17/12/2009 17:20:37 17/12/2009 17:21:14 steih on P4-2600 Germany 77.0.124.181
17/12/2009 16:31:30 17/12/2009 16:53:56 sv3fuk on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.231.59
17/12/2009 16:02:00 17/12/2009 16:02:57 Helmut on MINI Germany 217.95.19.185
17/12/2009 15:59:28 17/12/2009 16:00:02 BobanS on SER011 Spain 79.148.108.201
17/12/2009 15:22:03 17/12/2009 15:23:33 VICTOR on SAMLAB Russian Federation 91.189.54.4
17/12/2009 13:13:50 17/12/2009 13:16:10 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.64.155.92
17/12/2009 12:56:35 17/12/2009 12:56:57 david on DKPH-DAVID United Kingdom 86.27.112.222
17/12/2009 10:51:51 17/12/2009 10:52:20 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.84.221
17/12/2009 09:57:53 17/12/2009 09:58:17 gebruiker on XPULTIMATE Netherlands 94.213.166.96
17/12/2009 07:46:51 17/12/2009 07:47:04 david on DKPH-DAVID United Kingdom 86.27.112.222
17/12/2009 05:04:22 17/12/2009 05:12:40 Dave Flack on DAVEF United States 98.234.187.74
17/12/2009 04:33:01 17/12/2009 04:33:46 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 72.152.247.161
17/12/2009 04:19:28 17/12/2009 04:21:17 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 72.152.247.161
17/12/2009 03:26:07 17/12/2009 03:30:22 Mike on MIKE-PC United Kingdom 94.6.194.127
17/12/2009 03:04:58 17/12/2009 03:11:29 David Wagner on DWAG-ASUS United States 173.18.226.255
17/12/2009 02:07:26 17/12/2009 02:10:55 ku7y on SHACK United States 70.210.172.185
17/12/2009 01:48:15 17/12/2009 01:49:12 Owner on HAMSHACK United States 66.24.214.144
17/12/2009 00:10:53 17/12/2009 00:21:27 Chuck on CHUCK-LAPTOP United States 68.3.112.234
17/12/2009 00:08:54 17/12/2009 00:10:48 Chuck on CHUCK-LAPTOP United States 68.3.112.234
16/12/2009 23:24:44 16/12/2009 23:25:32 jvdijk on LTJVD02 Netherlands 83.163.23.129
16/12/2009 23:22:11 16/12/2009 23:23:14 jvdijk on LTJVD02 Netherlands 83.163.23.129
16/12/2009 23:14:39 16/12/2009 23:15:14 jvdijk on LTJVD02 Netherlands 83.163.23.129
16/12/2009 22:57:46 16/12/2009 22:58:04 Halbardier on MEDION Belgium 91.179.242.244
16/12/2009 22:48:20 16/12/2009 22:55:11 LEANNE GRAY on LEANNEGRAY-NTBK United Kingdom 86.138.29.99
16/12/2009 22:36:47 16/12/2009 22:37:40 giles on COMPUTER United Kingdom 82.32.98.152
16/12/2009 22:32:48 16/12/2009 22:35:12 Halbardier on MEDION Belgium 91.179.242.244
16/12/2009 22:28:11 16/12/2009 22:29:58 piotto on ADRIANO Italy 79.44.252.80
16/12/2009 22:00:37 16/12/2009 22:02:20 david on DKPH-DAVID United Kingdom 86.27.112.222
16/12/2009 21:53:25 16/12/2009 21:56:46 wac on YOY Poland 79.191.243.100
16/12/2009 16:51:43 16/12/2009 16:53:29 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.66.254.169
16/12/2009 16:48:22 16/12/2009 16:49:44 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.66.254.169
16/12/2009 16:25:24 16/12/2009 16:28:17 HP_Administrator on MEDIA_CENTER United States 68.109.119.103
16/12/2009 15:31:22 16/12/2009 15:32:04 Milt1 on MILT2 United States 76.233.36.199
16/12/2009 10:56:44 16/12/2009 10:58:39 Steen Nielsen on STEENSDV5204 Denmark 94.145.68.23
16/12/2009 10:18:01 16/12/2009 10:19:23 1 on 1-PC United Kingdom 81.155.112.212
16/12/2009 10:03:48 16/12/2009 10:06:00 Compaq_Propriétaire on NOM-EB85C523610 France 82.249.5.200
16/12/2009 08:13:03 16/12/2009 08:14:03 Steen Nielsen on STEENSDV5204 Denmark 94.145.68.23
16/12/2009 07:52:02 16/12/2009 07:53:18 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
16/12/2009 07:25:19 16/12/2009 07:26:53 Administrator on JOHNHP United States 173.16.134.240
16/12/2009 07:15:36 16/12/2009 07:22:32 Administrator on JOHNHP United States 173.16.134.240
16/12/2009 07:13:39 16/12/2009 07:14:58 Sergei on SERGEI-9255D212 Russian Federation 195.46.32.117
16/12/2009 06:03:10 16/12/2009 06:07:03 Administrator on JOHNHP United States 173.16.134.240
16/12/2009 04:48:57 16/12/2009 04:49:48 Drew on DREW-PC United States 98.229.128.228
16/12/2009 04:34:23 16/12/2009 04:36:39 Alex on YOUR-BQC30SBMP9 Singapore 121.7.76.176
16/12/2009 04:30:16 16/12/2009 04:30:47 joe on DON-83SFVV3KH7S United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:27:51 16/12/2009 04:29:25 joe on DON-83SFVV3KH7S United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:23:11 16/12/2009 04:26:11 joe on DON-83SFVV3KH7S United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:21:44 16/12/2009 04:22:38 joe on DON-83SFVV3KH7S United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:16:01 16/12/2009 04:16:20 joe on JOE6 United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:12:14 16/12/2009 04:13:40 joe on JOE6 United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 04:08:15 16/12/2009 04:12:09 joe on JOE6 United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 03:58:29 16/12/2009 03:59:28 joe on JOE6 United States 72.49.253.215
16/12/2009 03:35:11 16/12/2009 03:35:46 Sonny on SONNY-PC United States 71.114.170.121
16/12/2009 02:45:00 16/12/2009 02:46:18 Gene on GENES-PC United States 67.189.197.110
16/12/2009 02:21:09 16/12/2009 02:23:18 Compaq_Owner on YOUR-27E1513D96 United States 75.51.167.126
16/12/2009 02:11:43 16/12/2009 02:13:59 Owner on HAMSHACK United States 66.24.214.144
16/12/2009 01:07:47 16/12/2009 01:08:48 mew on MEW-PC United States 12.53.73.251
16/12/2009 00:41:01 16/12/2009 00:41:35 Steen Nielsen on STEENSDV5204 Denmark 94.145.68.23
16/12/2009 00:31:02 16/12/2009 00:31:08 Sid on SIDRADIO United States 76.31.163.148
16/12/2009 00:18:35 16/12/2009 00:20:39 Neil on FAMILYRO-40A5E7 Canada 174.3.119.78
16/12/2009 00:09:30 16/12/2009 00:09:55 Administrator on SX270 United States 71.246.230.146
15/12/2009 23:59:22 16/12/2009 00:08:58 Administrator on SX270 United States 71.246.230.146
15/12/2009 23:37:04 15/12/2009 23:38:19 Halbardier on MEDION Belgium 91.179.242.244
15/12/2009 23:19:05 15/12/2009 23:22:24 Milt1 on MILT2 United States 76.233.36.199
15/12/2009 23:16:09 15/12/2009 23:16:48 fkuepper on FRANK01 Germany 188.101.30.226
15/12/2009 23:00:32 15/12/2009 23:06:14 Halbardier on MEDION Belgium 91.179.242.244
15/12/2009 22:42:43 15/12/2009 22:44:38 Korisnik on HOME Montenegro 95.155.34.79
15/12/2009 22:37:51 15/12/2009 22:39:44 fbaldini on FBALDINI France 88.121.21.142
15/12/2009 22:06:10 15/12/2009 22:33:57 fbaldini on FBALDINI France 88.121.21.142
15/12/2009 22:03:25 15/12/2009 22:04:43 Jan on DESKTOPJAN Netherlands 83.82.27.207
15/12/2009 21:13:43 15/12/2009 21:14:40 giles on COMPUTER United Kingdom 82.32.98.152
15/12/2009 21:10:47 15/12/2009 21:11:19 sd on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.233.113
15/12/2009 21:07:20 15/12/2009 21:10:21 sd on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.233.113
15/12/2009 20:42:02 15/12/2009 20:43:01 sd on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.233.113
15/12/2009 20:38:06 15/12/2009 20:41:46 sd on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.233.113
15/12/2009 20:28:18 15/12/2009 20:34:07 Claudio on PIANO-TERRA Italy 93.149.134.97
15/12/2009 20:25:42 15/12/2009 20:28:15 Claudio on PIANO-TERRA Italy 93.149.134.97
15/12/2009 20:18:48 15/12/2009 20:20:02 Denis on PORTABLE-F6CRP France 90.38.208.218
15/12/2009 20:10:55 15/12/2009 20:18:37 Marco on HB9CAT Switzerland 62.2.97.187
15/12/2009 19:58:51 15/12/2009 20:02:35 sd on E232ECC382B84A4 European Union 150.140.233.113
15/12/2009 19:45:32 15/12/2009 19:48:33 Helmut on MINI Germany 217.95.45.108
15/12/2009 19:14:10 15/12/2009 19:14:38 User on USER-PC United Kingdom 86.145.44.220
15/12/2009 19:02:54 15/12/2009 19:04:16 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.69.169
15/12/2009 17:34:34 15/12/2009 17:38:55 Dom on ACER-2E68C49B20 United Kingdom 213.106.83.43
15/12/2009 17:24:12 15/12/2009 17:26:03 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.82.139
15/12/2009 17:00:52 15/12/2009 17:04:09 rob on M0TFO United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
15/12/2009 16:59:50 15/12/2009 17:00:23 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
15/12/2009 16:48:12 15/12/2009 16:59:32 rob on M0TFO United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
15/12/2009 16:40:58 15/12/2009 16:41:50 Terry Netbook on TERRY-NETBOOK United Kingdom 86.141.34.249
15/12/2009 16:36:13 15/12/2009 16:36:55 User on RADIO-GX745 United Kingdom 195.137.78.53
15/12/2009 16:27:14 15/12/2009 16:27:28
15/12/2009 16:26:40 15/12/2009 16:27:12
15/12/2009 16:13:38 15/12/2009 16:16:21 rsaue on NETRUNNER Norway 81.166.167.202
15/12/2009 16:10:36 15/12/2009 16:11:21
15/12/2009 15:03:24 15/12/2009 15:04:06 SEQUE on XPC-NOIR France 82.239.40.10
15/12/2009 15:02:46 15/12/2009 15:02:50
15/12/2009 15:02:22 15/12/2009 15:02:40
15/12/2009 14:58:29 15/12/2009 14:58:40
15/12/2009 14:47:52 15/12/2009 14:48:19 Besitzer on PC3 Germany 91.2.5.33
15/12/2009 14:38:05 15/12/2009 14:38:36 Besitzer on PC3 Germany 91.2.5.33
15/12/2009 14:33:00 15/12/2009 14:33:03
15/12/2009 14:27:02 15/12/2009 14:27:43 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.91.184
15/12/2009 14:11:33 15/12/2009 14:12:02 Admin on HOME-C6ADAE6368 Russian Federation 217.17.179.70
15/12/2009 13:53:35 15/12/2009 13:54:34 Wilfried on PC306 Germany 84.140.56.38
15/12/2009 13:39:50 15/12/2009 13:39:57
15/12/2009 13:39:32 15/12/2009 13:39:43
15/12/2009 13:39:12 15/12/2009 13:39:21
15/12/2009 13:33:22 15/12/2009 13:33:27
15/12/2009 13:28:23 15/12/2009 13:28:41 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.91.184
15/12/2009 13:27:46 15/12/2009 13:28:10 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.91.184
15/12/2009 13:27:24 15/12/2009 13:27:44
15/12/2009 13:24:48 15/12/2009 13:24:55
15/12/2009 13:24:32 15/12/2009 13:24:41
15/12/2009 13:24:11 15/12/2009 13:24:28
15/12/2009 13:22:42 15/12/2009 13:23:17 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.91.184
15/12/2009 12:43:54 15/12/2009 12:44:09 Robin on DELL United Kingdom 91.111.57.53
15/12/2009 12:40:26 15/12/2009 12:42:11 Robin on DELL United Kingdom 91.111.57.53
15/12/2009 12:26:18 15/12/2009 12:26:59 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 12:22:28 15/12/2009 12:23:10 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 12:22:09 15/12/2009 12:22:21 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 12:15:18 15/12/2009 12:16:53 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 12:10:34 15/12/2009 12:15:02 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 12:06:29 15/12/2009 12:07:21 Stephen Cannon on POLARIS United States 71.33.9.130
15/12/2009 12:02:59 15/12/2009 12:03:48 Stephen Cannon on POLARIS United States 71.33.9.130
15/12/2009 11:53:57 15/12/2009 11:55:44 Alan on OLDTIMER-04C3BB United Kingdom 87.127.140.58
15/12/2009 11:43:30 15/12/2009 11:44:27 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.253
15/12/2009 11:21:02 15/12/2009 11:21:43 Compaq_Proprietario on BEPPE Italy 213.178.194.162
15/12/2009 11:07:44 15/12/2009 11:08:32 RV9OK on HOME Russian Federation 95.79.100.20
15/12/2009 10:11:08 15/12/2009 10:12:31 Terry on G4POP United Kingdom 86.141.34.249
15/12/2009 10:09:40 15/12/2009 10:10:09 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 10:08:55 15/12/2009 10:09:35 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 10:06:47 15/12/2009 10:07:24 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 10:04:45 15/12/2009 10:05:03 Chuck on CHUCK-LAPTOP United States 68.3.112.234
15/12/2009 10:04:04 15/12/2009 10:04:35 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 10:03:02 15/12/2009 10:03:48 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 10:02:47 15/12/2009 10:03:00 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 09:56:31 15/12/2009 09:56:53 Chuck on CHUCK-LAPTOP United States 68.3.112.234
15/12/2009 09:55:56 15/12/2009 09:56:15 PE2RDH on HAMRADIO Netherlands 84.245.24.163
15/12/2009 09:51:17 15/12/2009 09:55:01 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 09:50:49 15/12/2009 09:51:03 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 09:50:37 15/12/2009 09:50:48 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 09:49:21 15/12/2009 09:50:36 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
15/12/2009 09:34:45 15/12/2009 09:35:32 Omistaja on HOME-622SMYP9YU Finland 85.131.94.121
15/12/2009 09:24:47 15/12/2009 09:24:52 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
15/12/2009 09:23:35 15/12/2009 09:24:45 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
15/12/2009 09:16:48 15/12/2009 09:17:26 Compaq_Propriétaire on NOM-EB85C523610 France 82.252.213.54
15/12/2009 09:07:12 15/12/2009 09:09:15 PE2RDH on HAMRADIO Netherlands 84.245.24.163
15/12/2009 08:35:43 15/12/2009 08:35:54 rob on M0TFO United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
15/12/2009 08:12:26 15/12/2009 08:12:54 Mike on MIKE-PC United Kingdom 86.20.39.27
15/12/2009 06:58:57 15/12/2009 06:59:05 Roelf Mitton on private-cdqs64f South Africa 41.245.108.13
15/12/2009 06:57:29 15/12/2009 06:58:54 Roelf Mitton on private-cdqs64f South Africa 41.245.108.13
15/12/2009 06:03:44 15/12/2009 06:06:03 Administrator on SX270 United States 71.246.230.146
15/12/2009 06:02:09 15/12/2009 06:03:38 Administrator on SX270 United States 71.246.230.146
15/12/2009 02:08:08 15/12/2009 02:09:05 Admin on ADMIN-PC United States 63.83.236.163
15/12/2009 02:02:03 15/12/2009 02:02:38 neil on SHACK-43561C282 Canada 174.3.119.78
15/12/2009 00:50:04 15/12/2009 00:50:53 mew on MEW-PC United States 12.53.73.251
15/12/2009 00:48:42 15/12/2009 00:49:49 Marco on HB9CAT Switzerland 62.2.97.187
15/12/2009 00:48:00 15/12/2009 00:48:35 Marco on HB9CAT Switzerland 62.2.97.187
15/12/2009 00:39:52 15/12/2009 00:40:35 neil on SHACK-43561C282 Canada 174.3.119.78
15/12/2009 00:39:36 15/12/2009 00:39:48 mew on MEW-PC United States 12.53.73.251
15/12/2009 00:39:02 15/12/2009 00:39:32 mew on MEW-PC United States 12.53.73.251
14/12/2009 23:55:01 14/12/2009 23:55:23 Drew on DREW-PC United States 98.229.128.228
14/12/2009 23:10:23 14/12/2009 23:11:11 Steve Veal on STEVEDELL United States 99.14.198.100
14/12/2009 22:45:53 14/12/2009 23:05:01 Denis on PORTABLE-F6CRP France 90.38.219.83
14/12/2009 22:23:44 14/12/2009 22:24:17 Nicolas on ACER-4CCBBC5D09 France 92.143.129.244
14/12/2009 22:23:28 14/12/2009 22:23:41 Nicolas on ACER-4CCBBC5D09 France 92.143.129.244
14/12/2009 22:11:55 14/12/2009 22:12:23 Admin on MICROSOF-86C6D5 Ukraine 93.127.15.21
14/12/2009 22:08:47 14/12/2009 22:09:17 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.66.248.204
14/12/2009 22:08:26 14/12/2009 22:08:33 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS Germany 88.66.248.204
14/12/2009 21:57:32 14/12/2009 21:58:24 USER on DESKTOP Belgium 78.23.207.86
14/12/2009 21:43:16 14/12/2009 21:44:30 Peter on ACER France 86.217.197.176
14/12/2009 21:42:38 14/12/2009 21:43:13 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 72.152.248.77
14/12/2009 21:27:52 14/12/2009 21:28:25 gary on UP-9BEB2F679254 United States 75.47.101.166
14/12/2009 21:13:35 14/12/2009 21:16:20 Mike on SPUTNIK United States 67.161.157.211
14/12/2009 21:09:03 14/12/2009 21:09:35 Administrator on KLEMEN Slovenia 89.143.73.141
14/12/2009 21:05:52 14/12/2009 21:07:52 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 21:04:22 14/12/2009 21:04:31 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 21:01:31 14/12/2009 21:03:59 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 21:01:05 14/12/2009 21:01:22 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 20:57:38 14/12/2009 21:00:46 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 20:54:28 14/12/2009 20:55:22 Gerald on GERALD-A6D79306 Germany 88.74.195.138
14/12/2009 20:48:14 14/12/2009 20:50:54 Denis on PORTABLE-F6CRP France 90.38.219.83
14/12/2009 20:46:17 14/12/2009 20:46:47 Nicolas on ACER-4CCBBC5D09 France 92.143.129.244
14/12/2009 20:42:15 14/12/2009 20:46:14 Admin on P4-3GHZ Belgium 81.240.84.232
14/12/2009 20:37:47 14/12/2009 20:38:10 USER on DESKTOP Belgium 78.23.207.86
14/12/2009 20:35:40 14/12/2009 20:36:47 Admin on P4-3GHZ Belgium 81.240.84.232
14/12/2009 20:30:54 14/12/2009 20:31:37 USER on DESKTOP Belgium 78.23.207.86
14/12/2009 20:27:09 14/12/2009 20:27:24 Nir on NIRI Israel 194.90.198.20
14/12/2009 20:25:52 14/12/2009 20:27:04 Nir on NIRI Israel 194.90.198.20
14/12/2009 20:19:23 14/12/2009 20:20:58 USER on DESKTOP Belgium 78.23.207.86
14/12/2009 20:15:22 14/12/2009 20:16:08 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 74.176.43.68
14/12/2009 20:14:12 14/12/2009 20:14:47 W4DU on D99HQJ91 United States 74.176.43.68
14/12/2009 20:01:02 14/12/2009 20:13:54 cesser on CESSER6400 United States 69.59.255.29
14/12/2009 19:56:53 14/12/2009 20:00:23 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
14/12/2009 19:51:10 14/12/2009 19:55:20 Matte on MATTES Sweden 213.65.184.102
14/12/2009 19:35:23 14/12/2009 19:49:19 Denis on PORTABLE-F6CRP France 90.38.219.83
14/12/2009 19:27:55 14/12/2009 19:32:46 Denis on PORTABLE-F6CRP France 90.38.219.83
14/12/2009 19:22:28 14/12/2009 19:22:37 rob on M0TFO United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
14/12/2009 19:16:59 14/12/2009 19:21:13 cesser on CESSER6400 United States 69.59.255.29
14/12/2009 19:01:01 14/12/2009 19:02:46 Helmut on MINI Germany 217.95.27.3
14/12/2009 18:54:42 14/12/2009 18:55:15 rob on M0TFO United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
14/12/2009 18:41:32 14/12/2009 18:42:04 rob on ROB-PC United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
14/12/2009 18:37:43 14/12/2009 18:39:31 rob on ROB-PC United Kingdom 82.32.65.93
14/12/2009 18:05:22 14/12/2009 18:05:41 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 18:03:30 14/12/2009 18:05:20 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 18:02:52 14/12/2009 18:03:25 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
14/12/2009 18:01:23 14/12/2009 18:02:14 Alan on OLDTIMER-04C3BB United Kingdom 87.127.140.58
14/12/2009 17:57:55 14/12/2009 18:00:52 Simon on BLACK-BEAUTY Switzerland 217.151.112.235
13/12/2009 19:02:49 13/12/2009 19:07:33 Valter on PORATILE-01 79.0.218.73
13/12/2009 18:57:13 13/12/2009 18:58:06 ulidf5sf on ULI-WINDOWS 88.67.42.165
13/12/2009 18:25:49 13/12/2009 18:28:04 Chris on CHRIS-PC 79.181.112.235
13/12/2009 18:24:34 13/12/2009 18:24:47 Phil on DARK-PC 64.32.217.180

k

Friday 18 December 2009

The shack is snowed in!!! 2009


There's snow outside...
OK so only 2" or so but the shack door is snowed in and the 'drift' at the foot of the door is more like 5". Still the callsign is visible hihi

The vertical isn't usable though as the traps are all iced up...





BTW that's why the SDR remote server stopped working, back up again now...

QSL double from UA3RN whilst was 3B8/M1KTA


Along with the XMAS post, some QSL envelopes just arrived.

Most were for 3B8/M1KTA and in them was the first set of QSL cards from one op that managed both cw and ssb modes with me.

That's a first for me to have the qsl cards that confirm qrp operating both cw and ssb whilst being the DX station.

Monday 14 December 2009

SDR Remote Server




I have a test remote SDR server running now with a Softrock 80m V6 Lite RX that is xtal controlled. The RX signals are all at the bottom end of 80m and the Softrock will 'see' just under 96KHz band width. I believe the signal in the centre is some PACTOR that has been present for hours today but it doesn't seem to decode.

The 'server' is a 900MHz Celeron 4G 701 Asus eeePC, so seriously basic and I have both it and the radio running off a couple 12V batteries with a solar panel connected so it's anyone guess how long they'll last. I couldn't come close to running an SDR setup with any of the other SDR offerings with this setup.

The antenna is a 6BTV vertical tuned for the 80m cw segment about 3.560MHz so the interG isn't great but the DX can be.

Anyway connect to it using Simon's new SDR software.
http://www.sdr-radio.com/Downloads/Dec10th2009TechPreview1/tabid/188/Default.aspx

NB I have two sound cards on this beast(!) one is an external USB card, not used right now that is for SR V9.0. I am using the internal Realtek 24bit sound card at 96KHz. So if get no sound and are too eager to try it the reason is probably you need to change to other sound card. Stop the SDR, blue button on right, change the sound card and press start again. Please don't restart the server (button next to disconnect) unless you absolutely need to.

Note the total lack of the 'hump' in the centre of the pictures...(click to enlarge) This is because there are no ground loops in my Softrock setups.

Sunday 13 December 2009

SDR-Radio



Annotated image showing a bit of a quick lash up to test the server software. I am just testing Simon's SDR-Radio Console software he has released a tech preview see here for information
http://www.sdr-radio.com/Downloads/Dec10th2009TechPreview1/tabid/188/Default.aspx

The software works with RFSpace IQ radios local or remote only right now. Some that have downloaded the software and there are few, have even put their servers up on the internet so you can connect to them.

The ability to use a Softrock V9.0 (from Tony Parks KB9YIG) will follow soon.

Just as a note for other Softrock owners, Simon's Softrock I built him earlier this year is using V15.10 of PE0FKO firmware.

I am sure fixed frequency Softrocks will follow officially .....

For now, I have added a server to the list. It is a soundcard only softrock, fixed frequency, running on an ASUS 4G 701 so that is a Celeron 900MHz pc. It is covering the bottom section 80m. If you start the console the frequency will be nonsense and it will say 160m... it isn't trust me! Press the 80m button, also press the console tab (top) and select a smaller scope bandwidth <100khz.>
This is a short video of me testing the server software with a very hastily built Softrock fixed frequency V6 80m RX. When I added the server to the list intending to connect to it myself or ask Simon to 3 others connected and played, this was taken whilst one of them connected... you can enable the audio locally whilst the remote user uses the radio. I set the band width FFT quite high so was using c50kB/s.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

/P from the beach near Kings Lynn trying to hear AA1TJ



I was up on the beach 10th November trying to hear AA1TJ and his code talker. http://mjrainey.googlepages.com/newenglandcodetalker

The DX was amazing working VK and ZL's as well as US all QRP.

Using my homebrew Norcal-20 and FT817 with Z11 ATU.

I bought a car recently and it makes a great mobile shack for all weathers, I was on the beach for maybe 6 hours. It was also the day before rememberance day so I also worked a number of Gb and Northern EU special event stations.


The buddi pole was up near the car and I also had a 3el 2m antenna on the first one of 4 (yes 4!) 20m verticals I put up in a square to try and hear AA1TJ. The car was about 15 feet from it at this point so not ideal.

This what the beach tooks like when the tide is out. The location is Snettisham South Beach.

Oscilloscope kit




Just had fun in the hotel room last night after work and built one of these:


http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/digital-storage-oscilloscope-diy-kit-with-panels-p-515.html?cPath=71




No camera with me so borrowed those images off the company site.

Interesting project.

* Max sample rate - 5M/s (AUTO mode),8 bits
* Sample memory depth - 256 bytes
* Analog bandwidth - 1MHz
* Vertical sensitivity - 100mV/Div - 5V/Div
* Vertical position adjustable with indicator
* Input impedance - 1MΩ
* Max input voltage - 50Vpp
* DC/AC coupling
* Horizontal - 2μs/Div - 10m(minute)/Div
* Auto, normal and single trig modes
* Rising/falling edge trigger
* External trig available
* Trig level adjustable with indicator
* Hold/run feature
* Save up to 6 captures to EEPROM and retain after power down
* Retrieve and display saved captures
* Transfer its screen to PC as bitmap file via serial connection
* Built-in 500Hz/5Vpp test signal
* Frequency counter (only for TTL level input signal)
* 9 DC power supply
* Dimension: 110mm X 65mm X 25mm (without case)

I bought it from http://www.nkcelectronics.com/

Monday 7 December 2009

SDR-Radio and if blog visits were qsl cards

I have written something (will share it with SPRAT too) for QQ (not sure which issue yet) about SDR-Radio from Simon HB9DRV. Keep an eye out for it. Simon and I agreed the title should be something like "SDR-Radio, a vapourware preview... from an alpha tester." By the time the issue of QQ is published I expect first version of SDR-Radio will be released generally.

I thought was interesting after George G3RJV put the blog into RadCom to capture who was looking at what and where from. It would be great to have a qso with many of these places.

So far the blog has had this number of unique visitors from 78 different countries:

United Kingdom (GB) 549
United States (US) 520
France (FR) 150
Germany (DE) 119
Netherlands (NL) 105
Italy (IT) 83
Spain (ES) 54
Canada (CA) 53
Czech Republic (CZ) 51
Belgium (BE) 50
Hungary (HU) 49
Sweden (SE) 48
Poland (PL) 46
Romania (RO) 45
Russian Federation (RU) 41
India (IN) 40
Australia (AU) 33
Greece (GR) 32
Brazil (BR) 28
Japan (JP) 27
Ukraine (UA) 27
Slovakia (SK) 27
Portugal (PT) 26
Croatia (HR) 25
Slovenia (SI) 25
Indonesia (ID) 25
Europe (EU) 23
Finland (FI) 23
Bulgaria (BG) 23
Norway (NO) 22
Denmark (DK) 22
New Zealand (NZ) 20
Ireland (IE) 20
Austria (AT) 16
South Africa (ZA) 16
Korea, Republic of (KR) 15
Switzerland (CH) 14
Argentina (AR) 13
Turkey (TR) 13
Serbia (RS) 11
Israel (IL) 11
Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR) 10
Lithuania (LT) 10
Belarus (BY) 6
Egypt (EG) 5
Uruguay (UY) 4
Philippines (PH) 4
Peru (PE) 4
Thailand (TH) 4
Estonia (EE) 4
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) 3
Venezuela (VE) 3
Hong Kong (HK) 3
Vietnam (VN) 3
Faroe Islands (FO) 2
Aland Islands (AX) 2
Isle of Man (IM) 2
Latvia (LV) 2
Chile (CL) 2
Guadeloupe (GP) 2
Singapore (SG) 2
China (CN) 2
Malaysia (MY) 2
Kazakstan (KZ) 2
Costa Rica (CR) 1
Sri Lanka (LK) 1
Colombia (CO) 1
Cuba (CU) 1
Iceland (IS) 1
Georgia (GE) 1
Saudi Arabia (SA) 1
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LY) 1
Mexico (MX) 1
Taiwan (TW) 1
Nigeria (NG) 1
Malta (MT) 1
Antigua and Barbuda (AG) 1
Ecuador (EC) 1

It would be interesting to know who some of you are and if you have any comments.

Thursday 3 December 2009

SLA and UPS batteries

This is a definite plug after these guys helped me out big time.
http://www.ups-trader.co.uk/
But go to http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/UPS-Trader/

They sell really nice 12V 17Ah and 18Ah batteries, I used two to rebuild a failed UPS battery, and another a little while back for use with a set of solar panels on the shack roof (lighting) but they are also perfect for use as a rig battery, or to float charge off a generator during field day or otherwise.

The batteries were £24 each which is pretty cheap.