A Life Update as of Fall 2024

 Hi everyone...

Realistic TRC-412 Emergency CB

It's an emergency CB radio! How ingenious! Guess who bought one? ME!!!

A Fun CB and/or 10M Project

 Back at it again with CB radio...but this time, with a twist.

The PeaNOT: A 74HC04-based QRP Transmitter

As a computer scientist, we deal with several ICs that serve many purposes. Some are microcontrollers. Some are logic gates. Some are just...rather interesting. There's one IC in particular that has its uses as a minimalist oscillator or transmitter with at least 6 components: the 74HC04, the legendary CMOS inverter.

My Thoughts on Citizens Band

 So I'm not one for making opinion posts...but...

I want to make it clear - CB radio is what got me into ham radio. I remember going down to clean out our basement one day when I was about 10 and I stumbled upon a bluish-grey metal box with a mic coming out of it. It was a Roadmaster (Royal Sound) RE4000 CB radio - and it changed my life forever. And for all you CBers reading this post - I hope that I can speak for all of you...

Hearing the Dead

Satellites, that is... 

Miles and miles above the ground, thousands of metal bodies with specialized instruments orbit our blue and green marble of a world, taking photos, surveying weather phenomena, and even providing amateurs with extraterrestrial repeater service! 

With that being said, I can't emphasize how many orbit the earth - there are so many that concerns have been raised about the threat of space debris falling from the sky. In recent months, space debris from old satellites have fallen from the sky, and in rare but not impossible instances, they have ended up in someone's home. 

However, some of these pieces of space junk have been found to be fully alive! After 40, 50, and even 60 years, some satellites just spring back to life. Below are a few examples of ones I've found - and heard!!!

HamDashboard de VA3HDL

 Jason, KM4ACK, has done it again. He's shown another really cool ham thing on his YT page - a ham-friendly dashboard!

If you're looking for a way to have ALL your ham radio internet-linked things at your fingertips, look no further than VA3HDL's Ham Radio Dashboard. All you need is a web browser to get started.

A 1980s Rarity: Montgomery Ward's GEN856A VHF/UHF scanner

I remember one time when I was young where we had to take shelter during a tornado warning. As a Midwesterner, you get used to stuff like this. When we were huddled in the basement waiting for the storm to pass, I remember my dad having a black box in his hand, with a grey top and two antennas sticking out from it. It looked like an old walkie-talkie, but in fact, this box would end up changing my life forever.

Creating an RoIP Node for My Community

 One of the things I thought about when I became a ham was the other hams in my community. I got licensed with about a dozen other people who all have at least their Technician's license, and many of them live in the same community as me. I have always wanted to do a project for the ham community around here, and I believe I might have a solution.

My HUGE Pixie Project

 After the failure of the Paraset Pixie, I decided to give up for a bit on any Pixie-related projects. I was frustrated, and rightfully so. I more than likely got a dud but for as cheap as they run, there's not much of a loss there.

However, one does have to appreciate the simplicity of the Pixie circuit. You can spend hours and hours on research, but it all boils down to a simple direct conversion receiver paired with a simple CW transmitter. The work is placed on the final amplifier transistor, as this functions as the power amplifier in transmit, and acts as the mixer on receive. Clever, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the Pixie is an abhorrent choice of QRP radio to use. It's crystal controlled, meaning that it lacks frequency agility. The choice of direct conversion on receive leaves the pass band wide open as a barn door, meaning that QSOs will be several kilohertz above and below your spot frequency. The variable potentiometer only helps up to a point. However, this doesn't mean that it is automatically destined for the trash bin. 

Motorola SM50 for Ham VoIP

Along with my Maxon SM4450, I was given a Motorola SM50 GMRS radio. I actually thought that it didn't work at first until I realized that the power leads were installed backwards on the SAE pigtail! I can confirm that it now works and puts out RF quite well. 

Well, after lots and lots of trial and error (and with the confidence I gained through rebanding and reprogramming the 4450!), I got my Motorola SM50 UHF radio realigned on 440MHz! After modifying the .MDF file for the RSS software, I was able to program it to 440MHz to 480MHz. Of course, I won't need all this bandwidth as I'm only allocated to the lower 10MHz!

I programmed this radio using a CP2102 connected to the radio, and I used DOSBox to emulate DOS. It is recommended to use an actual DOS computer, but I found this method to work best for me, despite it having lots of hiccups along the way. I did find a workaround for it though!

Putikeeg Key Review - Your first CW key

 When I first got in to ham radio, I never thought too much about CW. At the time, I was glad that the requirement for copying Morse was tossed out. As I've gotten older and more seasoned in the hobby, I've come to appreciate CW and it's beginning to become one of my favorite modes.

Hams who are serious CW enthusiasts will spend hundreds, and sometimes thousands, on refined Morse Code keys. As someone who is more of a rudimentary kind of person, I prefer simplicity - the less adjustments needed, the better. Over the years I've 3D printed a key and crafted one from a clothespin. Both worked, but lacked the charm of a key like a J-38 or an old mini Soviet key.

In recent years, cheap yet promising keys hit the market from a manufacturer by the name of Putikeeg. These keys were described as being crafted from 6061 aluminum and came in straight key and paddle configurations. While I really wanted a paddle, I had some money set aside for a CW straight key. So, I took the plunge and ordered one from Amazon.

And, here is my review.

UHF APRS: I think I may have a solution!

 Hello there, just a short tidbit I wanted to share.

A Month with the QYT KT-8900

 Well it's officially been a month or two since I first received the QYT KT-8900. As promised, I would like to do a one-month check-in on this rig!

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! A weather update, that is...

 Ever since I was little, weather has fascinated me, between snowstorms and tornadoes. I've had my fair share, and with the recent 3-day outbreak in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, that fascination has reignited in my soul. In fact, one of the reasons I became a ham was to help out if the weather ever took a turn for the worse.

The Ten Minute Transmitter

 Decades ago, a ham by the name of Steve, G4RAW, conceptualized a CW transmitter in a magazine article capable of putting out up to 1 watt of RF power over the air. It was so barebones that even the newly-licensed amateur, with little to no experience, could throw it together, tune it up, and possibly make a QSO in a matter of minutes. No, not hours - minutes. 10 minutes to be exact. This rig is called the Ten Minute Transmitter.

Listening to DX AM stations

Yes, including transoceanic ones!

Recently, I picked up some TA7642 chips from Amazon on a whim. Originally, I wanted to make a shortwave receiver with an external BFO for a QRP project, but I learned that these chips only worked up to around 3MHz. However, not all hope was lost.

An Interesting APRS Experiment

Things have not been going as planned, especially since my Kenwood TK-705 now lies in pieces and is probably dead. The APC circuit is completely dismantled and I'm not sure if it's worth fixing now. However, not all hope is lost for my APRS adventure.

I recently passed the online SKYWARN training, and they always mentioned the use of ACES while storm spotting - Awareness, Communications, Escape Route(s), and Safe Places/Shelter. I have read that many SKYWARN spotters utilize APRS when they are in the field to relay their position to others to keep in constant contact. In the event that a vehicle would face the inevitable destruction of a severe storm, this would enable search-and-rescue teams to quickly locate the spotter's vehicle. With a few inexpensive items and a DIY attitude, anyone can do this, and if you aren't a SKYWARN spotter, you can use this for other purposes such as a wireless weather station, a standalone APRS beacon, a vehcile tracker, and so much more! If you want to go above and beyond, you could add an entire weather station with temperature, wind speed, humidity, etc. to make your vehicle just like a Tornado Intercept Vehicle. Small disclaimer: I strongly don't recommend driving directly into tornadoes unless you drive TIV-1, TIV-2, or any of the Dominator vehicles!!!

QYT KT-8900: The UV-5R's Mobile Big Brother

I've decided to install a mobile-oriented radio in my brand-new-to-me vehicle. There are many on the market right now, but one caught my eye in particular:

This is the QYT KT-8900 VHF/UHF radio. It claims to run at 25W but let's be honest here, it will only run about 15 or 20, maybe even 10. That's still not bad, considering that this is from - you guessed it - China. At just a little under $100, I decided to take the plunge and see how it would perform as a mobile rig.

Beware the Dangers of eCommerce

Good morning all, I wanted to post a little cautionary message.

Last evening, I was attempting to purchase an M67741L RF power module for the TK-705 I plan to refurbish. I was notified this morning that the seller had closed the sale and took the product down off of eBay for no reason. As you may have guessed, this product would have come from outside of the US. Luckily, no money was lost, but if I had bought it immediately instead of offering a deal, I would have lost out on $20.

APRS Digipeater Update

I am happy to announce that the digipeater project is coming along slowly but surely. I have run into some major hiccups along the way, moreover with the many USB devices I have been using and the poltergeist of RFI.

Maxon SM-4450 70cm Conversion

    A short time ago, I was given some GMRS radios from a local ham friend who was cleaning out his house. One of the radios given to me was a Maxon SM4000 series radio, namely, the SM4450. From the factory, this radio operates from 450 to 470MHz. It was also one of the very first radios to be programmed via a computer and software.

    Unfortunately, I am a ham operator and cannot use the GMRS frequencies legally. I am not licensed to do so and I am not seeking a GMRS license. I am, however, guaranteed a section of the UHF band. In the United States below Line A (see FCC definition), hams are allocated the 70 centimeter band on a secondary basis, running from 420MHz to 450MHz. Hams above Line A must refrain from using 420 to 430MHz, as this is a crucial frequency to the Canadian government. 70cm is unexplored territory for me. I have only made 2 contacts on 2 meters via a repeater and the simplex frequency.

    To open up myself for 70cm exploration, I got the wild, but certainly not impossible, idea to realign this radio to operate in the 70cm band. In doing some rabbit-hole research, I not only found that this was possible, but it is simple too! Unfortunately, 70cm is very inactive around my area, but I'm hoping to change that with this task!