XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

Amateur/Ham Radio

///////////////////////////////////////////
3D printed Iambic keys

Posted: 04 May 2022 12:53 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ui1g6u/3d_printed_iambic_keys/


Last week I needed an iambic key for this summer and I decided to print
some. I printed the Mini and the Narrow versions. Love them so far. I
printed them in PLA but for the summer will print in PETG. In the notes
instead of using a ballpoint pen spring you cut in half, PRINT the
suggested spring. 100% infill for the spring. 5 hours later it was printed
and wired up. I like the mini better. The arms are fairly stiff which I
like. These work great from 5 to 40wpm. Here is a photo of mine. The one I
like is on the left. https://flic.kr/p/2niswLD
You can get the files from Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2333019
The Maker has 3 designs. This link is for the smallest one. The one
drawback of the design, it’s so small you need to hot glue the stereo wire into the box with the 1/8” plug hanging out, instead of wiring up a stereo chassis jack. The reason you cannot do that is the chassis jack is made for sheet metal not a thicker chassis plastic sidewall. I also made the bigger
size up key (right side photo) and actually ordered an 8mm chassis stereo
jack. It barely fit. I had to do a little trimming to get it situated.
Order a longer (4mm) chassis input sleeve. Normal ones are 3.5mm.
(The little indentations on the arms inside the Key are for gluing in small magnets. I did not use magnets at all for mine. The magnets to buy are 3mm
wide by 1mm thickness. I guess you could make them thicker than 1mm. 1mm
was the depth of the cut out hole I measured in Fusion360. This is not my design. If you like it tip the designer. I did. ) submitted by
/u/Naturist02
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Power outage... time for some CW!

Posted: 03 May 2022 06:12 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhftgx/power_outage_time_for_some_cw/



Svelte operating station
Today I woke up early for no good reason, and was greeted with a power
outage. It suddenly made some sense to do some operating, and I pulled out
my homebrew CW transceiver, a straight key, and a battery.
With 8W on 40m, it took me about 20 minutes to snag my fifth ever CW QSO. I
do more building things than I do operating them, so it was pretty
exciting... my copy isnt the best, but I made it through the basics of a
signal report exchange and a bit more. Maybe if I have more power outages,
Ill improve my CW skills :-). submitted by /u/jephthai
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
QRP Labs QDX ordered!

Posted: 03 May 2022 10:16 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhzaae/qrp_labs_qdx_ordered/


Now that they are back in stock (650 left!) I just ordered the QRP Labs QDX kit, a 5 watt multi-band SDR transceiver, at the amazing list price of $66. This will be my first venture into weak signal work. Suggestions, please,
for assembly tips, mods, “best” operating mode(s) and creating a portable setup?
The QDX homepage
Thanks! submitted by /u/mvsopen
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
EM Spectrum (missing radio!)

Posted: 03 May 2022 03:22 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhro81/em_spectrum_missing_radio/

submitted by /u/Ok_Yogurtcloset404
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Quick-assembly portable mast experience?

Posted: 04 May 2022 01:12 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ui1ova/quickassembly_portable_mast_experience/


Id like to hear some anecdotes about various antenna mast systems that can
be set up fairly quickly by one person. Ive spent a bunch of time over the
past few days looking at commercial mast and mounting products and YouTube reviews, but still dont have a great feel for how effective many of the
mast options are at holding an antenna system.
My desired end-state is a mast that a single person can assemble reasonably quickly—15 minutes would be great—for short-term (a couple hours) portable operation in arid and desert areas of the American west without any nearby trees (think Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado). My target band is 20 meters.
My radio is 100W and has an internal antenna tuner. Mast weight isnt a huge concern—Im doing POTA near my car, not SOTA on a mountain—but Id prefer the disassembled mast to be reasonably compact: 1 meter long will fit nicely in
my station wagon; I could also strap a 4-6 foot assembly to the roof rack.
That said, I dont need the strength and weight of a mast designed for
holding a beam or a light tower or something.
Some families of masts and mounts Id love to hear practical anecdotes
about: * Telescoping fiberglass poles with balun + feed point at the top. *
My current antenna is a 40-20-10-6 off-center fed dipole with a
balun/impedance matching box at the feed point. According to Amazon the
antenna weighs a little over 1.3 pounds, and Id like to hang the feed point
box and a coax cable from the top of the mast. (Im not sure how much 10
meters of RG-8 weighs.) Will "lightweight" fiberglass poles handle that
weight when fully extended to 10 meters? From my research it sounds like fishing poles wouldnt. * How do you secure the ends of a dipole on a
portable mast? Run support line to the ground and treat the antenna like
part of a guy wire? Set up multiple masts? How much hassle would I save if
I switched from a dipole to an EFHW? * Vertical antennas or low-height
rigid dipoles, like the Super Antenna, Buddipole, and Buddistick. * The
videos and reviews of those antennas look pretty good, particularly ease of setup with their integrated tripods. But I also found articles that made me question the fitness of vertical antennas for my operating environment.
First, the take-off angle for a vertical is a lot lower than a dipole
(assuming I can get it 10m up), which makes me worried about propagation if
Im operating from the floor of a mountain valley. Second, one resource said that vertical antennas depend on good ground conductivity, which I dont
think describes the arid American southwest: theres not much water in the ground out here unless youre next to a river, so the earth doesnt reflect
as much RF. Does anyone have experience with portable verticals in
mountainous desert? * Quick mast mounts with little or no guying required.
Ive never been good at knot tying, and it seems like fussing with guy lines will add significant time to my quick setup goal, so Id like to avoid it
when possible. * If youve got a sturdy tripod designed for antenna masts,
how high can you raise a wire antenna mast without needing guy lines? * Ive looked at some drive-over mast mounts, which is an attractive idea. How
much weight would they need if I held them down with something other than a vehicle (e.g. a 1200WH battery, 7 gallons of water, etc.)? Would staking
down a drive-over plate be an effective strategy? Im also curious if there
are drive-over mounts that can be disassembled and lie flat so that I dont
have to Tetris a bulky L shape into the back of my car. * Is there a good technique for stabilizing a 3 foot section of PVC pipe? Im imagining
driving a stake half way into the ground, U-bolting a 3 foot PVC pipe to
that, and erecting the mast with its base inside the PVC. I havent
calculated the forces at play. * Any other neat tricks for quickly erecting
a stable mast to 30+ feet?
Thanks for your insights. submitted by /u/flwyd
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
transformer winding gauge calculator?

Posted: 03 May 2022 11:49 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ui0l0t/transformer_winding_gauge_calculator/


anyone know of an app or page that can recommend primary and secondary
winding gauge size for transformers?
trying to make a 9:1 balun to put between my radio and some 450ohm window
line. submitted by /u/KL5L
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Help Yaesu FT-65 owners!

Posted: 03 May 2022 11:30 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ui0cbn/help_yaesu_ft65_owners/


I have a cheap ht and am looking at upgrading to the ft-65. Does it take
the standard motorola M1 earpiece? I have a number of spare ones and would
like to save the cost of the earpiece if I can. submitted by
/u/zac_in_ak
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
DStar - no call signs heard in 14 days

Posted: 03 May 2022 03:58 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhsfq6/dstar_no_call_signs_heard_in_14_days/


Trying to use the DStar repeater in Reno, NV, call sign N7NDS. I seem to be able to connect to the repeater, I get the UR?. But nothing and no one
seems out there locally. I noticed on DStars website there have been no
unique stations heard in the last 14 days on this repeater and felt that
very odd. Can I assume this site is down? submitted by /u/FirstRonin
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
New to HF trying to decide between dx comander and chameleon MPAS 2.0

Posted: 03 May 2022 12:37 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uho0op/new_to_hf_trying_to_decide_between_dx_comander/


New to HF, I really like how fast and portable the mpas and less finicky.
but seems like the dx comander would be more resonant and therefore not
need a tuner. My circumstance is as follows currently renting a house so nothing too permanent (active duty Army so I move around a lot). back yard surrounded on two sides with power lines with not a great amount of room
(15m x 15m)
wife will probably kill me if I put the antenna in the front yard -wanting
to have something I can bring on the occasional camping trip. wanting as
much all band as passable as I’m new to hf and I don’t really know what bands I will talk on the most. central texas so winds are usually quiet
high.
I haven’t pulled the trigger on a radio yet but that’s a whole other conundrum going back and forth between icom 7300 and yeasu ft891
-KD8YIX submitted by /u/mickeymaopow
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
ICOM M502 programming

Posted: 03 May 2022 07:13 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhw69j/icom_m502_programming/


Trying to find cloning software for the icom m502, Ive got the correct
cloning cable, if anyone could help me with software that woud be great submitted by /u/david2882
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Mobilinkd TNC

Posted: 03 May 2022 11:35 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhmp0s/mobilinkd_tnc/


Just curious if anyone is using this device for APRS. How well does it work mobile from inside metal vehicle? I’m just beginning to learn APRS. Not
clear to me whether GPS functionality resided within the TNC device or dies device rely upon mobile phone GPS. Comments appreciated. submitted by /u/Ezekiel39
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Power in the vehicle

Posted: 03 May 2022 06:06 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhfp6m/power_in_the_vehicle/


I am in the process of adding power to inside my truck. Rather than running multiple wires through the firewall, I am planning on running a couple of
4awg wires directly from the battery into the truck. Once it’s in the
truck, the cables will end on bus bars. There will be a bus bar for both positive and negative. The bus bar will have the ability to handle up to
200 amps, and will have multiple points I can tap in for power. I am
planning on having multiple radios in the truck, with each power supply
going to the bus bar.
Now, the question.
Are there any pitfalls that I’m not seeing? Would there be any issues if I’m listening to one radio and transmitting on another? Is having a common ground away from the battery a bad thing?
Thanks for taking the time to read this question along with answering. submitted by /u/Duct_Tape_Gone_Wild
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
An 100W HF rig for new ham that doesnt break the bank.

Posted: 02 May 2022 09:22 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uh81mn/an_100w_hf_rig_for_new_ham_that_doesnt_break_the/


So I have my Tech license (even though the FCC’s licensing system is broken right now and can’t produce my license) and I’m studying for General. Hoping to pass that in a month or two.
But what’s frustrating is that all the decent HF rigs are all $1100-$1500.
I simply cannot afford that right now.
What can I do?
I’ve looked Xeigu and the one pronounced Ocean. But they are QRP. And they seem to have a bunch of early adopter type issues. Even the ic-705 qrp rig
is $1400.
I may have to learn to build my own HF radio which isn’t a problem but it doesn’t get me on the air listening to HF from my house.
What am I to do? Other than just save for that IC-7300 which may take me
about a year to save for. Thanks. submitted by /u/WillShattuck
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Where should I start learning from?

Posted: 03 May 2022 08:56 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhj7u0/where_should_i_start_learning_from/


I was studying programming but then I got interested in bunch of hardwares
and electronics, and nowadays I hear radio waves and things like that.
I saw Voyager travelling the universe today that it communicates through
radio wave..
I am very curious about how radio works and want to learn about it.
As an amateur what should I learn and start doing? submitted by /u/BlueBuddhaNFT
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Popping sound when unplugging Yaesu HT from charger

Posted: 03 May 2022 05:04 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhek7s/popping_sound_when_unplugging_yaesu_ht_from/


Whenever I unplug the Yaesu VX-6 from the charger it makes a pop or thump
sound once then stops. The radio seems to work perfectly otherwise. The
strange thing is this sound only happens when I unplug the radio from the
radio side first. If I unplug it from the wall, then the radio this sound doesnt happen. Is this bad for the radio or should I not worry about it?
Has anyone else seen this? I cant seem to find this anywhere. submitted
by /u/ZER0675
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Inverted-L EFHW 80/40?

Posted: 03 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhiex8/invertedl_efhw_8040/


I have a 125’ strip of land behind my shack with a tall (60’+ usable) tree about 35’ from my shack. There is a less tall tree on the far end. From
shack to tree to tree, I can get a wire more than 130 feet with an angle of maybe 110° or 120°. What are the concerns regarding EFHWs in a less-than-perfect inverted-L configuration? Would I be better off coil
loading to shorten it, but have the 49:1 un-un in the tree and run the
entire thing in a straight line, or would it be better to run a full 130
feet from shack to tree to tree and have the 49:1 closer to the ground and shack? In what direction relative to the antenna should I be running a 13
foot counterpoise?
80 and 40 are my bands of interest but if I can cover more with that setup I’ll be even happier.
Any help or knowledge is appreciated.
Edit: the REAL question, which I forgot when I posted- can I run a feed
line up the tree for VHF/UHF without significantly effecting the EFHW? submitted by /u/AspiringCrastinator
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Question about FT8 free text

Posted: 03 May 2022 04:29 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhdynv/question_about_ft8_free_text/


Im currently studying for the exams, so forgive me if this question is
common, are you required to transmit your callsign with every FT8
transmission or just once every 10 minutes? Can you use all 13 characters
for message content once youve made your initial contact? submitted by /u/triple111
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Mobile antenna gone bad?

Posted: 03 May 2022 04:57 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhef0z/mobile_antenna_gone_bad/


I have a Comet B-10NMO installed on my Honda Pilot that has served me well
for a number of years. Its my daily use antenna since it allows me to park
in the garage with ease. However, this past winter, I suddenly could no
longer hit repeaters that I had no trouble using before and I could no
longer hear anything.
This past weekend, I had time to check the connections and swap the antenna
out with my larger road trip antenna. Everything worked perfectly. Great! I
put the B-10 back on and the problems returned. What would cause this? Did
the antenna go bad somehow? Do I need to replace it with a new antenna?
Thanks for any help! submitted by /u/oesjmr
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Radio World [publishes] letter critical of ham radio [by K1OIK]

Posted: 03 May 2022 11:14 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uhm8o7/radio_world_publishes_letter_critical_of_ham/

submitted by /u/kc2syk
[link] [comments]

///////////////////////////////////////////
Hermes Lite 2

Posted: 02 May 2022 10:33 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uh955q/hermes_lite_2/


I am looking for the main board. At moment seems out of stock... by
makerfabs.
Any other possible source ?
73s submitted by /u/Old_Difference6011
[link] [comments]

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)