/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Pic related is my key for outdoors.

And pic related my shack straight key.

Non-hams are usually pretty surprised when you tell them about ham radio satellites. The first amateur satellite, OSCAR-1 (which stood for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio), was built by American hams and went into orbit in 1961, just a couple of years after the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite, igniting the space race.

You can find many varieties of QSLs, but three very basic rules can help make the exchange as quick and error-free as possible. Figure 14-2 illustrates the following:
>Have your call sign and QSO information on one side so that the receiver doesn’t have to look for it.
>Print your call sign and all contact information in a clear and easy-to-read typeface.
>Beyond your mailing address, make sure the physical location of the station is shown, including county (for U.S. stations) and four-digit grid square.

>>1953335
>>1953337
If you’re an active ham, I highly recommend keeping your log on a computer. The logging program makes looking up previous contacts with a station or operator easy.

>>1953340
>>1953337
>>1953335
The quickest (and most expensive) option for sending QSLs is to send the cards direct, meaning directly to other hams at their published addresses. This method ensures your card gets to the recipient faster than any other method and usually results in the shortest turnaround time. Include the return postage and maybe even a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). This method costs more for you, but makes things as easy as possible for the other ham to get a return card on its way.

>>1953341
>>1953343
>>1953340
To avoid poor postal systems and cut postage expenses, many DX stations and nearly all DX-peditions use a QSL manager. The manager is typically in a country with good postal service and the return rate is nearly 100 percent.

Fuck off my thread, spamming shitbrain.

>>1953345
>>1953344
>>1953343
Repairing and building go beyond maintenance in that you work with metal and plastic materials. You also need some additional specialty tools and instruments for making adjustments and measurements

>>1953340
>>1953341

Antennas Make the Difference.
If you look at the top stations in any facet of ham radio, you’ll find that their owners spend the most time and effort on the antenna systems. You’ll find no better return on investment in ham radio than in improving your antennas. Masters are often antenna and feedline gurus.

>>1953341
Don’t assume that you’ll be doing the same activities on the air forever. Avoid over-specialized gear except where required for a specific type of operating.

>>1953345
Browse the Web and read articles that show how other stations are put together. Make note of any particularly good ideas. Don’t hesitate to write or e-mail the station owners to ask questions

Spending a lot of money on a radio right away is tempting, but you’ll find yourself needing other gear, such as antennas and cables, that you perhaps hadn’t counted on

>>1953348
Compared to bipolar transistors, MOSFETs have two major advantages:
>There are no PN junctions in a MOSFET. This means that there is no PN junction to breakdown and no PN junction to cause temperature sensitivity. Because big MOSFET transistors are hard to break, they are often the best choice in high power applications.
>MOSFETs are a voltage-controlled device. Once a voltage is established on the gate, no current is required to maintain the ON state of the transistor. MOSFETs are often ideal for power supply applications and switching big DC currents

>>1953346
If you have a knowledgeable friend who can help you separate the wheat from the chaff, used equipment is a great way to get started. By saving money, you have more cash for exploring new modes and bands later on.

>>1953331
I tune my transmatch for maximum amplitude of a sharply focused sinewave at my antenna lead. This gives me an approximate measurement of antenna impedance. For example, suppose I first I load my 50 ohm dummy load on 80 meters and get about 50 watts. In other words, the scope shows a 70 volt peak sinewave. Next I try to load my 40 meter dipole on 80 meters. Using the transmatch, it loads up and produces a sharp 300 volt peak sinewave. Unfortunately, the 300 volts peak on the coax with a 50-watt signal suggests really high antenna impedance, about 900 ohms. If the antenna looked like 50 ohms, I would see about 70 volts peak, just like the dummy load. In my experience, with a match that poor, it may be safe for the transmitter, but nobody will hear me

>>1953344
>>1953345

You’re going to spend a lot of hours in front of your radio so take care of the operator, too. Start with a comfortable chair

>>1953358
>>1953356
>>1953344
>>1953345
>>1953346
>>1953348

The U.S. government regulations for ham radio operators limit the power we can use to a specified amount of "Peak Envelope Power." This varies with different hambands and class of license. As examples, on 30 meters we are only allowed to use 200 watts PEP, but on 20 meters, 1,500 watts PEP is permitted.

>>1953349
>>1953348
>>1953346
When I operate, I have two scope probes on the antenna line. One goes to the scope and the other goes to a frequency counter. A good counter is vital because most of the frequencies you must measure are too close to the edge of the ham band to simply count squares on the oscilloscope screen.

I have not found power meters particularly useful. I have a commercial one that gives readings that correspond well with the light produced by a light bulb dummy load.

>>1953362
Did Armenia trigger the bot?

>>1953362
>>1953360
If you simultaneously connect both your receiver and your transmitter to the antenna, you may burn up the front-end stages of your receiver when you transmit.

>>1953358
An antenna relay is usually a single-pole, double-throw switch, sometimes called SPDT. The external antenna line is connected to the moving contact. This contact is normally resting against the receiver contact. When the relay is activated, the moving contact switches over to the transmitter contact.

>>1953374
I hope not, SSTV's all I can post except for my straight keys.

>>1953358
The linear 50 watt amplifier. Notice the large ferrite balun output transformer in the center of the assembly. The bias circuit is at the right rear. Also notice how the base clamping diodes are strapped across the output transistors so that any transistor heating will immediately be passed on to the diodes.

Every station has a weakest link. Always be on the lookout for a probable point of failure or of loss of quality. On the airwaves, you’ll encounter stations with muffled or distorted audio that have a multi-kilobuck radio but a cheap, garage-sale microphone. Use quality gear and keep heavily-used equipment well-maintained.

Why stop at 100 watts? I opened up an issue of QST (June 2006) and discovered plans for a homebrew 600 watt linear amplifier. It uses two pairs of MRF-150 transistors to reach this level. It is quite similar to my linear in many respects. I was surprised to see that it's practical to get so much power from so few parts.

>>1953346
Just turn on the radio and start tuning the bands. Join a ragchew, check into a net, monitor a slow-scan transmission, listen for someone calling “CQ Contest,” or find a pileup and dive in.

>>1953344

Tropospheric propagation supports surprisingly regular communications on 2- and 1.25-meters and between stations in California and stations on the slopes of Hawaiian volcanoes. A stable temperature inversion layer forms over the eastern Pacific most afternoons, so a properly located station on the slope of a volcano at the right altitude can launch signals along the inversion.

Signal strength falls off with the square of the distance and 300 meters is vastly different from 30 meters distance.

What happens when all of the popular DX-ing methods fail to provide you with an over-the-horizon path? Well, then, move your horizon! Because VHF/UHF radios are light and antennas small, you can drive, pack, or carry your gear to the tops of buildings, hills, ridges, fire lookouts, and yes, even mountaintops.

>>1953341
You needn’t have a huge and powerful station to enjoy contesting, most contesters have a simple setup. Besides, the most important part is the operator.

In spite of this pessimism, you CAN build transistorized receivers that work reasonably well.

>>1953383
The whole thing takes about ten seconds. Each station identifies and exchanges the required information.

If you’re unsure of yourself, try “singing along” without actually transmitting.

Avoid major net frequencies, such as the Maritime Service Net on 14.300 MHz. Be aware of any emergency communications declarations or where regional emergency nets may meet and give those frequencies a wide berth. Calling frequencies are often busy with non-contest activity.

>>1953389
>>1953387
A homebuilt ham receiver from 40 years ago is shown above. It has 11 tubes, a simple crystal filter, and covers 80 through 10 meters. It runs on either 12 volts DC or 120 volts AC. It doesn’t cover the WARC bands. Yes, it works OK. But compared to the all-transistor receiver described in this chapter, it is insensitive, noisy, and has poor selectivity.

>>1953390

Being realistic, any receiver you build is unlikely to match the performance of high-end commercial rigs. But every time your receiver brings in DX on a new band or whenever you conquer one of the dozens of glitches you will encounter, you’ll have a thrill and pride you’ll never get from a commercial rig.

>>1953380
I had always wondered why homebuilt all-band HF receivers are almost always dual conversion. It turns out that the fundamental challenge of homebuilt receivers and transmitters is building a stable VFO. Yes, you can build a reasonably stable VFO, but homebrew VFOs usually don’t have much tuning range. 0.5 MHz is typical. And, in order to drift as few Hertz as possible, the VFO needs to be relatively low frequency.

>>1953378
Before embarking on a big adventure to achieve an obscure award, find out if it is still active by checking with the sponsors. Beware of outdated Web sites, too. Before proceeding, get a positive “go ahead” if you have the slightest question if an award program is active.

QRP is primarily an HF activity and the majority of QRP contacts are in Morse code due to its efficiency.

>>1953403
High-Performance: Extensive set of receive and transmit controls are available on the front panel or are configurable under a menu system. A state-of-the-art receiver and sub-receiver are included along with complete interfaces for digital data and computer control

>>1953402
>>1953402
>>1953403
>Avoid major net frequencies, such as the Maritime Service Net on 14.300 MHz. Be aware of any emergency communications declarations or where regional emergency nets may meet and give those frequencies a wide berth. Calling frequencies are often busy with non-contest activity.
In order to keep nearby signals from interfering with the desired signal, a receiver uses filters. These filters must pass the desired signal while attenuating (reducing the strength of) unwanted signals just a few hundred Hz away.

>>1953405
>Being realistic, any receiver you build is unlikely to match the performance of high-end commercial rigs
can you fit a radio in your vehicle or boat?

>>1953405
Like their larger base station cousins, you have to consider many features and different sets of accessories. Because these radios are small and not all features have a dedicated front panel control, I recommend that you try one before you buy either at a dealers or with a friend who owns one.

Imagine that shit sitting at home thinking he made a great thread or something.
I'm sure that fucker doesn't even understand what he's copy/pasting.

>>1953346
>>1953387
The spamming AI got that one comment right.
THIS THREAD IS BEING SPAMMED/FLOODED. HELP.
M 0 D S P L E A S E H E LP

..-. --- .-. / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ... .- -.- . / .--- .- -. .. - --- .-. ... / .. / -.- -. --- .-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.. --- / .. - / ..-. --- .-. / ..-. .-. . . .-.-.- / -... ..- - / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. / -.-- --- ..- / ... - . .--. / .. - / ..- .--. / .- / -... .. - ..--..

M 0 D S P L E A S E H E LP

>>1953410
Be aware that because they are so small, these rigs have to make some compromises compared to the high-performance designs. The operator interface is, by necessity, menu-driven.

>>1953421
This post appears to be an automated spam bot.

If we all report this one maybe the mods will finally notice!

>>1953423
I did it, but I have to wait to report more.

>>1953420
>..-. --- .-. / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ... .- -.- . / .--- .- -. .. - --- .-. ... / .. / -.- -. --- .-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.. --- / .. - / ..-. --- .-. / ..-. .-. . . .-.-.- / -... ..- - / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. / -.-- --- ..- / ... - . .--. / .. - / ..- .--. / .- / -... .. - ..--..
I chuckled.

I reported all I could. Now my wait time has increased, I'm giving up.

>>1953491
Go back to your cuckshack where you can send an angry letter to the FCC if you don't like somebody. This isn't it. Tick tock, motherfucker.

Waaaahhhhhhh me not likey anonnnnn!!! Me call the jannies to get rid of anon but jannies no do nooooothing!!! this isn't like my boomer radio waverinoooooossss! somebody triangulate the signal stop polluting the spectrum nooooooooooooooooo

>>1953494
>>1953502
ham tutorial shitposter detected

Where's the boomer bragging about doing something a 7yo girl can do? come on boomer
tell me again that story of how I'm mad because I failed the heckin testerino

How the fuck do those Brazillian hues get away with pirating USSF satellites

>>1953329
I've always wondered, how does the FCC generally detect unauthorized signals? Do they have to be reported when someone else has interference, or is there something I'm missing.

Guys, how do I into Morse code in a good way?

>>1953635
They monitor the air waves and also have direction finding equipment. Rohde and Schwarz sells such equipment. It is feasible these days to log all HF traffic continuously onto a hard disk.
HF and below: 0 - 30 MHz, Nyquist sampling is 60 MHz, use 8 bit (cheap) ADC and you generate 60 MB/s data. With under 100,000 seconds per day this means 600 GB per day, per site.
Use accurate (GPS based) time stamping, and you can locate transmitters using multilateration, years after the event from logs.

>>1953329
>The FAQ is now back:
>https://wiki.cybsec.io/index.php/HamFAQ
Soon but not yet. Meanwhile:
https://archive.is/PjR5s

>>1953695
>this means 600 GB per day
That should be 6 TB/day.

>>1953650
>Guys, how do I into Morse code in a good way?
Learn it by the sound, not by reading dots and dashes. The FAQ has useful links.
It takes a bit of time but it helps if you have a sense of rhythm and music.

>>1953650
Entry level - full text chat where you type in >Morse code:
morsecode.me
>More advanced, but you can adjust the speed at which you receive the other's Morse:
halb.it/morsecode
>You're completely lost now and have to rely on your hearing and have to actively call out for someone to reply or just lurk:
vail.woozle.org
>Learn the abbreviations and prosigns - once you recognise those, it's easy to latch into ongoing conversations and know when it's your turn to speak:
https://cwops.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CW-Abbreviations.pdf
http://www.radioing.com/hamstart/q-signal.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_code
>How proper CW/Morse convos are done by hams:
http://www.naqcc.info/cw_qsos.html
http://www.qrp-labs.com/qcx/cwqso.html

Thanks, I'll propose the pasta for next time as follows then:

>New to /ham/? Read this shit!
http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service
>Your search engine of choice works well too!

The FAQ is now back:
https://wiki.cybsec.io/index.php/HamFAQ
>Soon but not yet. Meanwhile:
https://archive.is/PjR5s

>Idiot's Guide to Coax Cable
https://www.pcs-electronics.com/guide_coax.php

>Looking for frequencies to monitor near you?
http://www.radioreference.com

>Basic Rx loop fundamentals
https://www.w8ji.com/magnetic_receiving_loops.htm

>DIY SWL Mag. Loop
http://www.kr1st.com/swlloop.htm

>Small Tx Loop
http://www.kk5jy.net/magloop/

>In Depth Loop articles
http://webclass.org/k5ijb/antennas/Small-magnetic-loops.htm

>Online Practice Tests:
http://aa9pw.com/
https://hamstudy.org/
https://hamexam.org/

> Real-Time Propagation Data
http://prop.kc2g.com/

>Space Weather
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/radio-communications

>WSJT-X 2.1 User Guide
https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.1.2.html

>FT8 operating guide
https://www.g4ifb.com/FT8_Hinson_tips_for_HF_DXers.pdf

>APRS
http://www.aprs.org/

>how do I into Morse code in a good way?
https://pastebin.com/K38U1Uwf

>>1953700
>Soon but not yet. Meanwhile:
>>1953760
This was meant for you.

>>1953700
>Learn it by the sound, not by reading dots and dashes.
This anon gets it, and you won't get it until you get it.
I've been trying on and off for 6 months. There are podcasts that do news headlines in morse (search 15wpm or 20wpm). 'CQ' is a very distinct sound. Listen to 'C' and 'Q'. Then pick up each C&Q in the podcast. Then you have 24 to go.
The pace of morse is the same as the spoken language
>Anon was being a little s-h-i-t today
Thats the speed morse comes and you need to interpret it.
Morse comes in different forms. Written (lulz), visual, and audio. Learning the written morse to learn the audio version is a waste of time. Good luck!

>>1953769
>headlines in morse (search 15wpm or 20wpm)
morsecode.me has a 17wpm newsroom. I find that a bit hard at the beginning.
Other than that, you're spot-on.
These abbreviations are very common, after listening to CW, and help you find where the conversation is right now:
>CQ
>DE
"from" - that's what I listen for all the time, when I hear it I immediately focus on copying the callsign that comes right after.
>DX as in CQ DX
>TEST (CQ TEST)
You'll hear that in contests, where you will also encounter the shortest, fastest and still very formal QSOs.
>599 or 5NN
When many stations are worked, you often hear hams giving a polite perfect report just to get rid of you quickly and move on to the next stn. Fuck that, I want an honest report though. It's just easily recognised, because 5NN sounds like
>brrrrrrrt dah-dit dah-dit
>TU or TNX
Thank you or thanks
>SK
Silent Key, stopping now. Don't read it as "VA", that's outright wrong. Many do that.
>dit dit
At the end of a QSO, polite bye-bye
>= or BT
Break in text
>QRL?
"Is this frequency in use?"

Other abbreviations are in the pastebin at the bottom of >>1953760

>>1953695
>>1953700
57.22 MB/s * 86400 s/d = 4.71 TB/d

>>1953695
>>1953700
Forgot to add, with 4.71 TB/d it is absolutely possible with some government money to keep a harddisk for each day of the year to store the 1.68 PB.
Pretty sure any sensible agency does that as well as run all kinds of signals and geolocation analysis on that data.

>>1953777
Checked. All good advice, you may have been the one putting me on the straight and narrow half a year ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRuRE-Bwk1U

>>1953769
>>1953650
Here's a good example starting at 2:50
>H. Sounds like a horse galloping in a hurry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmg1MlstxWM

>>1953808
I just got a chuckle - morse is faster than old school text message

>>1953409
You take my shtick and then you post random words. what a waste.

Look at his ad! look at how fucking exciting it is, those police are after some criminal and you can hear it on your SW radio... oh, no you can't because the police mostly stopped transmitting below 30mhz in the 40's.

Ok but that fucking super sabre now that's some exciting shit you can hear pilots talk to each other while they shoot down commies... no, no you can't do that either the air force is on vhf frequencies in the 50's. SHIT!

OK OK those fucking drug lords, or contras or coffee farmers with grenades in columbia! Fuck yeah some action now! no, no, fucking third world revolutionaries don't have radios at that time. They certainly weren't transmitting play-by-plays of jungle battles, and it would have been in spanish so... FUCK YOU!

well that leaves a fucking ship sinking in the north fucking atlantic! fuck yeah! nope.. while they did use shortwave on boats all you would hear is the SOS calls and maybe some search and rescue. but not anything while the boats SINKING because people on sinking boats are getting off the boat as fast as they can, not chatting with your happy ass.

That kids face kinda says it all... HEY wait a minute! I can't hear any of this shit. I wasted $47.50 ($520 in todays money) on this shitty S-38 radio just to hear some boring ass mother fuckers talking about the weather and signal strength SHEEEEIIIIT!

Maybe someday they will invent a 2 meter radio and I can hear the same boring conversations over repeaters YEAH! that's the ticket!

Here comes page 2 FUCK YEAH SCIENCE BITCHES!

AUSTRALIA, FUCKING OUTERSPACE MAN! I have the weirdest boner right now!

Page 3!
RAM IT IN ME! I CAN HEAR YODELERS IN SWEDEN! WEATHER STATIONS
WWV! OMGZG!!~!1
I just came!

Page 4
STATION LISTINGS FINALLY! I'ma smoke a cig!

>>1953811
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmg1MlstxWM
That's not a bad education film to watch. I've seen it sometime this year.
>you may have been the one putting me on the straight and narrow half a year ago.
Dunno, I just like straight key Morse. Paddles can be extremely fast, but I just don't want them.

>>1953834
>>1953836
>>1953838
>>1953839
This guy spent all his money on a HF receiver but can't into antennas.

I'm running out of desk room and may be getting a linear amp tomorrow. Would it be verboten to put a computer monitor on top of it?

>>1953868
If the monitor isn't cheapest chinkshit, I'd say try it. Does the amp have cooling outlets on top?

>>1953870
It's an 811, the cooling is on the left side and I have space to accommodate that. I may need to re-arrange monitors. The one in the amp space is the heaviest, pushing 15-20 pounds.

>>1953873
Do it, but get some shelf soon.

this thread is a trip

>>1953700
>>1953758
>>1953811
Thanks! I'll try those. I started by reading morse and couldn't really apply that knowledge to sounds.

>>1954070
On that vail.woozle.org site I had my first proper QSO with a friendly US ham. Took me a few days to hear someone there. It's as close as you can get to a real shortwave QSO.

>>1953777
to minimize interference from other repeaters and strong nearby signals, most repeaters now use tone-access

CS consists of a continuous sequence of low-frequency tones that accompanies the transmitted voice.

>>1953410
both stations listen and talk on the same frequency, just as contacts are made on the HF bands, which is called simplex operation

>>1953417
Clubs and informal groups often decide to keep their radios tuned to a certain simplex frequency just for this purpose. If they’re not having a meeting or conducting some other business, feel free to make a short call

>Because VHF and UHF FM voice contacts are usually local or regional, they tend to be for personal utility, rather than to make random acquaintances.>
Most hams have a few favorite repeaters or simplex frequencies that they use as a sort of regional intercom.
>They turn on a radio in the shack at home or in the car and monitor a channel or two to keep an ear out for family or friends.
Even though a number of people may be monitoring a repeater, they mostly just listen unless someone calls them specifically or they hear a request for information or help

>>1953494
Whatever type of station you choose to assemble, you must keep in mind basic safety principles. Extensive literature is available for ham

>>1953650
Just recording the band in either MHz or wavelength is sufficient (for example, 20-meters or 14 MHz)

>>1953769
Hey, this is the twenty-first century, isn’t it? Why aren’t hams sending QSLs electronically?

>>1953700
While you can do a lot with DC tests and a voltmeter, radio is mostly about AC signals. To work with AC signals, you need a means to generate and view them. If you’re serious about getting started in electronics, go to the ARRL Web site

I realize that you may not want to haul the vacuum cleaner into the radio shack, but it may be the most valuable piece of maintenance gear you have. Heat is the mortal enemy of electronic components and leads to more failures than any other cause. The dust and crud that settles on radio equipment restricts air flow and acts as an insulator against heat dissipation.

The time to find problems is well before the weather turns bad. Use a wrench to check tower and clamp bolts and nuts. Fight rust with a cold galvanizing paint. After the winter, check again for weather damage.

>>1953769
You haven’t fully lived until you get a little RF burn on your lip from a metal microphone case

If the device is battery-powered and doesn’t have any leads, you probably can’t fix the problem, I’m sorry to say. You have to either replace the device or get along with the interference.

>>1953760
>>1953758
>>1953700
>>1953695
The usual point of entry for unwanted RF is through the VHF/UHF cable input

>>1953808
>>1953811
>>1953830

only discovered the show earlier this year seemed like a real interesting dude

You're doing the God's work OP

I just bought a 1950s Zenith Trans-Oceanic, I like restoring old junk, parts are easy to find and info is abundant. Anyone here have or restore old radios as well?

Why do Vibrokeyers command such a high price? Seems like something that could be a diy kit.

Reminds me of my grandfather who had a bunch of b-24 stuff and radios.

>>1954260
>Anyone here have or restore old radios as well?
yes

good luck finding a 1L6 tube for that.

>>1954266

Not a big deal, pricey but still abundant all over ebay but I plan on making the sand replacement, still have locals I can ask as well. Can't wait to get it, what do you have?

>>1954260
Pic related is what I found in the attic. Since here's total lockdown this is going to be my winter project. Never did this before, but fuck it.
>>1954258
This thread has become a shitshow. As did the previous one.

Fuck that spamshow.

There seem to be a few history buffs on right now - my grandpa was a WW2 US Army Radar Mechanic.
To the question - would his training have included morse code? I'm trying to put to rest the idea he was ever a ham. He loved listening to German radiowaves and had ham receivers, but his spelling was atrocious and I can't picture him sitting down and learning morse code in order to get a license. If the Army didn't reach him morse, I can accept he wouldn't have been a ham. I did spend an afternoon in archives of ham callsign magazines and never found him.

>>1954282
I suppose not, but don't know for sure. Radar technology was a shitload to learn, and if you say mechanic, it could be that his training was really focused on erecting antennas, maintaining non-electronic stuff.
I just think there wouldn't have been time for that. Morse takes a lot of time and effort.

>Desktop transceivers/receivers
>Portable amateur transceivers
>POWER GAP
>
>
>
>Portable receivers

My jimmies are a little rustled; traditional multi-band portable performance tops out at about two hundred and fifty dollary-doos and then there's a fucking no man's land. I guess I'll just get a KX2 for HF and keep my PL-660 for MW and broadcast FM.

Regular pop-pop-pop noises at about one second intervals. A defective charger can cause these problems, but the noise is usually due to broken or missing insulators or arcing from the fence wires to weeds, brush, or ground.

>>1954271
Buzzing that varies with engine speed, which is caused by arcing in the ignition system.

>>1954297
Choose the simpler kits until you are confident of your technique. Kits are a great budget-saving way to add test instruments to your workbench and various gadgets to your radio station.

>>1953394
I remember her, she was always spewing anti jew talk. Smart girl.

>>1954308
>Choose the simpler kits until you are confident of your technique.
I was planning on buying it assembled.

>I was particularly puzzled by the low frequency feedback link, R1, R2, and C1.
>I couldn’t understand what sort of “low frequency filtering” the designer was trying to accomplish.
But, when I turned it on, the amplifier seemed completely dead. I put those mysterious components back in the circuit and ... voila! The earphones came to life. It turns out that this loop biases the amplifier “on” for weak signals and biases it “off” for loud signals. It’s a kind of audio Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuit

>>1954323
Remember that for a bipolar transistor to turn on, the input signal must be greater than 0.6 volts or no current will flow into the base.

>>1953419
it's so cool that you were just born with all that badass knowledge and was never an amature or biginner before. But please just get the fuck out, faggot

>>1954302
>>1954297
If we had ideal, small cheap components, the easy way to build analog audio filters would be to use inductors and capacitors the same way we build radio frequency filters. We might even imagine that there would be audio frequency quartz crystals for building super precise audio filters. Unfortunately, in the real world those parts don't exist. In order to work at such low frequencies, the inductors would have to be gigantic and expensive. Since that approach isn't practical, we use resistor/ capacitor networks. These RC networks don't resonate, but rather they just attenuate some frequencies more than others.

>>1954317
>>1954318
I come to think that the copy/pasting spam is a kind of intelligence testing done on you, anons.

>>1954326
Hit a nerve, huh?

>>1953836
you might need a new hobby, sparky

I need to do this. I just ordered a signalink so I think I'm gonna be more inclined to go out.

I want to get an SDR receiver to view the RF activity on a waterfall display. Listen to some SW radio, see what the rednecks are up to on CB, see if there is any VHF UHF activity in my area, and whatnot.
An Emer friend said the SDRplay is great, but it's hard not to just go with the RTL-SDR dongle that has really good reviews and is 6X less with nearly the same stated range.
Anyone have experience with these? Recommendations?

>>1954348
Sorry man I sold my HF rig back in college to buy a car. (pic).
I'm mostly just playing with mountain top FM VHF. If getting on SDR I see the bands are more alive and I find a good deal on something like a 706mk2g, then I'll get back into HF.

>>1954325
It can't be that hard to make one, right? It's just an oscillator, a mixer and maybe a couple filters.

>>1954343
Is that HF or VHF/UHF? What antenna?
Sounds nice. I have an almost portable setup in the car trunk, but missing a proper antenna. I've only a random wire that's hard to tune for transmitting.

I bought a kenwood TK-8160 off ebay and when I opened it up it has this board soldered inside, two leads are power, the other two leads go to the PTT button and the mic on the back side of the faceplate, what is this board?
It looks like a CTCSS encoder but the radio has an internal encoder so why the fuck does it need that?

Anyone ever use HRD with an FT-818?

>>1954241
but he picks up some great old school pirate radio!

>>1954354
These RC networks don't resonate, but rather they just attenuate some frequencies more than others.

When combined with a resistor, the frequency of the sinewave across either the capacitor or the resistor will be attenuated at either the high frequencies or the low frequencies, respectively.

>>1953400
>>1953402
>>1953403

Remember, the voltage across a capacitor cannot change instantly. Therefore, to high frequencies the capacitor looks like a wire with zero AC voltage drop across it. At high frequencies there isn't time to charge. At low frequencies, the capacitor charges up completely and the AC voltage drop across the capacitor approaches the entire voltage of the input sinewave.

I seem to have stalled at 82 for my DXCC with ft8 using a 160-6 fan dipole (located around Ohio) mainly staying on 20m and 40m.
I think I need to focus on South America to pick up 5-8 countries, but then will need to focus my attention on the Pacific. Any tips? I was contemplating a 20M moxon, but my yard doesn't seem large enough for a directional antenna.

>>1954359
>TK-8160
https://www.midians.com/products/kenwood-ani-encoders

>>1954359
I just searched for the datasheet of the IC and it says the PT6554LQ is an LCD display driver chip.
Hard to see how the PTT button is connected on that board though.

>>1954371
That's a good bot post. They're rehashing our questions. That was mine 10 months ago.

>>1954396
I don't think it's a bot. Must be the butthurt guy from >>1954326

>>1954416
That was my post and img from around 8-10 months ago. 100% certainty.

>>1954423
Yeah, and I think it's not a bot who reposted it.

>>1954423
Forgot to add - I know, I've read that post. It must have been 8 months or a bit less.

i just studied hamstudy for 2 days and scored a 96% on an extra practice exam, seems pretty easy should have studied for it off the bat

>>1954463
>it's so cool that you were just born with all that badass knowledge and was never an amature or biginner before. But please just get the fuck out, faggot

>>1954471
WHO ARE YOU QUOTING

>>1954471
i cant tell what you are getting at but im a total noob, you can easily study for all 3 ham exams in a single week if you can stand studying for 4+ hours a day. i got my general and tech with maybe 8 hours of studying total for both of them.

Are they any good? I just started studying for the technician class exam.

>>1954541
They’re not good but they compete handily with radios from 20 years ago just fine.

>>1954544
The good thing about these chinese radios is that they brought many people on the ham bands. The entry into the hobby was way too expensive for most people before they came on the market.
Try making younger people interested in HAM-radio, they will not be willing to spend huge money on something they can do much easier with a smartphone.
Because that's how they see it.

>>1954546

>The good thing about these chinese radios is that they brought many people on the ham bands.

You mean the bad thing is that these cheap radios brought a lot of people to Ham radio illegitimately because they're too fucking stupid to sit still and learn the rules and regulations to legally be allowed to transmit on the frequencies that so many of them are doing.

So yeah, while cheaper working hardware is a good thing overall (even if it's shit for actual FCC regulation performance and keeping shit in the proper bands without causing interference) the fact remains there's just too many fucking stupid people buying Baofeng hardware and others, having no clue whatsoever, and thinking it's just another walkie-fucking-talkie which of course it isn't.

>>1954549
>You mean the bad thing is that these cheap radios brought a lot of people to Ham radio illegitimately because they're too fucking stupid to sit still and learn the rules and regulations to legally be allowed to transmit on the frequencies that so many of them are doing.
I could tell you stories about oldfag hams using their Kenwoods, Yaesus, iComs to trigger and block entire relays for weeks and farting in the microphone because they had nothing other to do with their miserable lifes.
Even if some people transmit illegaly on the HAM bands with these Baofengs, which isn't nice and good at all, i wouldn't see it as dystopian as you do.
Most of the people use them to go on license free bands like PMR or Freenet, or on FRS/GMRS if they happen to live in burgerland.
I got a several people on the HAM bands INCLUDING license because of the entry not being that expensive anymore.
So fuck your pessimist view on this.

It's people like you why HAM literally dies out. You hate people younger than you, using other brands and goes completely nuts when they gave a much smaller bucks for something you spent kingdoms on.

I'm on the ham bands since the late 80th and took my license when i was 15 and already then, there were people like you complaining about "muuhhh cheap entry level Kenwood/Yaesu shit, because their iCom stuff were more expensive and according to them cheap-Ham's especially younger ones should leave them alone on the bands and stop using their radios.
Now the same discussion starts off but with complains about Baofeng.

Fucking poorfags shitting up my radio hobby.

>>1954551

Think of it this way gramps, either your hobby stays expensive and dies out when oldfucks like you do, or prices on entry-level gear drop and normal young adults are able to participate and potentially become interested in the hobby as well.

>>1954553
Ill be dead, why would I care?
I only care about the hobby while I can enjoy it, not when im in a casket.

>>1954553
this. Why don't 60+ boomers get this?

>>1954557
Anything that isn’t exactly what they’re doing is “killing ham radio”

What’s killing ham radio is boomers.

>>1954556
cry more faggot, hams hunt people like you for sport

>>1954557
>>1954560
If HAM radio has to devolve into the sort of informal trash you want to perpetuate, then maybe HAM should die.

>>1954563
Like they can do anything if I transmit xD
How will they find me?

>>1954564
SHALL

NOT

BE

INFRINGED

>>1954563
Oh boo hoo. Of all the things that are hurting amateur radio, appliance operators who don't care about the rules being turned off of the hobby isn't one of them.

>>1954557
You do realise you need a key to decrypt the tetra encrypted stream right?

>>1954560
This book is an up-to-date text on electronic circuit design. The subject is dealt with from an experimental point of view, but this has not restricted the author to well-known or simple circuits.

>>1954571
Can you do that with a baofueng?

>>1954560
Realistically, how much pussy can you get when you use one of those things?

>>1954573

unironically yes
the only advantage being you dont actually need a server tho

but if thats what you want, dat its better suited and easier to use and for that just use the beaker protocol

>>1954575
lots

Then stick to Yaesu, iCom, Kenwood (Japanese)
or:
Elecraft, Flex Radio (USA)
or:
Hilberling (Germany) but super expensive!!!!

But for handhelds, you are locked to buy Japanese because neither Hilberling, not the american brands have handheld devices.
the only one that is somewhat portable is the Eleccraft KX-10

>>1954571
there's a decent i2p crypto exchange and dnm

>>1954582

There's a lot of cp you can get in specific ways, but, remember that i2p, while anonymous, isn't censorship-proof. You would need to access that kind of media with another distributed protocol on top of i2p. Pretty much everyone declines to provide access to illicit services, otherwise.

And, for the record, you can get cp anywhere: clearnet, Tor, anywhere. That's because most distributors are honeypots. The FBI is arguably one of the best distributors of cp in existence. They single-handedly perpetuate the market. Thus, why you see sites that ask you to "contribute your own content". Honeypot. That's just the FBI goading you into going out and comitting crimes you wouldn't otherwise do.

>>1954563
Is it safe and anonymous?

>>1954584
yes. the fbi would like us to believe it isn't.

>>1954550
this was me, i got memed into buying a baofeng here and after doing some reading i ended up with a ham license a week later

>>1954573

Mostly. Obviously it's not 100% secure (statistical attacks are still possible) and there's obviously going to be some other issues (that Carnegie Mellon scandal from a few years back). But ultimately it's a lot better than nothing. But I'm mostly convinced a lot of it is psychological, a lot of the big busts came from regular police work, not breaking it.

What's odd (to me at least) is that as far as I understand it both of those weakness came from adversaries controlling entry and exist nodes, so why doesn't the project try and host their own nodes and remove the rest? I'm guessing something to do with cost and scaling.

Circuits for electronic instrumentation

Voltage and current measurements are not at all easy at very high
frequencies. For noise figure and gain measurements, the measurement of
power, instead of voltage or current, may be a much more accurate
approach.
This chapter closes with an example of one of the input circuits that can
be of great use in power measurement: the directional coupler or
directional bridge. This is a device that can be used to measure the incident
or the reflected power at any input or output port of a network, device or
system. Such a device also makes the measurement of input or output
impedance, at high frequencies, particularly simple, and an example will
be given in chapter 10. Incident and reflected power measurements are
also needed when the magnitude of a network's S-parameters [16] are to
be measured.
The function of the directional coupler, or directional bridge, may be
seen at a glance from Fig. 5.11. The device has three ports. One is
connected to a source of high frequency power, Pin, such as a signal
generator or a swept frequency source. This source, of course, has an
output impedance, usually 50 Q, that matches the co-axial transmission
line being used to interconnect the system under test

The directional coupler is a passive device so that T, K and D, shown
in Fig. 5.11, must all be attenuations and these are usually expressed in
decibels. Ideally, the transmission loss will be negligible, the directivity as
high as possible, and the coupling factor only a few decibels. However, to
get really high directivity, it is usually necessary to make the coupling
factor, K, about 20 db. This is a nuisance when the directional coupler is
being used to measure reflected power (the mode illustrated in Fig. 5.11)
but, of course, 20 db is a sensible coupling factor when the same
directional coupler is turned around and used to measure incident power

An experimental directional bridge for work on 50 Q systems.
For clarity, only one turn of the twisted pair around the ferrite toroid is
shown

Hey DIY I'm going crazy, a few years ago someone showed me this 'internet that would work in the apocalypse' thing and I can't for the life of me remember what it was called.

You'd buy a small micro controller or chip and it would allow you to communicate on a decentralized type of file sharing server - kind of like how ham radio repeaters work.

I'm at a total loss and really would love it if someone could remind me what the hell it was called. The website was blue and it had a neural web style background with links to the online stores that sold the hardware (the site was just for the open source software).

I think it was something like hexbee? Honeynet? Hexnet? Help me out!

Pic unrelated. Thanks again

Had a local "DX"pedition to test the FT817ND on car AC, strong engine QRM though:
Oct 26, 2020
QTH: JN88 near Vienna
RIG: Yaesu FT817ND on car AC
ANT: 10m telescope pole w/15m random wire and MFJ portable QRP tuner
18:05Z 4.625 MHz UVB-76 USB=58
18:11Z 3.523 DM3RB CW=559 CQ
18:23Z 4.86 Mystery 21 AM=45555
18:26Z 7.008 DL4MO CW=579 CQ
18:35 7.027 IU3KGO CW=577 QSO
18:39 7.165 LA6K LSB=58 QSO, OP LB4MI
18:42 7.0115 LZ2PP CW=589 CQ
18:44 7.003 LZ2FL CW=599 CQ DX
18:50 7.0305 TA4/G0UPL CW=595 CQ (Tone bad probably car engine QRM)
18:54 7.00775 DL4MO CW=599 CQ (double log)

Does anybody use CB (40 channel 27MHz) in the UK? I figured it might be fun to have one in my car as I drive around, but will I realistically ever pick anything up? Farmers? Taxi firms?

>>1954586
Good thing at only 10 watts, we'll never hear them!

>>1954604
Why so bitter, anon?

Anyone have experience with this cheap radio? I've been wanting to get into ham/cb radio but was wondering if it would be worth it to buy this $30 radio as something to start with before buying a whole setup. Also where should I look for buying a used system?

>>1954601
hexchat/beechat

>>1954602
--THIS IS NOT A BOT POST--
Forgot to add: the 10m pole is now upgraded with a microphone stand. Depending on wind speed I have the full 10m or less available and don't need to find something to lean it against.

>>1954613
Transmitter antennas are designed to generate either a rapidly changing electric field, or alternatively, a rapidly changing magnetic field. The antenna is placed out in the open with free access to the sky.

>>1954613
>>1954614

Ham radio invokes a wide range of visions. Maybe you have a mental image of a ham radio operator (or ham) from a movie or newspaper article. But hams are a varied lot — from go-getter emergency communicators to casual chatters to workshop tinkerers. Everyone has a place, and you do, too.

lots of schizo posting ITT

Are there any AM freq. or nets still around?
Had an elmer mention 80M something, but for the life of me, I can't find anything.

Is a PSU like this good enough?

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Compact-Bench-Power-Supply/dp/B000A896GG/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=ham+power+supply&qid=1605401138&sprefix=ham+power&sr=8-17

I’m a teen faggot and not exactly rolling in dough so while I can afford it I’d like to try and keep it budget minded

What the fuck is with the spam?

>>1954621
I don't know, not only the Wikipedia spam, but all the recent replies make no sense in the context of who they're replying to.

>Have 2 80M-10M antennas in the yard
>Neighbor does some yard work
>Neither tune for shit
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

>>1954623
Whew.
I forgot I switched the tuner to bypass. Fucking retard.

>>1954615
Did you even read my post?

>>1954509
>>1954508
I was just kidding and quoted the butthurt idiot from above >>1954326 who lost his shit because I called him out for flooding this threat with copypasta from old threads and tutorials.
Good to hear, I wish everyone would try for Extra or whatever classes you have in your country. It's really doable and you'll be glad you don't have all the restrictions of the lower level licenses.

>>1954613
>>1954602
>--THIS IS NOT A BOT POST--
Fuck you, these are as well posts from older threads, asshole.

>>1954602
>OP LB4MI

>>1954816
Good call making a screenshot. That was my original post.

Fuck bots
I have a 'L' shaped 160M offset dipole. Beautiful resonance on the analyzer and the SWR meter.
But the tuner and radio say otherwise. I repositioned the ground wire with some success last night, but the radio is still seeing a 2:1 SWR as opposed to the 1.2:1 the analyzer sees. When it comes to the ground side of the dipole, is bigger always better?

>>1954286
>Morse takes a lot of time and effort.
Correct. In addition there are Q-codes. Military Morse code operators also use Z-codes. Not sure if any Z-code is used by hams. There are also a few other operative things to learn in the military that all together takes a lot of time.

>>1954833
I only heard Z-signals once. They're not used at all by hams. Some Q-codes are used by military stations too that you don't hear often on amateur bands.
Here's what I have for Z-sigs: https://www.pwcares.org/doc/Z-Signals.pdf
>a lot of time and effort.
What I meant was hearing Morse does. I went on that Morse chat website and could send with a decent fist after two weeks. Copying received Morse is where the challenge is at. I've read that in WWI they had huge troubles training telegraph personnel at first because they were used to read telegrams from ticker tape and were only good at transmitting.

>>1954836
Just like there are unofficial Q-codes (such as QLF) there are also unofficial Z-codes. Inquiring "ZZZ?" means you are asking if the receiver is at sleep. It is an excellent way of making yourself unpopular.

Ah yes, those were the days.

>>1954856
>Ah yes, those were the days.
You should listen on HF more often, the thesaurus of Q-signals has degraded to a few, but there are a few good CW ops around. I avoid the DigiKeyer and FLdigi hams though. Straight key ops is kino.

>>1954865
I was thinking of making large posters for Q-code and also Z-code. Some of the old and obscure codes are quite funny. One must come from the Wild West and was something like "Send the donkey with the next train" and could spice up the rag chew.

>>1954831
Ding, ding, it worked.
1.2:1 across the board. I'm wrecking 160m tonight

>>1954348
I just picked up an SDR play second hand from a ham who was upgrading to one that could process sat data. I like it a ton.
But its really about how much you value quality and control.
The RTL will give you basic vhf listening.
This Play model will give you dc to daylight and a bunch of cool functions like filtering, saving, ext

>>1954620
The arrl handbook has a good section on power supplies.
But yeah, the difference is all in filtering. If your PS has a lot of switching noise on the DC ripple, it will be imposed onto your transmission.
Do any of the reviews mention HAM?

>>1954953
That was a repost from an older thread by our dear spammer, anon.

What is a good HF antenna for every HF band that's somewhat portable and relatively easy to setup? Thanks.

>>1955062
Also, the fuck is going on in this thread. I check in like once a month and this is some /qa/ level schizo posting

Not ham related but how do I pick up better FM and AM reception in a basement?

>>1955062
>What is a good HF antenna for every HF band that's somewhat portable and relatively easy to setup? Thanks.
Multiband vertical, or some inverted vee dipole that you could combine with a fiberglass telescope pole.
>>1955066
>Also, the fuck is going on in this thread. I check in like once a month and this is some /qa/ level schizo posting
This is going on for two threads in a row now.

>>1955074
Put the antenna outside the basement

>>1955074
External antenna. Get it out of the basement, for FM radio height above ground is everything.

getting weird talk on FRS, 2 guys talking about "12 o'clock" type directional locations. weird

>>1955074
>>1955078

MY SIDES ARE IN ORBIT

Just saw the ISS go over. Satellites are so cool,

>>1955080
Perhaps they're combat flight simmers?

>>1955083
Watch a newly launched Starlink group, it looks like beads on a string.
https://satmap.space/

Anyone know what the 'ST' field is for?

preface: i know nothing about radios
i have this old tube 60s shortwave kit radio. Is it even possible these days to pick up the kinds of signals you used to back in the 60s? After fidlding with it for a while I could get maybe 2-3 am stations on band A

>>1955086
Some time coordinate. My guess is Standard Time. If you're not sure, strike it out, write "UTC" over it and use that time.

>>1955080
Probably airshitters

>>1955080
They may be boy scouts. In the UK it has been found that children can no longer read a clock, let alone use it as a compass.

>>1955086
Strength aka wattage?

>>1955086
>>1955092
I posted that about a year ago

>>1955095
Nah, that's part of the XMTR field. My guess is Station Time.

>>1955097
Makes sense!

>>1955096
Shit, nobody knows who's meming who anymore.

>>1955096
>>>/x/

>>1953329
Almost 1k a year for a license, no thanks. Make it poorfags friendly and id take it up, i got a baofeng I use to monitor the few ham frequencies i stumble upon. papa14 is my goto (Califag)

CB help dunno whats wrong

already tuned antenna 1.5 SWR on ch1 and ch40
attached power line to positive battery terminal
should the ground wire be on the negative terminal? that's where its at now
all i get is static until about half squelch
i can hear people SOMETIMES but not clearly
antenna is positioned high on roof of car (mag mount)
i can still hear engine noise/electrical noises through the cb (A/C blower motor for example)
the RX meter has like 1 bar sometimes too
TX shows full bars but i never get a response

I've tried everything except trashing everything and buying new shit. unless no one around me is talking? i feel like i should hear something?

>>1955075
Thanks for the recommendation. Now that I remember there was someone spamming shit like this on another HAM forum, basically ctrl + c + ctrl + v'ing old questions and answers and other shit and reposting them for whatever reason. Very strange, I guess schizo = funny for whatever retard is doing this.

>>1955103
Have you tuned the antenna while it is mounted exactly as it is on your car?
Makes a huge difference in SWR if you tune it off its intended mount.
Power is OK, but you may need to check how to get rid of your engine noise, might be different for each model.

>>1955105
It's like the butthurt guy who spammed the Twente WebSDR for months with wiki articles on civilisation scales.

You ever just sit in your truck
Also, first post

>>1955089
Knight Span Master? Yeah you should be able to pick up AM stations alright with that, maybe you'll need to connect an external antenna somehow. Your bands are 1.7 MHz to 4.5 MHz, 4.8 MHz to 14 MHz and 13.5 MHz to 30 MHz.

>>1955100

>>1955109
Thanks. Aside from AM, assuming I got an atenna, could I actually listen to anything useful? I can get AM on any other radio in my house

>>1955107
do you remember their username or whatever name they had on that site? that sounds...... extremely familiar, not on that WebSDR, but somewhere similar, I think a KiwiSDR.

>>1953329
What should I say when someone responds to my monitoring call on a repeater?

>>1955103
Do you live in a rural area? I do and don't hear any activity unless there's sporadic E.

>>1955113
Yeah, see the screencap >>1954276

>>1955066
Instead of studying and getting his ticket, some anon would rather spend his time spamming this general with a bot that dumps old posts (and pics) and wiki article fragments. Then spout nonsense about it being so easy it's not worth his precious time.

>>1955130
>Instead of studying and getting his ticket, some anon would rather spend his time spamming this general with a bot that dumps old posts (and pics) and wiki article fragments. Then spout nonsense about it being so easy it's not worth his precious time.
it's so cool that you were just born with all that badass knowledge and was never an amature or biginner before. But please just get the fuck out, faggot

>>1955130
You should study to make better radios, not to fill out government forms and use industrially made appliances built with proprietary ICs and firmware to which you don't even have access to the source code of. And stop doxxing yourself every time you transmit, dummy.

>>1955158
>not using dmr
>making it
choose one

>>1955179
Yeah that's bullshit
Use an open source codec or just send your hand encrypted messages using CW

>>1955105
Ohhhhhhhhh thank you
Honestly i was begining to worry i was having a stroke

Does the military choose ham frequencies on purpose for their othr?

>>1955629
Most likely, yes. That way there are few repercussions. Had they used aeronautical frequencies they would be droned out during a dark night.

What have I gotten myself into?
So far I've found a broken rectifier tube and two busted elcos.
Nearly all of the rigging for display control (needle, band) is gone too.

Everyone else having a blah reception day, or is it my new setup?

>>1955915
Do we know what band you're using?
Do we know if you're on the night or day side of earth?

>>1955921
All modes, all times.

>>1955925
>blah reception
>All modes

Some ham humour: https://newhams.info/ham-humor/

>500 watts
>FT8
Have the trolls moved to eham?

>>1956091
>it will handle 1,000 watts SSB or 350 watts FM/Digital from 1.8-54 MHz.
(from LDG website)
>went to smoke
>while transmitting with abt. 500 watts FT8
>So i recomment to use FT8, RTTY etc. much under 400 watts to make transmitting save.
He's not wrong though, his education just cost more.

>>1955103
Leave the positive attached to the battery but move the negative to the body of the car.

2nd unhook the antenna and see if the engine noise goes away. If it does then most of it is likely getting in through the antenna. If the noise is still there its coming up the power connector. Easiest way fix that is wrap the power wire 4 or 5 times through a #31 mix ferrite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuMlM8zWQFk

If all the noise goes away with antenna then put a ferrite on the coax near the antenna and the radio.

ARRL has a good book on this
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/arr-0915?seid=dxese1
Also many good papers on it
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

Noise can even get in to the mic connector. Modern cars are a RFI nightmare on HF.
$39 walmart CBs have no filtering at all. The 980SSB is an cheap gateway to ssb but it needs help with noise.

Mag mount antennas suck.

>>1956019
I love point to point wiring and old components
Why did the jews have to invent PCBs and ICs?

>>1956104
>i recommend to use FT8, RTTY etc. much under 400 watts
Do people really do >50watts on FT8?

Relevant thread
>encrypted PSK on 148.8 MHz
>>>/pol/291839719

>>1956136
lulz. I'm up for a fox hunt ... emphasis on hunt,

Can anything be done with analog TV bands? like say, someone got access to a 100 Watt TV transmitter....

>>1956164
The analog bands are the same bands as DTV. At least in the USA.
Repack just cut off everything above channel 36 and sold it to cell companies.

>>1956189
Cool, good to know. as for chsnnel 36 and up, i have an RF modualtor that goes from 26 to 69. time to get an amp i guess.

>>1956133
>I love point to point wiring and old components
It's a whole fucking mess!
The only relief is it's easier than the rigging of the display functions with steel wire and thread.
>Why did the jews have to invent PCBs and ICs?
Post that from a computer made out of point-to-point-soldered transistors.

>>1956193
The way tv's work now the chances of someone finding your broadcast would be slim to none.
A person would have to manual rescan for channels and also have a TV that still looks for analog stations. Most modern flatscreens skip this.
Its not like back in the day where you could pirate between 2 different legal channels and everyone would find you just randomly channel surfing.

Also since NTSC tv channels are 6 hecking mhz wide it take A LOT of power to get coverage. Most TV stations have ERP's in the megawatts. 100 watts wont get you far at all.

>>1956134
The right way to do FT8 is to run full legal limit and tell everyone your QRP.

>>1956206
i see. speaking of 6MHz, i picked up an 800mW transmitter from aliexpress. it says it uses the PAL-DK audio system, 6.5MHz. On my NTSC CRT set, the video is fine from the transmitter when picked up via the antenna, but i get no audio. is there any way to fix that?

>>1956134

Watched this guy push 100 watts on his livestream for that sweet sweet dx. Still couldn't make the contact.

>>1956201
Computers are degenerate.

>>1956221
That's how I perceive half of the "qrp" folk I run into. Fucking trolls.
>You should run 5 watts so my 500 watts sounds even better
>>1956237
Don't watch him. He's a cock sucker. And dirty Ham Outlet shill.

>>1956233
>PAL-DK audio system
Probably not if its a burger TV. The video vs audio offset doesn't match up.
Some chink flatscreens let you change to PAL since they are built for the world market. They might call it Regional settings or something. Try setting to different countries.

>>1956241
dx engineering cuck spotted

Stupid question: how do I find and install a small linear for my mobile CB? I’m talking like 25 to maybe 50 watt. Will I go to jail if I ask the dude at the CB shop on the interstate?

>>1953329
It's the parasite from last thread ;)
This antenna calls for 8awg for the driven elements and 14awg for the reflector.
It states the 8awg is to increase bandwidth, but doesn't discuss the diameter of the reflector. Would using 8awg for everything be a bad idea?

So I made a dipole out of 2 wilson 1000 antennas I had laying around and I'm thinking of putting it in my attic, should I make it vertical or horizontal?

Sort of a weird question. But did DSB-SC come before AM? Because DSB-SC is merely not giving a DC offset to the modulating signal, such that no carrier trig term exists so surely this would've been done before AM?

>>1869511
Vertical if you have the room!

>>1956271
If weight (and sag) is not a problem, 8 for all should be ok.

>>1956270
https://www.newegg.com/p/0TF-0002-00002?Item=9SIA53X2MN4629

Set the dead key wattage to 2 watts and make sure your antenna is tuned well. High SWR or over driving the amp kills them quickly.

>>1956276
Much appreciated! It's big, but I may be able to juggle it with a tripod or two.

Do you HAM guys actually share information on the wavelenghts that isnt shitcasting or is it all a huge meta hobby where you just discuss how to tune your gear better and get better hardware ?

>>1956270

There's no point in a small linear, just get a 200-300w one and call it good.
The logarithmic nature of power means there is no such thing as too much realistically, especially with a shitty ass mobile antenna.

>>1956284
But how would I find and install one? Can I just ask the guy at the shop or is he going to think I’m a glowie and kick me out?

>>1956271
Any idea why a 6M element wasn't added?

>>1956286
Buy one off ebay, what radio do you have?

>>1956272
For DX it doesn't matter.
For noise vertical normally is better. Power lines are horizontally polarized and setting your antenna vertical eliminates some noise with the cross polarization.
But most attics are shaped that the horizontal arrangement would crowed the antenna less.
I would say experiment and see.

>>1956290
Cobra 29. Pls no bully

>>1956286
Just search RM ITALY on newegg or ebay.

>>1956293
I would recommend an RM Italy amp because they're powerful, cheap and reliable but they're really sensitive and only want 1-2 watts dead key and I haven't been able to turn any of my cobra 29s down low enough to run them.
If you supply too much power they saturate and swing backwards and sound like shit, ive had to put all 5 of my 29s into storage because they're all useless to me since you can't turn the tx power down low enough.
The solution is to buy an amp that accepts higher wattage inputs, or buy a radio that can be turned down low enough.
Matching the amp to the radio can be a big headache from my experience kek
I had like 6 29s at one point, I literally started giving them away, they can't do SSB and they don't work well with my linears so I have no use for them.
I recommend the 980SSB to everyone who asks what radio to buy, theyre easy to turn down to match with a linear and they do SSB very well.

>>1956296
You have been a treasure trove of information. Thank you.
-tourist from /fit/

>>1956296
Kys, retard.

>>1956299
You ok bro?

>>1956298
You too, faggot.

Any info on how to make an antenna for a heathkit gw-10? Used to be from my dad, and i'm fairly new ti radios.

>>1956293
>>1956296
>can't turn the tx power down low enough.
You need to put a "swing kit" in the C29.
You adjust the resistor value to adjust the deadkey.

http://cbradiomagazine.com/cobra-29-ltd-super-modulation-modification/

>>1956138
ok /k/ unt ;)
Ok, just making a joke. Don't mind me. First chance to say it.

Recommend cheap christmas presents

>>1956350
RSP1A

>>1956134
Joe Taylor, K1JT, runs 1kW.

what's the best bang for buck setup to squash niggers?

>>1956265
Those are fighting words. I don't need to pay an extra $50 for 'free' next day delivery.

>>1956448
I dont know but the most likely one I will buy after a decade of toying with baofengs and the idea of something better is some
ubitx
maybe a used bitx40
so 80-300$ for a complete setup depending if you buy used
8 watts should be plenty (and motivation to build actually working antenna setups). Probably doesnt have the best modulation blabla, but the only real step up would be a full mast with a proper rack sdr thing for a couple dozen grands, I reckon.

https://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx-v6-buy-the-basic-kit/

Oh wait.. there is another option. Learn all about electronics and build something with the equivalent power of a railgun yourself, maybe have it morse to some distant planets and ask them to please extinguish us as the information age has slowly drifted into pointless communication

>>1956282
Sometimes people try and sell you equipment you don't want.

Reminder:
>Saturday & Sunday
>4pm-10pmET

>>1956282
where else can you go that someone is interested to hear about what color you are painting your window trim this weekend

>>1956534
Shit. That's actually my plan this weekend

>>1956237
How do they call these folding antennas? I know someone who's asked me and I couldn't tell him. I don't find anything looking for tape measure antennas, that's the only word I was thinking of.

>>1956615
Not sure. Abbree is one brand.

>>1956296
There is no power adjustment in the Cobra’s. You have to modify them to lower the carrier. There are a few ways to go about it.

I hope you weren’t in their just tuning random coil slugs thinking that’s the proper way to do it.

Breaker

More radio pr0n. I have the schematics and slowly start finding things that belong together.

>>1957066
have a you

Bump limit reached, new thread: >>1957080
>>1957080
>>1957080

>>1953421
someone please ID that radio and accessories
my guts tell me it's a Kenwood

>>1953834
>>1953836
>>1953838
>>1953839
kek'd amusingly hard

The preliminary crew schedule shows a Moscow Aviation Institute SSTV activity planned for December 1 and 2. This is a limited time experiment primarily targeting the Moscow area. Others in range of ISS during the experiment should also have the opportunity to receive images. Historically, they use mode PD120 and transmit on 145.800 MHz.

December 1 - Start about 12:30 UTC. Stop about 18:25 UTC*

December 2 - Start about 11:50 UTC. Stop about 18:25 UTC*

*Dates and times subject to change.

>>1956019
That's a nice old radio. Replace every capacitor in it and find a usable rectifier tube (you might need to adapt something). Find some dial cord or good fishing line.

>>1957066
Post diagram please..

Bump limit reached, new thread:
>>1957080
>>1957080
>>1957080