#amateurradio

danie10@squeet.me

SDR-Control for iOS is a Software Defined Radio client app for remote DX’ing with some Icom Transceivers

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SDR-Control is a full featured iPad App to operate your Icom Transceiver at home or from around the world without additional hard- or software. But yes it is limited to working with your Icom IC-705, IC-7610 and IC-9700 transceivers, mainly because these radios have Wifi or Ethernet interfaces with their own server service running, instead of the usual USB found on other Icom radios. USB interfaces are not supported, and this is likley because the app is remotely connecting in from the Internet, through the home router, and to the WiFi or Ethernet device running on that network.

SDR-Control comes with integrated FT8 and FT4, nothing extra required. It also has UDP Log submission, call lookup, worked before, and both QRZ and HamQTH lookup.

What I like most (if I could use the app) is there are no recurring fees or subscriptions to use it, and it can be used across multiple iOS devices.

See https://roskosch.de/sdr-control-ios/

#technology #amateurradio #hamradio #Icom #SDRControl
#Blog, ##amateurradio, ##hamradio, ##icom, ##sdrcontrol, ##technology

hackaday@xn--y9azesw6bu.xn--y9a3aq

Boat Anchor Twins Get a Little Digital Help Staying on Frequency

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In the ham radio trade, gear such as the old Drake units [Dr. Scott M. Baker] has in his radio shack are often referred to as "boat anchors." It refers to big, heavy radios that were perhaps a bit overengineered compared to the state of the art at the time they were designed, and it's actually a shame that the name has taken on something of a pejorative connotation, since some of this gear is rock solid half a century or more after it was built.

But older gear is often harder to use, at least compared to the newer radios with microcontrollers and more stable oscillators inside. To make his 1970s-era Drake "Twins" setup of separate but linked receiver and transmitter a little more fun to use, [Scott] came up with this neat Raspberry Pi-based DDS-VFO project to keep his boat anchors afloat. Compared to the original mechanically tuned variable frequency oscillator in the Drake receiver, the direct-digital synthesis method promises more stability, meaning less knob-nudging to stay on frequency.

The hardware used for the DDS-VFO is actually pretty simple -- just a Raspberry Pi Zero W driving an AD9850-based signal-generator module. Sending the signal to the Twins was another matter. That was done by tapping into the injection cable linking both units, which meant a few circuit complications to deal with signal attenuation. [Scott] also added amenities like a digital frequency display, optical encoder with crank-style knob to change frequency, and a host of Cherry MX keyswitches for quick access to different features.

From the look of the video below, the Twins are now rock-solid and a lot easier to use. This project is loosely based on a recent panadapter project [Scott] undertook for the receiver side of the Twins.

#radiohacks #ad9850 #amateurradio #dds #directdigitalsynthesis #drake #ham #variablefrequencyoscillator #vfo

danie10@squeet.me

A Scratch Built Minimalist 4W SSB Transceiver Using Only 7 Transistors - Meet the PSSST-20 (Pete's Simple Seven SSB Transceiver)

The goal was to create a fully functioning "Minimalist" SSB transceiver using something different than the currently popular bilateral (Bitx) topology and in doing so use the minimum number of transistor devices. The linked webpages (separate page for each module) describe a fully functional and operational 20M SSB transceiver that uses a total of 7 transistors, Five of those transistors are 2N2222A, the 6th is a 2N2219A and the 7th is now a RD006HHF1. With some shopping all seven can be purchased for under $10 total. The output power is 4 Watts with the RD006HHF1. If you stick with the IRF510 the cost is under $5.

See https://www.n6qw.com/PSSST_20.html

#technology #DIY #radio #hamradio #amateurradio

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https://gadgeteer.co.za/scratch-built-minimalist-4w-ssb-transceiver-using-only-7-transistors-meet-pssst-20-petes-simple

hackaday@xn--y9azesw6bu.xn--y9a3aq

PSSST! Here’s A Novel SSB Radio Design With Only Seven Transistors

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Pete's Simple Seven SSB Transceiver

When [Pete Juliano] sat down to design a sideband transceiver for the 20 Meter (14 MHz) ham radio band, he eschewed the popular circuits that make up so many designs. He forged ahead, building a novel design that he calls Pete's Simple Seven SSB Transceiver, or PSSST for short.

What makes the PSSST so simple is not only its construction, but the low component count. The same circuit using four 2N2222A's is used on both transmit and receive. On transmit, an extra three components step in to amplify the microphone input and build output power, which is 2.5-4 Watts, depending on the final output transistor used. The best part is that all of the transistors can be had for under $10 USD! [Pete] shows where radio components such as the RF mixers and the crystal filter can be purchased, saving a new constructor a lot of headaches. The VFO and IF frequencies are both provided by the venerable si5351a with an Arduino at the helm.

Many simple transceivers are designed to demonstrate a minimum viable radio, with performance not really a goal. On the other hand, the PSSST was modeled stage-by-stage in LTSpice, ensuring great transmit audio and nice receiver performance. Be sure to check out the demonstration below the break!

[Pete] has painstakingly documented the entire project on his website, and the code for the VFO is available by request via email. We appreciate this contribution to the homebrew ham radio community, and we're sure this will provide many nights of solder smoking enjoyment for radio amateurs around the world.

Thanks to [Nick, G8INE] for the Tip!

#radiohacks #2n2219a #2n2222a #amateurradio #hamradio #irf510 #qrp #qrpoperation

danie10@squeet.me

More Software-Defined Radio Projects Using DragonOS, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution specifically packaged for software-defined radio functionality

DragonOS roared onto the wavelengths during the beginnings of the various pandemic lockdowns last year. Since then Aaron, the creator of the OS, has been busy adding features to the distribution as well as creating plenty of videos which show off its capabilities and also function as how-tos for people who might want to learn about software-defined radio. The latest is a video about using this software to detect radio signals in certain specified spectrums.

See More Software-Defined Radio Projects Using DragonOS

#technology #hamradio #amateurradio #SDR #DragonOS

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DragonOS, a Debian-based Linux distribution specifically packaged for software-defined radio functionality, roared onto the wavelengths during the beginnings of the various pandemic lockdowns last …


https://gadgeteer.co.za/more-software-defined-radio-projects-using-dragonos-ubuntu-based-linux-distribution-specifically

danie10@squeet.me

The Simplest FT8 Transceiver You’ll Ever Build - It may only be 100mW Output But FT8 Is Designed Specifically For Weak Signal Modes

Its brains are a Teensy 3.6, while the receiver side is a Si4735 receiver chip and the transmitter is a Si5351 programmable clock chip driving a Mini-Circuits GVA84 power amplifier with an appropriate filter. The interface is via a touchscreen display. It relies on existing work that applies a patch on-the-fly to the Si4735 receiver chip for SSB reception, and another project for the FT8 software.

The charm of this transceiver is that it can be assembled almost in its entirety from modules. If the 100 mW output power seems a bit low, it’s worth remembering that FT8 is a weak signal mode, and given the right propagation conditions the world should be able to hear it despite the meagre output.

See The Simplest FT8 Transceiver You’ll Ever Build

#technology #hamradio #amateurradio #FT8

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Probably the most interesting facets of amateur radio in 2021 lie in the realm of digital modes. Using the limitless possibilities of software defined radios has freed digital radio communication f…


https://gadgeteer.co.za/simplest-ft8-transceiver-youll-ever-build-it-may-only-be-100mw-output-ft8-designed-specifically

hackaday@xn--y9azesw6bu.xn--y9a3aq

Building A Hundred-Year-Old Radio Transmitter

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Our Hackaday team is spread across the world, but remains in easy contact through the magic of the Internet. A number of us hold amateur radio callsigns, so could with a bit of effort and expenditure do the same over the airwaves. A hundred years ago this would have seemed barely conceivable as amateurs were restricted to the then-considered-unusable HF frequencies.

Thus it was that in December 1921 a group of American radio amateurs gathered in a field in Greenwich Connecticut in an attempt to span the Atlantic. Their 1.3 MHz transmitter using the callsign 1BCG seems quaintly low-frequency a hundred years later, but their achievement of securing reception in Ardrossan, Scotland, proved that intercontinental communication on higher frequencies was a practical proposition. A century later a group from the Antique Wireless Association are bringing a replica transmitter to life to recreate the event.

A free-running oscillator is today rarely seen in a radio transmitter, but at the time their single-tube Colpitts oscillator using a UV-204 transmitting tube would have been considered a stable source. That fed a 1KW power amplifier using three more UV-204s in parallel, which in turn fed a Marconi-style T antenna design with an earth counterpoise of multiple radial wires. The replica was originally built for an event in 1996, and substitutes the similar 204A tube for the now unobtainable UV-204. Even then, hundred-year-old tubes are hard to find in 2021, so they could only muster a single working example for the PA.

All in all it's a very interesting project, and one of which we hope we'll hear more as the anniversary approaches. If we can get the transmission details we'll share them with you, and let's see whether the same distances can be traversed with the more noisy conditions here in 2021.

To demonstrate how advanced this transmitter was for 1921, take a look at the Alexanderson alternator, its mechanical contemporary.

#radiohacks #1bcg #amateurradio #transmitter