Minima - Wayne's Build

Sunday I had a chance to work with Jeff - KO7M via Skype for a few hours. He has the loan of Wayne's (NB6M) Minima Transceiver for a few weeks while Wayne is on vacation - Thanks Wayne.

A large part of the discussion was about "How to Use Git and GitHub" for software development.

Wayne's Mimima

Afterwards, we decided to try to update Wayne's Minima to my latest Alternate Tuning Method transceiver control code. Wayne had previously downloaded and was using a much older copy of my code. The older copy did NOT have many of the NEW and current features and functions. Our goal was to exercise these new features on Wayne's hardware.

When we first downloaded my NEW Revision, Wayne's Minima went NUTS, with a loud Buzzing sound on all frequencies.

We reinstalled the old software and the Buzz went away.

Something that I had done over the last few weeks has made my software almost useless. With a little work, and via the process of elimination (removing sections of code), Jeff was able to track down the offending routine.

I had inappropriately moved two of the PTT Pin Initialization Statements to within the main TX/RX Idle Loop. This pin is also used to control the TX/RX relay. Rapid re-initialization of the PTT pin was producing hash that the receiver was picking up. Removing the two nu-necessary and redundant statements solved the problem. Initialization of the PTT pin is now done between Receive and Transmit and then when switched back.

The GitHub copy has now been updated.

While we had Wayne's Minima NOW working so well with the new updated code, I wanted to exercise each of the new functions. Wayne does not yet have a "seventh" push button installed, and therefore we had to use a jumper wire as a switch to access some of the functions. For the full list of new functions that I have added to Farhan's original Minima code, see Link. Everything worked better than expected - I am a Happy Camper.

One of my main interest was to see how well the CW ID and MACRO's worked, and how well the QRSS Beacon worked. They actually worked much better than expected!!

The Non-Volatile Save and Load of User Memories worked as expected. Dial Calibration for both USB and LSB was an easy task.

Over the next few weeks, Jeff will be introducing some new hardware support and functionality for the Minima. He has plans for multiple Si570's (VFO and BFO), other I2C Displays and more. See his blog at: http://ko7m.blogspot.com/search/label/Minima.

Contributing to the Minima Hardware and Software has been a very rewarding and interesting project, . . . Thanks, Farhan.


-- Home Page: https://WA0UWH.blogspot.com

Minima - One Builders Success

John - MI0DFG

For the last few months I have been working with John - MI0DFG while programming and testing new operational options for the Minima Transceiver Controller.

John is an avid Hardware Builder and he has produced some very impressive Homebrew equipment. My Minima hardware build is still in progress. While developing the Alternate Tuning Method for the Minima, John has been willing to test a few of my program modification.

Because John is 8 time zones away, we have been communicating via e-mail, and only recently via skyp.

John has provided photos of his build which includes the RF386 Power Amp - very impressive! 

Jeff - KO7M and I put them together into this Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzeC6rtVaAs

The build is very impressive, and the resulting receiver audio performance is also impressive.

Thanks, John and Farhan.


Note: Permission was granted to make and publish this video. Although inconvenienced, NO electrons were harmed and were returned to their origin during the filming and audio recording :-)

--

Minima - Proposed New Tuning Method

This post is for a few brave (adventuresome) Minima builders/users. This is a "work in progress" and therefore feedback is requested.

Although I have not completed my experimental Minima Transceiver build, I have built the Digital Control Module and have been working on the Arduino software that controls the Display and the rest of the Minima hardware. See my previous blog posts, or at:

http://wa0uwh.blogspot.com/search/label/Minima

Minima Digital Control and VFO Module
Running REV 0.4.erb

One of the modification that I have made is to incorporate Jeff's (KO7M) 1Hz Driver for the Si570. This modification allows for 1Hz Tuning of the my Minima's VFO. Jeff's Si570 code is available on GIT Hub at:

https://github.com/ko7m/Si570

Also, I have been working to modify the Arduino Sketch to provide an Alternate Tuning Method, what I consider a "Near-Normal" tuning method or functionality, for the original Farhan's Minima circuit and hardware. With only the original circuit's tuning POT to work with, functionality is of course somewhat limited.

The original Minima Arduino Sketch (REV 0.4) changes frequency via the Tuning Pot and pre-programmed steps. Tuning rate is dependent on how far from the "center of rotation" the Tuning Pot is turned. To tune "up and down" around a received signal the Tuning Pot must be turned past the Pot's center location, which of course is not typical of a normal receiver. Farhan's original Minima Arduino Sketch (REV 0.4) is available at:

https://github.com/afarhan/radiono

The original Minima Arduino Sketch of VERY functional. But, I as programmer, and like they say: "programmers will be programmers, and they will modify programs", so, I am, what I am  :-)

My goal for this program modification is to maintain the functionality of the original Minima Arduino Sketch and incorporated Jeff's Integer Si570 Driver, which provides High Resolution Tuning (< 1Hz).

My modified Sketch, can replace the original Minima Sketch (REV 0.4) via a normal Arduino IDE compile and download. And if needed, the original Sketch can be re-installed via the same method.

This modified Minima Sketch (REV 0.4.erb) is available on my GIT Hub, at:

https://github.com/wa0uwh/radiono_erb/

This revision ALSO provides the following:

• This Sketch can be used in place of original Minima REV 0.4 Sketch (but of course, use at your own risk).
• Provides Eight Digits for Frequency Display
• Provides 1Hz Tuning Resolution

     Provides a Near-Normal Tuning Method

• Tuning is accomplished by moving the cursor via the Tuning Pot to the digit that you want to change.
• Then wait for the underline cursor to start flashing.
• Then change the digit by turning the Pot left for lower, and right for higher frequency.
• Near the Stops (the Pot rotational Stops) the digit will change automatically.
• At the Stops, the digit automatically changes even faster.

After you stop Tuning (i.e., stop changing the digit), the mode switches back to "cursor move mode" for a few seconds, as indicated by the Non-blinking Cursor, then repeats.

• The cursor can be "parked" to the right of the least digit.

The current Mode is indicated by the cursor style:

• Blinking Underline Cursor = Digit Change Mode
• Non-Blinking Underline Cursor = Cursor Move Mode

These modes are ALSO indicated by the far right character on the top line:

• "*" = Cursor Move Mode
• "-" = Digit Change Mode
• "<" = Digit Changing to lower frequency
• ">" = Digit Changing to hight frequency

Note: If the Cursor Move Mode seems to get lost, move the cursor to each of the two hard Stops to recalibrate cursor movement.

Some new functions on my To-Do list include:

• Stay Compatable with Original Minima Hardware
• Provide for Rolling Menus
• Band Pick from Menus
• User Defined Frequency Memories
• User Defined Frequency Tuning Steps (e.g. similar to FT-817's 2.5KHz steps)
• Transmit Macro (send CW CQ, ID or more)
• Transmit Mode from Menu
• Beacon Modes: CW, QRSS, and WSPR-Tx
• User Defined Operational Preferences; Digit Count, Tuning Rate, etc
• etc

If you try this initial experimental "REV 0.4.erb", I hope you find it useful.


Have fun !!
and, Provide Feedback !!

---

UPDATE
Git Hub Repository URL's have been corrected.


--

Saturdays Projects

Yesterday, Jeff - K07M stopped by and we worked on some projects.

Jeff wanted to practice welding. I have both TIG and MIG welders, so we spent some time "gluing" some Aluminium together with TIG, and then some steel with MIG. With a little practice Jeff was able to "lay down" a reasonable bead. Welding is a "art", therefore practice is almost always necessary to stay proficient.

We then moved into the E-shop where we diagnosed the failed BusPirate (see previous post), we quickly isolated the problem to one pin of the Microprocessor (PIC24FJ64GA). I suspect that the failure was the result of an ESD (Electrotatic Discharge). The failed pin is directly connected to a clip lead on the end of the test cable. I have been a little lax regarding ESD abatement in my E-shop. I need to acquire a bench-top anti-static mat and maybe some anti-static floor spray.

A last minute project before Jeff left, was to "fix" my long-wire antenna haul-up cord used for the end support over the tree. The long-wire has been up for two years and therefore the support cord has (most likely) cut into the limb, and then the tree has retaliated with pitch to glue it in place. Regardless of the tree's desire to hold the cord in place, I need it to be free for Antenna adjustment or configuration changes. I had attempted to bring down the Antenna before, but could not pull hard enough to break it loose.

Our goal was to pull until; the limb broke, or the sap let go, or the cord broke. After wrapping the cord around a 2x6, like oxen, we were able to pull it free. The cord is tied into a loop, so that I can pull-up or pull-down as necessary. To alleviate future problems, we inserted the cord into a twenty foot section of 1/4 inch Polypropylene Tube (refrigerator ice-maker tube), tied a knot and pulled the tube up and over the branches where the cord rests. Hopefully the 20 foot section of tube so draped over the branches will stay in place, and protect the cord from the tree.

The 300 foot long-wire is now again at about 90 feet AGL.

Thanks, Jeff, for the help !

---

UPDATE
When I wrote this blog entry, I did not realize Jeff had blogged the same project day, check it out at: http://goo.gl/LuZE0S  :-)

-

Clip Leads

For the last several days I have struggled with toubleshooting some very small circuits (see previous post). Thanks to my friend Jeff - KO7M, troubleshooting was successful.

A part of troubleshooting is; measuring, stimulating, and configuring the Device Under Test (DUT), to do that jumper wires and clip leads are needed.  Over the years I have collected a "rag-tag" set of clip leads, but most are only useful for larger circuits. The few small clip leads that I have were enlisted in the recent troubleshooting effort, where only a few of those clip leads were from a matched sets.

Adafruit
BusPirate Prob Set

For the BusPirate I use an Adafruit.com Probe Set with 10 hooked clips on one end, which is very handy to make connections to the DTU.

Even though Jeff did not have difficulty, I found trying to clip the additional external Pullup Resistors, and test equipment on to my small board was a challenge, some of the header pins required more than one clip lead and the spacing between pins made the it even more challenging.

Mouser
Pomona 5790-0 Micrograbber

By chance, one of the clip leads that I had was a Pomona Micrograbber, it seems like I have had this clip lead forever. but I had never really used it.

In the tangled mess of wires and clip leads around my DOT I found the Micrograbber most useful. It has two ports for removable wires and its claw seems to require much less space on and around the Header Pins.

Adafruit Jumper Wires

These clips can be connect with jumper wire that have square female ends. This type of jumper wires are available in several lengths from Adafruit.com.


I now really like these clips.



At the time, I did NOT know the manufactures name or a source to obtain additional Micrograbbers, they are only embossed with the letters "dli".  Google search did not provide any clues.  Additional search for "micro clips" put me onto the right path to Pomona, where I found the name and part number. They are available in Black (5790-0) or Red (5790-2). A quick check with Mouser.com and Digikey.com gave me the order number and the PRICE! They are about $9.00 each. Yikes ! A few are available on ebay.com but they were even more expensive (go figure?).

Yes, I know, very small "hooked clips" are available that are very useful (I have a few), but they are not as configuration flexible, and they are typically connected (soldered) to wires and at a fixed length. With hooked clips, connecting more than one wire generally means a second (or more) clips on the same pin. With 5790 Micrograbbers, two wires can be connected on each.

I now have four (4) Pomona 5790-0 Micrograbbers on order, . . . but I really wished they were a little cheaper!

A local group-order could save a few bucks on each and the shared postage, . . . anyone?


Note: The above Images were obtained without permission from their respective web sites, hopefully the owners will not mind the inclusion here for this endorsement.

--

Minima - VFO Troubleshooting - Cont'd 3

After four days of extreme frustration, while troubleshooting my Minima VFO Module (see previous posts), there is success!

My friend Jeff - KO7M came by today with known working tools (BusPirate) and parts (Si570). We had been troubleshooting my VFO problem via e-mail and over the phone, but we were not getting anywhere.

Jeff at the Microscope

The problem came down to, two (2) simultaneous failures, one in my BusPirate (BP) and one in my VFO Module that I was testing.

1. My BusPirate fails to generate I2C SCL (clock) signals, even though many other functions seamed to work. Without an SCL signal data can not be received by a Device Under Test (DUT), even though the BP can receive Data using the same SCL wire from the DUT.

2. The failure of my VFO was the Si570 itself, it would not accept I2C data or commands, even though it produced RF on the output. It is DEAD.

Before Today

Before today, I had created an Si570 BreakOut Board (see previous post), with just the Si570 and Header pins. My intent was to verify that the BP was working as expected, but because there are also wires, clips and connectors that could have failed results were inconclusive.

Si570 Breakout Board

Si570 Breadout Board

At this point I still could not determine if the failure was in the BP or had I damaged another Si570. So, I built a second Si570 Breakout Board. But alas, still nothing seemed to work.

Today - Jeff to the Rescue !

With Jeff's known working BP we quickly determined my VFO Module (i.e. Si570) was bad. Other I2C devices; the two Si570 Breakout Boards and a Real Time Clock Module (RTC) all work as expected.

Because yesterday I had used my last Si570 on the second Si570 Breakout Board, I could not repair the VFO Module. but we could build an Si570 Breadout Board Adapter  that connects between the Breakout Board to the Minima CPU Module. I had previously designed and did a layout for the Adapter with DipTrace, for just such an occasion. We spent the rest of the afternoon building and testing the Adapter Board.

The Adapter Board tested correctly with Jeff's BP as we hoped. It also tested and worked with the Minima CPU Module.

Adapter Board Connected to the Minima CPU
and a Coax Cable, the Si570 Breakout Board in the Foreground

Stacked and Ready for Testing

Now all Minima Modules worked as expected, we checked for a varying frequency while tuning, we estimated on the oscilloscope 20MHz at the low end, and 50MHz and the high end while Tuning across the (0-30MHz) HF band (for a 20MHz IF).

34.2MHz  (14.2+20) As Shown
with 10X Expanded Sweep Scale

Minima CPU Module and
Temporary VFO Module 

I am a happy camper - Thanks Jeff, for the help !


I can now continue my experiment Minima Transceiver Project.

I need to order a few more Si570's, and a new BusPirate (or troubleshoot and fix it).

--

Minima VFO - Troubleshooting

Last week I was on Jury Duty, and therefore there was little or no time for my Hobby Projects.

But now, I need to continue troubleshooting my Minima VFO which is reporting an error on the LCD display. The error at program reset is: "Si570 comm error".

As programmed, the Arduino Sketch seems to ignore the error and continues with normal execution. If I remove (unplug) the VFO Module the program "stops" and does not get past the initial start-up stage, and therefore it appears that there is "some" communication with the Si570 (or at least the Pullups work).

My friend Jeff - KO7M, suggested using my BusPirate to ensure that the Si570 was set on the correct I2C address as published and working as expected. This will be easy because of the modular construction that I am using, tests can be conducted on only the VFO Module. This testing would be much more difficult (but not impossible) if everything was built on a single board.

Minima VFO connected to the BusPirate

I am glad I blogged my previous use of the BusPirate, it helped me to remember the commands. I think I will expand that post to be more complete.

Well, maybe it is NOT so easy, because so far, I have not found the VFO problem. In fact, I do not seem to be able to do a simple "scan" for the I2C address.

More troubleshooting needed !

--

Minima VFO - Under the Microscope

I have been doing some troubleshooting of my Minima VFO, for some reason it is not "talking" with my Minima CPU module. My friend Jeff - KO7M as provided some suggestions for resolution that I am working on.

My Minima VFO
As Built

Just for fun, I took some Microscope Photos while reviewing the circuit and PCB layout for errors. Here are a few for your review.

Si570
From Pins 4 and 5 Perspective

The 3.3 Volt Regulator - SOT-89-3
and Its Output 0805 Filter Caps

Power Indicator with its attending limiting Resistor
The Resistor and LED are size 0603

Binocular Core Output Transformer
This is 32 AWG Wire

SMA RF Output Connector

I enjoy working under the Microscope, there are many things that otherwise we would not see.

--

Minima - CPU Module Mods - PLus

After chatting with my friend, Jeff - KO7M, I decided to again modify the next Revision of my Minima Controller. Jeff has pointed out that a new raw ATmega328 processor does not have a bootloader.

I guess I knew that already, but I thought that I could use the TxRx pins to download a bootloader similar to downloading an Arduino Sketch. I was wrong.

More research is/was obviously needed.

REV04 of my Minima Control Module

The Backside

The latest addition to my Minima Module Mods is a JTAG connector, which will be used to download the Arduino Bootloader, or other raw mode programs (or sketches). The JTAG connector is under the "locally" mounted LCD display (left of center), but the display will be un-plugged during the JTAG use, because the JTAG and the LCD uses some of the same processor pins. I will have to check that the JTAG connector pins will not interfere with the mounted LCD board.

Once the ATmega328 programmed with the bootloader, the display will be re-installed, and then normal sketch programming will be done via the Prop-Plug TxRx header (lower right).

My previous modifications included; Consolidation of several individual headers into a single AUX-CTL header (lower left), Remove the Minima schematic programming components which will be replaced with a Prop-Plug header. I have also added my own version of EMI suppression by adding 1nF caps to each board edge header pins.

This board is getting complex enough that I am considering having it professionally manufacture, it is about 6.6 square inches and will cost a few bucks, but it now has about 65 via's (which are not exactly fun to do on a Homebrew board). I may still create a prototype board via Toner Transfer, but it will take some time/work.

The goal for this board is to be compatible (but more flexible) with the Farhan Minima Transceiver Project. I also plan to use this board with/for other Test LAB projects.

More project info to follow .  .  .

--

Prop Controlled Receiver - Success

In the past I have blogged about the QRSS, WSPR, and OPERA Beacons that I have created with the Propeller Microprocessor (Prop). The Processor generates the RF signal that is passed through a LowPass Filter to remove Harmonic, and then connected to an Antenna. For some experiments a Homebrew Power amplifier was used to increase the processor generated RF signal from 7 milliwatts to 150 milliwatts. I have received many reports (or Spots) from many stations around the world. I think the farthest was from Australia at about 12,000 miles. I consider my Propeller Beacon a fun and very successful project.

And Now,  . . .

I have been playing with the idea and trying to receive signals with the Propeller. A simple direct conversion receiver using a SA612 mixer would require a Local Oscillator at the received frequency. The Propeller can generate RF frequencies from; 0 to 128MHz, with an amplitude of about 3Volts Peak-to-Peak. Which is a little more than needed by the SA612, but it can be attenuated with simple resisters if needed.

My original plan was to construct a simple direct conversion receiver daughter board for the Prop. But, Jeff - KO7M pointed out that the N3ZI Double Conversion Receiver using two of the same SA612 chips, was available as a kit (this was actually several months ago). I put the kit on order, and it has been setting around waiting for my User Interface (UI) project to be completed (or at least working). The receiver kit needs two RF signals, one for the VFO and one for the BFO (about 11.055MHz). The BFO is normally supplied by a Crystal. I plan to replace the BFO Crystal with another RF signal from the Prop.

For the High Band (above IF) and Upper Side Band, the injected frequency is the BFO frequency (IF) plus the intended (displayed) receive frequency. For example, for USB: the VFO = BFO + Received Freq, for LSB: VFO = BFO - Received Freq.

For the Low Band (below IF) and Lower Side Band, the injected frequency is the BFO frequency (IF) minus the intended (displayed) receive frequency. For example, for USB: VFO = BFO - Received Freq, for LSB: the VFO = BFO + Received Freq. (I think that is correct?)

Obvious the VFO should be adjustable so the receiver can be tuned to the desired received frequency. But, maybe not obvious, is that small adjustment of the BFO can be used to adjust the band width of the received signal. In both cases a handy way of adjusting either or both frequencies is necessary. And that is where my UI comes in, it has knobs and buttons that can be programmed to control two Prop RF signals which will be supplied to the receiver.

Note: Sadly, I think the N3ZI Receiver Kit is no longer available.

Prop Controlled Receiver - Left
Prop Transmitter - Right

Today's Success !!

I have one Prop running ko7m's Keyer Program and another controlling the double conversion receiver. The test distant between the transmitter and receiver was only about 12 feet, but it works !

With the receiver connected to an antenna, I have received other signals with this set up; WWV and other Amateur stations.

The Receiver is mounted under the Prop on the left, the two SMA coax cables connect the VFO and BFO. Two of the corner holes of the receiver match the hole pattern of the Prop board (nice). The Keyer Transmitter is on the Right.

This weekend at Salmoncon, Jeff and I will demonstrate some of our Prop projects. Maybe, we will have time attempt to do real QRP DX'ing with our Props.

Many more experiments and improvements are planned.

For now, . . . it all just, fun and games, with the Prop !!

--

Tennis Ball Launch Trigger Program

Finally, Jeff - KO7M and myself got together to work on my Tennis Ball Launcher Trigger Program (see previous post). The launch trigger program will help avoid accidental firing of the launcher. The launcher, of course, will be use to string antenna lines into the trees. So far, the weighted tennis balls have been shot over 160' trees. Tess, my dog loves the launch activity!

Jeff came prepared with his subroutines to perform most of the required functions. Our time together was used to assemble the mainline program and test the firing sequence functions. My Teensy Test Jig as describe in previous posts, was used to test the program. A few things are yet to be resolved, but progress was good.

An unanticipated value; was the opportunity to watch over Jeff shoulder, as he programmed the task in the Arduino IDE. A lot can be learned by watching a programming Master - Jeff is good! (it is his day job) The interaction is worth much more than just the resulting program listing.

The lessons learned will be used in my future embedded micro projects. - Thanks, Jeff

--

A full Amateur Radio Day

My Saturday was a very full day of Amateur Radio, it started early at about 5:30AM, with it being wet, rainy, foggy and cold, it was not exactly a very good day for what was planed

The first thing on the schedule was attending the monthly Sky Vally Ham Radio Club Breakfast. In the past the breakfast meeting were held only about 3 minutes from my home, but with the old restaurant closing and my recent move, the travel time is now a little over an hour to the new location at the Mountain View Diner in Gold Bar, WA. The formal meeting starts a 8AM, but I try to get there about an hour before, as several members show up early just to chat.

Later, my friend Jeff - KO7M and I planned to take down a 40 foot tower with a vertical on top.

The drive from the restaurant to the the tower site was yet another hour. We planned to be on site about 11:00AM and planned to be finished around 3pm. The weather cleared and was only threatening rain.

Jeff was prepared with the required climbing and safety gear, and the Gin Pole was at the ready.

The home owner and I were the ground crew, attending ropes and providing verbal support.

The top section and the vertical were to be taken down together, thinking that the antenna would weigh much less than the top section of the tower. Wrong!  They were about the same weight or at least the center of gravity of each was about same distance from the rope tie point. It was a good thing we had a handling rope attached to the bottom of the top tower section. The two wanted to quickly rotate to the horizontal, but we were prepared. The antenna and top tower section were lowered together without further difficulty.

The three lower tower sections were taken down, uneventful,  as planned.

Due to one thing and then another, we did not finish until 6:30pm, and then there was yet another 1.5 hour drive back to home. By the time I got home it was late and I was exhausted (I hate getting old) - but it was a very good day of Amateur Radio.

--

Signal Generation

I have been watching Jeff's - KO7M Blog and his current QRSS/WSPR Transmitter project using the DDS-60 as part of the prototype. Jeff had previously done some work with the AD5330 8 bit DAC.

Jeff's efforts have inspired me to look at a previous purchased Si750 SDR-Kit, that I still had not built.

Without much difficulty, I now have put the Si570 SDR-Kit together (only the 3.3v Regulator went in backwards, which I fixed). Testing is still in progress.

While investigating; the kit's circuit and the Si570 datasheet, the DDS-60 and its AD9851 device, I have learned a lot more about micro-controlled frequency generators and DDS's in general.

This may be Old Stuff for some folks, but this is what I have learned, this info is saved here for my future use:

The Si570

The Si750 SDR-Kit is a real neat device with a very wide frequency range of 10MHz to >900MHz and can be controlled via a two wire computer connection (I²C). It's output is square-wave, which is ideal for a mixer LO of a receiver

But, the Si570 has some limitations for use as a general use signal source. The output (square-wave) would require difficult frequency sensitive filtering to obtain a clean sine wave over the entire frequency range.

Obviously for a single frequency, a filter can be easily created, but for that single frequency, a simpler crystal or oscillator circuit could be used instead. 

Once setup, the Si570 output is continuious, without assistance from the computer or micro controller. 

The DDS-60 

More information needed.

The AD5330 

The AD5330 8 bit DAC is a general purpose signal/wave-form source with a frequency range of 1kHz to 36kHz. It uses DDS processor to create the output wave form. Almost any shape of output can be created.

For use as a AF signal source, it's output is normally a stepped waveform, which normally needs a low pass filter to remove the steps.The output can be used with a mixer to create double sideband signals. 

A continuous use computer or micro controller is needed to generate the steps of the intended frequency or wave form.

I need to explore these circuits more, and will update as necessary.

--

FUNcube - Fun

I got my FUNcube working with MS Windows XP using WRplus and Firmware 18f.

Now, changing the received frequency is a simple flick of the mouse wheel, while the cursor hovers over one of the LO frequency digits.

So now - the FUN begins!

The first test was to listen to the local 2m Repeater on 146.82MHz, and then the obligatory 162.55MHz NOAA Weather Station. For each the FUNcube reported the frequency was off by about 6kHz - which suggests that I need to Calibrate the FUNcube LO - just as soon as I figure out how with the new control interface?

I found the following Band Plan Chart useful while using the FUNcube.

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf

With the wide receive frequency range (64 - 1700MHz) of the FUNcube you need a "Program" listing. I plan to collect detailed frequency listing as they are found.

---

UPDATE

Jeff - KO7M, found this interesting Frequency Reference List for authorities and agencies around the country, it includes the Trunking Frequency Lists. 

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/

---

UPDATE:

I understand the WRplus is no longer available for Free, and older copies have now expired and no longer work.

- Follow the FUNcube Label Link below to follow ALL of my FUNcube adventures.

--

Another Trip to Mt Pilchuck

Jeff - KO7M and I went to Mt Pilchuck for another great Radios on the Mountain Trip. We had several interesting QSO's - more later.

--

The Trip to Mt Pilchuck

Yesterday, Jeff - K07M, and I went to Mt Pilchuck as planed in the previous post. The road into the selected spot was reasonable, with the standard large mud puddles but mostly dry. The one bad spot on the road-spur was a short run of large down-slopping moguls near the end. Going down the moguls is easy, coming back out will be fun.

On the way in, Jeff related a poem that one of his relatives kept to remind himself of his work and adventures on the long rugged Alaska Highway - similar to the road-spur that we were on;

Winding in, and winding out,

Leaves my mind, in serious doubt,

As to whether the man, who built this route,

Was going to Hell, or coming out.

by: Troy Hise, a pioneer on the Alaska Highway
(as per Google)

When we arrived around 11AM, the up-slope fog was damp, chilly, and obscured the view.

The first activity was to erect Jeff's fiberglass 42 foot vertical and cut and install six, 60 foot radials. They were laid out only on the east side of the base, because the brushy cliff side did not provide access. Jeff used a 1:4 balun at the feed point.

We now have a long pointed wire sicking straight up, on a landing, at the edge of a cliff, I remember thinking; "what would I be doing if I wanted to attract lightning to this place? . . . Nah,   just don't think about it!"

It is hard to see, but the 42 foot vertical is shown in the next photo (upper left), on the edge of the brush which is near the edge of the 1000 foot cliff. We had to find a place where there was enough top soil into which we could drive the "T" post support.

Note: only on the "Terrain" view of the included google map link is the significants of the cliff shown (see upper right display mode on the map).

The operations table was setup and my IC-730 was connected to the 12 Volt battery and the vertical, which by the resulting sound, provided a promise of good contacts.

The other 30m vertical (with 4 radials) was installed and Jeff's other radios were connected for some serious radio work - or for us just setting in the fog.

About an hour after arrival, the fog thinned, the sun came out, and it was too hot to stay in coats, and without a sun shade. We installed a pop-up cover, and spent the rest of the day chatting, working the radios, and looking at the Breath-Taking View.

Late in the day we had a few Bugs, but very tolerable.

Jeff is much better than I at this "contact and contest" stuff, as I normally use my radios for impersonal digital QRSS and WSPR work, where the computer does most of the control.

Via his Yaesu FT-817, Jeff reported our GRID square (CN98bb) for several local pileups on 6 and 2 meters. On other bands he worked other spots around the world, using only two watts (I think).

I spent my time listening and trying to work 40 and 20 meters on the IC-730.

The radios were connected to a 95 Amp/Hr Deep Cycle Battery,  it started out at 12.65 Volts and went down to 12.26 Volts by the end of the day - not bad for a days use!

Next time we will plan to instrument the battery-use better.

Tess, my dog, enjoyed the trip and spent most of the day guarding and playing with her Tennis Ball, only occasionally diverting her attention to alerted us to hikers or campers coming down the road.

I think we packed-up and left for home about 8PM - it was a Great Day in the Sun, with Radios, and a Great View. These photos do NOT do this location's view justice.

While leaving, driving back up the moguls was not that bad, but it was necessary to carefully drive the crests.

Note: the included QTH/GRID map links are provided by the good folks at http://no.nonsense.ee/qthmap/ - Thanks.

Our radio contact list will soon be added.

---

A follow-up e-mail from Jeff to our pQRP group:

Sorry for the late posting, but I had a great time up on Pilchuck last Saturday. We set up at the 2600' level. I brought my FT817ND and eldon had his IC730. We had two verticals, Eldon's copper pipe vertical that he brought to Salmoncon and my fibreglass 43' pole.

The bands were not bad at all and the location was super. We had an operating station with nearly a 180 degree panoramic view of the valley to the south-west. The day started in the clouds but as the morning wore on, the clouds subsided and we had a gorgeous, albeit hazy view.

My operations focused on 17 and 20 metres earlier in the day an then switched to 6 and 2 metres in the afternoon. We were a hot commodity given the grid square (CN98BB) for the VHF contest going on that same weekend.

First contact was my neighbor, Jeff W7BRS in Fall City. He was booming in on 20 metres. I then worked the USS Midway in San Diego on 7 watts on 14.325.

I heard a lot of CW beacons on 10, 6 and 2 metres.

On 17 metres I did pretty good using the FT817 at 2.5 watts.

• IK4UPI - Santo in N. Italy near Parma 
• KH6CB - James 16 Mi from Honolulu 
• JA6RCH 
• XE1WFG 
• JA2JRE 
• JA1HHP 
• AE7EV - Tor in Lake Stevens. We could see lake stevens from our site. 
• ZP6CW - DJ in Paraguay 

On 6 metres (50.125 USB) I worked the following:

• VE7DXG Gabor CN88 
• N6ZE/rover Peter CN88 
• W7CE Clayton CN87 
• WB7FJG Mike CN87 
• K7CW Paul CN87 
• KB7GQH CN87 
• W7FI James CN87 
• VE7CP Lawrence CN88 
• VE7LSE Devan CN88 
• N6LB Lisa CN88 
• K7YDL Greg CN85 - CW 

On 2 metres (144.200 USB) I worked the following

• VE7DXG Gabor CN88 
• W7PG Paul DN76 
• K7JX Ed CN87 

All-in-all a great day out. Thanks Eldon!

Jeff ko7m

--

Jeff's Second Visit to my Hanger/Shop

Yesterday, I had a fellow HAM "drop by" my Hanger/Shop - Jeff - KO7M.  This was Jeff's second visit to the Shop, But this time he flew in via his Piper Cub!

 A Repeat Visitor to My Hanger/Shop

It was grand to see Jeff and his airplane, it is immaculate, extremely well maintained.

Jeff - KO7M - with his CUB

There is still to much brush to try to taxi up to down to the hanger, as seen in the background below, as it was, we had to bushwhack a little on each side of the drive, just to let Jeff return to the taxiway.

This is only the second airplane that has ever been on my hanger driveway, only my own C-182 RG (about 15 years ago) was the other.

We did not do much HAM Radio work while Jeff was there, but the event was made possible by a mutual enjoyment of HAM Radio, as we met about a year ago as a results of each listening to;  Bill - N2CQR - of SolderSmoke Podcast fame.  Thanks Bill.

Because I have now moved my Shop to the airport, I have plans to re-kindle my interest in flying - and maybe, just maybe, you will hear me on 30m QRP CW as - WA0UWH / AM from a knee key!

Jeff's Departing Wing Wave 

From maybe 2000 feet above
It is not CW, but universally well understood!

73 K07M/AM de WA0UWH



UPDATE:

I got to thinking about the "Wing Wave" - it has probably communicated more "welcomed information" than any other used message format (and for it's duration) than that which has ever been used.  And, it is perhaps the most universally understood - regardless of the pilots language or actual intended message. In a disport situation this is the message that I would want to receive.

--

A visitor to the Shop/Hanger

Jeff - KO7M - Found his way to my Shp/Hanger today. He help put up an experimental High Bay Light via the forklift, see my other blog http://HangerShop.blogspot.com
 
Jeff is NOW a qualified Forklift Operator, or at least I trusted him enough that I was the one up on a pallet at the 21 foot ceiling, installing the light. I have a "man basket" for the forklift, but it is hid in an inaccessibility corner of the Shop at the moment.

Afterward installing the light, we talked about new antennas for the Hanger and what we might do for Salmoncom this year for the same.  I have a commercial 40/80 meter rotatable Cliff Dweller Dipole that would be fun to put-up about 20 feet at the next event this summer - I will have to see if it still works.  It is very old, about 45 years old or so, but is in good shape.  I checked the WEB but could not find information on it. I will have to check for a name plate.

We installed a new PCB generation program on Jeff's laptop, I have been watching the development of the program on the WEB, the program is called "Autotrax DEX". I would normally install it on my computer. but I use Linux (Ubuntu) for most things.  Autotrax only works for MS systems (and it does not work with Wine on Linux),  I will just have to wait until I have more time to build a MS system. Everything I have read and seen (via tutorials) make AutoTrax look very good - the Yahoo forum is very active - the developer providing new capabilities and feedback every day.

I hope to use AutoTrax for a HB project - soon.

Thanks Jeff, for the help!

.

December 2009 - eBuild-A-Thon and BBQ

The December 2009 eBilld-A-Thon and BBQ has come and gone, a great day of working and chating with fellow HAMs about electronic projects.

Two new visitors from the SkyValley Ham Club came by to see the Shop:

• Dave Zehrung - AA7L and his young grandson (I think) Brandon Williams - KF7EZE
  

Brandon is a new HAM and has plans to build some VHS antennas and maybe a HS dipole. Because Brandon represents a younger adult, Tess (my dog) was in heaven, Brandon was someone to play ball with.

Dave - W7AGJ from SkyValley came by, he wanted more information on my Cordless Soldering Iron - he was looking for proper specification for describing it to Santa.


The Beacon Hunt

The hidden QRSS "Beac-in" was located by Jeff - KO7M within about 15 minutes of his arrival, using a portable Elecraft KX1 Transceiver with a clip lead from the antenna jack to his umbrella frame (it was raining). Jeff used low RF gain on the Transceiver and signal strength to Home in on the Beacon. Later, Jeff admitted that physcology was also used, as he looked in places that he thought I would have used for the hiding place. For the next hunt, I will try to make the hunt and physcology much harder.

For being the first to find the Beacon, Jeff will receive the prize -  A pick of one of my QRSS/WSPR marker beacons, or a custom copy that we build during the event. He chose a custom copy - more on that later.

The Projects 

Roger - K7RXV brought a very special KIT for all to enjoy, his kit was the fixings for Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup. He started just after arrival, he was busy chopping, cutting and saute'ing bits-n-pieces for what seemed like several hours, it was ready on-time for lunch. It was excellent, I highly recommend it! I plan to save the above link to the recipe for another time. Good job Roger!

Roger - Working at his Cook KIT

Jeff - KO7M brought his Elecraft KX1 Transceiver, we enjoyed listing to CW QSO's and his operations. We had to ask him to connect it up to some speakers for all to hear.

Jeff - Transceiver Operation

John - KC7NVE brought one of his KITs, A Scout Regen Receiver (I think) to start the build process, on arrival John had a sack of parts and boards. When he left, his parts were all labeled, organised and sequenced for easy access for the later build process. Not only is John a great HAM, he is an amazing organiser.

John - Labeling Parts for his KIT

Doug - W7RDP brought the chassis of a KIT he was starting, it needed holes drilled, punched, and the heat sink tapped. Doug spent most of his time at the Drill-Mill and helping with other projects.

Doug - Supporting Jeff's Marker Build Project

  

At the Mill/Drill

More Hardware Discussions in the Shop

Jeff - Hard at Work on a small SMD

Lunch

Thanks to: Carolyn (my sister) for helping with cookies and Tacos; and Roger for the Potato Soup. We had enough food for an army - I was stuffed.

Lunch Break

The Beacon Hunt Prize

For Jeff's Beacon Hunt prize, we went through the complete project, from a custom modified PCB layout on the computer screen, to a finished working Marker Beacon. We changed the layout to include his CALL on the artwork for the PCB. We used the Toner-Transfer Method to build the PCB. I installed the first part, Jeff installed all of the rest, using the schematic and a previous working beacon as a guide.

Marker, Still Under Construction

Jeff - Hard at Work under to Magnifier

On the first turn-on, only a chirp was heard on the receiver when the key was pressed. We inadvertently used an old junk battery that was sitting on the bench that was almost dead.  The circuit board was double-sided taped to the battery and had to be removed. With a new battery, we tried it again - this time nothing! It did not make a sound at the receiver.

It is now trouble shooting time! Jeff compared the voltages between the working Beacon and his new Beacon, all voltages were the same. Because we used a new untried crystal in this Beacon, it was suspect - maybe it just would not oscillate. Remember this circuit is made of all surface mount components, and therefore it is somewhat difficult to check individual components.  When a circuit has never worked before, it is sometimes difficult to know where to start troubleshooting.

We decided to remove the crystal and replace it with another. While cleaning the pads with solder wick to receive the second crystal, the series capacitor moved. That is, one half of the capacitor fell off, with the other end still soldered to the board. This was surely the problem - a cracked capacitor. We may have cracked the capacitor while prying the circuit off of the the old battery.

We replaced the capacitor, and did a trial press fit of the crystal in place - it worked! About this time, my Soldering Iron was low on battery charge, and therefore we had to wait for it to charge, to see the real results (don't ya just hate that?)

In the end, after the crystal was properly installed, a quick twist of the tuning trimmer put the Marker on frequency (10.140100mHz) . The Project was a success!


Other Topics

Sometime during the day we discussed a QRSS Beacon balloon launch (see previous post),  many aspect of a balloon project are still up-in-the-air (no pun intended). To be successful, we will need to enlist as many US Grabber as available. From our Seattle area, the upper wind is just right for a long flight across the US.


Jeff also brought in his fantastic Valve (Tube) Regen Receiver. There has been a lot of talk about valve receivers on the WEB recently and I had forgot how enjoyable it is to look at the glow of a valve while in operation. From that dull red glow comes the magic that got me into HAM Radio in the first place, many years ago. It was good to hear and see Jeff's receiver.

The Dull Red Magic Glow of from Valve Receiver,

Unlike smoke, the Glow is something that you DO enjoy letting out of a Component.

(I think John may have a better photo, I'll see if I can get a replacement)

Update: Thanks to John the following four photos are added.

 

 Now, . . . This is What The Magic Is All About!!

ReGen Receiver In Operation

Jeff - Working with his Regen Receiver

Conclusion

Because the winter evening come early in Seattle, the group left about 5pm - I enjoyed the day of having the guys at the Shop.

Tess enjoyed the attention and playing ball with all of the guys, she was dead tired by the end of the day.  After going bed, I don't think she moved all night.

-