KB2HSH

Getting ready for the Holidays....2011

2011-12-02T09:09:00.000-05:00

My XYL and I are in agreement when we say that we are eager for 2011 to end. Once 2011 ends, I will undoubtedly NEVER look back upon it with fond memories. Quite the contrary...it has been a difficult year on so many levels. When Dick Clark does his famous countdown in a few weeks, and as 2012 is ushered in...no doubt by Fergie and her wretched rendition of what she calls "singing", it will be a corner turned.

Thankfully.

Not that radio has been all bad, mind you. There have been some excellent RTTY contests, many of them I have done or placed very well in in the QRP category...some even Top 3 or Top 5 for QRP. Then, there's the propagation. Aren't we supposed to be in a Maunder Minimum? If so, how have I added several new ones...even though they are quasi/semi rare? 10 meters opened up this Summer to allow me to work Israel, Kiribati, Kaliningrad, Senegal, Madeiras Island, UAE, Ascension Island, Cyprus, South Africa, Australia, and so much more. And every night, I watch Japan come rolling in via 28.076 JT65a.

I even played a little on 6 this year (EL86-to-FN02).

But the Holidays are upon us...and with them, the mad rushes to the stores, parking hassles, crowds, and over-spending on a stellar scale. Trying to get the perfect gifts for loved ones NOW feels like you need a second mortgage to pull it off every year.

If it weren't for the fleeting moments of escaping into the ether via some DX, or running a 5 or 8k run with my XYL, or the mind-numbing calmness granted by Abilify, I think I would be a mess.

This weekend is the Inaugural 10 Meter RTTY Contest...and next weekend is the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. 2 10m contests...? Have the radio gods truly smiled upon us? Today's Solar Flux is 155....can we EXPECT great conditions, or will another solar event such as a flare wipe out the bands just as Europe is closing and the band is swinging west into the South Pacific? Or will these be GOLDEN opportunities to add to your DXCC or WAC totals?

I have a feeling it is going to be a fantastic 2 weeks.

Since I have converted almost 100% to Macs (I say that because there are NO good and simple solutions for APRS via a Mac...including Xastir, which forces me to use my Sony Vaio with Windows), I have been using FLdigi for the digital modes, with RUMped for the logging, and Aether for the log uploads to Logbook of the World and eQSL.cc. RUMped is working out great for me, as it is a lightweight solution for ADIF/Cabrillo logging for the Macintosh platform. It even has the ability to control the rig via Hamlib, etc. I don't use this feature, since I allow FLdigi to have command of the radio. But, the combo works great, and even though it ISN'T N1MM Logger, it shares the most critical feature of it: It tells you instantly if the station you are working is a Dupe in the log. Without this little feature which should be the FIRST reason for using any logger, RUMped would be no better than using TextEdit or Windows Notepad.

RUMped even works with older Macs such as my iBook with OS X 10.4.11...and it does so with the same speed and agility that it does on my Intel "Mac Pro" with OS X 10.6.5 and a BUS FULL of RAM. Nice job DL2RUM!

RUMped has features that I don't use, but are still fantastic for free software, such as:

• Real time computation for multipliers and points
• Partial call check during typing, multiple master databases are included.
• Similar call check
• Prev. QSO check
• ESM mode ("Enter" sends messages)
• Auto cq
• CW out via WinKeyer or K2/K3
• CW type-ahead function (WinKeyer only)
• TRX control
• Work all operating modes in the same interface
• Multiple (scrolling) band maps
• DX Cluster via Telnet integrated
• DXCC ,CQ/ITU-zone, heading and distance calculations
• Continent, callsign, rates, DXCC, multiplier and best time statistics
• Keyboard mode for CW and RTTY
• Grayline map and other tools for grayline dxing
• Memory pad for Search&Pounce
• Log export in ADIF, Cabrillo, Stützerbach, text, csv and DF3CB logsearch

I have even used RUMped stand-alone when using my HTX-10...you don't need to connect to a rig to use its features. (The HTX-10 is a great radio for RTTY since it is so wide...some don't appreciate that feature, but it helps when operating Search&Pounce)

So, if you're a Mac Ham, and a contester...try RUMped. You WON'T regret it.

AO-51 SSTV Success!

2011-12-02T01:41:00.001-05:00

December 2, 2011:

With the recent "End Of Mission" of AO-51 (read that as its early death due to battery failure), I thought it would be nice to remember just how flexible that satellite really was....

[Tonight, during the 2330z pass over North America, a pass that was ALMOST 90 degrees elevation for me, I can say with certainty that I FINALLY made the trip into the satellite using Robot 36 mode.

Shortly after the pass, Manuel YV5MM in Venezuela (of all places!) sent me a very nice e-mail, along with two of my images that he received via AO-51. Not only did I hit the satellite, but it was captured in South America! This actually is better than I have done with HF SSTV!

These two images were what Manuel captured:

Shortly after receiving Manuel's e-mail, I received yet another from Dave KB1PVH with another image:

Finally, Allen W8KHP sent me two more:

...and this one:

Now I have to admit...on one of my attempts, the image is in black and white, because I switched to B/W 8 mode...or Black and White, 8 second transmission. The satellite was RAPIDLY descending, and I had only a few seconds more to hit it solidly. Therefore, although it is against the recommended protocol, I used a simpler and faster mode. Sorry Drew!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afterword:

After posting a query on the AMSAT-BB asking our fellow Satellite ops if they had captured my images, Luc VE2DWE sent me a link to his website. And...sure enough...there in the middle of the page, from Wednesday night, 2318z...my first captured image.

I present, Uncle Sam and my sister-in-law, Jennifer:]

T32C

2011-10-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

Kiritimati^[1] or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati.

(From Wikipedia)

Yesterday, October 24, 2011, I was pleasantly surprised when I connected my HTX-10 from my summer shack to my Hustler 4BTV in the "inside" shack. I was tuning up the band on 10 meters, when I heard..."Tango Three-Two Charlie, Tango Three-Two Charlie...up 5". T32C, the Christmas Island DXpedition, had been going on for nearly a month...and I had seen the postings from my friends on Twitter, but I hadn't considered trying to work them. I have a defeatist attitude as it applies to pile-ups. I don't own an amplifier or a beam...my Hustler is the BEST antenna I have ever had. But, T32C was calling CQ with no takers.

The HTX-10 is a spartan radio to be exact, but truth be known...it has a better set of ears than my Yaesu does. But, it doesn't allow a 5 KHz split. 10 it can do, but 5 required me to manually turn (click) the VFO knob from 28.494 to 28.499 to transmit, and then QSY back to .494. Sure, I could have loaded the TX frequency in my "Home" button, but I wasn't thinking that far ahead.

I heard him...I QSY...I call...Kilo-Bravo-Two-Hotel-Sierra-Hotel. QSY back REALLY fast.

"Sierra Hotel, Five Nine."

Thank you, you're also Five-Nine.

"Thank you, 73."

WOW...and it was in the log...confirmed by T32C.com showing my call in the Online Log.

The best part is...I was one of the LAST QSOs made before they ALL went QRT. Mere minutes after my QSO, all stations shut down...and that's after 213,000+ QSOs made in one month's time.

I'm hooked now.

Gonna go look for ZF2OE's DXpedition now....

JT65: Digital's "Super Mode"

2011-10-20T07:09:00.000-04:00

I devoted some time a while back to learning the nuances of MultiPSK, and its many modes offered. One of these modes is Joe Taylor's JT65. To the uninitiated, JT65 is a VERY WEAK signal mode of communication that can decode fraction-of-a-second signals reflected from ionized meteor trails, as well as steady signals more than 10 dB weaker than those required for conventional CW. It is optimized for EME communications, although many have used it quite successfully on HF for DX Hunting. It is surpassed only by the obscure Jason mode, and QRSS.

To describe it simplistically, JT65 uses 65-tone frequency shift keying with constant-amplitude waveforms and no phase
discontinuities. This form of modulation is much more efficient than on-off keying,
especially when combined with an optimal coding scheme. In addition, it is much more
tolerant of frequency instabilities than phase-shift keying. Also, JT65 uses shorthand messages (OOO, RRR, RO) commonly utilized in the EME world, although short standard English messages can also be transmitted.

The beauty of JT65, is that QSOs/contacts are made at signal levels that sometimes can't be heard, but can be detected by the JT65 decoding software. I have made many QSOs recently with signal levels in the neighborhood of -22 to -28 dB.

This amazing ability of the software to do the heavy lifting against the ionosphere allows extremely modest stations to work fantastic DX without many of the usual complications of typical DX activities, and with a much lower necessary transmitted signal. In one evening on 10 meters, I was working and watching Japan, Australia, and the Southern Hemisphere all at the same time. And all the DX I have worked thus far has been accomplished with 3 watts and a Hustler 4BTV.

Whether it's via the WSJT, JT65-HF, or with MultiPSK...try JT65. You just may be amazed at what low power can reward you with.

UPDATE: Here are some photos that I added that were sent to me by my new friend, Sergey UR3CTB in Ukraine. We had a QSO last weekend on 10 meters...it is the second attempt at working each other. He had called me on 10 meters the weekend prior, but conditions changed rapidly, and I lost his signal. It's pretty interesting to see what my JT65 signal looks on the other side of the planet. (Power used...as always...5 watts.)

Coax Loss, and what it means for your VHF/UHF signal

2011-10-18T01:03:00.000-04:00

Coaxial cable is a pretty remarkable piece of every Ham's station. It is required to convey both transmitted and received signals efficiently, in all types of weather, and for (sometimes) years at a time.

But not all coaxial cables are the same.

Some are exceptionally capable of handling high power...or can be buried...or, as in the case of RG-174, aren't much better than a shielded jumper for a circuit board.

But how about coax for the VHF/UHF/SHF/satellite enthusiast?

To be totally honest, my first attempt this at modern satellite operation was less than ideal. It started with a dipole for 2-meters that I built on a rainy afternoon. That itself wasn't as much of the problem, as was the RG-58A/U cable that I used for the span...or the "solderless" BNC connector at the shack end. Never saw these? They are a BNC connector, all right. But, after straight-cutting the cable, you push the cable end into the connector...making sure that the center pin pierces the coax....then you use a screw to tighten against the shield, after it bites through the insulation.

It was horrible.

I am actually ashamed of myself for even TRYING such a slipshod method, given the fact that my FT-817ND is the first NEW rig I've lavished upon myself since 1991 when I was in college.

Funny thing is...it worked! Not only could I hit the local FM repeaters...but it could hear AO-51. This antenna was what gave me the inspiration to try for AO-51 and beyond.

This antenna's horrid characteristics were summed up in one word: LOSS. Not just any loss: dB loss.

At 7 MHz, RG-58A/U is pretty good. Not great, but good. In 1995, I built a dipole out of surplus RG-58A/U as my first HF antenna. In concert with an MFJ-941E antenna tuner, it was...OK. I made contacts, and at a whopping ONE WATT. I estimated the loss to be in the neighborhood of 2 dB...taking into consideration insertion loss for the PL-259 connector. 2 dB isn't Earth shattering at HF...but still lossy enough to make me switch to ladder-line. At 145.900 MHz, the loss is about 5 dB. What that means is that 33% of your signal is left. Pffft! Gone! Like the wind. 66% of your precious VHF signal is wasted as heat. At 435.2 MHz, 11.5 dB of loss are the order of the day. So, a theoretical 10-watt signal is now about 725 MILLIWATTS!

Clearly, better coax is a NECESSITY. But what to use?

I've always made life decisions based upon available finances. I grew up poor, so that logic was required. And when it came time to build a proper satellite antenna farm, the price of coax was an important determining factor. I would love to use Andrews Heliax...the 3 inch stuff that I used when I built Sprint PCS cell sites for Lucent Technologies. But, at several DOLLARS per foot, it would mean a divorce for sure. LMR-400 would be OK...but again...I have a 62 foot run. But, RG-6 and RG-6/U at $0.17 per foot make excellent alternatives. Even with a 75-ohm impedance, they can still fit the bill handsomely.

As for 50-ohm coax, RG-8 is a good, generic, common alternative. At 145.9 MHz, and 100-watts, a 100-foot run of RG-8 will give you approximately 70 watts at the antenna...given a "perfect 1:1" SWR. The line loss is in order of about 1.5 dB.

But...30 watts is gone due to line inefficiencies.

More examples are my Belden 9066 (RG-6/U) coax spans. I use 5 watts...so that is the base to work with. At 145.900 MHz, I have 1.6 dB of loss, leaving me with 3.40 watts at the Eggbeater. This translates into a 68% efficiency. On UHF, the numbers are even worse: 2.9 dB of loss, leaving me with 2.6 watts at the antenna. My 440 MHz setup is in the neighborhood of 52% efficient...and I can STILL work the birds without much difficulty. This possibly is due to the fact that an Eggbeater exhibits around 4 dB of gain, which would offset the -2.9, leaving me with about 1 dB. As you can clearly see, any coax upgrade to a higher quality will improve both my transmitted signal as well as my ability to hear.

If dB losses are plugged into an X-Y chart, the most drastic losses are actually within the first 6 dB. With as little as ONE dB of loss, you can expect to lose 20% of your signal. At 3 dB, 50% is gone.. And at 6 dB, a full 75% of your precious satellite signal is dissipated as heat and wasted.

It is because of these harsh realities that careful construction is so important.

But, as in my case with lossy spans that are 68% and 52% efficient, it proves that any antenna will still work better than no antenna at all...or so the old ARRL mini-book, "Operating an Amateur Radio Station" declared.

What does that "AP" Code mean?

2011-10-01T10:26:00.001-04:00

APRS has been an important aspect of Amateur Radio for about a decade, give or take a few years. It replaced Packet (old-school Packet) as the de-facto digital data standard on terrestrial VHF. It is an efficient way of transmitting small amounts of data, such as a relatively precise map coordinate, temperature, weather bulletins, or even greetings and short QSOs through satellites. But, one aspect of APRS confused me at first, and I'm sure that other may have this same question: What do the AP codes mean?

When an APRS packet is transmitted, it is preceded by a 4-6 character signature, normally beginning with AP. These are APRS "TO CALLS". This is the preamble to the APRS network that the information to follow is meant for it. Whether it comes to your station terrestrially or via satellite, is interesting to see what software others are using...based simply on the TO CALL they use.

The following list makes it easy to determine what is being used:

APn: 3rd digit is a number
AP1WWX TAPR T-238+ WX station
AP4Rxy APRS4R software interface
APnnnD Painter Engineering uSmartDigi D-Gate DSTAR Gateway
APnnnU Painter Engineering uSmartDigi Digipeater
APA: APBxxx Beacons or Rabbit TCPIP micros?
APBLO Model Rocketry K7RKT
APC: APCLxx Cellular applications
APCLEZ Telit EZ10 GSM application ZS6CEY
APCYxx Cybiko applications
APD: APRSd, etc
APDTxx APRStouch Tone (DTMF)
APDFxx Automatic DF units
APDPRS D-Star originated posits
APE: PExxx Telemetry devices
APERXQ Experimental tracker by PE1RXQ
APF: APFxxx Firenet
APFGxx Flood Gage (KP4DJT)
APG: Gates, etc
APH: HamHud, etc
API: Icom, etc
APICQx for ICQ
APJ: APJAxx JavAPRS
APJExx JeAPRS
APJIxx jAPRSIgate
APJSxx javAPRSSrvr
APK: APK0xx Kenwood THD7's
APK1xx Kenwood D700's
APL: Linux applications
APM: MacAPRS, etc
APN: Network nodes, digis, etc
APN3xx Kantronics KPC-3 rom versions
APN9xx Kantronics KPC-9612 Roms
APNAxx WB6ZSU's APRServe
APNDxx DIGI_NED
APNMxx MJF TNC roms
APNPxx Paccom TNC roms
APNTxx SV2AGW's TNT tnc as a digi
APNUxx UIdigi
APNXxx TNC-X (K6DBG)
APNK01 Kenwood D700 (APK101) type
APO: APRSpoint
APOTxx Open Track
APOD1w Open Track with 1 wire WX
APOU2k Open Track for Ultimeter
APP: PocketAPRS, etc
APQ: APQxxx Earthquake data
APR: APR8xx APRSdos versions 800+
APRDxx APRSdata, APRSdr
APRKxx APRStk
APRS Generic, (obsolete. Digis should use APNxxx instead)
APRXxx APRSmax
APRTLM used in MIM's and Mic-lites, etc
APRtfc APRStraffic
APRSTx APRStt (Touch tone)
APS: APRS+SA, etc
APT: APTIGR TigerTrack
APTTxx Tiny Track
APT2xx Tiny Track II
APT3xx Tiny Track III
APTAxx K4ATM's tiny track
APTWxx Byons WXTrac
APTVxx for ATV/APRN and SSTV applications
APU: APU1xx UIview 16 bit applications
APU2xx UIview 32 bit apps
APU3xx UIview terminal program
APV: Voice over Internet applications
APVRxx for IRLP
APVLxx for I-LINK
APVExx for ECHO link
APW: APWxxx WinAPRS, etc
APWSxx DF4IAN's WS2300 WX station
APX: APXnnn Xastir
APXRnn Xrouter
APY: Yaesu?, etc
APZ: Experimental
APZ0xx Xastir (old versions. See APX)
APZPAD Smart Palm
APZWIT MAP27 radio (Mountain Rescue) EI7IG

Other TOCALL's that APRS recognizes and processes are:
ALL,
BEACON,
CQ,
QST,
GPSxxx,
APxxxx.

So, when you see APU25N (possibly the most popular TO CALL), you know right away that it's the 32-Bit (Windows 95 and above) version of UI-View.

The Ubiquitous Random Wire Antenna

2011-09-29T10:01:00.009-04:00

In the history of Amateur Radio...is there an antenna that is more misunderstood and incorrectly characterized than the RANDOM WIRE?

To best describe the random wire, you need to understand WHAT it is. Simply, it is a wire of random length. It could be 10 feet. It could be 50 feet. It could be 300 feet. It is whatever you install for your application. This should not be confused with the LONG WIRE. The LONG WIRE is a two-wavelength or more antenna...cut precisely to work on a certain band/bands. Some even describe the long wire as an end-fed wire. Whatever you call it, a random wire is just that...RANDOM.

To make a random wire, you start with...wire. Simple enough. Next you need a path. How are you going to install it? Or get it out of the house, etc? RF concerns? Remember...every inch becomes a radiating antenna. My random follows the same path as my satellite antenna's feed, the RG8/U for the Hustler, a Cat 5E run, the grounded twin-spans of RG58, etc. It comes out of my shack/office, under the stairs, up into the rafetrs of the basement, out through a nice holesaw-cut hole into the garage, makes a 90 degree turn to the piped porthole that exits the garage, 90s up for 2 feet, 90s right then for another 35 feet to the Silver Maple tree in my backyard. That's the beauty of the random wire...it DOESN'T NEED to be straight.

Recently, I took down the OCF Zepp I had been using for too many years. It just wasn't doing as well as it should have been, I felt. In its place, a Hustler 4BTV was erected...but I still needed something for everything ELSE that wasn't 40/20/15/10 meters. The idea came for the random wire, when in 2009 during my Church's Radio Club's Field Day, we installed a 150+ foot random wire that made a lazy inverted L. We also used a ground rod for the counterpoise.

The use of a ground rod/counterpoise is what will make or break the random wire. Many hams incorrectly get the idea that if they toss a wire out of their window, it will earn them DXCC. Perhaps on 10 meters during the Solar Peak of the late 80's/early 90's this would have worked (I did it as a Novice), but realistically, it IS NOT the correct, efficient, or recommended way of using a random wire.

In order to have a random wire be as efficient as possible, there are three things you need to keep in mind:

1) Avoid lengths that are near a half-wavelength of ANY band you want to work. You will have more problems than it's worth.

Ideal "random" lengths are: 29, 35, 41.5, 48, 71, 84, 107, 119, 148, 203, 347, 407, 423 feet. (Mine is about 71-75 feet.) Typically, 70-80 feet is good, since you can use it on ALL bands...at 160 meters, a quarter wave is about 65 feet...at 75 feet, this antenna appears to "randomly" be about .27 wavelength. This would work reasonably well on 160.

2) YOU NEED A GROUND, COUNTERPOISE, or BOTH. It makes up the "OTHER HALF" of the antenna. In my installation, I had my Zepp's ladder line attached to twin spans of RG-58 to make it easier to enter the shack. The shields were connected together and grounded. When I took down the Zepp, I left the feeds in place...in case I ever wanted to use it again. Since there was a path to ground that was established previously, I didn't need to worry much about this step. For new installs, it is 100% essential!

3) YOU NEED A TUNER. In case you missed it...YOU NEED A TUNER. Random wire antennas have SWRs that approach infinite in places...but 5:1, 10:1 or more is also possible. NO radio built within the last 20 years will tolerate that type of mismatch for very long. When selecting a tuner, it needs to have a post, or similar, to attach the single wire feed of the wire. A good performer in this case is the MFJ 941E Versa Tuner II, or the MFJ 16010 random wire tuner.

With all 3 of these principles adhered to, you should have a fairly decent antenna for what has been considered a compromise antenna.

During the 2011 CQ WW RTTY contest, I was using the Hustler primarily. It worked extraordinarily well on 40, 15, and 10. On 20, its SWR was 2:1...still OK. But, I wanted to work the "locals" (stations between 25-500 miles away)...so I had to QSY to 80 meters. On 80, my random loaded to 1:1, and even with QRP power, I could work everyone I heard...even with one call.

Also, there are times that the random can hear better than the Hustler on certain paths. It's nice when I'm operating the 3905 Century Club Net to switch to the random to compare. Just last night, the Hustler just wasn't doing it for one station in Iowa. But, on the random, he was 5x5. Impressive.

The true test will be this winter when 160 once again becomes a popular hangout. I am already "chomping at the bit" for the 3905 CCN 160 Meter Net to start...if only to try out the random wire.

Tiny Solar Panels, and possible uses.

2011-09-26T10:17:00.003-04:00

We've ALL seen them: garden lights, powered by little AA batteries, with LEDs for the light source...and little solar cells located somewhere on the outside. They used to be quite expensive...when they first came out, I remember paying $50 for a box of 4 of them, and giving them to my mother for a Mother's Day gift. She adored them, as did I. NOW...at WalMart, you can find them for as little as $1.50...and they come in many shapes and sizes. Again...all complete with solar panels.

Back to the garden lights...one problem with these lights is that they aren't very well made. They are made to stick into the ground, and HOPE that nothing hits them, steps on them, or in my case...from when I was still drinking, run them over accidently with your motorcycle. Because of the latter, I had a SHOEBOX full of these little panels.

Some of the panels had never had the plastic protective cover removed at the time of installation...so the UV light clouded the plastic and burned it on, in turn, rendering the panel useless for what I wished to do with it. The best five panels were set aside. (I had a sixth panel, but in February of 2010, while trying to foolishly cut the rubber gasket off, I stabbed my hand with a Ginsu knife...the blade buried itself almost 3 inches into my left hand. I didn't use that panel...)

To increase the amperage output capability, I wired three of the panels in parallel...all three + leads together, and all three - leads together. Then, to bump up the voltage, I connected the cluster to the remaining two panels in series...+ to -, and so on.

In full sunlight, this combo gives me approximately 9.5-10 volts at about 350-400 mA of current. This is MORE than enough to drive a simple charge controller, comprising of an LM317 device and a resistor.

Yesterday, the sun was blazing and beautiful. It was a perfect day to test the panel array out. I added 2 leads of 12 gauge copper with alligator clips to the panel's leads. Then, I removed the battery pack from my dead Icom 2AT HT. (By dead...it is in need of having the final amp transistor replaced, but the receive works just fine.) The clips were connected directly to the posts on the underside of the 2AT...then everything was moved to a black surface in my sideyard. The 2AT draws less than 30 mA fully squelched, but would the panel be able to drive the RX directly? A quick QSY to 144.39 (APRS...always busy in FN02ox) and the test began. Within a second or two, the squelch opened up, and audio came out of the old HT. I had done it! I recycled solar cells that mmost anyone else would have sent off to the landfill, and re-purposed them. Truly, a green project through and through.

These panels are going to be installed as a solar trickle charger in my garage...in order to keep the 20 A/H battery I use for 10 meters and for powering a cigarette lighter socket (for my 12V accessories) charged when I'm not using them. The LM317 circuit will aid in this pursuit, and with the addition of a couple of diodes, will protect the panels from current flowing back into them.

Give this project a try. You may just find that you have devices that YOU wish to power directly by Old Sol.

A "KISS" Satellite Station

2011-09-18T18:24:00.000-04:00

Getting on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 the simple way:

(Reprinted from The AMSAT Journal, Jan-Feb 2006)

By Ray Soifer, W2RS

The OSCAR station described here is about as far from state-of-the-art as it is possible to get, and still have it work. Virtually everything about it can be improved upon, with better antennas, lower noise figures, etc., etc. I even wrote many of those station-improvement articles myself. So why did I write this one? I keep hearing so often, from so many people, how complicated and difficult it is to get on the linear-transponder satellites – currently AMSAT-OSCAR 7, Fuji-OSCAR 29, and VUSat-OSCAR 52 – so I want to show how easy and inexpensive it can be. The following is a true story.During 2005 I sold my house in New Jersey and began moving W2RS into the house in Green Valley, Arizona, that I had purchased the previous year. I expect the process to go on for a long time: what ham station is ever really finished? Be that as it may, December found me with Straight Key Night on OSCAR coming up and no satellite antennas other than the Arrow hand-held beam and MFJ-1717 whip that I’ve been using with hand-helds on the FM birds. Not an acceptable situation, by any means! How to get a home-based CW station onto the linear-transponder satellites quickly and easily became the order of the day.From the New Jersey QTH I had brought most of the station equipment I would need, all of it relatively ancient but still working: Icom IC-290A and IC-490A multi-mode transceivers for 145 and 435 MHz, respectively, as well as a Mirage B1016 2m amp and a Tokyo Hy-Power HL-90U amp for 70cm. As driven by their respective transceivers, the two amps measured 150 and 70 watts output, respectively. There’s nothing magic about any of this equipment except that I happened to have it already. Whatever you have or can beg or borrow will probably work too, if it’s even roughly comparable.One caution concerning equipment, however: if you plan on using a single transceiver to cover both the 145 and 435 MHz bands, be sure it is capable of listening on one band while transmitting on the other. Being able to hear your own downlink is highly desirable, but not absolutely essential, on the FM satellites. It’s critical, however, to have this capability when operating CW or SSB through a linear transponder.Now for the KISS part: the antenna. What could be simpler than a 19-inch 2m/70cm mag-mount whip? At a hamfest, I picked up a new one. It happened to be a Pro-Am MO144-440 with a matching mount. In the catalogs, the combo is listed at $47, but the hamfest was ending soon and the dealer was happy to part with it for $30. A friend# with an extension ladder (I don’t climb anything higher than two feet) put it on the roof for me – actually, he plopped it on top of my house’s rooftop heating/AC unit, which is about four feet square and provides a good ground plane. Also, my heating/AC unit is not far from the shack, so a long run of coax isn’t required. The longer the coax, the more loss.There’s nothing magic about that particular model either. Just be sure that the one you use will handle the power you want to run. You can find lots of longer antennas, with more gain, but for reasons we will discuss shortly, I do not recommend them for this purpose. A 19-inch dual-band whip, or thereabouts, is just about right for a KISS satellite station.Now wait a minute, you say. Don’t ground plane antennas such as that have a null at the zenith, and aren’t satellites up in the sky? Don’t you need an upward-pointing antenna? I’ll let you in on the dirty little secret of elevation rotors and all that complicated stuff: with low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites such as the ones we’re talking about, most of the time you don’t really need to elevate your antenna at all unless it’s got a lot of gain.The specifics will vary slightly with your latitude and the orbital inclination, but a satellite in approximately polar orbit at an altitude of 800-900 km, such as FO-29 and VO-52, will have an elevation angle of 60º or more only about 1% of the time during which it is within sight of your station. Its elevation will exceed 30º only about 10% of the time it is within range. Even AO-7, at an orbital altitude of 1500 km, will have an elevation angle of 60º or more only about 2% of the time.I’ve had my KISS mag-mount whip up and running for a month now, and it provides good coverage of satellite passes when the elevation angle is between roughly 10º and 60º. A longer whip, with more gain, wouldn’t get coverage as high as 60º elevation.The lower the elevation angle, the farther away is the satellite from your station, and signal strength varies inversely with the square of the distance. So, for low elevation angles, substantial antenna gain is required. To get reliable coverage below 10º elevation, you would generally want a beam of some sort: depending upon terrain, my Arrow hand-held beam can work satellite passes down to about 4º or so, while the long yagis at my old QTH could get down to 1º. You cannot point a beam from the comfort of your shack without a rotator, however, so it fails the KISS test. With our KISS antenna, you don’t even have to know in which direction the satellite is, as long as it’s within range.What about Faraday rotation? Yes, I do notice some nulls from time to time, when the signal to or from the satellite is horizontally polarized. Most of the time, though, that’s not a problem. Satellites nowadays receive and transmit mostly elliptical polarization, so there’s usually enough vertically-polarized signal to get through. Besides, fixing Faraday rotation entirely would require you to have switchable polarization at your antennas, which also fails the KISS test.As you’ve probably gathered by now, there ain’t no free lunch in the satellite biz either. In return for using so simple an antenna system, we are in effect giving up access to the satellite for roughly half the time when it is in sight: at elevation angles below 10º or above 60º, and the relatively few times when the polarization is purely horizontal. But isn’t 50% satellite access better than 0%?If you’re fortunate enough to have a radio that covers both bands (145 and 435 MHz) with full-duplex operation through a single antenna connector, you may not need anything more than that dual-band antenna. However, since I have a separate transceiver for each band, I needed one more piece of equipment to bring my KISS satellite station to life: a duplexer. I saw a few at the hamfest, but they were of uncertain parentage and power-handling capacity. So, I decided to splurge and ordered a Diamond MX-72N, which is rated at 150 watts CW on 145 MHz and 100 watts CW on 435 MHz. That set me back another $50 but my KISS satellite station is now complete. The duplexer works surprisingly well, with very little desensing of the 435 MHz receiver while transmitting on 145 MHz, even with 150 watts.At my QTH, I found the receiving preamplifiers built into the two “brick” amps to be quite adequate to hear the satellites, even through the duplexer and approximately 40 feet of coax. If you have a long run of cable, or an especially noisy receiver, you may find that you need an antenna-mounted preamp, particularly on 435 MHz. That would require mounting the duplexer at the antenna, placing the preamp in the 435 MHz line, and running two coax cables down from the roof. (Again, be sure that the transmit/receive switching system in the preamp is capable of handling your power level.) However, placing the duplexer in the shack and using just one coax cable to the antenna works well for me.So how did my KISS station do in Straight Key Night on OSCAR? Great! I worked five SKN stations on FO-29, three on AO-7 and two on VO-52. I’ve been enjoying satellite passes with it ever since. See you on the birds!

Late Summer Update...my Hustler 4BTV and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

2011-09-10T22:03:00.001-04:00

All sorts of great things are happening here at the home QTH. For starters, the vintage 1975 +/- 5 years, Hustler 4BTV is FINALLY installed upon the roof of my garage. This antenna was purchased from WB2VUO in April for $35...and it was, for lack of a better adjective, a basket-case. This antenna had seen better days, to be certain.

Several months of machining work, polishing, and repairing of the base section...until it was ready for final assembly.

I just needed coax.

I had INTENDED on using RG-58A/U "temporarily", since the span is only 60 feet. At 60 feet, losses, even at 28/29 MHz, would be small.

That WAS the plan until Wednesday...when at a customer site, I encountered a length of Belden RG-8/U coax, complete with the SILVER plated Amphenol PL-259s at each end! It couldn't get any better! I had been thinking about this recently, and Tuesday night, a text chat with WB2VUO had me settling on the RG-58A/U. Talk about the Law of Attraction at work! (Thank you, Universe!)

So, today, Keith and I did the final, measured assembly...following the DX Engineering manual to the letter. Even though my 4BTV is almost 40 years old, the instructions are STILL the same, and still relevant.

After assembly, we calibrated the antenna to the prescribed metrics...2.25 inches for the mast-to-10 meter trap...2 inches for everything else. I had already calibrated the traps according to a diagram that New-Tronics had published some years ago. The traps were spot-on.

Next, the radials were installed...2 per band, installed at a 45 degree angle from the base. And all radials are contained within the confines of my garage's roof. (A happy wife makes a happy husband!!!)

Finally, the coax was connected. The base section was modified, since the ORIGINAL screw mount to the bottom of the mast required drilling it out, since the threads had seized. The coax is connected to the mast via a hole drilled into it, and a grounding lug being attached. Now, the center conductor of the coax is simply inserted and snugged. It just couldn't be any easier.

Upon testing, WB2VUO and I found that it was working superbly:
40 meter average SWR: 1.9:1
20 meter average SWR: 2.0:1
15 meter average SWR: 2.0:1
10 meter average SWR: 1.95:1

Clearly, the old Hustler is doing a fine job...even 35+ years later.

Update: Since the original installation in September, I have increased the number of radials from 8 to 16...and the difference has been DRAMATIC. I have a flat 1:1 SWR on both 40 and 10 meters...20 meters is still around 2:1...while 15 has gotten a little worse at 2.1:1. Clearly, I need to adjust the 15 meter trap, but honestly, I don't care THAT much. I only really hit 15 during contests...and I can always use the tuner to clean up the SWR if I really want it to be 1:1.

After a month of use, it is turning out to be a superior antenna. 10 meters is where this antenna is really showing its strength. I have worked all continents in merely one month with this antenna.

Also...as of late, I have again gotten bored with my computer. Well...not bored...looking for a challenge.

On Lifehacker.com, I read a few months ago about a "version" or distribution of OS X that is a Live Distro...but it runs within a USB drive!

This intrigued me to no end.

After a trip to Office Max for an 8GB Kingston DT101 "jump drive", I was ready. The first step was to download the torrent from Pirate Bay. (In no way does KB2HSH condone or endorse the "borrowing" of software from torrent sites). After getting the "iPortable Snow" DMG file from the torrent site, the instructions are relatively easy to follow.

My computer is in reality, a Hewlett Packard, but it thinks it's a Mac Pro now. And, almost every OSx86 website that I've EVER read has said that 10.5.8 is the highest that the HP D530 can be taken to. But, iPortable Snow is 10.6.2...and it WORKS!

What to do?

If you take a CD/DVD of OS X, and start it in the CD/DVD tray, you can bypass installing OS X and go right to Disk Utility. Once in Disk Utility, you can take the iPortable Snow image and "restore" it to a hard disk. Once that's done, one more step! You need to perform the Boot Fix...which gives the installation an EFI to refer to...and that's it...10.6.2 Snow Leopard on an UNSUPPORTED machine. And EVERYTHING works, too.

The best part of it is...I have updated it to 10.6.5 with minor issues. The USB stopped working, but a downgrade of the IOUSB kext, and a quick permission scan, and the USB works again.

10.6.6 WILL break in my computer though. But 10.6.4/10.6.5 is still pretty good!

The Icom IC-2 HT...Icom's legend

2011-08-03T10:32:00.002-04:00

In January of 1981, QST reviewed the venerable Icom IC-2A. In this review, Paul Pagel, N1FB called the radio "light, rugged, and compact...a lot of radio for the money." Compared to the radios of the day...typically HT like the Wilson that came with a NECK STRAP, it was.

The 2A/2AT would go on to be one of the longest-produced amateur transceivers of all times...as Icom made them all the way through the 80's....and even reviving it in 1992 as a "classic" model.

Whatever you choose to call the workhorse that is the 2A/2AT (and 3AT/220 MHz or 4AT/440 MHz models), enduring is a good description.

Who could forget the simplicity of the thumbwheel switches? The EASE of use? The near-bulletproof design? Many hams on eHam have written reviews of 2ATs falling from towers or being submerged in water, only to fire right back up when power was applied. Many hams at in the radio club I belonged to in the early 1990's had this radio...some wrapped in duct tape...some glued...one even had a case melt, but the innards of the radio were used open-style, and still worked flawlessly. In today's disposable world, such durability is counter-productive when PROFIT is the motive.

Most of the models that are seen in the wild today are without CTCSS capability, but Com-Spec http://www.com-spec.com/ss64.htm still offers a newly updated version of the old SS-32 micro-board that brings the 2A/2AT/3AT/4ATs into the modern era, and allows them to transmit the PL tones necessary to open MOST repeaters. Here in WNY, there are few machines that are truly "open", so this addition is a MUST for anyone that enjoys using these museum pieces.

In the unmodified form, the 2AT makes a PERFECT APRS transceiver. The interface is readily available from Buxcomm or Byonics...and is a direct plug-in, just as a speaker/mic would be plugged in. Set to 144.390 MHz, this radio is literally a "set and forget" rig. Also, for ARES/RACES public service events, I have used my MINT PERFECT 2AT during operations that used simplex frequencies.

For power, there are a few alternatives. Firstly, many if not ALL of the battery packs will be DOA due to the age of the pack itself. Consider that the NEWEST of the Icom packs is going on 20 years old. Fortunately, the Icom BP-4 pack is an alkaline AA battery case. Simply fill with 6 AA type batteries, be it alkaline or NiCad/NiMH/LiIon...and attach to radio. The lower voltage, 8.4 for alkaline...somewhat lower for the rechargeables will give the user around 1 watt of power on High, and about 75-100 mW on low. For an area with a close repeater or digipeater, this is rarely a setback. In WNY, the K2ILH digi located at the University at Buffalo, is so close that I can hit it via APRS with low power and a stock "rubber duck" antenna from my micro 2AT rig.

If a bit MORE power is wanted, the IC-8 alkaline pack is STILL available from Batteries America http://www.batteriesamerica.com/icom1.htm, as well as direct replacement rechargeable packs...similar to OEM. They are reasonable, but, when out in the field, having an alkaline pack is priceless.

Operating with the BP-4 pack filled with Energizer 2500 mAh AA rechargeables allows the 2A to work continuously for up to 4 days on low power...but your mileage may vary. Transmit rates, use of squelch, and local activity will play a big part in how long the pack will last, but current consumption of less than 20 mA while squelched will help the pack last longer.

Overall, the 2AT in today's environment is a crude, almost rudimentary radio. It has ZERO features other than power setting, repeater offset, and squelch. But, if basic operating, rugged design, and frugal battery consumption are more important than "bells and whistles", then it shouldn't be overlooked.

Summer 2011

2011-07-29T10:00:00.002-04:00

It's almost August, the Summer is OFFICIALLY 1/3 over...and for a solar cycle that is SUPPOSED to be nearing a PEAK...it has been lousy in comparison.

During the last cycle, 10 meters in the afternoon yielded QSOs from countries such as Chile, England, France, Germany, South Africa, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy...and on...and on...and on. This cycle, we're lucky here in FN02 if ALABAMA and TEXAS can be heard. Not for lack of trying, mind you. My ever-faithful HTX-10 is operated DAILY out in the garage...my second (Summer) shack. Sure, beacons can be heard most days...and there is some sporadic FM activity on 29.600 MHz...and yes...W1AW can be heard via short-skip and/or backscatter...but there has been NO good DX for us here. I heard Brazil the other night...but trans-equatorial doesn't cut it. The cycle that peaked around the time I received my Novice was immense in comparison. The HTX-100 that I had at the time had a mismatched antenna, but...you merely needed wet string and a few milliwatts and the DX could hear you.

Some scientists believe we are in for these lousy conditions for up to 50 years due to the prolonged effect of the so-called "Maunder Minimum".

Many 10 meter enthusiasts know that 10 opens frequently...in fact, much more than many would think. But, if it doesn't appear on the cluster or the DX telnet "channel", then it isn't happening. I would be willing to bet that if more of us used 10, we would find a band open to somewhere...even at odd times.

Field Day this year was exciting for many reasons. The afternoon that Saturday started out slowly...with signals suffering from intense amounts of QSB. One minute the signal you were listening to was a legitimate 10 dB over S9...and then 20 seconds later, they were gone.

Around 5pm Eastern Daylight Time, 10 started to settle down, and the signals were solid and consistent. If you could hear the other person, you could work them. It was THAT good. It sounded and felt like 10 meters, circa 2004. And the band was FILLED in the Novice sub-band of 28.300-28.500 MHz. There was not much room to operate on a clear frequency. (It amuses me that we ALL still stuff ourselves into 200 KHz of bandwidth!)

Overall, I still managed to work 20 states or so. And, there was plenty of short-skip into New England...usually difficult to do at this stage of the solar cycle.

This year, My garage Summer shack has a few new additions. I have moved my Powermite (PM-1) out there, as well as my micro 2AT for APRS/NOAA Weather Radio/monitoring the Amherst Police. And recently, I acquired WB2VUO's Icom HTs...2 IC-2ATs, as well as my personal favorite, an IC-2A...the 2AT WITHOUT the DTMF pad. Since I don't use a phone patch/auto patch and haven't done so in 20 years, and I also don't use IRLP, not having DTMF capability isn't that big of a deal. There are some repeaters in Western New York that don't have a PL tone associated with them, APRS is a simplex activity, and 146.52 simplex is always busy here. And DominoEX-8 via FM simplex works INCREDIBLY well compared with chasing DX via FM voice. Last night, August 11th, WB2VUO and I conducted an experiment using DominoEX-8. I was running approximately 100 mW or so, while Keith was running 5 watts. Solid copy over both paths, at a distance of 3.5 miles, where voice wouldn't have worked.

The 3 Icoms are a bit rough around the edges, and one of the 2ATs needs a final replaced, but they are still prime examples of what I have written about previously...HTs can be fun and affordable if you don't mind an older unit.

Hopefully, by the end of the Summer, if everything works out as I'm hoping it does, I will have a brand new Yaesu VX-8DR here...and the 2ATs (except for my MUSEUM QUALITY one) will be on eBay.

Confessions of a QRP Enthusiast: Part 1

2011-05-23T18:53:00.000-04:00

I have been an Amateur Radio operator for 23 years...and one fact has remained true from Day #1 as KB2HSH: I am a QRP enthusiast.

As a new Novice in 1988, I had no radio gear other than a near-perfect 1958 vintage Hammarlund HQ-170 that had been my grandfather's. The receiver is of little solace when a Ham wants to get on the air. The clueless search had begun to get "radio-active".

At the time, I was a member of RAWNY, the Radio Association of Western New York...one of the oldest clubs in the region. And old it was, both in history and average age of its members. As a 17 year-old at the time, I didn't quite fit in. One night in particular, I was speaking with a few of the OT Extra Class hams that had earned their tickets in the 30's or 40's. I inquired about the little Ramsey Electronics kits that were advertised in 73 Magazine during that era. (For those that have never seen the ad, they had (and still produce) a ONE WATT QRP transmitter. At the time, it was $25) I asked the typical newbie question, "Are they any good?" and "Will I be able to make QSOs with it?".

As if I had said Franklin Roosevelt was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, they looked at me with disgust. "You can't work ANYTHING with ONE WATT!!!", and, "You'll never be able to call CQ and be heard with only ONE WATT!!!".

Clearly, they had their opinions.

An ARRL mini-book devoted to QRP told the truth, however...in times of band conditions where the signals are loud...say S9+10...the QRP signal will only be a couple of S-units lower. Well...that was enough convincing for me.

To be honest...most QRPers will say the same thing: Novices or any newcomers to HF shouldn't start with QRP simply because it's all you can afford, etc. But, as a high school Novice...soon going-into-college Novice, it WAS all I could afford.

That September, my father was lying on his back...under his old Ford Fairmont...trying to change a starter...and starter that I had royally destroyed...or so he thought. He was having a difficult time getting the thing in...as it started to POUR! And this rain was not letting up. Without be asked, I climbed into the engine compartment, and hung nearly upside-down holding the starter while he bolted it in. Mind you, my friends at the time were waiting for me as we were going to the Buffalo Hamfest. They weren't hams, but had a fondness for CB. Whatever. Anyway...after the starter fired the old straight-six back to life, he actually thanked me...and asked where we were headed. I told him that we were going to the Hamfest...but it was pointless for me to go, since I had made a car payment on my 1972 Maverick and had SQUAT for cash at that point. As if my father had had an epiphany, he reached into his wallet and gave me a $50 bill...and it was money that he couldn't afford at the time since he and my mother had lost their first business. I still remember his words, too: Don't buy anyone's crap, and don't get screwed!

When we arrived, I KNEW what I wanted...the Ramsey booth. I literally RAN inside, found the booth, and quickly plunked down my father's $50 for the 40 meter transmitter and the matching case. $38 and I still had money left over for beers that night (yes...I know...I wasn't "allowed" to drink....).

The next morning, I fired up my soldering iron, and assembled the kit in record time. I was almost expecting it NOT to work, but it did the first time. After lashing it up to the dipole that I had made out of BLUE surplus RG-58A/U, I was ready. Straight-key...all set. Power supply...all set. QSY to 7.040 on the old Hammarlund. QRL...QRL...de KB2HSH...

Silence.

Then I started... CQ CQ CQ de KB2HSH KB2HSH KB2HSH PSE K. Seemed simple enough. But I had passed the 5 WPM code test. I apparently had sent my CQ much faster...because I heard HSH de....and then it was all noise because I panicked.

But the simple fact was that I COULD indeed be heard with ONE WATT, and the crusty old curmudgeons that lost the Radio Spirit decades prior were wrong.

You know, as I sit here in my office, I am glancing over to the oversized bookcase built into the wall...and that Ramsey QRP-40 sits there...silent now...but with an EARNED spot in my station as my first rig. And it still works, too. Fired her up in 2007 along with her old partner, the HQ-170. I'll never part with them...and may even use them in the garage along with my HTX-10 this summer.

(Part 2: My PM-1, my pretty but LOUSY HW-7 and HW-8, and my MFJ-9440 QRP SSB rig...to follow)

Macs and Digital Software

2011-02-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

Let's face it, if you're a ham, and you've owned a Mac longer than a week...and you're a digital enthusiast, you KNOW that there aren't many choices out there for us.

In a Windows environment, there are DOZENS of suites one can choose from. From simple, single-mode packages, to the complex, "one-size-fits-all" suites. Some are free, some are not, some are aimed at the casual user and some for the serious contester.

For a Mac: 3. Four if you include SSTV.

The 3 Mac suites are Cocoamodem, fldigi, and MultiMode.

Cocoamodem, a program created by Kok Chen, W7AY, is arguably one of the more capable digital packages made, be it for Mac or for Windows. This free suite, allows the Mac-equipped ham to use CW, RTTY, PSK31, PSK63, MFSK16, DOMINO, and Hellschreiber modes. It also offers HF Fax and Sitor-B.

Cocoamodem is available for OS X from versions 10.2 up to and including 10.6. It should be mentioned that the earlier versions don't have as many modes available as .088 or the current stable release, .92.

Installation is as simple as it can be for a Mac user. Merely download the disk image, mount, and drag the application onto the desktop, root directory, or in the "Applications" folder. Easy enough.

When configuring Cocoamodem, one section to be aware of is when you are configuring the serial port to key the transceiver. By default, Cocoamodem is set to use VOX. If you own a modern radio that has the digital Vox feature, such as a Yaesu FT-450, this would be as far as you would need to go in order to use Cocoamodem. However, on a radio such as the FT-817ND, you still need an intermediate step to key the radio. Enter CocoaPTT. This is a simple, add-on to Cocoamodem that allows the software to "talk" to an available serial port.

The nicest feature of CocoaPTT is that when it is all configured PROPERLY, as soon as you transmit in Cocoamodem, CocoaPTT starts automatically, and in MOST cases, within 1/4 second. Nice touch, Mr. Chen!

Using Cocoamodem is VERY straightforward, and not too confusing for a newcomer. Initial setup, serial port configuration, sound levels, etc. Then, select the mode you wish to use, enable the "modem", and fire away.

I used Cocoamodem .88 during the 070 Club's PSK31 Contest in January. Like many other digital suites, Cocoamodem allows macros to be setup...making exchanges as easy as pushing buttons. However, one area that Cocoamodem REALLY EXCELS at is when you select "Table View". What this does is to display EVERY QSO heard within the bandpass. So, as I sat at 14.070, I was able to watch as many as 15+ stations simultaneously. When one would call CQ TEST, clicking on the text within Table View would move the cursor on the waterfall to THAT station...allowing the contact. This is perhaps its best feature. It should also be mentioned that in Table View, it seems to be much more sensitive than watching the waterfall's text.

Adjusting the sound levels with Cocoamodem are tricky at first, but with patience, and simple observation, you will know immediately if your levels are too strong for proper detection.

In my opinion, it is the "prettiest" of the suites.

Cocoamodem can be found on Kok Chen's website: http://homepage.mac.com/chen/w7ay/cocoaModem/index.html

"FLdigi" is next on the list. Again, it is a free suite, offered by Dave Bressee, W1HKJ. Like the versions offered for Windows, Linux, and Puppy, it is IDENTICAL in features, capabilities, and even aesthetics. In the simplest of terms, it is for OS X and Linux, what Ham Radio Deluxe is for Windows users.

Where does one begin to describe a program that is universal in looks, features, and modes offered?

For modes offered, fldigi includes CW, DominoEX 4 through 22, Feld Hell, FSK-Hell, FSK-Hell 105, MFSK-8 and 16, PSK-31 / QSPK-31, PSK-63 / QPSK-63, PSK-125 / QPSK-125, PSK-250 / QPSK-250, OLIVIA, RTTY, Throb-1, Throb-2, Throb-4, ThrobX-1, ThrobX-2, ThrobX-4, Thor-4, Thor-5, Thor-8, Thor-11, Thor-22, WWV(Receive only - calibrate your sound card to WWV). Clearly, many more modes than Cocoamodem, and still free for us to utilize.

FLdigi's biggest assets are in its ability to have ALMOST complete control over a modern transceiver. Not only will FLdigi key the radio, but for many Icom/Kenwood/Yaesu radios, it also has CAT tuning as well. My "Mac Pro" has a native serial port, as well as a USB-to-serial cable. After installing the PL-2303 driver found easily through Google, that serial port can be used for frequency changes.

As with other OS's versions of FLdigi, the macros can be set up for contesting, to change modes, or to even clear the screen.

According to Dave, W1HKJ, there are Alpha versions being developed that include JT65 and APRS, similarly to MultiPSK.

Fldigi has built-in logging capability. Granted, it is VERY BASIC, but it can still keep a running log, and even convert it to an ADIF file for the contester hams. It will NOT score like N1MM, so if FLdigi is used, manual calculation is still necessary. This, I feel, is a SMALL price to pay for a suite that it superior to the rest.

An interesting sidenote that I shouldn't leave out...if you have used FLdigi within a different OS, such as Windows, for example, macros and settings that you save are COMPATIBLE in OS X. I had been using FLdigi in Windows 7 and had saved my rig settings, contest macros, and logs. I was able to import them into FLdigi 3.10 for Mac...and they worked PERFECTLY!

Fldigi can be downloaded from Dave's site at :

http://www.w1hkj.com/download.html

Finally, there is MultiMode, a suite offered by Black Cat Software. This software, while featuring many modes that some suites don't include, such as 130 MHz AM ACARS reception, CTCSS decode, ALE, GMDSS, and APRS/Packet mode, it is still the last choice for many due to its plain interface, its lousy performance, and its Mac Tax pricetag of $90 ! I'm not against anyone making money on software, but at $90, I would expect the suite to be better than what it really is.

One such commentary on MultiMode seems to suggest that it may be more intended for a shortwave listener.

Another comment stated what many might not be aware of during registration: you pay $90 for the suite, and you are "entitled" to free software updates for ONE YEAR. After the year, they "graciously" offer updates for $35. In my opinion, this is both absurd and risky. If an update doesn't play well with your individual setup, you are probably not going to get your money back. This merely speculation...I don't know if that would be the case...but I am unwilling to pay $125 and wait for more than a year to find out.

Living as close as I do to the Buffalo International Airport, I use MultiMode mostly for ACARS reception. With a short rubber-duck antenna on the front BNC jack of my FT-817ND, I can copy DOZENS of aircraft messages per hour. MultiMode DOES do ACARS and APRS reception well. However, as a RABID APRS enthusiast, one would think that it could be set up to TRANSMIT easier. Referring back to Windows, Patrick Lindecker's MultiPSK includes APRS/Packet transmission and reception. It is a bit tricky to set up, but HF and VHF APRS can be accomplished without much hassle. The benefit to using MultiPSK is that the AGW Packet Engine IS NOT REQUIRED to make it work.

Clearly, the developers of MultiMode, Black Cat Systems, has accomplished this level of reception capability, but without being able to easily TRANSMIT APRS frames, it comes up short.

Overall, MultiMode is a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT for a Mac user. I will keep it around and use it in its "time limited" mode for ACARS. Other than that, don't waste your hard-earned money. It's a dud otherwise.

MultiMode (and its plain vanilla interface) can be downloaded here: http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html

There are other, lesser known packages available, such as Xastir, and DarwinPSK. However, I didn't include them due to the amount of associated work necessary to make them work properly. DarwinPSK requires X11, Developer Tools CD, additonal libraries such as Qt, esound, and fftw....then...manual file manipulation...and compiling. Sorry...most of us chose Macs for the ease of use. Sure, Macs ARE a beautiful BSD, Unix isn't for everyone.

But, if satisfying and powerful digital mode operation and contesting are what you desire, Cocoamodem and FLdigi are excellent packages.

Converting my HP D530 SFF PC into a "homebrew" Mac Pro

2011-01-07T09:22:00.001-05:00

Actually, this could be considered a "Part 2" to the VMware OS X story.

A few years ago, I had read about individuals that had successfully installed Mac OS X onto their PCs, creating what is (or isn't) referred to as an OSx86 or "Hackintosh". What had seemed like an near-impossibility at the time, is now within the grasp of average computer users...if some time is spent studying the features of both the system and their own PC environment.

Consider the enterprise-class grade Hewlett-Packard D530 SFF (small form-factor) PC. It is one of several typical desktops found in MILLIONS of American companies. They are mass-produced (with good components) PCs with 2.5-3.0 GHz Pentium 4 CPUs, Intel i865 chipsets, Broadcom Gigabit NICs, decent graphics, 6 USB 2.0 ports, and the ability to expand up to 4 GB of RAM. Generic, plentiful, and CHEAP (as of this writing, they can be found on AMAZON for $39).

It's also a hand-in-glove-fit to be converted into an OSx86 "Hackintosh" BECAUSE of its common components.

Where does one begin?

Firstly, you'll need to understand a bit of the OS X operating system. Why? Put in simple terms, OS X, while based upon BSD Unix, has additions to it that prevent it from running on garden-variety PCs...even though Apple utilizes the Pentium 4 as its main CPU. OS X doesn't call upon a BIOS for tests, verification, etc. These machines use the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) platform firmware instead. An easy way to think of the EFI is to imagine a boot-loaded environment that is the pre-cursor to installing or starting the real operating system.

One of the first commonly available EFIs was made by a company called Psystar. They created the Rebel EFI. It was available on their website for download, and it gave many experimenters (or hackers...whichever you prefer) the chance to play with OS X on an x86 platform. Apple took notice and defeated Psystar in a court battle. It seemed, for that period of time, that the OSx86 movement had ended.

Today, Boot-132 is the standard. The Boot-132 boot loader essentially preloads an environment on the system from which OS X can boot and operate.

So, how do you (easily) start?

A) You'll need a copy of one of the MANY ISOs available on sites such as piratebay.org, or any of the numerous torrent hosts. Keep in mind that this activity is ILLEGAL, and that the instructions here are for educational purposes only. ;) A good, solid ISO found on piratebay is the iDeneb OS X 10.5.6 v1.4 AMD/Intel SSE2 SSE3 DVD.

B) Next, you'll need a way to burn the ISO image to a DVD. Forget Nero, Toast, or any of the other "pay-to-play" suites. Get INFRARECORDER. It's on Sourceforge...look it up...it's free and it's QUITE powerful. With a 6-button interface, ANYONE can create high-quality, bootable ISOs.

C) Obviously, you need the PC. Unsure about the viability of your computer? Go to http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page and compare your machine to the machines that have been installed with X.

D) Insert the DVD, and boot from it. (Of course, chnage your BIOS if you need to)

While on the OSx86 wiki, there are several forums to read if hardware or software problems occur. And they WILL. It's not as simple as installing Windows (even though many people can't do THAT, either).

It took about 48 hours to get everything just right on my HP D530 to where OS X10.5.6 runs with very few issues. I'd say that 99% of the system is locked-down...the wired ethernet works, the Belkin F5D7050 v4 USB adaptor I bought in 2007 works, the sound works (on BOTH front and back jacks), all USB 2.0 ports work, COM1 and the parallel port work as well.

It DOES have an issue with Sleep Mode. And occasionally, shutting down requires a hard shutdown. This is no different than my SONY VAIO PCG-505f with Windows Me STILL has.

Overall, it has more than enough power and speed to make up for these minor shortcomings.

Once everything was installed and set up as correctly as possible, I added a few more steps to my conversion. When the D530 PCs were produced, there was an optional floppy drive that was available. Mine has one. Never used it. Since the floppy drive is a 3.5 inch unit, I removed the drive, and added in the hard drive that OS X was installed to. Why? The original hard drive with Windows 7 Ultimate is STILL in its factory location. If I ever need to access it, it's as easy as opening the case, and moving the IDE cable to the OTHER drive. (There are more elegant ways of accomplishing this...I prefer simple)

Before I closed the lid, I booted into Win 7 and started Google Chrome. Once there, I used their fabulous Sync system to send my browser settings "to the cloud". Next, I placed a blank DVD into the drive and burned an image of "My Documents" so that I could manually bring over my music, photos, spreadsheets, PDFs, and TXT file archives that I use daily. 2.3 GB was all that I needed out of 4.7.

After that was done, I closed the lid, and fired her up.

It booted. And re-booted. And re-re-booted.

Uh-oh. A problem.

Then it happened to dawn on me: I didn't install the package on the iDeneb DVD for automatic booting. So, at startup, I HAVE to type rd=disk0s2. No big deal. I like Unix...and besides, it takes me back to the MS-DOS 6.22/Windows 3.1 days. (If "win" wasn't added to the end of the autoexec.bat file, your 386 would hang at the command prompt)

That worked...and OS X started "normally". Once up-and-running, I inserted the My Documents DVD, and copied to my HDD. Next, I installed and ran Chrome for Mac...and once set, I started Sync. Yep...all of my bookmarks, cookies, passwords, and history.

Any good Amateur Radio digital software for Mac?

In a word or two? Not really. There are 3 suites that Mac Hams will know: MultiMode, cocoamodem, and fldigi. MultiMode is $90 and works MARGINALLY. Not worth the investment. fldigi, while I AM comfortable with it, does't like my soundcard. It's a shame, too, since fldigi is SO GOOD on Windows and the various distros of Linux (inlcuding the oddly named Puppy Linux). But cocoamodem 2.0 is a hit out of the park. Works DAMN well, it's free, powerful, constantly updated, and has the modes that 95% of digital hams use. (Made my first QSO with it 1/6/2011: N4ART)

Overall, I am thrilled that I have my OSx86 running. While I am still a Windows user (I still use it for work and at home on the vairous OTHER PCs in the house), as a new Mac convert, it's nice to have the best OS on a strong PC.

UPDATE TO STORY:

2/25/2011:

There is a bechmarking application available known as "Xbench". Xbench is literally like a physical for your Mac. It examines several areas for their speediness...HDD read/writes, graphics capabilities, CPU throughput, etc. According to Xbench, my homemade "Mac Pro" weighs in at a 70 rating. Sure, it seems a bit sluggish compared to true Mac Pros that score EASILY in the triple digits, but keep in mind, that the Pro is a MULTI-CORE computer, whereas my version uses a SINGLE Pentium 4. Even at what some would see as a disadvantage, it is still incredibly fast and quite capable.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard...running in Windows 7?

2010-12-19T10:16:00.003-05:00

I have been a fan of virtualization in computers for many years. I can't explain WHY, but I think it has something to do with being able to "have your cake, and eat it too".

There have been quite a few virtualization programs that have come and gone through the years. Packages such as the venerable DOSBOX, the elegant and free VirtualBox, and others such as VMWare, Qemu, and Bochs. Today, commercially available software such as Parallels, Boot Camp, and Microsoft's Virtual PC allow the Mac user to run full and complete "copies" of Windows within the Macintosh environment.

This is the "Holy Grail" for some. The biggest reason that many people don't switch to Macs completely is that they are concerned that software that ONLY runs within Windows will be lost and not able to be used. Parallels, Boot Camp, and VPC cure this "problem".

But...for a moment, think...has there EVER been a time that you WANTED to take a Mac for a test drive, but couldn't? Price too high? No Mac Stores around? OS X too alien an environment for the typical (no pun intended) Windows user?

With a few free tools, and some steps followed carefully, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard CAN run in Windows.

1) Download and install VMware Player 3

2) Download Mac OS X 10.5.5 X86 VMware image

3) Decompress the OS X image from the compressed file. 7-Zip is perfect at this, and it is free as well.

4) Start VMware Player.

5) Click on "Open a Virtual Machine".

6) Browse for "Mac OS X Leopard.VMX" file in the location the newly decompressed files were placed. Select and press open.

7) That’s it. Start your Mac "Virtual Machine" by pressing Start/Play "Virtual Machine." It SHOULD boot and work fine.

The donor Mac that the image was built on is a Mac Pro.

Key points to consider:

-Since it is a virtual environment, it will run somewhat slower than if it were running natively. Keep in mind that if your HOST PC has limited resources, your "Virtual Mac" will provide you with DISAPPOINTING results. VERY DISAPPOINTING. (Don't even CONSIDER trying to try this if your PC has ANYTHING less than a 2 GHz CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and limited HDD space.

-The Mac image has been built to incorporate 1 GB of RAM for the Mac itself. You can adjust this as needed, but anything less than 768 MB will creep along. The more RAM, the better.

-Even if you HAVE a multi-core CPU, keep the settings at 1.

-Most people will want to change the User Name of the "root" account. The password is "PASSWORD".

-Chances are, your audio won't work. Mine doesn't, and my HOST PC, an HP D530 with Windows 7 Ultimate is HARDLY an econo-box computer. Such is life. Want audio? The USB integration from HOST to GUEST works flawlessly, so a USB (MISO-microphone in/speaker out) "sound card" will work.

-Some users prefer a smaller window when running a virtual desktop. I do, too. Here's how to change to a smaller footprint, IF DESIRED:

http://www.khattam.info/howto-increasechange-resolution-of-mac-os-x-leopard-inside-virtualbox-2010-12-07.html