UHFSDR Kit

Here it is. Another winter project. This was e-mailed to me by a few anonymous readers. So I had to do some tracking to find the source. Credit to Andrew Sparky and WB6DHW

The UHFSDR is a Software Defined Transceiver covering the 1.75 MHz to 700 MHz frequency range. A Si570 is used for frequency control. Two LVPECL 4 GHz max.flip flops produce I and Q LO signals at 1/2 the Si570 frequency. A pair of 1-1000MHz Double Balanced Mixers are used to convert signals to and from base band.

A receiver pre-amp (2dB noise figure) and a transmit pre-amp(50mW max output) are provided as well as antennal switching plus provision for separate receive and transmit connections.

For additional information, download the Assembly Manual.
The BOM, schematic, and board layout are Here.
A HiRes(3.7MByte.) picture of the completed board is Here

Link to WD6DHW’s Website

Marshall Headphones

Not Ham related, but cool indeed. Having been a guitar player for 35 years I think this is pretty cool. I know many hams who also have battles with the six string axe.

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Everyone knows that you can't really get that full live rock and roll experience without shoving your head against the amp. That said, sometimes it's hard to find a nearby Marshall stack--like, say, when you're at the office or on the subway.

These new Marhsall-branded headphones may be the next thing. At the very least, they sort of look like a pair of amps strapped to the sides of your head.

"These headphones are conceived from Marshall's time-tested fundamentals of performance and endurance, designed to thrive on daily use and to render music the way it was meant to sound, no matter what your flavor is," the company writes in a press release. "The greatest of effort has also been put into the aesthetics, making the headphones ooze of that iconic Marshall look."

If you don't mind a little oozing next to your ears, these things look downright snazzy. Well, at least wall two inches of what we've seen thus far.

350,000 km Twister

Earlier today (Oct. 28th) a twisted filament of magnetism on the sun suddenly untwisted. The result was a spectacular eruption recorded in full-disk detail by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Movie formats: 8 MB gif, 3 MB gif, 1.7 MB iPad, 0.7 MB iPhone

At its peak, the twister--or rather, untwister--towered more than 350,000 km above the stellar surface. It appears to have hurled a fragment of itself into space, but not toward Earth; the blast was not geoeffective.

Now that the filament has relaxed, it is unlikely to erupt again. The next blast is more likely to come from big sunspot 1117, which NOAA forecasters say could produce an M-class solar flare.

DEAD SPACECRAFT WALKING: Two NASA spacecraft that were supposed to be dead a year ago are instead flying to the Moon for a breakthrough mission in lunar orbit. The research they conduct could lead to important advances in space weather forecasting. For more information, read "Dead Spacecraft Walking" from Science@NASA.

source

I recommend SpaceWeather.com to everyone. I obtain much of my info from there site which I also have in my side bar Space Links and Sites list.

Articles of Interest

Radio ham Harry Johnson visits the world from his basement

When Harry Johnson was around three years old, back in 1939 or so, his grandpa carried him upstairs to a magical room at the grandparents’ house in Montana.

It was Uncle Charlie’s room, and Johnson’s memories of it resemble something from an old black-and-white monster movie.

“It was warm, and I remember the glow of vacuum tubes, and electricity sparking,” Johnson said.
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A 16-year-old brought radio to Memphis.

Alfred Cowles, a junior at Central High School, built his own transmitter to play recorded music and read stories during evening broadcasts from his Vance Avenue backyard on Amateur Radio Station 5NZ. The first sound on the airwaves here was the famous tenor Enrico Caruso singing Italian opera. The year was 1920.
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Scouts make contact with submarine

Well over 50 Scouts, mostly Cubs, and their families attended the Lake Area Amateur Radio Klub’s Jamboree on the Air in The Colony on Saturday. In all, there were over 150 attendees, which was an improvement from last year. There were Scouts from The Colony, Little Elm, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Frisco.
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Wouxun KG-UV920R Mobile

UPDATE; Click Here
I'm all for cheaper radios and equipment in this wonderful hobby of Amateur Radio. Being on a fixed income I can only afford used equipment at this point unless I save for several months. Wouxun has plans to release a New Dual Band Mobile unit. It sure looks awesome. Read the Specs. From what I have read it's in the $150-$200 price range. If that is the real price range, it's going to upset the Amateur Radio world as far as prices are concerned.
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The KG-UV920R is Wouxon's first dual band rig, operating both 2 meters and 70 cm (440 MHz). Power output is selectable in 3 steps (2m: 5/25/50W, 70cm: 5/20/40W) and modulation can be switched between narrow-FM and regular-FM. The receiver covers the entire HF band, 65-220 MHz and 400-520 MHz and supports AM. A detachable front panel and DTMF-mic come standard.

Frequency range RX 0.15-30 / 65-220 / 400-520 MHz

TX; 2 m / 70 cm

Modulations RX;AM / FM / N-FM

TX; FM / N-FM

Tuning steps; 5 / 6.25 / 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 50 / 100 kHz

Features;

DTMF-mic
Detachable front panel
Called ID
Twin RX
Cross-band repeater

For more info on Wouxum; click here

Illness

I have been gone due to Illness.
I hope all of you are doing well.
I am holding my own and hope to resume regular blogging tomorrow.
Thank you to all of you who have sent me e-mails.
73,
de KD8BIG

ASU's Hams are Back On the Air

I always enjoy hearing about Amateur Radio being used and introduced in the schools. My sons school has an Amateur Radio Station, W8MTA. The problem is getting the youth interested in Amateur Radio. My son has sit here in my shack for several hours listening, watching and even occasionally dose some ragchewing. He has even been a part of JOTA with his Boy Scout Troop.
Still he has little interest in getting his license. I have the lap-top, cell phone and Iphone he said. Why do I need more? he asked. Maybe one day.
This article came to me through an e-mail. I wonder how many colleges have Amateur Radio Stations? 73
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Calling CQ: ASU's hams are back on the air
by Judith Smith, jps@asu.edu

KC7MOD is Nicholas Radtke, president of W7ASU – ASU’s Amateur Radio Society – and AC7FL is Stuart Lindsay, Regents’ Professor of Biophysics, who is the club’s faculty adviser.

ASU’s “hams” are sharing good news these days with their fellow radio buffs around the world: For the first time in many years, the club has a permanent home.

W7ASU dates back to the 1930s, and actually is one of ASU’s oldest student clubs, said Radtke, a doctoral candidate in computer science. “There was a station on campus, with some breaks, until about 15 years ago. The club’s ‘shack’ was in the old Technology Building, which is now Psychology North, with two towers and multiple antennas on top of the building."

continue reading

Eagle HF DSP Transceiver; Ten-Tec

I got an e-mail asking if I had heard anything about this rig.
The answer is no I have not.
Ryan informs me that this rig may give some of the newer rigs a run for there money and operation features. The radio looks nice and I love the fact that the fact that many of the hot buttons light up and the fact you can also change the color on the display.
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Ten-Tec has created a transceiver combining simplified controls and ease of operation with the excellent performance of a low first IF 160-through 6-meter ham-band architecture in a compact, mobile-friendly structure. The analog portion of the radio is double conversion with IF frequencies of 9.0015 MHz and 22.5 kHz. A third conversion to zero-frequency IF is accomplished in the DSP processor.

- Frequency Range TX: Ham Bands Only (160-6M)
- RF Power Output: Adjustable, 5-100 W, +/- 1 dB

Price “599″ Model (without Antenna Tuner): $1795.00
Price “599AT” Model (with Antenna Tuner): $1995.00

Details

Documents:

599 Manual V1.003 1.15MB (2010-10-06)

Brochure 398.76KB (2010-09-27)

This Weekends Contesting Opportunities

This weekend is full of contesting opportunities. Good luck all.

YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest	Oct 8-10
Makrothen RTTY Contest	Oct 9-10
CQ SA SSB Contest	Oct 9-10
Oceania DX Contest, CW	Oct 9-10
WAB HF Phone	Oct 9-10
Scandinavian Activity Contest, SSB	Oct 9-10
Pennsylvania QSO Party	Oct 9-10
Arizona QSO Party	Oct 9-10
EU Autumn Sprint, CW	Oct 9
FISTS Fall Sprint	Oct 9
North American Sprint, RTTY	Oct 10
SKCC Weekend Sprint	Oct 10
10-10 Int. 10-10 Day Sprint	Oct 10
UBA ON Contest, CW	Oct 10

Absence

I have been sick the last several days. I hope to be back soon.

Kenwood TS-590 on Air test

Here is a new video of the New Kenwood TS-590

here is another video: Click Here

The Older Elmers

Three brothers ages 92, 94, and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. He puts his foot in and pauses.
He yells down the stairs and says
"Was I getting in or out?"

The 94 year old yells back "I don't know. I'll come up and see." He starts up the stairs and pauses. Then he yells,
"Was I going up the stairs or down?"

The 92 year old HAM is sitting in front of his HF rig and listening to his brothers. He shakes his head, picks up the mic and says "I sure hope I never get that forgetful."
He knocks on wood for good measure.
He then yells into the mic,
"I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see....
who's at the door. "OVER"

Balloon Launch this Morning

The QRP ARCI sponsored iHAB-2 high altitude balloon will be launched tomorrow morning at 9AM CDT, 1400z, from Ottumwa, IA.

The beacon will be transmitting on 14.059 and sending "K6JSS IHAB 2" at about 15 wpm, with 10 seconds between transmissions. A picture of the beacon and a rough drawn schematic can be seen here http://www.wa0itp.com/ihabbeacon.html

If you hear the beacon please post a signal report to www.qrpspots.com and/or balloon@qrparci.com. A typical report might be "heard ihab 2 at 1430z, 579 indianpolis, IN de kb9bvn" QRP ARCI will be sending a nice certificate to those who send a report to balloon@qrparci.com

Live video streaming can be seen at
http://www.w0otm.com/iHAB/iHAB-2/

QRP Amateur Radio Club International

This Weekends Contesting Opportunities.

Wow, here we are at another weekend full of contesting opportunities.
I am wishing all of you who participate good luck and have fun.

ARRL EME Contest Oct 2-3
TARA PSK Rumble Contest Oct 2
EPC Russia DX Contest Oct 2-3
Oceania DX Contest, Phone Oct 2-3
F9AA Cup, CW Oct 2
California QSO Party Oct 2-3
EU Autumn Sprint, SSB Oct 2
International HELL-Contest Oct 2-3
F9AA Cup, SSB Oct 3
UBA ON Contest, SSB Oct 3
German Telegraphy Contest Oct 3
RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest Oct 3

ARDF Championship;USA wins 3 Metals

This is cool. Over the last few months several in my local area have been getting involved with Fox Hunting. I believe it was a week ago the local club, MAARC held a fox hunting workshop.
I tried Fox Hunting for a summer and it was not for me. I an average hunter but could not see the excitement in it. I would rather build and antenna and play around with software etc.
Congratulations to Team USA!!

(ARDF) Amateur radio direction finding

Three Medals For Team USA At The 2010 ARDF World Championships:

from The ARRL Letter on September 30, 2010
Website: http://www.arrl.org/
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Three Medals For Team USA At The 2010 ARDF World Championships:

By ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV

ARDF Team USA has just returned from Croatia, the site of this year's World Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF). Three team members have new medals for their collections, the most medals ever earned in the World Championships by the USA. ARDF -- also called foxhunting and radio-orienteering -- requires map-and-compass proficiency, stamina and speed, as well as skill using direction-finding gear. It is done entirely on foot. Each day, the competitors set forth into a 1700 acre woods containing five "fox" transmitters in unknown locations. The foxes for each band are all on the same frequency and each one comes on the air for 60 seconds at a time in rotating sequence. Only men and women in the prime age category are required to look for all five; those in the other age/gender categories search for fewer, in accordance with International Amateur Radio Union rules. Read more here http://www.arrl.org/news/ardf-update-three-medals-for-team-usa-at-the-2010-ardf-world-championships.