tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579042817649232672024-03-13T22:56:58.230+11:00UMaRCA: Utility Monitoring and Radio Communications AustraliaA monitoring and communications blog from an Australian perspective.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-74339488434670323212013-07-29T16:22:00.000+10:002013-07-29T16:22:35.542+10:00Project 11: Better quality 150MHz Dipole This is essentially an upgrade of project 7 <a href="http://umarca.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/project-7-airband-dipole.html" target="_blank">Airband Dipole</a> . I thought the results from that roughly built, simple,"thrown together" Dipole were encouraging enough to build something more permanent. Once again, the materials were cheap : a 3 way junction box, 1 metre length of aluminium tubing, 8 cm of old nylex garden hose and silicon sealant.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOov1v6_7K1pP_Mtxf9i8nIaevo2X_GJpnGKRH9nBjKYrYqrtmVBVoskbKjp_Q3YfPabnvmkTSj06h4B64qwnmcONMg9MuB9QYVwPUs_GmMXhaQWejVf6-okDNrjSk0oQUYue-g1xHw6Y/s1600/101_2297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOov1v6_7K1pP_Mtxf9i8nIaevo2X_GJpnGKRH9nBjKYrYqrtmVBVoskbKjp_Q3YfPabnvmkTSj06h4B64qwnmcONMg9MuB9QYVwPUs_GmMXhaQWejVf6-okDNrjSk0oQUYue-g1xHw6Y/s320/101_2297.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hose sections used as packing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The tubing came as 1 m length so i cut that in half. The tubing does not fit snugly into the "T-piece" so some packing is required. In this case, 2 bits of old garden hose cut into 4 cm sections and then cut down the middle, opened up and pushed onto the tubing which then fits nicely into the box. The bits of excess hose are then trimmed off.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI05Lol9GE1encorvfvpgH7NDxarLNlbC-vk_CqUTi2ORs5JDRhNAdNiZr69OHZ5Fx0uW2t-uMb42NcNFIt-xpO00pHs29RP9_di4lL8T1Y_T7mhy-yFAL_ZLTr7_yeec5y_eOuyZ0vs8/s1600/101_2299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI05Lol9GE1encorvfvpgH7NDxarLNlbC-vk_CqUTi2ORs5JDRhNAdNiZr69OHZ5Fx0uW2t-uMb42NcNFIt-xpO00pHs29RP9_di4lL8T1Y_T7mhy-yFAL_ZLTr7_yeec5y_eOuyZ0vs8/s320/101_2299.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Packing trimmed and holed drilled</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After that, the holes are drilled for the coax fittings. The standard nuts, bolts, washers and auto-electric crimped type connectors are used. The box cover plate is screwed back on, and silicon sealant is applied just about everywhere.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFc_R8nOeMSuASILusAYr-bVBjPHpZTOsimvACBrhc_a20g3V50NJiK9CEr2jUAHa_ME70GQQX9PWfHNTodepDqqZcvZiCrbEzhpYJb5NacpEJlAx8_xtLZTFZ9aeG3DPEKiWTBR19_s/s1600/101_2300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFc_R8nOeMSuASILusAYr-bVBjPHpZTOsimvACBrhc_a20g3V50NJiK9CEr2jUAHa_ME70GQQX9PWfHNTodepDqqZcvZiCrbEzhpYJb5NacpEJlAx8_xtLZTFZ9aeG3DPEKiWTBR19_s/s320/101_2300.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">co-ax fitted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh065r9SORkeddocHl9S4BbCNR_EUUL0X-M8ELLSKhnjk8bmr5Znjr7391MdqPxVFpP3orKNTkuwf3VsZwp0CQVb770YH1m-iborsWaYY8a0bGsnNiTbrWdjekk_by8q7EpIfdPINh5wrU/s1600/101_2301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh065r9SORkeddocHl9S4BbCNR_EUUL0X-M8ELLSKhnjk8bmr5Znjr7391MdqPxVFpP3orKNTkuwf3VsZwp0CQVb770YH1m-iborsWaYY8a0bGsnNiTbrWdjekk_by8q7EpIfdPINh5wrU/s320/101_2301.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cover replaced</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifjSpa9f5L8vnAZg8AcXLuyIoc0V2e_VKERZywi3Nbq-akINzUVkbKUo8TSRdpbUGqQ_p1Re8HEi2bH8xv98bUl5uTL7-76C-r4MsrBgS7wulf0cagnpQ72qg_Z62iRZRK310UoDSS2o/s1600/101_2302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifjSpa9f5L8vnAZg8AcXLuyIoc0V2e_VKERZywi3Nbq-akINzUVkbKUo8TSRdpbUGqQ_p1Re8HEi2bH8xv98bUl5uTL7-76C-r4MsrBgS7wulf0cagnpQ72qg_Z62iRZRK310UoDSS2o/s320/101_2302.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mounted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once that had cured, it was mounted in place of my weather station which despite being guaranteed to be made of U.V. resistant plastic, is falling to pieces after 5 years in the aussie sun. This time the antenna is mounted a wave length away from the mast which i noticed is the practice used on commercial VHF antennas.<br />
Unsurprisingly, this gem of an antenna performs far better than its predecessor. I have really enjoyed the progress of these 2 builds. It started as in idea i saw on the web, then to a rough prototype for proof of concept and now the final build. A very simple, top performing antenna build, enjoyable from start to finish.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-69968334026726973632013-07-23T09:25:00.001+10:002013-08-21T11:09:50.964+10:00Leson TW232 and Turner +3bThese two desk microphones would be the best and most well known CB Radio microphones ever made, and are still sought after today. I am fortunate that I own a fine working example of each.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4P2nIMScDwIkdX0_SvABH72AliDa8hsXzTL2fLZtK8JLrjjA_DtP2EPUmG4FurDDxe_6-aY-Ue1DxHxqt3q94hTtRurenEX5Dhlc0dQlF0Hh1_MRfCfy334kOxtoZuAU_bVUo6PQIRE/s1600/TURNER+LESON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4P2nIMScDwIkdX0_SvABH72AliDa8hsXzTL2fLZtK8JLrjjA_DtP2EPUmG4FurDDxe_6-aY-Ue1DxHxqt3q94hTtRurenEX5Dhlc0dQlF0Hh1_MRfCfy334kOxtoZuAU_bVUo6PQIRE/s320/TURNER+LESON.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I purchased both from Ebay and while the Turner was at expected price, $90 plus postage, I got the Leson for a bargain at $30 plus postage. The Turner is in excellent condition with very few signs of it's age, and I prefer this mic for the slightly better audio quality reports I receive. The Leson is a quality mic too and works perfectly, although it has some scratches and wear marks. The audio is classic Leson with that slightly tinnie sound, and can be picked on air easily by other operators. As with nearly all Leson's, the battery door is missing as they were flimsy and broke easy. The battery fit is snug, but does tend to fall out when the mic is moved, so a bit of blue tack keeps the battery in place nicely.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbUvF3AYWe92KPpzMpBd1Kjko9Inzg1HyBzi3MftBFGdOtztdDKF-yuKK6ouds_D-4e9zZVZ-wSs0nftk1or-zW_wVrxC4MjMtHhdvxEWDoffHXlK3n9-WiL3MuT5kDZFXDi3yDRLhsw/s1600/leson+turner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbUvF3AYWe92KPpzMpBd1Kjko9Inzg1HyBzi3MftBFGdOtztdDKF-yuKK6ouds_D-4e9zZVZ-wSs0nftk1or-zW_wVrxC4MjMtHhdvxEWDoffHXlK3n9-WiL3MuT5kDZFXDi3yDRLhsw/s320/leson+turner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
If you can get hold of one of these two classic mic's, you wont be disappointed and will add some class and nostalgia to your station. Check to make sure the lock down switch is there if your looking at a Leson, as they tended to break with a heavy handed user.<br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
Mick 361.<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-72514816217671056152013-07-16T19:58:00.000+10:002013-07-16T19:58:36.452+10:00My antenna farm....so far Thought i would post some pics of my antenna setup to date.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnu6Ha6yX-2VcX3jXo9ImG875DVB3prNvRNuBpgzJQeXItHvafVNx-IvuGLVlWsEAr9qmqVf0jv2yYniw9VC-8z4pY0aoxMkYD_K1rCJwqPjIJ2voXLRbscsSVV6ZN7chmasxYINFRYM/s1600/101_2296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnu6Ha6yX-2VcX3jXo9ImG875DVB3prNvRNuBpgzJQeXItHvafVNx-IvuGLVlWsEAr9qmqVf0jv2yYniw9VC-8z4pY0aoxMkYD_K1rCJwqPjIJ2voXLRbscsSVV6ZN7chmasxYINFRYM/s320/101_2296.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My steadily growing collection of antennas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4V7rUgc7eflIAk2PcAjU_5CGAilf16DDyqR_Yh9oPZ3KpBUU38dIvsp31i2QU7ZObzo7cjrDruz5WRg1vvmpDy5rdlR3uBrQ0VS0KFu2r6LAm5-Ygv9vB6totYdz8YizAyCBWghflYQ/s1600/101_2295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4V7rUgc7eflIAk2PcAjU_5CGAilf16DDyqR_Yh9oPZ3KpBUU38dIvsp31i2QU7ZObzo7cjrDruz5WRg1vvmpDy5rdlR3uBrQ0VS0KFu2r6LAm5-Ygv9vB6totYdz8YizAyCBWghflYQ/s320/101_2295.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A closer view with the wx sat just out of shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From left to right : 1) The ADSB collinear (top)<br />
2) The OCF Windom (bottom)<br />
3) Sat dish<br />
4) Station Master (top)<br />
5) Discone (mid left)<br />
6) Air band Dipole<br />
7) UHF Collinear (top)<br />
8) and 9) 2 x longwires covering NTH/STH and EST/WST<br />
10) WX Sat Turnstile<br />
11) The antenna hanging down from the longwire (second from the right) is an experimental helically wound HF vertical contained in a 2 meter length of conduit (left over from the coxial collinear build) i made last weekend. The premise was to make a portable antenna with a decent electrical length that would not get tangled or bent/broken for when i go camping. I installed a hook in the top so it could easily be mounted. In this case, hanging from a wire. The results are on a par with the longwire which is better than i expected so far, but more about that in a later post.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-51465727021346975552013-07-15T20:20:00.000+10:002013-07-15T20:20:21.921+10:00Following ships via GMDSS Here's a short demonstration of how i can follow ships using their HF GMDSS signls. I initially use 3 programs (linked via com port) and in this case we are following the MOL KOMATI:<br />
<br />
1) HDSDR to receive the signal via my Soft66LC4:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dNe-8pqSfScYGywaxuXiPMbusmxFqvYI3p6_hAJPyAlNkycFbPANcGco-AV_tXkDsRRsrX-9k1_3-vBQz_VBgryJJbLSTjxeeJBaTSFo0EOGtGKPkyIeXmUt6InBREKltnDXoiuP4-I/s1600/gmdss3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dNe-8pqSfScYGywaxuXiPMbusmxFqvYI3p6_hAJPyAlNkycFbPANcGco-AV_tXkDsRRsrX-9k1_3-vBQz_VBgryJJbLSTjxeeJBaTSFo0EOGtGKPkyIeXmUt6InBREKltnDXoiuP4-I/s320/gmdss3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HDSR showing the GMDSS signal (1st on the left)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
2) Patrick Lindeckers MultiPSK to decode the signal and send it to:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDAYSkjQ7V5qSMX78MjV37yXP447xhyF-VCuuR6rI0piMpmWPpLEabKoMvfWlWWobKrnv8lialDsBr6vLgiEcw6pJZdf1y3FL9dvkJ0UdDsFT2DPRlZhYGOH655XwABT5-dMIPqk7j5Y/s1600/gmdss2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDAYSkjQ7V5qSMX78MjV37yXP447xhyF-VCuuR6rI0piMpmWPpLEabKoMvfWlWWobKrnv8lialDsBr6vLgiEcw6pJZdf1y3FL9dvkJ0UdDsFT2DPRlZhYGOH655XwABT5-dMIPqk7j5Y/s320/gmdss2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MultiPSK</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
3) Mike Simpsons GMDSS Display program:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobIfoH_r2TES5Z1DPVDMEX6MRtDz-vR54BMFrcS2cxD9-1WTjrJ_wtkJvnDJftD22yqpz1QsYzLYeyojnGOHqYxF-9K0Sy-8ERenhBKXHZ6XeUYArFQWjLfuYxHBLT2lWnjdzqJUVe5U/s1600/gmdss1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobIfoH_r2TES5Z1DPVDMEX6MRtDz-vR54BMFrcS2cxD9-1WTjrJ_wtkJvnDJftD22yqpz1QsYzLYeyojnGOHqYxF-9K0Sy-8ERenhBKXHZ6XeUYArFQWjLfuYxHBLT2lWnjdzqJUVe5U/s320/gmdss1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GMDSS showing vessels and details</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I would say that 99% of vessels out there do not send their position details due to many reasons, security being the main one. However, GMDSS Display has a function whereby pressing the ships code opens a Marine Traffic.com webpage showing not only the vessels details and pictures but also its current position and track:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJw7QVD2eObUlACkG1uQI7VDJKa1hIcnNhjAAN-m7waSV8PYzdIyTtX46PrWsDTLABfAESgHHj_7Xwib6bnjZm1SItZCgNX8z1XllQYAPHpdh_1iNITO3c8nU7ZxnedfhfbuQa5w43gQ/s1600/gmdss4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJw7QVD2eObUlACkG1uQI7VDJKa1hIcnNhjAAN-m7waSV8PYzdIyTtX46PrWsDTLABfAESgHHj_7Xwib6bnjZm1SItZCgNX8z1XllQYAPHpdh_1iNITO3c8nU7ZxnedfhfbuQa5w43gQ/s320/gmdss4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marine Traffic.com MOL KOMATI details</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvUBCRsgZJ3-bbmRAZgoPSnZrspYzOpDAqTFZKl0pn6ISpjj3SlNgiGLQWv2rQ04NGmaZQfTnMxMEcEa0zeThVudLHxOWpRQ2MtIKC9TsHlslFDzGVfec2SbN_w02nPleLvjT_dr2IR4/s1600/gmdss5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvUBCRsgZJ3-bbmRAZgoPSnZrspYzOpDAqTFZKl0pn6ISpjj3SlNgiGLQWv2rQ04NGmaZQfTnMxMEcEa0zeThVudLHxOWpRQ2MtIKC9TsHlslFDzGVfec2SbN_w02nPleLvjT_dr2IR4/s320/gmdss5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MOL KOMATI's position and track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-16023578866049679612013-07-10T22:10:00.000+10:002013-07-10T22:10:16.527+10:00My 3 Point approach to tracking local aircraft I thought i would quickly show how i'm able to track aircraft in southern airspace. I now have Plane Plotter and ADSBscope set up properly so i'm able to get information from both ACARS and ADSB and plot them on maps.<br />
Firstly and most basically i can hear air traffic conversations:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS3QEzx72POnIgVDPSevIZC2rzohfgob3hC99l8ORl2dSNHU-MyuGOnTIgQh5aa-sN47bmDcvuiHIV8YGUmob36Sxk1BajgwnfLBmiR9rtdw_OtBABbBx6LMGEWX4Z7OJOYrzIUg7BOc/s1600/air7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS3QEzx72POnIgVDPSevIZC2rzohfgob3hC99l8ORl2dSNHU-MyuGOnTIgQh5aa-sN47bmDcvuiHIV8YGUmob36Sxk1BajgwnfLBmiR9rtdw_OtBABbBx6LMGEWX4Z7OJOYrzIUg7BOc/s320/air7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">voice transmission on SDR#</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Second, Plane Plotter takes data from ACARS transmissions, logs and plots them on local maps (which are a pain in backside to implement). However, because aircraft are moving so fast, it isn't always possible to receive locations consistently.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4gyDdeC0Qs2QKY9ZLaVwFZaw5kfTdnzYLTmbsqgz1Q6N7RZdgW8kb_kl-YmuXZISGSM6stRtfnY6kXDlzIBFM457fTchImc_03lfmMykERtuxgcgYt3bhVaJXCr1wkF4mGPeRw2qgJM/s1600/air5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4gyDdeC0Qs2QKY9ZLaVwFZaw5kfTdnzYLTmbsqgz1Q6N7RZdgW8kb_kl-YmuXZISGSM6stRtfnY6kXDlzIBFM457fTchImc_03lfmMykERtuxgcgYt3bhVaJXCr1wkF4mGPeRw2qgJM/s320/air5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">message content</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQpk5Chuvn826y2UJqE9JCkPquE0XmqRqH5-13EGiz_OEvsIQilmUSy5BxrTbk3xO9QlcwtsHSxBbS3shwqA6dy7QSPuSkq8tPBiY9Tax30PtlP-dFasW4-gOw58jAJwJQQVL1s2Jhag/s1600/air6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQpk5Chuvn826y2UJqE9JCkPquE0XmqRqH5-13EGiz_OEvsIQilmUSy5BxrTbk3xO9QlcwtsHSxBbS3shwqA6dy7QSPuSkq8tPBiY9Tax30PtlP-dFasW4-gOw58jAJwJQQVL1s2Jhag/s320/air6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">location data showing some locations missing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XN2UXzfMoTkudQdoS-0AmwJe0Nnacn5p7BRgpTW64Dq4jdGenQpk2r7J6SYWnxyJVRVvqZSUp76I3JoGMMqPYKKU5T03lrJGCLJRNfqXQBMfcbCFQBlRCtMi5wE9eE0X4PFnHRskDl4/s1600/air3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XN2UXzfMoTkudQdoS-0AmwJe0Nnacn5p7BRgpTW64Dq4jdGenQpk2r7J6SYWnxyJVRVvqZSUp76I3JoGMMqPYKKU5T03lrJGCLJRNfqXQBMfcbCFQBlRCtMi5wE9eE0X4PFnHRskDl4/s320/air3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">plotted onto local map</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Third (to cover data gap in ACARS) i use ADSBscope which is VERY dependable in the amount, range and frequency of data sent.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoieCWzRlINoUu8pjjzETZ9UKRwXtMDQ1h7hGxacQCm_kxeK63dmNKeyzsrDW81JBSGig3Ix3447Lf63SCMUhQpQ6QqEYrZ1v9Cdbnn7tDb99N3PwX37w5cwSG6VMqB5rIZVctvJOyRw/s1600/air12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoieCWzRlINoUu8pjjzETZ9UKRwXtMDQ1h7hGxacQCm_kxeK63dmNKeyzsrDW81JBSGig3Ix3447Lf63SCMUhQpQ6QqEYrZ1v9Cdbnn7tDb99N3PwX37w5cwSG6VMqB5rIZVctvJOyRw/s320/air12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ADSBscope showing data missing from ACARS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So when i sit down in front of the pc and laptop, it's a great feeling to know i have all the bases covered. I never thought "plane spotting" would be of any interest to me, but with the right tools, i always have something to do when HF conditions aren't great.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-15371567533556866642013-07-03T12:59:00.000+10:002013-07-03T12:59:08.141+10:00Project 10: A quick extention to my desk I recently got a laptop so i have a dedicated pc for all my radio software. The problem was that i had no room left on my desk. The solution? $20 spent at the reject shop got me a bookshelf that would be ideal. All i really needed to do was cut it down to size, fit a bracket so my dog won't move it in her quest to lean on everything i own. Mrs Phil even chipped in and surprised me with some black and silver containers for the shelves.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiZTD22C3-WxZ4uiqaMuaJTaqxybNuDmbQy-m6FaU11jSt0gKyCzbIFD5351SZgcilytdx4tz3dlF6HZMVRSYPtJUyiF87GaFP9WTHxmhn91momcTPA9uTRBQ98N6FXktsqMSLjMy6JA/s1600/101_2290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiZTD22C3-WxZ4uiqaMuaJTaqxybNuDmbQy-m6FaU11jSt0gKyCzbIFD5351SZgcilytdx4tz3dlF6HZMVRSYPtJUyiF87GaFP9WTHxmhn91momcTPA9uTRBQ98N6FXktsqMSLjMy6JA/s320/101_2290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">almost looks like it was part of the desk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC8_Fi2iX9y-dZCUeDK05jaJWwea6zgiXkkfqq7q1ejoyLznYcz_jlPHWiAzvVTsJ1FhBtIAoWt75BpRJx2mTiCxT8tDzzcYDGV52lUe8YEvVWPPLG1LDy-MFX6jNU1SUXjEc0WY2tWA/s1600/101_2292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC8_Fi2iX9y-dZCUeDK05jaJWwea6zgiXkkfqq7q1ejoyLznYcz_jlPHWiAzvVTsJ1FhBtIAoWt75BpRJx2mTiCxT8tDzzcYDGV52lUe8YEvVWPPLG1LDy-MFX6jNU1SUXjEc0WY2tWA/s320/101_2292.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">everything at my finger tips</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-53700905336516444182013-06-25T17:51:00.000+10:002013-08-21T11:15:42.881+10:00Mountain Radio Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmh0D-bLTHKf3Q9kLoDSBnn8QXPzOI8ignzdwxJqkqbHY7sDBbOW-F_xDCDnmvD_PcJYp3p8ENnyUDkLU2sx0L0ejA7t6E-bi8qAk7jdvLI70pUBH-46a7wWDSuScWkPW2ViLVOg-31k/s1600/MRC4+station+2012+Mt.Arapiles+BSB361+Mick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmh0D-bLTHKf3Q9kLoDSBnn8QXPzOI8ignzdwxJqkqbHY7sDBbOW-F_xDCDnmvD_PcJYp3p8ENnyUDkLU2sx0L0ejA7t6E-bi8qAk7jdvLI70pUBH-46a7wWDSuScWkPW2ViLVOg-31k/s320/MRC4+station+2012+Mt.Arapiles+BSB361+Mick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://mountainradiochallenge.weebly.com/index.html">http://mountainradiochallenge.weebly.com/index.html</a><a href="http://www.mrc.cat.net.au/"> </a><br />
Mountain Radio Challenge, or MRC, is an annual CB Radio event held on the last Saturday in November each year. It is when a group on enthusiasts head out to different mountain tops to set up for the day, or weekend, and try to pass a series of messages along the line via ground wave signals between stations up to 150km's apart. Last year there were 10 stations, and I was set up on Mt Arapiles in Western Victoria as station MRC 4.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT11Jp1O18InlhojH3M4mCKi3KVlKWZ0hyphenhyphenJ18CuoXvE7-IAReXBeoT6HZNb0GngmbHuCM4CbRzFAd1c8Xa77UpO3HIEAOG2MIFC0csenDbBaqHvwXoUMuCZ3MG6enA16X9TAJ6-__-u3w/s1600/MRC4+batteries+,panels,station+set+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT11Jp1O18InlhojH3M4mCKi3KVlKWZ0hyphenhyphenJ18CuoXvE7-IAReXBeoT6HZNb0GngmbHuCM4CbRzFAd1c8Xa77UpO3HIEAOG2MIFC0csenDbBaqHvwXoUMuCZ3MG6enA16X9TAJ6-__-u3w/s320/MRC4+batteries+,panels,station+set+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I used a Uniden Grant LT 40 channel am/ssb, with a 1/2 wave vertical antenna mounted on a telescopic mast with a short run of RG58 coax. Power was by two 12v batteries, one for the radio and one for the small inverter to run my laptop. Portable solar panels helped keep the batteries topped up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9oh3hxGnqXDzUTvwngAUY5mtTZnrAFsVpW4N6VVOw9Qu1VrguKY2JnVyZeJY5F-IizjGj50hHm9hg5VShBWbLHYczbWjCoOOMolUwK4pex-3RBlYXq5cLibwbsrOU1gJYpv8EvUelbw/s1600/MRC4+antenna+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9oh3hxGnqXDzUTvwngAUY5mtTZnrAFsVpW4N6VVOw9Qu1VrguKY2JnVyZeJY5F-IizjGj50hHm9hg5VShBWbLHYczbWjCoOOMolUwK4pex-3RBlYXq5cLibwbsrOU1gJYpv8EvUelbw/s320/MRC4+antenna+2012.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
It is a lot of fun, and a good excuse to set up in the field. Plenty of skip contacts also before the official start time of 2pm, although contacting MRC stations either side is a must before hand to ensure there are no surprises, resulting in the message not getting through once the event starts. Any one interested can go the the web site and contact Tony to get involved. Had stations across several states in the past.<br />
Cheers,<br />
Mick 361Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-7622516408589393502013-06-20T00:43:00.000+10:002013-06-20T09:39:01.818+10:00Plane Plotter...My new toy. HF condx have been absolutely appalling recently, so i've kept myself busy in the VHF/UHF parts of the spectrum, particularly ACARS and ADSB. I have been testing 3 ACARS <u>specific</u> decoders to use with my RTL-SDR (i have several programs that do it, but not to the fullest degree).<br />
These programs were: <b>ACARSD, KG-ACARS </b>and <b>Plane Plotter</b>. <u><b>ACARSD</b></u> is a nice looking bit of software that presents images of the aircraft that are decoded as well as plotting these on a map, which the user must supply and calibrate (a frustrating experience if ever there was one!!). But i persisted and was rewarded with quite a good program....when it decoded. This is the only issue i had with <b>ACARSD.</b>...it tended not to be as sensitive when compared against my benchmark software (MultiPSK, Sorcerer and PDW) and it was missing aircraft with very good signals. The user interface and setup are highly configurable and the price is right at zero,nada,zitch.<br />
<u><b>KG-ACARS</b></u> is also free. However i had 2 main issues. 1) The GUI is in Japanese and fairly minimalist. There is an English instruction document within the download that is fairly good but also is a little ambiguous. I found this to be trickier to set up than the <b>ACARSD</b> map! 2) As the software is intended for use in Japan, we are warned that it may not decode ACARS TX from other international aircraft. A real shame in my books, because i thought this was a very nice program.<br />
So we come to COAA's <u><b>Plane Plotter</b></u>. I had the free trial of this for a while until i had something to compare it to. I have to say that i LOVE this comprehensive, easy to set up and use, detailed, never skip a beat decoder! AT 25 Euros ($35 AUD) this delivers a lot of bang for your bucks. You don't get the pretty images of aircraft, oh no....this is a decoder for those who like straight forward data and modes. You get all of what the other 3 offer plus much more (but you still have to build and calibrate your own maps of course, after all...it's character building right?). It handles ADS-B, SBS, BEAST, RTL1090 (plus more) and even downloads satellite images for your area and plots them (satellites) at night. I purchased it 2 days ago and haven't stopped using it yet. I have run it alongside my benchmarks as well as watching flightradar24 to see if it was missing any contacts...nope. Money well spent.<br />
In summary, there are many aviation programs out there ranging from free to VERY expensive. With the free ones, you get what you pay for and with the expensive ones....well, they're expensive! <b>Plane Plotter </b>sits nicely in between and is by no means average.<br />
Here are just a few of the many available details: <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidw3Iv6Y_uAzPCGIqnf0XSTPYozgjY3SfvKxMfxt0eOd9MeNVunz0vjV3RqHXaOUXUGJZUjW4sGPOF7cr4LUvIOhOGuIVi5cVk8PtxTToLUX5jOP5rTHWLOBmKTyJgAdCWWppYR6FRLSw/s1600/pplot1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidw3Iv6Y_uAzPCGIqnf0XSTPYozgjY3SfvKxMfxt0eOd9MeNVunz0vjV3RqHXaOUXUGJZUjW4sGPOF7cr4LUvIOhOGuIVi5cVk8PtxTToLUX5jOP5rTHWLOBmKTyJgAdCWWppYR6FRLSw/s320/pplot1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plotting on my (Googles) calibrated map</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumtweetmp2Ye0NtV6xWSRa-Yo7zuWxrFjAu56kB1eDzuEtYhKtktm4CNSJLbX5dt6paO0-CeEgMziGLI_bAerWG7Q6Y_lTWzYXcwE7lKQl-TIdV0_lB5Ht3tXFvFz-nitrBvBDOBJ7c4/s1600/pplot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumtweetmp2Ye0NtV6xWSRa-Yo7zuWxrFjAu56kB1eDzuEtYhKtktm4CNSJLbX5dt6paO0-CeEgMziGLI_bAerWG7Q6Y_lTWzYXcwE7lKQl-TIdV0_lB5Ht3tXFvFz-nitrBvBDOBJ7c4/s320/pplot2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">messages</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigi3apGSqRVKKA0dB3qwXPmQn5ICUQe_-qwEcsfo3U85s2iTVxSRQUHnM6ShuMRX7Us49blHH6NdLawTsA7r9Hbkqq3_JickHMExIUJDOtdIWMR0H7wNW7GNJfuMqLHgTK26l8MQuzKlA/s1600/pplot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigi3apGSqRVKKA0dB3qwXPmQn5ICUQe_-qwEcsfo3U85s2iTVxSRQUHnM6ShuMRX7Us49blHH6NdLawTsA7r9Hbkqq3_JickHMExIUJDOtdIWMR0H7wNW7GNJfuMqLHgTK26l8MQuzKlA/s320/pplot3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">aircraft view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUj5D4-vkSdlZsGSQKmF5tEbdgG9opZqo9bPbZWbP7NJq8pm8cb9E3_8qSv9UYj65Q52nE883HpwM08bIKfTW8Y5CkoJgXs51YzuFnEKRuAbA2SRRbXX0-ln9jxRp7eojKDCoe0Ga3EPI/s1600/pplot4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUj5D4-vkSdlZsGSQKmF5tEbdgG9opZqo9bPbZWbP7NJq8pm8cb9E3_8qSv9UYj65Q52nE883HpwM08bIKfTW8Y5CkoJgXs51YzuFnEKRuAbA2SRRbXX0-ln9jxRp7eojKDCoe0Ga3EPI/s320/pplot4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">details</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-53333016377321281892013-06-12T00:38:00.001+10:002013-07-08T09:30:49.221+10:00Project 9: A coax collinear antenna for ADSB Another VERY quick antenna project to enable better reception for my ADSB system. I used the method described here: http://www.balarad.net/ by Dusan Balara (thank you!).<br />
The antenna is simply 8,12 or 16 (i went for 16) 116mm (plus 50mm) sections of coax, with each end of each section stripped allowing 25mm of solid core which is then inserted between the outer jacket and braid of the next, giving it an offset appearance. A small piece of plastic is placed between each of the core sections to avoid shorting. The joins can be taped if you're in a hurry, but i love using heat shrink and it restricts movement better.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKAeY8OZiXlqjXgQEX-jqXooIEiBiUl6YMVzKDElpGuPsckXU1mQTOyx4_86q4_vUMldjBJEueSDuAchLoWpvotIvyTo7ySUEMv22JSQw8by29fyuxEdC4xgyskz-uG-73AHJJfb7OUk/s1600/101_2284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKAeY8OZiXlqjXgQEX-jqXooIEiBiUl6YMVzKDElpGuPsckXU1mQTOyx4_86q4_vUMldjBJEueSDuAchLoWpvotIvyTo7ySUEMv22JSQw8by29fyuxEdC4xgyskz-uG-73AHJJfb7OUk/s320/101_2284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">16x116mm sections</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8NchskFXVO2VY1Df_ZWV757yw_VsegTl2lHfiD3u2170oXKYJSIhYFrKlsOQVGTrJbN2c2Rw31A03Ow9zDTjaul4gqEVFEQ8efeytLXfNIiOcl8F376AzC9VUVOslbrQVhwpL08Znfc/s1600/101_2285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8NchskFXVO2VY1Df_ZWV757yw_VsegTl2lHfiD3u2170oXKYJSIhYFrKlsOQVGTrJbN2c2Rw31A03Ow9zDTjaul4gqEVFEQ8efeytLXfNIiOcl8F376AzC9VUVOslbrQVhwpL08Znfc/s320/101_2285.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">plastic squares for insulating the cores</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JIuBGa9AjF0AGnb032jSbOWl9lWBSObxtRZO3cdfbg0NQQYvo9hGUeeR9HzImjIN18su5HI0ARyPxkB15-VHtpK5A4T0lXaD57Jsj7TvK1GeP189Kn2MoE_j1XMv2RBUI9gA_WF1afY/s1600/101_2286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JIuBGa9AjF0AGnb032jSbOWl9lWBSObxtRZO3cdfbg0NQQYvo9hGUeeR9HzImjIN18su5HI0ARyPxkB15-VHtpK5A4T0lXaD57Jsj7TvK1GeP189Kn2MoE_j1XMv2RBUI9gA_WF1afY/s320/101_2286.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">keeping the cores insulated</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrDoMf0NsbPJ-EhryErjBS0i14ckM4XmHOJFz3M_NWnrFpZjuvd8C9DiroE_3IyKCcXN1vOCJafvGwch5gD37w7jUrEoJ9oNOK0oKnrVpkJagWCiMsoVL8lobfhpjeCzJpelY6Cwwzao/s1600/101_2287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrDoMf0NsbPJ-EhryErjBS0i14ckM4XmHOJFz3M_NWnrFpZjuvd8C9DiroE_3IyKCcXN1vOCJafvGwch5gD37w7jUrEoJ9oNOK0oKnrVpkJagWCiMsoVL8lobfhpjeCzJpelY6Cwwzao/s320/101_2287.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a small section of the completed 2metre long collinear. note the off center appearance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Lb9RQytjHeGDnXBuN9n1e_ziTpHzLzOesyEb_cetb_wWTmXMwkjNcjkWcMVJH5AvyIU7pUmChDx6shGCWmwfjfz6aFoWxsLRw8rUTXNKUbcv33QiYMlTWCHGYpTV3pQK6xIt7b1krL4/s1600/101_2288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Lb9RQytjHeGDnXBuN9n1e_ziTpHzLzOesyEb_cetb_wWTmXMwkjNcjkWcMVJH5AvyIU7pUmChDx6shGCWmwfjfz6aFoWxsLRw8rUTXNKUbcv33QiYMlTWCHGYpTV3pQK6xIt7b1krL4/s320/101_2288.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product (center) , added to my growing farm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A 2 metre section of sparkies conduit from bunnings is used to house and protect the collinear, seal the top (i found an old cap from a roll of copper that a plumber left behind), seal the base and up she went.<br />
This was the fastest of my builds to date (taking just over 45 minutes) and the cheapest. 2 metres of 75ohm RG6 cost $2, 4 metres of conduit ( i will use the other 2 metres on my next project) cost $4. I don't know how much this antenna would cost to buy, but i'm certain it won't be $6!!<br />
Apparently this antenna is said to have excellent "horizon" qualities, and this is indeed the case. In testing this evening, i am receiving aircraft far earlier and losing them far later than last nights session with the discone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-66836405160075440762013-06-09T17:51:00.000+10:002013-06-10T12:54:15.486+10:00Using the RTL 2382U as an Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) receiver Ive been making good use of my RTL to receive ACARS with ACARSD recently and was looking for something a little more technical. Some googling led me to ADSB# which in turn led me to ADSBScope. Well, i spent 6 frustrating and ultimately fruitless hours of my life trying to get ADSB# to work, no matter what i did, even down to uninstalling the drivers, it just would not work. Then i found RTL1090. What a joy this piece of software is to install and use! RTL1090 is the necessary link between the dongle and ADSBScope, tuning to 1090MHz and providing the data for ADSBScope to plot.<br />
Both programs are well documented on the net and simple to install. At first i was dubious as to whether the dongle would actually work in the GHz range. Anecdotal evidence says it will, but each dongle seems to have its own intricacies. Fortunately, the RELWITHDEB zip i downloaded contained a test file that indeed showed it could. (how much more can this great little stick achieve?? actually, i have read that it is possible to modify it to receive below 30MHz!!...but thats for another day). <br />
The following shots are taken just after i got it running and i have spent a very enjoyable day watching my "RADAR".<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjZnN20lS4zpppbI0RIDwmInzG743BmkLv-CTjP29HckDTqc45v3Yw-6HJbZ28ThJOcL_JWYN9GmiS3-nV9eBn8102LbLlYErXdLPdvcNkzGTG9GpCP5I34Vb84aUcKVqNR8AwjyXtD0/s1600/rtl1090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjZnN20lS4zpppbI0RIDwmInzG743BmkLv-CTjP29HckDTqc45v3Yw-6HJbZ28ThJOcL_JWYN9GmiS3-nV9eBn8102LbLlYErXdLPdvcNkzGTG9GpCP5I34Vb84aUcKVqNR8AwjyXtD0/s320/rtl1090.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RTL 1090</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfrN2YJowJviiumQ2aD2W1UboIZsfb8r3z6Ept0m51w0M-v4J-htuCvP_ivg5sHVxWEwAuRwAR2cMDhICfNnxONVK5-ZK7SGfijlTWV8isWfUO0Tq60q4kDTI_aqO5YIGWjx5jRtyLW0/s1600/abscope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfrN2YJowJviiumQ2aD2W1UboIZsfb8r3z6Ept0m51w0M-v4J-htuCvP_ivg5sHVxWEwAuRwAR2cMDhICfNnxONVK5-ZK7SGfijlTWV8isWfUO0Tq60q4kDTI_aqO5YIGWjx5jRtyLW0/s320/abscope.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ADSBScope</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBtPJYASn6I76CgQVNmFepd_xqCbZaNHxz4ltmoLsfVFiIPAzyfJc3YJBQ50Fs8NfC-p4svBIoA_el4Mkj_X6ArtGne1URpym9lvgZAbkBjs5lMM1uYFpDSbZQR4GreDKiR2JCJeXHK0/s1600/ab2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBtPJYASn6I76CgQVNmFepd_xqCbZaNHxz4ltmoLsfVFiIPAzyfJc3YJBQ50Fs8NfC-p4svBIoA_el4Mkj_X6ArtGne1URpym9lvgZAbkBjs5lMM1uYFpDSbZQR4GreDKiR2JCJeXHK0/s320/ab2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 aircraft plotting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-37125564928896528332013-06-05T18:07:00.001+10:002013-06-05T18:07:41.500+10:00Playing around with SailMail PACTOR 3Recently there has been some discussion in my UDXF group about the difficulties of decoding SailMail PACTOR 3, so i though i'd give it a shot. Surprisingly, i had no problems . This was decoded on 10474.7kHz using Sorcerer:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXuEP63LidOdYVHxDgnEGVpMeADmmUbY_sCyiThUdnMQuwchglyMVWGsWYcgpSEGxa-_k52mS8SKto7HW0MUtIAKefCPL1Pf0xcgzG7V5qnhEawRfbzsYG4KZJS1CLuCNesuuN2HtDC8/s1600/pactor+3+fft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXuEP63LidOdYVHxDgnEGVpMeADmmUbY_sCyiThUdnMQuwchglyMVWGsWYcgpSEGxa-_k52mS8SKto7HW0MUtIAKefCPL1Pf0xcgzG7V5qnhEawRfbzsYG4KZJS1CLuCNesuuN2HtDC8/s320/pactor+3+fft.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PACTOR 3 signal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6d8cy9snmx0YU-ar5wi0l057gauvIMmuAupU5z6bh_BgW__NtJ0m9_OW-qGwcuAodz7GAWhupW2uXEC7PDXWqdSe_t1J-dcqyu63Sfvs8BwUNZgT-wUYAulfHo1vORxKpeWGvEMhtG0/s1600/pactor+2+decode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6d8cy9snmx0YU-ar5wi0l057gauvIMmuAupU5z6bh_BgW__NtJ0m9_OW-qGwcuAodz7GAWhupW2uXEC7PDXWqdSe_t1J-dcqyu63Sfvs8BwUNZgT-wUYAulfHo1vORxKpeWGvEMhtG0/s320/pactor+2+decode.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PACTOR 2 preamble (i assume)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQhmH-qhHQAqTEDFYslsA9zjjBut7cUW8Fip01EEeaWnOUlCVjO-09bC1Jup_STt4aPzRdE4ipRp9ywJwvcg-YtGR7VCHMrdKNKez2Mg_rv5xQIYIH6jzVzIlxj5thPX6Oq6Q6UM3evk/s1600/pactor+3+decode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQhmH-qhHQAqTEDFYslsA9zjjBut7cUW8Fip01EEeaWnOUlCVjO-09bC1Jup_STt4aPzRdE4ipRp9ywJwvcg-YtGR7VCHMrdKNKez2Mg_rv5xQIYIH6jzVzIlxj5thPX6Oq6Q6UM3evk/s320/pactor+3+decode.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the decoded PACTOR 3 data</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-55049374247628830612013-05-24T15:40:00.000+10:002013-07-08T09:31:22.803+10:00Project 8: Turnstile Antenna for Weather (WX) Satellites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
This turned out to be quite quick (about 4 hours) and easy. I used VK4LHD's construction method. The materials were under $50.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9W91eL_WiQ1VkQCS5qWTc7fffxGZNt61y-KqygeIaeWztqKDXluZslLvxD8XYhZlaaxtKmiPmDTyQG1X5OkxQPtFIwpd_2CknXehiVdYFBY5YvDvacUT8qdstq4HSH0BWOvNVhkoJcE/s1600/101_2266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9W91eL_WiQ1VkQCS5qWTc7fffxGZNt61y-KqygeIaeWztqKDXluZslLvxD8XYhZlaaxtKmiPmDTyQG1X5OkxQPtFIwpd_2CknXehiVdYFBY5YvDvacUT8qdstq4HSH0BWOvNVhkoJcE/s320/101_2266.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only 8 parts</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The aluminum tubing is cut into 6 lengths : 2 x 1200mm for the base reflectors and 4x 520mm for the top elements. These are inserted into a 40mm diameter/1000mm long pvc pipe with 1 hole drilled at 520mm from the top and the second hole 550mm from the top and at 90 degrees to the first hole.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZKAWa3jc1L8oKWei9WjH5i1qmlEQPYd8rMLzYVeiY59CIxO5ait6Fr25zxtsl0U38pgYvpaYf5B_e0xDSePjcxpWcX57WXnVUUnq9b6bXZ5bfVmpDW8z86iZPyNjSnvi3r-Zr0OqjWA/s1600/101_2269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZKAWa3jc1L8oKWei9WjH5i1qmlEQPYd8rMLzYVeiY59CIxO5ait6Fr25zxtsl0U38pgYvpaYf5B_e0xDSePjcxpWcX57WXnVUUnq9b6bXZ5bfVmpDW8z86iZPyNjSnvi3r-Zr0OqjWA/s320/101_2269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 90 degree holes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NiD-2BkV6GTIA1Fv3kzRtuBrmlhft8mUqIT1ZjsUcP3B7BhleU47dIiZEbXP51uBWaT7accz7djmcmWQVMNkBCdI9ctTCvHheeoMkcewBMwceinSk6uGZhgz9z8-eRxk6LXr7gpKIf8/s1600/101_2270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NiD-2BkV6GTIA1Fv3kzRtuBrmlhft8mUqIT1ZjsUcP3B7BhleU47dIiZEbXP51uBWaT7accz7djmcmWQVMNkBCdI9ctTCvHheeoMkcewBMwceinSk6uGZhgz9z8-eRxk6LXr7gpKIf8/s320/101_2270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom section</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq3MvduKqC55nc-mDEf7CiVHfFfML9sc7ih7OcdGYmothAM9cWAPtQRa_G_2lAFjWW2bZSo-HQ4OAhN_pnatTYx5a2-gO5EJJq0cz1LQ2no0jNAAbW-1SiBnlWn27ghRbv_uACwedx8M/s1600/101_2273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq3MvduKqC55nc-mDEf7CiVHfFfML9sc7ih7OcdGYmothAM9cWAPtQRa_G_2lAFjWW2bZSo-HQ4OAhN_pnatTYx5a2-gO5EJJq0cz1LQ2no0jNAAbW-1SiBnlWn27ghRbv_uACwedx8M/s320/101_2273.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And top section done</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The 4 way junction box is mounted to the top of the pipe by inserting a block into the end and screwing the junction box to it. The elements are drilled at one end to accomodate the terminals for the coax cable harness. I drilled 2 holes in the sides of the junction box to allow an access feed point for the coax.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAa3Tg-NkRgAQpZShj0feRZWdIhXIqxlARLp6Pqa7pAqherJnQe7WtPP_7YEFJ2tvPhpWLqbzd5C3CwH49GH_cdbglDMR1QB6kgW25yw7BEhsQmU60uMujbPyaP2-FjSnFZfraoMF4vI/s1600/101_2268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAa3Tg-NkRgAQpZShj0feRZWdIhXIqxlARLp6Pqa7pAqherJnQe7WtPP_7YEFJ2tvPhpWLqbzd5C3CwH49GH_cdbglDMR1QB6kgW25yw7BEhsQmU60uMujbPyaP2-FjSnFZfraoMF4vI/s320/101_2268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The drilled elements</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOE04iN7ZqC2glLn6Cd-6iqVI8FScDfc4SdHUcFHaBe1ZKKuTrZUNys-5MhSZzNIOxBWoN09J4xQvvryJL66SQFmdqaI_LDpAgNd7H5e7s4K_vpGaxjRPJ22pzRHpi1y86OfSswed-5U/s1600/101_2275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOE04iN7ZqC2glLn6Cd-6iqVI8FScDfc4SdHUcFHaBe1ZKKuTrZUNys-5MhSZzNIOxBWoN09J4xQvvryJL66SQFmdqaI_LDpAgNd7H5e7s4K_vpGaxjRPJ22pzRHpi1y86OfSswed-5U/s320/101_2275.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9W_UHINcvO8WqD_LUsmmxKtY6CltSdtF-VG1A7JGHMbrj1fYb4pPOgYG-QDUa64jigUDCFdgxmqAXTiuo16ysxujD37ci7DhXGp9t5uzcv19-OW7sWcyXOBSB85Vel04xgJhDXn7VZ-M/s1600/101_2276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9W_UHINcvO8WqD_LUsmmxKtY6CltSdtF-VG1A7JGHMbrj1fYb4pPOgYG-QDUa64jigUDCFdgxmqAXTiuo16ysxujD37ci7DhXGp9t5uzcv19-OW7sWcyXOBSB85Vel04xgJhDXn7VZ-M/s320/101_2276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp5ZLTkco9u2OhATN-8fa0OqRapnJc63C7kP1ODsgvhim2Jq3MmI7bH2z_IH7L5YnlywgAdUwkojLsj4Rb7QJ4mvEomXCR16UaO3T_8qXRZpD4uwOIIiYwUNZ8Sfi2FgNDPU-3ygB_gs/s1600/101_2278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMp5ZLTkco9u2OhATN-8fa0OqRapnJc63C7kP1ODsgvhim2Jq3MmI7bH2z_IH7L5YnlywgAdUwkojLsj4Rb7QJ4mvEomXCR16UaO3T_8qXRZpD4uwOIIiYwUNZ8Sfi2FgNDPU-3ygB_gs/s320/101_2278.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The turnstile mounted</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Thats basically all there is to it. On the first pass of NOAA 19 today, the image quality is vastly superior to any antenna i have tried before. Some more fine tuning and i should have some decent images. Here are some NOAA 18's after a bit of tinkering with WXtoIMG:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY3DCCMR4z-PNX0Y6EykneZv1KUmjjGKzDA-dkuBFnLs_-nX0jAMvMrYOJdJC-4AW2ZZvEhtNZsQf5PELYKXcc1qEPOTYXkB0htuTPJSdbZzHzY_afrGevaGOvpZoc-kqXJiDaA6NH6g/s1600/noaa182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY3DCCMR4z-PNX0Y6EykneZv1KUmjjGKzDA-dkuBFnLs_-nX0jAMvMrYOJdJC-4AW2ZZvEhtNZsQf5PELYKXcc1qEPOTYXkB0htuTPJSdbZzHzY_afrGevaGOvpZoc-kqXJiDaA6NH6g/s320/noaa182.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOAA 18 26/5/2013*</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrVJ-0g-IbbD-URDW2uhTzZqk_5d6DwseY3K98J0K2Ra4JZNZ9ysaXQ5oaehuV_Lmkr7pxnnpKpt3qJivWjyCPdHxAiewj-pca2kvfx0vjImjrWih4vbHb7kVbN-oVmmSGKMBgxb_-wk/s1600/noaa181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrVJ-0g-IbbD-URDW2uhTzZqk_5d6DwseY3K98J0K2Ra4JZNZ9ysaXQ5oaehuV_Lmkr7pxnnpKpt3qJivWjyCPdHxAiewj-pca2kvfx0vjImjrWih4vbHb7kVbN-oVmmSGKMBgxb_-wk/s320/noaa181.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOAA 18 26/5/2013*</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
* Received with the RTL E4000 and SDR# <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-44234286888745574592013-05-17T09:16:00.001+10:002013-08-21T11:29:05.846+10:00CB Days part2<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b>
</b></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPOP9QQOAm2-aACRc25cqEu9c0LLJFDrq8RL4tzKAluPK7I0KThrwj2J0gRNPA8yKmx2Js80xbXVwgE2camsuhO7-AveftwfZt8Ma_w9GqeF4_VNIan67C95Ni87XuFaSK7VOF0uLQmI/s1600/xssb-10-18-1977_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPOP9QQOAm2-aACRc25cqEu9c0LLJFDrq8RL4tzKAluPK7I0KThrwj2J0gRNPA8yKmx2Js80xbXVwgE2camsuhO7-AveftwfZt8Ma_w9GqeF4_VNIan67C95Ni87XuFaSK7VOF0uLQmI/s320/xssb-10-18-1977_sml.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The following year, 1979, was an exciting year for me. It
started off with a few of us starting a cb radio club, and quickly grew to
include most of us school mates and other teenagers from the area. We had
meetings and organized get togethers, and almost nightly nets. A few years later
it disbanded, as we all went seperate ways.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I purchased my first SSB rig later that year, a second
hand but not very old Xtal XSSB 10-18. It was the RB-249 Australian approved 18 channel
version of the 23 channel from the USA. While it didn't have a very good
reputation at the time, and had very basic features, I found it a great little
radio which performed excellently. Like the Fanon Fanfare182, the Xtal had the Aussie 18 with the corresponding US channels on the dial. It cost me $70, which was less than half of the
new price in '79. The radio was probably the most compact SSB mobile of it's time, which
I would say led to it's poor reputation, bigger obviously meant better back
then. I also upgraded my antenna to a 5/8 ground plane from Tandy, and added a cheap desk microphone, a Vicom VM2. This new set
up opened a new world and I made many DX contacts on SSB, and started collecting QSL
cards. We had our own club printed cards to send, and a club PO Box. Sad to say,
all my old cards were lost over the years. It served me very well the Xtal and
never had a problem with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cheers,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mick 361. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxRpk45FLnxJYp30qOOUtBTGjq3uL2WLhR9ac5rBwFuR06_8ZjZSZD5j2HRfQZbHUbr24haQmfjuznmyMcync3KIqADFMEyZnSgCYBB5QCCjjVzHdP-Gw55FBP0fQ-p9tLsyEU7uX6lg/s1600/xssb-10_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxRpk45FLnxJYp30qOOUtBTGjq3uL2WLhR9ac5rBwFuR06_8ZjZSZD5j2HRfQZbHUbr24haQmfjuznmyMcync3KIqADFMEyZnSgCYBB5QCCjjVzHdP-Gw55FBP0fQ-p9tLsyEU7uX6lg/s320/xssb-10_sml.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-51508514592378641152013-05-07T15:44:00.001+10:002013-05-08T02:03:00.534+10:00Project 7 : AirBand DipoleAnother rainy day project! Recently, i have been making great use of my RTL Dongle with SDR# to cover the airband as well as local signals in the 118-170 MHz range. The problem: my Discone did not do a good enough job. The solution: a quick build dipole.<br />
In keeping with spirit of this blog, i sourced the parts from an old tv antenna and a bit of pvc pipe i had left over from the multiband longwire build. The 2 elements were cut to 58cm and fed into the pipe...and thats it! Easy peasy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ7szO50umLPo87wKHCsYm7RfO5vc8_Rkj2yyDR7Vziu4J7FwgxyCE_f4rJt4h4hxWB4malYrHZjfHO4Ovi1Ze2UYnTpMxoxcvCRKTmbJUR8xDN8G4xBRtq2U-H-5dT2aeEpFuwqLZwY/s1600/101_2260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ7szO50umLPo87wKHCsYm7RfO5vc8_Rkj2yyDR7Vziu4J7FwgxyCE_f4rJt4h4hxWB4malYrHZjfHO4Ovi1Ze2UYnTpMxoxcvCRKTmbJUR8xDN8G4xBRtq2U-H-5dT2aeEpFuwqLZwY/s320/101_2260.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "new" Dipole mounted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlY4AFxhmAqLCYyHcSGuJXlWC46ny9wSBPDZFBuC2G7QbvmE3VpO-uw1iHc0G53N0ScHTqMty7mVWT9kY0p-U8f2LCRojD5IBh3E3Ac9lGoBM0I9jK8UGEasKTL91QjRdxi3rKRqcOEM/s1600/Air+band.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlY4AFxhmAqLCYyHcSGuJXlWC46ny9wSBPDZFBuC2G7QbvmE3VpO-uw1iHc0G53N0ScHTqMty7mVWT9kY0p-U8f2LCRojD5IBh3E3Ac9lGoBM0I9jK8UGEasKTL91QjRdxi3rKRqcOEM/s320/Air+band.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SDR#</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknzmZoOFU11-TLls8w6qIQWDMFO5iDBL_aYm9mhiSS3zVC0NMU2O39ih7hdzVXr_oyXEKUh9OEHOSJAELSM1uAxMHVs22CdY95hZKhmY-ys-8gFyCrEI3sicI9kPNYEeTxVG-XdW49OM/s1600/101_2263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknzmZoOFU11-TLls8w6qIQWDMFO5iDBL_aYm9mhiSS3zVC0NMU2O39ih7hdzVXr_oyXEKUh9OEHOSJAELSM1uAxMHVs22CdY95hZKhmY-ys-8gFyCrEI3sicI9kPNYEeTxVG-XdW49OM/s320/101_2263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A welcome addition to my antenna family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The results are a fantastic improvement on the Discone. I'm picking up airports and aircraft from all over the state as well as interstate. The signals are clear, particularly from the aircraft. I'm happy now that between both SDRs, i have HF and VHF Aero covered. As a test, i followed a Qantas international flight (listening on VHF) from take off, then on HF as it left our shores and ultimately tracked it using HFDL as it flew out over the Pacific.No shortage of interesting things to listen to once the cold days and nights really set in.Build time: approximately one hour.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-58606350360784069632013-04-24T15:06:00.000+10:002013-08-21T11:30:35.532+10:00A.M. CB Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uUYTi6MDom6-vsMRTVOjFgb78M9j15kxGXGXckXFYE1yFafjn9Ji3lgVDp4vbjlVZnL8Eptt12kuVbyyiFxz-QRKhJZ5CNlC_wDlXFYFpVD80RSmZoHR2OpkSk-cfG794RSMu_9qr4o/s1600/fanfare182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uUYTi6MDom6-vsMRTVOjFgb78M9j15kxGXGXckXFYE1yFafjn9Ji3lgVDp4vbjlVZnL8Eptt12kuVbyyiFxz-QRKhJZ5CNlC_wDlXFYFpVD80RSmZoHR2OpkSk-cfG794RSMu_9qr4o/s320/fanfare182.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">During the height of cb popularity in the late 70's, I
bought my first genuine cb radio. I had a Realistic 2 watt 3 channel walkie
talkie, but in 1978 at 14 years of age I became a bona fide AM good budgie. I
had been saving my paper round and pamphlet delivery money, and headed to Just
CB in Mitcham (suburb of Melbourne) to purchase my first set up. The choice of
cheap AM sets was endless in those days, and could be bought almost anywhere,
but I decided on a cb shop to spend my money at. The Old Man was with me and he
was talking to the salesman when a radio caught my eye. It was a Fanon Fanfare
182 with 18 channels on the dial, and the American channel equivalent on the
inside of the Australian 18. What impressed me was the large meter, which the
others didn't have, and a variable rf gain, again this feature was not on the
other cheap radios. A quick run down from the salesman and I bought it, along
with an Arlec power supply, coax and half wave Ringo antenna. I was a few
dollars short, and my Dad put in the rest. My Dad also paid for a length of pipe
and eave bracket from the local hardware to mount the antenna, and the pipe was
delivered the following day.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">After setting up the antenna and running the coax through
the roof, with my Dad's help, I keyed up for the first time. My neighbor who
lived behind us, and was a SSB cb'er, came down to AM to see where this new
splatter was coming from. He soon arrived at my front door with a SWR meter and
patch lead to tune the Ringo, and I was very happy for his help. Didn't help the
splatter, but we both were affected the same, and had to live with it. Before
long two more of my school mates had bought cb set ups that lived very close and
the splatter was terrible. My poor neighbor who helped me ended up mounting his
cb in his car, and was a little annoyed at us AM good budgies, but that was life
on the crowded band.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">They were great days and great memories. I made some new
friends and spent hours on the radio after school. It was the following year
that I traded in the AM for a SSB rig, more on that next time. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cheers,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mick 361</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-38078730359644081602013-04-22T17:03:00.001+10:002013-04-22T17:06:59.290+10:00DReaM and JournalineOne of the functions of the excellent free DRM program DReaM (besides digital audio) is its ability to receive Journaline - a digital service ( in this case provided by the Bureau of Meteorology ) containing weather warnings and in the example below, earthquake information for our region. In Australia, the frequency is 5954 kHz.<br />
To begin with, HDSDR sees the DRM like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCcrKsNkF8kAu8KDsGZmyOvFjT751Fy-WDwIADaoXi9s3xSFsWnCxp7PmOlCh-4r0IHmJlV5cvC9UQVUGlY1xO-Soo4wNq89OiBmjNMqvXHStDFEFkKLjjRB4a5uu0zU_v74vpbSQCjc/s1600/drm6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCcrKsNkF8kAu8KDsGZmyOvFjT751Fy-WDwIADaoXi9s3xSFsWnCxp7PmOlCh-4r0IHmJlV5cvC9UQVUGlY1xO-Soo4wNq89OiBmjNMqvXHStDFEFkKLjjRB4a5uu0zU_v74vpbSQCjc/s320/drm6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBkPLPDMHqHd96vFT4jnKBGHnuh-hAhoMP8SL0ksjUYKu5wNQ49iIdtIyns5_IErE1y2kt3NsjlLnhAsVdHsUpxY-wi9o2uTkIHDaIwpQKD3RjPJVWkxLHXSRz1hLNsSl1dpbEVp6KaI/s1600/drm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBkPLPDMHqHd96vFT4jnKBGHnuh-hAhoMP8SL0ksjUYKu5wNQ49iIdtIyns5_IErE1y2kt3NsjlLnhAsVdHsUpxY-wi9o2uTkIHDaIwpQKD3RjPJVWkxLHXSRz1hLNsSl1dpbEVp6KaI/s320/drm1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The initial DReaM page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6nE1MZtQNda3xf6ktuFfKMagSp_2LLwyBm5ie5Z9btmfjPN9PJ7wpC9jjLvf4C5eHnx42zPIkyFozdNhPheWtP5sfxfBgkCAVl4mgcvgdeggej8fzpvfGJobL3YYpK0rvIaaUMVFSXg/s1600/drm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6nE1MZtQNda3xf6ktuFfKMagSp_2LLwyBm5ie5Z9btmfjPN9PJ7wpC9jjLvf4C5eHnx42zPIkyFozdNhPheWtP5sfxfBgkCAVl4mgcvgdeggej8fzpvfGJobL3YYpK0rvIaaUMVFSXg/s320/drm2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second page showing active link</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcbdTUDWlD6LqORz5PgbgE-qLuufGQoNvExkXGC0rmwlnmLO90nyyU7yeh88S1QOLCfRZEDZwHWya6FRhWlOh1vvjy43aHagVoKp6JJ42FsL2pch9UnnXJg8kWFRv1OZ-wa4QSLSPmAM/s1600/drm5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcbdTUDWlD6LqORz5PgbgE-qLuufGQoNvExkXGC0rmwlnmLO90nyyU7yeh88S1QOLCfRZEDZwHWya6FRhWlOh1vvjy43aHagVoKp6JJ42FsL2pch9UnnXJg8kWFRv1OZ-wa4QSLSPmAM/s320/drm5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The third showing a list of earthquakes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEItB0Zj7FO73nVw07AE9F5sL2HmMkl9ghI_SbH9Fc29RTGWRsjjHUCCN7OCtsDJ-2u4wEWTV6AQULh-cxKBZGAKkp3ePBA7KNgQUPqrnxNJc_8IU6cp_FJFk67fyJEl8NxpOEiCqX-ow/s1600/drm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEItB0Zj7FO73nVw07AE9F5sL2HmMkl9ghI_SbH9Fc29RTGWRsjjHUCCN7OCtsDJ-2u4wEWTV6AQULh-cxKBZGAKkp3ePBA7KNgQUPqrnxNJc_8IU6cp_FJFk67fyJEl8NxpOEiCqX-ow/s320/drm4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fourth showing details of the New Britain link</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Not bad for a free program. I'm very greatful to those who take the time and make the effort to produce such a great program.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-25780319464736778052013-04-22T14:45:00.000+10:002013-04-22T17:10:35.894+10:00Budget RF amplifierWhat do you do when you need to give that weak signal (or in this case all weak signals) a boost and want to spend no money? Well in my case, i had a handful of components, no circuit board and not much solder. I flicked through some of my old books and came across an easy design that would suit perfectly. I drew this diagram using an online designer, so its not perfect, but you get the idea.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq7ZAdCDFANpI7jSGFYgOCqH5LPZXPkoBclUZOgU6V8uLCB1DImzcTu8Y3PzC6wXUWN5JbaY0BHhF6Tc5Jtk69l0A_BHbWUG_kwC5z_9hu4wR8AcQ7ptwstpoBz88cWpDbv50WNq5EXc/s1600/rf+amp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq7ZAdCDFANpI7jSGFYgOCqH5LPZXPkoBclUZOgU6V8uLCB1DImzcTu8Y3PzC6wXUWN5JbaY0BHhF6Tc5Jtk69l0A_BHbWUG_kwC5z_9hu4wR8AcQ7ptwstpoBz88cWpDbv50WNq5EXc/s320/rf+amp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Component list: RESISTORS : 1 x 1.2k, 1 x 47k CAPACITORS: 1 x 10pf ceramic, 1 x .001uf ceramic DIODE: 1N4002 TRANSISTOR: NPN DS548, SWITCH x 1, BATTERY CLIP x 1 and 9V BATTERY x 1.<br />
<br />
The components were scavenged and i had just enough solder to roughly attach "legs" to them. They are then connected and mounted on a wood base via the same method i used as a child...screws and washers! The end result is not pretty, but signal increase from the multiband and pre-selector is fantastic.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLh-NwDr36CEcYUYkjQOxU36zKxiH_wz-DrLAG7AdUM7v6sVdbZjRj_Lb7q-m28-njLfnewRmDt-AXV-zmA9M2evF5lPe6la40s22yAuE61HMgsMmM90FkYRQFeU3g-mEUwoLrwnOpMg4/s1600/101_2258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLh-NwDr36CEcYUYkjQOxU36zKxiH_wz-DrLAG7AdUM7v6sVdbZjRj_Lb7q-m28-njLfnewRmDt-AXV-zmA9M2evF5lPe6la40s22yAuE61HMgsMmM90FkYRQFeU3g-mEUwoLrwnOpMg4/s320/101_2258.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RF amplifier working with the pre-selector</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-60369750364218910012013-04-20T09:08:00.000+10:002013-08-21T11:33:00.693+10:00Base Station 27mhz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgutR8kPBWRC4WtadOumW21_HMs8A_oDUFAxG1WxJNhFfwD073744lEmB7lvWPFS6boFQ92t7qQr1C4qgjSeQf5RCJeGRl-uIQUOTGLOebqi0WEgQAPeR2eVWAZ7iX5hXL43c9P59lfff4/s1600/cobra+142+and+turner++3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgutR8kPBWRC4WtadOumW21_HMs8A_oDUFAxG1WxJNhFfwD073744lEmB7lvWPFS6boFQ92t7qQr1C4qgjSeQf5RCJeGRl-uIQUOTGLOebqi0WEgQAPeR2eVWAZ7iX5hXL43c9P59lfff4/s320/cobra+142+and+turner++3b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is my home CB set up. A Cobra 142GTL-A, matched with
a Turner +3B desk mic, real old school stuff. The Cobra was a cheap pick up for
me last year, and works surprisingly well for a 35 year old radio. It's has nice
clear receive and all reports on TX are good. It's on frequency and very stable
with no warm up required. The only minor issue was the meter lights were not
working, so I bought some blue LED's and put them behind the meters. The Turner
mic cost me more than the radio, but a good investment and I get great audio
reports with it. There are some Cobra 142's brought in from the USA that aren't
240 volt, so worth checking if your considering to purchase one. The 'A' in
142GTL-A shows it to be a unit designed for Australia and have a 240 volt
transformer. They can also run on 12 volts and have a standard 3 pin jack on the
back. Nice radio and really enjoy using it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cheers,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mick 361.</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-63547748894025812762013-04-19T20:38:00.000+10:002013-04-19T20:38:59.556+10:00Utility Monitoring and DecodingLet me start by stating that i love decoding and utility monitoring. Whether it's chasing numbers stations (of which there are many, considering we live in the age of texting, emails and mobile phones), or decoding something simple like RTTY or Global Wireless or more complex like the STANAG variants. Also on my list fun things are WEFAX, SITOR and the amateur digital modes.<br />
<br />
My hardware was basic in the beginning: the small but robust DEGEN 1103. A great little perfomer for a small price. But it wasn't long before i realised that i needed a more substantial receiver to cater to my growing needs.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1y4LWmPlD9tGIQC3QThvYGMyEIp9nGPb721iNQuKifxr7vZAfBPR1OVuzNMjyEEU-7Ix6oFTy7WC8IfZ5zl9MoW6s6T1EHXs4RmrZOCcCzitCtG-_6oVn1GyOAhsNI-ehG8qZdyFciE/s1600/101_2253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1y4LWmPlD9tGIQC3QThvYGMyEIp9nGPb721iNQuKifxr7vZAfBPR1OVuzNMjyEEU-7Ix6oFTy7WC8IfZ5zl9MoW6s6T1EHXs4RmrZOCcCzitCtG-_6oVn1GyOAhsNI-ehG8qZdyFciE/s320/101_2253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DEGEN 1103</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I had looked around for a while, trying to decide which radio i was going to invest in next. Not suprisingly, many of the shortwave radios that are intended for the serious listener were around the $1000+ mark. Even used radios were $500 - $700. Way too much to even consider. I discussed the matter with a mate, who asked if i had considered Software Defined Radio? "No" i said (having both feet planted firmly in the 20th century). Much Googling and many reviews later, i dragged myself kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Enter the SOFT66LC4. This is my current radio and it's a beauty. Apart from the EXT I/O issue that is now common knowledge amongst SDR users, it is on a par with SDRs 3 or 4 times its price.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oQUkh6BoOWsOAR02-91lRZDHsIV15GX5Cd2M9FzGAGUxxjvoX4PTDyyLANK0cNCBWhRQTU40QEsZnam4etdR465aplrB2o4iij1KlfQGfCpkjH_AGpTLI-SoUMOoSTZc3Xxf3AKeHyA/s1600/101_2245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oQUkh6BoOWsOAR02-91lRZDHsIV15GX5Cd2M9FzGAGUxxjvoX4PTDyyLANK0cNCBWhRQTU40QEsZnam4etdR465aplrB2o4iij1KlfQGfCpkjH_AGpTLI-SoUMOoSTZc3Xxf3AKeHyA/s320/101_2245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tiny SOFT66LC4</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ha8AV2ozNfMDWqRSrIW16ojnrBxbJP3fOB1IjdVf33mtnLLhhJxfQ7RuAMCyr4ff3sjXMjXUvTBws7kTiSbFxwuEmoSpnKdS8ilAoyA8d-5XZTLM7G1-nDhnGckqbJ0r8rcSzl2T4sM/s1600/blog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ha8AV2ozNfMDWqRSrIW16ojnrBxbJP3fOB1IjdVf33mtnLLhhJxfQ7RuAMCyr4ff3sjXMjXUvTBws7kTiSbFxwuEmoSpnKdS8ilAoyA8d-5XZTLM7G1-nDhnGckqbJ0r8rcSzl2T4sM/s320/blog2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HDSDR locked onto STANAG 4285</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is used in conjunction with Winradio HDSDR and programs such as MultiPSK, FLdigi, DREAM, PC-HFDL and decoding software software such as Ian Wraiths excellent program RIVET. More articles featuring these programs and modes to follow.<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1285765770"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span id="goog_1285765769"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-82061877263242342212013-04-19T15:41:00.001+10:002013-04-21T17:22:50.413+10:00Project 5 : N4UJW Multiband longwireI found this antenna some years ago and i always wanted to have a crack at building it once i had the time and materials. The design i followed is by N4UJW and can be found here :http://www.hamuniverse.com/shortwaveantenna.html<br />
The original design required speaker line or even fencing wire as options. I went for plastic coated clothes line wire as i needed something more durable that would stand up to the winds we get here. So, 140 metres of line divided thus: 1st element: 43.891 meters (90 and 31 M bands), 2nd element: 36.149 meters (75 and 25 M bands), 3rd element: 28.011 meters (60 and 19 M bands) and 4th element: 24.171 meters (49 and 16 M bands).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeZCqH0TGwrqS8uKOa8uiV8JzhfAYx3Ps82XyXtU-Mxnk91OELrbhuqTI1nggnNi8iuIR9WU81a5zZSNsN4IoRnoSSW9qiK8AfugLGWHgfoB2R1AQYrHAMQfr5U3vsY4SMcuWa0wefEo/s1600/blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeZCqH0TGwrqS8uKOa8uiV8JzhfAYx3Ps82XyXtU-Mxnk91OELrbhuqTI1nggnNi8iuIR9WU81a5zZSNsN4IoRnoSSW9qiK8AfugLGWHgfoB2R1AQYrHAMQfr5U3vsY4SMcuWa0wefEo/s320/blog1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">original design</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The mounting was fairly straight forward with the exception of the insulators/spacers that i just could not get to function correctly. As stated in the image, the premiss is that each element will support the one above. In practice, no matter what material i made them from (including bamboo), they offered no support. In the end i reverted to tying each element individually to the support mast.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MO6zzibDN7nJNL4RTc-nWC3qw4cifJv467OEqQEo21ASEtCrYE6vIX7mhrmDsUGCCvH07u6cQDhAJe3bhg1sjn6IIEP093fJixBZj5_Sp5S-DBSXf6EB4pd9sqpLfeY1imaM68CyOoc/s1600/101_2247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MO6zzibDN7nJNL4RTc-nWC3qw4cifJv467OEqQEo21ASEtCrYE6vIX7mhrmDsUGCCvH07u6cQDhAJe3bhg1sjn6IIEP093fJixBZj5_Sp5S-DBSXf6EB4pd9sqpLfeY1imaM68CyOoc/s320/101_2247.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mounted on the mast, showing the co-ax/element harness </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30cQkCB1YeZ9FZHBnSZ7jx6tM1L0umT-j4bWSeDpeyojJnAUAH7x75IDgZw0HfbbNYk4ZbC62kPzBwStw5pdGoZOa_ukGyf5FxNzLTGaShxev_nAaQd4q_xsTtVlDITLS8NoS9YfX_lQ/s1600/101_2249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30cQkCB1YeZ9FZHBnSZ7jx6tM1L0umT-j4bWSeDpeyojJnAUAH7x75IDgZw0HfbbNYk4ZbC62kPzBwStw5pdGoZOa_ukGyf5FxNzLTGaShxev_nAaQd4q_xsTtVlDITLS8NoS9YfX_lQ/s320/101_2249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I have been testing this antenna for a couple of days now and it beats my old faithful longwire hands down. It is used in conjunction with my homebrew pre-selector (see previous project) and a 9 volt, single transistor RF signal booster circuit i built. This antenna is perfect for the utility monitoring and signal decoding i do with my SDR and programs. Build time was a couple of days.....on and off.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-8396205380491447542013-04-16T21:10:00.001+10:002013-08-21T11:23:54.422+10:002 Element V-Quad for 27mhz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOj2Bi0jaW2toNgiyBDJLh2NUoa-OK9EAJWtb5P_4lNWV4h7Jt8AAcZsqTRukRhWVKrvxRb6uI-h6fP62DrJpsNCor9Ce5NcMk-4Tf4GgPe4qHun0aLdhApQEjwrJX2DQtYoOIyeiSIrI/s1600/2+element+V-Quad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOj2Bi0jaW2toNgiyBDJLh2NUoa-OK9EAJWtb5P_4lNWV4h7Jt8AAcZsqTRukRhWVKrvxRb6uI-h6fP62DrJpsNCor9Ce5NcMk-4Tf4GgPe4qHun0aLdhApQEjwrJX2DQtYoOIyeiSIrI/s320/2+element+V-Quad.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16793">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16792" style="font-family: Arial;">This is my first article, and I am a keen 27 mhz CB operator. I started
out in the 70's during CB's most popular time, when it was legalized. While
absent from the scene for many years with family life, I've been back into it
for a few years now and really enjoying it. There is something about the 11m
band that brings operators back, and brings in new operators for the first time.
It's low cost and simplicity could be a factor, and also it's lack of pretense.
Doesn't matter what equipment or experience you have, someone will always say
G'day and have a chat with you. There are a few clowns out there like anywhere
in life, but most just enjoy the hobby. My call is 361, or BSB361, as I'm a
member of the Bendigo Sideband Club.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16797">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16796" style="font-family: Arial;">To the subject. I was looking for a beam antenna a couple
of years back, as I enjoy DXing or chasing skip. There isn't much else, as local
operators are thin on the ground. My needs included a tight budget, limited
space and a low mounting position. After looking at a 3 element yagi, I decided
that wasn't an option due to space and the need to have it at an elevated
position to maximise it's potential. I then looked at a cubical quad, but again
mounting would be a problem for me because of the height needed. The boom is
central in the antenna and a high supported mast or tower would be required.
Then I hit pay dirt, the V-Quad or Delta Loop. It has the boom at the base
of the antenna, perfect for my low mounting requirements. It's low angle of
radiation makes it ideal for this type of install, whereas a yagi needs height
to perform at the same level. After looking into it, and costing, I decided
on a 2 element V-Quad made by Shockwave Antennas in Melbourne. The price was
right, and construction is very robust. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16799">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16798" style="font-family: Arial;">After picking up the antenna and getting it home, I
quickly put it together, very easy and made sure the metallic jointing paste
was used for conductivity and corrosion prevention. I bolted it to the pole
and clamped it to my pergola. Connected coax and excitedly checked SWR, which
was 1.3, good enough. Radio check, and working beautifully. Rotating the antenna
is easy, via the armstrong method, and the noise level was very low compared to
my vertical. Signal strength is about 2 'S' points higher compared to the
vertical, and similar on transmit. Couldn't be happier with the 'V' performance.
</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16801">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1366062372510_16800" style="font-family: Arial;">SWR is easy to adjust, via the gamma match. I had to
adjust SWR after a big storm passed through here, which caused some damage
around the area. A tree in my backyard broke in half and had blown
onto my garage roof, making a large hole through the tin roof. My vertical bent
like a banana, but didn't snap thankfully. The 'V' looked in perfect condition,
no bends or breaks, but I was worried watching it in the wind. Checking the SWR
the next morning and it was at 3, which confused me a bit because it was still
in the correct shape after the storm. Thinking about this for a while, I figured
the only possible way the SWR had changed is by the gamma match moving. I
adjusted the gamma match out and SWR dropped to 1.5. Bingo, I found
the cause of high SWR. The flexing and bending of the driven element in the
storm had caused the gamma to close about an inch. Another adjustment and the
SWR was flat, no movement on the meter at all. The first time ever I've had an
antenna achieve this, I was very happy. I will note also that Pete from
Shockwave Antennas advised against sealing the gamma with silicone, and said
vaseline is better because it waterproofs and allows for future adjustment.
Great advice which I followed.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've had countless contacts on the CB with the V-Quad, and
rarely use the vertical these days. Being only 2 element, it has a good range of
coverage to the front, I would say 120 degrees is about right. Though for weak
signals a better directional adjustment is needed to boost the signal. By and
large, if skip is running into Victoria, I can point it NE and get Eastern
Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and mainland USA without needing to move the
antenna. If channels 35 and 38 are clogged with overseas and
local skip, a flick to the official call channel, 16, can bring surprising
results as quite a few still operate there. Also many Pacific Islands use
30-33usb, so always worth checking. I have read recently there are
some trying to push 27.255usb as an international call frequency, as opposed to
the 27.555 which is outside the Australian, and most countries, legal operating
band. I encourage operators to support 27.255usb, or channel 23, to avoid
crossing paths with the ACMA and staying within the legal band.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Enjoy the hobby and good DXing,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mick 361. </span> </div>
<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-3824446346935151832013-04-16T21:04:00.001+10:002013-04-16T21:04:59.541+10:0027MHz AuthorA big welcome to our new author mick! Who will be looking after our 27MHz section. Welcome mate!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-14993317353554751782012-12-12T17:36:00.001+11:002013-04-15T23:39:44.235+10:00Second project: Microphone Boom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKlZsD9Z_uealKy9q4O98JJpfXWrqBCFCOZLXrIobSDFFJlndIwmUL_NvklhwBU5PhCS9i-Mfhj-zFf_Jab7Gv2XRKMOEW4IY33qZoN_KHArOlZIdSf4zqbC3d9y_3SZzQt6-G6SyeZs/s1600/101_2092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKlZsD9Z_uealKy9q4O98JJpfXWrqBCFCOZLXrIobSDFFJlndIwmUL_NvklhwBU5PhCS9i-Mfhj-zFf_Jab7Gv2XRKMOEW4IY33qZoN_KHArOlZIdSf4zqbC3d9y_3SZzQt6-G6SyeZs/s320/101_2092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21kqjHmY_eLlpNMHec7bgwbEzQR4dqoz9wybkggo65kCDCkEBg9alYIVD9wcaPx2P9dls8_hIJVjxGZFvJ867fmFprM9j-NhPY1IgLcBQwypJ2HMkEoyzAqF86t83zUo0OAIlotB2fH8/s1600/101_2093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21kqjHmY_eLlpNMHec7bgwbEzQR4dqoz9wybkggo65kCDCkEBg9alYIVD9wcaPx2P9dls8_hIJVjxGZFvJ867fmFprM9j-NhPY1IgLcBQwypJ2HMkEoyzAqF86t83zUo0OAIlotB2fH8/s320/101_2093.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2-mwh2NtdZH0Sq31I509O4Yw4FQLKbiKdortvSXPqP5uf9WSdoHLS82CZbxu3sAyfG_GpkqhdS99W5kh51-qhxfKYffiERgyjwsBOfDEzLoLzKUA0CjD5jrrnWv7KdrR7YIxprDIgrM/s1600/101_2094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2-mwh2NtdZH0Sq31I509O4Yw4FQLKbiKdortvSXPqP5uf9WSdoHLS82CZbxu3sAyfG_GpkqhdS99W5kh51-qhxfKYffiERgyjwsBOfDEzLoLzKUA0CjD5jrrnWv7KdrR7YIxprDIgrM/s320/101_2094.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuCbHHRDdT98iPTutnYqkFweQymlmfEba9JyCZB8bXCkmBTeQi-u7UAgbpU2wr0lo4Ewlo5HtvqK16_U6EQca6TkSyjn7nnIOmyO-p6w4fx8ZTJQ-t5gdx7qR7ANGHWF9z29OVJgrqTs/s1600/101_2096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuCbHHRDdT98iPTutnYqkFweQymlmfEba9JyCZB8bXCkmBTeQi-u7UAgbpU2wr0lo4Ewlo5HtvqK16_U6EQca6TkSyjn7nnIOmyO-p6w4fx8ZTJQ-t5gdx7qR7ANGHWF9z29OVJgrqTs/s320/101_2096.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I had this idea last week and it turned out to be quite quick and easy. I went Bunnings and bought an angle poise desk lamp and then went to Dick Smith and bought a 600ohm vocal microphone. First step was to remove the lamp components and fit a microphone clip. Secondly, drill a suitable hole in the shelf to seat the stand and thats it. $50 in components and 10 minutes adapting and fitting and i have a quality desk microphone and boom that takes up almost no space and can be extended to suit the operator.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-62692414862797099072012-12-12T17:23:00.002+11:002013-04-15T23:40:14.345+10:00The first of 2 Projects this week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvE40dOQWuwE0IeVHSbdKOrmBHUxekBohNSUAxJCGe-0nLOi9wiUiSJvEAY3u1rdv4MbBAimyI3j7B0V1TZs4JDUIdPY1f422WOyxyf-92vE0lGSKVlzfnT9BiipUqCwOM2WM7KInryc/s1600/101_2097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvE40dOQWuwE0IeVHSbdKOrmBHUxekBohNSUAxJCGe-0nLOi9wiUiSJvEAY3u1rdv4MbBAimyI3j7B0V1TZs4JDUIdPY1f422WOyxyf-92vE0lGSKVlzfnT9BiipUqCwOM2WM7KInryc/s320/101_2097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I haven't had a lot of free time this week, but still time enough to get 2 projects done. The first was a simple shelf to give me more access to an increasingly cluttered station.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357904281764923267.post-49447070853926164022012-12-02T20:20:00.002+11:002013-04-15T23:40:35.204+10:00Cross Member For Mast (a Sunday arvo project)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmZTzBktZgHLUzyX14wkV1qmz-qLZJycn1Ql3orlahp5k713I-MJrRcK20N2QEMBIHosEbr8lTKQcsMLgOKCSRrrRl4NoCOJ0KFaPrWcTtjUSytpfHd7Mb7J3Zjo15Hp2RwOkVhgkPY8/s1600/101_2090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmZTzBktZgHLUzyX14wkV1qmz-qLZJycn1Ql3orlahp5k713I-MJrRcK20N2QEMBIHosEbr8lTKQcsMLgOKCSRrrRl4NoCOJ0KFaPrWcTtjUSytpfHd7Mb7J3Zjo15Hp2RwOkVhgkPY8/s320/101_2090.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAxYJKbaaDLkjOE4bK-822wbT3AYk5cecmXvLtn1W7OmaUXx7GvQ9zigTl3dntUG0QDLKAgkglmfNXJW-QQUVB0d2TxV5Mh-6bXiTh_rsbrbvjPYJp127R1rMxpJsmZSZdD_PxCcxXVY/s1600/101_2089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAxYJKbaaDLkjOE4bK-822wbT3AYk5cecmXvLtn1W7OmaUXx7GvQ9zigTl3dntUG0QDLKAgkglmfNXJW-QQUVB0d2TxV5Mh-6bXiTh_rsbrbvjPYJp127R1rMxpJsmZSZdD_PxCcxXVY/s320/101_2089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It was a glorious Sunday afternoon so i decided it was time to add a cross member to one of my masts in order free up another. Nothing technical here, just some mast brackets and a length of light pipe cut to a suitable length. Now i have the weather station and the Discone perched on the spar and a spare mast for my next project.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2