Whatever Happened to Ham Radio?

[vk3yedotcom]

The good results with aircraft enhancement gave an incentive to build a better, higher gain but still portable anenna.  The one below is made from old TV antenna bits and is 4 elements on 144 MHz.



With the antenna still under construction there was no time to visit the hill when most planes were midway and activity was greatest.  And it was raining. So clutching it and radio I ran down to the bay and at least heard some VK1s (approx 500km distant) from near sea level. 

[VK5RC]

Dear xrunner
Great to see you return to the bands.
For me amateur radio gives me areas in which to experiment with my electronics (not my day job).
I have found the microwave areas of great interest, in the HF bands the commercial gear is better than you can build (almost always)
but past 1200MHz the commercial gear stops pretty quickly.
There are lots of microwave kits for local oscillators, mixers, power amps at reasonable prices e.g. down-east microwave (USA), Kuhne (Germany) and mini kits here in VK land however the test gear gets v expensive though.
Areas that I have been experimenting with include 10GHZ 3W transverter, a 5GHz 2W transverter and am now building an EME setup for 1.2GHz 150W, 3m dish and low noise pre-amp with circular polarising feedhorn, it will take me a year or so (not much spare time with young family) but I am enjoying the challenges as they arise, currently building a microprocessor controlled linear 30V 16A power supply for the power amp.
Kind regards Rob Culver VK5RC

[xrunner]

The good results with aircraft enhancement gave an incentive to build a better, higher gain but still portable anenna.  The one below is made from old TV antenna bits and is 4 elements on 144 MHz.

Good videos, I subscribed to your channel. We need to try to hook up on one of the bands someday and make a contact. Currently I'm on 10 & 17 meters. 

Dear xrunner
Great to see you return to the bands.

Hey thanks! I'm really having a blast, even though my two antennas are not in the ideal location yet. I'll post a pic of my small antenna farm this week. When I get a proper antenna setup over my house - look out!

[briandorey]

I think the digital modes will expand a lot more in the future, I started using PSK31/63 on HF earlier this year and I am using the radios a lot more now via digi modes than in the past 20 years that i have been licensed. Managed a 3500 mile QSO using only 35w yesterday to the United Arab Emirates on 10m so its just a case of waiting for the good RF conditions

[Martin.M]

my old warm Collins Radio, listening SSB 

http://www.wellenkino.de/video/51j4.mp4

greetings
Martin

[xrunner]

I've often wonder what will happen to our wonderful hobby, in say even 50 Years time ...

Some of the locals think that there won't be any tests in ten years - you'll just pay up and get a license. 

Managed a 3500 mile QSO using only 35w yesterday to the United Arab Emirates on 10m so its just a case of waiting for the good RF conditions

Cool! 

my old warm Collins Radio, listening SSB 

NIce - I love the old radios especially in the Winter. 

Here's the antenna farm, poor as it is at the moment. A homemade center insulator out of PVC fittings, and 17 m dipole on top and ten meter below. I used my antenna tuner to get the things tuned, as there is some interaction between the two dipoles so it's a little tricky. However, poor as it is at the moment down between two houses, I managed to get some decent contacts in the Canary Islands and Europe, Chile etc. I can't wait to get a proper antenna up above my roofline when the weather gets warmer.

[Martin.M]

you have seen the old scopes beside the radio,
when one of them is powered up, there is no winter 

A triple nickel (Tek 555) eat 1kW to feed its 117 tubes, here are two of them,
and a very lot of the Classic Tek Line, alle are pretty restored and full working.
It`s always enjoy to read some comments in the guestbook of my http://www.wellenkino.de

greetings
Martin

[xrunner]

A triple nickel (Tek 555) eat 1kW to feed its 117 tubes,

Oh my - were there really 117 tubes in that thing! 

What a power hog!

[Martin.M]

when it`s fittet with 2 pcs of CA Plugins, yes 

Triple Nickel, http://www.wellenkino.de/555

this scopes are also fine to make a glowing christmas picture.



greetings
Martin

[xrunner]

this scopes are also fine to make a glowing christmas picture.

Good Grief.

Too bad SMD wasn't around back then - it could have done double duty as a reflow oven. 

[KF5OBS]

Amateur radio has evolved a lot and has been just as stuck in many areas. A great example is the US and their VHF frequency allocations: Many hams complain about the fact that the VHF bands are too crowded and it's hard to get a coordinated frequency pair for their repeaters. At the same time, the US still uses stone-aged channel spacing and FM bandwidth. Even though that has practical reasons (commercial WFM gear available for cheap), it's laziness and being scared to get out of one's comfort zone that does prevent prevents progress. 70 cm or as the Americans say "440" is still not used a whole lot in rural areas.

In contrast, great new digital modes have been implemented in amateur radio. M-ary PSK-modes are fascinating more people than ever. According to the ARRL, there are more licencees in the US than there have ever been. How many of those are "out of the box" operators and how many actually know anything at all about electronics wasn't mentioned in those stats, however.

Another thing that I have witnessed in several amateur radio clubs is, that some of the old amateur radio operators are flat out scared about the technological development. They're so scared that their knowledge may become obsolete that they invest a great amount of time in making sure the youngsters don't learn anything, instead of educating themselves in more contemporary technological aspects. And I understand that this is just human. But that doesn't mean it's good. Do you remember a few decades back when all magazines where saying how SMD is just killing homebrewing? A decade later they showed how to use tools intended for through whole being used for SMD as workaround. Nowadays, we know SMD is no problem at all if we just have the right tools.

And that's so very typical in many areas. First, we say it's bad. Then we refuse to buy the right tools and do a dirty patch-around. And lastly, we accept the progress and equip ourselves with the right tools.  I think this kind of behavior shows most in Amateur Radio and electronics. Just think the same would have been the case when screws where invented: "Screws require specialized tools. However, if you own a hammer, there is a workaround..."

Someone pointed out the lack of commercially available gear for the microwave bands. I have been thinking offering an out of the box 1.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.7 GHz or 10 GHz 'allmode' transceiver. But there's a lot of things keeping me from doing it. When Icom designed a commercial product for 220 MHz and 900 MHz, people in the 220 MHz and 900 MHz community actually got upset. They didn't want people, who didn't have to build their own radios, on 'their' frequencies.

[xrunner]

Made a little circuit to cut off the antenna from my up-converter/SDR dongle when I transmit. It's pretty simple being a single transistor and relay, but does the job. It uses a signal line from the FT-450 out of the linear jack which is merely goes to a open collector transistor in the rig.

I don't think the power level will damage the up converter, but it does look like I just detected the EMP from a nuclear bomb on the computer screen when I transmit.

[Radio Tech]

when it`s fittet with 2 pcs of CA Plugins, yes 

Triple Nickel, http://www.wellenkino.de/555

this scopes are also fine to make a glowing christmas picture.



greetings
Martin

Beauty!   

[vk3yedotcom]

Aldi currently have a whole heap of different kites on special for $6 ea. They work fine as kites but I thought I'd try seeing how they work to support a 20m long wire antenna.  The on air results (on 7 MHz) are below (apologies for terrible video - hands full).



I tried box and delta kites.  However on recommendation I later bought a trapezoid kite (basically a triangle prism with wings).  This had the most pull on the string of any kites and would be the one to try if launching heavier stuff eg video cameras/transmitters etc.

[hiddensoul]

Our little ham club Gippsland gate radio and electronics club in Victoria Australia is pretty strong, we have 35-40 full-time members.

Personally I had my foundation call for 18 months then upgraded to a standard call about 4 months ago, I am really enjoying it. I used a digital mode called winlink while away camping that allowed me to have email contact with my wife while away.

ggrec.org.au

[DL8RI]

I also have one of these old Tektronix-Scopes (561A Mainframe) unfortunately with a 800MHz analog sampling plug-in. Rather useless nowadays (and comfort-wise gruesome).

[xrunner]

This guy makes some really clean homebrew radios. Very clean construction techniques.

[KF5OBS]

This guy makes some really clean homebrew radios. Very clean construction techniques.

Holy Jesus that's a clean construction style!

[Radio Tech]

Very nice indeed. love it when some one builds something so clean.

Something I been wanting to do in ham radio is to get on AM.  So I been buying up every Yaesu FT-101's I can get. Love those radios.  Two of them have the AM filter mod installed.

But this is not I really want for AM. So a few years ago I bought 2 Heathkit Apache TX-1's.  Plan was to use one for parts to repair the other.  These rigs were built in or around the 1956 era.  Still have yet to find the matching reciever. Mohalk RX-1.  Things weigh somewhere around 80 plus pounds so shipping has been the issue. Hope to find the reciever local.

I have both Apache's on the operating table now. So going to start the restore of these.

[KF5OBS]

Something I been wanting to do in ham radio is to get on AM. 

AM is very rare on HF. It's more common in the USA than in Europe and other places of the world though. It's a great mode of operation though. I personally love the clean 'warm' sound of classic tube radios in AM. I rarely operate in AM but that's solely due to the lack of people to talk to.

[Radio Tech]

AM is very rare on HF. It's more common in the USA than in Europe and other places of the world though. It's a great mode of operation though. I personally love the clean 'warm' sound of classic tube radios in AM. I rarely operate in AM but that's solely due to the lack of people to talk to.

I hear quite a bit of folks around here on AM.  40 meters around 7.285 MHz.
I dare not to key up and say anything at all with my current stations.  These guys are diehard AMer's.
Why I want to get the scratchy apache up and running.

[vk3yedotcom]

The other day I heard AMers from the State's on 14 & 21 MHz.

Locally here in Australia there is significant activity on 7.125 MHz.  And locally in Melbourne on 1.825 MHz.

[SeanB]

Most are operating here on AM, mostly USB and LSB AM as the signal propagation is better.  Some regularly talk with others half way across the country. FM is mostly local chat, often some use a FM link one way and AM the other way to fox those lstening in. Some of the OM use it like a telephone, as it is cheaper than a call.

[KF5OBS]

Most are operating here on AM, mostly USB and LSB AM as the signal propagation is better.  Some regularly talk with others half way across the country. FM is mostly local chat, often some use a FM link one way and AM the other way to fox those lstening in. Some of the OM use it like a telephone, as it is cheaper than a call.

Smarty pants. While what you say is (though arguably) correct, no average amateur radio operator associates AM with LSB or USB. When we say AM we mean classic AM with both sidebands and carrier. Obviously. And the signal propagation isn't better for LSB and USB, the power efficiency is better.

[xrunner]

Just contacted W1AW on 17m operating from N. Carolina. 

Anyway, some local hams and I are using the DVB dongles as SDR radio receivers. What they are marketed for is as a TV receiver for your computer. Since the antenna is basically a piece of junk as far as using it for ham applications, I just cut it off and put an SMA connector on the cable so the cable can be used to connect the dongle to a ham-it-up up converter (the other end has the required MCX connector that fit the dongle ant. connection).

Well two of the guys gave me their antennas to put SMA connectors on, and I thought it would be interesting to see how the assemblers in China did their work inside the base. It wasn't pretty.

They didn't even bother to clip the braid off, and any of the little wires could touch the antenna and short it to ground, thus ruining even the minimal effectiveness of the things.