Island of St. Paul POTA Award

Posted on October 1, 2022 by robert

I’m always surprised at how inventive the Parks on the Air program is.  A week or so ago, I received yet another award, this one for working all the parks on the Island of St. Paul (pretty easy since there is exactly one park to work).  Thanks POTA!

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AMSAT DSTAR Reflector

Posted on September 19, 2022 by robert

While there isn’t a whole bunch of DMR activity in the New England area, one of the Talkgroups that is fairly active is 98006, which is the AMSAT Talkgroup.  That DMR Talkgroup has been bridged over to the DSTAR world.

Simply link your DSTAR radio into one of the XLXSAT, XRFSAT, DCSSAT, or REFSAT reflectors.  This means using a common link command like “REFSATCL” to join in.

Please note that using a Hotspot that is setup for BOTH DMR and DSTAR will cause some issues, since it will grab onto the first active digital service.  For example say you have linked into REFSATC and your hotspot is currently in the DSTAR mode.  As soon as someone uses the DMR AMSAT Talkgroup, then your hotspot will switch over to DMR mode.

If all you plan on using is the AMSAT Talkgroup, then turn off the DMR Mode in your hotspot.

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N1MM running with Flex6600M & Maestro

Posted on August 25, 2022 by robert

I have been using a Flex6600M that allows me to operate “remotely” from my 3rd floor bedroom, if I don’t feel like navigating the stairs up and down.  After some firmware updates last year and a changeover to how I accessed the radio (direct IP address on my internal LAN vs. going through WiFi and the SmartLink servers), I had things working pretty well.

I didn’t want to risk doing anything until I had completed at least 120 CWT contests, which I did last week.  So this week I spent some time before the contests getting N1MM working with the Flex.  I wasn’t able to get things working correctly for the 1300Z one in the morning, but I had things running by the 0300Z one at night.  It really was as simple as loading the latest version of SmartSDRCAT onto my laptop upstairs and adding a port for their simulated WinKeyer.  The usual N1MM Radio setup applied, using the two COM ports identified in SmartSDRCAT.

I actually found out that I really couldn’t use the Function Keys in N1MM – they work, and CW is sent by the radio, but there is no sidetone.  This forces you to watch the Maestro Remote screen to see when the TX indicator turns off.  So I will continue to use my paddle and the Macro buttons on the Maestro Remote, which do generate a sidetone.

Flex Radio has a short YouTube video that describes the process here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lql8RReUvA

 

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Goals Completed for 2022: CWT #120

Posted on August 18, 2022 by robert

I was able to complete CWT number 120 early this morning at 0753Z.  Of course there are 76 more CWTs remaining in 2022 (4 a week for 19 more weeks), but I doubt I’ll be staying up until 4 AM to finish any more this year.   I’ll see if I can’t do 50 more.  Many thanks to CWops!

CWT #120 happens to complete my list of goals for 2022, which were all completed successfully:

  • Teach a CW Academy Course
  • Teach a Technician Course
  • Conduct NCRC’s first electronic VE exam
  • Build my QRP-Labs QCX 20m Transceiver
  • Participate in 120+ CWTs for the CWops Gold Medal

Now I have to start pondering my goals for 2023 (two of which will be related to CWops/CWTs)!

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Another Winter Project

Posted on August 13, 2022 by robert

I’m always thinking ahead.  The record-breaking summer heat and humidity (rare but becoming more common for Rhode Island) is making me think of the fall and winter, which are great times for radio projects.

I’ve fallen in love with QRP-LABS.COM, and have bought and built several of their kits.  A package arrived a couple of days ago containing their latest QDX digital transceiver.  This is a QRP 4-band (80/40/30/20) transceiver for modes like FT8.  It has a built-in sound interface and rig control, and is compatible with the WSJT-X suite of software.  The kit is shown below.  All the surface mounts are on the board already.  So it is a matter of adding in the caps & inductors plus the larger mechanical parts.  Assembly wise, it looks easier than their QCX-mini (no display, buttons, etc.), but more coil winding since it is 4 bands.

Posted in Digital Mode, FT8, QRP | Leave a comment

Standby Power Draw for a few rigs

Posted on August 4, 2022 by robert

In testing the linear vs. switching power supply consumption I determined the following standby power draws:

  • Astron RS-35M: 25 watts/hour; 600 watts a day
  • Powerwerx SS-30DV: 5 watts/hour: 120 watts a day
  • Kenwood TM-D710G: 15 watts/hour: 360 watts a day
  • Elecraft K3S: 33 watts/hour: 792 watts a day
  • Icom IC-9700: 22 watts/hour: 528 watts a day

It wasn’t unusual for me to have the Astron, Elecraft, and Kenwood powered on 24 hours a day, for many days a year (likely about 200), which is 1.75 KHW/day, or about $88 a year and going up!

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Difference in Standby Current Draw: Linear vs. Switching

Posted on August 4, 2022 by robert

When I restarted my hobby back in 2011, I had recalled the horror stories of folks using switching power supplies and having RFI all over the HF and VHF bands.  So I decided to use a traditional linear power supply to run my rigs – An Astron RS-35M.  Eleven years later and it is still working just fine, but I have a tendency to leave it powered on 24/7 because it makes a horrible thunk-noise when you first turn it on, and all the lights in the house blink. – not surprising since there is a massive inrush current if you happen to power it on near the peak of the AC waveform.  I was even willing to put up with the #1 failure mode of a linear supply, which is the output stage failing short, resulting in 18 volts on the DC output (which can fry electronics), to avoid the RFI.

Modern switching power supplies have come a long way in that time, and I have deployed several Powerwerx SS-30DV switching supplies to run various rigs.  I have found them to be RFI free (at least nothing I can find in the 160m-70cm ham bands).  Not only are they less than half the cost of a linear supply, and about 1/8th the weight and volume, if they fail, they fail output open (0 volts).  I was really convinced when Elecraft decided to market that supply several years ago.

I’ve always wondered how much running that linear supply cost me over the years.  I can only guess, but assuming I turned it off for 165 days out of the year, and left it on for 200 days, then it was powered on for 2,200 days, or 48,000 hours.

Rhode Island has some of the most beautiful coastline in the country, but we pay a price to live in the Ocean State.  RI’s electrical rate is one of the highest in the country, and is currently right at $0.25 per KWH, delivered.  Due to the energy situation, it is expected to rise to $0.29 this October.  So paying attention to what is powered on 24/7 is becoming more important.

I decided to do some power measurements using a commercial AC power meter; one that is especially good at reading lower power loads.  When I checked out my RS-35M, I found that it pulled 25 watts when turned on with no loads attached.  This makes sense because the case gets warm even when not using it.  So during the time that it was on, I likely consumed 1.2 Megawatts of power – YIKES!  At $0.25 per KWH, that is $313 or about $29 a year.  Boy I wish I could get some of that money back!

So what about the SS-30DV?  The same meter indicated it consumes 5 watts when turned on with no loads attached.  So changing to a switching power supply.  Under the same conditions, leaving it on 24×7 for 200 days a year, will cost me $6. It sounds like replacing the linear supply will have a 6 year payback – and likely even shorter, because I will feel free to turn it off frequently (no huge thunk-noise from the in-rush current).

Legrand/Wattstopper AC Power Meter showing RS-35M pulling 25 watts with no loads attached.

 

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Another Surprise POTA Award

Posted on July 13, 2022 by robert

Jason and his gang have been working hard to keep POTA interesting.  A DX award just popped up a couple of weeks ago:

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Bands dead for Field Day?

Posted on June 25, 2022 by robert

Conditions don’t seem very good.  G0 magnetic, but almost no absorption.  Critical frequency 5 MHz, MUF 18 MHz.  A-Index 10, Kp 3, SFI/SFN 115/60, Absorption very low. Don’t understand things.

Total global spots on 80/40/20/15/10:

My spots on 40m:

 

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Tuner Improvements with Flex V3.3.32

Posted on June 20, 2022 by robert

A few weeks ago, I posted that owning a Flex was a mixed bag – a very interesting radio, but very buggy software.  The update from that time completely broke the ability to run CW over the internet (but did make things on a local network seem to work better).  It also broke the tuner, which would no longer find a solution for frequencies higher than 14 MHz.

I’m happy to report that the tuner issue seems to have improved considerable with V.3.3.32.  At least I can find a close solution for 15 and 10m bands.  I haven’t checked the remote access again, as I’m happy with things just being on the LAN.

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