PCB-guide

I design PCB's for a living but I still like to learn, check out this site-
http://www.frontdoor.biz/HowToPCB/HowToPCB.html
as people always ask how you start.
15years in electronics in my case.

Where should I get on……?

This is a big question for Radio Ham’s looking at a new band or home. Being new to HF TX short wave listening I’m an old hand at but that was at a different QTH. I looked on the web to help me with this question. I discovered http://www.voacap.com/coverage.html , I think was written originally as a tool for VOA (Voice Of America) a broadcast station. But this online tool can give you some idea of your HF coverage although the map is a little small. Give it a go it’s free.

Going for a more detailed option there is http://www.cplus.org/rmw/rmonline.html an online version of the radio mobile package by ve2dbe see here http://www.cplus.org/rmw/english1.html . For the online version you will need a login and a good read of the documentation but it can give you an idea of good portable sites and links to your best buddy at the radio club.

Got a screen shot of the 2M range from my favourite site Billy in Llantrisant.

so I missed the date

it was in 2011 but amazing any way!

http://www.trackuino.org/

http://www.trackuino.org/
had to post when I found and you can follow real time on the map.
http://aprs.fi/?call=K6RPT-11
a balloon on a mission.
build your own from http://code.google.com/p/trackuino/

UV-3R trick!

If you want to use it as a scanner and are worried you may touch the TX button on a frequency you are not licenced for. The trick is to set the repeater shift to 39.99Mhz on vhf or 69.99Mhz on uhf and the software will stop you transmitting outside the band.( 136-174 MHz and 400-470 MHz)

Also the volume button opens the squelch if you hold it down. Seen this one here http://www.uv3r.com/images/UV_3R_CheatSheet.pdf

they sell them at http://www.uv3r.com/Index.html not where I got mine, so can’t vouch for them.

seen some very brightly coloured ones on e-bay as well.
by the way I set this up on the VFO's for UHF and VHF and got in a real knot when I had to QSY from my stored repeater channel.

pipes callcq map

http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id=8f305e9fb12845891d03f3cf366454e2
some reason it gives me an odd loaction?

spot of DIY

one of those things we all need now and again.
http://vk5ajl.com/projects/SWRMeter.php
knowing the principals full well from my days in a radio job, so I had a go.
work you know but with one error swap names of FWR and REV meeasure port.
to this:

With matched terminations on the output ports,

1. A portion of the wave traveling from port 1 (input) to port 4 (output) is

coupled to port 3 (forward coupled), but not to port 2.

2. A portion of the reflected wave traveling from port 4 to port 1 is coupled

to port 2, but not port 3.

3. A portion of the wave incident on port 2 to port 3 is coupled to port 4, but

not port 1; and a portion of the wave incident on port 3 is coupled to port 1, but not

port 4.

 

thought I had a total miss-match with 50R load but did a few tests and googleing and got it right.

The reflected voltage is r times the incident voltage.  Since power is proportional to the square of the voltage, the reflected power, Prefl is (5/7)2 x 4 W = 2.04 W

and the power to the antenna = 4 W  - Prefl = 1.96 W

when I work out how to add gerber plot files I will

and a picture of my work.

how to get your own QrCode badge.
use http://imagecharteditor.appspot.com/ and copy paste away
and

Bob's your aunties cat??
works with Zebra apps J2ME
see more at https://developers.google.com/chart/image/docs/making_charts
graphs charts so on.

twitter call cq

a bit of code I've run up baseed on twitter search api. If you put #callcq tag in your post it will show up here by javascript magic. working on a map if you add geo coding data postcode, gps, QTH etc....
got the idea from http://www.twitwx.co.uk/.

I've stuck my first example on extra page on this site. but this is the main working. it wont run in a post.

<div id="results">
</div>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){
var url='http://search.twitter.com/search.json?callback=?&q=';
var query='%23callcq';;
  $.getJSON(url+query,function(json){
   $.each(json.results,function(i,tweet){
      $("#results").append('<p><img src="'+tweet.profile_image_url+'" widt="48" height="48" />'+tweet.text+'</p>');
   });
  });

});
</script>

it's the spots

acrding to this http://hamwaves.com/propagation/
more spots higher the band you can use?

forcasting http://hamwaves.com/propagation/forecast.html

stil no muf(Mhz) = SUNspot*K