Saturday, October 2, 2021

Elenco Resistor Substitution Kit

 

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We built the Elenco Capacitor Substitution Kit and because it went together so well decided to build it's partner the Elenco Resistor Substitution Kit.  Not much else to say; like the Capacitor Substitution Kit the directions are easy to follow for this very basic kit.   We did make the same modification and replace the provided alligator clip connection with banana jacks.  The measured values look fine:

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Sunday, September 5, 2021

Elenco Capacitor Substitution Kit

 

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Not often (okay, almost never) a capacitance substitution box would come in handy on the bench.   Finally, the Amazon AI wizard suggested that at $14.99 we couldn't live life any longer without one. 

From the pic above you can see that the included wire and alligator clip connector were replaced with banana plug jacks.   It gives the rig and the bench a cleaner look.

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The directions (which we folded up and placed inside the box for future generations) were straight forward and the values are accurate enough per a NIST traceable capacitance meter.   

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The same company also makes a resistance substitution box which we also don't need, but will probably build up anyway.  Both are a nice, cheap, welcome convenience. 

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Sunday, May 30, 2021

Remote CW Straight Key [FlexRadio and RemoteHams.Com]

Note:  As presented this project requires a FCC Amateur Radio license.  It's not hard to get and it is a fun and rewarding hobby. Also, learning Morse code is no longer a requirement.

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As a remote ham radio operator that enjoys using a manual CW (Morse code) straight key we were presented with two problems:

Since both require slightly different hardware wiring to the PC running the remote rig, we set out to make something that would be a universal connection regardless of which platform we are using. 

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The hardware connection is simple and shown below.  It does require a USB/RS-232 adapter and using the RS-232 terminal block break out module shown makes things easier.   There are many example of these two items on Amazon.Com, etc.

For both applications software is needed as well.

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For our RemoteHams.Com solution go here.

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For the FlexRadio solution you will need to install the excellent and easy to use Remote Keyer Interface software.   Follow the RKI link for the software and you will also find the very helpful RKI message board that I personally proved is helpful and tolerant of 'stupid' questions.  Seriously, the software has great documentation and even though I asked a "RTFM" question I got helpful direction from the forum.   After you install and run the RKI software you will see this screen: 

Make the remote connection to your FlexRadio via your SmartLink login and select the correct COM Port for your (now) USB straight key.  Verify the other options are selected per above screen shot and you should be good to go.

BTW, Remote Keyer Interface software has several other cool features in addition to this simple application.

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Summary:   My remote CW manual straight keying problems are solved!

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

The Tale of Three USB Chargers

 

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Everyone seems to have a box full of USB chargers.   Well, we do anyway and decided to pick two random "no name" chargers and pit them up against an official Apple USB charger.

The test setup was the same for each USB charger.   We swept a load that increases from 100mA until the USB charger went into protection (no voltage output).  We then checked EMI/RF Noise and 'vampire drain'.

EMI/RF Noise is a big concern.  EMI/RF can have a negative effect on WiFi, Bluetooth, ham radio, and pretty much any radio signal in the area.  Measuring with a Spectrum Analyzer the Apple was by far the most RF quite.  The White "no name" was extremely EMI/RF noisy with the Black "no name" being pretty bad as well.

"Vampire drain" or standby power is how much energy the charger uses when just plugged into the wall doing nothing.  The Apple won in this category as well.

My opinion, get the Apple or other well made USB charger and avoid the "no names",  The Apple uses less standby power and should not have a negative effect on your or your neighbors wireless equipment.  The Apple power output meets spec as well and is more linear until protection kicks in.  The Apple is just better and some "no names" are are just unsafe.

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Thursday, May 20, 2021

Morse Code QSO via Vintage Phone

 

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As a preteen many many years ago the thought never occurred that the same phone used to plan childhood mischief would some day be used for a CW (Morse code) ham radio QSO.   Ain't life funny...

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We found the old Western Electric phone in the attic and wired the switch hook as a straight key.

 


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Then we went to 80m where we heard ham radio operator K5JM and decided to "ring" him up.  The result; success!!!

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73!



Friday, May 14, 2021

NanoVNA on QPRGuys Tuner on 10-80m HWEF


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Adjusting the tuning knobs on the QRPGuys tuner and showing their effect with a NanoVNA.   Antenna is 10-80m endfed

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Tuesday, May 11, 2021

2m / 70cm Ham Radio Traffic Logger

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmnOfpJVA2y6GyGkoIOYluMaY2jMoXwGHuCfwkxN8XPYeJUn95zCR6ENM9gJrmd-2vhqYp_0OzWCLDiUItELwP690bjO5wu2y8NSGTZy4fF-TfU84jffUY3ztjd0bSz5hzo35BTHrxpsR/s1600/BT_Logger_Schmatic-793823.JPG 

Is the frequency in use (or QRL? in Morse Code)?

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We had a curiosity about how often some of the local ham radio repeaters and the 2m calling frequency was being used and decided to put together a rig that could answer the question with real data.    Ham radio has a lot to do with experimentation and tinkering so we set out on a mission to answer the question with "stuff" we had laying around the shack.

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Pretty much any newcomer to ham radio has invested $35'ish on a Baofeng hand held.  The little unit is quickly out grown, but it has come in useful time and time again.   This project was just another example of it's unintended usefulness.  Also, like most hobbyist there's never a shortage of WiFi friendly ESP8266s laying around.   Combining the two for an RF activity logger became the objective.

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And..... it turned out to be pretty easy and didn't even require opening up the Baofeng.   Anytime the Baofeng hears a signal the LCD display light is activated.   For reasons unknown this presents a voltage spike on the speaker jack.   We suspected this could be the case from the loud "pop" that can be heard when using earphones.

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Here is a look at the signal generated on the speaker jack when the display light gets activated:

Weird, huh?   Oh well, we can use that to make the project dead simple.  Just tune the Baofeng to the frequency of interest and let the rig run and log any traffic that hit the antenna.

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The schematic at the top of the page shows how we feed the speaker signal into the analog input (A0) of the ESP8266.   To tame the 5 volt signal going into the ESP8266 two diodes are placed back to back.   That's it.   The ESP8266 is programmed to update a Google Drive Sheet via an IFTTT Webhook anytime a voltage is detected.   The activity log looks like this and the source code is below that.  If you duplicate the project, let us know.

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/*
 *  Baofeng Traffic Logger
 *  MAY2021
 *  WhiskeyTangoHotel.Com
 *   
 *  Logs to Google Sheet is traffic is dectected on BF HT Radio    !!!  
 *  by monitoring a voltage on the speaker output.  On traffic the !!!
 *  BF display lights and creates a voltage on the speaker jack    !!!
 *  Since no transit, does not require a license, but if you don't !!!
 *  have a ham license, get one.  It's a fun hobby!!!              !!!  
 *  See: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed                      !!!
 *  
 *  uC setting for Ardunio IDE (ESP8266 with WiFI)
 *  NodeMCU 1.0 (ESP-12E Module), 80MHz, 921600, 4M (3M SPIFFS)
 *  
*/

// For the Wireless
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>

// WiFi Connection Information
const char* ssid = "yourSSID";           // PRIVATE: Enter your personal setup information.
const char* password = "yourpassword";   // PRIVATE: Enter your personal setup information.

// IFTTT Information for WebHook widget
String MAKER_SECRET_KEY = "yourIFTTTkey";   // PRIVATE: Enter your personal setup information. Your IFTTT Webhook key here
String TRIGGER_NAME_google_drive = "yourIFTTTWebHookTriggerName";  // this is the Maker IFTTT trigger name for google drive spreadsheet logging
String url_google_drive;  // url that gets built for the IFTTT Webhook logging to google drive spreadsheet
String Status ="Program_Started.....";  // Status payload for Google Sheet.  We log all starts and reboots
const char* host = "maker.ifttt.com";

// Define ESP8266 pins
const int led = 2;  // Blue on board LED is on PIN-D4 (GPIO2) for this NoderMCU 1.0 ESP8266.  Blink it between reads
const int analogInPin = A0;  // ESP8266 Analog Pin ADC0 = A0

int sigValue = 0;  // value to determine if a signal is detected

// Program control variables
int logging = 1; // If 1 then send SMS.  Any other value (0) turns it off.  For debug, typically would be set = 1

void setup(void){ // This setup code is run once.
  pinMode(led, OUTPUT);     // set up the onboard Blue LED pin as an output.  
  Serial.begin(115200);     // turn on the serial monitor for debug

  // wait until serial port opens for native USB devices
  while (! Serial) {
    delay(10);
  }
 
  // Is the WiFi working?
  WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
  Serial.println("");
  // Wait for connection
  while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
    Serial.print("Trying to connect to ");
    Serial.print(ssid);
    Serial.print(" on ");
    Serial.print(WiFi.localIP());
    Serial.println(" ");
    for (int x = 0; x < 20; x++) { //  
      digitalWrite(led, !digitalRead(led));  // toggle state of the on board blue LED. Shows program is trying to WiFi connect
      //Serial.println("Server Start blink loop....");
      delay(50);   
    } // endfor WiFi blink connect
  }
  Serial.print("Connected to ");
  Serial.println(ssid);
  Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());

  for (int x = 0; x < 10; x++) { // 5 slow LED blinks to slow WIFI Connected.
  digitalWrite(led, !digitalRead(led));  // toggle state of the on board blue LED.
  Serial.println("WIFI is Connected....");
  delay(500);   } // endif for WIFI Connected blink  

  // Use WiFiClient class to create TCP connections for WiFi logging
  WiFiClient client;
  const int httpPort = 80;
  if (!client.connect(host, httpPort)) {
    Serial.println("connection failed");  // Boo!!!
    return;
  }

  // Trigger the IFTTT Webhook Channel to update a Google sheet at program start.
  // This can help log power outs, etc.  For first run we defined String Status for identify a startup condition.
  // Create the request for IFTTT google drive
  url_google_drive = "https://maker.ifttt.com/trigger/" + TRIGGER_NAME_google_drive + "/with/key/" + MAKER_SECRET_KEY + "?value1=" + String(Status);
  Serial.println(" ");  
  Serial.println("Status: Google Sheet update done with trigger:");
  Serial.println (url_google_drive);
  Serial.println(" ");  
    
  // This sends the request to the IFTTT server
  client.print(String("POST ") + url_google_drive + " HTTP/1.1\r\n" +
  "Host: " + host + "\r\n" +
  "Connection: close\r\n\r\n");  
  delay(500);  // Delay for web traffic; maybe not required.  

  // Read all the lines of the reply from server and print them to Serial
  while(client.available()){
     String line = client.readStringUntil('\r');    }

}


void loop(void){    // Loop until the Dallas Cowboys win a Super Bowl
 
  sigValue = analogRead(analogInPin);
 
  // For Degug print SigVal readings in the Serial Monitor
  //Serial.println(sigValue);

  // The blue onboard LED will SLOW blink between to show prog is 'running'.
  // FAST blink when sig is dectected.
  digitalWrite(led, !digitalRead(led));  // toggle state of the on board blue LED.
    
  if (sigValue > 500) {  //  Threshold may need adjusting.  Voltage on speaker jack detected.  We have a signal
      Serial.println("!!!_Signal_Detected_!!!");   
      Serial.println(" ");
              
      if (logging == 1) { // is Google Sheet logging turned on?
          Serial.println("***** Logging is ON *****");
          String Status = "!!!_Signal_Detected_!!!";
          // Set up IFTTT Webhook Channel to update the Google Sheet.  
          // Use WiFiClient class to create TCP connections for IFTTT
          WiFiClient client;
          const int httpPort = 80;
          if (!client.connect(host, httpPort)) {
            Serial.println("connection failed");
            return;
          }
          
          // Create the request for IFTTT google drive
          url_google_drive = "https://maker.ifttt.com/trigger/" + TRIGGER_NAME_google_drive + "/with/key/" + MAKER_SECRET_KEY + "?value1=" + String(Status);
            
          // This sends the request to the IFTTT server
          client.print(String("POST ") + url_google_drive + " HTTP/1.1\r\n" +
          "Host: " + host + "\r\n" +
          "Connection: close\r\n\r\n");  
          delay(500);  // Delay for web traffic; maybe not required.  
        
          // Read all the lines of the reply from server and print them to Serial
          while(client.available()){
             String line = client.readStringUntil('\r');    }
                  
          Serial.println("Status: Google Sheet update done with trigger:");
          Serial.println(url_google_drive);
          Serial.println(" ");
          
          // Fast blink the blue onboard LED to show sig was dectected and delay for flood control
          for (int x = 0; x < 600; x++) { // x = 20 for ~ 1 sec, x = 100 for ~5 sec.....
              digitalWrite(led, !digitalRead(led));  // toggle state of the on board blue LED
              delay(50);   
          } // endfor delay/blink
          
          Serial.println("-------------------------------------");
          Serial.println("Waiting for signal... ");
           
      } else {
        
          Serial.println("Logging is OFF.");
          Serial.println(" ");
      } // endif/else logging  


            
  }
  delay(250); // Delay for onboard blue LED Blink shows program running
    
} // void loop until Cowboys win Super Bowl

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Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Flex Radio Turned Boat Anchor

Have you ever wanted the nostalgic sound of a vintage ham radio rig only to be stuck with an expensive modern transceiver?

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Note:  As presented this project requires a FCC Amateur Radio license.  Amateur Radio is about experimentation.   Even still you must be versed in the band plan, stay in accordance to FCC Amateur Radio rules in FCC Section 97, and probably a few other things.  That said, let's continue....
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The Flex Radio 6400 is an amazing state of the art ham radio transceiver with so many modern bells and whistles than no normal human could ever get around to using them all.   But, sometimes you long to send out that relaxing and warm sound that could only be achieved from a vintage "boat anchor" radio.  A signature trademark of these rigs is their inability to hold steady on a frequency.  This results in frequency drift.  This 'feature' is lost in modern rigs like the Flex Radio.  So what's a modern ham to do when that vintage sound is desired?

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The Flex Radio is a SDR; think powerful computer turned radio.   Flex allows third party applications to interface with the radio to make it even more powerful.   One such program is FRStack .  One of FRStack's many many features makes it easy to use API calls to control and configure the Flex Radio.  We wrote a simple Python script to have the Flex Radio simulate a drifting vintage ham radio during transmit.   We really don't recommend using this application; it's just stupid.  Our goal was to experiment with the APIs when the idea hit us. 

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 Here is a demo of the Flex Radio transmitting CW with the DriftyFlex script:

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Here is the short DriftyFlex Python script:

# DriftyFlex.py  JAN2021
# Python script to make the Flex Radio drift
# like that vintage rig you always wanted.
#
# WhiskeyTangoHotel.Com

# Simple novelty example of controlling
# a Flex Radio via FRStack

# FRStack is an amazing program with 100s of features that
# are a million times more useful than this stupid example.
# See: https://www.mkcmsoftware.com/Flex/Index

import urllib.request
import time
import random

# Define initial XIT offset XIT (0 is suggested)
XIT = 0

# Define amount of XIT SHIFT (or drift) per loop
SHIFT = 5  # in Hz

# Define MAX_XIT (or drift) so things don't get too out of control
MAX_XIT = 300  # in Hz

# Define how often to simulate a new drift
DELAY = .1   # in seconds

# turn on XIT mode
urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:13522/api/ActiveSlice/XIT?param=1')

print ( 'Drifty Flex endlesssssss loop.' )
while True:    
    DRIFT = (random.randint(-SHIFT, SHIFT))   

    NEW_XIT = XIT + DRIFT

    if abs(NEW_XIT) > MAX_XIT:  # Maintain drift constraints
        NEW_XIT = XIT - DRIFT
       
    url = 'http://localhost:13522/api/ActiveSlice/XITFREQ?param=' + str(NEW_XIT)
    urllib.request.urlopen( url )

    print ( 'Current drift is: ', NEW_XIT, ' Hz.' )
    XIT = NEW_XIT
    
    time.sleep(DELAY)
    # end while loop  

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