This is a sort-of 'what's on your workbench' topic but it might give others ideas as to what project to undertake while the isolation is in force. Later updates to project outcomes is welcomed.
I'll start the topic off with some of my major activities at VK4ADC from the last 2-3 weeks :
Shortening the wire up the middle of my 7M squid pole (used on the caravan drawbar when away) so that it self-resonates at 10.1MHz, adding additional taps to the optional base loading coil to get operation at 7.1 and 3.6MHz. Evaluated with my $69 NanoVNA then tuning confirmed with my IC-7000.
Testing my various multiband trapped wire antennas using my NanoVNA, adjusting frequencies slightly as needed. [Why weren't these devices available years ago - they would have made my AR life so much easier.....]
Working FT8 on 7, 10, 14, 18, 21 and 24 MHz at different times and exploring propagation, being a bit picky at times to work that 'new one' rather than the hundreds of Japanese, Chinese or Indonesian stations that call.
Just started (or is that finally started ?) a PICAXE project to emulate an enhanced Yaesu GS-232 computer interface for the two G1000DXA rotators in use here. I did a PCB layout and printed a PCB back in Feb 2018 and only put parts on the PCB this last Friday ! (COVID isolation to thank for that) Now working on the software component of the project. By the time it is finished, it will allow computer control of both rotators with the option of some antenna relay switching (haven't built that hardware yet, though the PCB artwork is done).
I still have lots of repairs to do, project ideas to proceed with, some AR and some not, all along with the normal household chores like mowing the grass - or taking it easy and watching a movie on Netflix or Foxtel.
We are likely to be in isolation for a while yet so no rush to get it all done.
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Not on the bench yet, but on the way (hopefully it will actually arrive, unlike the past 2-3 items that Aus Post has managed to lose) - ATU-100mini Automatic Antenna Tuner kit by N7DDC.
It can go with the ladder line that is still sitting in a bag waiting to be assembled.
After some renovations, a flood, a rifle restoration or two and months of too much work and no time for play I have, just yesterday, found my workbench
That's not to say that lockdown/isolation has granted me more time, work continues unabated, I am just doing it from a different place.
Unfortunately most of my projects can't be done at home. I have some to fix on mountain tops - remote station/repeaters etc.
However I have been able to have some YouTube content with "Aussie Ham Chat".
Check it out -
Well it has been a Good Friday for me, a good week actually.
I'm referring to the project mentioned in my earlier post :
"My project (Just started (or is that finally started ?) a PICAXE project to emulate an enhanced Yaesu GS-232 computer interface for the two G1000DXA rotators in use here. I did a PCB layout and printed a PCB back in Feb 2018 and only put parts on the PCB this last Friday ! (COVID isolation to thank for that) Now working on the software component of the project. By the time it is finished, it will allow computer control of both rotators with the option of some antenna relay switching (haven't built that hardware yet, though the PCB artwork is done)."
The antenna relay switching board still hasn't been built - been waiting for direct sunlight at a suitable time to expose, develop and etch that PCB but the rest of the project I denoted GS-232-X is up and running. I have ended up creating a variant of Yaesu's GS232 protocol in the PICAXE BASIC code, with commands being issued by the Windows control application written in Delphi 7. I can control both my G1000DXA rotators with my application so can rotate my HF/6 antennas (14/21/28 yagi, a 18/24 yagi, plus my 6EL 50MHz yagi) and then the VHF/+ antennas (144 -> 3400MHz) on my second tower all from my Win10 PC. The antenna switching support is already coded in both bits of software. The basic unit is USB powered however the antenna relay switching option requires +12V. These are already catered for in the box with a 5-pin DIN socket on the rear to go to the relay unit.
It provides the basic / useful features in the GS-232B (currently about $AUD 900-1150) and I have the option to write in more features as desired. I have omitted the non-essential commands from the Yaesu protocol at this stage, particularly as I only have two AZ rotators and don't need satellite tracking support. My project cost really has been minimal with all bits coming from my extensive "parts/junk box".
It also works with the likes of the Yaesu rotator support written into Ham Radio Deluxe - I had fun yesterday clicking on the map display on this application and watched the HF antenna merrily spin to the selected direction !!
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My rotator project is finished... Next coronavirus-isolation project ??
The relay box component PCB was exposed, etched, drilled and built up on Saturday, put into a diecast box yesterday, then tested and mounted on the shack wall in place of a 4 position Daiwa coax switch. Late in the day I was switching between my main HF antennas as I moved band-to-band, rotating the HF yagis as desired, looking at the waterfall of FT8 signals. I made a few contacts on 10.1 MHz (30M), mainly into Europe and the USA so all is working well.
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I am a little closer to being able to "remote" my operation on the likes of FT8 from my gear up in my shack down onto my notebook PC as of today.
The shack PC and radio gear are powered through a TP-Link HS100 Smart Switch, accessible through my WiFi, so that means that I can turn the AC power on and off remotely.
My recent post described how I can rotate yagis and antennas remotely but that still left a couple of gaps in being able to make setting changes on my IC-7400 radio.
I wrote another small Windows-based application today that allows me to change some settings on the IC-7400 (or my IC-7000 with a minor text file change) : AGC from Slow/Off/Fast, the preamp between Off/#1 and #2, and the antenna port between #1 and #2 - #1 used for general HF and #2 for 6M. It also gives me remote access to the Tune function and displays both TX RF power and SWR on bar scales during that Tuning (antenna matching) process. Unfortunately I have to exit WSJT-X to run today's code but that is a relatively minor concern at the moment as such changes are seldom made. Using OmniRig in lieu of a COM port is a future possibility but I don't think it intrinsically supports the 'Tune' function. Yet To Be Determined.
The latest version of RemAud has been installed on both the shack PC and the notebook PC and that allows me to hear the audio remotely too, but as yet I haven't tried voice transmit back to the radio - though supported by the setup.
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