The amateur radio operators’ Facebook – more commonly known as QRZ.com – offers great ham radio awards. Unfortunately, there is a downside for the humble user: Not too many stations utilize the internal QRZ.com logbook which in turn means that it is challenging (and extremely time consuming) to gather confirmations which are required to request […]
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The Kenwood TH-D72 handheld radio used to be real big-time when released back in 2010: Kenwood basically squeezed all the functions and features of their mobile VHF/UHF APRS rigs (eg. TM-D710) into a handheld and hence made it perfect for outdoor use. While there are quite a bunch of similar products by other manufacturers such […]
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The WolphiLink interface truly is a great addition to any portable setup: The device is just a little bit larger than a matchbox but enables users to fully operate popular digimodes such as RTTY and PSK as well as SSTV. The really great thing about the WolphiLink interface is that it does not require a […]
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If you switch on your flat screen monitor and it stays blank don’t throw it away and buy a new one. Chances are high that the monitor outage is just caused by broken capacitors. Usually, certain phenomena can be observed weeks or even months prior to the failure of those components. Did it take longer […]
Read More →Finally, I got everything in place to build a very basic portable satellite tracker. Well, sort of: A bunch of servos, a bluetooth slave module, an Arduino Uno and – of course – the antenna. While those parts are great to do some preliminary experiments I decided to order mounting material, enclosure(s) and batteries (to […]
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Using a common DVB-T USB stick (w/ RTL2832U chip) is clearly the cheapest way to get into the world of Software Defined Radios. But there is a huge drawback: RX below ~50MHz is not possible. So if you are looking for a solution which covers HF frequencies, a DVB-T stick is not an option. Browsing […]
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Doing CQ calls can be quite demanding especially on portable activities when band conditions are against you. Not too long ago I had to cancel a Flora and Fauna activation after desperately calling CQ for over 3 hours and only 16 QSO’s in the log. Thanks to ingenious hams like OM Olli, DH8BQA, there are […]
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Almost three weeks ago I ordered a Bluetooth CAT dongle. Those are currently being sold by Chinese retailers on eBay for about 10-12 €. Finally, I had it in my postbox today. The small device measures 50 x 22 x 13 mm and only weighs a couple of grams. The cable length is just over […]
Read More →I’ve always been fascinated by satellite communications and have been gathering ideas for building a satellite tracker right from the day I received my ham radio license back in early 2015. The primary scope of this project has always been to have an easy-to-use portable setup with as little additional equipment as possible. My usual […]
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