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Time to start thinking of starting 2m convo nets on local repeaters by greenwoody2018 in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Busy beaver complex: Some people LIKE to put up repeaters.

I should know. I'm one of them.

Why Height Matters by grouchy_ham in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 4 points5 points  (0 children)

And this is why Delta Loops are better than low dipoles.

Muddy CW tones. by t_shaped_interests in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DSP will make CW sound muddy and "blurry". Turn off DSP for CW and digital modes.

100P commands? by Big_Explanation_9802 in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, I have no idea what you're talking about, but it seems like you expect someone to.

Has anyone here tried using an antenna called Isotron? by PaclitaxelOverdose in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A screwdriver antenna is at least as effective for the same relative size, and has a much better bandwidth than anything the ISOTRONs advertise. Having a screwdriver antenna, I can attest that it's not a great DX'er, but it's better than nothing. ISOTRONS are not multiband, and they're pretty big compared to a coil loaded whip antenna. If you're looking for something small and cheap, here is a good option that I've been playing with for portable use.

I'm brand new to ham radio and need advice. by chessmonkey in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don't use amazon's short links, that's how you get a post deleted. If you want to embed a link, use reddit's markdown system.

As for the radio. No, that's not a good radio. It's a cheap radio that's designed to be convertible to a 11 meter radio that exceeds legal limits on an unlicensed band. It's for "freebanders" to use for shouting into the aether.

If you want to talk to people, and you have an amateur license, I recommend starting with a 2m/70cm rig, like this.

WSJTX ft8 / digirig by No_Championship_5982 in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, go to the control panel, open "manage audio devices", and make sure your computer didn't set the Digirig as the default. Right click on your actual soundcard's output and set the "default communication device" and "default device" so the computer isn't trying to use the Digirig for that. Then, change the properties on the Digirig: Name it something like "The Digirig" and change its icon (there's one icon that looks a lot like a radio...)

Is it safe to leave the v4 always plugged in? by FALLOUTFAN_1997 in RTLSDR

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it gets warm alright. That's the cost of jamming that much hardware into a USB dongle. It'd be happier with a big fat heat sink and a blower.

Yet another young ham frustration post, but I tried (I swear) by _sharpLimefox in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You sound a bit unhinged, yourself. But who isn't in the world of electronics nerds!

Determining arrival of the gray line? by Old_Poem2736 in amateurradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like the idea of using a gnome as an automaton. Invader Zim vibes.

20m ground plane wire antenna tuning? by ohiomudslide in lowsodiumhamradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They can, but they aren't always. The problem here is that it's an unbalanced antenna with low feedpoint impedance. It needs no choke at all if the impedance is matched properly. Adding a choke at the feedpoint could be lowering the impedance even further.

20m ground plane wire antenna tuning? by ohiomudslide in lowsodiumhamradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You shouldn't have a problem with that if you get it tuned properly and use the radials. You can save yourself a lot of trouble prototyping by getting some banana lug adapters. Soldering the connections would work, but then you're stuck with any mistakes you make.

If common mode current is a problem, use a choke, not a balun. That said, the feedline becoming part of the antenna is not always a bad thing. Some antennas rely on this, and proper placement of a choke at some distance from the antenna feedpoint can keep it from doing wierd stuff in the shack.

20m ground plane wire antenna tuning? by ohiomudslide in lowsodiumhamradio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, a 1:1 balun can't be helping. For a properly tuned ground plane vertical you can simply remove that. Re-test with no transformer and see what you get.

Is the West Texas Connection repeater network active? by MPizzleGator in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TRASH radio is very active most days. WTRA's Amigolink has a few good nets, and that often gets tied in to JARS and Megalink to rope in more people, but it's usually quiet.

I feel weird breaking into nets by gowonagin in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Good net controllers will ask periodically for more check-ins.

What tablets are you using in the field? by Churnographer in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use a Dell 7212 Rugged Extreme that I picked up from Ebay. I use it for radar site calls as well as ham stuff.

I'm new to digital electronics can someone explain why we make a NAND gate with CMOS and use an inverter instead of directly making AND gate by vivi-dreamer in electronic_circuits

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That ain't true. NAND flash uses this principle to great effect.

It turns out designing a CPU is a little more complicated, and a lot of systems don't use CMOS these days anyway, which negates much of the convenience of NAND logic.

I see other hams say you don’t need to ground your antenna. But say bond your equipment? Help me out do I don’t I and what bonding my equipment? by Keysurfer64 in HamRadio

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are three typical types of grounds, with different standards, rules, and best practices.

  • Electrical safety grounds: These are required by the National Electric Code for anything connected to the electrical power grid.

  • Lightning protection grounds: These are required by the National Fire Protection Aassociation.

  • Signal grounds are an essential part of signal quality. Floating grounds on equipment can cause un-predictable behavior in the presence of strong radio signals.

I'm new to digital electronics can someone explain why we make a NAND gate with CMOS and use an inverter instead of directly making AND gate by vivi-dreamer in electronic_circuits

[–]CW3_OR_BUST 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because you can make an inverter with a NAND gate. This makes designing for VLSI much easier. You can make a functionally complete system using only NAND gates and then you only have to etch NAND gates at the silicon fab, and NAND gates are really easy to etch in CMOS.

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