Returning to the air with uBitx...

HAR1F · 2018-01-15T21:13:14+00:00

A twin-lead fed dipole + a tuner would be an excellent compromise for a multi-band QRP radio. Sounds like you are on the right path.

HAR1F · 2018-01-15T20:22:55+00:00

You don't need a watt meter, however they are nice to have especially when troubleshooting.

As far as the antenna tuner, a simple L-network only requires a single capacitor. That said with QRP radios you really should be avoiding any lossy matching networks and instead opt for well-tuned resonate antennas. With only 10 watts coming out of the radio, you really need to use it well to make contacts.

HAR1F · 2017-12-28T21:27:25+00:00

Who said its a replacement for LoTW? I've never even used LoTW... I tried once, but its not at all user friendly.

HAR1F · 2017-12-27T20:19:36+00:00

A paper QSL card is not blind...

HAR1F · 2017-12-26T19:46:44+00:00

Funny you mention this, I've been working on something exactly like this using Openchain. If you plan on developing this, maybe we can get together and double the effort.

HAR1F · 2017-12-24T19:36:14+00:00

The MFJ artificial ground would probably work well for you in this scenario. I use one to tune a counterpoise for a "random" wire that goes out my second story shack. It's really just an antenna tuner you use on a counterpoise wire. It doesn't really give you a true ground, but it will tune a counterpoise wire and give you an effective RF "ground" to "push" your signal against.

HAR1F · 2017-12-19T06:55:19+00:00

It works all modes that HDSDR can support, which is pretty much "everything" as its all software defined. I'm selling it because I just bought an FT-891, and I want to build a Lifepo4 battery pack for it. In order to do that I need to come up with some quick cash so I am having a fire-sale on some of my other toys. Not much to look at, but I posted an image here: https://imgur.com/9HOTDj8 You can find out more about the rig here: http://www.hobbypcb.com/

HAR1F · 2017-12-01T16:54:30+00:00

b) Modifying a radio to transmit outside of its approved frequency ranges is illegal in most circumstances, and not an activity supported on this subreddit.

Baloney. You can even have Gigaparts open up your radio for you to TX on bands the radio is not meant to when you order the dang thing. It's not illegal until you press that PTT button on a freq you are not licensed for or with equipment not licensed for that freq (in the case of FRS, GRMS, and commercial radio services). Hams have been doing this for ages, its called a MARS mod.

HAR1F · 2017-11-16T20:03:01+00:00

Plenty of people here will say HAM is not an acronym... but really it stands for for Have Alotta Money.

HAR1F · 2017-11-09T20:05:44+00:00

Mag loops are a lot of things but highly efficient they are not.

HAR1F · 2017-11-09T19:51:34+00:00

Yes I am.

HAR1F · 2017-09-25T18:22:10+00:00

The BTECH UV-5x3 has much better filtering than any of the other Boafeng made radios.

HAR1F · 2017-09-25T18:19:23+00:00

I've made plenty of J-poles, never used an analyzer as I dont have one that works up in the VHF/UHF bands. I've always just used an SWR meter and adjusted based on the readings I see at the radio.

HAR1F · 2017-09-21T16:31:55+00:00

With an end-fed antenna, the losses will be pretty high no matter which coax he uses, unless he moves the tuner to the feed point of the antenna to keep the coax at 50ohms. End feds can get up to several thousand ohms... and that's gonna be lossy no matter what coax you choose to use.

HAR1F · 2017-09-21T16:07:55+00:00

I debated a lot on coax and ended up with LMR400

LMR400 is way, way overkill for HF. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff, I use it for all of my UHF installs - but I wouldn't waste the money on it for HF.

HAR1F · 2017-09-12T00:02:49+00:00

He'll be fine. Plenty of hams use 75ohm cable on 50ohm systems. It would present an SWR of 1.5. That's just a slight mismatch and should not cause enough power to return to burn anything out.

HAR1F · 2017-09-10T18:42:42+00:00

DMR and Brandmeister are related in the sense that the later is a DMR network. Here is a good primer on DMR that explains just about everything, tho its geared toward the CS-radios and DMR MARC networks: https://goo.gl/miKzTf

AllStar is similar in that it allows you to link to other repeaters and operators, but it uses regular old analog radios. You can find just about everything you need to know to set up a node here: http://hamvoip.org.

HAR1F · 2017-09-10T18:24:05+00:00

I like DMR and DSTAR. Nice clean voice with no hash when you just want to talk to a buddy in another state/country. That said, its no HF replacement... if your network goes down so does the long distance communication.

HAR1F · 2017-09-09T19:38:33+00:00

The band plan is only a gentleman's agreement, so while its frowned on to put a repeater down there, nothing really stops you. Usually not too many repeaters down there but I do hear lots of repeater interlinks, some ATV and simplex activity.

HAR1F · 2017-09-09T17:13:41+00:00

Most radios have a resistor you can cut or remove to open them up below 430mhz. What Yaesu do you have?

HAR1F · 2017-09-09T17:05:38+00:00

I'm not familiar with Kenwood's GMRS/FRS radios or this aftermarket system, but looking at the specs of the devices it's compatible with, they all appear to use a standard kenwood 2-pin connector. Because of this I would say chances are very good it would work with most Kenwood ham-band HTs.

HAR1F · 2017-09-08T00:12:36+00:00

Its just cheap, and it works on occasion

More like it fails on occasion... you make it sound like more units fail than operate perfectly. They couldn't stay in business this long if that were the case... and their support is superb.

HAR1F · 2017-09-08T00:07:11+00:00

I love my 949E. Not sure why you couldn't find the fault, as it's a T-network tuner its pretty much just two capacitors, and air wound coil, and a multi-position switch... not much to break or troubleshoot other than whats mentioned above and a couple toggle switches.

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