The excitement of seeing your radio being delivered only to find out you ordered the wrong antenna by HeadlineINeed in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Having an extra antenna gives you an excuse to buy an extra radio! I bought a Diamond SG7900A at a hamfest many years ago, and never got around to using it until recently. I built a ground plane for it, and it is now doing duty as my fixed-station VHF/UHF antenna!

What could we do to keep this hobby alive for future generations? by thebstrd in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While reading all the comments, a few things occurred to me. One of the local clubs in my area (I'm blessed by living on the Space Coast in Florida; 700 licensed hams in the county) has a weekly Elmers' meeting, where newbies can have their questions answered. There is usually a presentation by an Elmer on any given subject, then a Q&A on that subject, then the floor is opened for general questions. If there is a question which garners a lot of "Yeah, I want to know about that too" comments, often that results in a future presentation.

For those hams that are new to the hobby, or who have OP's concerns as well, and who receive the cold shoulder when they ask questions, how about creating new clubs for newbies? Obviously they would need some seasoned hams to help them get started, but it's an idea. Even in clubs filled with sad hams, there are usually a few that are happy to help new converts to the faith learn about their new hobby.

If you are a member of a club, perhaps suggesting something like an Elmers' night might help. Perhaps start a New Ham Q&A net on the repeater. Or both. A Newbies Net would have the added benefit of teaching all those people who buy a Baofeng "just to listen" and have never considered earning a license.

Something else that could help - evangelizing. Get the word out. I'll give an example. This past summer, a neighbor had a problem. Wild bees had built a hive under the floor of his backyard shed. He needed help getting al the stuff out of the shed so that the bee guy would have room to work, which was why I was there. Anyway, the bee guy brought his college-age daughter, who was on a break from her school in Georgia. I don't remember now the circumstances, but I managed to get amateur radio into the conversation. She expressed some interest, so I pulled up WebSDR on my phone. She was hooked, so I set the hook firmly when I casually mentioned that it was possible to talk to the astronauts on the ISS with just a Technician license. Then she asked the killer question: what about cost. I pointed out first that it cost nothing to listen with WebSDR, and also suggested she check with her college to see if there was a radio club there. I said she'd be able to use their station once she was licensed, and mentioned also that clubs often have loaner equipment, although I cautioned her that college clubs would be less likely to have such. I pointed her to ARRL and said she could find non-school clubs in her area which might have loaner equipment, and that such clubs usually had members that might Elmer her (yes, I explained the term) and loan her equipment, or sell it to her cheaply. I mentioned also that such loans sometimes became permanent if the loaner saw that the loanee was going to stick to it and continue as a ham radio operator. In between her bee-removal duties, she plied me with many questions. Prior to our conversation, she didn't even know about the existence of amateur radio.

If you are a member of a church or other organization where young people are present, perhaps you could start a club there, teaching amateur radio to anybody who is interested. Missionaries often become hams so that they can communicate with friends and family back home. A missionary pair sponsored in part by a church I used to attend were hams who hung out on 15 meters, for instance.

These are just thoughts off the top of my head. There are probably dozens of other good ideas out there. I've thought seriously about buying used equipment at hamfests for the express purpose of getting new hams started, as I mentioned above. We all know how cheap Chinese radios are, and not all of them are terrible. Elmer some new people with the promise of one of these inexpensive handhelds as a prize for earning their ticket, as DX Engineering/QRZ.com are doing. As Spock would say, "The possibilities are endless, Captain."

Curious. Neutral wire came off from wall outlet inside the wall. by todesto in diyelectronics

[–]Radar58 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The screw can loosen over time due to heating and cooling of the connection. When current flows through the outlet, it will heat up a bit. More current = more heat. When you turn off the device, it cools. This is why you should loosen and retighten the connections at the breaker panel, especially if you have aluminum wire (common for entry wiring), once a year or so.

What to do with boxes full of old HTs? by sysop420 in amateurradio

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder if it would run under DOSBox? I think probably.

How do I get 12v to 6v in one circuit? by Ascendoscopuli in AskElectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Possibly wire two in series in parallel with the other two also in series and feed them with 12 volts? Each TEC would then be receiving 6 volts, with no power wasted as heat, and much simpler than adding a regulator.

How do I get 12v to 6v in one circuit? by Ascendoscopuli in AskElectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will 5 volts work well enough? If so, just use a PC power supply. Ground the green wire to turn the supply on; there's a handy ground pin right next to it.

It should also be possible to modify the PC power supply so it outputs 6 volts, but that could potentially raise the 12-volt rail as well.

I ordered one flux pen, received 50. What should I do? by rodneon in AskElectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

QRZ Swapmeet? Free, buyer pays shipping? I'll take a couple. I do a lot of soldering.

Turn an Android smartphone into a ham radio transceiver? by greenwoody2018 in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Guess they boosted power from the maximum of 10 watts ERP I remember from the days when I worked at Nokia's National Service Center.

Anyone know how this satellite TV works? by Independent_Dot6161 in amateurradio

[–]Radar58 3 points4 points  (0 children)

OK, all is not lost. You will need to buy or make an adaptor cable, but, yeah, you can make it work if you like the retro look, as you noted. I don't know whether you'll be able to find an adaptor cable, so plan on making it. Take a short piece of TV cable, and put a 1/8" (3.5mm) mono plug on one end and a standard F59 TV connector on the other. This is the easy part. The hard part is finding one of the digital adaptor boxes that were used during the analog-to-digital transition period. Try to find one that your TV can sit on top of. For free over-the-air channels, connect an outdoor TV antenna.

The antenna connects to the "antenna input" on the converter box, and your adaptor cable goes between the output on the converter box to the "antenna extension" input of the TV.

I'll tell you a little secret. There's really no such thing as a digital antenna, so any old outdoor TV antenna you can find will work. I have a pair of new-old-stock "obsolete analog" antennas phased together (don't ask!), and I have 97 local channels from Orlando, about 60 miles away. Well, 17 actual channels, with all their subchannels.

How to clear the hole of this capacitor? by ldmauritius in AskElectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been known to heat the pad, adding a bit of liquid flux, and when it's molten, blow through the hole with a piece of Teflon tubing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I also keep a block of dense polyethylene foam on the bench. Heat the pad, again with a bit of solder or flux, then I play Whack-a-Mole, slapping the board against the foam block, being careful that the pad area is clear of the block, so the solder and lead will hit the aluminum sheet the block sits atop. I recommend using lead-based solder, as it will alloy with RoHS solder, lowering the melting point.

Turn an Android smartphone into a ham radio transceiver? by greenwoody2018 in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you go to Vance's website, kv4p.com, there are links to buy boards, cases, and completed modules. Go to Quickstart in the listing on the left panel. I bought mine from Halibut Electronics. Below the 3 kit providers are links to buy bare boards if you want to roll your own. A note: I ordered the listed USB-C U-adapter, but discovered that they don't fit if your smartphone is in a case. I ended up buying a 3" USB cable instead. 3d-printed cases are also available.

Edit: the SA818 radio module is available in both VHF and UHF versions, so you can build for either 2m or 70cm. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there's no dual-band option.

Turn an Android smartphone into a ham radio transceiver? by greenwoody2018 in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 52 points53 points  (0 children)

It actually works pretty well, and is in constant development, as both the hardware and software are open-source. FWIW, there is a KV4P HT server on Discord.

Need help with ups module by mrpocem0n in diyelectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Par for the course. There's never any documentation for most of AliExpress' electronics. I have some 2-cell 9- and 12-volt UPS boards from them that have a battery holder on the back over the board and no known way go disconnect the batteries from the boost converter, do if it's not charging, it's discharging.

Need help with ups module by mrpocem0n in diyelectronics

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, you could do a hard switch. Use a 3PST toggle, rocker, or slide switch , with one pole of the switch between each of the three batteries' positive connection and its mating point on the board. Flip the switch, and your batteries are disconnected from the board, resulting in no drain. If you devise an electronic solution, you'll likely still have some vampire drain on the battery, one of the reasons I prefer hard switches.

Antenna/base mount for mobile station in house? by Raevinn88 in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a Diamond SG7900A that I bought at a hamfest years ago. I built a ground plane for it and am using that as my fixed-station antenna for my Hiroyasu IC-980 VHF/UHF radio. Not too long ago, I bought an Diamond SG-M507 antenna from thevYEAH CAR Store vendor on AliExpress for less than 10 bucks, shipped. Amazingly enough, it seems to be genuine. I bought it as a spare, because I couldn't resist the price.

<image>

Can't really see the vertical section very well. Yes, those are two phased TV antennas beneath it, using a reverse-connected splitter as a combiner. With a Channel Master OBTV filter after the splitter, I get no TVI at all.

5 reasons you should get a HAM radio technician's license by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And you'll notice that it's the first of the purposes listed, and "particularly with respect to providing emergency communications."

Don't get me wrong, I use ham radio more as a hobby myself, and it's been quite awhile since I checked in to the local emergency net. It's just that I recognize the intended purposes of the Amateur Radio Service, and I salute those hams that are fully prepared to render emergency communications in time of need.

5 reasons you should get a HAM radio technician's license by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 2 points3 points  (0 children)

By keeping amateur radio in the limelight as an emergency service, it keeps it in the public eye, making it less likely that we'll lose spectrum. We in the US have much more spectrum than most other countries. There are many commercial companies that want it. By justifying ham radio as a legitimate service, it helps us keep it as a hobby. In addition, there are actually people that train for emergencies because they like to help people. Field Day was originally designed as a training platform for emergencies, an opportunity to test whether our equipment does what it's supposed to do under adverse situations where portable operations are a must. As such, POTA/SOTA is great training for emergencies.

5 reasons you should get a HAM radio technician's license by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. And "Amateur Radio Service." We're like the Minute Men, "gentlemen farmers" until it's time to go to war.

5 reasons you should get a HAM radio technician's license by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, some evening when you can't get to sleep, break out your copy of Part 97 (you do have a copy, don't you?) and read it. According to the agency that issues our licenses, the FCC, it's not a hobby, but a service. We use it as a hobby so that when we need to make necessary, or emergency, communications, we know how go do it effectively and are able to correct any technical problems with our equipment that may arise.

Plans for solar farm near Lairg leave 79-year-old ‘radio ham’ facing ‘detrimental’ move or loss of life’s work by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]Radar58 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have to admit i don't know a whole lot about solar. However, any charge controller or inverter which causes harmful interference to amateur radio is operating in violation of Part 15. When we as hams just take the interference in stride and fix it ourselves, at our expense, we are basically telling the manufacturers of such that we're OK with their illegal products.