10m Manpack is finished

After a bit of work the 10m manpack is finished. It's built on a Philips TP-92 portable chassis (originally for the Philips FM92 radio) and one of the benefits is that any compact/mobile radio can be added to the unit. I've currently got the Dragon SS485H in there but with a bit of rework my Alinco DX-70 could be used instead.

 

The radio is attached by removing the top cover and riveting it to the TP-92 door. I could have gone with a normal mounting bracket but wanted to maintain the lowest profile for the unit. This makes it a pain to open up the unit as the radio has to be unscrewed from it's top plate but not the end of the world.

 

 

I'm running a 5AH LiPo battery from Turnigy which replaces the original SLA batteries. The original charging circuit and speaker have also been removed. I've added a Power-Meter to monitor the battery......but have put it after the regulator so won't get too much useful info although the ammeter measuring instant and peak current is a good tool to have. With the LiPo in place and the potential to dump a lot of current quickly I have gone fuse crazy with 2 internal fuses and one chassis fuse on the outside.

 

Without the original internals it does lose some of it's weight and potentially some of it's stability although I have not seen this as being an issue so far. Current weight without an antenna is 4.4Kgs.The main antenna is the 2.7 metre ANT-129 military antenna I got in from Greece - great buy and recommended. Without a tuner I am still getting a sub 1.7 SWR on 10m. If you are looking for one for yourself I bought mine on eBay from a great seller (and their eBay photo below):

Military-Whip-Antenna-ANT129-22-30Mhz-New-Old-Stock-PRC-Army-Radio-Singcar-radio

 

I'm not running any counterpoise at the moment as when I tried 2 3m wires my receive went backwards so that area needs a little bit of work.

 

I'm thinking it's nearly time to join the SOTA ranks and start hiking........

VX-7R can hear again

RF Repairs got back to my email with a lead time of 6 weeks for the part to be in the country. I spoke with the guys at JNB Electronics (http://www.jnb.com.au/) who had the part on hand, shipped next day and in my letterbox the day after. Great service. After a stiff drink I opened up the handheld, following TimC's instructions (http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~timc/e/vx7r.html) I was able to easily replace the part and then put the unit back together...twice - I forgot the battery latch. Whack on an antenna and hearing was restored. Always great to make your own repair and I'm glad it was through hole as I'm not an SMD guy.

Yaesu VX-7R has gone deaf

I turned on my Yaesu VX-7R after a long time of inactivity and found it to be a little deaf. By comparison my Alinco DJ-G5 was a powerhouse of sensitivity. Swapped antenna, completed a factory reset...no difference. It's out of warranty so no chance of getting it repaired from the original buyer - Andrews Communications. Time to google it and I found that there is a problem with one of the ceramic crystals in the radio that fails and leads to no sensitivity on NFM receive.

http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~timc/e/vx7r.html

I've hardly used this unit so I'm not very pleased that it has broken while sitting in a drawer. Anyway, I emailed RF Repairs (http://www.rfrepairs.com.au/) and will see if they have the part on hand and if I can get it going again.

When masts are not as they should be...

Myself and Dan went to pick up the 10m mast and found it was not one continuous mast, not even 2 pieces, but about 5 seperate sections bodgied together - even had a tyre iron in there to complete the friction coupling. I got a lot of RG213 co-ax, the UHF CB 6DB and 9 DB antennas, the sections of mast and that was it. The antennas have seen better days but I have restored one of them to a working condition which will probably go up on the new mast. Speaking of which I will still need to buy a new mast but can use the sections I got on the weekend as a cross beam.

No new contacts to report but I have made some progress on the 10 metre man-pack/portable. I purchased a Philps TP-92 which was used to set a Philips FM-92 up as a portable unit. I've now put my Dragon on there and started re-fitting a lot of the old and obsolete components. The watt meter has arrived and I'm waiting on the Li-Po battery and regulator to arrive before I commence the wiring.

Reached the DXpedition on Banaba Island (T33A)

Pleasantly surprised to make it into Banaba Island tonight. There was a pileup on 40m with a lot of activity on and around the split frequencies with the added bonus of some deliberate interferenceas - everyone tried to get T33A into the log. I had no joy getting through the pileup but just as I was to call it a night the op changed their listening frequency and I was first on the new one and picked up the contact. The new Alinco can at least make it the 4 thousand kilometers to Kiribati in the central Pacific.

www.t33a.com

Some changes to the station and a quick update.

Latest addition to the station is a new (to me) Alinco DX-70 which has just arrived from the states.

In great condition although I have not had many contacts on it as yet so still no decision on performance. I am 50:50 on whether I prefer the receive on the Kenwood TS-120V.....

To coincide with this my main 10M vertical threw a wobbly and jumped to a SWR of over 10:1 across the board.

I assumed this was the feed line and dropped the antenna for a quick look....not the feedline. Tried to retune, no go. Took a while to notice that the antenna was shorter than usual. One of the screws holding two sections together had sheared and the antenna had telescoped by one section. New screw, retuned and away we go. Well almost. I don't have the same magical tuning with great resonance on 7Mhz and 28Mhz. Such is life.

The EFHWV (http://earchi.org/proj_homebrew.html) is up and running and it is a cool antenna. All set up for portable operation as a sloper with my 7 metre squid pole. I'm thinking of running one of these at the shack as a permanent if I can work out how to string it up with the vertical height I have. Speaking of portable I have dismantled my Dragon SS485H manpack.

I'm looking to rebuild something a little smaller and more self contained. Lighter more efficient batteries are on the cards as well as SLA batteries are just too heavy. Get this one sorted and some SOTA activations could take place.

I'm also picking up a 10 metre mast on Saturday and chopping it down to be a 6-7 metre mast with 3 metre boom. 1 pole = more antennas on it. I'm not decided on what to put up there yet but the UHF CB dipole I'm running is giving me poor performance so a vertical may be the go....luckily the pole comes with a 6DB and a 9DB vertical, only snag is I have to dismantle it as well.....still, the price is right. Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society (http://www.gcars.com.au/)had their annual hamfest yesterday and despite my best intentions I couldn't make it. Have to be next year.

VK4RADIO now has a facebook page

I've added a VK4RADIO page to Facebook. This is just to cross-post the posts from the blog over to Faceplant I'll also add in some ham radio pages and links from facebook to go with it.

https://www.facebook.com/vk4radio

Clip from the Oceania DX contest

I entered my first Amateur Radio contest last weekend. The Oceania DX contest was good opportunity to try out the contest side of amateur radio. I learned that I can still work the other side of the world with my foundation licence and gear. Most of the contacts were made on 40m but I also had a handful on 10m. I also learned that manually entering your contacts becomes a pain after a while as you have to try and manually screen out duplicates. Ham Radio Deluxe also gave me some grief when I entered them in there after the contest and I couldn't get the correct info in the log for submission to the contest owners. I was pointed in the right direction by the good folks on VKlogger and used VKCL to again manually enter the contacts and that gave me the correct log format for submission. Next time I'll cut to the chase and just use VKCL and then import the log into Ham Radio Deluxe so I still have one source of the truth for my log.

Good talking to Japan, Indonesia, Finland, Russia, various states in Australia, New Zealand and America. A mishmash of the QSOs is on my youtube channel including my overzealous use of "QSL" on nearly every over ;-)

Back with a QSO into England

It's been a long time with work and other priorities taking up any spare time. I managed to get a QSO back into Stoke-on-Trent with Ian - G0UWK. Great to get back into Europe while still running 10 watts on 10m. Ian was pushing 400 watts into a 4 element Yagi and coming through to Brisbane very well with some QSB. Summer is coming around in Brisbane so time to get out and about. I also know that VK4 is on the map with respect to SOTA so I'm looking forward to some activations as the summer months drag on. I also need to get my butt in gear and sit the open call exam. Difficult to study at the moment but I'll get there in the end.

10 watts into Munich with DK8MZ

It took me quite a while to get round to editing and uploading this video but got there in the end.

Been a while.....but got my first DXpedition in the log

Nearly a whole month since my last update and unfortunately work has kept me off the radio for a while. I have however managed to add in some additional countries with India, Indonesia, South Korea, Finland and now the DXpedition to Norfolk Island in the log.

VK9NT are running a DXpedition to Norfolk Island at the moment and I managed to get a solid contact on 40 metres. The VK9NT expedition page is http://vk9nt.odxg.org/index.html

New Zealand account is open

Great propagation into New Zealand the last few days on 10 metres. ZL2FT - Jason was coming in strong with a 5x9 signal and despite being plagued by frequency drift on my Kenwood we still managed a pretty good QSO.

I received a 5x9+10dB report from Jason and the first "+10 over" I've had with my little 10 watts. Very pleased.

I'll have a YouTube clip to follow shortly.

Re-housing a Motorola XTS3000

My new high-viz housing for the Motorola XTS3000 arrived today and I was straight into it.

Not a complicated task by any means but maybe a few tricks.....

You don't really need the special Motorola tool to get the housing off unless you are truly hamfisted. I used 2 flat blade precision screwdrivers and a circlips pliers with an angled attachment.

Just pop the two screwdrivers in between the radios metal body and the housing and gently angle them outwards till the tabs are visbile and free.

Using the circlips pliers in the other hand I gently prised the radio from the housing. Just be gentle and your case should not crack. Disconnect the radio from the controls connector that is inside the housing - just pulls off (but not by the ribbon cable).

Get the other housing ready, make sure the rubber gasket running around the radio is properly in place, you have reconnected the ribbon cable from the new housing to the radio, the keypad is in?

I forgot this one and had to pull it apart again. You can see the ribbon cable in the old housing above. Angle the radio in at the top and ensure it is seated up as far as it goes and then gently push the rest of the radio into the base. Watch out for the little switch board on the side of the radio foulding the radio chassis and also make sure the gasket doesn't sneak off as it goes in.

Check everything works.

....and this is the final product with the newer UHF/GPS antenna on board.

....and with the rest of the family to give a sense of scale (Alinco DJ-G5, Moto XTS3000, Moto Saber II)

There's a bit more detail on the disassembly from "Snarlingrabiddog5150" on Youtube who goes chasing an encryption board inside his XTS3000. Some of his other videos are also very informative if you check out his youtube channel.

Quick field fix

Just noticed the Kenwood was jumping around on frequency by about 5Kc - mainly when I keyed up. A little research and the solution appeared to be re-tightening the VFO shield.

Job done, problem solved....so far. It's like a vintage car, always something to fix.

*** Update - problem is back again and present on transmit and receive ***

*** Latest update - bit of research on Google and found the lights in the meter and the VFO display generate a bit of heat that it doesn't like. Ripped out lights and seems steady so far....fingers crossed! ***
*** Latest update - was very good for a while but now it's back again. ***

Motorola 2M rig for the car.

....so after all that "fun" I had playing with the Motorola Saber IIs I seemed to be on the path to more Motorola ownership. The Kenwood TM241A I have been running in the car became problematic about 3 weeks ago with a dodgy screen (apparently a common fault).













This seemed like a good opportunity to pick up another mobile rig. A bit of perusing on EvilBay and I picked up a Motorola GM339, remote head for a good price. The radio arrived and as expected it had been used commercially in the mines (still programmed with their frequencies) but was in excellent condition.

Same story as before, you need to make sure you get the correct cables and software to program the radio correctly. This time the CPS (programming software) was not restricted to DOS or slow PCs. GUI was back baby. I first tried a serial ribless cable and to do this I used a USB to serial adaptor. This did not work and was a waste of time. Next I moved onto a USB Ribless cable (no need for a serial adaptor), this one would talk to the radio but I got errors about wrong versions. This is where I had to start looking for another version of the software - a little harder bit not impossible to find on the internet. Right cable, right software and we were in business.

Again, I read from the radio and saved the codeplug (radio config) before starting to change the settings. There are a lot more settings to change in this one compared to the Sabers.My main aim was to get it working so after clearing all of the previous channels I loaded in all of my local repeaters. I setup scan as well, the type of squelch, and any tones that were needed. I also customised the power settings so Low was 5 watts and High was 10 watts. A lot of the paging and id management I did not know what to do with so disabled as much as I could. When saving the new codeplug before writing it to the radio the CPS will advise of errors you have and not write till you fix them - this helped to ensure I had most of it right.


The install is pretty simple with the radio body in the glove box and the remote head mounted on top of another mount that is used for my VX-7R.

I even got my callsign to display on startup.

Scan doesn't work properly and I seem to have programmed the backlight timeout incorrectly.....will get to it eventually......have to be eventually as I also bought a Motorola XTS3000. It's a beater but has UHFCB already programmed in and I'll be rehousing it in the hi-viz housing the emergency services use. Will post when complete.

It's a Motorola thing.....

Some of the forums I'm on seem to have some rabid Motorola fans on them and I decided to give the "bat" a bit of a try.

Picked up 2 VHF Motorola Saber II handhelds from the states, in pretty good condition but very pricey on shipping - Saber info here: Repeater Builder. Waiting for the radios I had a scout around for a charger and also picked up another 2 chargers for $30 each. The shopping continued with 2 new VHF antenna, a Motorola RIB and cables to interface the radios with the computer for programming.

One of the attractions on the Sabers I picked up was the optional DES encryption modules (called Securenet) they came with.....research ensued and that's when the Motorola quirks started to come out: CryptoMuseum , Batlabs

1. You need a Key Loader to put the encryption key into the radios
2. Radios without power for about 40seconds lose the encryption key
3. KVLs are hard to get outside the States and they're not keen to ship them outside of the USA
4. By all reports encryption cripples the radios range and as it is not permitted on a ham licence you may choose not to bother with it.
5. Forget what the seller says the radio is - you need the model code off the actual radio and then decode it to ensure you are getting what is being advertised - go here to decode your model code: Repeater Builder
6. Because of the way the programming software is coded you need an old (slow) computer - as in a 286, 386, and you're pushing it with a 486.

The last point is where I came unstuck. I thought I'd try a newer one and see how it went but that didn't work no matter what I tried. I also thought finding an old PC would be the easy part but it appears that old computers are now called vintage and command a fair whack from collectors. The hunt started and after a bit of messing around I landed a Dauphin 486 pen computer (ipad forerunner for PC) dating from circa 1993. This was a mistake and I should have gotten a normal PC rather than something so unique.






















So after a lot of messing around with the Dauphin, the cables and connections, and software the radios were programmed with VHF Marine frequencies, charge fine in their chargers and work quite well.

Some feedback:

• They are solid in the hand, not girly-man radios - I like them
• They feel industrial - I like this too

• Squelch settings are universal on all channels and the level has to be programmed (no squelch knob)
• Channels are limited to 12 per Zone - bit of a pain for a bandplan with more than 12 channels (VHF Marine, UHF CB).

• Does scan but I haven't bothered with it.
• Programming is a pain, slow, and at times can be cryptic.
• Software is DOS based - no GUI here.
• I haven't tested battery life yet but feel optimistic of a good result.
• Chargers are industrial as well and can keep the battery topped up.

Some tips for the uninitiated:

1. You need the old computer
2. Using tricks such as throttle and slowdos to slow down your computer will not work
3. You need the RIB and cables
4. You need the correct version of the software - if your radio is programmed with a different version of the same software you may have problems reading  and writing to the radio.
5. Always read from your radio the first time and save the config (codeplug in Motorola parlance) in case you need to restore this to the radios.
6. My sabers ended up locked with an error code when I tried to write to them with a version of the software that proved incompatible. The fix is to begin programming them again and turn the radios off half way through the programming, changes the error code and the radio will now accept a fresh codeplug in full - this is where you reload the original one you read before you started playing.
7. For the issue above this is where I also changed the version of the programming software I was using and the writes no longer caused the radios to error.
8. Be careful when writing to your radio and choose to use the RF settings in the radio not the ones from the CPS - otherwise it messes with your radios alignment.
9. Get onto the Batlabs forum and search for Saber - lots of information and help there: Batlabs forum

Overall it was "fun" (but expensive) to get the gear in and play around with them myself.....so much fun I bought some more....see the next post.

EU QSO on the Kenwood TS-120V

Stephan had the Kenwood TS-120V rig fixed in super quick time and after I found out he had to rebuild the VFO I was even more impressed with both his work and turnaround. Good Work Stephan!

After a quick chat with Pete - VK4BT and Barry - VK3NBW (Geelong) they both gave some positive feedback on the audio. Tuning around 10 metres there was a JA pileup but no chance of getting through that one and as the evening changed to night I tried again and came across Dobrisan Bogdan - YO4RIU calling CQ DX from Romania. He was working a few VK stations and after a couple of tries the contact was made just as his signal was beginning to fade in and out.

I'm pretty happy with the Kenwood as the receive is better than my Dragon 485 and the 10 watts made the grade in getting out some 13,111 kilometres to Romania.

Now to get an antenna setup for some of the other bands and see how that goes.

...also running a scanner feed

Finally getting some use out of the radios I have had hanging around for so long. I have setup a scanner feed on the RadioReference website (now hosted on broadcastify):

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/15136/?rl=rr?rl=rr

I'm running an old Realistic Pro 2036 scanner covering Queensland Ambulance, Queensland Fire, and Queensland Police for Brisbane southside. Not running on the AOR Discone as I'm having some trouble with my scanner splitter so am running a telescopic antenna straight into the scanner. I disconnected the speaker so the line out could be run a bit harder for the feed without deafening myself in the shack. There are already a few southside feeds on there but I put my one up there anyway....won't be long before they've all gone digital so my humble contribution to scanner land. I think I'm off frequency with one of the QAS despatch ones - will have to scan around and get it correct.

Scanner remote is working

I've had this Uniden UBCT9 for a long time and finally decided to get the remote access working on the weekend. Long story short, I could have gotten this working years ago if I had enabled remote working on the unit itself. Doh!!!! I spent ages mucking around with serial cables and USB adaptors.

Now to get the trunking working.......

EFHWV

Thinking about the next antenna and I'm liking this end fed half wave vertical in the video below. I already have the squid pole (need to check the length) and just need the 9:1 transformer dooby and some wire...and some coax. Looks great for portable work or on the side of the car when stationary.

Special event station - Kesennuma earth quake

Just twiddling the dials and came across 8J7FUKKO special event station remembering the Kesennuma earth quake in Japan. A mouthful for us both to pass our call signs back and forth but a good contact.....and my first QSO video below:

Paying it forward

Thanks to Peter VK4BT I now have a Kenwood TS120V 10 watt HF rig to work on. It is in need of a tune and has an issue with no audio or power on transmit but looking forward to getting it going again and on the air. Cheers Peter!

Reliving past glories

A long time ago I bought a Yaesu FT-530 and moved it on after about a year. It seems to have reached some sort of cult status as it is very popular in reviews and sought after to some degree. I started looking for another one.......didn't find one but up came an Alinco DJ-G5. Cue past glories from around 1998/99. I sold my last one as I headed over seas for a year but had fond memories of it as a solid performer. Price was right and I won the auction. Opening the parcel I received a mint example and am very happy with the unit. Feels solid in the hand - more than the Yaesu VX-7R I have.....

.....and in typical fashion right after I buy the Alinco a Yaesu FT-530 pops up for sale and goes for $65.....DOH!

Dragon 10m HF portable is finished

A final bit of motivation and I finished my 10M portable radio. Here we are on Sunday finalising the wiring:

It has a Dragon SS-485H HF rig along with a Z11 ATU and runs a 7Ah SLA, All housed in a bench instrument enclosure from Jaycar. Some space constraints within the enclosure so the ATU is on the outside. I have a section to attach some counterpoise wires but haven't made any up yet.

And out in the back garden running a 2.4 metre ex-mil HF whip - ANT-129 22-30Mhz....

A local operator Darren - VK4HDO, came back to my call on 28.480 reporting my audio as good but the signal was low and according to his radio I was about 3Khz off frequency.

.....and with a more managable HF antenna

.....and on the radio bench running into the external 10M vertical

I'm hoping to get it ready for the WIA National field day on the 13th and 14th of April and see how it goes communicating from a hilltop.

I've got GAS....

Gear Acquisition Syndrome continues unabated.... I have removed the 40 channel UHF CB in the car and replaced it with a new Uniden UH7740NB 80 channel narrow band one.





Works well, very happy with it...although I don't care much for UHF CB. The Uniden UH012SX is now in the radio shack.....which led me to a need for a UHF CB antenna for that one....time for some DIY. Following the instructions on http://www.aurfscan.com.au/ I tailored it for 477Mhz. Had problems, split the T-junction, bracket was wrong, drilled mounting holes 10 degrees off vertical.





But it's all done, up in the air pointing North West and hitting Ch2 and Ch7 repeaters. At the same time I took down the Station Master antenna and put up the new version from Shockwave Antennas. A bit of messing about tuning it to 10m and I've now got a SWR of 1.2:1 on 28.480Mhz and now getting all of my meager 10 watts up the stick.



Next items on the list are to chase another HF radio, keen to get onto the 40 metre band. Also starting to plan for the next antenna mast (possible another vertical and a G5RV Jr. dipole). Have to balance this with getting the RGV250 on the road....and upgrading to the Standard licence.

Nearly...kindof....yes....absolutely!!!!

Oleg - RK9UN came through with his eQSL below so the QSO is confirmed. Excellent!!!!!!!!

Siberia? Nearly... nearly....kindof.

Barely made it into Siberia today - a lot of QSB on 28.480 but RK9UN - Oleg and I managed to swap callsigns all the same, and signal reports......I think. Let's see if he confirms the QSO in his QRZ log.......

Aus to Ukraine - 12,842 klms

Another long distance contact into Europe thanks to Alex UR4MSF in the Ukraine. It took a while to get the RSTs confirmed but a 5x5 recieved and a 3x3 provided. Thanks again Alex! Put him onto the VKLogger so hopefully some other aussie hams can pick up some contacts into Europe.

My RST is wrong

Made a contact with Doug KH6QR this morning - Brisbane to Hawaii. Doug was running 200W from a Kenwood TS480HX into a 6 element beam 40 foot off the ground. A lot of fading on the signal and he had a little chuckle at the 1x3 RST I gave him.......hmmmm....oh oh, I've been confusing my RST...woops! Seeing as messed up the RST I'll not log this one. Have also printed out the RST matrix so I can get my signal reports correct for the future.

Ham Radio RST Signal Reports
R-S-T Characteristics	Readability R	Strength S	Tone T (cw)
1	Unreadable	Faint signals, barely perceptible	Sixty cycle a.c or less, very rough and broad
2	Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable	Very weak signals	Very rough a.c., very harsh and broad
3	Readable with considerable difficulty	Weak signals	Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered
4	Readable with practically no difficulty	Fair signals	Rough note, some trace of filtering
5	Perfectly readable	Fairly good signals	Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated
6	N/A	Good signals	Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7	N/A	Moderately strong signals	Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8	N/A	Strong signals	Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9	N/A	Extremely strong signals	Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind

Aus to Bulgaria - 13,272 klms

Just leaving the shed after repairing a Kenwood mic for my 2m mobile rig and thought I'd have a quick scan of 10m and up pops Mike - LZ2DF running an FT-920 into a Yagi and looking for DX contacts in the pacific.

A lot of QSB on the signal but eventually we managed to swap signal reports completing a 13,272 kilometre contact from Australia to Bulgaria. Definately my farthest contact so far and still with the same vertical (new one hasn't gone up yet).