Cold WX stay-home activity: Successfully repaired my Chameleon F-Loop3 tuning capacitor (to remove intermittent shorts) and restoring TX operation on 40 meters. More evening CW fun ahead! Details and more photos at the QSL.net blog. #HamRadio #AntennaRepair […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Review of the Fluke 1953A counter/timer shows it is fully working as hoped (operating under local and remote control.) Verified all inputs and operations via GPIB remote control with a simple LabVIEW program. Have a few more esoteric tests to run in near […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

What to do with an old Ubiquiti AirView2 USB spectrum analyzer when the software won’t run on Win10 or later PC? Answer: Write a LabVIEW program to read/display the raw serial data to keep using it for 2.4 GHz spectral occupancy and channel power info. Plan to […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Slow work day = A few moments to work on 2026 goal to make the lab a little better everyday. Today’s task is to add crimped connector shrink sleeving and a length marker to this Pasternack RG-58 C/U cable. Luckily it has a SMA on one end to slip the shrink […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Was able to measure the output 1 dB compression point for the QB-150 RF amplifier (with 12V supply). Kept it simple and just measured at 100 MHz as approximation for full frequency range from HF up to VHF band. Have been looking into how to measure across […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Have you noticed that some types of test equipment have gotten much smaller than the rack or half rack width instruments of the past? I am transitioning towards tiny-instruments and downsizing my home lab (having moved multiple times recently). Latest acquisition is a TinyGTC GPSDO timer counter […]

Get going with FreeDV on HF, without fears or tears - The time has come for digital voice on the HF bands by Peter Marks VK3TP. (Found this linked from Peter’s blog on blogs.radio.) #hamradio https://www.wia.org.au/members/armag/2025/november/documents/AR%20Issue%206-2026_pp42-48_2.pdf

First (easy) test of the QB-150 Amps: Does the one with the top installed work? Answer: Yes! Measured 12.6 K Ohm on the power pin to GND. Applied 12.2VDC, measured ~120 mA current draw. Tested with NanoVNA-H4 with 40 dB pad on input side and found it has ~ +24 […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

I'm reading a 1974 issue of _Electronics Design_, and I'm amazed by all the cool new stuff. There are a bunch of things I want to order, but unfortunately they don't give any URLs.

Repair RF Amplifier Project: With some time off ahead, dug out the box of Q-Bit QB-150 RF amplifiers. Likely these are all toast, but will test and troubleshoot to confirm. (These were pulls from a field HF antenna system that occasionally had lightning […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Slow work day = time for RF fun! Remeasured the Copper Mountain Technologies R54 vector impedance probe output signal characteristics to understand if it always used a fundamental output (or if it relies on harmonics like the NanoVNA-H4). TLDR: the much more […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Home Handyperson: Had a complaint from a family member that they were not feeling well when the dryer was running. Found multiple issues with the vent: 1) clamp was loose, vent pipe had two large slits cut into it that were leaking. Cut off the hack-job, fixed […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Ten Meters is just opening up here in EN52 Chicagoland, and seeing some single and double hop skip to the southeast. Going to be an interesting day! #HamRadio #10Meters #magneticloop

Made some progress on the low-cost noise figure & gain measurement setup, and have it running pretty well at 440 MHz. Have pages of notes and pictures to put together a how-to post or web page. Still need to check calibration at other frequencies, but […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

#PatchTuesday yields #WaitWedneday: Started a “how long will it run” test with the BougeRV cooler powered by a new Anker Solix C300X DC power pack. With 12V @ 50W consumed during cool down, the run time estimate is almost 6 hours. With cool down completed, the […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Finished a first draft for my qsl.net web page documenting a low-cost DIY RF Noise Source suitable for making noise figure measurements under automatic program control (with SATSAGEN software). Still have a few more updates to the web page, but completed […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

US Coast Guard aircraft executing a search just south of Key West Florida. Additional assets joining in now.

What is inside a Mini-Circuits ZFL-2000 RF Amplifier? Had a few minutes to take a quick look inside one of these RF Amps. Didn’t learn much, and was surprised to see a fully-cased (pins) amplifier module inside. Would take a lot more effort to disassemble […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

4 General upgrades and 3 new Technicians. Not bad for an after Thanksgiving session. #HamRadio.

Looking over Black Friday announcements from HRO and DX Engineering yields an interesting takeaway: today’s “super-specials” look a lot like last year’s everyday prices for many items. Anyone else seeing this too? #HamRadio #blackfriday

POTA Questions: If 2 hams activate the same POTA park with each having a 10 band radio station and only contact each other, does this count as a valid activation? (…with logs submitted, etc.) Does a contact on another mode, but same band count as a separate contact? I.e., 10 bands, 2 modes each […]

Oh Pi, Oh Pi, wherefore art thou? #LostComputer #MovedTooManyTimes #boxsinthegarage

RF equipment setup complete for first low-power 2.4 GHz test using Remote SDR and Pluto SDR. Waiting for the afternoon to find/retrieve the second RaspberryPi-5 computer needed for the second transceiver controller. (Have moved multiple times with re-boxing […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Lower cost & performance, but more bands than the ICOM IC-905? Have been exploring how to inexpensively get on VHF/UHF/SHF bands (2m and up) and believe the ADALM Pluto and RaspberryPi5 with Remote SDR SW will support that. Many challenges to achieve all 8 RF bands to 5.9 GHz, but with […]

Gentle Reminder: Looking for a break from the challenges of life in 2025? Check out Blogs.Radio for great reminders that adding a little radio and electronics to your topics list can positively influence your mood. Or at least distract you for a-bit… Hope you enjoy this site as much as I do […]

Slow Work Day: Let’s sort ferrite! Made a quick ferrite material sorter using NanoVNA-H4 and a two-turn test loop. Ended up finding at least four material types. Now labeled in separate bags and ready for (easier) future use! #HamRadio #EMIEMC #sortalltheparts

Have you seen video on the DIY capacity hat for a vertical antenna whip? Link below for one ham’s approach. Have purchased some 24” zip ties and found the lab stock of copper tape. Interested to see how this works on my 17’ SS-17 whip antenna! With the cooler […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

I’m sure there is a project in here somewhere: Parts for an experimental ground isolator for a 3/8-24” vertical antenna mounting system. The box goes in between the ground spike and radials/coax-feed/vertical-whip. The switch will open or close the ground […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

I love that Elecraft let me do my own warranty repair on my PX3 panadapter. They agreed that a part was broken and offered me an RMA. I asked if I could replace it myself, and they just sent me the part. This is so refreshing a change from our disposable, no user-serviceable parts inside general […]

DIY RF Comb Generator for less than $1.00? After evaluating the mil-spec Herotek comb generator module and Pluto SDR clock source combination, decided to try out a low cost alternative for generating combs. With an on-hand SI5351A clock source, added two […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Finished up testing of what looked like an RF amplifier module but was really a comb generator. TLDR: It works! Now have picket-fence RF signals! Details in two posts over at the qsl.net blog site. #HamRadio #TestEquipment […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Getting the lab organized a-bit more: Printed out a data sheet for a pair of Narda RF couplers. Have both couplers back in the same storage package again. What is the RF Geek equivalent of the old hammer-nail saying? When all you have are RF couplers […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Random RF Component Find #308: Herotek GCA640-258 RF comb generator. Was stashed in one of the garage lab boxes. Needs cleaning! This appears to be a 640 MHz input comb generator that will output multiples of that frequency up to ~ 18 GHz. Includes a […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Bring back BeOS style iconography

@kr1st Looks like a lot of fun! Was part of a walkie-talkie design group in years past and have great appreciation for the effort level (and many subsystem interactions during integration and operation). This is the exciting phase - proposing features and making tradeoffs. They may hit the “too […]

Adventures in totally indoor ham stations #307: Changed antenna for the IC-705 over to a 1/4 wave mag mount (on a poor ground) to casually monitor 50.313 FT8. Magic Band - Make it happen! If I hear anything today, I might work a-bit harder for a better 6m antenna. (Maybe a 1/2 wave dipole from […]

2M FT8 Monitor: Setup the IC-705 with 16’ of RG400 coax feeding a DIY 2 Meter halo perched on top of the office closet door. Using SDR-Control on the iPad for FT8 decode. Will monitor 144.174 FT-8 to see if I can hear anything (only seeing always-there power […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

Testing the new 33 cm Pluto SDR controlling software: Have basic RX/TX working and tested on FM mode using a local (second Pluto) SDR linear translator “repeater” controlled by GRC. Notes on using F1ATB’s Remote SDR SW over on the QSL.net website (3 postings) […] [Original post on mastodon.radio]

[USPolitics #Defiance] New Group Formed: WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to a sweeping campaign of political retaliation by the Trump administration, a coalition of national security veterans, whistleblowers, and pro-democracy leaders today announced the launch of DEFIANCE.org, the first […]

We had a surprise opportunity to go to the beach this weekend, near Southport NC. I have the weird preference to sling my hammock under the house, between the clotheslines, instead of sleeping indoors. Half camping? I use a big rubbermaid box as my […] [Original post on social.makerforums.info]