Archive for January 2016

K3HTK – Raspberry Pi WSPR – 1 Watt SDR

WSPR has been something that has interested me for quite some time. Unfortunately, my work / life balance became less than balanced for a bit (it happens – I really love what I do), so I have decided to kick off my new year and dive into getting one of my projects actually completed. I have posted in my ARRL Technical Specialist reports that I had been experimenting with the RadWav SkyPi 40 Meter kit over a year ago and had done very little to get it on the air other than just build it and check it on the bench. Heck, RadWav added more kits since then and I didn’t even know it…..

So, I blew off the dust on this project and finally have a fully working WSPR beacon setup on 40 Meters. The Antenna is a 160 Meter long wire (with 9:1 unun) and output power is 1 watt. So far, Australia has heard and recorded my WSPR station and at this time, is the furthest distance yet… Not too shabby!

The RadWav SkyPi kit is definitely fun and intriguing…. My next iteration of this project will most likely be a self contained solar powered version of this with a much more challenging vertical antenna like a HamStick just for the sake of seeing if it can be done with a “compromise” antenna. We’ll see….

Check out the map here: http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map

RadWav Site: http://www.radwav.com/

 

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K3HTK Repeater – Noblesville, IN 443.625+ Power Problem

Just a quick note that my 443.625+ machine is operating at reduced power. It appears to be a potential PA issue. Going to dig into it this weekend and hopefully find the root cause and repair if possible. Nothing like being even more handicapped with reduced power and height limitation on the antenna. Not a good combination….. Will post again once fixed.

My IC-R2500 now online at Global Tuners!

Recently I was introduced to Global Tuners which is a site where several radio enthusiasts have setup receivers all over the world for public and online use. I know this has been around for a little while, but had limited hardware support early on from what I remember. Now with the world of SDR and all kinds of development initiatives to support remote ham radio operations, this site is pretty cool and glad another ham friend helped me re-discover this site.

Few require premium membership to control and listen to, but mine is online and free. You will find other models of receivers and some Amateur Transceivers that you can use as a receiver only. Neat site… Easy setup as a hosting receiver! Check out the links below and enjoy!

Main Site: http://www.globaltuners.com/

K3HTK IC-R2500: http://www.globaltuners.com/receiver/1732-Noblesville