[NLRS] Introduction - Thomas WN1C

Sat May 25 09:45:19 EDT 2024

 I am unfamiliar with this radio. I looked at the specs on line. It appears
it is designed as an FM radio. How can it be made to work on CW and DSB? If
the output device is run in Class C, I can see getting away with CW. But
not DSB/SSB.

I went the homebrew route for 902 and 1296 (well, and everything above
that). I now use the W1GHZ LO and transverter boards for 902 and 1296.
Years ago I got a Mitsubishi M series power module that puts out 10 watts
on 1296. And a guy on one of the ham reflectors once had a couple modules
in the series that are for 902 MHz. They were meant for the Japanese market
and I don't know if you can get them in the USA now. But they put out 10
watts on 902. I'm using the WD5AGO preamps for 902 through 3400 MHz. These
preamps have a lot of gain  but seem to be unconditionally stable. WD5AGO
notes impressive noise figures for them, too. I can't measure noise figure
but I suspect mine approach his figures. These are really high-performance
systems for those two bands.

If you're interested in playing around with a device that works from 144
through 5760 MHz, try the ADALM-PLUTO SDR moule. It doesn't put out much
power, but you can easily add an amp.

I'd also like to note that, in 20+ years of VHF+ contesting as a portable
station, I have never worked anyone on FM. I have taken the FM gear along
and listened, even called CQ on the simplex frequencies, and just never
made any FM QSO's

73, Zack W9SZ

On Sat, May 25, 2024 at 12:47 AM Mark Korroch via NLRS <nlrs at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:

> I looked on line and can't find what kind of transistor is being used in
> that radio as the RF final, but I would guess that it's not rated to go up
> to 1.2 GHz.  I would think the power would be low even if you can change
> the filtering in the radio to pass 1296 Mhz.  But give it a try if you want
> to.
>
> There is a seller on Ebay selling 1296 MHz transverters for around $100
> with a 2m IF.   But that only puts out 100mW, so you would need an amp to
> get much use out of it.  I have one of his 902 MHz transverters but haven't
> tried it out.
>
> If your "818" is a Yaesu FT-818, I'm sure you would find that a much
> better radio to use as an IF with a transverter.  I have a FT-817, and
> other than I don't like the menus and the display is small, it's a good
> radio.  I've replaced mine with a IC-705 that I like much better, but the
> FT-817 is still my main backup IF radio.  Plus the FT818 will do real SSB,
> and not be wasting half of your TX power on the unused sideband like the Quansheng
> UV-K6 would.
>
> I'll try and give you an update if I get my UV-K6 on a transverter and
> make a QSO with it.
>
> 73 and good luck with your project,
> Mark   WB8TGY
>
>
> On Friday, May 24, 2024 at 08:57:52 PM EDT, Thomas Murphy <
> thomasmurphy.mssm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Thanks for the IJV firmware reference! That looks usefully complete with
> the addition of the chirp-next interface module for PC memory management. I
> might give it a spin on the all-mode options with my 818 as communication
> partner.
>
> There was a clip on Youtube showing that firmware with 23 cm transmit does
> show a measurable output, but only a small spur on the spectrum analyzer.
> With any luck, a "little" transistor re-tuning and filter replacement can
> do better than that for some decent power out (a watt or two, I expect).
>
> Good luck on your build! The series of radios certainly makes for a low
> cost option including as exciter.
>
> - Thomas / WN1C
>
> On 5/23/24 21:36, Mark Korroch wrote:
>
> Thomas,
>
> Just thought I would let you know that I've bought one Quansheng UV-K6
> hand held transceiver, and have flashed the radio's firmware with the IJV
> v3 firmware.  Besides FM, the radio now does CW and DSB (Double Side
> Band).  I have tested it on 2m and a local ham that claims the radio sounds
> good on CW and also AM, USB, and LSB when it's in DSB mode.
>
> My goal with this HT is to build a simple, small station with a
> transverter for one of the bands 10 GHz or higher.
>
> I have not tried hearing any stations outside the 2m and 70cm band, but I
> see that I can enter 1296.100 MHz into the radio in CW mode.
>
> 73,
> Mark
> WB8TGY
>
>
> On Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 08:52:06 PM EDT, Thomas Murphy
> <thomasmurphy.mssm at gmail.com> <thomasmurphy.mssm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Hello NLRS!
>
> First, a thanks to Janice and Bruce for getting me set up with the club
> resources!
>
> I'm Thomas, an amateur out of Madison, WI EN53GA in the midst of
> expanding my operating capabilities and RF knowledge VHF+. In part for
> POTA awards (https://parksontheair.com/pota-awards/) for 6m and N1CC
> (operating on 10 unique bands at each of 10 parks or contacting 10 parks
> each with 10 unique bands) and because smaller/easier antennas are
> simpler for field work than HF at times. It's also fun to add bands to
> the SOTA statistics. Plus putting my electrical engineering knowledge to
> use in ways the day job doesn't really require is fun, too.
>
> My current project is contemplating how to put the wideband FM
> transceiver of the popularly-hacked UV-K5 series of HTs to use on other
> bands, particularly 33 and 23 cm for potential low-cost operation up
> there (minus the uphill battle that is SHF surface-mount design). The
> latest post on my blog about this contemplates the approach to this
> (
> https://trm-radio.blogspot.com/2024/05/a-multi-pronged-approach-to-bk4819-ht.html)
>
> and I'm thinking about test plans/techniques for the transmit side of
> the mods. I'm also using the Q5 Signals documentation
> (http://q5signal.com/image/catalog/5BVUXr2.pdf) for some inspiration on
> the receive side.
>
> While I'm outside the NLRS ARRL circle, I hope to improve on my ARRL VHF
> January performance later this year as portable analog. My January
> operation was in at least a foot of fresh snow at Blue Mound State Park
> qualifying SOTA and POTA activations along with reaching two unique
> grids across the lower four bands with FM and SSB. The solo trip to view
> the eclipse and play POTA/WWFF does lend me toward portable over rover
> operation.
>
> Looking forward to working club members on the air in the future.
> Currently not expecting to attend Aurora or Central States this year.
>
> I've got a Dish TV dish (no longer with LNBs) in storage and an
> assortment of cables/parts to put to use. Maybe this year!
>
> - Thomas / WN1C
>
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