Ramblings of yet another nerd…
The VX1700 is a fairly nice radio, but it has one shortcoming from a flexibility standpoint – the VFO is not enabled by default, nor is it a simple software operation. In order to enable VFO mode on the radio, a “CK-11” “field programming plug” is necessary. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, …
Read More VX-1700 VFO mode
After my last post on return loss, I ended up scouring eBay for a return loss bridge – or a set of directional couplers – to measure antennas and other frequency selective devices. After this search, I was reminded just how expensive directional couplers can be – especially HP and Narda. Fortunately, I happened …
Read More Return Loss, Part 2, or SDR VNA
I decided that it’s time to reconfigure the shack… this time using dispatch consoles. The main purpose is to limit the surfaces I can pile things on – and cut the clutter. This started when a couple of us stumbled across a set of 4 Motorola empty Centracom Series II consoles on www.govdeals.com. Since I …
Read More Shack Reboot
Several years ago, I modified a Softrock kit to operate at 455 kHz. The main purpose behind this build was to add the ability to connect it to a receiver’s IF output (if it operated at 455 kHz, which is a common IF output), and gain SDR operation – spectrum display, various modes, etc. This …
Read More BC 780XLT IF Tap
Several months ago, I stumbled upon an eBay special on VRS-750’s. I picked one up for $50 – at that price, it was worth having a backup on the shelf. Another guy picked one up, and it had a service tag on it indicating that it had a functional issue. Guess it was luck of …
Read More VRS 750 Interface Cable Build
One interesting aspect of the BCD-996 and similar radios is the digital command and status protocol. In digging into the software, I learned that there is a RSSI (Relative Signal Strength Indicator) included, which delivers a numeric value relative to the signal strength of a received signal. Given that I could command the radio …
Read More RSSI correlation
I previously added (as “comments” to my post on RS-232 to TTL cable) the fact that I had purchased some USB to TTL converters, intending to remove the middle man (RS-232) – and hopefully lighten my programming kit a little. The challenge to using these cables is that most radios use a single bi-directional line …
Read More A new take on the generic programming cable
[ZFP_Photo id=’325a6f68′] Cameras are cool, too…. testing the zenfolio plugin.. For the 100AW rally, I decided I wanted to catch some action photos… which is not a horrible challenge, if one has a good vantage point – at that point, it’s all camera settings. At night it becomes a bit more challenging – especially when …
Read More Photography
Many years ago, programming the memories in an amateur radio was a “neat” feature. As the capability was included in more radios, the radio manufacturers also began charging a hefty sum for the cables to do so, because they contained “Circuitry”. Many amateurs quickly learned that these adapters were little more than RS-232 to TTL …
Read More A generic radio programming cable
Another Article with back story… at about 4:20 PM, I was getting ready to leave work, when my phone rang. Bryan was asking what I knew about whetstone bridges. While it’s been many years since I was first licensed, and decided I wanted to build one that I saw either in a QST magazine, or …
Read More A Whetstone Bridge – and what it’s good for….