Experimenting with an ATU for EFHW antennas

DX Explorer appeals to me. 

He is a real experimenter and learns through doing. One of his videos shows his experiments with an ATU for his end fed antenna trying to use it on other bands.

uSDX on DX Explorer

 This video is on the DX Explorer YouTube channel.

End-fed antennas

These are very popular antennas as they cover many bands and are fed from the end making them ideal for /P operation. 

As the end of the wire is often a very high impedance a transformer is needed to reduce this to closer to 50 ohms. 

I see there is a new video about an end fed long wire on the DX Explorer video channel.

QRPGuys digital transceiver

On the DX Explorer website is a series of videos about building and testing this rig.  He mentions that it is no longer available. I must check the QRPGuys website.  It is a reminder that very simple gear can result in worldwide contacts using FT8.

UPDATE 0934z:  It looks like the earlier version is still available.  I wonder if they had too many PAs failing at high power?  From my experience , I am sure plenty of QSOs will be possible at the lower power.

Mini multiband, multimode tiny receiver

 This was posted on DX Explorer some 6 months ago. The receiver is available from China at a very low price. Watch out for counterfeit copies!

End fed antennas

 A popular antenna is the end-fed if multi band coverage is needed. I use one for 17m-10m. At the end of the wire the impedance will be high so a transformer is needed to bring this to an impedance that can be directly connected to a PA or often via an auto ATU in the rig. There is a video about it on the DX Explorer YouTube channel. There is also a follow-up video.

Xiegu G106

The DX Explorer YouTube channel has a video on the Xiegu G106 QRP rig. The rig is a very compact 5W QRP transceiver. It very modestly priced. It is about 3 years old.

There are quite a few transceivers from China now. I expect we will see more in the years to come. I think the Japanese monopoly on amateur rigs is drawing to a close.

A real experimenter

Thanks to DX Explorer, I was pointed to the website of LA6NCA who is a true experimenter. I had not visited his site before. It also looks like he has a good range of test gear. Certainly a site for inspiration.

See https://www.laud.no/la6nca/

DX Explorer website

Just now I was watching a video on this website. Then I realised it was derived from one of my designs!  I am flattered and hope he really has fun. He is eventually making a tiny PCB for it.

DX Explorer

 This is a website I like. There are lots of videos with interesting projects such as this one.

FX-4c transceiver

This video was on the DX Explorer website. There is now a new version available with a small fan and USB-C socket. It is available via Ali Express for about £500-600. It gets good reviews although I have no personal experience.

Receiving SAQ CW on 17.2 kHz VLF

This is a video about receiving the 100th anniversary transmission message in eastern Europe from SAQ in Sweden.

I did this some years ago and have a QSL card from them (see photo).

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vlf/vlf-converter .

Pititico 1 transistor transceiver

You may be interested in this (and other) videos on the Pititico transceiver on DX Explorer. 

As there is no amplification of the audio on RX I imagine it is not very sensitive so probably safer to call stations you can hear. Putting out a call you might squash another station already there that you cannot hear!

DX Explorer YouTube channel

This is a YouTube channel I really like. It is sponsored by PCBway. The videos are of a modest person from Eastern Europe exploring various aspects of the radio hobby. The one here is just an example.

Simple regen RX

This site is really, really good. He is so modest and talks through his journey into amateur radio. In this video he is trying to make a simple regen RX better.

DX Explorer video

This site is great. He always tries new things. I like that he is a true experimenter.