GQRP Component Data Book

Tony Fishpool G4WIF, G4CCQ, G3OOU and others have created an on-line, downloadable, GQRP Data Book which has the pin-outs of a number of devices commonly used in QRP designs featured in SPRAT and elsewhere. It is just what I need to stop me having to look up parts on the internet every time. This is "a work in progress" as they say with updates and additions coming frequently.

Finally, why not join the GQRP Club? Its quarterly magazine SPRAT is still the best amateur magazine in the world and remarkable value at £6 UK, 12 euros or $18 US. Details at http://www.gqrp.com/join.htm .  As well as very interesting constructional projects, the magazine has operating news, useful adverts from QRP suppliers as well as adverts for GQRP club sales which supplies members with useful QRP parts (semiconductors, crystals, DVDs of SPRAT back issues, etc) at very reasonable prices. The GQRP club represents the spirit and ethos of amateur radio at its best.

472/500kHz TX transverter - first schematic

10W 472/500kHz TX Transverter (CW, WSPR, OPERA, QRSS)

OK, here is the first schematic (subject to corrections, changes and improvements) of my simple TX transverter for 472 or 500kHz. This one needs no expensive parts and went together painlessly. The PA filter parts used the GW3UEP approach of winding thickish copper wire (1mm in my case) onto 22mm white PVC drain pipe pieces. The mixer, LO and squarer stage all use ubiquitous 2N3904 transistors (my favorite!) and the PA a cheap IRF510 FET that produces 10W RF without even getting warm.

Next stage is to add the RX preamp and filter and sort out RX-TX switching. I also want to try to go for a higher PA output power which will require changes to the output network.

500kHz tranverter (Mk 2) breadboarding

This weekend I've made considerable progress with the new transverter for 472 and 500kHz and fully breadboarded a 10W TX transverter.

My objectives are to make the design simpler than the original 2010 design  (no expensive SBL1 double balanced mixer!), produce more power and improve the RX performance. Also I want to reduce the need for special parts such as toroids.

The design evolving is, like all my designs, a mixture of my own ideas and the best from other people. When the design is ready I will put it here and on my main website. I've moved away from 28MHz IF (too high, too much start-up drift) and instead gone to 3.7MHz using a 3.2MHz crystal available from GQRP inexpensively. The TX mixer (none is needed on RX as it is uses the FT817 in split mode receiving directly on MF) is a simple bipolar stage followed by a low pass filter. For the PA I have largely copied GW3UEP's excellent designs for a 25 (and later 100W) amplifier. Initially I am using an IRF510 from 13.8V and getting around 10W RF out. The next stage is to look at the RX front end. I want a little gain ahead of the FT817 but with good large signal handling and decent filtering. The FT817 works OK at 500kHz but is a little deaf.

So, a satisfying few hours building.

QRP semiconductor pin-out sheet?

Is it just me or do you also have to search the web quite frequently to confirm the pin-outs of devices you've used time and time again?  I need to do this for LM386, 2N3819, IRF510 and the 2N3904/6 almost every time I get them out of the drawers just to be sure. "Senior moments" I hear you say!

Does anyone know of a simple (all in one place) "crib sheet" that I could download giving the pin-outs of the common devices we frequently use in QRP projects?

500kHz WSPR

I left my 500kHz WSPR station running overnight last evening to see what reports I got. People are now generally using 500kHz USB dial for WSPR so that simultaneous monitoring on RX of both OPERA and WSPR is possible. Personally I can't tell much difference.

500kHz WSPR reports earlier (20mW ERP)

Anyway, my best reports were from F59706 (560km) and F5NWK (559km) when I was running around 15-20mW ERP from my current transverter and antenna.

My first ever website - 1996

Looking on the internet today I found an old link to my first ever website that I created in 1996. I'd forgotten the URL, so I put it into the Wayback Machine to see if it had been crawled and stored. It had. Created in Nov 1996, this was a snapshot of the site in 1997. See http://web.archive.org/web/19970328203144/http://www.lapr.demon.co.uk/ .  Actually, for the tools available then, it wasn't a bad effort as I think the page was created in raw HTML.

FT817 speech processor - English translation

Dave G3YMC kindly did an approximate translation of the German instructions for the Funk Amateur speech processor that I built at the weekend. This may be of use to others building this kit. Dave says this is not a precise translation and does not want to be held responsible if he has made any mistakes!

Incidentally on a local SSB contact with G3KKD this evening I switched from "processor out" to "processor in" and Ian said it nearly blew his head off, so it works, HI.

G3XBM Shack - 1977 style

My shack in 1977. I still use the same Morse key.

Just came across this picture of my shack in 1977. On the left is the Eddystone EC10 receiver. Next to it is a crystal controlled CW transmitter for 28MHz and a down-converter to 4-6MHz IF, tuned on the EC10. On the far right is the Belcom Liner-2 2m SSB transceiver, a state-of-the-art rig at the time. The boy in the chair is my son aged 2 at the time. These days he is a successful professional jazz musician. I never did interest him or his younger brother in amateur radio.

More countries on 472kHz

Last night I left my 472kHz WSPR system running through the night and was very pleased to receive SM6BHZ and DF6NM at good S/N at times.

477kHz WSPR DX last night

FT817 speech processor built and working - brilliantly!

DYC-8x7 speech processor tucked under the FT817

This morning I built the Funk Amateur DYC-8x7 speech processor kit that came last week. Total assembly time, taking it slowly, was just 30 minutes with no problems at all. Testing and set-up was easy in the end and the results so far are spectacular.

VHF NFD is running - I'd forgotten this - so this is an ideal time to test the rig with the processor in circuit. Using just my 10m halo - feeder loss is such that it is a good match, if not an efficient antenna, on both 2m and 70cm! - I went on and gave a few points away on 2m and 70cms. Whereas before I would be struggling, contacts came easily. The little speech processor makes a LOT of difference and is an excellent product.

Conclusion: at 34 euros delivered to the UK this represents excellent value for such an effective product.