Podcasts about kj6vu

In this episode the tables are turned and George, KJ6VU, becomes the special guest.  The topic is how he designed his station control system.  The station controller is used to monitor and control key components in your remotely controlled ham radio station.  The station controller can also be used to monitor and control a repeater system or any other critical equipment. We will discuss what you need for effective remote station control, how George went about designing his control system and how it works.  Topics include the system architecture, circuit and physical design and selection of key components like the microcontrollers that run the system and the node red software environment that provides the user interface. The station controller will eventually be offered as a commercial product for sale through his company Sierra Radio Systems.  

Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, was a guest at the celebration of the 200th Ham Radio Workbench Podcast.  Eric  joined George, KJ6VU, Vince, VE6LK, and Mark, N6MTS in a special episode of their podcast that became HRWB episode 201.  This recording of that HRWB episode is added to the QSO Today "official record" for posterity.  

In this episode, "special guest" George, KJ6VU, talks all about how to build a repeater system.  We explain about the radios, antennas, feedline, duplexers, controllers and more.

In this episode we talk with Kyle, AA0Z, who has extensive experience building and operating remote stations.  Kyle tells us about his latest project to remotely automate a big contest station.  We talk about using Node Red for station control programming and ask Kyle how he approached remote monitoring and control of the station.  We also do a quick design review of George, KJ6VU's, new station controller design and see how close it comes to meeting Kyle's remote station control requirements. 

This week I celebrate 300 episodes of the QSO Today Podcast with George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU, Bill Meara, N2CQR, Pete Juliano, N6QW, Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, and Hans Summers, G0UPL.

George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU, is the the co-host of the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast, one of the more popular ham radio podcasts.  George has a long and interesting ham radio history as well as he is accomplished home-brewer, builder, operator, and high tech executive. We touch on a few of my favorite subjects that include repeaters and repeater controllers, the Cactus Intertie, DMR, and building with Arduino micro-controllers.  KJ6VU is my QSO Today.

George KJ6VU walks us through the most common components found in a modern FM repeater.  We cover antennas, duplexers, coax, radios, controllers, and other helpful information for those who are considering taking on the project of an analog repeater build. Save 10% off of a PowerFilm Solar 30 Watt Panel with Anderson Powerpole Adapter with code WORKBENCH 10 at checkout (through Dec 31, 2018) - 30 Watt Foldable Solar Panel with Anderson Powerpole Adapter Save $100 on the Digilent Analog Discovery 2 Package by using code “HamRadioWorkbench2018” in your cart prior to checkout - https://store.digilentinc.com/ham-radio-workbench-bundle/ Our Website - http://www.hamradioworkbench.com/ Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/hamworkbench Contact us for feedback and ideas - http://hamradioworkbench.com/contact Connect with us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamradioworkbench/ BrandMeister Talkgroup 31075 - https://hose.brandmeister.network/group/31075/ Case for 12V DC Power Strip from Rocket City 3d - https://rocketcity3d.ecwid.com/Ham-Radio-Workbench-12V-DC-Power-Strip-Case-p114464423 OpenSpot 2 - https://www.sharkrf.com/products/openspot2/ POCSAG - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POCSAG Google Assistant enabled Repeater - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52-3EuQfnk Benchduino - https://groups.io/g/benchduino KJ6VU’s Previous Repeater Episode - http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2014/10/08/10/ Repeater Builder - http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/index.html CDM Repeaters - http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/cdm/cdm-index.html MaxTrac Repeaters - http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/maxtrac/maxtrac-index.html Sierra Radio Systems Repeater Controllers - http://www.sierraradio.net/ Hustler G6 440 - https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/hsr-g6-440 PAVE PAWS Over the Horizon Radar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAVE_PAWS Coax Feedline Loss Calculator - http://www.timesmicrowave.com/calculator/ Remote Site Monitoring Episode - https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/podcast/remote-repeater-site-monitoring QST Voter Article - http://www.ldgelectronics.com/assets/discontinued_manuals/RVS-8.pdf

The BITX40 is a $60 Arduino controlled 7 watt QRP SSB 40 meter transceiver designed and built by Ashar Farhan VU2ESE.  They are available as a “kit” from http://www.hfsigs.com/ .  The assembly only involves soldering wires for things like speakers, power, and microphones and also finding a suitable case.  We originally spoke about the BITX40 back in Episode 26 (http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2017/06/20/ham-radio-360-workbench-26-the-bitx40-transceiver-an-introduction/) Mark “Smitty” Smith KR6ZY is back with us again to share with us the modifications and upgrades he’s made to the original BITX40 over the summer.  In this episode, we discuss adding upper sideband capabilities, adding an IF shift, and even multibanding the radio!  Smitty shares lots of great resources and ideas in this episode of the Workbench. Smitty KR6ZY can be found online on twitter @smittyhalibut (https://twitter.com/smittyhalibut) and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/SmittyHalibut Cale K4CDN is taking a much deserved break for the rest of the year!  - http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2017/09/19/ham-radio-360-lessons-from-irma-and-my-vacation/ Workbench Autodesk Eagle board layout tutorial with KF7IJZ, KJ6VU, W6KWF, and KR6ZY - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYoorqf2llE OSHPark Board Manufacturer - https://oshpark.com/ ESP01 / ESP8266 http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Started-With-the-ESP8266-ESP-01/ https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13678 ESP Libraries Source https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino Arduino IDE - https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software ESP8266 in Arduino - https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp8266-thing-hookup-guide/installing-the-esp8266-arduino-addon Teensy - https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ ARRL HF Data Rates - http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-files-symbol-rate-petition-with-fcc Hardware random number generator - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_random_number_generator RTL-SDR v3 with Direct Sampling - https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-blog-v-3-dongles-user-guide/ QRP Labs Filter Kits https://www.qrp-labs.com LPFs: https://www.qrp-labs.com/lpfkit.html BPFs: https://www.qrp-labs.com/bpfkit.html HF BPF 10-band Set - http://shop.qrp-labs.com/BPFSET D-STAR QSO Party - https://www.icom.co.jp/world/dqp/ Silicon Dust HDHomeRun OTA TV to IP Box - https://www.silicondust.com/ Smitty’s BITX40 Intro Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ESph5JCOpw BITX40 Mods Groups.io - https://groups.io/g/BITX20 BitX Hacks - http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/ Raduino Software - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/Raduino-Topics Allard’s Software - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/Allard%27s-Raduino-Code Software upgrades https://github.com/amunters/bitx40/ Make it do CW http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/2017/03/nd6t-bitx-cw-update.html http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/2017/02/putting-bitx-raduino-on-cw.html USB and LSB (for digital) - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/USB-LSB-operation Front panel and case - https://www.banggood.com/Electronic-Plastic-Shell-Cartridge-Handle-Project-Case-Desk-Instrument-200x175x70mm-p-1035473.html?rmmds=myorder Optical/Rotary Encoder Tuning - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/topic/mouse_encoder/5553536?p=,,,20,0,0,0::Relevance,,mouse,20,2,0,5553536 Dr. Jack Purdum W8TEE VFO TFT - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/topic/5116056 AGC Board - http://kv4qb.blogspot.com/2016/11/bitx-40p-building-part-1.html   SteppIR Urban Beam - http://www.steppir.com/UrbanBeam  

Curious about what the “10 MHz” connector on the back of your test equipment is?  Interested in calibrating an SDR to reduce tuning error?  Do you want an accurate frequency source for tuning radios?  How about a super accurate sense of what time it is?  This week, Dr. Frank Howell K4FMH joins Jeremy and George to talk about GPS Disciplined Oscillators and Frequency References for your workbench. News Hurricane Watch Net - https://www.hwn.org/ Icom IC-9700 - http://qrznow.com/icom-ic-9700-vhfuhf1-2ghz-prototype-transceiver-shown-at-tokyo-hamfair-2017/ Circuit Board Printer - Voltera - https://www.voltera.io/ Circuit Board Printer - BotFactory - https://www.botfactory.co/page/homepage Workbench KF7IJZ’s Workbench Remote Airspy Server w/ ASUS Tinkerboard Airspy SDR Receivers Airspy R2 - 24Mhz - 1.8Ghz 10Mhz Bandwidth SDR Receiver - $169 - https://v3.airspy.us/product/a-airspy/ Airspy Mini - 24Mhz - 1.8Ghz 6Mhz Bandwidth SDR Receiver - $99 - https://v3.airspy.us/product/a-airspy-mini/ SpyVerter HF Converter - $49 - https://v3.airspy.us/product/a-spyverter/ ASUS Tinkerboard I Used a Tinkerboard because I had one, but I would recommend an ODroid device instead - http://www.hardkernel.com/main/main.php Tinkerboard Hardware - https://www.asus.com/us/Single-Board-Computer/Tinker-Board/ Tinkboard Linaro Linux Distro available on that page under Downloads Armbian Distro for Tinkerboard - https://www.armbian.com/tinkerboard/ Good review of Tinkerboard - https://forum.armbian.com/index.php?/topic/4614-asus-tinker-board/ Software Spyserver for ARM 32 Bit - http://airspy.com/download/ Airspy on ARM Instructions (do this first) - http://photobyte.org/running-spyserver-raspberry-pi-3/ Arduino MIDI Mute Button Hardware Adafruit Pro Trinket 5V - https://www.adafruit.com/product/2000 Adafruit 24mm LED Arcade Buttons - https://www.adafruit.com/product/3430 Adafruit MIDI Jack - https://www.adafruit.com/product/1134 Arduino MIDI Wirting and Communication Guide - https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Midi Use “Debounce” Example code from Arduino IDE Arduino MIDI Message Guide (code is deprecated, but message formats are relevant)- http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2011/08/simple-examples-of-sending-midi-data.html Eagle Best Practices 1/16” Margin around the edge of the board Avoid acute angles on circuit traces Vias should be at least 0.04” in size Traces should be at least 0.03” in size Keep good space between signal lines and ground planes/traces Other Links Perseus SDR - http://microtelecom.it/perseus/ SDR Console Software - http://sdr-radio.com/Software/Download1/Download RF Space - http://rfspace.com/RFSPACE/Home.html Cloud SDR - http://www.cloud-sdr.com/ SDR# Tuner from Mouse - https://www.rtl-sdr.com/building-a-tuning-knob-for-sdr/   KJ6VU’s Workbench RIDGID Toolbox for KX3 Project - http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-22-in-Pro-Organizer-Black-222571/205440492 BBC Micro:Bit - http://microbit.org/   K4FMH’s Workbench Trimble based GPS GPSDO 10Mhz / 1PPS Clock - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Trimble-GPS-Receiver-GPSDO-10MHz-1PPS-GPS-Disciplined-Clock-sine-and-square-wave-/252162780444?hash=item3ab612ad1c:g:o2IAAOSw1WJZHdMY PCTEL GPS (L1) 26dB Timing Antenna Kit - http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCTEL-GPS-L1-26dB-TIMING-ANTENNA-KIT-GPS-TMG-26N-W-Mount-Kit-/263159662203?epid=1209248913&hash=item3d4589c67b:g:KU0AAOSw8gVX3BPx Six Output Video Distribution Amplifier - Sigma Electronics VDA-100A - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=SIX+Output+Video+Distribution+Amplifier+Sigma+Electronics+VDA-100A&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XSigma+Electronics+VDA-100A.TRS0&_nkw=Sigma+Electronics+VDA-100A&_sacat=0 Leo Bodnar Precision 2 Output GPSDO (450Hz - 800Mhz) - https://v3.airspy.us/product/lb-gpsdo-1/ HP 3586A Selective Level Meter - http://ve2zaz.net/HP3586_AD5962/HP3586_AD5962.htm   Show Links K4FMH’s Blog - http://k4fmh.com WWV - https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwv EEVBlog Frequency Reference Videos Rubidium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPPB7ZzO_TA Cesium - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yTL06ZU5SU Lady Heather Disciplined Oscilator Control Program - http://www.ke5fx.com/heather/readme.htm U-Blox GPS Receivers and Timing Devices - https://www.u-blox.com/en Gerry Sweeny on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/gezzasw WGUR “The Noise” - http://www.gcsuradio.com/ K4FMH on Linux in the Ham Shack - http://lhspodcast.info/2015/10/lhs-episode-155-interview-with-frank-howell/ K4FMH on Twitter - https://twitter.com/frankmhowell  

Ham Radio Micro-controllers & Linux *Listener Review of this show added to bottom of page A long time coming; Jeremy and George gather this time through to discuss Micro-Controllers and Linux for the Ham Radio Operator! Cale is away, so you know it's gonna be a good show with the guys!  Listen in as they describe all the different types of Micro-Controllers, Software and Hardware, Things to avoid and how to get the most from the Makers 'best friend'! Arduino:  https://www.arduino.cc/en/Products/Compare Raspberry PI:  http://www.raspberrypi.org/ Sierra Radio Systems:  http://sierraradio.net "Sierra Radio Hamstack Project Gallery" http://www.sierraradio.net/project_home.html Adruino: K3NG Ultimate CW Keyer - http://blog.radioartisan.com/arduino-cw-keyer/ (He also has a CW Beacon controller, rotator controller, etc) KK5JY Controller to remotely or automatically tune a mag loop antenna ala AlexLoop, etc - http://www.kk5jy.net/AutoCap-v1/ Antenna Analyzers w/ Arduino and cheap DDS boards from K6BEZ - http://www.hamstack.com/hs_projects/k6bez_antenna_analyzer.pdf, or from Jim Harvey:  https://github.com/jmharvey1/DDS_AD9850_AntennaAnalyzer Low powered digital mode using SI chip:  http://hackaday.com/2015/09/13/arduino-masters-ham-radio-digital-mode Hamshield for Arduino:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/749835103/hamshield-for-arduino-vhf-uhf-transceiver Using Arduino / Raspberry PI in High Altitude Balloons and Model Rocketry - http://makezine.com/projects/near-space-balloon-cam-with-arduino-and-aprs-radio/ SBC Linux ala Raspberry Pi Remote kit running FLDigi for portable digital ops - http://indyham.com/news/rasperry-pi-simple-install-script-for-fldigi-includes-rigcontrol-compiled/ Host for Digital Hotspot (DVAP, DVMega, DV4Mini, DVRPTRv1,MoenComm, etc -http://www.westerndstar.co.uk/html/downloads.html,  http://maryland-dstar.org/html/raspiberry.html , http://www.dvmega.auria.nl/, APRS Software - YAAC - http://www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html and Xastir http://xastir.org/index.php/Main_Page TNC for your PI - http://tnc-x.com/TNCPi.htm OpenRepeater Controller - https://openrepeater.com/ PC Repeater Controller - Jonathan Naylor - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/pcrepeatercontroller/info ADSB Flight Tracking - https://uk.flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/ Raspberry PI SDR - https://learn.adafruit.com/freq-show-raspberry-pi-rtl-sdr-scanner Other Project - G0HWC - http://www.g0hwc.com/raspberry-pi-ham-radio.html Make Magazine: http://makezine.com/            Linux in the Ham Shack Podcast: http://lhspodcast.info/ Python Training Video: https://youtu.be/tKTZoB2Vjuk   Participate in Winter Field Day!    January 30-31 WFD: WebsiteFacebook: WFD FB Group Thanks for Listening Y'all! Title: Episode 43 is tremendous! Reviewer name: cb_abq Country: USA Date: January 13, 2016 Rating: Comment: Well done gentlemen! That is the most information delivered about microcontroller and embedded Linux systems related to ham radio, and other applications, that I have heard in any podcast, ever. This is great information to enable anyone, whether an EE, or just an interested consumer to build a project based on either of these closely related technologies. KJ6VU and KF7IJZ are really well informed and articulate on all things ham. Fantastic!

Episode 23 is here and I'm finally able to share with you the PACKTENNA from Nick and George. Packtenna is the Exciting New Packable/Portable antenna from N3WG and KJ6VU that I've been dying to share with you! Over the years, we have tried many different antennas.  We found that most commercial antennas are either too bulky and heavy to be easily hauled around or are two small to be efficient. So idea of the PackTenna was born. The challenges for coming up with the design for PackTenna included the following, somewhat conflicting goals: 1.  Full size, no compromise performance, especially given the limitations of a quick portable setup. 2.  Small enough when packed up for trail use (think SOTA) and air travel. 3.  Quick to setup and take down. 4.  A modular design that can evolve over time as your needs change. 5.  An open design that makes it easy to make modifications and add your own options. With these goals in mind, we decided to base the design on using wire elements and fiberglass telescoping poles for the support. This combination allows us to construct full size antennas in many configurations including horizontal dipoles, inverted vee, ground planes, long wires and resonate wires to name a few. We selected antenna hardware designed for backpacking which keeps the size and weight down and then designed a unique feed point system that allows for quick setup and improved performance. Head over to Packtenna.com for the latest! *Here is a link to the Packtenna Users Manual* (added 4-10-15) *A link to Pricing Information* (added 4-13-15)*   KB1HQS in Print! Click for more info

Episode 10 is here, and chock full of Great Information!  This time KJ6VU, George Z joins us to discuss Amateur Radio Repeaters-the workhorse of the hobby! With nearly 40 years of repeater building under his belt, he is a fountain of knowledge to be drawn from. George, KJ6VU is heavily involved with the Bay-Net Amateur Radio Club and Repeater Network, in the SF Bay Area of California. Bay-Net is an open amateur radio repeater system providing wide-area coverage for public service events and emergency communications. All radio amateurs are welcome to use the system. The system includes 2m, UHF and 900 MHz linked analog repeaters, a D-Star digital repeater, Echolink, and IRLP VOIP services. He is also part of the continuing innovation of Ham Radio through his company Sierra Radio Systems.   From Micro &  Remote Station Controllers to Repeater Site Controllers and Monitoring Systems Sierra Radio Systems works to further advance the Amateur Radio Hobby. You'll be hard pressed to pack more Repeater Knowledge into a single Podcast Episode!  Thanks for Listening! Like what you’re hearing?  Click on the Share Buttons Below! Show Notes: Bay-Net Linked Repeater System Cactus Inter-tie Repeater System Sierra Radio Systems/Hamstack IRLP Echolink Amateur Radio Newsline ARRL Audio News Pre Packaged Kits: the Ham Gear you need! Further Repeater Info Provided by Bridgecomm Systems 73, de K4CDN