Podcasts about packtenna

The Station Controller is the newest project and product from Sierra Radio Systems, a company you might recognize from their famous Packtenna Antenna. Today I get to talk with George, the owner of the company, about this new Station Controller - designed for remote controlling your radio and peripherals inside of your HamshackWebsite link - https://www.packtenna.com/station-controller.html#/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

From one exiting product last week to another exiting product this week. George KJ6VU comes on to talk about the Station Controller that hopefully is ready for general release pretty soon.George is a man with many hats, you might have heard about both Packtenna and Sierra Radio Systems. He is also one of the hosts of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast.You can find out more about the Station Controller and more over at https://sierraradio.netIf you, by any chance, have not heard about Ham Radio Workbench, you can find out more over at https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/TEHRS is: @labcat73 @LB5JJ @LB4FH @LB0FI And sometimes @COASTALWAVESWIRES , @HAMRADIODUDE and @AH6UN_OE4JHW #amateurradio #hamradio #amateurfunk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk about what it takes to start your own ham radio business.  Whether you are a club who wants to sell a kit, a person who wants to start a side business or an entrepreneur who wants to start a company and make it your full time job, this episode touches on several aspects of the process.  We use real-world examples of Vince who makes keyer kits, George who has run Sierra Radio Systems and Packtenna and Mark who is starting up Halibut Electronics as a full time gig.

Here are the links for today's ham radio shopping deals!

Do you want to build a portable ham radio station to operate in the field? Do you wonder how you might improve your current portable station? George KJ6VU joins us tonight to talk about the pros and cons of each category of equipment for your portable ham radio station. We'll discuss antennas, masts, radios, and more. George has a very interesting backstory, as a host to the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, creator of the Packtenna antenna line of products and accomplished homebrewer and builder. Packtenna Antennas: https://www.packtenna.com Ham Radio Workbench Podcast: https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/ Join us we talk about how YOU can build an effective portable ham radio station in this episode of the All Portable Discussion Zone “AP/DZ”. Every aspect of Portable Ops is explored in this biweekly live stream as we discuss news, gear, achievements, the workbench, contests, awards and more - find all Portable Ops related topics here. Twitter: Charlie NJ7V @NJ7V_ Dan KC7MSU @KC7MSU Brian W7JET @BBW7JET Donate https://www.patreon.com/redsummitrf Obtain a sticker https://redsummitrf.blogspot.com #APDZ #SOTA #PortableOps #HamRadio

Field Day Debrief and EmComm Software with Gaston Gonzalez KT1RUN. Our Website - http://www.hamradioworkbench.com/ Follow us on Twitter -  https://twitter.com/hamworkbench Contact us -  http://hamradioworkbench.com/contact Connect with us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamradioworkbench/ BrandMeister Talkgroup 31075 - https://hose.brandmeister.network/group/31075/ QSO TODAY Ham Radio Expo August 14th and 15th - https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/ HRWB will host a live event Friday the 13th night starting at 6 PM PDT George will present the trailer build project Mark will present on Measuring 1:1 Balun/Common Mode Choke Designs With A NanoVNA Vince will present on Disaster Communications and Leadership imperatives Mike will present a spin-off on “death of the RS-232 port” Anyone else? **Digilent  Coupon Code HamRadioWorkbench2021 **Available at digilent Ham Radio Workbench will participate in the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo August 14th and 15th Booth + conference tables to meet and chat https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/ Segment 1 - What's on your workbench Gaston Raspberry Pi 3B+ CPU cooling: case evaluation and software/hardware optimization What: Looking for perfect RPi 3B+ field case for a software project Why: Sonoran Desert & field operations How: Added CPU temperature telemetry (app + cron job) + journal/graphs Baseline: CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (B Plus) with Premium Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply iUniker Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Case, Raspberry Pi Fan ABS Case with Cooling Fan Unistorm Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ Aluminum Case with Dual Cooling Fan Metal Shell Black Enclosure Flirc Raspberry Pi 3B Case (not yet tested) Pi 4 testing TBD with Argon ONE V2 Raspberry Pi 4 Case with Cooling Fan  Cases: Findings: active vs passive cooling Mark Looking at M17 again. They've come a LONG way since I started the protocol spec doc a year or so ago.  Provided a couple minor updates in a pull-request, mostly around Crypto protocols.  I have a couple MD380s that I intend to use for M17 hacking. Haven't done anything yet though. Another Field Day, another single episode working on my Contest Station Audio Interface Thingamajig. Debating between two designs: Single unified device, one board with all cables going in and out, all mixer controls in a single place. Distributed devices, with an RJ-45 bus connecting them. Puts controls nearer to the operators/radios, but is more complex.  Allows for further expansion. Playing a bit with my shiny new toy: Flex6400. Book recommendation: The Cuckoo's Egg, Cliff Stoll, K7TA. Not ham radio related, but I suspect will be of interest to hams. (AWESOME BOOK - RH) Rod Partial Tear down of my Covid Office / Ham shack to install a new (to me)  50 inch LG Digital sign (Like you see at Malls)  to run the GeoCron and also as an information radiator. Got this on an online auction. Live feed of data. LG Model 49SM5KE-BJ Studio A: Two 31 inch curved monitors at eye level - plus Macbook in centre Radios to the right (controlled by PC plus VFO Audio podcast gear to the Left (Rodecaster, etc) Below Monitors Studio B: (Spin around - a U shaped desk) Work related Hardware / tools plus Video Editing Ergonomics - Credit to Foundations of Amateur Radio Podcast - Onno (VK6FLAB) ‎Foundations of Amateur Radio on Apple Podcasts For the Ergonomics discussion Still working on a talk on the  future of all this Zoom fun “After” Covid?  Covid forced content back into prominence - How do we keep “Content” as king? George Maiden voyage of the radio trailer Presentation at the QSO Today virtual ham radio expo Playing with the ESP32 WiFi LoRa Arduino module Shipped out a pile of PackTenna trekmount antennas … thanks to Gaston New RigExpert AA-650 analyzer Tram 2m/UHF yagi $99 not bad Michael Operating -- conditions on 6M for the last 10 days have been amazing for us in VE3 land.   I have a Morseduino to build Improving power control to the rotator controller and Steppir controller installed at the base of the Tower - I have LAN at the tower base so a KMTronic switch mounted there now AT100 tuner kit for the IC-705 Vince W8BH.net Morse Tutor Kits update Next round parts have been ordered, now we wait Send email to Vince - ve6lk [at] rac [dot] ca The original project source is http://w8bh.net  PA0RDT mini-whip waiting on parts McHF repair waiting on parts KD2C Panadapter tap will, one day, go into my go-kit FT-857D Prepping for QSO Today conference UHF packet station project started Every SMC job … https://twitter.com/VE6LK/status/1411515481907859459     Segment 2 - Field Day Debrief George Trailer was great ! Best features Screen doors ! External powerfilm solar panels and DC extension cords SOK battery - $570 for 100 Ah vs Battleborn $949 for 100 Ah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxMIs0PXrBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjpkI8quyzQ&t=534s Carbon fiber masts - Gigaparts Flex 6400 + Maestro   Vince Socially Distant FD a success! Visitors from all over North America via Zoom Local Deputy Mayor and Fire Chief in attendance Adult beverage delivery actually happened! Aim high when you ask club members to contribute! http://field-day.arrl.org/fdentriesrcvd.php to check on entries Gaston - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUoEuaQ_l2Q Location: Tonto National Forest - evening/overnight operation X-factor: heat Man portable: 58.5 lb pack including 8L of water (17.5 lbs) Conditions: 101- 85 degrees (F) Did not participate in FD activities Gear:  PackTenna Linked Dipole: 20m/40m (80m not used) PackTenna TrekMount with Comet BNC-24 antennas for 2m SSB FT-818 with ARMOLOQ TPA pack frame, 4.5Ah LiFePO4, 20 watt Powerfilm solar panels, Buddipole PowerMini EmComm Tools testing successful: APRS text msg (SMSGTE), 40m Winlink status email, call lookup Mark N6EOF 2A Santa Barbara. 631 QSOs: 351 SSB, 94 Digital (FT4 and FT8), 186 CW. 100W so 2x multiplier.  1822 Total QSO points, 350 Bonus points. Final score: 2172 points! (but it's totally not a contest.) Had a great turn out! About 12 people total, 7 active hams who played with the radios at least a bit. Ran entirely on solar power, only spun up the generator for a couple minutes to make sure it worked, and show another person how (it's mod'd for Propane.)  2 stations, 100W both, using nothing but solar. I'm really proud of that. SSB station: FT-920, on an EFHW, cut for 40m (so resonates on 40/20/15/10m), but added a loading coil and stub to add 80m. It worked really well, but required more tuning at the radio than I anticipated. The loading coil was 13 turns of antenna wire around an FT140-43 (which should have been about 110uH, except that it totally isn't, it's 150uH, I should have done 11 turns… Oops…)  All the designs I've seen show a linear coil of antenna wire around a form, not a toroid. I'm wondering if the capacitive coupling of the toroid was different enough from the linear coil to affect tuning on 40m and above.  (The wrong inductance should have only negatively affected 80m, which definitely was tuned too low.) Used the feedline as a counterpoise, put a current choke 1:1 balun about 12 feet from the feedpoint: 13 turns of RG-8X around an FT240-43. You think wrapping magnet wire around toroids is a pain? CW/Digital station: Club member brought his Packtenna clipped dipole. Used it with his Flex6600 and Maestro. Worked a charm. 20m SSB was CHEEK BY JOWEL... Rod VA3ON  Teamed up with my friend (and Elmer) Peter West VE3HG to create a small scale field day for us and our two Padawans, Iuliya VE3UHA  and Dante VA3DNF. (4 total) Both teenagers licenced as Basic with Honours during the pandemic shutdown, but had yet to operate HF. Used the Oakville club call VE3HB. At the scenic “West Estate” we got a few antennas up (Dipoles, horizontal Endfed and verticals) 5 Watts on two Elecraft KX2 Stations (Commonality of rigs, preserved learning): Station A: CW  Station B: Phone and FT8 on the other New HRWB Logger appliance (with N1MM) - Avita Magus II [WT9M10C44] 10 Inches Intel Celeron 4GB RAM 64GB Storage Touch 2-in-1 Windows 10 Tablet PC Black     - rocked Conditions Phone was horrific on Saturday FT- not much better - could hear lots but nothing worked well CW great (as usual) To make CW workable we used a CW reader and keyer with preloaded exchanges and a keyboard. An approach I've not used before with rookies to shortened the learning curve. Emphasis on learning and getting the tempo. We may be seeing a lot more of these two as CW contesters - they were aggressive! Segment 3 - EmComm Software Project by Gaston KT1RUN What is the purpose? API and web app for field expedient digital communications platform that runs on RPi Offgid, mobile-first and 1-click digital operations Headless: eliminate need for VNC and/or external display/keyboard/mouse Lightweight: small footprint memory, CPU and disk => conserve power What does it do? Allows headless operation of various ham radio tools (Pat, YAAC,direwolf, etc.) on a RPi (everything runs on the Pi; the web browser is the interface) Streamlines mode switching: Winlink ARDOP, Winlink packet and APRS Streamines messaging for both Winlink and APRS through templating engine Offline callsign lookup - includes approx. distance calc based on GPS Status information: time (local/UTC, hostname, IP, CPU temp, GPS, grid square) Remote shutdown What did you use to develop it?  App and API decoupled Backend: (API) Java JDK 11 Spring Boot: DI, uber jar, systemd, oh my Lucene: IR library (search background) Custom YAAC plugin: Light-weight HTTP API (REST-like)   Frontend: (not my area) Prototype: Bootstrap and jQuery Prod: React.js: What is the project status?  Do you want people to try it out? Status: Prototype, field experimentation Limited beta tentatively schedule for fall 2021 First round: Operators with FT-817/818 or FT-857D (maybe FT-991A) Second round: Any all band, all mode radio (HF + 2m) RPi 3B+ Build and giveaway on the channel Weekly project updates: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thetechprepper     Wrapup / Outro If people want to get in touch with you, what is the best way? Gaston Email: info@thetechprepper.com  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheTechPrepper/videos EmComm Tools Project: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thetechprepper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetechprepper/ Twitter: @thetechprepper1 Mark Twitter @smittyhalibut Rod Twitter @VA3ON YouTube https://www.youtube.com/Cycle25 www.cycle25.ca Vince Twitter @VE6LK  Web www.VE6LK.com George DMR TG 31075 From all of us at the Ham Radio Workbench, 73. NOTES Reminder to Jeremy, post notes for HRWB132 onto web

Mike, George, and Jeremy discuss the common types of wire HF antennas - Dipoles and End Feds.  We talk about the physical, electrical, and performance aspects of these antenna types. PERMALINK - https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/podcast/wire-antennas Our Website - http://www.hamradioworkbench.com/ Follow us on Twitter -  https://twitter.com/hamworkbench Contact us -  http://hamradioworkbench.com/contact Connect with us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamradioworkbench/ BrandMeister Talkgroup 31075 - https://hose.brandmeister.network/group/31075/ DIY 10Ghz Transverter - http://www.w1ghz.org/MBT/Simple_and_Cheap_Transverter_for_10_GHz.pdf 3ghz Reallocation - http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-formally-adopts-proposals-to-remove-amateur-3-ghz-band-invites-comments New ARRL MicroController Book by Dr. Jack Purdum W8TEE - http://www.arrl.org/shop/Microcontroller-Projects-for-Amateur-Radio/ George’s Blog - https://www.hamradioworkbench.com/george-kj6vus-blog.html YCCC Choke Information - http://www.yccc.org/Articles/W1HIS/CommonModeChokesW1HIS2006Apr06.pdf Sloper Antenna - https://www.hamradiosecrets.com/sloper-antenna.html Inverted V Antenna - https://m0ukd.com/calculators/inverted-vee-antenna/ Bell Labs Video on Wave Characteristics and Impedance - https://techchannel.att.com/play-video.cfm/2011/3/7/at&t-archives-similarities-of-wave-behavior End-Fed Wire Length - https://palomar-engineers.com/tech-support/tech-topics/best-hf-end-fed-antenna K8MRD PackTenna end fed half wave video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkL3s3_6AWM Random Wire Antenna Lengths - https://udel.edu/~mm/ham/randomWire/ IC-705 Tilt mount - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P4LX3RF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 IC-705 Tripod - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076F4ZTW9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 IC-705 Backpack Insert - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076446F6D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Small case to put the camera insert and radio inside for storage / transit - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BP8UUCE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The Wireman - https://thewireman.com/ Davis RF - http://www.davisrf.com/ DX Wire - https://www.dx-wire.de/ Packtenna groups.io - https://groups.io/g/packtenna RigExpert Antenna Analyzers - https://rigexpert.com/ NanoVNA Comparison Video - https://youtu.be/GipCVEsiqXc Toroid Suppliers - http://www.amidoncorp.com/ferrite-toroids/ https://palomar-engineers.com/ferrite-products/ferrite-cores https://www.fair-rite.com/

George and Jeremy sit down with Beric Dunn (K6BEZ), the designer of the project, to introduce the Arduino powered DDS module based Antenna Analyzer!  Beric is a professional RF design engineer by trade, and he wanted to provide a project that would allow a ham to learn some fundamental principles while making a useful gadget. RFinder H1A/B/C - https://www.ecwid.com/store/store10195853/ Anytone Radios - http://www.va3xpr.net/anytone-at-d868uv-dual-band-radio/ Baofeng - http://www.va3xpr.net/baofeng-dm-5r-dmr-tier-ii-upgrade/ PackTenna - http://www.packtenna.com/ Digilent Analog Discovery 2 - http://store.digilentinc.com/analog-discovery-2-100msps-usb-oscilloscope-logic-analyzer-and-variable-power-supply/ Murata switching supply the size of a 7805 for $5 - OKI-78sr-5/1.5-W36-C- http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/124-10255 ARRL Insurance:  https://arrlinsurance.com

Ham Radio: All Roads Lead to Dayton. Episode 52.  In just 3 days I will attend my first ever #Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio.  The Godfather of all Hamfest is said to be the 'one every ham must attend as least once'.  Now I'm going, and it's all thanks to you! What literally seemed like a Futuristic Pipe-Dream is fulfilling itself right before my eyes.  I can't say thank you enough for your generosity and support.  Additionally, we have sponsors that help keep this show going month after month.  In this show, we'll talk to them and learn what they are planning for their Dayton Experience this year.  We'll also announce a new sponsor, that you'll be familiar with for sure!   Packtenna, a George (KJ6VU) and Nick (N3WG) creation keeps getting better-and smaller!  The Brand-New Packtenna 'Mini' is available now online and at Hamvention.  George is up first to tell us about the 'Mini' and it's why a Portable-Operator needs one!  Packtenna is the Dayton Hamvention Booth Sponsor for the Ham Radio 360 Podcast.  Booth BA406. *George presented Portable Antennas at Hamvention-here is his slide presentation   Of course, I'll be there-with Jeremy (KF7IJZ) and George (KJ6VU) in Booth BA406!  I look forward to meeting you all!  Make sure to stop by and say hello, bring your friends by too!  It should be an unforgettable weekend and I'm excited to share it with you!  We'll be breaking news with our Twitter Feeds, and depending on our connection-Using the Live-Streaming app 'Perisocpe' to share with you what we see happening!  Thanks again for giving me this opportunity to attend!   Supporting Partners:   Please Remember to Share the show! 73 Y'all!   K4CDN  

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