to offer
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1. HAM MAG PAGE 16 S meter and LCD panel lamp replacement The main weak point of the FT 290 is the small incandescent backlight that has to be replaced periodically This lamp does not handle a voltage greater than 12 5 V and blows at 14 V It is a real pain in the neck if you do your own repairs do the replacement once and for all It is possible to replace the light bulb by two white LEDs side by side in series with a 470 Ohms resistor This modification depends on surface mounted LEDs picked up from mobile phones The procedure is lengthy due to the removal of the front panel and the stack of printed circuits re Y an LME Reverse polarity protection The protection against reverse polarity of supply is not sufficient F5AEG burned the CPU board of his device By studying the schematic diagram and the device structure we spot a diode DO1 10D1 located on the power jack and PL socket that will shortcut the supply if reverse polarity is applied This diode is a silicon junction 0 7V diode and is too weak for strong power A fuse follows the switch and the diode to protect the device against inside shortcircuits The recommended improvement is to remove the input diode and add a Schottky series diode on 12V of the device This change adds a voltage drop of 0 3 V max but protects the device absolutely without any trouble The Schottky diode may be found in a computer power supply it is the 5V rectifier diode generall2. cceeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 2 The Ham Mag Hall of fame cccsscssseseeeeeeeees 4 Ll The race with obstacles By YO4PX 5 Ek 4U1VIC by OE3SGU ccssecssessecssesssssseesseessesseessses 8 A new life for your FT 290 By F5RCT 12 The DX news from the WebD c ccsserseeeesneees 20 The DX calendar By SM3CVM 00 24 7A N TI coco sectas ares es 26 QSL Policy By DF6EX ooooooccccccocccccoccnccononcnnnnannnos 27 The versatile 995x board By WB6DHW 29 Comics AMS 34 Thanks to HB9HFL F5RCT OE3SGU IK7JWX DF6EX WB6DHW F4FGY OPDX YO4PX SM3CVM Thanks also to the OM s who believe in this magazine to all the donators and OM s who sent helpful messages You can contact us by E Mail postmaster ham mag com Our websites http www ham mag com English http www ham mag fr French ISSN N 1760 6470 HAM MAG PAGE 3 the Donators of february PA NCV Nick O K6LCS Clint tLe Richard Downey VK2ETA John Laurent Horne K4SHF Tim KE4IAP Don K3PB Pat W2FBS Richard VK2SJJ Steven CT1ADT Manuel KB1KRS Hyrum 2I1COS Cornelius GETDIO INDIOS PY3ARS Jocarli W3ACO Rich NgDAX Ward M WAY wayne Antonio de Armas Medina K3ZIV Bill Milan Puncer William Beyrer EA6BB Pedro W1CRO Arthur KA8Q Jerry Thanks a lot four your support To be in the hall of fame visit our Website and click on help us http www
3. VP9 BERMUDA First time DXpeditioners John W3MF and Bob K3PH plan to activate VP9I for the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th QSL via N1HRA They may operate outside the contest as VP9 homecalls YV5 VENEZUELA Operators Suer YY5EBV Jose YV5BM and Jhony YV5KG will be active as YV5KG during the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th as a Multi Single High Power entry QSL via YV5KG HAM MAG PAGE 22 THE DX CALENDAR BY SM3SCVM Lars http www sk3bg se MARCH 2009 1 3 BRAZIL PX6B and PY6KW p SA 080 from Boipeba Island by PT2OP as PX6B and PY6KW as PY6KW p or with a special callsign They plan to operate SSB mainly on 20 and 40 metres with 100 watts into G5RV QSL via home calls 1 3 MEXICO XE2HWB XF1 NA 078 from Isla Magdalena He will operate QRP on 14260 and 50120 kHz QSL via home call 2 3 TUVALU T27A and T270U OC 015 by N7 OU and W7YAQ their callsigns still have to be confirmed Activity will be on 160 10 meters mainly CW with some SSB and RTTY They plan to be an entry in the ARRL DX CW Contest QSL via their home callsigns direct or by the Bureau 2 3 IVORY COAST TU F8ENY from San Pedro He will operate mainly on 20 metres 3 3 BELIZE V3YN and V31GW NA 180 by DJ4KW V31YN and DK9GG V31GW will be active from Belize to early March including a number of contests From 26 February to 3 March look for V31YN p to be active from NA 180 QSLs via home calls direct or bureau 3 3 PARAGUAY
4. EPC on that day on 10140 kHz QSL via Gl 7OMY FP ST PIERRE AND MIQUELON Eric KV1J will once again be active as FP KV1J from Miquelon NA 032 between March 4 9th Activity will be on 80 6 meters using CW SSB RTTY and PSK31 He will also be in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th 2009 QSL via his home callsign direct or by the Bureau Also LoTW or eQSL Visit his Web page at http www kv1j com fp March09 html GJ JERSEY EU 013 Dez GODEZ will be active as GJ3WW during the COWW WPX CW Contest May 30 31st as a Single Op Low Power entry This will be a holiday style operation QSL via LoTW or direct to GODEZ HAM MAG PAGE 20 J6 ST LUCIA NA 108 Just a reminder that John W5JON will be active as J6 W5JON from Marigot Bay between March 1 11th 2009 Activity will be on 160 6 meters SSB using dipoles and 6m yagi Also look for activity in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th 2009 QSL via W5JON J7 DOMINICA NA 101 John G3LZQ will be active as J79WR between March 5 25th Activity will be holiday style but he plans to concentrate on 160 and 80 meters and participate in the upcoming Commonwealth BERU Contest March 14 15th QSL via G3LZQ LT9 ARGENTINA Special Callsign Members of the Corrientes Radio Club LU4LG Villa Angela Radio Club LU4GO and Chaco Radio Club LU4GF will activate the special callsign LT9L from Esteros del Ibera March 21 23rd The place of operation is the Ibera Interpretation Cen
5. 1 kHz offset 50 0 dB 60 006 A e ___ oise floor calibration melasuremen Praat LH Ls Leo Hz SA LEM It is possible to reduce PLL noise Limit the frequency range to 144 145 MHz with the jumper configuration on the CPU board Then adjust the TCO1 trimmer capacitor of the PLL s VCO see alignment procedure at 3 5 V for 145 MHz The RF filters on receiving T1001 T1004 and transmitting T2001 T2006 section need tuning too Remove the PLL shield and cut the track from pin 8 of PLL circuit to resistor R27 1k then add SMD 4k7 to 10k resistor This modification decreases the noise on tuning voltage On earlier versions the 6 8V voltage is provided by ICL7660 8 pins DIL IC Noise is generated on 5 6V audible in FM mode lt is very easy to improve by connecting a 10uF Capacitor between pin 8 and ground More information and modifications can be found on the web 3 hope these will help you 73 de F5RCT Jean Matthieu STRICKER f5rct jm lt at gt gmail com References 1 http www mods dk 2 httpo www mutekrf com ndex html 3 http wwwv whelan me uk radio mods2901 htm HAM MAG PAGE 19 THE DX NEWS From the Web tnx opdx 425 dx news arrl 2M SCOTLAND Satellite Op Paul 2E1EUB will once again be active as 2M1EUB from March 21st for one week He will sign 2M1EUB and be active on all the satellites from northeast Scotland Also look for him on 160 and 80 meters Checkout QRZ com und
6. operating will allow him to remain QRV until 1 UTC QSL via ND9M March ANTARCTICA VK BP from the Davis Basis main island only by VK2ABP VK2MRP QSL via VK2CA see QRZ com DX PEDITION HELP WANTED We need a good support amp sponsors for next dx expedition on MOGADOR island Marocco IOTA AF 065 ww loc IM51CM ITU 37 CQ 33 Date 18 26 April 2009 Team of the 9 operators 5C2A 5C2C 5C2F 5C2G 5C2J 5C2L 5C2SG 5622 5C2Y Essaouira IM51CL P Mogador island IM51CM M Lighthouses A R LH S MOR 019 Cape Sim Essaouira IM51CL MOR 036 Sidi Magdul Essaouira IM51BJ MOR 040 Grand Jetee Agadir IM50EJ OSL via bureau gt see the letter of the suffix Avia IK2AQZ C via IK6CAC F via I2FUG G via IZ7GWZ J via IK7JWX L via ISLWL SG via IZ7ATN Z via I8YGZ Y via IOSNY All HF VHF WHF bands all modes SSB CW M S RTTY PSK31 Pse reply to ik7jwx2003 yahoo it 73 de Alfredo IK7JWX Sign the guestbook at www sazan2008 altervista org www myspacecom ik7jwx HAM MAG PAGE 25 My second adventure in Albania on the island of SAZAN lota EU 169 M I A MA 001 Lh ARLHS ALB 04 ALB 019 ALB 020 WLOTA L 0028 would like to describe the sense of joy and the strong emotion that felt when have just arrived on the island of Sazan the return after six years has been wonderful especially with the very nice company formed this time by great Italian friends After having gotten all the permission
7. power supply unit Still quite favoured as an exciter for transverters or linear amplifiers it is built like the proverbial brick outhouse Large numbers were sold and they are now commonly available for around 150 They seem to be reliable in general and most components are discreet and can be replaced The following article proposes a list of modifications a la carte to improve their performance The Yaesu FT 290R is a multi purpose multi mode FM CW USB LSB portable 2 metre transceiver With 13 8 VDC input output power is 2 5 watts Coverage is 144 to 146 MHz FM steps are 12 5 or 25 kHz for the European version CW SSB steps are 100 or 1000 Hz It has a built in telescopic antenna The radio operates from eight alkaline NiCad C cells not supplied or from an 8 5 to 15 2 VDC power supply It measures 6 x 2 5 x 7 9 inches 150x58x195mm and weighs 1 3 kg For modifications you need the schematic diagram and the alignment procedure described in the user manual 1 The minimum equipment required to align the transceiver is a power metre and a frequency counter or better a spectrum analyzer have tested four devices on some of them PLL and SSB modulator frequency crystals drifted due to ageing Aluminium capacitors had aged too and showed an equivalent series resistance of more than 3 Ohms on 10uF capacitors Some of them can leak block the AGC line and have an effect of heating up when power is turned on Internal
8. written to turn the board in to a spectrum analyzer covering VLF to LOMHz y i gt gt 4 re E G A MI HAM MAG PAGE 29 Figure 2 is the schematic of the USB interface A PIC18F2550 was chosen for its easy availability low cost free development tools the large 32KBytes program flash memory and number of I O pins and on board peripherals The design is a clone of the Universal Bit Whacker http greta dhs org UBW All of the l O input output pins are brought out to headers The firmware contains a bootstrap loader Once the bootstrap loader is programmed into the PIC chip future firmware changes are done through the USB interface rather than a separate programmer The bootstrap loader is invoked by holding down the program button momentarily depressing the reset button then releasing the program button The current firmware interprets commands from the PC program to control the DDS the attenuator and to read the power meter The firmware for the PIC18F2550 could be rewritten to allow for stand alone operation with a keyboard and LCD display this is a future project HAM MAG PAGE 30 Figure 3 and figure 4 are the schematic of the DDS and associated support circuitry A separate regulator is used for each of the 3 power supplies required by the DDS In addition a lot of bypass capacitors and careful circuit layout are employed to keep the digital signals out of the analog circuits AA O EA
9. 1DTN all employees at the VIC offered to stay with us during our contest activity Needeless to say that this is not a matter of course as normally all rather like to spend their weekends with their families instead of at their QRL s location A short visit and inspection of the present shack of 4U1VIC in the G building near the Austria Center conference building soon showed us that there is relatively little space for wire antennas Even installing a beam would not be an easy task Also the G tower only has 48 meters of height and transmission into some direction is severely blocked by some of the higher UN bulidings around Among other offices the G building accomodates UNIDO and IAEA On the other amp side building D seat of UNIDO and CTBTO is a ag massive 102 meters tall and offers a relatively free z sight into all directions According to Alex OE1AWB a temporary weekend operation from the D tower would be possible He could offer us a little room on top of the roof that is normally used as a service room for elevators The room offered just enough space for the group and sheltered us from any outside noise wind and rain Friday before the contest the antennas had to be installed We used a Cushcraft A3S tribander lent by Georg OE1GPC including a SPID rotator from Manfred OE1MB for the higher bands For 40 and 80 meters we had monoband dipoles which were adjusted by G nther OE3GCU for a per
10. Coppola Tommaso IZ7JXQ for their precious help our very good pilot Pasquale IZ8GDO for the compilation of ours beautiful QSL Many THANKS to ours sponsors all See the links in our website We also thank all OMs that had QSO with us and allowed the total of 15 228 contacts The ZA0 2008 team invite all to read the various infos on our activity and to see many pictures on our website in continuous updating edited by Aldo IZ8IDX http www sazan2008 altervista org Don t forget to sign the guest book More info on http dx pp co com http www mdxc si http www myspace com ik7jwx HAM MAG PAGE 26 WINOSL Manfred Meier Postfach 1269 D 95645 Waldsassen DF6EX winasl de Fax 00499632 915668 WINQSLPOLICY is a 32bit application and runs under all current Windows Releases from WIN98 up to VISTA When you ve downloaded the file from the website just open QSLPOLICYSETUP EXE with a dou ble click In the selection window you can choose if you like the default setup directory which install directly unter the WINDOWS program directory in a sub directory QSLPOLICY Of course you can select also an individual installation directory After installation you find a new Icon on your desktop called OSLPOLICY After starting the program it ap O pears with the sentence Evaluation o Version in the headline j RUFZEICHEN DATUM esa e cai You can start it up to 100 times but lt Jes 10 12 1993 then you have to insta
11. E MAGAZINE A DA AA A me sae ae EAS tds e E lt a z i E i _ TALET lt a la q ME i e e i i n hi a Eat er a p om En PI 8 PY er pii 2k e hs pr o E oT de sk a a a F ar ons Bo e a SVT ES z Ss To 1 Dear YL dear OM Almost 8 000 readers of HAM MAG More than 4 000 readers for this english version and 3 900 readers for the french one This is may be the begining of a great adventure This magazine is living thanks to you and only you as Elvis used to sing For my job yes have another job crossed the France a week ago and was surprised by one thing antennas have disappeared from the roofs Just 15 years ago liked to look the Ham antennas and nowadays there are more money in the pocket of a trader than antennas on the roofs We have also seen recently the bankrupt of the two ham magazines in France the crisis is everywhere A web magazine as Ham mag and others is a good way to promote our activity and to save money and trees So don t hesitate to send me any informations about radio homebrew DX To communicate and to share informations is the way of the hamming folks So dear YL dear OM Carpe Diem for this number 3 Best regards and 73 s Vincent FAUCHEUX F5SLD HAM MAG HAM MAG PAGE 2 HAM MAG N 3 MARCH 2009 Table of contents Number Three By FOSLD
12. SB and PSK31 QSL via their CBA 7 13 CAYMAN ISLANDS ZF2UL NA 016 by K3UL active holiday style He will operate mainly CW with a focus on 160 80 and 30 metres QSL via home call 8 3 The GAMBIA C5 by GW ETF on holiday and hopes to do some casual operating from the hotel with 100w and a 20m dipole mainly CW but maybe some RTTY PSK31 He must apply for the licence upon arrival and he hopes to get C56 GWOETF QSL via home call 8 3 ECUADOR HC1MD from Tumbaco by NE8Z He will operate CW and SSB on 160 10 metres QSL via K8LJG 9 3 ARUBA P4WA by KK9A He plans to do a casual effort in the CQ 160 Meter SSB Contest February 27th March 1st He will also be in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th and the CQWW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th He will not be very active outside the contests but will likely spend sometime on 40 meters CW QSL via WD9DZV 9 3 GUANTANAMO BAY KG4CN NA 015 Had to postpone his trip to Guantanamo The new dates are 10 20 April to be confirmed 10 3 BRUNEI V85NBD25 Special event station is active until 12 UTC on 10 March to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Brunei as an independent and sovereign nation Information on the relevant award can be found on the Brunei Darussalam Amateur Radio Association s website http www bdara net 10 3 ANTARCTICA OR4AX and OR3AX from the RV Professor Khromov Spirit of Enderby and from the region of the Ross Sea in Antarctica by ON5AX and ON3AX QSL vi
13. World NOTE ONLY contacts for this activity All other earlier QSO s of AU1VIC are not available in electronic form A special thanks to all of the UN staff who supported and accompanied us patiently during this contest Thanks to Rom OE1RKS Alex OELAWB Bernhard OE3BLB and Rainer DL1DTN without you it would have been impossible to realise this project Our thanks goes also to the very patient security staff who assisted us in checking in and out the pile of boxes and antennas and tolerated our presence during the weekend Last but not least thanks to our partners who gave us a free weekend for our hobby and to everyone who called us We are looking forward to the next QSO in the next contest or during the next activity of 4U1VIC HAM MAG PAGE 10 QSO statistics for 4U1VIC 13 14 9 2008 A total of 1027 QSO s with 80 DXCC entities were made on 80 m 3 0 3 40 m 238 23 2 20m 763 14 3 15m 23 2 2 10 m 0 by continents Africa 16 1 6 Asia 135 13 1 Europe 399 38 8 North America 453 44 1 Oceania 5 0 5 South America 19 1 8 claimed score 173756 Hannes Gr nsteidl OE3SGU oe3sgu gmx net View over Vienna from the shack HAM MAG PAGE 11 A NEW LIFE FOR THE FT 290R TRANSCEIVER By FSRCT The FT 290R is an old amateur radio workhorse which was a very popular transceiver during the 80 s It is a 2 metre multimode portable which can run with or without an external 12 V
14. ZP6 SP9MRO by SP9MRO and SP9SX will be active holiday style They plan to operate CW SSB and RTTY with main activity to be concentrated during the weekends and the local night hours 4 3 GRENADA J37BO and J37RO by K4LTA J37BO and K4UPS J37RO including the ARRL DX CW Contest as J38A They will be joined by AK4Z KT4E and KE4TG who will be QRV as J3 home call 4 3 CAYMAN ISLANDS ZF2AM by K6AM He will also be active during the ARRL DX CW Contest February 21 22th and also the CQ 160 Meter SSB Contest February 27th March 1st He will be doing mostly antenna work outside of the contests but may get on the WARC bands or even 6 meters a bit as time permits QSL via K6AM direct or by the Bureau or Lo TV 5 3 MAYOTTE FH G3SWH and FH G3RWL AF 027 their activity will be mainly on 80 10 metres CW Subject to QRN and site conditions there may be some 160m CW activity and some RITY and or PSK31 They plan to have two stations on the air for as many hours every day as possible QSL via G3SWH direct or bureau on line form for bureau cards can be found at http www g3swh org uk mayotte html HAM MAG PAGE 18 6 3 SEYCHELLES S79JF AF 024 from Praslin Island by DL7JAN Activity will be on 40 10 meters using CW SSB RTTY and possibly PSK31 QSL via DL7JAN direct or by the Bureau 6 3 NAMIBIA V5 DL2SL QSL via homecall 7 3 MONTSERRAT VP2MPL and VP2MPR NA 103 by W1USN VP2MPR and AA1M VP2MPL They plan to operate CW S
15. a ON5AX 12 3 NAMIBIA V5 DJ4SO He will operate mostly CW and RT TY PSK31 on 160 10 metres QSL via home call direct or bureau The logs will be uploaded to LoTW 12 3 ANTIGUA V25TK NA 100 by G3TKK active holiday style He plans to operate CW on 40 17 metres QSL via G3TKK direct or bureau HAM MAG PAGE 24 19 3 ST MAARTEN PJ7 W8EB and possibly PU7 W8DVC Activity will be on 160 10 meters CW SSB RTTY and PSK31 Operations will be limited because he is on holiday Bil will operate in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th as PJ7B and as a Single Op All Band Low Power entry Also look for him to be in any RTTY contests All QSL requests go to W8EB Visit their PJ7B Web site at http www qsl net pj7b 23 3 MALAWI 7Q7AH by GUIAS for one month He will try to erect an antenna for 160 metres QSL via GOIAS direct only March LEBANON OD IV3YIM He operates SSB and RTTY on 10 15 20 40 and 80 metres with some possible activity on CW PSK and the other bands QSL via home call direct or bureau March BHUTAN A52VE by JA8VE He had to leave Bhutan on September 3rd due to health problems QSL via JF1OCQ March CHAGOS ISLANDS VQ98JC and VQYJC AF 006 from Diego Garcia by ND9M He is active as VQ98JC through the end of the year after that he will use VQ9JC Expect him to be QRV in his spare time typically on 12 16 30 UTC from Sunday to Thursday and on 12 17 30 UTC Fridays and Saturdays Occasional overnight
16. amplifier and the programmable attenuator The other output goes to the quadrature generator circuit If the programmable attenuator output is coupled to the power meter the PIC processor can monitor the output level and adjust the attenuator to achieve a desired output level Alternately the attenuator output can be applied to an external circuit If the output of the external circuit is connected to the power meter a scalar network analyzer is created Figure 5 is the quadrature generator schematic The RF sine wave is split into two phases 180 degrees apart in transformer T2 These two phases are converted to square waves by 2 LVDS line receivers One or both of these square waves are applied to the two 74AUC 74 s to produce 4 outputs 90 degrees apart H18 selects the clock source for the 2nd 74AUC74 If both are clocked from the same signal the output is at 1 4th the input frequency If the 2nd 74AUC74 clock is 180 degrees out of phase with the ist the output frequency is the input frequency The four digital outputs connect to the QSD circuit through U20 The T R transmit receive signal when pulled high for transmit prevents the signals from reaching the QSD circuit FIGURE 5 HAM MAG PAGE 32 Figure 6 is the QSD schematic This circuit is similar to that of the Softrocks but with faster switches The 4 square wave clocks are converted to 4 rectangular waves with a 25 duty cycle by U12 The four analog switches in the two 74AUC2G66
17. antenna removal and Pi filter improvement The FT 290R has a reputation of low sensitivity when the transceivers from the 90s came on the market Mutek Ltd offer the SLNA290s 2 preamplifier but the internal antenna system will bring losses anyway This present modification has two advantages It reduces the loss on the system by 2dB improves the output power x1 5 and sensitivity is better For OMs who don t like the antenna socket connection at the back it is possible to replace the antenna by a BNC socket on the front panel Removing the inserted ring can be done by drilling it carefully through with a 10 5 mm diameter tool On one device I used the hole to place a 3 5mm stereo phone socket Very useful for common headsets The output Pi filter shows losses and needs to be modified Remove the antenna and the tube along the flange and the components wired to the main board Remove all external components located outside the main PCB From small tore LO2 to L01 HAM MAG PAGE 12 It is possible to replace the capacitors with 1206 or 0805 SMD 50V COG soldered directly on the bottom of the board it s easier and quicker than removing solder from holes Now replace C106 33pF to 22 pF with a good ceramic capacitor located in the corner near the screw Replace L12 with 6 turns on 3 mm diameter using 0 5mm enamelled wire Add a 39 pF capacitor between L12 and L13 a location is foreseen Add a 22 pF capacito
18. duced from 300 to 1000 Hz to make the voice clearer The original SSB microphone preamplifier has a low frequency cut off near 10 Hz This will not improve the rejection of residual side band under 300 Hz and produces a scratchy modulation Located on border near VR2001 change the C01 C04 C05 C06 C13 capacitors for 100nF X7R ceramic capacitors See capacitors marked in red circles on picture below The CO7 capacitor is replaced by a 1uF aluminium HAM MAG PAGE 15 O J CON oO eof x E Me A A y ym E Audio quality of reception On earlier versions of FT 290R the audio gain is too high and the volume control range is too straight The change had been made by Yeasu during production Check if capacitor C123 and resistor R101 on the border are mounted if it is the case remove them See location marked with a blue circle on picture below Battery replacement Check the voltage of the battery If measured voltage is less then 2 8V the battery is at the end of its life It is difficult to find a lead type battery the same as the original On old computer motherboards you can find a good CR2032 battery holder Just drill a hole on the PCB ground plane and place the holder to solder it Before placing a new battery check the small 10uF capacitor on the CPU board located near the CPU chip if oxidation is visible clean the PCB and replace the capacitor with a 100nF or 1uF ceramic if possible for less leakage current
19. e Netherlands Also being celebrated is the 200th anniversary March 13 1809 of the city s rights granted by Louis Napoleon A special QSL card will be available on request QSL via PI4ASN by the Dutch QSL Bureau or direct by QRZ com address NO E QSL PJ2 NETHERLANDS ANTILLES A Multi Multi contest effort as PJ2T in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th Operators mentioned are Desecheo Team Bob K4UEE Gregg W6IZT George N4GRN Everett WZ8P David K4SSU Elmer N4LR Norman WA4ZXV Wayne KU4V Jim W4TE Don N4HH Mary KIMMH Harry W4KJ George KI4DSO Jim ND4V BilI N4NX Chaz W4GKF and Geoff WOCG QSL PJ2T via N9AG or LoTW HAM MAG PAGE 21 TF ICELAND Siggi TF3CW will be active in the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th as Single Op Single Band 20m entry QSL via LX1NO TT8 CHAD Franck F4BQO will once again be active as TT8CF between February 27th and July 1st Activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB QSL direct via FABOO V2 ANTIGUA Operators Norman K1DG John K1QX and Martin W1MD V26F will be active as V26F during the ARRL DX SSB Contest March 7 8th as a Multi Single entry QSL V26F via W1MD V85 BRUNEI Kanzi JA4ENL will once again be visiting Brunei from March 6 9th He will be active as V85NL and operate on all bands including 30 17 12m especially on 80 40 20m and the top bands mostly on CW QSL via JA4ENL by the JARL Bureau or direct Look for special event station V88NBD25 to be active
20. e Versatile 995x Board By WB6DHW Dave DDS Direct Digital Synthesizers are magical ee circuits Put in a few 1 s and O s on one end and you get a sine wave out arm the other end Analog devices YN e pp makes the most popular line of DDS ne chips Prior to the recent introduction Fm i 98 0 Bessem ox of the AD9910 and AD9912 the quis as ie AD9951 through AD9954 chips were RTEZ the highest performing devices They xt are available at reasonable price 24 54 qty 1 from DigiKey Analog Devices also has a very generous free sample policy http www analog com pa The purity of the sine wave and the eg B g EETA FA AH level of spurious outputs are related to LES i the number of bits in the internal D A digital to analog converter the clock speed and the programmed frequency The AD995x series uses a 14 bit D A as opposed to 10 bits in the earlier DDS s such as the AD9850 The maximum specified clock speed is 400 MHz although every device I have tried has clocked to at least 500 MHz Generally the more bits in the D A the lower the spurs One problem with the DDS chips is they are all fine pitch 0 5mm center to center pin spacing A second problem is the requirement for either a computer or processor to program the desired frequency A PC board is necessary Either an on board processor with keyboard input and LCD readout or a connection to a computer is required A low noise 400 or 500 MHz osci
21. e everyone some time for other obligations Unfortunately band conditions during this weekend were absolutely disappointing In the morning we only had smaller pile ups mainly with European stations on 40 meters During these times of low activity we mainly searched and pounced the bands for new multipliers Probably only a few European stations knew that this year they could also work other Europeans Most of the callers came from outside our continent In the afternoon 20 and 15 meters often provided wide openings and we finally could change into running Especially on 20 meters we had nice pile ups to North America and to Japan Many W6 7 s VE s and JA s HL s had big signals over S9 and queued to work us Interesting entries into our log on 20 meters were stations from 5R 9K 9M2 6 BY EY HI HK Tl TR TU UK VU YB YI 15 meters partly showed nice signals from Near Middle and the Far East but most openings only were of a short duration Among others we were able to work stations from A7 HS HZ JA UAO UN YB 40 meters opened to South America the prefixes HI HK PY YV could be logged But we also managed to work 4L 5B EA8 EA9 JA TA UAO VK und some W s on this band All QSO s of this activity as it is a tradition with 4U1VIC will be automatically confirmed via the bureau Of course all direct cards will be answered too We will also upload our log into the ARRL s Logbook of the
22. easured 0 22 uV at squelch threshold in FM with CW signal 115 dBm measured 0 39 uV for 20 dB S N N in SSB with CW signal 0 5 uV specified on datasheet The poor sensitivity comes from different design reasons and from the input transistor Antenna switching from antenna socket to receiver input has high loss The last modification reduces the loss by 2dB The input transformer TO1 has loss too Having a transformer with very thin winding wire introduces loss compared to a direct matching circuit The input transistor Q1001 has a poor noise figure even if the gain is sufficient A quick modification consists in grounding the source resistor to increase gain 1 or 2 dB and drain current but there is no improvement in sensitivity signal to noise This will increase G2 voltage and gain This transistor is located close to the power jack QIOO KS9Y De soldering of TO1 is easy by using a large tip and adding a lot of solder tin to heat all leads together Remove Q1001 C03 and C07 Clean holes with a de soldering pump Replace Q1001 with a BF988 soldered on back side with reference facing the PCB It is possible to use a BF690 BF961 or BF964 or the SMD versions BF998 BF994 Remove carefully the shield from TO1 and the ferrite cap cut the wire and clean the coil support Then TO1 is wound with 4 5 turns of 0 25 mm enamelled wire Start the winding at the top second slot from G1 pin connection to finish at ground con
23. er 2M1EUB for more info 5N NIGERIA EME and Possible IOTA Op Bodo DL3OCH will be working from here between March 5th and July 24th Activity will be on all HF bands 160 10 meters plus some operations on EME His expected callsign will probably be 5N KT3Q There is mention that he may also activate the Bayelsa Rivers Akwa Ibom etc States IOTA Group AF 076 QSL via DL3OCH 9M8 EAST MALAYIA Steve 9M6DXX will operate as 9M8Z from Sarawak OC 088 March 26 29th Activity will include the CQ WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th as a Single Operator Unassisted All Band High Power entry Outside the contest look for him to be on 40 meters SSB using a 3 element Yagi OSL via MOURX direct by the Bureau or LoTW PLEASE NOTE QSL Manager Tim MOURX states This week 180 QSL cards have been posted by air mail from recent activities Logs have also been uploaded to LoTW AHO MARIANA ISLANDS Operators Kuniyoshi 7L1FPU W1FPU Yoshiki KHOUA and Satoshi N2QP will be active as AHOBT during the COWW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th QSL via 7L1FPU CN MOROCCO Hartwig DL7BC will be active as CN2BC during the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th as a Single Op All Band Low Power entry QSL via DL7BC El NORTHERN IRELAND 30m Digital Daithi GI7OMY informs that El stations will be permitted to commence operating on Digital modes on 30 meters starting March 29th He plans to activate the club callsign MIOEPC for European Phase Shift Keying Club
24. fect low SWR Installing the antennas was more difficult as we expected and took until sunset A total lenght of 130 meters of coaxial cable was needed G nther and Werner really had planned every little detail There was literally nothing they had not thought about Every adapter and tape every screw an SWR analyzer ropes all had been brought by them For enabling us to install the A3S at the ladder on top of the roof some special brackets had to be built The exposed and sometimes very windy location on top of the D building offered a phantastic view all over Vienna and to parts of OK and OM This location was a dream for someone whose options in installing outside antennas are very restricted or non existent The radio in use was G nthers s Icom IC 775DSP including a Heil headset a foot switch and a microHam micro keyer Werner brought along his OM Power 2500 linear amplifier With a modest drive of 20 watts this linear delivers a massive Kilowatt output just what we needed for the rough contest use All the logging was done by Win Test HAM MAG PAGE 9 We were on the air for a total time of approximately 20 hours On Saturday we worked from 0755 to 2245 and on Sunday from 0710 to 1655 local time Late in the afternoon on Sunday we started disassembling the antennas and evacuating the equipment Only a very modest Operation during the nighttime was planned We worked in shifts of 2 hours which proved of value as it gav
25. ham mag com HAM MAG started to read with great excitement the article written by YO2 dedicated to the 40 years anniversary of the radio club of Timisoara my beloved place of birth abandoned by me 37 years ago but on whose streets still walk often in my dreams There brought up and went to school there traveled in frosty winter mornings when the mercury of the thermometer descended under 20 degrees C sometimes on the foot board of the crowded streetcar 6 on its circular way through the Maria plaza and on the bridge over the river Bega trying to arrive in time to the Musical High School situated in the downtown But haven t imagined in my nastiest dreams that reading this article will come across again with comrade Alexandru albeit only under the spiritual shape of a name printed on paper Like in a nightmare comrade Alexandru reappeared in my life though was hoping once that I ll may erase him for good from my memory The author of the article is arrogating him good organizers abilities who knows maybe he was really a good organizer but for me he was the one who for two lengthy years prevented the fulfilment of a dream was 16 when a class mate a violoncelist inoculated me with the bug of amateur radio by giving me a few issues of the The Radio Amateur magazine and revealing me the secret that on the short wave bands amidst the broadcasting stations one can hear radio amateurs ragchewing free
26. his year because of the 60th anniversary of the WAE diploma an exception was made Europeans could also work other Europeans Of course no contest points were granted for these contacts but the t fun taking part in the competition was greatly improved This fact was enough reason for some hardcore shortwave enthusiasts G nther OE3GCU Werner OELDWC and Hannes OE3SGU to think about participating from the UN Headquarters in Vienna the Vienna International Centre VIC 4U1VIC counts as a separate region and multiplier in this contest and thus we expected some nice pile ups It also has beena while since a multi operator group has operated from the VIC We soon thought about how to best realise this project After we established contact with some Hams from the VIC ten days before the event all of us met and discussed the details and we had a look at some possible contest locations We wanted to plan everything as thouroughly as possible in the short time remaining making the best out of the given facts and options HAM MAG PAGE 8 Soon we realised that participating during the whole 48 hours of the contest would not be possible Security standards in the VIC require that a UN staff member be with visitors during the period of operation Furthermore access to the VIC during the weekends is only possible in a very restricted manner and requires an early registration Thankfully Rom OE1RKS Alex OE1AWB Bernhard OE3BLB and Rainer DL
27. integrated circuits each sample the signal from the antenna for 1 4th of the RF cycle U15 and the associated resisters and Capacitors act as a low pass filter The outputs of the 2 op amps are sampled versions of the input that are separated by 90 degrees I and Q samples If these outputs are fed to the stereo line inputs of a PC audio card PC software can demodulate and filter the signals A number of free programs are available for this purpose If a band pass filter such as my BPF board is added the 995x board becomes a complete general coverage receiver covering LF to at least 80 Mhz depending on the filters Unassembled PCB s as well as details on where to get a parts kit are available on my for sale web page http wo6dhw com For_Sale html A detailed assembly manual with firmware software loading instructions as well as a schematic and board photos are available on my 995x page http wo6dhw com AD995x html For the software types there are several firmware and pc software programs that need to be written to take advantage of the available hardware on the 995x board These include 1 New firmware to allow stand alone operation with a keyboard and LCD display plus a rotary Knob have started on this and have the pin outs defined The firmware should also allow for computer control using standard commands This could interface to a 995x DLL 2 A PC program needs to be written to take advantage of the scalar network analyzer connectio
28. ios dol a Bates about amateur radio whatsoever Well this haven t 2 00 with order pay balance to postmon AA Satisfaction Guaranteed 4 Prevented him to reject my license application 11 WARREN ST while the other applicants among them AUDIO SALES CO new York 7 N Y Hungarians and Germans besides Romanians but none of them Jewish received their licenses and went off hastily to the workshop to order the stamps with their brand new SWL call signs Alexandru was supported in his categorical verbal refusal like in all other his actions by a well known ham from Timisoara today an old timer who was shaking his head and shrugging enigmatically his shoulders alike the boss as an answer to my desperate questions This was the beginning of a tormenting time marked by permanently renewed and afterwards unfulfilled expectations Alexandru hoodwinked me appointing time and again new dates when had to present myself to the club and remember the winding staircase mounted by me with pang and hope and descended soon full of sorrow having in mind a new date when who knows maybe possibly nevertheless a misterious and unseen guardian of the Law arised out of the writings of Kafka will finally take pity and will agree with the supplication of the poor unlicensed short wave listener who desired so much to be within the Law have kept record of these visits to the radio club They were as much as 35 At the thirty fifth vis
29. it Alexandru probably bored of the monotony of this repeated scenario opened with soldierly courage a new battlefront one has to be member of the UTC the Union of the Communist Youth to become a licensed short wave listener The homeland has confidence only in UTC members objected among my course colleagues who obtained the license know a few who are not UTC members some of them didn t even reached the necessary age to become UTC members Alexandru sank for a while into his thoughts but at last he found the saviour solution A letter of reference from the school that s it need to obtain a letter of reference from the school but for this we ll go together comrade Alexandru and me to request the letter of reference from the headmaster As a disciplined military man he was waiting for me at the entrance of the high school on the appointed day and time wearing his greenish uniform in front of the headmaster s office he told me to stand by and he stepped in alone The headmaster was very fond of me was always included in his troupe of student artists able to perform a complete musical programme sent by him to take part in all the artistic festivals held in the county and with my xylophone accompanied by a colleague at accordion scored fulminant SUCCESSES lIl never find out what exactly they discussed inside the cabinet the fact is that after a time Alexandru came out and showed in direction of the door the headmaste
30. ll a licence file 26 00 1995 or the program will no longer work 24 11 1996 107 11 1999 Conditions howto get a licence you ka 01 03 2008 will find at the homepage ia 07 08 2002 10 12 1993 16 12 1995 06 03 2004 www wingsl de In the database browser you find _ Kew 22 02 2005 les 10 12 1993 beside the call a date field This date represents when the info was Her am inserted or last time modified asis After the start of OSLPOLICY the cursor remains blinking in the 07 11 1993 search field Just enter the wanted DX call or manager call and press the Enter Button If a record was found the database moves 01 03 2008 and display the recorded QSL policy 07 08 2002 MET 10 12 1003 Also when the cursor is in the search field you can scroll throuh the database by pressing the arrow up or arrow down key proba 18 12 1995 kace 06 03 2004 Of course you can move also with clicking one of the four arrow buttons with the mouse to the next previous first last record WINOSL Manfred Meier Postfach 1269 D 95645 Waldsassen DF6EX winasl de Fax 00499632 915668 F rd AN Ma ia A Ty baw i i E i i a fins Jl i LN 4 j A r fas AAA a ee RE O AE ee Order Form WIN QSLPOLICY Club Licence Yes we want a WINGQSLPOLICY club licence Name of club eo ce club QA Manager e mail address Oo yO dgnature Gub ofticial Th
31. llator is alSo required With the recent popularity of Software Defined Radios such as the Softrock http groups yahoo com group softrock40 decided to control the board from a PC The Softrock already requires the PC to provide the filtering and demodulation functions An AD995x x 1 to 4 would provide a programmable local oscillator LO from VLF to VHF With a 500 MHz clock the AD995x can provide output up to 200 MHz with 0 116 Hz frequency steps Because many notebooks and some new desktops no longer have parallel or serial ports it was decided to use a USB port for control Because the Softrocks required 2 LO signals in quadrature 2 signals the same frequency but 90 degrees apart in phase also called and Q a quadrature generation circuit was added The block diagram of my 995x board is figure 1 As in many designs feature creep came in added a QSD quadrature sampling detector to make the board a Software Defined Radio SDR Since the board would have an on board processor added a programmable attenuator and a power measurement integrated circuit to allow the setting of output power The R2 revision of the board contains a modification to allow breaking the connection from the RF output to the input to the power meter This allows the board to be used as a SNA scalar network analyzer from VLF to 200 MHz Available free SDR software allows the board to be a receiver or a narrow band spectrum analyzer Additional software could be
32. ly something fast unconceivable to the spectators of the propaganda films of those years in which the only ones operating radio stations were either brave Soviet soldiers or spies disgusting traitors in the service of the Western intelligence agencies who ended always by being caught thanks to the patriotism of a pionier or a Comsomolist member of the Soviet Young Communists organization who discovered their activity and informed the authorities found quickly in our rudimentary radio set the 40 and 20 meters bands and amazed started to listen the QSO s of the local amateurs and of the foreign stations in AM among them many Italian stations with their extremely strong signals Then with the help of an old scout guide learned by myself to copy the CW contacts too obviously the signals didn t have a musical sound they were only buzzing and remember the thrill felt when heard in a very early morning the trembling signal of a W6 station sending QTH CA and then a Chilean station from Antofagasta even manufactured log sheets keeping record of my receptions and started to dream that one day will send QSL cards bearing my SWL call sign In the winter of 1959 entered my name for the telegraphy courses organized by the A V S A P the Voluntary Association for the Defence of the Homeland held in the main room of the radio club and graduated them in the summer of 1960 became also the happy owner of a fabulous b
33. n This would allow measurement of filters attenuators amplifier gain and power output 3 APC program could be written to use the QSD as a slow speed spectrum analyzer The SDR software already produces a spectrum display What is needed is to program the DDS collect the spectrum step the DDS frequency collect the spectrum and repeat until end frequency is reached Then display on computer and or store in a file 73 s Dave WB6DHW HAM MAG PAGE 33 COMICS HAM yn Have some Tun HAM MAG PAGE 34
34. nection Place the 6pf or 5 6pF capacitor from ground S to G1 Add a 4 7 pF capacitor from G1 to input close to C101 or replace C101 with 4 7 pF and make a short jump to G1 Solder non used pins of TO1 to ground HAM MAG PAGE 14 le ranga la Log Fag 18 4 qUe Mar 1 00 all bror E gg OTTO l A j i eritar 155 888 Hiii Goar 50 AnH Hiii The front end stage TO1 and T02 need alignment at 145 MHz using an RF signal generator based on maximum deviation of Smeter Tests Sweeping the stage from antenna input to output of TO2 gives a gain of 23 5 dB The AGC voltage of 2 1V is sufficient to get the maximum gain 123 dBm measured 0 16 uV at squelch threshold in FM with CW signal 118 6 dBm measured 0 263 uV for 20 dB S N N in SSB with CW signal With 128 6 dBm measured 0 083 uV for 10 dB S N N it is possible to decode a good CW signal The sensitivity measurement shows a 2 6 dB improvement with the modification of the Pi filter it is about 5 dB better Calculating the approximate noise figure from output S N to input S N NF 128 6 dBm 174 dBm Hz 10log 2400 Hz 10 dB S N N 1 6 dB Not bad Modulation improvement lf you have a low pitched voice and reduce plops effects it is necessary to cut off audio low frequencies by changing some capacitors This modification improves the quality of modulation by cutting low frequencies under 300 Hz A slight emphasis of 3dB is intro
35. ok ILF F FIGURE 4 CLOCK OPTIONS CPOS A PuL i Prom JOR co Gs ime F3 Pad i Th ES ENO ES ant Pastors Se ror 32 941 EDS LN mA requiri one ARO LaS 050 Pelee PD Ch Bor Deco O Beene CEI wi DM BAe Deal CE EXT O80 Omir Eb jor giebie Tron pin di f mirgla mndeSd pub nF from CUR te CHD ao en ae no Ge For propar ama Uca Or E FEL a E Ron Ez Lia Eid Lr qe Th T Tie T Tu Ti A iia i g DOS Chip Power Bypass Lape HAM MAG PAGE 31 A 125 MHz can crystal oscillator is used for the DDS clock The output phase noise is dependent on the clock The clock selected does not use a PLL to generate the 125 Mhz This guarantees no spurs and lower phase noise It is low cost but has a reasonably low phase noise The DDS internal PLL is used to generate a 500 MHz DDS clock The board has provision for an external clock input for those desiring ultimate performance The 125 MHz crystal oscillator may be replaced by a 100 MHz oscillator for those not wishing to push the DDS beyond its specification of 400 MHz A DDS is a sampled system Therefore outputs appear at mFclock Fprogrammed m is any integer Fclock is the clock frequency and Fprogrammed is the programmed frequency A low pass filter is required to remove the undesired aliases With a 500 MHz clock C26 C32 and L1 L3 form a LPF low pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 200 MHZ The output of the LPF is split in two One output goes to the mmic
36. ooklet with gray covers the Radio Amateur Traffic from which learned a lot of new things It comprised the list of the DXCC countries their prefixes their CQ zones After a few months knew most of them by heart many of the prefixes appeared already in my logs so that when a member of the examinations commission for the amateur radio certificates asked me about some European prefixes had no trouble at all to give him the right answers In November 1960 became the proud bearer of the Amateur Radio Short Wave Listener Certificate No 184 and filed together with my telegraphy courses colleagues the application for the SWL License Everything seemed to be all right nothing foreboded the enter of comrade Alexandru in the scene and in my life to overshadow the enjoyments of my young years HAM MAG PAGE 5 haven t seen him very often before in the Send and Receive Code afternoons when the telegraphy courses were held with this PROFESSIONAL ff could admire only the skill of a few amateurs E TELEGRAPH 2 constructing in the room on the right side an Y PRACTICE SET enormous station while in the room of the left side ASR Same as used by U S Signal Corp S the legendar Mir YO2CD was busy with his exotic Learn code quickly and have loads of g y fun with your re nen system CW QSOs It was said that the new radio club chief Only 9 95 E is coming from the Army and that he has no idea ho Ataca Mall l
37. r is waiting for me This entire suspicious theatre seemed to be of very ill omen With burning face and stammering of emotion presented to the headmaster my grievance to be issued with a letter of reference As long live lIl never forget the profound embarrassment of the poor man constrained to deny my request without being able to offer me any explanation at all left astounded the cabinet Alexandru disappeared HAM MAG PAGE 6 And with this all my hopes collapsed decided to give up irrevocably to this hobby which for me seemed to be forbidden But before that I ve done however something for the first time in my life exercised my right of petition granted by the Constitution in my capacity of young citizen of the Romanian People s Republic wrote a long letter to YO3 heard him Sundays transmitting on 40 meters band the official QTC s of the Romanian Amateur Radio Federation and thought that somebody must nevertheless learn about the mockery I ve been inflicted it must remain somewhere a trace of it counted him day by day the 35 1 summons to the club and asked for his help simply unable to understand why have been refused to get something obtained by others without any difficulty sent one copy of the letter to the Central Radio Club another one to his personal address found both addresses in the telephone directory A few months still watched the arrival of the postman In vain The Romanian citi
38. r parallel to D25 Replace C101 with a 470pF to 1 nF capacitor Reassemble the turns of L13 as shown on picture The Tx output stage needs to be tuned Select the high power switch position Adjust VR2003 to maximum power and then adjust TCO5 and TCO6 to maximum power at 145 MHz in FM mode The current is approximately 1 1A at 12 5V and maximum power is 4 5 W on my sample Then reduce the power to 3 5 W by adjusting VR2003 again This is necessary to stay linear in SSB mode Select low power switch position and then adjust VR2006 to 500 mW The insertion loss on Rx is improved from 2 7 dB to 0 7 dB On Tx the loss is improved too from 2 50B to 0 6dB and allows more than 1W in additional power Using the FT 290 as a transverter or a PA The FT 290R has two power levels 2 5W and 500 mW The low power mode may only be used for power consumption reduction In low power mode ALC is not working and modulation compression is not present The low level depends on a gate voltage of the Tx IF chain this will imply large tolerance on this level depending on temperature and frequency To use the transceiver with a PA or a transverter recommend using it in 2 5 W mode It is possible to adjust the level with VR2003 down to 1 W HAM MAG PAGE 13 Receiver sensitivity improvement Sensitivity of initial circuit with modifications of Pi input filter and internal antenna system removed Connection direct to SO239 antenna socket 120 dBm m
39. rst receptions as a licensed SWL brought with me the log copy as well probably the younger colleagues doesn t know that in those years one had to present carbon copies even for receptions in order to be verified by the authorities Costi run over the pages and he said Well well how nice would be if the transmitters could keep their logs as orderly as this one With this a chapter came to an end for me but not so the ordeal of my race with obstacles reached its finish only in 1980 after 17 years of form fillings applications petitions remonstrances memorials and receptions obtained my transmitting license at the age when other hams accumulated some 20 years of activity This is the way I ve acquainted comrade Alexandru hope with my whole heart that on the way of their evolution our younger colleagues won t come upon such characters who were able to do much harm to the Romanian amateurs in those years plagued by arbitrariness and totalitarianism This text was published in the Romanian magazine Radiocommunications and Amateur Radio and on the independent website www radioamator ro 3 s YO4PX HAM MAG PAGE 7 4U1VIC in WAE SSB contest 2008 f hi o ee a EF VIENA INTERNAW ONAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Every 2nd weekend in September the SSB part of the Worked all Europe contest takes place www waedc de Normally stations located in Europe may only work stations located on another continent but t
40. s both Albanian and Italian begun the organization of our radio equipments antennas amplifiers etc The group components was Alfredo IK7JWX from Lecce Nicola IOSNY from Perugia Pino I8YGZ from Nocera Superiore Leopoldo I8LWL_ from Castellammare di Stabia Oscar IZ2AQZ from Como We installed a Windom HF a directional Spiderbeam HF a vertical HE by 11UJX and dipoles for 40 80 160 m besides directionals for VHF and 50 MHZ for a total of 4 stations on SSB CW digital PSK31 e RTTY one VHF station also for Meteor Scatter traffic op Pino I8YGZ One of the station had a ICOM 7400 with TL922 amplifier two stations were equipped with two Yaesu FT450 a IC7000 and linear amplifiers always monitoring 50 140 MHz for a possible E Sporadic We have always operated at the same time on 3 Some times on 4 bands At the end of this fantastic adventure total QSO 15 228 we ss want to thank Mr Gazmend Oketa of the Albanian Office of the Defense Mr Besnik Gjonbati of the Albanian Army Forces the Command of Italian Marines the commander C F Russo Vittorio and the whole 28 Gruppo Navale for the perfect logistic support and great hospitality received the Delegazione Italiana Esperti D I E of the Italian Embassy of Tirana the Command of Guardia di Finanza of island of Saseno the A K E P office particularly Lady Dervishi e Mister Ilir Shehu for the temporary licenses ZAO the friends C V Tiziano Peretti IWOEVL and
41. ter located on the shores of Lake Luna Colonia Pellegrini Corrientes Province Access to this location is from the City of Mercedes from which it is separated on about 120 km of unpaved road The Center has a showroom with illustrative material about the history geography and biology of the park Activity will be on 80 40 20 15 meters using CW SSB PSK RTTY and SSTV Operators mentioned are Ricardo LU4GL CW Raul LU1JB L CW Luis LU4LC SSB Juan Carlos LU9GDN SSB Ramon LU7LC Digital and Nestor LU4LE Digital QSL via EA5FL JOSE MIGUEL ALCARAZ Moncho PO Box 252 03700 Denia Alicante Spain MJ JERSEY Operators David G3NKC Dave G4BUO Martin G4XUM and Phil GJ4CBQ will be active as MJ4K during the COWW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th QSL via G3NKC OM0 SLOVAK REPUBLIC The rare OMO prefix will be activated during the CQWW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th on 160 10 meters by the OMOA Contest Group Five operators and one YL will enter the contest as a Multi 2 entry Operators mentioned are Villiam OMOAAO Martin OM4AAS Mimi OM4AQW YL Igor OM6ACI Peter OM6PR and Stevo OM7KW QSL via OMOAAO PA750 THE NETHERLANDS A group of radio amateurs in the Assen region will be on the air as PA750ASN during the following periods March ist and April 15th and the month of June and September Operations will be on all bands and modes Activity is to celebrate the 750th anniversary of Assen city located in the northeastern part of th
42. until March 10th Activity is to celebrate 25 years as an independent and sovereign nation To mark this auspicious and historic occasion the Brunei Darussalam Amateur Radio Association the organizer of this special event station launched a temporary Silver Jubilee Award which is available to all amateur radio stations worldwide and SWLs For details visit the Web page at http www bdara net calendar_special html Also see details at http www arz com db V88NBD25 VP59 TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS Dave W5CW will once again be active as VP5 W5CW between March 24th and April 8th Activity will be on 160 6 meters this will include 30 17 12m CW SSB He will also be in the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest March 28 29th as a Single Op All Band entry using the special callsign VP59V OSL direct ONLY via W5CW or via PO Box 88 Morris OK 74445 0088 VP8 FALKLAND ISLANDS SA 002 John G3VPW will once again be active as VP8KF between March 5 31st This is about John s seventh trip to the Falkland Islands Activity may be limited at first because he will be working at the Stanley lonospheric Observatory for two weeks However the last 10 days are set for some DXing He is expected to stay with Bob VP8LP and Janet VP8AIB McLeod the ones that organized the YL only VP8 operation When active John will be on 80 40 20 15 10 meters using CW and SSB He will also focus on the ARRL DX SSB RSGB Commonwealth and COWW WPX SSB Contests QSL via his home callsign
43. y a double 30 A to 60 A 45 V diode Remove the parallel diode on power jack and PL socket Connect the two anodes of the Schottky diode together Then solder the anode to the power jack and the cathode to the red wire and V pole of the capacitor Check the capacitor and replace it if necessary with a 1000 uF 16 V minimum This capacitor protects the device against voltage spikes present on vehicles Another idea is to connect the Schottky diode in parallel to the supply after the fuse In this case the fuse will blow if reverse polarity is applied If you do this the anode ground connection must be connected to the frame near the fuse on the power supply board Bear in mind that if the ground impedance is too high the protection will be not sufficient a A n l A gt a s NNF 2900 ut ie oy A eh A JH EN io volume hal A y Te HAM MAG PAGE 17 PLL phase noise and spurious The signal at Rx mixer gate 2 was measured with an R amp S FUP spectrum analyzer and phase noise system measurement Phase noise 95 dBc Hz at 1 kHz offset 111 dBc Hz at 3 kHz offset 122 dBc Hz at 10 kHz offset Spurious some residuals from the comparison frequency of the PLL 70 dBc at 10 kHz offset 80 dBc at 20 kHz offset 95 dBc at 40 kHz offset Spectrum measurement EBW 100 Hz Delta 2 T1 PHN 300 Hz 94 87 dBc Hz VEW gt SWF 6 sS L 006410256 kHz HAM MAG PAGE 18 PLL phase noise measurement 95 dBc Hz at
44. zens right of petition was laid down all right by the Constitution but not so the obligation of the institutions or the officials to give them an answer Probably that s why the addressee did not condescend to reply to my S O S After a year or so came across on the street with a course colleague He received already his transmitting license he told The ARAL me that he worked ZS4 on 40 meters And he gave me another information comrade Alexandru was called back to active M ETAS 33M ellie service the new chief of the radio club is Costi Dumitrescu PH YO2BI Go to the club he s a good guy maybe he ll give you a im E Amateur Radio Operator hand added the colleague before we gone apart a ascended with trembling feet the well known wooden stairs And indeed in the room tapestried in blue by comrade Alexandru near the station sate a nice looking young man narrated him in short what have been through and showed him my SWL certificate He smiled sadly sympathetically then he rose to his feet extracted from a locker a form he filled it in with my name and with the receptionable bands in my poor radio set 7 and 14 MHz Then he consulted a register and he filled in also the call sign column YO2 1117 Go to the Central Post Office and ask them to stamp it he said Then he turned to another ham present in the room Unbelievable isn t it After a month was there again this time with about 300 QSL cards my very fi
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