Category Archives: Featured

This category is for featured articles that we want to include in the sidebars and other areas on our website.

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

Progress on our High Altitude Balloon Project

We are making good progress on our High Altitude Balloon project. We have identified three local schools are interested in the project and Jamey, KC1ENX and others are working to set up a meeting with teachers in these schools to explain what we are doing and gain support. You can see what we are sharing with teachers and parents here.

Possible High Altitude Balloon Payload Experiment - UV Radiation Measurements
Possible Balloon Payload Experiment – UV Radiation Measurements

Brian, AB1ZO is working on flight planning and science experiments for our high-altitude balloon. You can see Brian’s plans here.

We have also started a fund-raising campaign to raise the funds that we need for equipment, helium and other equipment to build and launch our balloon. Our fund-raising campaign has been active for about a week now and we are approaching the halfway point of our goal. Please consider helping us with the project by making a donation. You can do this by clicking on our GoFundMe drive below.


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Fred (AB1OC)

Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Station Equipment

January Tech Night Making the Most of Your HF transceiver

The January Tech night was about getting the most out of your HF transceiver. Fred had an interesting  PowerPoint presentation where he demonstrated how to do just that. For anyone else new to HF, I wanted to comment on it here. In his presentation, he described how you should use filtering first and digital signal processing (DSP) as a last resort. That’s the exact mistake I was doing. if you use a lot  DSP with a narrow filter selected the audio sounds hollow and really difficult to listen to. If you turn off the DSP  select the narrow filter and then bring up the DSP if needed you get less noise and a pleasing audio output. Also turning down the AF gain can be your friend too!

73 and good DXing

-Jim.   K1BMR

Featured, General, Homebrewing, Newsletter

Home Brew Your Own Arduino UNO

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The first question you may ask is, Why would I want to build my own Arduino UNO?  Economically speaking it does not add up in your favor after you acquire the parts and consider the time it takes to put it all together.  This is especially true when you consider that a Nano “clone” could be purchased for around $3!  You might have a permanent use application that makes building one your best option?  Maybe you just like to learn and do stuff just because you can!

The unit below is built on a prototype shield that has become the main board.  For my keyer application, I have no need of USB communications and I can keep the wiring down to only what is needed.  The 5v regulator will soon have a small heatsink as it gets warmer than I would like.

Homebrew Arduino UNO

Below is the other side of this board.  I used #4-40 screws as “legs”.

Homebrew Arduino UNO

Instructions for building one yourself on a solderless breadboard can be found at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Standalone

Instructions on burning the bootloader with another Arduino can be found at

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoToBreadboard

and

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoISP

If you run into trouble like I did by getting the “wrong” ATmega328 micro controller you can get work around instructions at http://www.crash-bang.com/resource/bootload-atmega328/

73,

Mike AB1YK

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide