Post your contributions to the FAQ here

[N2RJ]

If you'd like something included in the FAQ, please post it here. I'll put it up in the FAQ.

That way we don't have a whole bunch of cluttered posts in the thread, and the FAQ will be easy to read.

Thanks
Ryan

Q. What was Leeson's equation again?

A. Leeson developed an equation to describe the different noise components in a VCO.

http://www.analog.com/library/analogDialogue/archives/33-05/phase_locked/images/equation01.gif
Equation 1

where:
LPM is single-sideband phase noise density (dBc/Hz)
F is the device noise factor at operating power level A (linear)
k is Boltzmann's constant, 1.38 ´ 10-23 J/K
T is temperature (K)
A is oscillator output power (W)
QL is loaded Q (dimensionless)
fo is the oscillator carrier frequency
fm is the frequency offset from the carrier

[K1OU]

Posted previously in the wrong forum...

Quad calculator...

http://www2.mmae.ucf.edu/~ssd/ham/quadcalc.html

Dipole and three element beam...

http://bfn.org/~bn589/antenna.html

[N2NH]

Posted previously in the wrong forum...

Quad calculator...

http://www2.mmae.ucf.edu/~ssd/ham/quadcalc.html

Dipole and three element beam...

http://bfn.org/~bn589/antenna.html

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to incorporate this into the Links that I just posted, with a thanks to you.

[N3ATS]

Here are a bunch of links I found useful in the first few years of being a pigs hind quarter....



http://www.ac6v.com/ - Amateur Radio and DX Reference Guide

http://www.arrl.org/ - American Radio Relay League (ARRL)

http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/ - Amateur Radio Repeater Database

http://www.qsl.net/w4sat/antenna.htm - Antenna Elmer

http://www.cebik.com/ - Cebik.com (W4RNL)

http://my.athenet.net/~multiplx/cgi-bin/dbconv.main.cgi - Decibel Conversion Calculator

http://www.dxzone.com/ - DX Zone

http://www.g4fon.net/ - G4FON Morse Code Trainer

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/ - FCC Amateur Radio Service

http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/index.html - Moxon Antenna Project

http://n3fjp.com/ - N3FJP's Amateur Radio Software

http://www.nm3e.com/ - NM3E's RF Wattmeter Pages

http://allenk.home.infionline.net/engpgms.html - Online Broadcast Engineering Related Calculators

http://www.raibeam.com/wa7rai.html - QuickYagi v4.0 Antenna Design Software

http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/ - The Repeater Builder's Technical Information Page

http://icomamerica.com/downloads/miscel ... gridsq.pdf (http://icomamerica.com/downloads/miscellaneous/usgridsq.pdf) - United States Maidenhead Grid Square Map

http://members.fortunecity.com/xe1bef/ - XE1BEF Web - 20,000 Amateur Radio Links

[N3ATS]

How to properly set-up your radio for PSK31 operation in 10 easy steps.

This guide assumes you have the software, interface, and have a basic working knowledge of PSK31. This FAQ is merely a guide on how to properly setup your outbound and incoming audio levels.

1. Turn the RF power out on your rig to 100%.

2. Set your mic gain to about 25%.

3. Click on the speaker icon in your task bar (Windows users) and making sure you are viewing the "Volume Control" settings. Adjust the sliders for "Volume Control" or "Wave" for about 25%.

4. Making sure you are not stepping on a QSO in progress, key your transmitter via your PSK software (DigiPan, etc) and send a test message. For example "de N3ATS, PSK test transmission..." Do NOT send without identifying your station.

5. Note your output power. With PSK31, most amateurs like to run their rigs at 50% of full output power. If you have a 100W radio, you want your TX power to be at about 50 watts.

6. If your power is less than 50% of your rigs full power, increase the audio level via your sound card to get up to around 50 watts. If more than 50%, decrease the level of audio on your sound card to take the power down.

7. While transmitting, note the ALC meter on your rig. If there is ANY deflection, lights lit up, or meter movement at all you need to back your audio down until there is no movement from the ALC meter. This is very important. Overdriving your radio will cause distortion and a wider signal than necessary that could cause interference to nearby stations.

8. If everything is set correctly, you should have about 50 watts out (on a 100 watt rig), and no ALC meter movement when transmitting PSK. When transmitting check your IMD levels. Generally -20 db or lower is acceptable.

9. Setting up incoming audio is next. Click on the speaker icon in your task bar (Windows users) and making sure you are viewing the "Recording Control" settings. Adjust the sliders for "Line In" or "Microphone" for about 25%. Which one you adjust depends on how your interface is connected to your sound card or which type of sound card you are using.

10. Watch the signals on the waterfall. They should be bold, and stand out against the background of the waterfall. It is difficult to describe the color they should be due to the differences of the multitude of PSK programs available. If you are using Digipan, the signal should appear as a yellow trace against a blue background. If the signals match the color of the background, or the background is solid yellow, the input audio is too high. If you don't see any signals at all, the input audio is too low. In theory stronger signals should print strong and bold, while weaker signals will be more faded and less pronounced.

[N9FE]

i pm'ed john, w8ji.com richard measures, maybe some propagation sites as well as gray line calculator, doing good so far,, keep it up,,,thank's,, mark

[N1LAF]

http://Findchips.com FindChips.com aims to perform the fastest, most complete distributor search available today on the internet.
http://digikey.com Buy those components in single quantities at great prices
http://www.oselectronics.com/ For those hobby related parts
http://thewireman.com/index.shtml for wire and ladder line supplies among other things

Circuits
http://www.discovercircuits.com/list.htm
http://www.solorb.com/elect/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/
http://www.ee.oulu.fi/~arik/schematics.html
http://www.electro-tech-online.com/
http://www.mrollins.com/circuit.html
http://www.hobbyprojects.com/
http://www.radiolocman.com/electrical-engineering/

Components
http://www.microchip.com Home page for PIC microcontrollers
http://www.actel.com
http://www.latticesemi.com

[ad4mg]

http://Findchips.com FindChips.com aims to perform the fastest, most complete distributor search available today on the internet.
http://digikey.com Buy those components in single quantities at great prices
http://www.oselectronics.com/ For those hobby related parts
http://thewireman.com/index.shtml for wire and ladder line supplies among other things

Circuits
http://www.discovercircuits.com/list.htm
http://www.solorb.com/elect/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/
http://www.ee.oulu.fi/~arik/schematics.html
http://www.electro-tech-online.com/
http://www.mrollins.com/circuit.html
http://www.hobbyprojects.com/
http://www.radiolocman.com/electrical-engineering/

Components
http://www.microchip.com Home page for PIC microcontrollers
http://www.actel.com
http://www.latticesemi.com

Excellent references! DigiKey & TheWireMan are two of my personal favorites. I got my 450 ohm ladder line from The Wire Man, as well as boatloads of coaxial connectors & antenna wire.

[N3ATS]

To add...

http://www.therfc.com (much cheaper than the Wireman.)
http://www.allelectronics.com (all kinds of pieces parts, etc.)

[N2RJ]

Not bad, not bad! The links will be added to the links section.

Steve, I hope you don't mind that I borrow your PSK31 procedure for our club's digimodes presentation. I'm going to make a flyer/handout for our new HF licensees.

[N3ATS]

No, not at all Ryan. If you'd like I could put something together a little more elaborate for you. Maybe a Powerpoint? I have a few hours today yet....

[N2RJ]

Only if you have the time. I'll incorporate it into my powerpoint as well, and you'll get the credit.

[N3ATS]

Well, my BuxComm interface just shat the bed. So I am down and out.... Again. Full of cold solder joints, loose parts, what crap. Guess I will build my own.

I can offer you this, (the one I posted on the Zed) as a "what not to do" item.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j238/swweiss/wide_waterfall.jpg

[N2RJ]

Yes, I will definitely use that. Thanks.

[AK7V]

Well, my BuxComm interface just shat the bed. So I am down and out.... Again. Full of cold solder joints, loose parts, what crap. Guess I will build my own.

I can offer you this, (the one I posted on the Zed) as a "what not to do" item.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j238/swweiss/wide_waterfall.jpg

Is it possible to tell whether you're doing that without having another receiver? Or someone giving you a signal report?

I have used PSK maybe twice, so I really don't know.

Maybe Ryan can post his presentation here. I'd be interested in reading it.

[N2RJ]

I'll post it here, when it's done.

I have a few coming up, including software defined radio, HF operation and digimodes.

As far as I know, you check the ALC on your radio to ensure you are not overdriving. ALC should be zero.

If you have a service monitor, that is even better.

[N3ATS]

Well, my BuxComm interface just shat the bed. So I am down and out.... Again. Full of cold solder joints, loose parts, what crap. Guess I will build my own.

I can offer you this, (the one I posted on the Zed) as a "what not to do" item.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j238/swweiss/wide_waterfall.jpg

Is it possible to tell whether you're doing that without having another receiver? Or someone giving you a signal report?

I have used PSK maybe twice, so I really don't know.

Maybe Ryan can post his presentation here. I'd be interested in reading it.

Yes, there are several ways. First make sure your ALC is not deflecting even in the least bit. You can measure your IMD levels with most PSK software. -20 (at the least) and below (as in -25, -30, etc.) will generally yield a clean signal. Don't overdrive your radio with sound card audio. Use just enough audio to get to the desired power out levels. Do NOT try to regulate your output power by adjusting the radio's power. Use the audio level to do that.

PSK is transmitted in USB, so the same basic rules apply like when you're using phone. Except with PSK you want to keep your signal about 50Hz wide rather than 3 KHz.

[kf0rt]

To add...

http://www.therfc.com (much cheaper than the Wireman.)
http://www.allelectronics.com (all kinds of pieces parts, etc.)

Also add:

http://www.mouser.com
http://www.newark.com

for piece parts (components). Mouser is often quite a bit cheaper than Digikey and they don't play the minimum order game. They're in the Dallas area, so shipping to places like Denver and LA is very fast. Mouser and Newark both have online catalogs and filtered lookup on parts.

The AH0A site (speroni - already listed) also has the best statistical analysis of US ham licenses anywhere.

[kf0rt]

A couple more links:

http://www.irlp.net/ Everything IRLP
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html WA7BNM contest calendar (shows all the stuff the ARRL doesn't)
http://www.vanityhq.com/ Vanity callsign site
http://bama.sbc.edu/ Boatanchor manual archive
http://www.rigpix.com/ Database of rig pictures

[AK7V]

Thanks for the PSK info gentlemen.

[N1LAF]

I forgot to submit this handy website..

http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/

[K8YS]

http://www.digikey.com
http://www.mouser.com
http://www.debco.com
http://www.partsexpress.com
http://www.mcmelectronics.com
http://www.meci.com
http://ham.dmz.ro - schematics
http://www.repeater-builder.com/rbtip/ repeater builders
http://www.electronics2day.com/ projects
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/redbook/redbook.html National Telecommunications Information Administration
http://my.integritynet.com.au/purdic/ Ian VK2TIP projects
http://www.cqham.ru/sch_eng.html Russian web site with schematics and mods

[N2RJ]

Ok guys, keep it coming. I'll add them probably today...

Also, do you guys mind if I trim off the excess posts from the FAQ? I'd really love to keep it to being just the FAQ only.

[K8YS]

Q. I want to modify my CB radio, can I do that?
A. NO, the CB radio is CERTIFIED by the FCC to conform to the current FCC rules and regulation. Any modifications or parts subsitutions invalidate the certification and makes that transceiver illegal for use on Citizens Band

Q. My wife is a volunteer fireman, I have my Icom ham radio in her car, can I modify it so I do not need to buy a fire department radio?
A. NO, the radio is not certified for use on any service. The nature of the hobby allows for modifications and improvements, radio systems used in public service are tightly controlled to operation, while Amateur Radio does not have the same limitations, this is one of the reasons for the examination to prove that you are competent.

Q. I was given an old taxi cab radio, can I modify it for two meters?
A. Yes, Amateur Radios are not Type Accepted or Certified, by testing for your license, you proved to the FCC that you know the rules and regulations regarding operation and will maintain "good amateur practice".


(as one of the moderators for a huge yahoo mods group, I see these questions almost weekly)

[N2RJ]

Good ones!

I'll add them in...

[kd6nig]

Might want to add the list of "Forbidden to sell CB equipment" thats been posted on the Zed 20 times too.

Especially since we do have a sale section. Maybe it could go in there?

[N2RJ]

Yep, that one will be added in too.

[N3ATS]

Ryan,

In my PSK article, please change this...

8. If everything is set correctly, you should have about 50 watts out (on a 100 watt rig), and no ALC meter movement when transmitting PSK. When transmitting check your IMD levels. Generally -20 db or lower is acceptable.

to this...

8. If everything is set correctly, you should have about 50 watts out (on a 100 watt rig), and no ALC meter movement when transmitting PSK. When transmitting check your IMD levels. Generally a minimum of -25 db or lower is acceptable.

Thanks!

[N2RJ]

Done!