12th Nov 2018, 4:43 pm | #341 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,577
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
A refinement of that system would be to have the unit generate PCM / PWM synthesised speech, to be injected into the receiver audio path, so that it would audibly announce the current setting - similar to the way radios are often adapted for use by white-stick operators.
I don't think the average PIC has enough non-volatile / code memory to hold that much synth speech, through. The speech might have to be programmed into / held on a separate serial-access flash memory IC. |
12th Nov 2018, 6:29 pm | #342 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Back up on 2. Just worked GW4MBS in Llandiloes. 120miles. Ish.
Happy with that D |
12th Nov 2018, 6:39 pm | #343 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Excellent!
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13th Nov 2018, 11:25 am | #344 |
Dekatron
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Location: Charmouth, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 3,601
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Sounds good.
Peter |
15th Nov 2018, 8:17 am | #345 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
I'm regularly working over 100mi and last night copied F5ZSF beacon, a long way off.
I have tilted my beam up a bit to refract over the hills and it seems to have worked. So, I call and call...get those rigs warm and let's hook up. I also call on CW but haven't yet had a CW QSO. David |
15th Nov 2018, 8:02 pm | #346 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Managed a qso into Leeds tonight.
D |
15th Nov 2018, 10:56 pm | #347 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Glasgow, Scotland,UK.
Posts: 127
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Good stuff. A real sense of achievement.
I wish the SSB activity around here was a bit more lively around these parts. Once I get my TR-9000 sorted I'm going to start looking at a better aerial. Current set up was really to get me back on air. Horizontal dipole in the loft. Actually works quite well. I was thinking on stacked big wheel/cloverleaf to get round the rotator issue (trees in the way where that would go) and a bit of gain.
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Richard |
18th Nov 2018, 5:04 pm | #348 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Well so far I have worked Wales, Leeds, Yorkshire, London, Midlands (East and West!) on SSB and just worked G4XRV on CW in Bucks.
I run 100w at the moment but most folks seem to run 50. Personally, I think 100 is needed. D |
18th Nov 2018, 5:25 pm | #349 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
I found with CW it's better to tail other QSOs rather than call. I had no success calling CQ for hours at a time but I'm running stupid low power at the worst time (because I'm an idiot).
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18th Nov 2018, 6:42 pm | #350 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,007
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
I lugged my FT897 up to the summerhouse (it's 50 feet higher than the main house, so that's where I have my VHF antennas) but alas the old ex-Land-Rover 12V battery I use to provide summerhouse-power has finally died and despite a recent charge was only showing 10.8V so no 2M SSB for me!
Time to trade the old battery (and its predecessor...) in for a replacement I think. |
7th Dec 2018, 8:59 am | #351 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Spent ages calling on 300 yesterday, cw and ssb. Nowt.
David |
7th Dec 2018, 10:24 am | #352 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 4,748
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
The empty nature of the SSB and CW (144.050) calling frequencies outside of contests or lift conditions is long-established. In the mid-1980s we went down to Devon on holiday, and I put out a CQ call on CW from the stationary car and was pleasantly surprised to receive a reply. The other station was equally surprised to hear my call! He was a keen CW operator and always left his 2m rig monitoring 144.050. He told me that my call was the first he had heard in over two years.
Keep trying and be patient - 2020 is not that far away...
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7th Dec 2018, 12:22 pm | #353 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Charmouth, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 3,601
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
It is pretty quiet down this way but there are a few mobiles in operation which I hear being at 500' asl, also hand helds from visitors in the summer.
I might have the rig on all day and hear nothing but occasionally work several on the trot. Only two contacts so far in December, Peter |
7th Dec 2018, 1:19 pm | #354 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 998
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Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?
Funny how it goes. A few weeks back I had a dozen qso in one week...now the drought...
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