Microsoft Windows XP-- The Down Side

I have been a Microsoft Windows fan since Windows 3.0 came out. I say this as a precursor to why I am looking at another Operating system now. I got hit with what is called the "MS gotcha", I changed my motherboard in my Compaq computer and now my software licence is voided. Why is this you ask, because the software is OEM and tied to the Bios of the original motherboard. I have never run into this problem before so it has been an interesting adventure. There seems to be something inherently wrong with this software issue. I have right now about two viable choices, buy Windows7 or go with a Linux version. I am going to look at the Linux route at this point because I do like the open source and the lower costs involved. I will review some distros and go with the one that I like. It will need to be easy to use and somewhat Windows like because the wife also uses this one. I am not to worried about running Windows software so this should not be a problem. So here I go on a great adventure!

NBEMS/FLDIGI Sound Card Calibration

Make sure your sound card is calibrated for your FLDIGI software using CheckSR.exe. Olivia and MT63 will really benefit with this calibration. CheckSR.exe comes free with MixW software. To get the software without MixW and some good instructions, go to the Western PA Amateur Radio EmComm Digi Net Website Click Here. These guys did a good job with their website with NBEMS and FLdigi.



http://mixw.net/

http://www.pa-sitrep.com/NBEMS/fldigi_calibration.htm

HSMM and the Future

I would have to agree with KB9MWR about the state of  HSMM and the Microwave bands. See here: http://kb9mwr.blogspot.com/2010/10/interesting-article-bounty.html We need to band together and promote these under used bands and modes. I think we need to build the systems and set them up and show how it works. Most Hams are very happy doing what the like, APRS, DX, Ragchew, PSK-31. If we show them new things it can light a spark for the new band or mode. We really need to get out there and promote our cause. Here is a picture of  HSMM at our Henderson Emergency Services Awareness Day that was held October 2, 2010. This display started many conversations and may lead into some other people getting involved with the project.

USBlink by G4ILO

I have been playing around with building a USB interface using a cheap USB soundcard. It looks like Julian G4ILO has beat me to it. He has built a very nice interface. It also uses Skip Teller's KH6TY Vox circuit. The only thing I would do different would be to add some isolation transformers. Check out his build here:

http://www.g4ilo.com/usblink.html

Ubiquiti Bullet2HP

I now have a Ubiquiti Bullet2HP to run some long distance point to point tests. It is always fun to play with new toys! Now all I need is someone to help test these to see if it could be used to connect some packet BPQ nodes.

http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16366&cat=0&page=1

MRP40 CW Software

MRP40 software looks like a good CW decoder program. It states on the web site that it is good for high-speed (QRQ) and weak signals. I downloaded the trial version and have been trying it out on the bands. I have listened to slow and fast CW. It did pretty good at decoding CW, of course it also depended on the senders ability to send. I ran into several times when the sender was not sending very smooth and the software saw a bunch of "e,i" characters. So far this has been one of the better CW programs out there. The cost of this software is 49.90 Euros, so be sure you try it for the 30 day trial period. Of course the best software for CW is between your ears.


http://www.polar-electric.com/Morse/MRP40-EN/index.htm

Stuff to get young people interested in radio

Here is a nice website with some great simple projects to get some youg people interested in radio and electronics. Included as projects are:

■A quick and simple radio
■Building a radio in 10 minutes
■A radio out of household items
■A simple AM transmitter
■The Three-Penny Radio
■A Portable Crystal Radio
 
These projects are very interesting. I like the 3 penny radio, it would make a big impression on a youngster.
 
Check it out here:
 
http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/radio.html

New GNU Codec2

David Rowe, VK5DGR has released Codec2 V0.1 alpha for communication quality speech. This has been released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), which makes it open source. This is what Ham Radio is about, not the proprietary stuff that is out there. Because D-Star is proprietary it is not compatable with Codec2. Check it out for more detailed information. I think we are heading in the right direction with this. This should lead to a less expensive way for digital voice.

Rowetel.com/blog

New version of Airlink Express v.2.1.5.378

There has been a new version of Airlink Express v.2.1.5.378 released. It now includes among other enhancements PSKReporter, Automatic Propagation Reporter, and ARQ, Automatic Repeat Request, for sending and receiving of text and binary files. I will have to test this and see if it may work better for sending ARQ messages than some other software does.



http://www.airlinkexpress.org/index.html

See where your PSK signal is heard

Check this web sight out. It is a place you can see where your digital signal is heard. You must use the pattern "de callsign callsign" for the software to hear you. This is a must play with website, get your bragging rights using your 5 watts QRP station.


http://www.pskreporter.info/
http://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html