Radio and rails...

I now have an FT818 as well as the FT817 so I have been rearranging stuff yet again. The FT817 was destined to be used portable but will now be a shack fixture - it has 2m and 70cm which is lacking since I sold the two transverters. The FT818 will be paired with the LDG Z817 autotunes and I will put together some wire and stuff to go portable. Both rigs came with the internal battery packs and together there is now a car charger, two mains chargers (one converted to power pole connectors) and a couple of leads that are of no use now with the power pole adapters being fitted to both rigs. There are lots of ideas floating about on using better battery packs or external batteries which I will have a think about. Given my 'portable' use initially is more likely to be in holiday accommodation there will be mains available. So, having decided the FT817 is to become a fitment I have connected its Signalink to the Linux box along with the one already attached to the FT450D. Wsjt-x has this though out nicely through the ability to have multiple configurations. I'd never want…

I had a patch lead, about 1m long, PL259 to BNC from the tuner to the patch panel. It's been fine since I made the thing weeks ago. Today, halfway through an FT8 exchange it decided it no longer wanted to be at all functional. I wondered why the ALC on the FT450D had suddenly gone to max then I noticed the flashing antenna symbol! Fortunately the rig reduces power if the SWR goes mad. Typical.

I have finally removed the remaining X10 controllers having replaced the outside light controllers two days ago and the main room lighting dimmers today. Time will tell if any of these suffer from interference being 2.4GHz Zigbee but so far, so good. All of the X10 stuff is destined to go on eBay but it doesn't seem to sell well - I guess I waited far too long to update everything here. It's not a major setup, one Zigbee controller / hub or whatever it's called - USB and currently stuck in the front port of the server, two dimmers, two bulbs, and three relays. The setup is Mosquitto and Zigbee2mqtt on the server and Homebridge on a Pi. The server is due to be replaced by another Pi shortly to save space and watts. So now Siri rules our lighting - well some of it! Be nice to Siri...

Shame. The planned SAQ broadcast on the 24th is cancelled - see https://alexander.n.se/en/covid-19-stops-saq-on-christmas-eve-morning/ Oh well, no rush to sort out my VLF antenna then.

Armed with the LF converter I have been experimenting with antennas for the low side of things. There is far too much electronic hash in the house for any hope of receiving things so I now have a couple of antenna options to try outdoors. Given the radios are all upstairs and there is no easy cable route to the workshop where the antennas can go this means a remote SDR. There is already Ethernet in the garage where the QO100 transceiver was so experiments can begin. Anyway, here are the new fiddleables... an IP35 mini whip from eBay seller radio.el32 complete with bias tee: This comes as the two PCBs - antenna and bias tee - plus 3 BNC sockets. The metal box was sourced from eBay and the waterproof plastic housing from Amazon. It's a lot bigger than is needed but should be fine. And a 'loop antenna amplifier' (LAA++) and bias tee from Cross Country Wireless: All being well the first test will be of the IP35 antenna once mounted on a wooden pole. The LAA++ will take me a little longer as I need to make a loop for it.