10MHz ⁽²⁾

I finally got myself one of the BG7TBL 10MHz distribution amplifiers. I (will) have a few devices that need a 10MHz input for frequency stability so this is handy. It actually came from China via Aliexpress a lot cheaper than similar (and rare) offerings on eBay, and it only took 5 days. Anyway, here it is: The 10MHz source is coming from the DX Patrol GPSDO and as a test one output is to a 'scope and one to a counter. Rather unexpectedly (to me) it takes a square wave feed from the DX Patrol but gives out 8 separate sinewaves. Of note, the voltage input is specified as 11.7 to 12.9V, not the usual 13.8V. But as I need 12V for the Winterhill and the 13cm transverter I already have 12V around the place. Although this one says it has an OXCO this one does not - it is an option but I decided against it. I have a decent 10MHz OXCO if I ever need it.

The latest addition to the shack is this diminutive DX Patrol GPSDO v.3 that arrived today from the Amsat UK shop. I was looking for a general 10MHz source to replace the one I built from a kit that is rather deaf and came across the DX Patrol ones. At first I found one that was set to 10MHz with four outputs but fortunately the Amsat shop sells one with four independently configurable outputs. The advantage of that is I can use one of them for the QO100 setup (assuming I ever get that finished!) as well as having a general 10MHz output. Frequencies can be set from a built-in web front end and this is accessed directly via a built-in AP plus an in-screen QR code (handy!). Once connected you can then use the web interface to connect the GPSDO to your own wifi, which is what I have done. One of the displays tells you what IP address it has which is also handy when trying to find it. I have yet to connect the NMEA output to anything - the documentation details this and also the device can function as an NTP server so I might use…