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KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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Operating notes: Bands heating up, IC-2820H, CW Skimmer

Posted: 30 Sep 2021 07:25 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu/tVpu/~3/FRJ452996-s/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email


The bands finally seem to be heating up. Ive managed to make European
contacts nearly every day for the past week. Just last night, I called CQ
on 40m just before 0000Z and got a reply from an LZ3. He was S5 here, but
since I wasnt expecting a DX call, I had to get him to repeat his call for
me. Of course, it didnt help that hed only sent it once—DX style—in the first place.

Also, last night, the bands were open to the west. Thats an indication of
good band conditions here, as I dont usually do well to the west because of
the way my antennas are situated. I worked both a CO and a CA station.
IC-2820H

As I noted in a previous post, I picked up an Icom IC-2820H at a recent hamfest. Its an older radio, but Im really starting to like it. For
example, it has a dual-watch feature, meaning that I can monitor two frequencies at the same time.

It has a couple of other unique features, too. For example, there is a
second antenna input, and if you connect a second antenna to the radio, it
can do diversity reception. It also has a bandscope feature. I dont think
Ive seen that on any other VHF/UHF radio. I havent used either feature yet,
but they might be fun to play with.



It has a detachable head for mobile installation, which is a nice feature,
but if youre not using it detached, connecting the control head and
microphone is a bit kludgey, as the connectors are behind the control head
(see photo above). The data port is also hidden behind the control head.
One of the reasons I bought this radio was that it had a data port. Now, I
have to find the little DIN connector to use it.

The unit I bought has the optional UT-123 D-STAR board. Apparently, these
are a bit rare and sought after. I have no intention of using it, so if
youd like to purchase it, let me know. I even have the original box for it.
CW Skimmer

Last December, I tried to get CW Skimmer working with my Flex 6400. Unfortunately, I wasnt successful, and being both impatient and ambivalent about paying $75 for the program, I gave up on it after a little while.

Last night, I decided to give CW Skimmer another go. After reading several posts in the Flex Radio Community Forum, it looked like the thing to do was
to get a third program called Slice Master 6000, which configures and
launches third party applications, such as CW Skimmer, GRITTY, WSJT-X, and flDigi, automatically. By the way, its called Slice Master because Flex
refers to their receivers as slices.)

I installed and ran Slice Master, but it failed to connect. Consulting the forum again, someone noted that the problem was probably with Windows
Defender. Sure enough, after adding a rule to allow Slice Master to
connect, it did indeed connect, and now I have CW Skimmer running.

I dont really need CW Skimmer myself, but I would like to provide some
input to the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN). I use RBN all the time, so it
will be nice to give something back. Ill probably pay for the full version
of CW Skimmer tonight and then see about connecting to RBN.

The post Operating notes: Bands heating up, IC-2820H, CW Skimmer appeared
first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.

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