• [SADARS] 10 Feb. 2022 - Construction Contest Winners Talks

    From SADARS via rec.radio.info Admin@21:1/5 to All on Fri Feb 11 23:00:40 2022
    XPost: uk.radio.amateur, free.uk.amateur-radio, rec.radio.amateur.equipment XPost: rec.radio.info

    SADARS

    ///////////////////////////////////////////
    10 Feb. 2022 - Construction Contest Winners Talks

    Posted: 11 Feb 2022 08:14 AM PST
    https://sadars.co.uk/wp/archives/3036




    Robert, M0IXM was first to tell about his QCX QRP Kit.. For a start he
    realised there were many small parts that needed sorting and labelling.
    These were stored in a small components cabinet. Following the kits
    excellent instructions he soldered in the ICs followed by the resistors
    which all had to be soldered with one end up as there was insufficient room
    to lay them down on the PCB. The most difficult part was the winding of the four  inductors and the transformer. That done there were on board tools
    for alignment and set up. The transceiver worked without problems but the
    low power didnt result in any answers. Undaunted, Rob set about sending CQ transmissions to check on the Reverse Beacon Network which showed he was
    copied far and wide! Success!

    Dons, G4LOO Major Project winner was the coax winder. In the past, after a contest, two persons might be needed, one to hold a pipe fed through the
    drum plus another to turn the drum and feed the coax on.. Short runs might
    not be a problem, but several runs of over several hundred feet can be very time consuming as well as tiring.  Don began to think of ways to wind automatically. Finally he settled on preformed aluminium struts to make the frame and a screen wiper motor for power. The main shaft holding the empty
    drum was made to access several sizes and widths and the motor speed was
    made variable. The finished project can be moved and powered by a tractor
    if required. Some photos are shown on 27th of Jan 2022 blog post.

    Victor made a genuine Weekend project, a permeability tuned ATU for a long wire. Wanting to make use of a metal container from a Glenfiddich
    miniature, the project had to be designed to fit inside! The permeability
    tuner (ferrite rod) just fit the length of the box with two small
    capacitors to tune it from 40m to 10m, and can handle about 10w perhaps
    more.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)