XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

Amateur/Ham Radio

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Is propagation terrible lately or is it me?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:05 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/riqvvc/is_propagation_terrible_lately_or_is_it_me/


Just want to ask before I go nuts checking equipment. From the east coast
of US. I cant hear or work anything outside North America, most bands. 40
and 80 are ok at night, but not really. submitted by
/u/Altruistic-Radish-17
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Icom ID-52A Shipping in America

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:48 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rirq92/icom_id52a_shipping_in_america/


Per a tweet from Icom American and HRO yesterday.
Only wish I didnt wait until the middle of November to do my pre-order.
73
Joe
KE2NK submitted by /u/jsisbell
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Why aren't amateur radio enthusiasts allowed to use encryption?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 03:54 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/riu8h5/why_arent_amateur_radio_enthusiasts_allowed_to/


Besides the FCC (government) saying we cant. Wouldnt it be helpful? I
believe ham radio supports emergency backup communications for the
government through ARES and the like. Wouldnt some of those government communications be encrypted?
If the public can use https secure Internet protocols to transmit personal messages across the Internet, yahoo, gmail, etc, whats the difference in
doing that with radio waves?
Or is it a national security thing? submitted by /u/HoosierTrekFan69
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Retevis RT82 tips

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 02:16 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/risbb3/retevis_rt82_tips/


I recently got a Retevis RT82 and am about to program it. Any tips or
tricks I should be aware of? I did post in the DMR group as well and the suggestions to update the firmware first, and be patient with the software
were welcomed! submitted by /u/WageUglydoll
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[OC] How does your gear measure up?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:00 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rivj69/oc_how_does_your_gear_measure_up/


When you spend some time in this hobby youre likely to find equipment with similar performance for vastly different pricing. At one end of the
spectrum you might compare a cheap $25 hand-held radio to a $450 one. At
the other end, a $1,500 SDR or Software Defined Radio against a $4,500 one. Those examples are for brand name devices, which generally speaking have published specifications, come with regulatory approvals, a wide user base, reviews and a distribution network. If equipment is found to be operating
out of specification, a regulator might seek a remedy or ban the sale of
the equipment.
Those various sources and processes make it possible to compare those
devices in a structured way to discover just how deep into your pockets you need to reach in order to acquire a shiny new gadget.
If you buy any of these devices in the used market, you have no way to determine just how far from the factory specifications the device youre contemplating has deviated. Is that waterproof radio still waterproof, or
did the previous owner open up the case and put it together incorrectly?
Was it dropped and did a component get damaged? Did the static electricity
from a local thunderstorm leak through the circuit via the antenna, or did
the previous owner not use anti-static precautions when they looked inside?
If it actually failed, its easy to know. If its still working, absent a laboratory, youre essentially on your own.
If thats not challenging enough, consider hardware thats released as open source, that is, the original designer released their project, shared the design, a circuit board with component list and specifications. Another
person can pick up the documentation and legally build a copy of the
hardware.
How do you know how the two compare?
Aside from considering how well any design might actually match the real
world, how do you know if the original design can be improved upon or not?
Did the second builder use the same components, substitute with better
ones, or economise on parts they thought were too expensive?
What happens if the two designers argue with each other about the
performance of their respective designs? What if the second design becomes vastly more popular than the original and what if you throw in outright intellectual property theft over the top of all this?
Now consider the same physical hardware, from the same factory, but using different software. How do you know what impact the software has on the performance of the equipment? For example, one component seen more and more
is a chip called an FPGA, a Field Programmable Gate Array. Think of it as a programmable circuit board where updating the software creates a different circuit.
An FPGA might be used to filter radio signals. With just a software update,
you can program different filters and change the actual performance of the entire device. How do you know if the new version of the software has
improved or worsened performance?
What all this lacks is a standard way of describing performance. Not only
the kind of standard thats achievable in a laboratory, but one that we can
test at home. Theres no documentation that Ive been able to find that shows
how to measure some of this objectively, or even compare your own kit
against itself.
It would be great if I could measure my gear against a standard and you
could too and we could compare our respective equipment against each other. Even using the laboratory standard measurements, for example the Sherwood Engineering Receiver Test Data, which allows you to compare other tested equipment in the same list, is hard, if not impossible to compare at home
by the likes of you and I. Not to mention that Rob NC0B has finally retired after 45 years, so having been licensed in 1961 age 14, there is a good
chance that updates are going to become a thing of the past when Rob stops volunteering his time.
I will mention that this isnt a new thing. Many years ago I spent some time
as a broadcaster. One of the very first things I was taught is that you
need to set levels to trigger the VU Meter just so. When you make a
recording to tape, youre required to generate a 1 kHz tone at a specific
level so when its played back to air, the voice levels will be correct.
When I became licensed in 2010 I almost immediately discovered that there
isnt even a standard way to test if the signal that my radio is putting
into the local repeater is the same as that of other amateurs. Youll notice this because youre forever twiddling the volume on your radio when you
speak with others on-air because their voice levels vary widely.
One idea Ive been toying with is using a parrot repeater that can measure a signal, allowing anyone who uses the same parrot to compare their equipment. How would you approach this increasingly complex problem in such a way that
the amateur community can share their results in a way that makes
comparison meaningful and useful?
Im Onno VK6FLAB
TL;DR This is the transcript of the weekly Foundations of Amateur Radio
podcast - for other episodes, see http://vk6flab.com/ submitted by
/u/vk6flab
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I was lucky enough to purchase a QDX kit this morning. I've never put
together a kit, how screwed am I?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:54 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rivesw/i_was_lucky_enough_to_purchase_a_qdx_kit_this/


I was lucky enough to be able to purchase a qrp-labs qdx kit this morning.
Ive never put together a kit and have very limited soldering experience.
Ive also never wound a toroid before, how bad of a time am I in for when it arrives?
Should I start asking around my club now for someone that I can pay to put
it together for me? I should I YOLO it and give it a shot? Any suggestions?
It will be a while before it gets here (I live in New Zealand) so I have
time to find a builder if need be. submitted by /u/Taubin
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Cheap HF transceivers?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:42 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rirmrl/cheap_hf_transceivers/


Im looking forward to get into HF spectrum, I want do to some experimenting with sending data, is there a license free band on HF? If yes, what good transceivers are out there that are portable? submitted by /u/Antenna101
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Website Content

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:31 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rirekw/website_content/


For those who have websites for your participation in the hobby (other than QRZ), would you mind sharing your addresses? Im wanting to create a website
and want to get an idea of the content that other hams are sharing and
would like to see. Thanks so much! 73 de W5JDQ submitted by /u/TheNotSoFreshFeeling
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Power supply search?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 01:28 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/rirc01/power_supply_search/


Hoping its not a pipe dream but i need a powersupply, or really would like
one, for my portable digital operations.
Essentially
5v 3a out to the pi
But the ability to charge off the 12v power supply i carry
The size of a phone power bank or similar is ideal
Im hoping someone has an idea because i cant find any
Thank you all
73s submitted by /u/CosmoKramer_wastaken
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Linked repeaters - identify connected?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 12:46 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/riqhxm/linked_repeaters_identify_connected/


DMR Noob
Two linked DMR repeaters in the area. Both about equal distance. Is there a
way to identify which one Im connected to -- does it make any difference? submitted by /u/Equifan
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Mouse in my house!

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 03:25 PM PST https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ritop0/mouse_in_my_house/


Hey folks!
I’m interested in fox hunting. There’s a fox or two about that I need to learn how to track and trace asap. This bloodsucker is violating a
protection order.
Any help appreciated! Thank you! submitted by /u/Trollinmyhouse
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