Archive for the ‘dstar’ Category
LHS Episode #085: David Rowe on Codec2
Please join us for a special episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In Episode #085, the hosts interview a vibrant and brilliant engineer from Adelaide, South Australia, named David Rowe. He is the mastermind behind the codec2 open voice codec among several other worthy and equally brilliant open source projects. He dabbles in VoIP, hardware, Open Source advocacy, engineering, voice compression, amateur radio and other endeavors far too numerous to name. David Rowe is definitely one of the more special people occupying our planet and our interview with him is nothing short of amazing. Please tune in and have your mind blown. We look forward to the overspray.
73 de The LHS Guys
AmateurLogic.TV 33: One Jam Packed Show
George visits the Twit.tv studios and interviews Randy Hall, K7AGE. Tommy visits the Huntsville Hamfest. Jim builds an Audio Isolation Interface. Peter shows us the DATV QSO Party.
An unscheduled interruption
My last post was way back in June, when I was on business in St John’s Newfoundland. I had not planned for there to be an interruption in the postings but it just seemed to turn out that way. No single reason for the lack of output, things were busy with family, jobs around the home, work (I have taken on a new role) and radio with the Carleton University Amateur Radio Club (CUARC). Once I had stopped posting for a while it was too easy to not post. There may have been some writer’s block too. One reader advised me to write again when I was feeling the mood return, but emphasized not to change the format. So now it is time to pick up the blogging again.
I may post more on these items, but here is a brief run down of recent amateur radio and electronics related activities over the hiatus.
- End of June there was Field Day and again CUARC participated with the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club after being kindly invited to join them (see photo above). We operated mostly as a GOTA station (I was a GOTA captain and rules were followed) but when one transmitter turned in for the night we became the 80m station. We used a homebrew full wave 80m horizontal loop and a homebrew ¼ wave vertical with three elevated radials for 15m. Both antennas performed well.
- Somewhere in the recent past this blog went over 100,000 views. Top post in recent months has been details on the Z-Match tuner. Thanks to all of you for reading the blog!
- CUARC is constructing a 30m QRSS receiver and the oscillator, mixer, diplexer stages have been built and constructed individually. A low noise audio stage is to be built next.
- At work I have been building small SMD microcontroller boards with on board RF capabilities. The boards which we modified from some open hardware have been reduced down to about 4.5cm by 2 cm. My SMD soldering has been getting better, especially using a professional rework station.
- I have been programming the new ID-880H dualbander that I bought in Spring.
- The Saturday morning Ottawa Amateur Radio Digital Group D-STAR net continues every Saturday at 8:30am local time here in Ottawa (8:30EST or EDT) and we link through to reflector REF016B. Either Andrew, M0GRU, or myself run the net. Join us if you can.
Next post will be the pictures form a foggy Signal Hill that I promised in the previous post.
Been travelling
I have spent this week in Seattle, WA on business. Did not have much time for radio but I have been using the DVAP dongle and been linking into the repeater back in Ottawa either directly or via REF016B.
The DVAP works well whilst travelling. I even used it to link through to talk to the students at the Carleton University Amateur Radio Club. I could then chat to them as they were working on building a PSK31 interface for the FT817. I have also chatted with the locals, some of whom commented that I sound like I am local. I will continue packing the DVAP with the IC-91AD in future. By the way, there was no trouble taking the HT in my hand luggage on the plane, no questions at Ottawa or going through customs US Customs at Vancouver. (For those not familiar flying from Canada to the US it is not unusual to pass through US immigration/customs in a Canadian airport so you land as a ‘domestic’ flight in the US).
Today I had a little time to visit a hardware store called Hardwicks that was close to the hotel. This reminded me of the old ironmongers store that was in the village I grew-up in, in Lancashire, UK. however, Hardwicks was about 5 times bigger. Great to wander around and look at the range of tools and hardware.
I also visited a RadioShack store (in Canada now called the Source) and was pleased to see some drawers with components in. At least you can still get a voltage regulator on the high street!
Travelling back today.
Another Blog
Recently, I have created a second blog for D-STAR radio, particularly in the Ottawa area.
You can find it at http://dstarottawa.wordpress.com/ The focus is on D-STAR operations in the National Capital Region and activities of the Ottawa Amateur Radio Digital Group.
My personal blog here continues to be my main blog.
D-STAR one route for traffic into Christchurch, New Zealand
Tonight, before heading home I dropped by the VA3CUA station at the University where I work. I used the Icom ID-1 to link the 1.2GHz module of VA3ODG to reflector REF003C, an Australian reflector. Linked also to the reflector was the repeater ZL1VHD in Auckland, New Zealand. After making a call out on the reflector I had a reply from Marlene, ZL1MYL. We had a nice but brief chat and she told me that there had been messages passed through the Auckland D-STAR repeater for people in the earthquake damaged city of Christchurch. Messages received were being relayed on via other modes on VHF to Christchurch, as that city does not have a D-STAR repeater. The chat with Marlene was short as she had to take a phone call, but I did then talk to her husband Laurence, ZL1ICU.
Later tonight I saw the message from the ARRL that confirms that 2m is being used to support the recovery efforts and currently not HF.
If you have traffic for someone in Christchurch then one possible route in is via the Auckland D-STAR repeater ZL1VHD.
Ottawa Amateur Radio Club Presentation
Last week I drove through a snowy evening to give a presentation to the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club (OARC). The meeting was in one of the rooms in City Hall and I have to admit it was my first time attending the OARC.
I was greeted by Dave, VE3TLY, the president and others and it certainly seems to be an active club. There was a report on the club construction project and talk about the upcoming Canadian Ski Marathon and the amateur radio support that is given.
My talk was on D-STAR in the Ottawa Area and started with some D-STAR principles, covered a little on the local repeater VA3ODG and finished off with a look at the current projects and developments. A pdf of the slides are here:> OARC Presentation PDF.
I finished off with a demonstration and tuned the HT to module B of repeater VA3ODG and chatted with a small group that had assembled there. There was some luck as using the repeater with Maurice-Andre, VE3VIG was Greg, VA3OMP, using his FREE STAR* repeater as well as a station connecting in from Florida. This nicely illustrated the linking to the repeater from outside the local area and use of a different (FREE STAR*) network, which I had just earlier mentioned in my talk.
After the demonstration there was some good questions and comments from the audience. The meeting officially wound-up and over coffee I had pleasant discussions with a number of the club members.
A great evening and thanks to the OARC for inviting me and making me so welcome.