Radio

One of the big issues with technology like D-Star and the AOR ARD9000. Is that both of them use the propraitary AMBE codec.

To me the issue here is that with a closed codec, once can’t use the advances in computing power to do a lot of the hard work in software. Instead one has to buy expensive hardware (not to knock hardware, I still prefer hardware musical synthesizers.)

There appears to be one free codec that is called Speex, now to work out how to do the rest.

Don’t know if I’m out of my depth, anyway it will be fun trying.

Tags: musings // Add Comment »

Well last week Hannah and myself found ourselves at the Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club Steam Festival, at Scoresby. It was a lot of fun, and we both helped with manning the EMDRC radio tent, trying to promote ameteur radio.

Anyway I was asked by Rob (VK3DN) to record a short piece about it for the WIA news. Which after a bit of scripting and many takes (about 20) was finally done. And on sunday the 15th of March it was played.

If you want to listen the news broadcast can be found here.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

Well yesterday Hannah and myself saw a presentation of D Star radio. I have to say at first I was quite impressed. The routing systems were weird, and the system seemed to be fairly open. And both Kenwood and Icom were using it (though as it seems all that Kenwood does is rebadge icom dstar radios for the japanese market.)

The data modes on 23 centemetres (1.2GHz) were amazing, 128kbps while slow to us with our fast broadband connections, was very fast for radio based data modes.

But upon looking into it further is that the codec used for the audio modes is the AMBE codec. This is the bad part, while the whole dstar standard is open, the codec used for audio is propriatory and the licensing fees for the codec are insane. 

It just doesn’t feel like amateur radio when the main part of the radio system that being the voice mode, is not open. Amateurs have gone from AM voice to SSB to various digital modes like psk31 all of which are open protocols, where the AMBE codec is closed.

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

Looking back over the last few days has been quite interesting, scary and stressful.

Saturday was the hottest day on record in Melbourne 46.4ºc or 115.5ºf. We don’t know hot hot it was where we were located at mum and dads.

We were warned that this day would be a day of high fire danger, and keeping this in mind we tuned into 774 and listened, as they will break (and did so) all normal broadcasting when there was an emergency.

As the situation became more complex we started listening to the CFA and DSE radio frequencies, to see what was happening on the ground.

Also using the BOM site, we were able to see the wind speed and direction.

The fires were fairly close, but were moving away from us, moving in a south easterly direction, but as the day moved on, we were aware that a cool change was moving through.

Unfortunately, with the cool change, the wind change would be unpredictable and could drive the fire which at this point of time were about 10 KiloMetres away from us (six miles approx).

Combined with this, we heard that the CFA were assembling a strike team nearby.

With this information in hand, we decided to evacuate (at this point in time, the horses had been moved.) We had already prepared everything to be ready to go at a minutes notice. 

So we left.

In the end, we returned to the next day, as the fire front moved away from mum and dads place.

But in the end, so many were not so lucky.

and thanks to the CFA our country wouldn’t survive without them.

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

Well, today we’re sitting here waiting. Listening to the CFA and DSE as there are fires near our operating qth, we are prepared to leave the property if the fires start moving towards us. 

Currently the fires are moving away from us, but depending on the wind changes with the cool change, it could cause issues.

At least we can monitor everything that’s going on right now.

~Ivy

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

Last week Hannah and myself spent a few days in Lakes Entrance. While we were down there we were without internet access, but I did take some notes of the first day:

Drove down to lake tyres beach, and set up our whip antenna, to see what was out there. The whip is a fairly simple thing with elements for 80/40 (depending on loading coil at base) and 20 metres. 

Worked with some difficulty vi2bv90 (only got a 2/5) on 40 metres, the whip we decided wasn’t working so well so we set up the vertical built out of a squid pole and some plumbing parts.

Now this vertical is an interesting thing, based around a “squid pole”  and a few plumbing pipe, we didn’t set the thing to it’s entire hight, we may do that tomorrow, but it was to say the least a marked improvement. we heard much more than we were hearing with the whip.

So we went to 20metres, and worked a station in Japan, who gave us a 5/5 (we gave him a 5/7) and it was amazing, here was a guy running an Yaesu DX 9000 with a Yaesu quadra amp, and a 6 element tribander, all up running one Kilowatt!

We were easly able to work him with only 100 watts, and the vertical.

I guess it says something for working right on the coast, where the salt water lakes create for us a brilliant ground plane to work against.

Other than a little sun burn and eating way too much a very successful day

~Ivy

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

Well my license upgrade came through, and I’m the proud owner of the call sign VK3IVY.

That’s it, all my licensing exams are done with, and I now have the advanced call.

~Ivy

Tags: musings // Add Comment »

Ahh the fun of waiting for a license upgrade, I keep reloading the ACMA licensing page too see if my advanced license has been processed. No joy yet.

Even though I did the exam the end of December, the WIA offices (they do the exams) have been shut till last Monday, so one long lead time here.

It will happen, hopefully before next week.

~Ivy

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

As discussed before, my home qth has a lot of issues with electrical noise, some of it is self generated (computers and other electrical appliances) and also due to my location in suburbia.

The new receiver we got last weekend the kenwood r-2000, is effected by it as well, but not to the same extent as our other radios. And for the first time I can actually listen to the 80 metre band.

I really do need to get some sort of better antenna for home use, we rarely transmit there, and at the present moment our antena for reception, is a thin wire wrapped around the the edge of a room a couple of times into a 4:1 balun, which while not a good antenna in all honesty, it works well for picking up some stations, on the MW band (am broadcast.) Which to be honest, due to the location and power of the transmitters one could use a damp piece of string for reception.

I’ve been looking at mag loop antennas, which we have already constructed once before (Hannahs and I’s first antenna project a long time ago.) And it’s worked quite well. So I’d really like to look at that again for home use, as mag loop antennas can reduce the interferance that one receives.

The good thing is, where we do most of our HF work, we have the space, and have set up much better antennas, for a number of bands, so I can really do a good comparison of what works and what doesn’t.

The one thing that did have me a little confused we have a vertical built for the 20 metre band, and when using the kenwood r-2000, I found it was a lot better for picking up the long wave beacons than any of our other antennas.  Though we have nothing really for below 80 metres so everything is a comprimise.

~Ivy

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

A while ago while spinning through the 80 metre band late on saturday night, I came across an AM transmission on 3670Khz, at first I thought it was a net of sorts, but then it started feeling more like a talkback radio show. It also seemed rather dated (I later realised that what I was hearing was a retransmission of an earlier transmission from the 80s).

A few weeks later I found the same station again, and started listening, and discovered it was also been transmitted on 1850kHz too.

The conversations were quite interesting, ranging from technical topics to pure irevrance, then I noticed someone talking that I knew from the radio club i’m a member of (Lionel VK3NM.)

It seems that these ” ‘missions” have been going on since the early 70’s if not even earlier.

more information can be found at http://www.crossbandradio.com/

Anyway last weekend, I joined in, now due to licensing, I couldn’t really call in via 2 metres as it was been retransmitted on 160 metres and untill my advanced licensing comes through I can’t operate there. So I called in via skype, and ended up in a confernce between VK3ASE, VK3NM and myself..

Alot of fun.

~Ivy

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »