FO-29 SK? And remote rig control

Lots of emails on the AMSAT-BB mailing list over the last couple of days reporting that FO-29 has stopped working. Fingers crossed that JARL can recover it, otherwise my transatlantic QSO objective may be in question. I'll need to check whether VO-52 is simultaneously visible to the UK and USA or Canada.

On a more positive note, I discovered two things this week. Ham Radio Deluxe, which (among other things) can CAT control a rig, can be launched as an XP service. You can then control HRD in client-server mode from another copy running on a different PC. I also found out that Skype can be set up to take input from line input on a sound card. So, I have been able to tune my FT-847 on HF from my laptop and listen to the received audio, using a Skype call from my shack PC to my laptop.

Deciding priorities (2)

I said in my last post that I thought achieving a transatlantic satellite QSO would "take a fairly high-spec portable configuration, rather than a simple Arrow antenna and a handy-talky". Well maybe I was wrong. Domenico I8CVS and Tony N2UN recently worked each other via FO-29 and reported the details on the Amsat-BB mailing list: CW and SSB, and Tony working portable with 20W to a 4-element yagi. Off list, Tony told me he uses are pair of FT-817s. I don't think I'll be buying a pair of brand new FT-817s just for this purpose, but Domenico and Tony's work is encouraging.

Deciding priorities

It was great to make my first QSO with the K1 earlier this evening. I've still got a bunch of things to do with it: build and test the ATU; build and test the noise blanker; double check power output on all bands; get really used to its controls.

But then I'll need to decide what to do next on the construction and, indeed, operating front. One goal to aim for is a successful CW operation while on holiday in Menorca in July. "Successful" would mean (a) a decent number of QSOs, (b) on more than one band, and (c) with me managing to copy a high proportion of the QSOs :-)

Another goal is to take my satellite operating to the next stage. Some options here. First, getting 9600bps data reception going, receiving GO-32 for example. Second, achieving a transatlantic QSO, which in practice means operating /P given the buildings that surround my QTH. And I think it will take a fairly high-spec portable configuration, rather than a simple Arrow antenna and a handy-talky. Third, S-band operation, though AO-51 is only rarely configured in this mode.

And a final goal is to do more soldering! I get itchy fingers when I go near the Elecraft website (a K1 beckons). But I also feel I should do something a bit more "scratch built" - perhaps the BITX20 SSB transceiver.

Decisions, decisions.

K1 - First QSO

I took the K1 out into the garden and rigged it up with my old "zip cord" 20m dipole (inverted V at 6m above decking), Z-match ATU, LED SWR indicator bridge and a lead-acid battery. Plenty of activity on 40m, 30m and 20m; all quiet on 15m. Got what looked like a good match on 20m (surprise, surprise) and a reasonable match on 30m. Tried calling a few stations on 30m at 2W, then at 5W. No reply. Then tried 20m at 5W and got a reply from Lorenzo EA7GOJ. First K! QSO in the log book!

I drew three conclusions from this evening. First, I need to practice my CW copying big time :-) Second, I'll try the same set-up later in the week but with the addition of my proper SWR meter. This will help me get a feel for how good a match I'm actually getting on bands other than 20m. I plan to take the K1 on holiday in July (we are going to Menorca, EA6-land). I don't want to pack the SWR meter, but instead rely on the SWR indicator. Third, perhaps I should also make a 30m "zip cord" dipole to take as well. They are cheap don't take up much space in the suitcase.

K1 - Ready for testing

After yesterday's diversion, it did not take long to complete the alignment, finish the last bits of assembly and (and as a final touch) stick the optional dimple on the tuning knob :-) Now I have to dig out my portable dipole, which I built to take on holiday once, and an ATU and set up in the garden for a proper test and, I hope, first QSO. But we are off to the seaside today, so it may have to wait until tomorrow :-(

K1 - RTFM (or how jumping to conclusions can waste two hours)

See if you can spot my deliberate mistake. Today it was time to align the Filter Board for transmit. I rigged up a dummy load and power meter, and put the K1 into Tune mode, starting on 7MHz. Yippee! About 1.5W output versus the nominal 2W; so I followed the instructions in the manual, gently tweaked the relevant trimmer capacitors on the Filter Board and power came up to 2W plus. I moved on to 10MHz, where again power started out at above 1W and a bit of trimming quickly got me to 2W .

Next, I switched bands to 14MHz. Tune mode on and, oh dear, almost no power output; barely enough to nudge the power meter needle off its stop. Ditto at 21MHz.

Now, the troubleshooting instructions do cover a situation where 2 bands work and 2 bands don't. And this led me to 2 hours of checking the soldering, checking component values and getting my oscilloscope out to do some signal tracing. There were some big differences in the RF voltages all the way back down the transmit chain. But what was baffling was that (a) everything peaked up on all bands on receive, but (b) with no power output on just 2 bands, it felt like a "binary" problem, something to do with relays in the Filter Board not switching properly.

After two hours, and with a headache coming on, I decided to call it a day at the workbench and read through the manuals one last time; I wanted to draw up a list of "back to basic" checks and signal trace tests on both receive and transmit that I could run through tomorrow. While doing this, I noticed a comment about making sure that the trimmer capacitors are all properly peaked.

I must have looked at this same sentence 10 times during my testing today. But it suddenly struck me that, when I first measured zero output on two bands (compared with the 1W plus I had started with on the other bands), I had jumped to the conclusion that there must be a definite fault; so I had never actually tried adjusting the relevant trimmers to see if that would bring up the power.

Which, of course, they did when I went back to the K1. Oh well, put it down to experience, I guess. I'll finish the fine tuning tomorrow.

K1 - First station heard!

It did not take long to wind the last two transformers and run through the resistance and DC voltage checks on the RF Board. One thing I had noticed from some of the earlier resistance checks, and it happened again today, was that the results I got depended on which range I set my multimeter. For example, if the expected resistance were 1.5 kohm, then I would get an odd result if I set my meter to the 2 kohm range, but a correct result if I set it to 20 kohm or 200 kohm.

Anyway, I reached the point at which the manual says you can plug in a receive aerial and see what you can hear. I switched my doublet over from the FT-847 ATU to the K1 and switched to the 40m band. Success! I could hear a handful of QSOs in progress. Then I heard someone calling CQ: Fatos ZA1FD from Albania. Ironically, this would have been a new country for me, but I didn't have a key plugged in, and hadn't tested the K1 on transmit. Oh well, another time.

K1 - More on the RF Board

Found time to install most of the remaining components on the RF Board. Called it a day before getting into the last two toroids. Only a few pages left in the manual: complete, test and align the RF Board, then final assembly.

I noticed that the manual advises getting used to operating the K1 in base configuration before adding in any options. I've bought the ATU, noise blanker and internal battery kit. I had already decided not to install the battery option; reading the instructions, it all seemed a bit "kludgy" in operation. I'll leave out the noise blanker to begin with, as well. But I will have to decide about the ATU. I guess I have the option of building and installing it, with the possibility of it complicating fault-finding, or leaving it out and testing the K1 with my old Z-match ATU. Something to be decided.

K1 - Bottom of page 41 in the manual

Major milestone. I've reached the bottom of page 41 in the manual where, in small italics, it says "This completes received alignment" :-)

Completing the VFO was fairly trouble free. I could not get the VFO into the required range with L1 as wound (even with spacing out the turns as far as they could go). So I followed the advice in the manual and took one turn of L1. Aligning the Filter Board went much more smoothly, using my FT-847 into a dummy load as a signal generator.

Most radical thing I've done is choose a sidetone frequency of 600Hz. My other rigs are set up for 800Hz but I thought I would try something a bit lower. Maybe it is age affecting my hearing.