User:TheAnarcat

I am anarcat and i hope i'm not screwing things up here too much. :)

I just passed my basic qualitification in Canada, with honors (so I can operate HF), yay! I am now AKA VA2ANK. -- TheAnarcat 21:50, 10 October 2010 (CDT)

My rig

• Transceiver:
  • Yaesu FT-100D - 499$ on ebay

  . <!> worried about power supplies and "no returns" policy of this vendor... 
  . (!) should be shipped between oct 14 and 20th
  . actual price: ~570$ (to be verified)

• Antennas and gizmos:
  • MFJ-941E - antenna tuner and switch 155$ at radioworld
  • MAP-G5RV 1/2 - G5RV 50' dipole antenna (10-40m) 85$ at radioworld
  • J146/440 - dual band VHF/UHF antenna (2m-70cm) 40$ at radioworld /!\ backorder
  • 100' of RG8 coax cabling 65$ at radioworld
  • MFJ-260C - 300W dummy load 0-150Mhz dry 50$ at radiowrodl
  • 3 PL259 connectors 4$ at radioworld
  • Total, incl. shipping: 452.35$
• Ferrites: ~40$ + 24$ customs fees
• Total rig cost so far: 1046.70$

I uploaded a few photos in this album.

New quad antenna project

A sketch of my antenna

I am working on building a new antenna, pictured right. It is based on this design, which uses a mix of PVC pipes and fiberglass rods, except I adapt it to a 20m antenna.

Here's my parts list.

Part	Amount	Where	Price	Notes
AUG 12 copper wire	40m	Addison	29.32$	check canadian tire?
hose clamps	8	home depot	~15$	unit price ~2$
1"x½" copper pipe	8	home depot	~5$	for spreader/wire attachment
8"x½" plastic tube	1	home depot	~2$	for spreader/wire attachment
8m ½"PVC	4	home depot	?	3/4" en stock
4m 1"PVC	1	home depot	?	1" en stock
plywood	3'x2'	home depot	5$?	1' x 2' used for the beam/pole fitting
U clamps and bolts	4	home depot	?	for the beam/pole fitting
tripod	1	addison	40$	~2' x 2'
sandbags	3	home depot	30$?	one per leg
5-way 1"PVC conn.	2	creativeshelters.com	3.08$	phase 2
15' 1" fiberglass	8	mgs4u.com	~160$	phase 2, unit price 17.10$ - use the type 1L because the type 1 doesn't fit in the 5-way PVC connector

Total price: ~280$

Références

Je collecte ici des bons sites au sujet du ham radio.

• Manuals, courses
  • Good overview
  • Emergencyradio.ca online course
  • tech manual
  • HAM Radio primer - un peu vieux (14 ans!) dit que son kit a coûté 1000$
• Hardware
  • hardware guide - motorola
• Exams
  • certification pour licence canadienne
  • Exams at the Last HOPE
• Clubs
  • Montreal Amateur Radio Club - Dorval est. 1932, mostly english and west-island-ish
  • Rive sud
  • Radio Amateur Canada
• Other documentation
  • IRLP - Internet Radio Linking Project - using the internet to link stations
  • Call sign lookup
  • Available call signs in Canada
  • US Ham bands
  • Wikipedia:Family_Radio_Service - intéressant pour commencer, comme le CB mais plus puissant et sans interférence, pas cher, j'ai acheté un cobra FRS

Software

This needs to be merged into Software

• the oracles
  • http://packages.debian.org/gpredict
  • http://packages.debian.org/minimuf - allows you to compute the WikiPedia:MUF depending on salar activity and so on, but has an unusuable interface (you need to enter a series of digits... how about a GUI?!)
  • http://packages.debian.org/gcb - calculates the right angle for your antenna
  • http://packages.debian.org/xplanet - can show azimuthal projections of the earth on your background, screensaver or window - I use this in myxsession:

  xplanet -latitude 45.5 -longitude -73.66 -wait 60 -label -projection azimuthal -fork -radius 90

• testing tools
  • http://packages.debian.org/ibp - very useful for training to receive distant comms: show you which beacon is active when, with a map

  ibp FN35EM

• packet:
  • http://packages.debian.org/gmfsk - for packet radio
  • http://packages.debian.org/fldigi - also looks interesting and fairly complete, not tested
  • http://packages.debian.org/gpsk31, DebianPackage:linpsk, DebianPackage:phaseshift - same?
  • http://packages.debian.org/fbb - mailboxes?
• to be tested:
  • http://packages.debian.org/grig - can control your radio from your computer
  • http://packages.debian.org/splat
  • http://packages.debian.org/wwl
  • http://packages.debian.org/wsjt
  • http://packages.debian.org/xastir
  • http://packages.debian.org/xwota
  • http://packages.debian.org/xdemorse
• dismissed:
  • http://packages.debian.org/predict and http://packages.debian.org/predict-gsat - console only, doesn't bring much the gorgeous visuals of DebianPackage:gpredict

... others to follow, there's a whole hamradio section in debian.

Stuff to buy next

• Another HF radio?
  • ebay
  • radioworld
  • local
• Call those guys?