Quote from: gil on April 30, 2020, 03:38:01 AMGood news, I was able to make digital modes work by bypassing HamLib and using FLRig for JS8Call!

I found that you made a video with that theme, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGt53n_xZjE. [Digital Modes With The Minion SDR Radio.]

Thank you for the first two videos shown previously! — Here are their YouTube URLs, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7BjcUvk_Cc.  [QRPVer Minion SDR First Impressions.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F75KqCeCsmo. [QRPVer Minion SDR Radio Update.]

Quote from: nofake on June 04, 2020, 02:25:51 PMI am looking for the service manual for the Icom ic251E and the wire diagram for the mutek frontend board.

1. Free download here (PDF): https://www.manualslib.com/products/Icom-Ic-251e-3963801.html

2. Check pages 12-19 in this PDF about "ICOM IC-251E + MUTEK BOARD":
https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Amateur-Radio/Amateur-Radio-1983-07.pdf

I didn't succeed in finding the Mutek circuit diagram for you. I found these phrases at more than one site, probably what you didn't do?:

Quote from: undefined(1) FRONT PANEL

• Remove four retaining screws and top cover.
• Remove four retaining screws and bottom cover, disconnecting the speaker.
• If you have a Mutek front end board fitted remove it now. MAKE NOTE OF THE CONNECTIONS TO IT! ***WRITE IT DOWN***
• Remove the four front panel frame screws
• disconnect the wiriing harness and remove the front panel. NOTE WHERE ALL THE PLUGS GO! ***WRITE IT DOWN***
• Locate the orange wire linking the mode switch and the board behind the power control potentiometer.
• Desolder it from it's present position on the mode switch and move it to the common side of the switch. That completes the front panel mod.

This example from: http://www.pa7es.nl/All_ICOM_mods.pdf

Put this exact search phrase (with quotation marks) into Google:
"If you have a Mutek front end board fitted remove it now"
Check the hits, even the picture hits, maybe something there will yield what you need. Good luck!

Quote from: gil on September 21, 2019, 05:50:08 PMAnother contender in my book is the QRPVer Minion, either the Mini or SDR version. It is much cheaper. The case doesn't look very rugged but it has few buttons and a small screen. 120mA for the mini and 220mA for the SDR. The mini has a direct conversion receiver, so presumably much more discreet as far as unwanted emissions even on receive ...

Quote from: gil on March 11, 2020, 11:20:26 AMFor HF, I just ordered a QRPVer Minion SDR! That will be mainly for SSB.
https://qrpver.com/transceivers/all-band-10-band-hf-sdr-transceiver-minion-sdr.html

Quote from: gil on March 23, 2020, 05:33:00 AMI just ordered the QRPVer Minion SDR. The G1M was the other option. In the end, it's the surface-mounted jacks problem on the G1M that made me go for the unknown Minion. I ordered without the LPF, but last night emailed Yurii to ask him if it wasn't too late to add it.. The G1M also burns more current. The minion has all bands between 160 and 10m and also apparently does transmit on CB frequencies. If the Minion SDR turns out to be great, for only a little more money, I think it would be worth saving up for it.
We'll see... I should get in in about a month.

I am eagerly awaiting your review of this radio. I'd like to see a video from the moment you open the parcel from Ukraine. And what kind of antenna will you recommend (and actually use)?

https://morsefree.com/

QuoteFree Morse Code Training Course for Beginners
Learn Morse Code from a professional
by Ham Radio Veteran & Morse Code Instructor: Richard C. Fitch (W5RCF)

Lots of useful stuff for beginners:

• Complete Chart of Morse Code Characters with Audio
• List of commonly used Morse Code Abbreviations & Shorthand
• CW Q Codes

Quote from: GNU_Ninja on January 31, 2020, 09:17:58 AMI use an Android app on my mobile called Koch Morse Trainer Pro, which I find very useful.

That app has been mentioned  a couple of times before, especially by Gil. See this thread, for example:

http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,1068.0.html  [Learning Morse on Android devices.]

Quote from: gil on January 21, 2016, 04:16:22 PMThe app is Koch Morse Trainer Pro (KMT Pro), for $3.13 if I recall. No other app that I saw seemed to play news feeds... It has a lot of features on top of the Koch method.

Quote from: Drls on July 12, 2019, 06:18:14 AM2.  http://qrp-labs.com/qsx.html  (Comming soon?)

Not yet. Updates here: http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,1507.0.html
[looks interesting - QRPlabs QSX all mode, all HF bands, 10 watts - $150 !!!!]

Quote from: gil on July 19, 2019, 04:15:38 PMI think everyone is waiting for the QSX kit from QRP-Labs...  ::)

Updates here: http://radiopreppers.com/index.php/topic,1507.0.html
[looks interesting - QRPlabs QSX all mode, all HF bands, 10 watts - $150 !!!!]

Since my previous post (21-06-2019), there is one update at http://qrp-labs.com/qsx.html:

QuoteUpdate 20-Aug-2019: I know this is taking longer than expected, but there are still a number of details to sort out. I do not want to release it before it is properly ready. It needs to work perfectly first. It's a huge complex project... so please bear with me, patiently...

Quote from: gil on January 09, 2020, 05:19:35 AMThe Norcal 40, precursor of the Elecraft K1, was designed by our member Wayne, co-founder of Elecraft; or was it K8IQY? I can't remember.

Quote from: undefinedThe club is probably best known for its many kits, which started with the NorCal 40, designed by Wayne Burdick, N6KR, that is credited with giving the club a huge boost when we were getting started. Wayne later designed a couple of other famous kits for us, including the 49er and the Sierra.

QuoteNews
The following are the most recent events of the Northern California QRP Club.
November 23, 2004:
Added the 49er construction manual to the manuals page
Also added the K8IQY Iowa QRP 10 Transceiver to the Projects area.

Those two last quotes from here: http://www.norcalqrp.org/files/ 

Quote from: bkmoore on December 18, 2019, 01:53:05 PMThe experts say, throw away the pencil and learn to head copy.
[...]
The trick is to learn to copy from behind. That is you wait until you recognize the word before writing it down, and while writing, you're listening for the next word. It's not easy, but it's kind of fun.

1. Who are these experts? I never heard such advice during my Morse training or during my decade as a Merchant Marine Radio Officer.

2. Quite unusable in professional contexts. I learned the hard way not to do that. Every so often, when I believed I could forehear exactly what word was being transmitted to me, and then, in the end, it was another word starting with the same succession of letters. I got confused and lost the next word(s), so I had to break the transmission and ask for a repeat. Quite embarrassing. So I stopped guessing and just wrote down, letter by letter, what was actually coming in.

I recently found this Norwegian Christmas card, I guess it's up to a century old. Merry Christmas!



For the folkloristic background of these guys, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore)

Quote from: gil on December 11, 2019, 05:12:11 AMWriting on Paper is a double-edge sword... Above 15wpm you better just try to form words in your mind... Writing IMHO is for just about 12-15wpm... I would never suggest learning the code any slower...

Now to me as a former professional Merchant Marine radio operator (radio officer) (1963-73) that's a strange statement. In the service we had to write down radiograms, weather reports, news, what not. Often handwrite, and then type it for delivery to the addressee. Under good conditions I'd copy directly to my typewriter, which I often did with weather forecasts and news transmissions.

The minimum speed for obtaining my 2nd Class License was 20 WPM. Later I passed the 1st Class License exam at 30 WPM. Under ideal conditions, I succeeded receiving and transmitting (with an electronic keyer) up to 40 WPM.

At Radio School we started training real slow, and gradually increased speed till we reached 20 WPM. Then we stayed there until we were proficient and error-free at that level.

Quote from: gil on November 14, 2016, 09:57:33 AMI use UHF here more than VHF, so I really would like the RigExpert AA-600 ...

https://rigexpert.com/  —  https://www.facebook.com/pg/RigExpertUkraineLtd/

QuoteThis is the official page of Rig Expert Ukraine Ltd. company, which is the owner of RigExpert brand. This trademark is registered in Ukraine as well as in the USA.

We produce antenna analyzers, transceiver interfaces, ARDF equipment and amateur radio software ...

This company has been referred to only once before in the forum. Now Norway's largest vendor of ham equipment is offering several Rig Expert products. So I guess they produce high quality goods?

https://www.facebook.com/PermoSimarud/  —  https://webshop.simarud.no/hovedmeny/radiokommunikasjon

Anyone in here with user experience of any Rig Expert products?

Quote from: gil on November 17, 2019, 02:12:59 PMI made a video about this... Something I call "knowing your RF landscape."

I guess it must be this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HARDgWHPrE
"Preppers, Know Your Radio Frequency Landscape."

Quote from: RadioRay on November 12, 2019, 02:29:13 PMThe Paraset !  I could certainly a video of you making contact with England while using a Paraset from France ...

The beautiful photos in the previous post show the French Cold War spy radio set TR-TG-2A. See:

https://www.cryptomuseum.com/spy/trtg2a/index.htm

Background info and photos of the World War II Paraset spy radio (good links in all articles):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraset
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30005321
https://amrron.com/2016/11/27/the-paraset-wwii-clandestine-spy-radio/
https://web.archive.org/web/20081011095739/http://www.theparasetclub.co.uk/
https://web.archive.org/web/20060830142514/http://www.mines.uidaho.edu/~glowbugs/paraset.htm