Category: What’s New

What’s New

These web pages describe my station’s construction and operation. They also include some personal reviews, recommendations, and links to relevant information. I try to offer some insight into the research and planning stages of the station build.

Check back for updates to what’s going on here in the shack. I’m always building or improving something related to Amateur Radio, and I’ll post my findings here, in the event others may be interested.

Lou Reed @ Trude Heller 1976

I know, Lou Reed is completely off topic. But some may find this story interesting. Back when I was in high school I played in a local rock band. We played ‘original’ music and performed publicly in places like CBGB, Great Gildersleeves, Trude Heller, and many of the other cool clubs in 1970’s NYC. One night we had a special guest appearance by Lou Reed.

Lou Reed’s Coming!

His guest appearance was made possible through a connection one of our guitar players had. IIRC he worked as a roadie for Reed, or was somehow in Reed’s periphery, and claimed he could get Reed to jam with us at a gig. Truth is, we were told several times by the guitarist that Reed would be coming, and after awhile (3 or 4 false alarms) his announcements were taken far less seriously.

The first time he announced ‘Lou Reed is coming tonight’ I called up all my friends to come down. They jammed the joint. Everybody showed up except Lou Reed. After the second false alarm they were all like ‘call us when he actually shows up’. Who could blame them.

Trude Heller

Then, on some random weeknight in April 1976, while appearing at Trude Heller, Lou Reed did indeed join us onstage for an impromptu jam session. Once I got over the surprise of him actually showing up, I only had time to make one phone call. I reached a friend in Brooklyn and told him Reed was standing in front of me, and he agreed to round up some friends and drive over to the city.

Now I just hoped they would arrive before Reed left!

Lou Reed at Trude Heller April 1976 — Trude Heller on the corner of “9th and 6th”

Luckily, a handful of my friends showed up in time to see the jam session. One of them even remembered to bring a camera! Well, the camera jammed, and for all these years there was nothing but fading memories of the event among the small number of attendees.

My Recent Discovery

During the assembly stages of my rack mount project, I was looking through some storage items and came across my collection of old cassette tapes. I was the guy in the band that always recorded everything, recorded all the bands I ever played in. Don’t have pictures, but I have these old recordings.

It’s been a very long time since I looked at these tapes. I’d say probably 40 years or so. I pulled this one out to take a closer look:

Lou Reed - 1976 — Cassette Tape dated April 1976

Yep, just another band tape.. Until I opened it up:

Lou Reed Trude Heller - April 1976 — The biggest surprise of all! Possible evidence of the show?

I have no direct recollection of making a recording that night. It was not until I saw the tape again, now 42 years later, that I would actually open it and look at the label. You can imagine…right?

It would be likely for me to have my ‘cassette’ with me that ‘random weeknight in April 1976’. This is not such a stretch, since I took it with me every time I did music. I sometimes carried it around the street with me when I was a kid, like a boom-box (before they had such things)

Old School Cassette Player

The Lou Reed cassette tape (and all of my cassettes for that matter) would be recorded on this exact model machine. I bought this Panasonic back in the days when I had my NY Daily News paper route.

The tape looked loose inside the cassette, so I very carefully wound the tape (with a BIC pen of course) from one end to the other, and back again, using a very slight back tension and I could see some wrinkles and rough spots in the tape.

What’s On The Tape?

I have a pretty good idea what to expect on this tape. I’ll explain.

I’m certain this tape has not been played since the night it would have been recorded. It went into a box with all my other tapes, and since then, I’ve just carried them around with me all these years. The only cassette player I have now is in my car. (Yeah, I know, why get a new car when you can get some new radio equipment instead) I don’t want to try to play it in the car for obvious reasons. If it tangles in the car’s cassette player it might be hard to extract.

One of the gents at work has a high end studio cassette deck. He’s having it calibrated before our sessions begin. Actually, he has all the machines required:

1/4″ Quarter Track w/10″ reels capable of speeds down to 1 7/8 IPS
1/4″ 4-Track capable of 7.5 ips
1/4″ Half Track w/10″ reels capable of 7.5 IPS
Cassette Deck with Pitch Control

I plan to hire him to copy all the analog tapes in my accumulation and convert them to files. It’s a really big job. I have a lot of tapes, in several different formats. I’ll completely organize everything before each session, so I don’t waste any time. I’ll start with the cassettes, then the 1/4″ 4 Track 7″ reels, and so on.

Meeting Lou Reed – April 1976

I remember being called backstage to meet ‘Lou’ and being reminded to ‘be cool’ before I met him. I remember Lou was buggin’ out, and he had a friend with him named Rachel. He was really a humble sweet guy, who stopped by to jam with us! How cool was this!

The one thing that everybody remembers about that night was Lou’s “Jet Phaser”

He came to play with an electric guitar and this pedal. The rig made a god awful sound with this pedal. It was totally insane. I remember Lou more or less just banged on the guitar, like he was mock playing it, and messed around making crazy jet noises with this pedal and his whammy bar. I’ll never forget it. I was puzzled at the time, I thought we were going to do some music.

Greatest Coincidence In My Lifetime!

If there’s actually a recording (not just words on a label) I would expect to hear the infamous Jet Phaser. Also, sometimes when the stage was small, like at Trude’s, I would place the recorder on top of my bass amp. So this tape may be phaser noise drowned out by the bass amp. I don’t remember Lou singing anything, or speaking on the mics, but who knows.

Believe it or not, during a break at a business meeting in 2004, I overheard a fellow manager (from the music retail business) telling a Lou Reed story to some of the other guys, so I went over to listen. It was incredible, he was telling a story about Lou Reed coming into his store and buying the Roland Jet Phaser on his way to a gig ‘downtown somewhere’. I nearly had stroke! When I told him what happened and we compared notes we determined it could have only been that same day. If the tape is good my buddy JC will be among the first to know.

Of course, there’s only one way to find out. It won’t be long. I will update the story the same day I hear the tape. Hopefully it’s what the label say’s it is. More later.

UPDATE 12/29/18

The tape was blank on one side, and had a Steel House rehearsal on the other side. Perhaps recorded over Lou Reed.

Back To The Front

Yoast SEO Breadcrumbs

I was looking through the Yoast SEO settings and came across ‘breadcrumbs’. It seems like something I must have, and does not appear difficult to implement. Yoast SEO Breadcrumbs are a navigation aid for the WordPress website, and can be added to the “Theme” of the site.

From the Yoast website:

When Hansel and Gretel went into the woods, Hansel dropped pieces of bread on the ground so they could find their way home if the two of them ever got lost. These breadcrumbs eventually became the model for the breadcrumbs we see on websites nowadays. A breadcrumb is a small text path, often located at the top of a page. On yoast.com, for instance, the path to our Yoast SEO plugin page is Home > Software > WordPress Plugins > Yoast SEO for WordPress. This breadcrumb immediately shows you where you are. Every part of that path is clickable, all the way to the homepage.

Breadcrumbs also appear in Google. If you use Yoast SEO or add the correct form of structured data to your site, search engines can pick up this data and could show your breadcrumbs in the search results. These provide users an easy to understand overview of where the page sits on your site.

I’m in. I carefully typed in the code snippet adding it to the bottom of my theme’s header.php file. This should help improve traffic and site navigation, and help prevent the dreaded “Bounce Rate”

Advantages to using breadcrumbs

There are a couple of advantages to using breadcrumbs on your site. Let’s go over them quickly:

1. Google loves them

Your visitors like breadcrumbs, but Google likes them as well. Breadcrumbs give Google another way of figuring out how your website is structured. In addition to that, Google might use your breadcrumbs to show these in the search results. This way, your search result will at one become much more enticing to users. To increase the chance to get these breadcrumbs in Google, you need to add structured data or use Yoast SEO.

2. They enhance the user experience

People hate to get lost. When confronted with a new location, people often look around in search of recognizable objects or landmarks. The same goes for websites. You need to keep visitors happy and reduce as much friction as possible. Breadcrumbs can help your user experience since it is a well-known interface element that instantly shows people a way out. No need to click the back button!

3. They lower bounce rates

Hardly anyone comes in via the homepage anymore. It’s all organic search nowadays. That means every part of your site could be an entry point. You must come up with a way to guide these visitors to other parts of your site if the selected page does not meet their expectations. Breadcrumbs can lower bounce rates because you’re offering visitors an alternative means of browsing your site. Don’t you think it’s better to send a visitor to your homepage than back to Google?

SSD Storage Options

When I assembled my current lot of PC hardware I decided to install all Solid State Drives. At the time SSD’s were still relatively new, and once I saw how much faster they were than the mechanical drives, I went all in. The time has come to consider more current SSD storage options, as my SATA II 3Gb/s SSD’s are now several years old, and have fallen behind the ‘speed curve’ of current day SSD technology. I also noticed that the lowest score in my Windows 7 “Experience Index” is the disk data transfer rate @ a 7.0 score. That being said, I’ve started looking into SSD upgrades.

I purchased these Kingston SSDNOW V100 drives circa 2010. At the time I had met a hardware reviewer who would sell the samples he was given once he had finished his reviews. The prices were good enough that I bought a few from him, a couple of 128GB drives and a 64GB drive and converted my two machines to SSD. Whatever mechanical drives I had leftover would be used as backup data drives, where their slow speed wouldn’t matter as much. I run the two 128GB drives in RAID 0 and installed Windows 7 64bit.

SSD Storage Options – 2018

A lot has happened in the world of SSD technology since 2010!

I’m researching an SSD storage upgrade compatible with my existing hardware.

At first I was focused on SATA III 2.5″ format, but quickly learned the real speed in SSD technology now lies in NVMe PCIe M.2 drives. I don’t want to replace motherboards (running in rock solid configurations) to accommodate this upgrade, and, lucky for me, it now looks like I won’t have to.

NVMe PCIe M.2

A suitable technology choice has emerged, and much to my surprise, it will not involve much compromise. I’ll explain…

My existing motherboard (of which I have a brand new spare) does not have SATA III, so that immediately eliminated the 2.5″ drives for me. Nor does it have an M.2 connector. (my motherboard is also from 2010) But what it does have is an available PCIe 2.0 x4 slot.

Just as I was wondering how this new drive would fit in the PCIe slot, I found the adapter.

So the compromise, to call it that, is the PCIe 2.0 x4 slot on my existing motherboard. The SYBA adapter is a PCIe 3.0 device that is compatible with PCIe 2.0 (the reason I’m lucky) I’m also happy to be letting go of the RAID 0 array. It has performed well for me all these 8+ years.

The adapter

Convert M.2 NGFF PCI-e based SSD to work in main board PCI-e x4/8/16 bus slot
PCI Express 3.0 x 4 Lane Host adapter
Movable M.2 NGFF stand-ff and multiple plated-holes supports type 22110, 2280, 2260, 2242, and 2230 SSD
Supports PCI-e 1.0, PCI-e 2.0, and PCI-e 3.0 motherboard
Low Profile Bracket included
Transparent to the OS and no driver required (Plug n Play)

I also have the option of removing a video card from a PCIe x8 slot and putting the drive there if there is any benefit. I’m guessing whatever difference may exist, it would likely be imperceptible to me in day to day use.

wd bLACK VS. SAMSUNG evo 860

The technology pundits have spoken.

Overall, the WD Black is probably the best PCIe SSD Western Digital could have built using their SanDisk planar TLC NAND. It’s clearly a much faster low-end PCIe offering than the Intel SSD 600p despite the latter’s potential advantage from using 3D TLC NAND. The pricing will determine which one is a more sensible purchase.

I’m assuming that the current third-party Amazon sellers charging above MSRP will soon be undercut by retailers selling their stock close to MSRP. The price Western Digital is asking is about 10% higher than what the Intel SSD 600p is currently going for. For users with light to moderate workloads the cheaper 600p will still be plenty fast, but if you have a particularly heavy workload or expect to operate the drive nearly full, the WD Black is probably a worthwhile step up. There are also quite a few options just above the WD Black in price that have a clear performance advantage. Among them the Plextor M8Pe seems to have better pricing and performance than the Patriot Hellfire, but there may be other Phison E7 drives besides the Hellfire that are cheap enough to undercut the M8Pe and be a nicee step up from the WD Black.

WD Black

All things being more or less equal, why pay more? I feel at this point I’ve read enough about both units, and certainly will not perceive the differences in use. So I will save a few dollars and purchase the Western Digital WDS512G10XOC

Exploring all available SSD storage options was the right approach.

More later after the drive is installed.

Back To The Front

UPS Back Up Power Supply

UPS Backup Power Supply

It’s hard to believe how many power outages occur in my neighborhood. If it weren’t for the UPS Back Up Power Supply I’d be offline constantly.

From /var/log/apcupsd.events:

2018-02-04 09:57:52 – Shutdown
2018-02-14 13:17:10
2018-02-14 13:20:37
2018-02-16 10:18:36
2018-02-16 14:57:37
2018-02-24 07:41:01
2018-02-24 07:40:56
2018-02-27 10:40:40
2018-03-02 17:41:14
2018-03-02 17:41:17
2018-03-02 10:27:48
2018-03-02 10:27:50
2018-03-03 07:40:16
2018-04-05 12:42:52
2018-04-05 19:07:48 – Shutdown
2018-04-20 17:11:04 – Shutdown
2018-05-02 17:40:41
2018-05-02 17:48:44
2018-05-11 05:04:17

Finding replacements

Every time the power goes out we’re told that they are “replacing some old equipment in the area”. Needless to say, that excuse is getting pretty old itself. Luckily, these events usually don’t last long, and the UPS successfully keeps everything alive. Of the 19 events since February 2018, three resulted in shutdowns when the UPS battery ran out. Of course, we’re never notified in advance of any of these ‘repairs’ so a UPS Backup Power Supply (or two) are required.

That being said, amateur radio station K6HR currently employs two Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). The most recent outage revealed that my older UPS, an APC LS 700 is in need of replacement. A quick look at ‘apcaccess’ quickly confirmed it:

APC      : 001,036,0870
DATE     : 2018-05-13 21:23:30 -0700
HOSTNAME : gw.k6hr.ampr.org
VERSION : 3.14.14 (31 May 2016) debian
UPSNAME : apc700
CABLE    : USB Cable
DRIVER   : USB UPS Driver
UPSMODE : Stand Alone
STARTTIME: 2018-05-12 11:10:33 -0700
MODEL    : Back-UPS LS 700
STATUS   : LOWBATT
LINEV    : 114.0 Volts
LOADPCT : 0.0 Percent
BCHARGE : 0.0 Percent
TIMELEFT : 0.0 Minutes
MBATTCHG : 5 Percent
MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes
MAXTIME : 0 Seconds
SENSE    : Medium
LOTRANS : 106.0 Volts
HITRANS : 133.0 Volts
ALARMDEL : 30 Seconds
BATTV    : 11.7 Volts
LASTXFER : No transfers since turnon
NUMXFERS : 0
TONBATT : 0 Seconds
CUMONBATT: 0 Seconds
XOFFBATT : N/A
SELFTEST : NO
STATFLAG : 0x05000040
SERIALNO : 3B0726X84715
BATTDATE : 2007-06-30
NOMINV : 120 Volts
NOMBATTV : 12.0 Volts
NOMPOWER : 410 Watts
FIRMWARE : 19.b5 .D USB FW:b5
END APC : 2018-05-13 21:23:56 -0700

I could replace the battery in the LS 700, but after 11 years in service, it’s time to upgrade to a more up to date piece of hardware. I will likely relegate the LS 700 to a lower priority application. (i.e. the home entertainment center) since it is still in working condition other than the depleted battery.

CyberPower LX1500GU

I purchased the CyberPower LX1500GU to replace an old APC BackUPS RS 1000 that was also retired due to old age. This CyberPower model met or exceeded the spec, and was within budget. The LX1500GU is rated for 900 Watts, and is currently supporting a 225 Watt load with an estimated runtime of 50 minutes. This UPS supports the main Windows PC and the Astron RS70A that powers all the 12 volt radio equipment.

APC BX1500M

Why not another CyberPower LX1500GU? Logical question. The simple answer is ‘apcupsd’ is currently running on my Ubuntu server, and I prefer to install another APC unit rather than have to research and reconfigure for something else. This new APC BX1500M will be plug and play with my current configuration once I change the ‘UPSNAME parameter.

This UPS device will support the Ubuntu Server, Router, switch, and one monitor.

There are some fine tutorials available for apcupsd, so I won’t go into it here. This is a quick and dirty version of my current apcupsd config:

apcupsd.conf v1.1

# for apcupsd release 3.14.14 (31 May 2016) – debian

UPSNAME apc700

UPSCABLE usb

UPSTYPE usb DEVICE /dev/usb/hiddev[0-15]
POLLTIME 60
LOCKFILE /var/lock
SCRIPTDIR /etc/apcupsd
PWRFAILDIR /etc/apcupsd
NOLOGINDIR /etc
#
# ======== Configuration parameters used during power failures ==========
#
ONBATTERYDELAY 6
BATTERYLEVEL 5
MINUTES 3
TIMEOUT 0
ANNOY 300
ANNOYDELAY 60
NOLOGON disable
KILLDELAY 0
#
# ==== Configuration statements for Network Information Server ====
#
NETSERVER on
NISIP 0.0.0.0
NISPORT 3551
EVENTSFILE /var/log/apcupsd.events
EVENTSFILEMAX 10
#
# ========== Configuration statements used if sharing =============
# a UPS with more than one machine
#
UPSCLASS standalone
UPSMODE disable
#
# ===== Configuration statements to control apcupsd system logging ========
#
STATTIME 0
STATFILE /var/log/apcupsd.status
LOGSTATS off
DATATIME 0

Back to the Front

FlexRadio USB Cable Management

I control two Palstar AT-AUTO antenna tuners via the FlexRadio USB Cable Management function in SmartSDR.

Pair of Palstar AT-AUTO's at K6HR — Pair of Palstar AT-AUTO’s at K6HR

The FTDI USB RS-232 cables supply frequency data to other serial devices in the shack directly from the transceiver. Very slick!

When I first installed the cables I took the default settings and connected the 9 pin end of the cable to the AT-AUTO serial port. It was Plug and Play! Just like that, I had the tuners following the radio! This meant I could click anywhere on any band, and my antenna would be tuned almost instantly, and, without the need to TX a tuning carrier! That’s right, once ‘trained’ the tuners arrive at their match position before I press the PTT button!

It was the ‘almost instantly’ bit that got me…

In other words, the antennas were tuning great, but they weren’t tuning efficiently. I’ll explain. (or perhaps you’ve guessed it already!)

I have two antennas:

ANT1 – Mosley TA33JR Yagi – For use on frequencies 14mhz and higher.

ANT2 – 130ft Dipole (Height Compromised) – For use below 14mhz.

Each antenna has a dedicated AT-AUTO.

I quickly realized that as I changed frequency and/or band, both tuners were tuning both antennas to the same frequency. No good, because this also meant that when I changed from a low band to a high band, (where the tuning presets are at opposite ends of the AT-AUTO’s range), both tuners had to travel the entire length of the tuning cycle! Really bad!

I didn’t make sense to operate this way, so I decided it was time to RTFM.

I needed the ability to assign one cable to each tuner and send independent frequency data to each tuner. If I could do this, then each of the two tuners could operate within the proper (close together) tuning range, and neither tuner would ever have to move very far to find a match, and certainly never have to travel the entire length of the tuner range again. Thus resulting in the ‘instant’ tuning I was looking for.

USB CAT Cable ‘Source’ selection

Much to my delight FlexRadio USB Cable Management allows you to select the source of the cables frequency data from a number of very useful sources!

The sources are:

TX Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the slice receiver that holds the Transmit Indicator.
Active Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the active slice receiver (the slice that has the yellow cursor)
TX Panadapter – The cable will report the center frequency of the panadapter that contains the transmit slice
Specific Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the specified slice (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H)
RX Antenna – The cable will report the frequency of the specified receive antenna (ANT1, ANT2, XVTR, RXA, RXB). Note: If multiple slices are on the same RX Antenna then the frequency of the last tuned slice will be reported.
TX Antenna – The cable will report the frequency of the specified transmit antenna (ANT1, ANT2, XVTR). Note: This frequency is only changed/reported when the TX Slice is connected to the specified antenna.

Tremendous Versatility!

The Flex 6300 Transceiver only has one Spectral Capture Unit.

From the SmartSDR Documentation:

Because the notion of a receiver is firmly established in both the amateur community and possibly the rest of the world, it seemed inappropriate to describe the functionality of a wide-band sampling system simply as a “receiver”. Instead, in the SmartSDR world there are one or more “Spectral Capture Units”, or SCUs, that are responsible for the collection of wide-band data from the RF spectrum.

The SCU components are: an antenna input, an optional set of receive pre-selectors, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Each SCU in the radio system can be connected to only one antenna at a time, but due to the sampling architecture it may support multiple receivers and spectrum displays.

The SCU enables listening to multiple bands at the same time on the same antenna. A hardware platform with multiple SCUs such as the FLEX-6600, FLEX-6600M and FLEX-6700 allows for monitoring multiple bands on different antennas or the ability to perform more complex noise mitigation techniques that are available in multi-antenna systems.

To operate the tuners independently and efficiently, and, having only one SCU to work with, I decided to source each tuners data utilizing the ‘Specific Slice’ source. I assigned the Mosley’s AT-AUTO to respond only to data from Slice ‘A’, and the AT-AUTO for the dipole to respond only to Slice ‘B’ data.

Going forward, for the 6300, I will simply use Slice A for all frequencies 14 mhz and higher, and Slice B for all frequencies below 14 mhz.

I’m really looking forward to the addition of the 6700 and the tremendous versatility I will have at my disposal.

Back to the Front

Geochron Digital 4K UHD

I am very happy with the latest addition to the shack! The world famous Geochron Digital 4K UHD clock. I plan to utilize the Geochron as a tool in learning how to work grey line propagation.

The digital version is a fraction of the price of the mechanical model, so I saw no reason to delay any further! $399 at my time of purchase.

I have it connected to my LG 32″ 4K monitor via HDMI and it looks amazing!

Geochron will show me everything I need to know to learn and work the grey line. I need contacts in zones 23 and 34 to complete WAZ on 20m and the Geochron is going to help get me there.

I intend to add a second, identical LG 4K monitor that will be dedicated to use with the Geochron. Of course I’m using the Amateur Radio map overlay, and have the Geochron connected to the internet via wifi for updates.

highly recommended

The Geochron is a compliment to any shack big or small. If you’re serious about chasing DX, the Geochron is a very useful tool.

From the Geochron website:

The Geochron Digital 4k UHD gives viewers beautiful displays of the Earth with the sunrise-sunset rendered in real-time through a small computer that plugs directly in to your TV via HDMI. The size of your display is only limited by the size of your TV, as you take in the terrestrial movement of the Earth’s orbit in sync with the Sun.

The Geochron Digital 4k UHD displays a full-featured Geochron World Clock on any 4k TV, with every mapset and lighting option available in our famous mechanical clock but at a fraction of the cost. Now in the digital format, users customize markers on the map, and recieve (with internet) real time updates.

Lifetime updates for five mapsets.
- Live location of the International Space Station, updated every 15 seconds.
- High Speed demonstration mode. One year in 15 seconds!
- Eight Locations Pins with custom text names you can place anywhere on the map.
- Static Overlays, showing:
  - Earth at Night
  - Major shipping routes (as of 05/2018)
  - Major flight routes (as of 05/2018)
  - Carbon Monoxide Pollution (new! as of 06/2018)
- Digital Accuracy, and on-the-fly time adjustments to local time zones.

Multiple Views on the World in Real Time

With our easy-to-use on-screen menu, this Geochron has every mapset available: Earth Human, Earth Oceanic, Earth Topographical, a simple low resolution Geopolitical, and Ham Radio. Every map can be layered with humanity’s lights in the night, as seen from space.

Watch the sun rise over special locations, and mark them with customizable location pins. See the human expanse over the continents with lights reaching into the night.

Easy Setup

Although the algorithms behind the dynamic display are complex, the Geochron Digital 4k UHD is ready to go out of the box. It’s easy to set up and use with the provided remote control, and – with an internet connection – includes time and date configuration, firmware updates, and map updates.

RF Hardware Upgrades

I’ve finalized plans for this years hardware upgrades. After some careful consideration I’ve assembled my final list of RF hardware upgrades. 2018 has been a very busy year, but I’m finally to the point where I can devote more time and energy to the hobby side of things. I’m in the process of writing up a list of what I need to get done. I work best when I have my work sketched out and I can work through everything in logical steps. I find it helps me keep track of the details and saves me from re-work related delays.

Flex 6700
Telepost LP-500
LG 32UD59-B 32″ UHD 4K monitor with Ergo 45-295-026 (Monitor Arm)
APC BX1500M UPS
HDD upgrade to 500GB SSD
High Capacity HEPA Filter
W6LVP RX Loop #2
Comet CHA-250B Vertical HF Antenna
Additional Grounding and Ferrite requirements

Flex 6700

I mentioned this earlier in the year. The 6700 was the first item added to what would become the final list of new hardware. I’m getting a great deal from Flex on a “Certified Pre-Owned” 6700. Yeah, it costs a bit more than what we’ve seen some used units sell for recently, but having Flex service is well worth it.

Telepost LP-500

I’m on the waiting list and steadily moving up in the ranks! I’m hoping the fact that I’ll need 4 RF couplers doesn’t complicate the order. Hopefully they’ll have enough on hand as I arrive at the top of the list.

LG 32UD59-B

Now that I’ve had the LG UHD 4K monitor for a while, I’ve decided I really like it. I like it enough to add a second one. Complete with identical Ergo Articulating Arm Mount. I have a thing about keeping things somewhat symmetrical . So I usually always purchase monitors in pairs. This additional 32″ monitor will serve as the primary display for the GeoChron Digital 4K. It’s stunning! Wait until you see it! It’s gonna be killer!

APC BX1500M

This will complete the back-up power requirements for the shack. As previously mentioned the existing APC will be re-tasked.

EVO 860 500GB SSD Upgrade

I’m upgrading the shack PC to Windows 10, and I’ve decided to use a larger capacity SDD for the system drive, and re-purpose the existing SSD’s to be used on the web server hardware.

High Capacity HEPA Filter

One of my main goals is to finally eliminate the dust problem. During the rack build I was able to remove a tremendous amount of dust. Likewise, during the upgrade install, I will take further action. The plan is to use an air compressor to loosen, and then collect the dust with the HEPA. Rather than attempt to loosen all the remaining dust at once, I plan to do it in installments to avoid getting choked, or the filter getting clogged etc.

Comet CHA-250B Vertical / W6LVP Loop

On the recommendation of Ron, WB6IAG, I am installing a Comet HF vertical. This antenna will add some flexibility to the station RX. I am also adding a second W6LVP Loop antenna, and putting it, and the existing loop, on rotators! How’s that for an RX improvement!

Finishing Touches!

RF Hardware Upgrades

Of course the new gear all needs to be tied into the ground bar, and have ferrite’s applied to both ends of all the new cables. Perhaps the last finishing touch with be the replacement of the ugly cardboard above the air conditioner in the window! I’ll cut a custom fit a plexi-glass insert to close up the window properly once and for all!

Last Minute Addition! Kenwood TH-D74A

The Kenwood TH-D74A is a D-STAR transceiver. It is packed with amazing features. And….it comes complete with a learning curve! I recently became interested in D-STAR after doing some research on its capabilities.

RF Hardware Upgrades — Kenwood TH-D74A D-STAR Transceiver

D-STAR Kenwood TH-D74A

I was in the market for an HT and decided to take a look at what the “Big 3” were offering. My attention was drawn to the D-STAR Network after stumbling into a D-STAR video featuring the ICOM ID-51A. After a little more research it became apparent the best choice for me would be the D-STAR Kenwood TH-D74A.

First rule of D-STAR: You must register!

I registered through HRO where I purchased the radio, and within a business day my registration was working. The D-STAR network checks for a valid callsign registration before allowing access. So you can’t work any D-STAR without the validated registration. It took less than 5 minutes to enter the basic required info via the web. I entered my info on a weekend, and it was working after the following business day.

D-STAR Gateways

The ‘gateway’ function was what really got me going on D-STAR. The digital repeaters have an internet gateway function that allows for connection to remote D-STAR repeaters and ‘reflectors’ around the world. Count me in! This is a must have capability at K6HR.

Finding my local digital repeaters was simple, and I quickly determined which repeaters I could access. The GPS feature enables you to find the local repeaters with the press of a button from a built-in database. Pretty slick!

However…

I also quickly learned that the local D-STAR repeaters, although capable of gateway connections, do not necessarily permit them! At least, not to casual users. I can see that the best local repeater is always linked to a certain reflector. When I attempt to change the reflector, I get an error icon.

It didn’t take long to realize it is poor etiquette to show up on a repeater and change the reflector that many folks are monitoring! Bad idea. Now what?

And the answer is…DVAP

No Problem. I just need to be a D-STAR Gateway!

There’s a gizmo for that! What I need is a Digital Voice Access Point or DVAP. The DVAP is an internet gateway interface that can be accessed via UHF simplex. Through the DVAP, I will have my own D-STAR gateway functionality. I wouldn’t rule out a full blown D-STAR repeater sometime in the future, but for now the simplex UHF DVAP will get the job done.

Enter the ZUMSpot.

ZUMspot Kit Features:

High performance 32-bit ARM processor
ZUMspot Board Fully Assembled And Tested
Supports DMR, P-25, D-Star, System Fusion and NXDN
Onboard LEDs to show status (Tx, Rx, PTT, Mode)
Up to 10mW RF power
SMA antenna connector, UHF antenna included
Mounts cleanly on all current Raspberry Pi’s including the Pi Zero WH
Works on ODROID boards
The firmware is pre-loaded and is easily upgraded via software.
Connections for Nextion LCD display and I2C displays
1 Year Warranty
Open source firmware (MMDVM) and board design
Open source 3D printable case available
144 MHz, 220MHz and 900MHz versions to be released at a later date

I am very pleased with the D-STAR Kenwood TH-D74A, and with the overall D-STAR experience thus far, although I am still learning the radio and studying the manual. The APRS performance is also outstanding. I’ve only scratched the surface of this radio’s capability.

The programming of the ZUM hotspot looks pretty straightforward. The DVAP will be included in the 2018 radio hardware upgrade taking place next month.

QSO w/ Scotland via local D-STAR repeater

Pictured above: A QSO in progress with a mobile station in Scotland. He has a multimode hotspot in his vehicle so he can work the world on his way to work!

D-STAR is an exciting new facet of amateur radio here in the K6HR shack!

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2018 Equipment Upgrades Are Arriving!

All the orders have been placed, and the new 2018 equipment upgrades are arriving. Some items have arrived already! The ZUMSpot has been assembled, and will be configured for use sometime next week. The FlexRadio Maestro is already in service. The Maestro was simple to configure and was on the air in minutes.

ZUMSpot Multimode UHF Hot Spot

I ordered the optional plastic case for the ZUMSpot. It consists of a number of flat plastic parts that are stacked during assembly. The case parts included an exploded view illustration showing how to stack all the parts. I have not yet received the the Mini HDMI adapter, so I’ll wait to configure it until next week.

FlexRadio Maestro

Well, it’s bigger than I expected. The touchscreen is fantastic. It looks amazing. Set up was as easy as entering my wifi password. Did I mention the big beautiful screen?

The Maestro replaces a Gigabyte Brix Wireless Mini-PC running SSDR under Windows 7, using a mouse to operate. The Brix wifi left a lot to be desired. It would often have dropouts that distorted the audio, and would lose it’s connection to the radio fairly often, in spite of being just one room away from the router.

I considered a new router, but decided to see how the Maestro performed first. At this point, on it’s ‘maiden voyage’ last night, it held a solid connection for 12+ hours. A new record! I don’t anticipate any problems, it looks like my little remote setup just went to the big time!

More On The Way

The FlexRadio 6700 is ready to be shipped as soon as the weather situation in S. Carolina improves. The 6700 will ship from Myrtle Beach SC early next week once the area recovers after hurricane Florence.

The balance of the new gear has shipped from the east coast dealer. If all goes as planned I should be able to start installation the week after next.

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Dust Mitigation

Finally, some progress in my battle against the dust!

The bulk of the 2018 hardware upgrades are scheduled to arrive next week. In preparation I have started my planned dust mitigation process. In previous posts I described the problem I encountered during the tear down last year. I was literally choking on dust. Not good for me, or the ham shack.

dust mitigation 2018 — This ought to get the dust flying!

I’m using the air compressor to get as much of the dust airborne as possible. The ceiling in the shack has a rough stucco type finish, perfect for trapping dust. I was convinced that years of accumulation was more or less impacted in the ceiling surface. I was right. Once I hit it with the air gun, tons of dust was released.

With my face mask firmly in place I blew off the entire ceiling, then every surface that was practical after that.

Set It On High!

Here is my second weapon against the dust…

This high capacity HEPA filter will easily scrub all the dust out of the air. I have it running on the highest setting while blowing the dust around. I’m fairly certain it will take a few more air gun sessions to get everything clean once and for all. Once I’m satisfied I’ve collected as much dust as possible, I will leave the HEPA filter running on low speed 24/7.

The shack will go from dust bin to clean room just in time for all the 2018 hardware upgrades.

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Now That’s What I Call A Snap On Ferrite!

Now That’s What I Call a Ferrite!

The DX Engineering order arrived today, and I was delighted to see the new and improved .5” id Mix 31 snap on ferrite!

First DXE Ferrite (L) vs. New DXE Snap On Ferrite (R)

Apparently the buyers at DXE are always looking for better deals on better materials. This is a prime example. Pictured on the left is a sample of the .5″ id mix 31 ferrite that I received in my first order from DXE, on the right, is the new version received today. Both are pictured on LMR-400 coax.

DX Engineering .5 id Mix 31 Snap On Ferrite

Mix 31 snap on ferrites are a must have to keep the equipment rack free of stray RF. All the new 2018 RF Hardware Upgrades will be interconnected using LMR-400 UF coax jumpers with these snap on ferrites on each end.

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FlexRadio 6700 Installation

FlexRadio 6700 Installation Begins

The 6700 radio hardware had shipped, so it was time to make room for the 6700 and the other items that need to be installed in the rack. The FlexRadio 6700 installation began with dust mitigation.

Satisfied with the results of the dust removal, I began the hardware installation with plans to be completed before the CQWW DX SSB Contest on October 27.

Pull Server PC, move to top of rack
Move RX1608 mixer and reconnect all audio
Install latest Ubuntu on 500GB SSD w/Intel i5-4460 and re-mount
Install Windows 10 on 1TB SSD w/Intel i7 K-875 and re-mount
Move PRO-2500 Power Distro
Install rack shelf for Buffalo NAS
Move shelf for 6700 / LP-500
Install and configure UPS Back-Up Battery #2
Install Geochron 4K UHD
Mount USB Hub and Router

With the PC shuffle “hard work” out of the way, I setup the final mounting shelves.

PC Hardware Shuffle

FlexRadio 6700 Installation — The Server PC was pulled to make room for everything else

This is the reason you rackmount! Super easy removal and relocation of equipment. The PC on the bottom is the Intel i5 build for the new Ubuntu 18.04 Server. Once I could see Ubuntu installed OK, I buttoned up that machine and moved the top PC down on top of it. On this i7 machine I installed Windows 10 on a 1TB SSD, and left the previous OS (Windows 7 RAID Array) in place so I could mount the drives just in case. Later on, this would prove to be very useful.

Audio

Once both PC’s were running and tested, I mounted and wired the Behringer RX1602 for all the audio: 6700/6300/5000/PC.

The RX1602 mixer provides a MON output that I have connected to the 6700 BAL audio input. This signal path could be used to feed PC audio to the transceiver for TX.

The PRO-2500 Power Strip was moved up top between the AT-AUTO and the packet radio gear.

The last rack space!

To obtain the last rack space needed (to accommodate the LP-500) I moved the Monster PRO-2500 power distribution strip up top under the packet radio gear. The packet gear is now utilizing the “fan space” in the top of the rack. Just enough room to slip the power strip under it.

I now have the 11 spaces I need in the perfect ergonomic rack position!

Prime Real Estate: Future home of an LP-500, Flex 6700, Flex 6300 and Buffalo NAS.

Lucky for me, I only needed to move a few things around before I was ready to go. As part of the process I tied all the new hardware into the station ground bus, and installed another 30 snap-on ferrites.

It made sense to mount the Numark Production Hub to the side of the rack for easy access to USB ports and some extra AC outlets.

Plenty of USB ports and AC outlets available at the operating position.

At the same time I decided to tie wrap the router to the other side of the rack in an effort to simplify things.

The FlexRadio 6700 Installed!

The FlexRadio 6700 has taken it’s place in the K6HR shack! The FlexRadio 6700 installed without a hitch. I’ve taken it through high power testing with no problems found, and everything appears to be working as expected. I have pushed the rack back into the corner about half way and will make any final adjustments before pushing it all the back.

Now completely integrated, the Flex 6700, Expert 1K-FA amplifier, and (both) AT-AUTO tuners are working flawlessly together. I’ve trained the tuners (and the 1K-FA tuner) for each antenna on every band. Each FlexRadio SCU now has its own dedicated amplifier, auto-tuner and antenna. I’ve set it up where SCU #1 is connected to the Mosley TA33JR for frequencies 14 mhz and above, and SCU #2 is connected to my ‘height compromised’ 130ft dipole for all bands below 14 mhz.

When one radio (SCU) is active on any band, the second radio (SCU) is connected to a W6LVP wideband RX Loop antenna. It’s a fully automated SO2R contest station. It’s now a 1,000 watt radio. Now let’s see if the operator can live up to his capabilities!

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D-STAR Hot Spot

Today I configured and installed the “ZUMSpot”. The ZumSpot is a pre-packaged Raspberry Pi Zero UHF Wireless multimode hot spot running the Pi-Star Digital Voice Dashboard. This is a Multi-Mode Hot Spot that supports several digital modes. K6HR will be setup specifically for D-STAR. My own personal D-STAR Hot Spot!

I’m certainly no D-STAR expert, more like a D-STAR noob. So I went to the setup video and followed along. This video made setting up the Pi-Star software and Kenwood TH-D74 a relatively easy task.

From the web:

ZUMspot Kit Features:

High performance 32-bit ARM processor
ZUMspot Board Fully Assembled And Tested
Supports DMR, P-25, D-Star, System Fusion and NXDN
Onboard LEDs to show status (Tx, Rx, PTT, Mode)
Up to 10mW RF power
SMA antenna connector, UHF antenna included
Mounts cleanly on all current Raspberry Pi’s including the Pi Zero WH
Works on ODROID boards
The firmware is pre-loaded and is easily upgraded via software.
Connections for Nextion LCD display and I2C displays
1 Year Warranty
Open source firmware (MMDVM) and board design
Open source 3D printable case available
144 MHz, 220MHz and 900MHz versions to be released at a later date

The ZUMspot Kit Package Includes:

ZUMspot Pi UHF Board
Pi Zero WH (Wireless With Header)
UHF Antenna
Nylon Standoffs
Pre-Imaged 16 GB MicroSD Card with Pi-Star Software

Pi-Star up and running at K6HR as a D-STAR Hot Spot

I quickly realized I would not have the ability to change reflectors via local repeaters, so I decided on the hot spot. Now I will be able to connect to reflectors directly. Since I have no D-STAR experience whatsoever, I’ll spend some time listening around first.

I’m certain everything is configured correctly, however on my first night of D-STAR…there was nothing heard on REF030C. I’m sure it will be active during the daytime hours! Hi!

UPDATE: It works! With the help of Toshen, KE0FHS, I was able to find an omission in my D-STAR registration details. After making the correction everything started working. I expect D-STAR will be very interesting! I may even consider other digital mode radios, since the Pi Zero is multimode.

This is a wickedly cool little device! Hats off to the Pi-Star bunch!

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The Power of FlexRadio Profiles

Today, I used the Flex 6700/SPE 1K-FA combo for the first time (outside of testing) in the CQWW SSB Contest. During the first hour of the contest I had a problem with the amplifier not changing inputs automatically and/or being on the wrong input altogether. I was certain all the hardware was wired correctly, as that had been proven during electrical testing. I started thinking I was having an RFI problem. After some investigation, I found it was not a wiring or an RFI problem at all, but more a problem of how the wiring was being told to behave. I’ll try to explain. Lucky for me, a quick course in the power of FlexRadio profiles would be all I would need to get everything working perfectly.

A Fully Automated SO2R Station

The object was to have the Flex 6700’s two Spectral Capture Units (SCU’s) connected to the amplifier in Single Operator 2 Radio (SO2R) configuration. The plan was to dedicate one SCU to the Mosley antenna, and the second SCU to my 130 ft height compromised dipole antenna. The amplifier was programmed to select the Mosley for all bands 14 mhz and above, and to select the dipole for all bands below 14 mhz. Finally, each antenna would be tuned by its own dedicated (and CAT controlled) AT-AUTO.

What the heck?

I use the DXLab Suite of programs. DXL is great software that had worked seamlessly with the Flex 6000 series radios up to this point. I realized that some of the problems I saw occurred after clicking on DX spots that caused the radio to enter into what looked like diversity receive mode (not split), while at the same time, the amp ended up on the wrong input, and DXL was losing its connection to the radio.

Getting to the bottom of it…

The major issue was the amplifier no longer switching inputs automatically, so I decided to start there. The SPE 1K-FA Linear Amplifier is designed specifically for SO2R. At the minimum, the amplifier senses RF and changes the inputs automatically that way. So why was that not even happening?

I knew I had the radio TX1 output connected to the amp input #1 and radio TX2 output connected to amp input #2, so that’s not it…or is it?

In the 6700 radio setup tab I could see both TX outputs were enabled…what the heck. Then it hit me. Of course, both radio TX outputs were keying at the same time. Therefore both sides of the amp were being told they were in transmit at the same time, and the input could not switch, or it switched incorrectly. I proved this by disabling one of the USB CAT cables. Great! I found the problem! Right?

Almost.

While the amp input switching problem was going on, I also noticed that the transmit and microphone profiles kept changing, and, they were changing to profiles created by the radios previous owner. Another level of “what the heck” to deal with… None of it made any sense, so I decided it was time to read the manual!

In the meantime I created a workaround in DXL and connected to the radio as a “Kenwood” using a COM port (on the ports tab) in order to get the frequency information into the logging program. I worked through the remainder of the contest without issue, albeit not in a working SO2R configuration.

Understanding the problem

I realized that I needed the TX1 relay to be activated ONLY when the radio was requesting ANT 1, and likewise with the TX2 relay when operating on bands covered by the dipole. Since part of the problem involved the changing profiles, it was time to read the manual on profiles.

The first paragraph was all I needed to see, and everything suddenly started to come together.

From the SmartSDR v2 Manual:

Transmit profiles are linked to the TX Antenna setting in the transmit slice. When the antenna used by the transmit slice is changed, the Transmit profile associated with the new antenna selection is invoked. For example:

Slice A is the transmit slice. TX ANT is ANT1
Slice B is NOT the transmit slice. TX ANT is ANT2
Load SO2R_TX1 Transmit profile. (This Transmit profile is now automatically linked to ANT1)
Set Slice B as the transmit slice.
Load SO2R_TX2 Transmit profile. (This Transmit profile is now automatically linked to ANT2)
Set Slice A as the transmit slice. (This loads the SO2R_TX1 Transmit profile)
Change Slice A TX ANT to ANT2. (This loads the SO2R_TX2 Transmit profile)

To associate a Transmit profile with a TX antenna, select the TX Antenna you wish to associate in the transmit slice, then load or save a Transmit profile using the Profile Manager, or select an existing Transmit profile using the drop-down menu.

This explained everything!

Of course the SO2R_TX1 profile only had the TX1 relay enabled, and the SO2R_TX2, only the TX2 relay! Problem solved! Almost…

FlexRadio USB Cable: Data Source

I had originally set the Flex USB cables to send frequency data from slice A and B to amplifier inputs #1 and 2 respectively. This seemed to work OK for sending frequency data to the auto-tuners, so I set the USB cables to the amplifier the same way, to use the “slice” as the source of the frequency data. This worked OK until I added a third (or more) slice.

I took a second look at the source menu for the USB cables, and I found the perfect solution:

The sources are:

TX Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the slice receiver that holds the Transmit Indicator.
Active Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the active slice receiver (the slice that has the yellow cursor).
TX Panadapter – The cable will report the center frequency of the panadapter that contains the transmit slice
Specific Slice – The cable will report the frequency of the specified slice (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H)
RX Antenna – The cable will report the frequency of the specified receive antenna (ANT1, ANT2, XVTR, RXA, RXB).
TX Antenna – The cable will report the frequency of the specified transmit antenna (ANT1, ANT2, XVTR). Note: This frequency is only changed/reported when the TX Slice is connected to the specified antenna.

By choosing “TX Antenna” as the source for the USB cables connected to the amplifier, any one, of any number of open slices, could now connect to the correct antenna!

Once I realized the benefit of this new data source, I set the auto-tuner USB cables to “TX Antenna” as well. The switching and tuning of the amplifier, and the auto-tuners is now 100% functional from any slice on any band, and guarantees that the correct antenna will be selected and pre-tuned every time, effectively eliminating operator error.

Any slice that is designated as the “TX” slice will get the correct antenna and amplifier settings every time! While operating, I can temporarily switch TX designation to a slice on the other antenna, have it tune, then reassign the TX back to the original slice and I have the second band pre-tuned for SO2R. Pretty slick!

The only operating ‘delay’ I see now, could possibly occur, if the AT-AUTO’s were requested to change bands when the bands were far apart in the tuning range at the time of the request. e.g. the OP requests the 20m antenna be tuned to a frequency below 20m, like 40m. While this can be done, it is very unlikely to occur in practice.

Re-tuning within the same band is practically instantaneous, and long band change tuning delays are few and far between when employing proper operating technique. Furthermore, I employ two AT-AUTO’s, one for each antenna, thus greatly lessening the chances a long band change re-tune would ever be required. Both antennas are continuously tuned and each tuner responds nearly instantly when operated within the predetermined tuning ranges.

Once I had all this working, I went through every saved profile and created, edited, and saved new transmit profiles within each, so that the correct keying occurs every time.

Finally! The sweet sound of full station automation!

Absolutely Brilliant!

The Flex engineers are getting a round of applause at K6HR today. What an incredible effort they put together to create this amazing product! For the serious amateur radio operator….indeed.

P.S. DXL Commander 13.7.9 and SSDR v 2.4.9

I checked and a fix was being discussed to correct the issue that’s causing DXL Commander to lose its connection to the Flex 6xxx radio. Once this bug fix is applied, I’ll go back to DX Lab. I can see DXL’s going to be great with the 6700 once this little problem gets sorted!

Back To The Front…

2019 Hardware Upgrades

After working with the Flex 6700 for about a month, I must say, I’m really impressed with how quiet the receiver is. Now that I’ve had the experience of using the contest grade filtering, and all the other great features, it just makes sense to upgrade my 6300 to a 6500 (which I will likely dedicate to digital modes). It’s never too early to begin planning for my 2019 hardware upgrades.

My Only Flex Disappointment

I’m going to ‘take a real shellacking’ on the sale of my 6300. I purchased it from Flex before the model 6400 price was announced. The day after the 6400 was introduced at $1999, the value of 6300’s went down the drain. I paid the top dollar price for mine in September 2015. Ouch!

I know, no sense crying over spilled milk. After all, that’s how the cookie crumbles. It turned out, after some wheeling and dealing, and a stroke of luck, I was able to achieve my 2018 hardware upgrade goal under budget, which is great news for my 2019 planning!

Flex 6500: Dedicated Digital Mode Radio

The contest station is complete, so my 2019 plan is to put together a new 24/7 digital station using a dedicated 6500 radio. This new setup will have its own antenna, and PC, and work independently along side the contest station.

I don’t have room for another HF yagi antenna, so I am considering a vertical. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I heard about the Comet CHA-250B HF vertical on one of the local repeaters. It fits the bill, and should be easily tuned with the 6500’s internal tuner.

I’ve heard a lot about the FT8 mode lately and it sounds like something I would like to have running here. I could have up to four HF digital modes running 24/7.

To get the plan rolling I must first:

Sell the 6300
Purchase a 6500, CHA-250B vertical, and 100ft of LMR-400UF

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