This video has nothing to do with Amateur Radio – but it goes to character and compassion. A very touching story about how we SHOULD be in this world.
Short Takes : Functional Rating=5, Cost=1 Significant Gripes= NONE
Here’s the deal of a near-lifetime – for a mere $1,525 (with shipping), you can get a serious piece of test equipment for spectrum analysis that has a bandwidth of 9Khz-1.5Ghz, amplitude sensitivity of better than -138dbm with a built-in tracking generator – in a package that weighs about 10 pounds and uses 100-240VAC. The Rigol (pronounced Ree-Gol) DSA-815TG is a DDS/DSP technology with an all-digital IF unit which does everything an amateur could want, at-or-below 1.5Ghz – whether building antennas and using it as an antenna-range receiver, or checking radios for spectral purity, or tuning various filters – including repeater duplexers. This unit can do it all – for a very reasonable cost and with better than needed accuracy for the Amateur Service. It’s very evident that Rigol engineers dove deep into the functionality and user interface of the Rhode and Agilent units – because the Rigol is superior in many ways in its operation to the two stalwarts of the T&M world. Okay – $1,525 is a lot of most amateurs for a single piece of test equipment, but when you consider some folks spend $1,000 for a Power Meter (from Alpha), or other ridiculous and outrageous items, the functionality gained from a quality Spectrum Analyzer cannot be over-stated. Every repeater owner should be required to buy or borrow one of these units to insure that their equipment is operating as it should. It’s an ideal piece of equipment for a club to acquire, since it can be time-shared amongst the more technical members of the group.
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Yes – this is the same unit that was evaluated by QST in the February 2013 issue – it got very favorable narrative and an “AS SPECIFIED” evaluation regarding compliance to the manufacturer’s specifications by the ARRL’s third-party calibration laboratory (not all equipment get’s that certification).
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Yes – it’s made and largely designed in China – but this is not another cheap piece of equipment which we’ve come to associate with Chinese manufacturing – this is, in-a-way, the Apple-like-quality of Chinese test equipment. Compared to my Rhode Schwartz FSH-313 (which goes to 3Ghz), I actually like the Rigol BETTER - ahhh.. if it only had a battery option..! Cost comparison – $1,525 for the Rigol versus over $14,500 for the Rhode (plus the maintenance contract costs of about $550/year. At that price, I could buy a Rigol every 3 years and end-up with multiple units over time, considering I’ve been buying the Rhode maintenance contract for over 7 years. At this rate, I’ll eBay the FSH-313 for a reasonable amount and pocket the savings.
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High Level Specifications are as follows:
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If you’re interested in details, check out the Detailed Spec Document here:
Rigol North America – Intro Video for DSA-815TG (Part-1)
Rigol North America – Intro Video for DSA-815TG (Part-2)
Tuning Bandpass and Notch Filters with the DSA-815TG
Teardown Video
okay – a new passion is brewing – I’m getting REALLY INTERESTED in antenna design and construction. You might remember the article about the InnovAntennas that I purchased a month ago. Well, I’m still amazed at the quality of their construction – simple, elegant and very sound from an engineering perspective.
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I was also blown-away by Justin (G0KSC) and his helpfulness = and in all the information that he shared, so I’ve been reading large volumes of material from DUBUS (a great, German publication about antennas) as well as from another subscription source called ANTENNEX.COM – which features a ton of material from L.B. Cebik (W4RNL-SK), one of the world-renown authorities on antennas. My head still swells with all the input and I’m still having constant headaches trying to contain and digest the information.. LOL..
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I also purchased the NEC4 license from Lawrence Livermore Labs, as well as EZNEC Pro/4 which contains a streamlined NEC4 engine within the EZNEC framework. We also installed 4NEC2 from Arie Voors and integrated the NEC4 engine from Livermore labs – so now we have two (2) NEC4 capable modeling packages to do comparative analysis.
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In the meantime, Eddie (KJ4LRB) has been helping me receive a stock of Aluminum that will be sufficient to make about 10 antennas, along with tooling and miscellaneous parts necessary for the assembly.
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2013 is going to be an experimentation and learning year – exploring new horizons and MAKING things, versus just operating… gonna be fun..!!
I’m back in Manila – was just here in late September, but was only able to stay for about a week due to a very hectic schedule. This time, it’s for a longer stint, and I also have a new End-Fed-Dipole for 20/40 meters with me from the folks at LNR Precision (wonderful antennas). I just finished putting the end of the antenna into a tree across the street (using a 2L Coke bottle filled with water as the projectile), so the antenna is acting like an inverted-L, since the feedpoint is on the 3rd floor of this condo unit, with the flat-top being about 50-feet long an about 35-feet in the air, then slanting from the tree branch towards the ground.
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Must be working, since I’ve already made contacts with VK-land (Australia), New Zealand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan – all in just 20+ minutes.. not bad.!!
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The Philippine ARES Traffic net meets in about 15 minutes, so I’ll be listening for emergency traffic from the hurricane area from 3 weeks ago.. hopefully, things have improved in that part of the country..
I had been contemplating selling my Elecraft K2 for quite a while – probably almost a year. My first preference was to sell it locally and I had a couple of bites in the Daytona area – both of which fell thru. But no worries, I was in no hurry – and seldom need the money (except to buy other toys), so the trusty and beloved K2 stayed on the shelf in the “shack”, just gathering dust – besides all the prep for ARISS basically took me away from HF operations for quite a long time.
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Now many of you will remember that I spent the better part of 6 weeks putting together each part of the K2, with all of the major options. It was a wonderful experience and one that I will cherish for a long time – the trusty girl also had a trip to Don (W3FPR) in North Carolina for a “tune-up” and some minor diagnosis (assembly error on my part) – but after the initial shakedowns, she was an old-reliable. She even went with me to the Philippine Amateur Radio Association “hamfest” in Subic Bay in early 2012 and made quite a few contacts with my AlexLoop WalkHam Magnetic Loop antenna (a fantastic antenna). Both were the center of a lot of attention at the hamfest.
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But time is precious – and I already have access to the dream station of a pair of Elecraft K3′s with P3 Panadapters and amplifiers on both – so why keep another HF station..? QRP..? – SURE – but I also have the KX3, which is even better than the K2 – so it was time to find a nice home for the girl and let her stretch her legs.
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That opportunity came on 14-December 2012, when Ervin Kolar (S51ZX) emailed me about interest in the K2. At first, I thought it was a hoax or a scam, so I immediately looked up the call in QRZ.COM – SURE ENOUGH, things started to match. Ervin was inquiring on behalf of Ed (S56X) a significant contester. Another check of QRZ.COM and there’s Ed’s picture, with his trusty Elecraft K2 on his station table – WOW..!! I might have just found the new home for my K2..!! Now, I gotta tell you, there is nothing better than finding a great home for your baby – especially when it will become part of a TWIN station.
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A few emails back and forth and the deal was done – Ervin PayPal’d the funds to me within 24 hours (well within his promise) and I subsequently had the box shipped to him by USPS International Priority Mail to SLOVENIA. He should be receiving it within the next couple of days, since it was sent the day that I left for Manila by my trusty friend Eddie (KJ4LRB) – don’t worry, I packed it, not Eddie, so things should be fine.. LOL..!!
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thanks to Ervin and Ed for a friction-free, painless transaction – I know that the K2 will provide many years of enjoyment. And thank you both for providing my “baby” with a loving home – it was tough to let her go, but I know she’s in good hands.
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to all reading – a Merry Christmas and closing to 2012 – what a fast year it has been. I trust that 2013 will bring many new and wonderful experiences for all of us. Stay Safe, Be Well..!!
73,
Mike – WB6RTH
I have been reading about the (relatively) new LFA yagi antennas designed by Justin G0KSC and have been fascinated by the design and construction. Having a folded-dipole driven element laid FLAT along the axis of the boom and using optimization techniques that appear to be second-to-none, Justin has achieved a super-low-noise antenna which has very high gain, but more importantly, very high rejection of side lobes. Many other designers strive only for ultra-high gain, but without looking at the E/H curves, the user is not able to see the real performance of the antenna – and real-world testing can sometimes be disappointing if there are constant noise sources around the receiver which do not get rejected.
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I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Justin (in Essex, about an hour outside of London) and his US based partner Bill (in the Western Colorado offices of InnovAntennas) – both were very cordial and helpful. Aside from the technical aspects of their LFA antennas, I am most impressed with Justin’s sharing of knowledge to the Amateur community. Although he has the InnovAntennas business (widely advertised on both the web and print Internationally and here in the US), Justin publishes a subset of his antenna designs for hams to BUILD – and actually encourages them to build his designs without charge. In fact, one of his criteria in the designs is to insure that they can be built without expensive or exotic machinery – with locally sourced parts – and for those parts that are not so common, he sells them at a very reasonable rate (unlike other antenna manufacturers).
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About the only thing you can’t do, is model the antennas yourself – but only because of the nature of the designs. Most modeling packages use NEC2 or MiniMEC as their calculation engine – and both those cores are known to do poorly when modeling tapered elements (telescoping tubes) as well as sharp radius bends (like that found on a folded dipole, which are typically 90-degree turns). To model accurately, one needs to use the NEC4 engine, which first requires a license from the Lawrence Livermore National Labs and costs $300 (one-time) – then one needs to purchase EZNEC Pro/4 from W7EL, which is another $650 – so for a cool kilo-buck, you can verify Justin’s designs and that his far-field patterns and SWR curves are what he claims them to be. I recently did that (Justin sent me some of the EZNEC files that I was interested in building) and after starting-up EZNEC Pro/4 and making some typical beginner’s mistakes (like forgetting to turn-on the NEC4 Double-Precision engine as the default), I was able to match Justin’s claims to the tee. Very impressive design, as I tried “detuning” the antenna by varying lengths of numerous elements (reflector and Director-1 in particular) and watching the patterns and SWR changes. I then exchanged the folded dipole driven element with a standard split-dipole and saw a beautiful antenna go into the dog-house … FASCINATING.
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At about the same time that I received the EZNEC Pro/4 software from Roy, I also received two of the factory assembled antennas that I ordered from InnovAntennas – I cannot say enough good things about this company or their products. Justin and Bill are a delight to deal with and guided me along the purchase process, as well as the assembly of their antennas (I had a problem which was caused by pilot error – buggered up one of the RivNuts on the boom because I cross threaded one of the bolts… it was late at night and really shouldn’t have been trying to assemble the antenna in poor light and in a sleep deprived state at almost midnight). An email to Justin and he replied early-morning London time with some suggestions and an offer to send a replacement part immediately – GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE..!!
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The assembly of both antennas (sans my mistake) went perfectly – beautifully engineered and executed by InnovAntennas. Although I was going to build these antennas for myself and fellow club-members who are interested, I felt guilty just “using” the G0KSC plans without giving something back to the designer, so I purchased a VHF and UHF antenna. It was also a good opportunity to learn about their construction techniques (I learned a lot – so it was well worth it aside from clearing my conscience). I will be incorporating RivNuts into my builds from now-on, since they really simplify the construction.
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Pictures of the InnovAntennas in the next post, followed by the WB6RTH DIY construction of the G0KSC designs.
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Learn more about the G0KSC antenna designs and purchase antennas here in the US at : www.innovantennas.us (talk to Bill).
ARISS Recap
Dec 2
It’s been a bit more than 2 weeks since the successful ARISS contact – 3 quiet, no-activity weekends to be exact and it’s feeling good. We done a good thing for Flagler County and they now recognize at the highest levels, that we’re here to help.
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Following are a blow-up of the program from the ARISS event – I printed a copy of each page in 17″x22″ for the club archives – to go along with the picture of yet another astronaut who has acknowledged FCPARC in the past. The large copy prints of the ARISS program will be available to the club members to view at the Christmas party which is scheduled for this coming Tuesday night (I won’t be able to attend, due to business travel commitments).
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8 Practice session, student involvement in 3 of them, planning for every probable failure – and still more practice….
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All of it paid-off when, for 10-minutes and 14-seconds, the students of Indian Trails Middle School were able to do a Question-and-Answer session with Commander Sunita Williams aboard the International Space Station. The team from the Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club were thrilled when we heard Cmdr. Williams voice in response to Ridge’s call – “NA1SS, NA1SS, this is Whiskey Four Fax Papa Charlie”. Many on the crew were a bit stunned with the immediate come-back from Cmdr. Williams – and most of us were sweating bullets in anticipation – but at the same time, a bit fearful of failure. It only took two calls from Ridge before Cmdr. Williams responded (normal is 6-10 or more calls).
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We actually had a discrepancy between two of our computers as to the predicted AOS time (Acquisition of Signal – or when the ISS would rise above the horizon). One computer said 13:10 local, while another said 13:00. I suppose that some might assume that it’s not a big deal, but the entire PASS is only supposed to last about 10 minutes, so being 10-minutes off (read: Late) would mean a totally blown contact. Ridge and Mike determined that we need to be ready at 12:58 and monitor both the primary and backup channels (the back-up radio has a more omni-directional antenna, so if the ISS were to rise above the horizon in a place we were not looking, we would still be able to hear it). As it turns out, AOS was at 13:06 and we were ready – the directional antenna (an M2 2mCP14 ) was in exactly the right place, at the right time and started tracking immediately upon AOS – rising from the North-North-West at 304-degrees, proceeding to a maximum elevation of only 28-degrees at 219-degrees azimuth, then setting in the South-West at 158-degrees. Total predicted time from AOS-to-LOS was 10:26, but that number is normally shortened by 10-15 seconds due to ground clutter. In the end, we were able to speak with Cmdr. Williams for a full 10:16 – very close to the maximum expected time (which told us that we snagged her call immediately after he rose above our horizon).
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Unfortunately, not all of the students were able to ask their questions – due in large part to the comprehensive answers from Cmdr. Williams – addressing each student by name, as well as adding some humor during some parts of the contact. Three students remained after the ISS fell below the horizon, so Ms. Hausen asked them to announce their question as if Sunita was still listening.
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We had 10 FPCARC members involved in the preparation of this ARISS contact – each was involved from the very beginning, all the way until today. These guys are absolutely awesome – working like a well oiled machine. Each knowing what to do and almost communicating non-verbally. It was interesting for me to watch them this morning when we were doing final set-up at 08:30 – equipment disappeared from EMCOMM-1 and was magically placed exactly where it was needed. Tests were being run in an expeditious manner (we even found a minor problem and corrected it). After only about 45 minutes – there was NOTHING MORE TO DO – we were ready and thinking “.. surely we’re forgetting something – we can’t be done”. But done we were, as most of the team members went from set-up to educator mode, taking two students each and showing them the equipment and explaining what was going to happen in order to make ARISS contact possible. What a joy to watch these (mostly retired) guys spending time with middle-schoolers and getting them interested in Amateur Radio as well as STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
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Truth be told, we were all holding our breath as Ridge made the call to NA1SS – and we were all RELIEVED when Cmdr. Williams responded. Although the end of an 8 month journey, we have the the satisfaction in knowing that we may have sparked an interest in even one child and caused them to pursue greater learning. That’s what Amateur Radio is all about – getting people excited about learning and even in getting their Amateur License.
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Our hat’s off to the children of Flagler County for an amazing event (you should have seen their Space Exhibits … WOW..!!). It was an honor to have brought this ARISS contact to a community of over 12,000 students in the County. Now we have to think of a new project – and tackle new challenges.
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The audio of the ARISS event is here : https://dl.dropbox.com/u/19661135/ARISS%20Flagler%2020121116.mp3
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Here’s the link to the news story from News-13 channel of Brighthouse Cable ..
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And the Brighthouse Video montage from News-13 on Brighthouse Cable
http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/video.html?clip=http://static.cfnews13.com/newsvideo/cfn/Flagler-students-ham-iss-1116.flv&vtitle=Students%20%27ham%27%20it%20up%20with%20ISS
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FlaglerLive article : http://flaglerlive.com/46845/ham-radio-iss/
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Palm Coast Observer article for Nov-11 :
http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/news/palm-coast/Neighborhood/083020125133/Indian-Trails-to-contact-International-Space-Stati
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Daytona News Journal article:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20121110/NEWS0402/311089943
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Palm Coast Observer article on Nov-17:
http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/news/palm-coast/Neighborhood/111720125718/Students-get-visit-from-astronaut-talk-to-space-st
the pass starts at approximately 13:02 and will last for almost 10:10 (M:S). The Space Station will rise from about 300 degrees, reach maximum elevation at approximately 228-degrees and “set” at 165-degrees. We should have a clear shot, since the entire pass is AWAY from the Gym building and in the clear.
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For those locally – you can listen to the ISS downlink on 145.800 FM. Doppler will not be a factor, since the shift is only 3khz and well within the FM passband. Uplink frequency for both the primary and secondary system is currently classified – and we have been requested by NASA to NOT share that information – even during the event (like on a SatPC32 or MacDoppler screen). For those who are really curious – NO, the frequencies are not listed on any of the search engines (I’ve already checked).
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There will be many thousands of students watching the ARISS contact thru live CCTV in the Flagler School system, as well as on the Palm Coast community TV channel and on IP Streaming. We at FPCARC hope that you enjoy the event as much as we’ve enjoyed making it happen for Flagler Schools.
This article will be published world-wide in the various blogs and trade journals tomorrow 15-Nov-2012.
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An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club, Palm Coast, FL on 16 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:06 UTC.
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The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
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The contact will be direct between NA1SS and W4FPC. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.
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Indian Trails Middle School is one of thirteen schools within the Flagler County School District, which serves 12,900 students K-12. Indian Trails Middle School serves 840 students in grades 7 and 8 with a teaching staff of 52 professional educators and 35 support staff. Flagler County is a diverse coastal community, with 19 miles of untouched beaches, and 40 parks and preserves nestled betweenDaytona Beach and St. Augustine.
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Indian Trails Middle School’s vision is to be a premier academic institution, providing a positive environment, guiding innovative learning where students begin a successful path to achieve their dreams for the 21st century. The school’s mission is to prepare their “Mustang Scholars” to be successful in high school by providing a safe environment, conducive to learning, where everyone can build healthy relationships while pursuing academic excellence.
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Implementing the Service-Learning Model, students at Indian Trails Middle School get involved with their communities in a tangible way by integrating service projects with classroom learning. Service-Learning engages students in the educational process, using what is learned in the classroom to solve real-life problems. As part of the Service Learning Model, Indian Trails Middle School began working with members of the Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club and the Palm Coast Astronomy Club, which led to submitting a proposal to host the ARISS contact. District personnel, teachers and student ambassadors from across the school district have come together to organize a spectacular event that will include guest speakers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University along with an array of space exhibits designed by students. All schools in the district will be able to participate in the event through live internet streaming.
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Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:
1. What do you and your family sacrifice to be able to travel in space?
2. What are your fitness routines in space?
3. Can hurricanes be seen from the ISS and can the view be used to predict the force or track of the hurricane?
4. Does sunspot activity interrupt any of the technology on the ISS?
5. Is the Sun any brighter in space than on Earth?
6. Meteors are always pelting the sky; how is the space station protected?
7. Do you have any “down time” on the ISS, and what do you do for fun?
8. How does gravity affect your body when you return from space?
9. Do you feel like the “King of the World” when you look down at Earth?
10. What kinds of experiments are currently being done aboard the ISS?
11. Is being in space really like all the training tests you take, such as the one where you sit in the chair and spin at 360?
12. Have you ever seen a UFO?
13. Do you grow plants for food on the ISS?
14. How would we eliminate the need to return to Earth for food while traveling in space?
15. Are there any animals in space with you?
16. How do you brush your teeth in space?
17. How long did you train and prepare for your trip to the ISS?
18. How do you wash clothes in space?
19. How do you feel knowing that you’re a brave hero to thousands of people around the world?
20. What is the temperature in space like?
21. What did you and your crew accomplish on its last extravehicular activity?
22. Why is it so important to exercise after a mission?
23. Who has the rights to discoveries on the ISS?
24. Do you eat just freeze-dried food and are you able to bring any of your favorite snacks from Earth?
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Information about the upcoming ARISS contacts can be found athttp://www.ariss.org/upcoming.htm#NextContact.
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Next planned event(s):
1. Liceo scientifico Giacinto De Sivo – Fondazione Villaggio dei Ragazzi, Maddaloni, Italy, telebridge via IK1SLD Tue, 2012-11-20 08:31:55 UTC
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ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries.
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ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters’ interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.ariss.org/ (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada).
Thank you & 73,
David – AA4KN
