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In 2008,
I went through a "technology refresh" with my radio equipment
with the addition of an Icom IC-7700 and high-end
microwave equipment
for 10 GHZ and 24 GHZ (Kuhne Electronics in Germany). I
still own my first real radio, a Kenwood
TS-520S which
I purchased back in the Summer of 1978. Although it has
picked up drift over the years, the receiver sensitivity and audio
quality
still amazes me for a 30-year old radio.
Since I am involved in the software/ technology
industry, of
course, I need to do something with Software Defined Radio's (SDR).
Because my Company, KnowledgeBlue,
specializes in open source software, it made perfect sense for
me to use High
Performance Software Defined Radio (HPSDR) as my
development platform. I have a Current Project developing an
HF transceiver.
High
Frequency (HF): 3MHZ - 30MHZ
The main HF rig these days is an Icom IC-7700, which
was purchased
in the Summer of 2008. This is a world-class radio,
and I have been very pleased with the performance and features
of
the rig. One example, is the rig has a 10MHZ Reference signal out,
which allows me to drive my Microwave gear increasing stability.
This type of feature is not normally found on HF gear.
However, I
did encounter a few unusual events with the radio. While
touching
the VFO on two separate occasions almost a month apart, static
electricity from my finger jumped to the outer dial of the VFO,
and zapped the main VFO Encoder inside the radio. I had to
send
the radio back to the Icom Service Center in WA for repair.
After the second event, I requested ICOM to add some
grounding to
the encoder mechanism that should prevent future static damage, so far
it has.....
My current radio equipment:
Icom IC-7700
Icom IC-737 (back-up)
Icom IC-706 MKIIG (mobile)
Very High
Frequency (VHF): 30MHZ - 300MHZ
In this spectrum, I am most active on 2 and 6 meter using SSB/CW with
some occasional FM for local communications and nets. I also have 220
MHZ capability (HT) but normally use that for our local emergency
communications group. My current radio equipment:
Icom IC-7700 - 6 meter
Kenwood TS-790A - 2 meter
Icom IC-91 AD (Handheld) - 2 meter
Alinco DJ-V27T (Handheld) - 220 MHZ
Ultra High
Frequency (UHF): 300MHZ - 3GHZ
In this spectrum, I am most active on 70cm
and
23 cm working Satellites, DX via tropospheric ducting and soon to be
exploring Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) also known as "moonbounce"
communications. My current radio equipment:
Kenwood
TS-790A - 70cm and 23cm
Icom IC-91 AD (HT) - 440 FM
Super
High Frequency (SHF): 3GHZ - 30GHZ
This is my newest radio spectrum. I am active on 10 GHZ and
24 GHZ narrow band and have recently deploy a 24GHZ Beacon (see photo
at the left) that is transmitting at 24,192.120 MHZ.
This radio is operating in the same or higher frequency of aircraft radar used by the FAA
or doppler radar used the
National Weather Service. The crazy thing is, that us hams, are using
these super high frequencies for communicating by morse code or
SSB. We bounce our signals off the clouds (like doppler) or
off airplanes(like the FAA) to extend our radio
communications range to talk to another ham across the United States.
My current radio equipment to accomplish this feat is:
Kuhne MKU 10 G3 - 10 GHZ Transverter
Kuhne MKU 24 GA - 24 GHZ Transverter
Kuhne MKU LO 12 PLL - 24 GHZ Oscillator
Kuhne MKU LO 24 - 24 GHZ Beacon
Icom IC-706MKIIG for IF
Computer Equipment and Software
The main machine driving the station is a Dell
Dimension 670 which includes Dual Xeon 3.2 GHZ Processors, 2GB
memory, 1TB RAID disk, SB Audigy Soundcard and Dual 24"
Monitors
providing plenty of "real estate".
Like any amateur, I use plenty of software to help manage the stations
operation, this includes the following:
Ham Radio Deluxe:
Use to drive many of the shack's radios, including remote access and
operation when I am not physically at the QTH. It also
includes a
nice logging program, and in my opinion, a "must have" for any ham
radio station.
SATPC32: Used for
real-time tracking and auto steering my satellite antennas
driving the Yaesu G-5400 Azimuth-Elevation rotors.
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