I know I said I wouldn't do anymore serious testing until I'd built a new PC, but I just couldn't help myself. Over the last few days I have been active on 20m with reasonable success.

After experimenting with different settings on the computer soundcard and the audio levels on my interface, I came to the conclusion that running the sound output from the PC at 100% for both the master volume and PCM volume was a bad idea.

I can't say why this didn't occur to me before especially considering I'd noticed audio distortion on other computers when listening to music with the levels at 100% - I'd always reduce them slightly with significant improvement. So it was, that after various tests I came to settle on the master volume at 90% and the PCM fader at approximately 50-60%. Further adjustments would then be made at the soundcard interface.

The other conclusion I came to - and this is almost certainly ludicrously obvious to all seasoned PSK operators out there - is that adjustments to the audio level need to be made after each change in frequency made on the computer. The higher the audio tones (higher frequencies) the louder the audio going in to the radio needs to be. When changing to lower frequencies, the audio volume needs to be reduced to maintain the same power level.

Now I've made these discoveries, I've had a lot more fun! Since I had today to myself, I decided to make it a radio day and have been pretty much stuck to the keyboard calling CQ and answering the calls of others. I'm still limited to around 10w of power since higher levels continue to interfere with the keyboard; but - and here is another revelation that will be obvious to the old-timers - power isn't everything.

To give an example of the success I have had today, I have made contacts with operators in Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. Perhaps that doesn't sound too remarkable, but considering my balcony mounted whip aerial I'm very pleased. To top it off though, according to the PSKReporter map, which I monitored throughout the day, my signal was reported as being heard in Canada! That is something I'm really pleased about.

What I do find strange though is this keyboard interference. All day I have been transmitting with 10w of power - sometimes creeping up to 14w. The keyboard has been fine. A key may occasionally not respond but it was easily workable. However, about half an hour ago when working RX6BH in Russia, the keys became very unresponsive making typing during transmission a nightmare - it was slower than transmission rate of PSK31! I'm not sure why this would be. Nothing had changed. The power level was peaking at 10w initially, and I even reduced it slightly to no effect.

Actually, I'm wrong. Something had changed. I'd switched on the lights in the flat. Could that be what makes a difference?

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Tags: amateur radio, psk31

Over the last month, I've been preparing my station to operate on digital modes by building a radio to soundcard interface. After various hurdles I finally got the device working and conducted my first on air test yesterday, using PSK31.

Unfortunately it wasn't overly successful. I can only get the radio to output around 10-12W maximum before the ALC kicks in causing horrendous noise on the signal. I also have some interference problems with my keyboard which makes operating difficult. It was originally the case that only a couple of watts of power would cause the keyboard to lock up (and the mouse too after a bit more power). Now I've enclosed my cheap USB hub and slack cable into a metal case to improve shielding. I've also added ferrite beads to the keyboard cable, mouse cable and the USB hub cable. Although it's improved the situation significantly, when the power level gets over about 8w, some keypresses are missed resulting in "wods tped ike is" (words typed like this).

Despite these problems, I did spend a good while calling CQ and had a very brief QSO with Cris, YO5OAW in Romania. We exchanged reports and location information but due to a fading signal and the problems typing I decided not to stop and chat. PSKReporter also showed my signals being received in Portugal and Rome.

Charlie M0PZT did suggest that using a laptop could be the cause of some problems due to its unshielded nature compared to a desktop PC. I think that's quite likely considering the monitor also receives interference which disappeared when testing with a desktop machine.

So before I try another serious attempt, I think I'll replace the laptop. I'll be building a cheap PC which I reckon can be done for less than £140.00 while still being a machine of fairly modern specification (Intel Celeron Dual Core 2.2GHz, 1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM, 80GB SATA HDD, Wireless LAN, onboard Realtek 5.1Ch audio, onboard Intel graphics) with room for expansion should I need it.

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Tags: amateur radio, psk31

Just a quick note to say I visited the National Hamfest in Newark along with Charlie, M0PZT yesterday. It was quite a long trip - about 2.5 hours to get up there, but good fun.

I'd gone with a small shopping list in mind - nothing big, but some bits and pieces that I would find useful. Coming back with 6 out of 7 items suggests it was quite successful.

My haul included a book on HF aerials, a microphone/earpiece for my handheld, a new mag-mount for my 2m/70cm aerial, 2 variable capacitors, two 3.5mm stereo plug > 3.5mm stereo plug cables and a small 4-port USB hub. The only thing I couldn't find (and didn't really expect to find) was a USB to Serial adaptor.

The variable capacitors are needed for my next project which I'll be starting once I'm happy with my soundcard interface which I've been building over the last couple of weeks. I intend to build a small magnetic loop aerial - it'll be the first aerial I've constructed and hopefully will be quite useful in my limited space QTH.

I haven't mentioned the soundcard interface on this blog yet (although it's come up once or twice on Identica/Twitter). Once it's finished I'll do a write up with some photographs. My main stumbling block at the moment is the USB to Serial Port adaptor - the laptop I'm using for radio doesn't have a built in serial port. Curses to progress!

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Tags: amateur radio, events

My friend Charlie, M0PZT has taken the time to write a piece of software which provides quick and easy access to the DX Cluster via the internet (telnet). ClusterClient, as it's known, recently received some good comments on the ICQPodcast and I decided to give it a try myself. The only issue being, I run Linux and the software is written for Windows.

Not to worry though. I spent some time last night figuring out if I could make it run and the short answer is yes I can. Thanks to this guide, now so can you!

It's actually very straight forward to get the software going in Linux, and it may well be much simpler than the guide tells you. I'm assuming that the computer being used does not have a copy of WINE installed, nor the appropriate DLL files. I should also mention that I have tested this in Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackelope).

1. First we need to get a copy of the software. This is available from Charlie's site (see ClusterClient link, in Related Links below) - just scroll down the page until the Download link is visible. Download ZIP file and open it.

2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file to a suitable place on your computer. I've put it in /home/ben/ClusterClient/ but it doesn't really matter as long as you have full permissions to the folder.

3. Use the Applications > Accessories menu to access the terminal. Don't be scared of the terminal if you haven't used it before. It really is quite straight-forward.

4. In the terminal window, change to the directory containing ClusterClient. In my case I'd type the following code. Replace the directory structure with wherever you saved your copy of ClusterClient (remember it is case sensitive):

   cd /home/ben/ClusterClient

5. Again in the terminal window, type (or copy) this command to install WINE (the Microsoft Windows compatability layer) and cabextract:

   sudo apt-get install wine cabextract

   You will probably be asked for your password. This is normal and is required to confirm that you wish to make changes to your system i.e., install an application. After entering your password, if you are prompted to confirm installation, press Y

6. Once WINE is installed, we need to get a couple more files required by ClusterClient. These aren't available through the repository.

7. Still within the terminal window, type (or copy) the following command:

   wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

   A few additional files will be placed in the currently selected folder; the ClusterClient folder if you followed Step 2 above.

8. The package downloaded will enable us to get those missing files, so type in the following command:

   sh winetricks comctl32.ocx vb6run

   When asked to confirm if you would like to the Visual Basic 6.0 Run Time files, click on Yes.

9. With any luck, that should now be it. Attempt to run ClusterClient from the terminal with this command:

   wine ClusterClient.exe

   After a few moments, the window should appear.

That's all there is to it. ClusterClient can now be run from the terminal at any time by opening the terminal window, changing to the ClusterClient directory and running the command above.

But that's not the easiest way to launch it. Follow these additional steps to add a launcher to the desktop:

1. Right-click on a blank area of the desktop to display the context menu

2. Choose 'Create Launcher...'

3. A window will appear. Complete the following details (remember, the directory in Command will need to be whatever is applicable in your case):
   Type: Application
   Name: ClusterClient
   Command: wine /home/ben/ClusterClient/ClusterClient.exe
   Comment: ClusterClient by Charlie, M0PZT

4. Click OK

5. An icon will now be on your desktop. Just double-click to launch ClusterClient

Simples!

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Tags: amateur radio, software

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been racing along with the development of my amateur radio station. Starting off with the purchase of a HF/6m whip aerial, through to buying my first HF transceiver (Yaesu FT-450) to setting up the IT side of things. It is here that I have hit a snag.

The modern radio shack isn't complete without a computer. Whether it is used for logging, decoding digital signals or just looking up callsigns; it must be said that it is a pretty indispensable piece of equipment. Because my setup is in the living room of my flat, I needed a solution that was low profile and quiet.

Fortunately, I had access to an old laptop (IBM Thinkpad R50e) which has a broken LCD screen. Perfect I thought. Connect up an LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse and there's my solution. I've attached some brackets to my desk so that the machine is out of the way and today I connected up the peripherals.

Being quite sure the machine worked, I wasn't to worried about the big switch on but I do have a record of things dieing at this point so I was pleased to see it all spring to life even just running off the battery which hadn't been charged for a while. I did of course connect the mains adaptor too.

And it is this that is the problem. When connecting the mains adaptor to the laptop, it wipes out my radio with +20dB of noise making most (if not all) signals unreadable. To confirm it was the power supply; I unplugged it (after which the signal meter fell to a much more reasonable S3), tuned about on 20m until I found a signal and then plugged it back in again. Lo-and-behold, the noise floor rose and the signal dissappeared.

So now I'm on the search for a solution that doesn't involve me giving up on the laptop and putting in a desktop computer. I can charge the laptop battery when not using the radio and then unplug it when I'm operating but that's a little inconvenient.

I did get to wondering whether the laptop would run from my DC power supply at 13.8V. I checked the laptop's power block which is rated at 16V 4.5A. No problem providing the amps, but I'm a little short on the volts. However, the battery is rated at 10v. I'm thinking that perhaps running without a battery, I could get away with it. However, I'm also wondering if there is a chance of damage to the laptop or power supply.

I'm going to have to do some more research.

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Tags: amateur radio

With the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing only 3 days away, and as the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-127) rendezvouses with the International Space Station, my thoughts turned to the future of space exploration, and in particular, manned exploration.

Sadly I wasn't around to see any of the moon landing missions, but like many I am quite familiar with what happened in July 1969. When I think that it was 40 years since man traveled around 250,000 miles to step foot on another world, and then think of the technological advances made during that time; I wonder why we haven't progressed further. Why is man trapped in low Earth orbit?

The story is well told. People lost interest in Apollo after the first few moon landings. For the layman, the interest was getting man there and returning him safely. Scientific and technological interests did not play a part. And so, budgets were cut and the Apollo programme (after the 17th mission) was axed.

Now, as we approach the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the United States has a renewed drive to send man back to the Moon and then, just possibly, on to Mars. Finally it looks like my generation has an boundary-pushing event of it's own to awe and inspire. Only, is it that simple?

Once again finance is coming into play. It's not really unexpected. Here I can use the awful phrase; the "Credit Crunch". The global recession is undoubtedly making politicians rethink their priorities when it comes to funding. That's not to say that the trip to the Moon is under threat of being axed. However, a commission will look at NASAs plans to use an Ares 1 rocket. A rocket that, following technical problems, is now too expensive. Politicians favour the cargo ship Ares 5 to carry crew and cargo.

It's here that I had my epiphany. Why is the United States doing this? Why NASA? Since the 1970s, an increasing number of nations have either become space-faring or have ambition to. Russia is an obvious nation as a player in the space race, but now China, India, Japan and Europe. All have interests in space and have launched either manned or unmanned vehicles.

To me it seems space offers an opportunity. One that can bring nations and people together in a peaceful pursuit. So why not pool resources? Instead of the US going-it alone, why not get all interested nations together in one International Space Agency? All countries can contribute funding, technologies and personnel to make the next space adventure truly one for humanity - not one for a single nation.

The International Space Station is a visible sign of what can be achieved, but the principles should be extended to all of space exploration. The question is, can we as a people realise that, before the moon is divided up into territories for each nation that lands there?

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Tags: space, nasa, moon, opinion, iss, space shuttle

I've had my Android phone for nearly four months now, and I thought it might be a good idea to run through my idea of essential applications.

These are all available through the Android Market. Some are free, and some are not. I've only given brief descriptions here. For more information, follow the external links at the end of the entry.

NewsRob

This is an application I use everyday and probably earns the title of My Favourite Application.

It's a news reader that connects to and synchronises with Google Reader. This means that whatever feeds are setup in Google are accessible via the Android Handset. By default, only feeds with unread items are displayed. If a news article is read on the handset, NewsRob synchronises that with Google Reader ensuring that other readers (on the PC, or via reader.google.com for example) show the same.

The application can be set to synchronise at a specific interval, and can be told what to download to the phone. With my setup for example, I have most feeds set to download their full content so that I don't have to rely on an internet connection to view them. However, I have a few feeds (such as BBC News) set to also automatically download the associated web page. Now I can read BBC News even when I don't have an internet connection! Sheer genius!

My Tracks

Another extremely useful application is My Tracks. This is a google application, but does not come installed by default on the T-Mobile G1.

The basic idea is to record routes. Using a GPS signal, My Tracks records the location of the phone handset at set intervals. When recording is finished, the points are plotted as a route which is overlaid on to Google Maps. Not only that, but data such as total time taken, total time moving, speed, distance and elevation are all recorded. With elevation, a graph can also be displayed.

After recording, details about the route (title, description, method of travel) can be saved and the entire thing uploaded to Google Maps for either private or public viewing. My Tracks will also export basic data (title, description, latitude, longitude, elevation, timestamp) to a GPX file for use in other applications.

For me, I use that GPX file to upload data to this website which can then be displayed on my public map. I also intend to use it to automatically geocode my photographs.

Feasibly, the application could also be used in personal training although there are applications available specific to that need.

Twidroid

Twidroid is a client that connects to a Twitter or Identi.ca account. Like a news feed reader, it can poll the service after a set interval and will alert users to new tweets or dents, and allow them to be read and replied to. New messages can also be posted, removing the need to visit the service's website from the handset.

Audible alerts can sound as well as an icon in the notification bar and a blinking light on the handset.

Twitta

This is similar to Twidroid but only for Twitter. Since this and Twidroid can only subscribe to one account, I use Twidroid for monitoring Identi.ca, and Twitta for monitoring my Twitter account.

ConnectBot

This is an SSH client for Android. I use it for maintaining my webserver when away from my computer or if I just want to ensure that the software is up-to-date with patches. Use of the QWERTY keyboard makes this very easy to use but I'd imagine there'd be difficulty using it with a device lacking such hardware.

Last.fm

3G network connections now support a sufficiently high data rate to the mobile phone handset to permit audio streaming. The last.fm application can access 'radio stations' from your last.fm profile - such as Recommended, Neighbourhood and Tag. Basic profile information is also visible.

Audio quality is high and is certainly good enough for listening through headphones on the bus. However, a stable good quality 3G connection is required. Any signal drop outs will lead to buffering or disconnections.

StreamFurious

Here's another streaming audio application. This one allows connection to MP3 Shoutcast streams.

For most cases, 3G is required which will support streams of up to 320kbps. Only for the very lowest quality audio (24kbps) will GPRS be sufficient.

Shazam

This is a piece of software that has truly amazed me. By listening to a sample of a song, it can often identify the track that's playing. I've used this on adverts before and it's worked a treat, as long as there are no other sounds.

In noisy environments, or when an audio track is the background in a soundtrack then it doesn't work.

OI Shopping List

This really is what it says - a shopping list.

Instead of writing the weekly shop on the back of an old envelope, it can be typed into this application. When doing the shopping, tapping on the item will tick it off from the list.

Shopping lists can be saved and re-ordered. The ticked items can be moved to the bottom of the list, or remain where they are but grayed out. There are also a few different styles to the interface.

ShopSavvy

Although I don't use this a lot, I really like the idea and have found it useful before.

By using the camera, this software is able to read barcodes which can be found on nearly every product in high street shops. Once the product is scanned, the application then searches to find the cheapest store.

Not only do internet stores get searched, but thanks to location detected ShopSavvy also searches the prices of high street stores potentially saving money if a competitor has the same product but cheaper than the store you are in.

ShopSavvy also stores a history of products, which I've found useful for saving ideas for presents.

CellFinder

The final application in my list is not one that has a great deal of uses but can be interesting in a geeky way. CellFinder will show the location of the mobile phone tower that the handset is currently connected to, and the handset's position in relation to it. Other data such as the tower's identification and signal strength is also displayed.

I'm sure there are genuine reasons for finding out this information, but for me it is just geeky interest.

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Tags: reviews, gadgets, android

Sad news today as people awoke to the news that pop superstar Michael Jackson died from a cardiac arrest.

However, from watching and reading news articles throughout the day, I have come to the conclusion that many people simply overreact to this kind of news.

Television showed images of distraught fans who appeared to be inconsolable, but these aren't people who knew him personally. They are simply fans and I don't understand how anyone can get so upset over someone they don't know. Plus it's not as if his career was in full swing.

Of course I'd expect friends and family to be upset and I do feel for them, but those who are simply just fans really ought to pull themselves together.

This is nothing new though. Similar reactions were seen at the death of other stars such as Elvis, John Lennon and Princess Diana. I just think it's a shame that people react this way.

Interestingly, last.fm has published a graph showing the number of times Michael Jackson tracks were listened to on and hour-by-hour basis and there is an almost vertical spike as people learned the news.

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Tags: music, opinion

Tomorrow morning at 6am marks the official start of Heart Essex - the new name for the station formerly known as Essex FM, and Essex Radio before it.

It's not just Essex FM that is disappearing. Local stations up and down the country are receiving the re-brand treatment. For many, it's already happened. For the remaining few, the transition is completed tomorrow morning. As an example, other stations include Invicta FM, Ocean FM, Southern FM, 2CR, Buzz 97.1, Champion 103, Coast 96.3 and Marcher Sound.

This means that 33 stations now carry the well known brand. 33 stations will carry more networked programming and have decreased local output. According to The Guardian there will be 14 hours per day of networked content.

I will mourn the loss of the once local brands, but not too much. It's been a long time since Essex FM at least was a truly local station. Many times, when driving around England, have I tuned through the car radio and received the same programmes throughout the journey. Now, thanks to this re-brand, it will feel almost like one of the national stations.

The saving grace for localness comes in the form of breakfast shows and local programming between 1pm and 7pm. News is suffering though, with local opt-outs only between the hours of 6am-9am and 4pm-6pm.

I hope that local radio will be revived in the coming years as the switch to digital radio gathers pace. With the plan for major FM stations to broadcast solely on DAB around 2015, the vacated FM space will hopefully encourage new local and community stations.

So, although the brand Essex FM has already disappeared from the airwaves* I say now goodbye to the station that captured my interest in broadcast radio.


* There is now no official name - just a mention that Heart is coming. Tomorrow morning, from 6.

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Tags: broadcasting, radio

With the publication of Lord Carter's Digital Britain report comes the plan to switch off analogue radio by 2015. The plan is for FM stations to move to DAB vacating the VHF spectrum for ultra-local broadcast services. The MW spectrum would be vacated by those stations moving to DAB too or if they are ultra-local stations, then on to FM

This means that in the not-to-distant future, UK MW broadcasts will cease. It's unclear if this also affects LW and SW.

I find it quite sad that one of the oldest and simplest forms of radio broadcasting will soon be no more. Granted, audio quality isn't great (but it's fine for speech) and it's not as efficient as a digital signal, but the resilience for analogue radio is very important. Enthusiasts will know that usually a MW signal will travel far further than an VHF signal and that a receiver can be built from very few components cheaply and easily. This will surely mean an end to crystal sets.

There is a big issue over the equipment that will be left behind. There must be millions of MW and FM radios that will become pretty much obsolete come switch-over. This isn't like television where a converter can be plugged in - many of these devices will be car radios, table top sets and walkmen. All becoming useless. And what about the cost of replacement equipment? Digital radios are still more expensive than analogue equivilent. The battery life isn't as good either.

Overall, I think it'll be a sad day for broadcast radio when this switchover happens.

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Tags: broadcasting, radio