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Re: Kits and parts.
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýBill, I would like to order the following: 1 - 20W DL and 40dB Attenuator 1 - 20A Distribution Kit 1450 Lester Court Merritt Island, FL 32952 On 4/24/2025 11:37 AM, K9HZ via
groups.io wrote:
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73
Bob W3RDL |
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Re: LPF Control Board addressing help
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýNo joy. I checked continuity from U15 to the band header pins, OK. I checked all IC pins for solder bridges and opens and all resistors and capacitors. Powered the board externally and checked all voltages on ICs. A0, A1, and A2 on U15 show 5v, 0v, and 5v. Checked the cable(pin for pin) used for the BPF board. When connected to the LPF board, BIT reports "23017 not found at x25". Since I2SCAN showed a device at x28, I recompiled with LPF at x28, BIT reports "LPF 23017 not found at x28".? Made a daisy chain cable for Main to BPF to LPF band. BIT reports "BPF 23017 not found at x24 and LPF 23017 not found at x25".? The I2C lines show continuity between the Band connector header
pins and U15. Could U15 be bad?I'll reheat all of the pins again
before I swap it out, assuming I have a spare. On 4/23/2025 5:30 PM, Robert Luken
W3RDL via groups.io wrote:
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73
Bob W3RDL |
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Kits and parts.
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýAs of close of business today, I¡¯ll have to stop talking board and kit orders for the T41 and associated electronics.? I¡¯m preparing for Hamvention now.? We will have plenty of boards, kits, and books there.? Our booth was moved from Building #4 into Building #2 this AM¡ now in a very nice spot¡ #2607. In with many of the international groups ad the ARRL.? Very excited to be there. ? In any case, if you have orders, please get them in by close of business today.? Otherwise catch us at Hamvention¡ or wait until the week after Hamvention. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? |
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Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
Sounds like we got started about the same way. My first transmitter was HB...two tubes, 15W. The receiver was a used S40B that I got for $25 and my antenna was a 300¦¸ twin-lead dipole cut for 40M. I passed my Novice in December, 1953, but it wasn't until 1954 until my ticket arrived...I was chopping at the bit by then! Jack, W8TEE
On Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 09:43:07 AM EDT, Tom - AJ8X via groups.io <tom.metty@...> wrote:
Jack, I couldn't help but smile when I read that you got your ARRL Life Membership in 1972, I did too. I built my novice transmitter in high school electronics shop from a QST article ... I still remember the glow of the light bulb when I dipped the plate of the 807.? I also remember buying my first spool of Copperweld from Purchase Radio Supply, RF burns from my Swan 350, phone patches from South America, solar cycle 20, and The Adventures of Carl and Jerry. Good times.
-- Jack, W8TEE |
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Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
Jack, I couldn't help but smile when I read that you got your ARRL Life Membership in 1972, I did too. I built my novice transmitter in high school electronics shop from a QST article ... I still remember the glow of the light bulb when I dipped the plate of the 807.? I also remember buying my first spool of Copperweld from Purchase Radio Supply, RF burns from my Swan 350, phone patches from South America, solar cycle 20, and The Adventures of Carl and Jerry. Good times. |
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Re: LPF Control Board addressing help
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýOliver, thanks for the reply. I thought I had traced out all of
the pins on the 23017, but I may have missed something. I'll check
things again. About the AD7991, "BIT" has been showing an Ad7991
at x29 without the LPF board installed. I've always wondered about
that. On 4/23/2025 4:41 PM, Oliver KI3P via
groups.io wrote:
--
73
Bob W3RDL |
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Re: LPF Control Board addressing help
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýOOPS¡ was reading linearly and missed this response. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Oliver KI3P via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 3:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] LPF Control Board addressing help ? Soldering JP2 while leaving JP1 and JP3 open makes the address bits 101 (they are high by default and soldering the junction pulls them to ground). This should correspond to the address 0x25, as you say. ? ? The AD7991 chip that is also on the LPF control board has an address of 0x28 or 0x29, so I think that's what you're detecting with the I2C scan. This confirms that the cable isn't broken -- something must be wrong regarding the MCP23017 chip on your board. Look for solder bridges, missing parts, misalignments, etc. ? ? ? ? ? On Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at 2:41 PM, Robert Luken W3RDL via groups.io <now.w3rdl@...> wrote:
? |
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Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThen we are fine. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 2:03 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ? My point was that I¡¯m in that ¡°Give Back¡± part of my life to support this hobby, and I talk about it to inspire other to do the same.? But evidently that struck a sour chord with you.. so please ignore it. ? I think that's unfair, Bill. The implication is that your Give Back activity struck a "sour chord" with me. Indirectly, it also implies that I'm not in the Give Back mode. That's not the case at all, and I even pointed out your efforts in support of the T41 Project. I think all of us at one time or another have engaged in Given Back activity. When I was in Omaha (1970-1974) and a stone's throw away from SAC headquarters, I ran phone patch traffic between our servicemen and women on Guam and the Marshall Islands for three hours every Tue and Thurs evenings for three hours and did that with few exception for the entire time I was there. The spouses really appreciated it. I did that until I left my teaching job there.? ? I still give back in other ways, too. Other than the first year that I spoke at the FDIM (2018??) when they covered my room cost, I have not been paid for speaking at the conference, other than my registration fee was waived. Traveling to various clubs to speak on the T41 project is at my expense. The many Zoom presentations are also donated time. I don't have the talent in the hardware realm of projects, but I have answered hundreds of hams emails with various projects over the years, most on software issues. I've always tried to be available to hams with their projects. As to encouraging newcomers to our hobby, the 49-er article in QST points out that the reason for the article was because a young boy fell in love with our hobby after spending two hours at our GOTA station as part of Field Day. His mom said: "I'm sure it's a wonderful hobby, but where are you going to get the thousands of dollars for the radio?" Her son? was crestfallen. The 49-er article showed how one could have a working ham radio station for under $50. Indeed, if you look back at some of my early work on the T41 project, it was designed to give hams a good HF SDR station on a "lawn-mower budget". COVID and other supply chain problems increased the number of lawns to be mowed, but the intent was still there.- ? I think most hams do what they can to foster interest in ham radio to others. I think saying that I view your efforts in that arena as a "sour chord" is totally without merit. ? Jack, W8TEE ? On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 12:13:55 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? The point missed here is that our hobby survives by bringing new people into the hobby and helping them to flourish in whatever avenue keeps them interested (building, operating, POTA, Digital Modes, contesting, etc.).? 30 years ago the COM guys had all the money and were funding the hobby in more of a distributed model.? Today it¡¯s the contesters that are the most invested group.? That will change over time, but I believe it is best not to disparage or bite any hands that support the hobby. ? Me saying I never took a dime for writing articles has nothing to do with you.? How you make or give away money is none of my business.? But evidently that struck a sour chord with you.. so please ignore it. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? Like I said, you are a big contester and, while much more modest equipment, I enjoy contesting, too. I'm just not very good at it. I've participated in Field Day, the Sweepstakes, and several QRP contests every year for as long as I can remember. Indeed, the T41 Project evolved from a Field Day where I used a G90 and an EFHW at 15' just to see if 20W could compete. While I had no delusions about winning anything, I did learn that 20W is enough to enjoy a "high density" contest, even on SSB. My first contest was also when I was a Novice in 1954. As I recall, I finished 8th in the state of Ohio in the CW category. I, too, was proud of my accomplishment. ? ??????????????? "Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me." ? Not sure what the purpose of this dig was, but I assume it's because of my issue with Rich. I was surprised to learn that you were not paid for the QST and QEX articles, as the ARRL has always had a policy of paying for articles. I have been paid for some published articles, but that is standard for QST, Rad Com, and CQ. Al and I have also done presentations in person at various radio clubs around the state (OHKYIN Radio Club, Voice of America Club, DARA, Milford, and Franklin Radio Club) plus over a dozen live ZOOM presentations to audiences in the UK, India, and all over the US without charge. I've also written dozens articles for QRPp, Information Week, Bacon Bits Quarterly, K9YA Telegraph, C Programmer's Journal, InformIT, Dr. Dobbs Journal, plus seven articles for QRP Quarterly where I was paid nothing for the articles. I knew that the articles were free going in, but wrote the articles to support their efforts. The difference with CQ was that I had a contract to provide columns at a specified amount per column plus the two articles that were to be paid on a per-page basis. Despite Rich's promises, he chose to not pay me. The money isn't enough to make much difference one way or the other. It's the principle of honoring your word and not following through that upsets me. ? I do some things to augment my retirement, but I also do a lot of things gratis. I had hoped that the T41 book would generate some income for Al and I and it has...just not as much as we had hoped. I figure we have made less than minimum wage for the hours we've put into the book, yet we still think it was a worthwhile effort. I know that we both have put in at least 60 hours/week since we started the Project back in 2018. Financially, it's been a bust, but when we look where we started and where the T41 is today, we're happy. Many other people, including yourself, have contributed freely to make the T41 Project what it is today. We have turned the Project over to you, Oliver, and the rest of the group with the hope that the T41 continues to improve in the future. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 02:23:22 AM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? I started out contesting when I was 15¡ like all my friends and most of the contesters today.? The first contest I ever entered was a novice round-up. and I only made about 25 contacts because the power went out.? I still submitted my score and QST published it.? I was pretty proud of that measly score and it gave me a big boost to see it in a big time publication like QST.? As time went one, I got better at contesting¡ I started spending more and more of my money from odd jobs buying equipment to do better, get better scores.? A few years later I won an ARRL 10 meter contest.? That was a fantastic feat¡ I was still in high school when it happened¡ and I still have the score that was published in QST in a frame.? Over the years I got better and better and started getting invited to contest with some real legends¡.at some really serious monster stations. ? What I learned, though, is that these contesters are the guys that those adds with the $10K+ amplifiers, radios, antennas, towers, etc. in QST are written for¡ and they are the guys that sink some serious money into their stations (K1LZ has over one million dollars invested in that contest station).? They also support the contests by volunteering to organize them, score them and rule check, and get the scores publish in periodicals like CQ and QST... through sales of periodicals, advertisements, and donations of time and money.? Their contributions make sure that the person with lowest score in a contest gets published for his/her contribution to the hobby no matter what it is. ?And at one time, that was me.? ? I¡¯ve written articles for QST, QEX, NCJ, and lots of hobby electronic rags over the years too.? There¡¯s lots of room for that too in the form of technical/ operating/ experience articles.? The last one was for the cover story of NCJ Jan/Feb 2021.? Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? I've submitted scores to contests, too, and I can understand interest in where you placed. However, I think listing the top, say, 25, in each category would be enough. The complete listing could have been kept on line or, before the internet, perhaps you could send in a postcard and have it mailed back with your score/position. ? I know you are a huge contest person and with the station setup you have and the people who work with you, you're used to being near the top of the heap, and that would be published. But CQ would sometimes devote 30 pages to nothing but calls and scores. I just think it was overkill and there may have been a better way to service those who are interested in the scores and the remaining readers who would rather read something else. ? I talked many times with numerous other hams who feel the same way. I'm a little miffed by CQ and Rich Moseson because I wrote 6 issues with a column plus some articles for him and, despite promises and me trying to help him, he never paid me for any of them. Rich was aware of the contest results printing and was advised by me and others to find a way to placate both sides, but he wouldn't budge. He was told by many that he needed to get back to what CQ was at its outset, but it didn't happen and it finally collapsed. ? Alas, the ARRL and QST seems to be moving away from those things that made it great towards a magazine that seems to be interested in selling ads. I would love to see more new building projects and less reprints of past articles that I can look up in the archives. I think contest results could have the Top X List printed and the rest available for review online. I think that would better-serve everyone. ? Jack, W8TEE ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 09:52:34 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? Certainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
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Re: LPF Control Board addressing help
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThe LPF control cable connects to the ¡°BANDS¡± connector on the MAIN board, J12¡. and to the ¡°BANDS¡± connector on the LPF Control board J21.? ?It should be on on WIRE2 at hex address x25 which is ¡°101¡±¡ or JP1 and JP3 open, and JP2 closed.? Address x28 on WIRE2 is the AD7991 A/D for the power/ swr.? Have a look here: ? ? So if you are not getting a response at x25, then something is up with U15¡ the MCP23017 multiplexer¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Robert Luken W3RDL via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 1:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] LPF Control Board addressing help ? Finished building the LPF Control board, no detectable shorts or opens and no smoke escaped. The board is configured for I2C addressing and the address jumpers are set for address "25"(Open, Short, Open). However address LPF not found at 25, running SDT Ver66-9. I ran I2C Scan and an address of "28" is showing up on wire 2. How is that possible? -- 73 Bob W3RDL ?
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Re: LPF Control Board addressing help
Soldering JP2 while leaving JP1 and JP3 open makes the address bits 101 (they are high by default and soldering the junction pulls them to ground). This should correspond to the address 0x25, as you say. The AD7991 chip that is also on the LPF control board has an address of 0x28 or 0x29, so I think that's what you're detecting with the I2C scan. This confirms that the cable isn't broken -- something must be wrong regarding the MCP23017 chip on your board. Look for solder bridges, missing parts, misalignments, etc.
On Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at 2:41 PM, Robert Luken W3RDL via groups.io <now.w3rdl@...> wrote:
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Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
My point was that I¡¯m in that
¡°Give Back¡± part of my life to support this hobby, and I talk about it
to inspire other to do the same.? But evidently that struck a sour chord with you.. so please ignore it. I think that's unfair, Bill. The implication is that your Give Back activity struck a "sour chord" with me. Indirectly, it also implies that I'm not in the Give Back mode. That's not the case at all, and I even pointed out your efforts in support of the T41 Project. I think all of us at one time or another have engaged in Given Back activity. When I was in Omaha (1970-1974) and a stone's throw away from SAC headquarters, I ran phone patch traffic between our servicemen and women on Guam and the Marshall Islands for three hours every Tue and Thurs evenings for three hours and did that with few exception for the entire time I was there. The spouses really appreciated it. I did that until I left my teaching job there.? I still give back in other ways, too. Other than the first year that I spoke at the FDIM (2018??) when they covered my room cost, I have not been paid for speaking at the conference, other than my registration fee was waived. Traveling to various clubs to speak on the T41 project is at my expense. The many Zoom presentations are also donated time. I don't have the talent in the hardware realm of projects, but I have answered hundreds of hams emails with various projects over the years, most on software issues. I've always tried to be available to hams with their projects. As to encouraging newcomers to our hobby, the 49-er article in QST points out that the reason for the article was because a young boy fell in love with our hobby after spending two hours at our GOTA station as part of Field Day. His mom said: "I'm sure it's a wonderful hobby, but where are you going to get the thousands of dollars for the radio?" Her son? was crestfallen. The 49-er article showed how one could have a working ham radio station for under $50. Indeed, if you look back at some of my early work on the T41 project, it was designed to give hams a good HF SDR station on a "lawn-mower budget". COVID and other supply chain problems increased the number of lawns to be mowed, but the intent was still there.- I think most hams do what they can to foster interest in ham radio to others. I think saying that I view your efforts in that arena as a "sour chord" is totally without merit. Jack, W8TEE
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 12:13:55 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote:
The point missed here is that our hobby survives by bringing new people into the hobby and helping them to flourish in whatever avenue keeps them interested (building, operating, POTA, Digital Modes, contesting, etc.).? 30 years ago the COM guys had all the money and were funding the hobby in more of a distributed model.? Today it¡¯s the contesters that are the most invested group.? That will change over time, but I believe it is best not to disparage or bite any hands that support the hobby. ? Me saying I never took a dime for writing articles has nothing to do with you.? How you make or give away money is none of my business.? But evidently that struck a sour chord with you.. so please ignore it. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 8:55 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ? Like I said, you are a big contester and, while much more modest equipment, I enjoy contesting, too. I'm just not very good at it. I've participated in Field Day, the Sweepstakes, and several QRP contests every year for as long as I can remember. Indeed, the T41 Project evolved from a Field Day where I used a G90 and an EFHW at 15' just to see if 20W could compete. While I had no delusions about winning anything, I did learn that 20W is enough to enjoy a "high density" contest, even on SSB. My first contest was also when I was a Novice in 1954. As I recall, I finished 8th in the state of Ohio in the CW category. I, too, was proud of my accomplishment. ? ??????????????? "Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me." ? Not sure what the purpose of this dig was, but I assume it's because of my issue with Rich. I was surprised to learn that you were not paid for the QST and QEX articles, as the ARRL has always had a policy of paying for articles. I have been paid for some published articles, but that is standard for QST, Rad Com, and CQ. Al and I have also done presentations in person at various radio clubs around the state (OHKYIN Radio Club, Voice of America Club, DARA, Milford, and Franklin Radio Club) plus over a dozen live ZOOM presentations to audiences in the UK, India, and all over the US without charge. I've also written dozens articles for QRPp, Information Week, Bacon Bits Quarterly, K9YA Telegraph, C Programmer's Journal, InformIT, Dr. Dobbs Journal, plus seven articles for QRP Quarterly where I was paid nothing for the articles. I knew that the articles were free going in, but wrote the articles to support their efforts. The difference with CQ was that I had a contract to provide columns at a specified amount per column plus the two articles that were to be paid on a per-page basis. Despite Rich's promises, he chose to not pay me. The money isn't enough to make much difference one way or the other. It's the principle of honoring your word and not following through that upsets me. ? I do some things to augment my retirement, but I also do a lot of things gratis. I had hoped that the T41 book would generate some income for Al and I and it has...just not as much as we had hoped. I figure we have made less than minimum wage for the hours we've put into the book, yet we still think it was a worthwhile effort. I know that we both have put in at least 60 hours/week since we started the Project back in 2018. Financially, it's been a bust, but when we look where we started and where the T41 is today, we're happy. Many other people, including yourself, have contributed freely to make the T41 Project what it is today. We have turned the Project over to you, Oliver, and the rest of the group with the hope that the T41 continues to improve in the future. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 02:23:22 AM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? I started out contesting when I was 15¡ like all my friends and most of the contesters today.? The first contest I ever entered was a novice round-up. and I only made about 25 contacts because the power went out.? I still submitted my score and QST published it.? I was pretty proud of that measly score and it gave me a big boost to see it in a big time publication like QST.? As time went one, I got better at contesting¡ I started spending more and more of my money from odd jobs buying equipment to do better, get better scores.? A few years later I won an ARRL 10 meter contest.? That was a fantastic feat¡ I was still in high school when it happened¡ and I still have the score that was published in QST in a frame.? Over the years I got better and better and started getting invited to contest with some real legends¡.at some really serious monster stations. ? What I learned, though, is that these contesters are the guys that those adds with the $10K+ amplifiers, radios, antennas, towers, etc. in QST are written for¡ and they are the guys that sink some serious money into their stations (K1LZ has over one million dollars invested in that contest station).? They also support the contests by volunteering to organize them, score them and rule check, and get the scores publish in periodicals like CQ and QST... through sales of periodicals, advertisements, and donations of time and money.? Their contributions make sure that the person with lowest score in a contest gets published for his/her contribution to the hobby no matter what it is. ?And at one time, that was me.? ? I¡¯ve written articles for QST, QEX, NCJ, and lots of hobby electronic rags over the years too.? There¡¯s lots of room for that too in the form of technical/ operating/ experience articles.? The last one was for the cover story of NCJ Jan/Feb 2021.? Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? I've submitted scores to contests, too, and I can understand interest in where you placed. However, I think listing the top, say, 25, in each category would be enough. The complete listing could have been kept on line or, before the internet, perhaps you could send in a postcard and have it mailed back with your score/position. ? I know you are a huge contest person and with the station setup you have and the people who work with you, you're used to being near the top of the heap, and that would be published. But CQ would sometimes devote 30 pages to nothing but calls and scores. I just think it was overkill and there may have been a better way to service those who are interested in the scores and the remaining readers who would rather read something else. ? I talked many times with numerous other hams who feel the same way. I'm a little miffed by CQ and Rich Moseson because I wrote 6 issues with a column plus some articles for him and, despite promises and me trying to help him, he never paid me for any of them. Rich was aware of the contest results printing and was advised by me and others to find a way to placate both sides, but he wouldn't budge. He was told by many that he needed to get back to what CQ was at its outset, but it didn't happen and it finally collapsed. ? Alas, the ARRL and QST seems to be moving away from those things that made it great towards a magazine that seems to be interested in selling ads. I would love to see more new building projects and less reprints of past articles that I can look up in the archives. I think contest results could have the Top X List printed and the rest available for review online. I think that would better-serve everyone. ? Jack, W8TEE ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 09:52:34 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? Certainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
-- Jack, W8TEE |
||
|
LPF Control Board addressing help
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýFinished building the LPF Control board, no detectable shorts or
opens and no smoke escaped. The board is configured for I2C
addressing and the address jumpers are set for address "25"(Open,
Short, Open). However address LPF not found at 25, running SDT
Ver66-9. I ran I2C Scan and an address of "28" is showing up on
wire 2. How is that possible? --
73
Bob W3RDL |
||
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
Hi Steve: You're right...and in some cases, those interests change over time. I ran 500W from about 1972 to 1990's and then went to a "standard" 100W transceiver. When I retired in 2009, I discovered QRP operating and that rekindled my operating interest again. I hooked up with Dennis Kidder (W6DQ) and Al (AC8GY) and found out that blending what I knew about software with what they knew about hardware was really enjoyable. Yep, the good news is that our hobby has something of interest to just about everyone and that's a good thing for all. Jack, W8TEE
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 10:42:33 AM EDT, Steven Ellsworth via groups.io <sellsworth@...> wrote:
All
One of the great things about this hobby of amateur radio is that is has so many different aspects that interest just about anyone.? I became interested in amateur radio twenty years ago.? I ended up taking a class one afternoon that was geared to prepare for the technician exam.? My son had paid for the course but was unable to attend because of scouting activities.? I volunteered to take his place.? I have always had some interest in electronics.? Fortunately I passed the technician exam but after the exam I was looking at the Handbook that was lying there in the clubhouse and studying some of the schematics and I was hooked.? I was fascinated by the circuit design although I have no real formal training in electronics.? The point is that amateur radio has something for many different interests.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the T41 project and offer my sincerest appreciation for all those who have put in so much work on the project.? I have been designing my own PCBs for the various circuits.? (I believe that melting solder is healthy for your brain even if it is lead based solder.)? Again my sincerest appreciation to Jack, Al, K9HZ, and all the rest who have contributed to this project.
There are those who love to contest and do not really care if they even talk to anyone, take for example the popularity of FT4 and FT8 where you do not really say anything at all.? There are those who "ragchew" and thouroughly enjoy it.? There are those who love the "nets".? There are those who love the public service aspects of radio.? There are those who love amateur radio for the comradarie.? Just look at the clubs and the popularity of hamfests.? There are those who believe that "life is too short for QRP" and those who believe that getting the most miles per milliwatt is what it is all about.? In short, there is something for everybody.
I too have written to QST suggesting things to promote "projects" but there has been no response.? We just have to realize that this is a great hobby and we have a lot of mutual interests.? If QST won't do it for us who like "projects", we will just have to do it ourselves as has been done with the T41 experimental platform.
Again, thanks for all your work and efforts.
Steve, KE5DYY
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Sent:?Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 8:55 AM
From:?"jjpurdum via groups.io" <jjpurdum@...> To:?"[email protected]" <[email protected]> Subject:?Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ?
Like I said, you are a big contester and, while much more modest equipment, I enjoy contesting, too. I'm just not very good at it. I've participated in Field Day, the Sweepstakes, and several QRP contests every year for as long as I can remember. Indeed, the T41 Project evolved from a Field Day where I used a G90 and an EFHW at 15' just to see if 20W could compete. While I had no delusions about winning anything, I did learn that 20W is enough to enjoy a "high density" contest, even on SSB. My first contest was also when I was a Novice in 1954. As I recall, I finished 8th in the state of Ohio in the CW category. I, too, was proud of my accomplishment.
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??????????????? "Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me."
?
Not sure what the purpose of this dig was, but I assume it's because of my issue with Rich. I was surprised to learn that you were not paid for the QST and QEX articles, as the ARRL has always had a policy of paying for articles. I have been paid for some published articles, but that is standard for QST, Rad Com, and CQ. Al and I have also done presentations in person at various radio clubs around the state (OHKYIN Radio Club, Voice of America Club, DARA, Milford, and Franklin Radio Club) plus over a dozen live ZOOM presentations to audiences in the UK, India, and all over the US without charge. I've also written dozens articles for QRPp, Information Week, Bacon Bits Quarterly, K9YA Telegraph, C Programmer's Journal, InformIT, Dr. Dobbs Journal, plus seven articles for QRP Quarterly where I was paid nothing for the articles. I knew that the articles were free going in, but wrote the articles to support their efforts. The difference with CQ was that I had a contract to provide columns at a specified amount per column plus the two articles that were to be paid on a per-page basis. Despite Rich's promises, he chose to not pay me. The money isn't enough to make much difference one way or the other. It's the principle of honoring your word and not following through that upsets me.
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I do some things to augment my retirement, but I also do a lot of things gratis. I had hoped that the T41 book would generate some income for Al and I and it has...just not as much as we had hoped. I figure we have made less than minimum wage for the hours we've put into the book, yet we still think it was a worthwhile effort. I know that we both have put in at least 60 hours/week since we started the Project back in 2018. Financially, it's been a bust, but when we look where we started and where the T41 is today, we're happy. Many other people, including yourself, have contributed freely to make the T41 Project what it is today. We have turned the Project over to you, Oliver, and the rest of the group with the hope that the T41 continues to improve in the future.
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Jack, W8TEE
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On Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 02:23:22 AM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote:
?
?
I started out contesting when I was 15¡ like all my friends and most of the contesters today.? The first contest I ever entered was a novice round-up. and I only made about 25 contacts because the power went out.? I still submitted my score and QST published it.? I was pretty proud of that measly score and it gave me a big boost to see it in a big time publication like QST.? As time went one, I got better at contesting¡ I started spending more and more of my money from odd jobs buying equipment to do better, get better scores.? A few years later I won an ARRL 10 meter contest.? That was a fantastic feat¡ I was still in high school when it happened¡ and I still have the score that was published in QST in a frame.? Over the years I got better and better and started getting invited to contest with some real legends¡.at some really serious monster stations. ? What I learned, though, is that these contesters are the guys that those adds with the $10K+ amplifiers, radios, antennas, towers, etc. in QST are written for¡ and they are the guys that sink some serious money into their stations (K1LZ has over one million dollars invested in that contest station).? They also support the contests by volunteering to organize them, score them and rule check, and get the scores publish in periodicals like CQ and QST... through sales of periodicals, advertisements, and donations of time and money.? Their contributions make sure that the person with lowest score in a contest gets published for his/her contribution to the hobby no matter what it is. ?And at one time, that was me.? ? I¡¯ve written articles for QST, QEX, NCJ, and lots of hobby electronic rags over the years too.? There¡¯s lots of room for that too in the form of technical/ operating/ experience articles.? The last one was for the cover story of NCJ Jan/Feb 2021.? Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? I've submitted scores to contests, too, and I can understand interest in where you placed. However, I think listing the top, say, 25, in each category would be enough. The complete listing could have been kept on line or, before the internet, perhaps you could send in a postcard and have it mailed back with your score/position. ? I know you are a huge contest person and with the station setup you have and the people who work with you, you're used to being near the top of the heap, and that would be published. But CQ would sometimes devote 30 pages to nothing but calls and scores. I just think it was overkill and there may have been a better way to service those who are interested in the scores and the remaining readers who would rather read something else. ? I talked many times with numerous other hams who feel the same way. I'm a little miffed by CQ and Rich Moseson because I wrote 6 issues with a column plus some articles for him and, despite promises and me trying to help him, he never paid me for any of them. Rich was aware of the contest results printing and was advised by me and others to find a way to placate both sides, but he wouldn't budge. He was told by many that he needed to get back to what CQ was at its outset, but it didn't happen and it finally collapsed. ? Alas, the ARRL and QST seems to be moving away from those things that made it great towards a magazine that seems to be interested in selling ads. I would love to see more new building projects and less reprints of past articles that I can look up in the archives. I think contest results could have the Top X List printed and the rest available for review online. I think that would better-serve everyone. ? Jack, W8TEE ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 09:52:34 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? Certainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
? ?
-- Jack, W8TEE -- Jack, W8TEE |
K9HZ
jjpurdum
Tom - AJ8X