Our hobby started 1st with Spark Gap transmitters and Coherer Detectors using CW. Fast forward through tubes, transistors, AM, SSB, FM and now Satellite, Digital and of course FT-8. Something hiding in the bushes is Digital Voice and a new mode FreeDV 2.0 which is digital processing of a SSB signal. Take your standard SSB gear and add the free software FreeDV 2.0 and you are in the mode of pulling your hair out. A snippet from their website... I saw that there was a demo of this mode as far back as 2018 at a RSGB convention, so this mode has been around for 7 or 8 years. I heard about it yesterday. This Digital Voice Mode is yet another omen of contests and operating overtaking homebrewing anything. Some will read this as an assault on purely hardware defined radios as computers are involved and it is just that. My crystal ball suggests this mode will soon be fitted with functionality and software so that your Smart Phone is now a FreeDV transceiver. All the pieces (or most...
Before starting today's presentation, I would like to acknowledge a think outside of the box, outstanding ham homebrewer and might I add good friend Tony G4WIF. Tony is a not a Flash the Cash guy in the sense he is always tries to find a cost-effective way to execute a project. He often looks outside of the traditional ham hardware, read often expensive. In this link Tony presents a vertical antenna project that requires some special standoffs to keep the antenna wire from touching the mast support. Shazam, plastic kitchen cabinet hardware which is cheap and when installed appears like it was custom made for the antenna task. G4WIF employs a Nano VNA to test his antenna which is yet another must reason to visit the LINK A great big Thank You to G4WIF for sharing your work. (Regrettably 4 Meters is not authorized in the USA.) 10 Testers /Accessories< $15 Today I am pleased to present ten test instruments and/or test accessories co...