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Proof Of Life

Hams are a skeptical lot and always seek proof something works and works under every possible circumstance. You know like that QRP rig will not only work under water but down to depths of 300 feet.

Currently one man seems like he has to prove nothing when effecting significant changes -- yep that slick car salesman when he takes away your job under the guise of waste, fraud and abuse with no proof whatsoever.

While I do not claim this will work 300 feet beneath the ocean let alone underwater, it is working.


HB SDR

Following our prior posting this prototype is the baseline from which the MHST (Minimalist Homebrew SDR Transceiver) shall spring forth. It does work on both transmit and receive!

The first big nut to crack is the frequency control so that what is shown in QUISK actually matches the real working frequency. In the early days of SDR, Tony Parks created the Soft Rock SDR transceiver kits where the frequency control used the Si570 which was controlled by a ATTiny 45 MCU. Originally this was the heart of the QRP2000 project from the UK. The software used by the Soft Rock transceivers was PowerSDR (the original FLEX 1000 software) modified to work with the Soft Rock kits. [Yes, I did write an article for QRP Quarterly on the Soft Rock SDR.]

The Controller Boards from the UK are no longer available but there is a bright spot on the horizon from a ham club who is working on a SDR Receiver club project using a Pi Pico to interface with a host computer. This interface will serve as the actual control of the frequency in response to commands from QUISK. I hope to get access to the software to use on the MHST.

You only see a few brief shots of the hardware and a not too good of a video showing the spectrum. I will do better next time.

I had a couple of eggs for breakfast this morning prior to writing this posting. As I was cooking the eggs, I made a mental note to once again say Thank You, to the many of you who sent me emails and cards expressing your condolences for the loss of the XYL. Those expressions were most comforting. 

The second mental note was "well there goes $2" as the eggs slid on the surface of the seasoned iron skillet. Six months ago, that same dish was 60 cents. 

Them that know can make it go.

73's
Pete N6QW

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