KO4BB's Ham Radio Pages

• Manuals for Ham Radio, HP, Tek, Fluke and other equipment

• Hardware Projects:
  • The Tower Project: notes on tower design and pictures taken during construction.

  • Pipe Cap Filters for the microwaves

  • How to operate 24V relays from 12V
    This page shows how to use 24 or 28V relays from a 12V battery without voltage converter.

  • MFJ-264 Dummy Load modification
    This modification turns the MFJ-264 Dummy Load into a 40dB attenuator still capable of 1kW power dissipation (short term).

  • An inexpensive CW key you can build

  • TS-440S/AT Computer Interface
    This interface is designed for a laptop with lower than normal serial port voltage and current.

  • Microphone Mute for sound card modes with the TS-440 This modification to the stock Kenwood microphone mutes the microphone while the PTT switch is open.

  • FT-817 CAT Interface
    This interface works well with Logger32 (by K4CY) and QSORecorder.

  • Dual Radio Computer Interface
    This interface is designed to control 2 radios (alternately, not simultaneously) through a single serial port (works with FT-1000/FT-817 and Logger32 logging program)

  • Pictures and info on my 10 GHz Transverters

• Software Projects:
  • ADIFLookup: A program to automatically add name and address to an ADIF file.
    It uses the QRZ.com on-line database, so you need to be connected to the Internet for it to work.
    This comes without guaranty of any kind. If it blows up your computer, wipe out the C: drive or anything else, it's not my fault.
    Check the Release Notes.

  • QSORecorder: A program to facilitate recording and playback of audio captured through the sound input of the computer.

• Product Reviews
  • SR-700 Step-Up Switching Regulator
  • FT-1000 test data
  • Extron ADA 3 80 Video Distribution Amplifier
  • Signal Generators HP 8656A, HP 8657B and HP 3586A compared
  • Tektronix 7L18, 492 and 494P Compared

• FAQ's A list of ham radio related frequently asked questions
  • What cable/connector to use from my radio to my antenna?
  • Digital Modes Interfacing
  • What is a TCXO and why would I want one?

• The world as seen from KO4BB (this is the desktop background on my computer :-)
  Make a similar map for your QTH using SM3GSJ's software.

• Ham Equipment at KO4BB

• Spectrum plots of a few random stations, when propagation was particularly good.
  The plot of AD4TK is different since Jack is my neighbor... It turns out his net on 7.165 MHz LSB is pretty much 1/7th of the calling frequency on 6m. His powerful, yet clean signal causes severe overload of my 6m receiver (FT-817), worse when the 6m antenna is pointed at Jack's dipole antenna, about 400 feet away. As shown on the picture, his signal is clean of intermod. Harmonic on 6m is too low to be measured by the Tek 494 spectrum analyzer (no picture). Good thing the net is only once a week :-) I think the fix is a high pass filter at the input of my 6m receiver to eliminate the fundamental 7 MHz signal before it reaches the receiver.

• PA5ET's method for working pile-ups (I wish more DX stations would follow it or something like it)

• The Electric Pumkin Tower (Thanksgiving 2005)

  

• Ham Links