I have been playing with GNU Radio and GRC (GNU Radio Companion) over the weekend and I ended up implementing a very simple CW receiver. This will be very handy on Tuesday when we will be testing the 5.8 GHz UNITEC-1 setup for the first time using the OZ7IGY beacon on 5.76093 GHz. Here is a quick video demo of the receiver where I use my Yaesu FT-817ND to transmit a test signal.
Tag: FT-817
Improvised Shoulder Strap Holder
When I bought my FT-817 (second hand) it came with a shoulder strap but the shoulder strap holders were missing. I talked to the seller and he promised to send them to me. Few days later I have received another shoulder strap so that now I had two shoulder straps but still no holder!
Now that I’ve got the Arrow II antenna and I will be attempting to work satellites with the FT-817 I really needed to mount a shoulder strap. So I came up with this solution using 1 mm copper wire to hold a shoulder strap from a cheap laptop bag that I had laying around. This shoulder strap is actually much more comfortable and easy to take off when the FT-817 is in the shack. Yeah, so I still have two original FT-817 shoulder straps if anyone needs them…
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| From YAESU FT-817 |
Conclusion on the Filter Alignment
I have tried to use my other dummy load on the FT-817. It did indeed reduce the signal strength in the K1 quite a lot. This may sound a bit strange but it is not. You know, the DL-1 dummy load kit from Elecraft is an open dummy load, meaning that it is not in an enclosure, thus the RF signal is radiated from it. My other dummy load, on the other hand, is built into a piece of cooling metal and looks much more radiation closed than the DL-1 does.
First Miracle Whip QSOs
When I got up this morning I turned on the FT-817 with the Miracle Whip mounted on its back. There were a lot of strong stations calling CQ TEST. I didn’t quite know what kind of contest it was but a quick check on the net revealed that it was nothing less than CQ WW DX 2005.
FT-817 Remote Cable for the T1
Tonight I have tried to use the FT-817 remote cable that I bought together with the T1. First, I wanted to find the leaked RF info signals sent by the T1. According to the manual, there should be at least one signal on every ham band and I found one around 7024 kHz.
FT-817 CAT
This article gathers my previously posted blog entries concerning the FT-817 CAT. The blog entries have now been archived and are not available anymore; however, all info should be present in this article.
FT-817 in Digital Modes
The FT-817 receiver is great in digital modes too. I find it, however, that normal operation the way I am used to do it, is rather difficult with the important functions hidden behind different menus.
FT-817 Receiver is Great
I have had some nice QSO’s on 20 meters. I had to turn the power down to 2.5 watts because the power supply I was using got quite hot. The FT-817 does indeed use a lot of Amps when running at 5 watts and 14 Volts.
FT-817 QSK
Well, to make a not so long story even shorter: FORGET ABOUT QSK WITH THE FT-817!
ATX-1080 SWR
The weather was quite rainy today but it cleared up during the afternoon. I decided to go outside with the FT-817 and the ATX-1080 antenna to make some SWR measurements. I also wanted to se how reliable the built-in SWR meter of the FT-187 actually is.