Roger G3XBM has started a new project: a simple sideband transceiver for the 10m band. Roger's projects are always interesting so this page will be one to keep an eye on. If it can be made small enough to fit into a hand held case this could make a great portable radio capable of DX contacts during the sporadic-E conditions during the summer.
Regular readers will know that last year I worked the Czech Republic using a hand-held Intek H-520 FM transceiver with a telescopic whip. The Intek, despite being a nice looking radio, is actually a horrible piece of kit with a PA that sucks the power out of the rig's batteries, especially if the antenna presents anything other than a perfect SWR. And the trouble with 10m FM in the summer is that too many people are trying to use too few frequencies so there is terrible QRM and the "capture effect" means that only the strongest station is heard.
A little double-sideband rig, even with only a couple of watts output, ought to work much better. I shall be following Roger's project with interest and intend to make this my next radio project too.
3 comments:
JuliaN
It looks like there may be a commercially available SSB handie which could cover 10. Look at this:-
http://www.youtube.com/user/simonthewizard#p/u/2/ziRIPtCjzfg
don't suppose it would be much good though!
73
Kevin
That looks like a new version of the Albrecht 10m SSB/AM/FM handie that Martin Lynch sold about 10 years ago. It will be available from dealers like Thunderpole for about £250. You could also pre-order from a dealer in Thailand who is promising to ship in April for a much more reasonable price, depending on whether you get clobbered for tax or not, see http://bit.ly/f5V5g1 for more info.
The trouble with all these CB rigs is they tune the band in 10kHz steps with a clarifier to reach the frequencies in between which makes tuning the band a right pain. Believe me, having done it, it gets tiring very quickly. Also, as with the Intek, these are "CB quality" radios and as we know "CB quality" is an oxymoron. At the price they are selling from Thailand it might just be worth a go, but at half the price of an FT-817 it doesn't look too attractive.
Roger reckons his transceiver will cost less than £20 to build.
I agree that IF the magic of ham radio is dead then Ham radio will die also. However, after 47 years as a ham radio operator from a family of 6 hams I still find magic in ham radio. I operate 99% on HF digital modes.
The magic of ham radio comes from making contacts with your ham station that is NOT dependent on the internet, telephone, or any means besides RF. My digital station uses an RF transmitter and a computer (not dependent on the internet) that controls and displays portions of the xcvr operation - A Flex 1500 SDR rig. I still feel the same magic (maybe even more) than when I tapped out my first QSO's on 80mtrs in 1963 with a home brew 10w transmitter and an SX-100 receiver.
Incidentally, my first SDR rig was also a kit - A Genesis Radio G3020 SDR Xcvr which was considerably more difficult (for me) to build than the DX-60B hihi
The MAGIC is in the RF based QSO - not the mode and not the equipment. If the power fails, my internet connection fails, the telephone (landline and/or cell both) fails - then I can still fire up my computer and Flex 1500 on battery power and contact the world with my station.
That is MAGIC!
---Gary WB8ROL
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