Category Archives: radio communications

PCM Kestrel HF Transceiver Part 2

Posted on May 25, 2023 by vk3yy

In the previous post, the Kestrel had a two line LCD display on the lower area of the speaker grille. One of the nice things about this transceiver is the sound, and this was compromised by the LCD display obscuring … Continue reading →

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Stingray Marine Transceiver

Posted on March 11, 2023 by vk3yy

Its been a while since the last post, a lot has happened. It looks like WordPress has changed quite a bit too! At the Ballarat Hamfest recently, I picked up an old Marine transceiver for a princely sum of $10. … Continue reading →

Posted in radio communications | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

PD Powerbank for SOTA Radios

Posted on May 27, 2021 by vk3yy

This post describes how the newish Power Delivery (PD) mode mobile powerbanks can be used to power a SOTA transceiver as well as keeping your other hiking devices charged. The PD protocol enables fast charging of mobile devices from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Projects, radio communications, SOTA | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

3D Printed Accessories for the FT-817

Posted on October 24, 2020 by vk3yy

A few radio accessories printed out recently for the ‘817 transceiver (from Thingyverse, see links): DC plug adaptor using an XT60 connector.  I have been using these connectors for a while now, they are small and capable of a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, radio communications, SOTA | Tagged | 6 Comments

USX or uSDX QRP HF Transceiver

Posted on July 12, 2020 by vk3yy

This build is based on the interesting design by Guido, PE1NNZ.  The transceiver originally used the very successful QCX as an initial platform, but it now has it’s own life and there are several scratch builds using dedicated PCBs on … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, radio communications, SOTA | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Archer Lookout VK3/VC-038

Posted on January 3, 2020 by vk3yy

One of the newer Victorian summits added to the register late in 2019 was Archer Lookout, VK3/VC-038.  Ron, VK3AFW was the first to activate it and after some discussions on access, I planned an activation on an ebike. Archer Lookout … Continue reading →

Posted in radio communications, SOTA | Tagged , | 3 Comments

LoRa GPS Tracker

Posted on October 27, 2019 by vk3yy

LoRa is a newish Internet Of Things communications technology.  It promises long range (LoRa), transmits a small amount of power and is designed for sensors that may need to operate from batteries for very long periods of time.  The air … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, radio communications | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

New Case for the QRPLabs QCX CW Transceiver

Posted on May 5, 2019 by vk3yy

The QCX transceiver was previously packaged in a standard plastic enclosure from Altronics.  The fit was good and the extra space allowed for a battery pack but metal is a better choice for RF. I was not satisfied with the … Continue reading →

Posted in radio communications, SOTA | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

144 MHz for the KX2 Transceiver

Posted on February 7, 2019 by vk3yy

Many times I have thought it would be nice to have 2 metres on the KX2, I do miss it from the FT817 days. This bare board transverter was on Ebay from a Ukraine seller, the feedback was very good … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, radio communications, SOTA | 3 Comments

Handles for the IC-7200 Transceiver

Posted on September 29, 2018 by vk3yy

Grab handles are a good idea for the IC-7200  for when the radio is taken out portable.  The problem is that they cost something like $120 as an accessory!  This is about 10% of the cost of the radio itself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, radio communications | Tagged , , | 3 Comments