Technology talk on ABC Radio

If you are a 23andMe customer, like me, you should consider deleting your data. Are you a Windows 10 user? Microsoft is suggesting that you trade in your old computer soon to upgrade to 11. Do you read the lengthy terms of use many sites require - there may soon be an alternative that puts the user in the drivers' seat. Apple's Intelligence rollout hasn't gone well and now they're being sued for false advertising. All in Nightlife tech with Peter Marks. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/nightlife-tech-talk-with-peter-marks/105095170 

QRP field ops with VK3CDO

Graeme, VK3CDO, came and gave a great presentation about portable operations gear at the Macedon Ranges Amateur Radio Club recently. He brought along a terrific folding chair and table which I immediately ordered. He suggested an outing and I was up for it. We set up on a beautiful day here in Victoria on Mount Macedon.

The weather was perfect. We both brought our chairs and tables. I brought a tent in case the weather turned (not likely). Graeme used a very nice MA-12 vertical antenna which was easy to set up and worked well. I strung up an end fed but had problems tuning it to either 40 or 20m. (I think the Unun I grabbed was not working).

Graeme operated a low cost, uSDX QRP radio with just the internal battery and easily made a contact.

We both brought small metho stoves which worked very well for cups of coffee & tea. Later we each cooked up a lunch. Graeme went for gourmet sausages while I tried a freeze dried meal which was very nice.

Graeme put me on to the chair and table. Both excellent: "Naturehike Camping Chair, Portable Backpacking Breathable Chair with Storage Bag, Compact Collapsible Lightweight Camp Chair (Green-M)" & "Naturehike Camping Detachable Table with Aluminum Alloy Material, Portable, Lightweight, Outdoor Furniture for Camping, Picnic, Hiking, and Other Outdoor Activities".

The tent is a "Night Cat Backpacking Tent fo 1 Person 2 Persons Easy Setup by Clip Waterproof Lightweight protable Camping Hiking Tent for Adults Kids Scouts Tent". I like it because it's under 2kg and has a convenient side entrance.

I kept John “lofty” Wiseman’s excellent SAS survival handbook at hand but luckily there were no emergencies requiring reference to it.

I look forward to even more ambitious outings in the future.

First sideband contact on a QRP-Labs QMX

The much anticipated wait for the amazing software update to the QRP-Labs pocket radio, the QMX, is out in beta. Today I installed the third release and called CQ from my location in central Victoria. Dave, VK7DD in Northern Tasmania responded and gave me up to a 57.

The radio is sure to be popular with portable operators. It must be one of the tiniest SSB transceivers available.

Reports of my transmit audio are good and as you can hear in this clip, reception quality is beautiful.

Hans has a page about the beta software and as you'll see it's been a huge project for him. 

The microphone plugs in to the paddle port and is wired with PTT on the tip and audio on the ring. I had several mics around from Xeigu radios and they have the connections the other way but it wasn't hard to swap one over.

I found that extra audio gain was needed but this is easily adjusted via the serial terminal interface or built-in menu.

Even without SSB capability the QMX is a fantastic transceiver for FSK digital modes (and CW) but now it can do modes that need SSB such as PSK31.

Fantastic work from QRP-Labs!

A simple Si5351 VFO for RP2040 zero in Micropython

Having had a wonderful time with the Soldersmoke direct conversion receiver and after that a very simple double sideband transmitter, I'm now formulating a DC/DSB transceiver. From the experience of those that have tried, it seems that a traditional VFO on the transmit frequency is not a good idea as the transmit signal gets back in to the VFO and causes problems.

My plan is to use an Si5351 clock generator (<$2) based VFO which should not be affected. Recently I've been playing with the tiny RP2040 Zero boards which can be purchased for under $2 and are an impressively powerful computer.

The RP2040 CPU is powerful enough to run MicroPython. While I'm comfortable in C++ I love python's clean syntax and library. The code is quite simple and I've put it up on GitHub here: https://github.com/peterbmarks/micropython_vfo

Pushing the rotary encoder button changes the step size. You can see it in action here:

My display is a tiny 128x32 OLED board with an ssd1306. I imagine many builders will swap this out for something grander.

The hard part is done with libraries created by smart people:

ssd1306.py from https://github.com/kwankiu/ssd1306wrap/

si5351.py from https://github.com/hwstar/Si5351_Micropython

I like the way all the source code is stored on the MicroPython device.

You can see which pins I've wired the i2c and encoder devices to in vfo.py. You may wish to change these.

This is early days and there are sure to be bugs and improvements to be made. Send me a pull request!

Guest spot on ABC RN's Download This Show

I'm on ABC RN Download This Show again this week. Generative AI has officially infiltrated the world of gaming, could games created entirely by AI be the future we've all been dreading?

Also, speaking of, so many games, so little time... could a dating app for choosing games be the answer?

Plus, what are personality rights and could they help us defend against deepfakes. And what ever happened to those astronauts stranded in space?! 

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/downloadthisshow/gaming-app-artificial-intelligence-deepfakes-astronauts/104970260 

Technology talk on ABC Radio

AI is being used to check for errors in research papers, but just how accurate are its results? And is your collection of classic DVDs still playable? You might be surprised. Peter Marks, a software developer and technology commentator from Access Informatics, joined Philip Clark on Nightlife to discuss the latest news in technology.  

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/nightlife-tech-talk-with-peter-marks/105039402 

Rebuilt the Soldersmoke DC receiver in compact form

Lots of fun and lots to learn from the Soldersmoke Direct Conversion receiver.  It seems simple but there are some traps for young players like myself. Building with others and being able to compare observations is incredibly helpful.

My approach is Manhattan construction spaced out and arranged to look like the circuit diagram. This makes it easier to spot the inevitable errors but there is a downside that it's more likely to have instability. In the past few days I've re-built each stage in a more compact form and the result works well and has no instability. As an example of before and after here's the diode ring mixer prototype laid out for clarity:

Here's the new compact version of the mixer:

The compact VFO board:

Most challenging and most improved is the audio chain which is now stable even with the gain turned all the way up and the pot off the board connected with platted wires.

I did have a wiring error on the audio board that took me a little time to figure out. Having a working board to compare with really helped of course.

I'm about done with this project but it has been a wonderful learning experience. I would recommend this as a group project for any beginning constructors like me.