Practical Wireless №6 2020.pdf

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www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
JUNE 2020
THE UK’S NUMBER ONE AMATEUR RADIO MAGAZINE SINCE 1932
LOCKDOWN
How UK enthusiasts
SOLUTIONS
are fi htin ac
It’s as easy as Pi
Full test of the MFJ-1234
RigPi Station Server
Making a DSB
il in o r o n i ital
transceiver kit for data modes
All the latest new products
from the UK’s top dealers
Plus news from organisations and
clubs in our packed news section
tart
them o n
Latest
news on the crucial
work
of radio’s RCF charity
Update on PW’s
144MHz Contest
Our ‘fun’ plans to get round the
lockdown regulations in 2020
Exam prep!
Readers’ letters
Useful tips on how to pass
Three pages of your views & opinions
Display until 14th May 2020
Contents
5
Keylines
As well as reviewing what’s in this month’s issue,
Don
looks at a number of consequences for the hobby of
the current lockdown.
June 2020 Vol.96 No 6
On sale: 14 May 2020
Next issue on sale: 11 June 2020
ISSN 0141-0857
7
News
PW’s
monthly roundup of news from the UK and
internationally, including new products, club news
and recent events.
Practical Wireless
Warners Group Publications plc
The Maltings, West Street
Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH
www.warnersgroup.co.uk
Tel 01778 391000
Editor
Don Field G3XTT
practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
Designer
Mike Edwards
mike.edwards@warnersgroup.co.uk
Advertisement Manager
Kristina Green
01778 392096
kristina.green@warnersgroup.co.uk
Production Manager
Nicola Lock
nicola.lock@warnersgroup.co.uk
Marketing Manager
Katherine Brown
katherine.brown@warnersgroup.co.uk
Marketing Executive
Luke Hider
luke.hider@warnersgroup.co.uk
Publisher
Rob McDonnell
robm@warnersgroup.co.uk
Subscriptions
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Subscription Administration
Practical Wireless Subscriptions,
Warners Group Publications plc
The Maltings, West Street
Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH
Tel: 01778 395 161
subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk
Components for PW projects
In general, all components used in constructing
PW
projects are available from a variety of
component suppliers. Where special, or difficult
to obtain, components are specified a supplier will
be quoted in the article.
Photocopies & Back Issues
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or review that you missed first time around, we
can still help. If we don’t have the actual issue
we can always supply a photocopy or PDF file of
the article.
Technical Help
We regret that due to Editorial timescales, replies
to technical queries cannot be given over the
telephone. Any technical queries are unlikely to
receive immediate attention so, if you require
help with problems relating to topics covered in
PW, please either contact the author of the article
directly or write or send an email to the Editor and
we’ll do our best to reply as soon as we can.
10
Review – MFJ-1234 RigPi
Don G3XTT
takes a look at an intriguing accessory
from MFJ.
13
The
QRPGuys
DSB Digital
Transceiver Kit
Martin Peters G4EFE
builds a QRP transceiver for the
data modes.
18
The Practical Wireless 144MHz
QRP ‘Fun’ Contest
Colin Redwood G6MXL
introduces the ‘Fun’ version
of our 144MHz contest, which takes place on Sunday
June 14th 2020 in unusual circumstances.
10
38
British Science Week 2020
Steve Hartley G0FUW
reports on activities around
British Science Week.
20
Valve & Vintage
Bernard Nock G4BXD
describes a recent acquisition
to the Military Wireless Museum.
42
Carrying on the G3RJV way
Lee Aldridge G4EJB
revisits the W3EDP antenna and
looks at a Franklin oscillator circuit.
24
The Morse Mode
Roger Cooke G3LDI
tells the story of the iconic
Morsum Magnificat.
44
My First Steps with Satellites
Daimon Tilley G4USI
describes his journey into satel-
lite operation.
26
World of VHF
Tim Kirby GW4VXE
has news of some very exciting
contacts, especially on the 432MHz band.
48
Book Review
Daimon Tilley G4USI
recommends a very handy
starter book on the topic of working through the
amateur satellites.
32
Base-Loaded Verticals for
the Low Bands
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX
describes how to base-
load a wire vertical for the 160, 80 or 40m bands.
50
Data Modes
Mike Richards G4WNC
has an update on his QO-100
installation before moving on to a 0dBm calibrator
and more on the iGate node.
53
Radio Bookstore
Your one-stop shop for hobby-related titles, biogra-
phies, reference titles, historical accounts, technical
advice and successful building projects.
54
What Next
Colin Redwood G6MXL
looks at ways radio amateurs
can productively use the period of isolation resulting
from the Coronavirus pandemic.
57
HF Highlights
26
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX
reports that while
DXpeditions have been in short supply, the HF bands
have nevertheless been buzzing.
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4
PRACTICAL WIRELESS
June 2020
Keylines
ife continues under Coronavirus
restrictions and it seems that
there really has been an upsurge
of interest in the hobby, with
existing amateurs dusting off elderly
transceivers or buying new ones, and
new entrants coming in to the hobby.
Somewhat unrelated, insofar as she was
going to do it anyway, but my nine-year
old granddaughter has been studying for
her Foundation exam during this period
of lockdown. I had originally intended to
sit down with her and work through the
course but that hasn’t been possible, in
physical terms. However, she signed up
for the Essex Ham online learning and
I have been able to follow it with her by
using Zoom – a remarkable ‘app’, which
allows us to see each other and for her
to share her desktop with me. The exam
(again, to be taken online during lock-
down) is still some way off because de-
mand for taking them is so high at the
moment! Still, at least that gives her plen-
ty of time for revision.Incidentally, if any
of you are, like her, studying for one of the
amateur radio exams, take a look at this
month’s article on exam preparation.And,
for things to do during the Pandemic,
check out
Colin Redwood G6MXL’s
What Next
column.
L
60
60
Notes from a Small Station
Joe Chester MW1MWD
explains how, even with a
modest station, some great QSOs are possible.
62
In the Shop
Harry Leeming G3LLL
has another cornucopia of
hints, tips and anecdotes.
/NHS has apparently resulted in great
confusion among a number of overseas
stations, for whom the letters are totally
meaningless. You can’t win!
The PW 144MHz Contest
We have had a number of enquiries as
to how we will be playing this year’s
PW
144MHz Contest. We didn’t want to can-
cel but the normal running, encouraging
portable operations, just wasn’t feasible.
However, the contest will go ahead as a
Fixed Station fun event – check out the
rules in this month’s issue.
64
Preparing for Your Exam
Tim Hier G5TM,
a teacher, recommends how best to
prepare for your amateur radio exams.
66
Kits & Modules
Geoff Theasby G8BMI
suggests building a copy of an
original antenna impedance meter.
Rallies
Not surprisingly, most rallies are be-
ing cancelled at the moment. The lat-
est we have been notified of are the
York Radio Rally (August 9th) and the
Wiltshire Radio Rally & Boot Sale (July
26th). So, we have simply omitted the
Rallies
page this month because it had
very much become a work of fiction.
Such a pity but there are more important
issues at stake.
68
Readers’ Letters
Topics this month include books, Bruneval, the Roger
Bip, GB2SM and more.
This Month’s Issue
Also, this month, I am pleased to have
an article on base-loaded vertical anten-
nas from
Steve PJ4DX.
This ties in nicely
with my introductory article last month.
We have a couple of very different
product reviews that I trust you will
find interesting.
And
Daimon Tilley G4USI
takes
his first steps with satellites may-
be something new to try while we have
time on our hands.
There are all your usual columns, of
course, and I seem to have received a lot
of
Letters
recently, some of which have
had to be held over until next month.
However, your feedback is always appre-
ciated and I will run as many
Letters
as I
can each month.
Signing /NHS
Apropos of which, it’s interesting that
Ofcom are allowing UK amateurs to ap-
pend /NHS to their callsigns. This is un-
precedented. Unlike some countries,
which seem to allow pretty much any-
thing, the UK regulator has never author-
ised the use of suffixes other than the
usual /P, /A, /M and /MM. While ama-
teurs elsewhere happily add /QRP (low
power), /LH (lighthouse) and the like,
anything of the sort has been frowned
on here in the UK. That said, the use of
64
Don Field
Editor,
Practical Wireless Magazine
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June 2020
PRACTICAL WIRELESS
5

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