so in the last month.....

I've got my FT747GX back from the Dr, and as 10 & 12m have been bouncing like a puppy, I've been up there a lot. and ironically, I've been tinkering a bit on 80m too as the s9 static has finally eased (at least some of the time) so I've had a few contacts down there too.

so to give an idea how things have progressed in the last month, middle column is LAST month, right column is this month......

80m= 10 = 18
60m= 3  =  3
40m= 36 = 36
30m= 5  = 7
20m= 116 = 116
17m= 53 = 55
15m= 22 = 26
12m= 7 = 44
10m= 27 = 53

total now standing at 126 dxcc entities with 363 slots filled.

New countries recently include:
Puerto Rico 12m  RTTY,
Cape Verde 12m SSB,
Armenia 10m CW,
Uruguay 10m SSB

so yesterday marked a year since I got my licence.

in that time, 3838 QSOs logged on HF
120 DXCCs
285 slots filled, spaced:

80m= 10
60m= 3
40m= 36
30m= 5
20m= 116
17m= 53
15m= 22
12m= 7
10m= 27

I've used a 1/2 sized G5RV and a long wire, attempted and abandoned a windom and a slinky spring dipole.

for HF I've used a FT101B and a FT747GX

I've made a touch key for CW and killed a PC by plugging in a home made datamode interface.

I've also made a 4 way antenna switch from a biscuit tin and a light switch.......

for 2m I've used a baofeng and a tinkered with PMR set to work the local repeater.

36 US states worked (plus DC)

AL AR AZ CT DE FL GA IA IL IN KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MT NC NE NH NJ NY
OH OK PA RI SC TN TX VA VT WI WV WDC HW

Canadian Provinces
NB NS ON PE QC SK NL

I've dallied with digimodes, and now that my FT747GX is sick, I'm back to the FT101B and a straight key for CW.

SO MUCH LEFT TO DO!!!

PSK31 on a budget.

I googled a bit and found that you need an interface to connect the PC to the rig.

so I bought a kit, and built it, and when I connected it to the PC it killed the USB circuit.

Oh Poo

so i then decided to do it the easy way.

a cable from the AF out to the sound card mic socket.

a cable from the speaker out on the soundcard to the mic plug.

a cable from a switch to the ptt socket.

download some free software, tune to the correct frequency, switch to USB and THAT's IT.

after a week,250 or so QSOs  35 DXCCS worked, mainly on 20m but a couple on 17m and one on 40m.

too busy playing with the yaesu 747GX to post here!

so interesting stuff since I got it?

well, activity on all the bands under 60m....including getting the NOV to operate on 60....  only two contacts there so far EI & GI, but it's early!!

I;ve been trying for 30m but nothing there at all......

so, other interesting stuff......

June:

ZB54JKGibraltar
7T1EWD Algeria
7X4ANAlgeria
 EA9EU Cueta
 EX2F Kyrgyzstan
 V44KAI St Kitts and Nevis
 JT5DX Mongolia
 9K2/SP4R Kuwait
K1IMI USA NC
 W1/DL7SI USA
4Z5MU Israel
 TK4LS Corsica
4X1UN Israel
K4DY USA NC

July:

 JW9JKA Svalbard
 K1RM USA CT
K4WMS USA VA
 CO8LY Cuba
 N3NEP USA PA
K2TQC USA NY
 KI1U/VE9 Canada NS
CT3AS Madeira
 KG9NUSA IL
CN8KDMorocco

Converting a HP DSP-600PB server power supply to run as a 12v 47A bench supply.

I've used several ATX supplies for radio use, but my latest aquisition of a Yaesu FT747GX needs over 20A.  more than the 15A  available from the ATX.

someone on the Hamradiodeals forum suggested a server supply, so a little googleing for info, and a glance at ebay got me a HP DSP-600PB for £13 delivered.......

there is no NEED to take the top off other than to remove the locking bar with the red knob shown at the top of this pic.

I used Futaba RC plugs to access the 12 pins.  I COULD have soldered direct, but this was going to be awful fiddly, and I had a box of random Futaba bits......

so far I only want 4 of the 12 pins.

numbering them like this.....

123
456
789
101112


4 & 8 together lower the fan speed. 

6 & 10 together, and connected to the other two switch the whole thing on.

you COULD put a switch on there if you wanted.

I don't want one, so I just twisted those 4 wires together and soldered them

there are other things you can use the other pins for, so I'll keep those available, just not used now. 

connecting to the spades is a little akward so I made some pins by stripping back some insulation.....

then tinning it to make it rigid so I could push it in between the spades and then soldering it in place.

repeat for the other wire, plug it in and she's a go!

1st QSO was with OE1LZA, Laila, who gave me an all clear on audio.  6 more QSOs around Europe mean all is fine and dandy.

thanks due to:

http://www.ultimaterc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174225

and

https://sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/my-projects/HP47A

for the info I used to make this happen.