Using your SDR
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G8LVZ Len
Hi there I was licenced a long time ago but am contemplating get back into amateur radio after a break of maybe 20 years or more. I now live in a first floor flat in Rottingdean with no prospect of external aerials, although I have a balcony, and stumbled across your club and your Web SDR setup.
I thought I would explore the current level of activity on the various bands using the SDR and have figured out mostly how to work the interface. I am having difficulty clearly resolving voice transmissions and I suspect the passband filter setting is too narrow, but can’t see where to increase it, if that’s possible.
I’ve tried 2M FM and SSB with a 5-element yagi swivelling roughly North-west to North-east on my balcony and an old Yaesu FT230R but never seem to hear anyone – either because of my location or maybe there is very little 2M activity these days. The FT290R has been tested in another location and seems to receive ok. Anyway, that’s why I thought I would explore HF via your SDR.
I’m not yet a member but will join if I can find a set-up that will actually work from my location, ideally HF.
Any help or suggestions very welcome!
Many thanks
Len G8LVZ
Leonard Salem len-salem@...
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Hi Len. Great to hear from you. You have come to the right place, and we'll gladly help and encourage you to get back into the hobby! Now is the most exciting time to be involved in radio ever, especially if you're willing to embrace the many new technologies which sit on top of the traditional layer of radio, and you've obviously taken the first steps in that direction already by using the WebSDR. Firstly, I'll say that you might be very surprised at what you can get done with HF antennas on a balcony these days, or even indoor antennas, but that's for another day I guess. For now, let's get you sorted on the WebSDR. In the grey frequency scale near the top of the screen, you'll see a yellow or green 'hat' shaped thing. This can be positioned left or right along the scale to change Rx frequency, but it also controls the passband. If you position your cursor over it, you can use your mouse wheel to widen or narrow it - or if you're careful, you can click/drag either edge of it to extend it or reduce it. Set your mode first in the Rx box bottom left, and it should give you a sensible default. If you get stuck - maybe you adjust it too narrow and struggle to widen it again (it happens to me sometimes) then you can right-click the waterfall, and then select 'restore passband'. The row of + and - buttons in the Rx box bottom left can be used to clarify signals to within 1 Hz, and I tend to find that the receiver needs to be tuned 10Hz lower than you'd expect to get it sounding on-frequency - but have a play once you're on a good strong signal. There are a range of course and fine tuning buttons there. 2m is relatively dead these days (and the WebSDR is only HF anyway) but we run a net on 2m FM every Sunday at 11:00am on 145.350MHz (right now in fact!) Give us a shout if you get a chance. Hope to speak more with you soon, and I'll post your message onto our group chat. 73's Berni M0XYF MSARS Webmaster. On 23/10/2022 09:16, Leonard Salem
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G8LVZ Len
Hi Berni
Thanks for coming back so quickly and with such a detailed helpful reply. I’ll definitely explore using the SDR further. I think that I am probably flogging the proverbial dead horse trying to get much from 2M – very different from the 1990s when I had a house and a yagi on the end of a scaffold pole and could sometimes work into northern Europe let alone plenty in UK.
I’m intrigued about your comments on HF balcony antennas these days. I have a balcony that’s about 4m x 2m I guess but anything I put on there must be capable of being out of site when not in use so either a wire aerial or if a loop one that I can stand on a table and then put down out of sight behind the 1M high balcony barrier when not using it. Given that, and without asking you for lots of details at this point, which HF bands do you think might be most suitable? I can then check those out for activity with the SDR.
If this starts to go well then I’ll probably join MSARS and come along on a club day/evening for more advice. You are not that far from where I live and I don’t mind driving.
Thanks again
73
Len G8LVZ
Leonard Salem len-salem@...
From: Msars@groups.io <Msars@groups.io>
On Behalf Of M0XYF Berni via groups.io
Sent: 23 October 2022 11:07 To: Msars@groups.io Subject: Re: [Msars] Using your SDR
Hi Len. Great to hear from you. You have come to the right place, and we'll gladly help and encourage you to get back into the hobby! Now is the most exciting time to be involved in radio ever, especially if you're willing to embrace the many new technologies which sit on top of the traditional layer of radio, and you've obviously taken the first steps in that direction already by using the WebSDR. Firstly, I'll say that you might be very surprised at what you can get done with HF antennas on a balcony these days, or even indoor antennas, but that's for another day I guess. For now, let's get you sorted on the WebSDR. In the grey frequency scale near the top of the screen, you'll see a yellow or green 'hat' shaped thing. This can be positioned left or right along the scale to change Rx frequency, but it also controls the passband. If you position your cursor over it, you can use your mouse wheel to widen or narrow it - or if you're careful, you can click/drag either edge of it to extend it or reduce it. Set your mode first in the Rx box bottom left, and it should give you a sensible default. If you get stuck - maybe you adjust it too narrow and struggle to widen it again (it happens to me sometimes) then you can right-click the waterfall, and then select 'restore passband'. The row of + and - buttons in the Rx box bottom left can be used to clarify signals to within 1 Hz, and I tend to find that the receiver needs to be tuned 10Hz lower than you'd expect to get it sounding on-frequency - but have a play once you're on a good strong signal. There are a range of course and fine tuning buttons there. 2m is relatively dead these days (and the WebSDR is only HF anyway) but we run a net on 2m FM every Sunday at 11:00am on 145.350MHz (right now in fact!) Give us a shout if you get a chance. Hope to speak more with you soon, and I'll post your message onto our group chat. 73's Berni M0XYF MSARS Webmaster.
On 23/10/2022 09:16, Leonard Salem wrote:
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