1. UKMicrowaves@groups.io
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GM3WOJ personal 3 cm Beacon.

Brian Flynn GM8BJF
 

Chris Tran's 10 G personal Beacon GM3WOJ in IO77WS located 20 miles north of Inverness is back on the air. It is on 10368.400 MHz. I have simplified the hardware and it now back to being a "steam" beacon, ie it only send its callsign and QRA in FSK CW and carrier. Further details are on my website at


In case it is not audible south of the border ;-) you can listen to a live audio stream of the signal as received in IO85JV in Edinburgh courtesy of the wonders on the internet.


Click on the M3U button and the that should start you chosen media player.

73s
Brian GM8BJF
Jim Wakenell, G8UGL SK

Paul G8AQA
 

As you will know Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

The funeral will be at 11:30 Thursday 6th September at Telford Crematorium, Redhill, Telford TF2 9NJ

73 Paul G8AQA
Re: G8UGL - SK

SAM JEWELL
 

So sorry to hear this news.

Sam, G4DDK





On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, 10:52 am, Martyn Vincent ukv@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:

 

Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

Even though some of us knew what was inevitable several weeks ago, it still comes as a great shock when someone you've known for 40 years plus is struck down with cancer and dies.
Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford &DARS) from portable sites around the country, notably the Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities will never be quite the same again.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Hazel and extended family and associates in the UK and Cyprus.

73 Martyn G3UKV
Re: G8UGL - SK

Ken Linney
 

Hello Martyn

So so sad to hear of Jim's passing. I remember him from way back when the Radio Rally was in Telford Town centre.
Such a lovely guy.

Sincere condolences to his family

Ken. G3UDA
--------------------------------------------

On Tue, 21/8/18, Chris Bartram chris@chris-bartram.co.uk [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] G8UGL - SK
To: ukmicrowaves@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, 21 August, 2018, 10:19


 












Hello Martyn,
I'm very sorry to hear of Jim's passing.
Although I only met him
a few times in person, he was one of the recognisable
voices of
'ZME for decades, and a thoroughly good guy!


I very much hope that the rumours of a GB3UGL 10GHz
beacon in
Shropshire come to fruition. As with GB3KBQ, and
indeed, GB3RPE,
the revival of which is imminent, the reuse of the
callsigns of SK
radioamateurs can be a memorial to significant
contributions to
our hobby.
Please pass my condolences on appropriately.
73
Chris
G4DGU




On 21/08/18 09:52,
Martyn Vincent
ukv@ukv.me.uk
[ukmicrowaves] wrote:


 



Jim
Wakenell, G8UGL
passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon
in the
Severn Hospice, Telford.


Even
though some of us
knew what was inevitable several weeks ago,
it still
comes as a great shock when someone
you've known for 40
years plus is struck down with cancer and
dies.

Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford
&DARS)
from portable sites around the country,
notably the
Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities
will never
be quite the same again.



Our thoughts and condolences go out to his
wife Hazel
and extended family and associates in the UK
and Cyprus.



73 Martyn G3UKV




















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The original Site database

Andy G4JNT
 

I've preparing a talk on "Sites, Heights and Locators" for Crawley RT  and would like to credit whoever first put together the Microwave Site Database that I used to generate the original Sites.dat file.

I got it in BBC Basic format from Julian G3YGF round about 1990/91  era and know that Ted G4ELM and Peter G3PHO and probably barry G8AGN were contributors.  But who else?

It also went though a number of additions round about 2006 when Mike G0MJW was doing his 'Profile' software - although many of the additions then do appear to have been around the Didcot area :-)
Re: G8UGL - SK

G3PHO - Peter
 

Very sad news indeed. I knew Jim through our many contacts on the higher Microwave bands, from the 10GHz wideband days to the recent past. I also remember working him on 20m when he was visiting Cyprus. He will be greatly missed by all of us but most of all by his pals at the Telford Club where he was a vital part of their microwave contesting and expedition team.

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Peter, G3PHO


On 21 Aug 2018, at 09:52, Martyn Vincent ukv@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:

 

Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

Even though some of us knew what was inevitable several weeks ago, it still comes as a great shock when someone you've known for 40 years plus is struck down with cancer and dies.
Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford &DARS) from portable sites around the country, notably the Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities will never be quite the same again.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Hazel and extended family and associates in the UK and Cyprus.

73 Martyn G3UKV

Re: G8UGL - SK

John Quarmby
 

Very sorry to hear that, sincere condolences to all his family and friends. It was often Jim behind the mike at G3ZME/P when I worked them and it was good to make his acquaintance at the Martlesham Microwave Round Table too. Vale Jim.

73

John G3XDY


On 21/08/2018 08:52, Martyn Vincent ukv@... [ukmicrowaves] wrote:

Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

Even though some of us knew what was inevitable several weeks ago, it still comes as a great shock when someone you've known for 40 years plus is struck down with cancer and dies.
Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford &DARS) from portable sites around the country, notably the Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities will never be quite the same again.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Hazel and extended family and associates in the UK and Cyprus.

73 Martyn G3UKV


Virus-free. www.avast.com

Re: G8UGL - SK

Chris Bartram <chris@...>
 

Hello Martyn,

I'm very sorry to hear of Jim's passing. Although I only met him a few times in person, he was one of the recognisable voices of 'ZME for decades, and a thoroughly good guy!

I very much hope that the rumours of a GB3UGL 10GHz beacon in Shropshire come to fruition. As with GB3KBQ, and indeed, GB3RPE, the revival of which is imminent, the reuse of the callsigns of SK radioamateurs can be a memorial to significant contributions to our hobby.

Please pass my condolences on appropriately.

73

Chris

G4DGU


On 21/08/18 09:52, Martyn Vincent ukv@... [ukmicrowaves] wrote:
 

Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

Even though some of us knew what was inevitable several weeks ago, it still comes as a great shock when someone you've known for 40 years plus is struck down with cancer and dies.
Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford &DARS) from portable sites around the country, notably the Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities will never be quite the same again.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Hazel and extended family and associates in the UK and Cyprus.

73 Martyn G3UKV

G8UGL - SK

Martyn G3UKV
 

Jim Wakenell, G8UGL passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hospice, Telford.

Even though some of us knew what was inevitable several weeks ago, it still comes as a great shock when someone you've known for 40 years plus is struck down with cancer and dies.
Jim was an integral part of G3ZME/P (Telford &DARS) from portable sites around the country, notably the Brown Clee in Shropshire. Our /P activities will never be quite the same again.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Hazel and extended family and associates in the UK and Cyprus.

73 Martyn G3UKV

Re: Double Balanced Mixer

Ethan Waldo
 

After some more research and finding MACOM’s AG314 it looks like I can answer my own questions.  It is useful to have both single and anti-parallel diodes depending on what kind of mixer or frequency multiplier I want to build.  I might be better off with microstrip fingers and stubs for balun construction than coils and as I suspected they should be matched to the diodes.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: ukmicrowaves@... on behalf of Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2018 1:07:27 PM
To: ukmicrowaves@...
Subject: [ukmicrowaves] Double Balanced Mixer
 
 

I’ve been looking at building my own double balanced mixer using Schottky diodes.  I’m considering the MA4E1318 or MA4E1317 since the MA4E1310 seems to only be available through special order.  My interpretation is the MA4E1318 will be better for isolation between the ports at the expense of double the capacitance which could reduce the maximum frequency limit.  The MA4E1318 is still listed as good to 80 GHz but is that a misnomer and I would be better off with the MA4E1317?  I’ll have to buy them in bulk which isn’t cheap so I’d rather pick the best one to start.

 

I’m also considering experimenting with the idea of doing a PCB coil sandwich for the balun transformers and failback to ferrite rods.  I don’t see any online calculators for balanced mixers.  Should I be determining the number of turns on the baluns to match 50 Ohms to the 4 Ohms of the diodes?  Or is there some other turns factor I should be paying attention to besides just arbitrarily picking a 4:1?

 

It is also my understanding that a PCB coil tends to have more capacitance relative to trace distance which causes the inductor to act like a low-pass filter network.  Assuming I can calculate the right values for capacitance and inductance that don’t filter out my target frequency range, are there any other factors I should be taking in to account that I may not be thinking of?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Re: Double Balanced Mixer

Ethan Waldo
 

I guess I should mention that the 30 GHz is for low-power experiments terminating to a dummy load.  1cm is an easy number and size to measure out on microstrip.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: ukmicrowaves@... on behalf of Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2018 1:21:18 PM
To: ukmicrowaves@...
Subject: RE: [ukmicrowaves] Double Balanced Mixer
 
 

I’m going to start with a modest 30 GHz but would like to scale down to 60’s & 70’s GHz eventually.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: ukmicrowaves@... on behalf of Andy Talbot andy..g4jnt@... [ukmicrowaves]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2018 1:19:42 PM
To: Ukmicrowaves (ukmicrowaves@...)
Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] Double Balanced Mixer
 
 

What frequency band ?



On 19 August 2018 at 18:07, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:
 

I’ve been looking at building my own double balanced mixer using Schottky diodes.  I’m considering the MA4E1318 or MA4E1317 since the MA4E1310 seems to only be available through special order.  My interpretation is the MA4E1318 will be better for isolation between the ports at the expense of double the capacitance which could reduce the maximum frequency limit.  The MA4E1318 is still listed as good to 80 GHz but is that a misnomer and I would be better off with the MA4E1317?  I’ll have to buy them in bulk which isn’t cheap so I’d rather pick the best one to start.

 

I’m also considering experimenting with the idea of doing a PCB coil sandwich for the balun transformers and failback to ferrite rods.  I don’t see any online calculators for balanced mixers.  Should I be determining the number of turns on the baluns to match 50 Ohms to the 4 Ohms of the diodes?  Or is there some other turns factor I should be paying attention to besides just arbitrarily picking a 4:1?

 

It is also my understanding that a PCB coil tends to have more capacitance relative to trace distance which causes the inductor to act like a low-pass filter network.  Assuming I can calculate the right values for capacitance and inductance that don’t filter out my target frequency range, are there any other factors I should be taking in to account that I may not be thinking of?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Re: Double Balanced Mixer

Ethan Waldo
 

I’m going to start with a modest 30 GHz but would like to scale down to 60’s & 70’s GHz eventually.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: ukmicrowaves@... on behalf of Andy Talbot andy.g4jnt@... [ukmicrowaves]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2018 1:19:42 PM
To: Ukmicrowaves (ukmicrowaves@...)
Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] Double Balanced Mixer
 
 

What frequency band ?



On 19 August 2018 at 18:07, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:
 

I’ve been looking at building my own double balanced mixer using Schottky diodes.  I’m considering the MA4E1318 or MA4E1317 since the MA4E1310 seems to only be available through special order.  My interpretation is the MA4E1318 will be better for isolation between the ports at the expense of double the capacitance which could reduce the maximum frequency limit.  The MA4E1318 is still listed as good to 80 GHz but is that a misnomer and I would be better off with the MA4E1317?  I’ll have to buy them in bulk which isn’t cheap so I’d rather pick the best one to start.

 

I’m also considering experimenting with the idea of doing a PCB coil sandwich for the balun transformers and failback to ferrite rods.  I don’t see any online calculators for balanced mixers.  Should I be determining the number of turns on the baluns to match 50 Ohms to the 4 Ohms of the diodes?  Or is there some other turns factor I should be paying attention to besides just arbitrarily picking a 4:1?

 

It is also my understanding that a PCB coil tends to have more capacitance relative to trace distance which causes the inductor to act like a low-pass filter network.  Assuming I can calculate the right values for capacitance and inductance that don’t filter out my target frequency range, are there any other factors I should be taking in to account that I may not be thinking of?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Re: Double Balanced Mixer

Andy G4JNT
 

What frequency band ?



On 19 August 2018 at 18:07, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:
 

I’ve been looking at building my own double balanced mixer using Schottky diodes.  I’m considering the MA4E1318 or MA4E1317 since the MA4E1310 seems to only be available through special order.  My interpretation is the MA4E1318 will be better for isolation between the ports at the expense of double the capacitance which could reduce the maximum frequency limit.  The MA4E1318 is still listed as good to 80 GHz but is that a misnomer and I would be better off with the MA4E1317?  I’ll have to buy them in bulk which isn’t cheap so I’d rather pick the best one to start.

 

I’m also considering experimenting with the idea of doing a PCB coil sandwich for the balun transformers and failback to ferrite rods.  I don’t see any online calculators for balanced mixers.  Should I be determining the number of turns on the baluns to match 50 Ohms to the 4 Ohms of the diodes?  Or is there some other turns factor I should be paying attention to besides just arbitrarily picking a 4:1?

 

It is also my understanding that a PCB coil tends to have more capacitance relative to trace distance which causes the inductor to act like a low-pass filter network.  Assuming I can calculate the right values for capacitance and inductance that don’t filter out my target frequency range, are there any other factors I should be taking in to account that I may not be thinking of?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Double Balanced Mixer

Ethan Waldo
 

I’ve been looking at building my own double balanced mixer using Schottky diodes.  I’m considering the MA4E1318 or MA4E1317 since the MA4E1310 seems to only be available through special order.  My interpretation is the MA4E1318 will be better for isolation between the ports at the expense of double the capacitance which could reduce the maximum frequency limit.  The MA4E1318 is still listed as good to 80 GHz but is that a misnomer and I would be better off with the MA4E1317?  I’ll have to buy them in bulk which isn’t cheap so I’d rather pick the best one to start.

 

I’m also considering experimenting with the idea of doing a PCB coil sandwich for the balun transformers and failback to ferrite rods.  I don’t see any online calculators for balanced mixers.  Should I be determining the number of turns on the baluns to match 50 Ohms to the 4 Ohms of the diodes?  Or is there some other turns factor I should be paying attention to besides just arbitrarily picking a 4:1?

 

It is also my understanding that a PCB coil tends to have more capacitance relative to trace distance which causes the inductor to act like a low-pass filter network.  Assuming I can calculate the right values for capacitance and inductance that don’t filter out my target frequency range, are there any other factors I should be taking in to account that I may not be thinking of?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Re: Newcomer introduction

Ethan Waldo
 

That's the first I've heard of that one.  I'll definitely have to try and fit that in to my schedule.  Microwave and test equipment is getting rarer and rarer at hamfests thanks to eBay.  Thanks Kent!


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: "KENT BRITAIN WA5VJB@... [ukmicrowaves]"
Date: 8/18/18 4:04 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: ukmicrowaves@...
Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] Newcomer introduction

 

Here Here ....... WA5VJB/G8EMY

I have been to all the UKuG Round Tables except one.
You have a shorter flght than I do from Texas.
Any chance you might be attending the US version?
Microwave Update    In Dayton Ohio this time.



Cheers  G8EMY/W5


From: "Steve - Home Steve-Krull@... [ukmicrowaves]"
To: ukmicrowaves@...
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2018 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] Newcomer introduction

 
Ethan,

As another US member of the group, welcome! I hope we can have an eyeball QSO one day, and if you can ever make it over to England for one of the many microwave roundtables I’m sure you will be made welcome as I was and will want to return as often as possible!

73,

Steve
WB0DBS



On Aug 18, 2018, at 8:44 PM, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:

 
Hello UK Microwaves.  I’d like to introduce myself.  I am Ethan KF5UFH from the Washington DC, USA area.  I have been aspiring to expand in to sub-cm frequencies for several years now for a myriad of reasons.  Since this is not my only hobby, building my RF lab has been a slow but purposeful process.  Earlier this week I put the finishing touches on my modest setup and am ready to start building some hardware now that I can actually measure and validate it.
 
My journey started with a cheap and lucky find at a hamfest of a 141a with a plethora of modules including the 8555a from a retired FCC lab engineer who kept it all in great condition.  I quickly and strategically complimented it with the 11517a and 3 waveguides for 12-40GHz even though I had no way to validate it.  Fast forward a couple of years later and I’d accumulated a 5347a counter, a 437b with a few functioning sensors, 8445b preselector, Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO with external distribution network, LimeSDR, and a cheap Chinese ADF5355-based synthesizer, but still had no reliable reference above 12GHz.
 
After recently purchasing a few dud 8690b/a sweepers, I was graciously offered a functioning 8690B from a reliable source at a great price even after shipping.  I kept the duds since I had also purchased them for their included 8695a, 8696a, and rare 8697a plugins.  I am happy to say none of the plugins were duds nor the 11517a and I can now successfully measure up to 40GHz which will be useful for directly validating 30’s GHz LOs.  My next long-term step is to enhance with a higher order subharmonic mixer to expand foolishly in to the 60GHz, 70GHz and 110Ghz realm.
 
I hope my story wasn’t too long-winded for most of you.  I am amazed and awed by the accomplishments of this group and hope to count myself legitimately as a peer some day.
 
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
 
Re: Newcomer introduction

KENT BRITAIN
 

Here Here ...... WA5VJB/G8EMY

I have been to all the UKuG Round Tables except one.
You have a shorter flght than I do from Texas.
Any chance you might be attending the US version?
Microwave Update    In Dayton Ohio this time.



Cheers  G8EMY/W5


From: "Steve - Home Steve-Krull@... [ukmicrowaves]"
To: ukmicrowaves@...
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2018 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ukmicrowaves] Newcomer introduction

 
Ethan,

As another US member of the group, welcome! I hope we can have an eyeball QSO one day, and if you can ever make it over to England for one of the many microwave roundtables I’m sure you will be made welcome as I was and will want to return as often as possible!

73,

Steve
WB0DBS



On Aug 18, 2018, at 8:44 PM, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:

 
Hello UK Microwaves.  I’d like to introduce myself.  I am Ethan KF5UFH from the Washington DC, USA area.  I have been aspiring to expand in to sub-cm frequencies for several years now for a myriad of reasons.  Since this is not my only hobby, building my RF lab has been a slow but purposeful process.  Earlier this week I put the finishing touches on my modest setup and am ready to start building some hardware now that I can actually measure and validate it.
 
My journey started with a cheap and lucky find at a hamfest of a 141a with a plethora of modules including the 8555a from a retired FCC lab engineer who kept it all in great condition.  I quickly and strategically complimented it with the 11517a and 3 waveguides for 12-40GHz even though I had no way to validate it.  Fast forward a couple of years later and I’d accumulated a 5347a counter, a 437b with a few functioning sensors, 8445b preselector, Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO with external distribution network, LimeSDR, and a cheap Chinese ADF5355-based synthesizer, but still had no reliable reference above 12GHz.
 
After recently purchasing a few dud 8690b/a sweepers, I was graciously offered a functioning 8690B from a reliable source at a great price even after shipping.  I kept the duds since I had also purchased them for their included 8695a, 8696a, and rare 8697a plugins.  I am happy to say none of the plugins were duds nor the 11517a and I can now successfully measure up to 40GHz which will be useful for directly validating 30’s GHz LOs.  My next long-term step is to enhance with a higher order subharmonic mixer to expand foolishly in to the 60GHz, 70GHz and 110Ghz realm.
 
I hope my story wasn’t too long-winded for most of you.  I am amazed and awed by the accomplishments of this group and hope to count myself legitimately as a peer some day.
 
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
 
Re: Newcomer introduction

Steve - WB0DBS
 

Ethan,

As another US member of the group, welcome! I hope we can have an eyeball QSO one day, and if you can ever make it over to England for one of the many microwave roundtables I’m sure you will be made welcome as I was and will want to return as often as possible!

73,

Steve
WB0DBS



On Aug 18, 2018, at 8:44 PM, Ethan Waldo ewaldo@... [ukmicrowaves] <ukmicrowaves@...> wrote:

 

Hello UK Microwaves.  I’d like to introduce myself.  I am Ethan KF5UFH from the Washington DC, USA area.  I have been aspiring to expand in to sub-cm frequencies for several years now for a myriad of reasons.  Since this is not my only hobby, building my RF lab has been a slow but purposeful process.  Earlier this week I put the finishing touches on my modest setup and am ready to start building some hardware now that I can actually measure and validate it.

 

My journey started with a cheap and lucky find at a hamfest of a 141a with a plethora of modules including the 8555a from a retired FCC lab engineer who kept it all in great condition.  I quickly and strategically complimented it with the 11517a and 3 waveguides for 12-40GHz even though I had no way to validate it.  Fast forward a couple of years later and I’d accumulated a 5347a counter, a 437b with a few functioning sensors, 8445b preselector, Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO with external distribution network, LimeSDR, and a cheap Chinese ADF5355-based synthesizer, but still had no reliable reference above 12GHz.

 

After recently purchasing a few dud 8690b/a sweepers, I was graciously offered a functioning 8690B from a reliable source at a great price even after shipping.  I kept the duds since I had also purchased them for their included 8695a, 8696a, and rare 8697a plugins.  I am happy to say none of the plugins were duds nor the 11517a and I can now successfully measure up to 40GHz which will be useful for directly validating 30’s GHz LOs.  My next long-term step is to enhance with a higher order subharmonic mixer to expand foolishly in to the 60GHz, 70GHz and 110Ghz realm.

 

I hope my story wasn’t too long-winded for most of you.  I am amazed and awed by the accomplishments of this group and hope to count myself legitimately as a peer some day.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Newcomer introduction

Ethan Waldo
 

Hello UK Microwaves.  I’d like to introduce myself.  I am Ethan KF5UFH from the Washington DC, USA area.  I have been aspiring to expand in to sub-cm frequencies for several years now for a myriad of reasons.  Since this is not my only hobby, building my RF lab has been a slow but purposeful process.  Earlier this week I put the finishing touches on my modest setup and am ready to start building some hardware now that I can actually measure and validate it.

 

My journey started with a cheap and lucky find at a hamfest of a 141a with a plethora of modules including the 8555a from a retired FCC lab engineer who kept it all in great condition.  I quickly and strategically complimented it with the 11517a and 3 waveguides for 12-40GHz even though I had no way to validate it.  Fast forward a couple of years later and I’d accumulated a 5347a counter, a 437b with a few functioning sensors, 8445b preselector, Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO with external distribution network, LimeSDR, and a cheap Chinese ADF5355-based synthesizer, but still had no reliable reference above 12GHz.

 

After recently purchasing a few dud 8690b/a sweepers, I was graciously offered a functioning 8690B from a reliable source at a great price even after shipping.  I kept the duds since I had also purchased them for their included 8695a, 8696a, and rare 8697a plugins.  I am happy to say none of the plugins were duds nor the 11517a and I can now successfully measure up to 40GHz which will be useful for directly validating 30’s GHz LOs.  My next long-term step is to enhance with a higher order subharmonic mixer to expand foolishly in to the 60GHz, 70GHz and 110Ghz realm.

 

I hope my story wasn’t too long-winded for most of you.  I am amazed and awed by the accomplishments of this group and hope to count myself legitimately as a peer some day.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 
Activity List for the UK Microwave Group 5.7GHz and 10GHz contests 26th August

John Quarmby
 

The next sessions of the UKuG 5.7GHz and 10GHz contests take place next Sunday 26th August from 0600-1800z (0700-1900 BST), you can operate for a maximum of 8 hours during this period. The French have an all band microwave contest that coincides with our contests up to 1300z.

Full rules are here:
http://www.microwavers.org/files/2018-mwrules.pdf

As usual I will send out an activity list so please send details of planned activity, the preferred format is as below:

Callsign: G3XDY
Locator: JO02OB
Bands: 5.7GHz 15W 60cm dish
             10GHz 10W 60cm dish
Talkback: ON4KST, 144.390MHz, Zello SHF Chat
Times: Various throughout

I will send out an activity list late on Saturday 25th.

73

John G3XDY
Re: 5GHz FPV wbfm from a narrowband rig?

Neil Smith G4DBN
 

Just to expand, I may need to build a special-purpose WBFM exciter, or modulate the LO to do this unless I can work out how to how to hack up my Elad SDR to send WBFM on transmit (it seems to do nbfm on tx when set to wbfm)
Neil G4DBN


---In ukmicrowaves@..., <neil@...> wrote :

I'm looking at how best to get a 5.6GHz narrowband transverter at the
masthead to work WBFM to the video modules.  Is the FPV modulation just
plain wbfm with pre-emph, or is it something fancy?  My SDR IF radio can
do wbfm receive, and I can control the synth LO to give me the necessary
frequency agility to get the transverter on to the right frequency.

I can easily generate a wbfm IF transmit signal.

I'm trying to avoid having to run separate kit at the masthead to work
folks with the FPV modules.

Neil G4DBN
21481 - 21500 of 66924