CentSDR

Cent SDR!!!

My interest in SDRs take me to any site matches with SDR key word :)
recently I came across a post in FaceBook page of ( Puiu Alexandru ) yo2ldk.

The article referred to in his post is in Japanese language. Though Google translate it to a comprehensible state, but if it was in English then it would have been better. Any ways the look in the picture is nice and very cute!



Though it is a receiver only and priced around $99+6(shipping) as per yo2ldk, in my view it would be a good addition to SWLs and HAMs' shack.

Specification:

• Frequency: 0.1 to 70 MHz
• Display: 320 x 240 pixels
• Supported modes: CW, LSB, USB, AM, WFM (Stereo)
• Sampling frequency: 48 kHz, 192 kHz
• USB interface: CDC (serial)
• Power supply: USB 5 V 200 mA

Thoughts:

1. WFM bellow 86Mhz in my part that is India is not much useful. So it is desired up to 110MHz. But for HAM use if it can cover up to 150MHz then that will be an asset for every HAM on the moov and companion for every SWL.
2. Should have( I am not sure it has) some mechanism to send raw data to PC for better DSP using GQRX or SDR#
3. If it can be complemented with any add-on board for TX capability then it would be a great.

Thanks
de VU3VFU
ASHOK.

A 30 years Dream

Today I got my HAM license. My call sign is VU3VFU( Viktor Uniform number 3 Viktor Foxtrot Uniform).

It was 1986 june. My Matric Exam(10th Board exam) was over. So no study pressure no mathematics no algebra no geometry no trigonometry... Initially it was enjoying but after 2 weeks it was horribly boring. While I was roaming in the market I saw EFY(Electronics For You). Got tempted and bought it. Those days it was costing Rs.5/- yes Five Rupees. I found it interesting but somany topics are over my head ( You know What I mean Hi Hi Hi).
In that issue they have published about HAM radio. when I read it I was thrilled. Can I really keep a Transmitter at home??? intrigued me.

I read that article repeatedly and convinced yes it is possible to have transmitters at home. Next is gathering information. Those days there were no internet, no mobile phone nothing. So ultimate part is going to electronics department and asking them. But I never find any answer from them.

Fortunately there was a Marine Radio Communication training institute in my college (Ravenshaw college).I  approached the chief instructor Mr.Choudhury. He gave me a good and convincing answer. I collected monitoring station's address in Gopalpur,Sarkarpul, Chabis praganas,WB. Wrote mail but they never gave inspiring or detailed procedure. Next my research found "ABC of Amateur Radio". I read that from begin to end.

Then time flew by and I joined Engineering college(UCE Burla.) in Civil Engineering. My interest gone dormant. But some fine day my younger brother(now K14DDY) informed me there are few hams at Sambalpur. I tried to meet them but unfortunately i could not. Then Course work pressure, then after completion JOB hunt from during 1993... I could not look towards HAM radio.

Then comes 2011. I came back to Odisha and Got to know about VU3PLP( now VU2FRD) called him up and his assurance kindled new hope in me and gradually we formed an association ARSO(Amateur Radio Society Odisha). Arranged Exam and Now we have 18 more HAMs in odisha...

This is my story it may not inpire you or not interest you, but I felt I should share this 30years of wait.
Any ways please share your story and comments.

Thanks 
de VU3VFU.

My Experience with GP-5/SSB

Countycomm's GP-5/SSB is the prime radio for me now. Earlier I used RTL SDR and Kchibo.

Kchibo is not for HAM use. It is suitable for Broadcast(MW/SW/FM) listening. Where as RTL SDR is good for 5MHz to 1.7 GHz. I used it for BC,HAM band in 40m and 2m reception. 20m reception using modified driver under linux was not possible( I don't know Windows performance though).

After I got this GP-5/SSB receiver, my evening time pass is to listen to HAM QSOs on 20m mostly and sometimes on 40m too. This radio is a cute radio as you might have seen from my previous write-up or elsewhere. My friends here are envious about its performance and size.
With this GP-5 SSB I have received stations as far as Australia, Siberia, Srilanka, Oman and my latest reception of Netherlands (PD9Z). So also i have received local (VU) stations from Mangalore,Bangalore, Chennai, Vishaka Pattanam, Kolkata, Berhampore(Murshidabad), Patna, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Ahmedabad, Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Bramhapur and Delhi.

QRP and homebrew stations VU3JOJ from Murshidabad, VU3PLP from Bhubaneswar are my regular favourite.
QRO stations such as VU2DPI, VU2YK and VU2KD are received like broad cast station clarity.

To emphasize the sensitivity of this receiver, i can say I have received a portable mobile HF station(VK6HCF) from VK land.

Power consumption is higher ( As i observed). In the beginning  I used AA alkaline cells made by Panasonic India (Golden colour). Those cells are drained out in 3 to 4 days if I use for 2 hours in the evening and one hour in the morning. To eliminate the battery issue i started using 2100mAh NIMH cells. The same thing happened as I have to recharge the cells every 3 to 4 days. I consulted the manual. There it says "if NIMH cells are used then the set must be set for NIMH cells". I changed the setting to my surprise after even 7 days cells are showing full power and there is no issues.

Bottom line:
Cute small Radio for radio lovers.
 

CountyComm GP-5/SSB receiver.

Yesterday I received a GP-5/SSB receiver from CountyComm with some other goodies as a prize for "Virtual Radio Challenge IV" at Swling.com. After a long time I am receiving a prize.. Hi Hi Hi...

This radio is not for those who listens music on FM bands. It is for the Radio Fans and Radio Enthusiasts. Besides normal AM and FM demodulation it has SSB capability too.

Tuning range 550KHz -1710KHz can be changed to 150KHz-1620KHz
SW tuning is 1711KHz to 29999KHz continuous. This is a bit problem as one has
to rotate the wheel ... But to ease these there is preset BC bands and HAM bands too. Simultaneously there is scanning feature and Manual Memory feature for station surfing. 
FM tuning 76MHz-108MHz or 87MHz-108MHz

FM audio quality is very good
AM audio quality is very good
SW audio is good but noise (though SW bands are noisy except night time)
SSB is good One has to change BFO shift for clarity and lesser noise.

Overall it is a Good to have radio.

ARSO info and my Winning of Virtual radio Challenge IV

Greetings for the Festive Season
Merry Christmas to all.

ARSO:
For the past few months I was busy. During these days some enthusiast HAMs and SWLs of Odisha,India came closer and unanimously decided to meet every Sunday afternoon. I am one of them.

As days passed few veteran HAMs suggested to start an association which will bring all the active inactive HAMs and SWLs Radio enthusiasts together. currently this association has a name "Amateur Radio Society of Odisha (ARSO)".

Recently ARSO Organised ASOL exam on 20th December 2015. Good number of candidates shown interest in appearing the exam. to be precise 21 candidates have filled up the form but 20 candidates could manage to come to the exam venue on specified date and time. out of these 20 candidates 12 candidates appeared for Restricted grade and 8 candidates for General grade.

ARSO has conducted extensive classes for aspirants at ARSO office for exam preparation. ARSO been instrumental for Theory(Technical and Procedure) and also for Morse practice.  I am thankful to ARSO to organize the Exam at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The exam was conducted at OMC Auditorium, bhubaneswar. Examiner Mr. Panja from WPC conducted the Exam with supervision of Mr. Mallik, the Monitoring Officer stationed at Bhubaneswar. Senior HAMs OM Dilip Padhi(VU2DPI), OM Sameer Ranjan Panda (VU2AOR),  OM Priti Ranjan Mekap (VU3UFX), OM Rajesh Kumar(VU3PLP) and OM Gurudutta Panda(VU3GDP) encouraged the aspirants. At the end ARSO member Mr. Pankaj Bag sponsored a grand lunch to all who are present.

In future ARSO has promised to conduct more such events. Thanks ARSO for your effort.

SWLing:
In the mean time I also have participated in a contest organised by Thomas of Swling post. Besides his Nice informative reviews on radio related subjects, he also conducts some interesting challenges. Recently he posted such a challenge, Virtual Radio challenge IV. 
The good news is that I am runner-up in this event and Mehdi's entry was the winner. For details please read the result page.
 

Welcome to my first post

Hello There!!!!
I Thought to post few things here which will be beneficial to others. After all It is everybody's duty to give back something to the society. 

I have 20 years of software development Experience. Throughout this 2 decade long career I used OpenSource platform 99.999% of time. Rest fractional part is spent on old favourite MS-DOS (versions 3,5,6,6.2). I have learnt so many things from OpenSource Projects. So I started few open source projects back in 2007-2012. All my projects are hosted here. 

Besides software I also keep interest in Electronics(Hobby), Photography, Aero modelling and SWL(Radio listening). In this blog time to time I will post my experiments on these topics and few social concerns too. What ever is posted will be purely my personal experience. If any thing which is not my own is presented due credit will be given to the source.

This is all for now, stay tuned for more in future.

Thank you for your patience and visit.