To go along with a talk I’ll be giving about “Making” and Ham Radio at the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club’s monthly meeting, I figured I’d assemble a list of links for various kits, kit vendors, and other interesting ham radio projects that I can simply link to here. It’s possible I may update this or make it a permanent page down the road. This page is VERY link heavy so feel free to click away! Onto the good stuff…
uBitX – 10 watt DIY HF Radio Kit for $129
Link: uBitX – 10 watts, 3-30mhz, CW and SSB, digital tuning, dual VFO (hfsignals.com)
I ordered one some time ago but unfortunately have yet to build it. I really like the idea of most of the “heavy lifting” being done, in terms of a mostly-complete radio you simply “fit” into an enclosure of your choice. With the front-end being arduino based, it’s amazing what people have done in terms of fitting full color touch screens, 3d printed cases, and mods upon mods to this kit. My challenge was to take this and do something -different- with it; rather than just a bland black box on a desk, what do you wish your ham radio could be like? Now do it!
Tons of support for this, including a Groups.io support group, youtube videos, a third-party support site, and more. The company has a few other products including a 40-meter version and an antenna lab in-a-box.
CubeSat Simulator – Build your own (simulated) Ham Radio Satellite
Our friends from AMSAT joined Phil-Mont and others at Philly Maker Faire 2019 last weekend and demonstrated the CubeSat Simulator. Build your own simulated CubeSat satellite, solar powered with telemetry transmitter. Mount this on a turntable to simulate the movement of a real satellite in space, then work on listening to it with a “ground station“.
If this is a bit over your head, perhaps a RaspBerry Pi and a simple piece of wire may be more your speed: CubeSat Simulator Lite
Speaking of RaspBerry Pi and Wire: WSPR on RaspBerry PI
One thing that caught my attention when I was studying for my ham radio license was the ability of using a RaspBerry PI for WSPR mode. All that’s needed is a working RaspBerry Pi and a piece of wire. Seriously! The software generates the appropriate signals on an IO pin, and you simply use a long piece of random wire as an antenna. In the Philly area you can find all of this stuff at MicroCenter (St Davids, PA). Here’s a decent article on how to build a Pi WSPR transmitter: http://pa0rob.vandenhoff.info/article/wspr-tx-raspberry-pi
In addition, there are addon boards to “formally” convert your RaspBerry Pi into a WSPR transmitter that include filters, like this one: https://www.tapr.org/kits_20M-wspr-pi.html
RTL-SDR: Turn any PC or Pi into a <$50 Software Defined Radio Receiver
Speaking of Pis, wouldn’t it be cool if you could CARRY around an SDR in your pocket, to tune in what’s around (and above) you while eating some lunch? The RTL-SDR uses a cheap TV Tuner dongle to turn any laptop or PC into a software-defined radio receiver, including a Raspberry Pi. Take it with you, or put it on the web as a Web-SDR, which may also be a good use for that PC collecting dust in the corner.
If your budget can dig a little deeper, check out the KiwiSDR kit that includes everything you need to build a ready-to-go network SDR receiver based on the BeagleBone board. Perhaps share it on the HAM MESH???
Simple HAM radio fun for the Family: Listening to the International Space Station (ISS)
This isn’t so much of a build or kit, other than perhaps setting up a “rig”, but I wanted to mention this as a possible family-friendly and fun activity – listening to the ISS! All you seriously need is a 2-meter HT (or otherwise portable) radio tuned to 145.800, and a means to record decent quality audio (any modern cell phone, tablet, laptop, or audio recording device will work). See my own article here on Junknet.net about decoding pictures broadcasted directly from the ISS, then visit the ARISS page for more info. (Note: They will be broadcasting SSTV again Oct 9-10, 2019!)
Elenco AM/FM Radio Kit
If you’re looking for something to build with your niece or nephew and spark an interest in radio, Elenco actually has at least two radio kits; a simple “modern” FM-only radio kit using a single IC, and the kit shown above which is the AM/FM radio kit. I prefer the AM/FM kit as it has more parts and better demonstrates how real radios work with variable capacitors and filter circuits. You can find the AM/FM kit on Amazon, Parts Express, and others.
Meshing your HAM
If you like tinkering with computers and networking, you can leverage your ham radio license and WIFI technology to have some ham mesh fun. Basically install some third-party firmware on a supported WIFI device, and join in those to essentially made their own little mini-internet. Phil-Mont’s own Jedi Jim Fisher AJ3DI is our resident MESH addict.
Build an APRS DigiPeater
A digi-wha?? If you’re not aware, APRS is ham-radio’s version of Google maps. See other hams around, and beacon out if you want to be found! Like regular repeaters, APRS “digipeaters” listen for aprs beacons (you), and then re-transmit and share that information. In addition, APRS is especially useful in rural areas where internet and connectivity are hard to come by, so if you own a mountain house in the woods, and you have an extra Baofeng or two laying around, this may be a cool project to set up as a solar-powered device. You can find many articles and videos on building a RaspBerry Pi based digipeater on Google. In addition, YAAC Software (Yet another APRS client” (who was nice enough to join Phil-Mont at their Philly MakerFaire booth) can act as both a client or a digipeater. Lastly check out aprs.fi for an internet view of the local APRS beacons.
More sites, more ideas!
Here are some more sites and resources with lists of projects and ideas for ham radio fun:
Ham Radio Projects on Hackaday.io
“Projects for the Ham Shack” – Arrl.org
NightFire Electronic Kits (Ham Radio kits and others)
FAQ
Q: Radio shack is gone, where to I get parts??
A: Locally, the Philly/Montgomery County area, best bet is MicroCenter, off the St. Davids exit of 476 (blue route) near Villanova. They have a LARGE assortment of components, parts, kits, arduinos, pi’s, tools, test equipment (Rigol scopes and power supplies) and more. Another fact about Microcenter is that their web site has real-time inventory on it; if the web site says they have it, they have it! If you need tools, check out Techni-Tool located right her in Worcester, PA. Although they’re mostly online sales, they will do will-call pickup at their building.
Online, I’ve used Digikey for most of my components, as they are hobby-friendly and will often ship small quantities of parts using postal mail, which is cheaper than an $8 minimum shipping other places charge for a few resistors. Other popular sites include Mouser, Newark (formerly MCM Electronics), Sparkfun, AdaFruit, Ebay, and even Amazon.
In addition to those, obviously local hamfests (Sellersville hamfest coming up October 20th) and the Phil-Mont auction are good* sources of parts.
* Keep in mind some parts, especially capacitors, don’t age well. While you can find people selling them at hamfests and junk shops, I highly recommend ordering new when it comes to capacitors and other passive components.
Q: I can barely solder, and know nothing about electronics, how can I learn?
A: For starters, I host a (often monthly) electronics meetup in the Philly suburbs called Montgomery County Electronics Enthusiasts, where I’ll be glad to show you how to solder. In addition, there are many hacker/maker spaces in the area, like Hive76, Phoenixville Area MakerSpace, NextFab, and others that often host classes on electronics, soldering, building and more.
Q: I see lots of insanely cheap parts on Ebay – are these for real?
A: Well, NO, and YES. Keep in mind there are a LOT of fake parts, components, and even tools and test equipment on Ebay, especially ICs, some of which can even find their way to some of the above commercial vendors. This is unfortunate as sometimes these are very hard to distinguish from the real thing, and you may find yourself frustrated for hours wondering why your project won’t work, only to realize that $20 IC you got for 99 cents shipped from China is really a lego brick with some legs. I’ve had mixed luck; some cheap modules and parts are really useful and decent for the cost, but if it seems too good to be true, it likely is. Check reviews carefully, and if you can help it, utilize our local resources and vendors first.
HAVE FUN AND BE SAFE!!
