Back on WSPR, looking towards FT-8 and beyond!

WSPR on 40 has gotten way busy.   I don't hear so much (noise) but
apparently the new antenna (MFJ 40-10 End Fed) is working well even at
its low'ish location.

WSJT-X (for WSPR) has improved.  It's now possible to operate on
multiple bands without the program crashing..   It's nicely organized
so it's possible to work the different bands at different times.  I.E.
10 meters during the day, 30 during greyline and 40 at night. It's not
learning-smart to figure out what bands are open when all by itself
but that will come.

Attached is the list of stations that heard me from one 2 minute
transmission with low power.  Note the BD7MQB call near the end.
That's the first time I remember hearing China - on 40 no less.
10,405 km with an extremely weak -29 signal.

I plan to invest a small ATU in FT8 today - looking towards JS8 (short
messages) and FSQchat in the near future.

Bill, WA7NWP

>>>





2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040098 -29 0 CN87wq 5 KK6PR CN94ik 367 170

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -11 0 CN87wq 5 NN6RF CM87uw 1084 181

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040105 -24 0 CN87wq 5 KD6RF EM22 2834 117

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -24 0 CN87wq 5 K7GXB DM34sn 1666 148

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040068 -8 0 CN87wq 5 SWL-CM98DNCM98dn 1015 178

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040096 -27 0 CN87wq 5 WA5DJJ DM62ph2147 137

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -8 0 CN87wq 5 N6GN/K2 DN70jo1558 114

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040132 -20 0 CN87wq 5 W0AY DN26xo 623 98

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040098 -22 0 CN87wq 5 W6SFH CM88pl 1025 183

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040100 -6 0 CN87wq 5 W6EXT CM87wi 1149 180

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -14 0 CN87wq 5 AI6VN/KH6BL10rx 4274 238

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040101 -24 0 CN87wq 5 JA5NVN PM74ec8170 303

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 +9 0 CN87wq 5 KA7OEI-1DN31uo 1029 127

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040105 +2 0 CN87wq 5 VE6EGN DO23 815 35

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040100 -19 0 CN87wq 5 NI0L DM79mo 1642 117

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -12 0 CN87wq 5 W3SMK CM87xq 1112 180

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -25 0 CN87wq 5 N6GN/K DN70ll1577 114

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -8 0 CN87wq 5 N6KOG CM97gs 1104 177

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040098 -27 0 CN87wq 5 K9AN EN50wc 2826 95

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040098 -27 0 CN87wq 5 AC7IJ CN87vu 20 341

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040099 -10 0 CN87wq 5 KB6C DM04re 1531 167

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040074 -7 0 CN87wq 5 KJ6MKI CM88oi 1039 183

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040101 -19 0 CN87wq 5 W6ZTM DM04 1491 169

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040097 -29 0 CN87wq 5 BD7MQB OL72an10405 310

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040098 -11 0 CN87wq 5 NO1D DM34tn 1669 147

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040092 +6 0 CN87wq 5 KI7SYP DN13 612 138

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040100 -22 0 CN87wq 5 N5SD EM27ph 2508 107

2018-12-21 17:04 WA7NWP 7.040096 -14 0 CN87wq 5 W7REK DM42lk 1936 147

Save Your Life!!!

From a recent Facebook post of mine:

FWIW - IM!HO (In My NOT Humble Opinion) :

• - Everybody, for various reasons, should have their Internet modem and primary home WIFI running on a battery charged with a solar panel.
• Those that are Hams should have at least an HT ready to go. It should be programmed with the local simplex and repeater channels. It should be capable of being charged by the WIFI battery above or standard mobile systems.
• Those that are Hams should have a battery backed APRS (tactical communications) system running.
• Those that aren't Hams - should become Hams. The education is priceless. What you learn may save your life.

Community Announcement Server

I've been all over the place the last month - details to follow....  One common issue in any area or community is - what's happening here and where is it?

APRS would handily do that - but that means a computer is required in addition to the radio.  Maybe someday will have the Android-RF white (grey) box phones - but we don't yet.

So - what not automate community announcements on one frequency.  147.000 comes to mind.   Every repeater, club or DX'er could announce that's up.  With an organized timing scheme it could be totally ad-hock.  Also easy to add an "announcement server" with a rPI0 and Bf VOX radio.  It could have text-to-speech announcements uploaded or do a simple analog audio capture and rebroadcast.

My first announcement "It's good to be home"

73
Bill, WA7NWP

Design of homebuilt TTL PC

Peter F.  I always think about your work ! 😍Is it full in TTL logic ? How is the simulator going ? I dream with that and with relay computers. As I told you my first computer was a 4 bit ttl I made at 12-13 years. With that 74181Alu, I still have my TTL collection from that time(not LS, "real heavyweight TTL" they are terrible power hungry!) . Regrettably the minicomputer with 4x4 rows of leds...was scrapped.

Bill V. My project was similar to yours. I used three 74181's and a chip, I forget which, that tied them together. It was all TTL, mostly open collector as that was easier to wire-or together. I made it 12 bits as that was enough for addressing the 2102 memory chips and giving me lots of options for instructions. Four of the 12 bits in the instruction register went right to the 74181s so I had access to all commands.

I'm sorry now I scrapped the original slit-and-wrap circuit boards but I still have all the TTL IC's somewhere.

I hope to wire-wrap a replica of the original and eventually build a new and improved version with better TTL - like HCT or maybe CMOS.

The emulator is advancing a little every day. It's a wonderful mental exercise working with the emulator and thinking of the tradeoffs between actual hard coded in TTL instructions and other new and enhanced instructions in software. The software is so easy but it won't eventually run in the upcoming computer.

Fwd: Posting to blog from email

Second try - perhaps I didn't save the configuration fast enough earlier.


Yet another way to make all the tools work together. This is a step.
A small step. A small step in what is hopefully the right direction.

Stay tuned...

More on TTL Computer

I'm not the only one with a home built TTL computer.  Some other folks have spent years and done incredible work.  Check out projects like the Gigatron and Magic 1 from the links here

Here's a couple better pictures of the front panel of my silver box TTL computer.

One front panel light (LED) is connected to a 3909 circuit.  That's a special low power blinker that just blinks the light every second or two for over a year.  That's the first thing to get running.

Homebuilt Computer

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away (Montana) I built a computer.   Not plugging in boards but rather building the boards themselves.   No microprocessors - just basic TTL integrated circuits.   I saw the diagram for an old HP computer and thought - if that's all there is, I can do that.

So I did.

It worked - very slowly.

Then I took most of it apart to save the IC's.  (silly silly silly...)

Now that the Force has rewoken and the last Jedi returned - it's time to rebuild the old computer.

There's a lot to this and it's going to take several forms of both hardware and software.  So it's going to take a while.   That's part of the fun.

Here's my computer and I at a computer show of sorts in Bozeman back in 1978...

The SWTP CT-64 terminal and cassette deck are misleading.  The homebuilt TTL computer in the silver box with the rows of lights never did have a serial interface.  That's yet another challenge for the new versions.

Higher Low Speed Easy - 4800 baud APRS

Onward to the future.   I realized yesterday that all the pieces were at hand to start running 4800 baud APRS packet as well as good old 1200 baud.  It simply required a small tweak to an existing configuration of the DIREWOLF software modem.  Thanks to the ease of working with windows audio systems - both the new DIREWOLF modem and the existing UZ7HO (1200 baud) system can run at the same time with the signal source - the 6 pin mini-din data jack on a Kenwood D710A.  The built in TNC on the D710 is running as a 9600 baud digipeater on our UHF packet channel.

Now to advertise it and see if anybody else wants to experiment.

73
Bill, WA7NWP

We'll be back...

2017 ... So much to say..   Not sure yet where to say it.   Perhaps moving all content here to the homegrown content system.  Stay tuned and 73's (t)...

Update 3/28/18 - the homegrown CMS is coming along slowly.  I will eventually move everything there.  In the meantime I'm going to start posting here again just as a place to keep things online.