April 09, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Olympus C-5060 Mode Control

I have an Olympus C-5060 camera. It is a neat little camera because it is a wide-angle unit and has a threaded lens for accepting filters. While it is not a digitial SLR it has many of the feature of my dSLR in smaller form factor. (There are times where I don't want the bulk of my dSLRs, or when a point & shoot is more appropriate, or when one of the kids wants to snap a couple of photos.)

I stopped using a couple of years ago because it started acting weird. Not all of the buttons would function properly. Recently I noticed that if I lifted up on the mode control a little bit it would act normal again.

---Hmmmm... time to Google a bit. As it turns out this is a semi well known problem.

Take a look at:
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/c/c5060-dial.html

The mode control unit is replaceable at a repair shop or better yet you can do it yourself:
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/c/_zip/c5060-dial-repair.pdf

I ended up ordering the part from a camera store in San Diego via eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350238713705

The repair is not too hard. It took about 30 minutes and the instructions in the PDF were spot on. I am excited to be able to use this camera again. It does a pretty good job for a 5 megapixel camera. I have been using it for the pictures on the website recently when I need a shot from the camera stand.

April 08, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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AADE L/C Meter

Tonight I finished up the AADE L/C meter

Under the LCD there is a PIC, a couple of capacitors, and a crystal. The kit takes about an hour to assemble and is pretty simple.

Here is a picture of it on the work bench with measuring a simple open-air inductor.
(I should not be touching it during the measurement... but I needed to get it framed up for the photo.)

So far I am pretty happy with the kit. I have been pondering ordering it for a while but I had a hard time deciding to spend the $100 for it. (Don't ask why... $100 is not a big deal... but I was feeling cheap and thought that I could find something on eBay or at a hamfest for less.... I was wrong.)

http://www.aade.com/lcmeter.htm

73 de NG0R

April 08, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Retro 75 (almost complete)

Wednesday night construction notes...

I finished up the basic construction. The next step is to figure what I need for finishing hardware and a box. Once I have those pieces I can put it in the case and do the tune-up and check out of the rig.

Click on the image if you would like to see a larger version.

73 de NG0R

April 06, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Moon Bounce Day

Mark K6HX is wickedly smart. He seems to write chunks of code for all kinds of things.

http://brainwagon.org/2010/03/25/moon-bounce-day-where-do-i-aim-the-antenna/

So there is a back story here.... The fine folks at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico will be operating moon bounce on 432MHz soon. (I will post more details on this later in this LONG post.)

Mark asked the question that most people with "The Knack" would ask... where will the moon be in the sky from my QTH. Instead of just going to the internet to look up the data he wrote a program to figure it out. It turns out that it is moderately simple to get this work on your PC.

I am running Ubuntu so my instructions will describe how to do this on Linux.

Python is already installed by default.
sudo apt-get install python-setuptools
sudo easy_install pyephem
then copy the code (below) into an editor
change the latitude and longitude
save it as: moon.py
run it: python moon.py

Here is the code:

#!/usr/bin/env python

#Script copied from K6HX
#http://brainwagon.org/2010/03/25/moon-bounce-day-where-do-i-aim-the-antenna/

import sys
import os
import optparse
import ephem
from math import degrees

from datetime import date, datetime

h = ephem.Observer()
m = ephem.Moon()

# K1JT mentioned these as likely times for moonbounce operations
# from the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico...

datetimes = [('2010/4/16 16:45', '2010/4/16 19:30'),
             ('2010/4/17 17:40', '2010/4/17 20:20'),
             ('2010/4/18 18:40', '2010/4/18 21:25')]

# I'm currently in grid EN25ue, which is centered here.

me = ephem.Observer()
me.lat, me.long = ('45.192990', '-94.310570')

moon = ephem.Moon()

print " MOON LOCATION ".center(55, "=")
print ("Observer at %.2f, %.2f" % (degrees(me.lat), degrees(me.long))).center(55, '-')
print

for sd, ed in datetimes:
    sd = ephem.Date(sd)
    ed = ephem.Date(ed)
    me.date = sd
    print "Time (UTC)           Time (Local)            Alt   Az "
    print "--------------------+---------------------+-----------+"
    while me.date <= ed:
        moon.compute(me)
        print "%02d/%02d/%02d %02d:%02d:%02d |" % me.date.tuple(),
        lt = ephem.localtime(me.date)
        print "%02d/%02d/%02d %02d:%02d:%02d |" % (lt.year, lt.month, lt.day, lt.hour, lt.minute, lt.second),
        print '%4.1f %5.1f|' % (degrees(moon.alt), degrees(moon.az))
        me.date = ephem.Date(me.date + 5 * ephem.minute)
    print "--------------------+---------------------+-----------+"
    print

Here is the result:
==================== MOON LOCATION ====================
---------------Observer at 45.19, -94.31---------------

Time (UTC)           Time (Local)            Alt   Az
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+
2010/04/16 16:44:59 | 2010/04/16 11:44:59 | 44.6 104.5|
2010/04/16 16:49:59 | 2010/04/16 11:49:59 | 45.4 105.6|
2010/04/16 16:54:59 | 2010/04/16 11:54:59 | 46.2 106.7|
2010/04/16 16:59:59 | 2010/04/16 11:59:59 | 47.1 107.8|
2010/04/16 17:04:59 | 2010/04/16 12:04:59 | 47.9 108.9|
2010/04/16 17:09:59 | 2010/04/16 12:09:59 | 48.7 110.1|
2010/04/16 17:14:59 | 2010/04/16 12:14:59 | 49.5 111.3|
2010/04/16 17:19:59 | 2010/04/16 12:19:59 | 50.3 112.5|
2010/04/16 17:24:59 | 2010/04/16 12:24:59 | 51.1 113.8|
2010/04/16 17:29:59 | 2010/04/16 12:29:59 | 51.9 115.1|
2010/04/16 17:34:59 | 2010/04/16 12:34:59 | 52.7 116.4|
2010/04/16 17:39:59 | 2010/04/16 12:39:59 | 53.4 117.8|
2010/04/16 17:44:59 | 2010/04/16 12:44:59 | 54.2 119.2|
2010/04/16 17:49:59 | 2010/04/16 12:49:59 | 55.0 120.7|
2010/04/16 17:54:59 | 2010/04/16 12:54:59 | 55.7 122.1|
2010/04/16 17:59:59 | 2010/04/16 12:59:59 | 56.4 123.7|
2010/04/16 18:04:59 | 2010/04/16 13:04:59 | 57.2 125.3|
2010/04/16 18:09:59 | 2010/04/16 13:09:59 | 57.9 126.9|
2010/04/16 18:14:59 | 2010/04/16 13:14:59 | 58.5 128.6|
2010/04/16 18:19:59 | 2010/04/16 13:19:59 | 59.2 130.4|
2010/04/16 18:24:59 | 2010/04/16 13:24:59 | 59.9 132.2|
2010/04/16 18:29:59 | 2010/04/16 13:29:59 | 60.5 134.1|
2010/04/16 18:34:59 | 2010/04/16 13:34:59 | 61.1 136.0|
2010/04/16 18:39:59 | 2010/04/16 13:39:59 | 61.7 138.0|
2010/04/16 18:44:59 | 2010/04/16 13:44:59 | 62.3 140.1|
2010/04/16 18:49:59 | 2010/04/16 13:49:59 | 62.8 142.2|
2010/04/16 18:54:59 | 2010/04/16 13:54:59 | 63.4 144.5|
2010/04/16 18:59:59 | 2010/04/16 13:59:59 | 63.9 146.7|
2010/04/16 19:04:59 | 2010/04/16 14:04:59 | 64.3 149.1|
2010/04/16 19:09:59 | 2010/04/16 14:09:59 | 64.8 151.5|
2010/04/16 19:14:59 | 2010/04/16 14:14:59 | 65.2 154.0|
2010/04/16 19:19:59 | 2010/04/16 14:19:59 | 65.5 156.6|
2010/04/16 19:24:59 | 2010/04/16 14:24:59 | 65.9 159.2|
2010/04/16 19:29:59 | 2010/04/16 14:29:59 | 66.2 161.9|
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+

Time (UTC)           Time (Local)            Alt   Az
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+
2010/04/17 17:39:59 | 2010/04/17 12:39:59 | 46.0 102.1|
2010/04/17 17:44:59 | 2010/04/17 12:44:59 | 46.8 103.2|
2010/04/17 17:49:59 | 2010/04/17 12:49:59 | 47.7 104.2|
2010/04/17 17:54:59 | 2010/04/17 12:54:59 | 48.5 105.3|
2010/04/17 17:59:59 | 2010/04/17 12:59:59 | 49.3 106.5|
2010/04/17 18:04:59 | 2010/04/17 13:04:59 | 50.2 107.6|
2010/04/17 18:09:59 | 2010/04/17 13:09:59 | 51.0 108.8|
2010/04/17 18:14:59 | 2010/04/17 13:14:59 | 51.8 110.0|
2010/04/17 18:19:59 | 2010/04/17 13:19:59 | 52.6 111.2|
2010/04/17 18:24:59 | 2010/04/17 13:24:59 | 53.4 112.5|
2010/04/17 18:29:59 | 2010/04/17 13:29:59 | 54.2 113.8|
2010/04/17 18:34:59 | 2010/04/17 13:34:59 | 55.0 115.2|
2010/04/17 18:39:59 | 2010/04/17 13:39:59 | 55.8 116.6|
2010/04/17 18:44:59 | 2010/04/17 13:44:59 | 56.5 118.0|
2010/04/17 18:49:59 | 2010/04/17 13:49:59 | 57.3 119.5|
2010/04/17 18:54:59 | 2010/04/17 13:54:59 | 58.0 121.0|
2010/04/17 18:59:59 | 2010/04/17 13:59:59 | 58.8 122.6|
2010/04/17 19:04:59 | 2010/04/17 14:04:59 | 59.5 124.3|
2010/04/17 19:09:59 | 2010/04/17 14:09:59 | 60.2 126.0|
2010/04/17 19:14:59 | 2010/04/17 14:14:59 | 60.9 127.7|
2010/04/17 19:19:59 | 2010/04/17 14:19:59 | 61.6 129.5|
2010/04/17 19:24:59 | 2010/04/17 14:24:59 | 62.2 131.4|
2010/04/17 19:29:59 | 2010/04/17 14:29:59 | 62.9 133.4|
2010/04/17 19:34:59 | 2010/04/17 14:34:59 | 63.5 135.5|
2010/04/17 19:39:59 | 2010/04/17 14:39:59 | 64.1 137.6|
2010/04/17 19:44:59 | 2010/04/17 14:44:59 | 64.6 139.8|
2010/04/17 19:49:59 | 2010/04/17 14:49:59 | 65.2 142.1|
2010/04/17 19:54:59 | 2010/04/17 14:54:59 | 65.7 144.4|
2010/04/17 19:59:59 | 2010/04/17 14:59:59 | 66.2 146.9|
2010/04/17 20:04:59 | 2010/04/17 15:04:59 | 66.7 149.4|
2010/04/17 20:09:59 | 2010/04/17 15:09:59 | 67.1 152.0|
2010/04/17 20:14:59 | 2010/04/17 15:14:59 | 67.5 154.7|
2010/04/17 20:19:59 | 2010/04/17 15:19:59 | 67.8 157.5|
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+

Time (UTC)           Time (Local)            Alt   Az
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+
2010/04/18 18:40:00 | 2010/04/18 13:40:00 | 46.9 101.8|
2010/04/18 18:45:00 | 2010/04/18 13:45:00 | 47.7 102.9|
2010/04/18 18:49:59 | 2010/04/18 13:49:59 | 48.5 104.0|
2010/04/18 18:54:59 | 2010/04/18 13:54:59 | 49.4 105.1|
2010/04/18 18:59:59 | 2010/04/18 13:59:59 | 50.2 106.2|
2010/04/18 19:04:59 | 2010/04/18 14:04:59 | 51.0 107.4|
2010/04/18 19:09:59 | 2010/04/18 14:09:59 | 51.8 108.6|
2010/04/18 19:14:59 | 2010/04/18 14:14:59 | 52.6 109.8|
2010/04/18 19:19:59 | 2010/04/18 14:19:59 | 53.5 111.0|
2010/04/18 19:24:59 | 2010/04/18 14:24:59 | 54.2 112.3|
2010/04/18 19:29:59 | 2010/04/18 14:29:59 | 55.0 113.6|
2010/04/18 19:34:59 | 2010/04/18 14:34:59 | 55.8 115.0|
2010/04/18 19:39:59 | 2010/04/18 14:39:59 | 56.6 116.4|
2010/04/18 19:44:59 | 2010/04/18 14:44:59 | 57.4 117.9|
2010/04/18 19:49:59 | 2010/04/18 14:49:59 | 58.1 119.4|
2010/04/18 19:54:59 | 2010/04/18 14:54:59 | 58.9 121.0|
2010/04/18 19:59:59 | 2010/04/18 14:59:59 | 59.6 122.6|
2010/04/18 20:04:59 | 2010/04/18 15:04:59 | 60.3 124.2|
2010/04/18 20:09:59 | 2010/04/18 15:09:59 | 61.0 126.0|
2010/04/18 20:14:59 | 2010/04/18 15:14:59 | 61.7 127.8|
2010/04/18 20:19:59 | 2010/04/18 15:19:59 | 62.4 129.7|
2010/04/18 20:24:59 | 2010/04/18 15:24:59 | 63.0 131.6|
2010/04/18 20:29:59 | 2010/04/18 15:29:59 | 63.6 133.6|
2010/04/18 20:34:59 | 2010/04/18 15:34:59 | 64.2 135.7|
2010/04/18 20:39:59 | 2010/04/18 15:39:59 | 64.8 137.9|
2010/04/18 20:44:59 | 2010/04/18 15:44:59 | 65.4 140.1|
2010/04/18 20:49:59 | 2010/04/18 15:49:59 | 65.9 142.5|
2010/04/18 20:54:59 | 2010/04/18 15:54:59 | 66.4 144.9|
2010/04/18 20:59:59 | 2010/04/18 15:59:59 | 66.9 147.4|
2010/04/18 21:04:59 | 2010/04/18 16:04:59 | 67.4 150.0|
2010/04/18 21:09:59 | 2010/04/18 16:09:59 | 67.8 152.7|
2010/04/18 21:14:59 | 2010/04/18 16:14:59 | 68.2 155.5|
2010/04/18 21:19:59 | 2010/04/18 16:19:59 | 68.5 158.3|
2010/04/18 21:24:59 | 2010/04/18 16:24:59 | 68.8 161.2|
--------------------+---------------------+-----------+

It took me longer to document this than it did to figure out how to install the python module and hack Mark's code. (Did I mention that he is wickedly smart?)

Ok... here is the rest of the back story:

Subject: KP4AO on 432 EME
Date: Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:41:26 -0400
From: Joe Taylor
To: moon-net@list-serv.davidv.net, moon@moonbounce.info, Packrats List , wsjtgroup@yahoogroups.com

In less that two weeks the Arecibo Observatory Amateur Radio Club will again put the 1000-foot radio telescope on the air for 432 MHz EME.The scheduled times of operation are:

April 16: 1645 - 1930 UTC
April 17: 1740 - 2020 UTC
April 18: 1840 - 2125 UTC

Callsign: KP4AO
Tx Frequency: 432.045 MHz
Rx Frequency: 432.050 to 432.060+
Tx power: 400 W
Antenna gain: 60 dBi
System noise temp: 120 K (cold sky)
System noise temp: 330 K (when pointed at moon)

KP4AO can be heard with a small hand-held yagi pointed at the moon, and a good receiver. A 15 dBi antenna and 100 W will be enough to work us on CW.

Operators at KP4AO will do their best to work as many stations as possible. Each session will start with a brief announcement and CQ in SSB. SSB QSOs may continue for 30 minutes to an hour, if the QSO rate remains high. The mode will be shifted to CW as soon as it is judged that higher QSO rates would result.

We will listen for calls at frequencies 5-15 kHz higher than our own, and even higher if QRM warrants. Callers who s-p-r-e-a-d o-u-t are more likely to be copied.

If you've already worked us in any mode, please do not call again -- give others a chance.

If we call "CQ QRP", we will listen for stations running 100 W or less to a single yagi. Please do not answer such a CQ if you are running more power or have a larger antenna.

On April 18, if we reach a condition where most calling stations have been worked, and we judge that operating in the digital mode JT65B would produce a higher QSO rate, we will switch to JT65B.

Note that any of these planned operating strategies may be changed as circumstances dictate.

We are extremely fortunate to have been granted access to the world's largest radio telescope for this amateur radio good-will event. We look forward to working as many stations as possible in the alloted time!

-----------------------
Thanks to Jason NT7S for pointing me towards Mark's code.

April 06, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Retro 75

Here is the board after the Monday night construction session.....

I installed the diodes, IC sockets, toroids, and most of the transistors.

I only have a couple more parts install. I need to start thinking about how to mount this in a box and what parts I need for the controls.

73 de NG0R

April 04, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Retro 75

Sunday night's bench time was spent on the resistors.....

As Cristy and the boys were watching the Lord of the Rings dvd in the family room I went to visit my workbench. I checked into the Meeker County radio club Net on 146.685mhz and then went over the the QRP/builder conference on EchoLink. (I was using the Qtel client on an Ubuntu laptop... rock solid!)

While waiting for my turn in the rotation on those nets I was working on putting the resistors on the board for the Retro 75. This generated a lot of conversation on EchoLink about Dave Benson's kits over at the Small Wonder Labs. It was pretty clear that Dave has a lot of fans in the builder community.

The picture shown above is after two sessions working on the kit. Yesterday Ben (9) and Joe (7) installed the capacitors and tonight I did the resistors solo. (I guess kids like movies more than kit building... what is up with that.)

The picture was taken on a new homebrew (DiY) copy stand for my digital camera. That was the project for this morning. I want to be able to do a better job documenting my kit and project work. About $30 in parts from the local hardware store and about 2 hours and the copy stand was in business.

73 de NG0R

April 03, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Retro 75

Ben (N2BEN) and Joe (9 years old and 7 years old respectively) helped me work on the "Retro 75" project today for a while.

We have all of the capacitors on the board. We are going to take a break to run some errands and pick up some groceries. With a bit of luck maybe we can out in another hour or so tonight after dinner.

73 de NG0R

April 03, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Whispering

Since I am not using the radios in my shack this morning I decided to turn on the K2 and let the Ubuntu machine that runs the shack decode WSPR signals on 30m.

I planning to spend a little bit of time over at the work bench this morning so I thought I could help out other folks by letting my system do some decoding and posting while I solder in the other room.

When I turned it on around 10am central either the band was extremely active or there was some band enhancement... it was wall-to-wall signals. It is kind of funny, I can also see some QRSS signals at the bottom edge of the screen. Look at the snake like signal. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

I don't think that I have ever seen the sub band this active. I probably should design a dedicated receiver that can just listen and send the audio to a machine (or VM) to do decoding. When I am working during the week my radios sit inactive most of the time.

73 de NG0R... headed over to the work bench.

April 01, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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Retro 75

I decided to crack open the box for the Retro 75 kit tonight.

I sorted the parts in my standard box for small projects.

I then inspected the board and placed it into the Panavise on the workbench.

I did not start the installation tonight. I will probably start it this weekend. Tomorrow night is supposed to be rainy so that might be a good time to visit the workbench for an hour or two.

Things to acquire:
--Microphone
--Case/Enclosure (Likely will be a Hammond box.)

73 de NG0R

March 31, 2010 By: John Hoaglun

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End of March 2010 notes

Random Notes about March 2010

March 2010 had no significant snow in our area. That is a first in over a hundred years of local record keeping.
Birds started nesting and actively hanging out around the house on Monday 3/15.
We planted our tomato and pepper seeds (indoors) on Monday 3/15. (8 weeks till planting.)
Our ground has largely been frost free since mid March. (We live on a hill so we are generally about 2 weeks ahead of the surrounding communities where it is flat.)
Jacob and I spent Thursday night 3/25 at the Science Museum of Minnesota along with about 200 other 5th graders from Dassel-Cokato Middle School. (Think of the movie a Night at the Museum.) Yes, we CAMPED out in the museum in sleeping bags overnight.
I heard the frogs talking on Monday 3/29. There is a medium sized marsh across the corn field from us... they are loud enough for us to hear once they become active for the season.
We brought the camper home from Storage Wednesday 3/31.
We removed the snow blower and three point blade from the tractor on Wednesday 3/31.
I saw my first two mosquitoes of the season today Wednesday 3/31.