How to connect "QRM Eliminator" to Kenwood TS-890

Connect the PTT line from the QRM Eliminator to the REMOTE connector on the rear panel of the Kenwood TS-890 with the supplied 7 pin DIN connector.

Connect ground to pin 2 (COM) and the middle line to pin 4 (MKE).

Go to the MENU and on the right side of the screen push the LINEAR AMP button. Press MORE to rotate the menu options if  the LINEAR AMP button is not present.

In the LINEAR AMP menu set:

Linear Amplifier             to   On
Internal Relay Control   to   On
Keying Logic                   to   Active Low

Do this for HF and the 50 MHz band. 

Ham radio operators keep classic communication style alive

How to remote control your Kenwood TS-590, TS-890 etc. over the internet if port 60001 is blocked by your internet provider

Kenwood transceivers like the Kenwood TS-590, TS-890 can be remotely operated over a network with free software (ARCP) that is downloadable from the Kenwood site.

Ping the other side to check if there is a connection and first make sure a ping is returned before proceeding.

The network ports used by ARCP are 60001 TCP and 60000 UDP.

There could be difficulties trying to remote control your rig over the internet with ARCP because some, many or all internet providers block port 60001.

There are several ways to remedy this "port block" problem.

1. Use a VPN. A VPN uses its own port and tunnels all the ports u want to use through this VPN port. A VPN is often not free.
   
   
2. Use a remote desktop. Setup everything on a computer right next to the rig and open that desktop remotely. Search the internet for free VNC. VNC uses ports too but you can configure them to use any port you want.
   
   
3. Redirect port 60001. It is possible to redirect port 60001 to a port of choice that is not blocked. If you search the internet there is a free service available. This works in combination with a dynamic DNS service. Locally you will have to configure your router to accept the port of choice and reroute it to 60001.
   
   
4. Use other remote control software for your rig that does not use blocked ports. Open890 can be used with the TS-890 and not only has very nice features but is free and works on any computer that has an internet browser.

Some tips and tricks for the Kenwood TS-590S

• If you need very low TX output for modes like WSPR you can use the  DRV output. Push the DRV button and for TX the DRV output will be used and that is about 1 mW depending on the TX power setting. For RX the normal antenna will be used.
  
  
• Listening to AM broadcast stations you can set the bandwidth control up to 5 kHz wide but beware this is per sideband so in AM the bandwidth is actually twice that wide. Normally a broadcast in AM is 9 kHz wide so the 10 kHz available is more than enough.
  
  
• The option to buy a TXCO from Kenwood is expensive. A cheap Chinese TCXO works too and only costs about 12 euro. Search for them on eBay or AliExpress. The cheap price has the disadvantage that this cheap TCXO introduces extra noise to the receiver especially on 50 MHz. 

  

  Cheap Chinese TCXO

  
  
• The power output varies according to the voltage given by the power supply. The manual states that 13.8 Volts of power is needed. On 12 Volts the rig only gives a maximum of 50 Watts. Full power of  100 Watt output is reached with a power supply of 14 Volts.
  
  
• Remember that as the manual states the on-board power meter gives an average power reading in SSB.
  
  
• To send recorded audio messages without touching the PTT or send button, set the VOX to On and VOX level to 0.
  
  
• To expand the transmit range of the transceiver remove resistor R900. The expanded transmit  range is 0 to 30 MHz. There is no TX between 30 and 48 MHz. 

How to expand the transmit frequencies on a Kenwood TM-D710GE (aka Mars cap)

The Kenwood TM-D710GE originally comes with a large receive range of 118 MHz all the way up to 1300 MHz. (Interrupted from 524 MHz to 800 MHz) It has a small transmit range of 144 to 146 MHz and 430 to 440 MHz.
To expand the transmit range from 136 to 174 MHz and from 400 to 470 MHz you will have to turn off the radio, then open the set with 8 screws and remove the resistor labeled W601.
With the front of the radio facing you it is on the lower left hand corner. Closest to the control head on the left hand side of the radio.

The green wire in older radios

In the popular youtube videos doing this mod on older versions of the radio this is a green wire.

After removing the resistor and turning the transceiver on it will reset to the default settings so it is a good idea to save all settings and memory banks beforehand to a file. This can be done with both MCP-6A or CHIRP.

Here are some more hints and tricks concerning this radio.

Kenwood TM-D710GE hints, tips and tricks

This radio is not in production anymore.

APRS

The Kenwood TM-D710GE has a GPS built inside the head so you can put an APRS beacon on the air without the wire hassle.
The internal GPS  has to be turned on with the GPS button after which the iGPS icon appears. Here are some hints and tricks that are not in the manual.

• After the GPS searches for satellites, finds a few of them and gets a lock/fix the iGPS icon will start to blink.
  Mostly on other hardware this is shown the opposite way and the icon starts to blink if a fix is needed. So keep in mind, blinking is good as it shows the internal GPS has a lock/fix.

• 
  The internal GPS in the control head of the rig, placed in front of the hand brake, has a very good reception as it even keeps tracking inside my garage outfitted with only a small roof window. Its summer here so the car has no roof.

• Default smart-beaconing settings are good as they are. 
  
  
• In the Netherlands digipeating is not allowed with a normal licence, you need an "unmanned station licence" to do digipeat on air so set all digipeat options to off.

• The rig shows GPS coordinates in minutes or degrees but also shows a very useful Maidenhead locator. After the GPS has a fix and the iGPS icon is blinking press the POS button and the Maidenhead locator is on the bottom line. Navigate trough the pages with the left and right arrow keys.

Here is an actual readout on a google map from my transceiver.

Other hints, tips and tricks

•  If you leave the head in the sun the display will turn black. If it cools down it will turn normal again.

• Note that the problem with the ceramic filter in the 2nd IF stage that is present in older versions of this radio has been solved by Kenwood in this Kenwood TM-D710GE. 

• The transmit frequency range of this radio can be expanded by removing resistor W601 as described here.
  
  
• There are two VFO's in this rig, one on the left and one on the right called A and B.
  VFO A is unable to transmit or receive on 800 to 1300MHz.
  VFO B is unable to transmit or receive on 118 to 136MHz. 
  This feature is important if you want to do APRS and air-band scanning at the same time. To use air-band and APRS simultaneously set B as the data band so that the APRS is on the B side. 
  If you want to do APRS and listen to the 23cm HAM band for a duplex use the A side as data band.
  The range the radio can do on side/VFO A and side/VFO B is:
  
  

  A	118 MHz	118.000 MHz through 135.995 MHz AM+FM
  A	144 MHz	136.000 MHz through 199.995 MHz FM
  A	220 MHz	200.000 MHz through 299.995 MHz FM
  A	300 MHz	300.000 MHz through 399.995 MHz FM
  A	430 MHz	400.000 MHz through 523.995 MHz FM
  B	144 MHz	136.000 MHz through 199.995 MHz FM
  B	220 MHz	200.000 MHz through 299.995 MHz FM
  B	300 MHz	300.000 MHz through 399.995 MHz FM
  B	430 MHz	400.000 MHz through 523.995 MHz FM
  B	800 MHz	800.000 MHz through 1.299.995 MHz FM

  
  
• In the summertime the GMT settings for the rig are +2:00 in the Netherlands.
  In the wintertime the GMT settings for this rigs are +1:00 in the Netherlands.
  
  
• To connect to the TNC you need to make a serial connection with the COM port on the head of the rig, not the pc port on the brick. It is the same cable as the PC port.
  
  
• Even though all brochures of this rig claim it can decode DTMF and can be remote controlled by DTMF it can not decode DTMF at all. On 08/31/18 Kenwood announced that radios with serial numbers B8610001 and up no longer feature DTMF decode capability. (The decoding chip is not in the rig anymore.) This means the TM-D710GE does NOT support remote control with DTMF via a HT or EchoLink functionality. The TM-D710GE is not able to remote control the TS-590S or TS-890S.
  
  
• The Kenwood TM-D710GE does NOT have any repeater function and does not do crossband repeat. (The TM-D710GA does.) However, this can be changed by placing a 0 Ohm resistor/jumper from PAD0 to PAD2 as shown in the picture below.
  
  
  
  
• The Kenwood TM-D710GE does NOT have weather channels or weather channel alert. (The TM-D710GA does.)
  
  
• The TM-D710GE has a TNC build inside that has a mail/message-box option. Other packet radio stations can connect to your TNC with packet radio and leave a message for you.
  
  
• The Tone function only works with transmit. Use CTCSS if you also want to use a Tone for receive. For simple repeaters Tone is good enough but on combined digital repeaters use CTCSS so you do not have to listen to the digital blerps.
  
  
• Send Email over the APRS network by pressing the "MSG" button then "NEW". set EMAIL in the TO field and start the message with the Email address, a space and then the message. (You can not send Email from PC to an APRS station.)
  
  
• Don't forget to check out if there are firmware updates that give extra fun. The latest panel firmware update increases the amount of rigs shown in the APRS list.

How to click on a DX call in a cluster and set your rig to the correct frequency in Ubuntu.

Xdx is a Linux DX-cluster client. It features the possibility to click on a DX entity in the cluster where Xdx automatically changes the frequency of your rig to the stations location on the band.
It is installable from the Ubuntu Software Center where it has the option to install the rig control software in one go.
or open a terminal and type: sudo apt-get install xdx

Connecting to the DX-cluster server.

After starting the program you will have to set the URL and port of a DX-cluster server.
To get a list of DX-cluster servers check: http://www.ng3k.com/misc/cluster.html 
or http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/?dx-cluster-telnet-links,65

My local DX-cluster server

After connecting with the DX-cluster server there is a welcome text in the bottom part of your screen.  It is called the terminal screen and you can send several useful commands to the server:

reject/spot 1 on hf/cw      Do not show spots on HF with CW.
reject/spot 2 on vhf          Do not show spots on VHF. (second rule)
accept/spot on hf/ssb      Only show spots on HF in SSB.
show/bands                       Show what bands are available for filtering etc.
show/filter                         Show the filters that are set.
apropos buddy                  Show any help info on the buddy command

You can check who is connected to the server and chat with them.

who                                  Show connected users. (To check if someone is DXing.)
talk callsign blah           Send blah to a connected user with callsign.


Just like in a packet BBS you can list, read and send messages worldwide to all servers in the cluster.

directory                       Show a list of public messages. (Like in a BBS.)
read 25                         Read a message with number 25 in the directory list.

Xdx screen-shot, click to enlarge

Connecting Xdx to your transceiver.

Go to Setting > preferences.

Check out the number of your rig with rigctl.   Type in terminal: rigctl -l

This is the current list:
 Rig #  Mfg                    Model                   Version         Status
     1  Hamlib                 Dummy                   0.5             Beta
     2  Hamlib                 NET rigctl              0.3             Beta
   101  Yaesu                  FT-847                  0.5             Beta
   103  Yaesu                  FT-1000D                0.0.6           Alpha
   104  Yaesu                  MARK-V FT-1000MP        0.0.5           Alpha
   105  Yaesu                  FT-747GX                0.4.1           Beta
   106  Yaesu                  FT-757GX                0.4.1           Beta
   107  Yaesu                  FT-757GXII              0.4             Stable
   109  Yaesu                  FT-767GX                1.0             Stable
   110  Yaesu                  FT-736R                 0.3             Stable
   111  Yaesu                  FT-840                  0.1             Untested
   113  Yaesu                  FT-900                  0.1             Untested
   114  Yaesu                  FT-920                  2010-08-23      Stable
   115  Yaesu                  FT-890                  0.1             Stable
   116  Yaesu                  FT-990                  0.2.1           Alpha
   117  Yaesu                  FRG-100                 0.4             Beta
   118  Yaesu                  FRG-9600                0.2             Untested
   119  Yaesu                  FRG-8800                0.2             Untested
   120  Yaesu                  FT-817                  0.5.1           Beta
   121  Yaesu                  FT-100                  0.4.1           Beta
   122  Yaesu                  FT-857                  0.4             Beta
   123  Yaesu                  FT-897                  0.3.3           Beta
   124  Yaesu                  FT-1000MP               0.1.1           Beta
   125  Yaesu                  MARK-V Field FT-1000MP  0.0.5           Alpha
   126  Yaesu                  VR-5000                 0.2             Alpha
   127  Yaesu                  FT-450                  0.22.1          Beta
   128  Yaesu                  FT-950                  0.22.2          Stable
   129  Yaesu                  FT-2000                 0.22.1          Stable
   130  Yaesu                  FTDX-9000               0.22.1          Untested
   131  Yaesu                  FT-980                  0.1             Alpha
   132  Yaesu                  FT-DX5000               0.22            Alpha
   133  Vertex Standard        VX-1700                 1.1             Alpha
   201  Kenwood                TS-50S                  0.8             Untested
   202  Kenwood                TS-440                  0.8.0.6.1       Alpha
   203  Kenwood                TS-450S                 0.8.1           Beta
   204  Kenwood                TS-570D                 0.8.2           Stable
   205  Kenwood                TS-690S                 0.8.1           Beta
   206  Kenwood                TS-711                  0.8.0.6.1       Untested
   207  Kenwood                TS-790                  0.8.2           Alpha
   208  Kenwood                TS-811                  0.8.0.6.1       Untested
   209  Kenwood                TS-850                  0.8.1           Beta
   210  Kenwood                TS-870S                 0.8.0           Beta
   211  Kenwood                TS-940S                 0.8.0.6.1       Alpha
   213  Kenwood                TS-950SDX               0.8             Beta
   214  Kenwood                TS-2000                 0.8.4           Beta
   215  Kenwood                R-5000                  0.6.1           Alpha
   216  Kenwood                TS-570S                 0.8.1           Stable
   217  Kenwood                TH-D7A                  0.5             Alpha
   219  Kenwood                TH-F6A                  0.5             Beta
   220  Kenwood                TH-F7E                  0.5.1           Beta
   221  Elecraft               K2                      20120615        Beta
   222  Kenwood                TS-930                  0.8             Untested
   223  Kenwood                TH-G71                  0.5             Beta
   224  Kenwood                TS-680S                 0.8.1           Beta
   225  Kenwood                TS-140S                 0.8.1           Beta
   226  Kenwood                TM-D700                 0.5             Beta
   227  Kenwood                TM-V7                   0.5             Beta
   228  Kenwood                TS-480                  0.8.5           Untested
   229  Elecraft               K3/KX3                  20120615        Beta
   230  Kenwood                TRC-80                  0.8             Alpha
   231  Kenwood                TS-590S                 0.8.1           Beta
   232  SigFox                 Transfox                20111223        Alpha
   233  Kenwood                TH-D72A                 0.5.1           Alpha
   234  Kenwood                TM-D710                 0.5             Untested
   302  Icom                   IC-1275                 0.7             Beta
   303  Icom                   IC-271                  0.7             Untested
   304  Icom                   IC-275                  0.7.1           Beta
   306  Icom                   IC-471                  0.7             Untested
   307  Icom                   IC-475                  0.7.1           Beta
   309  Icom                   IC-706                  0.7.1           Untested
   310  Icom                   IC-706MkII              0.7.1           Untested
   311  Icom                   IC-706MkIIG             0.7.2           Stable
   312  Icom                   IC-707                  0.7             Untested
   313  Icom                   IC-718                  0.7.1           Beta
   314  Icom                   IC-725                  0.7.1           Stable
   315  Icom                   IC-726                  0.7             Stable
   316  Icom                   IC-728                  0.7             Untested
   319  Icom                   IC-735                  0.7.1           Beta
   320  Icom                   IC-736                  0.7             Untested
   321  Icom                   IC-737                  0.7             Untested
   322  Icom                   IC-738                  0.7             Untested
   323  Icom                   IC-746                  0.7.1           Beta
   324  Icom                   IC-751                  0.7.1           Beta
   326  Icom                   IC-756                  0.7.1           Alpha
   327  Icom                   IC-756PRO               0.7             Untested
   328  Icom                   IC-761                  0.7.1           Stable
   329  Icom                   IC-765                  0.7             Stable
   330  Icom                   IC-775                  0.7.1           Untested
   331  Icom                   IC-781                  0.7.1           Untested
   332  Icom                   IC-820H                 0.7             Alpha
   334  Icom                   IC-821H                 0.7             Alpha
   335  Icom                   IC-970                  0.7             Untested
   336  Icom                   IC-R10                  0.7             Untested
   337  Icom                   IC-R71                  0.7             Untested
   338  Icom                   IC-R72                  0.7             Untested
   339  Icom                   IC-R75                  0.7             Beta
   340  Icom                   IC-R7000                0.7.0           Alpha
   341  Icom                   IC-R7100                0.7.0           Untested
   342  Icom                   ICR-8500                0.7.1           Beta
   343  Icom                   IC-R9000                0.7.1           Alpha
   344  Icom                   IC-910                  0.7.1           Beta
   345  Icom                   IC-78                   0.7             Untested
   346  Icom                   IC-746PRO               0.7             Stable
   347  Icom                   IC-756PROII             0.7             Alpha
   351  Ten-Tec                Omni VI Plus            0.2             Beta
   352  Optoelectronics        OptoScan535             0.3             Beta
   353  Optoelectronics        OptoScan456             0.3             Beta
   354  Icom                   IC ID-1                 0.7             Untested
   355  Icom                   IC-703                  0.7             Untested
   356  Icom                   IC-7800                 0.7.2           Untested
   357  Icom                   IC-756PROIII            0.7.1           Beta
   358  Icom                   IC-R20                  0.7             Untested
   360  Icom                   IC-7000                 0.7.2           Beta
   361  Icom                   IC-7200                 0.7             Beta
   362  Icom                   IC-7700                 0.7.1           Stable
   363  Icom                   IC-7600                 0.7             Beta
   364  Ten-Tec                Delta II                0.1             Untested
   365  Icom                   IC-92D                  0.7             Untested
   366  Icom                   IC-R9500                0.7.1           Untested
   367  Icom                   IC-7410                 0.7             Untested
   368  Icom                   IC-9100                 0.7             Untested
   369  Icom                   IC-RX7                  0.7             Untested
   401  Icom                   IC-PCR1000              0.8             Beta
   402  Icom                   IC-PCR100               0.8             Beta
   403  Icom                   IC-PCR1500              0.8             Beta
   404  Icom                   IC-PCR2500              0.8             Beta
   501  AOR                    AR8200                  0.6.1           Alpha
   502  AOR                    AR8000                  0.6.1           Beta
   503  AOR                    AR7030                  0.4.1           Beta
   504  AOR                    AR5000                  0.6.1           Beta
   505  AOR                    AR3030                  0.4             Untested
   506  AOR                    AR3000A                 0.5             Beta
   508  AOR                    AR2700                  0.6             Untested
   513  AOR                    AR8600                  0.6.1           Beta
   514  AOR                    AR5000A                 0.6             Alpha
   515  AOR                    AR7030 Plus             0.1             Beta
   516  AOR                    SR2200                  0.1             Beta
   605  JRC                    NRD-525                 0.1             Alpha
   606  JRC                    NRD-535D                0.6             Stable
   607  JRC                    NRD-545 DSP             0.6             Beta
   801  Uniden                 BC780xlt                0.3             Untested
   802  Uniden                 BC245xlt                0.3             Untested
   803  Uniden                 BC895xlt                0.3             Untested
   804  Radio Shack            PRO-2052                0.3             Untested
   806  Uniden                 BC250D                  0.3             Untested
   810  Uniden                 BCD-396T                0.3             Alpha
   811  Uniden                 BCD-996T                0.3             Alpha
   812  Uniden                 BC898T                  0.3             Untested
   902  Drake                  R-8A                    0.5.1           Beta
   903  Drake                  R-8B                    0.5             Untested
  1004  Lowe                   HF-235                  0.3             Alpha
  1103  Racal                  RA6790/GM               0.1             Untested
  1105  Racal                  RA3702                  0.1             Alpha
  1204  Watkins-Johnson        WJ-8888                 0.2             Untested
  1402  Skanti                 TRP8000                 0.2             Untested
  1404  Skanti                 TRP 8255 S R            0.1             Untested
  1501  Winradio               WR-1000                 0.6             Untested
  1502  Winradio               WR-1500                 0.6             Untested
  1503  Winradio               WR-1550                 0.6             Untested
  1504  Winradio               WR-3100                 0.6             Untested
  1505  Winradio               WR-3150                 0.6             Untested
  1506  Winradio               WR-3500                 0.6             Untested
  1507  Winradio               WR-3700                 0.6             Untested
  1601  Ten-Tec                TT-550                  0.2             Beta
  1602  Ten-Tec                TT-538 Jupiter          0.6             Beta
  1603  Ten-Tec                RX-320                  0.6             Stable
  1604  Ten-Tec                RX-340                  0.3             Untested
  1605  Ten-Tec                RX-350                  0.1             Untested
  1607  Ten-Tec                TT-516 Argonaut V       0.2             Stable
  1608  Ten-Tec                TT-565 Orion            0.5             Beta
  1609  Ten-Tec                TT-585 Paragon          0.3             Beta
  1611  Ten-Tec                TT-588 Omni VII         0.3             Alpha
  1612  Ten-Tec                RX-331                  0.1             Beta
  1613  Ten-Tec                TT-599 Eagle            0.4             Untested
  1701  Alinco                 DX-77                   0.7             Beta
  1801  Kachina                505DSP                  0.3             Alpha
  1901  Hamlib                 RPC rig                 0.3             Beta
  2201  TAPR                   DSP-10                  0.2             Alpha
  2301  Flex-radio             SDR-1000                0.2             Untested
  2303  DTTS Microwave Society DttSP IPC               0.2             Alpha
  2304  DTTS Microwave Society DttSP UDP               0.2             Alpha
  2401  RFT                    EKD-500                 0.4             Alpha
  2501  Elektor                Elektor 3/04            0.4             Stable
  2502  SAT-Schneider          DRT1                    0.2             Beta
  2503  Coding Technologies    Digital World Traveller 0.1             Untested
  2506  AmQRP                  DDS-60                  0.1             Alpha
  2507  Elektor                Elektor SDR-USB         0.3.1           Stable
  2508  mRS                    miniVNA                 0.1             Alpha
  2509  SoftRock               Si570 AVR-USB           0.2             Beta
  2511  KTH-SDR kit            Si570 PIC-USB           0.2             Beta
  2512  FiFi                   FiFi-SDR                0.5             Beta
  2513  AMSAT-UK               FUNcube Dongle          0.2             Beta
  2514  N2ADR                  HiQSDR                  0.2             Untested
  2601  Video4Linux            SW/FM radio             0.2.1           Beta
  2602  Video4Linux2           SW/FM radio             0.2.1           Alpha
  2701  Rohde&Schwarz          ESMC                    0.1             Alpha
  2702  Rohde&Schwarz          EB200                   0.1             Untested
  2801  Philips/Simoco         PRM8060                 0.1             Alpha
  2901  ADAT www.adat.ch       ADT-200A                1.36            Beta

I have set the speed of My Kenwood TS-590S USB connection to 19200. In my computer it turns up at USB0. So the following settings apply for me:

My settings for a Kenwood TS-590S with USB

Note that I have a Kenwood TS-590S (#231) but instead I used the Kenwood TS-570D (#204) because that one works very good.

Remember to become member of the group dialout. After adding yourself to the group, do a reboot or re-login.

Ham radio stations in my neighborhood

This map shows my city and the cities around it with red dots for every HAM station registered at QRZ.com

Red dots are HAM radio stations

 This map shows all registered HAM radio antennas around my QTH at http://www.antenneregister.nl.

Green dots are HAM radio stations

There are at this point in time approximately 14.000 HAM radio call-signs and about 13.000 active HAM radio operators in the Netherlands.

How to export from HRDLOG.net and import to QRZ.com?

Normally I log my QSO's manually on hrdlog.net. The log is automatically exported every day to eQSL.cc and LOTW. 
To import an ADIF file in QRZ.com I need an ADIF file first. Hmmm... Where to get it? HRDLOG.net does not have an export function to ADIF file.
In HRDLOG you can send the logs to eQSL. eQSL has a feature to export to ADIF.

First make sure to register an eQSL account. Then set the connection to eQSL up in HRDLOG via: Home>Modify profile>eQSL

Next go to eQSL and click on Log/Outbox. Select the entire list.

On the bottom of the page there is a Download link: ( Download entire Inbox in ADIF format (for importing into some loggers)   Click on the link.

Next click on the .ADI file link.
An HTML page will appear. Download it to disk in your browser with File>Save Page As.  

This .ADI file can be imported into QRZ.com.

Log in to QRZ.com and go to My Logbook. Next go to the Settings page where you will be able to add the file.
Now you can start harvesting those QRZ awards.

50 Mhz dipole made of reed.

On 50 MHz I never heard anything using a G5RV antenna so I decided to make a dedicated antenna for this HAM band. The band runs from 50 to 52 MHz. So the antenna tunes to 51 MHz.

50 Mhz dipole made of reed.

As a mast I used a plastic pole. For the horizontal part I used reed that grows in my garden.
After I picked the reed I dried it for several years in my shed and now its hard as steel and its still flexible. Ideal antenna material.
Duck-tape fits everything together.
RG-58U coax with two insulated wires hang from the reeds where duck-tape keeps them placed.
I noticed the SSB DX is found between 50.100 and 50.200 MHz. 

Bored? Hack your own satellite.

Many tiny satellites have been launched a short while ago and most work as planned. Only one little Cube-sat was lost.
Its makers (4 German guys in a garage) called it WREN. Its workings are simple. It snaps pictures with its camera on command and sends it down with SSTV on the 70cm band by command. Its like having a wireless web-cam in space. A real cool web-cam.
Only...., this one got lost. Its somewhere up there al-right but there is no signal where its makers, now slowly getting depressed, search for one.

Now its makers ask us to help them out and get things going again. So here it is.
How to hack your own satellite.
Use it to photograph .... well anything from way up there. Maybe make a snapshot of that UFO you know must be out there. Then send the data down to your computer and share it with the world.

WREN

The frequency this baby runs on is 437,405 MHz +/- 10 kHz Doppler-Shift where it sends its pictures in SSTV and also has its uplink.

Its location is erm.... somewhere around the earth.  (They hope.) There are some reports of amateurs that heard WREN but its appearances  are shrouded in mist.

To announce it is there, ready and waiting, the satellite sends 1.6 seconds in AFSK. It sounds like: "pipipipipipipipipipip" Then it waits for 6 minutes for a signal.
The signal is simple and any HAM can do this. It waits for a silent FM signal and Morse-like code. (So just keying the mike by hand will do.)

1 = long    0 = short

110011 = Activate (wait for answers within 2 seconds)
11111 = Camera on
110 = Snapshot/Thumbnail (make image with 12x14 Pixels)
110100 = SSTV send in Mode  Martin-1 with 320x240 Pixels
No, there is no self destruct code.

Now first activate, then put the camera on, then make the snapshots or full size pictures. If doing it the wrong way around the satellite goes to sleep mode. So don’t mess this up.
By the way, you’ve got about ten to max. 15 minutes to activate, turn on camera and download the image, before the cube-sat is out of reach. Its not only the coolest web-cam, its also the fastest one.

And don’t forget to Email those Germans to tell them WREN is still alive and really lighten up their day.

UB4UAD screen shot of WREN signal received Nov 26, 2013 at 06:47:13 UT

More info at:
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/10/24/wren-a-ham-radio-sstv-pocketqube/
https://www.facebook.com/StaDoKo