I have designed, built, and tested an all-HF WSPR beacon that produces 1W @ 5V and is rugged and cost-effective. Results Power consumption: Around 420mA @ 5V. Cost Cost: Around 500 INR. Time to build Time to build: Less than 30 minutes. Files The files for this project are published here for personal (non-commercial) use. For a 5W (QRO) WSPR beacon, please stay tuned for our upcoming QEX magazine article ;) ...
I found this 60W Electronic Load to be quite useful for testing small power adapters and supplies. While it is possible to homebrew an adjustable electronic load we recommend getting this electronic load module or a better-but-costlier one like the UNI-T UTL8212+ electronic load. Observations You can stress-test power supplies using this electronic load quite easily and conveniently. It turns out that the Orange branded 12V 2A or 3A adapters from Robu are of really poor quality. The output voltage drops to less than 2V when the load current is increased to around 1A. This is NOT the first time that the Orange branded stuff has turned out to be of poor quality. In the end, you get what you pay for. ...
Tangara is an excellent project. I found this review of Tangara's design very interesting and educational. It has inspired us to build a similar FOSS DAP product but at a much lower cost of 40 USD (that being the launch price of Sansa Clip in year 2007). The idea is to deliver '90% of the value' of Tangara in a slightly smaller (but fatter) and more cost-effective package. Design Initial tech stack: RP2350-Zero, PCM5102A 32-bit 384kHz DAC, Burr-Brown OPA1662 (specified for 3.3v) as the unity gain buffer and headphone driver, no explicit DC-DC converters anywhere, microSD card, everything will be a module if possible ...
I have built what is probably the easiest, reasonably rugged, and most cost-effective 100mW WSPR (or FT8) beacon. The Build Here is my quick and dirty build with whatever I had lying around: We replaced the traditional expensive Mini-Circuits transformer with a cost-effective Bourns coupled inductor. Analysis Power consumption: Before RF generation starts ➔ 20mA @ 5V. After RF generation starts ➔ 52mA @ 5V. So the input power consumed in the RF generation process is more than 150mW (which is good). ...
The Easy WSPR Encoder can be accessed here. Update: You may find this software more useful.
Bharath and I have written our thoughts on building an RF lab on a budget. It is geared towards homebrewers and new amateur radio operators. Budget RF Lab Documentation. Have fun! :-)
The Easy FT8 Encoder can be accessed here. In the near future, we want to add the K1JT's original FT8 encoder functionality as well. Update: FT8Play is crazy good!
Notes to get RSP1 working on Linux and macOS using FOSS drivers (2025) Prerequisites Please use a mainstream Linux distribution like Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (or later) or the latest Raspberry Pi OS. Using a Raspberry Pi is NOT recommended as it has quite a bit of power supply noise on the USB ports, which reduces the performance of the connected SDR. Linux Setup On Linux, add the following lines to the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf file ...
Some weeks back, we published our designs for building reproducible TX-BPF filters easily. Designs 10m TX-BPF: Results of the Dhiru's Manhattan build: Results of the PCB build: Why use BPFs? While many amateur radio operators focus solely on antenna optimization, the significant benefits of TX-BPF filters are often overlooked or under-discussed in the hobby! Even with HOA antenna restrictions, you can still optimize your station's performance through proper TX-BPF filtering. ...
I am building an easy-to-use, cost-effective WSPR pHAT for Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. Design 3D render: We replaced the traditional expensive Mini-Circuits transformer with a cost-effective Bourns coupled inductor. Status Results: To be built and tested soon! Time to build: Less than 20 minutes