I've been getting myself into SMD soldering and it's not going too well so far. Though, I finally managed to replace a IRF7309 MOSFET last night on the TX/RX sequencer board (after something like 4-5 attempts; good thing the chip itself was pretty cheap per unit on Mouser) that I had bought a few months ago and had it look reasonably okay. I also ended up having to patch around a few traces getting blown off of/burned off during previous repair attempts and tests. Anyway, I think it's switching the TX/RX switch properly now, but I'm having issues with the transverter not being able to modulate anything, despite the power meter claiming that 10W is going out. I kinda wonder if something else on the sequencer board is fried and I should just buy another one. Or maybe try my hand at making a sequencer PCB with Arduino and a MOSFET or two.
So, let's just say the back seat of a 2003 Jeep Wrangler would be rather challenging for such a use. I like your setup, very nice.
I had to run out and buy replacement antenna today against the Chinese New Year holiday, since my 770D clone broke yesterday. That 770D had its RF-carrying capacitor broken off, making it no longer work as an antenna. While I am able to fix it by taking the base unit (where the cap is) off and re-solder the broken joint, the disassembly destroyed its water seal so it is no longer suitable for use at places where getting wet is likely, so I still have to go buy a replacement and only use this fixed 770D as an backup. It is a TRIP taking a one-meter antenna back home with a satchel bag not that bigger than a 16-inch MacBook Pro, have the antenna stick out the front while taking the Metro.
This is a "how didn't I" post. Last night, I set up everything for an 80m WSPR overnight session. I wanted to see what my lame over the roof "random wire" with 9:1 unun would do. Used WSJT-X on the 7300's RPi 4, set power, tuned, and, since I was done tuning, TURNED ENABLE TX OFF! Wife and I watched a show, read, and I went to sleep hoping for some overnight results. After I awoke and got my coffee (comes first), I took a look and no results past the time when I set it up. It didn't take long to figure out what had happened. Please accept the following as a tip for a better chance of successful WSPR results: Make sure ENABLE TX is on. Sigh.
This looks better.... sheesh. Amazing what ENABLE TX will do with 4-5 watts. The one going south goes to Antarctica - DP0GVN.
First day of PACC (Dutch Contest) so a little bit early to come to final conclusion - but... (this is about the CW category) 20m propagation this afternoon was a disaster. I made some QSOs, than moved to 40 and even later to 80 meters. Anyway, I had the feeling that I was dropped into a QRP contest... Almost all PA running stations gave much weaker signals than their S&P counterparts, it was very hard to find them unter the pileups. I was playing with RF gain, AGC, everything... my only idea was that all PA guys turned to their directional antennas towards North America and just minimal power transmitted towards South-East... or only indoor antennas are permitted in the Netherlands... The contacts were erratic very often, many cross-sendings, repeating exchanges, callsigns several times... well, I am not the most experienced one, but I can clearly see a contrast related to other earlier similar contests. I closed this day with 82 QSOs (casual contesting, not sitting there full time), not great, not terrible - let's see what Sunday brings.
