Microwaves - Not Just for Leftovers

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Microwaves: Not Just for Leftovers My Journey in Getting on the Bands Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ N6RMJ Photo

description

A primer on Amateur (ham) radio microwave projects and operation. Includes examples of the various systems in use on the West Coast USA.

Transcript of Microwaves - Not Just for Leftovers

Page 1: Microwaves - Not Just for Leftovers

Microwaves: Not Just for LeftoversMy Journey in Getting on the Bands

Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ

N6RMJ Photo

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Why the Microwave Bands?• Originally, I looked for a multiplier or “something different” for Field Day 2003

• Home-brewing: Building your own creation and putting it on the air

• Contesting!

• Using weird and strange parts

• Building!

• Antenna restrictions

• You can be loud with “little antennas”

• Contesting!

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Searching for Answers. . . .

• Searching the Internet• Google-search: Microwave ham radio

• SBMS

• Mike King, KM0T

• Microwave and VHF-plus club meetings

• Reading the books

• Microwave Update events

• Just “doing it!”

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Operating Opportunities: Contests

• ARRL VHF and Up Contests• January, June, August, September

• More points for higher frequencies

• Field Day, “just another band”

• SBMS 2GHz and Up Contest• April

• Club competition

• Off-season means distance record breaking attempts

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Which Band?

• Check past VHF and Up contest write-ups to see who is doing what in your area

• Beacon availability

• Club and contest activity

• The decision: 10GHz!

N6RMJ Photo

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Buy It or. . .?

• Build it or buy it, getting on the bands still requires some building . . . .

• A “store-bought” transverter must be “integrated” with an IF system

• Guaranteed, proven, customer support

• Faster, all or most all parts available

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. . . Build It?• Commercial microwave ham-specific kits

• Guaranteed, proven, customer support

• Surplus commercial bits & pieces

• Not usually guaranteed functional

• Takes time to find what you need

• No after-sale support

• Used gear?

• Make sure the unit works

• Check to see if the seller’s callsign appears in contest results to verify the rig “really” works

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

1W

PA

PIN

SW

FT-817

(432 MHz)

LNA+20 dB +20 dB

PLL

SYNTHESIZER

10 MHz

TCXO

SEQUENCER

POWER

SUPPLY

+24 VDC

+12 VDC

+5 VDC

-5 VDC

-12 VDC

TX

RX

9936 MHz

10,368 MHz

9936 MHz

PTT

4X MULTIPLIER

2484 MHz

WA6NIA 3cm XCVR

432 MHz

432 MHz 10,368 MHz

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

WA6NIA DragonSlayer

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

Morpheus (AKA, “Successful Failure”)KH6WZ

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Morpheus II KH6WZ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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Morpheus III KH6WZ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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FrankInspired2 KH6WZ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

Ms. JuneKH6WZ

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Wiki-Wiki Transverter KH6WZ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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Basket Case KE6HPZ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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Lazarus The Next Generation

N6RMJ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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Milkman N6XQ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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W6DTA

(SK)

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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WB6DJI

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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N6EQ

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

nQED Built by KH6WZ

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KG6EG

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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GoldenEye WA6CGR

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

WA6MEM24GHz

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N6RMJ Photo

TheTorch WA6CGR

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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N6IZW (LASER)

What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

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What Does a Microwave Rig Look Like?

LightShow(24GHz)KH6WZ

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Let’s Build It!• When getting on the Microwaves, your fancy VHF/UHF all-mode rig becomes an “IF unit”

• There are many stages and sub-systems to get from a “pile of parts” to a working rig. If you get stuck, move on to another section, rather than just stop working on the rig.

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Words of Encouragement. . .

• “A rig will never be completed if you stop working on it.”

• “Shoot the engineer, and just build it!”

• If you need help, ask! Most microwavers are willing to help new people, because new operators means more contacts in the next contest!

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The Building Stages: Highly Emotional

• A complex project broken down into separate modules• RF: Microwave section

• IF: Transforming to audio

• Multiple-voltage power supplies

• Control circuits

• Antenna & feed system

• Housing and support structure

• Test & verify along the way

• Integration of systems

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The Successful Failure• A “Seinfeld” version – it’s

“made from nothing”• Lots of guessing• Plenty of mistakes• Building and re-building• RX OK, TX not so OK (power

too low)• No QSOs• See CQ magazine, December

2003 and January 2004 for the complete story. . . .

Morpheus

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A Total Re-Build. . .

• Morpheus was totally ripped apart, and re-packaged a week before the contest.

• Morpheus II: Open tray/chassis helps service-ability.

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Testing and Proving

Get on the air and talk to someone!

The SDMG/SBMS “Tune Up Picnic” before the big contest

A well-equipped lab helps – call fellow club members!

Listen to the beacons

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The Final Test . . . .

Plug it in, light it up, and get it on the air!

Can you hear me now?

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Where to Go?

• Microwaves = Limited to Line-of-Sight• NOT necessarily so!

• Is Higher Better?• NOT necessarily so!

• Microwavers very shortly discover that signals are enhanced and propagate much farther than L-O-S

• Weather affects signals, inversion layers and humidity impact propagation

• Behavior is like light: Reflected, refracted or absorbed

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CM96wa: Kettleman City, CA

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CM96wa: Kettleman City, CA

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DM03wt: Signal Hill, CA

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DM03wt: Signal Hill, CA

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DM03tw: El Segundo, CAPark here

The water tower

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DM03tw: El Segundo, CA

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DM04ti: “Secret Site 51”

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DM04ti: “Secret Site 51”

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DM03xq: Huntington Beach, CA

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DM03xq: Huntington Beach, CA

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CM97kh: A Scenic Overlook

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CM97kh: A Scenic Overlook

KH6WZ

N6CA

KB8VAO

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The Fear that Drives Us:Rule Number 5.5

• “A transmitter used to contact one or more stations may not be used subsequently under any other call during the contest period . . . . ”

• When your rig breaks, you pack up and go home. . .

• Or do you? Be prepared to trouble-shoot your rig in the field and get back on the air, because you can be a long way from home. . . .

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You are NOT Allowed to Give Up

• Remember, most of the time we are hundreds of miles away from home

• If something breaks, we have to fix it• Every microwave contester needs a field tool kit

• Most important is a cordless soldering iron• Vise-Grips®• Clip leads• Etc

A broken interface cable killed this radio in a recent contest. Clip leads jumpered the broken wires, and the rig was functional again!

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Enhancements

• A microwave rig is still just a radio: “You can’t work ‘em if you can’t hear ‘em!”

• Microwavers usually go thru stages of continuous improvement

•Receiver noise figure & gain•Antenna & feed system•Frequency stability & accuracy•Support and aiming•Transmit power

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Receiver Improvements

• Noise Figure: Lower is better

• Minimize feedline loss

• No feedline = No feedline loss!

Waveguide antenna feed and T/R relay in FrankInspired 2

Close-up of W6QIW’s 10GHz rig. Less than 12-in. of UT-141!

KH6WZ

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More Power!• Amplifiers from the data and communications industries: Surplus!• Solid state power amplifiers (SSPA)

• Replacing TWTAs

• Travelling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA)• Used in satellite and terrestrial communications links

• Commercial ham-band units: Costly!

DB6NT 50W amplifier for 10GHz

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• Down East Microwave

• Kuhne Electronics (DB6NT, Germany)

• SSB Electronic

• JWM Engineering Group

• Reactance Labs

• Club meetings and e-mail reflector posts

• SBMS

• WA1MBA

• 50 MHz and Up Group

• eBay

Microwave Ham Radio Sources

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References & More Information

CQ andCQ-VHF magazine

www.cq-amateur-radio.com/

QST & QEX

www.arrl.org/

The San Bernardino Microwave Society

www.ham-radio.com/sbms/

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Recent Articles. . .

• Lau, Zack KH6CP, “Home-Brewing a 10GHz SSB/CW Transverter, Part 1,” QST, May 1993, p.21

• Lau, Zack KH6CP, “Home-Brewing a 10GHz SSB/CW Transverter, Part 2,” QST, June 1993, p.29

• Yoshida, Wayne KH6WZ, “A Simplified Path to a High-Performance 10GHz Transverter System,” CQ-VHF, Summer 2007, p.22

• Yoshida, Wayne KH6WZ, “Getting On 24GHz,” QST, July 2007, p. 28

• Yoshida, Wayne KH6WZ, “A Successful Failure,” CQ, December 2003, p. 78

• Yoshida, Wayne KH6WZ, “Microwaves: Not Just for Leftovers,” CQ, January 2004, p. 68

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Join us!

What will your rig look like?

• Loaner rigs

• Roving partners

• Technical help

• Social events

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The San Bernardino Microwave Society

Founded in 1955, the San Bernardino Microwave Society (SBMS) is a non-profit technical organization dedicated to the advancement of communications above 1000MHz with a membership of over 90 amateurs from Hawaii and Alaska to the East coast and beyond.

Visit their website at http://www.ham-radio.com/sbms/

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Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ

• Licensed since 1976

• Amateur Extra Class ham radio license

• Contributing Editor, CQ magazine (“The Beginner’s Corner,” since January 2003, now “The Ham Notebook” since March 2010)

• Huntington Beach RACES Public Information Officer

• ARRL Hq. Public Information Officer

• Past president, UCLA Amateur Radio Group, W6YRA

• HF contester and DXpeditioner (W1AW, NK7U, W5RRR, 8P6BBS, 8P4B, 8P9BB, 7J1AFZ, J68DX, J68WZ . . . )

• Most memorable ham radio experience: Working in the Press Room at the NASA-Johnson Space Center (Mission Control, Houston, TX) during the first manned ham-in-space mission, STS-9/SpaceLab-1 (Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, 1983)