[Hackrf-dev] Hey, everybody

[Orrin Winton]

Jonathan, i've done a little bit on testing amateur radio "beacons" using
the HackRF. So far i've been using 434.000 CW and FM.

So far i've gone at this two ways:

(0) At 434 MHz the HackRF is too drifty. Installing the plug-in TCXO made
the freq stability acceptable.

(1) Record a CW transmission using the appropriate hackrf_transfer syntax,
and play it back using hackrf_transfer syntax.

(2) Use the app SDR-Angel for xmit and receive. (I have gotten that app to
work on Ubuntu 18, Win10 (both 64-bit of course) but it won't install under
Linux Parrot Home 64-bit, at least not with my limited expertise.)

With SDR-Angel i set it up to do a CW (FM modulated with Morse) with the
appropriate PL tone, to set it up to key my local 440 repeater -- giving a
heads-up to the repeater admin first of course.

I make sure (with settings) that the HackRF is putting out about 0.6 to 1.0
mW, not more than that. Feed that into one of those $20 RF amps from China
(1 to 950 MHz). I get 0.2 to 1.0 watts out, measured with a watt/swr meter.
Could get 2W i'm sure. That goes to a 440 yagi in my attic pointed at the
repeater.

Haven't used a 2nd HackRF as a receiver to receive the repeater. A T/R
switch is needed for sure, the xmit will fry the receiver.

My first HackRF was $300 off Amazon, and then i bought the PortaPack from
Hacker Warehouse.

My 2nd HackRF was off Ali Express, they are $99, but i bought one with a
case, antennas, plug-in TCXO, and DHL shipping for $165.

The TCXO fits the latter HackRF. The tcxo won't fit the one with the
PortaPack but there might be a way to do that with a ribbon cable &
modifying the metal case.

Next for me: get a 3rd HackRF + tcxo, dedicate it to being a CW or FM/Morse
beacon on 434 or 146.52 or somewhere. Possibly use a python script & cron
to make it go off once every ten minutes.

Really need the added tcxo. The drift on mine without a tcxo is not okay
for a beacon. ... You can tell i like beacons. I'm into wspr too. Just
finagled my HF radio antenna tuner to tune down at 1836.6 kHz wspr, also on
10 and 14 MHz. ... That's another idea, a HackRF cw beacon down on HF.
Pre-tune the antenna with a regular radio, then switch to the HackRF.

Best regards
Orrin.



On Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 08:38 Jonathan Guthrie <ka8kpn at ka8kpn.org wrote:

> Please allow me to introduce myself.  I'm Jonathan and I just bought a
> HackRF One with the intention of turning it into a software-defined
> transceiver for amateur radio use.  I figure that a power amplifier and
> T/R switch can't be all that hard (yeah, I know, "famous last words")
> and I'm a computer programmer at my day job so the software part is at
> least do-able.  The upshot is that I'm hoping that for a little bit (or
> a lot) of sweat equity, I can get an HF transceiver that is similar to
> commercial transceivers for a fraction of the cost.  That's the plan,
> anyway.  I'm certain it'll be educational.
>
> By looking over the recent archives, I see that other people have tried
> to do similar things, which is good because it means that I don't have
> to start from complete scratch.
>
> For a long time, I been using one of those TV dongles as a
> software-defined receiver to receive FM broadcast, 2m FM, and some 2m
> and 70cm SSB/CW signals from satellites, so I don't have to climb (much
> of) a learning curve to work with GRC.
>
> So far, I've plugged my HackRF One in to my Linux laptop and have
> listened to some FM radio, and it seems to work.
>
> At some point, I'm probably going to get another one so I can use it as
> a signal generator.  Lots of useful things you can do with a signal
> generator.
>
> Anyway, that's me.  If I have any questions about how to proceed, I'll
> let you know.
>
> --
> Jonathan Guthrie
> ARS KA8KPN
>
> _______________________________________________
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> HackRF-dev at greatscottgadgets.com
> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/hackrf-dev
>
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