Re: uBITx Control circuit...
Bill,
Nicely done!
73,
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
201.314.6964
Get
From: K9HZ
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 5:47 PM
Subject: [BITX20] uBITx Control circuit...
I spent time over the last week designing a fool-proof control circuit for the uBITx for power control.? This circuit prevents bad things from happening by shutting down the radio before any damage is done.? It FAULTS on 1) over power, 2) High SWR, 3) High PA Current, and 4) High voltage.? It also protects against connecting the radio to the power backwards.? What I particularly like about it is that it provides a visual indication of WHAT fault occurred, and actually the individual fault LEDs begin to flicker BEFORE the trip so you can fix the problem before you hit a hard trip.? I the four trips I listed above can be expanded to any number by adding more SCR Trip components (they are set to trip at 1.8V whatever the fault is). ?When initially turned on, the transistorized RS Flipflop circuit comes up in the ¡°Operate¡± mode.? If a trip occurs, it flips into ¡°FAULT¡± and shuts down the PA.? The circuit is reset with the ¡°RESET¡± button, but ONLY if the fault has been resolved.? Turning the power off and on resets the circuit too.
?
I bread-boarded the circuit last week and have been using it on my radio for a while.? It works flawlessly (yes transmitting and yanking the coax off the back of the radio shuts down the PA nicely!).? I¡¯ll post the circuit and a build list in the files section.? This is a public circuit so feel free to design and build boards if you want¡ I¡¯m working on other things that I want to finish.
?
?
?
?
Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ
?
Owner - Operator
Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC
Staunton, Illinois
?
Owner ¨C Operator
Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ
Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I.
Rent it:
Like us on Facebook!
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Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group.
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?
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Got my ubitx wired up today and it was working great!? Receiving and transmitting well.? I decided to try a different speaker and in doing so, somehow I must have shorted the speaker leads, resulting in all the magic smoke escaping from U1 and R75 burned in two.? Aargh!
Got some new parts on order - hope this did not take out anything else.
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
If you're on a budget and don't want to fiddle with soldering, David's offer of a working 40m rig?
seems ideal.? There are no hard and fast rules about antennas, a 64 foot long dipole (or inverted V)
20' up?should get out just fine on 40m, lots of folks on 40m with a 10 foot whip bolted to the
back bumper while driving down the freeway.? Most hams on digital modes use an SSB transceiver
with cables from the microphone and headphone jacks into a computer's soundcard.
Several in this forum have reported success using the Bitx40 and the uBitx on digital modes.
Jerry
?
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On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 02:44 pm, Mark wrote:
That is very kind of you to offer. I was thinking about using a 40-meter monoband QRP because 40 meters is the open-all-the-time work horse band. However, I'd rather not have to climb up very high in the woods 40 feet or so, to hang a 130 foot dipole. The vertical antennas that I saw were not so portable. I think one person suggested hanging a vertical wire from a piece of paracord, so that might be a possibility. For safety reasons (& portability) I thought a 20-meter would be my best option. From what I understand, a 20-meter dipole is only 15 feet up?
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
I use a center supported inverted V tuned to 40m. 32ish feet a leg, center on a rope over a branch with a rock toss and legs with rope and stacked to the ground. -- David
?N8DAH
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I spent time over the last week designing a fool-proof control circuit for the uBITx for power control.? This circuit prevents bad things from happening by shutting down the radio before any damage is done.? It FAULTS on 1) over power, 2) High SWR, 3) High PA Current, and 4) High voltage.? It also protects against connecting the radio to the power backwards.? What I particularly like about it is that it provides a visual indication of WHAT fault occurred, and actually the individual fault LEDs begin to flicker BEFORE the trip so you can fix the problem before you hit a hard trip.? I the four trips I listed above can be expanded to any number by adding more SCR Trip components (they are set to trip at 1.8V whatever the fault is). ?When initially turned on, the transistorized RS Flipflop circuit comes up in the ¡°Operate¡± mode.? If a trip occurs, it flips into ¡°FAULT¡± and shuts down the PA.? The circuit is reset with the ¡°RESET¡± button, but ONLY if the fault has been resolved.? Turning the power off and on resets the circuit too. ? I bread-boarded the circuit last week and have been using it on my radio for a while.? It works flawlessly (yes transmitting and yanking the coax off the back of the radio shuts down the PA nicely!).? I¡¯ll post the circuit and a build list in the files section.? This is a public circuit so feel free to design and build boards if you want¡ I¡¯m working on other things that I want to finish. ? ? 
? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: Like us on Facebook! ? Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group. ? email:? bill@... ? ?
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Re: Transverter for uBitx
If that's an issue, then either create a power switching mod, or dedicate a radio to the transverter.?? I ordered one and may order another so that all my 903+ MHz gear can be directly driven from 28 MHz.
We'll see how well it performs.?
73,
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
201.314.6964
Get
From: Joe Puma
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Transverter for uBitx
This makes sense.?
On Feb 24, 2018, at 10:16 AM, K9HZ < bill@...> wrote:
Yikes!? My IPhone keeps ¡°helping me out¡± with word ?and phrase substitution¡ this note should have read:
?
I¡¯m thinking you would forgo the attenuator and drive it right off RV1¡ I have no w modified my radio to switch in different RV1 pots basis the band selected¡ so, in my case, I just add another relay and pot for the trans-verter input.? There is no point making additional power in the RF chain just to attenuate it.
?
Sheesh!? Ok, some of it was me.
?
?
?
Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ
?
Owner - Operator
Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC
Staunton, Illinois
?
Owner ¨C Operator
Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ
Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I.
Rent it:
Like us on Facebook!
?
Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group.
?
?
?
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2018 9:09 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Transverter for uBitx
?
I¡¯m thinking you would forgo the attenuator and drive it right off RV1¡ I have not modified my radio to switch in different RV1 pots basis the band selected¡ so I just another pot for a different band and over to the transverter.? There is no point making more power in the RF chain just to attenuate it.
?
?
Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ
?
Owner - Operator
Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC
Staunton, Illinois
?
Owner ¨C Operator
Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ
Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I.
Rent it:
Like us on Facebook!
?
Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group.
?
?
?
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2018 5:57 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Transverter for uBitx
?
They are Bug bang for the buck. And pretty much arrive as promised.
?
There is one decent YouTube video worth a look, which mentions distortion increasing over a few watts.
?
The other practical problem may be using their switching attenuator board with a uBITX, as that board wants to see 5 watts. ?My uBITX is about half that on 10 but there is a pot on the board with some variability. ?I haven¡¯t dialed mine in on transmit yet with because I¡¯ve been driving them with a KX2 hacked to go to 32 MHz and with low enough drive without using an attenuator - I¡¯m using the uBITX as a satellite receiver for now -but I¡¯m hoping to use two BITX with these transverters as a cheap lightweight backpack full duplex sat rig.
?
73 Scott
Make something good happen!
On Feb 24, 2018, at 1:37 AM, Joe Puma < kd2nfc@...> wrote:
I¡¯m thinking about adding this to my build, has anyone attempted installing a transverter?
?
?
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
?
Virus-free.
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 10:12 am, N8DAH wrote:
David
Hi David, That is very kind of you to offer. I was thinking about using a 40-meter monoband QRP because 40 meters is the open-all-the-time work horse band. However, I'd rather not have to climb up very high in the woods 40 feet or so, to hang a 130 foot dipole. The vertical antennas that I saw were not so portable. I think one person suggested hanging a vertical wire from a piece of paracord, so that might be a possibility. For safety reasons (& portability) I thought a 20-meter would be my best option. From what I understand, a 20-meter dipole is only 15 feet up? Thanks, Mark
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
Hello Jack,
Another option. Maybe I can get in contact with a local HAM club. It would probably be best for me to join one anyway.
Can you tell me if this uBit has both SSB phone & PSK?
Thanks,
Mark
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
Mike & Jerry,
I appreciate you both taking the time to reply.
Jerry, It would be nice to learn about putting this kit together, because that would be highly useful knowledge. I would rather not go the lazy route, yet I would like to start practicing HF communication. I think you have an excellent point. There are no 20 meter rigs available for both SSB & PSK. To put the uBitx together might take me weeks, possibly longer. I will have to learn the basics, how to hookup a battery & power source. I would also need the tools.
Mike, I realize that the antenna is (according to some) is the most important part of the HAM radio. I was thinking about the, Ultralight 40-6 Meter HF Off-Center Fed Dipole QRP Portable Multiband Antenna, for $50 on eBay. I will need a tuner (hopefully small & highly portable).
Thanks,
Mark
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Re: Transverter for uBitx
Lots of potential there?Joe ?- I'm hoping someone writes a killer satellite sketch?(or 2) ?before we need it :)? Let me know how?yours goes, always looking for good ideas?!? 73 Scott?
?
?
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-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Puma <kd2nfc@...>
To: BITX20 < [email protected]>
Sent: Sat, Feb 24, 2018 1:45 pm
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Transverter for uBitx
? Nice Scott,
I think you got 3-5 watts on the Input for the transverter and yeah if you back the radio all the way down you can use it without the attenuator, but then when you don¡¯t want to use the transverter you have no output power lol. I guess we will have to leave that to the pros here to help us get the most out of the ubitx power on the higher bands.?
I love the idea of satellite use, I only listen to Sats with my SDR and I would like to go in that direction after trying it with some local hams on 2 meter SSB. And the fact that you can control the radio with CAT You can probably get SDR console satellite program To control at least one radio when the Satellites are passing over. Probably would be the transmit one since it can maintain Doppler change as well. Thanks for the cool idea :)
Joe
KD2NFC?
On Feb 24, 2018, at 6:57 AM, Scott McDonald via Groups.Io < ka9p@...> wrote:
They are Bug bang for the buck. And pretty much arrive as promised.
There is one decent YouTube video worth a look, which mentions distortion increasing over a few watts.
The other practical problem may be using their switching attenuator board with a uBITX, as that board wants to see 5 watts. ?My uBITX is about half that on 10 but there is a pot on the board with some variability. ?I haven¡¯t dialed mine in on transmit yet with because I¡¯ve been driving them with a KX2 hacked to go to 32 MHz and with low enough drive without using an attenuator - I¡¯m using the uBITX as a satellite receiver for now -but I¡¯m hoping to use two BITX with these transverters as a cheap lightweight backpack full duplex sat rig.
73 Scott
Make something good happen!
On Feb 24, 2018, at 1:37 AM, Joe Puma < kd2nfc@...> wrote:
I¡¯m thinking about adding this to my build, has anyone attempted installing a transverter?
?
?
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
|
Re: Transverter for uBitx
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Feb 24, 2018, at 10:16 AM, K9HZ < bill@...> wrote: Yikes!? My IPhone keeps ¡°helping me out¡± with word ?and phrase substitution¡ this note should have read: ? I¡¯m thinking you would forgo the attenuator and drive it right off RV1¡ I have now modified my radio to switch in different RV1 pots basis the band selected¡ so, in my case, I just add another relay and pot for the trans-verter input.? There is no point making additional power in the RF chain just to attenuate it. ? Sheesh!? Ok, some of it was me. ? ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: Like us on Facebook! ? Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group. ? email:? bill@... ? ? ? I¡¯m thinking you would forgo the attenuator and drive it right off RV1¡ I have not modified my radio to switch in different RV1 pots basis the band selected¡ so I just another pot for a different band and over to the transverter.? There is no point making more power in the RF chain just to attenuate it. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: Like us on Facebook! ? Moderator ¨C North American QRO Yahoo Group. ? email:? bill@... ? ? ? They are Bug bang for the buck. And pretty much arrive as promised. There is one decent YouTube video worth a look, which mentions distortion increasing over a few watts. The other practical problem may be using their switching attenuator board with a uBITX, as that board wants to see 5 watts. ?My uBITX is about half that on 10 but there is a pot on the board with some variability. ?I haven¡¯t dialed mine in on transmit yet with because I¡¯ve been driving them with a KX2 hacked to go to 32 MHz and with low enough drive without using an attenuator - I¡¯m using the uBITX as a satellite receiver for now -but I¡¯m hoping to use two BITX with these transverters as a cheap lightweight backpack full duplex sat rig. 73 Scott Make something good happen!
On Feb 24, 2018, at 1:37 AM, Joe Puma <kd2nfc@...> wrote:
I¡¯m thinking about adding this to my build, has anyone attempted installing a transverter? ? ? ? Sent from for Windows 10 ?
|
Re: Transverter for uBitx
? Nice Scott,
I think you got 3-5 watts on the Input for the transverter and yeah if you back the radio all the way down you can use it without the attenuator, but then when you don¡¯t want to use the transverter you have no output power lol. I guess we will have to leave that to the pros here to help us get the most out of the ubitx power on the higher bands.?
I love the idea of satellite use, I only listen to Sats with my SDR and I would like to go in that direction after trying it with some local hams on 2 meter SSB. And the fact that you can control the radio with CAT You can probably get SDR console satellite program To control at least one radio when the Satellites are passing over. Probably would be the transmit one since it can maintain Doppler change as well. Thanks for the cool idea :)
Joe KD2NFC?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Feb 24, 2018, at 6:57 AM, Scott McDonald via Groups.Io < ka9p@...> wrote: They are Bug bang for the buck. And pretty much arrive as promised.
There is one decent YouTube video worth a look, which mentions distortion increasing over a few watts.
The other practical problem may be using their switching attenuator board with a uBITX, as that board wants to see 5 watts. ?My uBITX is about half that on 10 but there is a pot on the board with some variability. ?I haven¡¯t dialed mine in on transmit yet with because I¡¯ve been driving them with a KX2 hacked to go to 32 MHz and with low enough drive without using an attenuator - I¡¯m using the uBITX as a satellite receiver for now -but I¡¯m hoping to use two BITX with these transverters as a cheap lightweight backpack full duplex sat rig.
73 Scott Make something good happen! On Feb 24, 2018, at 1:37 AM, Joe Puma < kd2nfc@...> wrote: I¡¯m thinking about adding this to my build, has anyone attempted installing a transverter? ? ? ? Sent from for Windows 10 ?
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Re: Looking for Completely Functional Dual-Band 20/(17/15/10/6) Meter QRP Rig with SSB/PSK
#bitx20help
As Jerry says, a GOOD
antenna is the problem for most.
I don't receive much
where I am.??? I had a 50' long wire, and then the property
owner cut down the tree!
I built a 6' Loop, I
get some reception when the band is open.? I would like to put
it on the Stump of the beautiful tree he cut down!? But I keep
it hidden in the car port.
It is hard to beat a
dipole up as high as possible.?? People that I have met lately
don't know what ham radio is and think the antennas have to
go!?? They just don't get it.? A friend came from Las Vegas
last week, I hooked bitX to the Loop ant. I found some guys
rag chewing in the Arizona area, he thought it was stupid!? He
has an I phone for that!
So, the radio is easy
part in my opinion?? Us older guys can't climb towers or trees
anymore either.?
73's
Mike, WA6ISP
On 2/24/2018 10:15 AM, Jerry Gaffke via
Groups.Io wrote:
If you get a uBitx,
you will have to do some soldering, also some mechanical work.
Will at least want to mount the controls and connectors to a
panel,
then nail that and the main PCB to a sheet of plywood.?
Will need an adequate power supply.
Once having put it together, it may not be obvious if it's working
Possibly some time spent on debug, especially if you are just now
learning to solder.
Will need a decent outdoor antenna to hear any signals.
And will need a dummy load and some way to measure power to see if
the transmitter is working.
If you haven't done any of this before, figure on weeks of
weekends to get it going,
plus an investment in soldering iron, multimeter, and hand tools.
You would learn a lot if you bought a uBitx, it's time well spent.
You may need assistance from a local ham to get going.
Hard to get around it, you will either need money or time to get
on HF.
Or possibly a good lead on some cheap used gear, perhaps ask at
the local ham club.
The $100 VHF FM handheld, on the other hand, you can pull out of
the box and operate.
About as challenging as using a cell phone.
Jerry
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 09:52 am, Mark wrote:
Yes, that is my "someday" QRP unit. Right now its out
of my price range. Because I'm also looking for a decent HT for
about $100, I'd like to keep the cost of my HF QRP rig under
$300. They were selling on eBay for about $500. So, perhaps my
expectations are inconsistent with this price range?
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
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Re: uBitx Shipping question
Shipped Monday Feb 19 1645 local India time. At my door 12:04 local time Feb 21 Wednesday. a bit over 48 hours including the time differential.?
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 12:05 PM, Jason Schlager <jmschlager@...> wrote: Ordered mBITX Dec 23 shipped DHL on Feb 19 delivered Feb 22.
73
KM6AUS
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He also has gray ones. Some may recognize the call of the person selling them: VU3SUA
Vince.
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Show quoted text
On 02/24/2018 02:05 PM, Vince Vielhaber wrote:
Anyone interested, there's a case on ebay (there's actually 2 available)
for the bitx. Already punched and panel lettering in place. No
relation to the seller, just came across it 'cuze it's listed in the
wrong category.
Vince.
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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Anyone interested, there's a case on ebay (there's actually 2 available) for the bitx. Already punched and panel lettering in place. No relation to the seller, just came across it 'cuze it's listed in the wrong category.
Vince.
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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Re: No Power Out on UBITX
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Re: No Power Out on UBITX
I installed a boost regulator.? I will set it to around 24 volts, it will stay at a solid 24 volts regardless of the variation in my solar panel battery system that varies from 12.6 to 14.5 depending on the sun and the status of the MPPT controller, it bumps up 14.6 to condition the batteries once a day.? I will use this 24 volts and a zener regulator to vary the voltage on the PA supply to control my Power Out.? So I can turn the power to various levels depending on the voltage supplied to the PA supply.
The 5 Amp boost regulator cost be about $6.00 on amazon.? They maybe cheeper else where.? I had a spare from when I built a supply for my laptop to charge off my solar system.? the car charger for laptops caused all kinds of noise on 20m this boost regulator causes zero noise on the Ham bands as far as I can tell.
I don't currently have a working mic.? its on order.? But with the keyer I have seen 7 Watts out at 13.8 vdc and it will go up to about 15 watts at 24 volts.? I dont know what SSB will do yet and I still have to build my zener circuit.? I tested this by just adjusting the boost regulator up and down.? I think it will work nicely, and give me more control over my power out.
Wish I had a working mic I would love to hook it up and talk to the world out there.? LOL
--
73, W9KJO
Walter
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Re: I got my uBITX ... adventurous shipment !
Hi Josia,
I hope you will receive it before the 90 days. My BITX40 was faster, just over a month.
73
Gian I7SWX
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Re: No Power Out on UBITX
I'm going to put a jumper in for finals supply if possible, so I can regulate the voltage to the finals.
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 10:12 AM, Michael Shreeve <shreevester@...> wrote: Oh, ok, makes sense, low voltage because of current limit, plus, probably acted very strange. display brightness changed seriously dim on transmit. Lowering voltage is good for the finals though if your doing WSPR or PSK ect. Good to remember for the future.
-- Michael Shreeve N6GRG
15901 Cloverdale Road
Anderson, CA 96007
530-410-8678
"Don't worry about a thing, 'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" -Bob Marley
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N8DAH
K9HZ
Mark K0ABD
Giancarlo - I7SWX
Michael Shreeve