Still alive

I’m still alive and doing ham radio stuff. But can’t find the time or motivation to write it all down in this blog. So a small summary so far :

  • Made an APRS tracker with the Arduino Nano, cheap GPS module and an old Kenwood TH26e.
  • Bought a Zastone M7 handheld and modded the firmware after digging thru loads of pages on a Russian forum to improve microphone volume.
  • The radio sonde antenna is still on a temporary pole. See the picture for a quick comparison
  • Ordered the ESP32, has to arrive

The APRS Tracker was the difficult one to test and debug the software as we were in lockdown when I started the project (march 2020). I couldn’t drive around for fun, just to test it. The test session were limited to the occasional visit at the office. The best test however was our holiday to Italy in july. See the screenshots or the archive of APRS.fi : https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=10&ts=1594080000&te=1594166400&call=a%2FON3JT-12

The radiosonde antenna is still mounted 4 to 5 meter below the Diamond X50. But sometimes it receives better. See below.

Click on the picture to open it fullscreen.


Difference between the Diamond X50 and the home made 2x 5/8

Picture 2 of 2