The ‘plan’ was to take a couple of weeks off work and have me a good old radio vacation, but our new puppy kinda ruined that idea! All my empty hours were filled with dog-walking instead of CQ’ing!
BETTY THE RADIO DOG
It seemed like every time I reached for my radio, young Betty (the English Springer Spaniel) would jump all over me to get me to take her for another long walk. If I ignored her pleas, she’d just just jump up on my knee to join in 😂
So I got very little done in the end. The caravan site we stayed at did not permit the erection of any antennas, so I couldn’t use my trusty and reliable SotaBeams Dipole. Instead, I used my AlexLoop HamPack, but the location wasn’t really good.
When I got home I setup on the patio and tried my Elecraft AX1 Telescopic but the bands were full of giant-power stations running an “All Asia” competition and no one was the slightest bit interested in an M7 from England 🙄
So overall, my great radio-holiday turned out to be a holiday away from radio LOL
I still see people mocking the idea of working QRP. I see it on various internet platforms, on-air, at radio clubs and even (quite surprisingly) in magazine adverts! There are even Badges, Cups and T-shirts available to help reinforce the idea that QRP is a bit of a waste of time. So what's the problem?
Well let's not forget that in most cases it's just a bit of humour! But like any joke which is repeatedly aimed at a particular group, it can become a little tiring - especially when you keep hearing hams talking about QRP on the radio as though there's something a bit odd with low-power operators.
When I mention that I made a contact with someone thousands of miles away, I often get asked how much power I used and when I tell them I used 10W (or less) they smirk and imply that I'm lying.
Well, apart from the fact that I'm only licensed to use 10W, I actually prefer to use less when possible! I've made SSB voice contacts with people 7,000km away using just 2.5W and got a 55 report from them (eg. KE5EE).
It gives me great pleasure listening to QRO operators from my region struggling to get a contact logged with someone and then I manage to do it with my little IC-705. It's even more amusing when I know that they're using a monster antenna and I'm using a portable dipole or an end-fed wire.
Yes we all know that I could pump up the power and in reality no one would know any better, but I would know and that's the whole point - I'm playing radio for me not for others!
Even when I go on a Field Day with a club, I wouldn't dream of leaving my QRP radio at home. I'd much prefer to make ten contacts with 1W than making fifty contacts with 100W on the Club Radio. I love the challenge of QRP.
If people want to use 100W, 400W or 1500W, then that's up to them. I don't think any less of those operators - they've paid their money and chosen their preferred operating method just like I have. I know only too well that sometimes 10W just won't get you where you want to be and in my mind, I just think "I need to get to a higher location or a better take-off point".
The harder I have to fight for a contact, the happier I am when I get it. Getting the station set up optimally and in the right location is my "power". And it all ties in with my enjoyment of going outdoors. Thankfully, my wife is also happy to go out with me for the day. We prepare a picnic, choose somewhere to go and while I play radio she can enjoy a good book, walk the dog or just chill out for a few hours.
When I'm at home, I spend very little time in the shack to be honest. In there I have a fabulous high-end radio that is capable of outputting 100W and I'm sure that people must think "what the hell does he need a 100W radio for if he only operates QRP"? Well the truth is I don't need a 100W radio but I just love these gorgeous things and I take great pleasure in buying a dream, the like of which I've spent a lifetime being unable to afford.
I don't NEED a pair of B&W Nautilus speakers but if I could afford them...
Most of my time is spent with my IC-705 in the garden or in the conservatory connected to a magnetic loop. If it was at all possible, I would sell my high-end radio and invest in an amazing antenna array, but that's never gonna happen due to local restrictions.
So what when I'm stuck at home and conditions are poor and my 10W limitation is getting me absolutely nowhere?? Well that's when I switch to my DVMEGA CAST which allows me to have some great chinwags with anyone in the world on FUSION, DSTAR and DMR.
After two years of being a licensed operator, I absolutely know that I will never need 400W and will therefore never take my Advanced test (not that I'd have a hope in hell of passing it). I might take the Intermediate just so that I can use more power in my truck on 2M & 70cm FM. That is where I will admit to feeling limited. But then again, 2M FM occupies an extremely small part of my operating time.
So please, let's stop the "Life's too short for QRP nonesense" 😂
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Boy, what a frustrating weekend I've had. No matter what I tried, I just could not get any audio to come from my BlueDV App using my Windows10 Surface Pro7 tablet. It was all the more frustrating because it had worked fine a few weeks ago!
I had tried ALL SORTS of things to remedy the problem and had sought help from the BlueDV User Group on Facebook, but none of the suggestions seemed to help (because I'd tried them all myself).
Thinking that it was because my DVSTICK30 was faulty, I tried it in another PC and was presented with an altogether different problem - the BlueDV software reported that it "can not find com port". So that led me to waste a load of time resolving that issue. This particular problem turned out to be because I was using a Beta version of BDV.
So, knowing that there was nothing wrong with the hardware itself, I switched back to the Surface Pro7 tablet. I performed a Windows Update. I updated the Realtek drivers. Updated the FTDI drivers. I updated everything!!!
And still no audio. When I opened the Windows Volume Mixer, I could see that the BDV App was showing, but there was still no audio from the app even though I could clearly see that someone was transmitting.
So I'm posting this page to help any other dumbos like me who accidentally click on the wrong option in a drop-down menu. It might save someone a weekend of hair-pulling 😂 At least it's sorted out now and I can enjoy my digital chats again.
In case you don't know what a DVSTICK30 is (and BlueDV App), it's a means of connecting to DMR, DSTAR or C4FM digitally without the need for a radio or antenna. You simply plug the DVSTICK30 dongle into a Windows computer, laptop or tablet and run the (free) BlueDV software.
Using your PC's built-in mic/spkr you can start talking to operators around the globe. For those operators who have no repeaters within reach of their QTH (or for those who are not permitted antennas), the DVSTICK30 is a fabulous solution.
Of course, with no RF being involved, you'll come across the usual crowd who love to belittle internet-based radio users, but I just ignore them! At the end of the day, these devices permit Licensed Amateurs to communicate with one another, when they may not otherwise be able to. How can that be bad?
I have quite a few RF radios and I also have the DVSTICK30, a DVMEGACAST, a DVAP DONGLE and an OpenSpot2. With limited antenna options at home, it's really great to be able to comfortably have chinwags with operators from every corner of the globe
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Some time ago I discovered that I had a DeadZone on the 2M band. I could hear people perfectly well across the band but if they moved to 145.400 they disappeared.
I spent a lot of time checking out my shack and sought advice from many senior Hams with advanced licenses. I carried out numerous tests on different radios, different feed lines and different antennas. No one could identify the cause of the deadzone. And so it remained an unsolved mystery!
Well that was until I got my Expert Electronics MB1. Purely by chance, I caught a button on the front of the radio called 'WF'(wide filter)and straight away a HUGE signal appeared, centred on 145.400MHz 😲
Although it was just horrible noise, I thought I could detect the shape of voices, maybe even repetitive beats too. So I switched from Narrow FM to Wide FM and boom, there was HEART FM 105.4 broadcast radio station.
So all that time and messing around trying to solve the mystery of a deadzone was identified thanks to the WF filter option of the MB1. I've no idea what use the WF is for yet, but I'm just glad I caught it by accident.
Living right next to the Winter Hill Transmitter pushing out 5kW on FM probably means I need to invest in a 2m PassBand filter 😂
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After receiving a bit of a windfall, I was all but ready to buy a 1970's Honda classic bike, but then I realised that I already have a great bike in the garage and adding another would simply double my ongoing motoring costs and I don't really have that much riding-time anyway.
Of course I could save the money for a rainy day, but that didn't sound like much fun and having seen quite a few people around my age pass away over the last couple of years, I decided to make hay while the sun shines. Reckless? Maybe.
So I looked at investing in a radio that would normally be welloutside my financial reach - the Expert ElectronicsMB1 PRIME 2021.
I bit the bullet and got one - It's the very latest 2021 spec with the built-in ATU, manufactured in March this year.
The MB1 is a 160-2M transceiver and a PC in a single package. It has a classic design, developed over several decades, with the most advanced DUC/DDC SDR technologies available today.
The computer within the radio chassis is a fully loaded Windows 10 PC with 16Gb DDR4 RAM, a superfast Samsung EVO970 SSD and an Intel i7-9700 CPU (same processor as my gaming pc).
The radio uses EESDR V2 which is a fabulous and incredibly configurable piece of software. Apparently, V3 is in development and early reports show that it makes far better use of the CPU which results in very significant speed improvements for those who only have an i5 cpu (as well as a host of great new features). The developers are unbelievably keen on striving for constant improvement and it's great to see that they listen to their customers and involve them heavily in deciding what's next.
Expert SDR V2 Single VFO Screen
Expert SDR V2 Quad VFO Screen
The latest 2021 MB1 PRIME is designed to be used as a PC every bit as much as being a radio, so having much faster components means that you can operate the radio while running demanding software in the background at the same time. Being relatively new to Ham Radio, I'm obviously keen to dabble in all aspects of it, which includes a lot of Digital work such as FT8, etc. Being able to run WSJT-X and Logging Programs directly from the radio itself will be a big plus to me.
This is not a radio for those people who don't like technical challenges. If you already struggle with your old superhet, then forget this thing altogether! Using a high-end SDR like this requires a user who is willing to read manuals and enjoys configuring software. Basically someone who loves tinkering and experimenting.
Having said that, the MB1 is probably the best SDR radio in the world when it comes to integration with third-party software on a computer - everything is so simple because of the TCI support. I remember having an ELAD FDM DUO which was a fabulous SDR radio and the SW2 software was really, really good, but my God, that radio was annoyingly fiddly to connect up to a PC - it required THREE usb connections which is just plain ridiculous!!
On the back of the MB1 are two display ports allowing you to run multiple monitors at FullHD and even 4K. This is great for when you have all four VFO's displayed, each with their own scope and waterfall, on an external monitor. Or you might just want to operate the radio in the traditional way, but have a couple of monitors showing QRZ, WSJT-X, PSK Reporter, SwissLog, Google, etc, etc.
The screen built into the radio itself is a 7" high-res unit which is pin-sharp and it is, of course, a touch-screen. And virtually everything on-screen can be clicked, altered, moved and stretched by hand or with a wireless mouse! It's all incredibly intuitive and it's the first non-Icom system that I've really enjoyed. BUT BEWARE - you'll have to have good eyesight to use this screen - you could almost call it too high-res.
I've heard Flex owners say similar things about the 6400M/6600M screens. It helps massively if you're able to locate the radio on a shelf at eye-level. Needless to say, most owners will take advantage of the external monitor options.
The 2021 MB1 PRIME transceiver covers HF, 6M and 2M (all modes) with 100W available on HF, 80W on 6M and 50W on 2M. Apparently, there's a mod to get 4M Tx/Rx. Only UHF is missing. That pretty much makes it a high-end Shack-In-A-Box!
When the radio first arrived, I was a little surprised at how compact it was and soon discovered it could benefit from being about 1 inch wider just to provide better spacing between the four concentric rotary encoders in the top right corner. Build quality is superb!! The whole thing just oozes quality and all the buttons and rotaries feel great. The only concern I might have for the future is how well the screen printing on the buttons can stand up to thousands of key-presses 😕
Initial setup was pretty straightforward but you need to be aware that any radio which depends on a computer needs to be protected from unexpected changes. If you update a Windows Driver for example, it might have an impact on the radio software and cause a problem. This is nothing unique to the MB1 of course - it's the same for any computer-driven SDR like a Flex, Elad or Apache, etc. As soon as a problem appears, the SDR manufacturers always release a patch to sort out the issue. It's really quite rare anyway.
I strongly suggest that you create a Restore-Point EVERY time that you are about to add new software to your PC.
Once the radio was running, I had a quick play around (without reading the two spiral bound manuals) and soon ran into trouble. This is a rig that demands you RTFM, so don't be like me!
Connecting an external monitor to the HDMI connector permitted a much more comfortable view of the software. And it's very attractive software too! There's a version designed specifically for the MB1 7" screen which limits the amount of clutter and gives you a gorgeous swinging-needle S-Meter.
MB1 GUI for 7" screen
With the click of a button, you can use the more comprehensive DESKTOP layout shown below, which provides a lot more onscreen-control but requires an external monitor. Trying to use this GUI on a 7" screen will make your eyes bleed 👀
DESKTOP GUI for external monitors
If you're going to use an external monitor (or multiple monitors) then you need to go into the Windows10 Display settings and change them so that the screens are "EXTENDED" instead of the default "MIRROR" setting.
The colours of the scope and waterfall can be altered to suit the individual operator - there's virtually no limit to the combinations or colours, shades, gradients, etc.
The MB1 has 6 x USB sockets, making it very easy to setup a wireless keyboard and mouse and any other accessories that you may wish to use. And unlike most other radios, your mouse will work ALL OVER THE SCREEN, allowing you to quickly change settings with the click of a mouse-button.
My MB1 is currently (but not permanently) setup in the corner of the lounge and it is connected to a half-size G5RV which is very poorly sited. The N-Type VHF sockets are connected to a high quality Discone which allows TX on 2M and to an AOR SA7000 receive-only antenna. You can also connect receive-only antennas to the RX-IN ports.
A great feature for those operators with multiple antennas is the ability to choose from a software matrix which antenna to listen on and which to transmit on. These choices can be programmed specifically to different bands. So you may listen to one band on say the SA7000 antenna and listen to another band on your Magnetic Loop, and then transmit to a different antenna altogether.
I'm going to connect the radio to my wonderful EFHW which is very well located and performs amazingly well with my 7300. If only I could get more metal in the air at my home QTH 😢
Customised Screen
When I first played with 2M on this radio, I was very disappointed and stupidly complained on the EE Forum. Needless to say, there was nothing wrong other than the settings were incorrect. Being an ex-demo, someone must have been messing around with all the different knobs, buttons, sliders and dials, resulting in a dreadful VHF response. It's all fine now. Great even!
20M and 40M work pretty well on the G5RV and I managed to make quite a few contacts within minutes of powering up the MB1 using low power. With a decent signal, the RX audio from this rig is ASTONISHING! It sounds awesome and I received some very complimentary audio reports. I can't wait to learn more about the radio and set it up properly.
The built-in recorder is really easy to use and you can re-transmit your recording over the air with the press of a button. Nice! Below is a short video of a chat I had on 40M SSB with a Welsh operator.
Another nice feature is the built-in ATU which has a pretty good matching range, but nowhere near as good as a decent tuner like the MFJ-993B, so 160/80M on the G5RV is a no-no, but most other bands can be tuned.
Well that's as much as I can say about the MB1 at this point. When I learn more about it, I'll write more about it, but in the meantime, take a look at some of the videos available on YouTube...
Internal power-meter for HF and VHF bands and SWR-meter for HF band
Record and play on air fragments (IQ files) with a bandwidth of up to 312 kHz
Internal ATU (Automatic Tuner Unit)
The embedded power supply unit
MB1 PC capabilities
Installation of digital modes software
Installation of HAM and Contest logs
Two CW Skimmers may be used on different bands
The transceiver can connect to the LAN and the Internet
Use of Internet applications (e.g. e-mail, Skype, ICQ, TV, etc.)
Play video and audio files
Watch TV via USB-receivers
An opportunity to connect two external displays, keyboard, mouse
An opportunity to connect external speakers to the PHONES jack on the front panel
MB1 Applications
Full-function radio amateur transceiver
Mobile contest-station
Remote receipt point for the contests and other applications
Spectrum analyser with the bandwidth up to 80MHz
Work with the external programs of digital connection types, CW Skimmer, etc.
MB1 Block Diagram
ExpertSDR2 Software
A version of ExpertSDR2 software with adapted GUI for 7″ display was specially developed for the MB1 transceiver. At the present time software works in RX/TX mode and supports two independent receiving channels with the bandwidth up to 312 kHz. A DSP library developed by company Expert Electronics allowed improvement of receiving quality and higher the stability of the software.
MB1 PRIME Specifications
RF ADC, bit @ MHz
16 @ 160
ADC type
LTC2209
RX Frequency range, MHz
0.1…65; 95…155
Independent software receivers
2 + 2 SubRX
Sample rate, kHz @ bit
39; 78; 156; 312 @ 24
Bandscope, MHz
80
RX HF filters, MHz
LPF: 65 or 9 x BPF
RX VHF filters, MHz
WideRX: 95-155 or SAW filter for 2M: 144-148
BDR on HF, dB
130
BDR on VHF, dB
114
Sensitivity, uV
0.2
DR IMD3, not less dB
98
RMDR, dB
110
ATT/Preamp, dB
-20; -10; 0; +10
VHF LNA, dB
+22
RF DAC, bit @ MHz
14 @ 640
TX Frequency range, M
All amateur bands 160-6; 2
Output power on HF, W
100
Output power on 6M, W
80
Output power on VHF, W
50
TX IMD3, dB
25-37 on HF/VHF
Local oscillator TCXO, MHz +/- ppm
20 +/- 0.5
External 10 MHz oscillator input
+
Built-in audio codec, bit
24
RF input/output
4HF (SO 239) 2VHF (N-type) 1XVTR, ADC IN, DAC OUT (SMA)
Built-in PC (Prime 2021 version)
Windows 10 OS Motherboard – GA-IMB310TN CPU: i7-9700T RAM: 16 GB DDR4 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB IPS 7″ 1280×800 touchscreen display
AC voltage range, V, Hz
~100…240; 50…60
Power consumption RX/TX, W
320
Operating temperature, °C/°F
0…+50/ +32…+122
Dimensions L x W x H, cm/inches
32.5 x 28.5 x 15.0/ 12.6 x 9.84 x 5.51
Weight, kg/lbs
9.3/ 22
In the Box
PTT-microphone MD15
Power Supply Cable to connect the transceiver to an AC mains network
When you fancy playing FT8 outdoors on the top of a big hill in the middle of nowhere, just bear in mind that you often find yourself in a location which has no access to wi-fi or even mobile phone signal.
In these circumstances, you might as well switch to some SSB Voice activities because without a perfectly synced clock on your computer, FT4/FT8 just isn't going to function well. But don't worry, because your amazing little IC-705 has built-in GPS which can output its data in NMEA format and your computer (with an app) can make use of that data, extracting the time component from it.
So how do you go about setting it up? It's easy!
First of all, go into the radio's MENU....
Make sure you're on Pg1
Click SETTINGS
Click CONNECTORS
Click USB (B) FUNCTION
Click GPS OUT to ON
Go back to the MENU and go to Pg2
Click GPS
Click GPS TX Mode
Select NMEA
Now check that your GPS Icon at the top of the screen is steady (not flashing). That means it's locked onto satellites and is ready to use. You can double-check by going back into the GPS menu and looking at GPS INFORMATION to make sure your Lon/Lat coordinates are correct. That's your work completed on the radio.
On your computer (Laptop, Notebook, Tablet), download a program called BktTimSync from HERE.
Install the software and complete the setup.....
Click "ENABLE GPS"
Enter correct COM #
Select BAUD 9600
BITS = 8
BITSTOP = 1
PARITY = N
PROTOCOL = NMEA
Click SYNC ON SYSTRAY
Click SYNC ON STARTUP
Check that the GPS Coordinates look correct. All other settings seem to be okay at their default readings. Please note that if you wish to use this software at home where wi-fi is available, untick the ENABLE GPS and tick the NTP instead.
If you don't know which COM port number is the right one, remove the IC-705 USB Lead from the computer, open up DEVICE MANAGER and look down the list at Ports (COM & LPT). When you plug your IC-705 in, you will see a new COM number appear - that's the one!
When you run your FT8 software, you should find that your DT Timings are super accurate. Don't forget to make a small donation to the author - anything helps :-)
ENJOY :-)
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