NJQRP Meeting Summary

November 19, 2005

     Great to see the regulars today and several newcomers as well!  Overall, we had 24 people in attendance and it was one of those memorable meetings that was super interesting - something for everyone, as they say.

AUDIO
     We tried something new - making and audio recording of the "discussion portion" of the meeting - and it worked out quite well. If you were not able to attend this month's meeting, here's a chance to listen in on the MP3 recordings below.  This 48-minute-long  informative portion of our meeting is arranged by topic, as described below, in order to facilitate easier downloading of the MP3 file, as well as to allow listeners to zero-in on the desired portion of the talks.  
     (For best results, right-click on the desired MP3 file and "save as" to your local computer.  Have patience, as most of the files are large and they will take a minute or two to make it to your computer. Then, you should be able to just double-click on the file in your Explorer file browser, or equivalent, to bring up your default media player.  If you have problems, open up your Windows Media Player application, or equivalent, and navigate to the folder in which you stored the MP3 files, then select the desired file to listen to.)

• njqrp-1.mp3 (1.2 MB) -- Introduction, "SoftRock"
• njqrp-2.mp3 (2.3 MB) -- "SDR-908" prototype kit
• njqrp-3.mp3 (0.8 MB) -- "DDS-60 Kit"
• njqrp-4.mp3 (2.9 MB) -- "Signal Quality Monitor" - prototype Atlanticon kit
• njqrp-5.mp3 (1.1 MB) -- "GPS-based 10 MHz Frequency Standard" group project
• njqrp-6.mp3 (1.6 MB) -- "Homebrewer Mag discontinuance" discussion

PHOTOS
     Thanks to the photo journalism done by Bryan AA3WM and Gerry N2GJ at the meeting, we have a nice set of photos that document the various projects and members in attendance.  There are some pretty interesting shots in here if you look carefully ...  you'll see the projects mentioned above, as well as a couple hidden gems.
     Click here to see the AA3WM photos     Click here to see the N2GJ photos

THE PROJECTS

• SoftRock-40 & PowerSDR software for the PC ... We sold 800 of the original little 1"x2" SoftRock-40 receiver kits that produce unbelievably good results when used with the PowerSDR or "Rocky" softwrae on the PC. We had the board and the software up and running during the meeting and guys were astounded by the powerful receiver that able to be achieved with this little $23 kit.
  
• SoftRock v5 ... This is successor to the original SoftRock-40 kit, being handled this time by the designer Tony Parks KB9YIG. This updated version of the project has a small baseboard containing the quadrature sampler and audio amplifiers for the resultant I & Q signals, and a stackable "band-specific" card with the oscillator and RF input filter. One of the first trial boards was shown in the SDR-908 project (see below), and the production run of the the version 5 hardware is set to start later this month.
  
• SDR-908 ... prototype of the first-ever portable Software Defined Radio, based on the Micro908 components but in a QRP rig enclosure, soon to be a kit. A new dual-DDS card works alongside the familiar components of the HC908 daughtercard, the DSPx daughtercard and LCD/encoder/pushbuttons, and the SoftRock version 5 boards to provide a truly portable, battery-operated SDR receiver. And when the SoftRock exciter becomes available, the SDR-908 becomes a full-fledged portable QRP SDR transceiver.
  
• DDS-60 ... the next-gen DDS daughtercard that started shipping today! Plug-compatible with all existing applications, with only minor software changes needed to extend your application up to 60 MHz ... including the Micro908!
  
• Signal Quality Meter ... the prototype Atlanticon kit, demonstrated at the meeting, useful for determining how "dirty" your QRP rig signal is. N2CX provided a clever twist to a somewhat standard "RF power meter" design to produce a super inexpensive log-amp instrument with a tunable notch filter that takes out the fundamental transmitter frequency while allowing all the spurs and other RF spectrum "garbage" to be integrated and displayed in a quantifiable manner on a bargraph array display. See the pictures of this in the photo album. We demonstrated its use during the meeting by pumping in the DDS output signal from a Micro908 with a known-good signal and contrasted the measured results with a poorly-adjusted DDS signal from another Micro908, thus showing how the instrument results can indicate just how "dirty" a given signal really is. We are considering this project for the "Atlanticon Kit" at the upcoming Atlanticon 2006 QRP weekend (on March 24-25).
  
• GPS-based 10 MHz Standard ... a group project based on the investigation being done by Mark Phillips using some inexpensive components to provide rock-solid and accurate 1pps, 10 kHz and 10 MHz reference signals.

So, to say the least, we had a super-informative meeting, with visibility to lots of projects and activities coming down the pike for NJQRPers!

USEFUL LINKS
     We discussed a number of projects at the meeting ... you can find out more about each of them at the following online locations:

• Micro908: http://www.amqrp.org/kits/micro908
• SDR-908: http://www.amqrp.org/kits/sdr908
• Signal Quality Monitor: (soon to be posted)_
• GPS-Based 10 MHz Frequency Standard: http://mysite.verizon.net/n1jez/osc/page5.html
• SoftRock-40: http://www.amqrp.org/kits/softrock40
• SoftRock v5: http://www.amqrp.org/kits/softrock40/version5.html
• DDS-60 Daughtercard Kit: http://www.amqrp.org/kits/dds60
• Homebrewer Magazine:  http://www.amqrp.org/homebrewer

N2CX USB-SDcard
     At the meeting today several folks asked where I got the USB flash drive that I was showing. It is a flash drive in which you decide what memory capacity you want by plugging in your own card. The one I had was for Secure Digital cards though the same devices are available also for Compact Flas, Memory Stick or xD Picture Card formats. The beauty is that one can read memory cards directly into a computer without cables, or large adaptors. I use mine all the time also to record MP3 files for replay on an MP3 player/FM modulator.
     The USB adaptors are called "USB Ultradrive" and are manufactured by Mediagear. Office Depot used to carry them in their stores though they are now available only online through www.officedepot.com. The adaptors are $9.99 each - plus shipping of course.

N2CX MP3 PLayer/FM Modulator
     The MP3 player/FM modulator provides a modulated FM signal on one of 7 selectable frequencies at the bottom of the FM band. It will accept an audio input from an external player or tape drive plus it has an internal MP3 player that plays files on a USB flash drive that you plug into the modulator. The device is built into a 12V cigar lighter plug for automotive use. Walmart carries them in the automotive and electronics sections for about $30.00.

Those Attending
     Gerry Jurrens (N2GJ), Dave Ottenberg (WA2DJN), John Cawthorne (KE3S), Alan Miner (WA1CZG), Richard Bitzer (WB2ZKW), Mark Phillips (G7LTT), John Zaruba (AA2BN), Marc Franco (N2UO), Patty Franco, Charlie Dietrich (N2CTW), Bob Almeida (WA3HBT), Dave Porter (AA3UR), Bryan Williams (AA3WM), David Willmore (N0YMV), Lenny Wintfeld (W2BCH), Lamar Derk (N3AT), Denis Albisser (AB2PD), Ken Newman (N2CQ), Mike Ardovino (N2EAB), Neil Heft (KC2KY), Mark Handy (KE3VJ), Joe Everhart (N2CX), and George Heron (N2APB).