Posts

YAESU FT-857 Front Panel Repair

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Over the past 12 months the display on my Yaesu FT-857 has developed the "zebra stripes" problem which after looking in to it, this has probably happened because of high temperature from the sunlight entering into my vehicle. The best way to resolve the fault is to install a new board into the front panel which I carried out last night with successful results. I began by contacting YAESU UK who came straight back with the cost and part numbers which was very reasonable as the total cost for a complete brand new panel and new AF/SQ VR control was under £140. The panel has a screen and selector control so I thought I would renew the AF/SQ control at the same time. The staff at YAESU UK are extremely knowledgeable and very helpful indeed, I gained a few tips from one of the gentleman at YAESU UK regarding the task I was about to undergo.  The AF/SQ VR required careful soldering as the terminals are very tiny but apart from that the job was not too difficult and I managed t

Rack mounted

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I decided that I would like to make a purpose made steel racking system for my shack. I wanted something that would house more equipment as my existing rack is just a tad too small. I have made the frame out of tube and box section. I just need to put in some shelves and then get some paint.

U.K HAMS Exempt Radio Amateur aerials from requiring planning permission

"Exempt Radio Amateur aerials from requiring planning permission" Current planning regulations severely restrict the ability of licensed Radio Amateurs to erect experimental aerial systems. We the undersigned require the government to amend the law to exempt all licensed Radio Amateurs (and C.B. radio users) from requiring planning permission for their aerials. Please follow this link to sign the petition 

Sun Sea & Ham Radio

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Port William Scotland It's been a brilliant summer break and I managed to get in lots of radio time during our summer tour of Scotland and Wales. FT-857 mobile Maldol antenna The MK7 Transit performed well as we enjoyed many nights under the stars and I got the opportunity to operate mobile using MW0YKS/M as well as MM0YKS/M. I also made some good VHF contacts from my holiday cabin during my visits and my home shack was on the air when I was home. M0YKS Shack Operating from the Cabin FT-2600m Enjoying the view to Ireland and The Isle of man from the Mull of Galloway Scotland Campsite crew I made a few ham radio videos which are available via my YouTube channel which were from my shack and mobile.  I saw some amazing nature and countryside and had fun working the FT-857 mobile whilst clocking up some miles. The bands were poor but the beaches of Anglsey Wales and Galloway Scotland made up for that. Mull of Galloway Light House So once agai

Special Discount - Eltima Products For Radio Amateurs

Just a quick update regarding my last post about Eltima software. Any radio amateurs and short wave listeners wishing to use Eltima products can get special discount and support. This has kindly been arranged by Helga from Eltima software solutions. If this is something for you just mention you're a Ham or SWL and that you have visited my blog. Contact helga@eltima.com    I hope that some of you fellow hams benefit from this and thanks again to all at Eltima Software Solutions.  If any other amateur radio related techs, developers or sales would like there products reviewing, testing, rating as well as good play around with in my shack. Please feel free to contact myself Simon M0YKS as I am always up for a good blog post to share with the World Wide Ham Community. 

Virtual Serial Port Pro From Eltima - Control Your Transceiver From Multiple Apps Simultaneously

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I was recently contacted by Helga from Eltima Software who design software and apps which can be used in the field of amateur radio. Helga offered me the chance to take a look at a couple of software solutions of interest which are  Virtual Serial Pro  and  Serial to Ethernet Connector . Helga has been involved in the research of what can be achieved using the Eltima Virtual Serial Pro com port application in regard to Amateur Radio and has written an interesting article called  How to Control Ham Radio Transceiver from Several Apps at a Time . 1. Virtual Serial Port Driver: creates pairs of virtual COM ports. 2. Serial Port Splitter (Virtual Serial Port Driver Pro): helps to create bundles of virtual serial ports and set custom port parameters, allows managing real and virtual COM ports. 3. Serial Port Monitor: displays, logs, and analyzes RS232/422/485 COM port activity. 4. Serial to Ethernet Connector: allows sharing serial ports over Ethernet, LAN, and the Internet.

VHF ON

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The holidays are going well, after a trip to the Welsh island of Anglesey I'm now enjoying the good wx and occasional VHF openings as well as some short skip HF qso's into G land from the cabin on the Yorkshire moor tops.

Holiday Operating - Ham Radio

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Its almost the end of another busy academic year at College where I have been busier than ever getting all our learners through their welding and fabrication programs. The good news is as from this weekend I will be free to operate my ham radio equipment without too many distractions as I begin my annual summer leave and spend time enjoying life with the family. I plan to be active from the shack at home, the holiday cabin as well as the DX machine whilst camped up somewhere cool. I hope to catch some of you guys on the bands and maybe I will continue to enjoy more 10m band propagation which has been worth tying over the past few weeks giving some good DX as well as into EU openings. Evening DXing will also be on the cards over the next few weeks as we move into the mid summer nights so listen out for M0YKS, M0YKS/M, and maybe MM0YKS/P or MW0YKS/P. 73 thanks for the visit. catch you on the air - Simon M0YKS

Ham Radio Poems - M3TLL

Over the years I have received many emails and comments regarding Ham radio poems that Louise M3TLL wrote a few years ago. They have been very popular so here it is brand new for all who love poetry. An Ode To The Antenna Tower Written by Louise M3TLL. Your shining steel standing proud I hear your signals coming in loud Many countries, every nation Booming in to my humble station Shining brightly in the sun You help me enjoy hours of fun Hearing signals coming through Spending time calling cq Radiating across the land How great it is to see you stand So tall and proud in my backyard I hold you in such high regard While others prefer a tree or flower I have my antenna tower

CQ WW DX SSB 2017 Results/scores Are Out

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I'm pleased enough with 3rd place low PWR England. I'll try harder this year!

So called new replacement from Moonraker?

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Last March I was 50 so my YL bought me a RM KL405 from Moonraker (UK). The amp lasted about two weeks despite running low power, I was offered a replacement from Moonraker and was told that I would not be able to return the so called new replacement should it go faulty. With this in mind I made sure I took the greatest of care to minimise any possible risk of over powering the amplifier and have only run 5 to 10 w on SSB with a maximum output of 180w out. After using the amp for a couple of weeks the pre amp became stuck on which was annoying but it seemed to be working ok. Last week I was in my shack and heard an interesting station so I gave a shout out. I noticed straight away that the output was down thanks to my West Mountain Radio PWR Check. So I decided that I will have a look to see if anything was obvious in the way of a fault. The first thing I saw was the sticker and hand written note which seemed a bit strange for a so called new replacement. Then I noticed a resistor w

80m dipole

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It's been a while since I posted which has been mainly because of the poor propagation on the HF bands. I have made a few decent DX contacts on 15m and 17m which have been good on occasion. Otherwise nothing to spectacular has been happening here at the home of M0YKS. As usual during the winter months I enjoy listening lower down the HF bands especially on 80m and 40m. To do this I use a HUSTLER 6BTV vertical and also CAROLINA WINDOM antennas. I have had both in use for 8 years and the outcome is that the vertical is excellent and the WINDOM is good on transmit but far too noisy on receive to continue using it. With this in mind I altered the off centre antenna of 131 feet to a balanced equal legged 80m dipole by shortening one leg to 65 feet and adding 15 feet to the other leg to make a doublet of 130 feet which I soldered and clamped together. I didn't require another Multi banded wire as I have my Cushcraft MA5B, HUSTLER 6BTV and 20m Delta LOOP, I had decided to try a

Happy New Year To All !

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I would like to wish everyone a very happy & healthy new year for 2018. 

Merry Christmas

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Christmas Eve and all is well. Hope you have a lovely Christmas Everyone !

Catching Some New Satellite Signals

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Its been quite a while since I operated my satellite set up which comprises of a 15 element 435 Mhz X beam and 5 Element 145 Mhz Yagi mounted on a GS-5500 elevation rotation controller into a YAESU FT-847. Tonight I managed to get into a new one for me EO-88 as well as a couple of other SSB satellites. I enjoyed the tests as I familiarized myself with the operating technique and equipment and I will be trying my luck over the next few evenings on the amateur satellite bands as HF on an evening after work is not very reliable at the moment due to poor conditions. Listen out for M0YKS via the ''birds'' as well as from the mobile on 20m most mornings. Best 73.