CQ on them there Meteor trails

Wel,,

Been fiddling around this morning in the shack and doing some MS on 50MHz.I do this from time to time:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/meteor-scatter-you-cant-be-serious.html

I thought you might be interested to see the setup operating, so have made this very rough and ready video:

My Nixie clock is about right but and the video quality is rubbish, you'll get the idea. I'm calling on 50.230 and listening on 50.245 (so I am calling CQ 245 G0MGX).

Fun egh?

Say something then!

Well,

A while since I have posted; primarily because I am spending far too much time in foreign parts for my employer, rather than playing for me!

Anyhow, been rummaging around in the shack today and finally got round to configuring my MS station for 6M and 4M.

I have the antenna I put up back here for both bands:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/thatll-never-work-will-it.html

And today I have got the digital interface working to my satisfaction into the FT-847:

You will see that I have used a SignaLink USB thingamabob to connect the radio to the PC:

http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm

Now, the FT-847 has caused me a load of trouble in the past when dealing with digital modes; primarily in an unsatisfactory delay going back from TX into RX again. I have always interfaced the radio like this:

So here the PTT is combined with an audio line which is then decoupled using the capacitor you see in the graphic above.

This time I have interfaced into the Mic socket and used the PTT and audio in feeds available there:

Now, further inspection of the FT-847 manual today, and I find this:

which looks infinitely more sensible again!

So, I may yet change things once more to enable an easy switch between digital and voice operation.

I'm still using the amplifier I bought from Linear Amp (the DX Shop):

I'm scared stupid I'm going to overdrive this amplifier; I would like to find a way to restrict the output of the 847 permanently to 25W - any suggestions? I may well ask the question on the appropriate owners forum.

Fun egh?