About Me

I'm Thomas, an electronics and radio enthusiast focused on all types of portable operation. I was first licensed in amateur radio in 2014, then upgraded in 2016 with W8EDU of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH during my undergraduate course of study. That is also where I had my first simplex QSO (2m) and chased my first DX (as a club station operator). Lack of knowledge and equipment had me lament missing participating properly in the NPOTA 2016 event, leading to in-pandemic and post-learning-to-drive me to POTA in 2021. That lead me along to WWFF, SOTA, and portable contesting. I'm now equipped for terrestrial operation on all bands 80m to 70 cm with plans to both increase in frequency and operate on satellites.

View my occasionally curated Equipment list.

Popular posts from this blog

Hardware Filter Modifications for Quansheng UV-K5 Band Extensions?

The Quansheng UV-K5 ( product page archive ) handheld transceiver has been notable in cheap amateur radios of 2023 by using both a wideband FM chip BK4819 ( product page archive ). With support of 18-620 and 840-1200 MHz half-duplex with 6.25/12.5/20/25 kHz channel spacing, this puts the chip in the range of five ITU Region 2 amateur bands (10m, 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 33 cm) and spitting distance from a sixth (23 cm). Presumably hitting 4m and the rare 8m would be within reason as well. The easily hackable firmware indicates at least nominal receive capability up to 1300 MHz, though!
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A Multi-Pronged Approach to BK4819 HT Band Expansion

As previously discussed, the BK4819 simplex FM transceiver chip with specified coverage of 18-660 and 840 to 1300 MHz covers a lot of Region 2 amateur radio bands with generally accepted FM operation: 10 m, 6 m, 2 m, 1.25 m, 70 cm, 33 cm, and 23 cm. The most popular models of amateur-oriented HTs using the chip generally only cover the popular VHF/UHF split with 2m and 70cm (and wide enough filters to support nearby business/public safety bands). How this is implemented varies in cost, complexity, and potential for effective modification. Of course, it's not really a modification if it's an actual product, but more on that further in.
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MEAN WELL HLG-320H Power Supply Actual Teardown and Failure Investigation

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Last left off in the preview "teardown" despairing over the potting was my failed MEAN WELL HLG-320H. Then came a great need for mindless stimulation after a day of work and I tried cracking the case again. After the successful prying came picking and cutting away at the potting material to see what's what. Here's what's inside! Image warning: there's a lot to get through this whole device. Click on the photo for the full Blogger resolution. There you go, just a bit more force and the top plate comes off.
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