Vienna Wireless Society’s Maker Team was organized to promote building and design projects among VWS members. The team’s goal is to reinforce ham radio’s long tradition of building and experimentation. The VWS Maker web pages host recent projects by members as well as information to help members find designs, kits, electronic parts, and expertise that encourages them to take part in the technical and creative aspects of amateur radio.
Current Projects
Makers – Test Equipment Builds
The ability to generate a signal at a known frequency an essential tool for your shack. Dean, KK4DAS demonstrates this simple-to-build Arduino-based signal generator that can be used as a reference signal or even a local oscillator for a receiver. Watch the presentation on YouTube: (1) Using Arduino components to build a signal generator – YouTube
and get all the details building it yourself on the KK4DAS blog:
Satellite (2M & 70cm) Yagi. This directional antenna was designed to hold a 2M-7ocm FM handheld tranceiver (HT) in order to communicate with amateurs via repeaters on low-orbit amateur satellites [to learn about amateur-radio satellites, visit the AMSAT website].
In this design, the driven element is the HT’s antenna. There are only directors for each band: 3 for 2M, and 7 on 70cm (not all made it into the photo). This antenna can be made for well under $10. The full assembly instructions and measurements are featured in a 2012 QST article.
This is just one way to do it. Designs for cheap home-brew VHF and UHF Yagi antennas can be on several websites (here’s one by WA5VJB). The cheapest I’ve found claims to cost about $4.00, and the online instructions are accompanied by a video. There are lots of home-brew single-band designs that extend the range of your HT at home, or can be easily packed for a hike on the Appalachian Trail.
QRP Kits. Building miniature transmitters and receivers is a ham tradition that continues to grow in popularity. This aspect of amateur radio is facilitated by several reputable ham-owned companies and clubs that sell well-designed, relatively inexpensive kits. The QRP-Amateur Radio Club, Inc. (QRP-ARCI) has created a webpage of QRP kit sellers which you can peruse and from which you can choose. To get a quick sample of the extensive range of kits available to hams, see QRPme, Breadboard Radio, or Pacific Antenna’s QRP shop.
Videos of most of these QRP-kit builds are available on YouTube. Not only are they fun to build and operate, QRP kits give new hams a hands-on introduction to how RF energy is generated, transmitted, received, and detected.
The pictured transceiver (QRPme’s Sea Sprite, 250mW, $30.00) fits into a small aluminum pineapple-slices can and is ready for making CW QSOs on 40m. The Sea Sprite is just one of numerous kits that can be purchased on the web, and built at your home workbench.
Makers – Mobile Builds
KM4KMU Jeep VHF/UHF Rover
Perhaps VWS’s biggest attraction at Field Day is John Young’s (KM4KMU) amazing VHF/UHFrover. John has been using his rotatable jeep-top array to set scoring records as a stationary FM mountaintop station in the VHF contests. You can read all about John’s Jeep-altering builds by scrolling down though lots of photos, videos and text at KM4KMU’s QRZ.com site.
Interior of KM4KMU’s VHF/UHF RoverVHF-UHF Rover at site
