Archive for the ‘“Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio’ Tag
UPDATE: Articles on San Diego’s First Maker Faire:
Inventors Show Off DYI Drones, Robots
Maker Faire Celebrates 100 Faires Around the Globe in 2013
Crowd Deluges San Diego’s First Mini Maker Faire: An Xconomy Slide Show
The First San Diego Mini Maker Faire Takes Off!
A Mini Maker Faire makes its debut in San Diego at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Despite the sometimes heavy rain, most all of the exhibitors (Makers) showed up. San Diego Mini Maker Faire organizers kept the weather forecast updates on a positive note: “…Forecast: 100% Chance of Great Exhibits” – an excellent promotional phrase.
There were around 5,000 tickets purchased, amazing for a first run in inclement weather. Another positive indicator of interest in San Diego area “Making” is the number of Learn to Solder kits that were made during the event – all 350 of the blinky LED boards were built on Saturday.
The San Diego Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio team
Dave WA6CGR (San Bernardino Microwave Society – SBMS)
Dennis W6DQ (SBMS)
Jason W6IEE (SBMS)
Kerry N6IZW (San Diego Microwave Group – SDMG and SBMS)
Walt (SBMS)
Wayne KH6WZ (SBMS)
In addition to visitors from our own radio clubs (Rein W6SZ and his XYL, Larry K6HLH and his XYL, Ed W6OYJ, Michelle W5NYV and Paul KB5MU) many other San Diego area hams stopped by. As in previous exhibits, there is a pattern: Those who have a callsign but are not on the air, those who have callsigns and are active on the FM repeaters but not much else.
But this is one of the reasons I developed the Maker Faire theme called Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio – I want to show something new to licensed (active as well as inactive) hams, and I want to expose those not familiar with ham radio to what some of us are doing with twenty-first century technology in our hobby – we are embracing and doing hands-on experiments with microprocessors/microcontrollers, GPS, micro- and millimeter-wave construction techniques and other exotic radio-related technologies. We are having fun while learning new skills and expertise.
I hope this idea spreads to other active ham radio groups in other locations – surely there are other hams like us who are doing something more interesting than just talking to strangers, friends and family, right? If you are a ham radio operator and are involved in doing something interesting, let me know and we should join forces to help each other increase interest and participation in this concept – since – as most all hams know – being a Maker is certainly not a new idea!
Here are some pictures from the San Diego Mini Maker Faire. I have two videos posted on my YouTube channel: Walt’s Radio Wave Demonstration and The Electric Giraffe
Map showing the KH6WZ APRS beacon location. The location is approximate, I had to simulate the GPS coordinates since signals were blocked in the steel and concrete exhibit hall.
Despite the rain, there was a constant crush of people in, near and around the Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio booth at the 2013 San Diego Mini Maker Faire
Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio at the San Diego Mini Maker Faire – We were lucky there was a no-show next to us, so we combined the empty space with ours at the end of an aisle – good show!
A visitor (striped shirt and black hat) tries some of the hands-on microwave physics demonstrations made by Walt
Dennis brought his 10 GHz / 24 GHz dual band station with software defined radio and notebook computer. The “waterfall” display is used to visually indicate very weak to very strong signals across the receive band. The digital signal processing in this system can improve signal reception
Two more projects by Dennis – On the left, a transmit/receive sequencer, used to turn on or turn off circuit modules (or functions) in a specific order. To the right is a circuit under construction/proof of concept receive system using direct synthesis.
Jason W6IEE brought his airplane IFF detector. I will get a better description of his display in a later update.
Here’s one of Kerry’s gadgets – a surplus QualComm microwave diode being used to generate a wideband microwave signal. Intended to be used to detect a microwave signal to verify transmitter operation, it can also transmit a signal for voice communication – in this case, to my 10 GHz transverter system shown in the background.
Here are three of my projects. On the far left, is a microwave field strength detector, this is used to demonstrate vertical or horizontal polarization, the KH6WZ unit in the middle is an APRS beacon, transmitting GPS coordinates (this unit generated and transmitted the GPS coordinates used to generate the location on the APRS locator map at the top of this page) and at the far right is my distance record-setting 10 GHz microwave transmitter-receiver system.
Visitor’s to Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio at the San Diego event were able to see some vintage 1960s microwave ham radio units – like this “Synplexer” built by Ed Munn W6OYJ. A pair of these units were on display so we could demonstrate full duplex wide band communication on 2.4 GHz (2400 MHz)
Here’s a closer look at the Synplexer
Who’s that?
It’s great to see young ladies get excited about technical things. There’s a San Diego area high school program that includes a robotics class and competition
Quadcopters seem to be trendy with Makers. Maybe this is where Jeffery Bezos got that idea for small package delivery?
MakerPlace – a place where fellow Makers can gather and make, share and borrow tools and ideas to make things. Funny, it sounds like what a good and active ham radio club should be
Russell – the Electric Giraffe at the 2013 San Diego Mini Maker Faire. Russell and its builder Lindsay, are San Diego residents
The Electric Giraffe – This image may give you some idea of Russell’s size – this is the “down” position, with head lowered for crowd interaction
Links to More Information
Amateur Radio General Information
CQ Amateur Radio Magazine
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
Polaplexer for 2.3GHz (2300 MHz) – a Vintage Microwave Transceiver
Another Polaplexer Article
APRS – Automatic Packet Reporting System -Beacons
Byonics – I Use TinyTrak Beacon Kits
Microwave Ham Radio Clubs in Southern California
San Bernardino Microwave Society (SBMS)
Microwave Group of San Diego / San Diego Microwave Group
San Diego Area Radio Clubs
Go here and search for ham radio clubs in your area
Russell the Electric Giraffe
Announcing San Diego Mini Maker Faire 2013 – Visit the Maker Booth called “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio”
Here’s a quick overview of Maker Faire projects from past “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio” exhibits. . .
The KH6WZ 10 GHz (X-band) transmitter-receiver unit on display at the Orange County Mini Maker Faire on the UCI campus
A vintage Helium-Neon (HeNe) laser communicator by Dennis W6DQ – from the 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire
An audio frequency test station with an oscilloscope, signal generator and audio amplifier. A microphone inserted into the amplifier input became a popular function for kids and adults – Speak into the microphone and see what you sound like!
KH6WZ-5 APRS beacon – active and sending position data at the 2013 OC Mini Maker Faire at UCI. The beacon message included the Faire’s URL.
Morse Code reader/sender with wireless keyboard and radio interface by Brian W6BY. This setup uses Ham Stack modules available from Sierra Radio
“Space Ball” azimuth-elevation antenna positioner, with wireless remote control and iPhone interface, by Brian W6BY
KH6WZ APRS beacon sending out the Discovery Science Center location
Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire team – Left to Right: Brian W6BY, Dennis W6DQ, Wayne KH6WZ, Tony KC6QHP, and Mike Lavelle K6ML
Jeri Ellsworth – aka Circuit Girl – at the 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire. She’s playing her 8-bit bass key-tar.
More projects coming soon, so stay tuned!
Announcing San Diego Mini Maker Faire 2013 – Visit the Maker Booth called “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio”
Maker Faire – where art, science and technology crash together!
>> Click here for more info! <<
Discovery Science Center – Advanced Ham Radio on Display at the Meet the Makers Event
Signage at The Discovery Cube announces the Meet the Makers Event
Dennis Kidder (W6DQ), Walter Clark and I demonstrated our Maker Faire ham radio projects at the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana on June 29 and 30, 2013. We used my TinyTrak APRS beacon to indicate our location during the event. In case the plot is removed or expires, here is an image of the map showing our location. KH6WZ is indicated by the eye icon near the Interstate 5 freeway in Santa Ana.
This is a screen capture showing the KH6WZ APRS beacon data from the Discovery Science Center – Meet the Makers event.
This was a great opportunity to expose people to today’s technology Amateur Radio, and continued along my Maker Faire theme, “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio.”
Dennis brought his dual band 10 GHz and 24 GHz transverter, controlled and interfaced to his software-defined radio (SDR).
Walt brought his polarization demonstration units, which helped people visualize how radio signals propagate and change as they travel through the air. Here’s how Walt explains his demos:
Two demonstrations show the structure of radio waves – in this case microwaves.
One
The structure of a radio wave in angle around the direction of travel: This is called polarization. A spinning bargraph that has a receiving antenna that also spins will reveal the way radio waves “look” to a receiving antenna. The lesson here is that the receiving and transmitting antennas have to be oriented to the same angle.
Two
The structure of a radio wave along the direction of travel: When a receiver is arranged to look exactly in [or along] the direction the radio waves are going out, reflections can be measured; just like in radar. The reflection off of the hand or the chest of a person causes the speaker to be loud or quiet depending on the exact position. It cycles from loud to quiet every 1.5 cm whether inches or many feet away. The lesson here is that with this equipment, you can picture in your mind the wavelength and especially note that the wavelength is the same no matter how far the radio wave travels.
We did not establish any goals for this event, but there were several memorable visitors to our little table display, including teachers, Maker Faire participants, some current and ex-ham radio operators, many engineers and retired engineers as well as engineering students.
This “Meet the Makers” event was a double treat for me, since this was the first time I visited the Science Center, and I had a blast talking about the new technologies being used by today’s ham radio enthusiasts.
Here are some pictures of this event . . .
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An R/C R2D2 makes an appearance at the Meet the Makers event at the Discovery Science Center.
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The 24-inch dish antenna makes a great stand for signage.
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The KH6WZ APRS beacon display at the Meet the Makers event.
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Dennis W6DQ, brought his software defined radio with 10 GHz and 24 GHz transverter to our exhibit.
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Walt brought several fascinating displays to illustrate radio wave propagation.
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Dennis explaining the radio wave demonstration to our target audience: kids.
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Great shot of Walt explaining radio wave propagation to some visitors.
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The Science of Hockey at the Discovery Science Center
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A close-up of one of Walt’s displays
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Bequi Howarth, of the Orange County Mini Maker Faire, who introduced us to the Discovery Science Center.
Links to More Information
Byonics (TinyTrak APRS and Weather Units)
Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana, CA
Orange County Mini Maker Faire, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
Maker Faire
Make: Magazine
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
CQ Magazine
San Bernardino Microwave Society (SBMS)
Wayne Yoshida LinkedIn Profile
APRS display of the KH6WZ-5 location beacon at the 2013 OC Mini Maker Faire at UCI. Notice the beacon message at the top of the screen capture includes the URL of the event – a great publicity tool!
This past weekend, the second OC Mini Maker Faire happened. And it just so happens to be the second running of my ham radio demonstration called, “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio (2)!” This is my continuing mission to remind people of two things:
First, “The Maker Movement” is nothing new, Amateur Radio operators have been doing this for a almost a century, and nearly 2 million people worldwide are involved in ham radio in some way.
Second, Ham radio is not necessarily an old man’s hobby where weird guys talk to strangers from garages and basements. We are skilled wireless communicators and use today’s technology, from GPS and microprocessors to lasers and microwave frequency linking.
This time I added static and working displays of my various APRS beacons (KH6WZ, KH6WZ-5, and others). I programmed the OC Mini Maker Faire’s URL to the beacon message so people can take a look at what was happening – an excellent publicity tool!
I also planned on making some 10 GHz contacts with my rig, since this was also the same weekend as the ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest. The transverter covers were removed so people can see the system’s guts.
Based on previous experience at the Discovery Science Center “Meet the Makers” event, I demonstrated radio wave polarization- horizontal vs vertical – with my rig and the microwave strength meter.
Since I had plenty of space, I shared my booth with a company that makes interesting computer and microprocessor related items. This may sound trivial, until you realize this company is run by these three young guys . . .
Huxley, Max and Ethan showing one of their products called the SmartPac.
There seemed to be more people at this Faire, probably since not too many other events were happening nearby. The 405/605/22 freeway closure did not affect the MF, since it started after the event ended.
More than a dozen hams – either active or at least licensed – stopped by to visit. We talked about this event as well as the Bay Area Maker Faire, and what ham radio activities we are involved with.
One more thing: I met several guys from the San Diego area – they are finalizing the plans to have a Mini Maker Faire in the San Diego area – this is great news. Stay tuned and I will announce an update as soon as I hear something from the committee!
Here are some pictures from the event. I am already thinking of building some new displays for next year.
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The 24-inch M/A-COM dish with the KH6WZ logo makes a pretty decent sign for the booth, eh?
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The KH6WZ 10 GHz transmitter-receiver unit on display at the Orange County Mini Maker Faire on the UCI campus
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KH6WZ horn antenna and microwave field strength meter at the OC Mini Maker Faire 2013
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The KH6WZ APRS beacon (unit 1) at the OC Mini Maker Faire 2013. This was a static display unit to show components and construction.
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KH6WZ-5 APRS beacon – active and sending position data at the 2013 OC Mini Maker Faire at UCI. The beacon message included the Faire’s URL.
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This familiar unit makes an appearance at the Maker Faire. . .
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The robot “Titan” was a crowd pleaser – it throws flying discs and comes to you for a refill.
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Track Roamer robot at the OC Mini Maker Faire. Notice the Nerf gun. When you come to next year’s event, remember to wear a red shirt.
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One of the “roving displays” at the OC Mini Maker Faire 2013.
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Some ham visitors at the Orange County Mini Maker Faire 2013: Haliey, Michelle W5NYV, Paul KB5MU and John KJ6HZ.
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Michelle W5NYV wearing her daughter’s alpha wave ears. The ears move and react to pulses from a sensor clipped to her left ear.
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An unknown couple wearing Vocademy shirts. What a great slogan: Eat, Sleep, Make.
Maker Walt discussing something fascinating with Jeri Ellsworth, aka “Circuit Girl.” Photo by Tony KC6QHP
Here is a report on the 2013 Maker Faire by Tony Long (KC6QHP):
Another great Maker Faire is in the books, amateur microwave radio was well represented!
Thanks to the coordination efforts of Wayne KH6WZ, Brian W6BY, the 50 MHz and Up Group, the SBMS, and UC Davis, the “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio 2” booth at the Maker Faire was a great success.
This year we shared a booth with UC Davis whose impressive student projects ranged from a radar demonstration, to video processing, audio sequencing, and mechatronics. Along with that, we had a 10/24 GHz SDR setup courtesy of Dennis W6DQ (on a big screen courtesy of Brian), some of Brian’s homebrew gear, Walt’s EM field demos and transceivers, and some of my stuff including a 10 GHz radio and beacon.
LA Times says that about 165,000 people were expected to attend this year, so at a minimum 10,000 people passed by our booth. Our raspy voices are an indicator that a great deal of talking was done! I personally interacted with a number of people who are really interested in amateur microwave radio and if even a fraction of them get involved or raise general awareness, I think it is a success.
Walt’s demos, owing in part to their elegant simplicity and visual nature attracted a lot of attention and interest. On Sunday night he took them to a post-fair get-together with the who’s who of the hardware hacking scene (Jeri Ellsworth, Ben Heckendorn, Diana Eng, Alan Yates and many many others). All were impressed!
Something I see very encouraging in the “maker” scene is a real interest in RF. This crowd includes a good deal of embedded systems engineers, talented software people, etc. There’s a real opportunity to make connections with this crowd and get more activity on the microwave bands.
As Software Defined Radios decrease in cost and become more open source, I predict massive interest in RF and likely in the microwave bands because of their large bandwidths. While they may not be interested in SSB mountaintop to mountaintop contesting (there will be those who are certainly), an increase in use of our bands will only help to further the cause of maintaining our spectrum to help further the state of the art.
I posted a gallery of pictures on Flickr: http://goo.gl/cAy3p
Tony KC6QHP”
Thanks for the report, Tony!
Make: Magazine reports there are over 900 displays this year. My team is setting up for the big event. I will post images and reports as soon as I receive them from my crew. I am not going this year. . . .
Here are some previews and some of the things I want to see. . .
Read more at: Belt-Driven, Hubless Rear Wheel Bicycle
Read more at: The Viper 2.0
And of course, my entry, Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio 2
Here is your chance to earn some minutes of fame – and show off that secret project you’ve been working on in your garage. . .
Deadline for proposals is March 15, 2013.
I entered last year. Our theme was “Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio!” and generated a lot of interest in our radio clubs.
More information on this year’s event is posted here.
Take a look at some videos from my previous Maker Faire experiences…
My favorite videos from the MakerFaire include a short chat with Jeri Ellsworth and her “key-tar.”
Jeri has some very interesting YouTube videos, too.
And take a look at the giant paella pans cooking away!
wayneyoshidakh6wz 