Matt M0PUH @m0puh@mastodon.radio

Amazing! There's a hand #soldering world championship!

https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/hand-soldering-world-championship

I just noticed that Elektor have a new booked 'KiCad Like a Pro'. Could be interesting, but it's a bit expensive, especially with £7 shipping.

https://www.elektor.com/kicad-like-a-pro?mc_cid=cf6823df05&mc_eid=a15184bd16

And for “isolation routing” I’m using FlatCAM, which eats gerbers and spits out gcode. And the last bit is bCNC, which controls the actual CNC.

I love that the full stack is free, but didn’t bank on so many layers!

I picked kicad because I don’t like the idea of being beholden to Autodesk, and I’m a Linux/Mac person, but it’s pretty complicated. Quite a lot to take in!

I'm learning a lot while trying to get my CNC producing decent output. Having to delve into schematic capture and PCB design, which I've not done since uni days, followed by conversion to gcode, levelling and milling.

In gcode the learning curve is basically Y10 (🤦‍♂️sorry, bad joke).

When my pi is less busy I’ll try QSSTV, This decoded pretty fast so I must be missing part of it!

Managed to record some of the ISS’s warblings using my phone’s voice recorder and decoded this. Not sure what it is to be honest. Next time I’ll be better prepared! #sstv #amateurradio

Ordered a CW Invaders kit after stumbling across a case design for them on thingverse.

Ordered via http://project59.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-656.html (English link at the top of the page). Should be fun when it arrives and when I finally take the plunge and start learning! #amateurradio #hamradio

I’ve added some quick and dirty limit switches and a z-probe to my 2417 CNC, and also updated the GRBL version to the latest!

I’ve learned a lot about how it works and think I might almost be ready to use it in anger. Of course I still have a more beefy spindle to install and some new connectors to crimp...

Just got back from my first visit to the local radio club. Great fun and a very welcoming bunch!

https://sites.google.com/view/tdarc/home

A transmit converter (and amplifier) for 630 and 2200 meters:
http://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-transmit-converter-and-amplifier-for.html

I really enjoy this blog. It's always super detailed!

A visit to the Chernobyl reactor control room: https://imgur.com/a/naiMOS0
fascinating pics.

Chopped the top off the dead transistor from my PSU. There’s nothing obviously burned in there but the left hand wire isn’t connected to the die. It’s pretty though!

The RSGB has published #amateurradio band plans for 2019, at https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/display/

It's a shame the interactive versions still require flash, but there are plenty of other formats.

Interesting idea: Using a bike rim as a mag loop antenna https://www.dk9jc.de/blog/equipment/171-mag-loop-magnetic-loop-diy-with-trashed-26-inch-bicycle-rim