YOTA Hungary 2023 – Day 5

What did you get up to on Day 5?

“Our first lecture was from Sylvain, F4GKR the IARU Region 1 President who spoke about SDR (software defined radio). We covered the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, the differences and drawbacks of the direct conversion, direct sampling SDR architectures and how they relate to the cost of each solution. We heard further detail about ADCs and how their bit-depth relates to the signal integrity and dynamic range, as well as how saturation can become a problem with ADCs with lower dynamic range.

The second part of the lecture focused on the different real world SDR devices e.g. SDRPlay, HPSDR and IC-7300. We covered the Fourier transform and how it is helpful in digital signal processing. This was followed by multiple-antenna concepts and how they relate to beamforming by adjusting the phase delay to each antenna.

The next lecture was about the CR3DX contest station based on island of Madeira. We learnt how to easily setup a contest station and about some of the unique problems that such a station can have e.g. corrosion from seawater. Also covered were tips and tricks for making station set up easier e.g. equipment standardisation, fool-proofing, and automating as much of the station as possible.

After lunch we had a presentation from one of the event’s sponsors, Mastrant, where we were shown the variety of products and given advice on antenna guying.

In our next Train the Trainer lecture, the French team showed off their planned youth activities that were hosted at the flagship club F6KOP. The Belgian team’s presentation was focused on high-altitude ballooning and radiosondes. The radiosondes are usually used to track weather patterns, ozone etc. They are attached to a balloon and sent up to around 30km at which the balloon eventually bursts. The fun begins when the radiosonde parachutes and lands back on earth and broadcasts its GPS location and has to be tracked and found. There are dedicated amateur radio payloads that can work as repeaters, beacons, SSTV transmitters etc.

After cooling off in the lake and having a closing lecture, we took to the radio where Jake experienced his first ever pileup. Henry used the remote station and Hannah and Jake used the HF sets on 20m band.”

Category: YOTA 2023