The receiver on the HackRF is not really sensitive (people say), but it is easily damaged by nearby transmitters. Allegedly an HT at 0.5W at a distance of 3 feet can fry the HackRF receiver.
O. On Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 16:34 Orrin Winton <orrin.win...@gmail.com wrote: > Jonathan, i've done a little bit on testing amateur radio "beacons" using > the HackRF. So far i've been using 434.000 CW and FM. > > So far i've gone at this two ways: > > (0) At 434 MHz the HackRF is too drifty. Installing the plug-in TCXO made > the freq stability acceptable. > > (1) Record a CW transmission using the appropriate hackrf_transfer syntax, > and play it back using hackrf_transfer syntax. > > (2) Use the app SDR-Angel for xmit and receive. (I have gotten that app to > work on Ubuntu 18, Win10 (both 64-bit of course) but it won't install under > Linux Parrot Home 64-bit, at least not with my limited expertise.) > > With SDR-Angel i set it up to do a CW (FM modulated with Morse) with the > appropriate PL tone, to set it up to key my local 440 repeater -- giving a > heads-up to the repeater admin first of course. > > I make sure (with settings) that the HackRF is putting out about 0.6 to > 1.0 mW, not more than that. Feed that into one of those $20 RF amps from > China (1 to 950 MHz). I get 0.2 to 1.0 watts out, measured with a watt/swr > meter. Could get 2W i'm sure. That goes to a 440 yagi in my attic pointed > at the repeater. > > Haven't used a 2nd HackRF as a receiver to receive the repeater. A T/R > switch is needed for sure, the xmit will fry the receiver. > > My first HackRF was $300 off Amazon, and then i bought the PortaPack from > Hacker Warehouse. > > My 2nd HackRF was off Ali Express, they are $99, but i bought one with a > case, antennas, plug-in TCXO, and DHL shipping for $165. > > The TCXO fits the latter HackRF. The tcxo won't fit the one with the > PortaPack but there might be a way to do that with a ribbon cable & > modifying the metal case. > > Next for me: get a 3rd HackRF + tcxo, dedicate it to being a CW or > FM/Morse beacon on 434 or 146.52 or somewhere. Possibly use a python script > & cron to make it go off once every ten minutes. > > Really need the added tcxo. The drift on mine without a tcxo is not okay > for a beacon. ... You can tell i like beacons. I'm into wspr too. Just > finagled my HF radio antenna tuner to tune down at 1836.6 kHz wspr, also on > 10 and 14 MHz. ... That's another idea, a HackRF cw beacon down on HF. > Pre-tune the antenna with a regular radio, then switch to the HackRF. > > Best regards > Orrin. > > > > On Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 08:38 Jonathan Guthrie <ka8...@ka8kpn.org wrote: > >> Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jonathan and I just bought a >> HackRF One with the intention of turning it into a software-defined >> transceiver for amateur radio use. I figure that a power amplifier and >> T/R switch can't be all that hard (yeah, I know, "famous last words") >> and I'm a computer programmer at my day job so the software part is at >> least do-able. The upshot is that I'm hoping that for a little bit (or >> a lot) of sweat equity, I can get an HF transceiver that is similar to >> commercial transceivers for a fraction of the cost. That's the plan, >> anyway. I'm certain it'll be educational. >> >> By looking over the recent archives, I see that other people have tried >> to do similar things, which is good because it means that I don't have >> to start from complete scratch. >> >> For a long time, I been using one of those TV dongles as a >> software-defined receiver to receive FM broadcast, 2m FM, and some 2m >> and 70cm SSB/CW signals from satellites, so I don't have to climb (much >> of) a learning curve to work with GRC. >> >> So far, I've plugged my HackRF One in to my Linux laptop and have >> listened to some FM radio, and it seems to work. >> >> At some point, I'm probably going to get another one so I can use it as >> a signal generator. Lots of useful things you can do with a signal >> generator. >> >> Anyway, that's me. If I have any questions about how to proceed, I'll >> let you know. >> >> -- >> Jonathan Guthrie >> ARS KA8KPN >> >> _______________________________________________ >> HackRF-dev mailing list >> HackRF-dev@greatscottgadgets.com >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/hackrf-dev >> >
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