Onno (VK6FLAB)

Anything and everything Amateur Radio and beyond. Heavily into Open Source and SDR, working on a multi band monitor and transmitter.

Excited to experiment with propagation and currently trying to discover just how little power is needed to get around, so far my 10 mW WSPR beacon has been received 13,455 km away on 10m.

Trialling new ways of learning #MorseCode with video: https://youtube.com/@vk6flab

#geek #nerd #hamradio VK6FLAB #podcaster #australia #ITProfessional #voiceover #opentowork

Public Key

npub126aydn924an4thxvq8xhjyy4g8tkq4l7vs2s6sgqtum3kgmsrczqr089vh

NIP-05 Address

vk6flab_at_mastodon.radio@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9dwjxej427e64mnxqrntezz25r4mq2llxg9gdgyq97dcmydcpupq0mfjtt

Author Public Key

npub126aydn924an4thxvq8xhjyy4g8tkq4l7vs2s6sgqtum3kgmsrczqr089vh

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Last Notes

2024-06-21 14:22:56

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@npub16ju…y8u7 you just think that what you ate was curry..

2024-06-19 20:51:22

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@npub1u76…qmwm thank you so much for this delightful relatable rant.

2024-06-16 19:39:23

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@npub16ju…y8u7 your alt text description missed out on the ears, that's what absolutely makes this a thing of beauty.

2024-06-13 05:55:54

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@npub1st6…k42z how do you prove:
1) who is operating the station
2) who owns the callsign

2024-06-11 22:34:41

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@npub16ju…y8u7 bring both the sealed drink and an acceptable drinks container to the entrance, then transfer the content with the oversight of the security team.
ProTip: Make sure that the drinks container is large enough.

2024-06-10 18:34:46

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@npub16ju…y8u7 the latter.

2024-06-05 13:41:36

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@npub16ju…y8u7 hi grumpy, I'm Onno

2024-05-31 13:09:55

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@npub1st6…k42z interesting read.
That said, the information vacuum surrounding this is unhelpful to the global amateur community.

2024-05-30 12:02:28

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I was going to ask if it had an acoustic coupler, but I figured that would say more about me than your ability to hoard :)

2024-05-30 09:34:54

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@npub16ju…y8u7 300 baud?

2024-05-26 02:40:32

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@npub16e2…ks3l Echolink, IRLP, any local repeaters with DTMF connect functions? 10m HF?

2024-05-24 23:57:06

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@npub16e2…ks3l you could always join us on ftroop, starts 00:00 UTC - in 3 minutes :)
See: ftroop.groups.io for details.

2024-05-21 10:18:23

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@npub16ju…y8u7 shoe polish?

2024-05-10 10:55:21

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@npub16ju…y8u7 we should CELEBRATE this!

2024-05-03 08:59:38

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@npub1z7p…xwvx what were we voting for?

2024-05-02 13:19:02

My #wspr beacon has been off the air for the past few days, mostly because of local thunderstorms. I've got a manual system of coax switches to isolate my antennas, but I'm wondering if anyone knows of automation solutions for disconnecting something when #lightning is detected within range.

2024-05-01 13:51:03

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@npub1z7p…xwvx it's almost as if those CPU cycles in those care are useless for keeping the driver safe..

2024-04-05 12:34:22

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@npub1z7p…xwvx I started making little songs, mind you, I was drugged up to the eyeballs by pain relief, so it might not have been nearly as funny to anyone else.

2024-04-05 04:09:30

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@npub1z7p…xwvx the beeps on those are something else..

2024-04-02 22:32:53

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@npub16ju…y8u7 there are also lightbulbs that have three levels of brightness, each time you switch it on, it cycles.

2024-04-02 18:10:09

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@npub16ju…y8u7 WiFi controlled bulb. Lifx makes them with colour and brightness control.

2024-03-24 22:30:12

https://www.positive.news/

2024-03-03 16:00:24

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@npub16ju…y8u7 put a chain on them and attach them to something sturdy, like the bench.

2024-03-01 12:53:45

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@npub16ju…y8u7 there's a glimmer of a smile escaping from those eyes .. but the stiff upper lip appears to be well trained :)
Also, nice collection!

2024-02-28 00:08:06

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@npub16ju…y8u7 that's the second time this week that her name came across my brain. First time was in the shower, remembering that my mum used to listen to her music.

2024-02-24 12:09:19

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@npub16ju…y8u7 as a rail geek, no doubt you have heard of Virtual Railfan.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIkT9bq-1N2BvrsBjhNlag

2024-02-23 12:49:05

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I particularly like the voicemails that say: "It's XYZ, call me." because those really informative messages tell you precisely how important the call is and include redundant information such as the person's name, absolutely essential when it's someone you've known for a decade or more and whom you speak to regularly.
Send email, my phone is on silent 100% of the time - except when I'm trying to watch a video via Bluetooth because of course you can't have audio and Do not Disturb.

2024-02-04 09:56:03

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@npub1st6…k42z you could wrap a bash script around it and only activate stuff depending on the file extension :)

2024-02-04 06:04:01

Need a small HF antenna?
https://hackaday.com/2024/02/03/hf-in-small-spaces/

2024-02-03 21:13:14

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@npub16ju…y8u7 fish & chips?

2024-02-02 22:16:30

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I have questions.
How big is this shed, is there room for a bed, does your cousin serve coffee intravenously, how much coffee can you consume in a day, does the smell of roasting coffee wake you up?
This was just a little flight of fancy, no need to reply :)

2024-01-22 19:58:25

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@npub16ju…y8u7 if you think it's broken, what is the alternative to capitalism?
While we're at it, if "both major parties" are to blame, what's the alternative to democracy?

2024-01-09 12:20:12

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@npub1u76…qmwm I think that if going back 2-3 months causes problems with validation, in the case of QSOs, you're doing it wrong.
Seriously, amateurs log QSOs for decades and think nothing of validating one from the previous century.
If that causes you to have conniptions, you need to come up with a better logging system.

2024-01-09 01:50:35

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@npub1u76…qmwm what is your point?

2023-12-31 11:27:58

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@npub16ju…y8u7 my mother used to say I was adorable too. She did add a qualifier every time ... "when he's asleep".
Not sure what that added to the statement ...

2023-12-29 20:35:19

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@npub12lp…gedk dead pig in bacon?

2023-12-29 13:33:01

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@npub16ju…y8u7 ahh, but are your connectors made with Pasternak Plated Hyperbole, or just eBay specials?

2023-12-29 13:18:24

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@npub16ju…y8u7 take a train, go shopping?

2023-12-29 13:14:21

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@npub16ju…y8u7 better still, get one of your mates to crimp it and keep reminding them years later about the time they fucked up a $51 crimp.
Gives you much more value for money 😇

2023-12-29 13:00:29

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I'm sure that there's some freight forwarders who can swim across the puddle...

2023-12-15 13:31:38

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@npub16ju…y8u7 it's obviously for streamlining against the wind.

2023-12-15 10:50:01

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@npub16ju…y8u7 clock it up as time in-lieu!

2023-12-15 10:24:06

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@npub16ju…y8u7 hopefully you can bill them for your time.

2023-12-14 11:48:52

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@npub16ju…y8u7 in Dutch we'd hand out contagious diseases like confetti, giving people cancer, consumption and typhoid at the same time. I always found it a very expressive way to articulate my displeasure.
That said, in the past few weeks I've gone the other way, using "Dumb Dumb" as a catch-all for displeasure.
At this rate I'll be wishing people a lovely day when I actually mean something quite different 😇

2023-12-13 20:50:44

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@npub16ju…y8u7 no, but if they do, it's one less numpty you have to deal with ... silver lining 😇

2023-12-13 20:44:53

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@npub16ju…y8u7 this is why I'm working on migrating to an email list for F-troop, rather than a website.
We started on Google Sites, migrated to Reddit, which became a shitshow, now I'm trying to get historic data reformatted as email.

2023-12-13 20:35:13

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@npub16ju…y8u7 reminds me of this:
An engineer and a physicist are in a hot-air balloon. They lose track of where they are and descend to get directions.
They yell at a jogger, "Hey, can you tell us where we are?"
After a few moments the jogger responds, "You're in a hot-air balloon."
The engineer says, "You must be a mathematician."
The jogger responds, "Yes! How did you know?"
"Because, it took you far too long to come up with your answer, it was 100% correct, and it was completely useless."

2023-12-11 21:26:34

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I can assure you from personal experience that the alternative is worse.

2023-11-26 13:24:05

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@npub16ju…y8u7 yours or theirs?
Tell us, that at least you picked up some jelly babies?

2023-11-26 12:54:48

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@npub16ju…y8u7 depends on what the outcome of your visit was and how many people you upset along the way...

2023-10-23 12:56:12

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@npub16ju…y8u7 I had no idea that there were still humans around who were made of sugar. I thought that by now they'd all be extinct.
I learn something new every day!
Anyway, what process did you use to poach these eggs, mine never work and I pretty much end up with wet scrambled eggs instead.

2023-10-08 07:01:48

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@npub1st6…k42z I've been wondering about the requirements for a Pi 4. As far as I understand how it works, the FPGA is doing all the heavy lifting and the Pi is "just" setting configuration parameters and reading/writing I/Q data.
A Pi Zero should have enough for doing that.
Did I miss some salient points in that?

2023-10-08 04:52:25

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@npub1st6…k42z what did you use as the starting point for the schematic? I found Johan's repository and one from a Chinese builder, but couldn't figure out which one was "the right one".
I was attempting to have one built by JLCPCB.
As for layout skills, EasyEDA seems to be feature rich as is KiCAD.