Choosing a VHF(144)/UHF(450) Transverter for HL2

1,995 views
Skip to first unread message

J P Watters

unread,
Jul 17, 2020, 5:09:55 AM7/17/20
to Hermes-Lite
Can anyone recommend a transverter for VHF and  or UHF?

I am primarily seaching for VHF. 

..jpw J P Watters
KC9KKO

Walter Holmes

unread,
Jul 17, 2020, 9:43:29 AM7/17/20
to J P Watters, Hermes-Lite
I am currently using a pair of them from DownEast Microwave, or Q5 Signal actually, and they work great with a pair of Hermes Lite 2 units, on satellites. I also use them on FT8 as well.
They are a bit pricey, but that also includes the amplifier that is integrated in the unit. But you will certainly be hard pressed to find a better set of hardware.
All the best, Walter/K5WH


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/ab2c8701-b8b9-41cd-9877-ce105f6363b2o%40googlegroups.com.

Jeff Scaparra

unread,
Jul 17, 2020, 3:10:08 PM7/17/20
to Walter Holmes, J P Watters, Hermes-Lite
I recently bought some ukrainian transverters. They aren't nearly as nice but if your looking to do it on the cheap I would suggest to look here: http://transverters-store.com/144mhz.htm. They really are like the baofeng of transverters and the biggest downside in my mind is the lack of an external reference. I haven't found anyone that tried to replace the oscillator to be able to provide one but that may be possible. You also need to be mindful of the IMD performance as they have basically no filtering. It can be made clean as long as you either add filtering or don't run it at 10 watts. Look here for some research on the IMD performance: http://www.nmvhf.org/Ukranian%20Transverter%20Transmit%20Performance.pdf. There is a long wait to get them as I ordered mine a couple weeks ago and still haven't received them. Because of COVID the shipping is taking longer than expected. Once I get them on the air I can post a review. I will also take a look at the IMD issues myself. I don't have a rb or gps time standard so I won't be looking to add an external reference at this time but maybe in the future. 

Hope this helps 73,
Jeff N5SDR. 

Max

unread,
Jul 17, 2020, 6:26:37 PM7/17/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi John

This subject has been covered quite extensively in another recent thread. You might like to take a look and I suggest a good read through the whole thread as there is some very useful information, including how best to interface a transverter with HL2:

Jeff. I am thinking of going down this route myself (the Ukrainian transverters). There seems to be some dispute about who those designs (transverter-store) originate from but I am told it is actually UR3LMZ, who sells his products on eBay as seller "hfvhfparts". His latest designs are updated to use Minicircuits ADE series DBMs and claim to have higher dynamic range compared to the original models. Look for "HD" or "High Dynamic" models in his transverter listings:

Personally I am probably going to go for one of his (UR3LMZ) products. Will probably get 50MHz transverter first to trial. He also has some dual-band models.

73

Max

J P Watters

unread,
Jul 18, 2020, 10:20:33 AM7/18/20
to Hermes-Lite
Jeff, Max, Walter, Steve and others,

The Q5 Signal gang is pretty proud of their units. hard to justify spending that much more on their product. It would appear that the Q5 products end up 10 times more expensive. The pricing is confusing. with the EURO pricing win the decimal point preceding the commas have me confused.

I am thinking I will go the Dual 144mhz/432mhz UR3LMZ transverter. The biggest drawback is the local oscillator needs some work to calibrate the frequency, Maybe the QRP-Labs TXO could be substituted to get an adjustment and the stability.

I would rather have one of the transverters on other than 28mhz. Then maybe I could decode VHF and UHF at the same time. 

..jpw J P Watters 
KC9KKO 
Morris, IL  USA

Max

unread,
Jul 18, 2020, 12:14:17 PM7/18/20
to Hermes-Lite
John 

If you read down this article (see link below) you will see quite a bit of info about some solutions to stabilising the LO on the Ukrainian transverters, including use of a ADF4351 synth board. I am sure everyone knows, but ready built synth modules are available very cheaply on eBay, AliExpress etc.


73

Max

Steve Haynal

unread,
Jul 19, 2020, 1:54:06 AM7/19/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,

It should be possible to use the CL2 clock output on the front of the HL2 as a transverter LO. This is a very stable frequency source. There is also an internal connection for CL2 if you don't want to run coax out of the radio. This oscillator can go to up to 200MHz. A LPF should result in a very clean sine wave.

73,

Steve
kf7o

Max

unread,
Jul 19, 2020, 6:21:45 PM7/19/20
to Hermes-Lite
That would be a great solution Steve. Just seen it also suggested in the Wiki. I had missed that previously. However, I have read section on external clocks in the Wiki and unfortunately it's quite  a long way over my head. Is there an easy method or explanation anywhere on how to do it and what hardware/software is needed? Apologies, unlike most on here I am no great programmer!

73

Max

Steve Haynal

unread,
Jul 20, 2020, 12:51:02 AM7/20/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Max,

Unfortunately clock control is not implemented by most software. This is a HL2-specific extension. I use and test this with some modifications I made to Quisk. I should release a small Python module that allows people to set HL2-specific extensions outside of other running software. You would then install Python and run a small program which you could then enter come commands to enable/disable various new HL2 features. This will also help with the synchronous radio stuff. 

73,

Steve
kf7o

Max

unread,
Jul 20, 2020, 9:52:29 AM7/20/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Steve

Would this be a "run once and it's set" type program, or would it need running every time the clock frequency needs setting, and with every HL2 start? In other words, once set, are values stored in HL2 in non-volatile storage?

What's on my mind also, as a user of SDRC, is whether it would be worth requesting some sort of clock-setting feature to be added by Simon to the HL2 feature set in SDRC.

Thanks

Max

Steve Haynal

unread,
Jul 21, 2020, 1:06:24 AM7/21/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Max,

This would have to be run every time the HL2 is power up and every time you need to change the CL2 frequency. I don't see it as a long-term solution, but as a way to quickly experiment and test new ideas. For ideas that prove useful, we can then request software enhancements, and the software developers will have a code example to work from.

73,

Steve
kf7o

Max

unread,
Jul 21, 2020, 7:34:37 AM7/21/20
to Hermes-Lite
OK thanks Steve. As you say, still an interesting idea to play with.

73

Max

Alan Hopper

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 2:58:21 AM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
I ordered a transverter store 2m transverter about 7 weeks ago and have not got it yet.  I ordered it on a whim as a cheap way to join the local lock down net. I'm now pondering what to do instead as I've given up hope of receiving it.  I like Hamish's design but I'm not sure I have the time to build one.  I'm half tempted to try the Lime,  I wonder how the combination of a traditional transverter and hl2 compares  performance wise with the approach lime and airspy take for receive.  If someone does create a transverter or setup that uses the HL2 clock I'll certainly add support to spark for it.

On a related note the frequency display in spark does not have enough digits for transverters over 1GHz and I want to fix that, at those frequencies is the single Hz column needed?

73 Alan M0NNB

neil whiting

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 3:54:32 AM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan,

My K3 used for transverter driving shows down to the 1Hz digit when tune rate is set to fine.
This causes the upper 1000s and 100s of MHz digits to be lost. 
If fine rate is deselected the lowest digit is 10Hz and you see the 100MHz digit too.
This is OK in operation as on band change the display shows the band MHz for a couple of seconds
before expanding to show all the digits.
I am happy enough using this scheme.

Having said that I like the fact that Quisk can display the whole frequency. The digits are smaller,
which is no problem for me on my big screen but I don't know how others find it.

73, Neil  G4BRK

Karl Heinz Kremer

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 7:11:01 AM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
I’ve had a few COVID shipping delays, but my experience so far is that everything arrived eventually. A few of my packages went into a black hole for two months and then miraculously appeared again in tracking. I would thing that chances are pretty good that your transverter eventually shows up. Good luck!

Karl Heinz - K5KHK

Max

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 1:14:01 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan

That's annoying about the transverter delivery. There are many users of Adalm-Pluto on SDRC group (including Simon possibly?). Cheap and I think is 12 bit versus Lime 8? Might have this wrong. There is a hack to easily and reliably take frequency lower than the published 325 MHz (down to 70MHz I think). Also needs LO mod for stability but many happy users on QO-100. Need amps adding of course.

https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Analog-Devices/ADALM-PLUTO?qs=xbccQsLEe0ffoUoi%2FjfIWA%3D%3D

I have been tempted but pretty much decided to stick with HL2 + transverters because I also want 50MHz. I will most likely be going with the original Ukrainian HD transverters I referenced earlier in this thread (HFVHFPARTS on eBay). Like you I am sadly very short on time to play with these things at the moment.

73

Max


On Thursday, 23 July 2020 07:58:21 UTC+1, Alan Hopper wrote:

Lou Scalpati

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 1:22:02 PM7/23/20
to Max, Hermes-Lite
Max the Lime is 12bit

73
Lou KI5FTY



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.

si...@sdr-radio.com

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 2:15:58 PM7/23/20
to Max, Hermes-Lite

Hi,

 

Stick a decent LNA on Pluto and it’ll be usable on 144 / 432 and higher. My 144MHz solution is:

 

  • ELAD DUO transceiver (16 bit direct sampling),
  • QS Signal 144 Hz ó 28 MHz transverter,
  • LinearAmp UK 1kW amplifier (I must overcome feed loss of 1.5dB etc.)

 

I need the 16 bits of the ELAD – one station is 104dB SNR off the back of my 2m beam.

 

Sadly ham radio is a declining market, so we’ll see fewer commercial products as time moves on but it’s superb to see high quality designs like HL2.

 

As an aside there’s naff-all activity on 2m SSB – I wonder what all the IC-9700s are doing?

 

Simon Brown, G4ELI

https://www.sdr-radio.com

--

Alan Hopper

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 2:24:18 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Karl & Max,
hopefully it will still turn up, I just had a going round in circles moment this morning. I would prefer to use the HL2 but was wondering what the sensible route would be if starting from scratch.

Neil, ok I'll keep all the digits, might just shrink once above 1G or shrink the lower digits.

Simon, thanks for that.  One thing I had thought of looking at if I end up with a tranverter is if I can tell any difference using the 16 Orion vs HL2, on hf I never have.

73 Alan M0NNB

si...@sdr-radio.com

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 2:47:30 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite

Alan,

 

On 2m a strong signal could crush the HL2 assuming it doesn’t melt the transverter first, but we’re talking Yagi to Yagi here.

 

Bottom line – 12 bits is 12 bits, sample rate 80 Msps, we have ~ 19 bits, potential maximum BDR is 116 dB assuming everything in the signal path is perfect (hardware, FPGA code, Console code). Allow ~15dB (maybe) for AGC action, you’ve got a very usable 100 dB though.

 

I’ll check my sums again.

 

Simon Brown, G4ELI

https://www.sdr-radio.com

 

From: 'Alan Hopper' via Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: 23 July 2020 19:24
To: Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Choosing a VHF(144)/UHF(450) Transverter for HL2

 

Hi Karl & Max,

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.

si...@sdr-radio.com

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 2:57:38 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite

Also,

 

When choosing a transverter one must consider the transmit phase noise. Not an issue on HF, but on VHF bad phase noise is a quick way to lose friends in a hurry.

 

Simon Brown, G4ELI

https://www.sdr-radio.com

 

si...@sdr-radio.com

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 3:32:33 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite

Finally,

 

My sums agree with a lab report from Adam Farson!

 

Figures such as BDR & lab reports hold up when you’re trying to receive a weak signal and there’s one big strong signal on the band. As soon as there are more big signals the theory changes, you lose effective bits and it can become more difficult.

 

Simon Brown, G4ELI

https://www.sdr-radio.com

 

Sent: 23 July 2020 19:47
To: 'Hermes-Lite' <herme...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: RE: Choosing a VHF(144)/UHF(450) Transverter for HL2

Max

unread,
Jul 23, 2020, 3:43:47 PM7/23/20
to Hermes-Lite
Apologies. My error. Should, check my facts before posting!

73

Max

Alan Hopper

unread,
Jul 24, 2020, 2:33:09 AM7/24/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
I wonder how undersampling 2m on orion/hermes would compare to solutions that use an analog mixer. It is a shame the Hermes/Orion does not make this easy. I have wondered in the past about an external sample and hold in front of HL2 with the analog bandwidth to undersample 2m i.e. the hl2 adc then samples the output of the sample and hold.  It might just be easier to interface another adc with enough bandwidth.
73 Alan M0NNB 

Larry Springsteen

unread,
Jul 29, 2020, 10:28:40 PM7/29/20
to Hermes-Lite
Question for Walter Homes, K5WH, I'm thinking real hard about a Q5  5 band 2, 220, 432, 902 and 1296. Options to decide when ordering, which one did you order (PTT polarity, IF Drive Level)? I think I want Standard IF, Common IF and Split RF. Any comment?

73, Larry  WB8LBZ
El Paso, TX

si...@sdr-radio.com

unread,
Jul 30, 2020, 12:45:39 AM7/30/20
to Hermes-Lite

Larry,

 

I have the Q5 Signal 144MHz on order (in fact it’s being built today). I’ll use it with the HL2 and ELAD DUO. I’m using Split IF as I’ll use the low power drive with both transceivers. The DUO has a nice feature: 10 MHz in and out so with one 10MHz signal I can get the transceiver and transverter absolutely on frequency.

 

144MHz 25W Transverter

  - IF Configuration: Split IF

  - RF Configuration: Common RF

  - IF Drive Level: -20dBm to 0dBm

  - PTT Polarity: Low (GND)

  - Local Oscillator Stability: Standard

  - Custom IF: Standard IF - 28MHz

 

Simon Brown, G4ELI

https://www.sdr-radio.com

 

From: herme...@googlegroups.com <herme...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Larry Springsteen


Sent: 30 July 2020 03:29
To: Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com>

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.

Larry Springsteen

unread,
Jul 30, 2020, 12:17:05 PM7/30/20
to Hermes-Lite
Thanks for the info Simon. The only change I would make is the common IF. I want the HL2 to control the transverter directly on 10 Meters IF.

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 3, 2020, 11:41:34 AM8/3/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
my transverters-store 2m transverter eventually turned up.  I've only tried receive so far but I typed 116,000,000 into the spark transverter offset and typed in the FT8 2m frequency and instantly got some decodes so the basics seem to work. I have discovered Spark has a bug using NR on fm (so don't use it) so it is at least doing one of its jobs of letting me test my software.
73 Alan M0NNB

Amogh Desai

unread,
Aug 4, 2020, 8:18:35 AM8/4/20
to Hermes-Lite
Congrats Alan!

Could you post a pic of the transverter you have received ?  Also, as Steve has just released the python script to set the CL2.  It would be great if you could test it with HL2 after you are good to go with the basic transverter setup.

Amogh
VU3DES

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 4, 2020, 11:05:50 AM8/4/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Amogh,
here is a pic of it screwed to a handy lump of ali while I decide where and how to case it.  I listened to the club net on it this morning, frequency seems ok, the mean of people's signals was maybe 200Hz off. I shall certainly play with the HL2 clock once I have a good baseline. I've discovered the fm mode in Spark needs some work:) I've only ever used it for listening to broadcast fm with oversampling or the lime.  There are some spurs approx 62kHz apart, they disappear with no antenna or a dummy load so I'm trying to track down where they are coming from, one just happens to be within the club net frequency, it could motivate me to add a notch filter to spark.

P1010745.JPG

73 Alan M0NNB

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 5, 2020, 4:25:34 PM8/5/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
the only signal I could find to test fm rx on 2m this evening was a net on a repeater (hello M0WID :)). I realised I'd never considered repeater support before, opening two receivers worked quite nicely and adding ctcss is simple enough but I wonder what the ultimate repeater/split user interface would be?  I guess for some uses it could be a different radio for tx and rx.
73 Alan M0NNB

Josh Logan

unread,
Aug 5, 2020, 8:04:29 PM8/5/20
to Alan Hopper, Hermes-Lite

Usually split, but nice to monitor the input frequency to know if you might have a direct path, or repeater failure...

73, Josh
KD7HGL


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 7:22:08 AM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
I hooked up tx on the transverter-store transverter this morning and successfully joined the local club 2m net.  I think I initially had the gain setting too high but have tweaked the pot on the board to get 10W out at max hl2 drive. I have the tx connected to the rf1 lowpower output and rx connected to rf3 which I accessed by soldering a sma tail to the hl2->filter board connector.  There is a jumper on the transverter that has to be removed to have separate rx and tx.  For basic fm use it appears to be fine and I've not noticed any frequency drift issues so far.  The next Spark release will have much better fm support.
73 Alan M0NNB


On Thursday, August 6, 2020 at 1:04:29 AM UTC+1, Josh Logan wrote:

Usually split, but nice to monitor the input frequency to know if you might have a direct path, or repeater failure...

73, Josh
KD7HGL


On Wed, Aug 5, 2020, 1:25 PM 'Alan Hopper' via Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Hi Group,
the only signal I could find to test fm rx on 2m this evening was a net on a repeater (hello M0WID :)). I realised I'd never considered repeater support before, opening two receivers worked quite nicely and adding ctcss is simple enough but I wonder what the ultimate repeater/split user interface would be?  I guess for some uses it could be a different radio for tx and rx.
73 Alan M0NNB

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to herme...@googlegroups.com.

J P Watters

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 9:16:08 AM8/8/20
to Alan Hopper, Hermes-Lite
Alan,

What jumper is it that needs to be removed?
I build Alex's Extender. I added a RF3 port on it.

I am looking for the footprint of a connector for CL6.

..jpw J P Watters
KC9KKO
Morris, IL USA


On Sat, Aug 8, 2020 at 6:22 AM 'Alan Hopper' via Hermes-Lite
<herme...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Group,
> I hooked up tx on the transverter-store transverter this morning and successfully joined the local club 2m net. I think I initially had the gain setting too high but have tweaked the pot on the board to get 10W out at max hl2 drive. I have the tx connected to the rf1 lowpower output and rx connected to rf3 which I accessed by soldering a sma tail to the hl2->filter board connector. There is a jumper on the transverter that has to be removed to have separate rx and tx. For basic fm use it appears to be fine and I've not noticed any frequency drift issues so far. The next Spark release will have much better fm support.
> 73 Alan M0NNB
>
> On Thursday, August 6, 2020 at 1:04:29 AM UTC+1, Josh Logan wrote:
>>
>>
>> Usually split, but nice to monitor the input frequency to know if you might have a direct path, or repeater failure...
>>
>> 73, Josh
>> KD7HGL
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 5, 2020, 1:25 PM 'Alan Hopper' via Hermes-Lite <herme...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Group,
>>> the only signal I could find to test fm rx on 2m this evening was a net on a repeater (hello M0WID :)). I realised I'd never considered repeater support before, opening two receivers worked quite nicely and adding ctcss is simple enough but I wonder what the ultimate repeater/split user interface would be? I guess for some uses it could be a different radio for tx and rx.
>>> 73 Alan M0NNB
>>>
>>> --
>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to herme...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/63f1e2f1-cbce-4e18-b5de-d2bb140fba4co%40googlegroups.com.
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Hermes-Lite" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hermes-lite...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hermes-lite/b7c201f4-11d5-4b76-a5be-de50cc57313ao%40googlegroups.com.
N2ADR-Extender-IMG_5517.jpeg
N2ADR-Extender-Backside-RF3-IMG_5562.JPG

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 9:30:26 AM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi jpw,
it is jp2 on the transverter board, just a standard 0.1" removable jumper.
73 Alan M0NNB

Max

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 9:35:09 AM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan

All sounds good. Just regarding output power you might like to take a quick look at this (YouTube link goes to correct time in video) regarding IMD at the 10 Watt level with this transverter. Things may have changed since this video of course, but I suspect not?


I will almost certainly go down the same route, albeit with the HFVHFPARTS "HD" transverter from eBay and will probably start with the 50MHz version:

However, I am also tempted to look at Adalm Pluto for higher frequencies 70MHz and up. Just not sure what to do with amplifiers for the Pluto? Anyway, going off topic!

My other idea was to build four of these Ukrainain transverters (50/70/144/432) into one enclosure with necessary relay switching board, and only powering the used board, with stable reference generated from HL2 to replace the transverter Xtal LO to get around crystal oscillator warm-up and stability issues?

Interested in all of your experiences with this transverter and also your experiences on SSB regarding frequency drift/accuracy? Please keep us updated.

73

Max

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 11:17:50 AM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Max,
Thanks for the links,I suspect I'm ok on fm at 10W, whilst setting the power it actually looked ok (using the lime to monitor) at 15W, easy enough to drop the drive on ssb.  I tuned into GB3VHF and had to set the dial to 144.430260MHz so it was out by 260Hz, I've tweaked the offset and will look to see how much it changes. I intended to go for the hfvhfparts version but simply got the sellers mixed up when I ordered. I'm pondering multiple boards like you suggest, I'm going to wait and see if I need an amplifier before deciding how to properly package it all up.
73 Alan M0NNB

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 12:16:18 PM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Max & Group,
a 2 min 5W WSPR tx caused 152Hz of drift so I suspect a better clock is needed for that sort of use. I'll play with it a bit more before trying the HL clock, I don't want to butcher it quite yet as it does what I want right now.
73 Alan M0NNB

Steve Haynal

unread,
Aug 8, 2020, 2:40:00 PM8/8/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan,

I'm very interested in learning how the HL2 clock works with your transverter. Let me know if you need any help.

73,

Steve
kf7o

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 9, 2020, 5:02:10 PM8/9/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Steve,
 me too and thanks :). Using the HL2 clock should then mean the ntp correction in Spark would work with the transverter as well which would be neat.  The drift does not seem to be a problem chatting on fm so it has proven to be a very affordable enhancement to my HL2. I've been pondering more power and this https://www.w6pql.com/2_meter_80w_all_mode_amplifier.htm looks a more complete solution than many of the things I've come accross. I did wonder about an MRF101 2m amp as I'll have the psu anyway for hf, possibly using the board from this https://uk.farnell.com/nxp/mrf101an-start/starter-kit-rf-power-ldmos-transistor/dp/3128381?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvb75BRD1ARIsAP6Lcqukw12fcStf3an0Od_egDpzqcoSKY1K3ViUGReW-TJHnhuhVEhzQLEaAoSnEALw_wcB&gross_price=true&mckv=sgnLh6pKW_dc|pcrid|432141541373|plid||kword||match||slid||product|3128381|pgrid|97751769782|ptaid|pla-903345177731|&CMP=KNC-GUK-SHOPPING-DEVTOOLS-EMBEDDED-EVA-TOOlS-NEWSTRUCTURE-Test113-MarinBidding as it is almost the same price as the 2 MRF101s it incudes, but possibly a project too many.  I'm trying to keep this simple as Hamish's transverter looks a very much better solution if you are prepared for a bit more effort.
73 Alan M0NNB

Max

unread,
Aug 10, 2020, 12:40:23 PM8/10/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan and all

Alan, that all looks very interesting. Same issue here regarding a companion amplifier. 

To me that MRF101 dev board looks to have more potential as frequency range is very wide. I wonder if a multi-band amplifier might quite easily be constructed at a very fair price as it is 1.8MHz to 250 MHz? Personally I would want to cover 50-70-144 and ideally 432 but I'm not sure about practicality? Kit looks too good to be true at 36 GBP.

Two things about the Toshiba model is the narrow frequency range specified for the device (134-174 Mhz, so really 2m only) and also I cannot see anywhere that sells the genuine item anymore as the design was from 2013. Loads of (presumably) copies on eBay and elsewhere. Do these ever work (the copies)?

How much would need to be added to the dev board except power and output filters? Novice in this area. I can build to a published designs or with kits but I don't often go "off-piste"!

73

Max

Mark Wild

unread,
Aug 10, 2020, 2:45:38 PM8/10/20
to Hermes-Lite

Max,
There’s probably a number of us interested and thinking similarly to you.  I’ve ordered the 6m and 4m HD xverter thinking that a single amp would do both quite easily.

NXP have a number of reference designs as starting points, see

My transverters probably won’t arrive until mid Oct so will watch with interest.

Mark, G6DDX

Max

unread,
Aug 10, 2020, 6:27:25 PM8/10/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Mark

Good to hear from you and also your plans. I will definitely get the 50MHz HD transverter, then still trying to decide whether to go HL2 + transverter or Adalm Pluto for the higher bands, but whatever route I go will need VHF amp(s). Also for HF, although I already have acquired a used RM of Italy 150W (really only suitable for 100W) amp for HF to 30MHz, but also considering one of the Russian Federation higher power amps (500W) for HF to 50MHz. They seem good value compared to similar equipment from UK/US suppliers, but still quite a lot more than my average spend!

Keep us posted. Be interested to hear your experience of the HD transverters. I'm sure they will appear earlier than October surely? Says he sends within 15 days of cleared payment?

73

Max

Mark Wild

unread,
Aug 10, 2020, 7:12:09 PM8/10/20
to Hermes-Lite
Thanks Max,
I'm hoping they will arrive earlier, they have been posted today by Economy International Shipping with an estimated delivery date of 24th Sept to 5th Nov, hence my suggestion that mid-Oct would be the likely date.

I'm only two weeks in to having the HL2 and already thinking about another one for transverter use but hadn't really looked at the Adam Pluto as an alternate option.  Only back into the hobby since May after 25 years away and already backing up enough projects to keep me going through the winter and beyond!!

BTW I did some analysis of my 50Mhz FT8 contacts and see an average of -14db received compared to reports sent so have promised myself 75-100W for next years Es season and the NXP MFR101 seems an ideal fit for that.  Just need to find a simple but effective design.

73. Mark G6DDX

Max

unread,
Aug 11, 2020, 1:40:57 PM8/11/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Mark

Very similar circumstances to your own. Dabbled here and there but pretty much out of amateur radio since my early active days in late '70s and early '80s. 30+ years of career and various locations in London with very small gardens pretty much conspired to keep me uninterested until HL2 combined mostly with Simon Brown's SDRC but also Alan's SparkSDR has brought me back "out of retirement". So bored looking at endless string of latest black boxes in RadCom etc. Finally found new excitement with the brilliant and innovative HL2 thanks to Steve H and his helpers. HL2 is a rare piece of magic!

Keep us posted on any developments with the transverter and the amps. I will also. 

73

Max

Alan Hopper

unread,
Aug 27, 2020, 2:07:42 PM8/27/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Group,
I've been using my cheap transverter most days on fm and it is doing a good job, on receive it is much easier to hear weak signals than my uv-5rc on the same antenna and on tx 15w appears clean(fm only). The local 2m net is a fun challenge as club members are spread around a number of hills (the north downs and surrey hills). I've greatly improved the fm mode on spark and am getting good audio reports, just got to tweak the squelch and will release it soon.  Because of all this I've done far more talking on  my HL2 so hopefully that should show up in improvements in the analog modes in the next few spark releases.  Now the basics work I'll play with the clock options.
73 Alan M0NNB

Steve Haynal

unread,
Aug 30, 2020, 1:04:24 AM8/30/20
to Hermes-Lite
Hi Alan,

Sounds great! Thanks for the improvements to SparkSDR.

73,

Steve
kf7o
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages