Category Archives: Radio

Review, Teardown: Unbranded AC1200 Dual-Band USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter

Posted on March 15, 2018 by lui_gough

In the short span of about two decades, Wi-Fi went from being a luxury that you would consider a limited alternative to a cabled Ethernet connection, useful for mobile devices only, to something resembling a near-replacement for the cabled Ethernet … Continue reading →

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Salvage, Teardown: DingTong DT-98 8W 403-470Mhz Handheld Transceiver

Posted on December 12, 2017 by lui_gough

Imagine my surprise when stopping to catch the bus one day, I see a hand-held radio in the grass not far from the bus stop. I was in a hurry and had to leave, so I hopped on the bus … Continue reading →

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Repair (?): ICOM IC-R75 that won’t turn on!

Posted on November 19, 2017 by lui_gough

Returning home from holidays is not easy. In some sense, I’d like to call it a holiday hangover. You start walking on the wrong side of the road, sleeping at odd hours, and in perpetual need of energy to unpack … Continue reading →

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Farewell: TBS TBS6925 Professional PCIe Satellite Tuner Card

Posted on November 6, 2017 by lui_gough

As a hobbyist with an interest in chasing satellite feeds, my TBS TBS6925 Professional Satellite Tuner Card was my dependable companion. Around AU$250 a piece, I purchased two back in 2011 and two years later, got around to reviewing it. … Continue reading →

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An Incomplete Repair: BladeRF x40 Software-Defined Radio

Posted on November 5, 2017 by lui_gough

My last trip to Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong kept me away from home for 80 days, in which time I thoroughly enjoyed doing things I couldn’t otherwise do from home. Despite arriving back home almost a month ago, it … Continue reading →

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Visited: SMPTE 2017 Exhibition Sydney (18 – 21 July)

Posted on July 20, 2017 by lui_gough

After returning from my first long-solo-trip, I decided to spend two months “decompressing” and getting ready for my next trip. Part of the reason was so I could attend CeBIT, Vivid Sydney and SMPTE Exhibition. The last time I went … Continue reading →

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Teardown: Motorola CableComm Series II Cable Access Unit (MM1012A)

Posted on June 24, 2017 by lui_gough

I remember when I was very young, peering outside the window and seeing a bunch of workmen and trucks pull up in front of the house. In a short time, they rigged a steel wire between the power poles, then … Continue reading →

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Analysis: Freeview Sydney (18 April 2017) after SBS moves to HD MPEG-4

Posted on June 4, 2017 by lui_gough

While I was on holidays, the DVB-T digital TV stations at home were undergoing the last of a series of long-anticipated changes. On 8th April 2017, SBS followed the lead of the other broadcasters and finally converted over to MPEG-4 … Continue reading →

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Canb2016: Part 6 – DAB+, DVB-T, FM Broadcast & Other Radio Scanning

Posted on December 10, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s been a busy day of analysis to bring this part of my Canberra trip to a posting, but I suppose, it’s probably good that I’ve done the analysis before the data got too stale. In this post, I will … Continue reading →

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Radio: DAB+ in Sydney (25 Nov 2016) – Service Info & Slideshows

Posted on November 26, 2016 by lui_gough

I was contacted a little while ago by the maintainer of FMLIST, an online database of worldwide FM radio, DAB and TV information. He appreciated my posting on Melbourne’s DAB radio stations that I made in my trip down there … Continue reading →

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Project: YYDZW BH1417F-based Stereo FM Transmitter Kit

Posted on October 27, 2016 by lui_gough

While I was browsing the listings of electronics kits on eBay, I came across this particular stereo FM transmitter kit but I didn’t think much of it. In fact, given the chance to buy it, I passed over it twice. … Continue reading →

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Project: Sainsmart Forty-9er “3W” 7.023Mhz QRP CW Transceiver Kit

Posted on October 21, 2016 by lui_gough

Even though I’m insanely busy, it seems I just can’t help myself when it comes to cheap Chinese kits available on eBay. Of course, having built most of the cheap radio-based kits already, there isn’t really that much to build … Continue reading →

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Project: CD2003GP+SC3610D FM Receiver w/LCD Alarm Clock (74-108Mhz)

Posted on October 15, 2016 by lui_gough

My little “mission” to build random Chinese radio-kits from eBay continues with this rather odd and difficult kit. Unlike the other kits, this is the first to come with an LCD display, but is advertised strangely as FM Radio Kit … Continue reading →

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Experiment: Sydney WFM Broadcast RDS (TMC, RT+) & ACS Audio

Posted on October 9, 2016 by lui_gough

Since my last posting about subcarriers, I decided to do a little more digging around and try to understand more about the Open-Application RDS data and try a better approach at recovering the audio from the ACS (otherwise known as … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Experiment: Examining Sydney WFM Subcarrier Signals (RDS, ACS)

Posted on October 3, 2016 by lui_gough

When I was still in school, I can remember my Dad buying a “special radio” from a broadcaster to listen to some ethnic radio broadcasts. The radio was quite expensive, and it looked and felt just like a regular portable … Continue reading →

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Project: S66D/E 9018-based AM Radio Kit

Posted on October 2, 2016 by lui_gough

If you’ve been wondering about all the random radio kits I’ve posted about recently and had the thought “Gee, that guy must’ve just looked for any cheap radio kits on eBay and bought them all!” You’d be absolutely right. In … Continue reading →

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Project: 7.023Mhz PIXIE_V3 QRP CW Tranceiver Kit

Posted on October 2, 2016 by lui_gough

After I stupidly decided to push the limits on the PIXIE_4.1 and subsequently destroyed its amplification, I wasn’t too concerned. Being the prepared sort, when it comes to low-cost kits, I sometimes buy two in anticipation that maybe some parts … Continue reading →

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Project: 7.023Mhz PIXIE_4.1 QRP CW Transceiver Kit

Posted on October 1, 2016 by lui_gough

Going along the same vein of “radio kits”, this one is a little bit different. This one is a do-it-yourself PIXIE 7.023Mhz QRP transciever intended for amateur (ham) radio morse code (CW) usage. It doesn’t have many specs, but apparently … Continue reading →

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Review, Tested: Generic USB FM Transmitter (FM_MIC_V5.0.9)

Posted on September 27, 2016 by lui_gough

It wasn’t too long ago that I purchased a generic pocket radio kit on eBay and built it. But as anyone knows, when it comes to shopping online for cheap Chinese goods, there are often lots of things that can … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Freeview Update: Launch of ABC Me

Posted on September 19, 2016 by lui_gough

I’ve been extremely busy as of late, so there hasn’t really been much time to keep up-to-date on everything that’s happening. Thankfully, I was tipped off about a reader a few weeks back that today would be the launch day … Continue reading →

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Project: Paeansonic CF210SP CD9088+CD7642 AM/FM Radio Kit

Posted on September 7, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s been a bit quiet around here lately – I’m just swamped with work, and it never quite goes away, but neither does the desire to do something for my own enrichment and enjoyment … and the desire to blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

DIY: Build a 70cm Band Yagi for Amateur Satellite Tracking

Posted on August 5, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s been a long time since I’ve chased any amateur satellites. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the time to chase them, and sadly, things have changed. In the seven years or so, satellites I once “knew” as … Continue reading →

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Getting Started: Nuand BladeRFx40, XB-200 Transverter, Case & SDRSharp

Posted on August 5, 2016 by lui_gough

This is one of those posts that I should have compiled and put up a long time ago, but never really got around to. Right now, I probably shouldn’t be blogging (since there are more pressing things to attend to), … Continue reading →

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Melb2016: Around the “Den” & Leaving Melbourne (Part 11)

Posted on June 20, 2016 by lui_gough

After a long series of posts, my time in Melbourne is just about up. This part covers the tail end of the trip, namely where I stayed and heading out of Melbourne. The “Den” Even though the trip was mostly … Continue reading →

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Melb2016: DAB+ Scanning & Slideshow Images (Part 10)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by lui_gough

In my last post scanning the airwaves in Melbourne, I commented on just how difficult it was to get acceptable FM reception in the hotel. As it turns out, the DAB+ digital radio signals were much easier to receive, and … Continue reading →

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Melb2016: Scanning the Airwaves from DC to Daylight (Part 9)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by lui_gough

Most of my posts so far about my trip to Melbourne have been revolving around photography in a tourist sense, or as a tram-spotter. While some of the observations included some technical aspects, they were all visible and evident if … Continue reading →

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Freeview Update: 7flix “now available on more TVs”

Posted on June 5, 2016 by lui_gough

While watching TV yesterday evening, I heard the ad for 7flix’s line up say, rather clearly, now available on more TVs or something to that effect. That alerted me to a change to Channel 7’s multiplex configuration, which means it’s … Continue reading →

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Melb2016: Going to the OzWater’16 Conference (Part 1)

Posted on June 4, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s been almost a month since my trip down to Melbourne for the OzWater’16 conference, and it’s taken me this long to get all my data together and partially processed so that I could start blogging about it. I suppose … Continue reading →

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Failed: Cheap and Nasty SMA Right-Angle Adapter (& Site Update)

Posted on May 27, 2016 by lui_gough

If you’re a bit of a radio equipment user like myself, you’ll find that you’ve always got an amazing array of different connector needs. For example, you might have some older TV tuners with a “PAL” connector, some satellite equipment … Continue reading →

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Shootout: Four 433.92Mhz ASK/OOK Transmitter Modules Compared

Posted on May 1, 2016 by lui_gough

The Arduino had a big hand in making people play with electronics and create their own little devices to solve their problems. A desire for low-cost wireless connectivity has led to many people purchasing low-cost 433.92Mhz ASK/OOK modules to create … Continue reading →

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