 |
| ZR1WLH & ZS1HJH doing final assembly of the antenna before the meeting |
 |
| Hendrik / ZS1EEE contemplates the antenna in its temporary tuning location. |
 |
| Rob / ZS1SA opens the meeting |
 |
| Hendrik shows an example of an SDR-enabled handie |
 |
| Hendrik shows an RTL/SDR dongle |
 |
| There are Arduino-based component SDR kits |
 |
| Diagram of the traditional HDR (Hardware-Defined Radio) signal path with RF amp, oscillator, mixer, detector & audio stage |
 |
| An intermediate phase - Software Controlled Radio |
 |
| Software Defined Radio, where the whole signal path is processed digitally by software |
 |
| Three-dimensional graphs illustrate the Quadrature principle. Above is an example of Frequency Modulation |
 |
| Amplitude Modulation, showing the variation of amplitude of the signal over time |
 |
| The classical SDR waterfall and oscilloscope display |
 |
| A comparison of various SDR specifications and prices, ranging typically from $300 to $1100 (and more!) |
 |
| ZS1HJH checks readings using his Network Analyzer |
 |
| Ian / ZS1SX (right) brings some goodies along to the SwopShop |
 |
| Tea, biscuits and catching up from last month |
 |
| Yet again, the Club's ricketty wooden ladder defies the laws of physics and remains intact and vertical at this crucial stage |
 |
| Rob does some last-minute soldering work |
 |
| Walking up the antenna |
 |
 |
| Some branches had to be held out of the way as the antenna went up |
 |
| We had to temporarily lower the antenna again to disentangle some of the guy wires |
 |
| Danny / ZS1BL fixes the mast to the upper mounting bracket... |
 |
| ...while the strong arm of the Ward holds the mast in place! |
 |
| Club members admire their handiwork |
 |
| The satisfying feeling of a job well done! |