F4IOZOlivier · radio amateur · JN18FS

Build your station cables and sockets

Power supply, radio, wattmeter, tuner, antennas, PC, rotor: wire each socket to the right one, then test. The validator explains every mistake. All games

The bench is ready

Tap a socket, then the one the cable goes to. When everything is wired, “Test”: the validator says what is missing and what is wrong.

Badges

All-rounderFinish a game of each game.
VHF stationBuild the VHF FM station.
HF stationBuild the HF station.
Full duplexBuild the satellite station.
In the fieldBuild the portable station.
Advanced stationBuild the station with an amplifier.
CATLink a radio to the PC by CAT, in a station that works.
Perfect wiringGet a station right at the first test, no cable refused.
Every stationGet all five stations right.

My games

No game yet.

Your games, records and badges are kept in this browser only: nothing is sent to the site.

From the mains to the antenna

A mobile or base radio works on 13.8 V DC: a regulated supply on the mains, or a battery in the field — always with a fuse as close to the battery as possible. PowerPole (Anderson) connectors have become the amateurs' standard.

The antenna line: radio → wattmeter → tuner → antenna. The wattmeter before the tuner shows the SWR the radio sees: that is the one tuned to 1.
The connectors: PL-259/SO-239 on HF, N on VHF and UHF (weatherproof, lower loss), BNC on small radios. An adapter works, but each one adds a loss and a weak point.
Full duplex on satellites: transmitting on 2 m while listening to oneself on 70 cm, two antennas, two sockets. The preamplifier goes on the receiving side, at the foot of the 70 cm antenna: on the transmitting side, it would burn out.
CAT (a USB cable) lets the software read and set the frequency: logbook, Doppler on satellites. The rotor's controller is driven over USB too.
An amplifier is keyed by the radio's PTT line: it switches to transmit before the RF arrives. Without it, its relays switch under power.
The earth: a common bar for the radio, the tuner and the amplifier, against RF feedback and for safety.

Nothing real The bench is a drawing: the game talks to no radio, no rotor, no software of the station.