TekMaker - make something!

 The first thing is to download the Pi-Star software from https://www.pistar.uk/downloads/ , at time of writing the current version is Pi-Star_RPi_V4.1.5_21-Jun-2021.zip ,but you should get the latest available. I used a Raspberry PI 3B but it is possible to use a PI Zero W or other model. You should then use either Etcher, or the Raspberry Pi imager to copy the image to your SD card, which should be at least 4GB and Class 10 or better, I used a 16GB simply because they are available for little money these days. Simply put the SD card into your PI and attach a monitor and keyboard via USB connection. The PI should boot with the usual rainbow screen, the default login is pi-star and the password raspberry. We will change these soon. To find out what IP address your pi is on type ifconfig and hit return. If you are connected via ethernet you will be able to type http://pi-star.local into a browser and access the dashboard as below - This will redirect after 10 seconds and you will be pre

So, having completed the Foundation exam in April 2021, the Intermediate exam in May and the Advanced exam in June  and got my callsigns M7RBE, 2E0HGA and M0RLF (RaLF) I figured one of my next steps was to look at HF Transcievers and see if I could get one at an affordable price. So I had a few watches on Ebay week after week and learned about a few of the more popular classic models. I had a short-list of Kenwood, Icom and the value favourite, Yaesu. Most where selling as mostly working and complete for around 400 - 600 GBP. I knew I would be happy to do some work and use that experience to feel my Youtube channel as I have done other projects like recondition a Yamaha Pacifica Electric Guitar and Marshall practice amplifier before I started the channel and had worked in Electronics for 25 years includinh a stint at Racal Communications on, yes, HF Transceivers. Then on Thursday this week my eyes lit up, a Yaesu FT-101B in 'unknown' condition but appearing complete, i.e. all k

Having bought one of these transceivers recently I was firstly disappointed in the User Manual, it is in extremely small print, barely 4 point and my first searches online brought a pdf of the same manual scanned badly which was not much of an improvement. Also it is a reference guide rather than a how-to. I think many people would prefer to learn how to use the radio as well as which buttons to press with context. I am only covering the basics as I think once you know those then you will figure out the rest using the two manuals I have linked to below. So here we go! The Baofeng UV-S9 Transceiver, around £25 on Ebay Caution, two things are very important to know before we begin. Firstly it is illegal to transmit on any band that you do not hold a license for. You must check with your licencing authority, which in the UK is Ofcom https://www.ofcom.org.uk. PMR446 is not currently legal for a radio which does not have a fixed antenna and it is illegal to use a Baofeng for this purpose. A