Ham Radio for Arduino and PICAXE

353 Pages·2013·28.81 MB·English

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Easyto buildmicrocontrolter weekend projects-for use
in theshack, in thefield, and on air!
Edited by leigh L.. Klotz, Jr.. WASZNU
Contributing Editors
MarkJ.Wilson, KiRO
BeckySchoenfeld, WiBXY
Production: Michelle Bloom, WBiENT
Jodi Morin, KAiJPA
David F. Pingree, N1NAS
YEARS
Maty Weinberg, KBiEIB
Advancing theArt and
Scienceof Radio
Cover Design: Sue Fagan, KBi0KW
-Since1914
Onthe Cover
The Sweeperproject byAlan Biocca,W6AKB, usesthe Arduino Unoand PCboards to make
an SWR scanner.The Sweepermeasures SWR over arangeoffrequencies and displays center
frequency, 2:1 SWR bandwidth inkHzand minimum SWR.[Alan Biocca,W6AKB, photo]
Arduino" isaregistered trademarkofthe Arduino Team.
PICAXE@isaregistered trademark licensed byMicrochipTechnology
to Revolution Education Ltdforexclusive worldwide use.
Copyright©2013 byTheAmerican Radio
RelayLeague, Inc.
CopyrightsecuredunderthePan-American
Convention
Internationalcopyrightsecured.
Allrightsreserved. Nopart ofthiswork may
bereproduced inanyformexcept bywritten
permission ofthe publisher.Allrights of
translation arereserved.
Printed intheUSA
Quedan reservadostodoslosderechos
ISBN:978-0-87259-324-4
FirstEdition
FirstPrinting
I f t nt
Foreword
AboutThis Book
Makers and Hams
DaleDougherty
Preface
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
About the ARRL
1 CQ DX- A Ham's "HelloWorld!"
Leigh L.Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
2 Timber: An APRS Data logger
Michael D. Pechner, NE6RD
3 Customizing the Data logger
Leigh L.Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
4 QRSS:Very Slow Sending
Hans Summers, G0UPL
5 MultimodeTransmitter Shield
Hans Summers, G0UPL
6 Thermic: a High Voltage, High Frequency, and
High Temperature Data Logger
Hans Summers, G0UPL
7 Airgate: A Receive-Only, Low-Power APRS iGate
Markus Heller, DL8RDS
8 Axekey: A Simple PICAXE Keyer
Rich Heineck, AC7MA
9 Sunflower SolarTracker
Bill Prats, K6ACJ
10 Pharos: A PICAXE CW Beacon Keyer
Bill Prats, K6ACJ
11 N6SN Nanokeyer
Bud Tribble, N6SN and Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
12 Time Out: A Handheld Radio TalkTimer
Keith Amidon, KJ6PUO and Peter Amidon, KJ6PUN
13 Hermes APRS Messenger
Michael Pechner, NE6RD
14 Dozen: A DTMF Controlled SSTV Camera
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
15 Marinus: An APRS Display
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
16 Cascata: An Arduino Waterfall
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
17 Buddy: A Rover's Best Friend
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr,WA5ZNU
18 Sweeper: An Ardulno SWR Scanner
Alan Biocca, W6AKB
19 Swamper: A CypressWaterfall for 2.4 GHz
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
Appendices
A Laser Cut Project Case
Michael Gregg, KF6WRW
B LCD Shields
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
C Argent Radio Shield Library
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr,WA5ZNU
D Arduino Hardware Choices
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr,WA5ZNU
r
r
Experimenting. Homebrewing. Modifying. MostAmateurRadio operators
enjoy doing things, whether it's building a simple radio from akit or handful
ofparts, integrating anew station accessory, or making anew antenna from
alength of wire or aluminumtubing. Tune the ham bands, surfthe web or
pick up the latest issue of QST, and you'll discover hams fiddling with a new
piece of hardware or software and using it to improve station or operating
capabilities - and then sharing their experiences with others.
In this book, EditorLeigh L. Klotz, Jr,WA5ZNU, leads ateam of
contributors who show us new ways to experiment- this time with the
Arduino Uno microcontrollerboardor PICAXE and ATtiny microprocessor
chips. These low-costmicrocontrollers can be used in a variety of interesting
and creative ham radio applications.
Most ofthe projects describedhere use a microcontrollercombined
with a few additional components or accessory boards - all ofwhich are
inexpensive and readily available. Software is open source and may be
downloadedfrom this book's website or from manufacturers' websites.
The examples and explanations in this book, along with online tutorials
and support groups, put these projects within reach even ifyou are not an
experiencedprogrammer. Or perhaps you already have some experience, and
one of these articles will provide ideas or building blocks for yourown project
- which you can then share with fellow hams.
Leigh and his fellow authors have close ties to the thriving worldwide
community ofMaker/DIY (Do ItYourself) experimenters who are using
these tools for countless homemade applications and sharinginformation
about them. See "Makers and Hams" by Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE
Magazine and The MakerFaire, and Leigh's Prefacein the following pages
for an overview ofhow ham radio fitsin with the broaderDIY community.
Wehope you'lljoinin and give it atry too.
David Sumner, K1ZZ
ChiefExecutive Officer
Newington, Connecticut
February 2013
t IIIlI
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DearImaginary Reader,
Youhave aham license, and you already have some electronics skills:
you can read schematic diagrams, solder, and use a solderless prototyping
board. Youknow your way around a computer and can find a web page or
two to get help on installing software. YourARRL membership is current,
and youjustboughtthis book.
Oh, you're a real reader? How embarrassing! I'dbetterstart over.
This bookis a collection of weekend projects for hams to spark
creativity and give you the tools you need to get your own projects done
around the shack and in the field.
If you already have the skills and interests the imaginaryreader does,
you're ready to start. If you are areal person and don't have all these
superpowers, this bookis still for you, but there are some other books you
might want to have handy at the same time.
If you don'thave an AmateurRadio license at all, a great book to start
with is Ham Radiofor Dummiesby H. Ward Silver (whose FCC-issued
amateurcall sign is N0AX). Youprobably alreadyknow where to buy
books, but if not, look for it by ISBN: 978-0-7645-5987-7. As the dust
jacketputs it, Ward goes to "extreme wireless."
Let's say you have aham license, and you know which end ofa
solderingiron to hold (hint: not the hot one), but beyond that you need a
little help. This time, try another Ward Silverbook calledDo-It-Yourself
Circuitbuildingfor Dummies, ISBN: 978-0-470-17342-8.
OK, so you know about circuits, but it's the whole analog thing that
causes you trouble. Ward again comes to the rescue with ARRL'sHands
OnRadio Experiments, 978-0-87259-125-7 andARRL'sHands-On Radio
Experiments, Volume2, ISBN: 978-0-87259-341-7.
If you feel comfortable with RF and analog electronics, but need a less
steep slope to ramp up on programming, try Getting Startedwith Arduino,
2nd Edition, by Massimo Banzi, ISBN 978-1-4493-0987-9. (By the way,
Massimo had aham license as akid, and credits that with putting him on
trackto design the Arduino.)
By buying this book, you are supporting the ARRL and the authors
in their efforts to promote AmateurRadio. The software and hardware in
the projects that the authors have developedfor this book are all released
under licenses compatible with the goals of the Open Source Initiative
ope.n.s~urce and the Open Source Hardware Association, and are available for free
mrnative download at the companion website. The chapters in this book, however,
are a separate work, and are only available in the book.
Butbooks aren't the only answer. Hamradio is all about community,
and we have clubs and organizations around the country ready to
welcome you. Visit www.arrl.org/find-a-club and get involved with a
local club whose members are eagerto learn whatyou have to contribute,
and are glad to Elmer (mentor) you back.
So there you have it: this bookwill help you jointhe fantastic
Arduino microcontrollercommunity, or roll with the PICAXE controller,
or go your own way with the bare-minimum 8-pin ATtiny micro.
73,
Leigh L. Klotz, Jr, WA5ZNU
r
WhenI started writing computerprogrammingbooks with Tim O'Reilly
over 25 years ago, one of the things that struckme then - and which I still
find exciting - is that I truly enjoyed seeing what other peopledo with the
informationIhelpedbring tothem. That's one reasonI startedMAKEMagazine,
to expandthat bounty of interest in doing things with computers to include
making things happenin the real, physicalworld.
The urge and ability totinker was a part of Americanknow-how until at least
the 1960s: ifyou wantedto fixyour car, you read PopularMechanics, and you
knew how to do it. Yetin the decades since, the complexities of modemlife and
modemtechnology have weakenedthis spirit.
In founding MAKEMagazine, Ihelpedthis culturere-emerge. Idid itby
building on the enthusiasmfound in SiliconValley's Home Brew ComputerClub
in the 1970s and 1980s. And Ilearnedfrom the firstcomputerhackers (the good
ones) atMIT in the 1960s and 1970s, and took what they knew and loved and
appliedit to help peoplecreate their own successes.
And with MAKE, we succeededhugely, and branchedout to startthe Maker
Faire, where hundreds of thousands of people attend gatherings each year.They
gatherbecausethey want to share their passion, their ideas, and their interest
with others to help make things by combining art, electronics, software, and
rediscoveredtraditional skills such as working with wood, metal and glass.
I am proud of having had ahand in starting this movement, but I also
acknowledge anotherdebt tohistory: Hamradio operators may be the originals in
this mold. Sincethe early 1900s,they have beentinkering, inventing, andbending
ideas in electronics, radio technology, mathematics and space explorationto solve
aproblemor achieve somethingnew.
Hams have afantastic and growing community, with over 700,000in the US
and well over amillionin Japan, and more in every country in the world. Hams
are still active in cutting-edge areas such as satellites, digital signal processing,
electronics design and ionosphericresearch. And even thoughham radio is a
dynamic, passionatecommunity, in some ways itremains anisolatedecosystem
with its rich, specializedknowledge, auniverseparallelto the growing DIY and
MakemovementIhelped create.
Whenthe ARRLproposedthis book, the goal was to bring the ham
communityand the Makercommunity closer. The projects here use common, off
the-shelfphysical computingparts such as the Arduino, and leverage techniques
and expertisefrom the ham community and the Makercommunity tomake
something that both groups can appreciate, use and extend.
Ihope you enjoy reading this book and building the projects. Ham radio has
beenan inspiration to the people who have made the makers, bringing the vitality
and excitementof buildingyour own stuffto the world. This year marks the
intersection, igniting interestin contemporary makingin hams and afascination
for radio in Makers. The line should blur. Makers will want to becomehams;
hams will want to become modem tinkerers. Only then will the universe beright.
Dale Dougherty
Founder, MAI(EMagazine and The MakerFaire
r
f
The Arduino is apoint on a curve, an arc of developmentreaching backin
humanhistory to the same events that spurredthe development of ham radio. As
a small, inexpensive, easily programmed and easily interfaced microcontroller
board with an extensive supportcommunity of practitioners and arich ecology
of software libraries, hardware add-on shield boards, and well-written project
explorations, it serves as aplatform on which to build and enhance ideas and
inventions, and share them with other enthusiasts. In this regard, the Arduino
community resembles some of the best parts of ham radio.
Hams have been coming up with circuitideas, inventing new types of
modulation, and experimenting with the aether since the early 1900s. Wehave a
long tradition of do-it-yourselfprojects, and also a great history of building on
each other's ideas. This beliefruns so deep that among the Q-signals, the three
letter abbreviations used originallyin Morse code, there is one that stands for it:
QST means "Information to share with all stations." The ARRL embodies this
spirit, and has expressed it by publishing a magazine called QSTsince 1915.
At its basis, ham radio involves communicating over radio waves, but
it is also rests on afoundation of experimentation and sharing. In the US,
the FCC codifies this goal in its regulations, where the purpose of Amateur
Radio includes "continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to
contribute to the advancement of the radio art," and "advancing skills in both the
communications and technical phases of the art."
Based on physical phenomenawhose discovery dates back to James
Newtechnology meets old technology:The Ardulno Uno and a key
for sending Morsecode by hand.