Amateur Radio Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [transceiver]

Use this tag for general questions relating to transceivers.

123 questions
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WWV, WWVH, and WWVL may be shut down. Are there any alternatives?

The US government is proposing to shut down the NIST standard time and frequency stations WWV, WWVH, and WWVB in Colorado and Hawaii. If that actually happens, are there any free or inexpensive alternative frequency standards available so that we…
Mike Waters
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Is it a good idea to build your own radio transceiver today?

With all the advances in the field of electronics, microcontrollers, etc., is it a good option today to build my own amateur radio transceiver (or transmitter/receiver)? Why might one choose to build over buying, or the other way around? How should…
kR105
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Why are commercial SDRs so limited in operating frequency?

I spent a bit of time researching SDRs, mostly looking into the possibility of building an all-FPGA-based TRX. There are a lot of commercial ready solutions; some are cheap, some not, but they all tend to be operating from 50/70 MHz frequency…
Ulterior
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10
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What does a lightning bolt symbol next to an antenna connector mean?

On the back of my Yaesu FT-897, next to each of the antenna connectors, there are lightning-bolt-ish symbols. What do these mean, and is there something I ought to be doing because of that? I have not found any description of a meaning for these…
Kevin Reid AG6YO
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Why don't monolithic HF transceiver ICs exist?

HAM operators who build their own HF rigs typically do so using discrete components. However, for VHF and UHF rigs, an operator can make use of monolithic transceiver ICs on the market For example, there is this one for 30MHz ~ 1200MHz: AK2401…
watkipet
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9
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What is a waterfall display?

High-end transceivers apparently come equipped with a water-fall display - something to do with improved spectrum visibility. This is supposed to lead to potentially higher QSO count and rate. What is a waterfall display?
VU2NHW
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9
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Why do so many HF transceivers use a UHF connector?

Just looking around at various rigs online for a fiend. Lots of them look really attractive TS-480, K2, K3, FT-450D, FT-950, IC-78, FT-897 to name just a few... These rigs are mostly HF, albeit some are also VHF/UHF capable. Yet the antenna…
VU2NHW
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9
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Why do single band 10 meter radios exist?

I wonder why special radios for 10 meter band are manufactured? On the one hand - any fully-fledged HF transceiver includes 10 meter band. On the other hand there are no only "15 meter band" or only "80 meter band" radios. What is so special with 10…
user23772
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Antenna tuning while receiving

I've built AA5TB's antenna coupler for a 5W 20m transceiver. Tuning was kind of difficult because my transceiver has buttons for sending a dot and a dash, but no tuning mode, so I couldn't have the transmitter on permanently to tune easily. I had to…
user885
8
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2 answers

How is full duplex implemented without swamping the receive circuitry?

I've seen a few references to full duplex SDR radios, and I'm wondering how can one transmit and receive at the same time without overwhelming the receiver, and without heavy filtering such as the cavity filters used in repeaters.
Adam Davis
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What makes a good emergency-capable QRP rig for travel?

It's wintertime, which drives the concept of emergency preparedness here above the 45th Parallel. Am emergency-capable QRP rig is an excellent item to stuff into one's Go Bag or vacation gear, always but especially now. What's an essential minimum…
K7AAY
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What is the minimum signal strength I need to receive?

Let's say a transmitting station is using a 8W radio with a J pole antenna. The cable connecting the radio to the antenna is RG-58A/U and is 25ft long. At 144.075MHz, the attenuation of the cable is 1.5dB. At 8W, the power from the radio is 9.03dB.…
KM4NTK
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How can I get started with a Home Brew QRP?

I want to build a simple 40 meter CW transmitter and Receiver pair. What should I do to get started into home-brew HF RF devices?
Skyler 440
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Is there any PC remote control software for the Baofeng UV-5RE Plus?

I saw on YouTube that some software, with another brand transceiver, can command the transceiver to scan a range of frequencies and display a running waterfall display of scanned results. Can such a setup work with a Baofeng UV-5RE Plus transceiver?
EEd
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What does ALC do on a transceiver?

What is ALC on an HF transceiver? What are the disadvantages (if any) of operating using a rig without ALC? What might be the difference between a good and bad implementation of ALC?
hotpaw2
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