IU1OPK
Riccardo
...about me
IU1OPK
Wellcome to my page, my name is Riccardo, I was born in 1984 and I’m an engineer passionate on technology and DIY projects. I live in Turin (Italy) with my wonderful wife Giulia
I got my ham license in 2020, my intention is to collect on this website my personal projects and all interesting contents, related to ham radio and related technologies, that I will discover in this journey.
I like to make contacts with the minimum possible power in portable/mobile conditions, so probably QRP is my first priority but I’m also completing my base station to use it when outdoor operations are not possible.
I am open to experiment all modes including digital ones; from FT8 on HF, to DMR, LoRa and mesh networks on UHF; but I also appreciate the foundations of our hobby, the SSB voice contacts and CW.
I am fascinated of CW due to its narrow band and characteristic to reach far countries with low power,. I’m making learning to decode Morse code at a speed of 15-20 WPM and I’m staring my first QSOs.
...my latest contacts
my station
...my radios (work in progress)
This is really my favorite radio,5W of max power, up to 10W with external power supply, perfect companion for outdoor QRP activities.
Wit the 3D printed protective cage designed by me, compatible with Windcamp antenna bracket and mAT-705 tuner, it's a small complete station for portable use.
I'm surprised regarding its receiver performance, my feeling is that iit's even better than the big brother IC-7300...
This is my latest radio mainly dedicated as base station but it’s also used for portable operations thanks to the side rails and the protective case.
It’s an HF/6m SDR radio with power rating up to 100w, the internal tuner is quite useful for portable operation (no other cables and equipment needed). Strangely the power consumption is lower than my “small” FT-891 (but it’s not the same for size and weight)
With a power range from 5 to 100w and the compact size is perfect both for mobile/portable operation and as a base station.
With my 3D printed protection rails it’s perfect for outdoor use.
What I appreciate most is the receiver sensibility, the DSP noise blanker performance and the spectroscope. The weak point, for portable use is the high power consumption (around 0.8A when receiving),when outdoor I use it in combination with a LiFePO4 battery.
This is an entry level and low cost receiver that is able to receive AM/FM broadcast stations, air bands but the most interesting feature for me is the possibility to receive HF with SSB mode (USB/SSB).
It includes a DSP processor able to change bandwidth filters.
It is powered with a standard size recharegeable 18650 lithium battery that guarantees an extended autonomy.
2m/70cm Dual-Band Handheld
5W C4FM/FM Dual Band Digital Transceiver
320×240 full color TFT LCD display
1200/9600bps APRS Data Communication
GPS, Bluetooth and band scope feature
IPX5 Rating Water Protection
2m/70cm Dual-Band Handheld FM/DMR digital radio (compatible with MOTOTRBO Tier 1 and 2, roaming function)
Output power 1, 2.5, 5, 6 (UHF) / 7 (VHF) Watt
VFO operation
4.000 channels ,10.000 talk groups, up to 150.000 contacts
Automatic mode recognition Analog/Digital
1.77″ large high-contrast colour display
GPS receiver
APRS (digital and analog)
Bluetooth
High capacity Li-Ion Battery 3100mAh
Entry level low cost 2m / 70 m analog handled radio
VHF(136-174 MHz), UHF(400-480 MHz)
High/Low Power Model(5W, 1W)
Channel Steps: 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/25kHz
Wide/Narrow Band Selectable
128 memory channels
50 CTCSS / 105 DCS
VOX Mode for Hands-Free
FM radio
High capacity Li-Ion battery 3800mAh
...my HF antennas
9-bands antenna for all HF bands from 80 to 6m incl. WARC.
Band changes are accomplished by a short lead, fine tuning is done with the telescopesection on top.
The antennas can be operated mobile or portable.
Bands: 80-40-30-20-17-15-12-10-6m
Length: 1.60m
Max. Power: 200W PEP
This is my first homebuilt antenna and my favorite for outdoor operations
Thanks to the end-fed design and a 49:1 Unun, it is a multi-band resonant antenna, easy to build and deploy, that doesn’t need counterposes and usually doesn’t require tuner.
It’s very flexible to use because can be mounted vertical, horizontal and in many other configurations.
I started using it, as vertical, on 11m band and now I built a shortened-loaded version for 10-20-40m bands.
Compact and rugged magnetic loop antenna for portable or indoor use.
Operative frequency: 3.5 MHz to 29.7 MHz (80 – 10 meter ham bands)
Max Power: 25W (SSB), 10W (CW)
Max power(with power compensator option): 60W (SSB), 25W (CW)
It can be deployed in 3 minutes and can be configured as a single-loop (10-40 m) or with double-loop (40-80m).
It is quite narrow band at low bands like so continuous tuning is needed but it doesn’t require any tuner, it guarantees good immunity to QRM (useful in urban environments).
It is a directional antenna and the the radiation pattern is adequate for both long and NVIS communications, for these reasons this type of antenna is used also for military communications.
Black and white images are from www.chameleonantenna.com
(to be installed soon at my QTH)
Multiband V-shape dipole with traps
6 m lenght arms
Diamond X-50 V/U antenna in central position
...my VHF/UHF antennas
Operative frequency: 144 – 430 MHz
Gain: VHF 5 dBi, UHF 7.6dBi
Max Power:150W
Length:158 cm
Connector: PL-259
Compact mag-mount antenna
Operative frequency: 144 – 430 MHz
Gain: VHF 2.15 dBi, UHF 3.4 dBi
Max Power:70W
Length:50 cm
Connector: SMA
(to be installed soon at my QTH)
Operative frequency: 144 – 430 MHz
Max Power:200W
Gain: VHF 4.5 dBi, UHF 7.2dBi
Length:170 cm
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