Beware of 2TB Clover CM201hi external USB3 hard disk devices. Something not quite right...

 A good friend recently bought a new external USB3 2TB hard disk that was behaving strangely from the first time it was plugged in. It was initially plugged into a USB3 port on a Windows 10 machine.   When plugged in the LED on the case flashes to show the device is active. After a significant wait time, sometimes the PC 'sees' the drive and identifies it as a Clover CM201hi external USB device but reports the size as Zero. Sometimes the PC sees it as a USB storage device with size listed as 1.8TB but Most of the time it reports the device as USB storage with no other information. 

We have tried using various hard drive repair/recovery software and forensic analysis software/hardware to interrogate the device. 

We managed to get the drive to start up a few times (with start up delays of between 20 minutes and 2 hours) On performing a device block scan we got reports the drive had read/write errors on almost every block. After between 5 and 11 hours of block scanning (between 80% and 98% of all scanned blocks reporting errors) the drive then fails completely and appears to be 'unplugged'. 

It has some very strange information listed on the label. Quoted information below copied exactly as shown on label.

"During format preocess our hard disk will choose exFAT automatically as default efficient format. Please DO NOT select NTFS maually, this format is not supported by our hard disk, will cause disk crash." 

"QC Passed. Hard Disk Formatted already before packing & shipping. there is no need to reformat when first use."

"Special attention to our products (partitions are not supported), partitioning will cause damage to the hard disk. For safer and longer service life, use it directly as one independent partition"

There is also a second smal label that says "YP005 2TB" on the packaging.

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If You are looking for a new USB3 hard drive it would be best to get a known brand that has good user reviews, proper specifications listed by the manufacturer and does not have the strange limitations quoted above from the device label.

After much hunting online I did find some information from a few people who have managed to get these drives to work. They all reported that the performance is very poor, significantly slower than most USB2 storage devices. These drives are also very unreliable, suffering with read/write errors and loss of data after a only a few weeks of use.

Buyer Beware : 

Always research the item You are looking at and check user reviews before parting with Your funds. 

If in doubt, Don't ! There are plenty of good branded devices out there to choose from. They may be a little more expensive but when it comes to data storage an unbranded, unknown device that saves money will often have a short working life and lose Your precious data, if it works at all.  

73 de 'Hairy' Paul.

Identity Theft on DMR networks.

 If You have seen my callsign MM7WAB on a DMR network monitor or repeater dashboard recently but did not hear my voice, there is a pretty good chance it was Not a legitimate transmission from me! 

I realised someone else was pirating my DMR-ID / Callsign when I saw my callsign appear on my local repeater dashboard with the source shown as 'Net' a few minutes after I had made a test transmission into the repeater and gone QRT. This was a big red flag to me for two reasons. 

#1: All of my legitimate transmissions into the repeater are listed with source as 'RF' with associated RSSI information and I have Never accessed the repeater via any other means.

#2: My DMR radio had been swtiched OFF a few minutes before the illegal transmission appeared over the 'Net' connection into the repeater. 

At first it was assumed that someone had made a mistake entering their DMR-ID on their new radio or hotspot and that they would realise it was wrong and correct their mistake. 

After a few hours of reseaerch I have found several transmissions recorded in various online system logs at times when I was actually operating SSB or Digimodes on HF, on local 2m analog FM nets or working stations on other Non-DMR systems. Many of the pirate transmissions on DMR using my callsign have been logged when I was not even 'On-Air' at all.  

Someone else has been illegally using my DMR-ID / Callsign from a location in England 400 miles South of my QTH for at least the last month. 

Surely there must be a way to stop this sort of identity theft and illegal activity on DMR systems, after all the DMR system was originally designed for commercial/business users so there should be some way to manage the system to ensure illegal operators are removed. Unless of course the system management features were broken when DMR was adopted/modified for amateur radio use. If this is the case then I will simply delete all DMR related data from my radio and use it purely for good old fashioned analog FM operation and working satellites instead. 

There are plenty of other network supported systems to use instead of DMR. 

If all else fails with exclusive amateur network assisted modes like DMR my friends can still contact me on the Network Radios channel suite, Southern Ireland Repeater Network and a few other well maintained channels on the Zello-PTT platform where each user is 'trusted in' to transmit and every user connected to each channel has a recorded history of transmissions on the channel. This makes it easy to check any reported issues and moderators, administrators and channel owners have granular access controls with the power to easily block pirates or abusive operators from the channels when required. 

I still personally prefer the simplicity of good old fashioned analog RF communications without network assistance and fancy codeplugs or software applications but I have also enjoyed operating over a selection of network assisted simplex communications platforms. Some are better than others, many have proved to be badly implemented or hard to manage and none of them are 'perfect' but when poor propagation conditions and excessive noise levels make normal RF operation impractical, network assisted communications platforms do have their place in the communications enthusiasts toolbox. 

: If I continue to use DMR or not depends on how well the system is managed and how well the DMR system can deal with identity theft and stop illegal users masquerading as legitimate licensed operators.

73 de MM7WAB 'Hairy' Paul. 

 UPDATE:  The offending operator that was illegally using My registered DMR ID was tracked down and it appears that they had incorrecly entered their own DMR ID when programming their DMR codeplug and setting up their new DMR radio. With a little assistance from a friend their mistake was corrected. They contacted me with an apology and the problem was resolved. 

When setting up a new radio, hotspot or other device always double check the information You have entered is correct to avoid issues like this from arising.

I have now returned to using the DMR network assisted communications system.

73 de MM7WAB

It's life Jim! But not as we know it. COVID Lockdown

With Scotland and many countries around the World currently in a state of Lockdown, day to day life has changed dramatically. For some people all they see is the negative effects of restricted movement, closure of workplaces, schools, parks, churches etc and separation from friends and loved ones. For others there are some positive effects.

It may sound a bit odd but as huge numbers of people around the World are having to stay at home many of them who are licensed amateur radio operators have dusted off their HF communications equipment and are keeping themselves, other hams, radio enthusiasts and short-wave listeners, occupied during these difficult times.

Although we are at the bottom of the 11 year solar cycle and radio propagation conditions are rather poor many amateur radio stations, myself included, have been enjoying a significant increase in activity on the amateur bands since the COVID-19 virus lockdown has brought many of the dormant stations back on air.

Over the past couple of years I have lost count of how many hams I have heard stating 'the bands are dead'. Some have given up trying, packed away their HF radios or even sold off their gear!
Of course many embraced the challenge, focussed on the lower frequency HF bands, continued to 'chase the propagation' and make good use of the often brief band openings to work distant stations.

My own amateur radio operators license (UK Foundation License) limits my power output to 10W ERP and I do not have fancy radio equipment or large antennas placed high above the ground for optimum efficiency.

I have been making the best of what I have in the space that is available to me. Using home-brewed wire antennas made from scrap copper wire (an vast improvement on the two 10M plastic coated steel washing lines I made my first HF contacts with!) My antennas are strung between home-brewed towers build from recycled timber with the tallest standing at 29ft 6in tall. None of my HF antennas are at their optimum operating height above ground. This is especially noticeable on the lower frequency bands where wavelegths are longer and antennas low to the ground incur losses making them somewhat inefficient. So my meager transmitted signals need to be put the best possible use.
This means utilising enhanced propagation effects whenever possible.
Simple thangs can make a big difference. While working one band on HF, using a seperate receiver to monitor other bands for openings.(I use a 40year old Yaesu FRG-7) If You do not have a dedicated HF or general coverage receiver a cheap SDR receiver or online Web SDRs can be used to keep an ear on other bands for activity.
Following the Grey-Line to maximise the chance of making contacts with distant stations has worked very well for me with over 8000 successful QSOs in my shack log and over 4000 logged on QRZ. Maximum distance so far being just over 10,500miles to Norfolk island off the East coast of Australia!  Not too shabby for a bunch of home brewed wire antennas pushing 8W.
At this point in the solar cycle the main ingredients required for working DX stations are time, patience and persistence. 

If You have HF gear sitting gathering dust, now would be a good time to blow the cobwebs off it, throw a wire up in the air and have some fun while there are lots of stations with plenty of time spare on the air.

73 de 'Hairy' Paul MM7WAB

Software: The choice to Update or Not

In the wonderful World of modern technology almost everyone has electronic equipment that is comprised of a selection of 'off the shelf' modules, sub-assemblies and other hardware that works together to perform specific tasks. Many of these devices are often reliant on Software to make the hardware operate the way we want it to.

Software Updates or Upgrades usually fix bugs and improve the way a device operates, often adding new features or functions improving the end users experience and enjoyment of the device.

Having the latest release or most up to date version is usually a good thing, but not always.

There are occasions when a certain software version does everything we need it to and works very well. Then an update appears that seems to be a step backwards. Changing the way the device works making it more awkward to use. Removing useful features that worked perfectly well. Making the device slower or unstable due to additional fancy graphics increasing processor load (wasting energy on battery powered devices) or bloating the software and wasting memory with functions we do not actually need or use. I believe that functionality and efficiency are far more important than making things look pretty. 

Most of the time if we do not like the latest version we can go back to using the older version, But not always...

Sometimes we are forced to update or upgrade with no choice to keep the older version that worked for us. Fortunately most of the time it is up to the end user when/if they want to upgrade/update to the latest version.  I personally tend to look at new versions of software (and firmware) read release notes and information presented by the programmers or producer of the software and wait until I see or hear feedback from other users before deciding whether I want to try the newer version myself.

It is always nice to have the choice to upgrade or Not.
Giving end users the option to wait until most of the bugs are ironed out and any new features or functions are proved to work properly and actually be useful is a good thing. Especially when the software producer/programmer only provides the latest version with no option to roll-back to the older version if You do not like the new one!

Android

I also use Android based devices (both home based and portable/mobile Network Radio equipment) and had issues in the past with the Google Play-Store automatically updating applications that turned out to be much worse than the older version I had been using.
I have turned OFF auto-update in the Play-Store and only update after doing a bit of research to find out what changes have been made, reading other users reports of the new versions behaviour and when possible speaking to others who are using the latest version before deciding whether to try it or not. This has saved me a lot of trouble when a supposed update or upgrade turned out to be a downgrade with more problems than the version it replaced.

There are a few key apps I use daily that could be thought of as 'out of date'. The newer versions have changed a lot, added fancier graphics, incresed latency, become less stable and removed specific functions I require for correct operation of some devices. Fortunately I have been able to re-install the older version that works properly with all the functions and features I need.

 With Android Apps it is a good idea to keep a backup copy of the .apk file for an app before trying the latest updated version. This makes it much easier to go back to the version that worked before.

To Update or Not ?   As an end user the choice should be Yours.

73 de Hairy Paul.

Digi-Mode Interface on the cheap: Arduino Nano VOX BOX

There are many 'digi mode interfaces' available that require a Serial port to control PTT on the radio.
As most modern PCs do not have a proper Serial port on them A USB to Serial adaptor is required in order to get PTT / TX control to work.

BEWARE: Many cheap (and some not so cheap) USB-Serial converters/adapters only provide very basic Data IN and OUT serial lines with NO hardware flow control support. If You do get a digi-mode interface that needs a serial port and intend to purchase a USB-Serial unit make sure it does actually have fully working CTS/RTS/DTR etc hardware flow control before You buy or You will end up with a Serial device that will Not work with Your interface!

Of course there are 'digi mode interfaces' available that only require a USB connection to the PC but they tend to be rather expensive. (even the older ones that use a Serial port are not particularly cheap)  If funds are tight, or You just don't want to pay over the odds for a simple interface unit there are much cheaper ways to set up your PC and radios for digi mode operation.

Home Brew Digi-Mode Interfacing.

Working FT8 (and other digi modes) can be quite easily achieved with only simple audio cables connecting the radio and PC and manually switching TX/RX.  I have used good quality shielded cable with 600ohm audio isolating transformers in line to ensure there are no potential difference / ground loop issues between radio and PC.

Using this very basic setup on both radios I worked 500+ stations in 50+ countries but it did become tedious manually operating the TX toggle button on the radios. (MOX button on FT 707 and TRANSMIT button on Icom IC-756) 

As I had an Arduino Nano doing nothing I decided to use it to make a VOX BOX that would use the audio output from the PC to control TX / RX on the radios with more accurate timing than pushing buttons on the radios manually.

 A socket on the rear of the radios is used to feed received audio from the radio into an external USB sound card and accept audio input from the same USB sound device on the PC.  

Feeding Audio into the Arduino Nano.

The audio LINE OUT from the PC is connected to the radio but it is also connected through a capacitor to a simple potential divider circuit comprising of two resistors which feeds into an analogue input on the Arduino Nano via a second capacitor. This effectively gives the Arduino a relatively smooth LINE level audio input at a decent level that is easy to handle by reading the analog input pin voltage on the Arduino. There is also a resistor from the input pin to ground that 'bleeds off' the charge from the second capacitor when the audio input stops, this ensures the Arduino reacts rapidly to the input level drop when the audio output from the PC stops.

NOTE: On the Arduino Nano board the command analogReference(INTERNAL) sets the reference voltage for analog input pins to 1.1V instead of  the default analogReference(DEFAULT) that uses the on-board regulator voltage (+5v) for the analog input reference voltage. 

Using analogReference(INTERNAL) as the voltage reference provides more accurate level sensing for standard audio LINE LEVEL input (1.1V Peak to Peak) 

You MUST read the Arduino documentation for Your specific Arduino device carefully before using the reference voltage commands. The analogReference control is NOT the same on all Arduino boards.

How Arduino VOX BOX controls the radio.

When WSJT-X / JTDX or other digimode software on the PC sends Audio out, the Arduino 'hears' it and sets a Digital Output pin HIGH. (+5V) This pin drives a 2N2222A transistor via a current limiting resistor that simply switches the PTT pin on ACC socket of the radio to Ground. This puts the radio into TX mode.
The Arduino also illuminates a red LED on the board when the output pin is set HIGH giving clear indication when TX is enabled.

The program sets the Digital Output pin LOW (0V) when the audio input drops below a set threshold level. This turns OFF the output transistor switch returning the radio to RX mode.

I included a single pole latching switch (ON/OFF) that disconnects the electrical connection between the Arduino VOX BOX and PTT pin on the radio ACC socket to guard against any possible accidental TX. This is handy when testing and adjusting the program on the Arduino and You don't want it to actually transmit 'on air'. 

Programming the Arduino.

If You only wish to use FT8 mode a really simple program in the Arduino can be used to 'listen' for audio input and Hold the radio in TX mode for 14 seconds by keeping the Digital Output pin HIGH and then switching it LOW when the timer runs out putting the radio back into RX mode.

To make the VOX BOX more flexible for modes that use different operating time periods the Arduino is programmed to set the Digital Output pin HIGH when audio above a set threshold is applied to the Analog Input. It then keeps checking the Analog Input level and sets the Digital Output pin LOW when the incoming audio drops below a set threshold level for longer than a defined delay time.  

It would be easy to add features to this simple unit to make a multi-mode, multi purpose user adjustable VOX BOX. 

Adding rotary controls (variable resistors/pots) connected to analogue input pins on the Arduino to provide easy manual adjustment of the threshold levels for TX and RX switching. A third rotary control could be used to adjust the delay time and another could be used to adjust the audio input level if required. 

The Arduino program can be made to read the voltage level of each pot and set a variable for the threshold levels and delay time accordingly. This would make the Arduino VOX BOX easily adjustable to suit different radios, PCs and modes requiring VOX control. With the addition of a small microphone audio amplifier You could even use the VOX BOX for 'hands free' operation when using Voice / Phone modes (Would be handy if You have a radio that does not have its own built in VOX function)

: I have now worked over 900 stations in 78 countries and I am enjoying FT8 mode much more since the VOX BOX controls TX/RX switching with perfect timing every time. :-) 

Grab an Arduino and have some fun.

73 de MM7WAB 'Hairy' Paul