J.F.Drew © 2000-2011
Mobile menus click image.
In these pages you will find a range of projects, many PIC© based, while others are software only.
Amateur Radio Projects
My interest in amateur radio was kindled by friends while I was still at High School in 1956. We built modulated oscillators and super regenerative receivers and operated on the 1 metre band. I gained my first licence, VK5ZBF in 1957 and almost immediately my full call VK5DJ in January, 1958.
It was interest cultivated on the 1 metre band that led to a lot of my operating on VHF. Complemented by an interest in computer programming, this interest in VHF resulted in the ten projects accessible from the menu above. Click here for a nostalgic 1956 photo of Doug (now VK3UM), Brian (now VK3BCZ) and myself VK5DJ pushbike mobile.
Beam Controller
This project describes how to construct a system that will enable you to track satellites, the sun or the moon.
Repeater Controller
Need a powerful but easily built linking repeater controller? This one may suit your needs.
Yagi Calculator
Amateurs enjoy building their own antennas and this Windows program will provide yagi dimensions for VHF/UHF.
My EME/Satellite Tracking System
The ability to track a satellite (or the moon) is dependent on accurate prediction of the object’s position and the hardware to read the position of the antennas and then operate the tracking motors. There is no doubt that manageable operation for anything other than tracking the FM satellites is almost impossible without automated tracking. The pages on this site will help work you through the complexities of setting up a satellite tracking system using my Beam Rotation Project and software.
The shack end of the VK5DJ Beam Controller system. This is the four line LCD version, currently using internal calculations to track the moon.
Finding the moon
To assist software writers I have created a DLL that will work with Delphi and C Compilers under Windows and Linux to do all the moon calculations for amateurs.
Other projects
For further projects, explore the menu system on each page. There are several layers.