Equipment

Update: As of 2010, I have upgraded to a Microtelecom Perseus SDR used in conjuction with an MSI Wind U100 netbook.  Other software that I use with the Perseus includes Argo for QRSS/NDB decoding, MSSTV, Audacity for audio capture, and CamStudio for screen video captures.  Antennas are the same as noted below, though I rarely use the Quantum loop now since it’s not broadband.

Equipment currently used is an old Realistic DX-440 portable receiver coupled to a Quantum Phaser fed by a 500′ unterminated BOG (Beverage On Ground) and a Quantum QX Loop v2.0 antenna.  Phasing the BOG with the loop is still something that I’m trying to master, but progress is slowly being made!

Audio recordings are done using the computer (Ubuntu linux) using the simple arecord command line program.  The microphone input on the computer is connected to a line-out jack that I added to the DX-440.  Audio clips are then cropped and exported to MP3 using Audacity.  I also use Fldigi for CW decoding which works nice but I’m still searching for a way to decode NAVTEX under linux.