CQWW-CW from an HOA; Anan-10E vs. Hermes Lite 2+

I went into the contest with the goal of testing the performance of the HL2+ in crowded CW conditions.

Rather than writing a dry narrative of "How I spent my weekend" (actually only four hours of it), I'll just sum it all up in bullet points:

Hermes Lilte 2 becomes HL2 Plus, awaits CQWW-CW

With the arrival of my Apache Labs 10E, I finally worked up the courage to put my HL2 under the knife for the surgery required to convert it to a Plus version.

No, it didn't get fatter; it just got better.

The update required removing a 0603 ferrite bead, adding a 0603 resistor & a small piggy-backed PC board, and updating the gateware.

And a few other small things that, all tolled (or is it "told"?), took 20 minutes.

It's the gateware thing that got me - I'd never heard of either the word or the process, but I know I didn't want to risk bricking the HL2.

Long story short - I should have done it long ago. Everything went smoothly.

Faded memories - testing SDHC (and other) cards

While flying my new DJI Flip after a recent POTA activation, a warning appeared on the screen of my remote controller:

"SD card speed low. Normal use may be affected. Replace SD card."

This was from an SDHC card I'd used many times previously with no problems - a SanDisk Extreme Pro.

I reformatted the card but continued to get the warning. So I replaced it and the drone recorded video with no problems and no warnings.

Like just about everyone else, I've accumulated a decent collection of SD and SDHC cards over the years. Even the tinySA can make use of one, as can an Icom 705 and many other radios.

Hermes Lite 2, 10-160m harmonic output

I went through the rest of the bands today and the HL2 looks good on all of them. My HL2 includes, of course, the N2ADR Low Pass Filter board, as they all should (and probably do).

 

10m

  .

12m

 .

Hermes Lite 2 - Compliant on 10 meters?

While waiting on an "Your Anan-10E is ready" email I thought I'd test a claim on Apache Lab's website regarding SDR radios that use the AD9866 processor - ie, the Hermes Lite 2.

Apache Lab's comparative chart claims that the HL2 is not compliant on 10 meters. News to me...let's have a look.

[UPDATE: Harmonic content is within spec on all bands. I'll check IMD later in the year.] 

I also wanted to test receiver sensitivity. I was asked about it in several emails after posting a video comparing receiver sensitivity of the QMX+, KX2 and FT-891.

 

I'll be the first to admit that receiver sensitivity is down the totem pole when it comes to receiver specs, topped by selectivity and dynamic range. Still, it's a useful test if only to verify the lack of a problem where one might be suspected.