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W9RAN's "VERSA-TR" (as featured in Dec. 2018 QST)

New Product Announcements 0 Comments 11/11/2018

A Versatile T/R solution for SDRs and vintage radios

http://rantechnology.com/index.cfm?key=browse_news&PostDate=all...

Posted By: Robert Nickels (ranickels)

Inexpensive Software Defined Radios offer excellent performance and value for hams and SWLs, but they lack key features that are needed for actual use on the air:

Provision for automatically muting the speakers when transmitting, to eliminate overloading and audio feedback.
A sidetone to monitor CW keying. SDRs do not provide a CW sidetone, and even worse, the time delay resulting from digital signal processing (“latency”) makes it impossible to monitor one’s own signal as can be done with a conventional receiver.
A convenient means of switching the antenna between the transmitter and the SDR receiver and protecting the receiver input during transmit.

The VERSA-TR was designed to address these shortcomings of SDRs, but also makes it easy to put low-power vintage and conventional radios together to create an integration station with automatic T/R switching, muting, and CW sidetone. Only the antenna connections need be made since RF sensing eliminates the need to wire up relay contacts and muting circuits. Regular or amplified PC speaker muting is plug-and-play.

The VERSA-TR can be used in a variety of ways with transmitters range from < 1 watt to 100 watts output, for CW, AM, SSB or other modes. Watch this site for application notes showing various configurations and applications.

The VERSA-TR is available as an easy-to-build kit using all through-hole components from our friends at Hayseed Hamfest:

https://hayseedhamfest.com/products/ran-technology-versa-tr-switch

W9RAN Field Radio

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Category: Technical

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Can your SP-600 do this?
Category: Vintage Ham Radio

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- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 04/20/2019

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- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 04/14/2019

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Making crystals in midtown Manhattan during WWII
Category: Historic

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and the Globe Mobiline Six...
Category: Vintage Ham Radio

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- Robert Nickels (ranickels), 03/18/2019

Spectral Purity using Epson Programmable Oscillators

Do harmonics matter if there's no way for them to be heard?
Category: Crystal Replacement

In the 5 or so years I've been using the Epson oscillators I've looked at the spectral output many times. Without a doubt the harmonic output from the Epson oscillator is high as would be expected from a square wave device. The question to me has always been "does it matter"?PLL controlled digital oscillators have long been used as LOs in recei... READ MORE

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As anyone who likes building radios knows, it's getting harder and harder to buy RF components. One of the last casualties was the 3-section pi-wound RF chokes made by Hammond, a company that has done more than most to support the vintage radio and audio hobbies. The Toko variable inductors long favored by QRP enthuisiasts have become all but unavailable, and vari... READ MORE

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A native of my town, Freeport IL
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The Case of the Phantom Voltage

“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Category: Technical

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