Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: CW Skimmer set-up advice  (Read 222 times)

5BWAZ

  • Member
  • Posts: 97
CW Skimmer set-up advice
« on: July 08, 2020, 07:00:48 AM »

Hello,

I live in an area with very few CW Skimmers on HF. I would like to activate one at my QTH but I really have no idea where to start or how to put it all together. I've read some of the articles online on this subject but most of it is way over my head as I'm not the most technical ham in the world. I don't want to sound cheap but I would like to keep it at a reasonable budget if possible.

Can someone recommend an SDR that will rx several bands at once that even a noob like me can get up and running?

I will also need to build a dedicated computer. Recommendations on computer specs I will need to pull this off would also be appreciated.

I already have a Pixel Loop antenna I can use.
Logged

WB8LBZ

  • Member
  • Posts: 285
Re: CW Skimmer set-up advice
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2020, 10:16:57 AM »

I waited a few days for some one else that might have an idea that might be of assistance. To the best of my recollection, CW Skimmer will only run on a windows based computer (I could be wrong). I once got CW Skimmer working to assist with Field Day operations but that got cancelled this year. If there was a similar program that runs in Linux it might be possible for a Raspberry Pi to be used as a remote computer.  The SDR will need to be one that covers your interested range. Most of the cheap ones don't go below 25 MHz. Maybe a SDR Play would work for you. How many bands will your Pixel Loop at once? You might want to consider a Fan Dipole with a wire for each band of interest. Your user ID precludes guessing your location so I can't tell if you are in a city or country.

73, Larry  WB8LBZ
El Paso, TX
Logged

G4AON

  • Member
  • Posts: 2178
Re: CW Skimmer set-up advice
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2020, 12:48:14 AM »

I was lucky to find a QS1R multi-band SDR on eBay. They work out of the box across 7 bands simultaneously with CW Skimmer Server. Unfortunately the QS1R was discontinued a long time ago and there doesn’t seem to be an easy to setup equivalent.

My setup is:
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit, on an old Dell Optiplex ex office PC (i7, 16GB RAM, 128GB SSD). The requirements for Skimmer are not such a powerful PC, but they are cheap on the refurbished market.

QS1R fed from a home made PA0RDT active antenna in the far corner of the garden (details on my web site). My DC feed interface for the active antenna drops the DC when I transmit on HF.

I combine my local Skimmer spots with the DX cluster using Wintelnetx (free utility), which allows me to set the local log program to receive both, or just mine, via a button in Wintelnetx... no change needed to the logging program cluster settings to switch.

I sometimes upload Skimmer spots to the RBN via the Reverse Beacon Aggregator utility program, obviously set to work directly with Skimmer Server... not the combined output of Wintelnetx.

The above works very reliably, the only difficulty is obtaining a suitable RX.

https://www.qsl.net/g4aon/pa0rdt_aa/

http://www.k1ttt.net/software.html

73 Dave
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up