Uncategorized

Topics that don't need a category, or don't fit into any other existing category.

How to make an SDR expansion card for a Framework laptop

27 May 2023 - Posted in Uncategorized by John Mayson

I love my Framework laptop. While there's much to like about them, the fact it uses expansion cards is something I really appreciate. I'm also a software defined radio enthusiast. I hate having a clunky SDR hanging off my laptop.

Why can't anyone make an SDR dongle built into a expansion card?

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Oh, that's why. There's no market for one. But that didn't stop me.

I don't own a 3D printer, nor do I have access to one. I also have no way to build PCBAs. So where's what I did.

Materials

Tools

Small Phillips head screwdriver
Adhesive

Procedure

My intent was to cut the male USB A connector down to the bare minimum allowing everything to fit inside the expansion card housing. I practiced on an old thumb drive and all I did was destroy the connector. So I settled on letting the PCBA stick out slightly.

I gutted the expansion card, attached the USB adapter, placed the SDR inside the housing, glued it down, and voila.

enter image description here

The Saints

20 March 2023 - Posted in Uncategorized by John Mayson

I'm not Catholic. I'm not even religious. But various saints did exist and did do good while on this earth. Here are the three I identify with.

Saint Christopher is, among other things, the patron saint of travelers, particularly those traveling long distances. I have always enjoyed travel, so this saint fits. He's also the patron saint of Brunswick, Germany. I was born in Brunswick, Georgia.

Maximilian Maria Kolbe is the patron saint of amateur radio operators and Esperanto speakers. I'm KC4VJO and, to some degree, mi parolas esperanton. Since radio is involved here it goes without saying he's a more recent saint. He was a Polish priest who volunteered to die in place of a condemned Jewish man at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of engineers. There's a large cathedral named for him in Dublin. He's known for other things too, but for me, he's the patron saint of engineers.