radioamateur

The QMX+ is very compact, but we can do more! The GNSS module is bundled with a external GNSS antenna with a looooong wire. This is fine when operating from inside a house (the antenna can be put near a window, or even out of a window) but for mobile operations, this is too much wire.

I've got my first HF transceiver for some time now (QMX+ kit) , and I discovered the joys of FT8., a very nice mode for who don't like to speak in the mic or don't know (yet) Morse code.

Until now, I'd been using WSJT-X on my computer, which wasn't really compatible with hiking, so I wanted to do the same with my smartphone using FT8CN. But my smartphone has a Micro-USB connector and the QMX has a USB-C connector, so my smartphone (Whyred under Android) has to be set to OTG mode to be the host, the transceiver would be the device.

Friends, I'm not proud of myself.

I had a spare ESP32 Wroom and a LoRa SX1278 module, so I thought I'd make an APRS gateway, but very compact to put in its own antenna tube. So I tried to desolder the microcontroller pins to save space, wanting to solder the wires directly into the holes.

The 450° C soldering iron and copper braid weren't very effective, so I removed the pins, but alas, the PCB pads became a disaster :(

Isopropyl alcohol rubbed vigorously didn't help, on the contrary.