2018 Albuquerque Duke City Hamfest/ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention

Larry will introduce you to the universe of low cost, yet highly serviceable test equipment for amateur radio applications.  You'll hear about the manufacturers of new equipment at reasonable prices, sources for used equipment, and what to watch out for in that marketplace. Finally, you'll hear about DIY test equipment construction projects that range from simple attenuators to RF power meters, signal generators and antenna analyzers.  This part of the Test Gear Trilogy will conclude with a quick look at a credit-card sized, digital, multi-function, FPGA-based device that can replicate seven different test and measurement devices and cover a frequency range out to 60 MHz. It can even function as a Software Defined Radio (SDR).

For the finale, Brent will zoom in on three competing software-defined test systems systems. Each costs less than $500 and can replace several pieces of expensive test equipment.  Devices discussed will be the Arduino family, the Red Pitaya (now STEMlab), and the Analog Discovery 2.

All in an environment where you are welcome to bring your lunch in and learn!