Date: September 2022
Amount: $3,000

This grant is an extension of the grant awarded last year to the Case Amateur Radio Club (CARC), which supports undergraduate engineering and physics students’ senior projects and club activities. The first-year pilot program was very succesful; student groups worked on several projects, including coherent CW with GPS synchronization, WWV second-tick time-of-flight recording, and WWVH time-of-flight and received field strength recording. These projects are all part of the 2024 total solar eclipse research CARC is working on with HamSCI. This grant will support the continuation and expansion of these projects.

CARC is unusual among university radio clubs in providing engineering classroom support plus nonengineering courses as part of the university’s general education program. All senior projects have final presentation videos and documents which are part of the university’s Intersections program. They are all publicly available.

Update

The Case Amateur Radio Club (W8EDU) successfully supported the 2022-23 senior engineering project program by overseeing 11 student projects, most involving amateur radio technology.

The club played a central role in supervising the students’ work, guiding them in areas like signal processing, microcontroller programming, and hardware/software integration. Many students earned their amateur radio licenses and actively participated in club activities throughout the year. Additionally, students presented their work at the HamSCI conference, strengthening their research skills and contributing to the broader amateur radio community. The program continues to provide students with valuable hands-on experience and fosters collaboration within both the engineering and amateur radio fields.

These projects included GPS-synchronized coherent CW systems, weather reporting for mountain hiking trails, and a Class E amplifier for the 10-meter beacon. A description of each senior project is listed below.

Senior Projects

1. GPS-Synchronized Coherent CW. This project modernized Ray Petit W7GHM’s 1975 coherent CW concept. Two teams of three students used Teensy microcontrollers to achieve CW reception in 10 Hz bandwidths, approaching Shannon-limit performance. They built a user-friendly interface and demonstrated the system in real-world conditions, including the first-known coherent CW beacon (W8EDU on 28.240 MHz). The project was showcased in a hands-on workshop at the 2023 HamSCI conference. PreppComm and QRP Labs have expressed interest in the work, suggesting possible future applications. The project will continue with time-of-flight measurements for ionospheric research during the 2024 solar eclipse. All six students earned amateur radio licenses, and several made their first contacts using the system they built. They reported significant learning in signal processing, microcontroller programming, real-time software, radio keying, and system integration.
2. Class E Amplifier for the W8EDU 10-Meter Beacon. This group designed a low-cost Class E amplifier for the 10-meter CW beacon. It accepted CMOS-level input from a GPS-disciplined oscillator and was keyed by the coherent CW system. Though new to RF design, students achieved success at lower frequencies. They gained practical experience in transistor behavior at high frequencies, RF connectors, amplifier design, and managing power budgets.
3. In-Phase and Quadrature Stroboscope. Students developed a dual-color stroboscope with light flashes 90 degrees apart. It serves as a portable teaching tool for signal processing and as a diagnostic device for rotating machinery and lab equipment. The project extends a club demonstration on I-Q modulation by converting the stroboscope from scalar to vector analysis. The system uses high-intensity LEDs and a microcontroller, with an LED display for precise frequency adjustments, including frequency doubling and halving.
4. Inexpensive Emergency UHF Repeater Station. This team tested whether low-cost UHF handhelds (Baofeng) could form a basic emergency repeater. They built a microcontroller-based controller for timing, transmitter keying, ID tones, and courtesy beeps. A custom circuit linked one radio’s audio to another’s mic input and PTT control. The system, housed in a durable package with antennas and a backup power supply, was tested on campus and will undergo further evaluation on Field Day. A QST article is in development.
5. Weather Reporting System for Mountain Hiking Trails. To address significant weather differences between mountain trailheads and summits, students built a solar-powered, low-power weather network. It uses amateur radio frequencies to relay weather data down trails, even through turns and terrain obstructions. A user-friendly kiosk was developed to display real-time weather data at the trailhead.
6. 10 GHz Beacon Monitor System. This project created a microcontroller-based system to monitor the club’s 10 GHz beacon. It sends routine email reports when the signal is stable and urgent alerts when the beacon fails or changes unexpectedly. The system helps ensure reliable operation for SHF users in the region.
7. Emergency DC Power System. A mechanical engineering student designed a portable, lithium-based emergency power supply for the club’s main operating station. The system uses a 105 ampere-hour battery and includes protocols for testing and comparison with older lead-acid systems. It’s light enough for use during campus events and Field Day, while offering reliable uninterruptible power.
8. Earth-Moon-Earth Rotor Control. This team developed a moon-tracking controller for the club’s 2-meter altitude-azimuth antenna using a Raspberry Pi. Students learned about motor specs, hardware interfaces, and astronomical software. They created an intuitive interface to display and track lunar position in real time.
9. Stereo Recording Stethoscope. Though not funded by the grant, this project involved club members and had medical relevance. Students built a stethoscope capable of stereo audio recording, real-time spectral analysis, and integration with electronic medical records. It supports cardiopulmonary assessment and medical documentation.
10. WWV Second Tick Time-of-Flight Statistical Analysis. As part of HamSCI’s ionospheric research, students analyzed WWV/H/B signals using time-of-flight methods. GPS pulse-per-second synchronization enabled accurate timing. Their statistical analysis aligned with known solar storms and will contribute to a dissertation in applied mathematics. The work also supports ongoing development of ionospheric monitoring tools.

Learn more at: https://w8edu.wordpress.com and https://hamsci.org.