https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/898f69ad-ac19-4bd7-96ca-c264bad6c4e2 An attempt at using microcontrollers for amateur radio applications. The Freetronics KitTen kit I built came from their stall at the 2012 Melbourne Mini Maker Faire. Microcontroller projects involve software, hardware and the minor miracles that must happen before computers will talk to one another. Hence they have traditionally been for advanced electronic hobbyists and professionals only, because of the many things that can go wrong. Arduino promises to make microcontrollers simple, cheap and accessible. Has it succeeded? Watch this video as I, who has a record of nothing but failure in these things, attempts to get a project going, and then design some of his own. At one point the quest almost got derailed. An account of similar symptoms and the builder giving up was read. However a solution was found and the development could continue. Radio projects featured include a beacon, an automatic CQ caller (configured as a QRPp transmitter) and a foxhunt transmitter, all with their own customised code. I recommend the kit featured ( http://www.freetronics.com/products/kitten ). It came direct from Freetronics though Jaycar also stock a good range. The January 2012 issue of Silicon Chip magazine has a good beginners' introduction to Arduino and I suggest also getting this. Contents 0:00 Introduction 1:39 Package contents 2:25 Download program 3:22 Identify correct com port 3:34 Connecting the board 4:05 An error message 4:54 Driver issues 5:48 Another attempt 6:29 Uploaded - now testing 7:00 More code changes - now sending callsign 9:26 Input and output devices 9:55 Adding transmitter to make radio beacon 10:44 Altering code to call CQ 11:58 Foxhunt transmitter 12:43 Summary NOTE: A question that those used to building from scratch will ask is whether you can buy the chip used ( Atmel ATmega328P 28 pin ) seperately, program in this unit and then insert into your own circuit board. You can, but need a preloaded chip, eg http://littlebirdelectronics.com/products/atmega328-with-arduino-optiboot-uno Also see: http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1252022534 PS: If you liked this video please consider supporting Amateur Radio VK3YE by: Subscribing on YouTube, Checking my books page at https://books.vk3ye.com ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, Shopping on Amazon via: https://amzn.to/3iiDQXv​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ , or, Shopping on eBay via: https://ebay.us/i9DuWP (then if you buy something I'll get a small commission at no cost to you) Sat, 09 May 2026 05:04:03 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://stream.echo6.co https://stream.echo6.co/client/assets/images/icons/icon-512x512.png https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/898f69ad-ac19-4bd7-96ca-c264bad6c4e2 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://stream.echo6.co/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.