HP EliteDesk 800 G1 running on 12 volts DC
Stefan Helander

Running HP EliteDesk 800 G1 USDT on 13.8 volts DC

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I got a HP EliteDesk 800 G1 USDT Ultra Slim Desktop computer for my ham schack. This is a small computer running on an external power supply just lika a laptop. It turned out to be the major source of RFI in my ham schack.

HP EliteDesk 800 G1 USDT

I suspected the power supply was the culrpit as those are switched ones and thought it might be possible to run the computer directly on my 13.8 VDC power supply that I use for my radios. The only voltages used in a computer is 12 and 5 volts, so there is probably a voltage regulator on the power input that regulates the voltage down from the 19 volts DC that the power supply outputs. Will it also run on 13.8 VDC?

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The power cable to the HP EliteDesk 800 G1 USDT has a 3 pole connector, just the same as on laptops. One is negative, one is positive and the pin in the middle is a “power good” signal from the power supply. I read about people running 3rd party power supplies by connecting the power good over a resistor to the positive side, see this page.

Will it run if I just connect the power good to positive without a resistor? When I measured the voltages from the original power supply positive was +19 VDC and power good read about +12 VDC so it might be sufficient. Discussing it with a tech savvy friend, he suggested it might work and be worth a try.

I didn’t want to cut the cable on the original power supply but luckily I have a friend who hoardes old technical stuff and he happened to have an old broken HP laptop power supply, with the correct cable (who saves broken power supplies?, well it turned out to be useful in this case)

It works!

It turned out it works fine, no resistor needed. This might vary from model to model, but the HP EliteDesk 800 G1 USDT it works by directly connecting power good to the positive. This (image below) is the cable I now use to run my computer directly on 13.8 VDC. Black lead is negative, white is positive and blue is power good.

On 20 meters (14 MHz) my noise floor dropped from S5 to S0-A1!

HP EliteDesk 800 G1 running on 12 volts DC
Power cable to run a HP EliteDesk 800 G1 directly on 13.8 volts DC
IC-706 noise level on 20 m when running computer directly on 12 VDC
IC-706 noise level on 20 m (14 MHz) when running computer directly on 13.8 VDC
Stefan Helander

Ispconfig3 certbot is not renewing certificates (Ubuntu 20)

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When creating a new site, a valid certificate was issued but when expiring they where never renewed. Investigating /etc/letsencrypt directories was missing the usual subfolders, like live for example.

It turned out the server had both acme.sh and certbot installed. The solution was to remove certbot. Investigate if the directory /root/.acme.sh exists and it’s contents.

apt remove certbot
ispconfig_update.sh --force

Then in Ispconfig go to Tools -> Sync, select Web sites and the server you just removed.

Stefan Helander

Outlook IMAP sync error 0x800CCC0E after installing KB5018410 (11/10/22)

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Last wednesday, the 11th of October 2022, Microsoft released the KB5018410 update. After installing the update, Outlook that is connected to IMAP mailboxes started reporting error 0x800CCC0E.

The workaround is to uninstall the KB5018410 update:

  1. Go to the Control panel and search for update history.
  2. If KB5018410 is present as an installed update, click on Uninstall updates on top of the screen
  3. Find KB5018410 in the updates list, mark it and click on Uninstall above the list
  4. The uninstall will take several minutes and requires the computer to reboot

After uninstalling KB5018410 Outlook IMAP sync will start working again.

Joomla banners registers click on wrong banner
Stefan Helander

Joomla banners register clicks on wrong banner

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I had a client site using banners, configured to register clicks on each banner. The client discovered that sometimes clicks was not registered on the correct banner. Initially it looked like banners with the same target link (URL) was registered on the banner with the lowest ID. This turned out to be misleading.

The cause was a SEF plugin called JoomSEF. This plugin handled the URL:s also for banners routing the clicks to the wrong banner.

The solution was to exclude Joomla banner component from being handled by JoomSEF:

  • Go to Components -> JoomSEF -> Manage Extensions
  • For Banners, click to the right so it displays Default Joomla router under Active Handler
Stefan Helander

Anytone D578UV CPS Tools -> Firmware update doesn’t work

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I had problems with the CPS software version 1.16 when trying to update the firmware. The window when selecting Tools -> Firmware just didn’t open. It turns out the software seems really buggy.

Solution: When CPS is running, open a File Explorer and go to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Anytone\D578UV_1.16\” and double click on UpdateQX_Firmware_Update.exe.

The window will now open and you can continue with the firmware update.

Thanks to Ronny/SM7IKJ who gave me to the solution.

Anytone D878UV/D587UV last call TG empty
Stefan Helander

Anytone D878UV/D578UV last call talkgroup empty

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After doing some updates of my Anytone D878UV and D578UV DMR radios I had an annoying problem where the talkgroup field was empty in the last call list as well as in the last call “ticker” scrolling by on top of the screen, just showing an empty “TG:”.

It turned out the problem was caused by the digital contact list that I had generated on radioid.net. I had generated the list with the “TG” checked which generates a contact list including all Brandmeister talk groups. Seems very practical but the problem is that the name field for the talk groups are empty and it seems that Anytone has priority to display the talkgroup info from digital contact list, if it exists, above the info from the talk groups list.

Solution was to generate the digital contact list from radioid.net without checking the TG.

Radioid.net digital contact list generator without the TG checked
com0com virtual serial ports
Stefan Helander

Virtual com port / serial port for Windows 10

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Sometimes it can be handy to create virtual com port pairs or virtual null modem using software. There are several solutions available, free and paid. The commercial softwares do work but with prices like 130 USD it is a bit out of range for a hobby project.

However, I found a project called com0com which is free. This software works well with Windows 10, both 32 and 64-bit versions available.

com0com virtual serial ports
HyEndFed 8 band EFHW antenna
Stefan Helander

My experience with HyEndFed 8 band antenna – bend it like Beckham…

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In an earlier post I described my experiences with the HyEndFed 5 band antenna but for several reasons I decided to quickly replace it with the 8 band version for 10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80 meters.

The reasons for this was, for one thing, that I soon discovered that I was missing the WARC bands for different reasons. One of them is contests. Contests are fun – when you are participating. When not, it makes the bands very hard to use. You will have a hard time finding non contest stations and sometimes I just switched the radio off, waiting for the contest to be over. The WARC bands are contest free and became my go to bands during contests.

Another reason for replacing the 5 band antenna was that it is rated for 200 watts SSB PEP. Nothing more than that is mentioned on their website when it comes to power. It was when unpacking the antenna, reading the instructions, I realized this means 30 watts limit for CW and DIGI-modes. It would have been very nice to mention this on the website as well. I am doing about 98% of my QSO:s in CW and I like to be able to use my rig’s full 100 watts of power.

The third reason I initially choose the 5 band antenna was it’s length – 23 meters. This is just about the size I can fit in on my property. But at the time considering a new antenna, I realized that endfed half waves (EFHW) actually doesn’t have to be installed in a straight line. Bend it like Beckham 🙂 It can be installed in an angle for example. The radiation pattern will of course suffer but they still work. The 8 band antenna is 40 meters long, so to fit it in, I must install it in an angle.

So I decided to replace it with the 1 kW model of HyEndFed 8 band antenna. I used the same fur tree as a fixing point, but insted of having the end at the tree, I now has a bend. I selected the 1 kW model to be able to cope with my 100 watts CW. The model chosen was the one with aluminium plate and strand relief on the plate.

8 band efhw 40 meters long
My 8 band efhw 40 meters long, installed in an angle

I can use the antenna on most bands without a tuner but I do actually use my ICOM AT-180 on most bands to get the SWR down to as close as 1:1. With the AT-180 it actually also tunes on 160 meters but my QRM levels on that band are so high so I haven’t tried it in a QSO yet.

It have worked all other bands with the antenna I am quite happy with it, and considering it is a multiband antenna I think it is a very good compromise.

Joomla offline mode not working
Stefan Helander

Joomla offline mode not working [solution]

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A client was developing a Joomla site and had set it to Offline mode. In order to have a beta test group access the site for evalutation and tests, they had created a user account for the group and set it to Registered. The permissions for Registered users was set to Allow Offline access. At this moment the offline page was not showing up anymore for non-logged in users, i.e. anyone could access the site.

It turns out, bug in Joomla or not, that if you allow offline access for the Registered group the offline mode will stop working. The beta test group had to be put under Guests and allowing offline access to that group instead.

Solution:

  • Go to System -> Global Configuration
  • Click on the Permissions tab
  • Click on the Registered user group
  • Select Inherited
  • Click Save

Nagoya RB-400 fell to pieces
Stefan Helander

Nagoya RB-400 – it just fell to pieces

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I purchased a new, unused Nagoya RB-400 lidmount antenna mount from a seller on eBay. After a couple of days of use, I was going to adjust the angle using the hexagon socket screw. When unscrewing it, a part of the mount just fell off (see photo).

I did not overload the mount (largest antenna used while driving was a 65 cm whip). Did I overtight the hexagon scew? Obviously 🙂
I’m quite used to dealing with mechanical stuff and I applied a resonable force while tighting it, to keep the antenna upright while driving but not really enormous force.

Nagoya RB-400 fell to pieces
My brand new Nagoya RB-400 fell to pieces. This ring is not supposed to come off. It is a part of the mechanics keeping the antenna straight up.

I guess it was a manufacturing fault but getting it replaced from the eBay seller would cost me a great part of the price as a new one as the seller policy for returns was that the buyer pays the return cost. Worst case is that it was a construction issue and in that case I will probably soon end up with the same result. I didn’t want this to be bothering me anymore.

Instead I went to a local ham shop and bought another (more expensive) brand and the RB-400 went into the trash.

Anyone else who have experiences like this with the RB-400? My experience with Nagoya products so far is not impressing (see my article on RB-66 rusting scews), so I will probably avoid them in the future.