For some time I have been interested in the all-in-one type WSPR transmitter. A fellow blogger Paul PA0K posts his WSPR adventures using the SOTAbeams WSPRlite model. This unit is no longer available and when I did a web search I found very few units on the market. The unit I purchased was the Zachtek WSPR Desktop transmitter. The desktop transmitter has great reviews on Eham. The YouTube videos I watched about this product emphasized its compact size, works right out of the box, is easy to set up and can run independently without a PC.
The unit I ordered was the 80m to 10m WSPR desktop. The package came from Sweden and was at my door in under 6 days. Along with the Desktop device, you also get a USB to USB-micro cable and a GPS antenna with a 3m cord with an SMA connector. If you do plan to order one of these units be aware you will need an SMA to SO239 pigtail as it does not come with the unit. They can be ordered at Zachtek's website. Fortunately, I had one as it is used with my NANO VNA unit. 
Needed cable
Some of the selling points for me were:
- It's small size.
- Great reviews.
- Option to run it with or without a PC.
- Easy setup software available on Zachtek site.
- An LED light on the unit that indicates good or bad GPS lock, when transmitting and when idle.
- Automatic band switching.
- The unit is not affected by an extremely high SWR.
It was time to connect up the unit and I went to Zachtek and downloaded the operating software. I connected the unit to my PC via the USB to micro cable for the first time setup of the WSPR desktop, I connected the GPS antenna and connected my Hustler 4BTV to the antenna port via the SO-239 to SMA connector. I entered my call in the box provided and selected the bands I wanted the unit to work on. As a side note, there is also a download for USB to serial driver but I already had that and it was working with no problems with my NANO VNA. I then pressed the start button on the software. I was supposed to see GPS information and the device status. Instead, I saw absolutely nothing.
Nothing happened
I tried changing the USB port I was using, I then downloaded and installed the USB to serial driver from Zachtek as maybe it was a more up-to-date driver. I tried again and nothing happened. I know my NANO VNA has no issues working on my PC and using the USB to serial port driver, maybe a Win10 update messed things up. I connected the NANO VNA via its USB cable and it came to life. I then plugged the VNA into the same port the WSPR desktop was plugged into and it worked fine. I plugged the NANO VNA into the cable that came from Zachtek and the NANO VNA refused to start! I plugged the WSPR desktop into the NANO VNA USB cable and the unit came to life. The device status came up and the GPS showed connection status. The issue was the USB-Micro cable from Zachtek it was defective right out of the box. I informed Zachtek of this a few days ago but as of yet, I have not heard back.
The unit sprang to life
Once the cable issue was solved the unit worked like a dream. In my next post the result of a 24-hour WSPR run with my Hustler 4BTV as well why the heck did I get this thing and how is it going to help my contesting adventures?
6 comments:
Very interesting Mike, I have a less sophisticated device for 30m. But this one does a lot more. And with the GPS you always have the right location and time. I've been on the zachtek website and see he is also developing a standalone WSPR receiver for all bands. The single band version is not available right now. I would be more interested in the receiver actually. And with both you have a complete standalone WSPR TRX. You can probably build this with raspberry Pi but that takes time and knowledge. 73, Bas
Good morning Bas and as always very nice to hear from you. I am very much enjoying this little unit. I have only used it for one 24 hour session and it worked great. Yes I saw the the receiver as well and will be interested in it when it becomes available. I do have a raspberry Pi and it is tied up with Ham Clock which I use a lot. I would have to get a new Pi and well the time as well to make it work. At this point with all I have to do one from Zachtek would be the way to go for me.
Have a good weekend Bas and nice to hear from you.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi Mike, now I use the Zachtek wspr transmitter for several months now. It's very well build. I do have only a 3 band antenna, so that's what I do. Have fun with it. 73 Paul
Good morning Paul very nice to hear from you. Yes the Zachtek is a great little unit. Have you been to the Grafana GUI site for WSPR? They have some great tools to apply to your WSPR results.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
That's an interesting little device - the software looks interesting too. I have the WSPRlite with some external passband filters that I added (10-80M). Are you using any filtering at all?
I feed mine from a USB Battery Pack but I have to insert a "Stay Awake" dongle to stop the battery pack from switching off due to the WSPRlite's low current draw.
https://tommcquiggan.blogspot.com/2022/10/wsprlite-flexi-review.html
73, Tom, M7MCQ.
Good morning Tom, when you order the unit you pick the band allotment. I chose 10-80m. There is no external anything you have to be concerned with band selection wise. This unit plugs into the wall and you are ready to go. Its a great little unit. The software for signal results is found on wspr.live site and is called Grafana.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
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