Hello and welcome to the 579th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take a look at the gaming-focused Commodore OS Vision Linux distribution. Topics include installation, configuration, features, software focus, included emulators, ham shack readiness and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Bill Barnes (WC3B) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Choose the Right Microphone.

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Italian Radio Amateurs can use the 70 MHz (4m) Band until the end of 2025

• Registration Opens For Ham Radio Bootcamp

• Ham Radio Friedrichshafen Selects "Remote" Theme

• Islanders say they cannot escape the mysterious humming

• Trees as Conductors: Measuring Natural Impacts on HF Radio

• New Book Featuring 15 Portable Antennas, Beautifully Rendered

• ARRL Establishes Virtual NTS Traffic Net

• Yaesu Releases FTX-1 Series of Radios

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

The first George Batterson CW QSO Party has concluded and the results are in! The "GB" was introduced to honor George Batterson (W2GB), who along with Bruce Kelley and Linc Cundall formed the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) in 1952.

For those familiar with the AWA's popular '29 Bruce Kelley QSO Party (BK), the GB differs only by the style of transmitters permitted. Transmitter designs as well as the tubes used must have been available in 1935 or earlier and, unlike the BK, the use of crystal-controlled transmitters is not only permitted but encouraged! There are no restrictions on the type of receiver used.

It is anticipated that activity in the GB will continue to grow as more amateurs become aware of it. In spite of terribly poor propagation, the initial GB found 20 participants from both Canada and the USA, making trans-continental contacts on 20m and below. Some of the results and participant's comments are shown below.

One of the most enthusiastic operators was Jake, KC7WXD, near Reno, Nevada. Jake did not let having an output power of just 3 watts spoil his fun!

Jake, KC7WXD

A new convert to vintage radio activity, Jake constructed a beautiful Tri-Tet oscillator using an 802 and homebrew plug-in coil forms made on his 3D printer.

Transmitter details here

"I had a great time with the inaugural George Batterson 1935 QSO Party! One of the most enjoyable parts of these events is getting to research, plan, and build a vintage transmitter. It's a great opportunity to learn and connect with history. For the GB 1935 event I chose to build a 59 tube powered Tri-Tet transmitter from the 1935 ARRL Handbook. I later switched to the 802 tube (after some minor rewiring) as it was easier on my crystals. For the event, I made QSOs on 80, 40, and 20m. Despite the poor band condx, I had a great time with the new event this year! I got a total of 6 contacts:

 80m: WB2AWQ 

40m: VE7SL and WB2AWQ 

20m: VE7SL, VA7MM, and VE7CNF 

I am definitely looking forward to the next event!"

Have a listen to how Jake's 3W on 20m sounded here in VE7 land (the frequency changes are by me tuning the receiver).

Also down near Jake, was Howie, WB2AWQ in Reno, making 5 contacts on 80 / 40 with a MOPA, Hartley and a TNT GB combo. As much as I hunted for Howie, I never managed to catch him on either weekend.

211B '29 Hartley at 25W - 40m

Original 1921 Hartley (80m) with 10s at 25W

Back in eastern Canada, Lou, VE3AWA held down the fort on 80 and 40, making 11 QSOs with his widely-admired TPTG P-P 210 transmitter as well as a TNT at 10W.

VE3AWA P-P 210s TPTG

Although the GB is not presently a 'contest', if it were, W8PU would have to be the top-dog when it came to QSO totals. Gary in Ohio made an impressive 18 contacts, working 90% of the active participants, in spite of the terrible propagation. Gary managed all 3 VE7s on 20m as well as snagging a rare 20m QSO with NE1S! 

W8PU's GB arsenal consisted of a MOPA (20W), Hartley (6W), Tri-Tet (10W) and a P-P 59 Jones Oscillator (12W).

W8PU's P-P 59 Jones

W8PU's 20m Hartley uses a 27. It sounds like a Collins!

Larry, NE1S in NH, put his 8W Tri-Tet to work, wringing out 5 contacts including VE3 on 80 and W8PU on 20. Unfortunately, tax time kept Larry restricted to just one weekend of the GB.

NE1S  160-20m Tri-Tet

Larry's beautiful 'Old Buzzard' operating bench

Tom, WA9CW in WI, had great success with his 80m 6a6 P-P Jones crystal oscillator at 5W out. Working Ohio, Rhode Island, and North Carolina shows that nothing too elaborate is needed to have fun. It seems like the P-P Jones circuit was as popular in the GB as it was back in the 30s!

WA9CW - 6A6 Jones P-P 80m xtal control

WK3A - Jones P-P using a 53 on 80 / 40m

W8KGI, Jim down in New Mexico had rough conditions and unfortunately managed only one GB contact. He converted his '29 MOPA to xtal-control just for the event, something that others may like to consider as well. His conversion info will be found here, towards the bottom of the page.

Please don't give up on the GB Jim. Conditions were particularly poor out west and hopefully there will be even more activity next time out.

More details here

KD8TUR, Dave in OH, made 3 QSOs with his Hartley.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Today, Joyce/K0JJW and I activated Kaufman Ridge (W0C/SP-081). This was my 10th activation of this summit and the 8th for Joyce. Kaufman is an easy summit near our cabin, so it is a favorite when we want to do a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation. I’ve posted about how to activate this summit in the past, but a few things have changed over the years, so this update seems appropriate. Because of the off-trail hiking, we always seem to take a different route each time, but the specific route is not critical. We have learned a few things to avoid on the hike, which are reflected in this post. The one-way hiking distance is about 1.4 miles with 1000 vertical feet.

Getting There

There is no trail and no trailhead. To reach the recommended parking spot, turn south at the top of Trout Creek Pass and follow Windmill Drive (also marked as County Road 318) southeast to San Isabel National Forest. As you enter the forest, you will be on FS318, which has a gate normally closed from Dec 1 to Apr 30. You can still activate the summit when the gate is closed, but you’ll have to hike in on the road.

Pass through the gate going south on FS318 and take a sharp left (almost a U turn) onto FS308. Later, turn right onto a side road, FS308B, which should be marked. Drive a short distance on FS308B until the road is closed to motor vehicles. These roads are easy 4WD and high clearance 2WD will probably work fine. The FS road continues but is closed to motor vehicles at this point. There is a dispersed campsite here, so you may encounter campers. Park here at 38.85979, -105.93318.

The Hike

The hike up Kaufman starts on the old Jeep road, which is easy to follow. Later, this road ends, and the off-trail hiking begins. In the past, we’ve tried just heading straight for the summit (which works), but it can take you into significant downed timber and difficult rocky areas. It is better to head due south, hook around to the west and approach the summit from the east/southeast as shown on the map. This avoids the large aspen grove directly NE of the summit, with lots of downed timber.

There is a medium-sized rock (maybe 2 by 2 by 3 feet) sitting in the open that is a useful landmark to aim for. This waypoint (The Rock) is particularly useful for orienting yourself on the descent. Keep heading south past The Rock and turn slightly southwest toward a ridge that runs NW/SE from the summit. A good place to intersect this ridge is marked as the waypoint Trail on Ridge. Here you will intersect a game trail that runs along the ridge, which you should follow to the summit. This waypoint is also useful on the descent, to let you know when you need to leave the game trail (which continues on SE for a while).

Once you get onto the ridge, you will have a fantastic view of the Collegiate Peaks to the west. A cairn is at the summit with the typical summit register in a jar.

We had a fantastic time today on the summit. Great spring weather, blue sky with a few clouds. We worked a number of stations on 2m and 70 cm: KF0RIG (On Spinney Mountain, W0C/SP-118), KD0MRC, K8QWR, W0XC, K0MGL, K0LTH, W5PYB (mobile), W0BV, K0PF (mobile), and KD0RRD (mobile).

73 Bob K0NR

Waypoints
End of Old Jeep Trail (38.85545, -105.93519)
The Rock (38.85545, -105.93519)
Trail on Ridge (38.84937, -105.94055)
Summit (38.85050, -105.94280)

The post Activating Kaufman Ridge (W0C/SP-081) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Ham College episode 124 is now available for download.

Technician Exam Questions Part 11.
T3B – Electromagnetic wave properties: wavelength vs frequency, nature and velocity of electromagnetic waves, relationship of wavelength and frequency; Electromagnetic spectrum definitions: UHF, VHF, HF.

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George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.