Author Archive
Announcing 36 NooElec SDR winners!
August 8th, 2016 | 
Author: We’ve drawn the 36 winners of our 50+ NooElec SDR receivers. We had 1,398 entries from ham radio operators all over the world.
I’m always amazed how ham radio brings those with diverse backgrounds and geography together with a shared hobby and passionate interest — sometimes I think the world could take a lesson from us! I’ve made so many radio friends from all corners of the globe.
Before I announce the winners, I want to thank NooElec, our contributors, our sponsors and all of our loyal readers who have supported us over the years. We have over 4,500 newsletter readers and nearly 15,000 followers on social media and I’m grateful for every single one!
So… without further delay, here are the winners:
Two (2)
NESDR SMArt HF Bundles
Ray SM5XLP
Chris KD7DBL
One (1)
Raspberry Pi 3 NESDR SMArt Bundle
Includes Raspberry Pi 3, enclosure, SD card, and
2-pack of NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
James KI4HTC
Three (3)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
2-pack
Stefano IUØDFT
Dan W0UHF
Daryl N1BGR
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs
2-pack
Sandeep VU3GUD
Mike VE3MIC
Roger G6NTQ
Robert KA1VF
Cori 2E0HWG
Bob W2RWM
Jari OH2BU
Rob W8MRL
Richard 4Z4DR
Pierre HB9FUF
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
Tim KJ6OIL
Joe KEODBJ
OK3OMG
James K3SE
John N1UMJ
Doug N2DW
Matt AE7DK
William WB6ANR
Egon VE6EGN
Richard WB2PEF
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs
John W5AR
Rick K4NCX
Guy VA6GUY
James N1PZP
Landy KF5ZKR
Regis N1KXE
Rick KA0EGL
Bruno W6USC
Mike KD8KZT
Rich KB3NZV
If you’re a winner, check your e-mail for more details and don’t forget to enter our next giveaway scheduled for September.
If you didn’t win and you’re interested in ordering from NooElec, they’ve generously supplied us with a discount code for our readers:
AMRADIOTENOFF – $10 off orders $100 or more.
No restrictions. Valid until 14 August 2016.
Thank you. again, to Jeff Crispino and the NooElec team. All of us look forward to more amazing giveaways!
USB Ports: Gray, Blue, Yellow, or Red?
Did you know that the different colored USB ports on your computer aren’t just for decoration? That the colors actually mean something?
What? You’ve just been plugging USB cables into whichever port is most convenient? What a rookie mistake! 🙂
Well, some ports are a whole lot better than others, and some even do cool things that you probably didn’t know about.
Gray/Black USB Ports
These are your run-of-the-mill USB 1.0/2.0 ports. They have throughput ranging from 1.5 Mbit/s to 480 Mbit/s in later versions.
Blue USB Ports
These are newer USB 3.0 ports. They range from 5 Gbit/s (USB 3.0) to 10 Gbit/s (USB 3.1). These are the better choice for devices that require faster speeds.
Yellow (or Red) USB Ports
These are called “sleep-and-charge” ports, meaning that they continue to supply power even when the computer is sleeping. This makes it convenient to charge a phone or tablet from your laptop battery.
Just as a side note, I’ve had computers that required me to enable this feature in settings before it would work.
Note: Most of the time white USB ports are USB 1.0, but some manufacturers use them for USB 3.0 ports.
So, next time you go to plug in a USB device that requires fast throughput, double check that you’re using the fastest port available on your computer!
UK Hams, Here’s Your Chance to Own the Ultimate Ham-Mobile!
If you live in the UK, here’s some great news!
A communications company is disposing of three Nissan Patrols outfitted with 10-meter pneumatic masts and backseat radio operating positions.
In addition to the mast and compressor, each of the three SUVs are fitted with storage and bench units in the back — but unfortunately, the radio gear shown in the photos is not included.
No word on pricing or terms.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER, 2016: All of the Nissan Patrols have been sold.
We’re Giving Away Over 50 NooElec SDR Receivers! Enter to win…
If you thought our last SDR giveaway was BIG,
this one is even 25% bigger!
NooElec and AmateurRadio.com have teamed up (again!)
to give away
Over 50 SDR Radio Receivers
to 30 lucky ham radio operators worldwide.
…and they’ll even pay the shipping worldwide!
The deadline to enter is 7 August 2016 at 20:00 UTC.
Prize Packages
Two (2)
NESDR SMArt HF Bundles
One (1)
Raspberry Pi 3 NESDR SMArt Bundle
Includes Raspberry Pi 3, enclosure, SD card, and
2-pack of NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
Three (3)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
2-pack
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs
2-pack
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt sets with antennas
Ten (10)
NESDR SMArt SDRs
Eligibility
All licensed ham radio operators worldwide!
(Free worldwide shipping is included!)
How to Enter
It’s very simple!
Leave a comment to this post.
(e-mail address will not be shared)
Entry Duration
Only 1 week!
You may enter only once from
31 July 2016 20:00 UTC
to
7 August 2016 20:00 UTC
(multiple entries from the same entrant will be discarded)
Winner Announcement
8 August 2016
You can get the winner announcement by
subscribing to our free Amateur Radio Newsletter (subscribe below),
following our posts via RSS feed, via Twitter (@amatradio),
or via Facebook (facebook.com/amatradio).
Sign up so you won’t miss our next prize drawing!
Please tell your friends about this giveaway!
Thank you to NooElec for offering these fantastic prizes!
Visit their website at NooElec.com / eBay store / Amazon store
The winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) from all valid comment entries to this post received by the contest deadline. Entries will be deemed valid at the sole discretion of AmateurRadio.com and may be rejected for any reason, including inappropriate comments. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered. The prize may not be transferred. The prize may not be exchanged for cash. Winner agrees to allow AmateurRadio.com to use their name and callsign to announce them as a winner on our site, and to share their contact information with the sponsor for the purposes of awarding the prize. No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning dependent on total number of entries received. Winner is responsible for any applicable taxes or fees imposed by their jurisdiction. Void where prohibited by law. Winners limited to licensed Amateur Radio Operators and subject to export restrictions, where applicable. E-mail addresses of all other entrants will not be shared with any third party, including the sponsor. Entrants will not receive any unsolicited e-mail or be placed on any e-mail list.Don’t forget to enter! Just leave a comment to this post.
50 Years Ago, These Were the Ads in 73
They say the days are long, but the decades are short. It’s hard to appreciate how far we’ve come in fifty years — both in terms of technology and prices!
Here are a few of the ads from the March, 1966 issue of 73 Magazine. Enjoy the walk down memory lane!
The big ‘secret’ to successful DXing
Jim Heath, W6LG, has launched a new video series about the art of DXing. He should know about the subject — he’s been working DX on 20-meters with great success for over 50 years.
“It doesn’t take a huge station to work DX, and it doesn’t take a lot of money,” Heath says. “You can have a lot of fun with a very modest station.”
He says that one key to success is not getting caught up following the crowd. “The skill is not getting onto a DX net and putting your call sign in and waiting for your turn to work a guy in Japan. That’s not working DX — that’s being spoon-fed DX,” he says. “If you’re new to DXing, go for the easy countries: the guys who are calling CQ.”
Most people who have real success working DX do a lot more listening than talking. “A DXer listens, listens, and listens some more and learns about propagation and knows when the band is going to open to certain parts of the world,” he says.
Hans, SM5BUS
“A good example of a guy who has a tremendous signal out of Scandinavia day after day is SM5BUS,” Heath says. “If you’ve tuned 20-meters, you’ve more than likely heard him. He knows propagation really well. He’s learned over the years when the band is open and he listens a lot.”
“While you might think because this guy is the only thing you can hear out of Scandinavia, that he has an antenna at 100 feet and 1,500 watts behind it. It’s not true,” Heath says. “He’s got a two-element Yagi attached to his chimney 10 meters above ground, but he knows when propagation is good. He’s there to work the propagation, to work the band opening. He does it over and over again and that’s been true for decades.”
If you want to learn more secrets of DXing, watch Jim’s first video below and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Ham Talk LIVE! Episode 4: Tom Vinson, NY0V
It’s a call-in talk show about ham radio!
Ham Talk LIVE! Episode 4
w/ Tom Vinson, NY0V
Myanmar trip – Boy Scout Merit Badge
Thursday, 10 March 2016
9:00 PM Eastern Time (02:00 UTC)
Listen to this episode LIVE (and to all previous episodes) in the player below:
