Hamvention 2018
Would I come back to Hamvention? Right now, given that it’s always the same weekend as Maker Faire Bay Area? Pfth. Not a chance.
The Life of Kenneth

My visit to Hamvention 2018
What a great event! The new location is superb. It is 1000% better than the old location at Hara Arena.
N6PSE

Faux SDRs & Vaporware Products at Hamvention – “The Fake News”
Reports from Dayton of new products seem to be far apart, and a couple anticipated products seem lackluster or concept mockups.
K9ZW

2018 Hamvention photos: Inside Exhibits
Most of the following photos were taken in the main Hamvention buildings and tents at the Greene County Fairgrounds.
The SWLing Post

2018 Hamvention photos: Friday Flea Market
The selection was pretty amazing. The rain did come and go throughout the day, but the recycled asphalt that was spread between the aisles did help keep mitigate the mud situation.
The SWLing Post

Death of an E-Salesman
Our classic electronics surplus stores are disappearing. Can they be saved?
sparkfun

Post-launch signals received as Amateur Radio heads to Moon
China has launched two microsatellites into a lunar transfer orbit. Following deployment, signals from the DSLWP satellites were received by radio amateurs in Brazil, Chile, and the US, as well as by many others around the world.
ARRL

Ham loses license for interference
N8CAM illegally operated on, and caused interference to, the Michigan Public Service Communication System.
KB6NU

NVIS works very well… except when it doesn’t
Anyone relying on near vertical incident skywave (NVIS) propagation for 24/7 radio circuits between any two points should heed the warnings found in the raw QSO data from the Virginia QSO Party.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum

About Software Defined Radio and RTL-SDR
Software Defined Radio: computer or smartphone does signal processing, not individual and expensive components as with traditional radios. The cheapest way into radio reception, best bang for the buck.
Radio for Everyone

Video

Review: Antenna analyzer N1201SA
HamRadioReviews

Shortwave Trading: The West Chicago Tower Mystery
I recently stumbled onto the first evidence of shortwave trading at a site in West Chicago, Illinois and then used Federal Communications Commission (FCC) database research techniques to find two more sites.
Sniper In Mahwah & friends

2018 State of the Hobby Results
The results are in!
State of the Hobby

6m Moxon antenna
The SWR figures predicted are pretty much spot on, with a dip right around 51250.
NY4G

FreeDV 700D vs Analog Comparison
A comparison between Analog SSB and the new FreeDV 700D mode, over an HF channel (40m, late at night), with the same transmit power (~100W PEP).
Mark Jessop

Nixie LED Clock
I built an alternative clock using a 3D printer and laser cutter.
SparkFun

The Boris Beacon
A 1mW solar-powered HiFER beacon.
AA7EE

Radio receiver ‘listens’ for dark matter particles
We’ve built a radio that looks for a radio station, but we don’t know its frequency.
Futurity

Parity Act language inserted in National Defense Authorization Act
The bill now awaits House floor action. The Senate will begin its markup of the NDAA during the week of May 21.
ARRL

OLED GPS display on Arduino with a little C++
I’ve written a little code to read the $4.10 GPS and display a bit of info on a small OLED display using the excellent Adafruit library.
marxy’s musing on technology

Video

Receiving Radio New Zealand 15720khz in Santa Cruz, CA on a Hallicrafters S-38
What Radiohead sounds like from 6,500 miles away on a 62 year old shortwave radio.
YouTube

4m parrot repeater
Testing GB7FM 4m simplex repeater, fondly known as the Tring Parrot.
M0JCQ

The Horror-Mitters
A working tuneable FM transmitter for the two meter amateur using only found junk and components scavenged from old television sets.
VK3ZZC

Developer says he has purchased Hara Arena
Michael Heitz, a Lexington based developer, has bought Hara Arena.
Dayton Daily News

Don’t buy into the doom-and-gloom: Low sunspots are not the end
Here are a few strategies for working DX during sunspot lows.
The SWLing Post

Children’s book features Amateur Radio and space communications
Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader is a new book written for young people by Emily Calandrelli KD8PKR that features amateur radio and space communications.
AMSAT-UK

Ham Radio operators help save lives in tinder fire
Communication troubles began because of poor cell service at the fire line.
KVOA

Build your own 18650 LiFePO4 battery pack, no soldering
18650 batteries are a cost effective way to power our communications gear out in the field.
OH8STN

Ham!
Ham.
Ham Button

Designing a satellite station for the home QTH
Working SSB satellites from home is a bit more complicated, especially as I wish to automate a lot of what happens, especially the automatic tracking of the satellites during passes.
Adventures in Ham Radio

Video

Hand made vacuum tubes
Hand made vacuum tubes by Claude Paillard
Vimeo

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Walmart Parking Lots on the Air
WMPLOTA is a special event and award scheme for amateur radio satellite operators that encourages the practice of portable operation in the ubiquitous and easily accessible location of Walmart parking lots.
wmplota.org

Using the WiFi chip on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ as a TX capable SDR
Combined with RPiTX which is a Raspberry Pi tool for transmitting arbitrary RF signals using a GPIO pin between 5 kHz to 1500 MHz, the Raspberry Pi 3B+ may end up becoming a versatile low cost TX SDR just on it’s own.
RTL-SDR

Special call signs to be on the air for 2018 FIFA World Cup
Special Canadian call sign VB18FIFA will be among those active around the world from June 1 to July 15 for a World Cup 2018 football Amateur Radio “marathon.”
ARRL

Phone contesting tips for DX contests
This article is prompted by the recent WPX SSB contest, in which I worked thousands of guys from Aruba as P49Y, which engendered much reflection (and teeth-gnashing, to be sure) about how U.S. hams can be best understood from the DX end.
AE6Y

Why does electricity have a sound?
When we’re using electricity in our day to day lives we don’t hear a peep. But at grid scale our electricity system makes a variety of noises.
drax

Dual Band 4/6m Moxon Antenna
My first step was to calculate the dimensions for the driven and reflector elements for my centre frequency of 70.200 (centre of SSB activity on 4m).
M0JCQ’s Ham Blog

The K7TMG HF Morse Code Temperature Beacon
QRPp beacons have been a “thing” of mine for a while now, ever since I put the Sproutie SPT HiFER Beacon on the air, sending it’s 12 wpm SPT ID out continuously on 13558KHz, with a mighty 4.6mW to a much shortened loaded dipole.
AA7EE

After Hurricane Maria, AM radio makes a comeback in Puerto Rico
Desperate for news about the disaster befalling her island, Plaza turned on a battery-powered radio and found that a local radio station, WKJB 710 AM, was maintaining its broadcast.
Columbia Journalism Review

GDPR and Amateur Radio Clubs
Does GDPR apply to amateur radio clubs? From my understanding, yes. Amateur Radio clubs that hold personal data need to be compliant by the 25th of May.
Essex Ham

Video

Loop antennas for AM broadcast band
N1SPY looks at the inner workings of an AM broadcast band receiving loop antenna.
YouTube

Proppy: HF propagation prediction
An interactive interface used to predict geographical coverage for a given site at a specified time and frequency.
Proppy

Attracting more women to Amateur Radio
Kimberly Olsen VK2KMI spent some time researching how to attract more women to amateur radio.
Southgate

3B7A Saint Brandon all-SDR DXpedition
This is the first major DXpedition that will be using only SDR transceivers in its setup. No old-school analogue radios.
sunsdr.eu

More than 30,000 new Ham licensees in 2017
Despite the optimistic influx of 32,196 newcomers last year, the net growth of 5,349 — about 0.72% over December 2016 — reflects some 27,000 expired or cancelled licenses in the FCC database over the past year.
ARRL

DIY Pi RF transmit filter hat with SMA connector
The Pi is a dirty old man when it comes to broadcasting and we need to clean up its act.
Naich’s crappy blog

Hackers can hijack emergency alert sirens with a Baofeng and laptop
Emergency alert systems manufactured by Acoustic Technology Inc. can be hijacked and made to play any audio thanks to a vulnerability dubbed SirenJack.
CSO

Backpacking with a pocket-sized HF radio
Far and away the most effective backcountry communications facilities are available to licensed radio amateurs.
N7RR

Review: AnyTone AT-D868UV dual-band DMR handheld
First impressions? Solid, in fact, very solid. This radio has some heft to it. You know you are holding it. It seems to be well made with a nice action on the rotary knobs.
Essex Ham

Video

Work the World with WSJT-X – Dr. Joe Taylor
Dr. Joe Taylor, K1JT, author of many of the weak signal digital modes and co-author of the very popular FT-8 mode presented: “Work the World with WSJT-X” at the 2018 MicroHAMS Digital Conference in Redmond, Washington.
YouTube

Airspy HF+ and Gqrx running on Raspberry Pi
In case you’ve been wondering if a Raspberry Pi is powerful enough to run a SDR app, here is a quick test.
YouTube

The Soviet villagers who blocked Western radio broadcasts
The village Radio Station #5, in what is now the republic of Georgia, had the sole purpose of jamming broadcasters such as the BBC and Voice of America.
BBC News

TV rabbit ears receive NOAA satellite images
N1SPY tests if an old TV antenna found in the garage is capable of receiving NOAA weather satellite images.
N1SPY

Hams pitch in to help as “Hat Trick” of major storms hit Northeast
WX1BOX volunteers were active for 17 hours straight, and afterward, some continued to monitor high tides and strong winds, which persisted into the weekend. The volunteers handled more than 1,000 reports of wind damage.
ARRL

Azimuthal map
Azimuthal map with DX spot reporting.
HA8TKS

Understanding AGM batteries
Often forgotten in the mix is absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries. They’re very adaptable for off grid use and have a lot of overlooked advantages.
Off Grid Ham

Building a filtered amplified Coketenna for ADS-B
Combine a proven, easy-to-do concept, the Coketanna, with the best performance RTL-SDR dongle for ADS-B and a filtered low-noise amplifier for great and affordable receive performance.
Radio for Everyone

Live trees affect antenna performance
Living wood absorbs EMF from vertically polarized antennas.
AmateurRadio.com

Which two-way radio service is right for you?
Choosing the right two-way radio can be confusing. You can’t just buy a couple of radios and start talking on them. Most two-way radio services require licensing of some sort, and radios designed to be used in those radio services must be certified by the FCC.
KB6NU

SpaceX launch punched huge, temporary hole in the ionosphere
Rocket launches act somewhat like a small volcano eruption.
Ars Technica

Shortwave supports secure digital communications
Taking advantage of its long-distance capabilities, the established technology has a new mission.
Radio World

China establishes single broadcaster, ‘Voice of China’
Voice of China, as the new outlet will be known internationally, will be formed by combining three mammoth state-run national networks.
CNN

Video

Women’s History Month
Women scientists that have made radio history.
ARRL

Mount Juliet Simplex Society
The Mount Juliet simplex net registers 20+ check-ins per net. Ham Nation interviews the founder of this ARRL affiliated club.
Ham Nation

2 meter vertical dipole build
This antenna offers an air choke to keep stray RF from wondering back into the shack, since I’m pushing 65 watts.
WI9LL

A simple field strength meter
A simple FS meter is the simplest thing to make and is good enough to see if the antenna under test is radiating more power than your old ground plane, old mobile vertical or just radiating at all in a particular direction or in all directions.
Surrey Amateur Radio Club

APRS beacon with Uputronics GPS Board and a Raspberry Pi 3
This is a detailed, step-by-step guide to using an Uputronics GPS board as the main component of a Pi based APRS position beacon.
K4HCK

FCC accuses stealthy startup of launching rogue satellites
The U.S. communications agency says tiny Internet of Things satellites from Swarm Technologies could endanger other spacecraft.
IEEE

The grand G3YUH Morse Key Project
How to build an excellent key for very little cost and with no special tools.
G3YUH

Power supply restoration
I wasn’t sure if the transformers or caps were shot, but I liked the look of it and figured it would make a cool enclosure for something else if I couldn’t get it working.
AWSH

Tennessee middle school students will send a CubeSat into space
NASA has informed Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that its “RamSat” 2U CubeSat proposal has been accepted for participation in NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
ARRL

DMR/FM VHF/UHF mobile installation
The VHF transceiver is a Hytera MD-652, and the UHF transceiver in a handheld PD782G using a Hytera car kit docking station combined with a 5W IN – 40W OUT DMR compatible UHF amplifier.
VA2SS

Video

Video captured inside the Woodpecker’s operations facility
The top secret military base hidden in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone.
YouTube

Overview of the LNR W4OP Loop
Overview and field trial of the LNR Precision W4OP loop antenna.
YouTube

The story of radio broadcasting
1944 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
YouTube