A note to members from ARRL President Rick Roderick
To those who try to suggest that the Board has abandoned its obligation to the members in favor of the organization — you draw a distinction that doesn’t exist.
ARRL

ARRL CEO to retire
Gallagher, 69, cited recent changes included in the new federal tax law that made it unattractive for him to continue working.
ARRL

ARRL: It’s not just the bylaws that need changin’
To this day, neither Mr. Gallagher nor anyone from the BOD has been willing to answer “Why?”
KL7SB

AO-92 transponder and camera tested, further camera tests planned
The first thirty-six hours of AO-92’s life in orbit have seen a flurry of activity as the AMSAT Engineering and Operations teams walk through an extensive checklist of tests.
AMSAT

DPØGVN WSPR beacon in Antarctica is operational
The multiband receiver of the new permanent WSPR beacon DPØGVN in Antarctica has been put into operation.
Southgate

Anticipating Winter Field Day Jan 27/28
The antenna will be a 100-foot loop 30 feet across 20 feet vertical fed at the bottom with an Icom AH4 tuner. This antenna takes up only 30 linear feet, needs no trees. and was designed to fit the campsite.
N4KGL

[PDF] FT8 Operating Guide
Work the world on HF using the new digital mode.
G4IFB

SSTV with a Baofeng
The Baofeng speaker mic would make the perfect donor for a cable between the radio and audio connection of a computer / smartphone.
Essex Ham

3D-printed radio works, despite having no battery
Called a crystal radio receiver, or sometimes a “cat’s whisker receiver,” this is an incredibly simple type of radio receiver that was popular in the earliest days of radio.
Digital Trends

Video

My first uBitX contact
First contact made with my ubitx transceiver after the initial wiring.
VO1UO

Smith Chart: Z, VSWR, reflection coef and transmission line effects
This video gets into several practical aspects of using a Smith Chart to take care of doing complex calculations involving VSWR, reflection coefficient (gamma and rho), return loss, and the impedance transformations that occur when using transmission line between a source (generator, transmitter, etc.) and the load (antenna, amplifier input, etc.).
W2AEW

Fox-1D launched, initial telemetry received
Initial telemetry values appear nominal.
AMSAT

Ham Radio 360: FaradayRF – Open Source Digital Radio
We pull back the veil and get a glimpse of the future… “Challenging the notion of making a contact.”
Ham Radio 360

ARRL revises changes to Articles of Association and By-Laws
The ARRL Executive Committee is scaling back proposed changes to its Articles of Association and By-Laws.
CQ Magazine

Monitoring power meters with an RTL-SDR
And with one simple command, I was reading the power (and probably water) meters for my entire neighborhood.
kroy.io

Baofeng APRS PTT controller
Baofeng radios trigger the ptt by shorting the sleeves of the two audio connectors. I isolated the audio lines with two audio transformers and set up the pi to trigger the transistor with a GPIO pin.
awsh.org

TyMD380toolz for Tytera MD-380
Now that I have the worldwide database of DMR users loaded onto the radio, its like having caller ID on my HT.
K0NR

Amateur astronomers track secretive spy satellites for fun
If Zuma is still up there, there’s a small group of people who will be ready and watching for it to reappear in a week, when its projected orbit should bring it out of Earth’s shadow and into the daylight.
Popular Science

Why a maritime forecast is so beloved in the United Kingdom
This weather report has been making waves for 150 years.
Atlas Obscura

Video

How Hedy Lamarr changed the world with radio
An overview of frequency hopping.
ARRL

A tip to keep track of charged batteries
This is a little cheap tip I picked up to keep track of the status of multiple charges batteries.
WI9LL

N4KGL FM satellite setup
This is my gear I am using for operating on FM amateur radio satellites like SO-50.
N4KGL

Pocket DATV
Minimal Digital TV chain: Transmitter and Receiver. Hardware used on Tx: PiZero, Picam, LimeSDR Mini. Hardware used on Rx: Raspberry Pi 2, RTL-SDR
YouTube

mcHF QRP transceiver kit
The choice of architecture is a direct conversion receiver and transmitter, with a small micro-controller to provide control and DSP functions. The analog blocks in this implementation were kept to the bare minimum.
M0NKA

Prepare to get your grid on
What’s your grid square? Be prepared to answer that question a lot in 2018. The ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 has begun.
ARRL

Amateur Radio: Narrowband communications in a broadband world
My day job is focused on wider bandwidths and higher frequencies. Then I go home and play amateur radio which is a narrowband, low frequency activity.
K0NR

D-star, DMR, Fusion, Which is right for you?
Each of these modes has a place and my goal is to help you decide which one fits you the best.
K3DO

An Antenna in Every Pot | AO-40
You start out shopping with the group for antenna parts at the local electronics surplus store as the entire plot of this segment was that spacecraft don’t have to be expensive.
FaradayRF

Keep in touch with the hams in your life and help prevent isolation
The AARP reports that more than 8 million adults age 50 and older are affected by isolation.
KB6NU

Exploring options for DIY waterproofing
TL;DR — Don’t use silicone to pot electronics.
Hack A Day

New digital mode puts beacon off air
The Barossa Valley beacon VK5RBV has been switched off to avoid interfering with stations running FT8.
Southgate

A CODAR advent
Over the last few days, I have been recording CODAR on 4463kHz to produce images of the ionosphere.
EA4GPZ / M0HXM

Yaesu FT-857: No TX audio fix
The symptom was that it was transmitting carrier on FM, but no audio was being transmitted. Embarrasing, and potentially expensive.
Essex Ham

Video

Exploring abandoned Hara Arena
The facilities include a bar pub, ballroom, conference center, ice rink, and 4 exhibition halls. This place is huge!
One Occupied

How to seal coax connectors
This method can be applied to many other applications and works great to keep moisture out of your connectors & antennas.
K5ACL

The Apollo 13 Squawk Box
How astronaut families listened to mission audio via their homes.
FranLab

2017 Year in Review

For this last issue of the year, I pulled the most popular links from each issue and complied the top 10
as a ‘look back’ on the world of Amateur Radio in 2017. Enjoy! –Cale K4HCK

#10

End Fed Antennas – Where’s the other half?
I was shocked to say the least, a guy that’s been a ham for 20 years that’s never heard of the End-Fed antenna?
K5ACL (Issue 147)

#9

What pushed Radio Shack into bankruptcy?
After two years of unsuccessful turnaround efforts, RadioShack filed for its second bankruptcy, citing poor mobile sales.
The Christian Science Monitor (Issue 149)

#8

FT8
I was actually flabbergasted by the amount of signals I already received at the 20m FT8 frequency. Within a few moments I already worked HA6NN and A92AA.
PE4BAS (Issue 165)

#7

Teardown Tuesday: Baofeng UV-5R
This display driver has been around since the late 80s.
All About Circuits (Issue 148)

#6

A better way to put a PL-259 on RG-58 coax
This soldering technique simplifies assembly of PL-259s with RG-58 cable.
KB6NU (Issue 155)

#5

The future of Amateur Radio is not in the numbers
In truth, anyone of any age is a potential good candidate to ensure the future of amateur radio.
Off Grid Ham (Issue 170)

#4

First transceiver with built-in FreeDV
Chinese Ham Radio gear for HF with built-in FreeDV digital voice mode.
marxy.org (Issue 153)

#3

Millennials are killing Ham Radio
Despite being clickbait, the title isn’t wrong. Millennials are definitely killing ham radio, just like they’re killing everything else.
N0SSC (Issue 182)

#2

80/40 Meter Loaded Dipole Antenna
The plan for this antenna was to build a lightweight 80/40 meter antenna for field use (as part of my Go Kit) that wouldn’t overload my 21 foot telescoping fiberglass mast.
High on Solder (Issue 151)

#1

FCC revisions will affect GMRS, FRS, CB, other Part 95 devices
CBers will be allowed to contact stations outside of the FCC-imposed — but widely disregarded — 155.3 mile distance limit.
ARRL (Issue 156)

Bonus!

#11

µBITX general coverage HF SSB/CW transceiver kit
It works from 3 MHz to 30 MHz, with up to 10 watts on SSB and CW with a very sensitive receiver.
HF Signals (Issue 185)

#12

The “Slick Six” 6 meter horizontal dipole
This antenna is small, only about 9 feet 4 inches from end to end and is easy to adjust.
hamuniverse.com (Issue 145)

FCC penalizes marketer of Ham-band drone
The FCC has imposed a $180,000 civil penalty on a Sarasota, Florida, company that had been marketing noncompliant audio-visual transmitters intended for use on drones in violation of the Commission’s Amateur Service and marketing rules.
ARRL

Building a QRP Field Day Station
It helps to test the station set up in advance. The hub of my station is the Elecraft KX3 transceiver. A new addition is the Elecraft PX3 spectrum scope. Now add a computer and logging software, and you have a few things to integrate.
N4KGL

Homebrew LF Antenna
The main loop is made of 35 turns of enameled copper wire of 0.35mm diameter.
galvanix

Time warp: Simulated Novice FCC Morse Code exam
Novice Morse proficiency exam practice.
HamRadioQRP

Using a mixing console in the shack
If you have a few receivers kicking around in your radio shack, this is one way to hook them all together and send their audio on to your favourite monitoring speakers.
The SWLing Post

One of oldest U.S. radio stations to go dark
Unofficial accounts indicate that KQV started out as “special amateur station” 8ZAE, to be used by the Doubleday-Hill Electric Company primarily for two-way communication.
ARRL

Build a Nixie Tube power supply
I finally received a batch of 1n-14 nixie tubes that I purchased from ebay for a future clock project. The tubes need a power supply that can supply 170 volts DC, which I didn’t have, so I built one.
awsh.org

Is Amateur Radio still relevant?
For over half a century, the BBC has had its own amateur radio group. Now, after several years of planning, the group’s latest home has just opened in BBC Broadcasting House in London, UK.
BBC World Service

Why bother getting an Amateur Radio License?
The Federal Communications Commission provided US citizens with an amazing opportunity to experiment with and develop innovative technology when creating Part 97.
AmateurRadio.com

Video

Xiegu X108G HF Transceiver review and on-air test
This little gem is pretty awesome. An HF radio that covers 1.8-30mhz with USB PC rig control through Ham Radio Deluxe and other software.
HamRadioConcepts

Ethernet powered tower light
YouTube

Millennials are reinventing Ham Radio
We have taken on the optimistic view that we can reinvent amateur radio.
FaradayRF

New: µBITX
µBITX works from 3 MHz to 30 MHz, with up to 10 watts on SSB and CW with a very sensitive receiver.
HF Signals

Logbook of the World to add support for CQ WAZ Award
Participants in CQ magazine’s Worked All Zones (WAZ) award program will soon be able to use the Logbook of the World (LoTW) system
ARRL

CQ White Paper on ARRL secrecy and censure
The ARRL’s recent actions regarding board elections, the code of conduct for board members and the public censure of a sitting director have prompted concern.
CQ Magazine

City’s Radio Shack one of the last still in business
Ham radio makes up about 30 percent of the business’s trade and, as the only such outlet in the region, draws customers from a variety of places.
Derby Informer

3D printed Anderson Powerpole adapter for FT-817
DL2YMR

FM satellites: Good operating practices
While working stations through an FM satellite is fairly easy, there are some operating practices that all operators should follow.
AMSAT

AM stereo stations in the U.S.
We salute and honor the following stations that choose to broadcast C-QuAM®™ AM stereo.
meduci.com

Review: Uputronics wideband preamp
Unit is massive, built like a tank (same case as all other Uputronics preamps), SMA female ports with nut and washer properly labeled.
Radio For Everyone

Video

6 Meter/50 MHz Magnetic Loop
Here is an all aluminum CNC machined simple to build and tune 6 meter magnetic loop antenna.
HamRadioConcepts

The good and the bad with AO-91
What’s right and what went a little wrong with AO-91. She hears very well, but she had a heck of a time learning to talk.
AMSAT

This weekend: ARRL 10 meter contest
The objective is for Amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information with as many stations as possible on the 10 meter band.
ARRL

WSPR Beacon Rocket is launched into near space
I launched a WSPRLite beacon on my hobby rocket at the Dec 2nd rocket launch in Samson, Alabama.
N4KGL

Review: RTL-SDR Blog Multipurpose Dipole Antenna Kit
Four antennas, two mounts, one antenna holder with cable and one more extension cable. Costs $10 on its own.
Radio for Everyone

10 watt moonbounce success
The contact was made using a Yaesu FT-857 @ 10w into a DG7YBN 70-17m 17 element yagi on a frequency of 432.063MHz
Essex Ham

My love for analog FM
C4FM & DMR Repeaters have popped up all over the nation it seems.
K5ACL

Mic amp
I connected my d104 mic to it and hooked it up to the scope and the scope pattern looks good.
awsh.org

Building a WA5VJB cheap Yagi for satellite work
I took a Baofeng UV-5R and built a WA5VJB cheap Yagi which is also used in AMSAT demos at hamfests.
galvanix

EMP protection for the Radio Amateur
What is an EMP, why should you care, and what to do about them?
Off Grid Ham

Reducing SD card writes with Raspbian
A common concern of those running applications on a Raspberry Pi is SD Card exhaustion.
K2DLS

Morse Chrome
Chrome browser extension for Morse Code
Ham Radio QRP

Video

WSJTX & FT8 the easy way with the Icom 7300
For beginners or people who don’t want the work of integrating JTAlert and/or QSORelay and a logbook. The easiest way to make FT8 contacts.
K0PIR

Pakratt PK64 on the Commodore 64 connected to raspberry pi BPQ
Testing connections to my local BBS and another BBS in the area using my commodore 64 and a PK-64 Pakatt TNC connected to a remote raspberry pi bpq over the packet modem.
YouTube