Hams in Puerto Rico install repeater, work with hospitals, reunification
The installation of a VHF Amateur Radio repeater on a mountain peak in El Yunque National Forest now gives radio coverage to approximately 60% of Puerto Rico.
ARRL

FCC grants temporary waiver to permit higher baud rates
The temporary waiver is limited to Amateur Radio operators in Puerto Rico using PACTOR 3 and PACTOR 4 emissions.
ARRL

New ham radio equipment for ISS
We will remove the 3 watt Ericsson handheld radio system, initially certified for flight in 1999, and the Packet module–both of which have recently had issues—and install a brand-new, specially modified 25 watt JVC Kenwood D710GA radio.
AMSAT UK

Autumn antenna adventures with Arduino
These guys from Italy took Atmel’s AVR chips and put them on a board with an easy to use USB interface and an integrated development environment, which uses a dialect of C. Weehee, could it get any better?
AmateurRadio.com

Discord for young Hams
Discord is a free voice and text chatting app well suited for gamers.
N0SSC

World’s largest telescope stopped by LED
Earlier this year a simple indicator LED brought the Keck 1 telescope, a 370 tons mass, to a halting stop. How exactly did an LED do this? Simple: it did nothing.
Hack A Day

Chicago Cubs special event
Members of the Metro DX Club will operate special event station W9C between October 2-8th, to celebrate the first anniversary of the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series.
Southgate

FCC chief tells Apple to turn on iPhone’s FM radio chip
Following the devastation from recent hurricanes, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says Apple should “step up to the plate” and put Americans’ safety first.
CNET

Video

The lost art of tuning a radio
The BBC’s David Sillito asks young people to tune a radio.
BBC

Hams are saving Puerto Rico one transmission at a time
Ham operators work shoulder to shoulder with public safety and utility officials to transmit information to other ham operators working with teams in the field.
CNN

Getting started on the new LF and MF bands
If you are thinking of getting on either of these new bands, particularly 630m, here is a short Q & A that may help you through the initial planning stage of how to get started.
VE7SL

Revised ARRL Frequency Chart available
The PDF chart has been updated to include our new bands at 2,200 and 630 meters.
ARRL

FalconSAT-3 now open for amateur radio use
The Air Force Academy satellite FalconSAT-3 is now open for amateur radio use as a digital store-and-forward system.
AMSAT UK

North Korea ‘aggressively’ jamming BBC’s radio service
Loud noise is deliberately broadcast over a foreign station to make it difficult or impossible to listen to.
The Telegraph

BITX40 QRP Transceiver overview
I made a few changes. I had a couple of 6mm shaft knobs that I wanted to use that did not fit the potentiometers that were supplied. I also wanted to implement a couple of the simplest and most useful mods.
High on Solder

Retrotechtacular: An oceanographic data station buoy for the 1960s
The film details the development through the early 1960s of one of the first automated remote ocean sensor buoys.
Hack A Day

View from above (antenna sunset photos)
As every amateur shutterbug has learned, it’s nigh on impossible to capture the true beauty of the setting sun. That is, unless of course you’re a ham radio antenna perched at the summit of a lofty tower, high in the heavens.
Delta Alfa

Video

N1MM Logger Spectrum Monitor Display
Logger Spectrum Monitor will not work unless the Icom 7300 Spectrum Scope is running. Change the Icom 7300 to CENTER and watch what you can do with the N1MM Logger Spectrum Monitor.
K0PIR

The SharkRF OpenSPOT review
This is the long version video of the QST review video (October 2017 edition).
YouTube

EURAO Party: DMR meeting on the air
Connect to EURAO Talk Group 9201 to have fun and meet other hams, or just do SWLing.
eurao.org

D-STAR QSO Party 2017
Talk to the world by connecting to D-STAR repeaters around the globe.
Icom

In devastated Dominica, ‘Hams’ become vital communications link
Hams set up a Facebook page from their home in Craftsbury, Vt., to act as a clearinghouse for whatever information they could glean through the airwaves via ham operators on Dominica.
NPR

EMCOMM real talk: Lessons from Irma
The recent storms seemed to reignite the ever-smoldering embers of Ham Radio’s place in EMCOMM. No surprise to see the many hams out in force debating the relevance of Amateur Radio in an emergency.
Ham Radio 360

Look no further than the waterfall
It’s not much of a stretch to proclaim that there’s considerably more activity on the HF digital modes than can be found on CW.
KE9V

The joy of the QSO
Many of us spend a lot of time in the hobby, so where is the meaning, where is the value added to our lives?
amateurradio.com

How Grey Line propagation works
One of the most fascinating propagational irregularities is the effect of the grey line on HF radio comms.
Delta Alfa

portableradio.org
Promoting more “Field Day” style events.
portableradio.org

Video

Very simple portable dipole
Here’s my ultra-portable 40m wire dipole that is held up by a 6m squid pole anchored to an aluminium ground stake.
Peter Marks

Passing ARRL Field Day messages the easy way with packet radio
The usual CW and phone traffic nets get clogged easily during this crush, but with packet radio you can egress the messages via radio accurately and quickly.
vapn.org

DIY portable LiFePO4 power for Ham Radio QRP QRO
For the ham radio operator in the field, portable battery power needs to be light enough, small enough, modular, have enough capacity, and above all it should be possible to replenish it off-grid.
OH8STN

Simple SWR indicator for QRP
Simple homebrew SWR indicator for QRP, just a ferrite, a wire and a LED.
AC2RJ

I downloaded an app. And suddenly, was part of the Cajun Navy.
After two minutes of training, I was talking to people desperate for help.
Houston Chronicle

How often are you on the air?
Heatmap shows the activity as reported by the Reverse Beacon Network (CW/digital modes) over the last 12 months.
DJ1YFK

FCC opens 630 and 2200 meter bands
Before using either band, stations must notify the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) that they plan to do so.
ARRL

Cyber threats prompt return of radio for ship navigation
The risk of cyber attacks targeting ships’ satellite navigation is pushing nations to delve back through history and develop back-up systems with roots in World War Two radio technology.
Reuters

Homebrew J-Pole Antenna for GPS
The antenna is soldered directly to two terminals of an SMA connector. This is a through-hole PCB connector, which has 5 terminals (5 for ground and 1 for the center conductor).
Eclectic Technical Experiences

Options when cell service dies in a disaster
Zello, Ham Radio, Iridum, more…
N4AE

When will Voyager stop calling home?
The twin spacecraft still send data back to the planet they left 40 years ago.
The Atlantic

LOTW rant
I found a 14-step process, written in that cryptic LOTW instructional style the ARRL is so fond of.
KK4DSD

Wi-Fi soundscape
The implementation sends MIDI notes to Garageband, where it can play various synths.
Carriers Everywhere

Video

Icom IC-7300 easy transmit settings for digital operation
This is for Hams new to digital operation or the Icom IC-7300.
K0PIR

This weekend: September VHF contest
Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz.
ARRL

The Hurricane Watch Net
The Hurricane Watch Net is a group of licensed Amateur Radio Operators, trained and organized to provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center during times of Hurricane emergencies.
Hurricane Watch Net

Tips for communicating after a disaster
Tips from a Ham Radio operator for communicating after a disaster if all you have is a cell phone.
N4AE

Mom uses Ham Radio to find missing son in wake of Harvey
An Illinois woman used an old-fashioned way to communicate with her son, who was missing after Harvey wreaked havoc on Texas.
WDSU

New version of WSJT-X includes FT8 changes
North American VHF Contesting Mode has been expanded to include both FT8 and MSK144 modes.
ARRL

Eclipse 2017 shortwave propagation observations
Going into this experiment I suspected that since the eclipse should temporarily reduce ionization to D-layer of the ionosphere, there might be some reduction in corresponding typical D-layer daytime absorption on lower frequencies.
The SWLing Post

New ICOM IC-9700 revealed at the Tokyo Ham Fair
Just revealed at the Tokyo Ham Fair 2017 is a new ICOM IC-9700 SDR 144/440/1296 all mode rig.
N6PSE

Teleflix: Morse interface for Netflix
Decode the tapped Morse code, have the Pi present itself as a USB Keyboard, and fire the decoded letters at a retail PS4 running a custom version of the Netflix UI.
Blog of Some Guy

Up close with the Russian Woodpecker
A Soviet engineering and scientific feat of its time, the Russian Woodpecker was an over-the-horizon radar system designed to provide early detection of an intercontinental ballistic missile attack.
news.com

Smoky Mountain Summits On The Air
We are using VHF/UHF for SOTA activations and opted for a basic FM station for this trip: a pair of Yaesu FT-1D handhelds, a couple of vertical antennas and a 3-element Arrow yagi antenna for 2 meters.
K0NR

Video

Tennessee Hams welcome new Techs to the hobby
Wonderful welcome messages in person and on the air for all the recently licensed Hams.
W8IFG

How to decode Weather Fax on shortwave using FLDIGI
How to decode NOAA HF fax transmissions using FLDIGI.
YouTube

Longest distance Amateur 3.4 GHz contact via Moon
Matthew Cosby and Noel Matthews (G8GTZ) talk about massive dishes, Moon bounces and making a world record.
SpaceKate

Charging a laptop from 12V
I’m charging a little HP laptop which takes 19.5V so the converter is set to that and all boxed up nicely.
marxy’s musing on technology

Maritime mobile operation on LF may be a first for Amateur Radio
What began as a “let’s-see-if-we-can-do-this” effort resulted in successful Amateur Radio contacts on 475 kHz.
ARRL

Ofcom takes action against repeater abuse
Ofcom has mandated that GB3DY at Wirksworth and GB3EE at Chesterfield go silent for 14 days.
Essex Ham

Fine tuning noise floor testing methodology
Hot vs cold assumption: A colder dongle has a lower noise floor.
Radio for Everyone

RadioShack dealers unleashed by latest bankruptcy
The future is bright for franchisees, a Wisconsin dealer says.
Twice.com

Recognize your Elmer
ARRL’s Elmer Award and mentor program.
KB6NU

Waterfalls from the eclipse
You can see waterfalls for the 3 bands. They use the same scaling, with a dynamic range of 50dB, so it is easy to see how the noise floor changes per band.
Daniel Estévez

Worked All Europe from a train station
I tossed a half wave wire over a maple tree on the hill overlooking the old station. There was a picnic table directly underneath. I used the KX3 on 20 meters.
AmateurRadio.com

Video

Overcoming mic fright and making your first radio contact on the air
A few tips to encourage those that might be suffering from an easily curable ailment called ‘mic fright.’
K5ACL

Mobile antenna setup
Mobile in the car with a Chameleon Antenna.
SA5LKC

CRT Cataract Repair
A tutorial on removing CRT cataracts from old screens.
John Sutley

Hurricane Harvey: How to monitor Watch Net via shortwave radio
The Hurricane Watch Net is a group of amateur radio operators who are trained and organized “to provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center during times of Hurricane emergencies.”
SWLing Post

Solar Eclipse QSO Party a hit, science conclusions await analysis
While logs are still coming in, the preliminary participation numbers look good.
ARRL

Ham operator rescues epileptic girl on remote campsite
Ham was able to direct paramedics to the area after one of the camping party used a radio set to call for help as there was no mobile phone signal.
BBC News

N9EWO Review : Icom IC-R8600
In our view this is the best receiver Icom has produced to date.
N9EWO

The future of Amateur Radio is not in the numbers
Stop hawking EMCOMM. Forget about Morse Code.
Off Grid Ham

RAC Canada 150 Award
Celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday.
RAC

Make great circle maps from any location in the world
Good looking maps in the azimuthal equidistant projection
SM3GSJ

A great way to make quick and easy knobs
All you need is some casting resin, a silicone mold intended for candy, and some socket head bolts.
Hack A Day

Video

Digital mode FT-8 with light bulb antenna
750 Miles.
W6LG