Tytera MD380 firmware reverse engineered
The entire radio has been reverse engineered with rewritten firmware and the beginnings of a very active development community.
Hack A Day

Winter Field Day is January 30 – 31
Winter Field Day encourages emergency operating preparedness in the winter.
Winter Field Day Association

First Iranian Ham Radio contest February 1st
The first Iranian ham contest is going to be held on February 1st, 2016 and will last for 10 days.
Alborz dx group

Getting started In QRP
There are two big reasons why radio amateurs who have no real interest in QRP should familiarize themselves with it anyway. First, it forces them to refine their operating skills, and that’s helpful no matter how much juice you’re sending up the coax.
Off Grid Ham

VHF Super Conference
A conference involving VHF, UHF, microwave and above frequencies.
VHF Super Conference

Some friendly NPOTA advice
If you’ve never left the friendly confines of your home shack before, here are some things to consider.
W2LJ

Congressman asks FCC for help with NYC repeater interference
“Amateur Radio repeaters on Long Island are rendered useless…”
ARRL

The “Nifty Accessories” KX3 stand
For desktop operation the short rear legs make for a laid back angle that makes the display difficult to see and the buttons awkward to operate.
Ham Radio QRP

Tips for beginning net control operators
There are no mistakes, only experience. When you’ve finished the net that is what you will have.
KB6NU

GlobalSET 2015 is a wrap, with lessons learned
It was estimated that 10 times more radio amateurs took part in GlobalSET 2015.
ARRL

Ham radio operator asked to take down tower
Ham plans to sue the city for harassment in regards to a radio tower he was forced to remove.
Mainely Media

Video

Maritime emergency Ham Radio recording
The occupants felt threatened that it might be a pirate, so they called for help on the Ham Radio.
W1JSB

ISS SSTV activity today
The SSTV transmissions will be made from the amateur radio station located in the Russian Service Module of the ISS using the callsign RS0ISS.
AMSAT UK

Review: Heathkit Explorer Jr. GR-150 TRF AM radio receiver kit
The Explorer Jr. manual is very nicely done, spiral-bound, and very reminiscent of the old Heathkit manuals in terms of layout and detail.
The SWLing Post

Number of Ham Radio licenses to reach 750,000 by 2017
The number of unexpired amateur radio licenses in the United States was 733,594 in November 2015, an annual growth rate of 1.05% and five year growth rate of 4.52%.
KC4LMD

A stealthy HOA HamStick directional dipole
This is a sneak peek at the project and I will follow up with a very detailed build, tune and operation on 20 and 40 meters bands using both Phone and digital PSK31.
Prepared Ham

USB rechargeable AA batteries
Featuring the same lithium polymer chemistry of your smarthphone, these AA and AAA batteries can be plugged directly into USB for charging.
Macworld

Retirement and Ham Radio
What I have come to learn is that Monday is just as good a day as Saturday and weekend crowds are to be avoided. There are no crowds on Tuesdays.
amateurradio.com

MyAPRS: APRS app for iOS
A modern APRS app for iOS users with model detection, frequency detection, and C4FM highlights.
MyAPRS

Splat! scripts
Scripts to run the Splat! radio terrain mapping tool.
GitHub

Recent Ham attack
The weather station was taken down for test, and upon investigation, the source of the problem was quickly discovered to be a result of squirrel sabotage.
Essex Ham

Video

The Russian Woodpecker documentary now online
An enormous secret Soviet weapon that stands in the shadow of Chernobyl, and which Kremlinologists in the 1980s thought might be a giant mind-control device.
russianwoodpecker.com

Moonbounce/EME Project Diana 70th anniversary special event
This is a narrated compilation of videos taken on 10 January 2016 at a special event that commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the US Army Signal Corp’s Project Diana.
W2AEW

Ten Tec: 2016 and Beyond
Ten Tec’s new owner outlines expectations going forward.
AmateurRadio.com

National Parks on the Air gets off to strong start
During the first three days of NPOTA, “Activators” were on the air from 78 of the 483 NPOTA Units.
ARRL

So sad
If that’s the definition of a “real Ham” then I’m not one, either.
W2LJ

Low noise yagis explained
If designed correctly, the Yagi will present an excellent SWR curve over a given operating range when directly fed.
G0KSC

Shortwave pirate radio 2015 – a year in review
As one might expect, Saturday and Sunday are the big winners, with Friday in third place.
30 Below

Time station CHU in The Empire Strikes Back
Here’s the clip from The Empire Strikes Back, Battle of Hoth: listen at 25 seconds and at 40 seconds.
The SWLing Post

LED lights in the shack
If you have been wondering how much RFI LED lamps might be producing, you may find these findings of value.
VE7SL

File RFI complaints directly with FCC
The FCC has made it easier for hams to file their own RF interference and other complaints.
ARRL

How to

Using the RFSpace Cloud-IQ with CuteSDR on the Raspberry Pi 2
I have been playing with CuteSDR on Linux and Mac and came to think, would this work on a Raspberry Pi?
OZ9AEC

Fixing the Ten-Tec Century/21 sidetone
The sidetone volume on the C21 is adjustable but the pitch is not.
Ham Radio QRP

Video

Building a simplex repeater
I explain the concept of a simplex repeater and how to assemble one out of an Argent Data ADS-SR1 and a Motorola Maxtrac.
The Life of Kenneth

Listening to the International Space Station
I show how easy it is to listen to the ISS using nothing more than a handheld radio.
M0TGN

FreeDV 2016 road map
Release VHF FreeDV modes, one mode that runs through $60 HTs, another that outperforms closed source DV by 10dB.
Rowetel

Danger in calm seas
These three things present a clear and present danger to our continued growth and enjoyment of the radio hobby.
KE9V

First Amateur Radio geosynchronous satellite to launch in 2017
“Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a new ham band will be available for the Americas.”
KB6NU

CQ World Wide favor limiting operating time to less than 48 hours
Contesters want to see a time-limited category for single operators.
ARRL

Bouncing radio off of airplanes
Amateur radio operators are always trying some new stunt or other. It’s like they’ve got something to prove. Take Aircraft scatter for instance: the idea is to extend your radio’s range by bouncing it directionally off of overhead airplanes.
Hack a Day

PWM and MPPT solar charge controller
The solar charge controller is arguably the most important component of a solar energy system.
Off Grid Ham

Signal direction finding with an RTL-SDR + Raspberry Pi
Direction finding system built out of a Raspberry Pi, an RTL-SDR and four antennas.
RTL-SDR.COM

Airplane on 60m!
I almost cannot believe it happened. And how unique this contact was.
PE4BAS

How to

How I learned Morse Code
They practiced the art of radiotelegraphy: where the contacts were easier to make, the operators were more skilled, and the signals were stronger. I wanted in.
Fine Business

Super simple APRS position reporter
My criteria has been a Raspberry Pi and an HT as the two major hardware components. No hardware TNCs and no custom cabling.
K4HCK

Video

Building a new Ham shack
We are living in a rental house and we plan to build a new house. So, I need to setup a ham shack.
K7AGE

11kV lightning arrestor and exploding disconnecter
This is a lightning arrester from an 11kV power distribution line with an interesting feature to clear itself electrically when sustained current flows through it.
YouTube

2015 Year in Review

For this last issue of the year, I thought I’d do something fun and pull the most popular links from each issue and complie the top 10 as a ‘look back’ on the world of Amateur Radio in 2015. I hope you enjoy! –Cale K4HCK

#10

Verizon issues furious response to FCC, in Morse code
Verizon wrote a press release in Morse code and set the date as 1934 to make the point that the FCC is taking us backward in time.
Ars Technica (Issue 50)

#9

Steal this Ham Radio (technology)
If you think hams just use Morse code and voice communications, you are thinking of your grandfather’s ham radio.
Hack A Day (Issue 79)

#8

A look inside the NR5M super-station
The sun was just setting and I’m sure I had a stupid look on my face as I saw the towers rise over the horizon. What a sight to behold.
W0EA (Issue 65)

#7

EP6T team pleads for “more respect” from operators
“Jammers calling with fake calls and disrespecting the operators, sending disgraceful e-mails, and calling us names is sometimes too much for us.”
ARRL (Issue 45)

#6

Portable radio operations
Using Morse Code to keep in touch with friends.
Wiltshire Man (Issue 73)

#5

K1N logs 125,000 QSOs, offers “All-Time New One” days
“…do not call them if you already worked them.”
ARRL (Issue 48)

#4

Request an azimuthal map
Use this form to create an azimuthal map for any location on the globe.
NS6T (Issue 48)

#3

Icom IC-7300 available in January, official price announced
Icom’s IC-7300 is probably the most expected transceiver of 2016, given the fact that it’s the first direct-sampling SDR from one of the “big three” manufacturers.
YO9IRF (Issue 89)

#2

Dayton Hamvention – R.I.P.
The “laws of the market place” are taking care of the “Dayton as a hell-hole” problem.
K9ZW (Issue 64)

#1

New Baofeng radios on Monday?
“Including: Crossband Repeater Capabilities, Dual Simultaneous Receivers, 6 Band Reception, NOAA Weather Channels and Alerts, 7 Encoding and Decoding Methods, and Upgradable Firmware.”
Brick O’Lore (Issue 49)

Fessenden Christmas Eve commemorative transmissions set
WA1ZMS, will again put his 600 meter Experimental Station WG2XFQ on the air for a Christmas Eve commemorative transmission.
ARRL

Christmas Poems
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shack
The rig was turned off and the mic cord lay slack.
eHam.net

ISS SSTV activity planned for late December
The first session is being targeted for Dec 26-27 to celebrate 15 years of ARISS school contacts with the ISS crew.
AMSAT UK

AO-85 slow scan TV image likely a prank, not a test
“I can tell you that in South America, they are having some fun, and that our analog-to-digital to analog IHU processing of the audio seems to work very well at SSTV frequencies!”
ARRL

Spacing – the most important thing
“Written” Morse is almost impossible for me to decode.
W2LJ

Sorry, I’ve been on 2m FM again
It is just too easy and too convenient.
K0NR

Yaesu FT1DR Review
Very nice, but as with ANY radio it has a few bugs including with the accessories. We tested it side by side with it’s elder FT1D model.
N9EWO

Agnes Scott College first Amateur Radio station on a women’s college
The station was established with the enthusiastic support of Agnes Scott faculty in the Department of Physics & Astronomy.
Agnes Scott College

Historic Ocean Gate antenna field may be removed
The iconic poles emerging from the tidal marshes in Bayville’s Good Luck Point may soon disappear if a federal plan clears a historic preservation hurdle.
The SWLing Post

Impact of WWI on US Ham Radio
When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, most radio stations came under government control, reserved for war efforts.
Southgate

Video

Skelton HF transmitting station
Skelton Short-Wave Transmitting Station: Its Role in WWII and the Cold War.
YouTube

aprs.fi releases iOS app for iPhone and iPad
This is the official iPhone and iPad application of aprs.fi, the favourite APRS web site of the Amateur Radio world.
aprs.fi

Icom IC-7300 available in January, official price announced
Icom’s IC-7300 is probably the most expected transceiver of 2016, given the fact that it’s the first direct-sampling SDR from one of the “big three” manufacturers.
YO9IRF

New IC-7300 videos from Icom
Over Ham-Radio.nl

Ham discovers sat transmitting 46 years after being abandoned in 1967
G3YPQ noticed its peculiar signal drift caused by its tumbling end over end every 4 seconds as the solar panels became shadowed by the engine.
The Vintage News

QRP as Work/Life Balance
You’ll often see me eating lunch at my desk. Those are the days when you likely won’t see me later that afternoon.
fine.business

Just another VHF SOTA contact
Dakota Hill is 10,929 feet and set back into the mountains, so I wasn’t sure if I could make the RF trip over Palmer Divide.
K0NR

Florida Ham agrees to penalty for failure to identify
K3TW will pay a monetary penalty In response to complaints that an unidentified station was transmitting on an Amateur Radio frequency at 14 MHz.
ARRL

QSO Today: Howard Sherer, AE3T
If you wanted to operate two meter EME or “moon bounce,” then your Elmer should be Howard Sherer, AE3T, who has made over 700 contacts with a modest station.
QSO Today

Trip down memory lane via vintage Radio Shack catalogs
Archived Radio Shack catalogs and sales flyers going back to 1939.
The SWLing Post

4-wheel-drive trip from one continent to the next
Not the ordinary DXpedition, but a unique merging of Amateur Radio and charity.
Southgate

The story of space debris
20,000 pieces of tracked debris exist in orbit ranging in size from an apple to a bus.
The Royal Institution

Video

Repeater Design Example: Bidirectional RICK Crossbander
Here’s a simple design example and a walk-through of using an HP service monitor to set “repeater gain.”
The Life of Kenneth