The Yellow Box of Power
The Yellow Box of Power is a very yellow Pelican box (size 1550) loaded up with 36 amp-hours of 12-volt battery capacity that can be charged by way of normal 120V household power or through one or more solar panels.
GAD.net

Use of 146.52 MHz FM simplex frequency cleared for ARRL contests
The committee felt that permitting the use of 146.52 MHz would allow new/curious contesters possessing only FM-mode radios to stumble upon more contacts.
ARRL

How do lacquered boards stand up over time?
A query I hear from time to time about using copper-plated boards for construction is what they look like after a few months or years.
AA7EE

Unscientific spectral analysis of two Baofeng radios
This transmitter is all over the place. Tons of spurious emissions, some as little as 30dB down from the fundamental. This transmitter is definitely misbehaving or not properly filtered.
KD8TWG

Digital Voice Balkanization
Wouldn’t it be cool if we had one digital communications format for the VHF/UHF amateur bands?
AmateurRadio.com

All your modem are belong to us
Closed source and proprietary chipsets are nasty, a glaring problem in a cool geeky field that is otherwise open source. It’s got to be fixed.
ROWETEL

Spoken command injection on Siri, Google
It is possible to trigger Siri remotely by emitting an AM-modulated signal containing voice commands at 103 MHz.
University of Pennsylvania

Try FSQ for fast, simple QSOs
FSQ is a Fast Simple QSO mode designed specifically for HF. It works well under NVIS and sunrise/sunset conditions on the lower bands, and also works well for short skip and grey-line on higher bands.
KB6NU

Scripting Fldigi on OS X
With excellent support for executing external scripts, it is easy to set up Fldigi to log all recorded QSOs directly to one of the three major OS X logbook programs.
Mac Ham Radio

Good SWR and antenna resonance
Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is an important concept that describes how good of a match exists between a transceiver and antenna system.
Ham Radio School

Video

VHF propagation timelapse
This is a timelapse of NG0E’s APRS VHF Propagation monitor.
YouTube

Fox 1A satellite beacon
“Hi, this is amateur radio satellite Fox 1.”
YouTube

DV4mini: All-in-one USB hotspot for D-STAR, DMR, Fusion
USB stick containing 70 cm data transceiver. Works with D-Star, DMR, Fusion, APCO25 and other digital modes which are based on GMSK, 2FSK or 4FSK.
YouTube

ARRL releases excellent Parity Act explanation video
ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, said the video will be made available on Capitol Hill to make sure that Members of Congress have correct information, instead of misrepresentations.
ARRL

Kickstarter: Tiniest APRS tracking device
The Tracksoar APRS tracker is the smallest, lightest, ready to fly open source APRS tracker.
Kickstarter

Criticisms around ARES October SET
These groups rarely (if ever) properly train on the challenges of trying to use NVIS nets around the clock. Many don’t realize that 60 meters is not optional and they will likely need 160 meters in the mix too.
The Kentucky Packet Network

Field Day logging: A study in pain (PDF)
A local area network based logging system shared between stations, stored in a single database.
KK4SXX

AMSAT live OSCAR satellite status page
This page shows the most up-to-date status of all satellites reported in real time.
AMSAT

How a drug cartel took over Mexico with walkie-talkies
Inside the communications infrastructure of the ultra-violent syndicate.
Popular Science

OS X contest software overview 2015
Whether you are a serious contester, a casual contester, or someone who is just getting started, there is a contest logger that can meet your specific needs.
Mac Ham Radio

Curtain antenna for shortwave radio broadcasting
The curtain antenna is a dipole array, consisting of rows and columns of dipoles.
Broadcast Belgium

D Layer absorption
We learn in Technician Class and General Class studies that the ionosphere’s D layer is created in the daytime by ionizing solar rays and fades away completely at night, and we learn that the D layer absorbs HF frequencies below the 20-meter band.
Ham Radio School

How to

Dealing with urban radio interference on shortwave
The levels of urban radio frequency interference, or RFI, have increased dramatically in the last two decades and the proliferation of poorly engineered electronic gadgets is largely to blame.
The SWLing Post

Video

Amateur Radio: A 21st century hobby
Whether you enjoy writing software, getting hands-on with practical equipment, developing new technology or simply want to use what’s already there to communicate with others across the world, you’ll find all of this – and more – within amateur radio.
RSGB

Basic amplifiers: 1963 U.S. Army training film
An electronic amplifier is used for increasing the power of a signal.
U.S. Army

Alternative sites for Hamvention proposed
Fears about Hamvention leaving town because of Hara Arena’s economic struggles has local officials scrambling to propose alternative sites.
Dayton Daily News

New FM repeater satellite launches (Fox-1A)
Fox-1A is a 1-Unit CubeSat carrying an FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “Arrow” type antenna to make contacts.
AMSAT UK

Radio Amateurs on NASA TV
Radio amateurs Jerry Buxton, N0JY and Courtney Duncan, N5BF were on the panel at a NASA prelaunch briefing on Wednesday, October 7.
AMSAT UK

Heathkit appears to be back in business
This radio has a real air variable tuning capacitor. We have them custom-manufactured for us to our specifications, including its ball-bearing planetary reduction drive for smooth tuning.
Heathkit

Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service
If you’re visiting the Walt Disney World resort, we encourage you to make use of our repeaters.
WD4WDW

Emergency preparedness and cross band repeat
One of the best forms of communications that hams have at their disposal when forced to operate from challenging locations in regards to accessing distant repeaters is “Cross Band Repeat.”
Jerry’s Journal

Operators in Rhode Island dialed into enemy conversations worldwide
The FCC turned loose a 40-member spy team of men and women to listen in on the world.
Providence Journal

Build your own satellite ground station
If you have access to a 3D printer you can now put together your own ground station for between $300 and $400.
Make:

Making contacts via Ham Radio enabled satellites
It’s worth recording your session so that you can make sure you have copied your QSOs correctly.
Soliloquy Blog

Video

Arduino based Morse Code tutor
I’ve recreated a Datong D70 Morse code tutor using an Arduino.
ColdestMoon

Introduction to radio repeaters
What a repeater does, and what parameters you need to be able to use one.
YouTube

2m SSB Tropo lift into Cornwall UK
M6GOF

Chinese Ham sats now active
Six satellites (XW-2A to XW-2F) carry 435/145 MHz U/V linear transponders for SSB/CW communications.
AMSAT UK

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

APRS in your pocket
For a lightweight portable station, all you need is a handheld transceiver, a tiny packet TNC, and an Android smartphone.
VE6AB

Reverse engineer wireless traffic lights with SDR
It was very easy to see that this is AFSK1200 alternating between 1200Hz and 2400Hz.
Carriers Everywhere

All about the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015
ARRL dedicates single webpage to Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 concept and status.
ARRL

Is college football a ham radio killer?
I’m attributing the big dip in sales on Saturday, September 19, to college football.
KB6NU

High altitude balloon travels 6,800km
Our first superpressure HAB to use solar panels for recharging the battery.
Bristol SEDS

Working DL8DJM aeronautical mobile
Aeronautical Mobile contacts are pretty rare and the team in the gazebo fell silent as Johannes DL8DJM/AM told us that he was flying from Edinburgh to South Italy, about 100km from Amsterdam at 43,000ft.
Essex Ham

Fox telemetry decoder software available
Fox-1A is scheduled to be launched on October 8, 2015.
AMSAT UK

Video

Add APRS maps and an IGate to the Yaesu FTM-400DR
This video shows how to add APRS maps to the FTM-400DR using a cheap Windows tablet and the data cable that is included with the radio.
YouTube

New York Air Traffic Control on HF
New York air traffic control on the shortwave bands, which they use for longer distance communications than the VHF comms can handle.
The Radio Hobbyist

Theory of Simplex and Phantom Circuits: Balanced Conditions
US Army training film TF11-2062 (1944)
YouTube

Why public service-oriented Hams should participate in contests
Radio contests are training that improves our abilities elsewhere in Amateur Radio.
Social Contest Club

FreeDV voice keyer and spotting demo
FreeDV has a low bit rate text message stream that allows you to send information such as your call-sign and location.
Rowetel

Wire antennas in trees
Choosing a wire antenna system is one thing. Finding somewhere to put it up is another. Particularly if you’re short on supporting structures around the home environment.
Delta Alfa

Russian military in 7 and 14 MHz Ham Radio bands
The latest IARU Monitoring System newsletter reports Russian Military traffic in the amateur radio 7 and 14 MHz bands has increased.
Southgate

Meet the preppers who are ready for the next massive solar storm
Another source emphasized the value of hunting down older, “tube type” communications gear. “Modern amateur radio gear is hugely susceptible to EMP.”
Gizmodo

FM/VHF operating guide
This guide is intended to assist new amateur radio operators in figuring out what VHF FM and repeater operation is all about.
K0NR

Signal Identification Guide
This wiki is intended to help identify radio signals through example sounds and waterfall images.
Signal Identification Guide

1090 MHz bandpass filter from FlightAware
FlightAware.com is a website that aggregates ADS-B aircraft location data from various contributors.
RTL-SDR.COM

Turn your current transceiver into an SDR
The MDSR software performs all of the demodulation, filtering (both radio frequency and audio frequency), signal enhancement (equalization and binaural presentation).
MDSR

We need a better UHF connector
The venerable UHF connector was developed in the 1930’s. The UHF connector suffers from two problems.
amateurradio.com

Video

DMR TYT MD-380 programming tutorial
A guide aimed at people new to DMR, showing how to program an amateur repeater and a simplex channel.
YouTube

Solar powered HF Ham Radio portable system
Zamp 40 watt Portable Solar Charging System ZS-40-P, 80-6 Meter-Alpha EZ-Military Antenna, ICOM-IC-718 HF-Ham Radio, LDG-IT-100-AutoTuner, and a 18AH-Werker-A­GM Battery.
YouTube

How can we get more women involved in ham radio?
We are currently dealing with a hobby that is only 15% women that keeps fretting about getting more people involved in it, so why do we allow things that would drive half the population away?
amateurradio.com

How Radio Mala laid the groundwork for lifesaving communication
This is a story about a tool — amateur radio — that has helped, and will continue to help save lives. We call ourselves Radio Mala.
Make:

Arkansas Ham tops his own satellite contact distance record
Operating from an old US Forest Service fire tower atop Rich Mountain in western Arkansas, Swanson worked Manuel “Dom” Ruiz in Valencia, Spain via AO-7.
ARRL

FreeDV champion partners with Outernet
The modem will use QPSK, a LDPC code, and deliver payload data at around 2400 bit/s in a 5kHz RF bandwidth.
Rowetel

Morse code used to cheat during chess match
The 37-year-old player was also “batting his eyelids in the most unnatural way”, Mr Coqueraut said.
Southgate

Experimenting with the Ham Radio Wilderness Protocol
Just as Morse code was fading in the mid-1990s, the American Radio Relay League proposed the Wilderness Protocol as a way for hikers and campers to call for help in remote areas before mobile cell phone coverage became ubiquitous.
KC4LMD

D-STAR QSO Party 2015 September 18th
The goal of the D‐STAR QSO PARTY is to communicate through as many D‐STAR repeaters as possible throughout the world.
Icom

Using HD radio signals for navigation
In this article, we present the results of a study using AM HD Radio, digital radio in the 540–1700 kHz band of the frequency spectrum, with known transmitter locations, to locate and track receiver locations that are otherwise unknown.
GPS World

The Cold War nuke that fried satellites
The explosion – the world’s most powerful high altitude nuclear test – created an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strong enough to disrupt global radio communications.
BBC

VHF-UHF Hams asked to observe Radio Quiet Zones
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) at Green Bank, West, Virginia, has asked that hams notify the facility if they plan to operate within 10 miles of either the Green Bank Telescope or the Sugar Grove Research Station.
ARRL

QSO logger for Android
QSO Secretary is a special logging program, optimized for mobile, portable, and field operations. It has been designed to allow quick entry of important information regarding QSOs.
Google Play

How to

See actual microwaves
In this post I will show you how to actually see microwaves by modifying a coffee can radar which you can build at home.
Hack A Day

Pi-Go 12v power adapter for Raspberry Pi
The Pi-Go connects to the GPIO header and supplies a solid 5V at up to 3A for the Pi and its connected peripherals.
Kickstarter

$50SAT falls silent
The $50SAT amateur radio spacecraft has ceased transmitting after nearly 20 months in space.
AMSAT UK

Labor Day weekend: a great time for pirate radio action
Monday, September 7, is Labor Day throughout most of North America; shortwave pirates love to operate on long holiday weekends.
The SWLing Post

New versions K1JT weak signal digital modes
Think of this mode as FSK441 slowed down to 315 baud; the bandwidth is therefore narrow enough to make the mode legal in the “CW and data” portion of the 10 meter band.
amateurradio.com

HI HI: LOL of the 19th century
LOL in the age of the telegraph.
The Conversation

Sound of a sinking ship
Listen to the Morse code interchange between a sinking cruise ship and fellow ships.
hamradio.me

Open letter to Ham Radio manufacturers
Once upon a time, companies like yours developed equipment for hams entering the hobby as Novice licensees.
KC4LMD

Liquid metal changes shape to tune antenna
Liquid at room temperature, these alloys have the useful property of oxidizing on contact with air and forming a skin.
Hack A Day

Solar storm of 1859
Telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving telegraph operators electric shocks. Telegraph pylons threw sparks. Some telegraph operators could continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected their power supplies.
Wikipedia

Video

Video of ICOM IC-7300 in action
IZØKBA

Digital voice and SSB comparison
You can really notice the reduced audio bandwidth and ever present noise of SSB compared to FreeDV. This is just the start – we are gradually improving the low SNR robustness and speech quality of FreeDV.
Rowetel

and finally…

RTTY decoder for Commodore 64
Decodes RTTY audio to readable text on the screen of your Commodore 64.
ebay