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Having a snake of a time.

November 11th, 2025 |

In retirement, I want to keep my mind sharp, and to do that, I have to challenge myself. My latest adventure is learning Python coding.

A little history about Python coding: the founder, Guido van Rossum, a Dutch programmer, came from the Netherlands. His goal was to birth a code that was easy to read general purpose programming language. Why the name Python and not Rossum, you ask? The name came from Monty Python, and he felt that gave it a light-hearted name. In the Zen of Python, this phrase sums up the code experience: “Simple is better than complex.” Oh, and those who code in Python are known as Pythonista’s and I am striving to become just that.

So why all of a sudden my interest in coding……well, it has to do with my son Ben, who is a whiz kid at this stuff. Funny story…..Ben went to the University of Toronto and majored in cyber security. He wanted to get into a top tier program and had to have some interviews. He was given a few exams and then called in for an interview. The interview was conducted by the department head, the lead professor and the admin for the program. The main purpose he was called in was because the most complex question and the main question on the exam he left blank. When asked, he told them the question had incorrect coding and he was not going to waste time on it! He was asked to explain, and he did, and was told Thank you for coming in. Ben called me after the interview and told me the story. I could not believe what he did and was about to give him a piece of my mind. Before that could happen, he told me the professor called later in the day and told he was accepted, no more interviews or exams were required, and they were changing the question as he was correct.

In a phone conversation with Ben, he challenged me to pass some of my time learning Python coding. He said it was very user friendly and it could really help with my ham radio adventure. I took him up on the offer, and now I am in the process of coding to make ham radio at VE9KK a little more automated. More on how that is coming very soon, as I have already produced some coding that has shocked me and is helping VE9KK’s CW contesting station become a “Geek shack”

Whats your thoughts?

November 7th, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

Possible RF magnet

While doing my annual pc cleaning last month, for some reason, I took special notice of my Wi-Fi SMA antenna connectors on the back of the PC. I have disconnected the Wi-Fi antennas as they are not used and get in the way of the cabling they. In my case, to get connected to the internet, I have a LAN cable from the back of the PC that goes to the hallway to a TP Link Wi-Fi extender. I find I get a better signal this way as opposed to using the Wi-Fi antennas on the rear of the PC.

Needed connectors

Back to the Wi-Fi connectors on the rear of the PC, as I was cleaning, a thought came to me that these open Wi-Fi connectors could be a nice RF magnet. In the past I have issues with RF getting into the PC and to eliminate as much as I could is a bonus. I did have a few 50 ohm SMA male connectors and I thought with that I would be good to go. On closer inspection and a frustrating experience trying to get the 50 ohm to connect to the PC, I found the SMA connector on the PC was a male and the 50 ohm connector is also a male connector. This had to be purchased, and it's called RP-SMA.Once they came in, the connection went very smoothly. So what are your thoughts on this, most if not all PCs have Wi-Fi antenna options and if you're not using it and prefer LAN connections should these antenna connections be terminated with 50 ohm terminators?

Connected and ready to go.

ARRL CW Sweepstakes contest

October 31st, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

Normal contesting CW keyboard layout.

This weekend is the running of the ARRL Sweepstakes CW contest. Last year was my first year participating in this contest. I have avoided this contest as I felt the exchange was a bit complicated. Once I dipped my toes into this contest last year, I realized it wasn't all that bad and was actually very challenging for me as a CW op. Before we go over what is sent in the exchange, let's go over the finer details of the exchange.

The exchange consists of:

Serial number starting at 1

Precedence (A for single of low power, B for single op high power and so on)

Your call sign is now sent

Check (The last 2 digits of the year you were licensed)

Section (For me it's NB for New Brunswick)

ARRL Sweepstakes layout

Therefore my exchange for example would be as follows....

1 A VE9KK 89 NB

My next contact would be

2 A VE9KK 89 NB

It's not your same old some old exchange and it really keeps you on your toes as the exchanges are being sent to you. During the contest, you may be asked to send only a certain part of the exchange back to the other station, such as NR, CHECK, or PREC, and so on. For this contest, I find remapping my keyboard the easiest way to operate in this contest. I have included a picture of my "normal" looking contest keyboard and then the revised ARRL Sweepstakes keyboard. In this contest, until I get the flow of things, I will be search and pounce and thus the green keys are the ones I will use most, if not all, the time. It seems funny to some to add the green key shading, but for me in the heat of battle, seeing "CHK" or CH? can get confusing. Running search and pounce, I only pay attention to the green keys. Over top of my "normal" contesting keys, I placed the sticky part of the Post-it notes to cover what is usually there. Again, to leave it would only serve to confuse and frustrate me. When the contest is done, the post it note is peeled off.

Yet another loss to the Amateur radio market!

October 24th, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

Richard, VE2DX back in January 2020 started a company called VE2DX Electronics design. that wanted to provide innovative products for the Amateur radio community, and that he did. I have been following his product line up, and it has progress throughout the years. He seemed to be always advancing his product line with quality and creative projects. His product line was picked by DX Engineering in the U.S. which is a major in road to a very large Amateur radio market. Below, Richard explains in an honest, upfront release as to the direct reason for his departure from his dream come true adventure.

VE2DX ELECTRONICS DESIGN MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

19 septembre 2025

1- Shipping to the USA:

Please be advised that we can not and will not ship anything to the USA as of September 19th, 2025, because the shipping companies in Canada will NOT take any shipment unless WE pay YOUR tariffs in advance.

These Tariffs are from US Customs, and there have been many administrative errors, such as the fact that our products are covered under USMCA and should not be subject to any tariffs AT ALL!

As a result, US Customs is requesting that transport companies pay in advance for US citizen tariffs. Consequently, these transport companies are charging our company tariff fees, making it almost impossible to collect the payments from our customers, many weeks or months after the fact.

Let's be very clear: we are not charging anyone any tariffs, nor is Canada. These tariffs are imposed by US Customs and are to be paid by the importer, not the Canadian exporter.

Bottom line, we will no longer be able to ship anything to the USA. We invite you to contact our US-based resellers if you need any products.

2- HamCation, HanVention, HamXposition, and other US Hamfests.

We will be cancelling our presence at ALL US hamfests for 2026 (See Point 4).

3- Is VE2DX Electronics Design for sale

YES! Please contact us if you are interested (See Point 4).

4- Are we going to close?

Yes, :( Many of you have been following and supporting us from the very beginning.

No later than last week, I was in NH to discuss a potential US partner and initiate some manufacturing in the USA, but the numbers just aren't there. :(

I am very sorry to inform you that, as of November 2025, VE2DX Electronics Design Inc. will no longer exist.

We continually strive to develop innovative approaches and technologies that can assist our fellow ham operators at a fair price. As a result, it took us far too long to become profitable. This, combined with the August 2024 floods and US Customs tariffs, makes it impossible to develop further. As a result, we must consider selling or closing our beloved company. And for those of you who heard my awful jokes in the past, YES! I will now have to do the dishes ;P

I will continue working on designs and software updates, but will no longer be marketing them. I will be happy to help as an Elmer, localy or not as I have often done.

I want to thank everyone for their support over these GREAT six years. And I hope for a QSO over the air soon...

De Richard G. Desaulniers Sr., VE2DX

New Pi4B up and running.

October 23rd, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

I got around to purchasing a Pi and settled on the Pi4b I did not want to splurge on the Pi5 as I only use the Pi for HamClock. The package I ordered was the iRasptek Pi4B, 4GB, 64GB micro SD card, 2 monitor cables, cooling heat sinks, case, cooling fan and 3.5 amp power supply with an on/off switch.

Pi 4B in the case and fan connected

I did not need 2 monitor cables, but that is what it came with. Also, it came with 2 cooling fans. Not sure why, unless the fans have a habit of failing. The SD card was loaded with Noobs, which easily allowed me to install the Pi OS and did some configuring and update downloads. I then downloaded HamClock, and I was once again good to go.

Up and running HamClock

Nothing like waiting to the last minute.

October 13th, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

It seems whenever I move on to the next windows operating, OS I seem to wait until the last minute. My move from Windows 10 to 11 was no different. For some time I was thinking about it and as always I don't run and upgrade when the new OS comes out. I have found in the past that some of the programs I rely on may not be ready for the new OS. Some time ago, I checked to make sure my PC was worthy of the upgrade. I ran the Windows compatibility test and my system passed.

It was now time to back up any needed files, located any passwords needed for some program re-installs and make a list of all the programs I do have to make sure they back on the PC once the new OS is installed. Having said that it never fails once the new OS has finished installing as programs are being installed I find I forgot to back up one or 2 needed files.

The difference this time around is I do have a clone of my hard drive located on a different SSD. If I find I did not back up a critical file, I can always boot to that drive and retrieve the file. As I looked more into the programs loaded on my PC, there were 2 major programs that needed a password when download and re-installed. I had no idea where these passwords were located, and that meant I would have to purchase the programs again.

As I did further investigation, I found out Microsoft offered a Windows upgrade from Win10 to Win11 for free. The catch was if you had Win10 home you have to upgrade to Win11 home, you could not move to Win11 pro. If you wanted pro, you would have to purchase that OS. The main differences I could see were pro had BitLocker, windows information protection and the price. I made the choice to stay with Windows home edition. Also, I opted to go with the free upgrade to Win 11. To do this upgrade go to the Microsoft site and download the Win11 installation tool. This meant the installation would go over top of my Win10 install. Now I have heard and read of issues with doing this, but I thought in time if I find that it's just not working out I can purchase Win11 home and do the installation old school style. So far, things are working out just fine, and I am very happy with that. As a side note, if your system does not pass the Windows upgrade check thanks to a fellow blogger Bas PE3BAS, he posted about a program that can fix this issue and allow you to install Windows 11 on your PC.

Nice to see 10m open.

October 5th, 2025 |

Author: Mike VE9KK

I dipped my toes this weekend in California QSO party. I entered as low power, CW, non assisted. Conditions were good and I was shocked how good 10m was. It was my highest scoring band for my part time effort.