AmateurRadio.com

Following up on my previous post about how amateur radio is typically portrayed in movies, I thought I’d float a couple suggestions for the silver screen that include ham radio, without the need for an apocalypse…

I’ll bet not even a single director in Hollywood is aware that radio amateurs have built and launched our very own communication satellites. And not just a few — we have an entire fleet — with more heading to low earth orbit almost every month. These are frequently designed, financed, and constructed by radio amateurs with a keen interest in space communication.

And many of those who harbor that specific interest are radio hams by night and NASA employees by day. And some of those who aren’t direct employees of NASA are employed in other areas of the space industry. This insider link provides amateur radio with an unparalleled, intimate knowledge of the “business” and is responsible for much of the success we’ve obtained in this highly technical and specialized endeavor.

Well right there’s a dozen waiting story lines. Hams at NASA collude to hijack high-value satellites for amateur radio communication by hacking the system from the ground. It doesn’t take a fertile imagination to see many possible angles here, none of which would strain credulity.

But let’s dig deeper and find higher adventure.

Let’s say that a group of radio amateurs in New Zealand (better scenery to work with) built an amateur radio payload for launch. One that included onboard propulsion. That would be somewhat rare these days as we’ve taken to hand tossing payloads out of the ISS or ejecting them using powerful springs from a disposable ring that may carry dozens of small satellites with one launch. But in the halcyon days of ham radio in space, we built much larger satellites, equipped them with fuel and engines, and launched them to much higher, transfer orbits.

Say this group does the same thing.

After launch they maneuver it very near the path of some super expensive, military spy satellite and then we discover that the payload includes explosives. This group then extorts millions of dollars from governments or large corporations in exchange for not blowing up those satellites.

(If the notion of sneaking explosives onto a launch vehicle seems too far-fetched, the “amateur radio” payload could simply be maneuvered directly into the orbital path of another vehicle and kinetic energy could do the dirty work).

I’d pay to see that movie, wouldn’t you?

But there’s one other premise that seems more interesting, and one that just might tickle the fancy of a filmmaker.

Say a group of radio hams work for a company like Space-X. Intent on building and launching resupply ships to the International Space Station. And let’s suppose that a couple of them decide to ride in that supply vessel. Upon arrival, they board the station where they proceed to whip out handguns and order the current crew to evacuate back to Earth. Once they are alone on the station, they weld the other hatches permanently closed. They just “stole” the International Space Station. The biggest heist in history. Mostly for kicks but maybe to use as the premier low-earth platform for ham radio communications.

Or maybe it’s about money. Hollywood loves a good extortion plot. They could offer to abandon the stolen station for a billion dollars. Or de-orbit it over a populated region if they don’t get the money. It’s fiction, anything could happen!

And it would be nice if the leading actors had names like Clooney, Reynolds, Bullock, and Cooper…

Tonight is the fourth and final night of this week’s road trip and I’ll be back home tomorrow evening. The weather has been outstanding these last few days with below average temperatures and low humidity. I’ve taken advantage of it by spending a lot of time on long walks in the neighborhoods around the hotel. Tonight, I wanted to do something a little different so I decided to take in a movie.

It’s at this point that I should back up a little, and tell you that a few days ago a friend and co-worker who knows I’m a radio amateur, told me about seeing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and he made a point of telling me that ham radio plays a small role in the movie.

That was a good enough for me, so after work I headed directly to the Regal 16, a mammoth “cave” of sixteen theaters with enough entertainment and air conditioning under one roof to qualify as one of the many wonders of the world. Tickets for the non-3D early show at 5pm were $10.50 a pop although flashing my AARP card got me in the door for eight bucks.

It pays to get old and I’ve started taking advantage every chance I get.

The movie was a little better than just “okay” and I enjoyed it though, this isn’t a review or a spoiler. What I found most interesting was watching, and waiting, for that part that included ham radio. As the movie portrayed civilization descending into a dystopian nightmare, it wasn’t hard to see what was probably coming – ham radio as the only communications link with the “outside” world. And sure enough, that’s precisely how it played out.

In case you’re wondering, we briefly saw what appeared to be an older Kenwood transceiver, maybe a TS-820, setting on a shelf with a lot of other gear, all somehow magically connected to a computer with a display that looked like it might be running some sort of digital communication – though every call for help in the movie was done via phone.

Ham radio finds itself wrapped up in mainstream productions and attractions more often than you might think. But almost every time it’s in this same vein. Total breakdown of society that creates a world that suddenly needs ham radio. And often, though not in this particular movie, the radio operator is portrayed as some oddball nerd who couldn’t get laid with a fistful of pardons in a women’s prison.

Hollywood’s view of us is rarely, if ever, accurate. But let’s face it, we’ve spent the last several decades vociferously proclaiming ourselves to be the last link in a breaking chain when things come unglued. “When all else fails” is our mantra but I’m convinced that every time we say that, the rest of the world hears “hams are pathetic nerds who only have value in the event of Armageddon”.

If we want to be portrayed in a better light, perhaps it’s time we modify our message?

The Cass Award encourages DXpeditions to maximize the number of DXers worked with a $1000 prize for the single-operator that works the most unique call signs within a specified interval. This award honors the wisdom and spirit of Cass, WA6AUD (SK), whose stories in the West Coast DX Bulletin taught a generation of DXers that DX IS!

It rewards simplicity in DX operations and ironically, had the award existed back in the early 1960’s, one particular fellow might have won it several years in a row…

Don Miller, ex-W9WNV and now AE6IY was in Dayton this year and spent time pressing the flesh at the DX Banquet and making noise about returning to Thailand for one final, grand, DX operation. That bit of news has gone mostly unreported — at least I’ve not seen anything about it.

Maybe he wasn’t serious, but I doubt it. I think he’s making plans to go…

Miller came along during a golden age for DXpeditioning. In those halcyon days, a fellow might get into a small sailboat and circumnavigate the globe with amateur radio along for the ride. Compare sailing into a Pacific sunset on a small skiff with a modern DX operation where 100 tons of equipment are delivered by helicopter on some island location while a team of twenty operators set it all up and run the show from an air-conditioned quonset hut. I think you get my point…

By all accounts, Don Miller was a phenomenal operator, capable of sending CW with one hand and logging with the other – using pencil and paper. A sharp mind, keen memory, and wizard-like skills with the radio made him a legend.

But W9WNV took a few shortcuts on certain operations and may not actually have operated from all the places he claimed. And he may have legitimately operated from some locations that were not legal places for him to be. This was in the days before the DXCC rules had been made rigid like they are today — mostly thanks to Don Miller.

The ARRL defamed him, he sued them and they settled out of court. It became an ugly season for amateur radio. Miller might have made a comeback and fixed his reputation with time and trust me, you hand out Q’s from a rare one, and the DX community would rally in support. But a few years later Miller was accused of hiring someone to kill his wife and he ended up doing more than twenty years in prison.

He became ham radio’s “bad boy” who cheated on DX and took a sizable chunk of League money in the settlement. Unable to defend himself from a prison cell, his reputation tanked. When he finally got out in the early part of the 21st century, his first move was to take, and pass, the Extra class exam. He was issued the call AE6IY. That same year he visited the Dayton Hamvention where he offered an apology to the DX Community at one of the most popular DX forums.

I was there. I saw it happen.

Now Don Miller is a decade older and has entered the “winter” of his life. Who knows if he will actually be able to mount one last notable operation. But he wants to try. And who are we to hold back the dreams of a legend?

There’s a whole lot more to the W9WNV story, way more than I could ever relate here. Fortunately, he was interviewed soon after his release from prison and those recordings tell his story, in his own words and voice better than anyone else ever could. You really should download them and have a listen someday when the bands are quiet and your mind is still. It’s a compelling tale of ham radio adventure unlike any other and it deserves to be heard.

Filed under: Ham Radio Tagged: dx, w9wnv

I had low expectations for the July SKCC Weekend Sprint and I lived up to them. I usually try to get 2-4 hours in the chair during the 36 hour period but my only real shot at that this go round was on Saturday. And on that day, the thunder rolled from start to finish. I did manage to squeeze in an hour on Sunday morning that resulted in 10 contacts searching and pouncing.

Of those ten contacts, nine were in unique states. Two were with Senators and six with Tribunes. Four of those states, GA, SC, MD, and PA, qualified for a 25 point ’13 colonies’ bonus each. When you put it all together, it totaled a measly 280 points.

But hey, I enjoyed it. I always enjoy these sprints. They’re so much more casual than the real contests.

And I like pounding brass with a real key…

This may sound silly, but using a straight key is, to me, like using a manual transmission. The automatic is much easier and much more comfortable, but I feel more engaged, more connected to the machine with a manual transmission. Same thing with the straight key.

See you next month in the Weekend Sprintathon?

Ham Radio Two-Day License Class

Sat October 18 and Sat October 25 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2014
Location: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Station 1, Monument, CO

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio …

• Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
• Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
• Live equipment demonstrations
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Find out how to participate in emergency communications

There is a $25 registration fee for the class.

In addition, students must have the required study guide and read it before attending the two-day class: HamRadioSchool.com Technician License Course $20.95
(make sure you get the most recent edition of this book, updated for the new FCC exam questions)

Advance registration is required (no later than one week before the first session, earlier is better! This class usually fills up early.)

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR
Email: [email protected] or Phone: 719 659-3727

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Radio Association
For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org or www.wedothat-radio.org

Friedrichshafen “Ham Radio” 2014 Attendance Tops Last Year’s Numbers, Show Emphasizes Youth.

“Attendance at Germany’s annual international “Ham Radio” exhibition on June 27-29 — the Continent’s biggest Amateur Radio event — was 17,100 this year, up from 15,300 visitors last year. This year’s Ham Radio teamed with the Maker World create-it-yourself exhibition at the Messe exhibition center in Friedrichshafen. The gathering attracted some 200 exhibitors from 34 countries plus 300 flea marketers. Ham Radio 2014 placed an emphasis on youth-oriented themes and activities and also honored one of 2013’s major DXpedtions. DARC chose “Creative Amateur Radio — Build It Yourself” as the theme for this year’s show.”

- via ARRL news

Part 2 of 2 

If you purchase the DHAP with the Raspberry Pi, it includes a factory image of the OS and software. Configuration is easy enough. The DVAP software is set to auto-boot so you need only configure it once. If you connect the device to a wired network connection the Pi will boot up and obtain a connection. If you want to use the device with Wi-Fi, then you have to launch the WiFi configuration tool and set up the connection.

This is only slightly tricky because it would be handy to plug in a keyboard, mouse, and the network dongle — three USB connections while the Pi only offers two. A USB hub handles the multiple connections and you’re underway. After setting it all up once, there’s no need for reconfiguration as it all just boots up and obtains a network connection without the need for additional interface.

In other words, connection to a monitor, mouse and keyboard is only required for the initial configuration. After that, the DHAP can be operated “headless”.

Unless of course you’re thinking of taking this on the road with you and would like to connect it to a hotel’s Wi-Fi. Then you’re going to need to carry the input peripherals and a monitor, or use the TV in your hotel room if that’s possible.

This is all much more than I like to carry on out of town trips which is why I tether the DHAP to my cellphone. Carrying Wi-Fi in my pocket simplifies things considerably though this brings me to a tip I’d like to pass along when using it this way.

Wi-Fi and Tethering

If you set your home Wi-Fi and your tethered connection to have the same SSID, password, and encryption method, then there is never a need to reconfigure the Raspberry Pi. One of my home wireless networks (WPA PSK2) is called ‘GUEST’ and the password is ‘lemonade’ and I’ve made those settings identical on my phone.

When I’m away from home, I tether to my phone. When I’m home, the Pi auto connects to my home Wi-Fi. Simple. Easy. Clean.

It takes about 15-20 seconds for the Pi to boot up and another 20-30 seconds for the networking to kick-in, negotiate a connection, and begin working. When you power up the DHAP, give yourself a full minute before trying to connect to it with your radio.

Powering the DHAP

The DHAP comes with a brick charger that has an LED indicator. When it’s red, the batteries are charging and when it’s green the charge cycle is complete. Silly me. I plugged it in and started using it right away. The charger went through the cycle, the LED turned green and the voltage began to drop. Though I wasn’t paying attention and several hours later my D-STAR connection was dead. When I checked on the DHAP the voltage display showed 2.2 volts — not enough to keep the Pi or the DVAP alive.

This seemed odd. The battery voltage was low but the charger LED was green. There was no charging going on for some reason and I thought I had a defective unit.

Then I discovered that the charger is fairly “dumb”. It provides one charge cycle then stops. Removing power resets it for the next charge. This works well if you charge the DHAP, then unhook it and take it in the field. If, on the other hand, you want it to just sit on the shelf at home and provide a hot-spot, you should provide power via the USB Power socket on the front panel.

This bypasses the batteries altogether and directly powers the Raspberry Pi and the DVAP. By the way, *don’t turn the unit on in this mode* — and the voltage display will show the power being supplied via a USB power supply — probably something a little less than 5 volts.

A one amp USB power supply should do the trick nicely.

Odds and Ends

It makes sense to get things working with your DVAP connected to your desktop (or laptop) computer before installing it in the DHAP. It will operate exactly the same once it’s tucked away in the enclosure.

There is a small slot in the top of the DHAP that permits you to see the activity LED’s on the DVAP. You will find this quite useful.

The tiny antenna on the DVAP works well enough but it can be replaced with a more efficient “ducky” style antenna. The DHAP comes equipped with a built-in cable that can “remote” the antenna connection to the back panel. Don’t be tempted to try and interface the DVAP to a full-sized, outdoor antenna. Internet Labs has reported hardware failures that they attribute to doing just that.

Have Fun

D-STAR is not worth the bits it’s built upon if you don’t enjoy it. If you’re considering joining the growing crowd in this unique mode of operation let me first ask you one simple question: do you enjoy repeater operation?

Because at its core, that’s what D-STAR is. A global collection of repeaters and individual users who have the ability to communicate with each other using this digital technology. If you’re answer is “YES” and you enjoy rapid learning, then you will no doubt enjoy digging in and exploring this evolving mode of operation.

But if you’re answer is “NO”, well, then this facet of amateur radio is probably not for you. Don’t waste your time — or your treasure. Move on and find something you really enjoy. After all, amateur radio is a hobby with endless things to do, people to meet, and fun to be had.

[miss part one?]