Archive for the ‘hf’ Category
New Book: Learning, Living, and Loving Morse Code…
March 19th, 2023 | 
Author: There is a new book from a fellow Morse code amateur radio operator, Chris Rutkowski (NW6V), about “Learning, Living, and Loving Morse Code (in a Digital World).” NICE!
Title: “The CW Way of Life“
link: https://amzn.to/3Tm3KfD
I received a new book! Here it is, at my radio shack operations desk, at NW7US radio station.
Already, I think it rivals any other book on the topic, including “The Art and Skill of…,” or, “The Zen of…”
It is not, however, meant to replace, but to augment, what is available. But, it is a complete guide, including a “work book” section (nearly half of the book?) on how to improve your skill. Really good stuff, but I’m only in one day.
73 de NW7US dit dit
https://nw7us.us
..
Winter Field Day 2023 (Jan 28, 29 UTC)
Join the Winter Field Day!
You do NOT have to operate from a cold location; home operation is an allowed category.
Winter Field Day is a communications exercise. WFD is held on the last full weekend in January. WFD can be worked from the comfort of your home or in a remote location. You can participate by yourself or get your friends, family, or whole club involved. Winter Field Day is open to participants worldwide. Amateur radio operators may use frequencies on the HF, VHF, or UHF bands and are free to use any mode that can faithfully transmit the required exchange intact. Similar to the ARRL’s Field Day, bonus points are earned in several ways, including using non-commercial power sources, operating from remote locations, satellite contacts, and more.
Winter Field Day
Winter Field Day is sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association. We passionately believe that Ham radio operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter environments as the potential for freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards present unique operational concerns. WFD is formatted to help increase your level of preparedness for disasters and improve your operational skills in subpar conditions. Click here to read more about the history and purpose of winter field day.
Do check out the rules, as there are some important things you must know.
During the last weekend in January, ham radio operators worldwide participate in Winter Field Day. We encourage you to grab your radio, get outside and join us during this uniquely challenging event. Click on the links below to view our 2023 Rules and our Resources page. The Resources page has a plethora of information, including FAQs, logging software recommendations, operating aids, and more.
Website: https://www.winterfieldday.com/
First Ever: Olivia Digital Mode on HF Weekend QSO Party
Announcement: Special Event Weekend, 02/11/2023
THE 1ST EVER OLIVIA DIGITAL MODE WEEKEND QSO PARTY
When is this special QSO party?
Valentine’s Day Weekend. This event is held this year on February 11, 1400 UTC, through February 13, 0200 UTC
First Ever Valentine’s Day Special QSO Weekend Event: The Olivia Digital Mode on HF
Join our mailing group for live interaction with other Olivia users:
http://OliviaDigitalMode.net
Sponsored by the Olivia Digital DXers Club (on Clublog, and on Facebook: Olivia Digital Mode on HF Radio (Contestia included))
Example frequencies:
Olivia Digital Mode Suggested Calling Frequencies on HF
Certificate for participants, and more. Organizer: Tomas Hood (NW7US), PO Box 110, Fayetteville, OH 45118.
This is the FIRST ever weekend QSO party for Olivia.
What Do VHF and UHF Mean?
Recently, I engaged in a discussion about a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio. It seems a ham was complaining that someone had advertised an 800 MHz radio, describing it as “UHF”. His issue was that in land mobile radio, UHF is commonly used to refer to radios in the 380 to 500-ish MHz range. I disagreed with him, saying that 800 MHz is in the UHF range I was using the ITU definition of UHF, which is any frequency between 300 MHz to 3 GHz. The disagreement was not a big deal but it did cause some confusion. (Of course, I was right and he was wrong, most definitely.)
This got me thinking about how we toss around these terms quite loosely, even though they have precise definitions. Let’s start with the basics, the ITU definitions of radio spectrum.
| LF | Low Frequency | 30 to 300 kHz |
| MF | Medium Frequency | 300 kHz to 3 MHz |
| HF | High Frequency | 3 MHz to 30 MHz |
| VHF | Very High Frequency | 30 MHz to 300 MHz |
| UHF | Ultra High Frequency | 300 MHz to 3 GHz |
| SHF | Super High Frequency | 3 GHz to 30 GHz |
You can see that the basic scheme divides up the spectrum into decades (factors of ten), aligned with frequencies that start with 3 (e.g., 3 MHz, 30 MHz, 300 MHz). If we map the amateur bands onto this system, we see that the bands from 80m (3.5 to 4.0 MHz) through 10m (28-29.7 MHz) fall into the HF range, as expected. Note that 10m almost qualifies as a VHF band, coming in just shy of the 30 MHz limit. That band does have some VHF tendencies. The 160m band (1.8 to 2.0 MHz) actually falls into the MF range even though many of us just think of it as HF.
Let’s take a look at how the US amateur bands line up with this scheme.
There are three VHF bands: 6m (50 to 54 MHz), 2m (144 to 148 MHz) and 1.25m (222 to 225 MHz). The UHF range includes the 70 cm (420 to 450 MHz), 33 cm (902 to 928 MHz), 23 cm (1240 to 1300 MHz), and 13 cm (2300 to 2450 MHz) bands.
The two most commonly used bands in the VHF/UHF region are 2m and 70cm. These bands are home for many FM repeaters, FM simplex, SSB simplex, and plenty of other modes. Common dualband transceivers, both mobile and handheld, operate on the 2m and 70cm bands. These radios are so common that we often refer to them as VHF/UHF dualband radios. Accordingly, you will often hear hams refer to the 2m band as simply VHF and the 70cm band as UHF, as if VHF means 2 meters and UHF means 70 cm. I know I’ve been guilty of saying “let’s switch over to VHF” when I really mean “let’s go to the 2m band.” The 2m band is certainly VHF but VHF does not always mean 2 meters. Similarly, we might say “I’ll call you on the UHF repeater” when it would be more precise to say “I’ll call you on 440 MHz.”
Many times being loose with terminology doesn’t matter but there are times when using the right words can make a difference. Think about this the next time you are referring to a particular frequency band.
73 Bob K0NR
The post What Do VHF and UHF Mean? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.
What Headphones Do You Use, And Why?
What headphones do you use for your radio operation, and WHY do you use that particular make and model?
I use Audio-Technica ATH M30x professional monitor headphones (cans).
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/ath-m30x
Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Professional Monitoring Headphones
I use my rig’s filters to shape the audio.
1. I’ve replaced the over-the-ear pads with Gel pads. Wearing these cans is comfortable enough to use for extended periods of time (such as contests).
2. The mid-range with these cans is superior to other cans I’ve had.
3. They are rugged, so taking them out to the field isn’t a problem.
73 de NW7US dit dit
..
Where’s My WAZ Certificate?
Guess what! Today, I received (by postal service) this very nice plaque from CQ, for working and confirming all 40 of the worldwide CQ DX Zones.
CQ WAZ NW7US – Mixed – Plaque
Many of you wonder, “where are my paper certificates for my WAZ efforts?”
At least one, if not all of the following, are reasons why there has been such a long delay in getting paper certificates for the WAZ CQ program:
- Paper certificates (blanks) were not available and backordered (Covid, folks).
- There is only ONE person doing the lettering (by hand).
- The advent of FT8 and FT4 in the WAZ program has SWAMPED the program. There’s a HUGE backlog.
That said, the new CQ WAZ Manager (N4BAA, JOSE CASTILLO) has made the following statement available:
— quote follows —
Effective September 1, 2022, CQ Magazine will no longer provide the Hand Lettered CQ WAZ paper certificate for free.
CQ WAZ AWARD RECIPIENTS HAVE 4 AWARD OPTIONS:
- Accept the standard award offering which is a High-Definition PDF file. This file can be printed in color and framed and is very nice. This award is delivered immediately with award letter, thus, no waiting.
- Select the traditional CQ WAZ Hand-Lettered award: the cost is $19.00 and includes shipping worldwide. This award option is managed by CQ Magazine and can take up to 180 days to receive.
- Select a Level I plaque: 7” x 9” two-tone engraved wood plaque: cost is $57 US / $100 International and includes shipping. Delivery time is under 30 days for US stations and less than 60 days internationally.
- Select a Level II plaque: 9” x 12” Floating Etched Acrylic over Black Wood: cost is $91 US / $135 International. and includes shipping.
Here is a video that the administrator has posted, about this:
Delivery time is roughly 30 days for US stations and less than 60 days internationally depending on the actual address.
The intent of this program is to respond to the ever-increasing demand for more options that are still very personalized as well as very elegant.
Not every ham is able to achieve the requirements for a 5BWAZ or 160 Meter plaque, so he is making this offering to everyone!
All questions or inquiries and plaque orders should be directed to the CQ WAZ Manager via email at [email protected] or postal mail via QRZ.com address.
All plaque data will be taken directly from the information provided in your email. The CQ WAZ manager will not be responsible for errors in data supplied by the recipient other than AWARD type and Award number.
To Place Order: send the information below via email to [email protected] or via postal mail to my QRZ.com address and please double-check spelling etc.
Email Subject line should be: “WAZ PLAQUE ORDER – YOUR CALL”
Then, provide the following information:
Call Sign:
Desired Name on Plaque:
WAZ AWARD Type
(example: MIXED, RTTY, 15M CW, EME, etc.)
SERIAL NUMBER on award:
Date on Award:
Award Desired:
– Level 1 plaque – $57 US / $100 International
– Level 2 plaque – $91 US / $135 International
There you have it…
73 de NW7US dit dit
2022 Colorado 14er Event (Summits On The Air)
August 5 to 8, 2022
Friday to Monday
www.ham14er.org
Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains and Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. Be aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by noon due to lightning safety concerns.
This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Following up on the success of the 10-day W0C SOTA event in 2021, in 2022 we will add two bonus days to the Colorado 14er Event. The main two days remain Saturday and Sunday (Aug 6 & 7), while the bonus days are Friday Aug 5 and Monday Aug 8th, for those SOTA enthusiasts that need more than two days of SOTA fun!
The 14er event includes Summits On the Air (SOTA) peaks, which includes over 1800 summits! If you aren’t up to climbing a 14er, there are many other summits to choose from (with a wide range of difficulty). See the W0C SOTA web page at w0c-sota.org.
Important: The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 146.58, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the North America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58). The National Simplex Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. See the operating frequencies page.
See the very cool Colorado 14er Event gear available at https://www.cafepress.com/mtngoatwear
Radio operators who plan to activate a summit should post their intent on the ham14er group via the ham14er groups.io website. Also, be sure to check out the event information at http://www.ham14er.org
For a complete list of suggested HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies see this web page.
And there is more!
On the same weekend, SOTA enthusiasts in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon will activate summits for the Pacific Northwest Not-Quite-Fourteener (PNW-NQF) event. Also on the same weekend, the Southern California SOTA group will hold their SOCAL SOTAFEST. So there will be plenty of SOTA stations to work that weekend.
Warning: Climbing mountains is inherently a dangerous activity.
Do not attempt this without proper training, equipment and preparation.
Sponsored by The Colorado 14er Event Task Force
The post 2022 Colorado 14er Event (Summits On The Air) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.
