Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 312
December 23rd, 2023 | 
Author: 
NASA streams first video from deep space via laser
The video, featuring a cat named Taters, was sent back from nearly 19 million miles away.
NASA
QRP Cluster
A QRP self spotting cluster.
QRP Cluster
Visualizing FT8
FT8 operators coming and going over a 24 hour period, animated on a map.
K9OX
The lifeline of CW and POTA
The Ham community saw me through my difficulties.
QRPer
The 2023 Winter Olivia QSO Party
The first-ever Winter Olivia Digital Mode QSO Party is about to commence.
The Olivia Digital DXers Club
NanoVNA setup for common antenna system measurement tasks
A common task is an overall assessment of an antenna system.
owenduffy.net
A WSPR monitor running on an old Android TV Box with OpenWebRX
These TV Boxes have an AMlogic S805 chip with excellent performance.
RTL-SDR
IC-9700 Hamlib setup for FT-8 via QO-100
There were some interesting commands that are obviously not in use within hamlib/rigctl.
Notizbl0g
Meteor scatter experiment with the 2023 Geminid shower
Using an Amateur Radio beacon 500kms away to find the peak of the 2023 Geminids meteor shower.
EI7GL
Video
Intro to the Olivia digital mode for HF
An introduction presented to the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society by NW7US.
NW7US
Why the ARRL matters
Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, serves as the Director of Marketing and Innovation at the ARRL.
W1DED
HamClock on Windows
This method works on Windows 10 and 11.
KF0IDT
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 311
ISS SSTV this weekend
Event celebrates 40th Anniversary of Ham Radio in Human Spaceflight.
AMSAT UK
12 Days of Christmas on-air special event
12 stations plus 2 bonus stations will make up the event.
Amateur Radio Daily
CATS Communication And Tracking System
CATS is a packet radio standard primarily designed for autonomous position reports.
CATS
AO-73 back in transponder mode
After a year long period of battery management, the transponder on AO-73 has been restarted.
AMSAT UK
GEO satellite proposal could include large portion of North America (PDF)
Plus an experimental laser based high-speed data link.
AMSAT
Host A YSF DMR DSTAR C4FM Multi-mode reflector on Ubuntu
XLX is a multi-mode/multi-protocol gateway reflector for Amateur Radio digital modes.
The Modern Ham
UniQSL-2: QSL cards made easy
Create an easily printable PDF file, three QSLs per page.
UniQSL-2
Determining signal bearing from switching antennas in software
Time difference of arrival system for determining the bearing to a transmitter.
KA7OEI
Two new DX-peditions planned for Bouvet Island
Just days later, a rival expedition announced that they were planning a separate expedition.
EI7GL
Video
TAPR Digital Communications Conference
Video recording of the 2023 TAPR Digital Communications Conference.
TAPR
DX from a Christmas Tree
Christmas light dipole.
Modern Ham
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 310
NASA receives laser-beamed message from 10 million miles away
The laser can send data at 10 to 100 times the speed of traditional radio wave systems.
CNN
ARDC and ARRL announce $2.1 million for the next generation of Amateur Radio
Includes funding to support scholarships for Radio Amateurs, radio technology for classroom teachers, and Amateur Radio club grants.
ARRL
WSPR beacon for Raspberry Pi Pico
The WSPR beacon provides the output signal on the GPIO pin of Raspberry Pi.
RPiks
Host a website from your Xiegu X6100
Hosting a website to serve manuals and other useful applications.
The Modern Ham
Chatt Radio Ham Radio store
Chatt Radio offers both an online and brick and mortar storefront.
Chatt Radio
sBitx V2 Amateur transceiver mods for POTA use
A touchscreen radio with a huge screen and powered by a Raspberry Pi.
WK4DS
One year on
So what have I done in this time?
GM5ALX
Edmonds Woodway Amateur Radio Club celebrates five years of connecting
With just a piece of wire for an antenna, you can be in contact with people all over the world.
My Edmonds News
The art of DX pileup busting
Listen, Listen, Listen
AmateurRadio.com
Happy 10th Birthday FUNcube-1 (AO-73)
Many stations around the world continue to upload the telemetry.
ICQ Podcast
Video
ARISS 40th Anniversary Webinar with Richard Garriott
Discussing the first contact via Amateur Radio in Human Spaceflight.
ARISS
Ham Radio contest secrets from N6MJ and KL9A
Dan Craig N6MJ and Chris Hurlbutt KL9A are phenoms in the Ham Radio contesting world.
W1DED
Ordering A Pizza With A Baofeng
Out of cell range and wanting a Pizza.
WaveTalkers
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The Art of DX Pileup Busting
SOME INFORMAL THOUGHTS ON WORKING CW DX
Recently, I came across some questions another amateur radio operator posed to a group of CW enthusiasts. Since I have an interest in Morse code, I thought I would explore these questions:
— begin quote —
1. When chasing some particular CW DX station needed for my DXCC punch-list, what are some things(s) that one can do to improve one’s chances of snagging that DX contact amidst a congested pileup? Is it truly the luck of the draw or roll of the dice? Or are there some time tested methods, less than obvious, that the experienced CW DX chasers have used that seem to improve one’s chances of snagging the DX contact? Yes, I’m aware that there are many variables to consider. I’m just looking for some general suggestions to improve my odds of success based on the experience of others.
2. If, let’s say, a DX station appends “UP 1” or “QSX 2” to his CQ call or just “UP” appears in a DX cluster spot listing, what is considered an acceptable amount of “UP”? I’m amazed sometimes at the amount of “UP” that I hear. LOL. Does a hefty amount of “UP” actually improve one’s chances? What does the DX op expect?
3. After a DX station sends their callsign how long should one wait to reply with one’s callsign? I hear stations respond immediately. But sometimes I hear others wait just a “bit”, and then respond to DX. And sometimes when the DX station is responding to a chosen station, other callers are STILL calling the DX op. What do most DX operators expect with regard to the response of a reply? Immediate? One-Mississippi …?
4. I hear stations reply to DX with their callsign once. Others sometimes twice. If I send my callsign twice I run the risk that the DX station has already begun his reply back to me with my sig-report while I’m still in the midst of sending my 2nd callsign reply. So … I should send my call just once?
— end quote–
Great questions! And, the answers translate over to working DX pileups on voice, too.
Here are some of my off-the-cuff remarks, based on my limited experience DXing since 1990:
(I am an avid DXer, with 8BDXCC, etc.)
1. Listen, Listen, Listen: The DX station typically does work split – the DX station on, say, 14.023 MHz, and the DX station is listening anywhere from 14.028 to 14.033 (up 5 to 10). You first, of course, need to listen to the DX station, but, also to hear the stations that are calling the DX station! The trick is to be able to hear some of the stations that are piling up on the DX, and to determine if the DX is working a station, then tunes up a little, or down a little, from the frequency on which the last caller was chosen.
Once you know this, you want to position your signal so that the DX operator tunes to or very near where you are transmitting your signal. If the DX station does not call you but continues in the same tuning direction, you reposition your transmit frequency (always in the pileup window) and try again. If you do not know where the DX station is listening next, and especially if you cannot HEAR the DX station, you are calling blind and are in for a long effort.
If you have a way to see the waterfall at and around the DX frequency, you can often see the general spread of “UP” where the callers congregate. When listening (and, let me tell you, listening is key) to the DX station, watch the waterfall for the responding caller (the station in the pile-up calling the DX), as sometimes it is very obvious who is answering the DX. Watch this exchange for a number of new callers – and get a sense of HOW the DX operator is moving through the pile-up. Anticipate where the DX might listen next. Choose that “next frequency in the pattern of movement” and use that as your calling frequency.
2. Timing your call: this takes a bit of effort. I typically listen to my chosen transmit frequency, trying to call never at the exact same time as others, on or near my calling frequency.
3. I always send my callsign TWICE… something like this:
DX: DX1ABC UP
ME: NW7US NW7US
DX: NW7US 5NN
ME: R R NW7US 5NN TU
DX: NW7US TU, DX1ABC UP
There are some fine CW-oriented DXing books, PDFs, and websites that talk about this. For instance:
http://sota-dl.bplaced.net/articles/cw_chasing_tips_for_newcomers.pdf
https://www.cadxa.org/getting-started-in-dxing.html
I hope this personal observation of mine about working a Morse code pileup is helpful in some way.
73 de NW7US
https://NW7US.us
..
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 309
European Space Agency GEO satellite opportunity
Footprint could cover portions of Canada and USA.
AMSAT-DL
AllScan: Web based AllStarLink management console
Provides favorites management features, AllStarLink stats integration, and connection monitoring and control functions.
AllScan
NASA highlights Ham Radio on ISS
NASA promotes the efforts of ARISS and STEM.
NASA
Promising news for the Amateur Radio 23cm microwave allocation
It looked as if the decades old allocation might be lost altogether.
EI7GL
HamSCI announces publication of latest peer-reviewed paper
Provides recommendations for Amateur Radio – professional science collaborations in the future.
HamSCI
Made in Vermont: W1SFR
His side hustle is key for the community.
WCAX
Fire damaged Nikola Tesla’s last remaining laboratory
Crowdfounders previously raised over $1 million to save.
Business Insider
Making math easy for Ham Radio experimenters
There is a tool that can level the playing field – it’s called the spreadsheet.
Ham Radio Outside the Box
Winlink on iPhone/iPad
RadioMail is a new client app for the iPhone and iPad.
OnAllBands
Canadian Basic Qualifications question bank
This test bank has 971 questions.
IndexFlip
Video
Can you do 160 Meters on two Wolf River Coils?
Let’s find out.
Ham Radio Tube
The Magic Carpet rides again! This time on 80 Meters
KZ9V shares with us how he modified his 40 through 10 meter end fed half wave antenna.
KB9VBR
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 308
Scientists uncover aurora-like radio emission above a sunspot
These sunspot aurora emissions occur at frequencies ranging from hundreds of thousands of kHz to roughly 1 million kHz.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
SKYWARN Recognition Day is ready to go
The 2023 SKYWARN Recognition Day is December 2 from 0000z to 2400z.
ARRL
Will AI help us have more fun with Amateur Radio?
Your personal agent could monitor your club’s 2-meter repeater and notify you when your friends are on the air.
KB6NU
Amateur Radio accounts for 17% of Icom’s business
Icom released a document titled Medium Term Business Plan 2026.
EI7GL
What’s up with NVIS?
I was amazed that I sent and received a 59 signal report from an antenna that was only about 6 feet off the ground.
KK4Z
Cubesats: How an accidental standard launched a new space age
NASA was initially reluctant to embrace the small form factor.
Aviation Weekly
Cheap & cheerful telescopic SPOTA antenna
This is a handy standby antenna, or for holiday activations, but bring your tuner along.
QRPer
NASA launches Spot the Station app
Notifications each time the station passes over your location.
Amateur Radio Daily
Video
K9DP Broadcast Interference Filter 2.0
Field tested with a Xiegu G90.
W6IWN
How to build a mini HF loading coil
No need for a tuner.
Mr. MuD’s Radio Time VA5MuD
The OMs on QRZ said this won’t work
You can’t make QSOs with a wire that low to the ground. Boy-howdy were they wrong.
N7KOM
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 307
FCC drops symbol rate for HF
Instead, the Commission establishes a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limitation in the applicable Amateur Radio bands.
Amateur Radio Daily
SOTAMĀT
Self-spotting SOTA and POTA over HF.
SOTAMĀT
DITs and DAHs from Alcatraz
I will activate with Morse code in the shadows of Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris.
QRPer
A spectral look at the KH1’s sidetone
I don’t particularly care for the KH1’s sidetone for two reasons.
AE5X
Automating NOAA APT and Meteor M2 LRPT reception with SatDump
SatDump is a popular program used to receive and decode various forms of weather satellites.
RTL-SDR
How to improve Ham Radio station grounds
Station grounding has the most misconceptions.
OnAllBands
Antenna goes up for student-run Ham Radio station at University of Scranton
The new antenna was installed to help students learn more about radio waves.
WNEP
Fort Baker on the air
This location offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco.
W6CSN
Video
Converting a CB to 10 meter AM
SolderSmoke
Trailer: My Radio My Life
The film revisits the golden era of radio in India, including Ham Radio operators.
Timecap Documentaries
Stealth HOA antenna system
The ultimate (resonant on 8 bands) stealth HOA antenna system.
HamJazz
Portable with the new FX-4CR transceiver
Results and experience out of the box and on the air with the FX-4CR.
Coastal Waves & Wires
