Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 218
September 15th, 2018 | 
Author: 
Preparing Ham Radio response to Hurricane Florence
Amateur radio emergency communications groups throughout North and South Carolina and surrounding areas are gearing up for a possibly massive impact on communications infrastructure.
CQ Newsroom
How to listen to Hurricane Watch Net frequencies
The Hurricane Watch Net is a group of amateur radio operators who are trained and organized “to provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center during times of Hurricane emergencies.”
The SWLing Post
Worldwide refractive index forecasts
Maps are fully customizable and show refractive index from 80° S to 80° N worlwide.
Beyond the Horizon
[PDF] Introduction to Amateur Digital Television
High-Definition, Digital, Amateur Television — Confirmation photo showing an image received over a distance of 77 miles using a 3 watt, DVB-T transmitter.
KH6HTV
ARRL September VHF 2018 results
Rain on Saturday, Cloudy and Dry on Sunday. Good fun but exhausting.
K5ND
Electronics concept posters
We’ve covered Ohm’s Law, Alternating Current vs Direct Current and Analog and Digital Signals. Each poster is high-resolution and ready to print out up to 24″ x 36″.
SparkFun Electronics
Virtual serial port options for Ham Radio operators
For Hams looking for a reliable solution to create virtual COM port pairs on Windows.
Eltima
Ham Shack-In-A-Box
With a go box, having all my radios are mounted in a single portable box with the radio gear and power connections set up means I will have much longer to operate – and that much more isn’t left to chance.
Soliloquy Blog
Testing FreeDV: Digital voice over HF
This video shows the 700C mode having the ability to decode with 50% of its carriers removed.
Rowetel
Installing Winlink on a Raspberry Pi
Installing and setting up Pat Winlink on a RPi 3.
KM4ACK
Forwarding WSJT-X QSOs to Ham Radio Deluxe
Setup WSJT-X to forward QSOs to HRD Logbook without having to use additional software. Works with FT8Call too.
K0PIR
Receiving GOES-15,16,17 and Himawari 8 HRIT
In this video we go through the hardware and software needed to receive these gorgeous images and what is contained in the signals we receive.
The Thought Emporium
Video
Get Amateur Radio Weekly in your inbox.
Sign-up here
QRP from the Lifeguard’s Chair
Tim W3ATB and I went to Ellacoya State Park in Gilford New Hampshire today. He did a Parks on the Air activation… I sat in the lifeguard’s chair and worked France!
The beach is on Lake Winnipesaukee with a gorgeous, expansive view of the surrounding mountains. I saw this lifeguard’s chair and I couldn’t resist. It was under a huge pine tree. So while Tim was 30 yards away working stations for his POTA activation, I heaved a line into a pine tree above the orange high seat.
As soon as I turned on the KX3, I heard Bert F6HKA in France finishing up a QSO. What a hoot! He came back and gave me a 549. I was thrilled.
I called over to Tim and he worked Bert right after I did. I dismantled my station and went over to Tim’s picnic table to help out if I could. We had a lovely picnic lunch at the park and Tim made his ten contacts for the POTA activation.
P.S. Thanks to Tim for the great photos. His account of the outing is here:
https://w3atb.com/ellacoya-state-park-pota-activation-k-2651/
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 217
SharkRF announces OpenSPOT 2
DMR, D-STAR, Fusion, NXDN, P25, and POCSAG capable hotspot now has Wi-Fi support.
SharkRF
Petition Drive to Save WWV/WWVH
Two petitions have been started on the White House’s “We the People” petition site calling for restoration of funding for these two essential radio stations.
CQ Newsroom
μWWVB: A Tiny WWVB Station
Build your own GPS sourced atomic clock sync.
cat /var/log/life
SatMatch
Enter two grid squares to learn when contact via satellite is possible between those two locations.
K5EM
FCC Podcast: More than Seven Dirty Words
The Official FCC Podcast will bring you interviews with FCC staff and others in the communications space.
FCC
The Rebirth of Radio Astronomy
“Radio waves heard from remote space,” announced The New York Times in May 1933. “Sound like steam from a radiator after traveling 30,000 light-years.”
Wired
Catch some shortwave pirate radio action this Labor Day weekend
Shortwave pirates love to operate on long holiday weekends.
The SWLing Post
New NOAA APT Image Decoder
A new NOAA APT image decoder that can run on both Linux and Windows.
GitHub
Video
Icom 7610 HDSDR Installation and Settings
An overview installing HDSDR, installing Icom 7610 I/Q package and settings in HDSDR for the Icom 7610.
K0PIR
N4KGL EM28/EM29 Gridline AO-92 Kansas
AO-92 pass 1615 UTC on levee next to Riverfront Park near Lawrence Kansas.
YouTube
Get Amateur Radio Weekly in your inbox.
Sign-up here
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 216
Atomic clocks’ final tock
The atomic clock time signal station that synchronizes time devices, may be shut down next year if a presidential budget request passes as proposed.
The SWLing Post
QRP experiment with FT8Call
Even with a relatively small amount of output power, I’m having keyboard to keyboard QSOs with stations in Europe and North Africa.
OH8STN
Antenna sales are rising
The lowly, unsightly TV antenna, consigned to garages or forgotten altogether when people switched to cable and satellite services for TV, is rising again.
Star Tribune
Using a HackRF to spoof GPS navigation in cars and divert drivers
This uses a clever algorithm that ensures that the spoofed GPS location remains consistent with the actual physical road networks, to avoid the driver noticing that anything is wrong.
RTL-SDR.com
Using multi-meters
Multi-meters have the ability to measure voltage, current and resistance and more expensive models may add other functions such as temperature.
VE7SAR
6m lightweight delta loop for sporadic E
This is a simple, cheap, lightweight horizontally polarised somewhat-directional antenna.
M0LTE
Antenna comparison on 6m during a Sporadic-E opening
I’ve been operating on 6m using two less than ideal antennas and was interested to see how they compared during a recent opening on 6m.
Adventures in Ham Radio
What is VSWR: Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
Standing waves are a key value for any system using transmission lines / feeders where measurements of the VSWR, Voltage Standing Wave Ratio are important.
electronicsnotes
Send APRS objects or telemetry via Bash
This is to internet only, not to RF.
S55MA
Video
FT8Call quick start guide basics calling CQ and QSO
I’m having fun with this new FT8Call and I think you will too.
K0PIR
Speaker wire antenna
In this video I show you my infamous speaker wire antenna.
KG6HQD
3D printed universal cable fix
A 3D printed small enclosure that can be used as a join box for cables or cords,
FunElectronicsToday
Get Amateur Radio Weekly in your inbox.
Sign-up here
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 215
FT8 QSO Mode
No character type restrictions, 23 characters per 15 second transmit period.
KN4CRD
ARRL annual report highlights membership problems
Membership is forecast to continue to decline in 2018 (2% loss is forecast).
KB6NU
New FCC Part 95 rules
Additional FRS channels and increased power on certain FRS channels from 0.5 W to 2 W.
ARRL
AREDN mesh network progress
We have been working on bringing up an AREDN mesh network at ARRL HQ and here at AA6E.
AA6E
Nunavut operation
Active from Iqaluit, Nunavut as VY0BRR using all modes and all bands except 160.
Southgate
How much battery do you really need?
There are some basic battery concepts that will help you sort through this confusing topic.
Off Grid Ham
Breaking ground
With building permit in hand, it’s finally time to get my vertical… vertical again!
W0EA
SDR-Remote: A physical tuning and control knob for SDR#
This is a physical tuning knob that connects to your PC, and can be used with programs like SDR#.
RTL-SDR.com
Screwdriver antenna experiences
Even on a compact SUV.
Surrey Amateur Radio Club
Video
More on the J-pole Antenna
A close look at how the J-pole antenna works with special attention to how it’s fed.
David Casler
How to decode 433Mhz low power devices
Here we take a look at decoding some of the micro transmissions from Low Power Devices on the 433Mhz band using RTL433 software for Linux and Windows.
Tech Minds
Get Amateur Radio Weekly in your inbox.
Sign-up here
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 214
All about Ham Radio
An introduction to the world of amateur radio.
SparkFun
JumboSpot DMR Hotspot
One of the latest crazes in the world of DMR radio is the Chinese iteration of the DMR hotspot. The principal attraction? Low cost. The Jumbospot costs about $45.
John Hagensieker
Light Up 2 Meters Night, an FM Simplex Event
August 26, 2018 7-9pm local time.
K5ACL
Radio hams at DEF CON 26
DEF CON 26 is taking place August 9-15 in Las Vegas and radio amateurs will be there giving presentations on HAARP, amateur satellite communications, and SDR’s.
Southgate
DIY vs. commercially made solar panel
The price of commercially made solar panels on eBay is around $1 per watt and have been for a few years, but the price of individual solar cells are likewise at a low price per watt, around $0.48.
Hack A Day
Receiving GOES weather satellite with a 2.4 GHz WiFi grid antenna
GOES 15/16/17 are geosynchronous weather satellites that beam back high resolution weather images and data.
RTL-SDR.com
Moving Pictures: First dabbles in Amateur TV
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks experimenting with some Amateur Television ATV and Digital ATV.
AmateurRadio.com
Wisconsin residents embrace Amateur Radio
An estimated 2 million people are on the airways worldwide, according to the American Radio Relay League. About 830,000 amateur radio stations are located across North, Central, and South America alone.
U.S. News
A primer on grounding for Hams
Nothing like a fierce electrical storm to get Hams talking about susceptibility to lightning strikes. Well, we experienced just such a storm in early August, which provides the perfect opportunity to review the topic.
VE7SAR
Video
Building a multi-band HF dipole antenna
Here I build a multi-band dipole antenna for HF use on 40-20-15-10-6 meters. Some call this a fan dipole.
RadioHamGuy
Nashville Amateur Radio Club Field Day 2018
NARC Field Day 2018 at Lock 2 Park, Nashville, TN
K4CPO
Get Amateur Radio Weekly in your inbox.
Sign-up here
The Spectrum Monitor — August, 2018
Stories you’ll find in our August, 2018 issue:
SHARES: The Federal Government’s Plan-B HF Communications System
By Steve Handler
In the aftermath of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crises, President John F. Kennedy wanted to improve the communications systems that linked the federal agencies. The goal was to provide better interconnectivity and also survivability of the system in the event of war or natural disasters. The result was the National Communications System (NCS). On September 20, 1988, NCS created the SHAred RESources (SHARES) High Frequency (HF) Radio program. This program was tasked with backing up the landline, and later cellular, telephone systems. Current SHARES participants include the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Health, and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Other governmental entities include the Federal Communications Commission, General Services Administration, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Non-governmental organizations include entities such as the American Red Cross. Critical telecommunications infrastructure companies such as AT&T and Verizon also participate in SHARES. Steve explains how it all works.
APRS and other Digital Communications: Part 1
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
While many hams may think of APRS as a mode that has little more to offer than beaconing and radiolocation functions, it is a figurative Swiss Army Knife of utilities that can be of use in contacting other hams while traveling, exchanging quick text messages, satellite communications, email, public service, and many other activities. From the mechanical age of RTTY, with its clacking printers chewing through rolls of paper to the peculiar digital whine of FT8, amateur radio has always been at the forefront of wireless digital communications. Cory explores the various facets of APRS and other non-verbal digital communications in Part 1 by looking first at the history of digital communications starting with the original binary code: CW.
Not the Sounds of Silence: Exploring the ELF and VLF Bands
By Georg Wiesalla
The many (man-made) signals and (nature) sounds in the low frequency regions can travel for thousands of kilometers all around the globe and inside the Earth-Ionosphere waveguide. Therefore, ELF and VLF emissions have been, and are still being studied for a very wide range of military and scientific purposes. They can be found in many areas of science and public life, even in some leisure pursuits including aviation, amateur radio, detection of nuclear explosions, ELF and VLF-range emissions by meteorites, geological mapping, ionospheric research, military communications, radio astronomy, seismic research and under-sea exploration and oceanography. Georg takes us on a journey into radio depths.
Buying New and Used Radio Gear
By Robert Gulley AK3Q
Buying new or used radio equipment can be a daunting task for the experienced radio enthusiast, but even more so for folks new to the hobby. As an avid radio enthusiast and amateur radio operator, Robert has owned many different types of radios and associated radio equipment. From AM/FM broadcast radios to scanners, shortwave radios to amateur gear, and very old radios, to some of the latest SDR equipment, he has purchased gear from many different sources. He has been very fortunate (and yes even lucky) in that very few purchases have been made from less-than-honest people. The few, which were bad experiences, certainly taught him some valuable lessons.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Lenoir County (NC); Missouri Dept. of Conservation
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Nevada Scanner Safari 2018
Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Military UHF Traffic Control Frequencies
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
The Silent Summer: US Gets Quieter
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
It’s All About Propagation
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
DV33
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Portable Generators: Test and Enjoy!
Radio 101
Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Monitoring HF Marine Radio During the Tropical Storm Season
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
FT8, WSPR and the Shortwave Listener
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Health on SW; Canada as DX; BBC Offerings
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
Cosmic Podcasts; Books, Charts and the National Radio Quiet Zone
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
SDR: You can do it!
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
The Rescue: Drake SPR4 Communications Receiver
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Collinear Array: Multiple Elements in a Single Piece
The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.
