Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 213
August 4th, 2018 | 
Author: 
ISS packet radio system back late this year
The currently silent packet radio system on the International Space Station could be back on the air by year’s end.
ARRL
Tutorial: Plot and decode weather balloon data
A radiosonde is a small weather sensor package that is typically attached to a weather balloon. As it rises into the atmosphere it measures parameters such as temperature, humidity, pressure, GPS location etc, and transmits this data back down to a receiver base station using a radio signal.
RTL-SDR.com
Edwin Armstrong’s Battle for FM Radio
It is a story of innovation, but also a story of personal vanity, corporate greed, stubbornness, marital problems, and even suicide. The only thing missing is a long-lost identical twin sibling to turn it into a full telenovela.
Hack A Day
Locating Sources Of Noise
As our lives become filled with technology, the likelihood of electronic interference increases. Every lamp dimmer, garage-door opener or other new technical “toy” contributes to the electrical noise around us.
Surrey Amateur Radio Club
Digital nets on 11m
Digital modes (ROS, FT8, SSTV, PSK31) are emerging on 11 meters.
Delta Alfa
Milliwatt DX on 868 MHz
Packets transmitted by the gateway of Ryan Walmsley, member of The Things Network East Coast, Great Yarmouth, was received 235 km away in Utrecht, Netherlands.
Southgate
Q&A: Summer of Tariffs
Will a 25 percent tariff be material on a single switch purchase costing a few dollars? Of course not. But this helps illustrate that once you start entering into the hundreds and thousands of dollars, these tariffs begin having an impact.
SparkFun
Ruth Willet is 2018 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award recipient
The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award is given annually by the board to a radio amateur under the age of 21 whose accomplishments and contributions to both Amateur Radio and the local community are of an exemplary nature.
ARRL
Video
QRP vs 20 Watts – What is the Practical Difference?
Running one hour in a contest at 5 watts, and the next hour at 20 watts.
Outdoors On The Air
Flight of the Bumblebees 2018
This is a popular QRP CW amateur radio event. The Bumblebees are portable stations.
N4KGL
Compact Homebrew End Fed QRP Antenna
I built this antenna specifically for low wattage QRP use to be compact and inexpensive. It utilizes a 9:1 unun wrapped on a T106-2 toroid and minimal hardware to be lightweight.
WI9LL
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 212
Significant changes in store for FT8 and MSK144
Enhanced versions of the MSK144 and FT8 protocols will extend the message payload to 77 bits.
ARRL
ISS SSTV activation July 30-31
The Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station are expected to activate amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) transmissions.
AMSAT UK
Why wire diameter is important
The larger the cross-sectional area of the conductor, the more electrons are available to carry the current.
VE7SAR
3D printed Arrow II portable satellite antenna clips
WI9LL has designed clips for use with the Arrow II Portable hand held satellite antenna.
WI9LL
Operating tips for VHF SOTA
I’ve been using VHF and higher frequencies for SOTA exclusively and have activated over 100 summits in Colorado and other states.
K0NR
FCC proposes $18,000 fine for Ham in interference case
“Given his history as a repeat offender, these apparent violations warrant a significant penalty.”
ARRL
A visit to the home of FreeDV and codec2
I knew I was in the right place when the squid pole supporting a corner dipole came in to view.
Marxy
WWFD in AM HD
America’s only AM HD station.
The SWLing Post
Is your repeater ID boring? Try something like this.
If your repeater ID is getting a little stale, perhaps this will give you some ideas on how to freshen it up a bit.
KB6NU
Receiving astronaut Amateur Radio conversations with an RTL-SDR
If you live in an area that can ‘see’ the ISS at the same time as the school then you can easily pick up the downlink.
RTL-SDR.com
Send APRS data/telemetry via Xastir command line
You can do it all via RF if your Xastir setup is already paired to the radio and configured to transmit.
S55MA
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 211
Ham radio technology used in Thailand cave rescue
UK radio amateur John Hey G3TDZ (SK) designed the special low frequency radio equipment, the Heyphone, used in the recent cave rescue in Thailand.
Southgate
SDR: Direction finding techniques
Public KiwiSDRs distributed around the world can be used to pinpoint the physical locations of any 0 – 30 MHz transmitter using the TDoA technique.
RTL-SDR
New: No Nonsense Amateur Radio Podcast
The No Nonsense Amateur Radio Podcast is a discussion of where we are in amateur radio and where we’re going. It is a production of Dan, KB6NU, and Tom, KB5RF.
No Nonsense Podcast
A short guide on baluns
Unless precautions are taken to minimize it, all coax fed antennas will have significant current flowing on the outside of the coax shield while transmitting.
Surrey Amateur Radio Club
ARRL contest award certificates now available for download
This new online certificate feature will offer enhanced content over what has been offered previously on ARRL certificates.
ARRL
88 MHz Trans-Atlantic signals heard in Ireland
Northern Ireland managed to hear a Canadian radio station across the Atlantic at 88 MHz.
EI7GL
W6/NC-353, Burdell Mountain – 2018
I did this summit late last year as my first morse code activation. Last time it was a combo POTA/SOTA activation. This time would be only SOTA. And it was a heck of a lot warmer too!
KE6MT
Shortwave radio listening continues its steep decline
Shortwave audiences are virtually disappearing in Pakistan, and down substantially in Nigeria.
BBC
3D printed 10KV tuning capacitor
I will show you how to build a super-cheap tuning capacitor that will tolerate up to 10,000 Volts of RF and allow you to use up to about 100 Watts of RF into my 14MHz (20m) antenna.
The SWLing Post
Directive Systems 2 Meter Rover Yagi
With an 8 foot boom, it’s just the right size to fit on the roof of my SUV for transport and works great on the fiberglass push-up mast.
K5ND
Video
Make your own LED battery level indicator
In this video I will show you how we can use the classic LM3914 IC to create an LED Battery Level Indicator.
YouTube
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 210
K4R Dry Tortugas EL84 roving trip on schedule
Robert KE4AL, Rich N4ESS, and Matthew, NJ4Y will be arriving on Garden Key, EL84np in the Dry Tortugas mid-day on Friday July 6, staying all day Saturday, and then leaving Sunday morning July 8.
Southgate
Postmortem decoding of SSTV/APRS
SSTV decoding went quite fine using the Android app Robot36.
Notizbl0g.
Exposing hospital pager privacy breaches
It has been a known open secret that for years many hospitals have been transmitting sensitive patient data over the air completely unencrypted via their pager network.
RTL-SDR.com
The legacy of Iraq’s amateur operators lives on
People from all over the world reached out to Baghdad’s team of “hams” in hope that they could lend a helping hand.
The National
Radio Amateur to pay $7,000 to settle FCC interference case
Ham intentionally interfered with the communications of other Amateur Radio operators and failed to properly identify.
ARRL
Home Beaches On The Air
Beaches On The Air (BOTA) is an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that encourages portable operation from beaches.
BOTA
No more bullying
This form records reports of bullying within Amateur Radio in Australia.
VK6
Pentagon Amateur Radio Club
The Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) is open to all active duty military, government civilians, or contractors assigned to the Pentagon.
K4AF
15 kilometre LoRa SSH link with RNode
I decided I’d try to see if I could create a useable SSH link over a distance of 15 kilometres, with just two RNodes, and no intermediaries.
unsigned.io
Video
How to hack your 433 MHz Devices
Hacking an outdoor awning to auto retract based on windspeed gathered from a home weather station.
YouTube
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The Spectrum Monitor — July, 2018
Stories you’ll find in our July, 2018 issue:
The Development of Police Radio Communications in the United States
By John F. Schneider W9FGH
Policing in America before the 1920s was done by the beat policeman, who wandered his assigned neighborhood on foot. If he needed to communicate with his precinct officer, he used a street corner police call-box. The Detroit Police Department, led by a visionary police commissioner, was the first to seriously experiment with installing radio receivers in patrol cars, beginning in 1922 with the licensing of its own radio station, KOP. But, although the emerging technology of radio held obvious promise as a means of communication, there were still many shortcomings in its fledgling years that prevented its reliable use in vehicles. John notes the historical issues involved with police broadcasting and the general public tuning in—a nearly one-hundred year-old tradition.
Listening in on the WWI Western Front: The SCR-54A (BC-14A) Receiver
By Rich Post KB8TAD
One hundred years ago, the United States was at war. At the start of the World War I, the US Navy, as authorized by the President, ordered that all private radio transmitters and receivers, whether licensed or unlicensed, be dismantled. The order was not just for the spark transmitters of the day, but even simple hobbyist crystal receiving sets. Rich explores the SCR-54A BC14A , a state-of-the-art WWI radio receiver system, which along with a BC-15A spark transmitter wedged aboard an airplane would allow the pilot to provide reconnaissance from the battlefield. Rich takes a look at this combo, which took serious skills to operate in testing—let alone in battle.
Cheerio: Amateur Radio’s Checkered History at the BBC
By Richard Fisher KI6SN
Last fall, with the pomp and ceremony for which Great Britain is so well known, Lord Tony Hall, Baron Hall of Berkenhead, and head of the BBC, cut the ribbon to officially open amateur radio station G8BBC, turning the page to the newest chapter in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s on-again-off-again romance with amateur radio. Richard explains how hams at the BBC have fared over the decades, occupying a thin sliver of real estate, courtesy of the world’s most well known shortwave voice.
TSM Reviews: Palstar LA-1K Solid-State HF Amplifier
By Mark Haverstock K8MSH
Since the beginning of ham radio, vacuum tube amplifiers have dominated the market. They’re relatively economical to manufacture, tolerant of abuse, and have some leeway to match antennas that aren’t exactly resonant. More recently, solid-state amplifiers have gained traction among amateur radio operators. They’re instant-on and more convenient—getting you on the air with less operator intervention. Mark examines the Palstar LA-1K solid-state HF amplifier and finds some very positive attributes that come at a stiff price.
Scanning America
By Dan Veenaman
Portsmouth (VA), Grant County (WI) and the ISS
Federal Wavelenghts
By Chris Parris
More Federal Digital Modes
Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Update: Monitoring Military Hurricane Communications
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
U.S. Radio Strangeness Continues
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Contests and Field Day for VHF and Above
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
When Elephants Fight, it is the Ground that Suffers
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Static and Frustration from DC to Daylight—Welcome to Summer Propagation
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
$664 Solution to Solar Cycle Doldrums
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The Sun in Sonic and Visual Art: an Aid to Scientists
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL
SDR Primer Part 2: Exploring the World of SDRs for $200 or Less
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
40 Years of Shortwave Listening
Maritime Monitoring
By Ron Walsh VE3GO
Sailing On
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Ballantine 300 and the Boonton Connection
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Understanding Ground: A Review
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.
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 209
Receive SSTV from Space June 29-July 1
These images will commemorate the various satellites that were hand-deployed from the ISS.
AMSAT UK
Attendance holds steady at Hamvention 2018
At 28,417 visitors, Hamvention recorded its third-largest attendance ever in its second year at its still-new location in Xenia, Ohio.
ARRL
“Baker is Brutal!” KH1/KH7Z DXpedition team reports
“They say it never rains on Baker,” the DXpedition noted in its June 28 update. “At midnight giant squalls came through knocking out one of our three antennas that we worked so hard to get up.
ARRL
That wasn’t good – that was great
180 degree opposites! As much as I feared that I wasn’t into Field Day this year, that’s how much it turned out to be a truly great experience.
W2JL
Field Day 2018 – Every day is field day
One of the primary goals of my station configuration, whether at home or in the field, is keeping the station as small and uncomplicated as possible.
OH8STN
The N4Y 2018 ARRL Field Day Report
Field Day this year was a two operator, one transmitter operation on emergency power.
N4KGL
The Apollo Survival Radio
The transceiver and its cylindrical battery pack were water-tight. It could operate in beacon mode for up to 24 hours.
The SWLing Post
Activating Southern Britain’s Highest Mountain on Top Band
I was pretty confident that I’d have enough space for an 80m dipole, as long as I setup well away from the main summit.
Adventures in Ham Radio
13 Colonies special event begins July 1
Celebrating 10 years honoring the original 13 colonies.
13colonies.net
Cuban special event
Activity is to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Naval Battle during the Spanish, Cuban, American War.
Southgate
Video
Building a giant 2m corner reflector antenna
For GOES-16, pulsars and more.
YouTube
Basics of RF Bias Tees including applications and examples
Bias Tees are RF components that are used whenever you need to couple a DC, power or low-speed control signal onto an RF signal path.
W2AEW
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Ham radio as I know it is out
