Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
TX Factor is Back On The Air
May 29th, 2018 | 
Author: Yes, TX Factor episode 21 is finally available and features a review of the IC-7610 transceiver from Icom. Bob shows Mike a thing or two about operating thorough linear satellites. And, have you ever worried about programming your DMR handie to cope with code plugs, gateways and chatrooms? Again, Bob thinks he has the answer.
In our free-to-enter draw we have another two prize give-away: a Prism padded dust cover for your rig and a copy of Andrew Barron’s book Hamsats and Amsats.
It’s all at www.txfactor.co.uk
Happy viewing!
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 204
Hamvention 2018
Would I come back to Hamvention? Right now, given that it’s always the same weekend as Maker Faire Bay Area? Pfth. Not a chance.
The Life of Kenneth
My visit to Hamvention 2018
What a great event! The new location is superb. It is 1000% better than the old location at Hara Arena.
N6PSE
Faux SDRs & Vaporware Products at Hamvention – “The Fake News”
Reports from Dayton of new products seem to be far apart, and a couple anticipated products seem lackluster or concept mockups.
K9ZW
2018 Hamvention photos: Inside Exhibits
Most of the following photos were taken in the main Hamvention buildings and tents at the Greene County Fairgrounds.
The SWLing Post
2018 Hamvention photos: Friday Flea Market
The selection was pretty amazing. The rain did come and go throughout the day, but the recycled asphalt that was spread between the aisles did help keep mitigate the mud situation.
The SWLing Post
Death of an E-Salesman
Our classic electronics surplus stores are disappearing. Can they be saved?
sparkfun
Post-launch signals received as Amateur Radio heads to Moon
China has launched two microsatellites into a lunar transfer orbit. Following deployment, signals from the DSLWP satellites were received by radio amateurs in Brazil, Chile, and the US, as well as by many others around the world.
ARRL
Ham loses license for interference
N8CAM illegally operated on, and caused interference to, the Michigan Public Service Communication System.
KB6NU
NVIS works very well… except when it doesn’t
Anyone relying on near vertical incident skywave (NVIS) propagation for 24/7 radio circuits between any two points should heed the warnings found in the raw QSO data from the Virginia QSO Party.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
About Software Defined Radio and RTL-SDR
Software Defined Radio: computer or smartphone does signal processing, not individual and expensive components as with traditional radios. The cheapest way into radio reception, best bang for the buck.
Radio for Everyone
Video
Review: Antenna analyzer N1201SA
HamRadioReviews
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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 203
Shortwave Trading: The West Chicago Tower Mystery
I recently stumbled onto the first evidence of shortwave trading at a site in West Chicago, Illinois and then used Federal Communications Commission (FCC) database research techniques to find two more sites.
Sniper In Mahwah & friends
2018 State of the Hobby Results
The results are in!
State of the Hobby
6m Moxon antenna
The SWR figures predicted are pretty much spot on, with a dip right around 51250.
NY4G
FreeDV 700D vs Analog Comparison
A comparison between Analog SSB and the new FreeDV 700D mode, over an HF channel (40m, late at night), with the same transmit power (~100W PEP).
Mark Jessop
Nixie LED Clock
I built an alternative clock using a 3D printer and laser cutter.
SparkFun
The Boris Beacon
A 1mW solar-powered HiFER beacon.
AA7EE
Radio receiver ‘listens’ for dark matter particles
We’ve built a radio that looks for a radio station, but we don’t know its frequency.
Futurity
Parity Act language inserted in National Defense Authorization Act
The bill now awaits House floor action. The Senate will begin its markup of the NDAA during the week of May 21.
ARRL
OLED GPS display on Arduino with a little C++
I’ve written a little code to read the $4.10 GPS and display a bit of info on a small OLED display using the excellent Adafruit library.
marxy’s musing on technology
Video
Receiving Radio New Zealand 15720khz in Santa Cruz, CA on a Hallicrafters S-38
What Radiohead sounds like from 6,500 miles away on a 62 year old shortwave radio.
YouTube
4m parrot repeater
Testing GB7FM 4m simplex repeater, fondly known as the Tring Parrot.
M0JCQ
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 202
The Horror-Mitters
A working tuneable FM transmitter for the two meter amateur using only found junk and components scavenged from old television sets.
VK3ZZC
Developer says he has purchased Hara Arena
Michael Heitz, a Lexington based developer, has bought Hara Arena.
Dayton Daily News
Don’t buy into the doom-and-gloom: Low sunspots are not the end
Here are a few strategies for working DX during sunspot lows.
The SWLing Post
Children’s book features Amateur Radio and space communications
Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader is a new book written for young people by Emily Calandrelli KD8PKR that features amateur radio and space communications.
AMSAT-UK
Ham Radio operators help save lives in tinder fire
Communication troubles began because of poor cell service at the fire line.
KVOA
Build your own 18650 LiFePO4 battery pack, no soldering
18650 batteries are a cost effective way to power our communications gear out in the field.
OH8STN
Ham!
Ham.
Ham Button
Designing a satellite station for the home QTH
Working SSB satellites from home is a bit more complicated, especially as I wish to automate a lot of what happens, especially the automatic tracking of the satellites during passes.
Adventures in Ham Radio
Video
Hand made vacuum tubes
Hand made vacuum tubes by Claude Paillard
Vimeo
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The Spectrum Monitor — May, 2018
Stories you’ll find in our May, 2018 issue:
TSM Reviews: FlexRadio 6400M All-Mode HF+6 Transceiver
By Mark Haverstock K8MSH
While computer control has become integrated into amateur radio transceivers in recent years, there is still a substantial faction of amateur radio operators who want to hold onto the traditional buttons and knobs of their radios. FlexRadio’s new additions to the Signature Series give amateurs both options. The base Flex 6400 model is computer controlled, but they’ve also created an M version (M for Maestro) with traditional knobs, buttons and a touch display screen as well. The 6400M is an improved version of the 6300, with better specs, processors, and costs $500 less—at a price tag of $2000. It borrows features from both the 6300 and 6500 (both of which were recently discontinued). Note that the 6400 and 6400M models are identical, with the exception of the Maestro control interface. But, you’ll need to find a little extra table space at the operator’s position—it is bigger than a breadbox, with both the basic 6400 and the M versions have the same footprint and measure 7 x 14 x 13.125 inches. Mark unpacks the details of this modern and very capable HF+6 transceiver
Giving Undersea Cable its Just Deserts – 160 Years Past Due
By Richard Fisher KI6SN
Marconi got the hoopla for the first trans-Atlantic wireless communication. His transmission of the Morse letter S sped through the airwaves between the Canadian maritime province of Newfoundland and Cornwall, England, in the waning days of 1901. But 43 years earlier – in 1858 – it was New York businessman Cyrus Field who was the impetus behind the remarkable achievement of the first telegraphy Communications between two continents—Newfoundland to Ireland—under the sea. Why no such accolades for Cyrus in reciting the technological achievements in communication of the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, 160 years ago, no less? Richard dives deep to find an amazing web of undersea cables stretching around the entire globe—an vital part of modern communications.
TSM Reviews: Yaesu FTM-750DR VHF/UHF Transceiver
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Yaesu recently introduced and is now shipping another System Fusion transceiver – the FTM-7250 mobile. As this month’s installment of Digitally Speaking covers connectors and genders, perhaps the simplest way to describe the ‘7250 is for you to imagine that the FTM-3200 (VHF) and FTM-3207 (UHF) monobanders got together and had a baby. With the April release of the FTM-7250, Yaesu now offers a total of eight radios, with an even split between entry-level transceivers with “core” features and those with advanced-level feature sets. Think about that for a moment. Eight radios, plus two repeaters and two different networking concepts. That’s a fairly diverse selection of equipment – not to mention the various means of third-party support for this DV methodology – that is only four years old, from the time of its full release.
Free-to-Air Satellite-TV List Update
By Mike Kohl
Free-to-Air (FTA) satellite-TV enthusiasts sometimes have a challenge keeping track of satellite names and positions. Throughout the years aerospace companies merge, creating new names for their fleet, or launch a new series of satellites, reflecting advances in technology. This month, Mike has created an updated list for North American FTA viewers covering eastern Atlantic arc satellites from 1.0 degrees West longitude, across our domestic satellite arc, and extending to 166 East, which can be received by those with a 3 to 4 meter C-band dish from unobstructed locations on the West Coast. In addition to updating the list of names to reflect mergers and acquisitions in the industry and new satellites replacing old, Mike gives you tips on aligning fixed and steerable dishes.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Sublette County, Wyoming; Washoe County, Nevada
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
USS Portland HYDRA System
Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Military Base Profile: Edwards AFB (KEDW)
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
Doing Battle with STANAG 4285
Shortwave Utility Logs
Compiled by Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
West Point Cadets Launch Two Balloons
Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
Goes Inta / Goes Outta
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Feed Line Ferrite Chokes—Noise Reduction that Beats the Best DSP?
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Gospell AM/FM/SW/DRM Receiver
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The Switch in May
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Jeff White, Secretary-Treasurer NASB
Shortwave Broadcasters and Listeners to Meet in Indiana
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Voice of Greece, Radio Tirana, and Country Music on Shortwave
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
NAVSPASUR Revisited
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Bill Oliver—Quiet Giant of Longwave
Adventures in Radio Restorations
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A Not-so-Scarce Hallicrafters: Model SX-99
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 201
Walmart Parking Lots on the Air
WMPLOTA is a special event and award scheme for amateur radio satellite operators that encourages the practice of portable operation in the ubiquitous and easily accessible location of Walmart parking lots.
wmplota.org
Using the WiFi chip on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ as a TX capable SDR
Combined with RPiTX which is a Raspberry Pi tool for transmitting arbitrary RF signals using a GPIO pin between 5 kHz to 1500 MHz, the Raspberry Pi 3B+ may end up becoming a versatile low cost TX SDR just on it’s own.
RTL-SDR
Special call signs to be on the air for 2018 FIFA World Cup
Special Canadian call sign VB18FIFA will be among those active around the world from June 1 to July 15 for a World Cup 2018 football Amateur Radio “marathon.”
ARRL
Phone contesting tips for DX contests
This article is prompted by the recent WPX SSB contest, in which I worked thousands of guys from Aruba as P49Y, which engendered much reflection (and teeth-gnashing, to be sure) about how U.S. hams can be best understood from the DX end.
AE6Y
Why does electricity have a sound?
When we’re using electricity in our day to day lives we don’t hear a peep. But at grid scale our electricity system makes a variety of noises.
drax
Dual Band 4/6m Moxon Antenna
My first step was to calculate the dimensions for the driven and reflector elements for my centre frequency of 70.200 (centre of SSB activity on 4m).
M0JCQ’s Ham Blog
The K7TMG HF Morse Code Temperature Beacon
QRPp beacons have been a “thing” of mine for a while now, ever since I put the Sproutie SPT HiFER Beacon on the air, sending it’s 12 wpm SPT ID out continuously on 13558KHz, with a mighty 4.6mW to a much shortened loaded dipole.
AA7EE
After Hurricane Maria, AM radio makes a comeback in Puerto Rico
Desperate for news about the disaster befalling her island, Plaza turned on a battery-powered radio and found that a local radio station, WKJB 710 AM, was maintaining its broadcast.
Columbia Journalism Review
GDPR and Amateur Radio Clubs
Does GDPR apply to amateur radio clubs? From my understanding, yes. Amateur Radio clubs that hold personal data need to be compliant by the 25th of May.
Essex Ham
Video
Loop antennas for AM broadcast band
N1SPY looks at the inner workings of an AM broadcast band receiving loop antenna.
YouTube
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 200
Proppy: HF propagation prediction
An interactive interface used to predict geographical coverage for a given site at a specified time and frequency.
Proppy
Attracting more women to Amateur Radio
Kimberly Olsen VK2KMI spent some time researching how to attract more women to amateur radio.
Southgate
3B7A Saint Brandon all-SDR DXpedition
This is the first major DXpedition that will be using only SDR transceivers in its setup. No old-school analogue radios.
sunsdr.eu
More than 30,000 new Ham licensees in 2017
Despite the optimistic influx of 32,196 newcomers last year, the net growth of 5,349 — about 0.72% over December 2016 — reflects some 27,000 expired or cancelled licenses in the FCC database over the past year.
ARRL
DIY Pi RF transmit filter hat with SMA connector
The Pi is a dirty old man when it comes to broadcasting and we need to clean up its act.
Naich’s crappy blog
Hackers can hijack emergency alert sirens with a Baofeng and laptop
Emergency alert systems manufactured by Acoustic Technology Inc. can be hijacked and made to play any audio thanks to a vulnerability dubbed SirenJack.
CSO
Backpacking with a pocket-sized HF radio
Far and away the most effective backcountry communications facilities are available to licensed radio amateurs.
N7RR
Review: AnyTone AT-D868UV dual-band DMR handheld
First impressions? Solid, in fact, very solid. This radio has some heft to it. You know you are holding it. It seems to be well made with a nice action on the rotary knobs.
Essex Ham
Video
Work the World with WSJT-X – Dr. Joe Taylor
Dr. Joe Taylor, K1JT, author of many of the weak signal digital modes and co-author of the very popular FT-8 mode presented: “Work the World with WSJT-X” at the 2018 MicroHAMS Digital Conference in Redmond, Washington.
YouTube
Airspy HF+ and Gqrx running on Raspberry Pi
In case you’ve been wondering if a Raspberry Pi is powerful enough to run a SDR app, here is a quick test.
YouTube
The Soviet villagers who blocked Western radio broadcasts
The village Radio Station #5, in what is now the republic of Georgia, had the sole purpose of jamming broadcasters such as the BBC and Voice of America.
BBC News
TV rabbit ears receive NOAA satellite images
N1SPY tests if an old TV antenna found in the garage is capable of receiving NOAA weather satellite images.
N1SPY
