Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 199
March 24th, 2018 | 
Author: 
Hams pitch in to help as “Hat Trick” of major storms hit Northeast
WX1BOX volunteers were active for 17 hours straight, and afterward, some continued to monitor high tides and strong winds, which persisted into the weekend. The volunteers handled more than 1,000 reports of wind damage.
ARRL
Azimuthal map
Azimuthal map with DX spot reporting.
HA8TKS
Understanding AGM batteries
Often forgotten in the mix is absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries. They’re very adaptable for off grid use and have a lot of overlooked advantages.
Off Grid Ham
Building a filtered amplified Coketenna for ADS-B
Combine a proven, easy-to-do concept, the Coketanna, with the best performance RTL-SDR dongle for ADS-B and a filtered low-noise amplifier for great and affordable receive performance.
Radio for Everyone
Live trees affect antenna performance
Living wood absorbs EMF from vertically polarized antennas.
AmateurRadio.com
Which two-way radio service is right for you?
Choosing the right two-way radio can be confusing. You can’t just buy a couple of radios and start talking on them. Most two-way radio services require licensing of some sort, and radios designed to be used in those radio services must be certified by the FCC.
KB6NU
SpaceX launch punched huge, temporary hole in the ionosphere
Rocket launches act somewhat like a small volcano eruption.
Ars Technica
Shortwave supports secure digital communications
Taking advantage of its long-distance capabilities, the established technology has a new mission.
Radio World
China establishes single broadcaster, ‘Voice of China’
Voice of China, as the new outlet will be known internationally, will be formed by combining three mammoth state-run national networks.
CNN
Video
Women’s History Month
Women scientists that have made radio history.
ARRL
Mount Juliet Simplex Society
The Mount Juliet simplex net registers 20+ check-ins per net. Ham Nation interviews the founder of this ARRL affiliated club.
Ham Nation
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 198
2 meter vertical dipole build
This antenna offers an air choke to keep stray RF from wondering back into the shack, since I’m pushing 65 watts.
WI9LL
A simple field strength meter
A simple FS meter is the simplest thing to make and is good enough to see if the antenna under test is radiating more power than your old ground plane, old mobile vertical or just radiating at all in a particular direction or in all directions.
Surrey Amateur Radio Club
APRS beacon with Uputronics GPS Board and a Raspberry Pi 3
This is a detailed, step-by-step guide to using an Uputronics GPS board as the main component of a Pi based APRS position beacon.
K4HCK
FCC accuses stealthy startup of launching rogue satellites
The U.S. communications agency says tiny Internet of Things satellites from Swarm Technologies could endanger other spacecraft.
IEEE
The grand G3YUH Morse Key Project
How to build an excellent key for very little cost and with no special tools.
G3YUH
Power supply restoration
I wasn’t sure if the transformers or caps were shot, but I liked the look of it and figured it would make a cool enclosure for something else if I couldn’t get it working.
AWSH
Tennessee middle school students will send a CubeSat into space
NASA has informed Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that its “RamSat” 2U CubeSat proposal has been accepted for participation in NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
ARRL
DMR/FM VHF/UHF mobile installation
The VHF transceiver is a Hytera MD-652, and the UHF transceiver in a handheld PD782G using a Hytera car kit docking station combined with a 5W IN – 40W OUT DMR compatible UHF amplifier.
VA2SS
Video
Video captured inside the Woodpecker’s operations facility
The top secret military base hidden in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone.
YouTube
Overview of the LNR W4OP Loop
Overview and field trial of the LNR Precision W4OP loop antenna.
YouTube
The story of radio broadcasting
1944 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.
YouTube
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 197
The HF Voyager Project
Jupiter Research Foundation Amateur Radio Club has integrated an HF transceiver with an autonomous ocean-going drone. Our mission is to deploy a ham radio station that roams the world’s oceans while providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators everywhere to make contacts with rare locations.
JRFARC
ARRL repurposes AM broadcast transmitter for Ham Radio use
Thanks to a joint effort by ARRL and the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut (VRCMCT), a classic Gates BC-1T AM broadcast transmitter will enjoy a second life on the Amateur Radio bands for occasional use under W1AW.
ARRL
Alexa Skill: Band conditions
This skill uses the information from http://www.bandconditions.com/ and can help Amateur Radio operators quickly get information about current band conditions on a scale from “dead” to “great.”
AC4PA
How to make a MMDVM Digital Repeater
After following this article you will be able to put together a multimode amateur digital repeater that can be connected to the internet for world wide digital communication.
San Antonio Digital Radio Club
The Army’s costly quest for the perfect radio continues
The decisions that the Department of Defense made about its “radios of the future” more than 20 years ago are still having an impact on the communications gear the military services purchase today.
Ars Technica
Will the FCC sink pirate radio in Colorado?
Word spread quickly about the mysterious unmarked black SUV parked at a highway exit just outside the town of Ward, CO.
Westword
Valerie, NV9L, is Amateur of the Year
Hotzfeld is a co-host of the netcast Ham Nation and has created several how-to videos on YouTube for the ham radio community.
ARRL
The QCX 5W CW Transceiver from QRP Labs
The board is top quality, and comes with the two SMT devices already soldered on. They are the Si5351, which is the heart of the synthesized VFO, and the FST3253, which is used for the quadrature sampling detector. Inside the red packing is the LCD module.
AA7EE
Solar power in a can
Already designed to resist the elements, [bennelson] is using a 50cal. ammo can for a portable enclosure. Inside, he’s siliconed a 15AH, 12V lead-acid battery in the centre to maintain balance and to leave room for the wiring and storage.
Hack A Day
Veteran long distance walker to use 2m on his latest 900 mile walk
Fifty-nine year old Paul Truswell, M3WHO, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, will shortly be starting a 900-mile walk south to north across Great Britain.
Southgate
Video
Ham radio helps WA9SZL find his voice
Johnnie Mayfield began using ham radio when he was young, and the hobby has helped in real emergencies, including the time he spent days relaying information during a blizzard.
WRAL
What? ARRL Petitions FCC to Expand Privileges of Technician-Class Amateur Radio Operators
I have my opinion on ARRL asking FCC to grant more HF privileges to Technician-class licensees.
I verbalize them in this video:
[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWSAvDWE3Js[/embedyt]
After you hear my comments, please leave your comments.
Thanks, 73 de NW7US dit dit
The Spectrum Monitor — March, 2018
Stories you’ll find in our March, 2018 issue:
The Air Show Experience
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski KA1VCA
Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie, recount the various aerial acts they saw during last year’s air show schedule, including some they had never seen before, and they let you know what frequencies they were monitoring along the way. You’ll also get tips on attending air shows near you—when to arrive, what to bring, what not to bring, where to set up for the best view and why you shouldn’t leave early.
Air Show 2017:
My Flight in a B24 Liberator and Flying with the Geico Skytypers
By Kevin Burke
Over the years, as a veteran air show attendee with media credentials, Kevin has found himself in the air in some amazing air show aircraft. Last year he had the chance to fly in a WWII-era B24 Liberator as well as the chance to fly in a WWII-era Navy SNJ-2 trainer with the Geico Skytypers, both of which gave him unforgettable rides. He gives us some terrific photos he took of the vintage aircraft he saw.
TSM Guide to Monitoring Air Shows
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Anyone who has attended an air show will tell you it is thrilling to watch the close quarter flying of the Blue Angels delta formation or the hair-splitting maneuvers of the Thunderbird opposing solos. But there is a way you can add to the experience by monitoring the performing teams’ radio communications. With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will get—the radio communications from the aircraft cockpit of the show performers. Larry gives you the frequencies you need to complete the air show experience.
Drones 101: Learning to Fly Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
By Mario Filippi N2HUN
Over the past few years, drones, known to the Federal Aviation Administration as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), have exploded onto the consumer scene, and their popularity keeps growing. Once found only in hobby shops, drones can now be purchased at big box stores or on-line ready to go, batteries included. So where does one start? How does one navigate the process of selecting a drone, buying one, and obtaining some basic training? It’s a little more complicated than you might think, as Mario explains.
TSM North American Air Show Schedules
This year there’s an air show coming to an air field near where you live. Take a look at the 2018 TSM Air Show schedule for some of the more popular aerial acts on this year’s tour.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Scanning Stark and Tuscarawas Counties (Ohio) and Dakota County, Minnesota
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Super Bowl 52 On Scene Report
Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Military Aerial Refueling: Extending the Reach
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
Canadian Coast Guard Broadcasts
Shortwave Utility Logs
Compiled by Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Review: InnovAntenna’s 2-element 50MHz LFA-Q Super-Gainer Quad Style Yagi
Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
NXDN: Icom and Kenwood’s other DVs
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
KH6-A-Rama and Other Low-Band Takeaways
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Mysteries of the Expanded AM Band and Travelers’ Information Service
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Can You Hear Me Now?
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Listening to Argentina on Shortwave
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA1KSF
Another New AMSAT Satellite is Commissioned
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
600 Meters Awaits You!
Adventures in Radio Restorations
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A Different Hallicrafters Model 8R40
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Receive-Only Antennas: Can You Hear Me Now?
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.
Ham Radio Deluxe 6.4.0.794 Released
I just received some good news from Mike, WA9PIE. He writes in an email:
The first release of Ham Radio Deluxe for 2018 (Ham Radio Deluxe version 6.4.0.794) is now available for download. Please download it from the Download pages on our website at:
https://www.hamradiodeluxe.com
This release includes a number of important changes including the addition of the Icom IC-7610, resolves a Logbook exit problem, resolves “sort on LOTW date”, API for QSO Forwarding now populates Logbook with My Station data, a number of fixes for the Kenwood TS-480, applications remember screen position, enable CI-V address to be entered directly, and a number of stability enhancements.
The full release notes can be found here:
http://ReleaseNotes.hamradiodeluxe.com
I would like to acknowledge and thank Mike Blaszczak (K7ZCZ) and our beta team on their hard work in getting this release out.
All those who have purchased Ham Radio Deluxe at any time in the past should download and install this version in order to benefit from all bug fixes. You are entitled to them. Our clients who are covered by an active Software Maintenance and Support period are entitled to Feature Enhancements.
As announced previously, we expect to release as many as 9 releases in 2018. There will be no releases between 1-Nov and 1-Jan. We continue to focus on reducing our development backlog with five developers dedicated to all applications in the suite.
Please watch these newsletters for updates. Pass these updates along to your friends. Newsletters will also be posted on our website’s blog at:
https://www.hamradiodeluxe.com/blog
Thank you es 73 de Mike, WA9PIE
HRD Software, LLC
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 196
ARRL requests expanded HF privileges for Technician licensees
ARRL has asked the FCC to expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters.
ARRL
A KX2 to FT-818 comparison
In terms of form factor, the 818 is essentially unchanged from the 817. So it’s worth asking again: just how “ultra portable” can an HF radio be?
W2LJ QRP
N8RMA’s 2018 State of Hobby
I’m hosting my own survey, to collect the opinions from the community on topics that I care about. 2017 Results.
N8RMA
UCF to manage Arecibo Observatory
A consortium led by the University of Central Florida will start formal transition activities to take on the management of the National Science Foundation’s Observatory.
University of Central Florida
Keep the faith, having fun with no sunspots
Keep the Faith. Go call CQ. I was glad I did.
AmateurRadio.com
Instant GNU Radio
A customizable, programmatically generated VM and live environment for GNU Radio.
bastibl.net
Finding noise with an antenna
The main culprit in K5ACL’s house is the ceiling light that’s right there in the shack.
Hack A Day
Morse code shoes send toe tapping texts
A pair of smart shoes has been created to let industrial workers keep in touch via toe-typed coded messages.
BBC
Video
Point to point networking line of sight in Google Earth
How to make straight lines to see if there’s a line of sight between our point to point 5Ghz nodes. The google earth 3D buildings and terrain are insanely accurate and useful for line of sight analysis.
N0SSC
Soldering 101
See all sorts of soldering devices and learn how it’s done with lots of tips and techniques.
KE0OG
