Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Anything Good On ATV?
March 17th, 2017 | 
Author: In Episode 15 of TX Factor, Bob gives a relaxed overview of the RS-BA1 remote control software for the Icom IC-7300 HF Transceiver. If you want to follow the RS-BA1 installation process more deeply click here to see the full version of Bob’s item which is sponsored by Icom UK
We meet two youngsters with a passion for amateur radio.
And Mike and Bob head off to Bristol to spend a day with some very enthusiastic members of the British Amateur Television Club to learn all about digital amateur television.
Watch now at www.txfactor.co.uk
TX Factor Team
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 149
What drove Radio Shack into bankruptcy?
After two years of unsuccessful turnaround efforts, RadioShack filed for its second bankruptcy on Wednesday, citing poor mobile sales.
The Christian Science Monitor
Runt radials
Antennas shipping with ineffective antenna decoupling are on the rise as manufacturers daringly advocate 1/12 wave radials work.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
APRS explained in simple terms
In this episode of the Ham Radio 360 Podcast, Kenneth Finnegan (W6KWF) helps explain the APRS protocol.
Ham Radio 360
How to: Boafeng UV5R USB soundcard interface
The main idea for this project was to replace the external speaker microphone functionality with that of the USB soundcard.
High on Solder
Origin of wireless security: The Marconi radio hack of 1903
Marconi is about to demonstrate his new wireless system, which he claims can securely send messages over a long distance, without interference by tuning the signal.
Hack A Day
Breaking the cheap Ham stereotype?
Both sell high-quality, somewhat expensive products, and I was a little surprised that neither had any complaints based on the general characterization of hams as cheap.
Ham Radio Now
Review: 12 watt tri-band HT
The brand new JT-5988HP is a 12-watt, tri-band radio with a 4800mAh battery from JINGTONG, a handset and parts supplier out of China.
Prepari
A review of the Elecraft K-Pod
This was a nice addition to my K3 as for me it’s handy to have the VFO control right beside the key.
VE3WDM
Video
Yaesu FT-450D Mic Test Comparison: MD100a8x vs. Stock MH-31a
Test of transmitted audio from Yaesu FT-450D (as received on an FT-950) in DX conditions — a comparison between the MD100a8x, at various settings, vs. Stock MH-31a.
YouTube
Intro to Fldigi
Fldigi’s user interface and basic transmit & receive operations.
K4REF
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 148
Teardown Tuesday: Baofeng Amateur Radio Transceiver
This display driver has been around since the late 80s. It interfaces microprocessors and Liquid Crystal Displays to show all manner of information in a variety of display sizes and a multitude of fonts.
All About Circuits
EO-88 status and new dashboard
More than 250 stations around the world have provided telemetry to the Nayif Data Warehouse and the FUNcube Team are extremely grateful to them for their invaluable support.
AMSAT UK
SvxLink: Linux repeater controller
Advanced repeater controller and EchoLink software for Linux including a GUI, Qtel – The Qt EchoLink client.
SvxLink
Off grid technology that may soon power your station
This is a very exciting time of changes for off grid and alternative energy. The cost of established systems is coming way down and many new discoveries are in the pipeline.
Off Grid Ham
Do switch-mode power supplies have a place in your shack?
a video of the Alinco DM-330FX shows just how much interference this switching power supply produces.
K5ACL
Band statistics for your grid square
This plots the average distance of WSPR reports for each band for each hour. To view the stats for your grid square, just change the locator on the end of the URL.
G7VRD
Solar-powered headset from recycled parts
Made almost completely of recycled components — reducing e-waste helps us all — only the 1 W flexible solar panel, voltage regulator, and the RN-52 Bluetooth module were purchased for this project.
Hack A Day
Amateur radio below 9kHz
Until a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that you needed huge power and huge antennas to be copied “beyond the garden fence” at VLF and ULF.
AmateurRadio.com
DIY GPS module for Yaesu VX-8DR/VX-8DE handheld
GPS module for Yaesu VX-8DR/DE handheld transceivers with ublox NEO-6M chip and Arduino.
4X5DM
Are you treating your radios with care?
For either the advance or novice radio user, properly maintaining your communications equipment is essential. But what is the best way to do this?
Icom
The Spectrum Monitor — March, 2017
Stories you’ll find in our March, 2017 issue:
TSM 2017 Air Show Preview
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski
Get ready to experience high-performance jet teams, prop planes, WWI and II aircraft, parachute jump teams, wing-walkers, helicopters, jet-powered trucks, boats and fascinating static displays In all manner of combinations, these components are designed to thrill, enlighten and inspire. Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie Topolski, tell you what to expect, what to bring and how to position yourself to get the most out of the show. Don’t forget to bring your camera and scanner!
Blue Angels and Thunderbird Crashes Mar 2016 Air Show Season
By Kevin Burke
2016 was a trying year for air shows, with both of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels having crashes on the same day. While the Thunderbird pilot was able to eject to safety the Blue Angels pilot, Captain Jeffrey M. Kuss, USMC, was killed as he was starting a practice demonstration in Smyrna, Tennessee. Kevin takes a closer look at the mishaps.
Frequency Guide to Air Show Monitoring
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Milcom specialist and aeronautical radio author, Larry Van Horn N5FPW, gives us all the frequencies we’ll need to monitor air shows this season. He writes, “With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will get to experience—radio communications from the aircraft cockpit of the show performers.” Even if you don’t go to an air show this season, you can use these frequencies to monitor what’s happening in the air all around where you live.
ADS-B Monitoring with a Raspberry Pi
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
TSM’s Amateur Radio Astronomy columnist goes near-space as he shows us how to monitor Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmissions from aircraft flying over your house within a 200-mile radius using a dedicated Raspberry Pi computer and an ADS-B antenna.
2017 Air Show Schedule
There’s an air show coming to your area of the US and Canada this season. TSM presents the schedules of some of the more popular air show participants including, USAF Thunderbirds, USN Blue Angels, US Army Golden Knights, RCAF Snowbirds, RCAF C-18 Hornet, and Goulin Aerosports.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
A Look at OpenSky and Scanning Counties from Indiana and Virginia
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Scanning Super Bowl 51
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
DVA: Now They’re Talking
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Do You Already Own a Digital Repeater?
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
SDRs, Free Books and Ham Radio at West Point
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Talk This Way!
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
TSM Reviews: Como Audio Duetto Wi-Fi Radio
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The Ionosonde
World of Shortwave Listening
By Keith Perron
Not the Last of Radio Australia
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Eclectic Programming is Everywhere!
Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Gatherings Plus AMSAT Update
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
The Longwave-Aviation Legacy
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A 1940 Bakelite Radio: Zenith 6D510W
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Transitions: Getting from A to B (or 50 to X)
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 below 9kHz
Until a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that you needed huge power and huge antennas to be copied “beyond the garden fence” at VLF and ULF. In recent years much has changed and time and again great distances have been covered by amateurs with quite low power and modest antennas.
The trick is great stability, very narrow bandwidths and long integration times, often of days. For several years just detecting a carrier was enough, but in recent times people have been sending simple messages using EbNaut software.
When at the old QTH I detected signals from several European countries using simple, homemade gear and free software.
Although not totally up to date at all times, I try to update news of amateur VLF and ULF experiments at https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/ .
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 147
Icom previews details of ID-4100E D-STAR VHF/UHF mobile radio
The Callsign routing terminal mode feature will allow each radio to be connected like an access point to the worldwide D-STAR repeater network through the internet.
Southgate
Radio News Magazine archive
Every issue from 1919 to 1959.
American Radio History
How-to: Icom External Keypad
A short press on the M1 to M4 button triggers a single voice keyer send, whereas hold the M1 to M4 button for a second enables auto repeating of sending voice keyer memories.
M1BXF
End Fed Antennas – Where’s the other half?
My favorite tends to be the classic ‘Sloper’ with the feed point located on the ground.
K5ACL
International Radio Network
The IRN (International Radio Network) is a VoIP/RoIP system using Teamspeak 3 (TS3) that allows licensed radio users to talk around the World.
International Radio Network
WSPR Antenna Comparison (Loop vs Dipole vs End Fed)
I did 24 hour WSPR runs using 5 watts of power with each antenna on successive days.
High on Solder
Universal Radio Hacker: investigate wireless protocols like a boss
The Universal Radio Hacker is software for investigating unknown wireless protocols.
Johannes Pohl
Open-air wireless charging
Disney Research has invented a new method of wirelessly charging mobile devices that could someday allow amusement park patrons to walk about freely while also getting their mobile devices charged.
Computer World
Video
Assembling the BITX-40
BITX-40, a QRP, SSB, 10 watt, kit.
KE0OG
Visualising shortwave band activity throughout the year
An animation of 24-hour shortwave spectrum plots from Twente WebSDR.
London Shortwave
18 QSOs during Ski Outing
Judy and I went cross-country skiing down at the Pemigewasset River near Profile Falls. I brought the KX3 and made 18 QSOs (in the CWT sprint) including France, Italy and Germany. It was a bit over 50F.
What a fantastic day to be out. We went east from the road about a half a mile toward the river. Here it opens up into a large field. At the far edge are some picnic tables and the river.
I tossed my 30 foot wire over a pine branch and pulled the wire up over the picnic table. In the sun, it must have been over 70F, because I took off my coat and gloves and I was still hot.
I started out on 20 meters. The CWT sprint had been running for a half hour. Except for the sprint, the band seemed dead. I had no trouble making contacts. After making a dozen contacts on 20 meters, I switched to 40 meters and made another six. Here’s my log. I’ve changed the format to reflect a more normal log rather than using the CWT exchange format.
22 Feb-17 1930 14.026 N5ZO CW 599 599 CA Marko
22 Feb-17 1932 14.027 K0AD CW 599 599 MN Al
22 Feb-17 1933 14.035 F6HKA CW 599 599 France Bert
22 Feb-17 1935 14.036 DL2CC CW 599 599 Germany Frank
22 Feb-17 1936 14.040 KM0O CW 599 599 MN Tony
22 Feb-17 1938 14.032 N4ZZ CW 599 599 TN Don
22 Feb-17 1940 14.030 AC4CA CW 599 599 TX John
22 Feb-17 1942 14.029 WJ9B CW 599 599 NC Will
22 Feb-17 1943 14.030 IT9MUO CW 599 599 Italy Alf
22 Feb-17 1944 14.033 N4IQ CW 599 599 SC Bill
22 Feb-17 1947 14.035 K9UIY CW 599 599 Ill Vic
22 Feb-17 1950 7030 NA8V CW 599 599 MI Greg
22 Feb-17 1951 7031 K4HQK CW 599 599 VA John
22 Feb-17 1952 7036 K3WW CW 599 599 PA Chas
22 Feb-17 1953 7037 CG3KI CW 599 599 ON Rich
22 Feb-17 1954 7039 N3RS CW 599 599 PA Sig
22 Feb-17 1956 7039 VE3KP CW 599 599 ON Ken
22 Feb-17 1957 14.035 K4BAI CW 599 599 GA John
With this I packed up and headed back to the car. It’s been a long winter with plenty of snow during the last month. What a thrill to be outdoors again with a rig.
