Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 141
January 7th, 2017 | 
Author: 
To help with your NPOTA withdrawal
Like NPOTA, WWFF was devised in order to get Amateur Radio ops off their duffs and into the Great Outdoors. I love their catch phrase – “Make nature your shack!”
AmateurRadio.com
BY70-1 Satellite camera operating guide
An open telecommand is designed to allow radio amateurs to send commands to take and download an image.
LilacSat
Today: KB6NU streaming General Class course
The classes are going to run from 10 am – noon, and will probably run through the end of March.
KB6NU
80m doublet antenna
Technically, what I have is almost an 80m Doublet – there’s about 18m of wire on each “leg” and I’ve about 20ft of 300-ohm slotted feeder which comes into the Shack and through an FT240-31 choke and then about 30cm of coax to the back of the MFJ-847 tuner.
M0PZT
First DMR QSO
Accomplished my first DMR QSO today with K5IMO (thank you Larry!) on the TG3184 TalkGroup for the State of Texas.
K5ACL
Propagation prediction tool
Area coverage maps and point-to-point HF propagation predictions.
G4FKH
Mystery cosmic radio bursts pinpointed
As the name suggests, Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are short-lived – but powerful – pulses of radio waves from the cosmos.
BBC
Automatically recognising digital modes with machine learning
There is a good prospect of using machine learning image recognition for guessing digital modes. Ideally this would be built in to clients but it might make a good app (using the phone camera to capture the unidentified signal) or a web site where you upload a screen shot.
marxy’s musing on technology
Shortwave Pirate Radio 2016 – A Year In Review
Overall, 2016 was another great year for shortwave pirate radio listeners.
RadioHobbyist.org
The missing Q signals
Some Q signals have never made it to the ARRL’s official list.
K3HRN
Video
New FM transponder satellite BY70-1
2E0ICL works 2E0SQL via a new amateur radio FM satellite, BY70-1, launched into orbit on 28 December 2016.
YouTube
How to install powerpole connectors
I introduce you to Anderson Powerpole connectors and how to solder and crimp the connector pins. This connector has become a standard among Amateur Radio operators.
K7AGE
Contact via UHF ISS Digipeater
For this video I recorded the audio from my Kenwood TH-D72a and later played it back to Soundmodem+UISS. Soundmodem decodes many more packets than my radio does. I made a screen capture of UISS and its map so you can see the complete details of every received packet.
KG4AKV
Maclogger DX walk-through
Is there a Mac in your Shack? This time I’m looking at the Maclogger DX logging software and rig control for the Mac platform.
K6UDA
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 140
2016 Year in Review
For this last issue of the year, I pulled the most popular links from each issue and complied the top 10
as a ‘look back’ on the world of Amateur Radio in 2016. Enjoy! –Cale K4HCK
#10
A stealthy HOA HamStick directional dipole
This is a sneak peek at a very detailed build, tune, and operation on 20 and 40 meter bands using both Phone and PSK31.
Prepared Ham (Issue 94)
#9
Hey, which coaxial cable should I use?
We’ll focus on the most popular cables, with 50 ohm impedance to match the output impedance of our transceivers.
Ham Radio School (Issue 115)
#8
Five common mistakes new Hams make
This short list comes from working with a gaggle of new hams over the years and trying to help them get started in ham radio.
Ham Radio School (Issue 137)
#7
Hidden Antennas for HOA restrictions?
I have a confession to make… I live in a HOA! I know most hams say what the hell did you do that for, you knew you could not put up a 60 foot tower. Turn in your FCC license…
Prepared Ham (Issue 97)
#6
Easy, homemade Outernet antenna
An antenna for less than $1 total cost, doable without power tools and soldering, in less than 30 minutes.
Radio for Everyone (Issue 136)
#5
Portable antenna options for HF
For all the choices, it’s surprisingly hard to find a portable antenna for HF that is affordable and practical.
Off Grid Ham (Issue 138)
#4
End-Fed antenna revisited
I really like the simplicity of this antenna for many aspects: fast to deploy, works on many bands, no antenna to tune…
VA2SS (Issue 126)
#3
New: Baofeng UV-50X3 tri-band mobile
Baofeng just launched the UV-50X3 tri-band mobile radio and it looks like a jab, cross and left hook to the established Japanese manufacturers who were caught dreaming about DMR, C4FM, D-STAR and other leprechauns.
QRPblog (Issue 120)
#2
Repeater owner bans Baofeng radios
Simply put, these radios do not allow for “advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art” (Part 97.1).
N4NJJ (Issue 108)
#1
First impressions of the Icom IC-7300 HF + 6M transceiver
We did not use the transmit functions on the radio, but were able to test out the receiver at my campsite with a Budipole antenna on 40 meters.
AB4BJ (Issue 99)
The Spectrum Monitor — January, 2017
Stories you’ll find in our January, 2017 issue:
Living the Shortwave Broadcasting Dream at WTWW
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Ted Randall WB8PUM is a lucky guy. Every day he gets to play radio with some pretty big transmitters and some very large antennas. What’s more, his whole family gets to play too. And at night, after work, he gets to play some more! Keith Baker tells us all about the radio engineer behind the mic at the “QSO Radio Show,” Tuesday evenings on 5.085 MHz shortwave.
SteppIR BigIR MK IV: Going to Great Lengths
By Mark Haverstock K8MSH
In limited spaces, the vertical has become the go-to antenna for many installations. They seem like a perfect solution; footprints are small, and simple radial systems are easy to hide in the turf. Verticals also exhibit lower angles of radiation, making them perfect for DX work. The SteppIR BigIR stands out as an alternative, providing a system that will mechanically create a quarter wave vertical on any of the major ham bands–even MARS frequencies.
Going Mobile with SDR
By Robert Gulley AK3Q
There are a number of reasons to go mobile with an SDR, not the least of which is the adventure factor! Every new place offers new listening opportunities; it is a bit like fingerprints in that no two locations are exactly the same. Every location offers something different, and with the wide-ranging capabilities of the SDR there are always new things to hear. Robert shows us what to bring along, how to hook up to power and an antenna. It’s easier than you might think!
The Extra Punch of SSB on CB
By Cory Sickles
In recent months, Cory has spent a good deal of time on the VHF and UHF aspects of Citizens Band, but CB is thought of more for what goes on at 27 MHz. To be sure, the core HF allocation is where the majority of CB users start and where they stay. As a simple option to enter the two-way radio hobby, it’s hard to beat. But that doesn’t mean the world of CB has to be limited to 4 watts of amplitude modulation. Cory explains what happens when CB goes SSB.
Basics of Motorized Satellite Reception: Part 1
By Mike Kohl
Free-to-Air satellite-TV enthusiasts get the most out of their systems, whether they’re Ku-only or C/Ku-Band big-dish systems, when they are motorized. But, moving small dishes or big dishes requires the right sort of motor and proper connections. Mike shows us how it’s done in Part 1.
Klingenfuss Utility Monitoring Book
By Bob Grove W8JHD
For several decades, Joerg Klingenfuss has been the consummate publisher of radio frequency directories on a global basis. His latest offerings include frequency guides, databases and CDs, code books, signal sound CDs, a frequency list for the Perseus SDR, screen-shots on a USB stick, and Internet web pages. Bob Grove takes a look at this extensive new collection.
Scanning America
By Dan Veenaman
New Digital Modes for Some Scanners
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
A New Year In Federal Monitoring
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
U. of Twente WebSDR Featured in Popular Video
HF Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman
Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
The Advantages of DMR on VHF
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Aurorasaurus.org: Aurora Tracking in Real Time
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
A Vertical in Winter
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
FTA Satellite TV Part II: “Hidden” Signals on Satellite TV
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Solar Cycle 24 Downgraded (Again)
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Jeff White
HFCC B16 Coordinating Conference in Miami and Okeechobee
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Radio Australia Leaves Shortwave
Maritime Monitoring
By Ron Walsh VE3GO
The Old and the New
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
More LW Information Sources and Readers’ LW Logs
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Hallicrafters S-38B: the UL-Approved Basket Case
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Sunspots Maybe, Part 2: Hey, Dan, What About Stealth?
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 139
Ham Radio Deluxe bricks user’s software after negative review
37 pages into into this forum’s discussion of HRD’s brutally inept handling of a customer complaint, the co-owner of the company wades into the fray and apologizes.
Techdirt
Amateur radio fans drop the ham-mer on HRD’s license key ‘blacklist’
Remotely killing one customer’s copy was not an isolated incident, say readers.
The Register
NPOTA contact tally tops 1 Million
Activators operating from National Park Service units across the US and Chasers around the world pushed the contact tally over its goal this week.
ARRL
EME In The ’80s
Unlike today’s widespread JT65B usage on eme, where signals can be many db into the noise and inaudible by ear, eme contacts could only be completed by actually copying signals that you could hear with your ears. This usually required big antennas and lots of power.
VE7SL
Keeping an NVIS antenna legal on 60 meters
To compute ERP, antenna gain must be relative to a half-wave dipole antenna. An NVIS antenna has a lot more gain than a dipole.
keep-nvis-legal-on-60m
A Cootie key
The “Cootie” key or “Sideswiper” is basically a double-sided straight key and has a reputation for being very hard to learn, possibly harder even than the Vibroplex Bug.
Ham Radio QRP
Using a GPS repeater antenna with the Yaesu FTM-400DR
My Yaesu FTM-400DR has had a difficult time ascertaining a GPS lock inside of my vehicle. Some others have also complained of this.
K5ACL
Video
Discovering secret “Numbers Stations”
Brian and Jason have been scanning the air waves for sstv signals for two months, but what they found was something else. An old standby from the Cold War.
The Modern Rogue
Icom-7300 spectrum scope band edge how-to
For those of you wanting to customize the band edges here’s a how-to.
K0PIR
DMR range test part 1 of 3: Baofeng DM-5R
In the series I am doing a range test of three different DMR radios from two locations. One location is 11km away and the other almost 19km away.
dmr-range-test
A diamond radio receiver
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have made the world’s smallest radio receiver.
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering
FX-9A Revisited
FX-9A Revisted
http://www.windcamp-gear.com
I was told by Frankie when it was shipped away and on the bench that there was a bad solder connection and a virtual switch issue, what-ever that might be in English.
I am happy to say that the radio came back new and working well on all bands. Receive is like many of the other videos I have watched on the internet.
I will have more updates and videos of the unit in action after the holidays.
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year one and all….
Fred
VE3FAL
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 138
Chinese Over-the-horizon radar QRMing 40 meters
IARU reports that one of China’s HF Over-the-Horizon radars has been transmitting on 6.999 MHz.
ARRL
Ham Radio: What are we millennials and younger doing?
We’re being hackers, engineers, leaders, developers, creators, and designers.
N0SSC
Portable antenna options for HF
For all the choices, it’s surprisingly hard to find a portable antenna for HF that is affordable and practical.
Off Grid Ham
GMRS: The other UHF band
GMRS is a licensed radio service but does not require a technical exam so it works great for basic personal communications.
K0NR
Review: WSPRlite WSPR Beacon
A small, light, & super portable WSPR beacon that transmits a WSPR signal on 20 or 30 meters.
K5ACL
Morse Toad, a Morse Code game
Morse Toad is an educational app that teaches you morse code through a series of simple lessons and exercises.
Ham Radio QRP
SSTV images received from MIR space station
April 16, 2000
N7CXI
Tracking down sources of radio noise
Yet another !&*%$! noise source…
The SWLing Post
Video
New UHF ISS Digipeater
Recently, the old VHF Ericsson handheld used for the digipeater on the ISS died and it was replaced with an equivalent UHF one. This is my first time digipeating through it.
YouTube
The Spectrum Monitor — December, 2016
Stories you’ll find in our December, 2016 issue:
The Coast Guard Cutter Courier: “A Cold War-era Battleship without Guns”
By John Schneider W9FGH
The Voice of America operated a unique shipboard radio broadcasting facility on the medium wave and shortwave bands in the Mediterranean Sea from 1952 to 1964. The US Coast Guard Cutter Courier was a seagoing Cold War shipboard broadcaster, which preceded the famous pirate radio ships of the 1960s and 70s and was the home to the most powerful transmitter ever operated aboard a ship. But, it was not always smooth sailing. There were complications with the 900-foot balloon-tethered medium wave antenna and constant jamming from Russian-based transmitters.
Experiences of a (Relatively) Young Ham with Vintage Radios
By W. Eric McFadden WD8RIF
While the author has been a licensed ham for 38 years, he’s relatively young. And, since most of his operating gear is modern, he’s fairly new to vintage radio. He writes that he wanted to experience what the hobby was like for earlier generations and he felt the contagion of many of his close amateur radio friends who are quite into vacuum tube-era gear. He’s apparently a quick study because now he has some good-looking vintage gear in his shack, including a Heathkit HW-16 and a Drake 2-NT transmitter and 2-C receiver as well as tube-fired 6-meter gear. He’s definitely hooked!
Beware the Mods: Drake 2NT Transmitter
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Longtime vintage radio guru, Rich Post KB8TAD, helps Eric McFadden restore his Drake 2-NT transmitter and shows the rest of us some of the things he does to give vintage radio gear new life. Here’s a hint: It’s not easy and it helps to have good diagnostic equipment, skills to operate that equipment and many decades of understanding the variables of tube-technology.
Shortwave Listening with the “Old-Timers”
By Eric Beheim
Growing up in the 1950s and listening to his grandfather’s 1936 23-tube Scott All-Wave console shortwave radio was a pretty good start for young Eric Beheim. That’s why today, Eric likes to listen to the shortwave bands on number of vintage shortwave radios, including a 1936 Hallicrafters S-20R Sky Champion and a 1942 Zenith model 7G605 Transoceanic “Clipper” among others. Listening is not as easy as you might think. Eric writes, “Most older radios lack the sensitivity, selectivity, and stability that we take for granted in our modern sets. But that’s what makes monitoring with the ‘old timers’ both challenging and exciting.”
A Salute to the Esteemed Regenerative Receiver
By Richard Fisher KI6SN
Fifty years ago, a teenage Richard Fisher, sporting his Novice call, WN1DWL, found he was at loose ends during his high school winter break. What better way to pass the time than to build a regenerative receiver that he could use to cover the ham bands from 160 through 10 meters? It was a project financially within reach of “a broke 16 year-old.” Years later, while he still had the rig, it had fallen victim to the ravages of time and “parts scrounging.” Now, Richard thought, what better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that little radio than to restore it to its full regenerative glory?
Scanning America
By Dan Veenaman
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Holiday Radio Logs
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
Russia to Activate Arctic OTH Radar in 2017
Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
What Digital HF Signals can you Hear and Decode Today?
HF Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman
Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
Holiday Wish List
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
ARISS: A Brief Flyover and My Experiences with ARISS QSOs
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
The Hows and Whys of DIY Open-Wire Feed Line
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Getting Started with Free-to-Air Satellite TV
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Plasma Bullets
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
On the Road with a Tecsun PL-680
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Christmas Around the World on Shortwave
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Operating Protocols
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Resources: What’s On Your Bookshelf?
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
The Heathkit Laboratory-type Signal Generators: LG-1 and IG-42
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Sunspot Maybe: Surviving without Upper HF
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.
