Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 117
June 25th, 2016 | 
Author: 
Field Day 2016 is upon us!
Sean, KX9X, Media and Public Relations Manager for the ARRL comes by to share the League’s perspective of the event as well as some tips and tricks to make this Field Day one to remember.
HamRadio360
Field Day 2016 site locator
To find a location near you, type in your town and state in the Location or Call Sign box on the left.
ARRL
It’s Field Day weekend 2016: find a local event, have fun
If you live in North America and have an interest in becoming a ham radio operator, this is the weekend to check out what amateur radio is all about.
The SWLing Post
Are you ready for Field Day?
I’ve been working on my set up for portable HF operations for the last couple of months. It is nothing elaborate or even remotely fancy. It does work and that is good enough for me.
N0RVS
VLF, LF, MF experimenters will transmit ARRL Field Day greetings
A number of Experimental (Part 5) licensees — nearly all of them radio amateurs — have been plying the depths of the radio spectrum as the ham radio community awaits FCC action on the new 2200 and 630 meter bands.
ARRL
Field Day 2016: Activate Off Grid Systems!
Be flexible and understand that Field Day means different things to different people. For some, it’s a serious disaster preparedness drill. For others, it’s a contest, a public outreach effort, or a picnic in the park with radios.
Off Grid Ham
Checklist for a GOTA station
So, I don’t forget to bring anything, I thought I’d come up with a checklist for the station.
KB6NU
Special event station K1D to operate satellites on Field Day
In an effort to encourage more kids and their families to get involved in the hobby, the kids at Ham Radio (dot) World are working to put an all-kids Special Event ARRL Field Day station on the air.
Southgate
“Amateur Radio Week” proclamations abound in advance of Field Day
Several states, counties, and communities across the US have officially recognized the public contributions of Amateur Radio.
ARRL
New Mexico wildfire emergency threatens some Field Day sites
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers in New Mexico late last week responded to the Dog Head fire, which is affecting Torrance and Bernalillo counties, and that activation continues.
ARRL
Field Day 2016 rules [PDF]
Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, and may submit entries as check-logs.
ARRL
Packing small
We’re off for our first real holiday in five years. Two weeks in Sweden in a rented motor home. Can’t wait to enjoy the fresh air and laid-back lifestyle. The results of the end-fed half wave (EFHW) experiments were good enough that I packed it in my suitcase. For transmitter I decided not to take my KX3 but get a simple crystal controlled CW kit from eBay. Only cost a few bucks and it is fun just to see if I can make some QSOs with it at all. If not, then nothing lost. I modified the LPF so I can also stick some 20 meter crystals in it. The straight key is a J37 (SKCC QSOs wanted) and a 5/12 Volt battery pack completes the setup.
See you on the bands!
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 116
When everything else fails, ham radio will still be there—and thriving
Ham is now a full-fat fabric that can provide Internet access. Why aren’t you using it?
ars technica
FCC to investigate rise in noise floor
The FCC is investigating changes and trends to the radio spectrum noise floor to determine if there is an increasing noise problem.
ARRL
Daily Twitter HF Activity Challenge
Amass as many contacts as possible between 0000z and 2359z each day. Post your results to Twitter.
SOTABEAMS
TCP and UDP connections over audio
This binding provides an abstract version which emits and consumes floating point samples which can be fed to a sound card.
GitHub
6 Meter Quad Turnstile Antenna
A quad turnstile consists of two cubical quad loops oriented in a diamond configuration and angled 90 degrees apart from one another.
High on Solder
DIY Powerpole voltage and current meters
Due to the availability of nice and cheap modules, it is very easy to make them oneself.
AmateurRadio.com
Canada Day Contest 2016 is coming
Amateurs all over the world are invited to Canada’s Birthday Party on the air.
RAC
23DA330 Jeremy’s Homebrew Quad
Jeremy was able to remove about 145′ of #19 copper wire from the old discarded washing machine motor which provided him more than enough wire to create 3 square loop driven and parasitic elements.
Delta Alfa
Video
Icom 7300 Fldigi Setup
Whether I’m using N1MM, N3FJP, MMTTY or Fldigi, the rig settings stay the same.
K0PIR
Digital modes via satellite
An example of what it’s like to work amateur satellites using digital modes.
YouTube
Last Pass of April 2016 ISS SSTV Event
This is one of two rare MAI-75 passes over North America.
YouTube
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 115
ARRL June VHF Contest this weekend
For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz.
ARRL
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
Is DMR the digital voice winner in Amateur Radio?
It was standing room only at the DMR Forum at Dayton this year.
KB6NU.com
AM: The original speech transmission mode
AM radio has been in slow decline for decades, indeed it’s disappearing completely in some European countries.
Hack A Day
Deceptive Sun
A quick glance at Sunday’s sun reveals a spotless environment, something we will likely be seeing more often in the years to come.
VE7SL
Digital Video Transmission using LimeSDR and GNU Radio
One of the reasons why I find the LimeSDR interesting is that it can transmit high data rates over a wide frequency spectrum. It covers many ham radio bands where we can legally transmit wide signals using high power.
MYRIAD RF
ARES volunteers take part in search for missing plane
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers in Kentucky recently joined other volunteer organizations, law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency managers in an effort to locate a missing single-engine private aircraft.
ARRL
Mark’s battle with RFI & EMI
Everyone involved in radio comms will suffer this insane problem at some stage of their hobby career. Interference from cheap and nasty technology destroying listening pleasure!
Delta Alfa
Bouvet… so far away…
Why isn’t the Intrepid DX Group announcing plans to activate Bouvet? It all comes down to money. Lots of money is needed.
N6PSE
Decoding NOAA weather satellite telemetry beacons
The telemetry not only contains data such as the current spacecraft time, day and ID, but also contains scientific data from on-board instruments.
RTL-SDR.com
Wrap it up: Icom sums up Hamvention 2016
Icom America
Video
80 Meters Was out of Reach…
I have a pal who lives a stone’s throw away from me. He kept telling me about a group that he chatted with most nights on 80 meters. The closest I could get was 40 meters with my multiband inverted vee. I could hear those guys clear as anything, all 300 miles away. Try as I might, my 40, which tuned for 80 just couldn’t make the trip with my barefoot 100 watts.
It took me a while to figure out how to get such a long antenna in my rented back yard. I did a lot of measuring and drawing in Autocad to make absolutely sure I could put this up back there. When I was finally convinced, I told my pal Lloyd, that I was going to do it. I told him I’d get it as soon as I ordered and received some more wire. Being the great guy he is, he told me he had wire for me to just come and get it. I was more than appreciative.
Wire in hand, I knew I’d need a balun to bring it in from my 450 ohm line that I would use from the feed point to near my window. I ventured onto the Internet and found an outdoor electronic project box. It was about 3.5×5. Perfect for the toroids I had already purchased. Parts in hand, I began work.
TX Factor Episode 11 is Here!
In this episode we complete the story of one Devon school in their attempt to be one of the ten UK schools to take part in the recent amateur radio link-ups with Tim Peake aboard the International Space Station.
We go behind the scenes with the ARISS team to meet the members and see the technology that made the link-ups such a great success.
We hope you enjoy the show!
TX Factor Team
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 114
2016 Hamvention attendance up slightly?
General chairman of the event said attendance this year may have been up slightly from 2015.
ARRL
Can we use a Raspberry Pi model B as FreeDV modem?
I am going to try using them as a headless FreeDV modem similar to the SM1000.
OZ9AEC
6 meter collinear antenna
I like to keep my antennas simple and cheap by using wire as the basis for everything.
High on Solder
Shield Hat: Signal Proof Apparel
It has shielding effectiveness 55dB-65dB from 10 MHz to 4 GHz. Silver is also antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiodor and antistatic.
Shield
Custom 19″ cabinet for a portable repeater
A 19 Inch rack mount is a standardized frame or cabinet for mounting equipment modules.
NT1K
How is Amateur Radio in your country?
European Radio Amateurs’ Organization’s survey wants to determine the current status of amateur radio in your country.
ERAO
Adventures with software defined radio
The SoftRock RXTX Ensemble seemed highly respected and has been available long enough to develop a good user base.
M0SPN
Video
NPOTA Activation: Expect the unexpected
W3ATB shares his NPOTA activation of Saint Gardens (NS60) in New Hampshire on June 1, 2016.
W3ATB
KD2GTM’s Hamvention Recap
All about my experience at my first Hamvention!
KD2GTM
The Transistor: 1953 documentary, anticipating its coming impact
The intent of the film was clearly to give the public of that era their first understanding of what a transistor was and why it mattered so much.
AT&T Tech Channel
