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Whats your thoughts?

7 November 2025 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (6)

Possible RF magnet

While doing my annual pc cleaning last month, for some reason, I took special notice of my Wi-Fi SMA antenna connectors on the back of the PC. I have disconnected the Wi-Fi antennas as they are not used and get in the way of the cabling they. In my case, to get connected to the internet, I have a LAN cable from the back of the PC that goes to the hallway to a TP Link Wi-Fi extender. I find I get a better signal this way as opposed to using the Wi-Fi antennas on the rear of the PC.

Needed connectors

Back to the Wi-Fi connectors on the rear of the PC, as I was cleaning, a thought came to me that these open Wi-Fi connectors could be a nice RF magnet. In the past I have issues with RF getting into the PC and to eliminate as much as I could is a bonus. I did have a few 50 ohm SMA male connectors and I thought with that I would be good to go. On closer inspection and a frustrating experience trying to get the 50 ohm to connect to the PC, I found the SMA connector on the PC was a male and the 50 ohm connector is also a male connector. This had to be purchased, and it's called RP-SMA.Once they came in, the connection went very smoothly. So what are your thoughts on this, most if not all PCs have Wi-Fi antenna options and if you're not using it and prefer LAN connections should these antenna connections be terminated with 50 ohm terminators?

Connected and ready to go.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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LHS Episode #600: The End?

6 November 2025 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (0)

Hello and welcome to the 600th episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts discuss the podcast--past, present and future--and then talk about the world of artificial intelligence, including vibe coding, image and video generation, generative music, thoughts and cavets thereof, and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

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LHS Episode #599: The Weekender CXXXV

2 November 2025 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (0)

It's time for The Weekender! This is our departure into the world of hedonism, random topic excursions, whimsy and (hopefully) knowledge. Thanks for listening and, if you happen to get a chance, feel free to call us or e-mail and send us some feedback. Tell us how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

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ICQPodcast Episode 469 – Club Open Day and Radio Centre Win Award

2 November 2025 | by Colin M6BOY | Leave a Comment (0)

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Club open day and RSGB win an award.

We would like to thank Walter Turner (W8LN), Walter Washburn (KT0D), David LeBlanc (KF7KAF), Frank Westphal (K6FW), Nicholas Bradley (G4IWO) and Ken DeLap II (KX9U) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free.

To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

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Ham College 130

2 November 2025 | by George W5JDX | Leave a Comment (0)

Ham College episode 130 is now available for download.

Technician Exam Questions Part 17
T5C – Capacitance and inductance terminology and units. Radio frequency definition and units. Impedance definition and units. Calculating power.

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YouTube

George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

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ARRL CW Sweepstakes contest

31 October 2025 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (0)

Normal contesting CW keyboard layout.

This weekend is the running of the ARRL Sweepstakes CW contest. Last year was my first year participating in this contest. I have avoided this contest as I felt the exchange was a bit complicated. Once I dipped my toes into this contest last year, I realized it wasn't all that bad and was actually very challenging for me as a CW op. Before we go over what is sent in the exchange, let's go over the finer details of the exchange.

The exchange consists of:

Serial number starting at 1

Precedence (A for single of low power, B for single op high power and so on)

Your call sign is now sent

Check (The last 2 digits of the year you were licensed)

Section (For me it's NB for New Brunswick)

ARRL Sweepstakes layout

Therefore my exchange for example would be as follows....

1 A VE9KK 89 NB

My next contact would be

2 A VE9KK 89 NB

It's not your same old some old exchange and it really keeps you on your toes as the exchanges are being sent to you. During the contest, you may be asked to send only a certain part of the exchange back to the other station, such as NR, CHECK, or PREC, and so on. For this contest, I find remapping my keyboard the easiest way to operate in this contest. I have included a picture of my "normal" looking contest keyboard and then the revised ARRL Sweepstakes keyboard. In this contest, until I get the flow of things, I will be search and pounce and thus the green keys are the ones I will use most, if not all, the time. It seems funny to some to add the green key shading, but for me in the heat of battle, seeing "CHK" or CH? can get confusing. Running search and pounce, I only pay attention to the green keys. Over top of my "normal" contesting keys, I placed the sticky part of the Post-it notes to cover what is usually there. Again, to leave it would only serve to confuse and frustrate me. When the contest is done, the post it note is peeled off.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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The Communicator: November – December 2025

31 October 2025 | by John VE7TI | Leave a Comment (0)

Welcome to the November-December 2025 edition of the SARC Communicator, your go-to guide for all things amateur radio in our vibrant RF neighborhood. This edition is a journey across the history, innovation, and fascinating activities of amateur radio.

As we transition from crisp fall days to the festive glow of holidays ahead, this issue looks at the enduring legacy of Émile Baudot, the pioneer of digital communication, and revisits the vital role of radio during the catastrophic 1917 Halifax Explosion.

For satellite operators, discover how to seamlessly integrate SkyRoof with the Icom IC-9700 for LEO satellite operations, and check out our review of the past year in amateur satellites.

Technical articles dive into RTTY as a viable emergency digital mode and explores the fascinating use of radio telemetry in insect tracking. We also have several articles on a current ‘hot’ activity, homebrew vertical antennas for Parks on the Air (POTA). Finally, catch up on the excitement of the ARDF World Championship and a glimpse into the future of Software Defined Radio.

There are articles for all levels of amateur radio and you’re sure to find something of interest.

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Dive in for inspiration, connections, and the pulse of what makes our hobby of hobbies special. A special year-end thank you to our contributors and columnists. On behalf of SARC and SEPAR, we wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season.

Stay engaged—our readership powers us forward!

Enjoy this final issue of 2025!

~ John VE7TI, Editor

Contents for this issue:

The Rest of the Story: RTTY and Émile Baudot’s Enduring Legacy 4
Radio's Role in the 1917 Halifax Explosion 8
NARA NVIS Test 12
The Lighter Side of Amateur Radio 13
Repair and Repurpose 14
Radiofrequency and Telemetry in Insect Tracking 24
What’s New at DLARC — October 2025 28
ARDF Canada World Championship 2025 in Lithuania 30
Integrating SkyRoof with the Icom IC-9700 32
RTTY; A viable emergency digital mode? 36
Pile-Up Control System - Take control of the pile-up! 40
Satellite Tracking: Looking back on 2025, and ahead into 2026 42
Homebrew Mobile Antennas 44
The genius logic of the NATO phonetic alphabet 46
The North American QRP CW Club 48
Simple QRP 9:1 Unun Construction 50
The Dominator End-Fed Halfwave Antenna by KJ6ER 52
The POTA PERformer vertical antenna revisited 60
FreqBuddy: A Modern Web-Based Radio Frequency Database 69
Ham Radio Outside the box: PERformer modifications 70
A good idea for suspending radials 72
A Portable Power Project 73
Zero Retries 76
Margaret Atwood on CW? 80
When your hobby revolves around electricity... 82
Back to Basics - Digital Modes 86
Study Aids 89
No-ham Recipes: Meatloaf with sweet tomato-mustard sauce 91
Profiles of SARC members: Sheldon Friesen VE7SRF 94
SARC Member donates digital nautical archive 97
SARC 50th Anniversary the transformative role of SARC 100
Peter Vogel VE7AFV: Profile in Tech, Science & Amateur Radio 102
SARC General Meeting minutes 104
The SEPAR Report 110
We’re back on track! 115
QRT: Is Amateur Radio an Old Hobby or a playground for explorers? 116
HAM LEFTOVERS... 118
A look back… at The Communicator—December 2015 120

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