AmateurRadio.com

Another warm, sunny day. It really seems as if summer has arrived. But it’s not the weather for sitting in the shack operating the radio. It actually gets a bit unbearable in the shack on warm days with all the equipment (not to mention the operator!) radiating heat.

The weather forecast is for fime weather on the next few days. I’m not complaining but dare I say it, Olga and I have been wishing for some rain – Olga to water the garden and me to see if the rain gauge of the new weather station is really working!

With some freshly charged batteries in the KX3 I thought I would see what I could hear from out in the garden. The answer was – not much. Band conditions seem to be pretty dire at the moment. True, the antenna I was using out there (a WonderWand L-Whip) is not the most efficient I could find but it is easy to tune and usually receives OK. But today I could hear almost nothing.

One word to describe the bands tonight – stinky! (I could have used a more colorful and apropos term, but I’ve sworn off swearing.)

Oh, I had my share of success. I worked St. Barthelemy again, but on 30 Meters this time, and I worked Morocco and Ecuador. But each was akin to pulling teeth.

These were not 599 QSOs, even though that’s the default DX exchange, it seems. Signals were weak, warbly, and almost hazy and indistinct, for lack of a better description.

I saw on the DX Cluster that a fellow NJ QRPer, Chris KQ2RP managed to snare an Algerian, 7T9A on 17 Meters. I tried for a while, also, but I couldn’t hear him well enough to be sure that he would be coming back to me.  And if you can’t hear him well enough to know that he’s answering you, then why even bother? I’d probably only get in the way of people who actually stood a chance, so I gave up the chase after a few tries.

Over the next 24 to 36 hours we’re supposed to get around 3 inches of rain from this first tropical storm of 2013. Maybe as our terrestrial weather deteriorates, the solar weather will improve. Here’s hoping, anyway!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

It was good to see, earlier in the week via the Southgate Amateur Radio site, a video from David Mercado KK4MND, using his Baofeng UV-5R to operate through the SO-50 sateliite. David is using an after market MFJ antenna for the rig, rather than the stock antenna. Nevertheless, it’s pretty impressive to see the satellite coming through so well – on a simple handheld. This is the sort of thing that everyone with a dual band handheld should try!

I have a UV-5R of course, and I’ve programmed up the frequencies for SO-50. I only have a stock antenna, so I have ordered something which should give a little more gain – at vast expense (£8 including shipping from Hong Kong!) to see if I can do something similar. I think the best passes for something like this will be when the satellite is almost overhead – let’s say 45 degrees elevation and more. When the antenna arrives, I will let you know how it goes!

Well done David, on such a great and inspiring video.

Episode #106 Audio (Listen Now):

Introduction:

• Today on the show, Peter64 from Down Unda and from the Kernel Panic Oggcast. Welcome, Peter64!

Announcements:

• The Dayton Hamvention is coming up very soon! It will be May 17-19, 2013 at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Linux in the Ham Shack will be there in the North Hall, booth 131. Hope to see you.
• The Beaglebone Black has been released. These are the preferred boards of Pignology and Sierra Radio Systems, who use them to create the Hamstack. They are retailing for $45 and are much more powerful than the Raspberry Pi.

Topics:

• Debian Wheezy (Version 7.0) has been released.
  • http://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/debian-wheezy-linux-arrives-on-time.html
  • http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.debian.announce/87
• KDE 4.10.3 is released, bringing in more than 75 bug fixes.
  • http://www.linuxtoday.com/upload/kde-4.10.3-brings-over-75-bugfixes-130506215005.html
• Ham Radio Deluxe has announced a preview of version 6.1. New versions will retail $99.95. This move to commercial software was predicted by Linux in the Ham Shack. And to the developers of HRD: BOOOOOO!
• Hamux 6.0 has been released. It’s based on CentOS 6.3 and is 64-bit only.
  • http://distro.ibiblio.org/hamux
• A new version of Tucnak has been released.
  • http://tucnak.nagano.cz/wiki/Main_Page
• Our hosts discuss the aircraft tracker know as FlightRadar24. It’s a web-based project that is cross platform. The project is also giving away ADS-B equipment to folks who live in areas where ADS-B coverage is sparse. You can also purchase hardware for your own home if you don’t qualify for the free stuff.
  • http://flightradar24.com

Feedback:

• New LHS Member: Allan, WA1BG. Thanks!
• New Twitter follower: Jeff B (@bundini).

Contact Info:

• Contact Russ at [email protected] or [email protected].
• Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
• Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
• Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
• LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection or CafePress. Thanks!
• Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

• “No Time” by Mindil Beach Markets from the album Mindil Beach Markets. This track is not Creative Commons but is freely available from http://mindilbeachmarkets.com.
• “Delirium” by Nocreeps from the album Time to Differ, courtesy of Jamendo.

I just happened to have my tablet with me at work today. During lunch, I sat down and was looking through Google News. In the science section, I happened across an article that was posted from The Christian Science Monitor, written by Peter Spotts.

Peter Spotts?   W1PNS, Pete Spotts?  “From the Key of W1PNS” Pete Spotts – fellow blogger?

So I clicked the little hyperlink that also served as the byline, and sure enough. Besides all the very prestigious accomplishments that were listed in the brief bio, was a mention of an interest in Amateur Radio.

So it appears that our Pete is not only an accomplished Amateur Radio op and QRPer and CW fan, but also a very accomplished author and writer. Some of you might have known that, but I didn’t and I thought that this was the coolest.

Just goes to show, there’s a lot of really talented writers authoring some of these Amateur Radio blogs. I don’t count myself among their number, but there’s a lot of quality reading to be found in the links on the right side of this blog. Don’t deprive yourself of their wordsmithing.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I’ve been a ham a little over 20 years now and this is the “first” time I’ve received a “reception report” from a short wave listener. I quickly confirmed the contact because the time, date, and contact information is correct. I’m always happy to encourage anyone to delve into the ham radio aspect of the hobby. This brings back good memories of my childhood when I spent many hours listening to the short wave bands with my little “Knight Kit Star Roamer” receiver.

I wonder if there’s a database that lists these call signs? Three letters and four numerals are certainly different from what I used to seeing.

This card came from Lithuania and I know I was getting into this part of the world at the time. Last night I worked a very familiar LY5O. During my later night contacts, I worked OK1PL in the Czech Republic.