AmateurRadio.com

Series Five Episode Twenty-Three of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

• Ham radio back in vogue at St. Charles High School
• New Zealand hopes to get 50-51 MHz
• Ofcom - ECC Decision on AM SSB CB apparatus
• Pico Amateur Radio Balloons
• PRISM available for Amateur Radio AX.25 Packet
• Clipperton Island DXpedition
• 100 MHz to 6 GHz Transceiver Project for $300

Listener mailbag and Martin (M1MRB) reveiws Amateur Radio eBooks.

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

You’ve undoubtedly seen photos of the destruction that Sandy wreaked in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Jersey shore.  This storm was nothing like anything I have experienced before.  I have been through quite a number of hurricanes in my 55 years, and flooding was ALWAYS the major issue.  Except for Manhattan, Staten Island and the Jersey shore, flooding was NOT the big issue – the wind was.

We waited for the rains to come – and they did. Maybe 3 to 4 inches of rain?  Not a lot by hurricane standards. The winds however, were unearthly. You know how you hear tornado survivors say the winds sounded like a freight train going by?  That was what this was like.  Laying in bed Monday night, trying to fall asleep and listening to the wind shriek and howl quite unlike anything I have heard before, was so unsettling.

Waking up Tuesday morning, the rain was falling gently and the winds were very calm – nothing like the night before.  As I woke up to get dressed and get ready for work (yes, I was expected in), the world was dark and quiet.  I decided at the last minute to bring my camera with me.  My wife Marianne also took a camera with her later that afternoon when she took our dog Jesse, for his walk.

Here’s just a small sample of the sights we saw in South Plainfield, NJ.  Our town looked like something from a war zone or a movie set.  We took a lot more photos – and please note, this all happened within walking distance of our home.

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Up and running

I have decided to add an additional page to my blog giving access to the KX3 videos. This way they are available for anyone who is interested. This way you do not have to go and search all through the blog to find them. For that reason the 4th video is not on the front page of my blog but rather on the KX3 video page and you will find the tab at the top of the blog if you wish to go there for a look.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

10m WSPR spots @ G4ILO 3 November 2012

The number of spots is fewer and the signal strengths weaker. It appears that the period of good 10m propagation may be over.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

The power came back on at 12:15 PM today – fifteen minutes after Noon.

I have to go pick up Joey and Cara from my sister’s house.  She graciously let them stay with her while our house has been like an icebox.

I will do an extended posting tonight with a Hurricane Sandy recap and some photos from my immediate neighborhood.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and best wishes; and special thanks to Jim W1PID who “checked up on me” each night on 80 Meters.

Ham Radio ops ARE THE BEST!

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

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Well the KX3 is almost completed and this is the 3rd of a 4 part assembly video of the radio. In this YouTube video I go over the problems I had with the ATU installation, the roofing filter board issue and the battery holder oops I had and needed to correct before there was damage. The build is almost complete but have a look and either get excited about purchasing one or pick up some pointers before you do  your build.



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

There’s been a higher than usual level of activity on the AT-Sprint email list over the last few days as  hints have emerged of a possible new offering of the popular MTR (Mountain Topper Radio) the latest of Steve Weber KD1JV’s radios that define the possibilities of ‘trail friendly’. To get a view of one in action check out this video from G4ISJ shot on a SOTA activation.

Steve KD1JV is the designer behind the PFR-3 and a number of other radios offered by Doug Hendricks’ QRP Kits along with the new Tri-bander Transceiver kit. But he also enjoys a passionate following for his high performance but tiny (Altoids tin size) radios in the ATS series where ATS stands for Appalachian Trail Sprint. These radios (especially the ATS-3B and the MTR) are prized by ham hikers and walkers who watch the ounces and milliamps. They are also an example of masterful interface design using small push buttons and minimal LED display. As Steve mentioned recently in a post reflecting his deep field operating experience “Little tiny rigs and knobs don’t work well together”.

During the buzz earlier today about whether he would offer more of the MTR kits (he will), Steve also announced his latest project “An 80/160 dual band rig with direct conversion receiver and a DDS/PLL hybrid VFO using all through hole parts.” (The ATS series made extensive use of microscopic SMD components and lots of the assistance Steve offers via the AT Sprint Yahoo group is concerned with discovering and rectifying makers’ errors assembling these devices.)

His website carries a pretty detailed three-page description of the design thinking behind the new rig which he’s calling the Super Deluxe Direct Conversion Transceiver. Tantalisingly he’s suggested it may be able to work at 500kHz. The new rig also features an “LCD frequency read out, built-in keyer and rotary tuning”.

He’s planning to offer only 50 kits at about US$75 at the end of November. Expect to see them sell out in two minutes! I suspect if he offered 200, they might last an hour or two.

Stephen Rapley, VK2RH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New South Wales, Australia. Contact him at [email protected].