AmateurRadio.com

This morning I worked Jos, ON6WJ in Belgium. He was operating with a homebrew rig that uses little pencil tubes like the one used in the original Sputnik. He was running 700mw!

This is the anniversary of the original beeping Sputnik. A group of QRP guys, lead by Michael Rainey, AA1TJ, built some replicas of the original transmitter and run them every year on 21.060 to commemorate Sputnik.

This morning Jos was solid copy in New Hampshire. In fact, he was 579 for a good part of our QSO. Here’s an audio clip of Jos calling CQ.

ON6WJ

After the QSO Jos and I exchanged emails. He sent me a photo of the little rig. Here it is:

I was running 8 watts to start and then I dropped my power to 1W. I was using an OCF dipole. Working a 700mw station across the pond is a major thrill! Thanks Jos.

Hello! My name is Enoch Heise and I am a 17-year-old Life Scout and General Class Amateur Radio Operator (KE5HWQ). I’m also working on installing a repeater for my Eagle Project.

I would like to tell you about the Jamboree on the Air, an exciting annual event which crosses over both Scouting and Amateur Radio, and give you 3 reasons why you should definitely plan on participating this October.

What is JOTA?

From arrl.org:

“When Scouts want to meet young people from another country, they usually think of attending a World Jamboree. But few people realize that each year more than 400,000 Scouts and Guides “get together” over the airwaves for the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA). Modern technology offers Scouts the exciting opportunity to make friends in other countries without leaving home.

JOTA is an annual event in which Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides from all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur (ham) Radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared via radio waves. Since 1958 when the first Jamboree-on-the-Air was held, millions of Scouts have met each other through this event. Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pals and links between Scout troops that have lasted many years.

With no restrictions on age or on the number of participants, and at little or no expense, JOTA allows Scouts to contact each other by ham radio. The radio stations are operated by licensed amateur radio operators. Many Scouts and leaders hold licenses and have their own stations, but the majority participate in JOTA through stations operated by local radio clubs and individual radio amateurs. Some operators use television or computer-linked communications.

JOTA is held the third weekend in October of each year. JOTA takes place starting Saturday at 0000 hours local time (12:00 AM) to Sunday, 23.59 hours local time (12:00 PM), though some activity continues over from Friday to Monday to take advantage of long distance (DX) time differences.”

I have participated in JOTA for three years now, and these events comprise some of my fondest memories from my Scouting experience, and this year I will be volunteering for the JOTA event at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, TX.

So, if you’re not already convinced to participate in JOTA, here are 3 good reasons why this is an event that you can’t pass up:

Reason #1: The opportunity to make an impact in some young mens’ lives

Before the days of the Internet, Radio was one of the biggest, quickest, most cutting edge methods of communication; and, coincidentally, Ham Radio was born at about the same time as Scouting. Naturally, early Scouts found Ham Radio to be a very effective way to exercise the Scout Motto: Be Prepared! And it still is today.

Many Scouts throughout Scouting’s history have been licensed Ham Radio Operators, and any Scout today can become one. Today, the two main ways Radio has been officially implemented into Scouting are through the Jamboree on the Air and through the B.S.A.’s Radio Merit Badge.

Yet, sadly, many Scouts today haven’t heard about Amateur Radio. JOTA is a great way to get the word out and introduce many new Scouts to the value and excitement of Amateur Radio. Your involvement in JOTA can help Scouts discover this fantastic hobby and community service.

Reason #2: Community

Perhaps you’re already involved in the local Ham Radio and Scouting Communities. But whether you are or not, JOTA is a great way to get to meet new people in both Scouting and Ham Radio. The deeper I have gotten into both Scouting and Amateur Radio, the more I have come to realize that they share a lot of similarities beneath the surface.

Many Adult Scout Leaders and Ham Radio Operators share similar values and have similar interests. JOTA is one of the biggest events where these two communities overlap, and it is an excellent opportunity to make new connections and friendships with other like-minded people in your community.

These days, most communities are very spread out and poorly connected. This has several disadvantages, especially in the event of a local disaster, something both Scouting and Ham Radio are dedicated to prepare for. JOTA can bring the community closer together and make it better prepared to face anything that comes its way.

Reason #3: The Joy of Ham Radio

JOTA is a great opportunity to get out and operate on many different modes and bands. At the National Scouting Museum in Irving, TX, they will have the following stations set up:

• HF Voice Station
• HF PSK31 Station
• VHF local and Echolink
• UHF IRLP
• Hidden transmitter hunts
• Solar telescopes and Space weather
• AMSAT Satellite demos
• NTS message origination
• Morse Code education (Promote Morse Interpreter Strip award)
• ARISS contact setup and execution

Even if you are an experienced Amateur Radio operator you may not have gotten to try out all of these activities. With a a little preparation, your local club or group can put together a JOTA experience that is fun for not only the Scouts, but for every Ham!

JOTA gives you the chance to be involved in some young men’s lives; it gives you a chance to connect with your community; and it just a super-fun activity to take part in!

If you don’t have any plans for JOTA this year, now is the time to make some! All-in-all, Jamboree-on-the-Air is a wonderful event that has much to offer to Scouts, Scout Leaders, and Ham Radio enthusiasts of all ages!

Introduction:

• It’s Second Spring in Texas, and Autumn is beginning in Arkansas, so sit back and enjoy another exciting episode of LHS.

Announcements:

• Paid subscribers to LHS may have noticed the web site certificate had expired. That problem is fixed.
• Welcome new subscribers Michael S., Michael C., and Bill A. Thank you!
• Sign-up for the LHS mailing list.
• Our LHS Ambassador to Ohio LinuxFest will be Scott, N8VSI. Thanks, Scott, and we look forward to hearing all about it.
• Please donate to the podcast and click on the affiliate links on the website.

Topics:

• HF Antennas, Horizontal vs. Vertical
  • Tonight, our hosts discuss the pros and cons of horizontally and vertically polarized HF antennas.
  • One thought is that once the RF radiation hits the various layers in the ionosphere, the polarization doesn’t really matter much as it gets reflected to and fro.
  • Richard offers the practical reason for preferring horizontal antennas for HF: it’s easier to build and erect the long antennas necessary for these frequencies. However, for chasing DX, those long-distance contacts, many hams prefer vertical antennas as they tend to have lower angles of radiation.
  • Also mentioned: GAP antennas and the G5RV antenna.
  • Wire horizontal dipoles are inexpensive and easy to construct. Verticals are a good choice when space is limited and can have a lower take-off angle, providing a good ground radial system is installed beneath them.
  • Horizontal antennas can be more directional. A dipole wire running north and south will have a better propagation east and west. A vertical is omnidirectional, radiating equally in all directions. To complicate matters, a horizontal antenna lower to the ground will radiate at higher angles than the same antenna that is higher. This can be useful for communicating with stations that are close to you.
• A new section of the podcast: Russ’ Rant!
  • Russ has a Yaesu FT-7900R, a dual-band UHV/VHF mobile radio. It has a removable front panel, allowing the main part of the radio to be hidden and the display can be easily mounted on the dash. However, the speaker is on the body of the radio, so you can’t hear it if it’s hidden under the seat or in the trunk! Russ thinks the head unit should also contain a speaker, perhaps a very small one like in an mp3 player. Or put the speaker in the microphone.
• Returning to antennas, Richard recommends that KD8SZG (in the chat room), should try building his own wire antennas for HF. Any of the antenna books written by Doug DeMaw, W1FB, are good resources. His Antenna Notebook is one. (I also like the various ARRL antenna books, like the Simple and Fun Antennas for Hams. -Ed.)

Contact Info:

• Contact Richard at [email protected], Russ at [email protected], or both at the same time at [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 (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
• Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
• Sign up for the MAGNetcon 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.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
• Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

• “A Little Time” by Not From Georgia, from their album Love & Umbrella, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Metal Heart” by Zamza, from their album Songs for Jukebox, courtesy of Jamendo.

The FCC finally got around to addressing a number of issues via a NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING AND ORDER. This proposal is an odd mix of Volunteer Examiner (VE) rules, changing the license renewal grace period and dealing with a problem with emission designators.

This notice proposes changes to Part 97 of the FCC Rules and seeks comment on these proposals:

• Require that VEs give examination credit to an applicant who can demonstrate that he or she formerly held a particular class of license
• Provide that a CSCE provides element credit for the holder’s lifetime
• Reduce the grace period for renewal of an expired license to six months
• Reduce the time before a call sign becomes available for reassignment to six months (to match the grace period)
• Reduce the number of VEs required to administer an examination from three to two
• Allow remote observation of examination sessions by VEs (allow exams to be given via an audio and video system)
• Clean up some issues in the rules concerning Morse code testing (which has been eliminated)
• Allow emission types FXE and FXD to clear up issues concerning MOTOTRBO and DMR (see my previous post on this topic)

Comments on theses items must be filed with the FCC within 60 days.

73, Bob K0NR