AmateurRadio.com

Awhile back when I assembled the Amateur Radio Kit Roundup,  I listed Heathkit as a potential source, and even answered a question in the comments about their rumored return to Amateur Radio stating that I would contact someone about it.  I sent an email off asking how they were doing in this regard.  Unfortunately I never received an answer.  Here is some sad news at the ARRL explaining why (courtesy of a mention at eHam.net this morning).  I was not a ham when Heathkit was in its heyday, but knew plenty of people who were, and like most of you, I was impatiently awaiting news of their return to the hobby.  Hopefully this is not a permanent end, but only a temporary setback.

Well, I haven’t really posted an Amateur Radio story in a looong time, so I figured I was due. Hopefully, many people didn’t miss me too much. But I’m working on a couple ideas for the blog here, that will allow me to have some good stuff for you to enjoy without me getting all burnt out.

My newly repaired rig in one of my Instagram photos.

But in the time I was away, I did get a smart phone finally. For those wondering, an iPhone4S, and I love it. And one of the things I found I liked doing with it, is taking pictures with the 8MP camera that is built into it. The photos always seem to come out looking great. And I have already found a few neat accessories I would love to have available for myself for taking photos and even recording audio. Then allowing me to blog on the go and put up content as soon as I have recorded it or snapped a picture. And then have it of course, propagate out to the various social media sites I frequent.

Since I got my phone, it’s like a paradigm shift has occurred with the media I want to produce. It all seems so much easier and simpler to create it, then share it. All from one or 2 devices, where before, I had to use 5 or 6 devices. It really is empowering.  I’ve started with just taking photos with the Instagram app and posting those on my Twitter and Facebook pages. And I’ve also started to play with another app called Blip.me Broadcast, which allows you to record 60 second audio clips and share them as well. Once I figure out how to integrate these into this site, it’s going to be a lot of fun doing this stuff! Till then, here are a few pics I took with Instagram. They of course are Ham Radio related.

73.

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At the moment we’re very busy with building and so again no time for the radio hobby. Actually I even have no time to remove the horizontal loop antenna. I don’t care but my XYL doesn’t like the ugly wire thing around the garden. I received the confirmation for QSOs on 12m and 17m with D2AM today. Another QSL that disappears in a dark box. At least I’m showing it here on my blog ;-). So different from DX hunting I did on 11 Mtrs years ago. Those QSLs are all in showmaps placed in ringbands at order of DXCC number as used in the 11 Mtr DXing scene. I could do that for these QSLs as well if I had the same feeling with it. But I don’t…..strange.

I had a afternoon off from my job to help my carpenter here at home. Very heavy work, it has to be done. We get doors to the garden which we wished for since we came here. Now a dream does come through. When calling with my little Baofeng HT over the PI2DZL repeater when biking home I got a response from PD2VB Bram. I already wrote about him a few posts ago as I managed my first QSOs with the Baofeng with him via the CoVersity network. Bram told me he did go for the full license, actually I misunderstood as he was going the same afternoon. Today I got a e-mail from him that he got through and did pass the exams to gt his full license. Congrats if you read this Bram, another good CB buddy from long time ago has got his full license.

Last year I wrote about CQfriends, a community website for radio amateurs like for instance facebook without all the irritating advertising. It still exists and is becoming quite populair. You can now upload your logs and they start with a exciting new award program. At the moment they are busy with a voting round for award number #1. The nice thing is that this first award is going to be delivered to the winner personally not matter where he lives! A great publicity stunt I think.

Robert Meyer, WØLAW

When I moved out here several years ago, it didn’t take long before my phone rang with a radiogram delivered by Robert Meyer, WØLAW. He lives about a half hour away in the city of Marshall, and is the Minnesota Section Traffic Manager. Robert is a well-known traffic handler, consistently ranking at or near the top of the list for traffic handled each month in this state. He retired as chief jailer of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office a couple years ago, hence his call sign.

I’d never met Robert in person before, but I’ve wanted to. Having heard through the grapevine that he had just had his new tower’s foundation poured, I decided to look him up last Saturday when I was in the neighborhood for my son’s classical guitar recital. Even though my son and I took him by surprise, he welcomed us warmly and gave us a tour. What a nice fellow!

Robert led us around to his backyard, a beautiful parcel of lush green grass with songbirds feeding tamely at several bird-feeders. A couple of wire antennas hung from his current tower, disappearing into some trees and a river valley beyond. The footing for his new tower, nestled up against the back of his house, was massive!

As we stood there discussing antennas and songbirds, I mentioned to Robert that I’ve always wanted to handle a radiogram but have never mustered the courage to do it. He could have laughed at me, but instead he kindly encouraged me to give it a try and then invited my son and I into his house so he could find “a few things” to help me.

You should see Robert’s shack! When you step inside the front door of his house, it’s in plain view — a most excellent man-cave adjoins his living room. Pretty soon my son and I were marveling at his equipment, stuff we might never see again except in catalogs! Delving into his well-organized file cabinet, in short order Robert came up with a couple of reference sheets and a booklet to help me handle traffic. He also tore off most of an ARRL radiogram pad and gave it to me, refusing to allow me to pay for it.
Click to view slideshow.
I’m grateful for Robert’s hospitality and generosity, not to mention his labor as Minnesota Section Traffic Manager. He represents a side of ham radio that has long been as mysterious to me as the dark side of the moon — QRO SSB NTS traffic handling. Once upon a time I wouldn’t have looked him up, but I think I’ve grown up a little since then. I’ve really come to appreciate the variety of people I meet in this hobby and the variety of activities they do.

Once upon a time my horizon was limited; if you were on HF CW I noticed you, especially if you were QRP, but I didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the ham world. I was cheating myself. I’ve loved CW, but I’m starting to like SSB and digital modes, too. I’ve loved QRP, but I’m also starting to appreciate what QRO can do (and the skill it takes to handle it). I’ve always preferred HF, but as I get to know the local hams I’m becoming surprisingly fond of VHF FM.

So I’m glad I looked up Robert, the legendary lawman — and I’m really glad he welcomed my son and I so warmly. Can you imagine getting a surprise visit from a blogger who snaps a picture of your shack for the world to see? That’s a bit much! Thanks, Robert, for being so nice to us and for being such a good sport.

I was reading my good friend Kelly K4UPG’s blog; and my memory was quite neatly jogged by the video he posted for the old REMCO game, “Fascination”.  I remember the commercial like it was yesterday. My cousins had the game and I used to love to play it.

I was so taken by the video, that I went on over to YouTube and did a search on REMCO, looking for other commercials for toys of my youth.  I found this one, which I only vaguely, vaguely remember in the very recesses of my memory – but maybe it had something to do with becoming an Amateur Op in my later years?

On the same page, I saw a link to this video – and got a kick out of it as well.

If you were around for the 50s and 60s, you probably ran around with one of those in your pocket or school bag.  I remember sneaking a radio like that into school in 1969 so I could listen to the Mets beat the Orioles in the World Series.  Ah, yes – back when they actually played World Series games in daylight hours!

And all the nights spent spinning the dial, either listening to Jean Shepherd K2ORS on WWOR or looking for DX stations like KDKA out of Pittsburgh or KMOX out of St. Louis.  Good times!

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

I’ve been watching with some amusement as the news continues to break about the newest entry into the ham gear market…Kenwood’s TS-990S. It dovetails nicely with other big roll-outs such as Elecraft’s KX-3. As soon as the ad for the 990 appeared on the back of last month’s QST and CQ with word that a prototype would be shown at Dayton, the message boards have exploded with speculation about what kind of rig it would be, what features it would have, how much it would cost, and more. And there were the immediate negative comments, too.

“Who needs another ($4000, $5000, $10,000, $Trillion…take your pick) ham rig?”

“Why don’t they do a QRP rig instead of another (IC-7600, IC-7700, IC-7800, FT-5000, FT-9000…take your pick) clone transceiver?”

“Will it have a band scope?” “Will it have (one, two, three, sixteen…take your pick) USB ports?”  “It’s bigger than the TS-850.  I don’t want it.”  It’s smaller than the TS-850.  I don’t want it.”

There have even been many who denigrate Kenwood for their lack of marketing acumen on so many scores you would actually think those posters actually  knew anything at all about the top-secret radio. Or assume they know more about marketing ham gear than Kenwood–who has been doing it for many, many years now.

Then things really went bonkers this week with the publication of an ad on the back page of the June QST: