AmateurRadio.com

 The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast episode 53 is now available for download or stream.  I’ve also updated the audio player used on MyAmateurRadio.com to work across multiple platforms including portable devices such as iPhone and iPad. 

In this episode I discuss RST Signal Reports.  I provide details into what each of the numerical values mean and my own thoughts about their use.  In the featured website segment I introduce the new amateur radio podcast from Gary Pearce, KN4AQ titled Ham Radio Now. 

Please visit MyAmateurRadio.com to listen or download this new episode. 

Thank you for listening and thank you for sharing your knowledge with others.  The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast, creating Elmers one podcast at a time.

Until next time…

73 de KD0BIK

Happy Birthday WOTA. What do you get a portable operators scheme for its birthday? I simply have no idea.

For those who aren’t too sure what it is. WOTA is a bit like SOTA but for the Wainwright Fells in the Lake District. If you don’t know what SOTA is then one explanation is portable operations from summits (or fells if you live here in the lakes). Or as I like to describe it to non hams, working you way up a fell till you get to the top, looking at the view for a bit then getting out a radio (generally in the fog or rain, in the lake district) and saying ‘hello its me, can you hear me?’ ‘yes, it’s me, can you hear me?’ ‘yes, good stuff, who’s next’. I don’t think I’ve had too many positive looks giving that explanation but its better than trying to explain what that pole sticking out of your rucksack is in a howling gale.

Anyway,m back to the point. WOTA was devised by Julian, G4ILO and the first activations have been tabled as the 21st March 2009. So all I can say is happy birthday and my XYL wants a word with you because I’ve not managed to fix the downstairs toilet whilst I’m out operating from a fell top.

Humans have always had a desire to communicate. They started out just talking to each other but then found that it was really handy to be able to write things down. This caused the invention of the alphabet and the training of English teachers to explain overly-convoluted rules of grammar.

In 1831, Joseph Henry was playing around with electric circuits and came up with the idea of a telegraph. We can imagine a simple system where ON means “time for dinner” and OFF means “not yet”. This wasn’t good enough for Samuel Morse, who invented the Morse Code which could use ON and OFF to represent the entire alphabet. This was the first digital code and was used for important messages such as “Laughing Out Loud”, later abbreviated to LOL. This was basically the same as modern text messaging but you needed a trained telegrapher to do it.

In 1875, an inventor named Bell decided that it would be better if you could just talk over the wires instead of messing around with Morse Code. This will be a recurring theme — whether to talk to other people or just send digital codes. Bell invented this thing called the telephone, which is still used today. Basically, a person could talk into one end of a wire and have his voice pop out of the other end.

Later a guy named Marconi came along with the idea that communication should not depend on wires. For example, it was quite inconvenient to drag a telephone wire behind a ship as it moved across the sea. Unfortunately, Marconi didn’t know how to do voice over the wireless, so he dropped back to using Morse Code. ON and OFF is a much easier way to go. Although there is a persistent rumor that Marconi intentionally used Morse Code to torment future generations of FCC Licensed Amateur Radio Operators, I can find no evidence of this. Some people argue that Nikola Tesla invented wireless but I think he had to be disqualified for overloading and shutting down the Colorado Springs power grid on numerous occasions.

Again, not wanting to be limited by trained telegraphers, voice communication (originally called Amplitude Modulation, but now known as Ancient Modulation) was invented. We are not sure who first came up with Ancient Modulation, but there are a bunch of radio hams on 75 Meters still trying to perfect it.

Somewhere around 1973, Motorola figured out that what the world really wanted was a portable phone that everyone could carry around in their pocket. The first attempt at this was the Motorola DynaTAC, which required an enormous pocket to carry it in. Knowing that customers were not going to enlarge their pockets, various mobile phone manufacturers worked feverishly to reduce the size of these phones.

Unfortunately, the mobile phone manufacturers terribly miscalculated, thinking that people would want to actually talk on these phones. As text messaging was added to these phones, it was discovered that most people, especially those under the age of 30, preferred to send cryptic text messages rather than actually talk to anyone. It was also discovered that all forms of human thought can be captured as 140 character messages. Although it was tempting to apply Morse Code to digital text messaging, it was rejected in favor of the ASCII 8-bit code. Instead of using ON/OFF keying, text messages are normally sent with a tiny keyboard patterned after a full-size typewriter (now obsolete).

73, Bob K0NR

P.S. I made up some of this stuff.

It’s been said that the universe could be described entirely with car analogies.  Analogies don’t really prove anything, but they’re great for clarifying an opinion or illustrating a complex concept in a more simplified, understandable fashion.  Often it’s difficult to describe amateur radio to non-technical family, friends, and co-workers.

I can’t think of a better analogy for explaining amateur radio than fishing.

Why do you call CQ and try to talk to just anyone?

We’re not out to catch one particular fish.  We cast our line where we think there might be fish and when we catch one, it’s a surprise.  This is part of the joy.  You never quite know what you’re going to reel in.

Why do you do Morse code?  Isn’t it easier to just talk to someone?  Or perhaps type on your computer?

Some fisherman like to fly fish.  It’s not for everyone, but it’s an art that takes a bit of practice and skill. You don’t catch bigger fish fly fishing, and many times it’s a lot more work.  But some people find it more fun than regular fishing.  Some do both regular fishing and fly fishing.  Some fisherman ice fish.

Some hams use power amplifiers to make big signals while others use low power, this thing called QRP.  Why wouldn’t everyone want to use more power?

I know guys who go deep sea fishing and catch big tuna or swordfish on big expensive boats.  Some of us like to use ultralight rods and fish streams for trout or small ponds for panfish.

In this age of the Internet where you can chat with anyone around the world on your computer, why even bother with amateur radio?

Why bother buying a fishing license and all that equipment when you can much more easily go to a supermarket and buy a fish?  It’s because it’s not about just eating a fish.  It’s the experience of fishing.

Amateur radio seems inherently non-competitive, but you have contests?

On the surface fishing is a non-competitive hobby.  But there are fishing tournaments in which fisherman compete.  Like other types of fishing it’s not for everyone, but some love it, and for some fisherman that’s all they do.

What do you talk about?

We often talk about fishing techniques or what else we caught that day, but more often we talk about whatever comes to mind.  Sometime we don’t talk about much at all.

Is amateur radio all old guys?

There are a lot of old guys who fish probably because they have a lot more free time, but everyone fishes.  It’s nice to get the whole family fishing.

Are you always going to be a radio amateur?

You’re always a fisherman, even if you haven’t gone out fishing for awhile.  I hope to fish until the day I die….

through Jim W1PID and another lovely sunny day in New Hampshire.

http://www.w1pid.com/eagle/eagle.html

The weather was lovely here too; but time constraints at work have prevented me from getting to the car at lunchtime.  As the warm weather is supposed to last for a bit, maybe I’ll be able to over the next few days. The PFR3A, Buddistick/magmount combo patiently await me.

Tonight is the final 80 Meter QRP Foxhunt for the 2011/2012 season.  It’s hard to believe that it has gone by so fast.  Before you know it, the 20 Meter Summer season will begin.  Maybe I’ll have my KX3 by then!

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

After the ‘screaming’ incident with the AT-5555 rig a couple of weeks ago, the rig has seemed quite happy. With the lighter evenings, the band seems to have been open a little longer. By the time I get to the car in the evening, around 1820z there seems to have been just a little propagation left on 28MHz, usually to South America.

For the last couple of evenings, there have been Brazilians to listen to, whilst driving home. Signals have been weak, but I’m hopeful of a contact soon.

Driving around at the weekend, during daylight hours there have been plenty of contacts around Europe and Russia which is good fun for mobile operation.

Soon the Es season will be starting which should be fun on 28MHz.

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