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The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast, episode 48 is now available to download or stream.  You can subscribe via iTunes, Zune or stream directly from MyAmateurRadio.com.  Want to stream on the go from your favorite smart phone device?  You can do that as well from our mobile site.

In this episode I discuss all that awaits those US Technician class operators once they upgrade to the general class license.  Of course, I’m talking about the world of HF.

As a member of both the ARRL and RSGB, I share what I feel is the importance of both belonging to and supporting our national organizations.  I discuss briefly the RSGB upcoming extraordinary general meeting taking place on 19 November and encourage all RSGB members to educate yourself and vote.   Links are provided in the episode 48 show notes available here.

During our featured website segment I introduce listeners to the DXCoffee.com website.  Tomas Mesta, K6THM provides the featured Elmer Connection article on MyAmateurRadio.com.  Finally I round out some of my own amateur radio adventures in the last month.  Thank you for listening. 

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

Welcome to Handiham World.

Pat Tice, WA0TDA, is the manager of HANDI-HAM and a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

Well, it’s almost done! The antenna is in place, optimized, and operational. Last night my son helped me finalize the connections at the ground rod and string the coax and ground wire into the house. There are only a couple of details to take care of before winter sets in, but they shouldn’t take much time — I hope to be done with them by next Monday’s end if not sooner. I hope to find time soon to write up some of the lessons I learned.

I couldn’t have done it without the help of my son Antonio and my friend Dale (“half squirrel, half monkey”), not to mention the encouragement my wife kept giving me. My son was my constant companion, “go-fer,” and an indispensible helper on many tasks. And Dale might have saved my life since I’ve no business being on the roof with a bum leg. He did the lion’s share of the work up there the day we put up the masts and the antenna. He’s so good on a roof I think he could have run laps around the perimeter, while I clung for dear life to a safety line when getting on and off the ladder.

SWR is below 2:1 across all of 40m, 20m, 17m and 10m (except for the first 100 KHz of 10m, but even there it’s still below 3:1). It’s high on 30m, 15m, and 12m, but I’ve read that this can be improved by running radials from the bottom of the RF choke. I’ll let you know how that works.

Last night I made one contact after tidying up the connections in the shack: TX7M, a DXpedition in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. That was a first for me, working a DXpedition. It was decidedly unsatisfying — the ultimate antithesis of a ragchew with a worthless signal report (just a recorded “599″ that goes to everybody, regardless of their true readability, strength, and tone). But it was still encouraging, especially since it was on 17m, a band I’ve never even touched before I built this antenna.

Todd Mitchell, NØIP, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Minnesota, USA. He can be contacted at [email protected].

I have never been off the continent before, and the only other country I have been to is Canada. So I think my travel experience is kind of lacking. But I can live through Randy, K7AGE, vicariously! Randy went to China some time ago, and he posted a video on his YouTube channel.From the description on the video:

I visited Beijing China during the first week in March 2008. I was able to visit with several Beijing hams, their homes, the CRSA and a club station. I had a great day. Hams are great the world over!

There is also a link to an article written by Larry, KH6ITY, that talks more about Ham Radio in China, but it seems to be a dead link. If anyone knows where to find the article now, please let me know.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne

Rich Gattie, KB2MOB, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New York, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Each year I go in search of a calender to mark down all the contests I would like to take part in each season. It is hung on the wall in the radio room and allows me to plan for the big all weekend contests right down to the 1/2  day short ones. I know there are some very good contest calender online like WA7BNM's and I have this as a bookmark on all my P.C.'s. But seeing a month's overview on the wall helps me make sure the contest does not sneak up on me. Nothing like surprising my wife with a 48 hour contest!!! Not sure why I never thought about this before but the ARRL has a calender with their contests as well as other major contests in it. I went to the website to order it with the exchange rate it came to 15.00. That is not bad at all considering the time I spend putting the contests in the calender each year. I then was shocked to see the shipping was 15.00, when I add the taxes to be paid and any duty the total for a calender is around 34.00!!!! It's looks like this year I am either going to print off WA7BNM's calender or make up another one.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

The FCC has released a second Report and Order, affirming its rules for Broadband Over Powerline (BPL).  The document is available here.  It’s quite a lengthy mind-numbing read, but skimming through it, it appears the FCC has rejected changes to its previous findings over the past several years.  Undoubtedly ARRL will have much reporting and analysis over the next few days.  

After eight years of trying to take hold, Internet access BPL has for all intents and purposes become a dead technology, not even being mentioned in recent FCC broadband reports.  The BPL industry has been attempting to make inroads into so-called Smart Grid technology which will upgrade and automate electrical distribution networks.  I haven’t been following this industry closely, but last I had looked they didn’t appear to be having much success.  However the love affair with BPL at the FCC, and the OET in particular, lives on.

Well, of course it never really went away. Over the last few weeks and days, I’ve hearing people talking about what they’ve been working on 10m FM. Occasionally when I’ve been in the shack I’ve put the rig on 29.600MHz FM and have heard a good few stations coming through. Many people have reported making QSOs through a US repeater (New York?) on 29.620MHz. This evening, coming home, I drove outside the car park, under the low barrier and put the Comet UHV-6 antenna on the car ( it’s too tall to fit under the barrier). As I drove home, I tuned around 10m FM. Fascinating!The most distant station was, and I think I have the call correct, was KF7EZ/M in 7 land! He was looking for a friend of his in the US 4 call area! I tried to call him and let him know he was being heard in the UK. Also heard VA3QRM, a W2 in New Jersey and W5AF (I think- I wasn’t writing calls down!). Not entirely sure how well the UHV-6 works on 10m FM. Fascinating listening and I’ll repeat the exercise tomorrow. Hopefully I will make a QSO before long. And in the meantime, I must remember to take the big antenna off the car before I head in tomorrow morning!

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].