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Welcome to Handiham World!

Photo: Last QSO from Courage Center marks end of an era – Avery Finn, K0HLA, is net control for the last Handiham net and made the last radio contact from the station at Courage Center in Golden Valley, MN.

The Handiham headquarters station was moved this week from Courage Center to Camp Courage, Maple Lake, Minnesota. The last day of operation was Monday, October 5, 2009, when Avery, K0HLA, ran the daily Handiham net. The stations who checked in will receive QSL cards from us, thanks to Avery’s diligence in keeping a log and filling out the cards for today’s mail. We did not make any official announcement ahead of time, so whether or not you were a member of this select group of stations simply depended upon your being there. So always show up for your nets – you never know when something special will happen.

This reminds me of when Jerry Kloss, N0VOE, and I were talking about our kids. At that time, my son Will was just a little guy – probably in Kindergarten.

Jerry told me, “Enjoy it while you can – all those wonderful experiences – they grow up before you know it.”

That really did turn out to be true. Will, KC0LJL, is 20 now and studying in Tokyo. Over the years I have remembered Jerry’s words, and I now think back to the times I carried my son up the stairs and put him to bed. I thought to myself each time, “I wonder if this will be the last time I carry Will upstairs.”

Then, one time it was.

I don’t remember exactly what day it was, but that last time did arrive and I’m sure I wondered if it would be the last time I held my son in my arms and climbed the stairs. There were plenty of other last times to remember, too. A last time I fed him while he sat in his high chair. A last time he played with his stuffed Big Bird toy. A last time he rode his tricycle. His last day of elementary school. That last day of high school.

The point is that last times happen all the time. Life is relentless that way. Oh, sure, we may plan to visit a relative we have not seen in years, but circumstances may change and instead we are attending a funeral. That trip you have always wanted to take, and could have when you had the chance, might be out of reach today because of the recession. That radio club meeting you didn’t attend at the end of last season’s meeting season… well, that might have been the last time you got to visit with your friends, some of whom have moved to other places and jobs.

Don’t miss a chance to enjoy life, to stay in touch with your friends, to be a part of ham radio. There is an old joke reminding us that no one ever said on their deathbed, “Gee, I wish I had sat on the couch and watched more television.”

Now, get out there and get on the air. Don’t pass up an opportunity to talk with your friends. Go, go, go!

For Handiham World, I’m…

Patrick Tice, [email protected]
Handiham Manager

eally slick thing is that as soon as you upload it, they do an immediate syntax check (so you’ll know if there are any errors), then post your claimed score on their website along with everyone else in your category.

I submitted as Outside Europe, Single Operator, Multi-band, low power and I guess I’m kind of in the middle of the pack at the moment. Of course, this is subject to log checking (I may have made an error logging a station or two) and it will change as others submit their logs, but it’s nice to get immediate feedback. Another excellent use of technology by the contest organizers.

One nice side-effect of just “playing around” in the contest was that I did not only work OH0Z on Aland Island on 75m, but as soon as I uploaded my log to Logbook of The World this afternoon I got a confirmation of that contact, bringing me to 97 countries confirmed on that band. I’m getting pretty close to being able to submit for the 5 Band DXCC award.

Posted via email from K2DBK’s Ham Radio Blog

News Stories include:-

• Promoting Amateur Radio from the 'Fourth Plinth'
• New version of GJTRACKER available
• Jamming sellers to be fined
• Young amateur to join DXpedition
• UK HF Propagation Predictions
• Hams invited to join new emergency corp
• D-STAR on AO-27
• GB7NB D-STAR repeater operational
• DRM Receiver Profiles released at IBC 2009
• RSGB PLT Leaflet
• IARU Region 3 Conference Papers
• BBCTV Vintage video received in New York
• Wireless Communication Lectures
• Maldives operation
• Jamboree On The Air

Charlie Davey, M0PZT, joins use to discuss ClusterClient and your feedback.

In this latest installment of Linux in the HAM Shack, we air the second half of our interview with Bill, KA9WKA, from Episode #022. While the first part of the interview focused on Linux Mint and EeePC netbooks, this part is mostly about amateur radio, answering questions from the chat room and generally having a good time. In fact, it’s like a good old fashioned ragchew.

Not ones to leave out actual content and learning, we address questions from listener feedback, and Richard talks about using rig control software under WINE for Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood radios. And of course there are other topics thrown into the mix as well. Thank you to all of our listeners, old and new, for downloading this latest episode. Please tell all your friends about us and send us feedback, whether by e-mail, forum or voice mail. Hope to see everyone in Belton, TX on October 3rd or in Columbus, OH from September 25-27.

And may the force be with you.

News Stories include:-

• Ingenious Circuits of Sir Douglas Hall
• Guide to Digital PMR
• Wireless Power Consortium
• 'Invisibility cloak' antennas
• Amateur's planning victory
• First non-Icom D-Star repeater joins G2 network 
• UK Amateur numbers rise
• Australian 137 kHz beacon on-the-air
• Worked All Europe DX Contest
• Active Whip Antenna for LF Bands
• Lancaster Bomber on the air
• SDR-Radio

Colin provides an introduction to Echolink, your feedback and upcoming events.

I’ve been a fan of Logbook of The World (LoTW) since it was announced by the ARRL, and have written about it in previous posts. I’ve gotten a lot of stations confirmed by the use of this electronic QSL method, but today was, I think, the first time that I’ve gotten a confirmation for an all-time new entity via LoTW prior to receiving a physical card. By way of explanation, for new entities, I always send out a card to the station that I worked. At this point that’s a relatively rare occurrence, so I normally mail my QSL card to the other station pretty quickly. Under the best of circumstances, I’m thrilled to hear back from the other station in 2 or 3 weeks. It’s not unusual to wait 3 months or even longer (sometimes a lot longer; I’m still getting cards back from stations that I contacted in 2000), but in this case, I got confirmation via LoTW today for a contact made just 3 days ago. In fact, the total elapsed time between me “sending” my QSL record to LoTW and the confirmation being made was a grand total of 36 hours. (This information is available within the system.) You can’t beat that kind of turnaround time.

It’s not that unusual to get a confirmation from a domestic US station within minutes of a contact (especially at the end of a contest, where many stations all upload their log information at once), but this is a confirmation of a contact that I made with a station located in the Solomon Islands. Wow.

And yes, I will send for a physical card for this contact as well, just because it’s fun to have the cards.

Posted via email from k2dbk’s posterous

Welcome to Episode #021 of Linux in the HAM Shack. As always, feedback for the program has been abundant and entertaining. We address several listener questions and comments. We also have new features on the web site. Please check them out after listening to the show. Russ will be at the Ohio Linux Fest and Richard and Jerry from The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast will be in Denton at a hamfest there. Check out the podcast for more information on times and locations.

For the main segment of our program we talk with Paul Shirey of Teen Radio Journey, a podcast chronicling the pursuits of a young man from Illinois on a quest to get his ham radio license. It was a lot of fun to talk with Paul and we’re glad to have him on the show. As always, send us feedback on the program and leave us voice comments at (888) 455-0305. And if you have a few extra dollars kicking around and you find the podcast useful, why not make a charitable donation to the program? All funds go directly toward improving our show. Thanks for listening!