Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 323

Amateur Radio Weekly

2024 ARRL Field Day Theme: Be Radio Active
The theme encourages Radio Amateurs to take advantage of the peak of Solar Cycle 25.
ARRL

Installing VARA on Debian 12 Linux
I thought it best to document it here, and maybe help another poor lost soul.
The Modern Ham

QLog
A cross-platform logging app with rig control, cluster, WSJT-X support, and more.
OK1MLG

Girl Scouts gear up to talk to International Space Station
Here’s how they’ll do it.
The Sacramento Bee

My ATU is soooo good, it will give a perfect match on anything
Even without an antenna connected.
owenduffy.net

CATS APRS alternative featured on Hackaday
CATS uses raw FSK rather than the inefficient AFSK used by APRS.
Hackaday

Low band VHF tests in Western Australia
The frequencies were 30.8761 MHz , 36.6073 MHz, 39.1467 MHz and 40.6864 MHz.
EI7GL

How I do it: A complete POTA activation from start to finish
Watch me, in real time, as I deploy an end fed half wave antenna, set up my station on a picnic table, and do a QRP (5 watt) POTA activation on the 15 meter band.
KB8VBR

Handmade QSLs from the 1930s
Hams would purchase post cards from the post office (only a penny each, including postage!) and created their own designs.
KB6NU

Source of major RFI identified
You may note that it is at least 5,9+10dB.
Johnson’s Techworld

APRS RX comparison
Anytone 878 vs Yaesu FT-5DR.
W0RMT

Video

Portable DIY adjustable 2m J-Pole
Peel and stick some metal tape on a strap, cut out a J-Pole pattern.
VA5MUD

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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

ICQ Podcast Episode 425 – Getting Ready For Successful Portable Operation

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Bill Barnes (WC3B) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Getting Ready For Successful Portable Operation.

We would like to thank an our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

  • Bob Heil, K9EID, Silent Key
  • YLRL Celebrates International Women's Day with Special Event
  • ARISS Celebrates 40 Years of Hams on the Radio Space
  • Lunar Lander Still Functions Despite Landing Issues
  • UK Amateurs Start to Use New Privileges
  • Brandmeister Adds TETRA Based Network
  • Applications open for YOTA Czechia
  • Pop-Up Net Celebrates National Pi Day

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

LHS Episode #535: Saturday in the Park

Hello and welcome to the 535th installment of LInux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts cover changes to the Parks on the Air (POTA) program, HDMI's AMD denial, the passing of ham radio icon, Bob Heil (K9EID), KDE's new mega release, SDRtrunk and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew


Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 322

Amateur Radio Weekly

Bob Heil, K9EID, Silent Key
Heil was known as a mentor who enjoyed helping others find success in Ham Radio.
ARRL

America’s last Morse-Code station
The Radio Squirrels keep the tradition alive.
The Atlantic

EchoLink Web
An edition of EchoLink that runs entirely within a Web browser.
EchoLink

At peace with Amateur Radio over Internet
Internet is so integral to the current generation that any communications technology that doesn’t incorporate Internet to some degree might be perceived as irrelevant.
Zero Retries

New Amateur Radio newsletter
An emphasis on radio experiments and the VHF bands.
EI7GL

First SOTA activation
My furthest contact was with Z36T in The Republic of North Macedonia at 1501 miles.
GM5ALX

Restoring a mystery key
It didn’t have any markings on it and the seller said he thinks it was home made.
QRPer

Installing your Ham Radio mobile antenna on a vehicle
We will explore everything from the simplest configuration to the most complex.
OnAllBands

Winlink wishlist
Have officially supported clients for Mac and Linux.
W0RMT

Video

D75 versus FT5
Let’s take a look at the Kenwood TH-D75 radio compared to the Yaesu FT5.
KM4ACK

Hidden APRS Igate in your Yaesu mobile radio
Plug your radio into your PC or Raspberry Pi and install Ygate.
KM6LYW

ARRL DX Contest from the nuclear bunker
We return to the nuclear bunker on the North York Moors UK.
ianxfs

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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

Initial Get S.M.A.R.T. @ the Library a Success

Our first Get S.M.A.R.T. @ the Library event last Saturday (March 2, 2024) was a success. The Jackson ARC is holding quarterly Get S.M.A.R.T. events at the Madison (MS) Branch over 2024. Held at the Madison (MS) Branch of the Madison County Library System, we had 13 participants. Four declared that they were committed to getting their Technician license. After Library staff welcomed the group and introduced me as ARRL Assistant Director for the Delta Division and JARC President, Jim AK5J, Board Member Clay AC5Z served as the EmCee for the session. As the picture below illustrates, some were on the edge of their seats learning about today’s amateur radio story!

We used the ARRL slide deck for the basic overview during the first hour. This material is very good for introducing amateur radio to the public from my reading. We did not use the video but will use that to review in our third event, as explained in more detail below. Clay AC5Z was the lead speaker for the first hour’s information. He began with a personal “war story” but his details made the point of our theme: this is NOT your father’s radio! Here’s a snippet of that segment.

This broad overview from the ARRL material was followed up in the second hour by localizing amateur radio to the Madison area. Using the map of hams created by Ross  KT1F, we first showed the famous Herman Munster segment operating in his basement as a ham. All in attendance had some recollection of this cartoon-ish description of hams. Afterwards, the point was made that licensed operators aren’t likely to be very scary. Many live nearby, often in an audience member’s own neighborhood! While all knew that Herman was a fictional character, this attacked head-on the notion that hams are “different” in negative ways. But no, they are a lot like you and may well live next door. This map localized the some 250 licensed hams in Madison County in a way that is not possible with mere words alone. It clearly and emphatically made the point that we needed to make with a high degree of audience enthusiasm. Here’s a screenshot of that map, centered on the Madison Branch Library.

This second hour was largely spent on several hams giving brief explanations on one of their respective specialties. Mike K5XU, a blind since birth ham of over 50 years who has a career in broadcasting, explained his use of Morse Code in his CW operations. He related his early experiences in the Mississippi School for the Blind where a librarian helped him get amateur radio materials to learn CW. Rick N5ZNL extolled his love of working satellites as the audience piled on the questions about this segment of the hobby that is growing in popularity. Rick’s enthusiasm was contagious in the group in attendance. I (Frank K4FMH) discussed my activity in building things, emphasizing transceivers packaged for portable operations. These include various transceivers, ranging from QRP-ish rigs to a 500w station in a Gator Case, and battery boxes to power them. Clay AC5Z discussed his using Arduino-based tools to construct an automatic satellite tracker device for a light-load satellite antenna. This set of brief (and I emphasize brief) comments about various specialties that local hams participate in were very effective tools to give public attendees a clear sense of what we do. Many had questions, asked with enthusiasm. I believe that they will tell others before the next meeting.


 

Librarians as Hams, Libraries having amateur radio “shacks”

In addition to hosting these Get S.M.A.R.T. events, the MCLS has announced a goal of having at least one library staffer at each county library branch licensed in the near future. Coinciding with this licensure plan, they will be obtaining a ham station at each branch with a licensed amateur radio operator on staff. We hope to assist MCLS in obtaining equipment for operating on both VHF/UHF as well as HF as this effort matures over the year. This addition to their “maker space” facility development is huge.

This commitment by the Library System was unexpected on my end. But it underscores the interest by libraries to catalyze their STEM programming efforts. With homeschooling being a significant and growing trend, local public libraries are also school libraries for some. STEM programming is a “thing” these days for public libraries as they try to better serve their market. In Madison County (MS), they see a local amateur radio club like JARC being a highly valued partner in this effort. So much so that they are willing to get staff licensed, equipment acquired and installed, and give demonstrations for library patrons. Add bringing in JARC members for enhanced instruction and there’s a winning combination.

In our next Saturday Morning Amateur Radio Time (S.M.A.R.T.) event at the Madison Branch Library, we will conduct an activation behind the library using their Garden area. It has a permanent Gazebo and fixed picnic tables with seating. There are tall trees. This is planned for early May when the weather is more predictable here in Central Mississippi. We may promote this as a field test for “Libraries on the Air (LiOTA)” but I haven’t firmly decided on that. This activity will give attendees a chance to see amateur radio in action and participate themselves under a control operator. We will have HF stations operating CW, SSB and FT8 along with a VHF/UHF rig talking to local repeaters and Rick N5ZNL waving his Arrow antenna toward the sky for satellite contacts. Rumor has it that hot dogs, potato chips, and a cold drink may be available. Hmm. Should the event be titled, “All that Ham Radio—and a Bag of Chips“?

The final two Get SMART events will be back in the Library meeting room during late summer and fall. I’ll have a better sense of the topics that will be most effective then, after the activation event. We hope to have a summer Technician training and testing class in the Library, as four declared their commitment as well as library staff who are interested.

This year-long cycle, managed by the Jackson ARC in concert with my efforts as ARRL Delta Division Assistant Director, will tell us a great deal about how to partner with public libraries as a “served educational agency” to reach the public. Thus far, I could not have asked for a better partnership than with the MCLS and the JARC.


Frank Howell, K4FMH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Mississippi, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

It’s antenna farm time.

Before I purchased my Hustler 4BTV vertical antenna I was using a 45 foot End-fed antenna. I have kept the End-fed antenna coiled up and ready to go along with the coax still attached. The Hustler vertical only gives me 40, 20, 15 and 10m which is great for contesting BUT if I wanted to venture on to other bands it would mean using the End-fed antenna. Also during high wind storms or freezing rain, I have taken the Hustler vertical down and left with no antenna. I have been thinking of bringing the End-fed antenna back to life and using it when the Hustler is down due to weather and to venture on the bands the Hustler does not cover. 


I rehung the End-fed antenna recently to run it through the paces with my antenna analyzer to make sure after sitting unused for so long there were no issues. It checked out just fine and the SWR was decent and where it was a bit high my trusty LDG AT-200pro II would look after it. The main obstetrical for me is the proximity of the two antennas when they are both up at the same time. My next test was to connect my End-fed antenna to my Daiwa CN-901 antenna port and a 50-ohm dummy load to the radio port. I then wanted to transmit 100 watts into my Hustler 4BTV antenna and see what type of reflected power the Daiwa CN-901 SWR meter was showing. Below are the results for 40, 20, 15 and 20m on the 20 watts scale.

 

40 Meters

20 Meters

15 Meters

10 Meters

The reflected power was not significant and 10m was the highest. I plan to disconnect whichever antenna I am not using and connect it to a 50-ohm dummy load. In the future, I may prefab a 12-volt relay to switch between each antenna and use the relay contacts as the isolation point. For now, it is going to be the dummy load solution.


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Ham College 110


Ham College episode 110 is now available for download.

Extra Class Exam Questions – Part 48
E9F Transmission lines: characteristics of open and shorted feed lines, coax versus open-wire, velocity factor, electrical length, coaxial cable dielectrics.

Download
YouTube


George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

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