Multi-tasking

Good afternoon everyone the weather up this way is raining, the MFJ loop is on the balcony and there is nothing to be had on 20 and 40m CW it seems everyone is participating in the CQ World wide WPX SSB contest this weekend. So why am I not jumping into the fray you ask.......well this is the topic for part 5 of  ham radio and the condo life. In this post I am going to look at the radio modes I found work best for me. In a condo it's very obvious your neighbors are very close and now a days each home is FULL of electronic gizmos! In condo living it's accepted practice to respect your fellow neighbors by keeping the TV and music to an acceptable level as well as any noise overall. For the ham it should also be an expectation to be RF mindful as well. One of  the ways I found to be a good RF neighbor is to in my case to make sure I  "mind my mode".
Years ago when I was in a townhouse and decided to spend more time with my radio hobby. It just so happens the upcoming weekend was the Canada day SSB contest. I had a nice Yaesu FT 1000 MP radio and I was all set to dive right in. My antenna was out on my car a far distance way with coax running out to it. The first day of the contest ended and I was having a blast until my fellow neighbor asked me "did you hear "CQ contest CQ contest" from my speakers! I said no (which was the true I didn't) but knowing full well what was going on the Canada day contest came to an end and the thinking cap went on.
I could go and see them and explain it could be the poor electronics they have that is picking up my signal............not a good idea I thought as this can just open a HUGE can of worms! The plan I came up with to keep me on the air was to become a QRP (low power) operator. I very much looked forward to this and as I looked into things I also came to the understanding that you get more bang for your watt with CW than you do with SSB. My first but not only mode for ham radio in a condo is CW. Now there may be readers who are thinking "nice idea but I am morseless" funny thing so was I. Some time ago did have a basic understand but far from proficient. I set out to learn CW and it did take time and remember I did say earlier I really liked contesting so the goal was to get my CW up to contest speed in around 25-35 WPM.
Years ago I was introduced to the digital modes but found it very frustrating to get the PC to play nice with the radio and digital program. It would seem all was working fine until I turned the the rig and the PC on and for some reason something else was wrong. I found it took more time to hunt the issue down than I was operating digital.  So for some time I just stuck with CW and put the digital modes off to the side.
The next radio for me was the Elecraft K3 and the Elecraft reflector was booming with posts about getting your K3 up and running on the digital modes. Back then the popular modes were PSK31 and WSPR. I did still have some issues with the PC and rig talking to each other and did get frustrated at times. At present my condo modes are CW and FT8 and at the present time FT8 is very popular. While writing this post I had FT8 running in the background and was able to make 12 contacts. Having said that I do find CW more interactive but today with the SSB contest going on CW contacts were far and few to be had. The rig I have now is the Icom 7610 and it is a breeze to get working with digital.
Do give me your feedback with modes you are using in your condo. The next topic for ham radio and the condo life is dealing with close neighbors and most likely being in a city or built up urban areas is electronics causing you grief with there noise.




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

Over the last few years I have started to lose magazines I subscribe to that are delivered by Royal Mail.



This month it was Radcom's turn, the April edition didn't show it's face. At least a week had gone by after despatch to the membership. One has to be on the ball, it would be easy for the month to pass and the next month to roll in and the copy might not be missed if I was busy. I seem to remember it was about this time last year that Radcom had gone missing, the year before that it was QST, do I have someone snaffling my post?

Anyway a quick call to the RSGB office and there was one sent out in a plain brown envelope very quick! But I had missed the window of opportunity for persusing members ads, which you have to be quick if one is on the lookout for a bargain. 



Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

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.

It's time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain fun. Thanks for listening and, if you happen to get a chance, feel free to call us or e-mail and send us some feedback. Tell us how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you.

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].

Stories you’ll find in our April, 2019 edition:

TSM Reviews: Uniden SDS100 Base/mobile Scanner
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW

On the heels of the release of the SDS100 handheld scanner in the first quarter of 2018, Uniden announced the release of the SDS200 base/mobile scanner in January 2019. Like the SDS100, the SDS200 is a True I/Q™ scanner, that incorporates software defined radio technology to provide improved digital performance in even the most challenging RF environments.

What sets the SDS100/200 series scanners apart from any others in the marketplace is their ability to handle simulcast reception issues while monitoring certain P25 trunk radio systems. Larry takes a look at this talented scanner in part two of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

Bringing Ham Flavored STEM into the Classroom
By Martha Muir W4MSA

Members of the North Fulton Amateur Radio League (NFARL) spent a week working with some seventh and eighth grade students at Mill Springs Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia, teaching them some fundamental concepts of electronics with direct applications related to amateur radio. This is part of a program at Mill Springs called Winter Learning, where students get to take a weeklong seminar on a specialty topic. This specialty topic, “Electricity is Magnetic!” was organized by NFARL members, Chuck Catledge AE4CW and Jim Stafford W4QO. Martha tells us what happens when Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics meets amateur radio in the classroom.

Portable Airband Transceiver Overview
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

The VHF spectrum is full of FM analog and various forms of digital voice and data communications, but also found there are communications based on a technology that goes back a century and then some—AM or Amplitude Modulation. This is the type of signaling shared by commercial and general aviation pilots, as well as the men and women on the ground that communicate with them to keep everyone safe and moving efficiently. If you live near an airport of any size you may have wondered about listening in. Cory takes a look at listening to this small but important slice of the spectrum.

Othernet’s Free Satellite Service Continues to Evolve
By Kenneth Barbi

The free one-way digital satellite service, known as Othernet, has been evolving since its debut in 2017. Othernet had operated first on Ku-band and then on L-band, and though coverage was worldwide, the cost was astronomical, and the throughput was limited to 20 MB per day. By reconfiguring their operation back to Ku-band, costs came down and throughput increased to more than 1 GB per day. But the change required different hardware. Kenneth updates the latest on this non-profit information service.

Scanning America
Dan Veeneman
TETRA System; FCC Actions; Clark County, Ohio

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Federal Radios Fading Away?

Milcom Monitoring
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Monitoring the Pakistan-India Navies

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
North Korean “Numbers” Messages Continue

Shortwave Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
ISS Astronauts are Calling CQ Students

Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Split P Soup

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Down to the Wire

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
ATSC3, 4K and 5G: What Next?

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
A New Cycle is Born

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
Hunting Shortwave Schedule Changes

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Slovakia on Shortwave, RNZI, Plus BBC Programming this Month

Maritime Monitoring
By Ron Walsh VE3GO
Winter Winds, Spring Melt and Radio

Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Still a Thrill: The National SW3 “Thrill Box”

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Well Grounded: A Down to Earth Station

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, is publisher and managing editor of The Spectrum Monitor. Contact him at [email protected].

Hello and welcome to the latest short-format episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts discuss improvements to the Nano editor, Indian satellites with amateur radio payloads, Puerto Rico bracing for a year of emcomm, add-on applications for WSJT-X, network time protocol (NTP) and much more. Thank you for listening and supporting our program!

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].

Just as my shelf space for new projects keeps expanding (and quickly running out!), so does my main web site, "The VE7SL Radio Notebook". I have just added a new page to the site describing the construction of my newly-completed Jones Power-Oscillator using a pair of 6L6s.

If you might be thinking of building a 'Jones', you may find something helpful or perhaps find inspiration for a new project. The new page may be found here.

I'm presently building the final version of my RK-39 crystal power-oscillator ... but I have no idea where I 'll put it when finished!



Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].