We're coming up to our club's 50th Anniversary and this is another big issue, with a look back at our history, great articles, and our regular columnists.

Now read in over 165 countries, this issue brings you 130 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.

Download the July - August 2025 Communicator in 
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The deadline for the next edition is August 15th.

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73,

John VE7TI
'The Communicator' Editor

The Table of Contents for the July - August 2025 Communicator issue:

 This weekend was the running of the ARRL Field Day event. For some they get out into the elements and set up an emergency-type station. Both individuals and clubs take part all over Canada and the U.S. There is a category for home stations on mains power....that was my preferred setup. This year the solar conditions were a bit of a challenge which involved considerable fading. I find that during ARRL Field Day when calling CQ FD I had to really listen for stations. There were many QRP stations, those using minimal antenna setup and then the good old poor solar conditions. I found many stations coming back to me just at the noise floor. I entered CW only at 100 watts from my home station and to the noise floor stations who were running who knows what I could be booming into them. I wanted to make every effort to make the contact. It was a good workout of skill. Below is the final score I did pull the plug a bit early as I found myself just calling CQ FD without any responses. 

Many of you already know about this wonderful alert tool: HamAlert. From the HamAlert website:

HamAlert is a system that allows you to get notifications when a desired station appears on the DX cluster, the Reverse Beacon Network, SOTAwatch, POTA, WWFF Spotline, or PSK Reporter. No need to keep checking these resources manually if you’re looking for a certain callsign, DXCC, CQ zone, IOTA island, SOTA summit or WWFF/POTA reference.

HamAlert is quite versatile, allowing you to tune its alerts to meet your needs. You do this by defining triggers that, well, trigger an alert. I won’t cover all of the possibilities here, but I will show you how I have my triggers set:

Most of these are just ham friends and family that I want to keep track of, see when they are on the air: K0JJW, KF9EY, KB9DPF, & W0BV. W0BV is a special case because he is an active DXer not too far from me, so it is helpful to see what he’s doing on 6 meters and HF. W0CLA and KV0CO are the callsigns of clubs I belong to. For these callsigns, the trigger is set for any activity on any band.

K0GU is a noted 6m enthusiast in Colorado that I follow because if something is happening on 6m, he is usually in the mix. (A major part of the challenge of 6 meters is knowing when the band opens.)

Probably the most important trigger for me is the Summit Association W0C, which alerts me whenever a SOTA activation is spotted in Colorado (W0C). I am only interested in working Activators on VHF/UHF, but I set the trigger for any band. Many times, activators are spotted only on HF, but they may still operate VHF/UHF. Similar to this is the POTA trigger for parks in Colorado. I just want to be alerted to park activations happening only in my state.

I have my callsign K0NR on the list because it is helpful to know where I am getting spotted. This can be very helpful when trying to work DX or activating a SOTA summit. If I am looking for a particular DX callsign, entity (country) or zone, I can add that to this list as well. When we travel, I may adjust these for local activity, depending on the situation.

I generally set up the triggers via the web interface and then receive the Alerts on my iPhone, via the HamAlert app, as shown below.

Anyway, take a look at this handy app and let me know how you use it.

73 Bob K0NR

The post HamAlert Is My Friend appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

In this episode, we join  Martin Butler M1MRB, Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Edmund Spicer (M0MNG) 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 Kit Building Advice.

We would like to thank Denny Morrison (GM1BAN) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Exam Standards Committee Annual Report
• Radio Signals Have 'Upward Propagation' Through Ice, Stone
• Wireless Institute of Australia Highlights Concerns Regarding IARU Restructuring Plan
• Senate Confirms Olivia Trusty to FCC
• ARRL Announces Logbook of The World® Systems Upgrade
• Local, County, and State Governments Proclaim Value of Amateur Radio
• 2025 ARRL Field Day this Weekend

In this episode, we join  Martin Butler M1MRB, Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Edmund Spicer (M0MNG) 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 Kit Building Advice.

We would like to thank Denny Morrison (GM1BAN) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Exam Standards Committee Annual Report
• Radio Signals Have 'Upward Propagation' Through Ice, Stone
• Wireless Institute of Australia Highlights Concerns Regarding IARU Restructuring Plan
• Senate Confirms Olivia Trusty to FCC
• ARRL Announces Logbook of The World® Systems Upgrade
• Local, County, and State Governments Proclaim Value of Amateur Radio
• 2025 ARRL Field Day this Weekend

Listen Now

Spin the Random Topic Wheel (Segment 1)

• Operating QRP and QRP Radios

This Weekend in Hedonism (Segment 2)

• Cheryl’s Recipe Corner

• Tasso

• Description

• Our recipe this week comes from the cookbook, Zydeco et pas salè (https://a.co/d/0yGdwOD)), with all the fabulous Cajun recipes, that our friend and longtime listener, Hutch (K9KJN) published.  He recently told me that I could use any of his recipes in the Recipe corner, so I opened up the cookbook today, closed my eyes and just pointed… and this is the recipe I selected!  I’m really happy I did… I love the Tasso he prepares.

• Ingredients (Tasso Meat)

• 1 5-pound pork tenderloin, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds

• 5 cups Worcestershire sauce

• 5 cups Tasso Seasoning (recipe below)

• Ingredients (Tasso Seasoning)

• 1 cup coarse-ground black pepper

• 1 cup kosher salt

• 1 cup cayenne powder

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1-1/2 cups granulated garlic

• 1 tablespoon allspice

• Directions

• Marinate the sliced pork tenderloin in Worcestershire sauce overnight. Remove the meat and drain. Combine all tasso seasoning ingredients and place the tasso seasoning onto a large, flat platter and dredge the pork in the seasoning, coating both sides. Layer the pork in a large colander, covering each layer with extra seasoning. Place the colander in a large pan to catch any liquids, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 3 days. Preheat a smoker. Remove the meat and place in the preheated smoker. Cook until the tasso reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Makes about 3 pounds of Tasso Note: This makes a jerky like meat.  Very spicy, but delicious!

• Cheryl’s Mixed Drink Corner

• Face Off

• Description

• Bill brought me a lovely bottle of Huckleberry Vodka, from Bozeman Spirits (Bozeman, MT) to Hamvention.  I was encouraged, during the last Weekender, that I needed to find a recipe to share with everyone that featured the vodka.  Here is what I found (and what I found goes well with the vodka).  While I have not found this specific brand on shelves in Missouri, 360 Vodka (based out of Weston, MO) has a Huckleberry Vodka that would be quite tasty this way if you find that on your store shelves.

• Ingredients

• 2 oz Huckleberry Flavored Vodka

• 1 oz Blue Curacao

• 3 oz lemonade

• Ice

• Directions

• Add ice, Huckleberry Flavored Vodka, and blue curaçao to a shaker. Shake and strain into a glass with fresh ice. Top with lemonade.

• Russ’s Drink Corner

• Bumbu XO Rum

• Description

• Bumbu XO is truly a thing of beauty. An aged rum that is smooth, rich and complex. Created from scratch by our master distiller, our XO aged rum is matured in ex-bourbon barrels and selectively finished in white oak sherry casks to achieve a beautifully balanced, endlessly sippable rum. This special release is distilled and aged in Panama, where we created a truly unique – and unquestionably superior – rum. Aromas of toffee, toasted oak, and vanilla give way to orange zest, peppery spice and even a hint of coffee on the palate. A wonderfully engaging rum that encourages repeat visits, Bumbu XO is perfect for traditional rum cocktails – and perhaps even better on its own, neat or with a single ice cube.

• Details

• Mashbill: 100% cane sugar

• Region: Barbados

• Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

• Color: Medium amber

• Nose: Toffee, toasted oak, vanilla, cocoa

• Taste: Orange zest, pepper, coffee, dark chocolate

• Finish: Medium length with notes of cocoa powder, molasses, sweet oak and pepper

• Price: $38 (750ml)

• Rating: 93

Segment 3 (Announcements & Feedback)

• Please Help Support the Show

• Patreon

• Paypal

• Merch

• Topics

• YouTube

Segment 4 (New Subscribers, New Supporters & Live Participants)

• Subscribers and Patreons

• Joshua Burleigh

• Mastodon

• @craigify

• @K3LOE

• Bluesky

• @taekehf

• Discord

• Bingleton Zinglewing

• Chris

• Lucas

• AJ7MRemote

• Live Chat

• Mike, K6GTE

• Husked (K0NEB - Joe Eisenberg)

• Darren, VK6EK

• KB3ORR (Brian)