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.

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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].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 321

Amateur Radio Weekly

Inclusivity in Amateur Radio
ARRL CEO David Minster responds to open letter from 45 Hams.
W0RMT

2024 Amateur Radio Booklet
A summary of all the needed data when you are operating. The booklet covers all the IARU regions.
NoelM

RSGB updates list of HF beacons [PDF]
Worldwide list of HF beacons updated January 2024.
RSGB

International Space Station targets 2030 for end of life
NASA requests funding for $1 Billion to deorbit the ISS.
SpaceRef

Carlos goes under the knife
Carlos has gone through several iterations since I got him. First I swapped out the 2, 5-pole filters for 5, 8-pole filters.
KK4Z

Chit in the Game
How low can we go before the large equipment manufacturers and dealers quit the hobby?
KE9V

Repairing a dead Kenwood TS-850S
They suffer from an ailment that has struck down many pieces of electronic gear from that same era: Capacitor Plague.
KA7OEI

Simple Arduino rotary tuning knob for SDR
Using an Arduino UNO R4 Minima.
Marxy’s musing on technology

Ham Radio tech: EchoLink & Broadcastify
You can access EchoLink with a radio, computer, or mobile device.
OnAllBands

Experiencing Knife Edge diffraction
In short, when radio waves hit an edge, it bends and goes all over the place.
Nuclearrambo

IndiaRocketGirl receives FengYun-2H S-VISSR satellite images
Build a satellite dish and feed to receive FengYun-2H S-VISSR signals and get beautiful full disk images of the earth.
RTL-SDR

Video

Alaska POTA fly-in
Activating a remote park via plane.
KL7EC

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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.

LHS Episode #534: CQRlog Deep Dive

Hello and welcome to the 534th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take a deep dive into a topic that has come up several times on the show: CQRlog. Topics including downloading the software, installation, initial configuration, general usage and ultimately some advanced topics. We hope you enjoy this episode. 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].

ICQ Podcast Episode 424 – Your Ham Questions / Our Amateur Radio Answers

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Your Ham Questions / Our Amateur Radio Answers.

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

  • Amateur radio - More Freedom to Innovate
  • A Satellite Designed to Inspect Space Junk just Made it to Orbit
  • Bill S.3690 to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio
  • You Must be Joking - Amateur Radio Gets Downright Silly
  • California Girl Scouts Get Spaced out
  • Errata to the 2024 - 2028 Amateur Extra-Class Question Pool Released
  • Amateur Radio Operators Needed for Help with Solar Eclipse Project

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

CHOTA 2024 is Announced…

Churches and Chapels on the Air (CHOTA) 2024 will be held on Saturday, 14th September, 2024. John G3XYF, organizer of CHOTA in the UK, has announced the date for this year. For a roster in an Excel spreadsheet of the churches in the UK and US that were registered in 2023, go to this link.

In 2023, I took a leadership role in promoting participation in this low-key event here in the U.S. John G3XYF welcomed this idea. We had about a dozen on this side of the Pond to join in the fun. For 2024, I’ve floated this idea to John for his review and consideration.

What if, at a specified time each hour, every church team QSYed to a specified 20 meter frequency and tried to work each other across the Pond? Of course, propagation and equipment will rule the day. But by incorporating this 10 minute or so period into the framework, it will continue to build a bridge between the two sets of ham operators, no? I’ll post later if this idea has merit with the organizer.

Consider fielding a team at an area church this year! I’ve had several inquiries that I’ve sent along to John G3XYF as the organizer of the event. This has been underway in some fashion since 1957 so isn’t it high time we got in gear on this? Pass this webpage along to other hams whom you might think would be interested.

My church Senior Pastor and Church Administrator quickly button-holed me after the event to please organize it again in 2024. It was a great activity with the stress-to-fun ratio definitely being in the operator’s favor! Food availability tends to draw a crowd…

I’ve included a previous story I published on the Vicksburg (MS) ARC website below so readers can see how it went at my church in Ridgeland, MS for the 2023 event.


Some of our members participated in the first annual special event of CHOTA in the United States. This was at the Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, MS on Saturday, September 9, 2023. CHOTA is Churches and Chapels On The Air, an event of the World Association of Christian Radio Amateurs and Listeners. That organization began in 1957 in England by the Huddersfield South Methodist Radio Club. It’s been ecumenical since 1978. (See https://k4fmh.com/2023/07/12/chota-2023/ for details on CHOTA and planning for this event.)

The Jackson ARC managed the Welcome Tent uponr the invitation of event organizer Frank K4FMH and his church administrator, Larnie Shinnick. JARC invited members of VARC to attend, operate and exhibit satellite communications. Eddie Pettis N5JGK was joined by an area ham, Rick Largent N5ZNL to showcase this activity. All area hams were invited to attend the event through the dissemination of an announcement flyer and ARRL MS Section emails.

Four stations were set up to work Phone, CW, FT8, and satellites. The HF stations used wire antennas hung from trees on one corner of the church’s sixteen-acre campus. Stations were limited to these to avoid RF interference. The SSB and FT8 stations each had bandpass filters to help in this regard. VARC member Eddie Pettis N5JGK used his HT and Arrow antenna, as did Rick Largent N5ZNL, to work satellites. Mike N5DU used his Xiegu G90 station at 10 watts to work FT8 on 10 and 15 meters, reaching Europe, South America for several contacts that really excited TV reporter Walt Grayson in his story. Frank K4FMH brought his HF station built into a large Gator Case featuring an Icom 7300, Ameritron amplifier, MFJ ATU, Array Solutions Bandpass System, and BHI DSP speaker. Tom Brown AE5I brought his Yaesu FT-897 transceiver and CW bug where he and Mike Duke K5XU worked the meager options available on a very ragged 40M band. A total of over 100 contacts were made throughout the US as well as around the world. Two SSB contacts were with other activated churches in the US although those in England were not heard here.

The church provided a food truck on site and added ice cream. Both were free to those in attendance. We greatly appreciate Highlands Pres for being such a gracious host for this event! Truly, a good time was had by all in attendance.

The news media was present and gave great coverage of the event, including a front-page story in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger on Monday (see pic). The Clarion-Ledger has a gallery of pictures taken by reporter Ed Inman with a front-page story in the paper’s Monday, September 11th edition. Legendary TV news reporter Walt Grayson of WJTV Channel 12 in Jackson published a video feature story for the Monday evening newscast. Jim Armstrong AK5J said that for as long as he has been a licensed ham operator, he has not seen as much publicity for amateur radio as this event has received.

Clarion-Ledger, Monday, September 11, 2023. Photo: Frank K4FMH

Here is the coverage by Walt Grayson of WJTV Channel 12 in Jackson:

Video: Walt Grayson WJTV Channel 12 story about the event

Below are some additional pictures of the event for you to enjoy.

Friday setup: Jim AK5J, JARC President, and Clay AC5Z, JARC Board Member, getting lines ready for installation in trees
The portable phone station recently built by Frank K4FMH
Thomas Gandy N5WDG working 20M SSB on full battery power
Clarion-Ledger reporter Ed Inman interviewing the event organizer, Frank K4FMH. Clay AC5Z and Rick N5ZNL looking on.
Eddie N5JGK tracking a satellite with the HT/Yagi system with Clay AC5Z tracking it by cell phone app (photo: Ed Inman, Clarion-Ledger)
Frank K4FMH logging numerous 20M SSB contacts made by Thomas N4WDG.
Mike N5DU being interviewed by Walt Grayson WJTV about working digital modes on low power.


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

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 320

Amateur Radio Weekly

Announced DX operations
NG3K Amateur Radio Contest/DX Page.
NG3K

Differences and benefits of popular Ham Radio logging apps
Comparing Ham Radio Deluxe, N1MM Logger+, Log4OM, and QRZ Logbook.
N1JUR

The Amateur Radio operator who reconnected communities
As Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through the East Coast early last year, he too got swept up in the disaster.
1News

SpaceX to deorbit 100 Starlink satellites due to detected flaw
The removal of so many satellites at once is unprecedented.
Gizmodo

Inverter Talk
You didn’t know you needed one.
Off Grid Ham

POTA: A frozen activation
I operated both CW and FT8 today.
WK4DS

Spectrum analyzer buyer’s guide
There are some very inexpensive options out there.
Hackaday

Meet Ahmad, an Amateur Radio operator in Malaysia
Ahmad Husaini travels the airwaves to communicate with foreign radio operators.
FMT

Video

2024 Minnesota QSO Party 20 meter pile-up
Activating 27 counties in ten hours.
The Old Swedes Farm

POTA maritime mobile
Unseaworthy canoe.
HamJazz

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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.

Operating Patterns Among Canadian Amateurs Report is Completed

It’s taken me months longer than I anticipated but my full analysis of the national survey that the Radio Amateurs of Canada fielded in 2021 is now in completed form. RAC President Phil McBride VA3QR and Regulatory Affairs Officer Dave Goodwin VE3KG are reading it now.

Dave Goodwin had asked me to drop everything and do an extensive analysis of the 2023 RAC survey on amateur call signs for the regulator in Canada. They have published that report and the raw data themselves on the RAC.ca website. I hope they do the same with this one. It reflects RAC’s commitment to transparency in their work as the national organization for amateur radio.

I have placed a March 2024 date on the “final” version after any corrections in the final draft are completed. RAC will publish the report on their main website afterwards. I’ll put a copy at my complementary website, FoxMikeHotel.com, under this link.

There are some very significant findings in this report for amateur radio in Canada. These data are, from my experience, the most detailed measurements of operating activity for a national survey that is publicly known. Alan Griffin, Editor of RAC journal The Canadian Amateur, is interested in my submissions of papers for their consideration. Stay tuned…


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

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