AmateurRadio.com

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Chris Howard M0TCH and Andy Mace M0MUX to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s features is All I want for Christmas is ...

• Vanity Call Sign Rule Changes Petition
• Amateurs Criticize UK TV Show
• Possible SW Radio Solution to Worldwide Web Access
• Does Revised Driving Law Restrict Hams?
• Apply for Youngsters On The Air UK 2017
• White House Pushes for more Tiny Satellites
• New version of ROS data mode
• 2016 ITU Radio Regulations Released

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. 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.

This is a reminder of tomorrow's '630m activity night'. Highlights of the evening will see six different Canadian stations seeking contacts with other amateurs in North America via the 'crossband mode' as they call CQ on 630m CW but listen for replies on their announced (QSX) HF frequency. As well, there will be an increased level of on-air activity from many of the U.S. experimental stations, as they beacon or work each other on various modes including CW and JT9, the WSPR QSO-mode. The experimental stations are also seeking your reception reports.

More information may be found here regarding the activity night, including a detailed list of participating Canadians along with their respective transmitting and QSX HF listening frequencies.

As is often the case, old 'Sol is threatening to throw some junk our way over the next day or two, right on time for our event but please don't let that stop you from participating as often this can actually enhance propagation, especially on the north-south path.

We hope to see many of you tomorrow night!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

In the latest episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, Bill plays dead for Halloween. In his absence, Russ and Cheryl discuss long-distance 2-meter communication, vanity call sign rules, Windows 10 embedding Linux, Wal-mart, Arch Linux, Norse gods, fake Mexican food and a whole lot more. Thank you for tuning in. We appreciate 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].

Does the world need more Arduino clocks? Maybe not.

But I needed another Arduino project as I had made a K3NG morse keyer. I love this keyer because it is unique in supporting a display where you can see what you send. But I wasn’t using the morse keyer all the time, so I wanted the hardware to serve two purposes. That’s the excuse for also making a clock.

Its main features are:

• Controlled by a GPS module outputting data over an RS232 serial interface, and handled with the TinyGPS++ library
• Shows raw GPS data such as UTC time and date, position, altitude, and number of satellitess
• Shows derived GPS data such as 6-digit locator
• Finds local time and handles daylight saving automatically using the Timezone library
• Finds local sunset and sunrise, either actual value, or civil, nautical, or astronomical. The library is Sunrise.
• The clock also gives local solar height based on the Sunpos library from the K3NG rotator controller. 
• Finally, the clock also provides the lunar phase based on ideas found here and using a reference new moon on 11 November 2015, 11:47 (UNIX time 1447264020)

Local time, solar and lunar state Line 1: Local day, date, time Line 2: Sunrise, maximum solar elevation (actual solar angle during the day), sunset Line 3: Civil dawn, local time at maximum solar elevation, civil dusk Line 4: Lunar phase, arrow showing that it is rising, days since new moon

UTC and position display Line 1: UTC time, locator Line 3: latitude, longitude Line 4: Altitude, number of GPS satellites

Dual time display with local time, UTC time, and locator

The post “Yet another Arduino clock” first appeared on the LA3ZA Radio & Electronics Blog.

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

Does the world need more Arduino clocks? Maybe not. But I needed another Arduino project as I had made a K3NG morse keyer. I love this keyer because it is unique in supporting a display where you can see what you send.

But I wasn’t using the morse keyer all the time, so I wanted the hardware to serve two purposes. That’s the excuse for also making a clock. Its main features are:

• Controlled by a GPS module outputting data over an RS232 serial interface, and handled with the TinyGPS++ library
• Shows raw GPS data such as UTC time and date, position, altitude, and number of satellitess
• Shows derived GPS data such as 6-digit locator
• Finds local time and handles daylight saving automatically using the Timezone library
• Finds local sunset and sunrise, either actual value, or civil, nautical, or astronomical. The library is Sunrise.
• The clock also gives local solar height based on the Sunpos library from the K3NG rotator controller. 
• Finally, the clock also provides the lunar phase based on ideas found here and using a reference new moon on 11 November 2015, 11:47 (UNIX time 1447264020)

Local time, solar and lunar state Line 1: Local day, date, time Line 2: Sunrise, maximum solar elevation (actual solar angle during the day), sunset Line 3: Civil dawn, local time at maximum solar elevation, civil dusk Line 4: Lunar phase, arrow showing that it is rising, days since new moon

UTC and position display Line 1: UTC time, locator Line 3: latitude, longitude Line 4: Altitude, number of GPS satellites

Dual time display with local time, UTC time, and locator

The post “Yet another Arduino clock” first appeared on the LA3ZA Radio & Electronics Blog.

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

There's more to using Morse Code than Learning Morse Code

Head Copying

How to practice for a ragchew

THIS IS COMMUNICATION with Morse Code and it is different than anything else we are familiar with so treat it as learning a new skill.

Next steps

After you've practiced with machine sent top 100 or top 500 words you'll still need time copying actual QSOs because more often than not, most operators you will communicate with have lousy spacing and run their words together or use so many abbreviations that you'll have to learn to hear the abbreviations as new words.  When I work an operator who runs things together I'll first try to really exaggerate my word spacing during my exchange to give them a hint and if that doesn't work I ask them put more space between their words.  Some will comply, but some folks just don't seem to know how to leave space so I'll catch what I can, politely respond to what I could understand and then move on.

So if you're getting discouraged when you reach a wall of comprehension, try the steps above and with time I think you'll find your comprehension during a ragchew improving and it will take you to a new place in the hobby.

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations... and put extra space between your words!

73
Richard AA4OO

Update 11/7/2016:

KA8BMA pointed me to a nice reference created by W0XI for the top 100 "Ham Words" used in QSOs... check it out most common ham words
Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].