Nothing like waiting to the last minute.

 


It seems whenever I move on to the next windows operating, OS I seem to wait until the last minute. My move from Windows 10 to 11 was no different. For some time I was thinking about it and as always I don't run and upgrade when the new OS comes out. I have found in the past that some of the programs I rely on may not be ready for the new OS. Some time ago, I checked to make sure my PC was worthy of the upgrade. I ran the Windows compatibility test and my system passed. 

It was now time to back up any needed files, located any passwords needed for some program re-installs and make a list of all the programs I do have to make sure they back on the PC once the new OS is installed. Having said that it never fails once the new OS has finished installing as programs are being installed I find I forgot to back up one or 2 needed files. 

The difference this time around is I do have a clone of my hard drive located on a different SSD. If I find I did not back up a critical file, I can always boot to that drive and retrieve the file. As I looked more into the programs loaded on my PC, there were 2 major programs that needed a password when download and re-installed. I had no idea where these passwords were located, and that meant I would have to purchase the programs again. 

As I did further investigation, I found out Microsoft offered a Windows upgrade from Win10 to Win11 for free. The catch was if you had Win10 home you have to upgrade to Win11 home, you could not move to Win11 pro. If you wanted pro, you would have to purchase that OS. The main differences I could see were pro had BitLocker, windows information protection and the price.  I made the choice to stay with Windows home edition.  Also, I opted to go with the free upgrade to Win 11. To do this upgrade go to the Microsoft site and download the Win11 installation toolThis meant the installation would go over top of my Win10 install. Now I have heard and read of issues with doing this, but I thought in time if I find that it's just not working out I can purchase Win11 home and do the installation old school style. So far, things are working out just fine, and I am very happy with that. As a side note, if your system does not pass the Windows upgrade check thanks to a fellow blogger Bas PE3BAS, he posted about a program that can fix this issue and allow you to install Windows 11 on your PC. 


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

LHS Episode #597: arcOS-Linux Deep Dive

Hello and welcome to Episode 597 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts check out a ham-radio focused Linux distribution called arcOS. Topics include download and installation, philosophy and use cases, initial configuration and impressions, software package availability. design choices 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].

It’s our 50th Anniversary!

Commemorative VHF Net check-in 

Tuesday 7 October at 8 pm (PST)

SARC will be hosting its usual net at 8 pm (Pacific time) on Tuesday, October 7 on frequency 147.360 MHz +600 KHz, tone 110.9 Hz for a special commemoration of the society’s founding on Tuesday, October 7, 1975.   

Members and non-members are invited to check in.  We'll also be connecting to IRLP reflector 9005 for any stations who wish to join from outside our repeater’s footprint.  You can connect a repeater or your personal device by dialing node 9005.  

You can read about SARC's history at The Communicator Digital Edition: The Communicator July - August 2025

We encourage SARC members, past students, non-members, and readers of The Communicator to check in on this historic net and we hope to commemorate our 50th anniversary with a record number of check ins.

~





Nice to see 10m open.

 


 I dipped my toes this weekend in California QSO party. I entered as low power, CW, non assisted. Conditions were good and I was shocked how good 10m was. It was my highest scoring band for my part time effort. 


 


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

ICQPodcast Episode 467 – Allan Wiener WBCQ

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 Allan Wiener WBCQ.

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


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 – Issue 400

Amateur Radio Weekly

Amateur Radio licensing update during US government shutdown
ARRL Volunteer Examiners should continue giving exam sessions.
ARRL

Review: futureGEO Workshop 2025 in Bochum
Setting the course for the next geostationary Amateur Radio satellite.
AMSAT-DL

ISS Slow Scan TV October 3-9
ARISS Series 29 comprises 6 images to celebrate the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957.
AMSAT-UK

MicroLink EchoLink node
The smallest, cheapest way to put a radio onto the EchoLink network.
KC1FSZ

Construction of the Simple Low Profile Multiband POTA antenna
Although the antenna is described as “simple,” that term relates more to how it is deployed and its appearance than its actual construction.
Ham Radio Outside The Box

7,000 POTA QSOs at one park
This is no small feat for me.
WK4DS

Direction finding with a KrakenSDR
KrakenSDR is a 5-channel coherent RTL-SDR based software defined radio system.
RTL-SDR

Install a Ham Radio window feed-through
No-drill step-by-step.
Ham Radio Prep

Plotting RF spectrum with the LinHT
The display is so colorful, why not sprinkle it with a bit of DSP maths, generating a nice plot for us to enjoy?
M17 Project

Hurricane Helene: One year later
Amateur Radio became our family’s superpower.
K4SWL

Video

The 44Net origin story
We look back at the beginnings of 44Net, where pioneers share their contributions to putting the Internet over the airwaves.
ARDC

Easy packet radio interface
Digital interface lets you interface your dual-band rig to a Raspberry Pi or PC.
KM6LYW

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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.

The Pi is cooked

 

Ham Clock setup page 

A very long time ago I purchased a Raspberry Pi3 and at the time I was excited about experimenting with it but work got in the way, and it was put on the self. About 4 years ago and retired, I blew the dust off it and loaded Ham Clock on it. I have been using it ever since and found it has some very handy information for when I am contesting. The other day I turned on the Pi3, and it started to load, but I was then met with a black screen and the message "unable to load". I turned it off and back on and this time everything loaded except Ham Clock and for some reason it reverted to the setup page. I tried again to reboot, but Ham Clock still showed the setup page. I entered all my information again and was good to go...until I started the Pi3 the next day, when I booted the Pi3 nothing appeared on the screen and the LED lights on the Pi3 were flashing on and off very erratically. I changed out the SD card, reloaded the OS and after some investigation, I concluded the Pi3 was done. I now have a Pi4b on its way here and should be here on Sunday.


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

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