AmateurRadio.com

 I've written multiple times in this space about the magic of ham radio. It will always be magic to me.

This past weekend I was testing portable configurations for a trip I will be taking to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico next week. I am the President of the Alamo Area Council of the Boy Scouts and will be going through some training there. So, this trip I will not operating from a summit, but rather I need to work an IOTA Island that I need that will  QRV the week I am there.

I use EFHW's from summits all the time, but at QRP power levels, this time I will be running ~100 watts from a battery, so I thought an on air test would be a good idea. I conduct such tests in my backyard "Outdoor Radio Laboratory". I test portable configurations in an outdoor environment to simulate the conditions I will be operating in. I was running ~100 watts from an old Yaesu FT-100D to the EFHW  on a 30' pole tied off in a tree. I was tuning on 17m and I found and was able to work VK2SSI on OC-194, Solitary Island. So a portable to portable QSO would bode well for the capability of the set up.

Below is a video of the set up.


I think I have more fun in my backyard than in my regular shack.
Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

 I've written multiple times in this space about the magic of ham radio. It will always be magic to me.

This past weekend I was testing portable configurations for a trip I will be taking to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico next week. I am the President of the Alamo Area Council of the Boy Scouts and will be going through some training there. So, this trip I will not operating from a summit, but rather I need to work an IOTA Island that I need that will  QRV the week I am there.

I use EFHW's from summits all the time, but at QRP power levels, this time I will be running ~100 watts from a battery, so I thought an on air test would be a good idea. I conduct such tests in my backyard "Outdoor Radio Laboratory". I test portable configurations in an outdoor environment to simulate the conditions I will be operating in. I was running ~100 watts from an old Yaesu FT-100D to the EFHW  on a 30' pole tied off in a tree. I was tuning on 17m and I found and was able to work VK2SSI on OC-194, Solitary Island. So a portable to portable QSO would bode well for the capability of the set up.

Below is a video of the set up.


I think I have more fun in my backyard than in my regular shack.
Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Greetings! We have a super episode for you this time around. It's 151 Proof and packed with information on the Dayton Hamvention, NASA launches, lightweight Linux distributions that might be great in your ham shack, Android apps for amateur radio use and a whole lot more. Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode. If you have comments or questions, please don't hesitate to send us voice mail or e-mail feedback. We'd love to hear from you.

73 de The LHS Guys

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].

Ham College episode 7 is now available for download.

Ham College, the new show for those new to the hobby and those wishing to get into Amateur Radio.

In episode 7 we talk about and demonstrate Radio Waves. More questions and answers from the Technical class question pool.

52:28

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YouTube

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].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard  M0TCH / N4CTH and welcome to a debut news appearance for Edmund Spicer M0MMG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is Final interviews from Friedrichshafen.

• BBC Nano Computer's Final Design Confirmed
• European Common Allocation Table
• HamShield for Arduino (VHF/UHF transceiver)
• Friedrichshafen informal C5 meeting
• Radio Amateur’s Antenna Mast Planning Victory
• 1900-2000 kHz to become Primary Ham Band
• WIA Drafting 2-metre and 70-centimetre Band Plans

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

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard  M0TCH / N4CTH and welcome to a debut news appearance for Edmund Spicer M0MMG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is Final interviews from Friedrichshafen.

• BBC Nano Computer's Final Design Confirmed
• European Common Allocation Table
• HamShield for Arduino (VHF/UHF transceiver)
• Friedrichshafen informal C5 meeting
• Radio Amateur’s Antenna Mast Planning Victory
• 1900-2000 kHz to become Primary Ham Band
• WIA Drafting 2-metre and 70-centimetre Band Plans

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

I’ve been known to whine complain comment about the prohibition against using 146.52 MHz during ARRL radio contests. For example, see The One Frequency You Should Never Use on Field Day and Mt Herman: SOTA plus VHF Contest.

During my presentation on Mountaintop VHF for SOTA at the Central States VHF Society Conference in Denver today, I mentioned this is an issue. Basically, I pointed out that Summits On The Air (SOTA) operators often default to the 2m fm calling frequency, which is prohibited for use in the ARRL contests. This gets in the way when mountaintop stations do a combination SOTA and VHF Contest operation.

During my presentation, Brian Mileshosky N5ZGT, ARRL Director of the Rocky Mountain Division, reported that the ARRL has decided to remove the prohibition of 146.52 MHz in VHF contests. It will take some time for this to work its way into the actual rules, so stayed tuned for further developments.

This is great news…a cleanup of an unnecessary impediment to VHF contesting. Now, will the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest do the same?

73, Bob K0NR

The post Coming Soon: 146.52 MHz in ARRL VHF Contests appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].