AmateurRadio.com

In all my time in amateur radio I have never once experimented with microprocessor programming and I have done very little “digital” design.  This seems to be a gap in my knowledge, although I am still not really interested, preferring RF design, especially QRP.  I must say I remain very impressed with Wolf’s (W5OLF) tiny WSPR-AXE-CW beacon: this goes to show just how much can be achieved with so little physically. Maybe this is a whole area I should embrace? The trouble is it is impossible to be an expert at lots of things, unless you are very bright. Certainly I do not consider myself a polymath! 

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

here's a video of Steve WG0AT and Frank K0JQZ's operation in balmy Colorado last weekend. Frank mentions this is Steve's back yard - VERY NICE back yard!

  

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Sunspot number today has fallen to 50, the lowest for quite a while and 10m propagation is forecast to be “fair” again.

Yesterday, 10m did open for me to the USA and plenty of stateside stations copied my 500mW beacon in the end after a late start. I suspect today it may be harder going as we seem, on average, to now be on the downward slope towards the next minimum, although this is years away. If predictions of the next maximum are to be believed, a SN of 50 would be considered a decent figure for the next sunspot peak! Of course, the predictions could be wrong, although the predictions have improved a lot and most got cycle 24 pretty accurately.

I have not yet turned on the 10m beacon this morning as we have visitors. It will probably be turned on just before lunch. I am still on MF but there are few active stations in range.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

Hello, listeners! In this fortnight's episode, we discuss emergency communications, Hamvention, paperless FCC licenses, the Rowetel SM1000, ShinySDR, streaming Netflix on Linux and a whole bunch of other stuff. Thank you for listening, and don't forget to donate to our Indiegogo Hamvention campaign if you can.

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].

The long-awaited next edition of the UK-based HD TV show dedicated to amateur radio is now available at www.txfactor.co.uk

In this episode the team investigates the issues of recruiting young people to the hobby and visits a veteran amateur who’s an inspiration to us all! We discover what the IOTA programme has to celebrate and test an innovative 2 metre antenna which can be won in our next draw.

We hope you enjoy the show!

TX Factor Team

Nick Bennett 2EØFGQ co-hosts TX Factor with Bob McCreadie GØFGX and Mike Marsh G1IAR. Contact the team at [email protected]

Over the last decade, I’ve listened to many ham radio podcasts and found them to be a great way to pass the time while driving or working in my home office.

Some of the best podcasts have come and gone, and some wax and wane on a regular basis as the host’s time permits (Jerry, we miss PARP!).

I put a list together of the eight podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis. Hopefully you’ll see one or two that you haven’t added to your list. Do you also enjoy listening to any of these great podcasts?

(And if I’ve missed a good one, please let me know in the comments!)

#1: ARRL Audio News

#2: Amateur Radio Newsline

#3: SolderSmoke Podcast

#4: ICQ Amateur Radio Podcast

#5: Hap Holly’s RAIN Report

#6: Linux in the Ham Shack

#7: Fo Time

#8: QSO Today

#9: 100 Watts and a Wire

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

This past week,  Les Rayburn (N1LF), compared his yearn for the start of spring baseball to the late spring return of summer VHF openings, with this delightfully nostalgic post to the VHF reflector.

It occurred to me this morning that being a VHF operator is a lot like being a baseball fan. It was warm and sunny here yesterday, and this morning the air has that first touch of Spring in it.

Sure, there arestill cold days ahead--but you just have that feeling that we've turned the corner on Winter. The days are getting a bit longer, and the sun doesn't set quite so early anymore.

And like baseball fans, we start to look forward to those first
rumblings out of the Spring league.

For me, that means the confident voice of August, K5HCT. Nothing heralds
the arrival of the season like those first faint signals and the
familiar refrain..."Here Comes Texas!". This is nearly always the first
call I hear in the season, and the last remaining on the band at it's end.

In my boyhood days, I loved listening to baseball on the radio at night.
Those far away places, and the crack of the bat---mixed with the static
and pops of Summer storms. It was like a magic carpet that could
transport me thousands of miles away...The rest of the year, I still
enjoyed tuning the dial during the overnight hours--maybe listening to
the Herb Jepko Nightcap show from Salt Lake, or Larry King---but radio
wasn't the same without baseball. And those months between the World
Series and Opening Day were the longest of the year.

All these years later, things haven't changed much. I still love
listening to baseball on the radio---but now while waiting for opening
day, I find myself turning another dial...listening hard in the static
to see if I can hear that faint signal on the calling frequency. A deep,
rich, confident voice calling "This K5HCT, Here Comes Texas!".

Somebody press play on that MP3 player or I-Phone---cue up Don Henley's
"Boys of Summer"...I'll hum along and wait for Spring.

--
--
73,

Les Rayburn, N1LF
121 Mayfair Park
Maylene, AL 35114
EM63nf
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].