AmateurRadio.com

This is a photo of the kit currently used. The top FT817ND is used mainly for 2m and 70cms (local FM net, SSB and CW, beacon hunting) and the lower FT817 for WSPR, JT65 and JT9-1 mainly on 6m and 10m. The lower rig is set at 2.5W, but the cable run to the V2000 vertical is lossy on 6m. I use a SignaLink USB audio interface to the PC.  This works well. For all digital modes I use the FT817 on DIG setting via the rear connector.   Sometimes I use the Z817 ATU, which I find very good. With this, I can get onto 5MHz and some other bands.

Best DX (on WSPR) is Australia at 1W out on 40, 20 and 10m and Israel on 6m WSPR (1W ERP).

Not shown (on shelf above) is the 472kHz homebrew transverter, the 15m MFJ Cub and the Mizuho 200mW 2m SSB rig. Also out of sight are a 136kHz beacon, the 2m Fredbox, the 6m Sixbox, the VLF 8-9kHz beacon, and optical rigs. I am waiting for better health to be able to use these again. Currently my operating is all from home and mainly modes not requiring me to talk, although I have ventured onto our Monday night FM net and the odd 2m and 70cm contest.

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

Three perhaps noteworthy amateur radio activities occurred recently around K8GU: 1. During the course of some HVAC upgrades, I was able to get two holes core drilled through the foundation to bring coax and control cables into the house; 2. I operated in the NAQP August CW contest; 3. Evan and I went to the Berryville, VA, hamfest.

These two ports exit the basement into a crawl space where I will ground the cables before they enter the house.  I still need to get some hydraulic cement or other quick-setting patch mortar to clean up the drill crater on the outside.  Total cost: $5 in materials and a large pizza for the crew.

Screenshot above shows TRLinux after the end of the contest (obviously it was today, not last night).  TRLinux performed flawlessly again with the YCCC SO2R+ box driving the KK1L band-decoder and 6×2 switch.  I operated for about five hours (probably a little more, and definitely more if I used the NAQP 30-minute time-off rule to calculate it).  I got up after my first operating sitting at the beginning of the contest and left the shack.  As I exited the door, I was hit with the smell of hot electronics.  You know the smell: like when you just let the smoke out of a transistor.  I walked over to the antenna switch matrix where I was using a triplexer to split the hexagonal beam to both radios.  It was warm to the touch.  It seems to have continued to function, but I’ll have to disassemble it at some point to see if any irreversible damage was done.

The August NAQPs are always fun for us out East because there is the ever-present opportunity for sporadic-E throughout the contest, giving us a chance to work nearby states, which can really drive up the multiplier (and QSO, depending on the direction of the opening) total.  Of course, this is the real boon of having a second radio: you can call CQ on your most productive band while looking for openings on the others.  I came down after supper with the family to “work 40 meters before it goes long” and ended up with blistering 10- and 15-meter runs into the Midwest and South.  Since Evan and I were planning to go to the hamfest and I don’t yet have a 160-meter antenna at the “new” QTH, I pulled the plug at midnight local time (0400).  Not sure 40 meters was even getting long at that point.  At any rate, it was wonderful to say “hi” to so many old friends from MRRC, MWA, SMC, PVRC, and beyond!

A final comment:  You can really tell how much better one radio is than another when you have them both side-by-side on your desk.  This was quite apparent when I had the K3 and the TS-930S and it is also apparent with the K3 and the K2.  The K2 is a wonderful radio and fun to operate, especially in the field, but it’s not the K3 as far as fit and finish, among other things.  No, I’m not buying another K3 anytime soon.  The K2 is quite enough for the second radio.

I’ve always heard that the Berryville, VA, hamfest had a good boneyard/fleamarket/swapmeet but I’ve never managed to attend.  I resolved to attend this year and was pleasantly surprised.  Evan came along for the ham-and-egg breakfast, which was good but he rejected the ham after only consuming about 1/3 of it, and a trip to the playground at the school across the road.  This is still a “real” hamfest like the ones I remember going to in the early 1990s before eBay and online trading really took the wind out of swapmeets.  There were plenty of rigs spanning the spectrum of boatanchor to relatively modern, HF and VHF/UHF.  There were lots of amplifiers, as well, (and a small quantity of CB junk; Texas Star, anyone?)  There were also lots of antennas, and even some Rohn 25.  The computer and cell phone accessory dealers were mercifully few and there were lots of tables of parts, bits and pieces.  This is a ham’s hamfest and I’ll be returning.  I picked up a bunch of Cinch-Jones plugs and sockets for my new cable ingress, plus some SMA connectors and flexible coax jumpers.  Plus, I ran into a few friends, although not the ones I expected to see!

Ethan Miller, K8GU, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Maryland, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

A few weeks ago I had one of my rare visits to the post office. As I was waiting, I saw a display of a new series of stamps and I just had to buy the one shown here. What caught my attention was not really the artist, but rather the Kurér portable radio.

The stamp was of course not about the radio but was issued in commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of the birth of Alf Prøysen. The English Wikipedia page has this to say about him:

Alf Prøysen (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970), was a writer and musician from Norway. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the twentieth century, and he made significant contributions to literature, music, TV, and radio.

One of his main characters was “Teskjekjerringa” called Mrs. Pepperpot in English. She is shown here in the second stamp in the series. I remember this story very well from my own childhood in the 60’s as told in the characteristic calm and soothing voice of Prøysen himself. The character eventually appeared in 23 different languages. The radio is of course here because this and others of his plays were very popular on radio in the 50’s and 60’s.

And it was this radio, the Kurér (= Courier), that made me buy the stamp. It was a highly successful portable radio from the Radionette factory in Oslo from 1950 to 1958. It has four valves and covers long wave, medium wave, ‘ the trawler band’, and short wave. It has room for batteries (90 Volts and 1.5 Volts). But luckily it also has a built-in mains supply – the 90 Volt battery is hard to find these days. A total of 224 000 were produced and it was exported to many countries especially in the Middle East. It is very easy to repair even today.

I would think the most popular version today among collectors is the dark red one shown in the stamp. I have a grey one shown here with a simple medium wave transmitter that I have described before on top.

• Alf Prøysen honored with stamps
• Kurér radio. This radio could could need an English language Wikipedia page as well as a better Norwegian one.
• The Radionette factory 1927-1972

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

The history of the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) goes all the way back to the last century when David Cameron, VE7LTD created it. His was an effort to link repeater systems across Canada using the Internet. Since then, the system has evolved, matured and grown. And it’s still growing. Today, there are nearly 1700 active nodes around the globe.

I built an IRLP node (4212) way back in 2003 and have operated it as a simplex UHF node in my home ever since. With it and my handheld transceiver, I’m only ever just a few touch-tone presses from linking my system to repeaters and other simplex nodes around the planet.

These days, much attention is heaped on D-STAR, the growing digital network promoted by ICOM. Digital systems have some advantages that might be very useful going forward in the amateur service. I use and support the continued deployment of D-STAR, but if you’re thinking about diving into linked systems, I can think of five good reasons why IRLP should be considered before taking the digital plunge:

1. IRLP uses standard FM. There are few radio amateurs who don’t already have a standard two meter or 440 transceiver at their disposal. D-STAR equipment is generally more expensive, and it obsoletes perfectly good hardware.
2. D-STAR systems usually require all new repeater hardware. IRLP can make use of existing, standard FM repeater installations with the addition of some simple equipment. Clubs don’t have to chuck their previous investment in their repeater system to deploy IRLP.
3. If you can push-to-talk and press a few touch-tone keys, you can link your local IRLP system to others. D-STAR equipment is much more complex to use. Programming software is generally employed to make the task of setting the new D-STAR radio up a bit easier but despite ICOM’s best efforts to make it simple, it remains a steep learning curve.
4. The D-STAR system can be accessed directly via the Internet via the DV-Dongle. While this could be seen as an advantage, radio purists will blanch at the notion of operators “getting on the air” directly via the Internet. Sure, the Internet provides the backbone for IRLP, but it’s a system design requirement that real radios are required on both ends of an IRLP link. That’s why VE7LTD used the “keeping the radio in ham radio” motto.
5. And then there’s the audio. Listening to an FM transmission from a properly adjusted ham radio repeater is a joy. D-STAR audio on the other hand is compressed, tinny-sounding. It’s not a showstopper and most D-STAR fans will tell you they have grown to prefer the pinched audio. Still, the first impression of many is that the audio is painfully compressed.

I might also add that IRLP is available over a wider geographic region than D-STAR. That’s probably due to its ease of deployment, lower investment, and the five year head start it has on digital systems.

Linked VHF/UHF repeater systems aren’t for everyone, but I see plenty of utility in amateur radio having its own “intercom” system that provides reliable, stable, enjoyable communications — when the Internet is up and all systems are “go”.

Filed under: Ham Radio Tagged: dstar, irlp

Jeff Davis, KE9V, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Indiana, USA.

If it seems like I'm talking a lot these days about 6m, that's probably because it's my main operating interest during the summer sporadic-e (Es) season, which is already starting to wind down. In a couple of weeks it will all be over for another year, allowing me to focus on other radio activities.
But, should you plan to venture forth into the magicband's world, proceed with every caution....there are powerful forces at work there!


Before this week I had never heard the VYØSNO 25 watt 6m beacon. The 'snowman' is 2,250 miles away and located in the Canadian Arctic town of Iqaluit, Nunavut, the coldest city in Canada....talk about the ideal call!

Courtesy: Google Maps

The beacon has shown up briefly here, twice this week, with both events in the evening and lasting for only 10-15 minutes. Although there are no longer any active 6m hams in VYØ, it is still thrilling to hear these summertime signals from the Arctic....and in this case, directly in line with Europe and better than halfway there!




At one time the beacon had a different call, VE8BY, which I usually heard once or twice each summer. Since the change to a new transmitter and to a new call, for some reason it remained unheard for several seasons...until this week.

The old VE8BY beacon was unique in that its transmitter was frequency-shift-keyed (FSK mode). The dots and dashes were a few hertz higher than the actual carrier frequency. Hearing the melodious keying in combination with the typical Arctic flutter always made the arrival of VE8BY something very special as can be heard in this capture by Kevin, VE3EN....




Unfortunately, Larry (VYØHL), the owner and operator of VYØSNO/b, has moved from Iqaluit and will no longer be able to maintain or repair the beacon should it have a future break down. Hopefully it will continue to run reliably for many more years as E-season would just never be the same without a summer visit from the 'snowman'.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I totally screwed up big time in the QRP Fox hunt tonight. After corresponding with Don NK6A, I agreed to be the lower Fox. So what did I do? I set up in the upper half.

And I didn’t realize it even when someone notified me that we were both in the same half – I went up even higher!

Rookie mistake – totally my fault. My apologies to anyone I messed up.

I am going to go find a hole to crawl into, I feel like a moron.

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].

Tracer Battery kit

In a recent post I told the blog world about the failure of my KX3 portable power source. It was an external battery that was ordered from China. The battery  lasted under a year until it just failed to take a charge. The battery was only used maybe 6 times.  Not sure what failed but a fellow blogger  Larry W2LJ with the same battery had a similar failure as well.  It was time to get on the net and look for another external, compact and reliable battery. Plan number one was to avoid the products from China as I have learned a hard lesson there! Reading blogs of op's who operate portable and use an external power source (when the internal batteries give up the ghost) I came across a company called Tracer operating out of the U.S. To make a long story short I ordered from them and below are the spec's on the Lithium Polymer battery.

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