AmateurRadio.com & NooElec have teamed up to give away
SDR (Software Defined Radio) receiver packages to TEN hams!

If you haven’t had the chance to play with an SDR receiver, here’s your chance! Using freely available software (SDRSharp, HDSDR), a modest antenna, and an inexpensive USB SDR dongle (the NESDR Mini or NESDR Nano), you can tune from 25 MHz – 1750 MHz right from your PC.

If you want to listen to MF/HF, just add the inline Ham It Up upconverter to tune down as low as 500 kHz. There’s even an Android app (SDR Touch) that allows you to plug these USB SDRs into your tablet (Android 4.0+, must support USB OTG)!

These little USB SDR receivers are amazing and extremely affordable (under $20). They are a lot of fun to play with!

Prize Packages

We’re giving away TEN prizes including:

Two (2)
Complete HF sets including:
NESDR Mini receiver
Ham It Up upconverter
SMA to MCX cable
SMA to BNC adapter
SMA to PL259 adapter
SMA to F adapter

Two (2)
Complete Touch SDR sets including:
NESDR Nano receiver
SDR Touch license (for Android tablets)
USB OTG micro & mini cables

Three (3)
NESDR Mini receivers

Three (3)
NESDR Nano receivers

Eligibility

All licensed Amateur Radio Operators worldwide
(Worldwide shipping is included!)

How to Enter

It’s simple!
Leave a comment to this post.
(e-mail address will not be shared)

Entry Duration

Only 1 week!

You may enter only once from
4 December 2013 18:00 UTC
to
11 December 2013 20:00 UTC

(multiple entries from the same entrant will be discarded)

Winner Announcement

11 December 2013

We will announce the winner on AmateurRadio.com.

You can get the winner announcement by
subscribing to our free Amateur Radio Newsletter via e-mail,
following our posts via RSS feed, or via Twitter (@amatradio).

Sign up so you won’t miss our next prize drawing!

Please tell your friends about this giveaway!

Thank you to NooElec for offering these fantastic prizes!

Learn more about their cool USB SDR receivers!

Visit their website at NooElec.com / eBay store / Amazon store

For more information about SDR, check out the SDR sub-Reddit (/r/RTLSDR), Ham Radio Science and RTL-SDR.com.

The winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) from all valid comment entries to this post received by the contest deadline. Entries will be deemed valid at the sole discretion of AmateurRadio.com and may be rejected for any reason, including inappropriate comments. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered. The prize may not be transferred. The prize may not be exchanged for cash. Winner agrees to allow AmateurRadio.com to use their name and callsign to announce them as a winner on our site, and to share their contact information with the sponsor for the purposes of awarding the prize.  No purchase necessary to win. Odds of winning dependent on total number of entries received. Winner is responsible for any applicable taxes or fees imposed by their jurisdiction. Void where prohibited by law. E-mail addresses of all other entrants will not be shared with any third party, including the sponsor.

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

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].

Things are coming along

The boxes are slowly getting unpacked and things put away, the roll top ham radio shack is taking shape as well. I found I had a lot more gear than there was room for in the condo and may have to shed more gear! At this point there has been some bumps in the radio setup but all seems to be slowly coming together. I can't believe all the cables that are involved in having the radio talk to various hardware components. There has been one major mystery I am not as of yet to solve.....I have setup the Alexloop and added the K3 to the mix. I was able to get a great SWR and surprisingly a low to moderate noise level...BUT.....I was calling CQ on different bands with 5 watts but was not once spotted on the Reverse Beacon network. Hmmmm I then went "simple" I hooked up the KX3 to the Alexloop and again calling CQ at 5 watts was not spotted at all on the Reverse Beacon network????? I have tried to move the Alexloop closer to the window and the balcony door, the only thing that happened was the SWR was very hard to adjust on the Alexloop. I then move the loop about 4 feet from the balcony door and the SWR was great but no spots?
My setup is a stealth operation and really can't put the Alexloop on the balcony but I am 6 stories up and back in the townhouse I did have the Alexloop inside and it did very well so at this point I am stumped.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I should really get extra points for being out in the West Cumbrian winter but hey ho at least it wasn’t Corney Fell, that really is nasty in the driving rain.

Another reasonable attempt with the 5w and 3 ele beam. A bit frustrating tonight as I could here many stations much further away but just couldn’t work them but then again I’m not in it for the glory, just a bit of fun.

Here’s the map all the same. The east coast does get missed quite a bit but there is a lot of rock in the way.

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

So it was my birthday recently and to celebrate the turning of another year and that I had indeed taken a day off – I decided to build a FOXX 3 QRP CW transceiver. These little kits are available from Kanga-products.co.uk and are designed to fit in a Altoids tin.

The kit comes pre bagged up in separate bags, and its just a case of soldering the correct component to the correct area on the circuit board. The kit itself is a 1 Watt QRP transceiver that can be bought on various bands. Mine was for the 20m band.

The board has a clear and easy to read Silkscreen and the pads are suitably wide enough to allow anyone with different levels of skill to create the kit. Each step allows you to test each part of the board, so you learn how each part of the kit relates to the transceiver as a whole.

I had a great time building it, it’s a simple, easy and great fun little kit. I hope to take it out and about – so hopefully you can hear my tiny signal on 20m soon.

Dan Trudgian, MØTGN, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Wiltshire, England. He's a radio nut, IT guru, general good guy and an all round good egg. Contact him him here.

When I do long SOTA hikes at high elevation, I usually take along a very light weight radio, that is, on the order of 6 -7 ozs. Usually that means my Steve Weber, KD1JV, designed ATS-4 or an MTR. The radios are CW only and have limited band selections. These radios light and efficient. However, there are times when I don't mind carrying a slightly heavier load if I want more flexibility with bands/modes. While I have a KX-3, I find the FT-817 to be my radio of choice. It's easier to pack, takes less space than the KX-3, even with a T1 Tuner, and just feels a little more rugged.

There is a company called AMP-3 that has developed a very nice pack/bag to efficiently transport the FT-817, power supply, cables, connectors, log, etc..  I used this bag in a recent activation in New Mexico and was impressed with it's practicality. I have no financial interest in AMP-3, other than I've sent them a lot of money for their products.

Below is a link to a video of how the pack works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pUIzlqzKU

Also he web site address is:

http://stores.amp-3.net/-strse-73/Custom-Made-Yaesu-817/Detail.bok


Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

A while back I wrote a blog post about the availability of $20 software defined VHF/UHF radios in the form of re-purposed USB digital television dongles.

Now-days, with the improvements in software and documentation, the hardest part is finding the right dongle. What you order from EBay, and what you receive, can be two different things and only some of the dongles are suitable for use as VHF/UHF software defined radios.

So, I was pleased to see that at least one hobbyist electronics supplier has sought out and supplies a suitable device for SDR at a fair price :

Adafruit has available the USB dongle and “antenna” suitable for experimentation for $22.50, not far from the EBay (direct from China) price.

Click here to go directly to the product page: Software Defined Radio Receiver USB Stick – RTL2832 w/R820T

No, I didn’t receive a free evaluation unit and I don’t work for Adafruit … I’m just glad to see these useful devices available from a local company with an increased chance of you “Getting what you paid for.”

Adafruit also helpfully stock the adapter cables to convert the less common MCX antenna connector into the much more common BNC connector: MCX Jack to BNC RF Cable Adapter

Owen Morgan, KF5CZO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].