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I set the 472khz WSPR running last night in the middle of the evening, wondering what I might hear. Earlier in th e day, Colin, G6AVK had noted on Twitter that he had heard his first North American of the season on 472KHz the night before. With my untuned aerial I didn’t think that such DX was likely to be in my grasp.

However, by the time I went to bed, I was very pleased to discover that I had heard two new (to me) German stations; DC0DX and DK6NI,

When I got up this morning and checked what the system had heard, I was staggered to find several spots of WE2XGR/6 in FN12. My first North American copy on 472khz.

I reiterate that this is all down to the guys at the other end! I am using completely unmodified gear, so with any luck, if you decide to try it, you will do at least as well as me.

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

Have you ever thought of starting your own amateur radio podcast?  Do you enjoy helping and Elmering others?  PARP or The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast would like to hire you…Yes YOU!

OK, so hiring is not the right word…let’s better label it as recruit.  I’ve been producing PARP since 2008.  To date I’ve produced over 60 audio episodes ranging from how to get your license to discussing what makes a great first radio.  Yes, PARP has been geared towards the new or beginner amateur. 

As I stated, I’ve been producing PARP since 2008.  However, from time to time other life commitments have prevented me from releasing audio episodes on a frequent basis.  I’m not ready to give up on PARP as I believe many, many hams benefit from the audio content.  I have just reached a point where I could use some supplemental assistance and this is where you come in.

Each edition of PARP will reach thousands of your fellow amateurs.  If you have a specific subject you would like to discuss, share and Elmer to a large audience of hams, then PARP can give you this opportunity. 

If you are interested in this opportunity to Elmer through the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast, then please contact me. 

Thank you for your time!

73 de KD0BIK (Jerry)

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

It's been a while since I sat down to blog a little. In the interim I've made a trip to California  and New Mexico and suffered through a kidney stone. The trips were great, the kidney stone is not recommended.

The California trip was a golf oriented trip with a business associate of mine, so no radio. We stayed in Huntington beach which is gorgeous this time of year; mid 70's, no wind, perfect.

This past weekend I was at my Santa Fe, NM QTH with a mission to activate some SOTA peaks. Mission accomplished. Below I'll share some of the fun.

Barrillas Peak W5N/PW-022

Barillas Peak is the home of an abandon fire tower, so as you might guess there is a road to the top. This summit is about 1.5 hour drive from my QTH because the roads leading to it are not the best. My old backpacking buddy Jeff came with me and our plan was to knock this off in the morning and be back shortly after lunch. I had been told that this one was simple. Accordingly I didn't do much homework and entered the coordinates in the GPS which generated a route that took me the base of the summit, on the wrong side of the mountain. We could get the Jeep to within a couple of miles of the summit, but it was a bushwhack and we had no knowledge of the mountain, so we decided to drive around to the other side, a 60 mile trip.

Now the, "getting done early", scenario was gone so we stopped in Las Vegas, NM to have lunch. When we found the summit there were some beautiful views. I chose to use my AlexLoop and FT-817 since I didn't have a long hike to the top. I also wanted to try some of the higher bands given that the flux numbers were good.

View of Polvadera Peak from Clara Peak 

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

One of the talks that I would really like to have seen at the RSGB Convention the other week was Lyn, GW8JLY speaking about Meteor Scatter for Beginners.

I was delighted to see, earlier in the week, that Paul G4DCV had filmed the talk. I’ve just thoroughly enjoyed watching it on a rather wet lunchtime here in London when I didn’t fancy going out for a walk.

The talk was interesting and it was good to see Lyn GW8JLY speaking. Although we have worked very many times on VHF over the years, I don’t think we have ever met and it is always nice to finalise the mental picture of the person at the other end of the QSO!

Thanks to Lyn for the excellent talk and to Paul, G4DCV for putting together an excellent video presentation.

See the talk here

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

@G4ILO is on Twitter!  You can follow me from the widget in the left hand column of the blog.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

 

Happy Hallowe’en everybody.  Be safe and don’t forget to brush your teeth after all that candy.  What was your favorite Hallowe’en candy as a kid?  I loved getting Mary Janes and I also loved those caramel popcorn balls.

By the way, the name “Hallowe’en”, for those who don’t know, is actually a kind of contraction or shortening of the proper “All Hallows Eve”.  It is the vigil of the Catholic Holy Day of All Saints, or All Saints Day.  Just thought I’d throw that bit of trivia out there – impress your friends!

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].