AmateurRadio.com

Today is a special day if you’re of Polish descent, Catholic, and a Ham Radio operator.  Today is the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe.  For those of you who are not Catholic, a Saint’s Feast Day commemorates the day that the faithful believe that the Saint left this earthly existence, directly heading to Heaven for his or her eternal reward.

It was on August 14, 1941, that Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar died from an injection of carbolic acid.  Fr. Kolbe was a detainee at Auschwitz, during WWII. He was sent there for the crime of providing shelter and safe harbor to over 2,000 Polish Jews in his friary at Niepokalanów.

At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from Auschwitz, during what appeared to be a successful prison break.  To retaliate, the deputy camp commander picked out 10 men at random to be starved to death.  One of the chosen men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out that he had a wife and children and begged for mercy.  Fr. Kolbe heard this and asked, and was granted permission to take Gajowniczek’s place.

In the starvation bunker where the condemned men were being kept, Fr. Kolbe celebrated Mass each day and led the men in hymns and prayers.  Two weeks later, after all the men had passed, Fr. Kolbe was the last condemned prisoner left alive. The Nazi’s had other plans for that bunker, so to end it all, Fr. Kolbe was given the lethal injection.

But during his lifetime here on earth, Fr. Max was unique among Saints, as he was an Amateur Radio operator.  His call sign was SP3RN, and this might be the only photo in existence of him “at the key”, so to speak.

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

This afternoon my wife Judy and I walked in some fields at the top of Shute Hill. I worked two stations in England and two U.S. stations.

We walked to the end of Rufus Colby Road, past Tommy Sheehan’s old house and up the range road through the woods.

After a ways we turned east toward Auger’s 20 acre field. There we turned right into a smaller field that had once been pasture. It was full of goldenrod, milkweed and blackeyed susans.

After walking across a few acres of land, we came to a break in a stone wall and walked into a second field.

It was at the edge of this field that I tossed a line into an oak tree. I pulled up a 10 meter wire and sat down on some moss.

There was a CW Ops sprint in progress and I quickly worked two stations in the mini contest: W6SX in California and K4VU in Alabama. Then I tuned down the band and heard my old friend Tom G3HGE finishing a QSO with another station. He was strong and answered my call right away. “It’s been a long time,” he sent and gave me a 579. Tom was a 599 as usual and we chatted for a few minutes. I’ve worked Tom many times while hiking, and I usually send him a picture or two. I promised him I would do so again and we said goodbye. I tuned down the band a bit and there was another English station, G4RFR. We exchanged quick 599s and signed. Romeo was operating a club station in Dorset.

What a thrill to take a quick afternoon walk in the countryside and work half way around the world. As G3HGE said when he signed, “It’s magical.”

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Yes….I’m still around, and last night I heard a weak V31PA in Belize on 30 meters. I’ve worked this station twice before on on the 24 meter band in March of this year; but this was my first contact with him on the 30 meter band. Belize is a Central America country known for the diversity of wildlife. Not sure I’d like to meet this big cat in the jungle….

The Mayan culture flourished here many years ago. (much more in South America) I’m fascinated with their building skills. I once saw a massive stone with 13 distinctive “cuts” which was maneuvered into a giant stone wall with a precision unequaled even today. You could hardly fit a sheet of paper into the fissures. They also used the “trapezoid” shape in their structures. Their buildings survive to this day despite “earthquakes” which are common in this part of the world.

I’ve been extremely busy these last few months with other projects but hope to spend more time on the radio soon. I’m moving around fairly well but the right leg is prone to muscle cramps. My back pain is minimal now and most of my “free time” is being spent on the bike.

Working this station in Belize was a nice refresher with the DX stations. I’m looking to do more of the same in September. Thank goodness the weather has cooled down a bit. Perhaps I can get some “woods” time this fall and do some portable operations?

What do you do when you find yourself on the edge of the Inca Trail with a few Llamas between you and a potentially  fatal precipice of several hundred feet? You just stand still and wait for them to move along. They can spit in your eye if provoked; and walking blindly around here can be the end of you.

John Smithson, Jr., N8ZYA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from West Virginia, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Band conditions seems to be fair today on 20m. First, I was listening on 14060, but there was nothing going on, called a few times CQ. So I went to the SSB portion of the band with my FT817. The noise floor was SØ. Huh? I do have most of the time a noise floor of S7-9 on 20m. Something wrong with the antenna or receiver? I heard 7x2RD calling CQ on 14.210 MHz. So I called him, and oh boy, he came back for me. No other stations for him at that moment. One of those surprises we come across.

Yesterday I worked T77C with CW on 30 m. I worked Tony before on 40m (Dec. 30, 2012)

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 57 is now available for download.

Peter experiments with APRS. George repairs a Kenwood TS-2000 with a very noisy receiver. Tommy cooks up some DVAP Pi (a portable D-Star Hot Spot). Plus viewer mail, comments and talk of another contest featuring the new Icom IC-7100.

1:09:59 with something for everyone.

Download

View in web browser: 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].

Episode #110 Audio (Listen now!):

Introduction:

The Guys get ready this episode to reveal who gets the coveted BeagleBone Black.

Mini-Topics:

• VE2XPL’s Field Day
  • https://picasaweb.google.com/112211098677110580583/FieldDay2013#5894894919835301842

• K5TUX’ Field Day
  • Spent doing non-ham stuff.

• 1st of July
  • Canada Day Celebrations in Gf. Pk / Ottawa / Hemmingford
  • RAC holds a Canada day contest every year on July 1st

• Happy 4th of July to the USA

• Pete, VE2XPL, is a published author!
  • https://www.rac.ca/files/tca/tcajuly2013.pdf (Page 13)

• Manjaro v.0.8.6
  • http://manjaro.org

Main Topics:

• GIMP 2.8.6 Released
  • http://www.gimp.org/

• Retro News:  Leisure Suit Larry Debuts on Linux

• AV Linux 6.0.1
  • http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html

• Mozilla’s New Firefox Logo is a lot like the old Firefox Logo
  • http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/firefox-gets-a-new-logo-rolls-out-desktop-and-android-beta-upda

Announcements & Feedback:

• Beaglebone Black Raffle Winner Announced
  • Congradulations to Jonathan Nadeau for winning the Beaglebone Black.

Social Media Roundup:

• Twitter:
  • NF7T Jake Gier @StibniteLad (Idaho)

• Facebook
  • James George

• Google+
  • Paul Schwan N4FTD

• Subscribers and Donations
  • Walter WN3LIF (Yearly Subscription)
  • JonTheNiceGuy (Yearly Subscription)

Feedback:

• No feedback this time.

Credits:

• Thank you to our monthly and yearly subscribers.
• Thank you to all of our listeners, live and quasi-live.
• You can reach us at [email protected].  You can leave us voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (547-7469).
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• Listen live every every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central.

Music:

• “Rex Mundi” by Studebaker’s Blacksmith Shop (Germany, June 2010) from the album Nebula, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Little Sister” by The Very Unknown Friends of Jane Doe (Germany – Wahlstedt, june 2011) from the album The Very Unknown Friends of Jane Doe, courtesy of Jamendo.

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].

I was fighting a high ambient noise level tonight, while participating in the monthly NAQCC Sprint. Not as terrible as it was a few years ago, when 40 Meters was so bad that I had to abandon the 40 Meter Fox Hunts, but bad enough to be annoying.

With the goofy damp weather we have been having, I think the local QRN was due more to atmospherics, than anything else. I’ll have to see how the band conditions are over the next few days.

In any event, I racked up 22 QSOs during the during the Sprint, almost evenly divided between 40 and 20 Meters. It ended up being 10 QSOs on 20 Meters and 12 on 40 Meters. Not my best effort, by any means, but not abysmal, either.

I was happy to work Jim W1PID at the very end, but was disappointed that I was not able to get a QSO in with my two NJ buddies, Don W2JEK, or Charles W2SH. They were both sitting on frequencies, running mini pileups, and I could just not break through.

Just goes to show you ….. sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.

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].