AmateurRadio.com

For some time, I have admired and loved AM radio. I worked at an AM broadcast station for 12 years. So I fell in love with that full sound. It has always appealed to me. And there are other out there who enjoy that too. And if you have ever wanted to be a part of that world, you can be. There is even a website for people who love AM as well as home brewing radios.

Screen Shot of AMFone.net

I have been a lurker on AMFone.net for a while. I originally found it through the AM Window website. It has articles and files on how to get a top notch AM station on the air and sounding good. You can also have a look at the classifieds on the website to find equipment to supplement your existing AM station to to find that right receiver or transmitter to get your station started. There is even an area for restoration of old radios as well.

And not to leave out the folks who like new radios, there is also a section for modern rigs. Tips and modifications to get that modern solid state radio to be top notch on AM. And if you’re like me and want to just learn more in general about Ham Radio from a more technical side, this is an awesome site to do it from as well. Reading and asking questions is how to learn. And one of the things I have found on this site is a lack of old farts telling you “How it should be done”. Instead, I have found helpful people willing to share their knowledge.

Definitely check out this website if AM has been a mode you have been curious about. It’s well worth the look and you’ll be happy you did.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday here on AmiZed Studios.

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Just a few days ago the IKEA store opened here in the local Denver area.  We’ve been hearing about IKEA coming to Colorado for the past 4-5 years.  Just a little over a year ago, IKEA broke ground on their new site just south of my QTH in Centennial, Colorado.  The grand opening certainly wasn’t without fanfare and my wife was looking forward to visiting the new store. 

The local news sources (TV, radio and newspaper) had all been talking about the number of people lining up and even camping out for several days before the official opening.  I avoid most crowded situations like the plague and this was certainly no exception. 

Since the grand opening was Wednesday, I really figured the weekend crowd (Saturday and Sunday) would also be busy, so we decided to go on Friday and make an evening of it.  Our IKEA has a restaurant specializing in Swedish meatballs.  Yum Yum

Anyway, I gladly accepted my role of driver and bag carrier.  We arrived just after 6 PM and the city/county officials had done a great job with traffic management.  Once on the IKEA property we were directed to the underground parking garage and found a parking spot with ease.  A few minutes later we were riding up the escalators to the upper level of the store.

While my wife had a few items on her shopping list, I really went with no expectations I would find anything I wanted, much less needed.  But I enthusiastically walked around looking interested in all the stuff IKEA sells.  Now before you get the wrong impression, I do enjoy shopping and it’s made even better when my best friend, my wife is with me.  Yes, I’ll be the first to admit I know where all the “man chairs” are located in the mall shops, but I do enjoy shopping.

We covered the two levels of IKEA and I had not really found anything that interested me personally.  I looked at the office chairs but my wonderful wife had purchased me a great chair last year and it still looks as good as new.  We passed by some of those white, cardboard magazine boxes.  I did grab a pack of 5 for about 3 bucks I think.  I need something to better organize QST, CQ and RADCOM magazines. 

A few minutes later I found something that caught my eye.  It was a LED table lamp on an adjustable arm.  It puts out practically no heat and I can bend the light around and focus it just where I need it.  The wife saw me looking at them and she said “for the soldering projects”?  I said yes and then some. 

The light has a heavy base (around 2lbs) and comes with a 6 foot cord.  This lamp will work great with my “soldering projects”, but also with other things where I just need to get more light onto the subject.  The light cost me $12.99 and can be found here on the IKEA website.

It didn’t take me long to put it to good use.  Here you can see it being used on an old radio project I’ve been working off and on (mostly off).  I’m currently re-stringing the dial cord on an old Belmont AM radio my wife gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  The radio needed a new dial cover, dial string and dial light.  I have all the parts and just getting it all assembled again. 

But yes, the IKEA light will also come in handy for soldering projects and other things around the shack.  I often dim the lights when operating (especially at night) and this will be great just to the side of my shack desk.

So I guess even a radio ham can find things of interest in IKEA.  It’ll probably be a few weeks before we venture into IKEA again.  I will probably pickup another of these lights and I already need some more magazine boxes.  Who knows, maybe I’ll find a few other things I can’t live without next time. 

Until next time…

73 de KD0BIK

Hello fellow amateurs,

Sorry for the long delay between blog postings.  The last update was a Merry Christmas message and before that it was Happy Thanksgiving.  I’ve had some recent ham radio activity and plan to get the blog going again with those activities in the next few days.  So for now I’m just using this posting to test the RSS feeds, knock the cobwebs down from the site and say hello to all my fellow ham friends.

73,
Jerry
KD0BIK

For no apparent reason, I woke up this morning, took a shower and ate my oatmeal for breakfast. Sat down a started looking through the emails I got over night and it struck me. Why don’t I look up videos on YouTube of the Munsters. Then I remembered that Herman Munster was a Ham!So I started my search knowing full well that I may never find a clip of what I was looking for. I wanted to share the entire episode, but part 1 was missing. So I would like to share this with you. Herman Munster, W6XLR-4, super Ham Radio operator.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday here on AmiZed Studios.

I haven’t seen anything on this on Twitter, but every now and again, I like to make sure to check the ARRL’s website for info on what’s going on. It seems that a lot of it seems to not make it to Twitter. Either no one’s retweeting it or I keep missing it on the ARRL’s Twitter.

Screen Shot of the ARRL's New Web Forums

The ARRL has opened up a forum on their website back on July 26th. I have only taken a glance at some of the forums that are open, like DXCC and VUCC. There is also a couple of RFI forums as well. I could use that with my mobile radio. But at first look alone, this looks to be a good resource for new as well as veteran hams.

Forums rules are also posted for all to read, and I encourage those of you planning on using the forums to read them. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not a fan of coming in to a forum and reading a question from a new ham and seeing a sideways comment aimed at them. I’m reasonably sure no one likes that.

As the forum is brand new, there really isn’t much in there, but I think a few good posts could help that and get more people in there to post. Plus if more people talk about it, that would help greatly. So if you can, retweet the link, or better yet, retweet this story! Yeah, That’s the ticket!

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday here on AmiZed Studios.

Welcome to Handiham World!

It is less than two weeks to Handiham Radio Camp, which begins on Monday, 8 August.  As you might imagine, Nancy and I have been busy with last minute paperwork and communications from everyone who is planning to be at camp. We have made considerable progress, but lots of work still needs to be done as we get the equipment ready and answer questions while still trying to provide services to our Handiham members who will not be at camp. Last week I got my son Will, KC0LJL, sent off to Japan, where he will be teaching English for a year. Needless to say, I have not been bored for lack of things to keep me busy!

Wouldn’t it be nice to get QST in digital format?  That just could be an option in the future.  A plan for the next steps in providing QST digitally (in addition to the print edition) was approved at the recent ARRL Board meeting. The change in accessibility brought about by the personal computer and digital reading devices is simply enormous. Worldradio Magazine has led the way with an entirely digital version, which allows blind computer users to access the articles with screenreading software at virtually the same time they are available to everyone else.

Curious about Morse code?  Coming to Radio Camp? Keep reading for news about learning code.

But first – Help us win the Dr. Dave Challenge!

We need your help.
Money is tight these days and we desperately need your support.  Now, thanks to a generous challenge grant by Dr. Dave Justis, KN0S, we have a chance to help fill the budget gap.  Dr. Dave will donate $5,000 to the Handiham System if we can raise a matching amount.  That means we need to really put the fund-raising into high gear!  If you can help, designate a donation to Handihams, stating that it is for the “Dr. Dave Challenge”.  We will keep you posted in our weekly e-letter as to the progress of the fund. 
Nancy can take credit card donations via the toll-free number, 1-866-426-3442, or accept checks sent to our Courage Center Handiham address:
Courage Handiham System
3915 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN  55422
Be sure to put a note saying “Dr. Dave Challenge” somewhere in the envelope or on the note line of the check.  If you donate online as detailed toward the end of your weekly e-letter, be sure to designate to Handihams and then send me an email letting me know you donated to the Dr. Dave fund: [email protected]. 
Thank you so much for your support!

I have been a fan of Leo Laporte for many, many, years. I even had the pleasure to interview him for NewsTek, about his Tricaster and just new media in general. And now, after many years of saying he could be an amazing ambassador for Amateur Radio, it has come to pass, as I had speculated a few months back, Leo is now KJ6QGP.

Photo Courtesy of Leo Laporte

There really isn’t much I can say about Leo that isn’t already widely known about him already. He’s a syndicated radio show host, with The Tech Guy, and he is now starting a new chapter in the TWiT history books with a new studio built on the popularity of the shows he has created and produced, which are all online. New Media’s finest example.

Now that he has him Ham Radio ticket, from what I have heard in Ham Nation Episode 8, is that Leo is planning on making Ham Radio a main fixture at the new studio for his shows. And that local Hams will be helping to get it all started. From setting up the station to helping erect antennas. According to Bob, K9EID, the station will be able to transmit HF as well as VHF/UHF. And it has also been said, that Leo is applying for the vanity call W6TWT.

If anything, I now have a goal of getting my HF back on the air, so I can try and work the new TWiT Brickhouse and get a cool QSL card. And then, there is always getting out there to actually use the station.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday here on AmiZed Studios.