Seasons are changing, and it’s not just the weather. My interest in HF has been waning like the current solar cycle. But it’s not just the propagation; it’s the growing quantity of automated bots and contests where cheating has become the accepted norm. How is it the ARRL CEO put it recently? “Cheating is ubiquitous in amateur radio.” To be certain, the events of the latest WRTC (or any other contest scandal) don’t impact me as I don’t participate in that side of the hobby. Still, it feels kinda slimy, and the fact that almost no one seems outraged has…
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Happenings WSJT-X 3.2.0 introduces a new mode, JTTY, along with new capabilities in Q65, MAP65, and QMAP and a large number of improvements and bug fixes. JTTY, a new digital mode for fast RTTY-style contest exchanges and other keyboard-to-keyboard communication. JTTY has an operational feel similar to RTTY but far better weak-signal performance and a very low error rate. It can transmit at any time rather than in fixed T/R periods. Its 4-tone GFSK waveform uses 1.888-second frames and about 127 Hz of bandwidth. Function keys F1-F8 provide contest-style exchanges, and messages can be queued while transmitting. Signal subtraction and…
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I believe any difficulty in attracting and retaining new amateur radio enthusiasts comes down to a shortage of a very particular kind of imagination, not curiosity in general, which I don’t think is in decline, but the sprawling, restless kind that used to define who ended up sticking around. The retention problem is real: thousands of new licenses are issued every year, yet the pool of active operators only seems to shrink. Sometimes it sticks, but more often these days people get in and soon look for the exit. That in itself isn’t a problem. There’s nothing wrong with someone…
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Click here to register for ZRDC 2026 We are excited to announce the registration for our second Zero Retries Digital Conference (ZRDC 2026) is now open! This year’s conference will bring together Hams and people interested in the technological innovations in Amateur Radio to explore and listen to expert speakers, regarding various topics pertinent to digital communications. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in engaging sessions, and connect with colleagues from across the industry. In the next few weeks, we will be compiling our list of speakers and will update that list in Zero Retries weekly until the roster…
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The name for the festival of the Autumn Equinox in Druidry is Alban Elfed, which means ‘The Light of the Water’ The Wheel turns and the time of balance returns. Alban Elfed marks the balance of day and night before the darkness overtakes the light. It is also the time of the second harvest, usually of the fruit which has stayed on the trees and plants that have ripened under the summer sun. It is this final harvest which can take the central theme of the Alban Elfed ceremony – thanking the Earth, in her full abundance as Mother and…
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