Interesting… Reticulate Micro, Inc., a software products company specializing in advanced video compression and streaming solutions, announced Reticulate Micro’s VAST Video Platform achieved a breakthrough in military communications by successfully streaming video over a High Frequency (HF) radio link from Tucson to San Diego at ultra-low bandwidths of 10kbps to 100kbps. This breakthrough enables live video transmission in bandwidth-constrained and...
Frying Drones with Radio Waves
Brit soldiers tune radio waves to fry drone swarms for pennies British soldiers have successfully taken down drones with a radio-wave weapon. The demonstrator weapon, a type of RF Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW), uses high-frequency radio waves to disrupt the electronic components inside drones, resulting in the devices malfunctioning. “RF DEW systems can defeat airborne targets at ranges of...
The King Must Die
No man's a jester playing Shakespeare Round your throne room floor While the juggler's act is danced upon The crown that you once wore And sooner or later Everybody's kingdom must end And I'm so afraid your courtiers Cannot be called best friends Caesar's had your troubles Widows had to cry While mercenaries in cloisters sing And the king must...
We Just Lost the Moon
As a long suffering ham radio in space enthusiast, I concluded long ago that hams in North America are likely never going to have a satellite in GEO and probably not even another asset at HEO during the remainder of my lifetime. The modern launch business has made such things more difficult and the number of hams willing to invest...
Good Friday
Band conditions haven’t been very peppy lately. I know we’re on the back side of twenty-five now, but this drop-off can’t be explained by that. We must surely have a couple of decent years of DX yet to enjoy before 10 & 12 meters turn back into ghost towns? My morning ritual of listening to the Treasure Coasters Net on...
Random Access
At least one guy gets it. Learn to read the room people. The name of the memo spills the beans. The way the ARRL and most hams have responded to the ‘Delete, Delete, Delete’ memo from the FCC is downright embarrassing. The Feds aren’t looking for suggestions on the hundred enhancements you think should be made to the amateur service,...
Short Antennas
Elecraft has announced a new shortened vertical, the AX3, a six-band, POTA-ready antenna that adds to the previously released AX1 and AX2 shorty radiators. It’s doubtful too many folks will get to play with the AX3 for months if the roll-out logistics are similar to other newly announced Elecraft products. Full disclosure, I own the AX1 and AX2 and am...
Silence is Golden
I have found out in the course of a long public life that the things I did not say never hurt me. - Calvin Coolidge I’m not certain what to think about ham radio’s response to the now infamous, Delete, Delete, Delete memo where the FCC is “soliciting public input on any FCC rules in any service that members of...
‘Something Worse Than a Recession’
Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, told NBC News that Trump’s economic agenda could lead to a “breaking down of the monetary order” as he ramps up tariffs on China. Time for another look at the Zombie Apocalypse…
RAC Cancels Hamvention Visit
RAC Votes to Cancel Attendance at Hamvention Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), the national association for amateur radio in Canada, has voted to cancel plans to attend and operate a booth at Hamvention in Ohio. The organization cited heightened tensions between Canada and the United States as contributing to its decision. The relationship between Canada and the United States has...
Band Points
I was tuning the bands after lunch yesterday when I decided to drop in on the Six meter band and see if there was any activity. I hadn’t done that in awhile and was expecting the usual silent treatment. Mind you, I have a three-element Yagi for the Magic Band along with a brand new rotor. These were purchased years...
Cornbread Road. Again.
I recently uploaded the Cornbread Road audio series to the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications. DLARC is a project of the Internet Archive (the not-for-profit online library best known for The Wayback Machine.) DLARC is growing into a massive online library of the past and present of ham radio and related communications. It is funded by a grant...
That's a Hard 'No' Dawg
Having worked a long career, raised a family, and generally lived a full life, I have discovered a number of things that I don’t want any more. These are all technology related and while I have enjoyed my fair share of personal tech over the decades, now I think it’s making me sick. While completely deleting computers from my life...
Salmon Patties
Those strong storms that ripped through here a few nights ago did a lot of damage. There were plenty of downed limbs and strewn trash in our neighborhood, but then we took a drive a few miles west of here, where there was reports of a tornado on the ground, and saw a lot more damage. Snapped power poles, and...
Short-Side of Cycle 25
News from solar prognosticator Frank Donovan, W3LPL that recent data indicates Cycle 25 probably reached its peak sometime last summer and the Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts the solar flux index is likely to decline below 150 by early next year, significantly reducing the reliability and duration of 10 and 12 meter DX propagation, especially to Asia. Another reason I’m...
You've Been Warned
I was licensed in 1959 having been bitten by the radio bug when I was a just a wisp of a boy. I spent every possible spare moment building gear, antennas, and learning the ways of radio. At some point fairly early in my journey, I fell in with a bunch of 4’s who met on 75 meter phone almost...
Break Time
Local school kids are kicking off their ‘Spring Break’. Meanwhile, the official first day of Spring 2025 arrived here with snow and sleet. What can you do? I’ve got a stack of books queued, hardbacks with large print, handy for an old guy with tired eyes like me. I’m over-stocked with a loose-leaf Earl Grey tea, Lord Bergamot Number 55....
Cambodia Active on QO-100
During a training event, the club station XU7AMO at the Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia was active for the first time in training mode via the geostationary amateur radio satellite QO-100 / Es’hail-2. Cambodia (XU) active for the first time via QO-100 From March 13 to 17, 2025, Mikio JA3GEP and Paulo F5VMJ will conduct radio communication training via amateur radio...
DXCC CW
The mail lady delivered a small package from ARRL yesterday. It was my DXCC CW certificate. I filed that application online as soon as I crossed the confirmation threshold on February 3rd giving you some idea how long the DXCC desk processing is currently running. Obtaining DXCC CW was the primary objective in my quest for wallpaper that began in...
VOA Defunded
Headline in The Moscow Times: ‘Today We Celebrate’: Kremlin and Russian Propaganda Rejoice as Trump Guts RFE/RL, VOA Moscow is elated by President Donald Trump’s moves to gut U.S.-funded media outlets Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, high-ranking Russian officials and diplomats told The Moscow Times. Two current and two former Russian officials told The Moscow Times that...
Happy St. Patrick's Day
May your troubles be few, your whiskey smooth, and your days full of the kind of simple joys that can only come from a life well-lived. Sláinte!
Beware the Ides of March
The Ides of March is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the Idus, roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar. It was marked by several major religious observances. In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar, which made the Ides of March...
Whither Hamvention?
With Hamvention a mere nine weeks away, one can’t help but wonder how the economic downturn and general America First nastiness might impact attendance. After all, we are shedding trillions of dollars of wealth in the stock market and many leading indicators are pointing toward a major slowdown in the economy. Of course, our hobby is an insignificant niche in...
Tossed Salad
Years ago there was the Palm Pico paddle and hams drooled all over them at FDIM. Then there wasn’t, and much gnashing of teeth was observed. I caught a rumor that the Palm line of paddles is being sold again by DL9SCO and I don’t know if this is ‘new’ news or ‘old’ news. I’m confused. If you’re looking, here’s...
Coffee Talk
Band conditions yesterday were as bad as I’ve seen them in a long while. It took me all of five minutes spinning the VFO to realize that and checking the solar numbers confirmed it. So yesterday wasn’t a radio day. This morning, I’m in the shack and conditions aren’t greatly improved. The good news is that it’s another sunny day...
New Textbook Featuring GNU Radio
GNU Radio is the leading open-source software toolkit for developing SDR systems, an increasingly viable and even critical tool for a new generation of radio frequency communication engineers. Communication Systems Engineering with GNU Radio provides an accessible overview of this toolkit and its applications. Beginning with the fundamentals of using GNU radio for digital signal processing, the volume then moves...
Reducing Attack Surfaces
My kids were chatting the other day about having received emails from their kids (my grandchildren) elementary school informing them that their systems had been hacked and their kids private data likely was compromised. I’m not certain what compromising data could be had from seven year-olds, though maybe some medical information and of course, social security numbers? This seems somehow...
Catching Up
We’ve been enjoying typical March weather in Indiana, something different every few hours. Rain and 50F one minute, clear and 20F the next. It has snowed and rained and been incredibly sunny several times over just the last week. It’s certainly keeping weather forecasters on their toes like a Fox News reporter trying to keep track if today is a...
Working the Phone
The ARRL International DX Contest SSB took place last weekend. Having had little interest in chasing DX using phone to this point, my current DXCC total is weak. Once again I figured I would cherry pick a few needed stations without concern for the contest score. Conditions weren’t the best I’ve ever seen though 10 meters was a happy place....
Tariff War Risks Sinking World Into New Great Depression
The world economy could face a crash similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The world economy could face a crash similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s unless the U.S. rows back on its plans to impose steep tariffs on imports, a senior official at the International Chamber of Commerce warned. “Our deep concern is that this...
End of Month Summary
February has been a productive month at the key. Not only did I manage to crash the DXCC CW barrier early in the month, I’ve added to that total significantly since then. I applied for those credits on the 3rd and have yet to get anything back. But the early slug is in the pipeline now with another to follow...
ARRL International DX Contest, SSB
Coming up this weekend (March 1-2, 2025). Good luck! Complete rules. Contest Objective: To encourage W/VE stations to expand knowledge of DX propagation on the HF and MF bands, improve operating skills, and improve station capability by creating a competition in which DX stations may only contact W/VE stations. One contest period is CW-only and one is Phone-only. Use only...
South Carolina QSO Party
I spent an hour in the South Carolina QSO Party yesterday. Ten contacts, all phone. The first time I’ve touched the microphone this year. Another non-serious effort on my part, I just wanted to make a few contacts and engage. In fact, it was sorta comical. The party was well underway by the time I decided to jump in. I...
Text Mode Browsing
Considering this is the year 2025, I probably spend way too much time in a terminal, on the command line. Old habits are hard to break and this one goes all the way back to the genesis of my personal computing experience. I still frequently use a text-mode browser for reading content. The modern web doesn’t make that easy, heck...
From the High Desert
A new feature film about paranormal radio pioneer Art Bell, W6OBB (SK) may be on the horizon. Apparently Paul Giamatti (John Adams, The Holdovers, Sideways) is attached to play Bell who died in 2018. For a decade, Bell had the ears and minds of late night AM radio with Coast to Coast, his talk show exploring high weirdness of all...
No Push-Button QSOs
I enjoyed reading the ZD7KYD DXpedition summary by KY8D, vacation style. A modicum of polite banter was both hoped for and expected. Minimalist QSOs of just only 599 TU did not merit manual entry into my spiral-bound paper logbook. And for being absent from that, were not transcribed later into my PC database from which LoTW uploads get issued. No...
Sixty-Six
Today is my 66th birthday. They seem to be coming faster which is not necessarily a good thing. I am grateful for what is becoming a rather long-ish life with continued good health. Knock on wood. I came of age in the 1970’s and am proud to be a product of the 20th century. To paraphrase Jackson Brown, ‘in 76...
International DX CW Contest
The plan was to hangout for several hours during the ARRL International DX CW contest this weekend in hope of snagging some needed DXCC. I hung out, but the pickings were pretty slim. I would say band conditions were “meh” but they were a little better than that. Big contests always tweak the ionosphere. I ended up working 57 entities...
QCWA Membership Special Offer
Quarter Century Wireless Association is offering an Introductory 90-day Full Membership for qualifying applicants for only $3.00. That’s right; three dollars! This offer is limited to Amateurs licensed in 2000 or before and who have never been QCWA Members, as well as those whose membership expired before February 2024. We’re so confident you will like what you see and recognize...
Breaking My Own Rules
Yesterday I worked KH0W on 10 meters. The Saipan CW Club. The Northern Mariana Islands. Another joyless ATNO for me as I discovered LoTW was verboten to them. This has not been an uncommon experience. When I set out on this quest for a little DX wallpaper in 2022 I knew I faced long odds. The little pistol station being...
Long and Winding Road
I have a friend, a good friend, who is twenty years my senior. Our lifestreams crossed when we both worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati more than thirty years ago. Our common thread being amateur radio. He retired early, I think he was 56 when he bowed out of the workforce and he and his wife followed his muse...
Very Low Earth Orbit
There’s a new race in space, but it’s not where you might think. It’s happening close to home – in the nearest bit of space, right on the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Sky skimmers: The race to fly satellites in the lowest orbits yet Roughly 10,000 satellites are orbiting our planet right now, at speeds of up to 17,000mph (27,000km/h)....
Celebrate
There was a lot of CW activity on the bands yesterday. I worked DL2025S again, on 15 meters this time. The 2025C ham radio event started on January 18, 2025, at the same time as the opening of the Capital of Culture (CoC) year of European Capital of Culture Chemnitz and region, and runs until March 31st. My two CW...
Reconnaissance Satellite
Spy Satellite You’ve Never Heard of Helped Win the Cold War IN THE EARLY 1970S, the Cold War had reached a particularly frigid moment, and U.S. military and intelligence officials had a problem. The Soviet Navy was becoming a global maritime threat—and the United States did not have a global ocean-surveillance capability. It would be up to a top-secret satellite...
Prologue
Mac Hodges has lived a long life for a guy just 30 years old. Friends call him an “old” soul, but he says “it’s not the years, it’s the miles”. A decorated Navy SEAL, retired. Raised by an uncle, a powerful and wealthy businessman in Virginia, now serving a second term as a US Senator, following his parent’s death in...
The Hydra-T Duality
Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ decodes a commercial satellite from Hydra Space transmitting in the amateur satellite 435 MHz band using the same modulation, coding and telemetry format as HADES-R, an AMSAT-EA satellite launched at the same time. Decoding HYDRA-T “Some days ago, people in the LibreSpace forums started noticing that HYDRA-T was transmitting telemetry on 437.780 MHz, which is a frequency...
Another Anniversary
Three years ago today was my last working day. After 42 years at the coalface, I terminated my employment and began my journey into the final frontier; retirement. The transition was easy, mostly because it occurred at the tail-end of the Covid crisis when I had been working remotely, from home, for nearly three years. I also didn’t have close...
IC-7610 vs Elecraft K4D
In this video, Bob Nagy, AB5N compares the ICOM IC-7610 and the Elecraft K4D. This was of interest to me since I own both transceivers. The comparison was well received though N6TV added several clarifications that are worth a look.
World Wide Award
This event generated a lot of activity on the bands. I replied whenever I happened across one of the WWA stations calling with a strong signal and it ended up comprising a quarter of all the DX CW contacts logged in January.
Friday, January 31, 2025
End of the month chores completed. Logs updated, back-ups made, that kind of stuff. My first month in the New Year using CW-only went reasonably well. While the quantity of contacts was significantly lower than recent monthly averages, effort toward chasing specific DX was more focused. Several ATNO’s were worked (none yet confirmed), though a couple of new one’s on...
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Here in Indiana we have endured a rather rough winter season. A Polar Vortex along with sky-high egg prices, when you can find them. Yes, life isn’t perfect here in the Hoosier state and it’s often difficult to keep up, let alone get ahead, in this world gone mad. I mean sure, we don’t suffer from wildfires, hurricanes, or earthquakes,...
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
I caught SM4OTI calling CQ on 10 meters this morning. He had a great signal on this end and we had a brief chat. His QTH is Leksand, famous for the Leksands IF ice hockey team, who have won four Swedish Championships. I remained parked on frequency for an hour or so afterwards listening as Stefan made another dozen or...
Saturday, January 25, 2025
I’ve been listening for Felix, DL5XL operating from Antarctica for the last several weeks with no luck. Not a peep. Then yesterday I saw him spotted on 10 meters CW and could hear him, not strong, but well enough for a QSO if I was lucky. I wasn’t. He never heard me. Not this time. Not yet… ANTARCTICA. Felix, DL5XL...
Friday, January 24, 2025
Did you know that this weekend is the annual Winter Field Day event? Emergencies are never scheduled. If you haven’t planned anything, you still have time to get your radio, get outside and get on the air. WFD is a radio communications exercise designed to help you improve your operational abilities in the field and in subpar conditions. We would...
Thursday, January 23, 2025
News from the ARRL DXCC desk: The Programs & Services Committee and headquarters staff from the Radiosport Department are moving ahead with the creation of a new DXCC award – DXCC Trident – which will recognize those who achieve DXCC using CW, phone, and digital modes. Higher achievement endorsements can be earned at the 200, 300, and Honor Roll levels....
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
I live in East Central Indiana (EN70ge) in a small farming community. A mile or two north of here is another wide spot in the road called “Cammack” where there is a nice place to eat, the Cammack Station. It was designed to look a little like an old-time gasoline station, but on steroids. It attracts a lot of visitors...
Monday, January 20, 2025
The polar vortex arrived. It was -1 degree when I woke this morning. The good news is it showed up without snow storms or wind, which is great for the power lines. It’s just brutally cold and will remain that way through Wednesday. Better days ahead with temperatures more normal for this time of year and I need that as...
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Rain this morning, but right on the verge of snow. It’s 35F now and has been raining for several hours. It got up to 40F yesterday with sunshine which took it’s toll on the accumulated snow here. I had some hope that once the rain started to fall the rest of the snow would melt too. Gonna have to wait...
Friday, January 17, 2025
Awoke to generally poor band conditions which makes LoTW being down less of an irritation. My local DX cluster is down again too. Plus, I worked a DX station who correctly pointed out that we had worked previously, a few years earlier, and he didn’t appreciate dupes in his log and asked me to never call him again. Some days...
Thursday, January 16, 2025
The good news this morning was that when I tested my local DX cluster, it was back online following a couple weeks of downtime. Given it resides at Purdue University, the timing was right for it to have gone down while the students were on winter break and wasn’t recovered until they returned. I may never know what actually happened,...
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
I use Jekyll to manage my blog content. It’s been around a long time and is stable. It’s also highly configurable providing me with plenty of options. I selected it as my CMS because Wordpress and Blogger had become worn as an old toothbrush. Plus, everyone tends to use the free version which means adverts. I despise online ads even...
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Circumlocution seems the order of the day when it comes to bad-mouthing ARRL. Or more correctly, the ARRL Board of Directors. I have a solution that will go a long way toward fixing it. Never vote for an incumbent. Always vote for someone who is not currently a Director. You can’t change the BoD by re-electing the same people. If...
Monday, January 13, 2025
A fellow on one of the QRP mailing lists was asking if anyone had a TR-45L CW transceiver they would like to part with. This due to the fact that John, WA3RNC went QRT on radio production last year when he retired. You can’t buy them new from the factory anymore. I happen to have one that I purchased in...
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Last night, hours after local sundown, I decided to try to work a few stations in the NAQP. The juice had already drained from 20 meters and signals were right down in the noise. Slow-tuning, I heard an interesting call, just barely above the noise. You know how it is when the signal is copyable, yet so weak you just...
Saturday, January 11, 2025
While I made no specific resolutions for this New Year, I have made a few decisions that sure look like resolutions given their timing. For example, I’m quitting on a lot of memberships and subscriptions in the coming year. Been meaning to do that since I retired but haven’t been able to pull the trigger. With regrets and regards to...
Friday, January 10, 2025
I’ve had a Bluesky account since the service launched. I’ve been loathe to mention it here because having fled Twitter a few years ago, I really haven’t wanted much to do with social media. Creating a Bluesky presence was more “let’s see what this is like” than a commitment to a platform. Initially, there was so little traffic I generally...
Thursday, January 09, 2025
Good morning. Here in the US, it’s a National Day of Mourning for Jimmy Carter, the first former president to live to 100. That means things won’t fully operate as normal today, and flags will fly at half-staff for the next 30 days. NCDXF is pleased to announce its financial support for the February 2026 3Y0K Bouvet DXpedition. There will...
Wednesday, January 08, 2025
Band conditions haven’t been great the last few days and my DX production has suffered because of it. Not helping is that my favorite DX cluster went down over the weekend, not a fatal problem, but another brick in the wall. I had things setup smooth as a perfect self-checkout transaction at the grocery for awhile here and now that’s...
Tuesday, January 07, 2025
People keep saying the ARRL needs to do something to goose up it’s membership numbers. Problem is, few have good ideas for how they should do that, although from what I read most suggest that they throw open the floodgates in Newington and give everything away for free. Memberships, magazines, books, you name it. I suppose they could simply anoint...
Sunday, January 05, 2025
I refilled the bird feeders Saturday and enjoyed watching the little creatures eat their fill. My ham shack is located in a sun room addition to the house that protrudes into the backyard making it a perfect spot for me to keep tabs on the birds and the squirrels who visit. I wanted to make certain they had something to...
Saturday, January 04, 2025
Woke to 10F with clear skies this morning. The temperature in the shack had fallen to 45F, the coolest I’ve seen it in here. I fired up the heater before starting the first pot of coffee and things have warmed up to 60F in here now. Not a bad start to the New Year in the DXCC department. I’m focusing...
Friday, January 03, 2025
I got my first scare of the K4 era yesterday when I noted a sudden high SWR on ten meters. I checked the antenna and found no issue there, I even setup the IC-7610 on 10m with the same antenna without seeing a problem. I assumed something was fried and the new transceiver would require a return visit to its...
Thursday, January 02, 2025
Well I’m not the kind to live in the past, The years run too short and the days too fast, The things you lean on are the things that don’t last, Well it’s just now and then my line gets cast into these, Time passages… Living in Central Indiana, I’ve been a Indianapolis Colts fan since the day the moving...
Wednesday, January 01, 2025
Happy New Year! Survive until ‘25 was a popular mantra. Now what? The 2024 blog posts have been archived and the new files for 2025 have been spun up. I’m writing this with a few hours remaining in ‘24 so the numbers aren’t quite precise, but the stats at the moment show 56,867 unique visitors last year with 226,494 pages...
Look Ahead
As 2024 winds down there has been the usual year-end accounting work to wrap up. All of the logging chores for the year have been completed. My final tally for the annual DX Marathon was less impressive than I had hoped, though I still console myself with the facts that I’m a little pistol with a vertical living on a...
The RFzero
The RFzero™ has been developed for radio amateurs, RF enthusiasts and everyone else who wants to extend their Arduino skills in combination with RF. The RFzero designed by Johan, 5Q7J • Bo, OZ2M • Hans, OZ2XH • Steen, OZ5N The RFzero™ is an Arduino multi-purpose GPS controlled Si5351A RF unit. It can be used as a beacon (IBP, SBP, CW,...
Too Quickly
The big day has drawn to a close and the house is unusually silent. All four of our kids and their spouses, plus our six grandchildren were here to celebrate Christmas which was, as usual, another happy, noisy session that would look to any outsider like pure chaos. The floor was a foot deep in crumpled wrapping paper and the...
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
ISS Slow Scan TV Transmissions
Space Station Slow Scan TV Transmissions Just in time for the holidays and New Year, ARISS is planning an Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event from December 25 to January 5. A series of tutorials on the reception of ARISS SSTV pictures was released by ESA in 2020 that provides the current best approach for snagging these signals from space with...
Grant to Restore and Modernize USS Hornet
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a private foundation that exists to support amateur radio and digital communication science and technology. Hornet Amateur Radio Club’s (HARC’s) Upgrades to the USS Hornet In January 2024, the USS Hornet Amateur Radio Club (HARC), after raising ~$13,000 for their antenna restoration project, was awarded $90,000 by ARDC. These funds allowed them to restore...
Straight Key for the Holidays
With the year winding down and only a week until the fat man flies, I’m gently settling into the holidays using nothing but a straight key for the balance of this year. That will then continue into the New Year as the annual SKCC K3Y event kicks-off in January and I rarely miss that. Speaking of, the special K3Y QSL...
Framework 16 Expansion Bay
Back in the summer I bought a new Framework 16, the DIY high-performance 16” notebook. After I installed Ubuntu 24.10, it’s become my daily driver at home. At 16 inches it’s kinda bulky for roadwork, but it’s a solid performer with a great display in the shack. Our first new Framework Laptop 16 Expansion Bay module! A year later, the...
6GHz Band
The FCC has adopted new rules to expand very-low-power device operations across all of the 6-GHz band alongside other unlicensed and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. FCC Opens Entire 6-GHz Band to Very-Low-Power Device Operations Despite opposition from the NAB and other parties who have argued that opening up the spectrum would create problems for fixed microwave links, satellite uplinks and broadcast auxiliary...
CQ Magazine Legacy
I was always a big fan of CQ Magazine. It was the first periodical I found when searching for more info on ham radio way back in my long ago. Having been launched in the immediate aftermath of WWII, and before ham radio was turned back “on” was a gutsy move for a new publisher. CQ Magazine enjoyed many years...
DXCC Note
In the aftermath of the Great Hack of 2024 the ARRL managed to get LoTW operational after a few months of recovery efforts. What wasn’t restored at the same time was DXCC application processing. There was this announcement: The ARRL DXCC® System has been returned to service, and our staff is again processing applications for credit toward DXCC awards. The...
Home Sweet Home
I installed the just released, R36 firmware on my Elecraft K4 transceiver this morning. This new production release is apparently welcome news for many enthusiasts who have been longing for some new remote features to improve their experience. There must be more than a hundred reasons why so many folks want the ability to use their equipment from remote locations,...
Spilling Tea
A few interesting things to share, firehose style: Web Power Switch Pro from Digital Loggers. ⁍ Slick new K-POD accessory. ⁍ The 2025 DX Marathon rules have been posted. ⁍ New Long Island CW Club YouTube channel. ⁍ “While messaging Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone is secure, messaging from one to the other is not” and now the FBI and CISA, the...
Retention Limited
While perusing the 2023 ARRL Annual Report I was struck by something President Rick Roderick, K5UR wrote: According to an ARRL study, three-quarters of Technician-class licensees (who make up 51% of amateur radio operators) are inactive 1 year after getting licensed… I knew retention was a big issue limiting the growth of amateur radio, but I had no idea it...
Weekly BATC Net
I enjoy the weekly BATC net that takes place every Thursday afternoon (my time). The net is conducted via QO-100 and is not directly accessible here in North America, however, it is streamed online. Having done this for a few years you begin to feel associated with the group and the individuals and the net chatter becomes more interesting the...
Cold Snap
We always visit a local tree farm on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to pick out a Christmas tree. Today was no different. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, but it was also the coldest of the season. It was just 15F when we got up this morning and never got much warmer throughout the day. That did...
Casus Belli
Sometime over the last week I exceeded 2,000 contacts logged this year. Spit in the ocean for much more active operators, but another milestone for me as I have added more than 2K to the log in each of the last three years which coincides with my retirement in 2022. Quantity has never been a goal, however, the results reflect...
Parabellum
Couldn’t stir up even the slightest ambition in the CQWW CW this weekend. Spent a few hours instead on FT-x. The bands were in good shape and many contacts were logged including working E51SGC on another band. This is the South Cook Islands operation and today might be their last day. Next was 3G7X, the Dxpedition to Chiloé Island (IOTA...
On Amateur Licensing
Many subjects are verboten in the amateur radio world. So many in fact, it’s surprising we have anything to talk about at all. One particular topic that has become taboo is the issue of the testing required to obtain an amateur radio license. On this matter there are certainly strong, divergent views. One extreme posits that making licensing easier has...
First Snow
We enjoyed our first snow of the season yesterday. 2-3 inches of the fluffy white stuff fell over the entire day. Some say there will be much more of this over the course of what is expected to be an above average snow fall winter season. I remain skeptical about all that, but I did enjoy watching the white stuff...
Glitch in the Matrix
About a month or so ago a strange thing began happening with my iPhone. When I looked at the photo album collection, occasionally there would be a photo I couldn’t identify, and was certain I hadn’t taken. These would disappear after a minute or two and I joked with my kids that the ghost of some old Welsh witch was...
Updated POTA Hunting Stats
The quest to work activators in a thousand unique parks continues, slowly. I’ve been casually hunting POTA parks for a few years when I decided that enough was enough and I was going to end the hunt, but I wanted a clean stopping point. I had about 700 uniques in the log at that point so I set my sites...
Morning DX Patrol
Band conditions weren’t very favorable in the pre-dawn hours this morning though a few nuggets of gold were found. I struck out on 40 CW where I could copy a POTA station (VK2IO/P) in NSW, but never received a response. Moving to 20 FT8 there were several VK’s calling but not much activity. Until FY/WE9G in French Guiana popped up...
Amateur Satellite Marks 50 Years
Longest-serving satellite OSCAR-7 marks 50 years in orbit Launched on November 15, 1974, OSCAR-7, a micro satellite, continues its mission 50 years after its launch, serving as a vital asset for amateur radio operators globally. It holds the title of the oldest operational satellite, predating the launch of NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 by three years. OSCAR-7 belongs to...
Field Day 2024 Results
ARRL reports over a million contacts made during Field Day 2024… Results are published, and the numbers are in. They paint a picture of a very active 2024 ARRL Field Day. Nearly 1.3 million contacts were reported during the 24-hour event. That is up from 2023’s 1.25 million contacts. That’s likely indicative of the continued rise of Solar Cycle 25...
Veterans Day
“We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them enobled their nation as they became...
Old Friend Arrives
An ‘Old Friend’ arrived this week. That is the direct conversion transceiver kit from Midnight Design Solutions (designed by K1SWL). I ordered the same day they became available only to find that first round sold out in a few hours and I missed the cut. I got into the 2nd round which might have been a good thing since a...
VIM Developer Receives Posthumous Award
Bram Moolenaar is best known for developing VIM, a powerful, screen-based text editor. Released in 1991, Vim was originally a port of the Stevie editor for Amiga and has since become an indispensable tool for developers worldwide, available across multiple platforms. Moolenaar released Vim as “charityware,” encouraging users to support children in the south of Uganda through charitable donations. Vim...
You can't work 'em if you can't hear 'em
We attended an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio last week. The crowd enjoyed the game, at least until the visiting team kicked it into high gear. Sitting in Nationwide Arena I winced in pain from the noise. The raucous crowd, PA announcer, piped-in music at every stop in the action, along with that damn cannon that explodes each time...
Days of Our Lives
Life continues it’s march to some conclusion here. We are past the leaf-peeping season in this area. Nothing but dark oranges and browns left to see and these breezy days and gravity are conspiring to bring a lot of them to the ground. We’ve only picked up a few bags of leaves so far, mulching them with the push mower...
Letting Go
Amateur radio is imbued with hundreds and hundreds of organizations representing the many varied interests of its adherents. These seem to grow like weeds in springtime and some of them are as old as the hobby itself. Local clubs, contest clubs, DX organizations, service organizations, etc. A LOT of busy work takes place between the lines in our hobby whether...
SolderSmoke and the vagaries of life
Chatting with a friend yesterday when the subject of the SolderSmoke podcast came up. It seems there is some possibility of that long-running program going QRT. While I enjoy it, it isn’t published on any sort of regular basis so I’m usually always behind a few episodes, only checking for a new one when something reminds me of it. Following...
Spiced Cider
My ham shack exists in what was touted to be a “sunroom” when the realtor showed the house to us. It’s a new addition to the back-end of the house and is a very nice, modern space with seven windows to the backyard. With just a few of those opened I enjoy a nice breeze through here this time of...
Weekend Preparation
I took some time off from using the digital FT modes. 40 days and nights away from the keyboard. It was good to get time off from it, and that span seemed about right. I need to do this every year or more often when warranted. During that span I put 149 in the log using SSB and CW only....
Another Wireless Pioneer
Walter Massie, a Remarkable Wireless Radio Pioneer It was a cold, windswept February night in early 1905. Only a small amount of warmth made its way into the second floor room through a floor grate leading to the first floor where there was a Glenwood stove. Periodically, the operator would climb up a ladder to an observation tower and peer...
Chasing Bigfoot
I worked W7T yesterday who was calling “CQ BF” on 20 meters which got me just curious enough to call him back - and then figure out the “BF” was BIGFOOT… National Sasquatch Awareness Day Special Event Station Oct 15 - Oct 21 The Radio Club of Tacoma cordially invites all amateur radio operators around the world to seek out...
Radio as Art
I’ve been a ham forever. I thought I’d lost interest in radio, but it turned out that I’d only lost interest in post-modern radio. It’s all boring chitchat on over designed, mass-produced toys that are obsolete every 9 months. It’s fun to keep inventing new modes, but a bit of the cutting edge is losing out to cellular phones, which...
Freeze Warning
Enjoying a steaming cup of Earl Grey with a splash of milk along with a bowl of danish cherry tobacco in a Peterson free-hand pipe this morning. I’ve made an appointment to have the furnace people out for annual maintenance. They can’t get here until November 20th which is okay, the furnace is only two years old. I just like...
Columbus Day
Happy Columbus Day - chilly in the Heartland this morning, 44F now headed up to 58F for a high today. Autumn has arrived. Plenty of lawn work left to be done along with gathering of leaves that have been falling rapidly. I’ve had a hankering for boiled peanuts lately, so this weekend I boiled a pound of goober peas. It’s...
Lost in Space
Old Sol has been spewing some of its angry energy towards Earth again with the result being yet another Northern Light show here in parts south of the normal viewing areas. While not spectacular in Indiana, we did get a glimpse last night and the heavenly performance didn’t disappoint. Of course, the HF bands are suffering from the after shocks...
Day of Discovery
We have been enjoying the nice autumn weather in these parts. 70 degree days, dry with very low humidity, endless sunshine, and 40 degree nights. It doesn’t get much better than that. The farmer’s have been taking full advantage as harvest time is well underway with all the fields being gleaned. It’s the most wonderful time of the year in...
67th International Airstream Rally
Tuning on 20 meters this morning looking for weather traffic related to the hurricane set to make landfall in Florida, I caught special event station W1A celebrating the 67th International Airstream Rally in Sedalia, Missouri: Welcome to W1A. The purpose of this special event station is celebrating the 67th Annual International Rally of the Airstream Club International. We’re operating portable...
Marsh Island NA-120
I heard K5M calling CQ yesterday on 20 CW and returned the call. Turns out a small operation was taking place on Marsh Island thanks to AD5A, AB5EB and K0AP. According to QRZ, they intend to be there again today so I haven’t yet emailed to ask who I worked, but the entry has hit Clublog. Marsh Island is an...
C21MM Expedition to Nauru
Our team (T2C in 2023 and P29RO in 2022 and other activities in the years before COVID) has decided to announce its next DXpedition. We will return to the pacific and travel to Nauru (C2) in October 2024. We are planning to operate with 5 stations, 24/7 from 160 to 6 m in CW, SSB, FT8 and RTTY. News and...
QSL Cards - Let's Fix This
Having convinced myself that QSL cards are indeed an important detail in our daily amateur radio lives, the question becomes how can this practice be saved and restored? Assuming the cost of a printed QSL card purchased in bulk is around 30 cents each, and an optional envelope 20 cents, we’re looking at roughly 50 cents before postage. First-class postage...
QSL Cards - Historical Markers
Thanks to those who replied with comments about part one of this series about QSL cards. The consensus seems to be that broadcast stations initiated the practice of sending post cards that hams eventually emulated. That’s a good enough explanation for me, though I prefer to believe it was more magical than that. What got me thinking about all this...
QSL Cards - In the Beginning
Just a few years after CW displaced King ‘spark’ as the radio amateur’s mode of choice, Mac Anderson began to build his first radio station. Having just turned 15 years of age money was tight and it wasn’t easy collecting the parts required for such an endeavor, but he finally did it. After an agonizing period of study and assembly,...
Rainy Day People
It’s been raining all morning, nice and gentle, so far. Made sleeping-in an extra hour too easy. The parched lawn is soaking every bit of it up right now. I’ve got a couple of windows open here in the shack and the sound of falling rain is better than music to my ears. While writing this I received a text...
Fog of Incompetence
All of hamdom has by now seen the video (16:10) where one ARRL Director revealed a few additional details surrounding the cyber attack on the ARRL. The lack of competence at the IT level is shocking, the lack of management oversight even more so. I wrote a scathing post blaspheming the organization in a way that made my breath smell...
The Old Friend
A message popped up on the QRP-L mailing list yesterday from Dave Benson, K1SWL with news of a new offering from the former Small Wonder Labs alchemist. I’ve been wondering what Dave might be up to these days and it seems he’s been keeping the cobwebs at bay with another new transceiver kit along with George Heron, N2APB: The OLD...
Seasons Change
I remember not long after my Dad turned 80 he decided it was time for a new roof on his house and I recall him saying that given the 20-25 year expected service life, it would be the last roof he would ever have to deal with. That kinda stuck with me as I had never considered life in such...
Requiem for a Ragchew
Based on the listed bios of most radio amateurs, chewing the rag is a favorite pastime. Or at least the desire for a good “rag-chew” session is a consistent hope. It’s nearly impossible to pin down exactly what that means as the actual definition is pretty fuzzy. I’ve listened to both ends of a CW QSO that included the exchange...
Elecraft Adventures
Having the KX3 out and in operation for a few days this week was a bad idea. Using it always reminds me of how good it is and how it could so easily anchor my ham shack. And it’s not even the best Elecraft radio I own. That title belongs to my old Elecraft K2, number 524 that I built...
QRP Fun
I caught a message about the Run for the Bacon event being last night. I’m not a member of the Flying Pigs but I was looking for something to do after a lazy afternoon of football watching. I setup the long neglected KX3 powering it with a slowly failing battery. I used the 17-foot ground mounted vertical, set the power...
Farmer's Market
We have a lovely Farmer’s Market here in Yorktown every Friday evening during the summer months. An easy walk from my house. I thought last week was the final installment for the season, but we happened to be driving by the meadow where it takes place after dinner last night and stopped in when we saw it was open. Pity...
Friday the 13th
Here’s hoping you’re not superstitous on this Friday the 13th, the first of two Friday the 13ths (the other one is in December) in 2024. If you’re a little worried about it, here’s help. Good luck! The next full Moon will occur on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. Eastern time (7:34 p.m. Pacific). September’s full Moon, the Full...
Unplugged
I spent some time yesterday deleting every social media account I can recall ever having. That’s not really a big deal when you consider I haven’t expended much energy in that direction in a long time. Deleting those accounts was mostly symbolic and for my own benefit. It was about unplugging and rejecting the endless online systems promoted as ways...
Reboot
From chapter one of CALLING CQ, written by Clinton B. DeSoto and published in 1941: Calling CQ! Calling CQ to any amateur radio station!” A thousand times a night that call goes ringing out over the crowded amateur air lanes. It is the general call to any station–an invitation to any other amateur operator who might be listening to step...
Too Much Tech
Imagine if you will… In the year 2030, Forest Adams was in a car accident that left him comatose for an entire decade. To everyone’s surprise, he awoke in 2040 and proceeded to make an incredible recovery and soon returned to his old life. His hobby had been fishing, and he couldn’t wait to get back out on the lake...
Weekend Reading
Revisiting why hyperlinks are blue I found myself enjoying my morning coffee, reading through hate mail from my first article, as one does. I sifted through this dung heap as a prospector pans for gold, scanning for the faintest hint of gold to help me continue my journey to the true origin of the blue hyperlink. Moondance - experience the...
No Static at All
Nothin’ but blues and Elvis and somebody else’s favorite song… The Beginnings of FM Radio Broadcasting In the early and mid-1930s, radio communication was confined to the Low Waves (100-500 kHz), Medium Waves (500-1500 kHz), and the Short Waves (1,500 to 30,000 kHz). The frequencies above that, referred to as the “ultra-high frequencies”, were truly the “Wild West” of radio....
Just 100 Years Ago
The search for life in the cosmos has been an ongoing human interest for the ages, but since the advent of radio, the way we search the heavens has evolved. I found it interesting that just one hundred years ago, within the lifetime’s of many of our parents, something this unusual seemed perfectly reasonable. The ‘Freakish Radio Writings’ of 1924...
75 Years of Traffic Handling
The National Traffic System has been around for 75 years. From the current (September) NTS Letter, Bud Hippisley W2RU writes in the first of a two-part article on the history of the network: October 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the National Traffic System®. When I peruse net bulletins and correspondence that accompanied the birth and infancy of NTS®, I...
Saint Paul Island CY9C
I haven’t been chasing the CY9C operation this time around. I already had St. Paul Island in the log on 40 CW from a previous operation. Perhaps a little indifference is a secret weapon because I heard them making noise on 30 meters last night with good signals running F/H and decided to give them a call. It would be...
Squirrels and Upgrades
Was in the shack this morning enjoying the cool weather (49F) with all the windows cranked wide-open when suddenly a transformer on a power pole about 200 yards from here let go. I saw a shower of sparks then recoiled from the loud explosion. Some neighbor(s) must surely be without power after that ruckus though we are somehow unaffected. I’m...
AnandTech Shuts Down
End of the Road: An AnandTech Farewell Editor-in-chief Ryan Smith: It is with great sadness that I find myself penning the hardest news post I’ve ever needed to write here at AnandTech. After over 27 years of covering the wide – and wild – world of computing hardware, today is AnandTech’s final day of publication. For better or worse, we’ve...
Happy Labor Day
We’ve come to the end of another summer. I know it’s not officially over just yet, and I have no doubt that another wave of oppressive heat lurks just around the corner. But the kids are back in school and the public pools are all closing this weekend. And as it turns out, it’s a cool 54F this morning in...
Mercury Lite Amplifier
Happy September! I saw a rumor last night concerning the popular KM3KM product line. Nothing reported on their web site yet, but the rumor is from a reliable source: I’m going to sneak some information out on an exciting new product coming in first quarter 2025 from KM3KM. Now that this item has achieved FCC certification, it can’t change all...
Nauru
Even with the solar cycle humming along nicely it can feel like a long time between elusive ATNO’s, though sometimes serendipity lends a hand when you least expect it. Such was the case when I decided to toss a line in the water on 40 meters this morning. Mind you, my current antenna is seriously compromised on that band and...
Corn Sweat
I live on the outskirts of town in Central Indiana, out here surrounded by tall corn on every side this time of year. Happy in the Heartland, but miserable, muggy and sweaty, I just read this: Stop blaming the natural deodorant: You’re sweating because the corn is sweating. For anyone commuting in the Midwest, this week’s heat wave felt even hotter thanks to evapotranspiration,...
G-QRP Celebrates 50 Years
It was in September 1974 that George Dobbs G3RJV started the wheels turning to make the G-QRP Club a reality. Fifty years later, the Club is going strong and we have had around four thousand paid up members for over a decade. To mark the anniversary we have had a 5-part SCD transceiver building series in Practical Wireless, we have...
End of Another Era
When I was a kid I had two ways of making a buck. I mowed yards and I delivered newspapers. In those days, the throbbing metropolis of Muncie, Indiana had two daily publications. The Morning Star and the Evening Press were of the old style newspaper variety with ink on regulation sized paper. I delivered the morning paper seven days...
Forty-Six
My wife and I celebrated our 46th anniversary this weekend. It sounds like a long time, and it is, but to us it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Life is indeed like a vapor, and then it’s gone. We’ve enjoyed a lot of good years along with a measure of tears. On whole, I can say...
Million Dollars
I’m not certain what to think about the recent ARRL bulletin that provided more details about the cyber attack and subsequent million dollar ransom payment by ARRL. It might make an interesting story years from now after it quits chafing. After all, while mostly covered by insurance, payment of the ransom is almost never recommended by law authorities, and in...
Scatter Shots
48F when I woke this morning. This foretaste of autumnal awesomeness is simply too good to be true for August in Central Indiana. It’s been wonderfully comfortable these last few days and it seems there is another day or two of it ahead before the heat returns. Good news - the kids are back in school and there are only...
Tossed Salad
N1EA relays news that Schurr Morse Keys is now Bergsiek Morse Keys. Stefan Bergsiek has taken over Schurr Morse keys from Gerhard Schurr and continues to produce the keys in small series. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt. Here are all the details. Skeeter numbers will be handed out right up until Midnight Saturday/Sunday EDT. After that, the roster...
Capitulation
An update a few days ago from the N5J team said that many callers were continuing to use an older version of WSJT-X that wasn’t compatible with the new SuperFox Hound mode that is being used. This, despite considerable pre-DXpedition press informing everyone that the software update would be required. Apparently, complaints from enough stubborn hold outs are causing the...
The Road Ahead
Band conditions have been so abysmal that I didn’t even turn the radio on yesterday. As it turns out, too much solar maximum isn’t necessarily a good thing unless your hobby is chasing aurora. Perhaps today will be the day we escape these recent doldrums, and get back to the serious business of having fun on the radio? Absent from...
Dog Days End
Woke to 53F again this morning and it’s shaping up to be another beautiful day in the Heartland. Windows all open and it’s almost chilly in the shack. Nice! Timmy Horton’s in a big mug and puffing on Bluegill Lake in an old Savinelli Freehand with my old buddy Marshall Tucker asleep at my feet. Today is officially the end...
Bonus Days
Up before the sun and in the shack with the windows wide-open. It’s 54F here this morning with a high of 76F and sunny skies expected today. And the kicker, it’s expected to stay this way for about a week. I don’t know whose weather we’re getting, or why, but this is incredibly pleasant for August in Indiana. Whatever the...
Dewey, Truman, and the ARRL
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA titled his most recent (September 2024 QST) Second Century editorial, Dewey Defeats Truman! a throwback reference to the exaggerated death of LoTW in the wake of the ransomware attack this summer. Dave apparently feels vindicated that there was no loss of data and who can blame him? Everyone at HQ could probably use a hug...
Jarvis and the SuperFox
I got word that the Jarvis N5J operation got underway last night and first thing this morning saw that they were QRV on 17 meters. I fired up the new WSJT-X software in SuperFox mode and settled in to watch the action. Copy was easy and I observed their signal slowly build until by my 2nd cup of coffee I...
Rapidly Shifting Sand
The last post was about the new SuperFox digital mode. Today I want to speculate (spout crazy notions) on where this could lead us without much effort. It seems a solid first shot at working the DQRM problem. Shaming the bad actors hasn’t done much good suggesting the DX Code hasn’t been a great method to manage behavior. Pledging allegiance...
Enter SuperFox Mode
WSJT-X 2.7.0-rc5 and later includes a new mode for DXpeditions that’s been called SuperFox and is intended to dramatically improve rates and performance. Instead of sending up to five normal FT8 streams, each 50Hz wide, the SuperFox station will be capable of transmitting a full power constant-envelope signal, 1512Hz wide, sending acknowledgements to as many as nine different hounds at...
DX Marathon - Keeping Score
Just like that, and it’s time to tear another page from the calendar. Between taking time off from radio for a few weeks and dodging earth directed CME’s, my results for July trended lower. At this point in the quest ATNO’s are becoming fewer and farther between though I did add a couple this month and I filled nearly a...
Pocket Transistor Radio
It’s probably been since the late 1970’s when I last owned a battery powered, pocket-sized transistor radio. Yesterday I ordered the brand new XHDATA D-220 after having seen a review of it on John’s Tech Blog. I’m not certain I have a real use for it, it was just something I wanted – and it was under $20 on Amazon...
Calibration Issue
I spent the last month with the ham radio gear shut down and the feed lines disconnected. This, after hitting it a little too hard. I found myself burned out on radio and in need of a break. It’s a calibration issue. Despite having been retired for two years I guess I haven’t adjusted to the unlimited hours available in...
Catching Up
Some catching up seems in order. It’s been a busy month with too much work in the yard for this old retired guy. The heat wave made things miserable for several weeks, but that broke a few days ago and the last two mornings I have enjoyed coffee and 54F with the windows wide open. I’m hoping against hope this...
Field Day 2024
It’s a good thing my plans for Field Day were more modest than usual else I might have been disappointed. It has become my habit to partake in the annual event from my own backyard, but the heatwave had convinced me if I did operate this time, it would be from inside the shack. So I figured I’d make a...
Reality Distortion Field
Field Day is this weekend. I have operated the event from my backyard using battery power for many years, but this time around I’ll be operating from inside the house attempting to make a hundred phone contacts. I’m not even going to maintain a log so this should be a piece of cake. When it comes to the age-old argument...
Summer Reading
While it’s yet a few days before the official first day of summer, the oppressive heat wave that will soon cover most of these United States dropped into Indiana over the weekend and we’re roasting enough here to cause me to declare, “close enough” it’s summertime! No fresh corn on the cob yet, but there’s enough sweet tea and supernatural...
NORAD Checks With Balloon Hobbyist Groups
NORAD has learned to check hobbyist websites to identify balloons since the US military shot down three unidentified objects in 2023. After dubious shootdowns, NORAD now checks with balloon hobbyist groups The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade is a hobbyist group that builds, launches and tracks “pico balloons,” lightweight balloons that can carry a small payload like a radio tracker...
LoTW Downtime Monthly Status
With more than a month of continuous downtime the only thing funny about the situation is the continued chorus of those insisting, “the data is safe” and “why is everyone getting so worked up about this?” These ditties from the evolutionary descendants of those who insisted the Titanic is “unsinkable!”
Framework Laptop 16
I have been keeping an eye on the devolopment of Framework Laptops for months, so when I received an email yesterday declaring, “Framework Laptop 16 in stock” I quickly assembled a custom configuration and hit the order button. I’ve been told my new laptop will ship within 1-2 weeks. The 16-inch model was appealing to me because I intend to...
AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End
In case you missed the news, the AMSAT mail alias service will be terminated on August 1st, 2024. The popular feature permitted mail directed to yourcallsign@amsat.org to be forwarded to any email address you chose. This feature has been a staple of satellite enthusiasts around the world for decades. A recent AMSAT news bulletin announced the decision to end the...
Wayne Green. Spirit Guide.
Wayne Green was a radio amateur and entrepreneur born in the halcyon days of hobby radio. A veteran of the Second World War, he saw first hand the impact a glut of war surplus equipment had on the amateur service. Mechanical behemoth’s from the War Department soon filled basement radio shacks and RTTY became the hot new thing in hamdom....
Daylight's Computer Tablet
I ordered a new tablet a few days ago, and it’s not an iPad. Surprised? Daylight Computer is a new manufacturer with hopes of shaking up the tablet market. I like their tagline, “The computer, de-invented”. They say the new DC-1 tablet is a “new kind of computer designed for deep focus and well-being”. What attracted me the most was...
The Future is Here
Just a week ago I wrote about the rapidly changing future for amateur radio emergency services due to the growth of wireless internet access provided by the Starlink service and its fleet of low-earth orbit satellites. Then came dangerous flooding in remote parts of Brazil. Did amateur radio send in the varsity squad to provide communication help? No. But a...
Harbinger
The 3G0YA Easter Island DXpedition has concluded. The operation was QRV from 18-Apr-2024 thru 06-May-2024 and ended with more than 140,000 contacts having been made. Club Log reports Easter Island as 83rd on the Most Wanted list so while not particularly rare, anything in the top 100 is good to have in the log and even better if you never...
Footnotes from Oz
I worked VK6AS this morning on 20 meters. This was the second time working Dr. Smith, the first being about eight months ago. He’s located in Bull Creek, just outside of Perth, on the Western Coast of Australia. My logging program pulls data from QRZ and is only as accurate as that site, but according to it, our contact was...
Cornbread Road. Again.
I recently uploaded the Cornbread Road audio series to the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications. DLARC is a project of the Internet Archive (the not-for-profit online library best known for The Wayback Machine.) DLARC is growing into a massive online library of the past and present of ham radio and related communications. It is funded by a grant...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 10
Living in isolation on a lonely mountain while the rest of the planet went to hell Clinton thought he had it pretty good. Sure, he longed for life the way it used to be. Dinners with colleagues, late night drinks at a cozy bar with old friends, the aroma of fresh brewed coffee in the morning at the shop right...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 9
The visit to town went better than expected. At least from an execution standpoint. His route from the wilderness to “civilization”, such as it was, included several twists and turns that were probably unnecessary. He was trying to mask the direction he was coming from, but no one seemed to care. Clint hoped to buy pipe tobacco and coffee and...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 8
The late afternoon shadows were growing longer and the nights were a little cooler, clear evidence that autumn was just around the corner. Clinton wasn’t looking forward to winter weather again, though it did come with the implied luxury of refrigeration. He hadn’t taken any venison since he moved into the cabin because he wasn’t confident about how to preserve...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 7
Some weeks later the radio traffic began to grow and it was now possible to work several different stations along the east coast each day. The buzz was that power had been restored to many areas though there were reports of scheduled, rolling blackouts. In Raleigh, the power would be on for eight hours every other day. This would no...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 6
Ninety days had passed since the world changed forever. Life for Clinton had fallen into a routine, though not a normal one. He spent time every few days hunting or fishing, but mostly fishing now that the weather had turned warmer. He was also spending considerable time foraging for growing things to eat. He was certain his caloric input was...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 5
After stopping by his house to pack a few things, Clinton set out for the long hike up to Boone. It was late enough in the day he decided to follow highway 19 which would be a little tougher hike, but it was off the beaten path and a bit more secluded. There was little traffic on the highway so...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 4
Twenty-four hours after the event some information was beginning to be received. The event over Carolina had indeed been some sort of magnetic pulse as assumed, though its origin and method of delivery remained a mystery. Washington, DC was hit. Hard. Probably nuclear, but that was only speculation and not yet confirmed. That would be especially bad news given that...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 3
When Clinton walked onto the campus he hoped everything would be normal here and the power outage just an isolated event. But he noticed the large water fountain in front of the administration building wasn’t running as he walked past it. A bad sign. There were cars in the parking lot, but those could have been there from before the...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 2
This day began as most others. The alarm went off at 6:15am. Clint rolled out of bed and hit the shower. At 6:20am the coffee maker started to brew what had been setup the night before. Thirty minutes later the professor was shaved, dressed, munching on a bagel, and filling his travel mug for the 20 minute commute to the...
The Zombie Apocalypse - Episode 1
In the next several posts, I want to explore the feasibility for radio communication during an actual SHTF situation. I’m not talking about a tornado or hurricane event. Ham radio operators are already well-equipped to help out in those kinds of transitory situations and newspaper headlines point this out daily. What I want to discuss is a zombie apocalypse. You...
Bob Heil, K9EID SK
I’ve held off writing about the passing of Bob Heil until now. We weren’t close friends, I only met him in person once, at the 2018 OzarkCon in Branson, Missouri. He was the keynote speaker at the conference and proud as he could be to show off his wooden radio projects. photo ~ photo ~ photo ~ photo His enthusiasm...