Twitter is abuzz with news that someone is trying once again to revive Heathkit. The image above was taken right off the Heathkit home page. Even more amusing is the online customer survery. It’s quite an extensive survey and very heavy on the amateur radio questions. GB Hoyt (KB4GVL, @kb4gvl on Twitter) has an interesting take on what it will take for them to succeed on his blog. Take the survey and tell me what you think. Can Heathkit be resurrected? The post Yet another Heathkit? appeared first on KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog.
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Yet another Heathkit?
KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog21 May 2013 | 6:55 pm -
Dayton’s Over – Time to Analyze
KØNR: Radio Enthusiast22 May 2013 | 8:16 amI made it to the Dayton Hamvention this year, after a multi-year absence. Due to that four-letter word known as work, I was not able to arrive until really late Friday night. That left all day Saturday and the half day on Sunday to partake of the event. Bob K0NR discovers the cover photo for the summer CQ VHF I’ll start with the obligatory dig at Hara Arena, repeating my tweet: Hara Arena continues to be everything that I wish it wasn’t. Check out the posts by Jeff KE9V and Steve K9ZW about their impressions of Hamvention. I spent some time helping out at the HamRadioSchool.com… -
Nice night for DX
W2LJ's Blog - QRP - Do More With Less.23 May 2013 | 6:25 pmIt was a nice night for DX. I guess there are a lot of folks out there getting their stations ready for the CQ WPX contest this weekend. They seem to be swinging their beams to and fro, checking out their Amps, and burning the dust off their finals. Good times for a QRP DXer, good times!I started off the evening with a brandy new one. 7X4AN, Mohammed in Algeria on 15 Meters And with QRP, to boot! So it was a deuce - new DXCC entity worked with QRP. That was followed by another QSO on 15 Meters with KP2M down in the US Virgin Islands - and was he ever… -
The saga of the 146.94 interference
WB4GBI4 May 2013 | 10:03 amTHE STORY OF THE 146.94 INTERFERENCE, May 2-3, 2013 Good Morning! I know I haven't "blogged" for a while, but I thought this might be a good subject to start back with, since it involves one of my repeaters being OFF for for over two days. Lots of folks have asked about it. Those of you who were kind enough to subscribe to my 'blog will get the 'news' first ! :-) Thursday morning, as I was starting my day, I received word that someone was transmitting continuously on 146.34 MHz, causing the repeater to be… -
Neat Dayton Video
W2LJ's Blog - QRP - Do More With Less.22 May 2013 | 7:13 pmby Joe K0NEB, editor of the monthly kitbuilding column in CQ:72 de Larry W2LJQRP - When you care to send the very least!
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American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
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The K7RA Solar Update
24 May 2013 | 3:53 pmSolar activity remains quiet, but on May 16 the daily sunspot number reached 212. I had to keep searching further and further back in the records to find a higher sunspot number. One year, six months and one week earlier -- November 9, 2011 -- the sunspot number was almost that high, at 208. Going back seven years, 10 months and 12 days to July 4, 2005, it was 192. To find activity beating the ... -
No ARRL Audio News on May 30
24 May 2013 | 10:01 amThere will be no ARRL Audio News on Thursday, May 30. The ARRL Letter will be distributed on its usual schedule. The Audio News will return on Thursday, June 6. -
Surfin’: Combining Software Defined Radios and Smart Phones
24 May 2013 | 9:00 amBy Stan Horzepa, WA1LOUContributing EditorThis week, Surfin’ checks out a ham who is developing a handheld radio that’s a cross between a smart phone and an SDR.The Dayton Hamvention® was last weekend and I drove 735 miles to attend the event for the 25th time. Kudos go out to my smart phone and its map apps for getting me to Hamvention and back without error, as well as getting me around those... -
Technician Class Survivor Challenge
23 May 2013 | 4:43 pmNow that the Morse code requirement no longer exists, those who held a Technician class license before March 21, 1987, having already passed the General theory exam, can upgrade to General class without further testing Read More -
Logbook of The World Reaches 500 Million QSOs
23 May 2013 | 12:56 pm
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eHam.net News
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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #21 de K7RA:
24 May 2013 | 12:59 pmOverall, solar activity is still pretty quiet, but one positive sign was on May 16, when the daily sunspot number was 212. I eyeballed the records, and had to keep searching further and further back to find a higher sunspot number. -
Science Students See Their Face In Space:
23 May 2013 | 5:06 pmStudents from Ralph McCall School and members of the Airdrie Space Science Club (ASSC) weren't the only ones excited to get the third flight of the Airdrie Balloon Experiment off the ground, May 18. Their Grade 6 science teacher, Brian Jackson, a self-professed "card-carrying space geek," could hardly contain his excitement as he prepared for the launch of the ABE 3 air balloon at the Beiseker Airport just after 8 a.m. With help from three volunteer Amateur Radio Operators (ARO), 10 students and a dozen parents, Jackson sent the five-foot helium-filled balloon towards space. A small homemade… -
Amateur Radio Operators Helping with Oklahoma Relief:
23 May 2013 | 5:04 pmAmateur Radio Operator Ken Malgren with the Disaster Relief Network knows how quickly a storm can hit. He is a retired firefighter turned Ham Radio operator who monitored Monday's twister as it rolled though Oklahoma City. "I was prepared to respond that day if I needed to," he said. The EF-5 tornado took lives, homes and left behind rubble. It also took out communication for people in the area. Experts say during natural disasters, cell phones have a tendency to go down either from damage to towers or overload of the system. "When you try to jam all the people that are trying to make phone… -
ARNewsline Report 1867 -- May 24 2013:
23 May 2013 | 5:01 pmThe following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio joins other services in responding to tornadoes in the Great Plains; Israeli hams get limited access to 5 MHz, a distracted driving law that exempts ham radio is signed by Hawaii's governor; a major DXpedition to Heard Island is delayed and an in-depth look at Hamvention 2013. All this and more on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1867 coming your way right now. -
Surviving a Dayton Weekend:
23 May 2013 | 5:01 pmTrue to tradition I joined thousands of radio nuts and computer geeks last weekend for my annual pilgrimage to southwest Ohio for the Dayton Amateur Radio Association's annual Hamfest, an event that passed the half-century mark a few years back.
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QRZ Forums - Amateur Radio News
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Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1867 – May 24 2013
23 May 2013 | 10:17 pmAmateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1867 – May 24 2013 Please note that this is an extended Amateur Radio Newsline report and contains three breaks. Newscast begins after the tone. -- Tone -- Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1867 with a release date of May 24 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio joins other services in responding to tornadoes in the Great Plains; Israeli hams get limited access to 5 MHz, a distracted driving law that exempts ham radio is signed by Hawaii’s governor; a major DXpedition to Heard Island is delayed and an in-depth look at… -
R.A.I.N Report for May 17th, 2013
23 May 2013 | 6:53 amIn memory of the late Joe Schroeder, W9JUV, here is an interview with Joe conducted by Bill Pasternak in 2007. (17 mins). http://www.therainreport.com/ -
Hams in Moore, OK
22 May 2013 | 5:17 pmWe have all seen the devastation in Moore, OK. Doing a search on qrz.com for hams in Moore, OK I found 114 and I suspect that most of them lost their home stations as well as their homes. Rebuilding homes in Moore is the first priority. There will come a day soon, I hope, that their lives will start being more normal or, at least, normal as much as possible. We Hams have a tradition of taking care of our own. This is a great hobby and one often used in disasters like we see in Moore and in other places. We provide communications and other help but, in this case, we have the opportunity to do… -
New SDR Radio User’s Discussion Group.
19 May 2013 | 5:22 amNew SDR Radio User’s Discussion Group. Welcome to the SDR (Software Defined Radio) User’s Discussion Group. This discussion group is for people interested in the state of the art of the development of SDR (Software defined Radio) and the commercial, open source and experimental options available to licensed radio amateurs worldwide. Its purpose is educational and informative. To join visit this link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdr-users/join? In this new forum important things can be discussed such as: What is DUC and DDC transceivers? Who is making them? Does Hermes or Mercury, mean… -
CQ announces 2013 Hall of Fame Inductees
17 May 2013 | 12:41 pmCQ announces 2013 Hall of Fame Inductees CQ magazine today announced its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees, adding two members each to the CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame along with eight new members of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The 2013 inductees (listed alphabetically) are: * Evelyn…
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QRZ Forums - Contests, DXpeditions and Special Events
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KK5W Museum Ships 2013 Event June1 0000UTC - June 2 2359 UTC
24 May 2013 | 8:44 amKK5W will be operating from June 1 0000UTC through June 2 2359 UTC This marks the 6th year The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club is participating in the Museum Ships Weekend. June 1 0000 UTC to June 2 2400UTC. Listen for our call sign. A contact with KK5W is credited as a contact with both WW II Submarine USS Cavalla and Destroyer Escort USS Stewart. Visit our web page for more information, www.bvarcmswe.org . We will be operating from, Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas, NA-143. Amateur radio operators in the Galveston - Houston area are cordially invited to participate. You can sign up on the… -
2012 WWSA DX Remarks
24 May 2013 | 8:29 am2012 WWSA DX Remarks You know that he organization of an international contest like the WWSA, isn´t an easy task for a small group without economic resources as the GACW is. However, the perseverance and commitment shown by all who have some responsibility in the organization and other South Americans who feel this competition as our CW regional party, have become the second weekend June each year a classic contest with South American and friends of the rest of the world who join us. We are very sorry for the delay to publish the results, mainly because the flood in La Plata city where… -
13 colonies special event 2013
23 May 2013 | 7:14 pmIt's almost time again! The 5th annual 13 Colonies 4th of July Week Special event will start July 1st at 9AM eastern (13:00) and end July 6th at Midnight eastern (04:00 July 7th). A new certificate this year featuring the flags and banners of the revolution. Look up my call at QRZ (KU2US) for more info and a link to our web site. It will be big fun again this year and we are planning to top the 60,000+ "Q's" we did last year! ALSO, WM3PEN special event station will be participating with us again, to make it even more fun and challenging. (wm3pen at QRZ). -
6m band EME activity in BV, Taiwan.
23 May 2013 | 8:02 amCTARL (Taiwan) started for the 6m band EME and VHF QSO Party. Time: 0400z 25th ~ 0400z 26th May, 2013 QTH: PL04LU. Location: 24.846726, 120.924236, Hsinchu Fishermen http://goo.gl/maps/jCV3n Antenna: EF0610 10 element Yagi. RF Power: 1kw Frequency: 50.190 +/- Operator: BV2DQ / WJ2I Active Callsign: BV2Y, BV0PC, BV2DQ etc. Meaning while; 2m Band EME active at same time. Operator: BX2AI Active Callsign: BV2Y, BX2AI etc. contact: Randson Huang / bv2dq.tw@gmail.com -
KL7NWR Attu Island
22 May 2013 | 3:00 amKL2HD will be active from Attu Island (IOTA NA-064) , Aleutian Islands 2-5 June 2013 as KL7NWR http://dxing.at-communication.com/en...utian-islands/ 73 Al 4L5A
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QRZ Forums - Hamfest and Convention Calendar
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DurHamfest - Durham NC
21 May 2013 | 5:26 amhttp://dfma.org/index.php?option=com...=255&Itemid=16 May 25, with vec's, and assorted swap activity. -
Can't Find Vendor from Dayton Hamvention
20 May 2013 | 2:52 pmOne of the vendors at Dayton this year was demonstrating a low power (100 mw) PSK 20 meter transceiver. It is supposed to be ready in June. For the life of me I can't find what I did with the information from the vendor that I put in my bag. If anyone has any information on this Japanese company, I would be indebted to you if you'd pass it along. -
Going to Dayton, and coming from the north?
11 May 2013 | 10:44 amThose of you driving south from Toledo, Michigan, or Ontario ... the KT8APR DStar repeater on 443.625 in Lima OH will be open for use. The 145.370- (PL 107.2) repeater is analog and IRLP 4370. The 6-meter repeater on 53.630 is presently off the air due to a PA failure. We're trying to find the parts by the time Dayton rolls around. Another repeater in Lima is W8AOH 146.745- (PL 100.0), which is operated by Allen County EMA. Please remember to unlink if you link up to another repeater. Query KT8APR in the QRZ database for more info. Note: There is heavy construction at I-75 and SR309/117 (exit… -
Dayton Hamvention Lodging Available May 17 & 18, 2013
10 May 2013 | 3:23 amI have a room available at the Holiday Inn, Brookville, OH - about 10-15 minutes from Hara Arena. My friend purchased his plane ticket and room in advance with no ability to cancel. Now that he is unable to attend, I am asking the nominal rate of $50 per night to help offset his loss. The room is now in my name and would change it over to yours. Personally, I will be arriving on Saturday evening. The room has one king bed. If interested, please contact me at cns2007bus@yahoo.com. Thanks folks! N8CNS -
Dayton Hamvention D-STAR D-Extra 38C, D-Plus 38C, Simplex & Group Pictures
8 May 2013 | 10:20 amPress Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeff Evans / KB8ZUN 2013-05-07 ohiodstar@gmail.com Dayton Hamvention D-STARD-Extra 38C, D-Plus 38C, Simplex & Group Pictures Lorain County Ohio –The Northern Ohio Digital Interconnect Group, in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention, will be providing D-STAR users globally the use of D-Extra X-Reflector 038C and D-Plus Reflector 038C for Hamvention activities. All systems, repeaters & users normally connected to NODIG assets are encouraged to begin migration to the C modules on Thursday morning, 5/16/2013. All systems normally connected…
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N5FDL's Amateur Radio and Emcomm Blog
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What's the address?
5 May 2013 | 11:23 pmI was sitting at a water station on a March of Dimes walk Saturday. Started thinking about what I would do "if."First, in this really informal situation, I'd call 911 before talking to net control. I started thinking about how I'd describe the location if I made the call. "Magnolia Street on the CSU campus, by the water tower" would work. But, the actual address would work better. Dispatch systems much prefer street addresses when figuring out who to send. Even out in the sticks, it is often possible to conjure up a street address. Some GPS apps will find your address based on location. The… -
Please sign our Warning Petition
2 May 2013 | 1:48 pmEarlier today, I received an e-mail from Art Botterell, one of the world’s leading experts on emergency public warning. He is the father of the Common Alerting Protocol, the global standard for warning messages, and godfather of the improved alerts being sent by broadcasters and cellular carriers. Please sign the petition. Here’s the letter: Hi Friends - A few of us, led by Richard Rudman, are doing a bit of consciousness-raising. It’s easy to imagine that having systems like IPAWS solves the warning challenge. But folks who’ve studied the subject know that… -
Drinking in Uniform, Need I Say More?
24 Apr 2013 | 11:38 pmThree off-duty members of the local senior police volunteer program showed up at the grocery store's weekly wine tasting tonight. And they tasted. Care to guess how many calls the PD will get about this? Wonder if they had their police car parked outside?Remember: Anytime you wear any insignia, you represent that organization. And people judge you and the organization together. Never be around alcohol when in uniform. Not even to buy a six-pack with $100 of other groceries. Just don't do it. -
Switching to Duracell
21 Apr 2013 | 10:01 pmBecause I am not perfect, I am switching from my old favorite Kirkland AA batteries to Duracells, also purchased from Costco. A friend recently had Costco batteries leak and force early retirement of a piece of gear. He wanted to see if the equipment might be salvageable so he called Duracell. Thinking it was their batteries that leaked, the Duracell people offered to replace the damaged item. That really bugged him. See where I am headed? I've had batteries leak in the past. It's been years, but since I have tons of gear and use tons of batteries, the extra money spent on Duracells is a good… -
Fused Power Bus
17 Apr 2013 | 9:41 pmThis piece is used in emergency vehicles for + DC power, but could be used anywhere. The two small slots hold a fuse. The - DC side is a seperate non-fused bus (not shown). Add PowerPole connectors as desired. Check automotive electric and emergency vehicle outfitters for these. This one cost $38. Thanks to Ron N6GKJ.
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KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog
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From the trade magazines: capacitors, inductors, radio architectures
22 May 2013 | 4:42 amTemperature and voltage variation of ceramic capacitors. Read the data sheet! This tutorial explains how ceramic capacitor type designations, such as X7R and Y5V, imply nothing about voltage coefficients. You must check the data sheet to really know, how a specific capacitor will perform under temperature and voltage. Circuit measures capacitance or inductance. You don’t need a fancy LC meter to measure capacitance or inductance. This short article show you how to do it with a function generator, multimeter, frequency counter, and an oscilloscope. Hmmmmm. By the time you get that all… -
Yet another Heathkit?
21 May 2013 | 6:55 pmTwitter is abuzz with news that someone is trying once again to revive Heathkit. The image above was taken right off the Heathkit home page. Even more amusing is the online customer survery. It’s quite an extensive survey and very heavy on the amateur radio questions. GB Hoyt (KB4GVL, @kb4gvl on Twitter) has an interesting take on what it will take for them to succeed on his blog. Take the survey and tell me what you think. Can Heathkit be resurrected? The post Yet another Heathkit? appeared first on KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog. -
Amateur radio tip of the day: Low SWR isn’t the “be all and end all” it’s sometimes made out to be
20 May 2013 | 3:00 pmHam Radio Tip of the Day ———————————————————— Today’s tip is from Bob, KG6AF. For submitting this tip, Bob will get one of my e-books. Thanks, Bob! Low SWR isn’t the “be all and end all” it’s sometimes made out to be. Just because you measure a low SWR, it doesn’t mean that your antenna is radiating efficiently. Conversely, a high SWR doesn’t mean that an antenna won’t radiate. Remember that a 50-ohm dummy load has a 1:1 SWR. -
From my Twitter feed: future of SDR, Dayton review, fritzing
19 May 2013 | 8:04 pmK9ZW The Future of SDR – Fat-Pipe vs. Thin-Pipehttp://t.co/u6WpGGv6ML ke9v Dayton in the Rearview Mirror | Smoke Curlshttp://t.co/PI25XUisGR #hamr g6avk This looks like an interesting and easy to use PCB package - http://t.co/xsL7rY2t7n The post From my Twitter feed: future of SDR, Dayton review, fritzing appeared first on KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog. -
A long, hot Day One at Dayton
17 May 2013 | 5:21 pmWell, I made it through the first day at Dayton. I say first day, but it really was my second. Opn Thursday, I attended the Four Days in May seminar put on by the QRP-ARCI. This is a great event, which I’ll write more about later. My day started very early. I always have trouble sleeping in hotels, and last night was no exception. I woke up about 2:30 am, and didn’t get back to sleep until 4 am. I got up for good at 6:30. Ugggh. At least breakfast was good. The Homewood Suites where I am staying serves a hot breakfast, including waffles, eggs, and sausages. I got on the 7:30 bus,…
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W2LJ's Blog - QRP - Do More With Less.
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Pleasant surprise
24 May 2013 | 7:44 pmToday was a strange day. It was my last day at my current job at Goldman Sachs. I've been there just over six years, managing all the Technology Department inventory (servers and networking and storage equipment) for the offices of the NY/NJ Campus. I was the manager of the department responsible for receiving, inventorying, warehousing, and prepping for install a multi-billion dollar cache of equipment. I was also responsible for shipping re-purposed equipment both domestically and internationally. Believe me, you haven't lived until you've been tasked with shipping millions of… -
Nice night for DX
23 May 2013 | 6:25 pmIt was a nice night for DX. I guess there are a lot of folks out there getting their stations ready for the CQ WPX contest this weekend. They seem to be swinging their beams to and fro, checking out their Amps, and burning the dust off their finals. Good times for a QRP DXer, good times!I started off the evening with a brandy new one. 7X4AN, Mohammed in Algeria on 15 Meters And with QRP, to boot! So it was a deuce - new DXCC entity worked with QRP. That was followed by another QSO on 15 Meters with KP2M down in the US Virgin Islands - and was he ever… -
Neat Dayton Video
22 May 2013 | 7:13 pmby Joe K0NEB, editor of the monthly kitbuilding column in CQ:72 de Larry W2LJQRP - When you care to send the very least! -
Will the mighty Phoenix arise?
22 May 2013 | 3:42 pmOK, by the time you read this, I guess this topic will be old news. The blogosphere and the Twitterverse have been abuzz with the news that “Heathkit is back!”Channeling my inner Captain Picard, no one would like that "to be so", more than I. I loved Heathkit and cut my Novice teeth on building their kits. In addition to a ton of Amateur Radio gear, I also constructed various clocks, scanners and other pieces. My stereo system was just about entirely high-end Heathkit. The only parts that weren’t were the speakers and the turntable. And yes, knowing what the age of the average Ham is, I… -
Lunchtime was grand
21 May 2013 | 7:07 pmSummer arrived with a vengeance in Central New Jersey. Temperatures in the 80s (29C) with the higher humidity and stickiness that accompanies it. But it made for a great opportunity to head out to the park for some QRPing during lunch break. Besides the warmth, the skies were sunny and clear, with just a few white puffy clouds floating by.Wanting to set up the fastest today in order to get the maximum operating time, I decided to go with the Buddistick on the magmount on top of the Jeep. From the time I put the Jeep in park and turn off the ignition, I can be on the air in well under…
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KØNR: Radio Enthusiast
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Dayton’s Over – Time to Analyze
22 May 2013 | 8:16 amI made it to the Dayton Hamvention this year, after a multi-year absence. Due to that four-letter word known as work, I was not able to arrive until really late Friday night. That left all day Saturday and the half day on Sunday to partake of the event. Bob K0NR discovers the cover photo for the summer CQ VHF I’ll start with the obligatory dig at Hara Arena, repeating my tweet: Hara Arena continues to be everything that I wish it wasn’t. Check out the posts by Jeff KE9V and Steve K9ZW about their impressions of Hamvention. I spent some time helping out at the HamRadioSchool.com… -
The Mysterious Case of Alternator Noise
10 May 2013 | 8:11 pmWhen I purchased my 2003 Ford Escape, I decided to install multiple ham radios and a bunch of antennas. Mostly I use a Yaesu FT-8900 FM transceiver for operating on the 2-Meter and 70-cm ham bands. A while back, I started getting reports that I had alternator whine on my transmit audio. I was perplexed because I thought I had done a pretty darn good job of installing the radio, including connecting heavy 12V power cables directly to the battery. (See K0BG’s web page for more information on battery connections.) I really wasn’t sure if this was a day one problem (and no one… -
General License Book From HamRadioSchool.com
7 May 2013 | 7:41 pmHamRadioSchool.com is off to a great start with a learning system that includes a web site, iPhone app and a great Technician License Course book. The Technician book, written by my fellow instructor Stu Turner W0STU, has turned out to be very popular. Stu did a great job of balancing “teaching the right material” with “focusing on the exam questions.” We’ve used the book in our two-day Tech license class with great success. Many people have been asking Stu when he’s going to write a book for the FCC General Class License. So, by popular demand, here it… -
The Updated Incomplete List of Ham Radio iPhone Apps
4 May 2013 | 8:07 amIt is about time I updated one of my more popular posts, The Incomplete List of Ham Radio iPhone Apps from 2011. This was a challenging task back then and has gotten more difficult as the number of ham radio apps for the iPhone has greatly expanded. Still, I will give it a shot and appreciate your feedback to make the list better. I am only evaluating iPhone apps, not iPad apps, since I don’t use an iPad. In general, I will focus on free or low cost (less than $5) apps that I am actively using. From the Simple Utility Category: Maidenhead Converter (Author: Donald Hays, Cost: Free)… -
SOTA Activation: Aspen Ridge (W0/SP-084)
27 Apr 2013 | 5:41 pmSpring is finally coming to the Colorado high country so it was time for a SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation. I don’t know which idea comes first: let’s go hiking or let’s play SOTA. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I’ve had my eyes on activating Aspen Ridge, which is near our family cabin but I wasn’t sure if the road was open. It turned out to be an easy Jeep ride down Forest Service Road 185 to get close to the summit. Then a half mile hike around and over the occasional snow patch got Joyce K0JJW and me to the summit. My portable station was a…
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WB4GBI
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The saga of the 146.94 interference
4 May 2013 | 10:03 amTHE STORY OF THE 146.94 INTERFERENCE, May 2-3, 2013 Good Morning! I know I haven't "blogged" for a while, but I thought this might be a good subject to start back with, since it involves one of my repeaters being OFF for for over two days. Lots of folks have asked about it. Those of you who were kind enough to subscribe to my 'blog will get the 'news' first ! :-) Thursday morning, as I was starting my day, I received word that someone was transmitting continuously on 146.34 MHz, causing the repeater to be… -
SAD NEWS
9 Sep 2012 | 6:09 pmSAD NEWS .... To all of the WB4GBI repeater family, It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you. Matt Kirby, WB4IOB, who was one of the founders of the 146.73 repeater, passed away this past Friday. For those of you who didn't know Matt, you missed an opportunity to be around one of the smartest, classiest people I have known. Matt and his brother Sam (WB4HAP), founded the 146.73 repeater in the early seventies. I remember when Matt and Sam placed .73 on the air, they told us in the RACK newsletter "not to buy crystals yet; they were still… -
FINALLY!! The new 146.94 antenna is installed and on the air!
9 Aug 2012 | 2:48 pmFINALLY! The new 146.94 antenna is installed and on the air! I'm sure you all probably know that I have been (im)patiently waiting on the opportunity to replace the 146.94 repeater antenna, which had been "arcing" on weak signals in recent months. I have had the new antenna onsite and ready for install for well over a year. Since this antenna is 250 feet up on one of my employer's towers, I had to wait until I needed to have our usual tower climber on the site and up the tower for an official (company-needed) reason. Otherwise, it would be a VERY expensive… -
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING WB4GBI/R 927.725 Mhz!!
25 Apr 2012 | 10:24 pmVERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR WB4GBI/R 927.725 USERS!! As of Wednesday, April 19th, 2012, the WB4GBI 900 Mhz repeater is now on 927.0625 Mhz, with a PL access of 151.4 Hz. Why did this happen? As those of you with 900 Mhz radios already know, my 900 Mhz repeater was not working well at all. Even the strongest of signals were experiencing "arcing" and noise as they transmitted thru the repeater. I was finally able to spend some time at the repeater site (the same site as 146.94 and 444.300) and troubleshoot the problem. Kevin, W4KEV, has already placed his 900 Mhz repeater on… -
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
23 Dec 2011 | 8:45 amMERRY CHRISTMAS!! I know that this blog is supposed to be my feeble attempts at describing my repeaters and the goings-on involving them, but I wanted to take this opportunity and share with you a small essay that I discovered years ago. I used to read this little essay on .47 when it was newly on the air. It reminds me of the real reson for the season. One Solitary Life Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an…
