Hello and welcome to installment 577 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts discuss ORI and the 220MHz band, a potential shake up in US amateur radio licensing, virtual swap space in the Linux kernel, apt, OrangePi and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT and Edmund Spicer M0MNG  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Hiroyasu CQ7373 Review.

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Efforts to Save Marconi Towers in Canada
• Hams Invited to Monitor Meteor Scatter Events
• Ham Radio News Presenter Retires At 101
• This Battery Looks Good on Paper Because it's Paper
• Zero Retries Newsletter Hosting Inaugural Conference
• South African Radio League Commits to Helping Continent’s Less-Developed Nations
• RSGB Board Chair and Vice Chair Announced
• RAC Votes to Cancel Attendance at Hamvention

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 204 is now available for download.

A visit to Bletchley Park, Tommy’s continuing Meshtastic Adventures part 2, DIY 50 Amp power supply, and more on Hamsci’s MW eclipse studies.

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As those who frequently read my blog you know I am into CW contesting big time and enjoy it. This past week I thought it was time to change up my CW contesting routine. It was due time to dip my toes into single operator 2 VFO operation or as it is known in the contesting world SO2V. In a nutshell, you have VFO-A audio in one ear (left in my case) and VFO-B audio in the other (right). With my Icom 7610 can have each VFO on the same or different bands. The contesting software N1MM+ is great for this type of operation, it incorporates many keyboard shortcuts. For example, once N1MM+ is configured for SO2V by just hitting the pause button on the keyboard you can jump back and forth from VFO A to B and the other way around. 

Next is to learn about your contest software when using it for SO2V mode. What are the keyboard shortcuts, and options available to you such as 2 waterfall displays, your qso entry windows may have visual indicators that give you needed information and what program window options do you need to be displayed as some may just be a distraction. 

Some operation goals to work on before trying CW SO2V and I say CW as that is all I do. I have mentioned this one in the past and that is learn to type and not hunt and peck. There are many programs out there now that can help you to learn how to type. The advantage to this is your eyes are not taken off the PC screen as you type a call sign. Both in SO1V and SO2V and more so with SO2V as you have a lot more going on at once at times. Also in time learn without looking where your macro keys are for the common parts of an exchange. In N1MM+ sure you have ESM BUT things don't always work out as 1,2,3 in a contest contact. I have made it a point to know CQ, exchange, my call, His call, exchange repeat and the wipe macro keys where they are without looking at the keyboard. Also, work on your pileup skills and Morse Runner PC program is a good start. No, you may not have a pile-up but with SO2V you may hear 2 signals (VFO-A and VFO-B) you have to learn to tune out one signal to hear the other. Sounds weird I know but it can be done over time with pileup contest software practice. 

How did my first couple of SO2V adventures go you ask? Not to overwhelm myself I started this adventure while operating the Monday Medium speed or MST (25 wpm max) mini 1-hour contest. Some of the blunders were:

At times forgetting which ear was which VFO.

Hear a contact calling on VFO-B and call them but forget to change to that VFO.

 Spin the wrong VFO as I have an external VFO (RC-28) and my habit is to always turn the main VFO.

 Working a contact on VFO-B and out of the blue a strong station on VFO-A (my left ear) starts to call CQ test. 

Then I gave the CWops mini contest a go on Wednesday! This mini-contest is another whole ball of wax. The speed is much faster and there are a lot more stations. At first, I just did search and pounce until I got my bearings and then I started to call "CQ CWT" and that is when the fun began. 

My goal with SO2V is to have fun, work my brain, and better my skills and it really does make the time fly by as you are constantly doing, thinking or looking at something.

Originally published in 2015, one of my favorite memories.

                    ********************

courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

I still have a vivid memory of the day I discovered (and bought) my first QST magazine. It was in February, 1959, and I had recently turned 11 years of age.

It seems I was doomed from a very tender age and, as it turned out, there was little hope of recovery. 

It was a Friday night and I had gone with my parents, as we did every Friday night following dinner, to the Eaton's department store in downtown Vancouver.

courtesy: http://www.thespec.com/

Eaton's had a new and modern supermarket-style grocery store on their bottom floor which stayed open until 9PM. As my parents did the grocery shopping, I would take the escalator to the 4th floor magazine racks and on that particular night, spotted the fate-determining issue hiding beside the Popular Electronics, Radio-TV Experimenter, Electronics Illustrated, Radio News, White's Radio Log and other nefarious radio publications designed, in part, to lure the allowance money from the pockets of wide-eyed youngsters like myself, already beginning to show symptoms of the dreaded radio-bug.

I recall debating to spend my small allowance on the costlier QST (55 cents) or the cheaper (40 cents) Popular Electronics. I found the technical-looking cover too overpowering, bit-the-bullet, and shelled-out for the QST ... that extra 15 cents forever sealing my fate.

As I sat in the back seat of the car (a '53 Chevy Sedan), waiting for my parents to finish their grocery shopping, I browsed through the QST. In truth, I understood very little but was particularly captivated with the station photographs in Rod Newkirk's "How's DX" column. One photograph in particular has remained in my memory through all these years, that of a young-looking "HS1JN" at the operating position from his exotic location in Thailand, along with Newkirk's equally enchanting description ... powerful stuff for a young mind eager to soak-up all of this new 'radio' stuff. 

courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

HS1JN's homespun 40-watt sender and S-40 receiver function faithfully on 20 c.w. in Bangkok where the OM is an officer in the Royal Thai Navy's research lab. After warming up on a fast WAC, HS1JN now aims for WAS and DXCC honors.


A recent internet search turned up snippets of information about the young Naval Researcher, Jamnong Saowanna, now SK, who eventually rose to the rank of Captain in the Thai Navy and was later instrumental in legitimizing amateur radio in Thailand. Apparently, back then, ham radio in Thailand had been unsanctioned and not officially approved by the government. HS1JN's original QSL also shows up, in the collection of K8CX, shown below.

courtesy: http://hamgallery.com/qsl/

Note that it's the same card shown taped to the front panel of HS1JN's homebrew transmitter in 1959. The K8CX card, for a 15m CW QSO with W6FMK in 1969, shows that OM Jamnong was by then running 500 watts along with a Collins KWM-2 ... quite a step up, but not nearly as alluring as his 'homespun 40-watt sender' and Hallicrafters S-40 receiver. 

After absorbing as much as I could from my single copy of QST, I began making weekly visits to the downtown library via bus, every Saturday morning, as it was there that I discovered I could peruse their huge bound collection of QST magazines, and borrow the latest issues, just for the asking! As well, they had a stockpile of colorfully-covered Radio Amateur Handbooks that spanned the past two decades ... it couldn't get any better. 

It was at this time that I changed my listening interests from the international shortwave broadcasters and began listening to hams on my old General Electric tombstone, particularly on 20m phone on weekend nights, as the band would be open all night long ... monster Cycle 19 had just peaked and propagation was nothing short of amazing. 

Between the February QST and the old GE, I never really had a chance.