AmateurRadio.com

Tinker John has been posting videos of Amateur Radio for a while now, and I have re-posted them on this blog a time or two because he does a really awesome job showing off Amateur Radio and the different modes he uses. He’s video of him doing QRP CW with just 5 watts. Yeah, I know, a lot of Hams do QRP, CW, but still, this is a great example for anyone looking to see how to do it. John’s videos are almost like a video Elmer. And as I have mentioned in older posts, inspired me to try a couple new things. But, enjoy his 5W CW fun.

The FCC, FEMA and NOAA are going to be conducting a nationwide test of the EAS system, November 9th, 2011. Mainly to be sure, that it works, as a national test has never never been done. While states have done local tests on a weekly and monthly basis, no one is sure if an alert on a national scale was to go out, that it would 100% work.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

So on November 9th, at around 2pm, someone, somewhere at the FCC or FEMA or NOAA, will push the activate button, and TVs and radio stations across the US will play the familiar tones we all know, when we hear an alert for a storm warning or some other event. Some of the differences will be that on TVs, you may see a background image on the screen as the scrolling text goes by, telling you this is all just a test. Some may not see the background image. Also the test will last for 3 minutes, as compared to 2 minutes for all others. The main reason is to make sure the code is getting to everyone to activate. So you could see a few systems slow on the catch up. Think of it like dominoes.

Now from my experience with the EAS system, working in broadcasting, sometimes the recording length on the Endec device that radio stations use, are only set for 2 minutes to record the audio. I don’t know if this will override all that and go live as soon as it hears the codes come across, or if the units will record the audio allowing manned studios to replay the alert in a break of the programming. I think there was only 1 or 2 times that we broking into programming to play an alert. Most of the time, it was at a scheduled pause in the programming.

But either way, this should be an event to see. The whole system tested at once. I wish the guys conducting the test good luck that this system works, and I hope we’ll never have to use it either.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne

With Halloween just a few days away, the Pumpkin Patrols will be rolling out. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind if this is your first one. If you’ve done PP before, feel free to post other tips based on your experience. Hopefully this year will be “uneventful” but in a good way!

Courtesy of KB2MOB

So how do you keep yourself occupied for those few hours you are sitting in your vehicle, watching out? How about a nice audio book? Toss it into your car’s CD player or rip it into your iPod or mp3 player and play it through your stereo. No headphones, as you need to also have your radio’s volume up to hear the check in calls on the repeater. Why not a Nintendo DS or a game on your smart phone? Well, you need to be using your eyes to make sure no one is doing something they are not supposed to out there. Music is good too.

If you do see someone, the number one rule is, DON’T GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE. Your job is to observe and report. Call it in to the net control and they will alert the police. Get as much info as you can. Is there a car? Make, model and color? A license plate number? How tall were they? Did they wear hoodies? Hair color? How old did they look? The more info you have to give to the police, the easier it is for them to find the people. Having a notepad and something to write on and with is a must have too.

And remember to bring a little snack and drink in case you get hungry or thirsty. And also, and I can’t stress this enough, GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU GO OUT. I’m sure you catch my drift as to why right? Nothing is more embarrasing then standing outside your car, and missing your check in. Yeah.. it can happen.

So anyone else have any tips? Share them here.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne

I have never been off the continent before, and the only other country I have been to is Canada. So I think my travel experience is kind of lacking. But I can live through Randy, K7AGE, vicariously! Randy went to China some time ago, and he posted a video on his YouTube channel.From the description on the video:

I visited Beijing China during the first week in March 2008. I was able to visit with several Beijing hams, their homes, the CRSA and a club station. I had a great day. Hams are great the world over!

There is also a link to an article written by Larry, KH6ITY, that talks more about Ham Radio in China, but it seems to be a dead link. If anyone knows where to find the article now, please let me know.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne

I can’t believe I missed this. I’ve written about Summits on The Air before, but Andrew, K2FR hiked up Hunter mountain in the Catskills for S.O.T.A., Summits on The Air and made some contacts when he reached the top. While hiking up, he made a video. This is of course that video. Andrew talks about what he has in his pack and how he slimmed it down considerably, for this hike to save on weight. On the way up, Andrew stops stops and, we get a view of the valley below. Sadly, it’s past peak for the leafs so no bright autumn colors. And because of fog at the summit, no view of the mountains and area. Andrew also has a bunch more videos on his YouTube channel. Some are S.O.T.A. videos. The description from this video says..

Cool weather, turned into cold weather at the top. A completely fogged in summit made for no views or any cool photos. My new battery pack worked great, Im quite happy I dropped over 10 pounds of weight from my pack by using that instead of the SLA ones, well worth the investment.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.

From the “Oh, How Cool is That?!” department, is a video to round out a week’s worth of Ham Radio videos, showing an iOS device, (iPhone,iPod Touch,iPad) decoding an SSTV signal. I have seen a bunch of Ham Radio apps on the iTunes App store, but I seemed to miss this one. According to the link in the video’s description, the SSTV Decoder app is made by Black Cat Systems, who also make a few other Ham Radio programs for Macs. The webpage says “.. Just connect it to an HF radio (or even set it next to the radio’s speaker), tune in an SSTV frequency, and watch the pictures.” From the video I didn’t see a directly connected cable from the iPod Touch, so I’m guessing that they are using a 4th Generation iPod Touch with a built in microphone and have it sitting close to the radio to hear the SSTV tones. Still, it looks like it received a nice picture. But they could also have been replaying pre-recorded picture on the device too. Either way, it’s cool!

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.

So I was trolling YouTube again, (I know, it’s getting to be a habit..) and came across a nice video of a 20 something woman named Angelica, in Springfield, M.A. making her first Amateur Radio contact. Remember the first time you cracked a mic? Were you nervous or scared or excited? All three, or calm or just business as usual? Watch this video and you can see how she did on her first go of it. I think she did pretty well myself. And hopefully she enjoyed it enough that she’ll be getting a license of her own some day. I’m still trying to get the YL a little interested, but it’s a no go so far. The daughter though, she just likes to talk. Hope the duty cycle on my radios will be able to keep up with her. And without further ado, the lovely YL making her first contact.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, Albany’s #1 Rock Station website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.