AmateurRadio.com

With Heathkit‘s recent announcement of them getting back into the kit building business, and Amateur Radio is one of those category of kits coming back, I thought that this little video look at Heathkit’s first Amateur Radio kit would be a good way to celebrate that.I know they announced it some time ago, but better late then never right? Well, this video wasn’t uploaded till about a month ago and I just found it. But You’re the first ones I’m sharing it with. My only complaint about this video, is the presenter is very mono tone. He doesn’t sound enthused with anything. But all in all, it’s still a nice video. Hope you enjoy!

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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.

A few months back I posted a story about getting a bicycle and looking up way to attach a radio to it to do some mobile work. While the summer has been busy and that project is on the side for the winter, I came across this video from KH1JH, of his Motorcycle mobile. Justin shows us how he mounted an HTX-202 from Radio Shack and is able to use it while on the road on his bike. A nice little setup if I do say so. Wish I could have a nice big hog to ride while doing 2 meters. That would be fun I bet! But I digress, here is Justin’s video. Enjoy!

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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.

According to a report from the ARRL, the number of Amateur Radio operators in the U.S. has grown over the past 12 years. From 677,000 in 1999 to a new all time high of 700,000 operators in 2011 according to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. 

A chart showing the number of licensed Hams for the past 12 years. Courtesy of ARRL

“At the end of September, I saw that the number of hams in the US was high,” she said. “When I started comparing that number with other years, I found that it was an all-time high.” Over the past 40 years, the number of Hams has been growing. In December, 1971 there were 285,000 Ham Radio operators, and the numbers increased dramatically. After another decade, in 1981, 443,000 Hams in the US. That’s a little under a 50% increase. And as the decades rolled on, the number of Hams grew still.

In the report, Somma went on to say,

“When looking at the three current license classes — Technician, General and Amateur Extra — these numbers are impressive,” Somma explained. “The number of Technicians peaked in March 2011 at 342,572, while in September 2011, we saw both Generals and Extras peak at 159,861 and 125,661, respectively. As new Technicians earn their Amateur Radio licenses, and current Technician licensees move on to General and Generals upgrade to Extra, this can cause up-and-down fluctuations for these totals.”

The question then turns to how many of these licensed Hams are still active. In a recent ARRL survey of members, more than 80% of the respondents are active. That’s still an impressive number. Somma continued to say these high numbers mean that hams are upgrading and renewing in larger numbers and staying interested in hobby. “As technology changes and advances, it is especially vital to keep up or be at the forefront,” Somma said. “I believe that Amateur Radio has done just that! The measurable results are our indisputable license numbers. It amazes me after all these years how important and relevant Amateur Radio remains. I am proud to be one of the 700,221 licensees and to see this historic and important milestone.”

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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.

Fire up your sat tracking software, because the ISS will be live for Jamboree on The Air. An article at Southgate Amateur Radio Club’s website reports that Astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG, will be participating in Jamboree on The Air from the International Space station this weekend, using the callsign NA1SS. Mike is also a scout master. 

Photo Courtesy of NASA / Southgate ARC

While he won’t be available for every pass, you may hear him from 0800-1930 UTC as this is the usual work time for the crew, but they could also stay on a little later as well. When Mike is on he will be working ITU 1, which is Europe, Africa and Russia, with the uplink of 145.200 MHz FM and ITU regions 2 & 3, which is every one else, using the uplink of 144.49 MHz. Downlown for all will be 145.800 MHz FM. Be sure to be using a wide filter if your radio supports it, as the station uses a 5 Khz FM deviation, so 25 khz channel spacing is recommended.

If you don’t have satellite tracking software installed, you can track the Space Station online at NASA’s Spaceflight website. And, AMSAT UK has a wonderful article on getting started with satellites as well. This is should a fun Jamboree this year. To all the scouts and scout masters, enjoy!

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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 don’t know if anyone has ever asked this question before, so I will ask. And if someone did and there is an answer, could you direct me to it. And if there isn’t, maybe someone from one of the modern Amateur Radio manufactures can answer it. Why isn’t there USB on modern rigs? What’s the catch to getting it added?

A standard USB port on a computer

I mean, with USB, you could make it much easier to setup the frequencies in the memory or the radio. It’s faster through put then serial, so you could get a lot more data from the rig. It would be a simpler setup for interfacing it by just plugging it in and making APIs available for software developers to write code that will talk to it. Apple revolutionized the MP3 and smart phone markets by making it easier to interface your devices with your computer. They’ve moved on from USB to WiFi and cloud based service now. While a modern rig is still using serial ports.

When I talked about a “Smart Rig” back when Google bought Motorola, I was hoping someone may seize in that and go to the next step. But I also understand, many companies don’t share plans for upcoming products with the public. But could you give us a hint? A small clue that something, anything is going to be available at some point? I love my FT-847, but it if used a USB interface that I could hook up to my Mac, I would be in heaven. And a USB accessible rig, makes for much less clutter. Radios are getting smaller and smaller, and adding a USB based interface or even a soundcard capable to allowing you to do APRS, PSK31, etc… is that too much to ask for?

I know there will be folks that say, “West Mountain Radio” makes interfaces, why do you need USB? Simple, I like clutter to be kept a minimum myself, and the ease of one connection to troubleshoot is also nicer. Not to say West Mountain doesn’t make great products, because they do, sans the Mac support. But think of how easy you could explain how to do a digital mode if all you said was, “Yep! I just plug it in the USB port and put in all my favorite frequencies in the radio. Then I start up the software for the mode I want to run and I’m off!” compared to, “Well, you’ll need a serial to USB interface, and drivers have to be installed, then a serial cable and make sure it’s a null modem cable too…” Have I lost anyone yet? Because I need a compass right now.

Hopefully you see where I am going with this. I would have thought after the 15+ years that USB has been around, someone would have came up with a rig with USB to interface it to your computer, giving you the tools to write your own code for your computer. Windows, Linux and Mac, not to maybe mention, Amiga or MorphOS or AROS. So I ask, why don’t modern rigs have USB ports? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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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.

ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! That is what you will probably hear a lot of when the Zombies attack. And with Zombie attacks on the rise, Scouts are preparing for the worst this Halloween season. They’ll be working with First Responders as well as public safety communications professionals and Amateur Radio operators to earn their radio merit badges as part of scouting’s world-wide Jamboree on the Air.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

During the weekend of October 15th, Troop 7, from Coral Gables, Florida, will be learning about wireless communications equipment learning about all aspects starting with some of the basics and working into professional broadcasting, and also public safety. This is all for the annual Jamboree on The Air, sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America and The ARRL.

From the article at Southgate’s website:

The troop has invited local First Defenders to participate. “If there are Zombies around, we definitely think that the police and fire departments should be involved,” said Dan Deveson, an assistant scoutmaster with the troop. “We wanted to find a way that the boys could learn how the pros use their radios, and few things are so important to a 12-year-old as thwarting Zombie attacks.”

The troop will be broadcasting Zombie Action Reports around the world using amateur radio equipment provided by licensed radio operator volunteers. “In case of hurricanes, or Zombies, amateur radio operators often work with public safety professionals to provide community support. That’s exactly the sort of activity that modern scouting is all about,” said Deveson.

I gotta say, this is a pretty fun way to get the kids involved and to also have it educational. And plus, you can never tell when a freak Zombie attack could take us by surprise. So to Troop 7, I say “Well done!!” To to prepare more, I suggest watching Shaun of the Dead. There are some well thought out plans of actions in that movie should you find yourself in the middle of a group of brain hungry zombies.

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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.

If you’re wondering why I am posting this instead of an Amateur Radio story, then please read the full article and you will understand. But for now, I am posting a clip and a link to my full article on the Q103Albany website, and it has already been picked up by the station I used to work at in Utica as well. Here is a clip:

I have been trying to write this story for hours now. It’s not hard to talk about someone like Steve Jobs and recite facts about him. Yes, he pioneered how we consume digital content and how we buy our digital music as well as how we use computers and much more. And while it could be considered corny by some for me to say this, he touched lives all over the world. Just look at Twitter and Facebook. One of those lives he touched, is mine.

To read the full article, check out my Tech Thursday story for today.

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Courtesy of Gawker.com