AmateurRadio.com

Icom 50th Anniversary Limited Edition IC-7850

In the days of phones and tables getting smaller Icom goes big! The limited edition IC-7850 has gold color dials, buttons and strips. The front panel is finished in a clear black and special machined aluminum black and gold tuning tile. It will also carry a special 50th Anniversary number plaque on the top with Mr. Inoue’s signature.

More information: http://nicktoday.com/icom-50th-anniversary-limited-edition-ic-7850/

Why do I need a Software Defined Radio?

You want to receive any kind of radio signals within a huge frequency range of 100 kHz up to 1.7 GHz?

You like to follow ships or airplanes operating around you?

You are an amateur radio operator who want to use SDR technology?

You even want to develop your own radio frequency applications?

You just want a plug-and-play solution?

The XiOne Software Defined Radio is the solution for you, extremely versatile and flexible in its possible applications because the magic happens completely in software.

http://nicktoday.com/xione-sdr-software-defined-radio/

Yaesu FT-991 KW/50/144/430 MHz Stations Transceiver

We are pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new product, The FT-991 HF/50MHz/VHF/UHF Base Station Transceiver. The Yaesu FT-991 Transceiver is capable of operating SSB, CW, AM, FM, Packet and System Fusion C4FMDigital. The legendary tradition of Yaesu design is a legacy of excellence-established decades ago, providing quality, stability and durability. The Yaesu FT-991 is designed for the most competitive operating situations, with a suite of new features to enhance the experience. Whether you primarily operate at home, mobile or in the field, the FT-991 will provide outstanding fundamental performance and an inviting expansion into a full featured base station.

http://nicktoday.com/yaesu-ft-991-kw50144430-mhz-stations-transceiver/

If you’re an avid CW buff like me, you have accumulated a collection of paddles, bugs, hand keys and keyers. You like to switch off keys and keyers when operating CW. However, it’s such a pain to pull gear off the shelf to plug-unplug keys and keylines.

Here’s a neat solution that only requires hooking everything up once. Using a stereo source selector box (about $30) you connect up four paddles, bugs, hand keys, and keyers to one or two rigs. You can connect one key at a time or all four at once. You can even patch one or all four keys to both rigs simultaneously.

You can appreciate the convenience this offers. Select one of four paddles, keys, or keyers and start sending CW. You can change from one to another just by moving your hand.

Here’s how it’s done. Phono Preamps offers the TCC TC-716 6-Way Stereo Source Selector:

TC-716 Front

TC-716 Back

The selector has a row of six push buttons on the front. On the rear are two mini 3.5mm (1/8″) stereo phone jacks and four pair of RCA phono jacks. Any combination of rigs and keys/keyers can be plugged in. I used simple 6-inch “Y” cables with 2x RCA male plugs to 1x 3.5mm stereo female jack for “Audio 3 through 6”. The selector box and y-cables are available here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001F347K/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I23TTE/

Locate the selector box centrally on your desk as you’ll use it often.

73 de Jim KM5M

We’ve talked a lot about the various Software Defined Radio (SDR) USB dongles that have popped up over the last couple of years. I own several and have often played around with them. They suffer a bit of a flaw in the fact that they connect directly to the computer via USB which isn’t ideal because my computer room isn’t the ideal RF environment.

The advantage of the XiOne is that it has the capability of connecting to your home network allowing you to use a computer/tablet/phone that network to operate it. You can locate it away from RF interference sources and either use the XiOne’s Wi-Fi or run ethernet to connect it back to your router. Very cool. That’s why I think the XiOne’s Indigogo campaign from a German company called XiVero is worth looking at.

As of this writing, they still have 35 out of 100 of their specially priced (US$139) slots left. If you’re interested, might be worth a look. If they can get enough funding momentum, this looks to possibly be a very popular little receiver.

Looks like we’re headed directly for a period of minimal solar activity:

And here’s a related article from the Helsinki Times:

http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/themes/themes/science-and-technology/11590-hundred-year-period-of-increased-solar-activity-coming-to-end.html

The video was brought to my attention by Don K2DSV.  IF the hypothesis of the video is correct, lower ionospheric activity would be the least of our worries.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I have imposed a deadline for myself with regards to Skeeter Hunt results. I want to have both the “scorecard” and the soapbox published to the Skeeter Hunt website this coming Sunday, after the log submissions deadline.

The “scorecard” itself is a piece of cake.  It’s simply an Excel spreadsheet that I have composed, with formulas that do all the menial calculating chores for me.  I simply plug in the values and the spreadsheet calculates the final score for me. I will upload the completed spreadsheet to Google Sheets and it will be available for all to see on the Web, once it’s completed. This was a good exercise for me, as I was very weak with regards to using formulas in Excel. I’m still no expert by any means, but I know a lot more than I used to, which was practically nil.

The soapbox page is another animal.  That is “simple” HTML composition, but it’s more time intensive. I have about one half of the soapbox comments and pictures placed on the unpublished Web page.  At the rate I am going, if I can add about 5 more soapbox comments to the page each evening, over the next 4 or 5 evenings, it will be ready for publishing on time.

All this leads me to a worrisome discovery.  This year we had a record number of Skeeters sign up.  But I am lagging behind in receiving log summaries. Last year I received a total of 71 summaries. As of this minute, I have only received 54. I guess a “Que Sera, Sera” attitude is in order, but I sure would love to see more log summaries submitted.

It’s very important to me that these results get published on time this coming Sunday.  You folks are kind enough to participate, and I know how much you like to see results.  I do myself!  It’s not so important for me to see where I place, I want to see how my friends did, what their setup looked like, and I like to read about the fun they had.  The results and soapbox are a crucial part of any of these “special” QRP events, in my most humble opinion.  No one wants to make an effort and then wait months or more to see how things stacked up.

So, God willing and the creek don’t rise, you’ll see the finished results this Sunday at www.qsl.net/w2lj
I am just hoping I get a few more log summaries and soapbox comments before then.

And then the final phase will begin, which is the certificates.  I have to give myself more time for those, but hopefully, everyone who will qualify for one will have it by the end of September.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!