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LHS Episode #471: Hamshack Hotline Deep Dive (Part 1)

June 15th, 2022 | Author:
Welcome to the 471st installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, we take a look into the amateur radio operator related PBX system called Hamshack Hotline. HH is a network of hams around the world connected with VoIP phones which can be used for ragchew, tactical communication, troubleshooting and more. This Part 1 episode looks at the hardware and software requirements, documentation, initial setup procedure, common features and use cases and more. Thanks for listening and have a great week. Also, try out HH. It's a lot of fun. 73 de The LHS Crew

Listen with your eyes closed.

June 4th, 2022 | Author:
Way back in high school one of my classes was band class, now this was not brass band but strings and wood wind. I was a cello player and very much enjoyed it but when it was time to sign it out to practice at home I had wished I picked the flute....I digress....What does the cello have to do with ham radio? Well back when I was in band class part of our testing was to listen to a recording of an orchestra playing and identify as many individual instruments as we could. Simple with violin, double bass, cello and clarinet. But the Oboe, Bass and E-flat Clarinet, Bassoon, Contrabassoon and then the Viola. Our teacher told us to close our eyes as we listened and it would make things much easier and over time it did. So you ask again what does this have to do with radio? For the past 6 months I have been on a mission to build up my copy speed of Morse code. I really did not like the code and had to learn it and I say "had too" because when I first went for my ham ticket the code was a requirement. I learned the code back then to later forget it once I obtained my ticket. I have come full circle to respecting and admiring the skill of Morse code. I worked very hard to learn the code and it's very true if you don't use it you loose it. I had lost it over time but in my mid 50's I started again to learn it and wanted to master it....have not got there yet but the challenge keeps me sharp. I am focusing on contest Morse code and my next challenge will be a higher speed QSO Morse code. I am at the point now (35-38 wpm contest code) that as my practice contest code programs spill the code at me I find myself typing the letter or number and looking at the screen on the PC to see if it's correct and then listen for the next letter. At 36-38 wpm looking at the letter to confirm is not an option I end up missing letters and not getting the call sign or exchange correct. Now at this speed of code I strongly recommend proper home row touch keyboarding and not hunt and peck the letters and numbers. As mentioned in a past post thank goodness in school I took typing and am able to touch type. As I struggled to hit the 35-38 wpm mark I remembered my music teacher...."close your eyes and listen" I did just that and my rate of copy went from 70% up to the 90's. I don't keep my eyes closed all the time and I feel it's just really helping me to concentrate on the rhythm of the letters and numbers. To close your eyes and listen sure does the trick for me.

FT8 and the Magic Band

June 4th, 2022 | Author:
Now that 6m is in full swing once again, many of you will be operating FT8 on 6m for the first time! Things are a little different on 6m compared to operating FT8 on HF and here are a few things for newcomers that might help to keep you out of the naughty corner! (originally published in 2020 but still important today) Today’s blog is directed to those that may be new to 6m or new to using FT8 on 6m. Some of the things discussed will make your experience on the magic band better for you and better for your neighbors. Unlike using FT8 on the HF bands, 6m presents some different challenges, especially if you operate in a region where there may be a lot of other locals also using the band at the same time. Although the weak-signal capability of FT8 has made it possible for many smaller stations or those with makeshift antennas to take advantage of the unique propagation 6m has to offer, it also can create problems for other users of the band when used inappropriately. In regions of dense population, even small stations can create very high local signal levels, often making it impossible for their neighbors to hear weak signals. This is not deliberately-caused QRM but arises when some operators operate 'against the flow’ and transmit on the opposite ‘sequence’ to everyone else in their local area. On HF, one can transmit or listen on whatever time sequence they wish. Choosing ‘TX 1st’ or ‘TX 2nd’ is usually determined by who you hear calling CQ or who you wish to work. On 6m however, in a densely-populated region of local operators, chosing to transmit whenever you want to is a luxury that can create big problems for your neighbor who may be trying to hear that weak DX signal while you are transmitting! These problem will not occur if everybody in the region uses and follows the same transmit-receive periods, so that everyone is listening or everyone is transmitting at the same time ... one or the other. Unfortunately, this ‘ideal’ system falls apart easily when one or more of your neighbors is not using the same sequence as everyone else. For the past few years, a protocol that seeks to alleviate this problem has become popular and well accepted by those familiar with it. Those new to 6m may not know about it or understand the reasoning behind it. Above all, I would urge new users of the band, or to the FT8 mode, to first listen carefully for a few minutes, before beginning operation, to determine what the majority of stations in their local region are using for sequencing. If they are using ‘TX 1st’, then your choice of ‘TX 2nd’ will likely cause hearing difficulty for many others, as well as for yourself. Although there are no strict rules, there is a very successful and well-practiced protocol, and that is that the ‘easternmost’ station transmits on ‘1st’ while the ‘western end’ goes 2nd’. This is why you will hear most eastern stations in the morning hours transmitting ‘2nd’, as they are usually calling or looking for Europeans to their east, who are transmitting ‘1st’. By the same token, you will also hear western stations transmitting on '2nd', who are also looking for Europe to their east, transmitting on ‘1st’. This sequencing protocol usually reverses later in the day when signals from Asia become a possibility, and all North Americans then become the ‘easternmost’ stations and will transmit on the ‘1st’ sequence ... unlike in the morning. I can easily see how newcomers to the band could become confused, when they hear both sequences being used! The best thing, once again, is to listen carefully first and then ‘go with the flow’. You can read about the UK's Six Metre Group's initiatives regarding these protocols HERE. OK... so you’re not interested in EU or Asia? Then it shouldn’t matter to you which sequence that you use and best operating practice would again be to ‘go with the flow’ in consideration of other users. A few days ago I saw a prime example of exactly what not to do, in too many respects. I made a posting on the ON4KST 6m chat page that VE1SKY in NS (Nova Scotia) was being decoded here, mainly to alert others in my region that European signals might be coming next, as hearing the VE1s in BC is often an indicator that the European path is building. In less than a minute, an S9+ local began calling ‘CQ NS’ on the exact opposite sequence of all others ... effectively blocking the waterfall and any possible hope of hearing weak EU signals. I’m sorry, but this is just terrible operating procedure, with almost zero chance of success, while showing no consideration for nearby users. Just like working DX on CW or on phone, the best way, as it always has been, is to ‘listen, listen and then listen some more’. You will work FAR more DX by listening and calling at the right time, than you will by calling CQ. I also see some local stations everyday, calling endless CQs, often for over 60 minutes straight and often with many replies that go unnoticed. With FT8, one can check ‘work 1st’, go away, and return later to see who they might have ‘worked’. Perhaps this is what these operators are doing, but they should understand that they are also creating non-stop QRM for other users ... those that choose to listen carefully to the band rather than to endlessly CQ. Once again, this is just poor practice. You may argue that if nobody called CQ, then there would be no contacts made. There is nothing wrong with a few CQs but CQing for an hour? And don’t worry, there will always be other stations CQing endlessly for you to hear, even if it’s not a great way to operate. With a little pre-planning for sequencing and consideration for your neighbors, everyone can and should be able to enjoy 6m FT8 with very few problems ... and that is my hope for all of us. After forty-eight summers of CW and phone on 6m and two summers on FT8, these are some of my initial thoughts on how to best operate for maximum success and consideration for other band-users. The latter is part of the basic framework upon which amateur radio was originally established, when back in 1914, the ARRL described in their 'Code of Conduct' for amateurs ... "The Amateur is Gentlemanly. He never knowingly uses the air for his own amusement in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others."  Now, let the magic, and the pleasure, continue!  

Unexpected Surprise: What Are The Odds? ATNO DXCC

April 15th, 2022 | Author:

I have a story for you. All of it is true, but I have not changed my name.

Wow! I am always amazed at those moments in my amateur radio hobby when spontaneous joy is had by unexpected events.

NW7US ATNO DXCC Iran

Iran worked as ATNO DXCC 2022-APR-14

On Thursday, 14-April-2022, at about 17:30 Universal Time (UT), the unexpected occurred, and it started by accident.

I have been reorganizing my radio shack. Once I moved my main transceiver (the Icom IC-7610) from one desk to another, and had it back in operation, I left it tuned to a random frequency, in the CW mode. It was just sitting there, hissing away with the typical shortwave sounds of a frequency on which no one was transmitting. And me? I was going about reorganizing my radio shack.

After a while, I heard the start of a Morse-code CW signal; the operator was sending a CQ call–a transmission that invites a response from anyone who wishes to have a QSO with the calling station. What I heard was, “CQ CQ DE EP2ABS EP2ABS…”

NOTE: This transceiver, my Icom IC-7610, is listening with the new antenna—the 254-foot doublet up at 80 feet–that was raised up into the air here at my QTH by a fine crew from Hams in the Air.

I looked up EP2ABS on QRZ dot com, because I did not know from what country/entity the EP2 prefix on callsigns belongs. I was excited to see that EP2 is from Iran!

I started answering his CQ call, “DE NW7US NW7US,” for at least ten minutes; each time he sent his CQ, I answered. Finally, I heard him answering me, “NW7US NW7US DE EP2ABS 5NN…”

I answered back, sending my signal report, “5NN 5NN DE NW7US TU”

Soon after that simple exchange, he confirmed our QSO by posting our QSO to Logbook of the World (LotW).

Thus, by accident–as I had simply left the transceiver tuned to a randomly-selected frequency and stayed on that frequency listening while doing my chores–I heard the Iranian station calling CQ. What are the odds!?!?

This is my first QSO with Iran, another All Time New One (ATNO). How cool!

Note: This is a testimony to the work from the crew that did the fine work of getting this antenna installed.  Here is a video presented by Hams on the Air:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9AH7OYjrk[/embedyt]

73 de NW7US dit dit

..

TX Factor is Back with Show 28

February 23rd, 2022 | Author:

Getting back after the upheaval of Covid restrictions, TX Factor goes live with a new episode. In the latest offering Bob and Mike get to grips with constructing an MMDVM voice modem and Bob reviews the long-awaited 5W Multi-function, dual band digital radio from Icom – the ID-52. There’s also a chance to win a bundle of new books from the RSGB in the free-to-enter draw. We hope you enjoy the new show!

To watch go to http://www.txfactor.co.uk

Solar Cycle 25, and a Life-Changing Event (Part 1 of 2)

December 17th, 2021 | Author:

From the RAIN HamCast episode #56, 2021-XII-11 (used with permission):

When you were knee high to a grasshopper, did you undergo a game-changing experience that shaped your future career?

Here is text from the introduction:

Tomas Hood/NW7US did. Tomas has been a shortwave enthusiast since 1973. He was first licensed as a ham in 1990 at age 25.

In the mid 1990s Tomas launched the first civilian space weather propagation website, HFRadio.org, which later spawned SunSpotWatch.com. His website, NW7US has been up and running since June, 1999. Tomas has contributed to the Space Weather Propagation column in CQ magazine for over 20 years, and for The Spectrum Monitor magazine since 2014.

A product of the Pacific northwest, Tomas resides today in Fayetteville, OH. RAIN’s Hap Holly/KC9RP spoke with Tomas recently about Solar Cycle 25 and the game-changing afternoon Tomas experienced in 1973 at age 8 ( Read more about this, at his amateur radio and space weather blog: https://blog.NW7US.us/ ).

Here is the first part of the two-part interview:

Mentioned in the interview is Skylab:

From Wikipedia’s article on Skylab: Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation, and hundreds of experiments.

Tomas was drawn into space weather as a life-long passion, by inspiration from Skylab, and from the hourly propagation bulletin from the radio station WWV.

WATCH FOR THE NEXT EPISODE, PART TWO

This video is only part one. The RAIN HamCast will conclude Hap’s conversation with Tomas in RAIN HamCast #57, scheduled for posting Christmas Day.

Hap Holly, of the infamous RAIN Report (RAIN = Radio Amateur Information Network), is now producing The RAIN HamCast. The results are both on https://therainreport.com and on the RAIN HamCast YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbNkaUvX_lt5IiDkS9aS4g

KEEP ON HAMMING!

The RAIN Hamcast is produced and edited by Hap Holly/KC9RP; this biweekly podcast is copyright 1985-2021 RAIN, All rights reserved. RAIN programming is formatted for Amateur Radio transmission and is made available under a Creative Commons license; downloading, sharing, posting and transmission of this ham radio program via Amateur Radio in its entirety are encouraged. Your support and feedback are welcome on https://therainreport.com. Thanks for YouTube Technical Assistance from Tom Shimizu/N9JDI.

 

The ‘Blue-Collar Scholars,’ Ferrite Sleeve Loop Antennas, and Antennas for the ELF and VLF Bands

September 30th, 2021 | Author:

Stories you’ll find in our October, 2021 issue:

Amateur Radio’s Lost Tribe: The ‘Blue-Collar Scholars’ Who Started It All
By Frank M. Howell PhD K4FMH

We all know the history of US amateur radio: Hiram Percy Maxim founded the American Radio Relay League, and the rest is history, right? Not quite, says Frank Howell, who takes a closer look at the origins of what he calls amateur radio’s ‘lost tribe of blue-collar scholars,’ the thousands of unlicensed wireless experimenters who learned radio science through the pages of Hugo Gernsback’s prolific wireless publications years before there was an ARRL or QST magazine.

AM Band DXing Today
By David Yocis

With over one hundred years of listening to the AM band, you might think there’s nothing new to learn, but David shows that Twenty-first Century technology has brought new life to the oldest radio hobby. From software defined radios to remote-controlled receivers to advances in antenna technology, there is almost no limit to what an average listener can hear today.

Ultralight MW DXing with Ferrite Sleeve Loop Antennas
By Jock Elliot KB2GOM

Taking small, inexpensive portable radios outdoors and turning them into DX machines is what ultralight medium wave DXing is all about. And, thanks to DIY ferrite sleeve loop antennas, you can try your hand at the action. But it will be tough to top those already in the game who have logged medium wattage stations at 8,000 miles. Jock explains how it’s done and who’s doing it.

Feeling the Geomagnetic Pulse: Antennas for the ELF and VLF Bands
By Georg Wiessala

There was a time when listening to Extremely Low Frequencies (3-30 Hz) and Very Low Frequencies (30 Hz to 30 kHz) required expensive laboratory equipment and acres of antenna installations. Georg reports that’s no longer the case as he dives deep into the receivers, antennas, and software you’ll need to explore this radio territory.

CB Radio: Six Decades of Utility and Fun
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

Citizens Band radio has the distinction of once being the leader as an American popular culture icon in its first three decades. From Top 40 records to network TV shows to feature films, millions of everyday Americans were ‘ratchet-jawing’ on their CB sets. But never count CB as dead—Cory reports that it’s still alive and now with FM modulation!

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
A Tale of Two Counties: Branch and Hillsdale (MI)

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
TSA UHF Update

Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
More Government Master File Diving

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
KiwiSDR Ale Scanner Goes Live Online

Shortwave Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
ARISS Space Station Contact Opportunity

Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
VHF AM: The Rediscovered Country

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Shack Screens: Big is Beautiful!

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
OTA-TV and FTA-TV Update

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Andrew Yoder
HF Pirates Sail on the Shortwaves

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Fall Shortwave Programming

Adventures in Radio Restorations
By Rich Post KB8TAD
That Jukebox Sound: Wurlitzer 530 Audio Amp

Antenna Connections
By Robert Gulley K4PKM
An Ounce of Prevention

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

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