Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Pipit – 15m QRP CW transceiver
March 25th, 2017 | 
Author: 
Many years ago I designed and built the Pipit, an 800mW CW transceiver with a direct conversion receiver. It really worked and for some time was my main rig. Used with a low dipole it worked some decent DX. The design was published in GQRP “SPRAT” many years ago.
Sadly, the rig was dismantled some years later. I regret this!
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 151
ARRL publishes 60 Second Century videos
CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, supplements monthly QST editorial with video.
ARRL
80/40 Meter Loaded Dipole Antenna
The plan for this antenna was to build a lightweight 80/40 meter antenna for field use (as part of my Go Kit).
High on solder
Experimenting with my first remote antenna tuner
The transmitter doesn’t “see” an SWR at all — only an impedance resulting from the SWR.
K5ACL
The Doctor is In: Remote antenna tuners
Not every antenna tuner needs to be inside your station. Some do an even better job outdoors!
The Doctor is In
Would a membership survey help your club?
The goal is to make the club as relevant as it can be.
KB6NU
Monitoring NextGen ATC (on the cheap!)
A key component of next generation air traffic control is Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B).
K2DLS
First Meteor Scatter Contact
It’s not exactly ground-breaking in the Amateur Radio world, but I’m pleased to have made my first “meteor scatter” contact.
AA6E
Adventures in Science: Arduino Programming Syntax
This week, we look at what constitutes syntax in a programming language and how to employ it when writing code in Arduino.
SparkFun Electronics
Video
How To Build A Powerpole Polarity Tester
I show you how to build a simple red/green LED Powerpole polarity tester. Along with a bit of Ohm’s law.
K7AGE
Logging with AppleScript
We setup RUMLogNG, Fldigi and an AppleScript so Fldigi will log QSO’s into RUMLogNG.
K0PIR
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 150
Motorola sues Hytera over DMR
“Motorola Solutions believes that Hytera is intentionally infringing its intellectual property and misappropriating its trade secrets…”
ARRL
DIY 137 MHz WX SAT V-dipole antenna
The center of the dipole is made of Choc Block terminals where the aluminum rods are secured.
LNA for All
Comparison: ADS-B Antennas under $50
I tested every antenna against the FlightAware 26 inch, which in my batch of tests served as my watermark due to it’s performance.
Radio for Everyone
What the Heck is UHF Anyway?
Many times being loose with terminology doesn’t matter but there are times when using the right words can make a difference.
Ham Radio School
Testing FreeDV 700C
One of my goals is to develop a HF DV system that is competitive with analog SSB.
Rowetel
Setting up an APRS RX only iGate using a Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR
The entire process detailed here should take less than half an hour to complete.
QSO365
The day I sold my HF radios
I’m hearing of hams that are giving up on HF, or even ham radio entirely due to the band conditions.
AmateurRadio.com
Download: The VHF/UHF DX Book
I have heard this book mentioned in hushed reverence as the definitive guide to DXing on the VHF/UHF bands.
M0JCQ’s Ham Blog
Diamond CP22E Antenna Review
The CP22E is a 2-meter monoband, 2-5/8 wavelength groundplane antenna, optimized for the U.S. amateur band.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
Video
Installing & Setting up Remote Control for your IC-7300
Our friends at the TX Factor have produced a video that goes through the step-by-step process of remote controlling an Icom.
Icom
Review: MFJ USB Radio Interface
This is a great device and is compatible with almost every radio.
Ham Radio Concepts
ARRL International DX Contest – Making a few contacts
Loads of fun! Thanks to everyone who participated, the bands were very active!
K5ACL
Anything Good On ATV?
In Episode 15 of TX Factor, Bob gives a relaxed overview of the RS-BA1 remote control software for the Icom IC-7300 HF Transceiver. If you want to follow the RS-BA1 installation process more deeply click here to see the full version of Bob’s item which is sponsored by Icom UK
We meet two youngsters with a passion for amateur radio.
And Mike and Bob head off to Bristol to spend a day with some very enthusiastic members of the British Amateur Television Club to learn all about digital amateur television.
Watch now at www.txfactor.co.uk
TX Factor Team
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 149
What drove Radio Shack into bankruptcy?
After two years of unsuccessful turnaround efforts, RadioShack filed for its second bankruptcy on Wednesday, citing poor mobile sales.
The Christian Science Monitor
Runt radials
Antennas shipping with ineffective antenna decoupling are on the rise as manufacturers daringly advocate 1/12 wave radials work.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
APRS explained in simple terms
In this episode of the Ham Radio 360 Podcast, Kenneth Finnegan (W6KWF) helps explain the APRS protocol.
Ham Radio 360
How to: Boafeng UV5R USB soundcard interface
The main idea for this project was to replace the external speaker microphone functionality with that of the USB soundcard.
High on Solder
Origin of wireless security: The Marconi radio hack of 1903
Marconi is about to demonstrate his new wireless system, which he claims can securely send messages over a long distance, without interference by tuning the signal.
Hack A Day
Breaking the cheap Ham stereotype?
Both sell high-quality, somewhat expensive products, and I was a little surprised that neither had any complaints based on the general characterization of hams as cheap.
Ham Radio Now
Review: 12 watt tri-band HT
The brand new JT-5988HP is a 12-watt, tri-band radio with a 4800mAh battery from JINGTONG, a handset and parts supplier out of China.
Prepari
A review of the Elecraft K-Pod
This was a nice addition to my K3 as for me it’s handy to have the VFO control right beside the key.
VE3WDM
Video
Yaesu FT-450D Mic Test Comparison: MD100a8x vs. Stock MH-31a
Test of transmitted audio from Yaesu FT-450D (as received on an FT-950) in DX conditions — a comparison between the MD100a8x, at various settings, vs. Stock MH-31a.
YouTube
Intro to Fldigi
Fldigi’s user interface and basic transmit & receive operations.
K4REF
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 148
Teardown Tuesday: Baofeng Amateur Radio Transceiver
This display driver has been around since the late 80s. It interfaces microprocessors and Liquid Crystal Displays to show all manner of information in a variety of display sizes and a multitude of fonts.
All About Circuits
EO-88 status and new dashboard
More than 250 stations around the world have provided telemetry to the Nayif Data Warehouse and the FUNcube Team are extremely grateful to them for their invaluable support.
AMSAT UK
SvxLink: Linux repeater controller
Advanced repeater controller and EchoLink software for Linux including a GUI, Qtel – The Qt EchoLink client.
SvxLink
Off grid technology that may soon power your station
This is a very exciting time of changes for off grid and alternative energy. The cost of established systems is coming way down and many new discoveries are in the pipeline.
Off Grid Ham
Do switch-mode power supplies have a place in your shack?
a video of the Alinco DM-330FX shows just how much interference this switching power supply produces.
K5ACL
Band statistics for your grid square
This plots the average distance of WSPR reports for each band for each hour. To view the stats for your grid square, just change the locator on the end of the URL.
G7VRD
Solar-powered headset from recycled parts
Made almost completely of recycled components — reducing e-waste helps us all — only the 1 W flexible solar panel, voltage regulator, and the RN-52 Bluetooth module were purchased for this project.
Hack A Day
Amateur radio below 9kHz
Until a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that you needed huge power and huge antennas to be copied “beyond the garden fence” at VLF and ULF.
AmateurRadio.com
DIY GPS module for Yaesu VX-8DR/VX-8DE handheld
GPS module for Yaesu VX-8DR/DE handheld transceivers with ublox NEO-6M chip and Arduino.
4X5DM
Are you treating your radios with care?
For either the advance or novice radio user, properly maintaining your communications equipment is essential. But what is the best way to do this?
Icom
The Spectrum Monitor — March, 2017
Stories you’ll find in our March, 2017 issue:
TSM 2017 Air Show Preview
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski
Get ready to experience high-performance jet teams, prop planes, WWI and II aircraft, parachute jump teams, wing-walkers, helicopters, jet-powered trucks, boats and fascinating static displays In all manner of combinations, these components are designed to thrill, enlighten and inspire. Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie Topolski, tell you what to expect, what to bring and how to position yourself to get the most out of the show. Don’t forget to bring your camera and scanner!
Blue Angels and Thunderbird Crashes Mar 2016 Air Show Season
By Kevin Burke
2016 was a trying year for air shows, with both of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels having crashes on the same day. While the Thunderbird pilot was able to eject to safety the Blue Angels pilot, Captain Jeffrey M. Kuss, USMC, was killed as he was starting a practice demonstration in Smyrna, Tennessee. Kevin takes a closer look at the mishaps.
Frequency Guide to Air Show Monitoring
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Milcom specialist and aeronautical radio author, Larry Van Horn N5FPW, gives us all the frequencies we’ll need to monitor air shows this season. He writes, “With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will get to experience—radio communications from the aircraft cockpit of the show performers.” Even if you don’t go to an air show this season, you can use these frequencies to monitor what’s happening in the air all around where you live.
ADS-B Monitoring with a Raspberry Pi
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
TSM’s Amateur Radio Astronomy columnist goes near-space as he shows us how to monitor Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmissions from aircraft flying over your house within a 200-mile radius using a dedicated Raspberry Pi computer and an ADS-B antenna.
2017 Air Show Schedule
There’s an air show coming to your area of the US and Canada this season. TSM presents the schedules of some of the more popular air show participants including, USAF Thunderbirds, USN Blue Angels, US Army Golden Knights, RCAF Snowbirds, RCAF C-18 Hornet, and Goulin Aerosports.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
A Look at OpenSky and Scanning Counties from Indiana and Virginia
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Scanning Super Bowl 51
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
DVA: Now They’re Talking
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Do You Already Own a Digital Repeater?
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
SDRs, Free Books and Ham Radio at West Point
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Talk This Way!
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
TSM Reviews: Como Audio Duetto Wi-Fi Radio
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The Ionosonde
World of Shortwave Listening
By Keith Perron
Not the Last of Radio Australia
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Eclectic Programming is Everywhere!
Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Gatherings Plus AMSAT Update
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
The Longwave-Aviation Legacy
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A 1940 Bakelite Radio: Zenith 6D510W
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Transitions: Getting from A to B (or 50 to X)
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.
