Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 355

Amateur Radio Weekly

Zinc creep and electroplasticity
Why Arecibo collapsed.
Hackaday

What’s new at Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications
The 50 MHz DX Bulletin, the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin, Numbers & Oddities Newsletter, The Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review, and more.
K6KJN & Zero Retries

HamSpace.me: The social media alternative for the Ham Radio Community
HamSpace.me is looking for a new maintainer. Contact KI6DTC if you can help.
HamSpace.me

Open Source FT8 transceiver
A highly portable stand-alone FT8 GUI Transceiver.
WB2CBA

How to build a radio
Using analog tech to teach kids about STEM.
LAist

Slinky antenna revisited
It was soon discovered that connecting two Slinkys end-to-end significantly boosted the antenna’s efficiency.
K0PIR

WKHS makes international contact with Amateur Radio
Chris Singleton, broadcasting teacher and manager of the high school’s radio station 90.5 FM WKHS, introduced students to Amateur Radio.
Radio World

Video

The haunted band workshop
A presentation, review, and Q&A for proposed rulemaking to the US FCC for Restoring Amateur Radio Service use of the 219 MHz Band.
Open Research Institute Inc.

Radio receiver using old TV tubes
Superregenerative FM / VHF radio receiver using electronic tubes PCF82 and PCL85.
Perian Marcel

Introducing the Faraday Cloth Antenna
The Fara-J – a cutting-edge 2m-70cm Ham Radio antenna crafted from Faraday cloth.
Ham Radio Rookie

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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

HamCon Colorado 2025

Mark your calendars…
Flyer in PDF format
HamCon Colorado website

The post HamCon Colorado 2025 appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.


Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Time to bring out the black book


 

In the past, I have like others had issues with RFI. When RFI's ugly head pops up I find myself wondering what I have tried in the past. If you are like me you have a hard time remembering if you had tried something and if so what happened. I decided it was time to roll out the black book. I will use this book to record what I have done, the results, and the steps I want to take. Recently I felt I had my RFI  issue resolved but on Monday while taking part in the Medium speed CW  contest I had N1MM macros freezing. The encouraging thing is this issue happened in the past and was terrible, now it hardly happens and gives me the impression I am slowly solving it. I have a few more ideas to try and the black book will help map a path forward in the journey.


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

A test of CW skills

 This weekend was the yearly running of the ARRL Sweepstakes CW  contest. This is the first year I participated in the contest and it was a blast. This contest has a unique exchange from all other contests. In most CW contests the exchange is a signal report (always 599 or 5NN for  CW) then one of the following serial number, ITU zone, CQ zone, state or province and possibly your name for some contests. 

For the ARRL  Sweepstakes contest the exchange is the following... let's take my exchange for example:


112A VE9KK 89 NB


To break it down 112 is the serial number so the station I contacted is the 112 contact for me. 


The letter A  (called precedence) signifies low power (more than 5w and not more than 100w)  in a single op. Other letters are Q for QRP, U for single op unlimited power, M for multiop and S for school. 


Then you send your call VE9KK


89  (called Check or CK) is the year I was licenced 


NB (called Section or SEC)  is the province. 


Now think of all that info coming at you in some cases 32 to 34wpm. In this contest, it is very advisable to slow down to the station you are contacting speed. If not you will use up lots of time with repeats. 
Now once you send all this you may be asked to resend any one or combination of your exchange as it may have been missed. For example, you may hear PREC, CK? I would then resend A and then 89. 

Now the contest software from records most of the time fill in the stations CK, and SEC  BUT sometimes it's wrong and it has to be changed on the fly.
My effort was part-time as I could not spend any time on Saturday evening it was only late morning and part of the afternoon I was able to take part.
This is a great exercise for your CW skills!




Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

ICQ Podcast Episode 442 – Weekend Projects

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Weekend Projects

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

  • Dream Rig Contest Underway
  • PRSENTER OPINON : Hurricane Helene has changed my outlook on emergency communications
  • Tunisian Ham Camp for Youngsters Gets Yasme Grant
  • AI Presenter Experiment Pulled From Polish Radio Station After One-Week
  • Boeing-Built Satellite Explodes in Orbit
  • Hams in Brazil Honor Pioneer of Wireless Telephony
  • RSGB President honoured with RAYNET-UK award
  • ARRL Members Raise $47,000 for STEM Education in Online Auction
  • HAMSCI Receives Grant

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Ham College 118


Ham College episode 118 is now available for download.

Ham College 118
Technician Exam Questions Part 5. T1E – Control operator: eligibility, designating, privileges, duties, location, required Control point, Control types: automatic, remote.

Download
YouTube


George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 354

Amateur Radio Weekly

MFJ ends reign as king of Ham Radio parts
It was rough trying to say goodbye.
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

IC-9700 contest keyboard
An Arduino based IC-9700 Contest Keyboard allows a PS2 keyboard to drive an Icom IC-9700 or any modern CI-V radio for contesting.
VK3FS

Podcast: Ham’s Radio Ham Ham English
A Japanese radio program for Ham Radio enthusiasts by Ham Radio enthusiasts.
JA1WTO

Homebrew sferics receiver
Sferics, short for atmospherics, are RF signals in the VLF range generated by the millions of lightning discharges that strike the Earth daily.
Hackaday

Propagation experiments: Signal strength vs. tide levels
The lack of a relationship can in fact be new information.
Copasetic Flow

POTA activation report: Poor Common
There are dozens, if not hundreds of places in the UK called “Poor Common.”
Ian Renton

Mediumwave ferrite antenna for RX
In limited urban conditions its performance is sufficient.
SWLing Post

Video

Quick tour of CBC / Radio Canada satellite facilities
Visiting the CBC studios in Montreal.
saveitforparts

Home made Quansheng UV-K5 desktop transceiver
Turning the handheld Quansheng UV-K5 VHF/UHF transceiver into a desktop transceiver.
OM0ET

Linked elevated radial system
Game-changing antenna performance.
KB9VBR

How to build a Ham antenna for under $8.00
Building a Ham Radio antenna is easy.
My Ham Radio Journey

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