It's the weekend and here comes the Weekender! In the eleventh installment, the hosts discuss upcoming open source conferences, amateur radio special events and contests, wine, whiskey, food and song. It's a perfect recipe (see what we did there?) for a great time in the next fortnight. Thanks for listening!

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Unfortunately we all know of or hear about hams that have given up all hope of getting on the air, once moving into an apartment or condo, where antennas are normally prohibited. One enterprising local amateur has combined early established antenna fundamentals along with sound engineering, to arrive at an elegant and highly successful solution. If you are also a 'location challenged' amateur, it may just be the thing that will help you, and others, take back your hobby and get on the air!

John, VE7AOV, has been operating from his apartment, in the heart of the very large and noisy greater Vancouver, for several years now ... not simply 'operating', but thriving, from his cozy fourth-floor apartment radio station. The wallpaper shown below would not usually be expected to grace the shack walls where antennas are not permitted!





It's soon apparent that John has also overcome the usual problem of noise ingression, from every appliance and random RFI generator in the complex. This is no lucky fluke but all by design, and delivered via an all but invisible classic antenna system made of #26 wire and a few Starbuck's stir-sticks!

600 ohm #26 balanced line

I'll let John tell you a bit more before sending you to his fascinating website, Intuitive Electronics, where you can learn more about his system and the engineering behind his successful, low-noise installation.

When it comes to a high frequency ham station, the antenna alternative chosen by most apartment dwellers is no antenna at all. The design here is a wisp of an antenna that bothers no one and which can work Japan, Australia, France, European and Asian Russia, the Caribbean, Central America, Polynesia and South America from the Pacific coast of Canada. It is a simple solution for apartment dwellers, it is a cheap solution and it causes no t.v.i. or other r.f. problems. It is far preferable to the alternative selected by so many fellow apartment dwellers: no antenna at all.

An implication that it seems to be impossible to rid from the minds of fellows using a Marconi antenna is that they are not just pumping 100 watts of r.f. into their antenna but that they are also pumping that same 100 watts of r.f. into their ground, that is to say the building’s wiring, the safety ground wiring. R.f. in the safety ground is well coupled into the power and neutral conductors of a residence and, in North American code, is even hard connected to the neutral line at the service entrance. The house wiring becomes part of the antenna system.

The ground wiring and everything connected to it is every bit as much a part of the antenna as is the live element. Both radiate just the same amount of r.f. power, fellows. The ground wiring along with every electrical power consumer in the building is worked against the live element. Thinking of what is connected to ground in your house is thinking about one side of your antenna. It’s not just appliances that get the “benefit” of r.f. The land line telephone system, the cable television system, the garage door opener, the security lights and…you name it. They are all “feeling” that 100W of r.f. With regard to r.f., there is no distinction whatsoever to be made between “hot” and “ground”.

You know the reason why vertical antennas have gained a reputation for being noisy on receive now, too. Most verticals are Marconi antennas. Both the safety ground and the neutral serve all the houses in the neighbourhood. The receiver is wired into the electrical appliances of the entire neighbourhood.

This radio station, located four stories above grade and in a wooden building full of apartments would be a worst case for r.f. in “ground”. This station has no r.f. in the station. It has no r.f. in “ground”.

The station has no interference issues. The Building Manager, the Building Superintendent and the administrator for this building’s cablevision have been aware of the station from the beginning. There has not been a single complaint of t.v.i. or any other complaint about the station. That’s a clean record extending back to 2006. There are no red faced, spluttering tenants hammering on the door of this station! At this station, all the r.f. produced by the transmitter makes its appearance out on the an­tenna. The radio station’s r.f. is not referenced to station ground. Station ground “knows nothing” about the r.f. being generated.

In the present case, that is to say a station to be operated in an apartment building, it is required to have an antenna that is “invisible”. Now it’s not possible to achieve that literally but at least the antenna should be so inconsiderable that there will be no complaints from neighbours about having to look at it. The antenna here is made of #26 A.W.G. wire. That’s wire that is 0.40mm, 0.016 of an inch, in diameter. Four stories up, it’s difficult to see the antenna and that’s even when knowing where to look for it. Part of the antenna’s run is through trees and in among the tree branches it pretty much is invisible. It does not annoy neighbours by casting a shadow; there is no shadow.

In spite if the naysayers, John's small gauge antenna has survived years of winter storms, regular occurrences here on Canada's western edge ... simply because it presents such a low cross-section compared to most conventional antenna wires.

To read more about enjoying your hobby again from your new 'restricted' location and more than likely, learn something new about old fundamentals, give John's website a very close inspection ... there is much wisdom and many gems to be found, even if you don't live in an apartment!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Welcome to Episode 231 of the most terrific podcast on the Internet. In this edition, the hosts discuss the latest edition of FreeDV and its new mode, advancements with the uBitX, the latest kernel release, the GDPR and much more. Thank you for tuning in!

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2018 Jun 04 0252 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 28 May – 03 June 2018

Solar activity reached low levels during the period due to an isolated C-class event, a C2/Sf flare from Region 2712 (N15, L=176, class/area Csi/80 on 28 May). No Earth-directed CMEs were observed.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached moderate levels on 28-31 May and high levels on 01-03 June due to influence from a negative polarity coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The peak flux observed was 28,659 pfu at 02/1900 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity reached G1 (Minor) storm levels on 01 June and active levels on 31 May and 02 June due to influence from a negative polarity CH HSS. Quiet to unsettled conditions were observed throughout the remainder of the week.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 June – 30 June 2018

Solar activity is expected to be very low throughout the period, with a slight chance for isolated C-class events on 04-05 and 18-30 June, due to flare potential from Region 2712.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach very high levels on 05-07 June with high levels expected on 04, 08-13, and 28-30 June. Moderate flux levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 28 June, with active levels on 27 and 29 June, due to influence from a recurrent, negative polarity CH HSS. Unsettled levels are expected on 04-05, 13, 19, and 30 June. Quiet conditions are expected during the remainder of the outlook period.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: 1. https://Twitter.com/NW7US 2. https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

= = = = =

BOOK SALE: Space Weather and Sun Science – get these from Amazon, and help us stay online!

NOTICE: When you buy this (or any item after starting with this link), you are helping us keep our SunSpotWatch.com and other resources “on the air” (up and running!). In other words, you are helping the entire community. So, check out this book:

Here is the link to Amazon: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

Be sure to subscribe to our space weather and propagation email group, on Groups.io

https://groups.io/g/propagation-and-space-weather

Spread the word!

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BOOK SALE: Space Weather and Sun Science – get these books from Amazon, and help this service stay online!

NOTICE: When you buy this (or any item after starting with this link), you are helping keep SunSpotWatch.com and other resources “on the air” (up and running!). In other words, you are helping the entire community. So, check out these books:

Here is the link to Amazon: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC

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If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users:

1) https://Twitter.com/NW7US

2) https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

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HOW CAN YOU HELP?

I am working on launching a YouTube channel overhaul, that includes series of videos about space weather, radio signal propagation, and more.

Additionally, I am working on improving the educational efforts via the email, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and other activities.

You can help!

Please consider becoming a Patron of these space weather and radio communications services, beginning with the YouTube channel:

https://www.patreon.com/NW7US

The YouTube channel:
https://YouTube.com/NW7US

..

Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel

Stories you’ll find in our June, 2018 issue:

SDR Primer Part 1: Introduction to SDRs and SDR applications
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL

Whereas your grandpa’s radio was all hardware––in the form of filters, mixers, amplifiers, and the like––Software Defined Radios are a mix of hardware and software, which typically gives them a “black box” appearance. SDRs typically afford access to a dizzying array of customizable filters, gain controls, noise blankers, digital signal processing (DSP), audio controls, and more. Being able to customize the SDR’s performance and listening experience is simply unsurpassed. In the first part of this series, Thomas focuses on the basic components of an SDR system—multiple virtual receivers; recording tools and Web-based upgrades.

Radio Evolution: From Wooden Boxes to Plug-in Dongles
By Bob Grove W8JHD

In this companion piece to Thomas’ SDR Primer, Bob Grove traces the technological history of radio from tube-based wooden-box radios to solid-state radios employing Large-Scale Integration of components into compact packages. The Software Defined Radio concept was the natural next step in this evolution, affording not just economy of scale in production and superior reception parameters, but affording manufacturers the ability to change those parameters with a software upgrade. Specifically, Bob looks at the WR-DRD-171 digital decoder dongle for the high-end WiNRADiO WR-G39DDC receiver that could make it the ultimate all-band, all-mode receiver.

Uniden BCD436HP vs. Whistler TRX-1 – A TSM Side-by-Side Review
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW

We first reviewed the Uniden BCD536 in the April 2014 issue with an update six months later. As a point of reference, for all practical purposes the BCD536HP and BCD436HP are RF identical which makes the initial review worth reading. Larry’s initial review of the Whistler TRX-1 appeared in the January issue this year, in the same issue Bob Grove wrote the TRX-2 base/mobile review. RF-wise, these radios are very similar. So, after six months of intensive testing side by side and field usage, it is time to look at a comparison of the two companies top-end handhelds.

2018 Hamvention Report
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

Hamvention 2018 has come and gone. It would be easy to sum it up in one word as “Wow!” But that would not do justice to an event that is built upon so much planning, volunteer effort, cooperation from state, county and local law enforcement as well as EMS personnel, Greene County (Ohio) Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Xenia (Ohio) officials, and countless others. Cory takes us on a tour of this year’s Hamvention, with comments about those who were there and those who weren’t.

Echos of Today: A World of Shortwave and BCB listening from ‘Alexa’
By Richard Fisher KI6SN

Imagine listening to your favorite shortwave or AM-FM broadcast band station on a receiver about the size and shape of a hockey puck. It has no dials. You have an SWLing assistant whose name is “Alexa: and she is virtual. This is an example of advancing Internet-connected technology known as the “smart speaker,” with capability to please the shortwave and broadcast band listener. Richard gives Alexa his commands and enters a new no-knobs, no-dial world of global radio listening.

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Scanning Miami-Dade County, Florida

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Dallas Federal Monitoring

Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Monitor the 380-399.9 MHz Radio Spectrum

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
It’s COTHEN Time Again!

Shortwave Utility Logs
Compiled by Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
A Busy Month; DX Engineering TW Antenna Center Box Cover

Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
A Midsummer’s Potpourri

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
The Siren Song of Small Antennas

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Korean Summit via FTA Satellite; The Future of C-Band; Armed Forces Day Crossband Test

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Field Day Fun, Again!

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Andrew Yoder
Remembering WWII-era Clandestine Shortwave Radio Stations

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Proms, DW and BBC Radio Highlights

Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Golf-TEE and Golf-1 Get Rides to Space

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Travelogue & Radio Ties

Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
The Transition: a Tale of Two Philcos

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.

Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, is publisher and managing editor of The Spectrum Monitor. Contact him at [email protected].

As an auctioneer based in Kansas City, David Schulman, WD0ERU knows a lot about selling things. But Schulman is a little different than most auctioneers: his specialty is selling ham radio equipment.

His business, Schulman Auction, offers an end-to-end solution for those families or hams who want to downsize their current estate, or completely liquidate their amateur radio or vintage electronics gear. They pick up estates from all over the country and take care of all the logistics of the selling process.

Although he’s been a licensed ham for four decades, he didn’t immediately appreciate the amateur radio community’s need for full auction services.

“I had a very large ham estate that I was selling at a weekly consignment auction,” Schulman says. “It did so well that I started thinking about taking ham gear online and see what happened.”

His auction business has grown substantially in just over a decade and he now has buyers from around the world and sellers from all over the United States.

While it can be easy to list gear on eBay or Craigslist, sometimes sellers don’t realize that they’re losing money when a buyer can’t verify that an item is actually “as described.” Schulman related one such case where he was working with a seller to auction a Hewlett-Packard signal generator.

“You could buy them for $300-$400 all day on eBay and other venues,” he says. “This one particular unit brought close to $1,000 dollars.”

Why did this particular one sell for almost three times the going rate? Schulman says for many buyers, getting the best price is about seller credibility. “When I asked what was so special about this unit, he said, ‘you tested it and provided all the data I needed, and I was willing to spend the money necessary to get it because I just never know what I’m getting on eBay.’”

What’s hot in the market right now? He says there are a few different things that seem to get the attention of serious buyers:

• Collins gear, both S-Line and the black boxes, such as 75A-4’s, generate quite a bit of interest, as do the “newer” vintage gear from the 80s and 90s.
• Anything Kenwood, Icom or Yaesu
• Equipment that is difficult find such as a Hallicafters SR-2000 Hurricane Transceiver with matching PS-2000 power supply or a Hammarlund HC-10 SSB Converter
• Military R-390’s and R-390A’s command decent prices and get a lot of attention
• Hewlett Packard test equipment from the 80s-90s does extremely well. They were built tough, and are still extremely accurate if they were kept in decent shape

Schulman says that no matter how you sell your gear, you should watch out for some common shipping pitfalls.

“Always check with the shipper and get an estimate first. You don’t want any surprises,” he says. “In each lot listing we have in an auction, we include the dimensions and weight of an item. The shippers contact information is also included. Some folks are truly surprised when they only spend $10 on something, to find out that it will cost over $50 to ship.”

It’s important to remember that the value of an item doesn’t dictate the shipping cost. “All shippers — UPS, USPS, FedEx — charge based on dimensional weight of an item,” Schulman says. “If your 10 pound item that cost you $10 has to be packed in a box that is 20 inches on all sides, you’ll get charged at the 60-pound rate. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is in the industry now, and we have to keep that in mind when bidding on these items.”

Another piece of advice: don’t skimp on the packaging. Here are his tips:

• Let the pros do it. Not just any UPS or FedEx location, but those that have the knowledge of packing and shipping this type of gear. Even though a vintage radio might have only cost the buyer $25, that radio might be one of a kind and irreplaceable.
• Use double wall cardboard boxes and double box when necessary.
• Wrap your radio in bubble wrap or plastic sheeting so that the packing materials don’t get lodged inside the chassis — but be careful because in some cases bubble wrap can chafe against the face of a radio and cause permanent cosmetic damage!
• Styrofoam peanuts are difficult to remove from chassis due to static and breaking down and disintegrating — don’t use peanuts if at all possible on items that weigh over 30 pounds.
• Use Styrofoam planking or foam inserts instead. It’s much more difficult for a heavy item to move around inside the box using these materials.

Buyers really like to know what they are getting as opposed to buying on self-service sites like eBay and Craigslist where they often see “I have no way to test this” or “powers up” — or worse. “I think this is one reason why our auctions have become so successful,” he says.

“I’ve talked to many families of SK’s who would have just scrapped their loved one’s ham gear if they didn’t find me,” Schulman says. “That is one of the things I love about doing what I do. I can’t save it all, but I know what I do sell will generally get into the hands of other hams who will use and enjoy the equipment.”

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

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.