LHS Episode #213: HF Antenna Woes
Welcome to Episode 213 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts discuss the proper installation of HF antennas, the HF Voyager project, FT-8 DXpeditions, Ubuntu 18.04 and Discourse, picking OSS licenses, the new release of WSJT-X and much more. Thank you 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].
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 197
The HF Voyager Project
Jupiter Research Foundation Amateur Radio Club has integrated an HF transceiver with an autonomous ocean-going drone. Our mission is to deploy a ham radio station that roams the world’s oceans while providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators everywhere to make contacts with rare locations.
JRFARC
ARRL repurposes AM broadcast transmitter for Ham Radio use
Thanks to a joint effort by ARRL and the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut (VRCMCT), a classic Gates BC-1T AM broadcast transmitter will enjoy a second life on the Amateur Radio bands for occasional use under W1AW.
ARRL
Alexa Skill: Band conditions
This skill uses the information from http://www.bandconditions.com/ and can help Amateur Radio operators quickly get information about current band conditions on a scale from “dead” to “great.”
AC4PA
How to make a MMDVM Digital Repeater
After following this article you will be able to put together a multimode amateur digital repeater that can be connected to the internet for world wide digital communication.
San Antonio Digital Radio Club
The Army’s costly quest for the perfect radio continues
The decisions that the Department of Defense made about its “radios of the future” more than 20 years ago are still having an impact on the communications gear the military services purchase today.
Ars Technica
Will the FCC sink pirate radio in Colorado?
Word spread quickly about the mysterious unmarked black SUV parked at a highway exit just outside the town of Ward, CO.
Westword
Valerie, NV9L, is Amateur of the Year
Hotzfeld is a co-host of the netcast Ham Nation and has created several how-to videos on YouTube for the ham radio community.
ARRL
The QCX 5W CW Transceiver from QRP Labs
The board is top quality, and comes with the two SMT devices already soldered on. They are the Si5351, which is the heart of the synthesized VFO, and the FST3253, which is used for the quadrature sampling detector. Inside the red packing is the LCD module.
AA7EE
Solar power in a can
Already designed to resist the elements, [bennelson] is using a 50cal. ammo can for a portable enclosure. Inside, he’s siliconed a 15AH, 12V lead-acid battery in the centre to maintain balance and to leave room for the wiring and storage.
Hack A Day
Veteran long distance walker to use 2m on his latest 900 mile walk
Fifty-nine year old Paul Truswell, M3WHO, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, will shortly be starting a 900-mile walk south to north across Great Britain.
Southgate
Video
Ham radio helps WA9SZL find his voice
Johnnie Mayfield began using ham radio when he was young, and the hobby has helped in real emergencies, including the time he spent days relaying information during a blizzard.
WRAL
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.
Need a Vacuum Tube?
Superstore for Vacuum Tubes
So if you've been looking for a good source for all your classic vacuum tube needs visit...
Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
Oscilloscope now on the bench
Tektronix 475 Oscilloscope and Android Signal Generator App
Watching a capacitor charge 250 times a second The lines are a bit wide because the signal source was noisy |
Tek 475 Specs
- Bandwidth -- 200 MHz (475), AC cutoff 10 Hz, switchable BW limit 20 MHz
- Rise time -- 1.75 ns (475)
- Deflection -- 2 mV/Div to 5 V/Div, 1-2-5
- Cascaded mode -- 400 μV/Div, 50 MHz with CH1 input connected to CH2 VERT SIG OUT
- Time base -- 10 ns/Div to 500 ms/Div, 1-2-5, and ×10 magnifier
- Input impedance -- 1 MΩ // 20 pF
- Triggering -- 0.3 Div (int) or 50 mV (ext) to 40 MHz, increasing to 1.5 Div/250 mV at 200 MHz; AC coupling >60 Hz; LF REJ >50 kHz, HF REJ <50 khz="" li="">
- X bandwidth -- 3 MHz
- Z axis input -- 5 Vp-p, 50 MHz
- Calibrator -- 1 kHz, 30 mA / 300 mV square wave
- Outputs -- CH2 Vert Signal Out, 20 mV/Div into 1 MΩ or 10 mV/Div into 50 Ω; A and B +GATE OUT, +5 V; Probe power jack
- CRT -- 8 × 10 cm², P31 phosphor (P11 opt.)
- Power -- 110, 115, 120, 220, 230 or 240 VAC ±10%, 48-440 Hz, max. 100 W
Real knobs and switches
An oscilloscope needs a function generator
Square Wave?
The square wave is bad but sine and triangle waves look good until the frequency get's near the top of the range or the amplitude is raised too high. |
Sine Waves look good |
Triangle waves are on as well until you go up in frequency |
The free app is inadequate for bench testing
Only the beginning
That's all for now
Sow lower your power and sample it with a scope
72/73
Richard AA4OO
Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
What? ARRL Petitions FCC to Expand Privileges of Technician-Class Amateur Radio Operators
I have my opinion on ARRL asking FCC to grant more HF privileges to Technician-class licensees.
I verbalize them in this video:
After you hear my comments, please leave your comments.
Thanks, 73 de NW7US dit dit
Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel
WØC Summits On The Air Dinner
It is time for another W0C (Colorado) Summits On The Air dinner!
Last year, we had 15 people get together for an informal dinner in south Denver (Lone Tree): Steve WG0AT, Wayne AD0KE, Brad WA6MM, Caleb W4XEN, Carey KX0R, John N0TA, Curtis KC5CW, Mark N0MTN, Bob K0NR, Joyce K0JJW, Steve K7PX, Al KH7AL, James KI0KN, Walt W0CP and John N1OIE. It was so much fun meeting people and swapping SOTA stories that we are going to do it again this year.
Wednesday March 21th at 6 pm
Chili’s, 10460 Park Meadows Dr, Lone Tree, CO 80124-5413
Dinner details:
No agenda, no organization, just have fun, pay for your meal
Please wear something with your name/callsign (name tag, shirt, cap, etc.) to aid in making connections
Please send this to anyone you know that might be interested.
RSVP back to Bob K0NR: [email protected] so we have an accurate count for the reservation.
I hope to see you all there!
73, Bob K0NR
The post WØC Summits On The Air Dinner 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].
The Spectrum Monitor — March, 2018
Stories you’ll find in our March, 2018 issue:
The Air Show Experience
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski KA1VCA
Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie, recount the various aerial acts they saw during last year’s air show schedule, including some they had never seen before, and they let you know what frequencies they were monitoring along the way. You’ll also get tips on attending air shows near you—when to arrive, what to bring, what not to bring, where to set up for the best view and why you shouldn’t leave early.
Air Show 2017:
My Flight in a B24 Liberator and Flying with the Geico Skytypers
By Kevin Burke
Over the years, as a veteran air show attendee with media credentials, Kevin has found himself in the air in some amazing air show aircraft. Last year he had the chance to fly in a WWII-era B24 Liberator as well as the chance to fly in a WWII-era Navy SNJ-2 trainer with the Geico Skytypers, both of which gave him unforgettable rides. He gives us some terrific photos he took of the vintage aircraft he saw.
TSM Guide to Monitoring Air Shows
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Anyone who has attended an air show will tell you it is thrilling to watch the close quarter flying of the Blue Angels delta formation or the hair-splitting maneuvers of the Thunderbird opposing solos. But there is a way you can add to the experience by monitoring the performing teams’ radio communications. With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will get—the radio communications from the aircraft cockpit of the show performers. Larry gives you the frequencies you need to complete the air show experience.
Drones 101: Learning to Fly Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
By Mario Filippi N2HUN
Over the past few years, drones, known to the Federal Aviation Administration as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), have exploded onto the consumer scene, and their popularity keeps growing. Once found only in hobby shops, drones can now be purchased at big box stores or on-line ready to go, batteries included. So where does one start? How does one navigate the process of selecting a drone, buying one, and obtaining some basic training? It’s a little more complicated than you might think, as Mario explains.
TSM North American Air Show Schedules
This year there’s an air show coming to an air field near where you live. Take a look at the 2018 TSM Air Show schedule for some of the more popular aerial acts on this year’s tour.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Scanning Stark and Tuscarawas Counties (Ohio) and Dakota County, Minnesota
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Super Bowl 52 On Scene Report
Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Military Aerial Refueling: Extending the Reach
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
Canadian Coast Guard Broadcasts
Shortwave Utility Logs
Compiled by Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Review: InnovAntenna’s 2-element 50MHz LFA-Q Super-Gainer Quad Style Yagi
Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
NXDN: Icom and Kenwood’s other DVs
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
KH6-A-Rama and Other Low-Band Takeaways
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Mysteries of the Expanded AM Band and Travelers’ Information Service
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Can You Hear Me Now?
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Listening to Argentina on Shortwave
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA1KSF
Another New AMSAT Satellite is Commissioned
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
600 Meters Awaits You!
Adventures in Radio Restorations
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A Different Hallicrafters Model 8R40
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Receive-Only Antennas: Can You Hear Me Now?
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].