In this episode extra episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ, Chris Howard M0TCH/N4CTH and Ed Durrant DD5LP interview Yaesu, Kenwood, Flex Radio, Elecraft and ICom during the recent Ham Radio 2017 show.

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. 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.

When I retired in January of 2016, I thought that I would be able to blog a lot more. Well that hasn't worked out because, as many retirees have noted, I'm too busy now that I'm not working:-)

However, I just participated in a noteworthy activity that needs to be published. This year I was on the staff of K2BSA at the recently completed 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree and what a wonderful experience it was. For a comprehensive, day by day, look at the activities at K2BSA, have look at the K2BSA Facebook page.

One of the old timer mantra's in ham radio is, "where are the next generation of hams coming from", but all too often nothing is done to address the problem. However, I can say that the K2BSA team is very busy about addressing that issue through efforts to expose Boy Scouts to Amateur Radio. During this Jamboree, 300+ radio merit badges were awarded to boys who completed the requirements which requires a contact via ham radio and a classroom session that delivers a solid primer on Amateur Radio.

Other activities included Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation, Satellite operations, both base station and portable,  VHF/UHF operation and a nightly net for the hams participating at the Jamboree. There were typically ~60 check-ins each night including local hams not participating in the Jamboree and interested hams from around the world, including JA, KL7 and VK based hams via Echo Link. As you can see a comprehensive presentation of ham radio was on display.

K2BSA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization making contributions from US Hams tax deductible. So if you are inclined to support the furtherance of our hobby through youth, I can't think of a better organization to support. A contribution button is present on the FaceBook page or you can visit their webpage at www.k2bsa.net.




Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

When I retired in January of 2016, I thought that I would be able to blog a lot more. Well that hasn't worked out because, as many retirees have noted, I'm too busy now that I'm not working:-)

However, I just participated in a noteworthy activity that needs to be published. This year I was on the staff of K2BSA at the recently completed 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree and what a wonderful experience it was. For a comprehensive, day by day, look at the activities at K2BSA, have look at the K2BSA Facebook page.

One of the old timer mantra's in ham radio is, "where are the next generation of hams coming from", but all too often nothing is done to address the problem. However, I can say that the K2BSA team is very busy about addressing that issue through efforts to expose Boy Scouts to Amateur Radio. During this Jamboree, 300+ radio merit badges were awarded to boys who completed the requirements which requires a contact via ham radio and a classroom session that delivers a solid primer on Amateur Radio.

Other activities included Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation, Satellite operations, both base station and portable,  VHF/UHF operation and a nightly net for the hams participating at the Jamboree. There were typically ~60 check-ins each night including local hams not participating in the Jamboree and interested hams from around the world, including JA, KL7 and VK based hams via Echo Link. As you can see a comprehensive presentation of ham radio was on display.

K2BSA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization making contributions from US Hams tax deductible. So if you are inclined to support the furtherance of our hobby through youth, I can't think of a better organization to support. A contribution button is present on the FaceBook page or you can visit their webpage at www.k2bsa.net.




Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

In this episode we talk about the Yaesu System Fusion DR-2X repeater, the upcoming Solar Eclipse and more.

There is some interesting new features on the DR-2X repeater over the DR-1X that came out a couple years ago, but there is also something that it doesn’t have. Some of these features, I wish that we had on our club repeater, but those features are not enough for us to go out and buy this version.

There are a lot of special event stations that are going to be on the air around August 21st this year when the full solar eclipse occurs. This is the first time since 1918 that a full solar eclipse has gone from one side of the US to the other. I unfortunately am to far south to the see the full eclipse, but I should get about a 75% one here in the DFW area.

We also talk about some other stuff, but you are going to have to check out the show notes and listen to the episode to find out what that is.

73s de Curtis, K5CLM

Curtis Mohr, K5CLM, is the author/owner of Everything Ham Radio Blog and Youtube channel. Contact him at [email protected].

YBV - 370kHz  (VE3GOP)

This coming weekend will see another CLE challenge. This time the hunting grounds will be:  370.0 - 384.9 kHz.







For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.

A nice challenge in this one is to hear the Berens River (Manitoba)  NDB, 'YBV', on 370 kHz. 'YBV' is a 25-watter and is well heard, having been logged from coast-to-coast as well as in Europe. Look for 'YBV's CW identifier, repeated every 10.4 seconds, on 370.373 kHz with your receiver in the CW mode.

YBV's 25W TX Rack (VE3GOP)

Summertime CLEs can often be challenging, not because of poor propagation but more likely, summer lightning storms ... hopefully it will be quiet for your location.

When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.

For example, 'AA' in Fargo transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.

Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.

Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.

All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.

From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the usual 'heads-up':


These listening events serve several purposes. They:

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range

• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations

• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working

• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event. If you are a member of the ndblist Group, results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

The very active Yahoo ndblist Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.

If you are contemplating getting started on 630m, listening for NDBs  is an excellent way to test out your receive capabilities as there are several NDBs located near this part of the spectrum.

You need not be an ndblist member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers. 

'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the ndblist or e-mailed to either myself or CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above.

Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.

Good hunting!


Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

YBV - 370kHz  (VE3GOP)

This coming weekend will see another CLE challenge. This time the hunting grounds will be:  370.0 - 384.9 kHz.







For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.

A nice challenge in this one is to hear the Berens River (Manitoba)  NDB, 'YBV', on 370 kHz. 'YBV' is a 25-watter and is well heard, having been logged from coast-to-coast as well as in Europe. Look for 'YBV's CW identifier, repeated every 10.4 seconds, on 370.373 kHz with your receiver in the CW mode.

YBV's 25W TX Rack (VE3GOP)

Summertime CLEs can often be challenging, not because of poor propagation but more likely, summer lightning storms ... hopefully it will be quiet for your location.

When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.

For example, 'AA' in Fargo transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.

Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.

Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.

All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.

From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the usual 'heads-up':


These listening events serve several purposes. They:

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range

• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations

• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working

• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event. If you are a member of the ndblist Group, results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

The very active Yahoo ndblist Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.

If you are contemplating getting started on 630m, listening for NDBs  is an excellent way to test out your receive capabilities as there are several NDBs located near this part of the spectrum.

You need not be an ndblist member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers. 

'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the ndblist or e-mailed to either myself or CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above.

Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.

Good hunting!


Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].