AmateurRadio.com

2015 is ending and soon it's going to be 2016 before you know it! In the past I have made New Years resolutions some very ambitious and short lived and other I still hold to today. As I age I realize more and more the most important thing is your health. One of the areas of your health that affects a whole lot of areas is your weight. I would be happy to loose about 20 lbs or so and that for sure would help me out in the long run. With regards to ham radio in the past I have made New Years goals of improving my CW speed, getting on the air more, trying new modes and so on. For some reason I fall into the same old same old, not finding the time to see these goals to reality. It seems these days it's all about finding the time or should I say setting the time aside to achieve the goals you set for yourself. Time has always been my problem as it seems you are pulled in many directions. Maybe it's about multi tasking.......at this moment I am typing this post and I have the rig on listing to CW and checking the P3 band scope for any activity. The post may take a bit longer (there is that time thing again) but I am able to get some radio time in and accomplish a blog post as well. This brings me back around to the start of my post....am I going to make any resolutions for  2016?? Of coarse I am.........for the hobby I would like to try to keep this multi tasking thing going it seems to be working for me so what the heck. Maybe I can get more posts out and improve my on air time. Personally I would like to eat better, drops some pounds and fit in some more activity. Happy New Year to all my readers and all the best in the coming new year.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at ve9kk@hotmail.com.

I received an e-mail from casting director Austin James of FSA Entertainment in Los Angeles about a new series he’s casting for a major cable network. He asked me to pass it along to you:

NOW CASTING RADIO EXPERTS
(Ham Radio, Shortwave/high frequency, technicians, enthusiasts/hobbyists)
AND ADVENTURERS WITH A THIRST FOR SOLVING MYSTERIES
FOR A NEW SERIES ON A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK!

Seeking a team made up of radio experts, code breakers and adventurers to embark on a mission to uncover the true meaning behind anonymous radio transmissions – “number stations.”

We are looking for experts who have thirst for solving mysteries, are adventurous & charismatic and have a STRONG knowledge of radio (including shortwave and Ham) as well as an interest in ‘number stations’ to be featured in this new and exciting series. We are looking for our ‘Indiana Jones’ of the shortwave world.

We are ALSO looking for ADVENTURERS – people who are not afraid to explore and investigate a wide range of worldwide mysteries; someone who is persistent, charismatic and fearless!

We are looking for people who have EXPERIENCE in travel, research and problem solving. For example: code crackers, techies, radio conspiracy theorists, private investigators, former FBI/CIA, hackers, former military, researchers, history buffs and urban explorers.

To be considered, please email the following information ASAP to: shortwavecasting@gmail.com

Please include:

• Name
• Age
• Phone number
• Email address
• Brief bio of you and your relevant experience to this (radio, explorer etc.)
• 2 recent photos

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at editor@amateurradio.com.

Over winter break I have been putting in a lot of time behind the radio. Here’s the wrap up:

First – more DX. In general, this is a good time of year to catch hams behind their rigs. Some contacts that I am particularly proud of:

4U1WB, The World Bank in Washington D.C.
ZD7DL, St Helena Island
WH6S, Kauai
C5YK, The Gambia
9H5BZ, Malta
MI5AFK, Northern Ireland
FG5GP, the island of Guadeloupe
ZS6TVB, South Africa
EA8DAZ, Canary Islands
VP2ETE, Anguilla

Second – working a lot of DX. There is the 90th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) special event activations. Plenty of good DX participating in this and working multiple bands.

Cuba
Bermuda
Finland
Germany
Aruba
Venezuela
Jamaica
Ireland
Italy
Slovenia
Brazil

Third – working Santa (aka AA4EE) on Christmas Eve. The girls really enjoyed telling Santa what they wanted. Thank you Santa!

Four – joining the OMISS and the 3905 Century Club nets. I am not sure if I fully understand these nets. I get the convenience in pursuing Worked All States awards. That makes sense. However each club also has an additional bevy of other types of awards. The actual contacts during the nets seem a bit unfulfilling. But I may not yet fully understand these nets. I need to thoroughly read all the literature.

Five – Log of the World: I have uploaded the vast majority of my logs. I mentioned before about uploading my YI9MI logs. I also went back and uploaded my log from KD7PJQ back in Virginia. The logs from Korea (HL2/AD7MI and HL9MI) are now uploaded. All my logs using AD7MI have been uploaded.

Scott Hedberg, NØZB, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Kansas, USA. Contact him at n0zb@arrl.net.

I saw this posted on the 4 States QRP Group e-mail reflector.  I added NY4G's blog to the blog roll and am posting a link to his "challenge".

http://ny4g.blogspot.com/2015/12/qrp-dxcc-challenge.html

He calls it "QRP Wars - The Morse Awakens".

Cute.

Now the question is - can it be done?

My answer is, "Yes, I think it can." Even with the worsening solar conditions. But (and there's alway's a "but") I think this competition favors those who are retired and can send mondo amounts of time on the radio.  It also favors those of us on the East coast, who are closer to Europe and the Caribbean. And with the ARRL DX Contest which is held in February, if you really put your mind to it, it should be possible to work QRP DXCC within 100 days.

Am I going to put my money where my mouth is?

Not sure at this point.  I just might try it for fun and just may keep a "diary" of the effort here on the blog - just for the halibut. Let me cogitate on it for a while. I have a couple of days left until 2016 rolls around.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at w2lj@arrl.net.

A recent 'year end review' posting in the Amateur Radio Weekly blog, reminded me of great little piece of online software that might interest a lot of hams. It is a very nice Great Circle Map Generator, centered on your specific location.

The map generator is the brainchild of Tom, NS6T, and can be found on his 'HAM STUFF' website along with some other interesting bits. The actual map generator can be found here.The user interface is simple and map generation times are fast. Anyone with a beam will likely be interested in this, should they not already have a great circle map for their present QTH.

I used my six-letter grid square identifier for centering the map. Depending on the 'distance' value used, one can tailor the map for local / regional work or for a worldwide setting.

This is the map generated for a distance unit of 500km and would be helpful for local VHF'ing:


This map was produced when a distance unit of 4500km was used ... nice for the 6m grid square hunter:



This worldwide map was produced with an input of 18000km:


Hopefully you might find the map generator of some value in your own shack.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at ve7sl@shaw.ca.

Elecraft AF-1 Audio Filter Kit

Elecraft AF-1 Audio Filter Kit

Building the kit

Performance

Summary

Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at aa4oo@hamradioqrp.com.

Back in October I headed to Chicago – HamRadioNow cameras in tow – to record the 2015 ARRL and TAPR DCC. It’s a three-day conference covering all aspects of digital Amateur Radio — digital radios that run analog modes; analog radios that run digital modes; hardware; software; operations…  On Friday and Saturday, there are usually 8 45-minute talks. There’s a banquet speaker on Saturday, and Sunday morning is a four-hour ‘deep-dive’ into a single topic.

It’s an intense weekend of shooting. Then a lot of editing to produce each talk as a separate program. I just finished uploading the 8th and final talk from Friday.

If you like high-tech, digital stuff in Ham Radio, you probably already know all about the DCC and the videos, right? Well, maybe not. Just in case, stop by my YouTube Channel: www.YouTube.com/HamRadioNow and check out Episodes 221 – 230 for this year’s shows. And to see all the DCC videos that I have online, there’s this Playlist.

Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, is the host of HamRadioNow.tv. If you enjoy this and other HamRadioNow programs, help keep them 'on the air' with a contribution. Contact him at kn4aq@arvn.tv.