AmateurRadio.com

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And...once again it's time for the monthly Co-ordinted Listening Event (CLE) for NDB hunters....the 188th event. These always interesting and popular affairs take place over three nights, with this one starting on Friday, November 21st at local noon and running until Monday, November 24th, local noon.








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

This time, it's a normal event, focusing on a small (~ 15kHz) section of the NDB band. Here are the details from event organizer, Brian Keyte (G3SIA):


Hi all,

The CLE Survey results are so interesting I almost forgot to send this!
Please join us in our 188th Co-ordinated Listening Event which starts
this Friday. All are very welcome - 'Regulars' and 'First-Timers' alike.
CLEs are not contests - if you enjoy taking part you are a winner!

Days: Friday 21st - Monday 24th November
Times: Start and end at midday, your LOCAL TIME
Range: 370 - 384.9 kHz

Just log all the NDBs that you can identify with their nominal (listed)
frequencies in the range (it includes 370 kHz, but not 385 kHz)
plus any UNIDs that you come across there.

Please send your CLE log to the List in a plain text email if possible
(not in an attachment) with CLE188 at the start of its title.
Show on each log line:

# The date (e.g. 2014-11-21, etc., or just 21) and UTC.
(the date changes at 00:00 UTC)
# kHz (the nominal published frequency, if known)
# The Call Ident.

Please show those main items FIRST - other optional details such as
Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
If you send interim logs, please also send a 'Final' (complete) log.

As always, tell us your own location and brief details of the equipment
that you were using during the weekend.

I'll send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 18:00 UTC on
Tuesday - you can check from it that your log has been found OK.All logs must arrive on the list by 09:00 UTC on Wednesday 26th
at the very latest.
I hope the combined results will be completed on that day.

To help your listening, seeklists are available via the CLE page
http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm

Good listening - enjoy the CLE
Brian
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE co-ordinator)
----------------------------------------------------------

(If you wish you could use any one remote receiver for your loggings,
stating the location and owner - with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, local or remote,
to make further loggings for the same CLE).

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.

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.

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. 

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

Please...don't be shy and do 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.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Episode 6 is now live at txfactor.co.uk. It features the best from the UK’s biggest rally, National Hamfest 2014. The team meets the exhibitors and visitors and brings a flavour of this amazing annual ham event to those who couldn’t make it this time.

There’s also a chance to win the compact, yet function-packed dual band VX-3 transceiver in our next free-to-enter competition.

We hope you enjoy the show and look forward to your comments and feedback at [email protected]

73 from the TX Factor team

Nick Bennett 2EØFGQ co-hosts TX Factor with Bob McCreadie GØFGX and Mike Marsh G1IAR. Contact the team at [email protected]

Last night, our Technician Licensing class formally came to an end.  We held a VE Session which was at once extremely gratifying and at the same time, bittersweet.

It was a bit of a whirlwind evening for me, so I'm a bit shaky on the numbers. Of the 16 student we started with, about 10 showed up for exams last night.  Two couldn't make it due to doctor appointments and one get held up at work. What happened to the other three is beyond me. I had everyone's e-mail and was sending out regular announcements. These three individuals haven't come to class for the last couple of weeks.  There was no indication of a lack of interest, or lack of understanding the material - so maybe it's been personal issues.  Life happens, we all know that, and most people are reluctant to talk about their circumstances.

Everyone who turned out last night earned their Technician class licenses with the exception of two.  The two who missed, missed by very little - the bittersweet part.  Just about everyone who passed took a stab at the General, and one actually earned it.  That was very gratifying.

We have decided to hold another VE session this Saturday morning at 8:00 AM at the EOC.  The people who couldn't make it last night will get their opportunity. The people who missed get the chance to dust themselves off and give it another go.  And maybe some will return for a second crack at upgrading to General.

Everyone was invited to the monthly South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meeting tonight. The real "Elmering", the real teaching starts now. It's one thing to help someone to get their license. It's another thing entirely to transform these newbie Hams into confident, knowledgeable, content and active Amateur Radio operators.

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 [email protected].

A post I read online today reminded me of something. Last week a friend’s XYL ask me for some good Christmas stocking stuffer ideas for her husband. I drew a blank! I didn’t have a good answer for her.

Mugs? Vehicle decals? T-shirts? That was about the best I could come up with on short notice.

So, what under-$30 ham-related items would you like to see in your Christmas stocking this year? Leave your answers in the comments and we’ll have a list of good ideas!

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

Laser Engraved Ham Radio Callsign Plaque

This is a pretty unique idea. They take your ham license details and put it into a template. Then they laser off the metal lacquer leaving shiny metallic writing underneath and mount it on a oak plaque.– $22.99 from HamCrazy.com

Carved Oak Call Sign

Another unique gift idea, this is a beautifully crafted 3-D version of your call sign. Available in several different varieties of wood.— $4 per letter on k7bon.com

Engraved Brass Plate for the Elecraft K3

Granted, we’re all not lucky enough to own an Elecraft K3. But if you do, here’s a beautiful way to let everyone know who assembled it!— $5.50 from Arkay Engravers Associates

Please don’t forget the awesome t-shirt designs offered by our sponsors, HamShirts.com and Hip Ham Shirts! They always make great gifts — who couldn’t use another t-shirt?!

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

It was nice to see this card in the electronic mail box this evening! I had mistaken the call for CP6CW and the mystery is now solved. While sitting at a picnic table at the Hurricane Wave Pool Park on November 11th, I distinctly hear the wrong call.  (it happens from time to time)

We’ve worked several times before but this was my first contact with them on 10 meters. Morse Code is such an amazing thing isn’t it? You catch the band open for a few minutes and bounce a signal 4,677 miles into South America. I’m happy to see this confirmation card (ZP6CW) from Paraguay.

John Smithson, Jr., N8ZYA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from West Virginia, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

My recent 'Building For The BK' blogs have tempted at least one ardent homebrewer, John (VE7BDQ), to dig into his junkbox stash to create a nicely-working BK rig....it's a Colpitts oscillator using a pair of 45's in push-pull. His lash-up is now working and ready to go on both 80 and 40m and he is contemplating 160m operation with it as well....very nice!

1935 ARRL Handbook. Source: http://www.arrl.org/

Although John did not have every period-appropriate component available to him, it didn't discourage him from building his BK rig. For too many, this is often a stumbling block that leads to nothing being built....as the boy's of '29 no doubt would  have done, he put something together completely from his junkbox.

It will be super to have another left-coast station in this years '29 Party...and a Canadian station to boot!

Anyone else building for the BK?  ....there's still a few weeks left.


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

The first 3/4ths of the 2014 Skeeter Hunt certificates went out in the mail last night.  I ran out of 9X12 envelopes and will get more. The remaining ten or so will go out Thursday night, as our Tech License exam session is tonight and our monthly South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club meeting is tomorrow night.


If you earned a certificate, it has been noted on the Scoreboard spreadsheet, in the "Notes" column:

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1odmnlTAnQST7FgsEnsItHaT_ZO0e8yZpzLqxcsyGRkY/edit#gid=1768430587

Thanks for your patience, and I apologize profusely for the delay - but hey, like John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

Look for the Skeeter Hunt to be making an appearance on Facebook in the near future! Oh ..... and there will be at least one change in the rules for next year. Look for that announcement in the Spring of 2015. (Hey, I gotta give you something to look forward to!)

BTW, I want to take an opportunity to mention something about the "QRP - When you care to send the very least!" and the "Skeeter Hunt" items that I offer through Cafe Press.  There's no big markup there - each item is offered at $1 above Cafe Press cost. The proceeds (which ain't much - believe me!) go towards the purchase of ink, paper, envelopes and postage for the Skeeter Hunt certificates. Next year, I am hoping to offer plaques to the top three finishers.

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 [email protected].