Amateur Radio Weekly Newsletter

Ham radio news, commentary, giveaways, and more!
Celebrating 25 years of service – 1995-2021
Over 8,000 subscribers!
Unsubscribe

Saturday, October 9, 2021

• AmateurLogic Shorts 11: Programming Raspberry Pi Pico with Arduino
  Now you can Program Raspberry Pi Pico with the Arduino IDE. Learn How.

  Please Subscribe and click the Like and Share buttons if you enjoy our content. Note AmateurLogic Shorts are only available on YouTube.

• AmateurLogic Shorts 12: Artemis & SigIDWiki
  Emile covers Artemis and SigIDWiki. Signal hunter software and useful aids for radio listeners. https://aresvalley.com/ https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Signal_Identification_Guide https://aresvalley.com/community/

  Please Subscribe and click the Like an…

• AmateurLogic Shorts 13: MFJ Crystal Radio Kit
  This week’s AmateurLogic Short is a W5JDX Classic. Building the MFJ/Vectronics VEC-121K Crystal Radio kit. You can find the kit here: https://mfjenterprises.com/products/vec-121k?_pos=1&_sid=f9e4f44b2&_ss=r

  Please Subscribe and click t…

• AmateurLogic Shorts 14: Crystal Radio Testing
  Follow up video for the MFJ Crystal Radio kit from AmateurLogic Shorts 13. George talks a little about crystal radios, tests the set and makes some mods. You can find the kit here: https://mfjenterprises.com/products/vec-121k?_pos=1&_sid=f9e4f44b2&_ss=r Please Subscribe and click the Like and Share buttons if you enjoy our content. Note AmateurLogic Shorts are only available on … Continue reading AmateurLogic Shorts 14: Crystal Radio Testing

• Ham College 81
  Ham College episode 81 is now available for download. Extra Class Exam Questions – Part 19. E4E Noise suppression and interference: Noise suppression and interference: system noise, electrical appliance noise, line noise, locating noise sources,…

• Get Your General License, Colorado
  The Technician Class License is the entry-level ham radio license in the USA. The next step up is the General Class License which provides operating privileges on the high-frequency bands. If you want to work the world with ham radio, you should seriously consider going for the General license. The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association is […]

  The post Get Your General License, Colorado appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

• LHS Episode #433: Mind the Spark Gap
  Hello and welcome to the 433rd installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short-topics episode, the hosts discuss several topics including RaDAR, communicating across the Atlantic in the …

• Remember what it was like without it all?
  Remember what it was once like without Facebook, and Instagram, and we had dial up Internet..The dark nights are certainly back and Facebook has failed! Time to return back to Blogging, watch this space! 🙂

• VOAPROP configuring 2021
  Sunspots are getting higher! Band conditions are improving once again, it’s time to get active! It is nice to be able crunch all the data and get a daily understandable, updated plot, and find out what bands may be workable, where and …

• My Summer QSL Mailbox
  Most of my blog readers know how much I love QSLs … real paper ones that is. In fact the lure of collecting cards was one of the main things that hooked me on radio as a pre-teen SWL!All of the important QSLs from last winter’s 160m DX season…

• What Is a Valid QSO?
  Ham operators make radio contacts on a routine basis. We call another station or another station responds to our call, we exchange some information, maybe chat for a while and then finish the contact, clearing out with our callsigns. Most of the time we clearly know whether we had a valid radio contact, commonly referred […]

  The post What Is a Valid QSO? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

• GHz and GigaDollars
  ARRL reported on continuing efforts to “counter the continuing threat to Amateur Radio’s secondary use of the 3 GHz band” in response to a “provision in the $3.5 Billion Budget Reconciliation Bill that would have required approximately 200 MHz of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band be reallocated to the use of 5G vendors.” Meanwhile, FCC Auction … Continue reading GHz and GigaDollars

Thank you for being an AmateurRadio.com reader and subscriber to the Amateur Radio Newsletter.

Do you like to write? Please consider submitting an article.

Matt W1MST
Managing Editor
editor
Twitter / Facebook

How to set up your own ham radio blog – Get started in less than 15 minutes

AmateurRadio.com
P.O. Box 45
Hampden ME 04444
USA

Newsletter #243

View in browser VACUUM TUBES At the ripe old age of 100+ years old, is the venerable vacuum tube still relevant in modern designs? For audiophiles, musicians, and ham radio operators, the soft glow of the vacuum tube filament is not only an indication of function, but a nostalgic trigger for memories of simpler times. Though they may have been outpaced by tiny transistors and integrated circuits, these workhorses still may have something to offer in many modern devices. Read It Now! BUILD AN INEXPENSIVE MAGNETOMETER Build a Hall-effect based magnetometer. This article describes a Hall-effect based magnetometer that uses an inexpensive analog Hall-effect sensor, an Arduino, and LCD. The linearity of the magnetometer is surprisingly good when compared against a commercial magnetometer. This unit can be operated manually or make measurements under computer control, so we’ll use our magnetometer in a computer-controlled setup to measure the BH-curve of small sample of magnetic material. Build It Now! HOW DO YOU MEASURE COMPETENCY? Do you consider yourself a competent electronics enthusiast? Competency — a measure of someone’s skills, knowledge, and attitudes in a domain — is a term usually associated with work and human resource departments. However, the concept of competency also has merit in the avocation of electronics. But what constitutes competency, and why should you aspire to greater competency? Read It Now! BOOK REVIEW: TROUBLESHOOTING ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS This book is great for novices as well as seasoned experimenters. The instant I saw Ronald Quan chose to prominently display Cen-Tech volt-ohm-milliammeters on the front cover of Troubleshooting Electronic Circuits, I had a feeling I was going to like the book. Read It Now! Random Number Kit Learning Lab Nuts & Volts On CD-ROM 3D LED Cube Kit You are receiving this email because you have been a subscriber to Nuts & Volts Magazine, or have requested to receive our email newsletters. You may unsubscribe, change your email address or content preferences at any time through the links provided below. Nuts & Volts Magazine | 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883 951.371.8497 | editor | www.nutsvolts.com T & L Publications, Inc, 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883, 951 371-8497

Amateur Radio Weekly Newsletter

Ham radio news, commentary, giveaways, and more!
Celebrating 25 years of service – 1995-2021
Over 8,000 subscribers!
Unsubscribe

Saturday, October 2, 2021

• ICQ Podcast Episode 360 – New Open GD77 Firmware review
  In this episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB) is joined by Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Leslie Butterfield (G0CIB), Frank Howell (K4FMH), and Bill Barnes (WC3B) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news…

• Yellowstone and Grand Teton: SOTA and POTA
  Visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks is a favorite trip for us. It is a 9-hour drive to get there from Colorado, so we can make it in a day. In September, we visited these two parks with a blend of activities in mind: RV camping, hiking, viewing wildlife and ham radio. The ham … Continue reading Yellowstone and Grand Teton: SOTA and POTA →

  The post Yellowstone and Grand Teton: SOTA and POTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

• LHS Episode #431: SDR++ Deep Dive
  Hello and welcome to Episode 431 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take an in-depth look at the SDR++ client program for SDR receivers and …

• My ham radio adventure continues.
  Around this time last year, I registered for the CWops intermediate CW course. The CWops is a worldwide group of radio ops that support the operation of CW. On top of this, they want to help up-and-coming CW ops as well as those (like me) w…

• Seems the IARU has been busy……
  Below is a cut and paste from the QRZNOW.COM site which by the way is a great site for news and reviews in the ham radio world. Over the past 18 months, a proposal for an IARU HF Digital Mode reorganization has been undertaken by representatives o…

• The Lost Tribe, the Pied Piper and The Executive.
  Think that the ARRL was the first amateur radio association in the United States? Or that the famous and brilliant inventor also “invented” amateur radio? If so, you are not alone. But pesky historical documents and the facts they contain tell a deeper and more accurate story. It’s in the October issue of The Spectrum […]

• Tips and Tools for Managing Logs
  Lately, the majority of my radio activity has been SOTA and POTA activations, sometimes simultaneously. The logging requirements for the two programs are different so I often need to adjust the log file before submitting it. Even more common, I need to double-check and fix errors in my SOTA and POTA logs. Some of this … Continue reading Tips and Tools for Managing Logs →

  The post Tips and Tools for Managing Logs appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

• The ‘Blue-Collar Scholars,’ Ferrite Sleeve Loop Antennas, and Antennas for the ELF and VLF Bands
  Stories you’ll find in our October, 2021 issue: Amateur Radio’s Lost Tribe: The ‘Blue-Collar Scholars’ Who Started It All By Frank M. Howell PhD K4FMH We all know the history of US amateur radio: Hiram Percy Maxim founded the American Radio Relay League, and the rest is history, right? Not quite, says Frank Howell, who […]

• For your listening fun.
  Web SDRs are nothing new to shortwave listeners or amateur radios op’s alike. Internet SDR’s provide a portal for many to access a wide variety of listening pleasures. No longer does one need a shortwave receiver to access the air waves. I …

• LHS Episode #432: The Weekender LXXIX
  It’s time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain …

Thank you for being an AmateurRadio.com reader and subscriber to the Amateur Radio Newsletter.

Do you like to write? Please consider submitting an article.

Matt W1MST
Managing Editor
editor
Twitter / Facebook

How to set up your own ham radio blog – Get started in less than 15 minutes

AmateurRadio.com
P.O. Box 45
Hampden ME 04444
USA

Newsletter #242

View in browser NUTS & VOLTS DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO RELIABLE OSCILLATORS AND TIMERS — PART 3 Crystals that Make the World Go ‘Round. Strike a crystal goblet with a spoon, and you immediately have both the attention of your guests and the sympathetic resonance of other goblets on your sumptuous holiday table. What is happening here? Well, you have created a crystal oscillator that generates acoustic waves in the air. Read It Now! DIY RC Controller Kit with Receiver Recorder HAM RADIO FOR DUMMIES I can’t say enough good things about this book. The layout of the book, the sequencing of the material, and the down-to-earth vocabulary show not only that the author understands the material, but that he’s a great teacher. Read It Now! CALCULATORS AS COPROCESSORS Turn a TI calculator into a computing machine. Connect Texas Instruments calculators to Arduinos to extend this open source prototyping platform’s computing power for math functions and to make graphic capabilities easier to implement. Read It Now! WHAT DO YOU WANT ON YOUR TOMBSTONE? Save time and money making decorations with CNC. Create complex 3D contoured parts by combining fast and simple 2.5D pocketing and profiling operations with manual finishing techniques to create a custom tombstone for this Halloween. Build It Now! Random Number Kit Learning Lab Nuts & Volts On CD-ROM 3D LED Cube Kit You are receiving this email because you have been a subscriber to Nuts & Volts Magazine, or have requested to receive our email newsletters. You may unsubscribe, change your email address or content preferences at any time through the links provided below. Nuts & Volts Magazine | 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883 951.371.8497 | editor | www.nutsvolts.com T & L Publications, Inc, 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883, 951 371-8497 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Amateur Radio Weekly Newsletter

Ham radio news, commentary, giveaways, and more!
Celebrating 25 years of service – 1995-2021
Over 8,000 subscribers!
Unsubscribe

Saturday, September 25, 2021

• AmateurLogic 160: RN Noise, Huntsville Hamfest & Hurricane Ida
  AmateurLogic.TV Episode 160 is now available for download. George demonstrate RN Noise, free AI noise suppression plug-in. Emile rides out Hurricane Ida while stationed on emergency stand by. Tom Apalenek, WA2IVD joins us to share his first visit to Huntsville Hamfest. AmateurLogic’s 16th Anniversary Contest. Someone is going to win a great Icom IC-705 transceiver … Continue reading AmateurLogic 160: RN Noise, Huntsville Hamfest & Hurricane Ida

• LHS Episode #430: Bag of Hammers
  Welcome to the 430th episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this action-packed episode, the hosts discuss topics including the JARL Hamfest, AMSAT events going virtual, JOTA and JOTI, …

• Hunting For NDBs In CLE272
  ML – 392 Charlevoix, QuebecIt’s CLE time! ‘CLE’s are ‘Co-ordinated Listening Events, and NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum. It’s another normal one again with a …

Thank you for being an AmateurRadio.com reader and subscriber to the Amateur Radio Newsletter.

Do you like to write? Please consider submitting an article.

Matt W1MST
Managing Editor
editor
Twitter / Facebook

How to set up your own ham radio blog – Get started in less than 15 minutes

AmateurRadio.com
P.O. Box 45
Hampden ME 04444
USA

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options

Newsletter #241

View in browser NUTS & VOLTS DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO RELIABLE OSCILLATORS AND TIMERS — PART 2 Understanding and Designing with the Ever-Useful CMOS Timer. Not as commonplace as the operational amplifier, the integrated circuit CMOS timer — such as the ICM7555 and TLC555 — has nonetheless found a secure niche in electronics. Why is this? Read It Now! DIY RC Controller Kit with Receiver Recorder ANALOG MATHEMATICS Even in the middle of all things digital, there’s still a place for analog mathematics to streamline your designs. It seems that the utility of analog mathematical circuits has been shunted aside. However, there are still useful and important applications for analog mathematics in today’s digital world. In fact, the marriage between analog computing and microprocessors (µCs) can be remarkably efficient. Read It Now! BUILD THE NIXIESTAR CLOCK Construct this elegant and intricate timepiece. The NixieStar clock is the second timepiece kit I’ve developed. My aim was to have a kit that’s reasonably easy to build with intermediate soldering skills (i.e., minimal SMD components). I also wanted a clock kit that once it was built, any spouse (including my wife!) would accept it on their wall — even with a power cord hanging from it. Build It Now! BUILD THE PEEK-A-BOO GHOST Not all decorations have to be scary. Have some fun with this quick build that can be adjusted for other holidays as well! Build It Now! Random Number Kit Learning Lab Nuts & Volts On CD-ROM 3D LED Cube Kit You are receiving this email because you have been a subscriber to Nuts & Volts Magazine, or have requested to receive our email newsletters. You may unsubscribe, change your email address or content preferences at any time through the links provided below. Nuts & Volts Magazine | 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883 951.371.8497 | editor | www.nutsvolts.com T & L Publications, Inc, 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883, 951 371-8497 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Amateur Radio Weekly Newsletter

Ham radio news, commentary, giveaways, and more!
Celebrating 25 years of service – 1995-2021
Over 8,000 subscribers!
Unsubscribe

Saturday, September 18, 2021

• ICQ Podcast Episode 359 – Teaching Ham Radio Classes
  In this episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB) is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode we…

• LHS Episode #428: Pat and Winlink Deep Dive
  Welcome to the 428th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take a deep dive into the Winlink radio-based e-mail system. Discussed are native applications …

• LHS Episode #429: The Weekender LXXVIII
  It’s time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain …

Thank you for being an AmateurRadio.com reader and subscriber to the Amateur Radio Newsletter.

Do you like to write? Please consider submitting an article.

Matt W1MST
Managing Editor
editor
Twitter / Facebook

How to set up your own ham radio blog – Get started in less than 15 minutes

AmateurRadio.com
P.O. Box 45
Hampden ME 04444
USA

Newsletter #240

View in browser NUTS & VOLTS DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO RELIABLE OSCILLATORS AND TIMERS — PART 1 Common Problems in the Design of Digital Oscillators and Their Remedy. Electronic designers are familiar with the apparent perversity of Nature in the tendency of amplifiers to oscillate and oscillators to amplify. But even the beginning designer knows that questions of oscillation and stability involve feedback — that ubiquitous structure in natural systems and many man-made ones — whereby a fraction of the system’s output energy is fed back to the input to produce useful effects. Read It Now! Get an Arduino Based Online Course FREE With This Kit! Arduino users worldwide agree that Dr.Duino kits are the easiest way to learn and design Arduino projects. Kits include sensors and displays and have been featured in magazines like Design News and Nuts & Volts, Make Magazine and more. For a limited time get Dr.Duino’s Arduino boot camp with purchase! Click Here To Learn More! Advertisement NIXIIE-NEON CLOCK Time for another cool clock design using Nixie tubes. The NixieNeon clock is a product of my love for clocks and electronics. I believe that its intriguing design can provide hours of enjoyment and satisfaction both in its construction, as well as watching it work once it’s complete. Build It Now! Pico Techology Tools in Education The core instrument that students use to test and document their assigned experiments in almost all teaching labs is the oscilloscope. With PicoScope each student can have PicoScope 6 software running, free of charge, on their own PC to practice and learn at their own pace. Click here for more details! Advertisement BAIT AND SWITCH FOR HALLOWEEN FUN Delight and fright with these fun build ideas for the upcoming holiday season. I’ve come to philosophically believe that our friends and neighbors secretly want and need to have a good fright around Halloween. In fact, I tremble to think of the psychological damage that could be done if we shirked our responsibility as haunters once a year! (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) Along with a couple fun build ideas, this article covers some really entertaining animatronic principles and characters that make wonderful projects any time of year — even without the scare. Build It Now! BUILD THE RETROGAME Build it, play it, and re-master your skills at Retro Rover and Tetris. So, my wife volunteered me for “Science Day” at my son’s elementary school — an annual half day program where moms and dads taught mini-courses on everything from rocketry to zoology to chemistry. But what could I teach the kids? No sooner did the thought cross my mind, did I get the answer: Build a video game! Build It Now! DIY RC Controller Kit with Receiver Recorder Random Number Kit Learning Lab Nuts & Volts On CD-ROM Animatronics Kit You are receiving this email because you have been a subscriber to Nuts & Volts Magazine, or have requested to receive our email newsletters. You may unsubscribe, change your email address or content preferences at any time through the links provided below. Nuts & Volts Magazine | 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883 951.371.8497 | editor | www.nutsvolts.com T & L Publications, Inc, 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883, 951 371-8497

Amateur Radio Weekly Newsletter

Ham radio news, commentary, giveaways, and more!
Celebrating 25 years of service – 1995-2021
Over 8,000 subscribers!
Unsubscribe

Saturday, September 11, 2021

• Part time radio weekend.
  In Canada and the U.S. this is a long weekend (Labour Day Weekend) with Monday being a holiday. I was able to spend a little time on the radio in the late afternoon a few days of the long weekend. I was able to spend a few hours on both Saturday …

• LHS Episode #427: The Death of CW
  Hello and welcome to the 427th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts discuss the attrition present in CW contesting, grants for youths …

• One Radio To Rule Them All (Ham, GMRS, FRS, MURS)?
  From time to time, the question is raised about using radio equipment in multiple radio services. One common example is a licensed radio amateur that wants one radio to cover the Family Radio Service (FRS), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), and the 2m/70cm ham bands. Some people also want the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)…or maybe … Continue reading One Radio To Rule Them All (Ham, GMRS, FRS, MURS)? →

  The post One Radio To Rule Them All (Ham, GMRS, FRS, MURS)? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

• Solar Cycle 25 – Where Are We Headed?
  This coming week might be a significant one for the progress of Solar Cycle 25. Going forward, the next two months should give us a good indication of just exactly where our latest cycle is heading.Cycle 25 is now in its 21st month, having sta…

• Sweden from the River with QCX-Mini
  Judy and I rode our bikes again today in Old Hill Village. We rode north from Needle Shop Brook and stopped at an outcropping right on the edge of the Pemigewasset River. I worked a station in Sweden. It was a cool day, 17C and there was a stiff breeze from the north. When we […]

Thank you for being an AmateurRadio.com reader and subscriber to the Amateur Radio Newsletter.

Do you like to write? Please consider submitting an article.

Matt W1MST
Managing Editor
editor
Twitter / Facebook

How to set up your own ham radio blog – Get started in less than 15 minutes

AmateurRadio.com
P.O. Box 45
Hampden ME 04444
USA

Newsletter #239

View in browser REPLACING THE 555 WITH A PIC — PART 5 — A DIGITAL ANALOG This is the final installment that looks at the remaining circuits from the book, 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims. This final article in our series will examine those circuits from the “555 Timer IC Circuits” by Forrest Mims which were not covered in any of the preceding four articles. Read It Now! Updated DIY RC Controller Kit with Receiver Recorder ETRACER DIGITAL TUBE TESTER AND CURVE TRACER KIT We take on a digital tube tester and curve tracer kit. This modern take on the tube tester is a must-have for anyone who regularly works with tube-type electronics. Read It Now! THE CRYPT CREATURE This entombed skeleton prop is startling good fun. The Crypt Creature is an animated six foot tall replica of a stone block burial crypt with black bars in front. When activated, the creature lets out a loud growl, lunges forward, and forces the bars open. It then bellows "Happy Halloween!" in a deep sinister voice. Perfect to delight kids of all ages! Build It Now! GET ASCII DATA FROM PS-2 KEYBOARDS Convert PS-2 key codes to corresponding ASCII values. You can buy inexpensive PS-2 keyboards, but they don’t produce ASCII values many applications need. To further complicate things, these keyboards have their own code-transmission protocol. See how to use a system-on-a-chip and a bit of software to convert PS-2 key codes to corresponding ASCII values. Read It Now! Random Number Kit Learning Lab Nuts & Volts On CD-ROM RetroGame Kit You are receiving this email because you have been a subscriber to Nuts & Volts Magazine, or have requested to receive our email newsletters. You may unsubscribe, change your email address or content preferences at any time through the links provided below. Nuts & Volts Magazine | 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883 951.371.8497 | editor | www.nutsvolts.com T & L Publications, Inc, 2279 Eagle Glen Pkwy #112-481, Corona, CA 92883, 951 371-8497