Ice on antennas
Last Friday, we got about six inches of snow here. That was followed by the rain, covering everything— including antennas—with a coating of ice. Ice, in general is not a good thing on antennas or feedlines.
We noticed this last Monday night on our weekly club net. Stations that were not really strong into the repeater, including yours truly, sounded scratchy. Those that were marginal before, were unreadable.
The temperature hasn’t gotten above freezing here since then, and I can still see ice on my 2m antenna. That being the case, I hope it warms up enough to melt the ice by this coming Monday evening.
Understanding the Journey of a Signal
What happens between the tip of a scope probe and the scope screen?
This white paper explains everything that happens to your signal inside a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO). Having this fundamental knowledge will help you make accurate measurements by correctly selecting the probes and oscilloscope that will work best for your test needs.
You do have to fill out a form with some personal information, but you can easily fake the information if you’re skittish about it.
Anarchist Radio Relay League
Radio amateurs tend to be very conservative, but not all of us are. Case in point: the Anarchist Radio Relay League. On their website, you’ll find their zine, For an Anarchist Radio Relay League.
It’s really not a zine, per se, but rather an introduction to the radio world for those whose politics may be a little to the left of the average radio amateur. It does a good job of explaining what radio waves are, the different frequency bands, how to get a license, what’s the difference between HF and VHF/UHF, how to build some basic antennas, etc.
What makes it anarchist? Well, the zine compares the two ARRLs. It says,
An Anarchist Radio Relay League, we think, would have a similar function to the original ARRL, but in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity, and with an explicit anticapitalist and anti authoritarian orientation.
This has the potential to take many forms.
I’ll let you read the rest for yourself.