Bill, AA2YV, is not only a fine amateur radio operator, but a professor of German at Nazareth College in New York.
Build a SW receiver with only four transistors!
A video review of the KG-UVD1P, my latest acquisition. Short version: he likes it.
Bill, AA2YV, is not only a fine amateur radio operator, but a professor of German at Nazareth College in New York.
Build a SW receiver with only four transistors!
A video review of the KG-UVD1P, my latest acquisition. Short version: he likes it.
From the 2/7/13 issue of the ARRL Letter:
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is offering an electronic version of the 2012 International Radio Regulations at no charge. These regulations incorporate the decisions of the World Radiocommunication Conferences of 1995 (WRC-95), 1997 (WRC-97), 2000 (WRC-2000), 2003 (WRC-03), 2007 (WRC-07) and 2012 (WRC-12), including all Appendices, Resolutions, Recommendations and ITU-R Recommendations incorporated by reference.
While Article 25 of the International Radio Regulations defines the Amateur Radio Service, the regulations as a whole define the allocation of different frequency bands to different radio services, as well as the mandatory technical parameters to be observed by radio stations, procedures for the coordination and notification of frequency assignments made to radio stations by national governments and other procedures and operational provisions.
The free download — as well as paper copies and a DVD — are available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian. While the electronic version is available at no charge, the individual paper versions and the DVD containing versions in all six languages cost CHF 398 (approximately $438 USD). The free download is available through mid-2014.
This edition of “From the trade magazines” includes items from RF&Microwaves, Radio World, and EE Times………Dan
The Fundamentals Of Signal Generation. Signal generators have become indispensable tools for producing the test signals required by today’s engineers to successfully develop and test their devices and systems.
Dedicated Ham Keeping Morse Code Alive. Operated by Parks Canada, the Marconi National Historic Site of Canada features a museum with a model of the original transmission structure, a historical multimedia display and tour — and Jim Charlong, who keeps the site’s Morse code broadcast legacy alive and on the air. Charlong is a dedicated Morse code operator with 50 years’ experience under his “fist” — fist being a ham radio term that describes the signature speed and style of an operator’s key-tapping skills. Since the Marconi museum opened in July 1989, he has volunteered as its resident Morse code radio operator. From his “radio shack” inside the museum, Charlong regularly communicates with other Morse code operators around the world.
Smoke re-concentrator refurbishes blown electronic components. I think that perhaps they jumped the gun with this article. I’m thinking that an April 1 publication date would have been more appropriate.
Note that the deadline for comments is March 1. So, you have less than one month to tell the IARU what you think……Dan
ZCZC AX01
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 1 ARLX001
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT February 7, 2013
To all radio amateurs
SB SPCL ARL ARLX001
ARLX001 IARU Region 2 Seeks Input on HF Band Plan
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 conference will be held later this year in Mexico. The Region 2 conference — held every three years — is attended by delegations from the national Amateur Radio societies in the western hemisphere that are members of the IARU. The ARRL is the IARU Member Society for the US.
One of the topics on the conference agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is “harmonized” with — spectrum management-speak for “very similar to” — the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. Many hams in the US may not know there is such a thing as a Region 2 band plan. Other American hams have heard of it but may not know how — if at all — this band plan affects them.
Here are important facts for American hams to keep in mind:
The Secretary of IARU Region 2 has asked Member Societies to offer any suggestions they may have about possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting your input to be sent to the ARRL Board’s HF Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board of Directors for submission to IARU Region 2.
Radio amateurs in the US who would like to submit input should take the following steps:
If you live in another country in Region 2, please contact your national Amateur Radio society for information on how to submit input for the band plan process. The contact information for Region 2 Member Societies can be found on the web at http://www.iaru-r2.org/directory/.
NNNN
/EX
Yesterday, I got an e-mail from the Amateur Radio Store. I’d never heard of this place before, so I clicked on the link in the e-mail to check it out. As I was surfing their site, it occurred to me that there are now a number of websites like this that sell amateur radio products.
I attribute this to the ease with which proprietors can set up shop. It’s relatively easy to register a domain name, download something like OSCommerce or an e-commerce plug for WordPress, and start selling stuff. In addition to the Amateur Radio Store, I’ve recently come across:
I’ve purposely left the major vendors off this list, such as HRO, AES, and Universal, because they maintain full-service, brick-and-mortar stores as well as having an online presence.
It will be interesting to see how many of these stores make a go of it. They are at somewhat of a disadvantage because the Big Three (ICOM, Yaesu, and Kenwood) generally won’t sell to them.
I’m really hoping, though, that they can stick it out. It’s great to have choices when it comes to buying ham gear. The key is going to be being able to provide both the selection and the service that the more established vendors can. Good service will build the solid customer base that these stores need.
Here’s a collection of ham radio-related videos that I’ve run across in the last week or so. I need to start doing videos. Anyone wan to help me out?
Velveeta? Really? Kraft is using ham radio to plug Velveeta cheese. It’s pretty cheezy (pun intended), but funny, too. Seriously, though, I hope not too many of you out there eat this stuff. If you need a recipe to make some “real” macaroni and cheese, I’ll post my recipe here.
PL-259 Connector Installation. Thanks to Alex, N3DER, for posting a link to this video on the Tacos mailing list. The video’s creator, Murray, W9EHQ, is very thorough and presents a very good technique for installing PL-259s onto coax. Lately, however, I’ve been using crimp-on PL-259s. Crimping the connectors is much easier than soldering them. Phil, M1GWZ, is also not sold on this technique. He notes, “I didn’t find the video entirely convincing. For a start, he remembered to put the plug cover on the cable before soldering the connector on. I’ve never seen anyone do that before. :-)”
Yagi and Lightbulb Antenna – K0NR. Bob, K0NR, demonstrates polarization using a simple 2m dipole with a lightbulb connected between the two elements. I’ve done this demonstration down at the Hands-on Museum. It’s a really good way to show how polarization works.
This sounds like another threat to our spectrum. Hams really need to start using 900 MHz and above before the next edition of ham radio history is titled 2 Meters and Up instead of 200 Meters and Down…….Dan
The Washington Post reports that the FCC recently submitted a proposal to create super Wi-Fi networks across the country that would enable users to make calls or surf the Internet for free. Although the wireless industry has launched a strong lobbying effort to convince policymakers to reconsider the idea, companies such as Google and Microsoft are campaigning for the proposal, saying that it will spark an explosion of innovations that will benefit most Americans. “For a casual user of the Web, perhaps this could replace carrier service,” says analyst Jeffrey Silva. “Because it is more plentiful and there is no price tag, it could have a real appeal to some people.” The airwaves the FCC wants to use for the public Wi-Fi networks would be much more powerful than conventional Wi-Fi networks, but because the major wireless carriers own much more spectrum, their networks would still be much more robust. It also would take several years to set up. “Freeing up unlicensed spectrum is a vibrantly free-market approach that offers low barriers to entry to innovators developing the technologies of the future and benefits consumers,” says FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.
OK1RIG
NASA Communications via Hams:http://t.co/6FnwFq9d via @youtube#hamradio
K5KVN
Leaders in our hobby should embrace those that self identify as willing to help. Listen to their ideas, support their enthsiasm.#hamr
K9ZW
Thoughts on the new FlexRadio Systems SmartSDR Slices Video http://t.co/l8mQbj4w
The annual meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors was held January 18-19, 2013 in New Orleans, and the minutes of the meeting were recently published. You can download and read the entire minutes yourself, but here are a few items that I found particular interesting:
As I was club president here in Ann Arbor for several years, and for several years served as the Michigan Section Affiliated Club Coordinator, I’m especially interested in #16. I’ve e-mailed my director and vice-director to get their takes on it, and I would encourage all of you to do likewise for any of the items that are of interest to you.