Building The Net

This was a fun video to do. With all the waiting for replies it can get a little boring.

This video is a good reference, but I need to do another step by step due to changes in N1MM+

Tossed this together as part of a series on digital modes for Amateur Radio. This is the first installment and covers installation of FLDigi, the premier open source software for Amateur Radio digital modes.

Quick Start Guide for RTLSDR setup.

I whipped this up in response to several requests by friends… Enjoy!

Is contesting really important to the hobby?

That question comes up a lot when talking to new hams. Although discussed in some detail in the ARRL Technician’s Handbook, the actual Technician test (at the time of this writing) has very few questions that mention contesting. Many General and Extra class operators don’t seem to get ‘the whole contest thing’ as well.

So why are contests important? Why should we care about radio sport at all? And what does this have to do with the new proposal put forward by ARRL to the FCC to grant additional HF privileges to Technicians?

Read more �

Somewhere in the county…

Monday Morning, 4:31AM. You are blissfully sleeping in your nice warm bed. You hear a noise that is trying to pull you out of your dream, it sounds kinda like a big truck or a freight train in the distance, it seems to be growing closer… You open your eyes, still half asleep, and you notice that the fan over your bed is starting to sway, but just as you think “wow, that’s weird” the approaching noise that originally got your attention slams into your bedroom with a force that you have never experienced before. You try to get out of bed, but get knocked back down. The entire room is shaking furiously. That’s when it hits you… We’re having an earthquake!

Read more �

So you just got your Amateur Ticket…

Let me be the first to congratulate you on joining the ranks of Federally Licensed Amateur Radio Operators! You are about to start your journey of discovery and enlightenment that is only available to a select few.

I remember the day I drove 50 miles to take my Technician test. My wife went with me for moral support… well actually she wanted to walk around Old Town Pasadena CA while I was taking my test…. After figuring out the paperwork and going through the gauntlet of Volunteer Examiners all needing to see my ID and paperwork and such, I sat down and somehow managed to pass the element 2 level test, thus receiving my CSCE for my Technician Class License.

WOW! I Passed! Umm… Now What?

I passed. That day, I became a Ham Radio Operator, or Ham for short. I wasn’t all that surprised as I had studied and knew the material, but still, I had done it. I picked up my wife, and we headed back out on the freeway.

Once our conversation sank down to the silence of a long drive, my mind began to ponder the question that eventually hits all newly licensed Hams… What radio should I buy?

Read more �

More About Baofeng HTs.

I wanted to write up some info on inexpensive Chinese HTs to go with my New Ham’s Guide to Your First Radio post. I am planning a video on HTs in the coming weeks, so look for it soon!

Baofeng has many HTs to choose from. However, there is really only two styles that meet the needs of Ham Radio.

Read more �

Amateur Radio Station at SCaLE (So Cal Linux Expo)

Several Amateur Radio Operators setup and operated an HF station at the Pasadena Convention Center for a 3 day stretch at the premier Open Source Software event in the US. The event included a booth on the expo floor demonstrating Mesh Networking, as well as a VE testing session for new and upgrading operators. This was the second year that SCaLE invited this group of Amateur Radio Operators to show the latest (and not so latest) technologies used to communicate with other Amateur Operators around the world. I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in the HF station this year by Vern (W6NCT) as an operator and also to man the information table next to the station.

Who Comes To An Open Source Conference?

That’s a great question! If you think it’s a bunch of programmers that spend all their waking hours locked away in dark rooms, typing endlessly on keyboards, eating junk food and downing highly caffeinated beverages, you would only be partially right. The far greater majority of attendees are programmers, engineers and technologists that make their living using or creating open source software. There are also many computer hobbyists and even some younger folks that have a love of technology. In other words, A PERFECT AUDIENCE TO INTRODUCE TO AMATEUR RADIO!

Read more �

Why antenna mounting and position is so very important