Palms West Amateur Radio Club

ARRL News

Solar activity increased dramatically this reporting week (April11-17), and thirteen new sunspot groups emerged. One appeared onApril 11, two more on April 13, three more on April 14, another twoon April 15, one more on April 16 and another two on April 17. OnApril 18 an additional two sunspot groups emerged, and the dailysunspot number increased to 247.The daily sunspot number was 199 on April... [...]

Active Hurricane Season Predicted for 2024

Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane researchers predict an active Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) in their initial 2024 forecast.ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, attended the National Hurricane Conference in Florida in late March, where the CSU prediction was issued. "The common discussion at the National Hurricane Conference this year was the... [...]

Amateur Radio Saves Family in Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is in a remote desert in southern California, where mobile phone networks are spotty at best. On Saturday, April 6, a radio amateur and his family were enjoying the park when their vehicle became stuck in mud in a dangerous area. Without access to a cell network, the ham called for help on the 10-meter band.According to a news release from the Black Swamp Amateur Radi... [...]

Ham Radio Active During Eclipse

Millions of people across the United States got to see a rare solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.The path of totality -- the line of darkness where the moon fully occluded the sun -- stretched through the South Pacific, Mexico, central Texas, the Ozarks, the Midwest, the Rust Belt area, and to New England through the Maritimes. In all, 14 ARRL Sections were impacted directly and several mor... [...]

The K7RA Solar Update

I did not see last Monday's eclipse, except on television. Here inthe Pacific Northwest, we only got a 20% exposure, and skies wereovercast.As they moved across the country displaying successive totality, Inoticed the prominences on the edge of the disk. There were alwaysbetween one and three little red spots at the edge.Solar activity over the past reporting week, April 4-10, remainsweak.Avera... [...]

USEFUL HAM RADIO WEBSITES

Local Clubs & Organizations
Palm Beach County Ham Radio Festival
Palm Beach Amateur Radio Council
ARRL Southern Florida Section	www.sflarrl.org
AREC Repeater Group	www.arec67.org
Boca Raton Amateur Radio Association	www.brara.org

Jupiter Tequesta Repeater Group	www.jtrg.org


Palm Beach County ARES/RACES	www.pbdares.org
Palm Beach County Skywarn	www.dakehome.com/pbcskywarn
Palm Beach Packet Group	www.pbpg.org
Quarter Century Wireless Association	www.qcwa.org/chapter111.htm
West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Club	www.wpbarc.org

National Sites
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)	www.arrl.org
Fed Communications Commission	www.fcc.gov
Call Sign Lookup	www.qrz.com
Product Reviews	www.eham.com
Research Vanity Call Signs	www.vanityhq.com


Equipment Vendors

Amateur Electronics Supply	www.aesham.com
Ham Radio Outlet (HRO)	www.hamradio.com
MFJ Enterprises	www.mfjenterprises.com

Updated membership application policy

For new memberships: Once payment is received you will receive a membership application by email. Please fill out this application fully and send it back either by email or to the address listed on the application. At the next board meeting your application will be reviewed and if approved you will be notified of the approval and become a full member. If for some reason the board does not approve your application you will be notified and a refund will be processed thru PayPal to your original method of payment. Should you have any questions about this please contact AJ4LJ@ARRL.net for more information.

Random Ham Stuff

An Inline RF Step Attenuator for QRPp Work

I don’t need to explain the attraction of low power operation; if you’re reading this, the chances are that you are already a convert. I’ve been operating with low power ever since first being licensed in the UK in the late 70’s as G8RYQ, and then G4IFA. One of my first rigs was a homebrew […] [...]

The GM3OXX “Oxo” Transmitter

As well as the small stash of finished projects that grace my living space, I also have two small boxes containing various boards. Some of them are boards from part-finished projects that didn’t work. For whatever reason, I ran out of steam and, instead of troubleshooting them, put them carefully into a small box along […] [...]

Ugly Construction!

Here’s a little project I put together on a whim about 18 months ago. It was my tribute to the unlicensed (i.e. pirate) beacon cluster around 4096 KHz. There were several of them operating in full force, with powers ranging from around 100mW to a watt or so a few years ago. Their heyday was […] [...]

Modifying the Tut 80 for Varactor Tuning and More Power

Back in 2009/2010 the Arizona QRP Scorpions released a little kit designed by Dan N7VE, called the Fort Tuthill 80. It was a QRP CW transceiver, with a direct conversion receiver and a transmitter capable of putting out about 3W. It caught my imagination, and I just had to build it. I have never had […] [...]

The NM0S QRPoMeter

Some years ago, I purchased and assembled an Oak Hills Research WM-2 QRP Wattmeter from Milestone Technologies. As far as QRP wattmeter kits go, it was something of a classic at the time, and as such, I wanted one. I’m glad I made this purchase, as they are no longer available – at least, in […] [...]

Testing Out Different Headsets with a Crystal Set and Assembling a Sound-Powered Headset

Before building Jim W4LF’s Hobbydyne™ crystal set, I put together an impedance matchbox, for matching the detector diode to a variety of different headsets and earphones, so that I could determine the best ones to use. The world of serious crystal set listening was new to me, so I did some reading up. To give […] [...]

A Crystal Set Impedance Matchbox

Growing up as the youngest of 4 boys, I was well positioned to receive all the hand-me-downs. Although that might sound as if I just ended up with second-rate stuff, that was not the case at all. I inherited a lot of great things from my older brothers. I couldn’t have cared less that they’d […] [...]

A Little WSPR Beacon (Aren’t They All Little?)

I first tried WSPR out in 2009, with a Signalink USB interface attached to my FT-817 and PC. For anyone interested in QRP and QRPp, the process of being able to decode a signal that is up to about 34dB below the noise level is quite fascinating. Morse code, sent by way of CW, engages […] [...]

Another HiFER Beacon

I haven’t been building much at all, for quite a long time now. However, the urge occasionally returns. When it does, it’s wonderful to have a small stash of parts on hand, so I can pull the soldering iron out and start building before the desire dissipates. I’ve been interested in beacons for a while, […] [...]

A Passive Tunable HF Preselector

When I built the VE7BPO DC Receiver Mainframe recently, it wasn’t intended to end up as a final finished project. The intention was more to have it as part of an experimental platform. The little box that contains the DBM, diplexer, and AF amplifier that make up the mainframe will most likely stay largely the […] [...]

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