ARRL News

ARISS Contact Scheduled with Patients at the Children’s National Hospital

Patients at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, will participate in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. They will chat with ISS Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, on Tuesday, September 21 at 1805 UTC. This will be a multipoint telebridge contact via amateur radio between the ISS and the hospital, with IK1SLD as the direct ISS-to-amateur radio con... [...]

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Sunspot numbers started strong at 124 this reporting week, September 9-15, but ended at zero. Average daily sunspot numbers went from 64.6 to 58.3. Average daily solar flux declined from 92.9 to 87.4.Geomagnetic indicators remained moderate, with last week’s average daily planetary A index unchanged at 7, and average daily middle latitude A index changed from 7... [...]

ARISS Seeks Hosts for Ham Radio Contacts with Space Station Crew

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Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, Joins ARRL Headquarters Staff

Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, of Batesville, Mississippi, has joined the staff at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, where he will serve as manager of the Education and Learning Department (formerly the Lifelong Learning Department). He had consulted for the department as an instructional designer and was instrumental in the implementation of ARRL’s Learning Network webinars. Goodgame teache... [...]

ARRL Headquarters to Close Briefly on Friday, September 17

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Hamfest

2020 HAMFEST UPDATE!!

Due to Covid 19 restrictions in place at the regular facility,

we will be postponing the 2020 WV4I memorial Hamfest until 2021

Our committee worked to find another suitable venue but was not able to.

Please check back for more information as it becomes available.

Here is some info from the 2019 event.

What a great day,

Great Weather,

Great Deals,

Great friends,

Great Times!

Thanks to all who attended,

especially the volunteers.

Without you, we couldn’t put this on!!

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!

Random Ham Stuff

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 […] [...]

The VE7BPO Direct Conversion Receiver Mainframe

This is one of those projects that has been residing in my head for a long time, as something I wanted to build. I’ve always liked direct conversion receivers. With them, as with regens, I felt that they have been underestimated by many builders and hams as being novelty items. Their apparent simplicity can also […] [...]

Rod KQ6F Has A New SW200 AM Processor For Sale

Please note that the above photo is of my SW200, though Rod’s no doubt looks exactly the same. A few months back, I received this note from Rod KQ6F – Hi Dave – I very much enjoyed your review on this product. It was largely the reason I bought one. My application is AM […] [...]

Putting The HiFER “BRS” Boris Beacon On The Air – Finally!

In this post from May of last year, I detailed the construction of a 1mW solar-powered HiFER beacon. I named it the Boris Beacon, in tribute to my neighbor’s cat. The beacon was never mounted permanently outside. I kept it indoors, powered from a small solar panel in the window, and feeding an “antenna” of […] [...]

The C Crane Skywave SSB Portable Radio

This will be a very brief post, and in no way constitutes a review. It’s barely even an “initial impressions” type of post. It’s just that I’ve been wanting a C Crane Skywave SSB for a while now, recently purchased one, and wanted to tell you! I’m sure many readers will identify with the search […] [...]

Guest Post – N6JJA’s WBR-Oscar Regen Receiver

Back in May of this year, Sheldon N6JJA began sending me information and details of his version of N1BYT’s WBR regenerative receiver. It went through several iterations, before ending up at the final version as shown here. Even this version is still a work in progress – as all good products of experimentation are. Sheldon […] [...]

Yup – It’s Another Si5351 VFO

To many, this will be just another Si5351 VFO project, with nothing to distinguish it from the others. In fact, that’s exactly what it is. The “how to” of connecting an Arduino board to an Si5351 board, wiring up a display, and loading the firmware, is straightforward, and well established. To me though, it was […] [...]

The Boris Beacon – A 1mW Solar-Powered HiFER Beacon

My build of the K7TMG HF Morse Code Thermometer was fun, and it inspired me to use the same circuit to create a new HiFER beacon to honor my neighbor’s cat Boris. With some of my indoor cat-owning neighbors in the past, I have acted as caretaker when their parents are out of town or […] [...]

The K7TMG HF Morse Code Temperature Beacon

This was a fun little project – and it gave me an idea for a future one. Sometimes, I find that the more complex undertakings, which require more planning, can get to the point that they “take me over” somewhat. At that point, for me, some of the fun starts getting squeezed out and that, […] [...]

The Ultimate 3S QRSS/WSPR Transmitter and QLG1 GPS Receiver Kits From QRP Labs

Note – lots of photos, so please allow time for them to load! In a previous offering, I posted a few photos and a brief description of a QCX 5W CW transceiver from QRP Labs that I recently assembled for Fred, a ham friend. It was fun, because I got to assemble and experience first-hand, […] [...]

Palms West Amateur Radio Club