ARRL News

The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between ARRL and the FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service. This is the March 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program ReportThe FCC delayed action on the renewal application of a General Class licensee in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, in order to review allegations of repeated transmission of obscenities and failure to properly identi... [...]

ARISS USA Gets IRS 501(c)(3) Recognition

ARISS-USA, a Maryland nonprofit corporation, has earned recognition from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scientific, and educational organization. ARISS-USA is the US segment of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) international working group. With this IRS determination, donations to ARISS-USA become tax-deductible in the US, ret... [...]

Traditional Amateur Radio Contesting Faces a Demographic Cliff

Frank Howell, K4FMH, followed up his two-part National Contest Journal (NCJ) series, “The Demographics of Contesting,” with a post to his Social Circuits blog, called “Lemmings over a Demographic Cliff?” (His original articles appeared in the July/August and September/October 2020 issues of NCJ.) Howell points to data showing that radio contesters are older than the average ARRL member. Taking ... [...]

YOTA Announces New Three-Times-a-Year Contest

“Team YOTA” of Youngsters on the Air in IARU Region 1 has announced it will sponsor a new contest, the YOTA Contest. Open to all radio amateurs, it takes place three times a year and runs just 12 hours. YOTA said the aim is to boost on-the-air activity by younger radio amateurs and to support YOTA. The contest will take place on different 12-hour windows on three Saturdays.The opening event wil... [...]

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