Palms West Amateur Radio Club

ARRL News

Sunspot numbers were lower again this week, with the averagedeclining from 143.6 two weeks ago to 118.7 last week and now 68this week. Average daily solar flux sank 8 points from 153.6 lastweek to 145.6.Six new sunspot groups emerged over the week, one on March 17,another March 18, three more on March 19, one more on March 21 andanother on March 22.Predicted solar flux is 150, 145 and 145 on Ma... [...]

CT Governor Proclaims April 16 – 22 Amateur Radio Recognition Week

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Amateur Radio Included in FEMA Guide for National Emergency Preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a final version (March 2023) of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Functional Guidance. The guidance, which provides a framework for communications resources within incident management, officially includes support from amateur radio operators. The expanded Communications Unit ... [...]

Tornado Season and Amateur Radio

Tornado season is fast approaching, and amateur radio operators will again play a key role in helping the National Weather Service (NWS) issue accurate and timely warnings. In fact, March through May is considered the most active period for tornadoes to develop.The NWS reports there have already been 255 preliminary filtered reported tornadoes and 213 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in... [...]

The K7RA Solar Update

Six new sunspot groups emerged over the past week, two on March 9,another on March 10, one more on March 12, and another two on March14.Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this week.Average daily sunspot numbers softened from 143.6 to 118.7, andaverage daily solar flux from 181.6 to 153.6.Predicted solar flux is 135, 140, 138, and 135 on March 17-20, then132, 132 and 130 on March 21-23, 155... [...]

USEFUL HAM RADIO WEBSITES

Local Clubs & Organizations
Palm Beach County Ham Radio Festival	www.palmbeachradiofest.com
Palm Beach Amateur Radio Council	www.palmbeachradioclubs.org
ARRL Southern Florida Section	www.sflarrl.org
AREC Repeater Group	www.arec67.org
Boca Raton Amateur Radio Association	www.brara.org
FAU Amateur Radio Club	www.k4fau.org
Jupiter Tequesta Repeater Group	www.jtrg.org
Major Armstrong Memorial Radio Club	www.freewebs.com/mafma
Okeechobee Amateur Radio Club	www.k4oke.com
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
Great Practice Test Site	www.kb0mga.net

Equipment Vendors
Mike’s Electronics (So Florida Vendor)	www.mikeselectronicsfl.com
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

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 […] [...]

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 […] [...]

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