Palms West Amateur Radio Club

ARRL News

Solar Eclipse QSO Party Seeks Amateurs and Radio Enthusiasts for Global Experiment

ARRL is proud to partner with HamSCI to help promote participation in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP). SEQPs are a series of global experiments -- and you can be a part of them. Solar eclipses will pass across the continental United States on October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024.During these celestial events, you can join thousands of fellow amateurs as part of the largest crowd-sourced event... [...]

Students Wanted: Talk to an Astronaut via Amateur Radio in 2024!

There's an opportunity for STEM education via amateur radio that will put students in contact with astronauts. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an amateur radio contact with a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS). ARISS antici... [...]

The K7RA Solar Update

Solar activity was up for this reporting week, September 21-27.Eight new sunspot groups appeared, two on September 21, two more onSeptember 22, two more on September 25, another on September 26 andanother on September 27.The average daily sunspot number jumped from 118.4 to 170.6, whileaverage daily solar flux went from 149.3 to 168.8.The Autumnal Equinox was last weekend in the Northern Hemisp... [...]

Anna Gomez Confirmed to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The US Senate confirmed Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission on September 7, 2023. Gomez thanked President Biden for the nomination and the Senate for her confirmation."I am grateful for the opportunity to serve," she said in a statement on her LinkedIn page.Gomez is an attorney with decades of experience in domestic and international communications law ... [...]

Celebrating 50 Years of the ARRL Foundation

Thursday, September 21, 2023, marked 50 years since the ARRL Foundation was formed. As a partner with ARRL, the ARRL Foundation stewards philanthropic support for amateur radio through scholarships, club grants, and other programs to ensure a strong and vibrant future for the avocation.The total assets of the nonprofit entity measured nearly $8M at its most recent annual audit, but it grew from... [...]

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

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 […] [...]

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 […] [...]

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