Nerd on call

Learning CW? Check out this site!

2011-07-14T21:24:00.003-04:00

I find this site to be quite useful in helping me improve my code skills.

Best of all, it's free!

http://www.lcwo.net

KCUR: Final Kodachrome Images Developed in Kansas (2011-01-03)

2011-01-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

KCUR: Final Kodachrome Images Developed in Kansas (2011-01-03)

Kodachrome 1935-2010

2011-01-01T16:37:00.001-05:00

This is one of the better videos I have seen done to the tune of "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SExsuRIGAlg&feature=related

Dayton 2010

2010-05-17T22:15:00.002-04:00

I just got back from the Dayton Hamvention yesterday. I drove out with three great guys - Rick W1RAG, Ron WQ1Z and Steve WA1KBE. The weather was great, the food was great, the convention was great, but most of all, we all had a blast! This was my second time to Dayton and I do plan to go back in a few years. If you are a Ham and have never been to the Dayton Hamvention, you owe it to yourself to go at least once. It's an experience that you'll never forget.

Farewell Sun Microsystems

2010-01-27T09:32:00.001-05:00

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000017-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

CNet reviews the top 5 computers of the 1980's

2010-01-13T16:55:00.001-05:00

Do you agree with #1?

http://cnettv.cnet.com/1980s-computers/9742-1_53-50081092.html?tag=nl.e404

Mother Nature taking toll on Cape Cod’s beaches - The Boston Globe

2010-01-12T10:20:00.003-05:00

Mother Nature taking toll on Cape Cod’s beaches - The Boston Globe

Posted using ShareThis

How to drive a stick shift

2010-01-11T16:50:00.001-05:00

Wanna learn how to drive a stick shift? This is a good (and fuuny) place to start!

http://www.cartalk.com/content/stick-shift/index.html

20 most innovative consumer electronics products of the decade

2009-12-14T23:23:00.001-05:00

How many of these are in your life now?

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-33_7-10002000-1.html?s=1&o=10001201&tag=mncol;page

30 years working in the computer industry

2009-12-01T17:28:00.001-05:00

On December 1st, 1979 I started my first computer job at "the computer store" (Yes, that was the name, and it was in all lowercase). It was a Friday and I started after school that day and I was 16 years old at the time. I was paid $2.90 per hour, and got a raise on January 1st, 1980 only because the minimum wage was increased to $3.15 per hour! I didn't care about the pay. I got to get up early on Saturday mornings to drive my Dads 1978 yellow Jeep Wagoneer to Cambridge and sell and test Apple II computers. They cost $1495 and came with 16K (that's kilobytes, not megabytes). Each additional 16K cost $180, and you needed 48K to run most software, unless you loaded programs from cassette. The only program worth loading from cassette was SubLogics Flight Simulator. It took 30 minutes to load, but I'll never forget the thrill of taking off and the even bigger thrill of landing the first time. I sold a lot Apple II's because of Visicalc, which was the first spreadsheet program for a personal computer. I also sold a lot games, space invaders being one of them. My favorite game, written by Robert Clardy of Synergistic Software is "Wilderness Campaign". It was one of the first adventure games with graphics, and I still play it to this day on an Apple II emulator, but I still have my Apple II and sometimes use it as well. My current Apple is Macbook Pro that is light years ahead of an Apple II, but those sure were the good old days when the home computer industry was just starting.

Homebrew 6m dipole by WA1KBE

2009-11-18T15:29:00.003-05:00

Here’s some photos from a friend’s homebrew 6m dipole. Nice job Steve!

Are you Pinball, Pong, Nintendo or Wii?

2009-11-13T15:28:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/kronosinc#p/a/u/0/kY3AgpmQ6ZU

Caribbean Buddies off to St Lucia (J6) for 2010

2009-11-12T17:33:00.002-05:00

Members of the Caribbean Buddies 2010 team will mount a DXpedition to St. Lucia (J6) February 2-10, 2010. Nine operators from eight states will have fixed operations from a cliff-top villa and portable operations from various points on the island using CW, SSB, and digital modes. The team consists of the following operators: Chris Drummond (W6HFP), Budd Drummond (W3FF), B. Scott Andersen (NE1RD), Dan Gagnon (WZ1P), Steve Galchutt (WG0AT), Mike Greenwood (KC4VG), Guy Hamblen (N7UN), Paul Van Dyke (KB9AVO), and Weymouth Walker (K8EAB). Licensing is not yet complete but each operator is expected to receive their owncall sign. QSL via LoTW, eQSL, or mail to operator's home call (SASE required).

See the DXpedition daily "journal" blog at http://caribbeanbuddies.blogspot.com or the 2010 Dxpedition website at http://sites.google.com/site/caribbeanbuddies/ for new announcements.

$148 for a wall socket?

2009-11-05T12:27:00.001-05:00

Make sure you read the owner reviews. They are a riot!

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=110-439&vReviewShow=1&vReviewRand=3741493

Emergency Broadband in a backpack

2009-10-27T18:47:00.001-04:00

In the aftermath of a disaster, any connection to the outside world can be life-saving.

A BBC report interviewed Radio Amateur Mike Outmesguine KG6NHH on recent developments in emergency broadband communications

The BBC news item says that Mike Outmesguine, KG6NHH, has demonstrated an easy way to produce a "Network Relief Kit" - an ultra-portable method of connecting to the internet from almost any location in the world. The entire kit can be carried in a back-pack, and offers a fast enough connection to watch videos on YouTube.

In 2003-2004 the equipment cost some $40,000 but these days the whole kit, including the solar panel, is down to around $3,000.

The system works by connecting to one of three satellites orbiting the earth to get an internet connection. The receiver can then be plugged in, using ethernet cables, to a standard router, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone or similar devices.

Read the full BBC report at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8318156.stm

BBC Digital Planet radio interview with Radio Amateur Mike Outmesguine KG6NHH
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004l2hz

Radio Amateur Mike D. Outmesguine KG6NHH is president and founder of TransStellar, Inc., a successful technology services company with an emphasis on wireless mobility and energy information systems.
http://wifi-doc.com/Wiley-Wi-Fi.Toys...ir/pg_0009.htm

TransStellar, Inc.
http://www.transstellar.com/

Radio Amateurs have been pioneering the use of VoIP on HF, see
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/oct...ions_group.htm

Route 66 on the air

2009-09-10T23:08:00.001-04:00

Talk to fellow hams on Route 66 from September 12th - 20th, 2009

http://www.w6jbt.org/Route66OTAEvent/Index.htm

Ham radio from a Kayak

2009-08-07T10:23:00.001-04:00

This looks like fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBcPdnVNBhA

Introducing the Google OS

2009-07-08T11:47:00.001-04:00

This will be interesting to see how it impacts Microsoft

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

Unix turns 40

2009-06-24T14:08:00.001-04:00

After four decades, the future of the operating system is clouded, but its legacy will endure. Click here.

Retrolife

2009-06-22T19:08:00.001-04:00

Do you remember...

http://www.billsretroworld.com/RETROLIFE.HTM

45 year old modem used to surf the net!

2009-05-28T15:54:00.001-04:00

I sure hope he tapes this and puts it on YouTube!

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/28/1745203&from=rss

Ex-Microsoftie: Free Software Will Kill Redmond

2009-05-22T14:50:00.001-04:00

We shall see.

http://www.cio.com/article/493224/Ex_Microsoftie_Free_Software_Will_Kill_Redmond

Biggest mobile antenna I've seen

2009-05-09T22:27:00.001-04:00

Tonight at a local ice cream stand I met Martin, KC3RE who has quite an impressive antenna on his Land Rover. Martin uses it for moon bounce and runs 275W on 2m using CW. Needless to say, this was the most impressive mobile antenna I've ever seen!

How to accidently hack into your neighbors router

2009-05-07T07:56:00.001-04:00

After reading this article, I can see how this could happen. This is why you should always configure your router with a wired connection as soon as you take it out of the box!

http://www.shandyking.com/2007/02/18/hijack-hacked-linksys-wireless-router/

Near-fest this weekend!

2009-04-30T23:57:00.000-04:00

This is the biggest Ham radio flea market in the area.

http://www.near-fest.com/

Ubuntu 9.04 as slick as Windows 7, Mac OS X

2009-04-29T09:06:00.000-04:00

In short, Ubuntu is now as slick and beautiful as Mac OS X or Windows 7.

Click here

Ellsbury Steals Home Red Sox vs. Yankees

2009-04-28T10:28:00.001-04:00

With Joe Costiglione audio. As the NY Post said "An Ell of a play!"

Click here for the YouTube video.

Google theme is morse code!

2009-04-27T11:35:00.002-04:00

So long Pontiac

2009-04-26T20:35:00.000-04:00

It looks like GM is going to kill Pontiac. If they are to survive, I feel they should close everything except Chevy and Cadillac. If they focues on just these two brands, I'm willing to bet they could make quality products AND a profit!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/

Slot radio

2009-04-25T09:07:00.000-04:00

This is a nice MP3 player that would make a great gift for someone that wants an easy to use MP3 player.

From the website:

"Introducing slotRadio - the instant load music player bundled with a 1,000 song slotRadio™ Mix card. No downloads, no PCs and no work involved. Simply pop the card in the player and enjoy a near-endless supply of full-length tracks."

Visit http://www.slotradio.org/ for more info

Mismating mix-up makes for monstrous military mission

2009-04-24T12:23:00.001-04:00

You'll think twice from now on when attaching a connector!

http://www.edn.com/article/CA6651606.html?nid=2431&rid=9065121

How to afford anything

2009-04-23T12:04:00.001-04:00

I don't agree with all of this, but it makes a very interesting read!

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-afford-anything.htm

Why we love film

2009-04-22T17:03:00.001-04:00

Ken has a lot of good arguments as to why you may still want to use film!

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/why-we-love-film.htm

Ken Rockwell reviews the Olympus 35RC

2009-04-21T12:47:00.001-04:00

This was my very first 35mm camera and I still have it. I know film is on life support in these digital days, but I still enjoy my film cameras.

http://kenrockwell.com/olympus/35rc.htm

K1P was a great success!

2009-04-20T06:57:00.003-04:00

My local radio club, PART of Westford, had a special event station this past weekend commemorating Patriots Day. Visit www.wb1gof.org for more info and photos of the event.

The World’s First Desktop Cloaking Device

2009-04-19T06:52:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't use this at work, but it's a clever device!

http://www.stealthswitch.com/

Armstrong's Invention of Noise-Suppressing FM

2009-04-18T08:20:00.001-04:00

The IEEE Communications Magazine has a monthly series History of Communications
edited by Mischa Schwartz, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at
Columbia University.  This month's issue is on Edwin Armstrong's
Invention of Noise-Suppressing FM.  Armstrong is credited as the inventor of
wide-band FM and was awarded a patent for his invention on December 26, 1933. 
That and other interesting information can be found in the four page article
which is available at
http://www.comsoc.org/livepubs/ci1/public/2009/apr/pdf/cihistory.pdf

Not what I expected!

2009-04-17T07:12:00.001-04:00

From "Britains Got Talent 2009":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Quite remarkable, IMO

Strange CW keys

2009-04-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

These you have to see to believe!

http://oh6dc.cw.googlepages.com/strangecwkeys

Far circuits - PC Boards for electronic projects used by Hams.

2009-04-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

They have some really nice stuff!

http://www.farcircuits.net/

Bondo gone bad

2009-04-14T14:26:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when you have too much bondo and too much time on your hands!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/14/no-mo-bondo-hapless-toyota-camry-gets-its-fill-of-filler/

Excel to ADIF

2009-04-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

If you are looking for a helpful tool that you can use to take old manual logs and enter them into an Excel spreadsheet to have the data converted into an ADIF file for uploading to LOTW and/or eQSL, download it from:

http://www.wb8nut.com/download/Manual_ADI_entry.xls

Courtesy of Paul, W8TM - Enjoy!

Retro software

2009-04-12T15:52:00.000-04:00

Old software starting at $1.00!

http://store.retrosoftware.net/

Bits & Bytes Magazine July 1984

2009-04-11T13:53:00.002-04:00

A blast from the past! Check out the prices (New Zealand dollars)

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/6/1990698/NZ-bits-and-bytes-issue-2-10.pdf

PSK 31 flavors contest on 4/11/09

2009-04-10T23:34:00.001-04:00

I hope to give this contest a try as it looks interesting. It runs from 12PM till 6PM your local time and only on 20m.

http://harvey.licht.home.sprynet.com/PSKFlavors/2009/2009RulesPost.htm

The top 10 operating system stinkers

2009-04-09T16:51:00.001-04:00

No surprise who is on top of the list!

Click here

Digital modes for Field Day

2009-04-08T23:38:00.001-04:00

An interesting discussion

http://www.eham.net/articles/21329

Rapidly Deployable QRP Station

2009-04-07T23:11:00.001-04:00

Based on a Stanley Work Center from Lowes and a lap desk from a craft store. The key and PTT switch are wired to the mic connector on the head of the IC-703.

Invented by Greg, N4KGL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSC3iM28VZc

Portable Ubuntu Runs Ubuntu Inside Windows!

2009-04-06T11:41:00.001-04:00

Very cool!

http://lifehacker.com/5195999/portable-ubuntu-runs-ubuntu-inside-windows

Top 5 Get-On-the-Air-Quickly Antennas

2009-04-05T10:48:00.001-04:00

A great article on antennas

http://www.eham.net/articles/21270

Relatively easy solar panel

2009-04-04T10:44:00.000-04:00

For about the cost of a 2m mobile rig, you too can add solar power to your shack.

http://www.eham.net/articles/21321

Unix cat command

2009-04-03T11:06:00.003-04:00

Here's proof that the Unix cat command was so named because it was done by a programmer and not your average end-user!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_(Unix)

Solar minimum

2009-04-02T16:47:00.001-04:00

How low can it go? The Sun is plunging into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century.

See the full story at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/01apr_deepsolarminimum.htm?list1014869

Click and Clack to Head Up GM Revival

2009-04-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- In a surprise move, the GM Board of Directors has appointed two radio talk show hosts to head up the company's emergency restructuring. The new GM Product Czars are Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers," who host NPR's Car Talk radio show. Former GM fans from the 1950s and 1960s, they since went on to become harsh GM critics in recent decades.

For the full story: http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/cnn/

The 10 worst Microsoft product names of all time

2009-03-31T14:53:00.001-04:00

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Operating+Systems&articleId=9130727&taxonomyId=89

This PC will never overheat!

2009-03-27T15:49:00.001-04:00

I'd like to know what this sounds like! And don't even think of keeping any papers on your desk!

http://www.techlivez.com/2007/11/prostreet-modded-pc-case-with-66-fans/

Gone but not forgotten: 10 operating systems the world left behind

2009-03-26T16:36:00.001-04:00

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Operating+Systems&articleId=9129459&taxonomyId=89

Do you really need a college degree to get a programming job?

2009-03-24T16:20:00.001-04:00

I found this to be an interesting article for people who would like to get into programming, yet don't have a college degree.

http://www.javaworld.com/community/print/2651

Guide to perfect soldering

2009-03-09T15:23:00.001-04:00

This short & simple soldering guide that will show you how to be really good at soldering. Once you master this skill, it's like riding a bike!

A quintessential recession ride

2009-03-04T15:24:00.001-05:00

I love this concept - a cheap, reliable no-frills car!

http://www.boston.com/cars/car_reviews/articles/2009/03/01/a_quintessential_recession_ride/

A Web Site For Mobile Amateur Radio Operators

2009-02-09T15:23:00.001-05:00

When you have a lot of free time, check out this very detailed website.

Very cool inauguration photo

2009-02-04T14:32:00.001-05:00

If you play around with this you can zoom in to see some cool stuff! Just click on the image and use the wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out, or use the slider control on the photo.

http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?auth=033ef14483ee899496648c2b4b06233c

K5D - Desecheo Island 2009 starts on 2/12/09

2009-02-02T17:12:00.001-05:00

Go here for more info on this upcoming DXpedition.

PSKFest 2009 Results

2009-02-02T16:42:00.001-05:00

I made 23 QSO's and got a score of 414 in the Single operator Low Power category (< 50W). Next year I may try QRP to see if I can equal or better my score.

http://www.podxs070.com/contests/2009_pskfest_results.htm

Getting started with Logbook of the world (LOTW)

2009-02-02T15:28:00.002-05:00

I hear a lot of people tell me that they would like to use LOTW, but when the look at the "Getting Started" guide, it looks daunting to them. I agree that when I first saw it, I too thought the same thing. I recently found this online guide that shows you how it is done step by step.

Vote for Cheryl and help make a donation to St. Jude's Hospital

2009-01-14T10:40:00.005-05:00

She's entering a photography contest that will donate $20k to St. Jude's Hospital. If you have a minute please vote for her, and send this along to anyone else you think might be interested (and you can vote once each day).

The picture that comes up with this link is Cheryl's photo, so all you have to do is enter your email address and click the button.

http://stjude.pny.com/VotePicture.aspx?piccode=1286

Check out her website: www.cherylsteinhoffphotography.com

Harvard Square newsstand sold the magazine that started a revolution

2008-12-30T15:27:00.003-05:00

A very interesting story on how the modern PC got started can be read at http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/12/by_martin_finuc_2.html

The computer mouse turns 40

2008-12-28T22:38:00.000-05:00

I think I got my first mouse in 1988 as it came with my EGA video card (remember EGA?) on my 286 running DOS 3.3 and only worked with Flight Simulator.

http://www.macworld.com/article/137400/2008/12/mouse40.html?lsrc=rss_main

Fun with Bondo

2008-11-20T23:43:00.001-05:00

I recently fixed some rust on my wife's van using Bondo. I did an OK job for my first time!

Three Reasons for Sirius Aggravation

2008-11-18T15:15:00.002-05:00

Interesting article about satellite radio and the auto industry:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/106554-three-reasons-for-sirius-aggravation?source=yahoo

KJ4EDF, a 7 year old Ham in the news

2008-11-06T17:46:00.002-05:00

This is a great and funny story!

http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/10551500

Weathering Mt. Washington

2008-11-02T17:06:00.002-05:00

This makes me appreciate working indoors for a living! And you won't believe how he gets down from the top!

http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2008/11/02/weathering_all_mt_washington_has_to_offer/

Is Ham radio good brain food?

2008-09-30T16:49:00.002-04:00

An interesting read. Even if you don't enjoy CW, just learning something new (with the hobby or ortherwise) should help exercise your brain.

http://www.eham.net/articles/20094

Radio Sport

2008-09-02T15:10:00.002-04:00

A great article about the "sport" of Amatuer radio.

http://portabledesign.com/article?article_id=213

Morse code is alive and well

2008-08-21T09:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a short video from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7544147.stm

Very good lightning safety article on eHam

2008-08-04T09:12:00.002-04:00

"Buildings which are NOT SAFE are those with exposed openings. These include beach shacks, picnic shelters, pavilions, carports, and baseball dugouts. Porches are especially dangerous."

Read the complete story at here. It could save your life .. or a family members!

A cool video from MIT

2008-07-02T16:34:00.000-04:00

This is a fascinating video on the life cycle of the subminiature vacuum tube.

http://techtv.mit.edu/file/1125/

TS-440 Goop removed!

2008-06-04T19:50:00.002-04:00

Back in March I reported that my TS-440 had the "dreaded dots" problems because of a "goop" that had been used when it was built. This goop becomes conductive with age and causes the display to show only dots. I have now removed the goop using only elbow grease! I just used an x-acto knife, a small screwdriver and my fingernail. I used the knife to remove the bigs pieces and the screwdriver to remove it off the PCB. I would unsolder a part and then scape off any goop using my fingernail and then solder it back in. I haven't powered the radio back up yet to test it, but I will soon and report back. Click on the above image for a closer look.

Dayton recap

2008-05-20T08:02:00.001-04:00

I got back from Dayton Sunday night and we had a great trip. I went with Ron, WQ1Z and Al, W1WDX and we all had a good time. It was my first trip to Dayton and it won't be my last. There was so much to see that I certainly could have gone all 3 days and still could have seen more. I spoke to Martin F. Jue, the president of MFJ Enterprises. He's a nice, soft-spoken gentleman that was really a pleasure to talk to and he even gave me an eyeball QSL card. He spoke with me about the new pass-thru devices for getting cables into the home. There were lots of deals to be found, but I really didn't buy all that much. If you are a Ham and have never been, you really owe it to yourself to see what it is like. Now I'm looking forward to Boxboro this summer, as it will be like Dayton but just on a smaller scale.

First day in Dayton

2008-05-16T23:35:00.003-04:00

I spent the whole day looking for bargains and I found quite a few. One day is not enough, so I'm glad we are staying for two days. I met Martin F. Jue (owner of MFJ) and he is a very nice man and gave me an eyeball QSL card. I learned that there is a lot of cool stuff out there and that you really need to be in good shape for all the walking! I did check out the flea market, but didn't see anything I wanted. I'll report more later.

A winning antenna

2008-04-10T15:43:00.002-04:00

Here's one of the antennas that I plan to install this spring.

http://www.w5fc.org/files/QRP Expressions.pdf

PSK modes contest coming soon!

2008-04-03T23:10:00.002-04:00

If you enjoy PSK, this contest coming up is for you!

http://harvey.licht.home.sprynet.com/PSKFlavors/2008/2008RulesPost.htm

An amazing robot from Boston Dynamics

2008-03-20T16:17:00.002-04:00

This is truly an amazing robot to watch in action

Spring Lites QSO Party is March 20-30, 2008

2008-03-19T22:45:00.002-04:00

This is a contest on all modes to make contacts with Lighthouses - wicked cool!

For more info, visit http://arlhs.com/SL-2008-guidelines.html

My Kenwood TS-440 has the dreaded "dots on display" problem

2008-03-15T17:24:00.006-04:00

If you own a Kenwood TS-440 (or know someone that does), odds are you are familiar with the "dots on display". When the TS-440 was made, it could be used mobile. To prevent parts from working loose, Kenwood used this clear "goop" to hold them in place. The problem is that as this goop ages, it becomes brown and conductive, and that's not good! My 440 had been experiencing the "dots on display" problem with more frequency, so after Clipperton went QRT (I was not able to work them. If you did, let me know how you did it!), I opened it up to see if my goop was brown, and it is. The picture below shows you what it looks like. I will now attempt to remove the goop and report back on the outcome. Click on the photo for a closer view.

BTW, this was taken with my new Nikon L11. I wanted a small camera that could fit in my pocket, used AA batteries and cost under $100. I paid $89 at Ritz camera last weekend and I am very pleased with it!

Ham radio and Mountain Dew

2008-03-10T16:42:00.002-04:00

This is funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MieEfkwICB8

"Radio Hams" - a film from 1939 on YouTube

2008-03-07T22:02:00.003-05:00

This is a great short movie (10 minutes) that I feel Hams will enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBGIdf0VjQ4

W1RAG Baby picture

2008-03-05T22:39:00.003-05:00

Here's a baby photo of Rick, W1RAG that I'd thought I'd share. He has aged well!

RockMite

2008-02-25T07:50:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday I built a RockMite as my local club (PART) had a Kit Building activity. I didn't finish it during the event, but last night I had some time and I completed the kit, applied power and it worked! There is a great feeling of satisfaction when you build something from a kit and it works the very first time you turn it on. I haven't made a QSO with it yet, but plan to do so soon.

The RMS Titanic radio page

2008-02-18T18:25:00.000-05:00

This site details the radio room aboard the Titanic along with a deatiled log of the ditress call. This gives calling CQ a whole new meaning!

http://www.hf.ro/

Developed my first roll of film in 24 years!

2008-02-08T23:20:00.002-05:00

I know with digital photography we can now get instant gratification from the pictures taken, but it's still a thrill for me after all these years to develop my own film and see the results soon after removing the film from the tank. At first glance they appear to have come out well. I took a roll of photos last September when my first SLR turned 30 years old. Tonight I got all the chemicals I need assembled in the downstairs bathroom. The whole development process took about 20 minutes. Once the negatives dry, I will take them to be be printed and scanned. I had forgotten how good B&W photos look when taken using a high quality 35mm film (TMax 100).

Rich

PSKFest results

2008-01-24T10:56:00.002-05:00

A few weekends ago I participated in the PSKFest and I did pretty good for my first serious effort in a contest. I had 44 QSO's and got a score of 1,320. I would have done better if my rig hadn't died, or so I thought. Towards the end of the contest, the power plug came loose on my Kenwood TS-440 and I thought it had died. By the time I discovered this, the contest was over.

You can see how I ranked with the others by clicking here

Your camera doesn't matter

2008-01-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard of Ken Rockwell and you are interested in photography, you don't know what you're missing! Here's a link to "Your camera doesn't matter" that I feel anyone interested in great pictures (anything from a disposable point and shoot all the way to the owner of a 4X5 view camera) will enjoy. It's long, but a very good read.

Ken also has great reviews on cameras and lenses. Be sure to check out his entire site here.

Why contest?

2008-01-21T23:43:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine asked me why do contests if the QSO's are Hello and Goodbye.

Here are a few good reasons to work contests:

1) It gives you a chance to see how well your rig & antenna work.

2) If you are going for an award, you can get those hard locations easier.

3) If you don't have much time to spare, your only committed to a short QSO.

But if you'd rather ragchew and don't care to get any awards, then contests aren't for you. But if you're curious to see if your able to talk to some DX station with your current setup, then you can always just listen to see what parts of the world you can hear.

North American QSO Party this weekend

2008-01-18T11:02:00.001-05:00

January is a great time to contest since it's cold outside!

For more info, visit http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php

If you want to catch more fish, try different parts of the lake!

2008-01-15T08:22:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was the PSKFEST contest. I decided to see how many states I could work that I haven't worked before. So when all was said and done, I worked 23 new states! The way I did this was simple: I called CQ on different parts of the waterfall. If I stayed in one spot, I only seemed to get a few contacts, and then none at all. But as soon as I switched to a different part of the waterfall, I'd get more contacts and a new state or two. I only made 44 contacts total, but that's pretty good for me since I didn't spend more than 3 hours on the contest.

FYBO 2008

2008-01-10T10:49:00.001-05:00

If you like the cold and you like contests, this is the one for you!

http://www.azscqrpions.org./FYBO2008.htm

Car radio fixed!

2008-01-08T15:37:00.001-05:00

Recently I noticed that the left channel on my car radio only worked intermittently. I just assumed it was a problem inside the radio and was planning a visit to the dealer since it's still under warranty. But then it occured to me that it might be a loose connection since I added an adapter 2 years ago when I added my XM radio. Sure enough, when I took the radio out, one of the connectors was loose. I pushed it back in until it locked in place, and now I get sound from the left channel. The moral of this story is to trust your gut and check your connections!

ARRL RTTY Roundup

2008-01-07T10:04:00.000-05:00

This past weekend (1/5 - 1/6/08) was the ARRL RTTY Roundup. I only made about a dozen contacts as I had so much going on during the weekend. However, it proved to be useful for me as I improved at exchanging info during contests.

Contesting can be a great way to see how well your rig and antenna work, even if you can only make a few QSO's like I did. For a list of upcoming contests, visit www.contesting.com

How to solder video

2008-01-05T11:06:00.001-05:00

This is a follow-up to my previous post. Here's a great video that you can download. It's very good and worth watching if your new to soldering or even if you'd like to refresh your memory.
Also, I want to stress the need for wearing safety glasses when soldering as I have been hit in the face with hot solder and I'm glad it wasn't in my eye!

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/01/soldering_tutor_1.html