Podcasts about Hamfest

Hi from the Darling Downs Radio Club - I'm Secretary, John VK4JPM. This coming weekend, there are two major club activities: Next Saturday, the 10th of May, we have our first annual club foxhunt and BBQ. Well, you have to start somewhere, and in the case of the DDRCI foxhunt, we're starting at Peacehaven Botanic Park on Kuhls Rd in Highfields. Start time of 1030 is when hounds depart for the chase, so you'd want to be in the car park maybe around 1000. Bruce VK4MQ is our hunt-master, and he's mapped out a finish point that will work for both newbies and experienced hands. You won't have to travel more than 15km from the start, and there's going to be plenty of support. If you go to the club website at ddrci.org.au and check the event invitation in the calendar, you'll find loads of hints, maps, DIY options, and just about everything you need except the final location of the fox. Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking. One of the changes to modern retailing is the growth of online retail. Yes, we still have the grocery store in the guise of the supermarket and the hardware store that sells lots of corner store items. We have the newer outlets from overseas that let you get groceries, hardware, musical instruments and surprises, all in good old bricks and mortar stores, as they say. We people who enjoy the electronic side of making things have seen a large drop-off of retail outlets, and some of us find it awkward or impossible to get to the nearest store, especially if you live in the regions. This brings me to the amateur radio tradition of having a pile of loot, a box of goodies or a rack of spares colloquially called the junk box. So it was that during the past week, I gathered some material that had been waiting for the opportunity to be attacked by heat and molten solder, and I set forth. I found that I had accumulated a stash of generic UHF plugs, PL259's, and I had a nice run of coax to make some patch leads. Once the eyes were tuned to cutting and trimming the cable ends to the right length, came the thrill of melting solder. That task seemed to go not too badly for the first two ends until I picked up the meter leads to do the mandatory check for shorts or open circuits. That test was past, but what greeted me wasthat the centre pins on both connectors were now lopsided. I have made the discovery that most of this collection of plugs, probably sourced from an Asian vendor, did not have decent insulation but some brown, low melting point plastic substitute. Hopefully, I hadn't lashed out too many pennies in buying this collection of rubbish in thinking I was getting the better quality insulation. A quick look at my nearest dedicated ham radio supplier showed a listing for proper plugs with Teflon insulation, and including postage, they are about $4:00 each. Thank heavens for the specials offered by this retailer. I suppose what is an object lesson from days of yore, is that items which can be salvaged and reused have a quality that is worth utilising. If you have ever wondered why there can be containers filled with electronic and electrical bric-a-brac at your HamFest, then I have just given the reason why. Buying from overseas and especially sourcing generic type items can be fraught with danger. Cable with insulation that breaks down with heating or voltage, fake semiconductors and RF connectors that don't meet specs are some of the many issues you can read about with online shopping. There may be consumer law to protect purchasers in this country, but cheaper items are often a lottery when bought from overseas unless they are so-called A1 by reputation. We can say “let the buyer beware,” but there is no practical recourse when postage to and from countries like the USA can be multiple times the cost of the “bargain”, and the only beneficiary ends up being the local waste facility. I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and that's what I think. How about you?

The biggest hamfests are growing - Dayton, Orlando, Huntsville. Many smaller hamfests are struggling, or have closed down. Some clubs have had trouble finding a chair person and staff to put on shows that have been around for decades. Facilities are only getting more expensive, while attendence and income are falling. The 'RARSfest' - coming April 5 and hosted by the Raleigh (NC) Amateur Radio Society - is hanging in there, maybe even growing a little. It has a robust flea market, and good array of commerecial vendors, and even attracts one of the big ham radio stores, plus a variety of activities. It's been a while since any major manufacturer had come to show their wares at any but the biggest shows. RARSfest Chair Nancy Torborg KB2TNR joins host Gary K4AAQ to talk about how she picked up the event when RARS was struggling to find a new chair, and what she's done to keep the show going. (David W0DHG was working for this mid-week recording session).And this being Gary's ‘old home' hamfest, we've done some shows from there before. Here's one.

Tonight I welcome the admins from Hamcation back onto the livestream to talk about what to expect from the 2nd largest Hamfest in the USA, less than 2 weeks away!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

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PODCAST: This Week in Amateur Radio Edition #1338 - Full Version Release Date: October 19, 2024 ATTENTION: Due to the DDOS Cyberattack on Internet Archive, our host for files is offline until further notice, we are working to find a good alternative resource for the podcast until services are restored. Here is a summary of the news trending This Week in Amateur Radio. This week's edition is anchored by Denny Haight, NZ8D, Chris Perrine, KB2FAF, Don Hulick, K2ATJ, Will Rogers, K5WLR, Joshua Marler, AA4WX, Eric Zittel, KD2RJX, William Savacool, K2SAV, George Bowen, W2XBS, and Jessica Bowen, KC2VWX. Produced and edited by George Bowen, W2XBS. Approximate Running Time: 1:29:16 Podcast Download (temp): https://bit.ly/TWIAR1338 Podcast Download: https://shorturl.at/9d1es Soundcloud link: https://on.soundcloud.com/HGUmhdEZWwaS7Bqe8 Jumpshare link: https://jmp.sh/mQb3ZFee Direct download: https://twiar.net/TWIAR_1338_NAT.mp3 Trending headlines in this week's bulletin service 1. AMSAT: Call for ARISS Proposals from U.S. Educators 2. WIA: 40 Meter Band Plan Harmonization WIA Next Steps 3. WIA: Russian State Media Targeted in Cyberattack 4. WIA: New Book Available Jesus, Faith and Antennas 5. ARS: SpaceX Tells FCC It Has Plans to Make Starlink About 10 Times Faster 6. FCC: The FCC Is Looking into The Impact of Broadband Data Caps and Why They Still Exist 7. ARRL: Jamboree On The Air Brings Scouts Around The World Together 8. ARRL: 2024 Radio Orienteering Championships Held in Michigan 9. ARRL: ARRL Online Auction Is Now Underway 10. ARRL: Team Of 161 Amateurs from Five States Assist 2000 Medical Personnel For Chicago Marathon 11. ARRL: ARRL Pacific Division Ham Radio Convention and Hamfest, Runs October 18th – 20th, 2024 12. ARRL: Youth On The Air Camp For The Americas Has Been Scheduled For June 15th - 20th, 2025 13. FCC: FCC Proposes Fine Against ESPN For Violation of Emergency Alert Rules 14. New Director of Technology Named by Amateur Radio Digital Communications 15. Straight Key Century Club Solicits QSL Card Design Ideas for Straight Key Month 2025 16. New Record for CW Callsign Copy Set by A Romanian Teen Ham 17. 1922 Maritime Disaster to Be Remembered In Upcoming Special Event Station Operation 18. Broadcaster In Missing Radio Tower Case Dies - Hot Air Balloon Crashes And Fells Radio Tower 19. Upcoming RadioSport Contests and Regional Convention Listing 20. HACK: Voyager 2's Plasma Spectrometer is turned off in a power saving measure. 21. AMSAT: Satellite Shorts from All Over 22. WIA: Australian federal government hires a US firm to develop a new undersea cable. 23. WIA: Voice of America to move to new headquarters in Washington DC 24. ARS: FCC lets Starlink provide direct-to-device cellular service in areas effected by recent hurricanes 25. ARRL: ARRL Teachers Institute on wireless technology impacts in 2025 26. ARRL: 2024 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award Recipient is Keos Van Oosbree, W0AAE 27. ARRL: University of Scranton will dedicate its new State of The Art amateur radio station 28. Broadcasters receive federal funds to strengthen resiliency during severe weather 29. Internet Radio Station pioneer, Keith Lamonica W7DXX, SK Plus these Special Features This Week: * Working Amateur Radio Satellites with Bruce Paige, KK5DO - AMSAT Satellite News * Foundations of Amateur Radio with Onno Benschop VK6FLAB, will show us several surprises that change you forever. * The DX Corner with Bill Salyers, AJ8B with news on DXpeditions, DX, and upcoming Radio Sport contests, and more. * Weekly Propagation Forecast from the ARRL * Will Rogers, K5WLR - A Century Of Amateur Radio. This week, we climb aboard The Wayback Machine to the early nineteen hundreds as the first trans-continental one-way message relay occurred, and shortly thereafter, the first two-way transcontinental message made it into league headquarters. We will hear the story in a segment he entitled Trans Cons. ----- Website: https://www.twiar.net X: https://x.com/TWIAR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twiari YouTube: https://bit.ly/TWIARYouTube RSS News: https://twiar.net/?feed=rss2 Automated (Full): https://twiar.net/TWIARHAM.mp3 (Static file, updated weekly) Automated (1-hour): https://www.twiar.net/TWIAR1HR.mp3 (Static file, updated weekly) ----- This Week in Amateur Radio is produced by Community Video Associates in upstate New York, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. If you would like to volunteer with us as a news anchor or special segment producer please get in touch with our Executive Producer, George, via email at w2xbs77@gmail.com. Thanks to FortifiedNet.net for the server space! Thanks to Archive.org for the audio space.

Hi, I'm John VK4JPM with the Darling Downs Radio Club update. wow - what a week we just had. The bimonthly lunch was excellent and well attended. It was great to see so many DDRCi members make the trip down to Nerang for the HamFest - thanks to GCARS for a wonderful day of information, HAM-appropriate bargains, and yummy stuff from the hotplate. Well done for the event. And ....... GOLD COAST AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY And that's a wrap, For another year at the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society's annual HamFest. It was a cracker * over 50 tables of goodies * over half of these were commercial providers with all the major brands represented * 7 dozen bacon and egg muffins * 150 sausages and more people snapping up bargains than we have seen for years. We look forward to seeing you all next year at the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society annual HamFest. If you are up this way, drop into 85 Harper st Nerang on Saturdays at 1:30pm and say hi! So until next time, for GCARS, Aidan VK4APM. Hello, I'm Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I've been thinking. . I recently watched an interesting segment from the German broadcaster, DW. We manage to adjust and adopt to the changes of technology that come into our lives. Maybe forty years ago we were telling children to turn off the lights when they left the room. This was to save electricity and reduce the bill. Maybe, 20 odd years ago the compact fluorescent lamp was gaining traction as a more efficient method of lighting than the Edison/Swan incandescent devices that had lit the world for roughly a century. Time has marched on and technology has brought us the more efficient LED, light emitting diode which has become the ubiquitous illumination source of the 21st century. More recently the world has been given access to a “holy grail” of the digital age, that of artificial intelligence. We are seeing AI incorporated into operating systems and search engines and multitudinous other forms of software and firmware and yet the underlying ethics of its use has not been decided and tabloid journalists and talking heads are speculating on science fiction like outcomes for this morally ill-defined tool. To digress a little but we have been told for many years that the tools of industry, mainly the chemistry which is used to progress our civilisation, is effecting calamitous changes to the environment which we inhabit. The outcome of this is believed to be producing devastating climate shifts that will alter all our lives. I note that whilst we are encouraged to not do anything that will damage the planet I have not heard the cries of pain that the conflicts in various parts of the globe are inflicting on our climate. Surely in some research units, there must be people trying to work out whether the explosions from the wars are negating the benefits of changing our form of lighting let alone our substitution of non-polluting electricity generation for for petrochemical and fossil fuels. This brings me back to the program. Three of the major internet colossi have joined the move to use nuclear technology to power the expected stupendous increase in electricity consumption used by AI. If the facts are correct, each major effort of AI to train itself for proper human interaction uses significantly more power than the course of living does now. What the multiple is I don't know but the boffins and number crunchers at these behemoths of cyber business have concluded that without adopting nuclear power generation, they will not have the power to meet the expected growth of AI. It seems to be the height of ironic progress to self-destruction to be adopting technology which conflicts with the current results of massive scientific research. We as a species have been able to find alternatives and solutions to problems but if the straws in the wind are correct, can mankind survive its creative urges? I'm Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that's what I think….how about you?

The beginning of the end for Wordpress; open source, or not; police Cybertrucks; Apple Intelligence rolling out; dystopian AI text summaries; X sends money to the wrong bank, argues that Twitter ceased to exist; Internet Archive attacked; Instagram, Threads moderation out of control; the Penguin; Beetlejuice; Salem's Lot; Joker; Kaos cancelled; Bitcoin doc; Green Day demastered; Roblox; Megalopolis; Tesla's Cybercab; is Elon a modern PT Barnum, or worse; ham radios, HamFests, TRS-80, cameras, Disneyland and chasing the nostalgia dragon.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/669FOLLOW UPJason's Threads PostMatt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me'Why WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has gone 'nuclear' against tech investing giant Silver LakeWPEngine, Matt, Automattic & Wordpress.org megathreadWordpress.org/Matt vs WPEngine megathread, Part 2Automattic is doing open source dirtyThe Pettiest Drama in the Tech World Is Taking Place at … WordPress?DirectusCalifornia Cops Show Off Absurd New Cybertruck With Music From Terminator MoviesTeslas "nearly unusable" for police workIN THE NEWSThe first Apple Intelligence features are expected to arrive on October 28Man learns he's being dumped via “dystopian” AI summary of textsX reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement caseX lost a court battle after trying to claim ‘Twitter ceased to exist'The Internet Archive taken down by DDoS attacksInstagram and Threads moderation is out of control - The VergeChina Joins SpaceX in Ruining Astronomy for EverybodyMEDIA CANDYThe PenguinBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceSalem's LotSalem's Lot 1979Joker: Folie à Deux Bombed—What Went Wrong?Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in Talks for Guy Ritchie's ‘Ray Donovan' Offshoot ‘The Donovans''Kaos' Canceled: Jeff Goldblum Netflix Comedy Series Won't Get Second SeasonReacher Gets Early Season 4 Renewal At Prime VideoControversial HBO Documentary Concludes Peter Todd Invented BitcoinGreen Day's Dookie has been demastered into Game Boy carts, a toothbrush and other weird formatsAmazon Seeks to Dismiss Prime Video Ad Tier LawsuitAPPS & DOODADSRoblox Is Playing Dumb About the Bots and Predators on Its Platform, Hindenburg Research SaysMeta is working to fix Threads' engagement bait problemAT THE LIBRARYConstituent Service - A Third District Story by John Scalzi and narrated by Amber BensonEarn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers by Steve PrattPolostan: A thrilling historical epic from #1 New Yortk Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson, perfect for fans of historical fiction and espionage thrillers. (Bomb Light) Kindle Edition by Neal StephensonMists of Time: Echoes of Extinction: Book 3 by D. Ward CornellTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingEnable iPhone orientation lock for specific appsA Look Inside Apple's $130 USB-C CableMegalopolisTesla's Cybercab Is HereI am seriously considering getting my ham radio license. I want this, but I do not need this - stuff vs. experiencesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GB2RS News Sunday the 13th of October The news headlines: The RSGB 2024 Convention is taking place this weekend Two new volunteer Youth Champions have been appointed by the RSGB Celebrations are underway to mark the first trans-global two-way radio communication The RSGB Convention has been in full swing this weekend. If you haven't been able to attend, the RSGB has provided a packed live stream on each day and those live streams are available for anyone to view. Full of presentations, interviews and videos to inspire you, this is another way to enjoy your Convention, in your way. Either go directly to the RSGB YouTube channel or head over to rsgb.org/livestream to see the programme of presentations and the links to the livestreams. The RSGB is delighted to announce the appointment of two new volunteer Youth Champion roles. Chris Aitken, MM0WIC will be the RSGB's School Youth Champion and Rhys Williams, M0WGY/AJ6XD will be the University Youth Champion. Chris is a Computing Science teacher at Wick High School, Caithness. Since 2023, Chris has been running the Wick High School Radio Club, GM0WHS, providing students with a wide range of experiences in amateur radio. He has four students who have passed their Foundation licence exam and are now taking on leadership roles within the club and assisting the latest cohort in their studies. He is also a member of the RSGB Outreach Team. You can contact Chris via youthchampion.school@rsgb.org.uk  Rhys represented the RSGB at the Youngsters on the Air Camp in Prague this year. He sent back daily reports on his activities which you can still see on the website under the summer camps tab at rsgb.org/yota  He is starting a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Oxford and is keen to help the RSGB support the growth of amateur radio in universities across the UK. You can contact Rhys via youthchampion.uni@rsgb.org.uk  Ben Lloyd, GW4BML is the Board Liaison for youth activities. He said that he welcomes Chris and Rhys to their new youth volunteer roles and looks forward to working closely with them in the future to attract and grow RSGB youth membership. He explained that the three of them have already had some positive conversations and shared some good ideas, which they will be putting into place over the coming months. This week marks the centenary of the world's very first trans-global two-way radio communication. On the 18th of October 1924 Frank Bell, 4AA, from New Zealand, and Cecil Goyder, 2SZ, from North London, changed how we communicate forever by making contact on amateur bands. To commemorate this historic contact, special callsigns will be active, and awards and QSL cards will be available for those who make contact with these special stations. GB2NZ and ZM100DX have already been active since the start of the month. Starting tomorrow, until the 20th of October, calls reflecting Goyder's callsign, G2SZ, and Bell's, ZL4AA, will be active. This will include activity here in the UK from Mill Hill School in North London which is the original location from which Goyder made his contact. On Friday the 18th of October, radio amateurs will also be recreating and re-enacting the first contact between Goyder and Bell. It is hoped that the QSO will be made on a wavelength close to that used in 1924. To find out more about this unique celebration go to gb2nz.com YOTA Month is just around the corner, and the RSGB is looking for volunteers to host the GB24YOTA callsign throughout the month of December. As in previous years, schools, clubs, guide and scout groups and also individuals are invited to host young radio amateurs whilst they operate with the callsign. Each day during the month has been split into a number of operating slots that you can book. In recent years, this system has allowed many more youngsters to get on the radio throughout the month. You can see the operating calendar by visiting QRZ.com and searching for GB24YOTA. Operators should be below the age of 26. Those who do not hold a Full amateur radio licence should be supervised by an appropriate Full licensee whilst operating. The RSGB is pleased that previous activators have already reached out to book their operating slots but there are still many more up for grabs! To book an operating slot or for more information about YOTA Month, please email Jamie, M0SDV at yota.month@rsgb.org.uk During last month's Hamfest in Newark, the ICQ Podcast team spoke with RSGB President John McCullagh GI4BWM, RSGB Board Chair Stewart Bryant G3YSX and RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas M1ACB. Listen to Episode 440 of the podcast series to hear them discuss some of the many events that the Society is currently involved with. This includes the recent Amateur Radio on the International Space Station contact, which Girlguiding and HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh took part in, as well as the RSGB Convention. The second part of the interview, which features the Chair of the RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee, Steve Nichols, G0KYA will be aired during upcoming Episode 441. Visit icqpodcast.com to listen to episode 440 now. The RSGB has been delighted with the number of responses that it has received in response to its call for Jamboree on the Air participation, which is taking place between the 18th and 20th of October. The Society has compiled a list of Scouting groups that are involved with the annual event and has shared it on its website. The list is available by going to rsgb.org/jota and choosing the ‘JOTA Stations on the Air' link on the right hand side of the page. If you are planning to get involved with JOTA and would like to be added to the list, please get in touch via comms@rsgb.org.uk with a summary of your station name, callsign and any other relevant information. The RSGB would love to see your photos of Scouts getting involved with JOTA, so tag @theRSGB and also use #JOTAJOTI to be involved in the conversation on social media. If you're not involved with a JOTA station do listen out for them on the air and encourage the young operators. And now for details of rallies and events The Dartmoor Autumn Radio Rally is taking place today, the 13th. The venue is Yelverton War Memorial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton in Devon. The usual bring-and-buy area, trader stands, refreshments and free parking are available. The doors are open from 10 am and admission costs £2.50. For more information visit dartmoorradioclub.uk or email 2e0rph@gmail.com Hornsea Amateur Radio Club Rally is also taking place today, the 13th, at Driffield Showground in East Yorkshire. The doors are open from 10 am. For more details visit hornseaarc.com or contact Les, 2E0LBJ on 01377 252 293. The Mexborough and District Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place on Saturday the 19th of October at The Place, Castle Street, Conisborough, Doncaster. The doors will be open from 10 am to 4pm but traders can gain entry from 8am. Light refreshments will be available and the rally will feature a bring-and-buy sale. The cost for booking a table is £5. To book please email madarsrally@gmail.com  The date has been confirmed for the Twelfth Scottish Microwave Round Table GMRT. It will be going ahead on Saturday the 9th of November 2024 at the Museum of Communication, Burntisland in Fife. Lunch will be provided and an optional dinner will be held in the evening at a local hotel. The programme is now confirmed and, at the moment, 35 people have booked to attend the event. There are 15 places left so please book as soon as possible. Booking is available via the GMRT website at gmroundtable.org.uk or by email to Colin, GM4HWO at gm4hwo@gmail.com  Now the Special Event news Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the formation of Radio Beograd in 1924, members of the Belgrade Amateur Radio Club, YU1ANO, in Serbia, are active as YT100RB and YU1924RB until the 30th of November. For details of a certificate that is available for contacting these stations, see yu1ano.org Special callsign HB50VC is active until the 31st of December to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Swissair Amateur Radio Club, HB9VC. QSOs will be uploaded to the Logbook of the World. QSL cards will not be provided. You can download a certificate for working this special event station from tinyurl.com/HB50VC-24 Now the DX news The PX0FF Dxpedition team is active from Fernando de Noronha, SA-003, until the 21st of October. The team is working on the 160 to 6m bands, including the 60m Band, using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via DJ4MX, ClubLog, OQRS and Logbook of the World. A team of amateurs will be active as C91BV from Mozambique from the 17th to the 24th of October. Operators will be working on the HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via EB7DX. For more information about the DXpedition, see QRZ.com Now the contest news On Tuesday the 15th, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 16th, the RSGB Autumn Series Data Contest runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using RTTY and PSK63 on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 17th, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Germany Contest starts at 1500 UTC on Saturday the 19th and ends at 1500 UTC on Sunday the 20th of October. Using CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday the 20th, the RSGB 50MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 0900 to 1300UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.  Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Wednesday the 9th of October 2024 What a difference a week makes when it comes to HF propagation! This last week has been characterised by solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or CMEs for short, and an elevated Kp index. Put together, this has resulted in dire conditions on HF, reminiscent of a solar minimum. A visible aurora was seen from the UK once again after the Kp index hit 7.33 on the 8th of October. Numerous CMEs have hit the Earth and the solar proton flux has risen, resulting in a moderate S2 radiation storm as particles blasted away from the flare site. This means poor trans-polar paths until the solar wind abates and the storm settles. Maximum usable frequencies have been badly affected and struggled to get much past 14MHz over a 3,000km path on the 8th of October. Geomagnetic storms were also forecast for Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th. That's a shame as, before the CMEs hit, HF had been humming with a lot of DX on the 28MHz band and many five-watt beacons romping in from the USA. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may drop back into the 170s, but it's anyone's guess as to how geomagnetic conditions will pan out. We have had three X-class solar flares over the past week and on Wednesday the 9th the probability of another X-class solar flare was estimated at 30% and an M-class event at 75%. So, it may be a case of ‘batten down the hatches' on HF until the storm conditions pass. This is not uncommon at this point in the solar cycle and unsettled conditions are likely to continue as we move along the downward portion towards the solar minimum.  And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The current spell of unsettled weather is probably going to flip into high-pressure mode a couple of times during the coming week. The first of these will be today, the 13th, and through the first half of next week. However, by Wednesday the next change back to low pressure should be with us, closely followed by another attempt to build high pressure later in the week.  This offers something for everyone with prospects for rain scatter on the GHz bands and the possibility of Tropo. The prospects for meteor scatter are also good with October offering several useful meteor showers. While 50 and 70MHz are the best for the mode, look at 144.360MHz in MSK144 digimode. Or, if it's a shower peak, 144.200MHz, the SSB meteor scatter calling channel, to see what's around. The solar conditions continue to behave like a solar maximum and, with several recent powerful flares and CMEs to stir things up, we should continue to check the bands for signs of aurora.  The recent RSGB CW 80m Autumn Series Contest on Monday the 7th of October was about as auroral as it gets with a strong flutter on signals and a challenging hour and a half for participants – so not just an effect for VHF.  The RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest coming up next week on Tuesday the 15th may be on the changeover from high pressure to low. Tropo might be limited to eastern areas for paths across the North Sea to northern Europe. For EME operators, Moon declination is still negative but will rise to positive by Tuesday night. Path losses are falling towards a minimum at perigee on Thursday the 17th. So, we have increasing peak Moon elevations and longer Moon windows with the lowest loss for the coming week. 144MHz sky noise is low for the rest of the week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

On Sunday night, after the Huntsville Hamfest of 2024, a small group of us went to a local brewpub for dinner and drinks. This is the livestream from that outing, where I ask people, "what was your favorite thing about this Hamfest?"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

Live from the Huntsville Hamfest of 2024Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Colin Butler M6BOY and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Huntsville Hamfest 2024 We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate ARRL IT Security Incident - Report to Members PRESENTER OPINION : ARRL IT Security Incident The RSGB is getting ready for National Coding Week Children's Museum Provides A Spectrum Of Experience Silent Key Who Made A Difference Route 66 On The Air 2024 Yaesu, Icom & Kenwood Feature New Transceivers at Ham Fair Japan Transistor Promises Faster, More Energy-Efficient Operation

Tonight I welcome the YouTubers onto the channel to talk about plans for the Huntsville Hamfest in a couple of weeks. For the last 2-3 years, we have done POTA at Monte Sano State Park on Friday before the Hamfest. We are doing it again this year. Come POTA with us on Friday, August 16th at US-1048. The Hamfest is Sat-Sun, so Friday is our hang-out time.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

GB2RS News Sunday the 25th of August 2024 The news headlines: The RSGB 2024 Convention will feature a microcontroller programming workshop You can take the RSGB Morse competency test at National Hamfest this year RSGB Board Director Peter Bowyer, G4MJS to take on Board Liaison roles for contesting and trophies At this year's RSGB Convention, there will be a workshop to introduce attendees to microcontroller programming through a short presentation followed by practical exercises. The Society aims to widen the programming skills in the amateur radio community and introduce individuals to radio-related usage of Micro Controller Units, or MCUs. If you attend the workshop, you will receive a genuine Arduino board, a set of DuPont wires, a breadboard and two specific devices which you will be able to take away with you at the end of the workshop. The exercises will take you through using the Arduino IDE, basic programming and interfacing to the provided devices. You need to pre-register as spaces are limited to just 20 people. The workshop and hardware are free, but in return for the £10 booking fee, you will receive a copy of the book “Microcontroller Know How” by Mark Jones, G0MGX. You must be a ticket holder for the Convention to be able to take part. To find out more and to book your place, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention and choose the workshops and forums tab on the right-hand menu. If you're going to the National Hamfest on the 27th and 28th of September, why not try the RSGB Morse competency test? You don't have to book in advance, just visit the RSGB village area. You can be tested at 10, 12, 15, 20, 25 or 30 words per minute so you don't have to be a CW expert. If you pass the test, you'll either receive a certificate on the day or it will be sent to you electronically shortly after. Eric Arkinstall, M0KZB is the RSGB Morse Competency Project Lead and he will guide you through the test process. If you don't want to do the test you can still drop in to try Morse for the first time or pick up some hints and tips. It will be a busy event so whilst there will be headphones available, you're welcome to bring your own if you prefer. Eric looks forward to seeing you at the event! If you have any questions, please contact Eric via morse.tests@rsgb.org.uk   The RSGB Board Chair has announced that new Director Peter Bowyer, G4MJS will take on the Board Liaison roles for contesting and trophies. If you would like to contact Peter, his email address is g4mjs@rsgb.org.uk This year's Youngsters on the Air camp in the Czech Republic finished on Friday the 23rd of August after an action-packed week. The RSGB representative Rhys Williams, M0WGY took part in a range of amateur radio activities that included kit building, ARDF and surface-mount technology as well as a day trip into Prague. Rhys also made the most of the great station setup and enjoyed plenty of airtime. This included making over 100 QSOs on the 40m band whilst operating special callsign OL24YOTA, which he has said was good to practise his pile-up management. You can read more from Rhys by going to rsgb.org/yota-camp and reading his daily blog. This year's camp was organised by the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group together with the Czech Radio Club. The next event in the popular 145 Alive series takes place on Sunday the 29th of September 2024. The event will run from 1 pm to 4 pm and there will be nets operating in most Maidenhead Squares across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. To take part in the event, which is designed to promote FM activity on the 2m band, all you need to do is call in and make contact with others. The organisers are looking for more net controllers. If you would like to run a net, contact Mark Savage, M0XIC via the 145 Alive Facebook page. The date has been confirmed for the Twelfth Scottish Microwave Round Table GMRT. The event will take place on Saturday the 9th of November 2024 at the Museum of Communication, Burntisland, Fife. Lunch will be provided and an optional dinner will be held in the evening at a local hotel. The programme is now confirmed and online booking is available via the GMRT website at gmroundtable.org.uk or by emailing Colin, GM4HWO at gm4hwo@gmail.com National Hamfest is only a few weeks away. Early-bird advance tickets are currently available but this offer finishes on Saturday the 31st of August. Visit nationalhamfest.org.uk for more details and booking information. And finally, don't forget to listen out for all the stations that are on the air for the British Inland Waterways on the Air event this weekend. To read more about the event visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group's website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2024' link.  And now for details of rallies and events Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society Rally is taking place today, the 25th. The venue is Heron's Lodge Guide Activity Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, Milton Keynes, MK8 9AA. The doors open to the public from 9 am. The entrance fee is £3 and free parking is available. For trader and exhibitor enquiries please email rally@mkars.org.uk  Outdoor pitches and indoor tables are available. For more information visit mkars.org.uk Torbay Annual Communications Fair is also taking place today, the 25th, at Newton Abbot Racecourse, TQ12 3AF from 10 am. This is an indoor event with free parking, a bring-and-buy area, an RSGB bookstall and on-site catering. For more information email rally@tars.org.uk Huntingdonshire Amateur Radio Society Annual Rally is taking place tomorrow, Monday the 26th, at Ernulf Academy, St Neots, PE19 2SH. The gates open for traders at 7 am and for the public at 9 am. The entrance fee is £3. Free car parking, an RSGB bookstall, a bring-and-buy area, catering, and indoor and outdoor stalls will be available. For more information email henry_hirst@hotmail.com or phone 01480 214282. Saffron Walden Radio Ham and CB Club Rally will run from Friday the 30th of August to Sunday the 1st of September in the CM22 6BH area. For more information about fees, and directions, visit the event's Facebook page or email swrc73@gmail.com Telford Hamfest is set to take place on Sunday the 1st of September at Harper Adams University near Newport, Shropshire. The doors open at 10.15 am and admission is £5. Children up to age 16 will be admitted free of charge. Free parking, catering, an RSGB bookstall, and a bring-and-buy area will be available on site. For more details visit tdars.org.uk or email John, M0JZH at hamfest@tdars.org.uk September marks the golden anniversary of the G-QRP Club, which was started by the Reverend George Dobbs, G3RJV in 1974. The Club will be marking its 50th anniversary at its annual Convention over the weekend of the 31st of August to the 1st of September. The event takes place in parallel with the Telford Hamfest at the Harper Adams University Campus near Newport, Shropshire. Following a buildathon and social supper on the Saturday, there are a number of speakers lined up on Sunday, including Hans Summers, G0UPL talking about his QRP kits. Non-members are welcome to come along on the Sunday and enjoy the Hamfest and the G-QRP Club talks. Full details are on the G-QRP Club website at gqrp.com  Following the Convention, the Club is running an activity period called ‘Low and Clear' throughout September. A number of QRP stations are being activated across the UK and in other countries, with ‘LOW' or ‘QRP' in their special callsigns. Stations working a number of them will receive a certificate, and the ‘best' logs will be awarded prizes which have been donated by traders who advertise in the Club's journal Sprat. Again, details can be found on the Club's website. You can find details of a new RSGB book celebrating 50 years of the G-QRP Club in the September issue of RadCom. Now the Special Event news Special callsign YQ60YODXC is active until the 31st of August to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the YO DX Club. For details of certificates that are available, see QRZ.com Marking the 25th anniversary since Poland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, special callsign HF25NATO will be active until the 31st of August. QSL via Logbook of the World or Club Log's OQRS. A certificate will be available for download via tinyurl.com/hf25nato Now the DX news Today, the 25th, a team from Guernsey Amateur Radio Society is operating a Parks on the Air station on Lihou Island, just off the coast of Guernsey. The park reference for the location is GG-0005 and activity is planned from 6 am to 3 pm. Operators will be using SSB and data modes on the HF bands but will also be available on the 2m band for local calls. Alex, SQ9UM is active as D4UM from Sal Island, AF-086, in Cape Verde until tomorrow, the 26th. He is operating CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4 on the 80 to 6m bands. QSL via Alex's home call. QSOs will be uploaded to ClubLog. Holger, DG3FEH is active as S79/DG3FEH from Mahe [MA-HAY], AF-024, in the Seychelles until the 27th of August. He is operating using SSB on the 40, 20 and 15m bands and also via the QO-100 satellite. QSL via the Bureau to Holger's home call. Now the contest news The World-Wide Digi DX Contest started at 1200UTC on Saturday the 24th of August and runs until 1200UTC today, Sunday the 25th of August. Using FT4 and FT8 on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your four-character locator. Today, the 25th, the UK Microwave Group 5.7 and 10GHz Contest runs from 0600 to 1800UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 27th, the SHF UK Activity Contest runs from 1830 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on 2.3 to 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK and Ireland Contest Club DX SSB Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 31st of August and runs until 1200UTC on Sunday the 1st of September. Using SSB on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. UK and Ireland stations also send their district code. The Worked All Britain DX Contest starts at 1200UTC on Saturday the 31st of August and runs until 1200UTC on Sunday the 1st of September. The exchange is a report, serial number and Worked All Britain square, where applicable. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 11th of September. Visit the Worked All Britain website for more information and to read more on the rules for the contest. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 22nd of August 2024 We had yet another week with a high solar flux and relatively calm geomagnetic conditions. The solar flux index ended up at 239 on Thursday the 22nd, while the Kp index has been below 4 since Sunday the 18th. There are currently 11 active sunspot regions on the Sun's surface and there is a 20% chance of a major X-class solar flare according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. There are signs that HF propagation may be improving, but it will probably be another month or so before we see any large change. This is due to the summer doldrums that see the ionosphere harder to ionise due to a change in its chemical composition. By mid to late September, we will start to see a change to autumnal conditions and DX will start to open up again on the higher bands. Having said that, there is still DX to be had. The N5J DXpedition to Jarvis Island in the Pacific Ocean proved that the DX is workable, but the path was mainly open to well-equipped stations with beams and linear amplifiers. 15m remains the best DX band and there are occasional openings on the 12m band. The 10m band may come into its own as we head into September and October. According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, solar cycle 25 likely reached its highest sunspot number yet of at least 299 on the 8th of August. This may increase further, but we may be close to solar maximum. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around 200 to 210. Geomagnetic conditions will depend almost entirely on the occurrence of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. And, as we are at a particularly active part of the solar cycle, flares and CMEs are very prevalent. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The overview for the coming week is that, although some fronts will affect the north and west at times, there are only a few that reach down to the southeast of Britain. This means that rain scatter is more likely in northern areas. There will be weak high pressure over southern areas for much of the coming week and, although not enough for a full-blown Tropo event, conditions should be a little ‘up', especially for paths into the near continent or across the North Sea. Meteor scatter is back to a more random approach since the broad peak of the August Perseids comes to an end. The solar conditions mean that auroras can be a possible element of operating excitement in the coming week. Remember to look out for a disturbed Kp index value of 6 or greater. The last part of the sporadic-E season is playing out this week taking us to the end of the month. These 'last hurrahs' are usually characterised by QSOs of very limited duration on the 10m band, or perhaps up to 6m, and mainly over the southern half of Europe. This usually favours southern UK stations but, notwithstanding the previous comments, some years have seen isolated Sporadic-E events in the first part of September. But they are certainly not reliable. Moon declination is positive but still rising, reaching maximum on Wednesday, so long Moon visibility windows and high peak elevations continue. We are past perigee now, so path losses are increasing again. 144MHz sky noise is low but increasing to a moderate 500 Kelvin on Wednesday before falling back to low at the end of the week.  And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Live from Hamcon Zion 2024Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

GB2RS News Sunday the 11th of August 2024   The news headlines: The RSGB 2024 Convention will have a mix of presentations, workshops and forums to suit a broad range of interests The RSGB welcomes University Technical College South Durham Radio Club to its School Zone webpage The RSGB's Awards Manager has issued an update about operating awards   The RSGB Convention this year will have a mix of presentations, workshops and forums to enable you to take part in the content that suits you. On Saturday morning there will be an EMC and EMF Update presentation, followed by an informal EMC and EMF Clinic in the afternoon. Led by RSGB EMC Committee Chair John Rogers, M0JAV with Ian White, GM3SEK and Peter Zollman, G4DSE who are two of the committee's EMF Consultants, these sessions are not to be missed. Head to the presentation to hear the latest updates and then take your EMC and EMF problems to the clinic where John, Ian, Peter and other specialists will be available to help. This is just one of the great amateur radio topics being covered at this year's event. To book your Convention tickets, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention The RSGB is thrilled to welcome the University Technical College South Durham Radio Club to its School Zone webpage. The Club, which is operating using callsign M1UTC, is being led by Professor Ian Neal, M0KEO who is also the RSGB's British Science Week Coordinator. The Club is looking forward to operating at the start of the new term in September. If you'd like to view contact details for this, or any of the other school and college amateur radio clubs, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/school-zone  The RGSB also has a list of university amateur radio clubs, which you can find by visiting rsgb.org/university-corner  If you are part of a school, college or university club that isn't currently listed on any of these pages, please email the name of the club, contact details and any supporting weblinks to comms@rsgb.org.uk As part of the RSGB's commitment to keeping members updated, the Awards Manager has issued some key messages about RSGB operating awards so far this year. Lindsay Pennell, G8PMA is always keen to hear from radio amateurs about the type of awards they enjoy and new ones they would like the RSGB to develop if possible. One of the ideas he is considering is a series of variations on the Marathon/Challenge idea that runs over a specified time period to achieve target criteria – would that interest you? Also, if you're a keen award chaser and would like to share your story, Lindsay would love to hear from you! You can contact him via awards@rsgb.org.uk and you can see the key messages on his page of the RSGB website. Go to rsgb.org.uk and search for Awards Manager. Don't forget to listen out for all the stations that will be on the air during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th of August. This is one of the most popular amateur radio events in the calendar and in past years there have been more than 500 entries from over 40 different countries. More details about the event and a registration form can be found at illw.net The British Inland Waterways on the Air event will take place between Saturday the 24th and Monday the 26th of August. The event is open to amateurs who use canals, towpaths, rivers, lakes or reservoirs for work or recreation. Registration for the event is now open. To sign up, visit Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group's website at nharg.org.uk and follow the ‘BIWOTA 2024' link. National Hamfest 2024 is taking place on the 27th and 28th of September and promises to be an unforgettable celebration of all things amateur radio. As always, the traders and manufacturers are lining up to bring you the best in amateur radio equipment and accessories. Many exhibitors will be offering exclusive deals, making it the perfect time to upgrade your gear or add new items to your shack. For those eager to secure their spot, online ticket sales are open and an early-bird discount is available until the 31st of August. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit nationalhamfest.org.uk  Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week.  And now for details of rallies and events Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society's Hamfest is taking place today, the 11th of August. The venue is Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne in Dorset. The doors are open from 9 am to 4 pm and admission, which includes parking, costs £5. Catering and a bar are available on-site. For more information visit frars.co.uk/hamfest Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society's Annual Radio Rally is scheduled to take place on Sunday the 18th of August at Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby. The doors will be open from 10 am to 4 pm, but sellers can gain access from 8 am. The admission fee is £4 per person. Pre-booked pitches cost £15. On the day, pitches will cost £20. For more information email rally@rugbyats.co.uk or visit rugbyats.co.uk West Manchester Radio Club's Red Rose Summer Rally is set to take place on Sunday the 18th of August at St Joseph's Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, WN7 2PJ. The doors open at 10 am. For further information and bookings, email rally@wmrc.co.uk or phone 07796 264 569. Now the Special Event news Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club will be active from all three lighthouses on Rathlin Island during International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th of August. Operators will be working on the 80 to 10m bands using SSB, CW and FT8.  Listen out for special event callsigns, GB1RP, GB2EL and GB2WL which will all be in use. For more information, visit the QRZ.com page for each of the callsigns. Danish Amateur Radio Experimenters are activating special event stations in Denmark to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Islands on the Air, or IOTA. There will be various activities from both fixed island amateur radio stations and from island expeditions to some of the 101 Danish IOTA islands. All amateur radio bands can be used with CW, SSB, RTTY and several digital modes. A diploma for contacts, and shortwave listener reports, with special event stations achieved during the period from the 1st of July to the 31st of August 2024 will be available. All logs will be uploaded to Clublog and Logbook of the World. For more information visit the OZ60IOTA page at QRZ.com The Unicom Radio Club is operating using the special event callsign GB1URC until the 4th of September. The activity marks the official introduction of this international Club to the amateur radio community. For more information visit unicomradio.com/gb1urc Now the DX news Emil, DL8JJ is active as OX/DL8JJ from Greenland until the 15th of August. He is operating on the HF bands using CW from a camp at Tasiilaq, NA-151, and from various locations on the main island, NA-018. Rafael, NN3RP is active as YN2RP from Nicaragua until the 20th of August. He is operating using SSB, CW, FT8 and FT4 on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL, or directly to NN3RP. Now the contest news On Tuesday the 13th, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 13th, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday the 10th and runs until 2359UTC today, Sunday the 11th of August. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Wednesday the 14th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 14th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 15th, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 8th of August 2024 Well, so much for the experts! NOAA predicted that the solar flux index would fall last week when it increased to a whopping 303 on Thursday the 8th. But this high solar flux number was accompanied by a strong risk of solar flares, so it was not all plain sailing. We have had 15 M-class and two X-class solar flare events over the past three days and the threat remains high. Coronal mass ejection activity on Wednesday resulted in NOAA and the Space Weather Prediction Centre warning of possible moderate G2 geomagnetic storming towards the later part of week ending the 11th of August. This could see the Kp index rise and the maximum usable frequency fall. Hopefully, conditions will improve after the weekend. Last week was a good one for HF propagation with a high solar flux index and low Kp index. The 10m band was open to Brazil in the late afternoon, and this appeared to be F2-layer propagation and not multi-hop Sporadic-E. Meanwhile, the 15m band has perhaps been the DX band of choice with long openings to the Far East, at least on FT8, and North America at the same time. HF conditions should also improve as we move into September, but more on that closer to the time. Attention now shifts to N5J on Jarvis Island, an uninhabited 4.5-kilometre-squared coral island in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. The DXpedition is active on all bands and their website at Jarvisisland2024.com can provide you with personalised propagation forecasts – let us know if you work them. Using Proppy at soundbytes.asia or VOAcap at voacap.com, shows that 20, 17 and 15m  short-path seem to offer the best chance of working the DXpedition, with morning openings from around 0600 to 1000UTC. There is also a potential long-path opening between 1800 and 2000 UTC, with a possibility of the 10m band at 1900 UTC. Both are near polar paths and may be adversely affected by a high Kp index. CDXC members with good stations have already reported QSOs with N5J on the 17m band using FT8. Next week, NOAA predicts the solar flux index will be in the range of 185 to 240. Geomagnetic conditions will depend on whether we have more solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and the chance of those remains high. An Earth-facing coronal mass ejection could send the Kp index soaring, and that will no doubt lead to reduced maximum useable frequencies and noisy bands. So, fingers crossed for more quiet geomagnetic conditions and low Kp indices! And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The summer tries to deliver but, overall, the pattern has a rather unsettled flavour to it for the coming week. On the positive side, we see a transient area of high pressure crossing southern Britain over this weekend, ending today the 11th. This could give some Tropo conditions but, after this, the Atlantic westerly flow brings a succession of fronts and showers to most areas. In terms of propagation, this suggests that rain scatter will have the best of it in the week ahead. The Sporadic-E season remains a good fallback and surprised us in East Anglia mid-morning on Tuesday the 6th of August with 144MHz Sporadic-E propagation to YU, HA, 9A and LZ moving around towards Italy as the opening progressed. All were workable with 100W and a white stick antenna on FT8. For the coming week, the jet stream activity will probably start by favouring paths to Scandinavia and the Baltic. Later in the week, a new jet stream will drive southeast into Iberia, opening up chances for paths to EA and CT. The Perseids meteor shower this week will provide welcome new fuel for Sporadic-E and, as a result, like most years, we'll see openings into the first week of September. The meteor scatter highlight is the Perseids meteor shower, which peaks on Monday and Tuesday. So, there are plenty of opportunities to try a new mode or fill in some missing grid squares if you are already involved in meteor scatter. Many websites explain what it's all about, but one to start you off is g7rdx.co.uk  Also, try looking for videos of meteor activity on SDR radios to get an idea of what it all sounds like. The solar conditions lately have been rather disturbed. It would not be surprising if the Kp index was to suggest that aurora could be a possibility if it gets to 5 or higher. Moon declination is negative and reaches minimum on Thursday the 15th, which means there will be short Moon visibility windows and low peak elevation. Path losses will decrease throughout the week and 144MHz sky noise is low over the weekend, but climbing to reach a high peak of over 3200 Kelvin on the 15th.  And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 4th of August 2024 The news headlines: Bookings are open for the RSGB 2024 Annual Convention Schools will soon be able to apply for an ISS contact The RSGB has announced its National Coding Week Coordinator The RSGB is delighted to announce that bookings are now open for its 2024 Annual Convention. This year, in response to requests for more flexibility, the Society has created a new booking system that allows attendees to create a Convention package that suits their preferences for attendance and hotel accommodation. In addition, the keynote speaker for the event has been confirmed. Rafal Lukawiecki, EI6LA has led the projects to modernise the Irish licence teaching curriculum and is also part of the International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 working group tasked with modernising its Ethics and Operating Procedures guide. Rafal has been a popular speaker at major IT conferences since 1998 and has shared keynote platforms with Bill Gates and Neil Armstrong. For further details, including how to book, visit the RSGB website at rsgb.org/convention Schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will soon be able to apply for an amateur radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station. If the application is successful, the contacts could take place in the latter half of 2025. The RSGB is encouraging schools to apply as it is a great opportunity to integrate space into the STEM curriculum and to have the excitement of their pupils speaking to an astronaut! Go to the ARISS website at ariss-eu.org  to find out more and download an application form in the ‘School Contacts' section. The timeframe for submitting applications is between the 1st of September and the 26th of October 2024. If you want to be inspired, watch the RSGB's celebration video of the ten Tim Peake school contacts in the ‘Excitement of amateur radio' playlist on the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB The RSGB is delighted to announce that Nigel Thrower, G3YSW will be the RSGB's National Coding Week Coordinator this year. The Society took part in this national event for the first time last year and many groups had fun with the activities it supplied. You can see the activities on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/coding  This year the RSGB wants to develop its involvement and Nigel will help to lead and coordinate that. This event isn't just for youngsters, so people of all ages and experience can take part. The RSGB is planning to publish some new activities but, if you enjoy programming or coding as part of your amateur radio activities, please get in touch! The society is looking for people to share tried and trusted ideas or activities that will inspire others. It is also keen to hear from radio amateurs who could help to lead activities with groups or clubs in their area. National Coding Week runs from the 16th to the 22nd of September. If you'd like to get involved or want to find out more, please contact Nigel via ncw@rsgb.org.uk The RSGB's popular Tonight@8 webinar series takes a break in August, but there are two great presentations lined up for the start of the autumn programme. On Monday the 2nd of September, Brian Coleman, G4NNS will give an update on the Meteor Beacon Project. The following month, on Monday the 7th of October, there's a chance to hear about "Aircraft Scatter – the Hitch-Hikers Guide" by Ian White, GM3SEK. Put the dates in your diary now and find further details on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars The G5RP Trophy is an annual award to encourage newcomers to HF DXing. The award is not limited to youngsters or the newly licensed. It is open to anyone who has recently discovered and made significant progress in HF DXing. If you are an established HF DXer and want to recommend someone to be awarded the G5RP Trophy for 2024, now is the time to send in your nomination. Your nominee should be an up-and-coming HF DXer who has made rapid progress in the last year and has some real achievements to show, for example, a good total of new countries worked or some serious HF DXpedition activity. Please send your nominations to Ian Greenshields, G4FSU by email to hf.manager@rsgb.org.uk  to arrive no later than Friday the 13th of September 2024. The RSGB remote exam invigilation team was delighted that the 8,000th Foundation candidate took and passed their exam online recently. This is a significant milestone since the Society introduced remote invigilation exams in 2020. The RSGB would like to thank the dedicated remote invigilation team and send its good wishes to all the candidates as they discover more about amateur radio! The July 2024 edition of RadCom Basics is now available on the RSGB website for members to read. RadCom Basics is aimed at new licensees or anyone who enjoys reading about the fundamental principles behind the many facets of amateur radio. Among others, this edition includes articles which cover the checking and testing of components, building and tuning dual-band end-fed half-wave antennas and the benefit of operating by the sea. To read RadCom Basics visit rsgb.org/radcom-basics Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week.  And now for details of rallies and events Part 1 of the British Amateur Television Club Convention for Amateur TV 2024, also known as CAT 24, is taking place today, the 4th, from 10 am to 4 pm. The venue is Midland Air Museum, Rowley Road, Coventry, CV3 4FR. The Convention provides opportunities for amateurs to meet, take part in show-and-tell activities, use test and fix equipment, and enjoy a bring-and-buy event. For more information follow the ‘Events' tab at batc.org.uk King's Lynn Amateur Radio Club's 34th Great Eastern Radio Rally is taking place today, the 4th. The Rally is being held at Gaywood Community Centre, Gayton Road, King's Lynn in Norfolk. The doors open at 9 am and admission will cost £2.50. Traders are welcome from 7 am. An outdoor pitch will cost £8, and indoors it will be £10 per table. Car parking is free. There will be trade stands, a bring-and-buy area and catering will be available on-site. For further information and reservations email rally.klarc@gmail.com Flight Refuelling Amateur Radio Society's Hamfest is taking place on Sunday the 11th of August. The venue is Cobham Sports and Social Club Ground, Merley, near Wimborne in Dorset. The doors will be open from 9 am to 4 pm and admission, which includes parking, costs £5. Catering and a bar will be available on-site. For more information and to make bookings visit frars.co.uk/hamfest Now the Special Event news International Cat Day is taking place on Thursday the 8th of August. To celebrate this, GB4CAT will be on the air from West Sussex from Thursday afternoon until the following Sunday evening. Activity will be on the HF bands, mainly on the 40m band, but the higher bands as well if they are open. As cats are loved internationally, Ed, M0MNG will attempt to speak as many foreign languages on the air as possible... even if it's just a word or two! Please see QRZ.com for more details. In celebration of the Olympic Games, Thierry, FY4JI is active as TO973FY from French Guiana until the 10th of August. He is operating SSB and FT8 and was spotted recently on the 10m band. QSL via EA5GL. Now the DX news Tom, W1EAT, is active as W1EAT/VK4 from Hamilton Island, OC-160, until tomorrow the 5th of August. He is operating QRP on the 20m band only. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to Tom's home call. Pierre, VK3KTB is active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Amateur Radio Club station on Ellesmere Island, NA-008, until the 7th of August. He is mainly available on the 20, 15 and 10m bands, and also occasionally on the 17 and 12m bands. He operates SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. Now the contest news Today, the 4th, the 432MHz Low Power Contest runs from 0800 to 1200UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number, locator and two-letter postcode. On Tuesday the 6th, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1800 to 1855UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday, the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 7th, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100 UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 8th, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Six Metre Group Summer Marathon started on Saturday the 4th of May and ends today, Sunday the 4th of August. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is your four-character locator. The Worked All Europe DX CW Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 10th and runs until 2359UTC on Sunday the 11th of August. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 1st of August 2024 We had another week of high solar flux but unsettled geomagnetic indices. The solar flux index, or SFI, was above 200 from the 27th of July onwards. There was a worry that multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, might push the Kp index up during the week. In the end, the Kp index didn't rise above 5. But why was that? The first of several CME eruptions was expected to pass Earth on the 29th of July. The solar wind speed increased from 330 kilometres per second to around 450 kilometres per second, but only a brief period of minor G1 geomagnetic storming was observed. The solar wind stream was fast, at more than 450 kilometres per second, but its frozen-in magnetic field was predominantly North-facing or neutral. So, it didn't couple with the Earth's magnetic field, and we ended up with a Kp index of only 5. If we had had a south-facing interplanetary magnetic field or Bz it could have been much worse. As it was, the ionosphere was affected on Wednesday the 31st of July. However, by 1830UTC things were back to normal, with a critical frequency of 7.4MHz, which gives a maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21MHz. Further disturbances on Thursday the 1st of August saw the Kp index rise to 5 again, but it was short-lived and only lasted for one three-hour period. So, we are still in a period of high solar activity, with numerous M- and even X-class flares, coronal mass ejections and high sunspot numbers. With a cluster of sunspots rotating into view right now, it should be an interesting week ahead! The SFI is predicted to fall next week, perhaps to the 180s or 190s. Meanwhile, HF propagation remains good at times, although we are still feeling the effects of the summer doldrums, with reduced daytime maximum usable frequencies. Keep an eye on solarham.com for up-to-date geomagnetic information. The 15m band is still the favoured daytime DX band, with occasional F2-layer openings on the 12m and even 10m bands. However, most 10m openings are still due to Sporadic-E. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The weather patterns that drive some of our radio propagation conditions are in the process of changing. As we ended the previous week, there were still regions of high pressure near enough to southern areas for some useful Tropo across the North Sea, English Channel and south over Biscay.  The slow change towards low pressure dominating the charts will be gradually extending its influence over the whole country as we move into next week, so less Tropo and more interest in rain scatter. This has been available over some northern areas recently and from heavy thunderstorms in the south. It is probably going to be a useful mode for exploring the GHz bands in the coming week, particularly where heavy thundery rain occurs.  Meteor scatter is also a worthwhile pursuit since we are still in the broad period of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower and that eventually blends into the August Perseids later in the month. The solar conditions continue to be challenging and the Kp index has been high enough to make it worth thinking of checking for auroral conditions – either fluttery signals on the LF bands overnight, or perhaps auroral conditions on the VHF bands. The Kp index gets mentioned on all propagation websites these days, but spaceweather.com is a good source for that and much else too. Sporadic-E is still worth checking out and, although the summer jet stream pattern is usually pretty weak, it is still there, and the position is perhaps a bit more northerly now than earlier in the summer. This means that paths towards the east to Scandinavia and the Baltic might be worth looking for, although other directions can still happen, of course. Moon declination started to fall from Friday the 2nd, so Moon window lengths and peak Moon elevation will follow suit. With apogee on Thursday the 8th, path losses will be at their highest for the month. 144MHz sky noise is low until the evening of Saturday the 3rd when we see the Moon and Sun close in the sky until moonset on Sunday. After that, the sky noise is low. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Join me tonight as I welcome the admins from the Hamcom Zion Hamfest back onto the livestream. This Hamfest is fast approaching, planned for July 12-13, so let's get the latest info and news about this BRAND NEW show! I hope to see you in the chat tonight!Hamfest link - https://www.hamconzion.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

PODCAST: This Week in Amateur Radio Edition #1322 - Full Version Release Date: June 29, 2024 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week in Amateur Radio. This week's edition is anchored by Denny Haight, NZ8D, Dave Wilson, WA2HOY, Josh Marler, AA4WX, Don Hulick, K2ATJ, Will Rogers, K5WLR, Eric Zittel, KD2RJX, George Bowen, W2XBS, and Jessica Bowen, KC2VWX. Produced and edited by George Bowen, W2XBS. Approximate Running Time: 1:31:28 Trending headlines in this week's bulletin service: Podcast Download: https://bit.ly/TWIAR1322 Trending headlines in this week's bulletin service 1. FCC: ISPs Urge Court To Block FCC's Net Neutrality Rules 2. AMSAT: AMSAT Board of Directors Nominees Announced 3. AMSAT: UPDATE: AMSAT Mail Alias Service To End August 1, 2024 4. WIA: Germany To Grant Remote Operation, DARC To Build Stations Around The Country 5. WIA: International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring System Report 6. ARRL: 2024 ARRL Field Day Wrap Up 7. ARRL: ARRL and Momobeam Introduce Dual Band Beam Antenna for Six and Ten Meters 8. ARRL: ARRL Club Grant Program, Application Deadline Approaching 9. ARRL: 25th Anniversary Of Route 66 On The Air 10. ARRL: Zion 2024 A New Amateur Radio Convention and Expo Event Takes Place July 12/13 In St. George, Utah 11. Australian Court Delivers Decision On Amateur Radio Death 12. Thirteen Colonies Special Event Operation Coming Up 13. Japan's Wartime Raids Over Australia Marked By Upcoming Special Event 14. Earthquake Awareness Added To Clubs Field Day 15. Australian Regulator ACMA Seeks Input On Proposed Repeater and Beacon Licensing 16. Listeners Via Shortwave Give Aid At Train Mishap 17. 4 Meter Privileges In Germany Are Extended Until The End Of 2024 18. California Amateur Documentary Film May Become A TV Series 19. Alexanderson Alternator Will Be On The Air 20. SpaceX Is Building A Craft To Intentionally Destroy The International Space Station 21. Upcoming Contests in RadioSport and Convention and Hamfest listings 22. AMSAT: Starliner brings another ham to the International Space Station 23. ARDC: ARDC announces Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE, Joins ARDC Board 24. FCC: FCC approves mysterious Space X device - The Starlink Mini Backpack Dish 25. ARRL: Amateurs are now gaming on the amateur radio digital modes (FT8) 26. A popular Massachusetts electronics retailer announces shutdown 27. Wifi router manufacturer receives FCC fine for selling overpower routers 28. NORAD improves tracking of amateur radio and civilian balloons Plus these Special Features This Week: * Working Amateur Radio Satellites with Bruce Paige, KK5DO - AMSAT Satellite News * Foundations of Amateur Radio with Onno Benschop VK6FLAB, will tell us how to access a radio remotely. * Bill Salyers, AJ8B - The DX Corner with all the latest radio sport news on DXpeditions, working DX, upcoming contests, and more * Weekly Propagation Forecast from the ARRL * Bill Continelli, W2XOY (SK) - The History of Amateur Radio. This week, Bill continues with the history of amateur radios Fallen Flags with a look back at the Hammerlund Radio Corporation * Will Rogers, K5WLR - A Century of Amateur Radio. This week, Will looks back at how one article published in the very first edition of QST, went on to organize relay stations ----- Website: https://www.twiar.net X: https://x.com/TWIAR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twiari YouTube: https://bit.ly/TWIARYouTube RSS News: https://twiar.net/?feed=rss2 Automated (Full): https://twiar.net/TWIARHAM.mp3 (Static file, updated weekly) Automated (1-hour): https://www.twiar.net/TWIAR1HR.mp3 (Static file, updated weekly) ----- Visit our website at www.twiar.net for program audio, and daily for the latest amateur radio and technology news. You can air This Week in Amateur Radio on your repeater! Built in identification breaks every 10 minutes or less. This Week in Amateur Radio is heard on the air on nets and repeaters as a bulletin service all across North America, and all around the world on amateur radio repeater systems, weekends on WA0RCR on 1860 (160 Meters), and more. This Week in Amateur Radio is portable too! The bulletin/news service is available and built for air on local repeaters (check with your local clubs to see if their repeater is carrying the news service) and can be downloaded for air as a weekly podcast to your digital device from just about everywhere. This Week in Amateur Radio is also carried on a number of LPFM stations, so check the low power FM stations in your area. You can also stream the program to your favorite digital device by visiting our web site www.twiar.net. Or, just ask Siri, Alexa, or your Google Nest to play This Week in Amateur Radio! This Week in Amateur Radio is produced by Community Video Associates in upstate New York, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. If you would like to volunteer with us as a news anchor or special segment producer please get in touch with our Executive Producer, George, via email at w2xbs77@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to follow us by joining our popular group on Facebook, and follow our feed on X! Thanks to FortifiedNet.net for the server space! Thanks to Archive.org for the audio space.

Today - Earlier this month, the 56th annual Hamfest, organized by the Apple City Amateur Radio Club, transformed the Dryden Gun Club grounds into a vibrant hub of activity, learning, and camaraderie. And later -  The Eastmont School District is cutting its two art teacher positions as part of budget reductions for the upcoming school year.Support the show: https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/site/forms/subscription_services/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight I welcome to folks who are in charge of Hamcon Zion, which is a new Hamfest for 2024, and will be the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention. The show takes place on July 12-13 of 2024.Find more info here - https://www.hamconzion.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

This is one of my favorite shows every year.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

LIVE! from the Houston Hamfest 2024Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

I caught up with Patrick from Geochron at the Hamcation 2024 Hamfest and he took us through some new features that were recently added to the Geochron device. This device is great for tracking weather, satellites, the ISS and many other things. Let's take a look!Get yours here - https://www.gigaparts.com/geochron-atlas-4k-v2.htmlBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.Here are the links for today's video:

David VK4DN from the Bundy Amateur Radio club with further on our WIA Convention Expo and HamFest. - WIA President Scott Williams VK3KJ talks 'club insurance'.

Join us on Sunday night as I welcome several YouTube channels back onto the channel to talk about plans for next weekend's HAMCATION 2024 Hamfest! We'll probably do some after-hour get togethers and we will talk about overall plans for the show. Join us!Website - https://www.hamcation.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ham-radio-2-0--2042782/support.

Our visit to the Capital City Hamfest in Jackson, MS with a few old friends. A very rare Icom radio stack. Louisiana ARES Winlink forms and tactics. 1:03:11

Our visit to the Capital City Hamfest in Jackson, MS with a few old friends. A very rare Icom radio stack. Louisiana ARES Winlink forms and tactics. 1:03:11

Show Notes (contains affiliate links): Radios To Take To A Hamfest  + Alpha Antenna HexTenna Giveaway   On this week's episode of Ham Radio Crash Course, a podcast roughly based on amateur radio but mostly made up of responding to emails from listeners, hosted by Josh Nass - KI6NAZ and his reluctant wife, Leah - KN6NWZ, we talk about favorite radios to take to a hamfest, what you should buy at a hamfest, preparing to disappear and the movie Threads.    This episode is sponsored by Alpha Antenna. Alpha Antenna is partnering with Ham Radio Crash Course to give away a free Mast Mounted 2-40M + 220/440MHz HF/VHF/UHF HexTenna  (https://www.alphaantenna.com/product/vhf-uhf-hf-portable-hextenna-alpha-antenna/)  Listen for the Listener Word of the Podcast and enter the giveaway here: https://forms.gle/G3vGWTtqoSSSRk1r7 (Ends February 15, 2024 at 5pm)   Ham Radio Minute: Favorite Radios to Take to a Hamfest   Announcements: HRCC Net - https://hrcc.link.    Ham Radio Test Study with Leah - Sub element 3 HamStudy: https://hamstudy.org Support by getting something from Signal Stuff: https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622   Gordon West Ham Radio Test Prep Books with HRCC Links  -Technician: https://amzn.to/3EGELhO -General: https://amzn.to/3g8R9gf -Extra: https://amzn.to/3Tlis5j   Free Fastrack Track to Your Ham Radio License Books on Audible (for new to Audible readers): https://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/mlp/membership/premiumplus?tag=hrccpodcast-20     Join the conversation by leaving a review on Apple Podcast for Ham Radio Crash Course podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-radio-crash-course/id1400794852 and/or emailing Leah@hamtactical.com. Leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts will help Ham Radio Crash Course reach more hams and future hams and we appreciate it! CW Lounge: K, M, R, S, U and A.  A a a k s a m u k k s. M u p p s p s r r p k r.     Show Topic: What should you buy at a hamfest?    Preparedness Corner: Prepare to disappear https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/comments/1alfweg/what_would_you_include_in_a_go_bag_meant_to_help/   HRCC Movie Club:    https://poll.ly/N7Jt2ACU1Epz5PSJmknw   Threads   Likelihood of disaster: 5/5  Preparedness: 1/5 Realistic: 5/5 Characters: 3/5 Plot: 2/5 Entertainment: 2/5  Overall: 18/30   Twister Ranked: 19.5/30   The Birds Ranked: 15/30   10 Cloverfield Lane Ranked: 26.5/30   The Book of Eli Ranked: 16.75/30   The Day After Tomorrow Ranked: 14/30   The next movie is Don't Look Up Email Correspondent's Tower: We answer emails with ham radio questions, comments on previous podcasts, T-shirt suggestions and everything in between.   Links mentioned in the ECT:    HRCC Campout Information - https://forms.gle/rPcWUDgFxUzkLMd18   Patron Saint of Ham Radio - http://hamgallery.com/Tribute/SP3RN/   Matt's Mardi Gras Music - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3uJsuXuPJ1BNDmMtQhPqv7?si=k1AKuiX5SWSMhF21kJMJDg&pi=u-SCINdPQSSRy5   North side Skull and Bones Gang - https://youtu.be/i4BiyzTDVKQ   Mardi Gras Indians - https://youtu.be/awMFbUYF24Y Thank you all for listening to the podcast.  We have a lot of fun making it and the fact you listen and send us feedback means alot to us!   Want to send us something? Josh Nass  P.O. Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101 Support the Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/ Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.   Connect with Us: Website...................► http://hamradiocrashcourse.com YouTube..................► https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse Podcast...................► https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/ Discord....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT Facebook................► https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ Twitter......................► https://twitter.com/Hoshnasi Instagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasi (Josh) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/hamtactical (Leah) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/nasscorners (Leah)

Join us tonight for an interview with leadership from Hamcation about the upcoming Hamfest next month

Foundations of Amateur Radio There is a perception in the community that the hobby of amateur radio is an expensive way to have fun. While it's entirely possible to spend thousands of dollars on equipment, in much the same way that it's possible if your preferred hobby is golf, getting started does not have to require that you start planting money trees. Lots of fun can be had using cheap amateur radio transceivers that are used all around the world. If you do start with such a radio, the chances are good that you'll come across amateurs who make disparaging remarks about the lack of compliance of such radios. When I say compliance, I'm talking about specific measurements specified by the International Telecommunications Union, the ITU. When you transmit on a specific frequency, there are rules about how much that signal is allowed to be unintended, or to use the official term, spurious emissions. Specifically, the signal you transmit has to meet the requirements for the mode you're using and it must also stay within limits on other frequencies. For example, if you have a 2m handheld radio that uses FM, the transmitter must stay within the required width for FM and it's not allowed to transmit above a certain level on any of the harmonic frequencies. When someone claims that all cheap radios are non-compliant, they're saying that such radios are either not transmitting a valid FM signal, or that the levels of the signal exceed the limits specified by the ITU. Given that such radios are in wide use, Randall VK6WR, Glynn VK6PAW and I got together to see if we could come up with something a little more scientific in the way of comment about such radios. With access to Randall's HP 8920A RF Communications Test Set we came up with a repeatable way to test a radio and then went to the local HAMfest where we subjected a pile of radios to our tests. In total we did 75 tests. Overall we tested 39 distinct models across 12 brands. So, what did we learn? All so-called "name brand" radios were fully compliant. All radios that were sold in Australia by Australian distributors were compliant. Baofeng radios made up the largest sample of inexpensive radios. Seven out of the 26 tested were compliant, eight were non-compliant and the rest, 11 were borderline. More on that shortly. We also tested many radios that had been purchased online. We didn't test enough of each model to make specific comments, but it's worth pointing out that half of all the online radios were compliant. Now, I mentioned borderline compliance. What we learnt was that there were some radios that fell within 6 dB of being compliant. The HP test set hasn't been calibrated for a while and we felt that allowing for a 3 dB random measurement error and a 3 dB systematic error would prevent us from marking a radio non-compliant when in fact it was. We categorised 16 radios as borderline. Our report is of course public. You can find it on my GitHub page as both a PDF and a markdown document. Whilst we were writing our report, we discovered uncorroborated suggestions that some radios might fail an emissions test after suffering unspecified damage in the output filtering stages. We looked at the schematic of one radio that suggests that a simple capacitor failure might cause a filter to fail without preventing the transmitter from operating. This might mean that a non-compliant transmitter might be made compliant again by replacing the faulty capacitor. We haven't tried and we don't know if a failed capacitor actually makes a radio non-compliant or not, or even if such a failure could occur and if-so, how. In other words, this might be a red-herring, we just don't know. One other comment worth pointing out is that it was suggested that some radios might use a specifically designed antenna to suppress the second harmonic. Given that some radios failed only on the second harmonic spurious emission requirement, but not the third, this seems plausible. All radios we tested had removable antennas and were tested without an antenna, since compliance relates to the transmitter, not the antenna. It does raise a more interesting question. What happens if you fit a different antenna to the radio? One adage that stands is that "you get what you pay for", but given the amount of cheap testing equipment available, it's relatively easy to test every handset in your shack. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

LIVE! From the Texoma Hamarama, a Hamfest in Ardmore, OK. Wesbite - https://hamarama.org/

Belton HamExpo happens twice per year and is one of the greatest tailgate and swapfests in the State. Today we go live through the outdoor and indoor areas.Website - https://tarc.org/hamexpo-schedule/

Join me with several other YouTubers on Sunday, August 13th, at 23:59 UTC on my regular livestream to discuss plans for the Huntsville Hamfest that takes place the following weekend. We will talk about the Hamfest itself, but also lots of POTA plans at Monte Sano State Park on the days leading up to the show. Be sure to stop by!

On today's episode we share seven interviews from the August HAMfest in Huntsville, Al.  There's pretty good information in these for ham radio enthusiasts, and some are just fun. You can see some of them listed below.There is a list of all the websites mentioned with links or contact info here and on the website at  practicalprepping.info/412ARRL.ORGBob Inderbitzen, Director ofMarketing and InnovationBrowncoats Youth Robotic TeamMARSAir ForceMilitary Amateur Radio ServiceAssisting in communications during time of troubleHamsource SolarUnique Products for Ham Radio PINK (her trail name)Hikin' An' Hammin' Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@HikinnHammin@HikinnHammintwitter.com/hikinnhamminNorth Alabama Tech TeamYoung People In Amateur RadioIf you find value in the podcast, would you be willing to give back a little by buying us a cup of coffee??Buy Us A  Cup of Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/practicalprepContact us:Practical PreppingWebsite: www.practicalprepping.infoEmail at info@practicalprepping.infoOur Sponsors:ProOne Water Filters - gravity water filters for prepping and everyday use.Visit ProOne website4Patriots - 4Patriots - your go-to for long-term emergency food and gear. Use the code "prepper" at checkout for a 10% discount on your first order.ProLine Digital Grouphttps://www.prolinedesigns.usEmail: info@prolinedesigns.usAURA - AURA - is your total online protection against identity theft , and for VPN.Jim Curtis Kniveshttps://www.facebook.com/JimcurtisknivesEmail Jim:  j.curtis7mm@yahoo.comWebsite design and hosting by ProLine Digital Group.Podcasts Copyright 2023, P3 Media Group, and Practical Prepping PodcastJoin us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for new episodes.

Foundations of Amateur Radio At a recent local HAMfest we set-up a table to measure second and third harmonic emissions from any handheld radio that came our way. The process was fun and we learnt lots and in due course we plan to publish a report on our findings. When we received a handheld, we would disconnect the antenna, and replace it with a short length of coax and connect it to a spectrum analyser. We would then trigger the Push To Talk, or PTT button and measure several things. We'd record the actual frequency and how many Watts that the transmitter was producing and then record the power level in dBm for the base frequency, double that frequency and triple that frequency. In other words, we'd record the base, second and third harmonics. This resulted in a list of numbers. Frequency and power in Watts are obvious, but the three dBm numbers caused confusion for many visitors. The most perplexing appeared to be that we were producing negative dBm numbers, and truth be told, some positive ones as well, we'll get to those in our report. How can you have negative power you ask? As I've discussed before. A negative dBm number isn't a negative value of power, it's a fraction, so, -30 dBm represents 0.000001 Watts and you'd have to admit that -30 dBm rolls off the tongue just a little easier. What we measured and logged was the overall transmitter output and at specific frequencies. As I've discussed previously, if you transmit using any transceiver, you'll produce power at the intended frequency, but there will also be unintended or unwanted transmissions, known as spurious emissions. The International Telecommunications Union, or ITU, has standards for such emissions. In Australia the regulator, the ACMA, uses the ITU standard for radio amateurs, but I should point out that this might not be the case where you are. It's entirely possible, and given human diversity, probable even, that there are places where there are more stringent requirements, so bear that in mind. I'll state the standard and then explain. For frequencies greater than 30 MHz, the spurious emission must not exceed the lesser of 43 + 10 * log (power) or 70 dB. That might sound like gobbledegook, so let's explore. First thing to notice is that this is for transmissions where the transmitter is tuned to a frequency greater than 30 MHz, there's a separate rule for frequencies less than 30 MHz and the ITU also specifies a range of different limits for special purpose transmitters like broadcast radio and television, space services, and others. Second thing is that the spurious emissions are calculated based on total mean output power. This means that your spurious emissions are considered in relation to how much power you're using to transmit and it implies that for some transmitters you can be in compliance at one power level, but not at another, so keep that in mind. The phrase "the lesser of", means that from a compliance perspective, there's a point at which power levels no longer determine how much attenuation of spurious emissions is required. You can calculate that point. It's where our formula hits 70 dB, and that is at 500 Watts. In other words, to meet the ITU standard, if you're transmitting with less than 500 Watts, you're subject to the formula and if you're transmitting with more than 500 Watts, you're required to meet the 70 dB standard. It means that, at least in Australia, spurious emissions for amateurs are dependent on transmitter power because the maximum permitted power is currently 400 Watts for an amateur holding a so-called Advanced License. Now I'll also point out explicitly that the emission standards that the ITU specifies are for generic "radio equipment", which includes amateur radio, but also includes anything else with a transmitter. One thing to mention is that spurious emissions aren't limited to the second and third harmonics that we measured, in fact they're not even limited to harmonics. If you're using a particular mode then anything that's transmitted outside the bandwidth of that mode is considered a spurious emission and there are standards for that as well. As an aside, it was interesting to me that in many cases amateur radio is treated separately from other radio services, but the ITU considers our community just one of several spectrum users and it's good to remember that the entire universe is playing in the same sandbox, even if only some of it is regulated by the ITU and your local regulator. So, let's imagine that you have a handheld radio that has a total mean power output of 5 Watts. When you calculate using the formula, you end up at 50 dB attenuation. In other words, the spurious emissions may not exceed -13 dBm. So, if your radio measures -20 dBm on the second harmonic, it's compliant for that harmonic, but if it measures -10 dBm, it's not. I should also point out that this is for each spurious emission. About half the radios we tested had a second harmonic that was worse than the third harmonic. So, what does this mean for your radio? I'd recommend that you start reading and measuring. You'll need to measure the total mean power, and the signal strength at the base frequency and the second and third harmonic. I will mention that surprises might happen. For example, the Yaesu FT-857d radio I use every week to host a net appears to be transmitting with a power level that doesn't match its setting. At 5 Watts, it's only transmitting just over 2 Watts into the antenna, but at the 10 Watt setting, it's pretty much 10 Watts. You also don't need a fancy tool like we were using. All these measurements are relative to each other and you could even use a $20 RTL-SDR USB dongle, but before you start transmitting into its antenna port, make sure you have enough attenuation connected between the transmitter and your dongle, otherwise you'll quickly discover the escape velocity of the magic smoke inside. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

A weather disaster moves through your area. All the power is out and all the cell towers are down. All normal means of communications are down. On today's episode we are going to talk about using ham radio to communicate during emergencies. When nothing else works, HAM radio works!We talk about saving lives, providing communications for police and fire, attending a hamfest, and ARRL Field Day, a twenty-four hours emergency communications exercise.If you want the full episode notes, go to practicalprepping.info/392Please share this episode with your friends, family, and on social media accounts. Here's the link:  https://www.practicalprepping.info/podcastIf you find value in the podcast, would you be willing to give back a little by buying us a cup of coffee??Buy Us A  Cup of Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/practicalprepContact us:Practical PreppingWebsite: www.practicalprepping.infoEmail at info@practicalprepping.infoOur Sponsors:4Patriots - 4Patriots - your go-to for long-term emergency food and gear. Use the code "prepper" at checkout for a 10% discount on your first order.ProOne Water Filters - gravity water filters for prepping and everyday use.Visit ProOne websiteProLine Digital Grouphttps://www.prolinedesigns.usEmail: info@prolinedesigns.usAURA - AURA - is your total online protection against identity theft , and for VPN.Jim Curtis Kniveshttps://www.facebook.com/JimcurtisknivesEmail Jim:  j.curtis7mm@yahoo.comWebsite design and hosting by ProLine Digital Group.Podcasts Copyright 2023, P3 Media Group, and Practical Prepping PodcastJoin us on Monday, and Friday for full episodes, and Wednesday for mini episodes.

I saw this at Hamfest and I just had to get some video footage on it. Video to upload tonight.

Kenwood was BACK at Dayton Hamvention of 2023 with a new triband DSTAR HT Radio. Several of us got to speak to them on the first morning of the Hamfest - this is that information.

Belton Ham Expo, Spring of 2023. This is one of the most fun shows in Texas, especially if the weather is nice, which it was this weekend. Take a look at this short video I made.

George & Mike cover the premiere Hamfest of the season, Hamvention 2023. Visits with friends and vendors. Plus some great new finds you may not be aware of. Hamvention is always a fun, entertaining event and this year was no different. 1:39:34

George & Mike cover the premiere Hamfest of the season, Hamvention 2023. Visits with friends and vendors. Plus some great new finds you may not be aware of. Hamvention is always a fun, entertaining event and this year was no different. 1:39:34

Show Notes (contains affiliate links): New Hamfest Tips    On this week's episode of Ham Radio Crash Course, a podcast roughly based on amateur radio but mostly made up of responding to emails from listeners, hosted by Josh Nass - KI6NAZ and his reluctant wife, Leah - KN6NWZ, we talk about opinions about radios you know nothing about, the best freeze dried foods and new hamfest tips.    Ham Radio Minute: Opinions about radios you know nothing about.    Announcements: HRCC Net - https://hrcc.link.    Ham Radio Test Study with Leah  HamStudy: https://hamstudy.org Support by getting something from Signal Stuff: https://signalstuff.com/?ref=622   Gordon West Ham Radio Test Prep Books with HRCC Links  -Technician: https://amzn.to/3EGELhO -General: https://amzn.to/3g8R9gf -Extra: https://amzn.to/3Tlis5j   Free Fastrack Track to Your Ham Radio License Books on Audible (for new to Audible readers): https://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/mlp/membership/premiumplus?tag=hrccpodcast-20     Join the conversation by leaving a review on Apple Podcast for Ham Radio Crash Course podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-radio-crash-course/id1400794852 and/or emailing Leah@hamtactical.com. Leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts will help Ham Radio Crash Course reach more hams and future hams and we appreciate it!   Preparedness Corner: 5 squirrel frozen foods. https://www.cleverhiker.com/best-freeze-dried-meals Show Topic: Josh's Best Hamfest Tips Email Correspondent's Tower: We answer emails with ham radio questions, comments on previous podcasts, T-shirt suggestions and everything in between.   Links mentioned in the ECT:    Charlene's Big Wheat: http://tinyurl.com/BiggieShreddedwheat   Andrew's Gear List: (tr)uSDX  (https://dl2man.de) DL1DN battery case add on  (https://newdiytech.com/products/tr-usdx-usdx-transceiver-external-battery-case-kit-by-david-dl1dn)      -Allows for (tr)uSDX to use 3 14500 batteries TYT UV-88 with USB-C battery pack  Spark Plug 50w antenna bundle kit (https://www.sparkpluggear.com/shop/p/the-bundle-starter-pack)      -Includes 50W Spark Plug antenna, 25' of rig-174/u coax, Wire Winder Various Connectors Custom made winders that my wife made. Holds wire for 15/20/40m  Goture  7.2m Fishing Rod/mast (https://a.co/d/07R1W3D) Lumintop CL2 Lantern (https://lumintoplighting.com/products/lumintop-cl2-650-lumens-usb-type-c-rechargeable-camping-lantern-165)    - On board usb-c charging can help charge the 14500 batteries for the (tr)uSDX Anker power bank (https://a.co/d/4XkLKng) Oontz Angle 3 Speaker (https://a.co/d/gNvonsP) USB-c/ Lighting/ AUX Cables 14500 batteries (https://lumintoplighting.com/products/lumintop-14500-usb-type-c-rechargeable-li-ion-battery-37v-920mah-179)   Spark plug 100W antenna kit: https://www.sparkpluggear.com/shop/p/the-bundle-starter-pack-sdw77 Jalama Beach: https://www.countyofsb.org/638/Jalama-Beach   Thank you all for listening to the podcast.  We have a lot of fun making it and the fact you listen and send us feedback means alot to us!   Want to send us something? Josh Nass  P.O. Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101 Support the Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/ Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.   Connect with Us: Website...................► http://hamradiocrashcourse.com YouTube..................► https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse Podcast...................► https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/ Discord....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT Facebook................► https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ Twitter......................► https://twitter.com/Hoshnasi Instagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasi (Josh) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/hamtactical (Leah)

Join us for another AMA Q&A and a Show About Nothing, We'll discuss the Belton Ham Expo this past weekend, the Moore Expo next weekend and some upcoming events.

Join today's Lunchtime Livestream where I talk about the Belton Ham Expo this weekend. We will be heading down late Thursday night, camping at the Expo Center that night and Friday night. Friday during the day is a great time to hang out, talk with people and see some used wares for sale - IF the weather is good. This weekend's forecast looks promising, so I am looking forward to seeing everyone there!Website - https://tarc.org/hamexpo

Join the Lunchtime Livestream today as I welcome @TankRadio @K8MRD and @HR4NT onto the channel to talk about our plans this weekend for the Houston Hamfest.

Catching up on a few things from this week.

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB,  Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode's feature is Part two of our Hamfest Round-up We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate Amateur Radio Club Members Assist Law Enforcement RSGB Construction Competition Ham Radio's News Information Channels Shrink By Two Got a Problem? Ask a Ham! If China declares war, These Ham Radio Enthusiasts Could be Crucial RSGB AGM 2023 RSGB Morse Test Coordinator Appointed FoxTelem Version 1.12 Released

Huntsville Hamfest was back full strength this year and we visited with lots of friends. Here's our wrap up of the 2022 Huntsville Hamfest. Also, AmateurLogic.TV celebrates 17 years October 15, 2022. We've teamed up with Icom America and MFJ again for another great anniversary contest. Prizes include an Icom IC-705 transceiver, MFJ 8-band compact HF Antenna and Power Supply. Get all the details on how you can register to win. 2:50:00

Show Notes (contains affiliate links): Josh's Hamfest Tips   On this week's episode of Ham Radio Crash Course, a podcast roughly based on amateur radio but mostly made up of responding to emails from listeners, hosted by Josh Nass - KI6NAZ and his reluctant wife, Leah - KN6NWZ, getting an SDR, what they would do if someone asked for help in an emergency and hamfest tips.    Have a drink with us! Today, we're drinking…  BUZZBALLS   Josh has a short tip with the Ham Radio Minute: Get an SDR   Join the conversation by leaving a review on Apple Podcast for Ham Radio Crash Course podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham-radio-crash-course/id1400794852 and/or emailing Leah@hamtactical.com. Leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts will help Ham Radio Crash Course reach more hams and future hams and we appreciate it!   Preparedness Corner: - How would you respond to someone asking you for help in an emergency? And invasive plants that are delicious: https://www.saveur.com/invasive-edible-weeds/ Email Correspondent's Tower: We answer emails with ham radio questions, comments on previous podcasts, T-shirt suggestions and everything in between.   Links mentioned in the ECT:    Matt talks about the history of New Bedford: https://destinationnewbedford.org/history/   Jim shows us how to listen to Jupiter: https://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/   Not to be confused with Drops of Jupiter: https://youtu.be/7Xf-Lesrkuc   The Book-It Program: https://www.bookitprogram.com/bookit_enrollment/form/enrollment   Doug's Muscatatuck Urban Training Center: https://www.atterburymuscatatuck.in.ng.mil/Muscatatuck/About-Muscatatuck-Urban-Training-Center/ Show Topic: Hamfest Tips Thank you all for listening to the podcast.  We have a lot of fun making it and the fact you listen and send us feedback means alot to us!   Want to send us something? Josh Nass  P.O. Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101 Support the Ham Radio Crash Course Podcast: Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hoshnasi Shop HamTactical: http://www.hamtactical.com Shop Our Affiliates: http://hamradiocrashcourse.com/affiliates/ Shop Our Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hamradiocrashcourse As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.   Connect with Us: Website...................► http://hamradiocrashcourse.com YouTube..................► https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse Podcast...................► https://hamradiocrashcourse.podbean.com/ Discord....................► https://discord.gg/xhJMxDT Facebook................► https://goo.gl/cv5rEQ Twitter......................► https://twitter.com/Hoshnasi Instagram.................► https://instagram.com/hoshnasi (Josh) Instagram.................►https://instagram.com/hamtactical (Leah)