Amateur Radio as a hobby The absolute beauty of amateur radio is that it is not a
single hobby it is virtually limitless in scope.
When I first set up DigitalHam I had recently discovered APRS and the entire focus of the site
was devoted to that. I threw in a little PSK31 related info too because as that used computers
it seemed to fit in with the digital part of the site name. Next up came the aquisition of a
weather station which with a little bodging I was able to use to produce a weather feed through
UIView to the worldwide amateur APRSserv network.
Well I still run UIView 24x7 and I've fitted my TMD700E into my latest car and fire it up most
times I'm driving but my focus has now moved on to polar orbiting weather satellite reception.
This is still radio related but doesn't need a Ham licence or indeed a licence of any sort
to persue - no matter to me it is still a part of amateur radio. Having produced a turnstile
for reception I was a little disappointed with the results and the next project was a Quadrifilar
Helix or QHA constructed using 8mm microbore tubing from plans found on the web. I suppose once I am
happy with the results my attention will move on again but where I currently have no idea.
The only real limit to Ham Radio is finding the time and having the imagination. Who knows -
maybe next year I'll finally have set up a decent HF antenna system and actually be able to
talk across the world. Maybe I'll have found the time to use that Morse Tutor I bought on
eBay a few years back and return to the ultimate Digital communication system that hams have
used since the hobby first began!!
The 137MHz homebrew quadrifilar helix or QHA and turnstile pictured on the left feed NOAA satelite signals to a R2ZX specialised satellite receiver.
The R2ZX output signal is fed to a normal PC soundard from which WXtoIMG software creates the sort of image you see above.
Amateur Radio News courtesy of Southgate ARC
Tony's 10-metre band report
Tony takes his weekly look at the 10-metre band and sees an uneven week with Thursday being very thin and the weekend not so thick and fast..more
Original 13 Colonies Special Event now underway
Special event stations are now active on HF in each of the original 13 American colonies. 11 of the colonial states will also be active on the Amateur Radio Satellites..more
Use of 3760 in Poland - back to normal
Greg Mossop, G0DUB, the IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator, has just sent this report on the flood situation in Poland..more
Field Day TV news report on YouTube
An excellent Field Day news report, produced by Fox 4 News in Missouri, has been uploaded to YouTube..more
Julius Genachowski sworn in as FCC Chairman
On the afternoon of Monday, June 29, US Supreme Court Justice David Souter - in one his last official duties on the high court - swore in Julius Genachowski as the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission..more
The 34th Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen
Last month's Ham Radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen attracted 17,400 visitors and 195 exhibitors during the three-day event..more
TerreStar-1 communications satellite launched
The world’s largest commercial communications satellite, TerreStar-1 was launched by Ariane 5 from the Kourou Spaceport on Wednesday July 1..more
Ofcom publishes two spectrum documents
On Wednesday, the UK regulator Ofcom published documents regarding Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and the use of interleaved UHF spectrum by Cognitive radios..more
US Special Operations Command plans more airborne FM broadcasts
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is conducting a Special Operations Forces (SOF) FM broadcast antenna performance enhancement study to meet the requirement for a commercial FM and military VHF transmission capability..more
Indian space programme revealed
India's proposals include an unmanned lunar landing in 2011/12 and a human orbital spacecraft launch in 2015..more
Number 1 son M0XDK Corrie has been using his web skills too and is in the process
of building a web based display of APRS beacons using Google Mapping and a live APRS-IS feed.
The site is currently running on an ADSL line from his home. Take a peek at
APRSinfo.com to see how the project
is progressing.
If you found this site useful please tell your friends. 73s de G6KIZ
Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side & a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
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Do you remember the pathetic government response to the petition raised by hams about QRM caused by the BT Homeplug?
Well here's another which they'll doubtless ignore too Save Shortwave 2 (closes 24 October 2009)
Perhaps more notice will be taken of the Brown please go petition. Despite it being the most popular petition on Number 10 I somehow think it too will be fobbed off.