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!!

False colour composite satellite image
Precipitation enhancement

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.

UK Amateur Radio Licences as at 28th February 2010
The UK regulator Ofcom has supplied the figures for the total number of Amateur Radio Licences issued as at 28th February 2010..more

NZ amateur radio operator licence change
Good news for New Zealand's radio hams. NZ's regulator, Radio Spectrum Management, has just issued the following notice of a change to the amateur radio licence there..more

New version of SDR-Radio.com
A new version of SDR-Radio.com, a Windows console for Software Defined Radios (SDR), is now available..more

Amateur radio activation of Dromineer Castle
Members of the Galway VHF Group will be heading to Dromineer to activate Dromineer Castle on Wednesday the 17th of March..more

Sun to disrupt AFN TV, radio signal in Europe
American Forces Network radio and television signals in Europe will be interrupted for up to 20 minutes at a time through March 13 due to the sun overpowering the network’s satellite signal..more

Bere Island EU-121 activation
Olivier ON4EI will be activating Bere Island EU-121 as EJ8GQB, his new Irish amateur radio callsign (EI8GQB)..more

IOTA news from the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club
Weekly IOTA News - compiled by Fredy, DE0MST of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club..more

NSN Amateur Radio Community Service Award
Annually the South African Amateur Radio Development Trust is recognising a radio amateur or a group of radio amateurs for service to the community..more

Amateur radio QSL card collection
Jean Michel, F6AJA, wants to remind everyone to visit the Les Nouvelles DX (LNDX) Web page to see more than 7300 old QSL cards in several different albums/galleries..more

Amateur Radio station ZS10WCS
Amateur Radio special event station ZS10WCS will be on the air between now and July 12th. Activity is to celebrate the 2010 Soccer World Cup being held in South Africa between June 11th and July 11th..more