SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 / DR.TONY PHILLIPS Sept. 15, 2020: Solar Cycle 25 is officially underway. NASA and NOAA made the announcement during a media teleconference yesterday, Sept. 15th. According to an international panel of experts, the sunspot number hit rock bottom in Dec. 2019, bringing an end to old Solar Cycle 24. Since then, sunspot counts have been slowly increasing, […]
Continue ReadingBy Devadas K.M, VU2DH, Future Logistics India Pvt. Ltd., Chennai A Radio Amateur in India can import whatever Amateur Radio equipment he desires from any country without any value restrictions including spares and accessories upon payment of Customs Duty / GST. The Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India announces the Customs Tariff for every financial […]
Continue ReadingPosted by Wayne KE8JFW on May 6, 2020 at 9:05 pm As Hams around the globe make sacrifices for the health and safety of their communities, let’s take this opportunity to recommit ourselves to making the amateur bands a welcoming harbor for all, whether contesting, DXing, or just looking for a friendly rag-chew while sheltering at home. […]
Continue ReadingMany hams’ first choice of antenna is a half-wave dipole. But don’t be misled – just because they are easy to make doesn’t mean they don’t work well. In fact, a half-wave dipole will often outperform many compromise commercial multiband antennas. Half-wave dipoles are easy to install and erect and are not nearly as likely […]
Continue ReadingBefore starting work on erecting a new antenna, a few basic rules should be remembered – the main one being that safety should be considered at all times. Most accidents can be avoided by spending a little time taking precautions and taking more care. Another thing – it is always a good idea to tackle […]
Continue ReadingScotty, the engineer on the original Star Trek series, was always fond of saying “How many times do I have to tell you…use the right tool for the right job!” As an amateur radio operator involved in emergency communications, do you know what are some of the right tools of the trade? Let’s take a […]
Continue ReadingSummaryBlock diagramUsageConfigurationDownload & photo BRIEFLY A brief summary of this project The current working frequency is read form the radio using he Icom CI-V protocol. Antenna is switched when changing band, according to the configuration loaded within the control box. The device can be operated in automatic mode (switching based on frequency/band) as well as in manual mode (operator […]
Continue ReadingThis is an Arduino-based rotator interface that interfaces a computer to a rotator or rotator controller, emulating the Yaesu GS-232A/B, Easycom, and DCU-1 protocols which are supported by a myriad of logging, contest, and control programs. It can be easily interfaced with commercial rotator control units. With the addition of a proper capacity power supply […]
Continue ReadingCoaxial cables are the most popular form of transmission line for getting our signals to and from our antennas. There are many types of cable to choose from and it can be confusing to chose the best one. In this article, we’ll cover the most common choices of cable to get you started. We’ll focus […]
Continue ReadingIn this Shack Talk article, we’ll take a look at some common mistakes new radio amateurs sometimes make. This short list comes from working with a gaggle of new hams over the years and trying to help them get started in ham radio. 1. Programming the radio incorrectly The typical amateur radio is loaded with […]
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