Month: March 2011

NIST Time

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently launched a survey of time/frequency users. See the ARRL announcement here. This is a pretty simple survey asking about how you use WWV, WWVH, time.gov, etc. If you use these services, you should probably fill out the survey. Along the way, I realized that NIST offers … Read more

The Universal Reason

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As previously reported, I’ve been tuning up my APRS gear and have several stations (usually) on the air: K0NR home station, K0NR-1 Trout Creek Pass digi, K0NR-5 smartphone and K0NR-7 VX-8GR handheld. Someone asked me “What’s the purpose of this APRS stuff, anyway?” I wasn’t sure what to say, so I answered with… The Universal … Read more

Yes, Band Plans Do Matter

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There was an interesting exchange on the AMSAT-BB email list last week. Dave KB5WIA noted a strange signal on the AO-51 satellite: I just thought I’d relay a bit of QRM I observed on AO-51 on this morning’s 3/16/2011 1322z pass. The bird was totally quiet (just a nice carrier) for the first 5 minutes … Read more

Reading the Fine Print in Part 97

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The ARRL just filed a Petition for Rule Making with the FCC concerning a specific modulation format called TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). This issue has been simmering in the community of repeater operators but I suspect that most hams have no idea what this is about. It so happens that the land mobile industry … Read more

How Not to Elmer

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Just this past week, I read the following exchange on one of the many ham radio email lists I subscribe to: Greetings Group, I have a rat shack universal DC adapter for my charger. It is rated at 12 volt 500 mA. On the bottom of the [radio brand] charger it specifies 450 mA. My … Read more

IWCE 2011

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This week I attended the International Wireless Communications Expo, a wireless radio conference centered on land mobile radio (LMR). While not an amateur radio event, it was three fun days totally immersed in radio technology. Being a professional show, not a hobby event, the emphasis was on modern and emerging technology in the industry. No … Read more