Bob K0NR

My First D-STAR Repeater Contact

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Here is another milestone in my D-STAR experience….my first repeater contact using the technology. (I had previously been using D-STAR on simplex.) There are no D-STAR machines within range of my house, but there is one west of Denver (the Colorado D-STAR Association, W0CDS). I was headed to the Denver airport for a business trip … Read more

BPL Coming to Colorado

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Hide the children! Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) is coming to Colorado. Xcel Energy has announced plans to make Boulder the first SmartGridCityTM in the nation. See my previous posting on BPL. The pitch from Xcel is: The next-generation electricity grid will allow our company to better meet growing demands, address environmental challenges, maximize available resources … Read more

The Old Goat Field Day Team

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Steve (N0TU), Peanut and Rooster are at it again. This time the Old Goat Trio are back on Mount Herman for the 2008 ARRL Field Day. Steve made another one of his fun and interesting ham radio videos. Or take a look at it on Steve’s blog. 73, Bob K0NR

Too Much Data

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Disclaimer: I am a little ticked off that my digital scanner (radio receiver, not a graphics scanner) decided to toss its cookies today and lose all of its programmed data. The day before, my Yaesu FT-8900 got amnesia, losing all of its channels. (It seems to not appreciate the voltage dip when the car engine … Read more

Awesome June VHF Contest!

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It didn’t start out all that great. First, my boss decides that I need to be in Scotland the week before the contest weekend. I have nothing against Scotland, I just preferred to not be there right before the biggest VHF contest of the year (ARRL June VHF QSO Party). I needed to be home … Read more

My First D-STAR Contact

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At Dayton, I picked up an ICOM IC-91AD handheld radio, with D-STAR capability. The thing is, there are no D-STAR repeaters within range of my house. Fortunately, Elliott KB0RFC also picked up a D-STAR handheld and we arranged a sked on 2M simplex. The de facto calling frequency for D-STAR is shaping up to be … Read more