Bob K0NR

FT8 Dominates VHF Contests

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The FT8 mode was first released as part of the WSJT-X software in 2017. This new digital mode was adopted relatively quickly and is now a major force in amateur radio. You’ve probably heard the praises and complaints about it. On the plus side, it enables radio contacts under very poor conditions while detractors say … Read more

Colorado 14er Event on Ham Nation

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The Ham Nation folks invited me on to talk about the Colorado 14er Event last night. Thanks for the invite! This turned out to be a concise look at the 14er event with lots of great photos of past operations. Here’s the video (my segment was 20 minutes long): We have lots of information on … Read more

2023 Colorado 14er Event (SOTA)

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Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing Colorado Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event by activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations.

About That UHF Connector

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I caused a minor kerfuffle on Twitter recently, when I posted this: This connector, properly called a PL-259, is the most common RF connector for ham radio use. The female counterpart is called the SO-239 connector. While these connectors are often called “UHF” connectors, they actually don’t perform very well at those frequencies (300 to … Read more