Bob K0NR

SWR and Return Loss – There’s an Ap for That

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For the RF/microwave enthusiasts out there, you may recall the old HP Reflectometer Calculator that does conversions between SWR, Return Loss and calculated mismatch uncertainty. Well, fast forward to the 21st century and this same functionality can be found in an iPhone ap. Agilent Technologies has a free ap available on iTunes that does these … Read more

Announcing the Colorado FM Sprint

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The Colorado FM Sprint is a short and simple VHF contest that runs in parallel with the ARRL June VHF QSO Party. Basically, it’s a chance to have some fun on the VHF bands for not-so-serious contesters. Sponsored by:  Colorado ARES and the Colorado VHF Group (KØYB) Direct any questions to k0yb@qsl.net This contest is … Read more

Bob’s Rules for A Fun Radio Club

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The other night, I attended one of those unfortunate, but all too common dysfunctional radio club meetings. (The name of the club will remain confidential.) You have probably been to one of these sessions where the leadership of the club is frustrated because they feel like only a few of the members are doing all … Read more

AM, FM, WX and 2-Way Radio

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A few weeks ago, I woke up to find that the power was off at my house. It so happens that most of the fun electronic stuff in the house doesn’t actually work when the power is out. The most critical thing is that the freaking internet didn’t work. Huh? I remembered that I had … Read more

Results from the Second Technician Class

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We completed our second attempt at the Technician License Class. The format we are using is two all day Saturday sessions, supplemented by self-study using the Gordon West book. We had 14 people take the Technician exam (Element 2), with 13 passing (93% pass rate).  We had 4 Boy Scouts in the group and they … Read more

Electronic Circuit Humor

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This creative circuit is from xkcd.com (lots of warped EE humor in here): Drawing located at: http://xkcd.com/730/ Thanks, KB6NU. 73, Bob K0NR