D-STAR Equipment Grant in Colorado

The Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) and Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) teamed up to encourage the adoption of D-STAR technology in Colorado. To date, there are no D-STAR machines on the air in the state so HRO offered to provide equipment to a suitable ham radio group to help get things started. The … Read more

Ham Radio COW (Comms on Wheels)

Sometimes I get a little wrapped up in a particular ham radio project I am working on. Like how many antennas does a VHF contest rover really need? Is 6 enough? Is 12 too many? I think “gee, maybe this is getting a little out of hand.” Then I come across someone else, usually on … Read more

Visit to Akihabara

Every once in a while, I pass through Tokyo, Japan on business travel. When the schedule permits, I make a trip over to Akihabara (AKA “Electric Town”), the center of electronic and computer gadgets in Tokyo. This place is amazing, offering everything from resistors to wide-screen televisions (and, yes, ham radio equipment). The only thing … Read more

2007 September VHF QSO Party

The March issue of QST arrived in the mail today, so I sat down and did my usual browsing through it. Ah, the September VHF contest results article by Sean KX9X is in here. The September contest is not a focus for me….usually I am out of energy for serious VHF contesting after participating in … Read more

Happenings in the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division

The Rocky Mountain Division of the ARRL has established a new web site to aid in communications with the membership. It looks to be a great place to find out about regional ham radio events, including local hamfests. Jeff Ryan K0RM is the Section Manager for the ARRL Colorado Section. Jeff has recently created a … Read more

The Use of 146.52 MHz

One of the local clubs recently had a heated discussion about the use of the National Simplex Calling Frequency, which is 146.52 MHz in the US (per the ARRL band plan). You have probably heard the argument before…..is the calling frequency reserved to just calling or is it OK to ragchew on that frequency? In … Read more