Ham Radio

The PJ4/K0NR Story

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I finally got around to putting together the PJ4/K0NR DXpedition story on my web site. My wife (Joyce K0JJW) and I were looking for a great place for an island vacation and someone recommended Bonaire as a quiet little island with world class diving and snorkeling. We checked into it further and confirmed that this … Read more

Morse Code Testing: Irrelevant

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I promised myself that I wasn’t going to write anything else about the FCC’s decision to eliminate the Morse Code testing requirement for amateur radio licenses. The issue has been debated for decades, all of the arguments have been made and I am quite weary of the topic. Then I came across the Long Delayed … Read more

Counterfeit ICOM Handheld Radios

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ICOM has issued a notice on its web site that counterfeit versions of their basic VHF handheld radio, the IC-V8, are showing up at various locations on the internet. ICOM says that “Some of them look almost identical to genuine ICOM products. It has been reported recently that these products are also being sold through … Read more

FCC Drops Morse Code

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Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order) that modifies the rules for the Amateur Radio Service by revising the examination requirements for obtaining a General Class or Amateur Extra Class amateur radio operator license and revising the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees. … Read more

Satellite Operation from Bonaire PJ4/K0NR

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As mentioned in a previous post, I was in Bonaire on vacation, so I took along some ham radio gear and did a PJ4/K0NR Mini-DXpedition. Well, maybe it is more like a Micro-DXpedition. Everything had to be transported via airline, so the radio gear needed to be compact, which included HF and satellite gear. The … Read more

Use MP3 Player for Portable Logging

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In the past few weeks, I’ve refocused on portable satellite operations using a station consisting of a dualband handheld radio and the Arrow II antenna. One of the challenges with this kind of operation has been the logging. Sometimes I’d have someone jot down the information on paper as I worked the various stations. This … Read more