Amateur Radio · VHF/UHF · Summits On The Air · Colorado Mountains · Adventure
As hoped, I had a great weekend working the ARRL June VHF QSO Party (AKA the June VHF Contest). Band conditions were not as good as last year but we had some very good sporadic-e propagation on 50 MHz. I operated from the cabin “portable style” in DM78av, near Trout Creek Pass. It was a … Read more
This weekend is the ARRL June QSO Party (also known as The June VHF Contest). It is a great opportunity to get on the air and try out the VHF bands. In particular, 6 Meters usually has some fun sporadic-e propagation during the contest. It is a blast when that band comes alive with signals … Read more
The internet keeps spewing forth a river of bits, some of it actually useful information. Reliable sources tell me that the date for the 2013 Hamcon Colorado has been set: June 28-30 in Estes Park, Colorado. This event is the best hamfest in Colorado and happens every 4 years. (It is the ARRL Rocky Mt … Read more
A while back, Yaesu published a white paper/brochure on VHF/UHF digital technology that slammed D-STAR for using GMSK modulation and stated that C4FM (4-Level FSK) is the way to go. See my previous posting on that topic. The paper also talked about DMR and APCO 25 as standards that use C4FM. Page 14 of the … Read more
At the direction of Congress, the FCC opened up Proceeding 12-91: COMMISSION SEEKS COMMENT ON EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS BY AMATEUR RADIO AND IMPEDIMENTS TO AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS. I decided to file my comments with the Commission, which can be read in full here. I’ll also provide the short version here: 1. The contributions of amateur radio … Read more
We recently sold the old white Jeep and bought a 2012 Wrangler (JK). After quite a bit of researching and experimenting with antenna mounting options, I finally got the ham gear installed in it. My objective is to get 2 Meter and 70 cm FM capability into the vehicle, using the Yaesu FT-7800 that I … Read more