Amateur Radio · VHF/UHF · Summits On The Air · Colorado Mountains · Adventure
Usually I don’t focus on the ARRL 10 Meter contest, especially when the solar activity has been so low. However, band conditions have really picked up and 10 Meters is alive and kicking. We have quite a few new Technicians that are discovering the wonder of worldwide HF propagation with even a modest station. I … Read more
The Summits On The Air (SOTA) program was launched in Europe in 2002 but is just now making its way to the United States. Recently, there has been a surge of activity in Colorado as the program gains traction here. The basic concept of SOTA is an award program that rewards the radio operators that … Read more
Recently on Google Plus there was a discussion of what qualifies as a separate country in the amateur radio world. The confusion point was that Alaska was showing up in logging software as a “country”. It turns out is is both a country and a state. The generally accepted countries list is established by the … Read more
There’s lots of information spewing forth from the interwebznet. Here are a few items of interest. The amateur radio community is buzzing with excitement from the excellent propagation on the HF bands during the CQ Worldwide DX Contest last weekend. For example, see the radio-sport.net post or my post. One of our local Boy Scouts … Read more
I had previously admitted to being an HF slacker…that is, I only really enjoy the high frequency bands when the DX is loud and plentiful on 15 and 10 Meters. For almost a half decade, I’ve listened to the True HF Enthusiasts say things like “move to the lower bands when the solar activity is … Read more
I had a great time working the Colorado QSO Party ham radio contest on Saturday. This is your typical state QSO party where the rules favor working Colorado stations with an emphasis on activating Colorado counties. I operated from our cabin located in the somewhat rare Park County, using my new FT-950. I am still … Read more