Category Archives: VHF/UHF

VHF Sweepstakes on Mount Herman

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For the 2011 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, I repeated the tradition of doing a winter assault on Mount Herman (DM79) on Saturday afternoon. As in past years, Joyce (K0JJW) joined me on the hike, but we also had some other folks along to make for quite a party on the summit this year.

James, Stu and Bob at the trailhead

Stu (W0STU) and I operated independent “Single Operator – Portable” stations from the summit. Stu conned convinced James (KD0MFO) to join him on this trek. We had hoped to get “Alpha Goat” Steve (WG0AT) to go with us, but he made some excuse about needing to prepare for an upcoming trip to Dominica (J7). (Instead of slogging through the snow, Steve wants to go to the Caribbean? Probably a good choice. See Steve”s video of his previous trip up Mt Herman here.) Dan (N0OLD) also hiked up a little later in the day to join us on the summit.

Bob K0NR setting up the Arrow II Yagi Antenna on the camera tripod

Trail conditions were good, with not much snow on the trail. There were definitely some icy spots such that we enjoyed the extra grippers attached to our boots. The weather forecast was a bit marginal, so we were prepared to deal with a snowstorm moving in on us. As I told Stu, the philosophy is “We’ll have a good hike and we might also have some fun working the radios.” In the end, the weather remained solid with only a few snow flakes and temperatures just above freezing. Dan and James built a small campfire (in an established fire ring) that really warmed us up.

Bob K0NR Operating the FT-817

My primary radio was the Yaesu FT-817, driving an ARROW II yagi on 2 Meters and 70 cm and a wire dipole in the trees for 6 Meters. I also had several handheld FM rigs along including one on 222 MHz. Overall, I made 83 contacts with 15 grids for a total score of 1725.

Group photo on the summit: Dan N0OLD, Bob K0NR, James KD0MFO, Joyce K0JJW and Stu W0STU

This may have been the most fun yet for the January VHF Sweepstakes. Of course, any day in the mountains playing with radios is a good day.

73, Bob K0NR

Logbook of the World – What Next?

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ARRL’s Logbook of the World has gotten mixed reviews from the ham community. KB6NU asks Is it more trouble than its worth?, while VE3OIJ says he will probably never use it. On the other hand, K2DBK says you really should use it. The biggest beef seems to be around the level of security (and hassle) built into the logbook system. Someone said “LoTW has more security than my online bank.” Probably true.

I have been loading my ham radio log data into the Logbook of the World for QSOs back to 2002. Although I’ve seen quite a few QSL matches via LoTW, it has not provided any real benefit to me.

Last week, that changed. The ARRL turned on support for the VUCC award. Lately, I have been on the air for most of the VHF contests and not much else. So when I logged into the LoTW web page, I found that I have 123 grids confirmed on 6 Meters, which would qualify me for 50 MHz VUCC. (Actually, I had already qualified for this award years ago, the hard way, with paper QSLs.)

I am still working towards 144 MHz VUCC and have been working on getting QSL cards for these contacts. To be honest, I have turned into a QSL Slacker. I manage to respond to every request for a QSL …eventually, but I have been a slacker on pursuing QSLs that I need for awards. You know the reasons: it takes time, it costs postage, it is a hassle.

The answer is obvious: we need to confirm QSLs electronically. Push a button, upload your log and receive the instant gratification of a confirmed QSO. Life is too short to mess around with cards. Not that I don’t like getting The Real Thing in QSL cards…there is nothing like receiving a well-designed card and holding it in your hands.

The challenge is also obvious… the ARRL needs to turn on support for more awards (way beyond DXCC, WAS and VUCC) with the goal of providing a benefit back to the users of LoTW. Otherwise, the number of people bothering to submit logs will remain low, limiting the success of LoTW.

73, Bob K0NR

Completing the 2010 Trip Around the Sun

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As the year 2010 comes to an end, I feel compelled to write something really insightful and meaningful as we log another trip around the sun. Perhaps some brilliant insights for the coming year? Or predictions of future technology breakthroughs?

Instead, I am writing this.

This is a mishmash of my thoughts about amateur radio at the start of 2011:

  • Tech License Class: One of the most fun and rewarding ham radio things I did this year was help teach a couple of Technician License Classes. There is nothing like engaging with newbies to the hobby to give you a new perspective on how cool amateur radio really is! I have a great set of teammates that made this class fun and successful: Stu W0STU, Paul AA0K and Joyce K0JJW.
  • Next Challenge: The challenge we see right now is helping these newly licensed Techs get engaged with amateur radio, so they don’t drop out. My belief is that the Technician License is a beginners permit that only enables a person to get started in the hobby. We are cooking up some fun activities to keep them going.
  • Public Service: We have a good thing going with the local fire district and the RACES group in our county in terms of real engagement on emergency communications. This is fun, rewarding and a good thing for our local community.
  • Dayton Hamvention: I am going to skip Dayton (again) this year. Instead, I’ll attend the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), a trade show centered on land mobile and mobile wireless communications. For me, it has an interesting mix of emergency communications, land mobile, data/voice convergence and test & measurement topics. Oh, did I mention that it is in Las Vegas?  I suspect that it will be a better venue than Hara Arena 🙂
  • ICOM IC-9100: I have been patiently waiting for this rig to move from vaporware status to reality. Maybe it will happen this year?
  • Keep On Writing: I find that writing is good therapy, so I will keep that on the list for 2011. Mostly it will be this blog and the FM column for CQ VHF magazine.
  • Operating: It seems I don’t actually get on the air as often as I’d like, certainly not for the casual ragchewing QSO. Operating events seem to be a good way for me to get some air time: VHF Contests, Colorado 14er event, Colorado QSO Party, maybe an HF contest or two.
  • D-STAR: I haven’t been spending much time with D-STAR lately and I want to increase the focus on it. D-STAR falls into that dorking around with new technology category where experimenting with it and learning about it is the main activity.  The technology continues to grow in adoption…arguably slow in real terms as the analog modes have such a huge installed base.
  • APRS: Oddly enough, I have been messing around with APRS again, mostly thinking of it as a tracking tool for hiking and other outdoor activities. Maybe we need to look at bridging APRS with D-STAR location data?

Amateur radio is clearly my #1 hobby interest, and by a wide margin. But it is primarily a hobby (yes, with a public service hook to it…at least for me). It is important to keep it in perspective and not let it turn into another job. I already have one of those.

What are you going to be doing in 2011?

73, Bob K0NR

Playing Around with APRS

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In the past few weeks, I started playing around with APRS again. Interest in APRS seems to come and go for me over time. It has the technical intrigue of figuring out how it works and the fun of exploring radio propagation paths. (If you are not familiar with APRS, K9DCI has a good introduction to it.)

The web site aprs.fi has some interesting hooks built into it that maps the location of APRS stations. I embedded a map here on my weblog page that shows my home station position (K0NR) and other stations in the vicinity. I intentionally blocked stations that only exist via the internet (no RF).

This map is dynamic in that it will update to show the latest APRS activity. It is fun to try select different map styles (courtesy of Google maps). Also, you may want to look at the html code to see how this is done.

73, Bob K0NR


NASA Amateur Radio Video from ISS

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Well, this one has actually been out on the web for several weeks, but I finally got around to viewing it. Col. Doug Wheeler Wheelock (KF5BOC) gives a short tour of the ISS and then demonstrates amateur radio operating (2 Meter FM) from the ISS. Col. Wheeler Wheelock was very active on the ham radio and I heard him on many passes but was not able to work him.

This is one of the best NASA videos concerning amateur radio on board the ISS, so don’t miss it!

Has Amateur Radio Missed Out on Instant Messaging?

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Earlier today, I was examining the various mobile phone service plans and “smart phones.” This caused me to reflect on how text messaging has become such a big deal in the mobile wireless world. Text messaging, more properly called  SMS (Short Message Service), supports simple text messages up to 160 characters. Even with a limited text length, much information gets passed using SMS, with usage rates exploding in recent years.

Twitter created a messaging system based on these short messages (actually limited to 140 characters to  fit into SMS with some margin). It wasn’t clear at first what the purpose of this system is, but people have figured out how to make use of it.

Other social networking systems, such as Facebook, have included SMS into their system, including sending status updates out via text messages. It turns out that you can do a lot with just 160 characters of plain text.

Ironically, amateur radio had the basic technology for a simple messaging system decades ago. This technology is packet radio or AX.25, a narrowband digital communications format that is ideal for sending short messages. This was a hot technology during the 1980’s and into the 1990’s. Later it faded into the background as the Internet delivered much faster digital pipes.  APRS (Amateur Packet Reporting System) revived interest in the mode in the past decade but remains a niche application in ham radio.

The APRS community has tried to take APRS main stream as a ubiquitous messaging system, but this has not gained wide adoption. Bob Bruninga WB4APR documented the Universal Text Messaging initiative on his web site. This is a nice piece of work. Bob argues correctly that we have quite a few different messaging formats that need to be tied together so they can be more effective.

What is standing in the way of a robust amateur radio messaging system? I think it  it is quite simple: the lack of a compelling mobile device for text messaging. While both Kenwood and Yaesu have incorporated APRS into their handheld radios (TH-D72, VX-8GR),  the emphasis seems to be on position reporting (GPS) and simple status messages. Neither of them have done anything innovative in the text message area, such as including a QWERTY keyboard or a touch screen user interface. Imagine a handheld radio based on the Android operating system…an open system that can be programmed by the amateur community. Being inherently digital, ICOM’s D-STAR radios had the opportunity to really nail this type of use but they have missed it so far.

There has been some fine work done using D-STAR to provide Instant Messaging (IM) capability. Most notably, the D-RATS software by Dan Smith KK7DS does a super job of integrating IM and email, using the ham bands along with the Internet. (D-RATS has many other features, too.) But to run D-RATS you need a computer attached to the radio….appropriate in some applications but missing the portability associated with the conventional HT or mobile phone.

A valid question is whether this really matters at all. Do we even need a ham radio instant messaging system? If we did, what would we use it for?  Applications that come to mind are: position reports, event announcements, DX spots, emergency pages, callsign lookup, repeater directory and, of course, casual chatting.  I suspect that once the capability is available the software gurus among us would apply it to applications that are beyond our current thinking. Actually, we know what hams like to “tweet” about…just monitor the high level of ham activity on Twitter. To really make this work, we’ll need some action from the equipment manufacturers.

That’s my thinking….what do you say?

73, Bob K0NR

QST Announcement of January VHF Contest

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While I was traveling on business, I started getting emails about my photo in QST. When I got home I took a look and found this announcement for the upcoming January VHF Contest.

I had posted this photo in my soapbox comments for the 2010 contest. Sean KX9X dropped me an email a few months ago asking if they could use it for publication. Of course, I said “sure!”

See you on the air in January!

73, Bob K0NR

CQ VHF Magazine

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CQ VHFMy radio interests have always been peaked on the VHF and higher bands, so that is one reason why I really enjoy  CQ VHF magazine. CQ VHF is published once a quarter and contains a variety of fun content on radio operating above 50 MHz.

With the >50 MHz focus, it is a great fit for for new Technician licensees, but it is also technical enough for more experienced hams. Take a look at the most recent table of contents here.

I like the magazine so much that I an a contributing editor for it, writing the FM/Repeater column. (No, it is not so lucrative that I have quit my day job….this is in the labor-of-love category.)

Right now, CQ VHF is running a holiday subscription special of $24/year.

Check it out.

73, Bob K0NR

2010 Fall TechFest

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Here is an excellent opportunity to build your ham radio knowledge and skill. The 285 TechConnect Radio Club (www.na0tc.org ) is once again sponsoring the Fall TechFest (Saturday November 6th). This educational event is aimed at the Tech advancing to General, with a good selection of workshop topics.

I often get new Technician licensees (or not so new licensees) asking for help on learning more about amateur radio. The 285 TechConnect Radio Club has taken this on and has created a super environment for technical training.

I will be presenting the VHF workshop for this event. I presented on a different topic last year and it was loads of fun, so I am looking forward to doing it again!

Schedule of Workshops
(order and topic may vary)
Time Topics
9:00 – 9:50 Contesting Using Wire Antennas and 100 Watt Rigs
10:00 – 10:50 DXing Using Wire Antennas and 100 watt Rigs
11:00 – 11:50 The Fun Of Using Classic Radios
12:00 – 12:50 Lunch (on your own) Question and Answer Session for those who stay to eat
1:00 – 1:50 QRP – Make Contacts Like the Big Boys with 5 Watts
2:00 – 2:50 VHF/UHF – Beyond FM
3:00 – 3:50 Audio Processing – Make That Difficult Contact

Registration
Space is limited! Please pre-register.
Cost $10.00 (cash only at the door).

Where
The Inter Canyon Fire Department Station #1. The address is 7939 South Turkey Creek Road, Morrison, Colorado OR check our website – www.na0tc.org.

NAØTC – 285 TechConnect Radio Club
2010 Fall TechFest
November 6, 2010

Be sure to visit the NA0TC web site for complete information.

73, Bob K0NR

Our First GeoFox Rally

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Our local radio club (W0TLM) has been able to help a number of Scouts from the local Boy Scout troop get their Technician Class radio license. (See Results from the Second Technician Class.) The boys are having a lot of fun talking to each other on 2 Meters and using ham radio to support their troop activities.

We started thinking about some other fun activities we could do with them. Somehow the notion of combining some GPS (geocaching) work with transmitter (fox) hunting emerged. It turns out that we are not the first group to have this idea. The North Bay Amateur Radio Club in California had already tried this and named it GeoFox.

Our version of GeoFox,  crafted by Stu W0STU, resulted in a course that had three hidden transmitters  and three checkpoints defined by latitude/longitude, for a total of 6 checkpoints. The total course length was about 3.6 miles.

Using this as a learning opportunity, the Scouts built their own “tape measure” yagi antennas for use in direction finding.

The course was set up in a portion of Pike National Forest, near Woodland Park, Colorado. The Scout troop combined the GeoFox event with a weekend campout. The Scouts worked in teams of 4, with at least one licensed radio operator and a GPS operator. Each team started at 20 minute intervals with instructions to get them to the first checkpoint. At each checkpoint, they found the instructions that would get them to the next checkpoint. In addition to GPS and radio operating, the instructions required the use of some basic Morse code and traditional map/compass. The event crew was in radio contact with the teams as we tracked their progress throughout the course.

The Scouts plan their attack at the start of the course.

The course turned out to be more difficult than planned. Some of the teams got off track into difficult terrain (for one reason or another) and took a while to recover. A few of the teams did not finish the course in time.  Everyone left the event quite exhausted but full of stories to tell about their fun day.

A GeoFox team leaves the starting point, headed for the first transmitter

I think we have the start of a really fun activity for all ages that we will refine over time.

– 73, Bob K0NR

Updated Web Site at CQ VHF

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CQ COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PRESS RELEASE. Richard Moseson, W2VU, Editorial Director, sent out the following dated Tuesday, August 10th:

“CQ VHF Magazine Launches Streamlined Website — Continuing its company-wide update of its magazine websites, CQ Communications, Inc. today announced the launch of a new and easier-to-navigate website for CQ VHF magazine. Like the recently updated sites for WorldRadio Online and Popular Communications, the new CQ VHF site features a cleaner look and a streamlined user interface to make it quicker and easier for visitors to find what they are looking for. The CQ VHF update coincides with posting of the highlights for the Summer 2010 issue.

Current issue highlights include sample pages in full-color layout, to give prospective readers the ability to see what the magazine itself looks like in print. Highlights of previous issues reaching back to 2006 are available on the website with easier access than in the past. One new feature is a ‘Current Events’ page, which provides readers with access to information on upcoming events and activities that is more up-to-date than possible with a quarterly publication.

The site also includes links to clubs, ham radio reference sites, contact information for editors and columnists, direct links to advertisers’ websites and to other CQ Communications publications. In addition, a link to the magazine’s Facebook page makes it simple for readers to provide feedback and connect with other hobbyists.

CQ VHF is a quarterly magazine devoted to ‘Ham Radio Above 50 MHz.’ First published in 1996, it combines articles designed for newcomers with historical and technical features best appreciated by more experienced VHF operators. It is edited by Joe Lynch, N6CL, who is also the long-time ‘VHF-Plus’ editor of parent magazine CQ Amateur Radio.

CQ VHF is published by CQ Communications, Inc., which also publishes CQ Amateur Radio, Popular Communications and WorldRadio Online magazines. The new CQ VHF website may be accessed at: <http://www.cq-vhf.com>.”

CQ WW VHF – Just Another Day of Sporadic-E

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You just have to love VHF contesting….hours of boredom punctuated by the excitement of band openings. Unlike HF contests, you never really know what you are going to get in terms of propagation.

So it was with the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest this weekend. It started out really slow on Saturday. I mean really, really, really slow. There were not many local stations on the air, so it was tough sledding on both 2 Meters and 6 Meters. (Yes, the CQ WW VHF Test is two bands only: 2 Meters and 6 Meters…and those are my favorite bands to work anyway.)

Then later in the afternoon, I hear Louisiana stations coming in on 6 Meters. Then the magic sporadic-e clouds shift and I am working the east coast, all the way up into the New England states. Later the propagation shifts to the midwest and it was Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Kansas. I was working them as fast as I could and had quite a pileup into DM78 Colorado. The band stayed open till about 9 PM local…just when I thought it was done, another station would come booming in.

Sunday started out slow but during the morning I worked the Pacific northwest on 50 MHz, including several contacts into Canada. This opening was not as strong, but it kept me busy until the afternoon. Then it was picking up everyone I could on 2 Meters. Again, local participation was surprisingly light…not sure what’s up with that.

Band  Mode  QSOs   Pts  Grd
50     CW     1      1    1
50    USB   259    259  112
144    CW     1      2    1
144   USB    14     28    7
Total Both  275    290  121

Score : 35,090

All in all, a great time was had by me.

73, Bob K0NR

2010 Colorado 14er Event

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The Colorado 14er Event will be held on August 8 this year. This is the premier mountaintopping event for amateur radio. The basic idea is to have fun making ham radio contacts from the 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado.

Actually, we’ve started to see some of the 14,000 ft peaks in California on the air, too! Very cool. Rumor has it that some of the New Mexico hams might be active on the highest summits in that state (none are above 14,000 feet though). I don’t know whether the Kansas folks are going to brave the extreme conditions on Mount Sunflower this year or not. (That’s the highest spot in Kansas.)

Some of these stations will be on HF, activating Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks.

For more information see:

The 14er Event Web Site

The Ham14er Yahoo group

I hope to work you during the event.

73, Bob K0NR

Here Come the Chinese Radios

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I happened to be in Hong Kong on business and wandered around the Kowloon area looking for electronic gadgets. I started noticing several different models of handheld transceivers, some of them marketed as ham radios. I counted at least 10 different brands of equipment, all made in China.

A Wouxun radio caught my eye, as I recalled some discussion about these radios being available at Dayton for a very reasonable price. I took a look at it and was pleased with the look of the radio. The price was right, too…less than $100 US.

This Wouxun KG-UVD1P is a very capable dualband 146 MHz/ 446 MHz radio. The whole idea of such a low cost radio had me hooked…I basically wanted to know if the radio was any good….so I bought one. (I have to confess that I forgot to negotiate a lower price which is common in these Hong Kong shops.)

I took the radio home and have been playing with it. So far, I am very impressed. I’d like to find some time to check out the performance with my test equipment, but that will have to wait. I’ve also noticed that there are some reviews and mentions of this rig on the internet: eham.net, W2LJ,  Wouxun web site and hamradioshop.it .   The N9EWO has quite a bit of detailed information about the radio on his website. He points out that this radio is not really a full dualband transceiver…the VHF and UHF receiver share some circuitry such that you can’t actually receive two signals simultaneously.

So here come the Chinese radios. Not a big surprise as many low cost electronic devices are manufactured in China. However, the Big Three (Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom) are Japanese companies and as far as I can tell have kept most of their manufacturing in Japan.

Amateur radio transceivers are a mature technology, so expect to see more of these Chinese radios showing up in the US.

Your Mileage May Vary, All Disclaimers Apply.

– 73, Bob K0NR

Update 10 July 2010 : there is a Yahoo group for discussing the wouxun radios.

Update 18 July 2010: Wouxun US website: http://www.wouxun.us/

QRP Results in the January VHF Contest

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The July issue of QST arrived in the mail recently with an article on the January VHF Sweepstakes results. It always takes about 6 months to have the scores show up in QST, so some people make it a point to share their scores via email and figure out who won. I just submit my log and then forget about it until the scores get published, which means I have usually completely forgotten about the contest by then. It can make for a nice surprise when the article gets published.

This year I reverted back to my “hike up a local mountain and operate QRP” operating style. The past few years I have been more of a slacker, operating from the comfort of our cabin up in the mountains. The backpack portable approach is a lot of fun but does limit how many hours I operate and therefore keeps the score on the low side. I am not about to freeze my behind by spending the night on the mountain in January. It does make for a fun hike, often requiring snowshoes to make it up to the summit (but not this year). My soapbox comments, including a few photos, are on the ARRL web site.

So I opened QST and found that I absolutely dominated the Rocky Mountain Division with my 741 points :-). Here’s the list of Single-Operator Portable scores for the entire contest:

# Call Score QSOs Mult Class Section
1 N3YMS 32,184 260 72 Q DE
2 N8XA 6,864 123 48 Q OH
3 W9SZ 2,268 38 28 Q IL
4 WB2AMU 1,518 63 22 Q NLI
5 K9TMS 1,420 46 20 Q EB
6 K0NR 741 39 13 Q CO
7 W0UC 380 19 10 Q MN
8 N0HJZ 192 12 4 Q MN
9 KC8KSK 138 17 6 Q NC
10 N0JK 80 10 8 Q KS
11 K1EXE 60 12 5 Q VT
12 VA3RKM 56 9 4 Q ON
13 K9PY 50 8 5 Q AZ
14 KD7WPJ 48 6 6 Q UT
15 KB2AYU 45 9 3 Q EPA
16 WA1LEI 39 13 3 Q CT
17 W0DJM 35 5 5 Q MN
18 K7RLL 15 4 3 Q VA
19 W6MDH 12 3 3 Q EB
20 N3RG 8 1 1 Q SNJ
21 WA3WUL 8 1 1 Q SNJ
22 W6CT 4 2 2 Q SCV
23 K2ULR 1 1 1 Q GA

The competition in this category is a mix of activity ranging from very serious efforts (e.g., N3YMS with over 32,000 points) to people that just make a handful of contacts. It turns out I placed 6th overall. I didn’t enter the contest to win, but I have to admit it is nice to know there is a category where the Peanut-Whistle Stations don’t get swamped out by the Big Guns.

If you want to try something different, give VHF QRP a try in one of the contests.

73, Bob K0NR

This Spewed Out of the Internet #15

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It’s time to do one of those miscellaneous collections of drivel that spews forth from the interwebnet pipes. Some of this might even be important!

Some upcoming events: ARRL June VHF QSO Party and the Colorado FM Sprint, on the weekend of June 12th. The FM Sprint runs concurrently with the ARRL contest but only on Sunday afternoon. This is a good chance to get on the air with very basic equipment and have some fun.

The ARRL Field Day is coming up on June 26th and 27th. This is arguably the biggest on-the-air amateur radio event in North America.

I was playing around with setting up an SMS text messaging system for callsign lookup. The idea is that you send a text message (containing an amateur call sign) with your mobile phone and get the FCC or QRZ info back. In the meantime, I found that this problem has been solved by Callsign By Text. Very nice, check it out.

Female radio amateurs should check out Chick Factor International. It looks like a fun group.

I picked up a DV Access Point (DVAP) for D-STAR. This is a neat little device that provides flea-powered D-STAR access on 2 Meters by plugging it into a PC with internet connection. The South Yorkshire Repeater Group has a good description of the product. So far, this thing works really well.

By the way, the South Yorkshire group has a really good web site…interesting and timely information. Although they are in the UK, I find it relevant to US ham radio activity, too.

The Technician Class License question pool will be updated as of July 1, 2010. Our next Tech Class in Monument will be in October, so we’ll be updating the classroom material before teaching that class. It is clear that more technical content is being added to the question pool, which I think is a good thing. See KB6NU’s posting on the topic.

From The Complete Waste of Time Department, the FCC once again dismissed a petition from K9STH to change the amateur radio station identification requirements. Look, the FCC doesn’t see a problem here (and neither do I) so save yourself the trouble.

The FCC is seeking comments on the proposed new rules concerning emergency communications.  I took the time to file a short comment, basically saying that the FCC is on the right track but they should remove the reference to “government-sponsored drills”. Any legitimate emergency communications drill should be included, regardless of who sponsors it. The ARRL made similar but more detailed comments.

– 73, Bob K0NR

Update on the IC-9100

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Ham radio VHF enthusiasts have been patiently waiting for the ICOM IC-9100. This HF/VHF/UHF/Satellites covers most or all of the popular amateur bands. Recently, ICOM has posted the specs and brochure on its web site.

The rig has dual receivers that allow monitoring two bands at once and it is set up for full-duplex on satellites. The built-in antenna tuner covers HF and 50 MHz. Operating on 1.2 GHz requires an optional module.

There is an optional DV (D-STAR) option that works on 10M, 6M, 2M, 70 cm and 1.2 GHz. This is the first combo HF+VHF+UHF rig that has DV available.

The 100 Watt output power all the way up to 50 MHz and 144 MHz is a real plus and 75 Watts on 430 MHz is not bad either. The 1.2 GHz option would be nice, too. This would be a great radio for portable VHF contesting. Oh, and I guess it works HF, too. 🙂

So everyone was expecting a big ICOM announcement at the Dayton Hamvention. Based on the reports I heard via the D-STAR system in Dayton, one unit was shown “under glass” so attendees could look but not touch. Also, a number of people have reported that the ICOM booth staff are saying that the 9100 will be available later this year (fall timeframe?) at a price of ~$US 4000.

Ouch. Most observers see that as a bit too expensive. I’ll withhold judgment until it is really in stock at a dealer with a real price.

–   73, 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 calculations and some other things like decibel conversions.

Check it out at here or just search for microwave calculator on iTunes.

– 73, Bob K0NR

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 held concurrently with the ARRL June VHF QSO Party, with compatible rules and operating procedures. The purpose of this contest is to:

·        Promote the use of FM VHF/UHF simplex

·        Provide an opportunity for radio amateurs to test the limits of their stations using FM VHF/UHF and to experiment with ways to improve their stations

·        Practice deploying portable and mobile operation as a means of identifying effective locations for temporary relay stations

·        Provide a simple and enjoyable radio contest experience (“Have fun!”)

Time:

Sunday, June 13, 2010; 1200 to 1600 Mountain Time (1800 to 2200 UTC)

Objective:

To work as many stations as possible using FM simplex on the 146 MHz, 222 MHz and 440 MHz bands in as many different VHF grids as possible.

Frequencies:

Operate on FM simplex frequencies consistent with the Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) band plans with special emphasis on using ARES designated frequencies.

(Consistent with the ARRL Rules, 146.52 MHz is not allowed to be used in the contest.)

Suggested Frequencies:

2 Meters: 146.58, 146.55, 146.49 MHz

222 MHz: 223.5 MHz

440 MHz: 446.0, 446.025, 446.100 MHz

Do not operate on repeater frequencies or 146.52 MHz, the National Simplex Calling Frequency.

Remember to be a considerate operator and share the frequency with other operators.

Contest Exchange

To complete a contest QSO, you and the other station must copy each other’s callsign and 4-digit Grid Locator. You may optionally exchange Name and ARES District.

Note: These are an abbreviated set of rules…the complete rules and FAQ are at http://www.qsl.net/k0yb/Colorado_FM_Sprint.html

73, Bob K0NR