Amateur Radio · VHF/UHF · Summits On The Air · Colorado Mountains · Adventure
As I sit here looking out the window, I see snow piling up on the back deck. Yep, spring time in the Rockies with a winter snow warning on Easter. It seems like a good time to take a look at upcoming amateur radio events this summer. Here’s my starter list, with a definite bias … Read more
Every once in a while, I stumble onto something that just makes me think “holy cow, how did they do THAT?” The most recent is the German AMSAT group ( AMSAT DL) transmitted a signal to Venus and received the reflected signal as it came back to earth. From the AMSAT (US) web site: AMSAT-DL … Read more
I am a bit of a test equipment junkie….it has something to do with working in the electronic measurement business for most of my career. There are many great pieces of test equipment out there but every once in a while, one comes along that really captures the imagination. Over the weekend, I got my … Read more
Activity was light during the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, but I had fun anyway, working more grids on 2 Meters than I expected. The January VHF contest is not a big deal for me but I try to at least get on the air. In previous years, I have operated backpack portable for the contest. … Read more
Just a reminder that the January VHF contest is this weekend, starting at noon on Saturday Mountain time. I will be at our cabin up in the mountains (DM78av) with no real antennas up yet but I’ll have a decent Yagi set up temporarily for working 2 Meters. I’ll listen on the calling frequency 144.200 … Read more
The D-STAR buzz continues to build in Colorado with a few repeaters on the air and more to come. For an overview of D-STAR, take a look at the article I wrote for CQ VHF magazine. I decided to dig into the digital modulation format that is used in D-STAR so I could understand it … Read more