That’s Not Real Ham Radio

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Things had been pretty quiet on the ham front lately but then I ran into a string of “That’s Not Real Ham Radio” discussions. This happens from time to time…I usually ignore it…but this time I got sucked into the topic. It started with some HF enthusiasts I know talking about how “digital modes” are … Read more

Where are Those New Hams Coming From?

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The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association just completed another successful Technician license class resulting in 21 new Technicians plus one person that passed both the Technician and General exams. We survey the class a week or two later to get their feedback and capture some demographic information. In recent years, our Technician class has consistently filled … Read more

Winter SOTA on Monarch Ridge South

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Joyce KØJJW and I were out for a little snowshoe activity near Monarch Pass in the San Isabel National Forest. Initially, we were headed to Old Monarch Pass when we noticed that the snow and weather conditions looked favorable on Monarch Ridge (also called Monarch Crest). Last winter, we tried snowshoeing Monarch Ridge twice, failing … Read more

DMR Hotspot from SharkRF

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Amateur adoption of Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) continues to increase, with a number of new innovations playing out. It was way back in 2012 when I wrote this article about DMR for CQ VHF Magazine: TRBO Hits the Amateur Bands.  A few years ago, I picked up some used MOTOTRBO gear to use on our … Read more

2017 Mt Herman Winter Activation

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On Saturday, we returned to the Most Radio Active Mountain in Colorado, Mount Herman (W0C/FR-063), for a combination VHF contest, SOTA activation and winter hike. Our radio crew consisted of Steve/WGØAT, Caleb/W4XEN, Joyce/KØJJW and me. I’ve worked Steve forty times on various summits and often when he was activating Mount Herman, but this is the … Read more

2017 North America SOTA Events

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Here’s your handy list of North American Summits On The Air (SOTA) activities for 2017, as supplied by Guy N7UN: Jan 21-22rd: North America SOTA Winter Activity Weekend + ARRL Jan VHF Contest Apr 22-23: North America SOTA Spring Activity Weekend + QRPTTF Spring Event (Apr 22) Jun 10-11: North America SOTA Summer Activity Weekend + ARRL June VHF Contest … Read more