Ramblings by K6RJ

My apologies for the delay on this blogging post.  As promised, here is a first look at the SOFT66ADD software defined radio I recently purchased.  The first thing to strike me was just how small this unit really is.  The images on the makers website don’t do a good job of showing the scale of [...]

The National Scout Jamboree takes place July 26-August 4 at Fort AP Hill, Caroline County, Virginia.  Just like the National Scout Jamborees in 1973, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005, the 2010 event will feature Amateur Radio.  A team of 17 Scouters and two Scouts will activate K2BSA as a demonstration station at [...]

As you know, I am into Software Defined Radio (SDR).  I own a Flexradio SDR-1000 and hope to upgrade to a Flex-3000 within the next year.  However, I also own a Yaesu FT-450 which I am quite taken with.  For the small price this really is a lot of radio. I find myself using it [...]

ARMAD is an annual NON-POLITICAL Amateur Radio Public Service project that stands for Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day.  We work with National Military Appreciation Month during the Month of May.  We also provide other events, and work with other groups as requested during the year.  We ask Amateur Radio Operators from around the world to [...]

National Public Radio (NPR) had an interesting item a couple of days ago about the growth of amateur radio in spite of the current age of such social networking technologies like Facebook, Myspace,Twitter,cell phones and more. In fact, it states that the number of ham licensees in the US has increased to nearly 700,000, [...]

Newington, CT. April 7, 2010 – The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), and its member societies representing over 150 countries around the world, will celebrate World Amateur Radio Day on April 18, 2010. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Amateur Radio: combining communication experience with modern digital techniques.”
Amateur Radio operators, called “Hams,” have been [...]

One of the more fun contests of the year is this weekend, March 27-28, 2010.  It’s the CQ WPX SSB contest.  The goal of the contest is for amateurs world wide to contact as many amateurs and call prefixes as possible during the contest period.  If you are new to contesting, chasing awards or [...]

The FCC’s new Spectrum Dashboard allows new ways for citizens to search spectrum in the United States. Use the dashboard to find out how spectrum is being used, who owns spectrum licenses around the country, and what spectrum is available in your county.
Below is a screen print of the Spectrum Dashboard when browsing by spectrum [...]

Jim Briggs, WA9TIR of Bensenville, Illinois is the rightfully proud owner of this beautiful console installation.  How I wish I had the skills to produce something like this!  Great job, Jim!

There is an interesting article on PHYSORG.COM that may shed some light on the extended solar minimum we experienced between solar cycles 23 and 24.  That minimum lasted 15 months longer than was expected.  Unfortunately, and let’s hope they are wrong,  researchers Lisa Rightmire of the University of Memphis, Tennessee, and David Hathaway of the [...]