Just ordered a Warbler

I just ordered a Warbler from Small Wonders Labs. I am very excited about getting into PSK31, and this unit looks like an easy way to enter the digital radio domain. As a computer consultant, it is pretty easy to find an old dead laptop to refurbish into a portable digital station. My only big concern is the surface mount soldering in this kit. I will be sure to review the Amateur Logic TV episodes on surface mounting before I do anything. It will be my first time working with surface mount components and I am hoping I won't end up with a $55 doorstop on my hands. I plan to bring this unit to Field Day 2009 to get a few QSOs. If all goes well, it may even be a USB Warbler conversion. Thankfully there is plenty of documentation out there to help me get this project off the ground. Wish me luck.

HoSARC Changes

With all the changes this downturn in the economy has wrought, the one affecting my Amateur radio world the most has been the loss of our Hall of Science amateur Radio Club space in the Queens Hall of Science. The club has been at the Hall for 35 years and has helped numerous HAMs get their tickets; myself among them. I for one will be very sad to see such a great resource be forced out into an unsecured future.

We have a few possibilities for future homes, and I look forward to getting started on them. I still am sorry to see the old station go. It was a good setup and I wonder how long it will be until we are back on the air at the same strength as we once were.

Spy radios of WWII

Just posted a video we shot of a talk given by Al Klase - N3FRQ at the Hall of Science Amateur Radio Club in Queens New York. The subject was military, and Spy radios through history. He had many examples of WWII hardware and how they evolved throughout the conflict. In a little while I will also post another video I made of all the equipment he brought. The table was laden with an amazing collection of equipment. Starting with some large early military sets and quickly getting very portable as the technology evolved. To the right you will see a picture of one of Mr. Klases own radios. A CMS , "painter's case" unit made for the US Navy around 1940, Mr. Klase in the video explains the circuit design and use. He also has some great shot of the famous suitcase-radio popular in so many of those WWII spy movies.

73s.org,..facebook for HAMs

Just joined a new website named 73s.org. It looks like a great way to share the Amateur radio experience. The website has been covered in 2 of the amateur radio podcasts I listen to, Practical Amateur Radio Podcast of Texas and ICQ Podcast of the UK have each done segments on this new site. Chris Matthieu N7ICE the owner of the site was looking for a good amateur radio idea and struck upon a social networking "facebook for HAMs" site. While looking for domain names only the "73s" domain was available, so slightly incorrect naming it was. The site boasts many interesting bits of coding, including a callsign lookup by typing in www.73.org/-nameofcallsign-, you will get information from a few different websites at once. QRZ.rg included.

VX7 Commander

Yesterday I downloaded the VX-7 Commander from Jim Mitchell - KC8UNJ and used it to edit the memory settings on my Yaesu VX-7. It was a fantastic piece of free software that works with my HT to edit just about every setting you can think of. You can even use it to create your own icons for your Yaesu HT. I was very impressed.

Author and Teacher Gordon West speaks at HoSARC

Gordon West -WB6NOA gave a great post-CES show and amateur-radio-in-action talk at our club meeting in January. Mr. West touched on the new consumer gadgets coming out and the nicely priced new Icom 718. The new 100 channel, 100 watt rig hitting the market at around $500 seems a great value and many were happy about the report.

Armed with an AOR spectrum analyzer, Mr. West tested the newest in HD-TVs, power line devices and regular household appliances for RF noise and found most very quiet; with toasters, microwaves and other micro-processor controlled devices being the culprits when it comes to RF noise.

Mr. West also illustrated very clearly the need for highly trained radio operators. His presentation of taped transmissions of emergency communications trained amateur radio operators aiding FEMA in a very dramatic rescue of an overturned school bus during the California wild fires really brought home the need to be properly trained when the need arises.

At the end of his talk, Gordon West presented the club with a 5 cent amateur radio postage stamp he had received from Barry Goldwater himself. It was a very enjoyable presentation from a true gentleman in amateur radio. Below I have posted the video I shot of the talk. It ends with Rob Smith AB2UV talking about the web-cam simulcast of the talk we had on our website.