TAPR Posts Papers from Digital Communications Conference

August 23, 2023TAPR has released the papers submitted to the 2022 Digital Communications Conference which took place September 16-18 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Topics include:

• Central Control Database for HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station
  William D. Engelke; Cole Robbins; Nicholas Muscolino; Anderson Liddle; Travis Atkison and Nathaniel A. Frissell
• HTTP and TLS Authorization Implementation for APRS-IS Servers
  Peter S. Loveall
• ESP32 Packet/APRS: Creating a Low Cost Tracker
  Jason Rausch, K4APR and Remi Bilodeau, VE2YAG
• A Brief Survey of Technological Innovation for Amateur Radio
  Steve Stroh, N8GNJ

Visit TAPR.org for more paper topics.

Source: TAPR open_in_new

International Dog Day Special Event

August 22, 2023YL1DOG will be on the air August 21st through August 26th to celebrate International Dog Day, a day to celebrate all dogs around the world.

International Dog Day, started in 2004, promotes adoption of dogs that have yet to find their forever family.

Source: QRZ open_in_new

AMSAT-EA On Air for AM1SAT Satellite Contest

August 20, 2023

AMSAT-EA will be on the air on all available satellites with the callsigns AM1SAT and AM2023SAT from September 4th to 17th, 2023 to celebrate the fourth edition of the AM1SAT trophy contest as part of the URE activities within the IberRadio 2023 event

More info at iberRadio.

Rules available from AMSAT-EA (PDF).

Source: AMSAT open_in_new

Arecibo Observatory Officially Shuts Down

August 18, 2023The Arecibo Observatory, which recently suffered catastrophic damage to its 305-meter telescope, has officially shut down all research efforts.

Since the collapse of the main telescope in 2020, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) had intended to convert the facility into an educational research center, but doubts have risen whether that plan will pan out.

Source: Nature open_in_new

RTL-SDR Releases V4 SDR Dongle

August 16, 2023RTL-SDR has released their latest V4 model of their USB software defined radio dongle. Updates include:

• Improved HF reception with use of built-in upconverter.
• Out of band interference from strong broadcast stations is less likely to cause desensitization.
• Consumes less current and produces less heat.

Note:

The V4 is a Limited Edition Design. The R828D tuner chip is completely out of production now and the number of units we can produce is limited by the number of chips held by our contract manufacturer in China. They have indicated that there should be enough stockpile for about a years worth of production.

The RTL-SDR V4 SDR will be priced around $40.

Source: RTL-SDR.com open_in_new

Hunstville Hamfest Forum List

August 16, 2023Hunstville Hamfest takes place this weekend, August 19-20, 2023 and once again features a robust lineup of forums (PDF) with many presentations from the biggest names in ham radio.

ARRL Member Forum with ARRL CEO David A. Minster, NA2AA

Using RepeaterBook.com to Help You Better Leverage Your Programmable Radio Investment: Charles F. Adams, Jr., KV4VT

Elecraft Update with Q&A – Including the K4 and its Latest Features and Updates: Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ

Simply Integrating Your Current HF Radio Station with the FlexRadio Power Genius XL amplifier: Michael Walker, VA3MW

YouTubers Group

APRS: Tim Cunningham, N8DEU

RF Power Amplifiers: Larry Savage, WA4CAX

Lighting Research in Huntsville: Monte Bateman, PhD, WB5RZX

Lighting Protection for Hams: Monte Bateman, PhD, WB5RZX

Powering Your Fun from The Sun: John Kalotai, N1OLO

Kit Building Techniques for Success: Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB

Can you operate ham radio from an electric vehicle?: Rob Suggs, PhD, NN4NT

Locating Power Line Noise: A True Story: Mike Rozar, N4CNZ

Operating Procedures for Enhancing Your Microwave Contest Score: Ben Lowe, K4QF

Two Hearts, One Hobby: Joe Domaleski, KI4ASK & Marry Catherine Domaleski, KI4HHI

Building Projects with Microcontrollers: Glen Popiel, KW5GP

Send an Amateur Radio Balloon around the World: Bill Brown, WB8ELK

Current Lunar Missions & Radio Science: Heidi Haviland, PhD, KK6SZW

What Physicists Don’t Know About Electromagnetics: Hans Shantz, PhD, KC5VLD

Beginning Morse Code: Keith Ford, K4KEF

POTA Best Practices: Mike Turner, W4OPS

POTA General Overview: Mike Turner, W4OPS

Introduction to POTA: Jerry Mitchell, KO4JVB

Georgia State Parks on the Air event: Claude Ray III, AC4SH

Adult Soldering 101: Matthew Sager, KI4AJZ, & Kevin Hibbs, KG4TEI

How to get in the DX station’s log as seen from the short end of the pileup: Jay Slough, K4ZLE

AMSAT Forum: Tim Cunningham, N8DEU

The Museum of Information Explosion: Bob DePierre, K8KI

ARDC Grants and 44Net Technology for the Amateur Radio community: Jon Kemper, KA6NVY

Alabama Repeater Council: Dennis Littleton, K4DL

EDUCOM-Education Thru Communication: Joe Fairclough, WB2JKJ

ARRL Alabama Section Forum and ARRL Alabama Section Radio Sport Forum: Roger Parsons, KK4UDU & Christopher Arthur, NV4B

Alabama Section ARES: Roger Parsons, KK4UDU

Source: Hunstville Hamfest open_in_new

International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend

August 15, 2023

The major event which takes place in August is the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend, ILLW, which came into being in 1998 as the Scottish Northern Lights Award run by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group.

The ILLW event typically receives 500 entries across 40 countries.

Source: ILLW open_in_new

HamSCI Solar Eclipse QSO Parties

August 13, 2023Save the dates!

HamSCI Presents The Solar Eclipse QSO Parties – October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024.

Join with thousands of your fellow amateurs as part of the largest crowd-sourced contest for ham radio scientific exploration ever! The SEQP is for learning more about how the ionosphere works. Use any mode, any band for all or part of each day! Participation can be from everywhere – you need not be near the path of either eclipse to contribute valuable data by participating.

For details on the SEQP contest and rules go to www.hamsci.org/contest-info.

For the Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge using CW, WSPR and FST4W modes go to www.hamsci.org/contest-info.

If you’re an SWL or AM DX’er, there is an event for you as well! Go to www.hamsci.org/mw-recordings/.

Save the dates! Get on the air! Send in your logs! Do it for science!!

HamSCI serves as a means for fostering collaboration between professional researchers and amateur radio operators. It assists in developing and maintaining standards and agreements between all people and organizations involved. Its goals are to advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities and encourage the development of new technologies to support this research.

For more information about HamSCI, please visit the HamSCI website. For more information about the Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science educational opportunities for the amateur community and the public please visit our information pages.

Source: HamSCI open_in_new

Ghosts in the Air Glow RF Art Project

August 13, 2023Ghosts in the Air Glow (G1TÆG) is an ongoing art project by Amanda Dawn Christie that utilizes the HAARP Ionospheric Research Instrument. Transmission modes include AM, FM, CW, and SSTV.

Composition No. 3 takes place August 14, 03:30-04:30 UTC on frequencies ranging between 7 and 8 MHz.

Composition No. 3 will be transmitted as part of the August 2023 experiment campaign and the Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science (PARS) summer school. For Composition No. 3, Christie has invited contributions from other artists including, Vladyslav Atavin, Vladimir Atavin, José Alejandro Rivera, Sarah Nance, Rasu-Yong Tugen, Geneviève D’Ortun, and T. D. Walker.

Source: Ghosts in the Air Glow open_in_new

British Inland Waterways on the Air 2023

August 2, 2023British Inland Waterways on the Air (Biwota) brings attention to hams that utilize the canals, rivers, and adjacent land for recreation and work.

The event takes place Saturday August 26th through Monday August 28th. More information can be found on the Nunsfield House Amateur Radio Group page or on Facebook.

Source: Biwota open_in_new