K2AS Ham Radio

  HamClock is kind of like a poor man’s Geochron. There are some differences – HamClock is free, Geochron is around $400. Geochron requires a 4K TV more than 32 inches. HamClock requires a computer (could be a Raspberry-Pi) with Linux and some type of display, though there are ways to get the display on to a Windows PC. The features comparisons would be hard to go over in detail. Safe to say, both have advantages and disadvantages. If you like the concept of a Geochron but don’t want to spend the money or don’t have the wall space for a TV in your shack, a HamClock might be an option. I have had HamClock running for several years, but it was on a Raspberry-Pi that is for my weather station. It is near my shack, but somewhat behind me and to my left. So it was inconvenient for viewing to say the least. Because of that, I never really even explored all the options that were available. I have 3 other monitors in my shack. Two were for logging, WSJT-X, Ham Radio Deluxe and usual Window...

  It has been a few weeks since I posted on my RFI issues. I was able to have email conversations with Jeff, W4DD on my problem. He gave me some advice and sent me his RFI Mapper program, and with my Yaesu FT-857 in the car and a GPS device and a laptop, I was able to take S-Meter data around my neighborhood. It indicated an area that I should investigate further, which I did. I used my Yaesu FT-5DR set to 137.950 Mhz AM. With the 137 Mhz Yagi I built, I found two poles in my neighborhood which appeared to be the culprits, poles #354 and #352. #354 seemed worse of the two. Since I had already contacted my utility, I hoped this info would be helpful to them to resolve the problem. In the meantime, while I waited for them to call me, I decided to try and build an Ultrasonic Power Line Noise Detector. MFJ did have a version of this, but it was no longer available. So I referred to the April 2006 article in QST by Jim Hanson, W1TRC. Unfortunately, Jim is a SK. But there was some additi...

  Recently, I had a sudden increase of noise level when I switched on my FTDX-101D. With a spectrum display, it provides an immediate visual cue that something has changed. I could hear it as well, as the level was S-9. My first inkling that it might be temporary, so I left the rig on and did some other things. It wasn't going away, so I checked other bands. It seemed to be everywhere, but S-9 on 30 meters seemed the worst. Other bands were S-2 to S-8. So I started to try and figure out what was going on. There had been no changes around the house. No new gadgets, power supplies, appliances. With no antenna connected, there was nothing seen or heard. I was hearing it on other radios. I wondered, did a neighbor get a new welder or plasma cutter? I started reading up and searching online. I recall going to a RARA meeting, maybe 12-15 years ago, where an employee from Rochester Gas and Electric discussed Power Line RFI. Unfortunately that presentation was not on their website. I came ...

 For some strange reason I decided to stand up an XLX Reflector.  I followed The Modern Ham YouTube video on how to accomplish this.  That was the easy part. I have been on Fusion for 9+ years, and have installed a DR1-X and DR2-X repeater.  We have no internet at the repeater site, so I have had a RF Wires-X node running for 8.5 years at my QTH. Activity had been sporadic, except for a few early adopters.  There are a bunch of FM repeaters in the area.  Many of them are controlled by a few very dedicated and generous owners.  They have spent a lot of time and money gathering excellent surplus commercial equipment, getting good repeater sites, and building up controllers and infrastructure.  For the most part, they aren't too interested in digital at the moment. So digital voice has been slow to be adopted in my area.  It seems many have bought Fusion radios, only to not use the digital capability very often, if at all. So as a interesting pr...

  I have had Yaesu System Fusion radios since 2015, along with switching our club repeater W2XRX from an older GE analog system to a Yaesu DR1X in 2015, and then in 2020 a DR2X. I have had a Wires-X node online since November 2015. I obtained a Shark RF Openspot (a digital hotspot) when it first came out, maybe in 2018 or so. System Fusion is Yaesu’s implementation of digital voice. It is not proprietary, it’s specs have been published. So far, no other manufacturer has developed radios for it. Since then, I have acquired 2 FTM-400s, one FTM-100, one FT1XD, HT, one FTM-300, and one FT5DR HT. I use one FTM-400 as a PDN node, and the other is in my car. The FTM-100DR is dedicated to the W2XRX Wires-X node and the FTM-300 is my base station radio. What is a hotspot? Think of it as a small repeater that takes your signal and connects it to a digital voice network on the internet. So I have some experience with System Fusion/C4FM digital voice. I hadn’t experimented too much in cross-mo...

 Amateur (Ham) radio operators can be a weird bunch.  I can say that because I have been one for 53 years.  One of the most popular facets of the hobby is to contact as many distant (DX) stations as possible, specifically countries, or as we refer to them now, entities, as many are not countries but islands usually under the control of another country.  There is some sort of criteria, but as of today, there are 340 different entities. A good number of these entities have no permanent population, like Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic ocean, or Clipperton Island in the Pacific.  Some may be populated but have no ham radio operators.  So ham radio operators will recruit a crew of operators, take equipment food and supplies, and maybe charter a ship to go to them.  This is called a "DXpedition".  Then over a period of days or weeks, contact as many stations as possible.  A valid contact is an exchange of callsigns, and a signal report.  B...