Getting into amateur radio these days is much like merging onto a freeway. If you hesitate in the on-ramp you might just pull over to the shoulder and watch all the traffic speed by while you sit there indecisively. But taking the metaphor further, you need to even select your vehicle first, and that is often the hardest part. I say vehicle because while one might think “car” the choices might also be motorcycle, trike, go-kart (illegal on freeways), or bicycle (also illegal, and has an entirely different, though parallel purpose). Selecting your first ham radio is hard especially because a new person doesn’t quite know what to do with… Read More
Continue ReadingAD6DM-10 VHF Winlink RMS Gateway is on the Air
Winlink RMS Gateway AD6DM-10 is up, and serving the ham community. After collecting parts of this system for a few weeks, it is operational on 145.630 MHz in CM98hj. It is comprised of: An Alinco DR-135T VHF 2 meter transceiver set to 20 watts power An Arrow OSJ J-Pole up 21 ft at the home QTH A Masters Communications DRA-50 radio sound card interface with an Alinco-6 Mini DIN 6 adapter And a mini PC (Windows 10) and running on 12 volt power. Solar charged offgrid LiFePO4 battery power, for uninterrupted uptime (same system the shack rig uses). Software running the gateway are: UZ7HO Soundmodem, software TNC that provides PTT… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat is Wrong with #hamradio?
In response to Ria Jairam N2RJ’s question on Twitter: Tell me what’s wrong with #hamradio and how you’d fix it. If you’re uncomfortable responding on twitter, email me ria@n2rj.com I’m not normally one to call out organizations but the ARRL is all we got as hams, really. People have argued with me on the merits of being a member, and I say “they’re all we have to represent us”. No other org lobbies the interests of hams and protects our bands– not ragtag petitioners, nor even conglomerations of clubs. Given that, the ARRL is our only hope. Yet it is a very slow and disconnected organization. Our “newsletters” are mostly… Read More
Continue ReadingNew Callsign: AD6DM
The FCC has granted my request for new vanity callsign: AD6DM Why the new callsign? I wanted something easier to transmit in Morse code. But also, the initials make it a true “vanity” callsign. Truth be told, I applied for a 2×1 callsign and AD6DM was my second choice. But I got beat by a club for that shorter callsign. Those 2×1’s are really in demand! The migration to this new website domain is complete. The old site kf6ujs.net will remain for posterity while this site continues and grows as I do as a ham. Thank you for visiting!
Continue ReadingHello world!
Hi folks! I got into ham radio in 1999, but mostly just worked in VHF hitting SF Bay Area repeaters on 2 meters. I wanted ultimate portability, but never knew what it would be like to have a powerful rig. In 2017 (yes, 18 years later of my handheld talkies gathering dust), I finally got moved to find out more about HF and higher-wattage rigs, and got a Yaesu FT-857D. This opened up what hams have known all along: There’s a big world of radio out there to learn about and explore! This site will have some of my learnings and notes about new contacts, as well as some of… Read More
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