{"id":684,"date":"2018-12-31T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/?p=684"},"modified":"2018-12-31T11:45:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T19:45:54","slug":"projects-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/12\/projects-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Projects 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"697\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/12\/projects-2018\/southwest_050216\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Southwest_050216.jpg?fit=592%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"592,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Southwest\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Southwest_050216.jpg?fit=592%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Southwest_050216.jpg?resize=270%2C273&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-697\" width=\"270\" vspace=\"18\" height=\"273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Southwest_050216.jpg?w=592&amp;ssl=1 592w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Southwest_050216.jpg?resize=296%2C300&amp;ssl=1 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This past year was an eventful ham radio one. As I begin to look ahead to goals and daydreams of 2019, it&#8217;s always good to not expect the past to be the norm, but to take a moment and appreciate all the stuff that&#8217;s happened good and bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"blob:https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/f9e02b6a-a7b6-7440-9d01-c46bad647fa1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thinking back, it&#8217;s amazing when I consider HF newbie AD6DM 2017 vs. AD6DM 2018. Here are some of the things I experienced in 2018:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Completed ARRL ARES training: EC-001 Introductory Course.<\/li><li>Set up a ham Twitter account <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"@AD6DM (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ad6dm\" target=\"_blank\">@AD6DM<\/a>.<\/li><li>First time having my own QSL cards and people to send them to.<\/li><li>Had my first CW QSO with AB6ET.<\/li><li>Learned the workings of a keyer; got several morse code keys.<\/li><li>Figured out how to properly connect my Yaesu FT-857D to a soundcard modem for my first practical forays into digital HF.<\/li><li>Figured out FT-8, COM ports, ALC settings, audio levels, and configuring your radio for digital upper sideband.<\/li><li>Extensively researched many brands and vendors to find my next portable HF rig.<\/li><li>Discovered why LiFePO4 is better and stopped using SLA&#8217;s.<\/li><li>Learned about SSTV on both VHF (satellite), and HF.<\/li><li>Learned how to use an antenna analyzer, and what all those letters meant (that it&#8217;s more than a SWR meter, but shows return loss, R, X, Z, L, C).<\/li><li>Learned how to solder more than two wires together.<\/li><li>Discovered PSK Reporter, RBN, and DXCluster.<\/li><li>First times sent and received on PSK31, Olivia, THOR, RTTY, MFSK32, MFSK64, WEFAX, among other esoteric digital modes on HF.<\/li><li>Had my first DX contacts, <strong>ever<\/strong>. Amazed to reach places like New Zealand, Russia, Japan, Cuba. Got comfortable reaching any state and Canada.<\/li><li>Discovered SOTA, POTA, and boosted awareness of LTOTA.<\/li><li>Got a couple of new rigs and HTs, each one blowing me away and expanding capabilities.<\/li><li>Learned about and figured out DMR (codeplugs) and DStar (reflectors).<\/li><li>Figured out and built a MMDVM hotspot.<\/li><li>Learned about the time encoding of WWVB, and how to simulate it with a Pi Zero.<\/li><li>Discovered SDRs and their use within Linux and Windows.<\/li><li>Researched and tried about 10 different antennas, including: Dipoles, OCFD, bugcatchers, monopole antennas, hamsticks, magnetic loops, end-feds, screwdrivers, speaker wire, and J-Poles. (A lot of fails here.)<\/li><li>Spent 6 months hesitating, comparing notes, then finally deciding on a base station antenna.<\/li><li>Expanded go-box knowledge and portable power and solar options.<\/li><li>First time participating in contests this year: QSO parties of various states, RTTY Roundup, CWT, Field Day, ARRL Sweepstakes, and a bunch of others. Learned Cabrillo and how to submit logs.<\/li><li>Finished CWOps Level 1 and Level 2.<\/li><li>Showed a few people how cool ham radio is, then as their interest grew, helped them find the resources to get licensed.<\/li><li>Went to my first ham convention.<\/li><li>Found many awesome hams to create a virtual &#8220;club&#8221; via Twitter and other communications methods. (More on that below.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are only so many things a working guy can do. Several things on my list still remained incomplete&#8230; I was not able to get started, figure out, or try (not in any order):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Winlink.<\/li><li>Activating a SOTA peak.<\/li><li>Figuring out motorcycle mobile.<\/li><li>Finally setting up a proper wire dipole at optimal height.<\/li><li>Getting on 160m.<\/li><li>Getting into mesh networking.<\/li><li>Registering and serving data from a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"44-network domain (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ampr.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">44-network domain<\/a>.<\/li><li>Packet RF communications and BBS&#8217;s.<\/li><li>Figuring out how to decode and monitor P25 on a Pi.<\/li><li>Figuring out using a Pi as a main digital HF computer interface (like <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"OH8STN (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/oh8stn.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">OH8STN<\/a>&#8216;s efforts and the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"DRAWS project (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/nwdigitalradio.com\/draws\/\" target=\"_blank\">DRAWS project<\/a>).<\/li><li>Having a satellite contact, including ISS APRS packet and sat PSK.<\/li><li>Getting into the gigahertz range.<\/li><li>Sending and confirming a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"radiogram (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ARRL_Radiogram\" target=\"_blank\">radiogram<\/a>.<\/li><li>Being a net op.<\/li><li>Becoming a VEC and helping administer an exam.<\/li><li>Volunteering at an event providing comms support.<\/li><li>Finishing my go-bag.<\/li><li>Getting and installing a mobile rig for my car.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the biggest catalyst of the year in ham radio was meeting all sorts of great hams. Without them, I&#8217;d just have a couple of rigs gathering dust in a box somewhere, and I probably wouldn&#8217;t be very active at all (much like my photography gear). A lot of these folks I found on Twitter, but I can also thank YouTube for those who I haven&#8217;t spoken to but have been so inspired by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for a fascinating 2018. I can&#8217;t wait to see where this hobby takes us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are your goals and daydreams for ham radio projects in 2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This past year was an eventful ham radio one. As I begin to look ahead to goals and daydreams of 2019, it&#8217;s always good to not expect the past to be the norm, but to take a moment and appreciate all the stuff that&#8217;s happened good and bad. Thinking back, it&#8217;s amazing when I consider HF newbie AD6DM 2017 vs. AD6DM 2018. Here are some of the things I experienced in 2018: Completed ARRL ARES training: EC-001 Introductory Course. Set up a ham Twitter account @AD6DM. First time having my own QSL cards and people to send them to. Had my first CW QSO with AB6ET. Learned the workings of&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/12\/projects-2018\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elmer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9naFX-b2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":295,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2017\/12\/new-callsign-ad6dm\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":0},"title":"New Callsign: AD6DM","author":"AD6DM","date":"December 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"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 2x1 callsign and AD6DM was my second choice. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"FCC\"","block_context":{"text":"FCC","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/tag\/fcc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Single-level paddle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/IMG_0786_2-300x248.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":929,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2020\/02\/sota-with-ai6xg-on-wragg-ridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":1},"title":"SOTA with AI6XG on Wragg Ridge","author":"AD6DM","date":"February 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Dan AI6XG has been doing SOTA for a couple years, and we were in CWOps Level 2 class together in 2018. He graciously offered to go on a SOTA hike with me, and picked this great spot mapped out by Jeff AA6XA around the Lake Berryessa area. Enjoy watching my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antennas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":610,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/11\/the-gamification-ham-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":2},"title":"The Gamification of Ham Radio","author":"AD6DM","date":"November 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I think contest organizations and the ARRL understand one aspect of fostering activity in the hobby. The logbook awards, contests, and sprints have their roots in achievement, competition, and accomplishment. Stanford gaming theorist Jane McGonigal recently spoke at a Security Conference I attended where she remarked on the incredible amount\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contesting&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contesting","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/category\/contesting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kids playing videogames","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Miro-Kids-video-games.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Miro-Kids-video-games.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Miro-Kids-video-games.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":371,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/02\/sdarc-meeting-2-8-history-of-phonetics\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":3},"title":"SDARC Meeting 2\/8: History of Phonetics","author":"AD6DM","date":"February 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We had our monthly meeting for the Stockton Delta Amateur Radio Club on February 8, 2018 at 7:30pm. After usual club announcement and business, we were treated to a presentation by Jim\u00a0WB6BET of the Lodi Amateur Radio Club (LARC): The History of Phonetics. Jim went on to describe DX phonetics.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Elmer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Elmer","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/category\/elmer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IMG_7987-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IMG_7987-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IMG_7987-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IMG_7987-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":500,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2018\/05\/cw-and-ft8-and-psk-oh-my\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":4},"title":"CW and FT8 and PSK, oh my!","author":"AD6DM","date":"May 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In the past month, I've finally unblocked my antenna issues and made great strides in the digital realm of ham radio. Using the PreciseRF HG-1 magnetic loop antenna along with my RigExpert AA-600 to get the lowest possible SWR, I have found that I can get out to virtually all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antennas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reverse Beacon Network for AD6DM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-22-at-11.30.24-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-22-at-11.30.24-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-22-at-11.30.24-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":715,"url":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/2019\/01\/build-your-own-dmr-dstar-fusion-hotspot-for-cheap\/","url_meta":{"origin":684,"position":5},"title":"Build Your Own DMR\/DStar\/Fusion Hotspot for CHEAP","author":"AD6DM","date":"January 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In an effort to get more people on digital ham radio easily, I posted a video about how to put together your own multi-mode digital voice hotspot device very inexpensively, and with little effort. I have put together several of these and the work pretty well. Kind of like an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Digital&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Digital","link":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/category\/digital\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":703,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ad6dm.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}