Category Archives: Ham Radio

Back at the dial again…!

Many of you might have noticed I’ve been absent on Facebook/Twitter , slower to correspond, and not posting quite as often this summer.

Yes, you guessed it: I’ve been on the road again.

Starting in mid-May, we made our annual pilgrimage to Dayton, Ohio, where we hosted an inside exhibit at the Hamvention, made some NPOTA activations, and visited the phenomenal National Museum of the USAF.

The LNR Precision LD-11 and QRP Ranger during a National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) activation in Ohio.

I then returned to the shack for one week, frantically finished a few projects, then hit the road again. Headed even farther north this time….Destination: Canada.

The Udvar-Hazy Center houses a number of large aircraft including the Concorde, the SR-71 and even the space shuttle Discovery.

The Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center houses a number of large aircraft including the Concorde, the SR-71 and even the space shuttle Discovery.

Stopped in the Washington, DC area for a few nights and spent the better part of one day at the Udvar-Hazy Center. The aviation geek in me was in the skies––wow, what an amazing place!

By June 5th, i was just outside Québec City in the town of Beaupré.

My station on Field Day operating as VE2CQ.

While in Québec, I participated in a Field Day event with the incroyable members of the Club Radio Amateur de Québec. I practiced my French, the club members treated me like one of their own––hosting an excellent lunch and dinner––and I even got a few hours on the air as VE2CQ.

Oh, and you might recall a post from June in which I shared photos from an aerial display in Québec City featuring the Snowbirds. It was our first time seeing them, and it was, as you might expect, just spectacular.

We spent the rest of June and part of July in Québec, then made our way to Prince Edward Island via New Brunswick and Nova Scotia where a rustic off-grid cabin awaited us.

The view from our off-grid cabin on PEI.

While the condo in Quebec had all of the radio interference one would expect, the off-grid cabin was blissfully quiet, free of radio interference. As you might imagine, I played a lot of radio…

I also sampled a lot of Island craft brews!

We spent several relaxed weeks in Prince Edward Island, then made our way back to the States.

I’ve only been home since last Wednesday, and found quite a pile-up in the work zone, so I’m busily catching up. However, I’m finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I should be current with correspondence by next week. Thanks for your patience, email friends!

And if you’re interested, just for fun, I plan to write a more detailed trip report later this summer or fall. I do have a few pics from side trips I’ll likely share in the meantime.

Yet again, we had a terrific adventure in Canada! But it’s sure good to be back home…and back at the dial.

Anyone else done a bit of traveling this season? Feel free to share & comment!

Build a cardboard stand for the Elecraft KX3

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Tomasz Pabich (SP7Q), who has created the following Instructable describing how to build a cardboard stand for the Elecraft KX3.

Click here to view on Instructables.

I love how practical and affordable this project is. The stand would be simple to disassemble and take to the field in a go-bag or backpack. If it were ever damaged or lost, you could simply build another.

Of course, it would be quite easy to build similar stands for shortwave portables.

Thanks again for sharing your project, Tomasz!

HARA Arena to close, Dayton Hamvention to use new venue

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Hara Arena (Source: Aesopposea via WikiMedia Commons)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Eric (WD8RIF) for passing along the following news via WDTN and DARA (the Dayton Amateur Radio Association).

(Source: WDTN)

TROTWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) – The iconic venue brought sports, concerts, entertainment and special interest shows to the Miami Valley for 60 years is closing their doors due to not being able to overcome an internal legal battle that has spanned the last two decades.

“We are painfully aware of the loss this announcement will generate, which is why we have fought so long and hard to prevent it,” says Karen Wampler, Hara’s marketing director.
The loss will come in the form of $36 million in annual economic impact; youth, men’s and professional hockey programs; and the hundreds of events that called Hara home this past year.

“We had hoped to announce a new era at Hara, but are announcing the end of one, instead.” says Wampler. [Continue reading…]

(Source: Hamvention Press Release)

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) regrets to inform our many vendors, visitors and stakeholders that, unfortunately, HARA has announced the closing of their facility. We have begun execution of our contingency plan to move Hamvention® 2017 to a new home.

DARA and Hamvention® have enjoyed many successful years working together with HARA Arena and we wish the Wampler family the best.

DARA and Hamvention® have been working on a contingency plan in the event HARA would become unavailable. We have spent many hours over the last few years evaluating possible locations and have found one in the area we believe will be a great new home! Due to logistics and timing issues, we will make a formal announcement introducing our new partner. This information will be coming soon. We all believe this new venue will be a spectacular place to hold our beloved event. Please rest assured we will have the event on the same weekend and, since it will be in the region, the current accommodations and outside events already planned for Hamvention® 2017 should not be affected.

We look forward to your continued support as we move to a new future with The Dayton Hamvention®.
Ron Cramer
General Chairman
Dayton Hamvention 2017

Challenges for a new venue

Two years ago, I spoke with a DARA representative who told me about some of the contingency sites they had in mind should HARA Arena close its doors. Many of us attending the Hamvention had a strong feeling 2016 would be the last year at HARA Arena.

Though HARA was (and has been) in a poor state, the site is very large and has one very unique feature: it’s all on one level.

The outdoor exhibits (flea market) portion of the Hamvention is very popular.

Most of the Dayton area contingency sites were on at least two levels with limited elevator facilities (a potential problem for the hundreds of attendees who use motorized carts).

I also learned that most of the Dayton area contingency sites had another problem: not enough space to have both the inside exhibits and the flea market hosted at the same venue. One contingency plan assumed the flea market might be relocated somewhere else nearby.

I hope the Site B will have the space for both the indoor and outdoor exhibits. Frankly, if these two portions of the Hamvention are separated, I suspect it will have a very negative impact on attendance numbers. Let’s hope this won’t be the case.

In terms of facilities, almost anything else will feel more modern and cleaner than HARA Arena. I just hope it can accommodate 20,000+ attendees as well.

When DARA announces the new site, I will post the information here. Simply follow the tag: Hamvention.

TX Factor Episode 12

Photos from an EP2C field event

Alive and Well: Post-Coup Amateur Radio in Turkey

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Many thanks to a number of Post readers who shared a link to this news item which claims that the government of Turkey revoked 3213 ham radio licenses after the recent coup attempt.

I was reluctant to post this story because I couldn’t find any other news source substantiating the claim.

Turns out, the story is completely inaccurate.

Aziz SASA (TA1E) President of TRAC (IARU-Member Society of Turkey) writes:

There is no ham radio licence [sic] revoked in Turkey and ham radio operators are operating normally.

The reports on ham radio licenses being revoked by The Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTUK) are unconfirmed and speculative. RTUK is not a regulatory body of ham radio. We believe that it is against ham radio ethic to share unconfirmed information, especially in this sensitive time. We would like to remind every ham radio operator to avoid sharing unconfirmed news and speculation.

In addition, I can confirm that I’ve heard a number of Turkish amateur radio operators on the air since the coup attempt.

The site that originally made this claim has posted an update (at the bottom of the page) stating :

It’s [sic] look like this news has been labelled as “FAKE” – Yesterday we gave this news for first after a quick phone chat with ham radio op. In Istanbul. Apparently there was no interdiction to use HF radio

This blogger should consider adding the update at the top of the post and amending the title to reflect reality. I suspect he’s reluctant to do so due to the increased traffic this misleading post has brought him.

On a side note: I happened to be listening to (and recording) the Voice of Turkey during the coup attempt. Of course, the news had been pre-recorded earlier that day and almost completely focused on the Nice attack. There wasn’t even an interruption of service. One I’m back from travels, I’ll post this recording on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Milwaukee AES to become Ham Radio Outlet store

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, for sharing the following press release from HRO:

(Source: Ham Radio Outlet)

RE: HRO-Milwaukee, Amateur Electronic Supply’s closing on 7/28/2016

On July 1, 2016 Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) made the decision to close down their entire organization and terminate all retail operations at their Las Vegas, Cleveland, Orlando and Milwaukee locations.

Upon hearing the news, and with the concurrence of AES senior management, Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) sent senior management to each location to interview the staff with hopes of acquiring some of the Amateur Radio retail employee talent in each of the current AES locations.

Together with this interview process, HRO examined what it would take to perhaps acquire one or more of the AES store locations. At the time of these interviews, many opportunities were explored with current AES senior management.

We are very excited to announce that HRO was successful in providing offers of employment to a number of soon to be former AES employees and that to some, we have offered positions that involve HRO sponsored and funded relocation.

We are also extremely pleased to announce that, after the closing of the Milwaukee AES location on July 28, 2016, Ham Radio Outlet will begin an extensive remodeling project to create the largest Amateur Radio retail showroom in North America. We will open our newest and largest Ham Radio Outlet in Milwaukee at the end of August 2016.

Effective at the closing of AES on July 28, 2016, all former AES locations’ direct telephone numbers and toll free telephone numbers will be redirected to the closest HRO location so as to not disrupt providing service to the AES customer base. Additionally effective on July 28, 2016, the www.aesham.com website will be directed to www.hamradio.com also so as not to disrupt service for the AES online customer base.

Steve Gilmore, National Sales Manager for HRO states, “We are extremely excited to have a store in the Central Northern part of the United States. It will minimize shipping times for our products to be able to be delivered in 2 days or less in most of the lower 48 United States. We are building a showplace that all must come see! It will be expansive with massive inventory levels and a large all encompassing demonstration area featuring nearly all of the Amateur Radio transceivers on the market today.”

Robert Ferrero, President of HRO tells us, “It is with great pleasure that we are able to continue Terry Sterman and Phil Majerus’ legacy of providing a fantastic Amateur Radio store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is our immediate goal to have the largest, most well stocked Amateur Radio retail store in North America and perhaps even the world.”

HRO is a family owned business with 14 sales locations throughout the United States which includes a formidable presence on the Internet, making it the largest Ham Radio dealership in the world.

HRO has been continually expanding with our most recent location in Plano, Texas which opened on February 2, 2015. HRO is also continuing to evolve with the relocation and expansion of our Portland store which will open on July 25, 2016 at 14405 SW Pacific Highway, Portland, Oregon 97224.

Ham Radio Outlet – Milwaukee is located at 5710 W Good Hope Rd, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will be open for business at the end of August 2016.