W7YV Ham Radio

Efforts to automate the W7YV shack operations are continuing. The latest addition to the shack is the automatic recording of several traffics nets that are routinely visited here at W7YV. These recordings my be of general interest but, more importantly, may be of use to those taking traffic on these nets as a means to verify what they thought they copied. Using a computer running Ubuntu Linux, a "cron job" has been setup to start an "arecord" session at the times of various traffic nets. This is an experiment and might go away. If it does, well, fine then. Until that happens, check out this link: http://63.226.66.243:8080/nets  . At present, files are kept for one week. This link is shown at the top of the HF Nets section on the right side of this blog. Implementation The setup here at W7YV includes a PC running Linux Ubuntu 11.10. The PC is interfaced to an ICOM IC-756PRO. At present, the process is mostly manual in that the operator has to be present...

Playing around with QRP is lots of fun and sometimes very challenging. But, it usually takes two to tango. You need somebody on the other end of the link to hear you and respond. Usually, we expect that to be a warm-blooded human being. If you have the itch to play radio with QRP and nobody is around, well, you're stuck. There is another way.... Recently, I acquired an account on Winlink's Global Email System and can now connect to servers around the world and the country to send email via HF radio. It occurred to me that I am connecting to a computer that is, for the most part, impartial in it's judgement of my signal quality. If it doesn't like it, it won't answer. If it is too weak, it will not hesitate to dump me and move on to paying customers. I use RMS Express as the client software for Winlink. It works well for my purposes. Within that software is a database that shows the available remote stations that you can connect if you have a Winlink Email acco...

This is a post to West Mountain Radio describing a problem with RMS Express and the RigBlaster PRO. The West Mountain Radio folks provided a quick answer. The image and explanation is posted at the end of this article. PROBLEM: When sending to a remote station using RMS Express (WinLink/Winmor), the software appears to be using audio picked up by the rig's microphone rather than audio delivered into the RigBlaster's LINE IN from the computer's LINE OUT. While this is functional, it requires that the microphone be placed close to the station speakers so that it can hear what is being generated for an output. I am pretty sure this is not the way it is designed. Now, when using RTTY, PSK31, or other modes with MixW Version 2.2, all is fine, i.e., the RigBlaster feeds computer audio directly to the rig rather than through the microphone. SETUP: a. ICOM 756PRO b. RigBlaster PRO configured to take RCV AUDIO from the mic connector using jumpers on P1 (irrelevant but...

This short article reports on implementing the capability to connect to the WinLink 2000 Global Email System (1)  using HF radio and an inexpensive sound card interface. GOAL: Implement the capability to connect to the WinLink 2000 Global Email System (1) using HF radio and an inexpensive sound card interface and equipment already on hand. EQUIPMENT: ICOM 756 PRO HF Transceiver (on hand) Horizontal Loop Antenna, 268 ft perimeter, up 30 feet (on hand) West Mountain Radio RIGBlaster PRO (2)  (on hand, MSRP: $299.95) RMS Express Winlink 2000 (WL2K) radio email client. MixW (3) multi-mode software for PSK31 testing (free) DISCUSSION: From the time I had the idea to implement the capability to the time I sent my first message was a little less than a day. First, I had to find my RIGBlaster and all the cables. That was the hardest part. Then, I had to review the RIGBlaster documentation to relearn what I had forgotten. It has been idle for over three years ...

As I have gained some measure of confidence in checking into CW traffic nets, I've learned a bit more about how the National Traffic System seems to work, at least, at my local level. This short article summarizes a bit of what I've learned so far, in particular, how ARRL Radiograms are routed at my local level. Local Nets In my area, I check into three local CW nets almost every night. These nets occur between 7:30 PM and 9:00 PM local time which works well for me as I am already at my shack desk either playing radio or purusing some other hobby. Utah Code Net This net meets daily at 0130Z on 3570 KHz +/- QRM. It is intended as a training net and is listed as a Slow Net on the FISTS website. A great deal of information on this net can be found here . Mountain States Net This net meets daily at 0200Z on 3570 KHz +/- QRM. It is intended as a training net and is listed as a Slow Net on the FISTS website. A great deal of information on this net can be found here . T...

One of my passions in this hobby is CW and I try to work that mode as much as I can. In the beginning of the pursuit of my hobby, I learned Morse Code and worked quite a few stations in that mode. But, life gets in the way and I got away from my goal of doing at least one CW QSO each day. The pattern that set in was: learn Morse Code, use it, have fun, get busy, get away from it, forget much of it, relearn it, use it, have fun, get busy, get away from it, ..... --- ad infinitum! ENOUGH!  I had to find a better way. It occurred to me that the local CW nets met daily and gave me a chance to practice code each and every day for a real purpose. I began monitoring the local nets and, after a month or so, got up the courage to try to check in. Man, that was a rush! Scary but, well, we all gotta die sometime! So, I bit the bullet and checked in! Screwed that up pretty bad, at least, in my opinion. But, the NCS didn't seem to mind and welcomed me into the fold. So, now, wow, I am t...