Category Archives: From the OM

Difference in Standby Current Draw: Linear vs. Switching

Posted on August 4, 2022 by robert

When I restarted my hobby back in 2011, I had recalled the horror stories of folks using switching power supplies and having RFI all over the HF and VHF bands.  So I decided to use a traditional linear power supply … Continue reading →

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Silver Medal for CWT 2021

Posted on May 20, 2022 by robert

A few days ago I received a package in the mail from CWops.  It contained a Silver Medal Participation Award for 2021. CWops does a lot to further interest in Morse Code.  To begin with they offer a very comprehensive … Continue reading →

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Goal Review 2022

Posted on March 31, 2022 by robert

I started the year with 5 goals.  Two have been completed and two are underway: Teach a CW Academy Course – This goal has been completed after teaching 16 classes in January and March.  All seven students were advanced to … Continue reading →

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Yes you can get an Amateur Radio Plate on a EV in RI

Posted on December 9, 2021 by robert

I had obtained an Amateur Radio tag for my truck about a decade ago.  It was quite an ordeal due to a lack of documentation at DMV, and their inability to be able to enter the request in their computer … Continue reading →

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POTA Time!

Posted on October 1, 2021 by robert

I last did POTA Activations in March (although I’ve kept hunting since then).  With the coming of spring, the parks started getting full of people, cars, electrical noise, etc.  Not something I wanted to be doing during a COVID resurgence.  … Continue reading →

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Ouachita Mountain Good – Henri Bad

Posted on August 24, 2021 by robert

I did receive the 300 unique parks hunted award from Parks On The Air (POTA).  That was a good thing! Unfortunately RI took a big hit from Tropical Storm Henri.  We were without power for about a day and a … Continue reading →

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Nice Time During Field Day

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I was only able to attend part of Sunday.  During that time I worked 3 CW and 5 PHONE Satellite contacts for the bonus, ran the alternative power QSOS for the bonus, and assisted my friend Ryan KC1KUF for his … Continue reading →

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Where we wound up: ID-5100 Programming for the Blind

Posted on January 15, 2020 by robert

Over the past few days I’ve put in about 18 hours trying various methods of programming the ID-5100 so it would be useful for a blind ham.  I’ve discussed the problems with the radio and its very limited speech synthesizer … Continue reading →

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A Plea to Amateur Radio Gear Designers

Posted on January 13, 2020 by robert

I’ve commented a few times about a young ham that I spent about 18 months getting ready for his Technician License.  This was a bit more difficult journey due to Ryan being blind.  After a year of being on the … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year! 2019 in Review

Posted on January 1, 2020 by robert

Happy New Year! What a busy year for me in Amateur Radio.  I managed to complete all but one of my goals: Teach a Technician Class (Taught two) Reach 270 Confirmed Countries in DXCC (Made 271) Reach 60 Confirmed Countries … Continue reading →

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