Author Archives: robert

WB4SON Plates Arrive

Posted on December 3, 2013 by robert

Right up front, let me begin by saying “This isn’t your parents DMV”.  I was shocked to be in and out of the DMV in 30 minutes with my new Amateur Radio plates in hand.  The last time I went … Continue reading →

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CAT: A Water-propelled Cubesat

Posted on December 3, 2013 by robert

An interesting KickStarter campaign has shown up called CAT.  The objective is to devise a water-propelled plasma engine that can be fitted to a Cubesat in order to boost it to a higher orbit — even into deep space. You … Continue reading →

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Triple Play #936 Completed

Posted on November 26, 2013 by robert

The ARRL issued Triple Pay #936 to me today.  A fun factoid is that a good ham radio friend of mine, Dave, WB4KDI, was issued his just a  day earlier.  I sort of goofed up in the submission process, asking … Continue reading →

Posted in LotW, Operating | 5 Comments

First Successful CW QSO on AO-73

Posted on November 25, 2013 by robert

(What a great name for a satellite!!) I’ve had four passes of AO-73 over my QTH that have been in the transponder mode, but for the last three of them, while I was able to hear many signals on the … Continue reading →

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Received 47 Telemetry Blocks for AO73

Posted on November 21, 2013 by robert

Funcube-1, now known as AO-73, was launched early this morning (about 2:10 AM EST).  I heard a pass around lunchtime, but wasn’t setup to decode it yet.  Even without decoding anything, it was a valuable experience, as it proved the … Continue reading →

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Just Completed a Triple Play!

Posted on November 21, 2013 by robert

After coming to the realization that I wasn’t going to get my final necessary WAS Phone contact in LotW, a requirement of the ARRL Triple Play award (that it be in LotW), I was stumped, but reached out to a … Continue reading →

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Hopes for WAS Triple Play Dashed

Posted on November 20, 2013 by robert

It is with some irony that I note I have received 49 LotW confirmations for SSB contacts made during this past Phone SS Contest.  The one missing confirmation is Georgia.  I made contact with SIX stations from Georgia but not … Continue reading →

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And the countdown begins…

Posted on November 17, 2013 by robert

I spend much of the weekend participating in the Phone SS contest.  Unlike last year, when my goal was a clean sweep on both CW and Phone, this year’s goal was to simply complete WAS Phone, which is the final … Continue reading →

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5K QSOs since Feb 2011

Posted on November 12, 2013 by robert

I noted that after I uploaded a couple of JT9 QSOs, that my LotW count reached exactly 5000 today: That’s a lot of yabbering for 2.5 years!

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WAS-CW Completed

Posted on November 5, 2013 by robert

Following a CW Contact during Sweepstakes, W7ZRC confirmed in LotW, which completes WAS-CW.  With WAS-Digital already completed ages ago, that leaves me with 10 states (CO, GA, LA, MS, MO, MT, ND, OR, WV, and WY) to complete my WAS-PHONE, … Continue reading →

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