Author Archives: robert

Parks On The Air – 800 Unique Parks Hunted

Posted on March 2, 2023 by robert

Every year I set a few goals for myself to keep my interest going in my Amateur Radio hobby.  This year one of the goals was to hunt 1,000 unique parks.  I just received the award for having 800 unique … Continue reading →

Posted in Hunter, POTA | Leave a comment

What a difference a day makes!

Posted on March 1, 2023 by robert

I usually restrict my comments to ham radio related topics, with the rare exception of a weather report.  RI has had a very mild winter, with about 7 inches of snow spread out over 4 or so very minor dustings.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Weather | Leave a comment

Updating FLEX-6600M to Version 3.4.21

Posted on February 14, 2023 by robert

As usual, the update process to take my FLEX-6600M from version 3.3.33 to the newly released 3.4.21 did NOT go smoothly – but only because the update process instructions did NOT adequately document what to expect. Per the installation instructions, … Continue reading →

Posted in FlexRadio | Leave a comment

Some “flakiness” tracking FO-118 with SatPC32

Posted on January 22, 2023 by robert

I’ve been having fun with FO-118 for the past week, trying to get used to it’s unique strangeness (drifting signals).  But I’ve run into issues where my IC-9700 seems to stop updating for Doppler; both uplink and downlink.  I was … Continue reading →

Posted in IC-9700, SatPC32 | Leave a comment

TN8K Rep. of Congo on 40m FT4 Multistream

Posted on January 17, 2023 by robert

While I’ve worked The Republic of Congo a few times in the past, it has always been on higher frequency bands like 15/12/10 meters.  Today I noticed that the were running FT4 Multistream on the 40 meter band.  I started … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, FT-4 | Leave a comment

Panasonic Toughbook Battery Date Code

Posted on January 17, 2023 by robert

Hams looking for an outdoor rugged laptop have been Panasonic CF-31 Toughbooks for years since they are available used for reasonable prices and are capable of running Windows 10.  Besides general ruggedness, their best feature is their full daylight readable … Continue reading →

Posted in CF31, Toughbook | Leave a comment

Finally – An inexpensive NTP Wall Clock

Posted on January 12, 2023 by robert

Those of you who know me, know that I fall into the category of a Frequency Nut (someone obsessed with the ability to measure frequency accurately – think microHertz), as well as a Time Nut (likewise obsessed with accurate time). … Continue reading →

Posted in NTP Clock, Time | 2 Comments

Completed Parks on the Air All States Hunter Award

Posted on January 5, 2023 by robert

Yesterday I received notice that I had completed the Parks on the Air All States Hunter Award.  Many thanks to K0TTW, who made the journey up from Colorado to park K-6129, which is near Casper Wyoming.  I had been searching … Continue reading →

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Worked Crozet FT8WW

Posted on January 3, 2023 by robert

I had put about six hours into trying to work FT8WW on 30m during his first week.  I found that propagation wasn’t the greatest as he was decoding around -22.  My luck changed yesterday (Jan 2), as signal levels were … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, FT8 | Leave a comment

Goal Review and New Goals for 2023

Posted on January 1, 2023 by robert

2022 was a good year in terms of my goals.  I was able to complete all 5. Teach a CW Academy Course (Winter 2022) Teach a Technician Course (Spring 2022) Conduct NCRC’s first electronic VE exam (Spring 2022) Build my … Continue reading →

Posted in CW Academy, CWops, CWT, Education, Gear, QCX-mini, QRP | Leave a comment