Author Archives: Bob Beatty

CWT #50 for 2021

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Bob Beatty

This morning, I completed my 50th CWT contest.  With 19 more Wednesdays left in 2021, that’s a potential of 57 more.  I just earned the Bronze Medallion, and my goal is to complete at least 80 to qualify for silver.  … Continue reading →

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Forcing Win10 to Sync Time

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Bob Beatty

Despite the fact that Windows has a built in automatic time sync function, it doesn’t work as one might expect.  Unless the difference between the NTP time server and the local clock is large enough, both the manual and automatic … Continue reading →

Posted in Time | Leave a comment

Update on 8+ year old 60 AH LiFePO4

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Bob Beatty

In April of 2013, I purchased parts to build my own 60 AH LiFePO4 battery.  Back then it cost about $440 – about $100 more than a comparable battery can be purchased for today.  That said, it has served me … Continue reading →

Posted in Battery, LiFePO4 | Leave a comment

NEVER seen this much 6m activity

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Bob Beatty

Six meters is open to the mid-west.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stations decoding.  I noticed that 10 meters was also quite hot today. Boy Cycle 25 is getting hot, even here close to the bottom! The … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters, Propagation | 2 Comments

14,000 QSOs in LotW

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Bob Beatty

The count keeps going up.  At 14,002 as of this afternoon: At the end of last year I was at 12,000 QSOs, so that’s +2,000 in a half year (my goal was 1,500 for the year).  Much of that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Goals, LotW | Leave a comment

CWT #30 This Afternoon

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Bob Beatty

Since taking CWops CW Academy, I continue to try to participate in as many “CWT” mini CW contests as possible.  The 1900Z one today was my 30th for the year (I was also on in the morning at 1300Z, but … 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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IC-9700 Upgrade clears CI-V USB Echo Back

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Bob Beatty

Although I didn’t mention it yesterday, in the process of upgrading my IC-9700 firmware to version 1.30 (in an attempt to get Winlink TX audio working – nothing to do with satellites), it unknowingly cleared the CI-V USB Echo Back … Continue reading →

Posted in AO-91, IC-9700, SatPC32, XW-2A | Leave a comment

Getting Ready for SAT Field Day

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Bob Beatty

For a variety of reasons, I’ve been off the satellites since last year.  With Field Day back on, one of my jobs is to make a Satellite contact for the Newport County Radio Club, NE1RI.  That means dusting off the … Continue reading →

Posted in AMSAT, CAS-4A, CAS-4B, ISS, RS-44, Satellite, SO-50, XW-2A, XW-2B, XW-2F | Tagged | 2 Comments

2021 Goal Progress to date

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I’ve made some progress on my goal list for 2021. 2021 Goals Completed: Teach a Tech Class – finished the first week of June with 6 licenses granted in RI As of June 16, I have 1,772 Qs in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Contests, COVID-19, CWops, CWT, DX, Goals | Leave a comment