Category Archives: From the OM

Initial Test Results on Zippy LiFePO4 4200mA 4S battery pack

Posted on January 27, 2013 by robert

There has been substantial discussion, but not much in the way of published test, on the “Zippy LiFe” batteries offered by Hobby King.  Hobby King has been supplying RC hobbyist LiPo batteries for years and recently started offering a LiFe … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, From the OM, Gear | Leave a comment

If I could only have one band it would be…

Posted on January 25, 2013 by robert

Many years ago my father and I would debate this endlessly.  His choice was 40 meters.  Mine was 20 meters.  After restarting my ham radio hobby 2 years ago, I’ve had a chance to track things carefully this time around, … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, From the OM, History, Operating | Leave a comment

A Complete “On-the-go” Ham Station Under Six Pounds!

Posted on January 24, 2013 by robert

Would you believe 5.75 pounds (or less)?  What’s in the “On-the-go” bag? Elecraft KX3 with Internal Tuner Elecraft Paddle and Hand Mic Headphones Two sets of Sanyo XX 2.4AH batteries (16 hours of operating) DC Power Cord w/Powerpoles & Cigarette … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear, QRP | 10 Comments

LotW at 160 with J8/W6HGF

Posted on January 24, 2013 by robert

My thanks to W6HGF, Al Danis, for his recent DXpedition (dare I say vacation?) to Saint Vincent Island.  I hear he made over 3,000 hams happy during his two week run.  I can’t wait to see what his QSL looks … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, From the OM | Leave a comment

2012 Wrap-Up and 2013 Goals

Posted on January 7, 2013 by robert

2012 was a great year of Ham Radio for me. I completed 2,724 QSOs, and participated in multiple contests.  I won the 160 Meter Contest in the QRP Category for RI, and had clean sweeps in both the Phone and … Continue reading →

Posted in Contests, DX, From the OM, History | Leave a comment

WB4SON NTP Clock

Posted on December 30, 2012 by robert

The basic clock function was too simple.  Not including the LCD library, supplied by Adafruit (the company that makes the LCD Pi Plate), a total of four lines of Python code are required to write the local time zone date/time … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear | 2 Comments

Does Raspberry Pi and Ham Go Together?

Posted on December 29, 2012 by robert

At a recent breakfast with fellow hams, Ted, W1GRI, showed me his latest gadget — A Raspberry Pi (RPi).  This is a small computer with ARM CPU, 512K of RAM, a SD card for flash memory, two USB ports, a … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear | Leave a comment

FEMA IS-802 ESF #2 Communications Completed

Posted on December 17, 2012 by robert

This was a VERY easy course, taking about 15 minutes to complete.  I was expecting procedure, but it was really Federal Alphabet Soup describing the responsibilities of all the various government agencies that would be involved in a national emergency … Continue reading →

Posted in ECOMM, From the OM | Leave a comment

DXCC Phone #41,162

Posted on December 17, 2012 by robert

Phone DXCC #41,162 has joined his brothers, Mixed #46,128 and CW #13,267 as of December 7, 2012.  In addition the 150 country endorsement for Mixed came in, as well as DXCC on 15 and 20 meters. One of my goals … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, From the OM | Leave a comment

Happy “Accurate” 12/12/12 12:12:12

Posted on December 12, 2012 by robert

Today is one of those special once-in-a-lifetime events; it is December 12, 2012. Or as people would commonly refer to it: 12/12/12.  I’d like to commemorate this auspicious event and describe a small iPhone/iPad App that I find very useful. … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Gear, JT65A-HF | Leave a comment