Category Archives: From the OM

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 →

Posted in D-Star, From the OM, Gear, Sightless Hams | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in From the OM | Leave a comment

PyPortal Auto Rebooting Endless Loop

Posted on June 28, 2019 by robert

A few years back I made a NTP clock for my station.  I was always obsessed with time accuracy, and a RPi running NTP services filled the bill quite well.  That clock was always within a fraction of a second … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Projects, Time | Leave a comment

Having fun DXing this January

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Bob Beatty

I spent far too much time hunting grids down in 2018.  I will say it upped my DXCC Challenge points (by about 85), but it wasn’t very fruitful for finding ATNOs. Thankfully, January has proven to be opportunity-rich.  I’ve worked … Continue reading →

Posted in 160-Meters, DX, From the OM | Leave a comment

2019 Goals

Posted on January 1, 2019 by robert

It is time to set my goals for 2019.  This year, they will be somewhat reduced due to health limitations. Teach a Technician Class Reach 270 Confirmed Countries in DXCC Reach 60 Confirmed Countries on 160-Meters Reach 1375 Band-Points in … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, Education, From the OM, Goals, Satellite | Leave a comment

2018 Goals in Review

Posted on January 1, 2019 by robert

Happy New Year!!! Hard to believe another year is here, even after being tired from accomplishing so much in 2018 — all but one goal was completed. Teach a Technician Class 265 Confirmed Countries in DXCC (made 268) 1,290 Challenge Band-Points (made … Continue reading →

Posted in 160-Meters, 3D Printing, Awards, DX, Education, From the OM | Leave a comment

Initial Impression Alinco DJ-MD5

Posted on December 24, 2018 by robert

During one of the almost endless sales, I purchased an Alinco DJ-MD5 about a month ago.  It came in today, I started the process of trying to figure out the radio (from a perspective of someone who never used DMR … Continue reading →

Posted in DJ-MD5, DMR, From the OM | 10 Comments

10,000 QSOs in the Log

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Bob Beatty

How appropriate, on the first day of winter, for a non-fan of cold weather, snow & ice, that I should reach QSO #10,000 in my logbook?  My small contribution to the one billion QSOs entered into LotW as of 12/19. … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, FT8, LotW, Operating | Leave a comment

Clearing the air on FT8

Posted on December 11, 2018 by robert

I follow a fairly large number of groups that are associated with various aspects of Amateur Radio or Electronics. I’ve seen a lot of discussing pro and con about FT8.  My personal view is that Amateur Radio should be as … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Mode, From the OM, FT8 | Leave a comment

License Renewed

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Bob Beatty

I guess I am good for another decade.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it VERY easy to renew online in the FCC ULS system.  Even more surprised that I could find my password, which I haven’t used in about … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, History | Leave a comment