Monthly Archives: December 2018

Fumbling through ZumSpot setup and DMR

Posted on December 24, 2018 by robert

So the next step was to enable DMR services on the ZumSpot.  That was easy, but several more menu items relating to DMR popped up.  Suspecting that I didn’t want to be linked to Europe, I changed over to some … Continue reading →

Posted in DJ-MD5, DMR, Gear | 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

ONE BILLION QSOs in LotW

Posted on December 19, 2018 by robert

I’ve been a little obsessed making year-end QSOs for the International Grid Chase, and watching LotW count up to ONE BILLION QSOs. It happened at 23:32:06 UTC on December 19, 2018 (6:32:06 PM EST). Fantastic job ARRL and IT staff … Continue reading →

Posted in ARRL, LotW | Leave a comment

Only one million to go in LotW

Posted on December 17, 2018 by robert

At approximately 10:15 AM EST (15:15 UTC), the QSO count in Logbook of the World rolled over to 999 million, only 1 million QSOs to go before it hits a BILLION. LotW has been going up about 3 million QSOs … Continue reading →

Posted in ARRL, LotW | Leave a comment

WSJT-X Users MUST Upgrade to Version 2.0.0

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Bob Beatty

I had noticed that my waterfall was showing 20 or more signals that should be decoding, but only a few were.  Nevertheless I continued to work stations for this final month of the International Grid Chase.  I became concerned that … Continue reading →

Posted in FT8, WSJT-X | 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

Sad Day for AMSAT – AO-95 RX Malfunction

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Bob Beatty

AMSAT has reported that “during the next steps of commissioning we discovered an anomaly with her receive capability. After a few days of tests, analysis, and discussion, it appears that Fox-1Cliff/AO-95 will not be commissioned as our fourth Fox-1 amateur … Continue reading →

Posted in AMSAT, AO-95 | Leave a comment

One Billion LotW Closing in

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Bob Beatty

On Dec 1, LotW was sitting at 993,013,173 QSOs in the database.  Today, 8 days later, it is now at 996,282,776 Qs.  So in 8 days it has gone up a bit more than 3 million.  If that trend holds, … Continue reading →

Posted in LotW | Leave a comment

Congrats to AMSAT for Fox-1Cliff (AO-95)

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Bob Beatty

AMSAT launched another Fox FM Cubesat, Fox-1Cliff, on December 3.  It’s downlink is 145.920 MHz (Uplink 435.300 with a 67.0 Hz tone).  The satellite is still being tested and is not available for use yet, but you can easily hear … Continue reading →

Posted in AMSAT, AO-95, Satellite | Leave a comment