Monthly Archives: June 2021

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 →

Posted in From the OM | Leave a comment

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

WB4SON-10 Changeover Complete

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I finally had enough downtime to move my WB4SON-10 Winlink Gateway over to its full-time hardware: Alinco DR-135T Mk-III Samlex SEC-1223BBM Power Supply with battery changeover 100 AH Solar Charged battery ACEPC AK2 miniPC Master’s Communication DRA-50 interface with Alinco … Continue reading →

Posted in VARA_FM, Winlink | 2 Comments

The Magic Band comes alive!

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Bob Beatty

When I was a newly upgraded ham in 1971, the only radio I had that would operate voice mode was a Heathkit “Sixer” — a small, 2 watt AM rig.  I had a 6-m dipole antenna taped to the inside … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters, DX, Sporadic-E | Leave a comment

Owning a Flex-6600M is a mixed bag

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Bob Beatty

A lifetime ago (in other words the year before the pandemic,), I purchased a FlexRadio Flex-6600M, along with a Maestro Control Console for remote operation.  My first year of use was plagued with problems with things that seemed basic to … Continue reading →

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Preparing a miniPC for 24/7 operation

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Bob Beatty

There are two good reasons to use a dedicated miniPC for your RMS Packet station.  The first is that the sysop user agreement you sign states that you will do you best to make sure the software runs on dedicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, RMS, Winlink | Leave a comment

Six Meters is Hopping!

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I was upstairs noodling around and happened to use my iPad/Flex to see what was going on in the Magic Band.  Sure enough, I saw a few SSB QSOs (nothing on CW) and saw that FT8 was hopping.  By the … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters | Leave a comment