In this edition: * Firefly Delivers New Amateur Satellites to Orbit * Ariane 6 Maiden...

Release Date: July 6, 2024 Here is a summary of the news trending This Week...

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This is a 1-hour version of the weekly podcast for This Week in Amateur Radio....

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Due to some family stuff I have to give up on my attempts to reach the Bonus Station GB13COL in the 13 colonies event this year.

I did manage to get all 13 stations in the log along with the PA Bonus station and the French (TM13COL) bonus station. Most were SSB but I did get a few in the log using CW.

I did hear GB13COL on SSB and CW but had no luck breaking the pileups in either mode.

The people who could not understand the concept of “Split” added to the problems and the DX Cops trying to get their point across by adding to the QRM with the words “UP UP” over and over.

That really did not help my popgun station hear what I was trying to listen for.

So with 90 minutes left to go…. Its time to cut my losses and run….but for the most part if was fun. Thanks for a job well do goes out the the Event Organisers along with the station operators of the stations involved in the event.

Happy 4th and lets try again next year….

73bob

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Tilford, who shares the following update: 1. From the Isle of Music, July 2024 On July 13, 2024, we will feature music from the winning album in the Tradicional Variado category (“Danzoneando: En vivo desde Matanzas” by Orquesta Failde) of Cubadisco 2024 Times & Frequencies are: 1700-1800 UTC […]

Meshtastic devices have really taken off in the UK over the last few months and there is now an established Mesh across a large portion of the UK mainland.

Looking to expand the device capability I stumbled across a really interesting little project that is still in the early stages of development but, is functional and worth trying out.

The TC²-BBS Meshtastic Version is a simple BBS system that runs on a RaspberryPi, Linux PC or virtual machine (VM) and can connect to a Meshtastic device via either serial, USB or TCP/IP. Having my M0AWS-1 Meshtastic node at home connected to Wifi I decided to use a TCP/IP connection to the device from a Linux VM running the Python based TC²-BBS Meshtastic BBS.

Following the instructions on how to deploy the BBS is pretty straight forward and it was up and running in no time at all. With a little editing of the code I soon had the Python based BBS software M0AWS branded and connected to my Meshtastic node-1.

The BBS system is very reminiscent of the old packet BBS systems of a bygone era but, it is ideal for the Meshtastic world as the simple menus and user interface are easily transmitted in seconds via the Mesh using minimal bandwidth.

The BBS is accessible by opening a Direct Message session with the M0AWS-1 node. Sending the letter H to the node will get you the initial help screen showing the menu above and then from there onwards it’s just a matter of selecting the menu item and following the BBS prompts to use the BBS.

The BBS also works across MQTT. I tested it with Dave, G4PPN and it worked perfectly via the Meshtastic MQTT server.

This simple but, effective BBS for the Meshtastic network will add a new message store/forward capability to the Mesh and could prove to be very important to the development of the Meshtastic mesh in the UK and the rest of the world.

More soon …

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy! Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Paul and Dennis Dura for the following tips: Switzerland to end 2024 with an analog FM broadcast-killing bang (The […]

One thing about me, and maybe it's in my Polish genes, I can be stubborn at times. 

Don’t forget you can get involved in the new GR2HQ Challenge next weekend, the 13 and 14 July, as part of the IARU HF World Championship contest. You can take part as individuals but also benefit your club, so why not encourage your club members to take part whether they are regular contesters or not. […]

Ayr Amateur Radio Group meets on alternate Fridays at Prestwick Community Centre from 7.30pm. For details of club activities and nets visit gm0ayr.org Derek, MM0OVD, 0742 899 4614 On Thursday, members of Aberdeen Amateur Radio Society are meeting from 7pm for CW practice. Following this there will be an informal meeting from 7.30pm. aars.org.uk Today, […]

Are you looking for your next construction challenge? Then the RSGB British Science Week Time challenge could be for you. The task is to provide a method of either measuring the frequency of a radio frequency source or signal, or providing a time reference to a radio operator or radio system. You must use readily […]

The RSGB is pleased to announce that it will be represented at this summer’s Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) camp by Rhys Williams, M0WGY / AJ6XD. The event, which is organised by the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group together with the Czech Radio Club, will be held between 16-23 August 2024 in Prague, Czechia. […]

If you remember my previous post where I commented:

“Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.“

“Check out their website for more information.”

So it would seem that last evening I was lucky/skillful enough to get the remaining 6 colony stations in the log along with the WM2PEN Bonus Station in the log.

Last night I did hear the GB13COL Bonus Station on 20m ssb and could not break the pile up.

This morning I did hear the TM13COL Bonus on 15m cw but once again was unable to break the pile up.

So far out of the 14 contacts ( 13 colonies and 1 Bonus station) 3 contacts were made in CW and 11 were made using SSB.

Power levels are 90w for SSB and 40W for CW.

I’m (foolishly) feeling confident that before the event ends on July 7th I should be able to complete the SWEEP including the 3 bonus stations.

After all I only need 2 more…..

The last time I was able to do this was in 2022.

Once again Happy 4th of July to my Neighbors to the South

73bob

Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.

As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.

The goals were as follows:

HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a “dyed in the wool” contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendly… This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.

TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-

Well almost… I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.

Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.

HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contacts…. I just needed more of them.

After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.

Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.

Check out their website for more information.

.

Then it looks like its back to “Playing Pota” again ….

73bob

Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post: Construction Notes – VO1DR Antenna Mount for Camera Monopod by Scott Schillereff,  VO1DR Further to my article about radio during trip to Portugal, a number of readers asked for details on how I mounted my whip antenna system to my camera monopod for /P … Continue reading Construction Notes: VO1DR Monopod Antenna Mount →

I recently spent some time in Central Pennsylvania at my daughter’s house. Since I was going to be there a while, I brought along my Raspberry Pi hotspot. While I’m not really active in digital voice modes (or any voice modes, for that matter), there are a couple of DMR nets I like to check into each week. 

One issue I ran into in the past, is that my hotspot refuses to connect to their Wi-Fi network. Their Wi-Fi SSID has both an apostrophe and a space in it, so I’m guessing that’s the issue. I could have connected the hotspot directly to their router via an ethernet cable. Because of their router’s location, I would have had to move some furniture and put the hotspot in an awkward location. So, this time around I brought a little travel router to try another approach. 

Back when I was working, I had a TP-Link Nano router that I took on business trips. Typically, I would connect it to an Ethernet port in my hotel room to create a personal Wi-Fi network for my laptop and phone. A while back, I upgraded to the newer (and faster) TP-Link TL-WR802N travel router. I don’t travel nearly as much these days, so the new router hasn’t seen much use.

I brought the travel router along on this trip to create a wireless bridge from the house’s Wi-Fi to my personal Wi-Fi. The router’s Wi-Fi network has an SSID that my hotspot likes. I haven’t used that mode much, so I had to resort to the user manual to refresh my memory on how to set this thing up.

Actually, it was pretty easy to set up. It was simply a matter of connecting my laptop to travel travel router’s Wi-Fi to access the admin functions. From there, I set it up in the “Hotspot Router” mode. Then, I scanned to find the house’s Wi-Fi network and logged into it.

Testing the internet connectivity with my laptop, the speed looked good. I had previously added my travel router’s SSID and password to the hotspot, so soon after powering up I was hearing the sounds of DMR coming from my HT. This configuration worked great, and I successfully checked into a few nets during the week. 

The next time I go out there to visit, I’ll just need to power up the router and the hotspot, and everything should work. (Knock on wood)

No ground-breaking technological advances here. I just love when a plan comes together. 

73, Craig WB3GCK

[Disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in this product, and there are no affiliate links in this post. I’m just a satisfied owner.]

When our family needs a change of scenery without a long drive, Mount Mitchell State Park is our go-to destination. I’ve mentioned before that it’s my “happy place” here in North Carolina. Mount Mitchell is only about 6 miles from our home as the crow flies, but it takes about 50 minutes to drive there, … Continue reading Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park →

In this edition: * Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha “Noise of Summer” Mission Rescheduled * Curium One...

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who notes that the digital version of WRTH 2024 is available to order online: https://shop.radiodatacenter.net/product/wrth-2024-e-book/ Many thanks for the tip, Tom!