Field Testing a New Radio Utility Belt
For the past three years, I have volunteered as a radio operator for events like the Chicago Marathon. I take all my equipment in the same kit that I take hiking. It works, but...
Tagged: Amateur Radio
Hobbies Reduce High School Dropout Rate
Today, April 18th, is World Amateur Radio Day. Across the world, radio amateurs celebrate a hobby that is more popular than ever. Today there are more than 3-million licensed operators worldwide. In the United...
2016 Radio Scouting Calendar
A few years ago, a group of amateur radio operators formed a Radio Scouting committee for Rainbow Council BSA. Our mission is to introduce Scouts to amateur radio and other STEM fields. Our committee met...
Medical Triage at the Shamrock Shuffle
The Shamrock Shuffle kicked-off Chicago’s competitive running season here on April 3rd. Stephen Sambu, the 8K world record holder from Kenya, finished with an unofficial time of 22:45. If it stands, it will be...
Why I Changed My Call Sign After 28 Years
Up until last month, I’ve used my original Novice-class call sign since it came in the mail in 1988. When I upgraded to Technician, I didn’t change it because the FCC had run out...
Number of Ham Radio Licenses to Reach 750,000 by 2017
Growth in amateur radio licenses remains strong since the elimination of the Morse code requirement.
An Open Letter to #HamRadio Manufacturers
Let me be clear; this is not a call to bring Morse code back to Ham Radio.
Rufus Turner: Ham Radio’s First African American Operator
I ran across a Wikipedia entry about Rufus Turner recently. Rufus was an engineer who developed the 1N34A germanium diode in the 1946. This particular diode is an old standby in electronics, widely used...
What Happened When I Added a Counterpoise to My HT
As an experiment, I added a half-wave counterpoise to my radio during a recent Boy Scout camping trip. Here’s what happened.
Experimenting with the #HamRadio Wilderness Protocol
I called CQ at the top and bottom of the hour on the two frequencies with the best chance of a band opening. Either no one heard me, or no one was monitoring.
