OMIK Tech-Talk January 2016

Transcription

1 An International Educational and Scientific Organization Founded in August of 1952 is a monthly distribution of news and technical articles reviewed and chosen by our technical staff to provide you with timely ham radio-related topics collected from different sources on the Internet. KØMIK OMIK Amateur Radio Association Net Schedule (NOTE: during Daylight Savings Time net OMIK Nets meet on Sundays 20 Meter Phone 40 Meter Phone 75 Meter MHz from 12:00-13:00 Phone UTC times move back 1 hour) MHz from 16:00-18:00 UTC MHz from 12:30 to 14:00 UTC The Year of the Elmer This would be a good year to help someone to become a ham or consider helping a seasoned ham get setup on some of the digital modes. It s never to late to start learning something new when it comes to this hobby. Each one of us should take to the time and help add to our numbers and experience levels. Teaching someone the new digital modes might also bring renew interest back to the hobby for those hams that might have cast aside the microphone because of health reasons, the lack of activity on the bands or because they now live in a antenna restricted area. As for the new hams getting a license and making that first local and DX contact might spark more interest in the hobby and motivate them to get their General and Extra license.

2 Amateur Radio News QuartzFest 2016 QuartzFest is a week-long ham radio, camping, learning and living event. QuartzFest 2016, celebrating its 19th anniversary, is an ARRL Specialty Convention being held January 17 to 23, 2016 near Quartzsite, Arizona in the United States. No other ham fest in the world brings together in one gathering so much innovation in mobile antenna systems, mobile ham shacks, recreational vehicles, portable and mobile EMCOMM systems, off-the-grid living, alternative energy and radio education. RTTY Roundup is a Good Way to Kick Off the 2016 Contest Calendar: The ARRL RTTY Roundup over the January 2-3 weekend is a veritable digital festival, so dust off those keyboards! In addition to conventional Baudot, RTTY Roundup ops may use ASCII, AMTOR, PSK31, and Packet (attended). It's very easy to get on RTTY and other digital modes, and some late-model transceivers even have RTTY and other digital capabilities built right into the radio. Participation in this annual operating event has grown along with the enthusiasm for digital modes, and newcomers are always welcome to join the fray. The 2015 ARRL RTTY Roundup runs from 1800 UTC Saturday, January 2 through 2359 UTC Sunday, January 3, with operation on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Participants may operate 24 of the 30 available hours. US and Canadian stations send a signal report and state/province, while DX stations send a signal report and consecutive serial number, starting with 001. Submit Cabrillo logs via rttyru@arrl.org or by using the web applet Send paper logs to ARRL RTTY Roundup, 225 Main St, Newington, CT All logs must be postmarked no later than 2359 UTC Tuesday, February 2, Contact contest@arrl.org the ARRL Contest Branch for more information. How to File a Amateur Radio Complaint with the FCC Amateur radio complaints should be as specific as possible, citing dates, times, and frequencies on which alleged violations occurred. Complaints should also include a name and telephone number where the complainant can be reached for further details, if necessary. Please submit your complaints/concerns regarding amateur radio to the Commission's on-line complaint system. The appropriate form for your complaint can be found here:

3 0.action?form_type=2000F Willful or Malicious Interference Complaints Section (d) of the Commission's Rules prohibits amateur operators from willfully or maliciously interfering with or causing interference to any radio communication or signal. 47 C.F.R (d). a D-Star user and would like to use it, feel free. Contact Frank at k6fed@yahoo.com he will provide you with the information. The Dashboard is located: There is also a lot of activity of the following Dstar Reflectors: General Rag chew Local and DX The Spectrum Enforcement Division, in conjunction with the Regional and Field Offices, is responsible for responding to complaints of willful and/or malicious interference (sometimes called ``jamming'') among amateur radio service licensees. Amateur radio service licensees wishing to file complaints alleging willful and/or malicious interference to other amateur radio service operations should follow the complaint process discussed above. Parties desiring further information may call: OMIK Digital Radio Info The OMIK Amateur Radio Association has XRF185 reflector up and running. If you are Late Night Rag chew HT with DV Mega D-star WIFI Hotspot

4 If you are using D-Star and your QTH is located miles from a local D-Star repeater your D-Star transceiver coverage is going to be spotty and there may also be gaps in the mobile coverage around town. This hotspot in conjunction with a internet connection could eliminate these coverage problems. It could also make D-Star reflectors, available without forcing the rest of the local repeater users to hear them too. members. The only requirement is that users must first set up a site login (this is a different and separate login from your ARRL website user registration). Free Amateur Radio Practice Testing is available on the Web Practice exams are for those people who would like to study for a new US amateur radio license class. The questions contained within are provided by the Federal Communications Commission and are selected from the same sub-elements that would be used for an official license examination. Classes & VEC Testing None scheduled Ham Radio License Exam Practice The ARRL has launched a new online resource that allows users to take randomly generated practice exams using questions from the actual examination question pool. ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio is free, and users do not need to be ARRL Find and Exam in Your Area: You can find an Amateur License Exam In your area at ARRL.ORG You can find an Amateur License Exam In your area at ARRL.ORG

5 Electronics Refresher Diodes In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance to the flow of current in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p n junction connected to two electrical terminals. A vacuum tube diode has two electrodes, a plate (anode) and a heated cathode. Semiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic devices. The discovery of crystals rectifying abilities was made by German physicist Ferdinand Braun in The first semiconductor diodes, called cat's whisker diodes, developed around 1906, were made of mineral crystals such as galena. Today, most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconductors such as selenium or germanium are sometimes used. Safety Tip Tower Tips Always use two person crews for all tower & maintenance work Reconsider climbing a tower in high winds ANYTIME you hear thunder get off the tower (lightning is close) Never throw things off the tower Discourage visitors and onlookers Never climb or work on a tower when tired Always have an emergency plan, know your location and directions by road name to your location ( I am working on Fred s wind turbine behind his barn makes it difficult for rescuers to find you) Tech Talk RASPBERRY PI RTL-SDR SPECTRUM ANALYZER SCANNER Adafruit has released a tutorial showing how to build a portable TFT screen based Raspberry Pi RTL-SDR spectrum analyzer that was inspired by the HackRF portapack. Construction of the project is very simple and the FreqShow python software is provided as a simple download that is ready to run once the RTL-SDR is

6 installed on the Raspberry Pi. The FreqShow software appears to be fully featured with the ability to change the center frequency, sample rate, and gain. It can show on the TFT screen the real time RF spectrum of the currently tuned area or it can be switched to show a waterfall of the spectrum as well. Below is a video of the finished project that shows the software in action.. For Sale or SWAP For Sale: This space is reserved for anything amateur related you want to sale, swap trade, buy or get rid of. Send your list to K6FED@yahoo.com. Items are listed for one month. Additional time can be requested by .