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Automatic Roger Beep for VHF/UHF Contests
Technical Reference/Homebrew
This project details an automatic roger beep circuit for VHF/UHF contests. Built around a Microchip PIC microcontroller, the design detects PTT (Push-To-Talk) activation and generates a brief tone upon release, mimicking a "roger beep" to signal the end of transmission. The circuit utilizes readily available components and includes downloadable resources for PCB layout and firmware.

CCXD Award
Operating Aids/Awards
The CCXD Award (The Century Club of eXtreme difficulty is one of the most difficult awards to achieve. You are required to operate your home country from 100 DXCC countries. Founded in 2013, awards certificate is still awaiting presentation.

Mini Whip - Active HF Antenna
Antennas/Active
The author investigated electric field antennas and achieved promising results with a shortened active whip antenna (30 cm). The findings suggest that at LF, active whips function primarily through electric field capacitance coupling.

Vertical Dipole Array for 20-17-15 Meters
Antennas/Portable
This article explores the evolution of antenna choices for DXpeditions, focusing on the shift from mono-band VDAs to a multi-band solution. It details the design and construction of a lightweight, versatile 20-17-15m VDA, utilizing readily available materials like fishing rods and IKEA breadboards. The author discusses challenges, adjustments, and offers guidance for replication.

TX7W Raivavae, Austral Islands
DX Resources/DX Peditions/2024 DXpeditions
DX Pedition Austral Islands by Jeff Martin – K5WE, Craig Boyer – W5CCP April 2024

Top Amateur Radio Websites - Issue 2415
Telescopic Fiberglass Antenna Pole Support Method, Full size 80m End Fed Half Wave Antenna, 4m Tall Vertical Dipole for 20m , ShortwaveDB Map, MorsePractice, LogConv, FISTS Log Converter,

Active Hurricane Season Predicted for 2024

Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane researchers predict an active Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) in their initial 2024 forecast.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, attended the National Hurricane Conference in Florida in late March, where the CSU prediction was issued. "The common discussion at the National Hurricane Conference this year was the...

JA1BBPs Weblog


VDA Antenna for 30m
Antennas/30M
This project documents the construction and enhancement of a 30m Vertical Dipole Array (VDA) antenna inspired by Remco 7QNL article. Initial design utilized an 18m Spiderbeam pole and a 4m boom. Improvements included a lighter boom structure using fishing rods and a revised coaxial arrangement for enhanced mechanical stability.

ARRL Audio News April 12, 2024

ARRL Audio News April 12, 2024

Ham Radio Active During Eclipse

Millions of people across the United States got to see a rare solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.

The path of totality -- the line of darkness where the moon fully occluded the sun -- stretched through the South Pacific, Mexico, central Texas, the Ozarks, the Midwest, the Rust Belt area, and to New England through the Maritimes. In all, 14 ARRL Sections were impacted directly and several mor...

Amateur Radio Saves Family in Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is in a remote desert in southern California, where mobile phone networks are spotty at best. On Saturday, April 6, a radio amateur and his family were enjoying the park when their vehicle became stuck in mud in a dangerous area. Without access to a cell network, the ham called for help on the 10-meter band.

According to a news release from the Black Swamp Amateur Radi...

Maquina do Tempo
Amateur radio site from Brasil

A portable 3 element 6m Yagi
Antennas/6M/6 meter Yagi Antennas
A small Yagi antenna for camper van. It is made of aluminum tubing, breaks down for storage, and works well for communicating with others. He built it in an afternoon and it gets good signal. The antenna is lightweight and can be packed up to fit inside his van while traveling

QRP Cluster
DX Resources/Clusters
QRP self spotting Cluster, where every QRP broadcasting enthusiast can announce on which frequency they are working, in which mode, or with what equipment and power they are working.

QSL Card creator
Software/QSL
This webpage allows you to create custom QSL cards (confirmation of radio contact) as PDFs for printing. You can personalize them with images and information. The cards are standard size (5.5" x 3.5") but can be adjusted slightly for easier printing on regular paper. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDFs. There's also an option to create a free account to save your information for future cards.

K4SWL Antenna Plus
Antennas/Portable
This project details building a multi-band antenna for park activations. The author constructs a random wire antenna with a 9:1 UnUn for improved performance. Winding the toroid core proved challenging, but the completed antenna shows promising results in initial tests with an analyzer. Further field testing is planned for a future activation.

Beverage Remote Switch
Technical Reference/Antenna Switch
The author describes building a remote switch box to control the direction of two reversible Beverage antennas. The switch uses a buried cable and relays to select the desired antenna direction from the shack. The design is simple and uses common components.

2024 ARRL Field Day Poster Released

A poster promoting 2024 ARRL Field Day has been released on the Field Day web page, www.arrl.org/field-day. The two-sided informational poster features this year's theme "Be Radio Active". It includes a space for clubs to fill in information about their planned activation so that members of their community can come visit the site.

More resources for promoting 2024 ARRL Field Day are being develo...

An Overview of Beverage Receiving Antennas
Antennas/Beverage
This article explores Beverage antennas, a type used for low-frequency radio reception. Despite the mystique, they are relatively simple wire antennas placed near the ground. Their key benefit is improved signal-to-noise ratio by rejecting unwanted signals. While lengthier antennas offer better reception, even shorter versions (around 200 feet) can improve DX reception compared to traditional antennas.

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