"The picture at the top right of my QRZ page is of an ancient Greek vase. It depicts Zeus throwing a thunderbolt. Depictions of Zeus often show him throwing thunderbolts. Certainly our understanding of radio waves and radio propagation has changed remarkably from ancient times. However, I like to think that in some way we hams are like "thunderbolt throwers" sending signals into the air."
Will be submitting a proposal for a talk on #hamradio to the @hopeconf later today. "Ham Radio for Hackers" and "Ham Radio: Yes, We Still Do That!" are my two working titles. What should I make sure to talk about to this group of hackers?
@kb6nu What impressed me as someone coming from the consumer computer world to #hamradio is manufacturers/regulators (at least in US) who expect user modifications and user built equipment. Also the idea that all you need to do is have a clever idea for a new comms protocol, publish it, and have users the world over embrace it (like WSJT-X). I don’t know if hackers care, but it is also neat that someone with a radio built in the 1950s and someone with a SDR built yesterday can communicate.
is manufacturers/regulators (at least in US) who expect user modifications and user built equipment.
Nah, this is world-wide, ham radio is defined by ITU (a body of the UN) as an experimental radio service. So we are allowed to build dnd design at will ... but we will also have to document that we know the ropes (i.E. know the technicalities of how not to disturb other radio services).
The experimental character is in some countries even higher than in the US. The band usage plan of the FCC specifically names modulation schemes on some frequencies. Whereas the german equivalent ("Frequenznutzungsplan") just defines max bandwiths. What modulation an OM uses there is completely free, making way to experimentation and innovation.
Just turned the radio on. See two pileups on 30m CW. Look them up on dxsummit.fi. See that CB0ZA (Juan Fernandez Island), off the coast of Chile (see below) is calling CQ on 10115 kHz. I listen for a bit to see who he's calling, set my transmit frequency, and work them on the first call! That's my kind of DX. :) #hamradio#DX
@kb6nu I would say go for Codeberg, but unfortunately most of the people who would contribute are still on GitHub, so I would mirror the repository there!
@kb6nu Wow! That’s awesome. I just don’t quite have a long enough antenna for that kind of DX on 30 m. 20 is about as low as I can go for DX work. Nice.
@kb6nu Right except I have a alpha FMJ vertical antenna. Extended whip is 17 feet long. I do have the four extra wires but I still think it’s awfully short for 30. I seem to work near in states like California but not DX. Beacon does say I’m reaching into New Zealand and Grand Cayman islands though so I suppose it is possible. I’ll keep trying. :-)
I need to get a chart showing the waterfall patterns of all the #hamradio digital modes. I can see lots of signals on 30m in the waterfall, but I'm not sure what they are. They could be calling CQ, too, for all I know.
@kb6nu To my knowledge, there doesn't exist a useful resource for this, but all the pieces are available online.
There's the comprehensive yet useless wiki page that everyone has already linked you to, and W1HKJ (fldigi developer) has a great (yet also unhelpful) gallery of all the modes it can produce at http://www.w1hkj.com/modes/index.htm
But nobody has synthesized all of this into a useful tool for manual signal identification, yet.
Anyone ever have RFI problems with a PC keyboard in their shack? A couple of weeks ago I bought an HP SK-2085 keyboard from a thrift shop here to replace the Dell keyboard that came with this refurb HP desktop I'm using in the shack. Worked great until yesterday, when I got on 80 meters for the first time in a long time. As soon as I keyed up, it started spewing random characters. Reconnected the Dell keyboard and no problems at all. sigh I hate RFI problems.
@M0YNG@kb6nu Hi Dan, thanks for producing a necessary update - I’d also prefer to move away from “patriotic”, agreeing with Christopher- although I too haven’t found adequate words for its replacement.
The #hamradio code of conduct ("hamspirit") goes back almost 100 years. It shows its age. I disagree with half of it.
"never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others."
I say: Try hard to lessen the pleasure of any troll disrupting friendly relais conversations. Try to ignore. Do not let them know how successful the disruption is.
For another example: The FT-8 WSJTX manual suggests foxes should ignore QRO hounds who use excessive power.
Cranking out Qs at at a chilly (54 deg F) K-3315. I managed 20 contacts on 20 meters and 20 on 15 meters and then decided to call it quits before I lost all feeling in my fingers. I had 5 DX contacts, including 7N1FRE in Japan! #hamradio#pota