Despite largely dismal HF conditions, there is no doubt that the recent FT8 digital protocol has made hams more enthusiastic about getting on the air. The mode has caught on so quickly that co-developer Joe Taylor expressed surprise last fall at the rapid uptake of FT8 for making contacts on HF bands. Judging by Logbook […]
The third public test of FT8 DXpedition Mode on May 5 is being called a success. The goal of the exercise was to simulate a rare DXpedition pileup on FT8 by having many stations (“Hounds”) calling and trying to work a designated pseudo DXpedition station (“Fox”). “A number participants and would-be participants reported that propagation was spotty, […]
China’s twin-launch Chang’e 4 mission to the far side of the moon will place a pair of microsatellites in lunar orbit “to test low-frequency radio astronomy and space-based interferometry.” The two satellites, DSLWP-A1 and DSLWP-A2 (DSLWP = Discovering the Sky at Longest Wavelengths Pathfinder) are expected to launch in June. They will carry Amateur Radio […]
This Week in Amateur Radio #1001 Here is a summary of the news trending this week, May 05, 2018 This weeks edition, is anchored by Chris Perrine, KB2FGAF, Don Hulick, K2ATJ, Will Rogers, K5WLR, and Jessica Bowen, KB2VWX. Produced and edited (and a little anchoring too) by W2XBS. Running Time: 1:28:31 Download here: http://bit.ly/TWIAR1001 Trending […]
A second beta version of WSJT-X version 1.9.0 has been released. This is to allow further field testing of the new FT8 DXpedition mode, designed to enable DXpeditions to make FT8 contacts at very high rates. The team is inviting the amateur radio community to participate in a public test run of FT8 DXpedition mode. Test times […]
The Southeastern VHF Society (SVHS) has issued a call for papers and presentations (PDF attached below) for delivery at its convention, April 28-29, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Papers and presentations are solicited on both technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF, and microwave “weak-signal” Amateur Radio. Suggested topic areas include transmitters, receivers, transverters, RF power […]
In December, Joe Taylor, K1JT, released the latest version (1.7) of his WSJT-X software suite, designed to facilitate basic Amateur Radio communication using very weak signals (WSJT stands for “Weak Signal communication by K1JT”). Version 1.7 included the new modes MSK144 and QRA64, as well as ISCAT (ionospheric scatter). MSK144 and QRA64 (and QRA64A) are […]