by | May 23, 2012

ICOM to Support Boy Scouts

During the 2012 Dayton Hamvention, Icom America announced plans to sponsor the Boy Scouts of America for their 2013 National Scout Jamboree. Icom will be providing equipment and technical support for the K2BSA radio operation, the Radio merit badge, and Jamboree-on-the-Air. These include all amateur radio transceivers, associated power supplies, microphones and speakers. They will also be installing VHF and UHF repeaters that will remain in place year-round to support Summit activities and the local community.

In addition to supporting the National Jamboree, Icom and the BSA will select local councils to receive a loan of a complete amateur radio station for use in merit badge advancement activities and to introduce Scouts to the fun and technology of amateur radio.

More information can be found in the ARRL annoucement as well as the Icom America news release.

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by | May 23, 2012

Information Net for May 21

BSA to Offer Morse Code Interpreter Strip

Read by: PAUL KJ4WQN

For many years, Boy Scouts and Scouters have been able to earn an interpreter strip to wear on their uniforms. This strip — worn on the uniform above the right pocket — denotes proficiency in a foreign language or sign language. Each language has its own strip (with the name of the language embroidered in that language), and some Scouts and Scouters wear more than one strip. Now those hams involved with the Boy Scouts can show their proficiency in Morse code with a Morse code interpreter strip (with M-O-R-S-E spelled out in Morse code).

According to BSA Director of Communication Services Jim Wilson, K5ND, the idea for a Morse code interpreter strip came about during meetings preparing for the 2012 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA).

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by | May 11, 2012

Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test

QSL card send by Army MARS station WAR (Europe...

QSL card send by Army MARS station WAR (European Area Gateway, Heidelberg, Germany) for a cross-band radio contact with K4GTM on Armed Forces Day 2010. (Credit: Wikipedia)

In celebration of the 62nd anniversary of Armed Forces Day, the annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Communications Test co-sponsored by the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard will be conducted on May 12. Typically held on the third Saturday in May, this date was chosen to avoid conflict with the Dayton Hamvention which is scheduled for May 18-20.

This annual celebration features traditional military-to-amateur crossband communications tests over SSB voice and Morse code. These tests give amateur radio operators and short wave listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations.

More information, including station frequencies, can be found on the event announcement.

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by | May 8, 2012

Information Net for May 7

1st Annual Nashville Flood Memorial HF Net Event

Read by: MARTHA KJ4RIQ

  • What: 1st Annual Nashville Flood Memorial HF Net
  • Where: Sumner Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency EOC, Gallatin, TN
  • When: Saturday, May 12th – 10am to 7pm local time
  • Why: To salute the Amateur Radio response to the 2010 Nashville Flood

The Sumner County ARES team will be hosting an ARRL endorsed Special Event Net on Saturday, May 12th, 2012, to commemorate the 2nd Anniversary of the 2010 Nashville Flood and give recognition to the amateur radio community here in Middle Tennessee that responded to that natural disaster.

We have secured permission from the FCC via the ARRL to use the 1×1 callsign W4F for that weekend. The Special Event will be on the air from 10am to 7pm local. Setup time will start at 8am. We will be radioactive from the ARES group’s home QTH of the Sumner County Emergency Operations Center in Gallatin, TN.

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by | May 7, 2012

High-performance HF Transceiver Design

Over at EDN.com, an article by Doug Grant gives an in-depth look at what goes into designing an HF transceiver. He goes through the different specifications designers must meet and talks about different design approaches by manufacturers. It is an interesting read showing how manufacturers use state-of-the-art technology and design tricks to achieve the performance of their rigs.

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