It has been a while since I’ve done one of these Internet Spewing posts, so I’ve got some catching up to do.
Twitter is heating up with rumors and reports of new ham gear to be introduced at the Dayton Hamvention. Elecraft is introducing the KX2 QRP HF transceiver. I know this one is real because Steve WGØAT got a chance to try out a unit, shown here in this video. Also, see the short review by Frank KØJQZ.
VA3XPR broke the news about a VHF/UHF radio that does DMR, D-STAR and C4FM digital modes. This was followed by the announcement of another radio, the DV4mobile, that will handle DMR, D-STAR, C4FM, P25 and some other modes. This is exciting stuff but we’ve been here before and nothing materialized. It is definitely achievable…the technology exists. Someone just has to do the work of creating a product. I hope they do it.
K3NG comments on the most recent innovation from Heathkit, the Pipetenna. Leixen recently introduced a 25 W UHF handheld radio. Now who thinks THAT is a good idea?
The FCC is thinking about making amateur radio licenses last for a lifetime. See the KB6NU blog and comments on the topic.
The ARRL announced that the August UHF Contest is cancelled, thereby ticking off the hams that like to work that contest. It seems they also ticked off the many hams that have been contemplating participating in the contest for the last decade but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Not cancelled but expanded is the Colorado 14er Event, which will go the whole weekend (August 6-7). Check out the ham14er web site for the latest info. Its our 25th year and its going to be fun!
The Atlantic published a decent article on ham radio, focusing on the emergency communication aspect of the radio service. Yay!
Don’t forget to participate in the National Pizza Ovens On The Air (NPOOTA) event. Unfortunately, there’s been some partisan bickering about Obama’s recent activation. In related news, here’s a proposal to abolish the use of Q codes. To which I say, QSL!
After one of our Tech Licensees asked “just how many antennas do I need to cover all these bands?”, I wrote this article at HamRadioSchool.com: Antennas… How Many Do I Need?
Another important question is How Many Digits of Pi Do I Need? It turns out that JPL has figured this out using actual math and the answer is 16 digits. You don’t need anymore than that. Ever.
OK, that’s it for now. No, I am not going to be at Dayton. All of the Cool Kids went to Hamcon Colorado instead.
73, Bob KØNR