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  • Our picks

    • 44th Annual Winterfest

      44th Annual Winterfest

      AK4AO posted a calendar event in Hamfests,

      Vienna Wireless Winterfest — The National Capital Area Ham Radio Fair

      March 29, 2020

      The 44th annual Winterfest will bring hams and equipment vendors together on March 29, 2020.  Several amateur radio clubs will be on hand to provide information about the ham radio hobby, getting started, where to find instructional help for earning the amateur radio license and much, much more!  Vendors in new and used communications equipment, antennas, cabling, parts and supplies will also be on hand to help you find the hard-to-find.  Winterfest is an ARRL approved hamfest.

      Download our Flyer here.

      The list of  vendors  is here.

      Location:

      Winterfest 2020 will again be held at the Northern Virginia Community College Annandale Campus.  Click here for directions.

      For Visitors

      You’ll be able to find great deals on some of the best of both old and new gear.

      QSL Checking will be available on-site until 12 noon.

        • Like
      • 0 replies
    • Chaverim Net

      Chaverim Net

      W3TTT posted a topic in Nets,

      The next meeting of the Chaverim net: Monday, November 11

      7:00 PM EST   7.268 Mhz 

      7:30 PM EST   3.830 Mhz

      First 40 meters, then try 80 meters.  

      I will be listing our net on NetLogger.

      Please forward this to anyone who would be interested.

      All Hams are most Welcome!

      Agenda:

      Which band is better?  Looking to pick a band for the net.  

      Thanks and Shalom

      Joe Cotton W3TTT
      • 1 reply
    • N1MM

      N1MM

      K3MRI posted item in Logging and control software,

      N1MM Logger is the world’s most popular ham radio contest logging program. For CW, phone and digital modes, its combination of contest-optimized features is unmatched.
      • 0 replies
    • RF Propagation Analytics

      RF Propagation Analytics

      HC/STAFF posted a link in Propagation & solar weather,

      The RF Propagation Analytics site demonstrates a practical application of analytics techniques. It lets you see what bands are open now (at least according to spots reported to the DX Cluster) and trends (both under the Activity button), can show maps of spot locations (both in flat Google map or Robinson projection), and lets you search for stations that have been reported or submitted reports (to DX Cluster).

      How It Works

      The server checks the DX Cluster every minute to see what new spots have been reported. It gets the latitude and longitude of each spot (if available in QRZ.com) plus the solar flux at the time (if lat-long is not in QRZ, the country is determined based on callsign and the lat-long of the capitol of the country is used). It saves the spots in a database. The database is then used for searching and mapping functions. DxDisplay is a service to demonstrate high speed analytics, provided by  The University of Alabama  Center for Advanced Public Safety, in conjunction with HamSCI. See the Documentation for results of various studies of the historical data in the database. <br style="color:#696969; font-size:13.600000381469727px; text-align:start">
      See also QRZ.COM article about the system: QRZ.com article  <br style="color:#696969; font-size:13.600000381469727px; text-align:start">
       

      WSPRNet data

      In May of 2017, an additional data collection function was added to collect a sample of WSPRNet data. The intent is to allow users to apply some of the same data visualization to WSPRNet data as done with the DX Cluster data, and also to allow data analysis that combines the two for increased analytics power. The data collector runs once per minute and collects 50 spots from WSPRNet (it is not intended to duplicate the entire WSPRNet database in dxdisplay). We think that 50 per minute will provide a statistically significant sample of WSPRNet data which can then be correlated with other data. You can view most of the displays with dxdisplay data and/or WSPRNet sampling included. We may change the sampling frequency once we see how well the "50 per minute" criterion works.

      Winlink

      In July, 2019, tracking of reported Winlink spots was added.
      • 0 replies
    • Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation

      Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation

      HC/STAFF posted a link in Publications and information websites,

      Since the beginning of the United States amateur radio service in 1912, amateur radio operators have made significant contributions to radio technology and the understanding of radio science.  This work must be continued today, as Part 97 of the FCC rules states that a primary purpose of the amateur radio service is the “Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.”  Recent advances in the fields of computing, software defined radio, and signal processing provide unprecedented opportunities to meet this mandate, specifically in the field of radio science.  These opportunities are already beginning to be realized with the advent of systems such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), the Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network (WSPRNet), and PSKReporter.  In addition, enabling amateurs to make and contribute legitimate scientific observations will expose amateur radio to a wider community of people interested in science around the world.
      • 0 replies
    • Power failures

      Power failures

      K3MRI posted a topic in Emergency communications,

      I'm curious to know how any of you have dealt with power failures in past. Also, do you have obscure recommendations that you think others may not have thought of to deal with both short and extended failures?
      • 7 replies
    • Share your Net topic ideas

      Share your Net topic ideas

      K3MRI posted a topic in Repeater management,

      Content-wise, there are basically two types of nets, nets without a topic, and nets with a topic. Nets without a topic have a place in our ham universe. They allow friends, or strangers, to just get on and share a story, the weather, a new purchase, or ask a question about some issue they might be having. Subject-driven nets are different, people arrive knowing what the day's subject matter will be. Please note that I am not talking about purpose-driven nets like traffic nets, weather nets, etc. I am talking about HF, VHF, UHF... nets, usually, but not always, run by clubs, to bring hams together.

      Which brings me to my ask. This would be a good thread to list ideas for subject matter. I will edit this top post to include the highlights of the suggestions given. I'll start the dance off by putting in some of my own ideas in the next post.

      C'mon ham community, let the pile up begin!!
      • 1 reply
    • Marine Corps Marathon 2019

      MCM 2019 net control

      K3MRI posted a topic in Public Service Events,

      After a very wet MCM 2019, Net Control looks forward to next year.
      • 8 replies
    • Community Emergency Response Guide

      Community Emergency Response Guide

      K3MRI posted a link in Publications and information websites,

      They don’t happen often or everywhere, but they do happen sometimes and somewhere. 

      In some cases they are predictable, and in others they are unthinkable. Tornadoes touch down, hurricanes make landfall, floodwaters rise, fires burn, utilities are interrupted, terrorists strike. 

      But with planning and preparation, you can make a difference. You can reduce a disaster’s impacts on you, your family, and your community. You can save lives, homes, and livelihoods. 

      The Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management is a resource for the community. Our mission is to make us all more ready for and resilient to all hazards. In a crisis, the government must focus on those in the greatest peril. The better prepared everyone else is, the better the outcomes are for all of us. 

      By reading this far, you’ve already taken the first step in preparing for the unexpected. Now it’s time to make a plan, build a kit, and help prepare your household and your community.
      • 0 replies
    • Is it time to rename the hobby?

      Is it time to rename the hobby?

      VE6RWP posted a topic in Ham topics in general,

      It used to be that an "Amateur" was someone who was not paid for something they did. The Olympics were Amateur Sports.  The best of the best but no one got paid to train and compete.  The definition of amateur was:"noun 1. a person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis."  Then somewhere along the line a second definition was added: "2. a person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity."  this seems to be the more accepted definition.  

      Should we be renaming ourselves to "Volunteer Radio Operators" to shake that definition of incompetence from our hobbies name?  
      • 12 replies
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