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New Release: Ham Radio Deluxe v5.23

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:26 PM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...3&goto=newpost


Tampa FL, St. Paul MN, Pittsburgh PA – June 27, 2012



HRD Software, LLC announces the release of Ham Radio Deluxe 5.23.



HRD developers have been working to dramatically improve the callsign
lookup function and address some maintenance items. HRD 5.23 and the
preliminary manual are on the web site ready for download.



Mike Carper, WA9PIE, said, “The feedback from our beta-testers indicates
that this release is the best version ever of the Ham Radio Deluxe Suite.”
This version of Ham Radio Deluxe features powerful new options for callsign
lookup. Users can set the priority of lookup sources like QRZ.com, their
logbook entries, CD databases, and Logbook’s country index. “Our users
provided us valuable insight about how theyÂ’re more confident in the data
in their logbook than the CD and online data sources. It only made sense to
allow them to choose the priority,” Mike added. Users are also prompted
when lookup sources donÂ’t agree about the country location of stations they
are adding to their log. This enables the user to make a choice about which
country should be logged. The company invites hams to visit the companyÂ’s
YouTube channel for a demonstration of these new features.



Rick Ruhl, W4PC, said, “Erik Gawtry, KC0WWC, really showed his stuff in
this release. I feel Erik is one of the best programmers in the country and
I think the hams will be amazed at the magic he has done for this release.
Hams also have been key players with both their input and support of our
new company. Every hamfest that we attend we meet so many new friends and
supporters.”



This concludes development of the v5.x product roadmap. The company has
also continued development of v6.0 and intends to release it by the end of
summer 2012.



Version 6.x will have many new features which will include FSK support, a
new QSL and awards tracking interface, improved cluster filters, label
printing, and the Super Sweeper in Digital Master. Super Sweeper will allow
multiple signals to be decoded in a single window.



A discounted pre-buy of version 6.0 is being offered for $59.95. This
includes technical support for v5.2. Those that have purchased or will
purchase the 5.X support will still get one year of support from the date
of the 6.0 release.



You can purchase and download the product at
http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com.

HRD Downloads: http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com

HRD Forum: http://forums.hrdsoftwarellc.com

HRD on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/HRDsoftware




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When All Else Fails: Hams prepare for emergencies during Field Day 2012

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 06:35 PM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...2&goto=newpost


ham_radio_5a_thumb.jpg



Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Michelle Stevens

Gene May of the Loudoun Amateur Radio Group writes down the call sign of
another amateur “ham” radio operator for a 24-hour contest called Ham Radio
Field Day in Lovettsville June 24.

Tue., Jun. 26 by Alicia Constant



Voices and static mingled on the airwaves as amateur radio operators baked
in the heat Saturday. “QR-Zed.” “Kilo Echo Four, Oscar Kilo Yankee.” “Oscar
Kilo Yankee?” With contact established, the Lovettsville radio operator
repeats the full call sign to the voice that originates from a Canadian
boat.



The operator made contact as part of Field Day, a 24-hour contest where
thousands of amateur radio operators, called “hams,” practice communicating
off the grid with other hams in the United States and Canada. Around 60
hams in Loudoun County participated in two Field Day events, one at Park
View High School in Sterling and the other in Lovettsville.



On Field Day, each amateur radio club attempts to earn points by making
contacts and logging “call signs” – the unique letter and number code the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses to each ham radio operator.



The Loudoun Amateur Radio Group (LARG) in Lovettsville made nearly 4,500
contacts, and the Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club made around 2,000
contacts as radio operators worked in shifts through Saturday night into
Sunday afternoon. The groupsÂ’ more unusual contacts included a 737 pilot
over Utah and a ham in Puerto Rico.



Using ham radio satellites, a signal from Loudoun County can reach a radius
of more than 1,000 miles. The hallmark achievement: making contact with the
International Space Station, where many of the astronauts are also ham
radio operators.



In an era of Facebook, cell phones and Skype, ham radio is a little-known
form of communication. Yet hams pride themselves on being the first to
contact the outside world after a large-scale natural disaster that knocks
out the Internet and cell phone towers. Field Day allows hams to practice
setting up their stations on solar, generator, and battery power. The
National Association for Amateur Radio proudly asserts that amateur radio
gets the message through “when all else fails.”



Ham radio attracts a fiercely loyal following, with around 700,000
operators across the country and 3 million around the world.



“Everyone’s experience getting into ham radio is different,” said Chris P.,
a ham who participated in the LARG Field Day event. (He requested his last
name be withheld because he works for the federal government.)



Chris is proud to carry his great-grandfatherÂ’s call sign, though he says
interest in ham radio “skipped two generations” in his family. He first
became a ham in high school, when he got his license through the Boy Scouts.



When he was deployed overseas during the 1990s, he would travel to a
Military Auxiliary Radio Service (MARS) station to call home. The MARS
operator would radio a ham in his hometown and ask him to connect Chris to
his family via telephone: “This was before the days of video chat, and
you’d call up for about five minutes and say, ‘Hey, Mom, guess where I am?’”



Several years ago, he decided to get re-certified as a ham operator, and
heÂ’s been involved ever since.



Through the course of a year, hams participate in a variety of events, from
launching and chasing weather balloons to volunteering as trained weather
spotters for the National Weather ServiceÂ’s Skywarn.



Hams provide vital information to Skywarn because theyÂ’re able to
communicate directly from the ground, said LARG Field Day Chairman Gary
Quinn: “When a ham operator can look out the window and call the weather
service and say, ‘Yes that’s a tornado,’ it validates their data.”



When a disaster strikes, Quinn said, “We know before the general public.
We’re the ones pushing out the information.”



http://www.loudountimes.com/index.ph...s_during_2012/










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