eHam.net News

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Ham Radio a Lasting Technology, Hobby:

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:13 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36044


COLLINSVILLE -- When everything else fails, ham radio operators will still
be there. For many amateur radio operators, that is their motto, and
hundreds from throughout the Midwest came out Saturday to shop, talk and
listen to experts at Winterfest, an annual meeting put on by the St. Louis
and Suburban Radio Club. Between 800 and 900 were expected to attend the
one-day event held at Gateway Center in Collinsville, according to
Winterfest Chairman Rebecca Carroll. She said it combines a convention and
swap meet, and included more than 200 tables of merchandise ranging from
antique vacuum tubes to modern digital equipment. And although some of the
technology is changing, she said it is still pretty basic. "Amateur radio
is not dependent upon technology like digital communication," Carroll
said. "It runs on radio waves and can be run on battery power or solar
power. If we had a major catastrophe and had the cell towers taken out,
amateur radio could be up and running in a matter of minutes."


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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is the Phonetic Alphabet?

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:13 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36043


Sometimes words just have to be spelled for others. I've been on phone
conversations where the person on the other end is spelling for me and it's
painful. "Was that a 'b' or a 'p'?" Sometimes they'll try on the fly to use
words with the beginning letter trying to convey the letter: "B as in boy".
Then they'll get stumped mumbling while they think desperately for 'k'
words\& 'ketchup'. Okay, but is that really ketchup or catsup? Now think
how much easier spelling is on a phone than over a poor quality radio
channel. What we say, and how we say it is the key to our brain's ability
to error correct human speech. It's a solved problem that was built into
radio etiquette long ago. The Sam Houston National Forest is miles away
from the repeater we use for communication during the local IronMan and
other public service events. With spotty cell coverage our radios are the
only viable tool. But it's really amazing how much RF a pine forest can
absorb. With these events near the limits of repeater coverage it can be a
challenge finding a spot that isn't in a 'hole', even using my 50 watt
mobile rig. Event participants sometimes need assistance so we call in a
support vehicle to pick them up. We'll give out their bib number and
gender, "Rider is female, foxtrot, with bib number, figures, 1234", for a
female with bib 1234. A male is a 'mike'. We use letters selected from a
standard phonetic, or spelling, alphabet so nobody fumbles for words.


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DX Engineering Introduces New 572B Tubes for Power Amplifiers:

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:12 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36042


Tallmadge, Ohio (PRWEB) January 26, 2016: Many Amateur Radio amplifiers
still operate using specialized vacuum tubes. Problem is, supplies of
vintage tubes are drying up and finding quality new tubes has been a
challenge. Now, DX Engineering is a source for the popular 572B model power
tube, which means operators can finally repair or upgrade their 572B linear
amplifiers and put them back into service.


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Ham Radio Deluxe News:

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:56 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36037


Press Release: Ham Radio Deluxe News: Ham
Radio Deluxe Version 6.3.0.472 Released
Tampa, FL; Dallas, TX; St. Paul, MN :
January 25, 2016. HRD Software, LLC announces the release of
Version 6.3.0.472 as a maintenance
release. Everyone that has purchased HRD
since February 2012 will get the fixes at
no charge.