This weekend was the running of the ARRL Field Day event. For some they get out into the elements and set up an emergency-type station. Both individuals and clubs take part all over Canada and the U.S. There is a category for home stations on mains power....that was my preferred setup. This year the solar conditions were a bit of a challenge which involved considerable fading. I find that during ARRL Field Day when calling CQ FD I had to really listen for stations. There were many QRP stations, those using minimal antenna setup and then the good old poor solar conditions. I found many stations coming back to me just at the noise floor. I entered CW only at 100 watts from my home station and to the noise floor stations who were running who knows what I could be booming into them. I wanted to make every effort to make the contact. It was a good workout of skill. Below is the final score I did pull the plug a bit early as I found myself just calling CQ FD without any responses. 

Many of you already know about this wonderful alert tool: HamAlert. From the HamAlert website:

HamAlert is a system that allows you to get notifications when a desired station appears on the DX cluster, the Reverse Beacon Network, SOTAwatch, POTA, WWFF Spotline, or PSK Reporter. No need to keep checking these resources manually if you’re looking for a certain callsign, DXCC, CQ zone, IOTA island, SOTA summit or WWFF/POTA reference.

HamAlert is quite versatile, allowing you to tune its alerts to meet your needs. You do this by defining triggers that, well, trigger an alert. I won’t cover all of the possibilities here, but I will show you how I have my triggers set:

Most of these are just ham friends and family that I want to keep track of, see when they are on the air: K0JJW, KF9EY, KB9DPF, & W0BV. W0BV is a special case because he is an active DXer not too far from me, so it is helpful to see what he’s doing on 6 meters and HF. W0CLA and KV0CO are the callsigns of clubs I belong to. For these callsigns, the trigger is set for any activity on any band.

K0GU is a noted 6m enthusiast in Colorado that I follow because if something is happening on 6m, he is usually in the mix. (A major part of the challenge of 6 meters is knowing when the band opens.)

Probably the most important trigger for me is the Summit Association W0C, which alerts me whenever a SOTA activation is spotted in Colorado (W0C). I am only interested in working Activators on VHF/UHF, but I set the trigger for any band. Many times, activators are spotted only on HF, but they may still operate VHF/UHF. Similar to this is the POTA trigger for parks in Colorado. I just want to be alerted to park activations happening only in my state.

I have my callsign K0NR on the list because it is helpful to know where I am getting spotted. This can be very helpful when trying to work DX or activating a SOTA summit. If I am looking for a particular DX callsign, entity (country) or zone, I can add that to this list as well. When we travel, I may adjust these for local activity, depending on the situation.

I generally set up the triggers via the web interface and then receive the Alerts on my iPhone, via the HamAlert app, as shown below.

Anyway, take a look at this handy app and let me know how you use it.

73 Bob K0NR

The post HamAlert Is My Friend appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

In this episode, we join  Martin Butler M1MRB, Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Edmund Spicer (M0MNG) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB)  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Kit Building Advice.

We would like to thank Denny Morrison (GM1BAN) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Exam Standards Committee Annual Report
• Radio Signals Have 'Upward Propagation' Through Ice, Stone
• Wireless Institute of Australia Highlights Concerns Regarding IARU Restructuring Plan
• Senate Confirms Olivia Trusty to FCC
• ARRL Announces Logbook of The World® Systems Upgrade
• Local, County, and State Governments Proclaim Value of Amateur Radio
• 2025 ARRL Field Day this Weekend

In this episode, we join  Martin Butler M1MRB, Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH), Edmund Spicer (M0MNG) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB)  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Kit Building Advice.

We would like to thank Denny Morrison (GM1BAN) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Exam Standards Committee Annual Report
• Radio Signals Have 'Upward Propagation' Through Ice, Stone
• Wireless Institute of Australia Highlights Concerns Regarding IARU Restructuring Plan
• Senate Confirms Olivia Trusty to FCC
• ARRL Announces Logbook of The World® Systems Upgrade
• Local, County, and State Governments Proclaim Value of Amateur Radio
• 2025 ARRL Field Day this Weekend

I’ve been whining about the fact that for many years the 2m FM calling frequency, 146.52 MHz, was prohibited for use in VHF contests and Field Day. See The One Frequency You Should Never Use on Field Day. Well, the ARRL removed this restriction in 2015, so that issue has been resolved.

The CQ WW VHF contest also prohibited the use of 146.52 MHz, and up until now stuck with it. During the reconfiguration of this contest into two separate contests:  analog contest (CW/SSB/FM) and digital contest (FT8, FT4, etc.), the 146.52 rule was dropped. The rules now say:

Use of commonly recognized repeater frequencies is prohibited. Recognized FM simplex frequencies such as 146.49, .52, .55, and .58, and local-option simplex channels may be used for contest purposes.

Of course, this change is only relevant to the analog contest, as FM is not allowed in the digital contest.

This is a relatively minor change, not earth-shattering at all, but it cleans up an outdated rule in the CW WW VHF contest. This eliminates the need for me to explain to new VHF contesters that you can’t use the calling frequency.

73 Bob K0NR

The post CQ WW VHF Contest Allows 146.52 MHz appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

This weekend is the ARRL Field Day, a great opportunity for individual hams, small groups, and radio clubs to get on the ham bands and have some fun. But what is Field Day all about? The ARRL says this:

Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

I have always thought that one of the great things about Field Day is that it can be tuned to whatever interests you or your club. It can be a Radio Contest, an Emergency Communications Exercise, a Radio Campout; a Food Fest, a Beer-Drinking Party, a Social Event, a SOTA or POTA activation,  a Public Relations event, an Educational Event, a Mentoring or Training event, or (very likely) some combination of these ideas. Or insert your idea here. In other words, “season to taste” and make it your own.

Always remember the Universal Purpose of Amateur Radio:

The Universal Purpose of Amateur Radio is To Have Fun Messing Around with Radios.

If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Field Day: Season to Taste appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.