Contesting & SDR

WRTC 2014 Promotion Video

Thanks to Al, 4L5A @contesting_atru for sharing this link with us in his twitter stream. It’s a WRTC 2014 promotion video created my nobody less than James, 9V1YC. Enjoy & don’t forget to donate!

W3LPL Open House 2011

Have you ever wondered why W3LPL is so loud? This video will tours you through the Super-Station and give you an impression about the effort behind the callsign W3LPL. Frank invites all friends and contesters on an anual basis to the W3LPL Open House. Unfortunately it’s not me who shot the video, I hope I can attend on day a W3LPL Open House party.

Don’t forget to turn on 720px HD, if have sufficent bandwidth.

Ham Radio 2011 Recap

The Ham Radio Convention in Friedrichshafen is the largest Amateur Radio convention in Europe. It’s the place and time to meet all our friends to whom we only talk on the air during the year. Beside strolling threw the big flee-market and the commercial exhibition, I had the chance to speak about my latest project PowerSDR-UI, the DJ Console improvement for PowerSDR. While the convention starts on friday and ends of sunday, I could only attend one day, which is definitely not enough. Next year I’ll be back again for at least two entire days! Since the memories are still fresh and the pictures already uploaded, let’s recap briefly the convention!

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HamNation

I’ve been waiting for this a very long time – finally it came true! Last Month a Ham Radio Podcast started on the TWIT Network. Nobody less then Mr. Bob Heil, K9EID is hosting the show. This is definitely a must see for all hams or persons who would like to dive into the beautiful world of amateur radio. Bob committed to produce a new episode every week.

The first episode of HamNation was joined by Joe Walsh, WB6ACU. Even if you haven’t heard Joe on the bands I bet you’ve already heard his music a lot of times. Do you know the song “Hotel California” ? Exactly, Joe is member of the famous band the Eagles.

If you want to listen to HamNation there are a couple of ways:

1. Go over to iTunes and search in the iTunes Store for HamNation
2. Check out the TWIT Network. They provide HamNation in a couple of Audio and Video formats
3. TWIT uploads all the shows to Youtube. So checkout the Hamnation Playlist

If you have broadband internet access the video version is a must!

Check out here Episode #2: Emergency Communications

How PowerSDR-UI users set up their DJ Consoles

PowerSDR-UI lifts the FlexRadio experience to a totally new level. Since the first release of PowerSDR-UI an avid community is forming it selve around the project. Literally, I receive now everyday feedback from new users expressing their appreciation. In this post you will find pictures which have been provided from satisfied PowerSDR-UI users. These pictures shall inspire and help you to set up your DJ Console.

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It’s time to get serious!

Link:

FiFi SDR – The Interview

The FiFi SDR is a second generation allband HF receiver. Beside it’s QSD it comes with a onboard soundcard and a powerful ARM Cortex M-3 CPU which leaves a lot of room for experiments. I was glad to win Kai-Uwe, DF3DCB one of the FiFi-SDR founders for an interview. Curious? Then download the download the MP3 or subscribe in iTunes to my podcast!

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PowerSDR-UI – knobs for your SDR radio

At the end of last year I announced the “proof” that Software Defined Radios also can have buttons and knobs. At that stage the software was still a prototype and not ready for a public release. In the meantime I was working hard to eliminate bugs and implement further improvements. By today I’m happy to announce the release of PowerSDR-UI beta. This is a call for beta testing. Please feel free to download the software and participate in the beta testing phase!

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Headsets & Bob Heil’s Story

Do you own a Heil headset and have you ever wondered about the story behind Heil Sound? Then this might be of your interest!

While thinking about upgrading my sound equipment to a Heil PR-40 microphone I stumbled over a 15 minute long interview with Bob Heil, K9EID the founder and CEO of Heil Sound, which you should listen to. Read more »

The portable dog killer

Security Now! is one of my favorite podcasts and a weekly “must listen”. The heart and soul of this podcast is Steve Gibson. Steve is a true “builder”. Ever since he loved to build stuff. Beside of his “geekiness” he is an excellent writer and story teller. Most of the topics he has already covered (like all flavors of encryption) are still up to date, but there is one episode which deserves special attention: Episode 281 – The portable dog killer. Its a story of Steves youth. Back in these early days, when transistors were still something exciting and new, he built a special kind of (non-lethal) weapon to educate the neighbours dog…. with unforeseen consequences.

The reason why I recommend this particular episode, because it is to entertaining to listen, but also so educating at the same time. He explains in such a great way how much fun it is to actually “build something” instead of playing video games in front of your TV. Gather your friends, your kids or your grandkids  around your stereo and let yourself inspire!

VP8ORK Dinner in Buenos Aires

A few days ago I had the honor to be invited for dinner with the VP8ORK Microlite DX-Pedition Team. Before leaving from Ushuaia, southern Argentina towards the Islands of South Orkney the team assembled itself in Buenos Aires. Thanks to the LUCG (LU Contest Group) and especially the help of Claudio, LU7DW we had a fantastic barbecue in one of the famous “parrillas” of Buenos Aires. While writing this, the VP8ORK is already QRV. If you haven’t worked them yet, go and give them a call. Here are a few pictures of this evening:

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SDR Resources

This is a list of SDR related Hardware and Software project. It is intended as a living document and will be updated whenever I encounter a new project or product!

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A Ham’s Night before Christmas

Just stumbled over this awesome poem, written by KN4AQ. It just fits so perfectly into the season. Merry Christmas my dear readers!

Disc Jockeys influence on SDR

The User Interface of computers suck when it comes to Radio Controlling. In January 2010 I got so annoyed by being forced to control the radio with keyboard and mouse that I finally decided to look for something else. Now, almost one year later I’m happy that I can present you an interesting alternative. The interface costs less than 100 USD, is commercially available and improves the overall SDR experience significantly.

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The other side of the pileup where I’d like to be!

Thanks to Dan, KB6NU for posting the link to this neat video. Col. Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC gives a 20 minute tour through the International Space Station. After the tour he makes some contacts in a FM pileup from the russian part of the space station where the Ham Radio equipment is located. The Video is available in an excellent quality (720px HDTV) and worth watching on the big plasma screen in your living room.