Issue March 2016 - CQ Amateur Radio (2025)

Home//CQ Amateur Radio/March 2016

CQ is the magazine for active hams, with a focus on the practical. Every article is clearly written and aimed at involving you, the reader...whether it's a story of operating from some exotic location, an article to deepen your understanding of ham radio science and technology, or a fun-to-build project that will have practical use in your ham shack. Join us on our monthly journey through the broad and varied landscape of the world's most fascinating hobby!

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in this issue

IN THIS ISSUEannouncementsIRONDALE, ALABAMA — The Birmingham Amateur Radio Club will hold the BirmingHAMfest 2016 Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 at the Zamora Temple. Contact Jeff Drew, N4JDU, P.O. Box 10464, Birmingham, AL 35203. Email: <birminghamfest@w4cue.com>. Website: <http://www.w4cue.com>. CAVE CITY, KENTUCKY — The Mammoth Cave Amateur Radio Club will hold the Cave City Hamfest Saturday, March 5 at the Cave City Convention Center. Contact: Larry Brumett, KN4IV, 108 Withers Drive, Glascow, KY 42141. Phone: (270) 651-2363. Email: <lbrumett@glascow-ky.com>. Website: <http://www.ky4x.org>. Talk-in 146.34+. IRVING, TEXAS — The Irving Amateur Radio Club Inc. will hold its 14th Annual Hamfest Saturday, March 5 at the Betcha Bingo Hall. Contact: Ken Hansen, N2VIP. Email: <hamfest@irvingarc.org>. Website: <http://www.irvingarc.org>. Talk-in 146.72- (PL 110.9). VE exams. PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA — The Peace River Radio Association will hold…8 min

IN THIS ISSUEham radio newsChanges at the Top at ARRL The ARRL Board of Directors in January elected a new president for the organization and hired a new Chief Executive Officer. Rick Roderick, K5UR, of Little Rock, Arkansas, is the League’s new president, succeeding Kay Craigie, N3KN, who did not seek re-election to a fourth two-year term. Roderick had been First Vice President prior to his election to the top spot. In addition, the board voted to hire Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, of West Palm Beach, Florida and New York City, to be the ARRL’s new Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, who is retiring in April after more than four decades on the ARRL staff. Gallagher is an investment banker and financial services executive, according to the League’s announcement. He has…5 min

IN THIS ISSUEThose Three Little Words ...There are three little words that far too many of us are afraid to say, and not saying them can often hold us back. No, this isn’t a relationships magazine, so it isn’t those three little words, but rather, these: I don’t know. Good friend and longtime CQ author Ted Cohen, N4XX, recently shared a transcript he’d discovered of a 2012 NPR interview with then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City. In it, Bloomberg told “Science Friday” host Ira Flatow that he had once been a ham radio operator, although he couldn’t remember what his callsign had been. Apparently, his time in the hobby was cut short by a non-technical problem, as he explained to Flatow, “I was OK with the code, but I can’t spell and for Morse code,…6 min

FEATURESUsing a Drone to Track Down Repeater Interference*840 Talisman Drive Palo Alto, CA 94303-4435 Email: <W6APZ@arrl.net> VHF/UHF repeaters are a community resource enabling lowpower, hand-held, and mobile radios to communicate over large areas. Repeater technology allows only one conversation to be heard at a time, due to FM’s “capture effect” and the shared use of a single set of frequencies. When a ham inadvertently keys his/her transmitter due to an overly sensitive microphone push-to-talk switch, it ties up this community resource so nobody can use it. A different problem is that some people intentionally transmit when others are talking, preventing others from using that repeater. We call them jammers. A stuck microphone or a jammer on a repeater prevents use of that repeater by the ham community. Currently, local hams get in their cars and try to…5 min

FEATURESCQ Reports: IEEE GLOBECOM 2015*Contributing Editor <aa6ts@cq-amateur-radio.com> The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world’s largest association of technical professionals. Its objectives are the educational and technical advancement of electrical and electronic engineering, telecommunications, computer engineering, and allied disciplines. IEEE is also one of the leading standardsmaking organizations in the world, governing areas such as the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN group of standards which includes the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard and the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networking standard. What does this mean to us as hams? In my opinion, it is good to watch what the IEEE is working on because some of that technology often trickles down to be utilized by the ham community. You may be aware that frequencies used by channels one through six of 802.11b and 802.11g for wireless…4 min

FEATURESTravels WithCQ: KJI Electronics Customer Appreciation Weekend* Editor, CQ w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com “Brick and mortar” ham dealerships are hard to find these days, so those of us who are lucky enough to have one nearby really should make a special effort to support that dealer. After all, they support the hobby and can offer benefits that you just can’t find online. For example, if you’re not exactly sure what you want, a knowledgeable dealer can help you figure out what the best fit is for your needs and your budget. And even if you do know what you want, talking with the dealer can help you be certain that you have any necessary accessories. Some will pre-program VHF/UHF FM rigs with popular nearby repeaters. Plus, many dealers have repair centers and will provide both inwarranty and out-of-warranty service…3 min

Issue March 2016 - CQ Amateur Radio (2025)

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