- — What do you think of this artwork for the ham radio EMF Explorer
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at 10/12/26 11:48amEver since I discovered the EMF Explorer I though it would make a good badge for amateur radio. Its a simple circuit, its easy to build, and does something amusing and interesting. I actually built one about a month ago. Since then, Ive been talking with a couple of guys who are interested in doing the PCB layout for my ham radio version, and I have been working with an artist on the artwork design. Heres whats shes come up with so far: It might be a little busy, and its going to need some modifications to accommodate the vias and the component designators, but overall, I kinda like it. I would like to hear what you think about it, though. Please email me or leave a comment below.- — A Media Guide to Amateur Radio
- at 10/5/26 11:11amI don’t know about you, but I always get a little upset when I read an article about amateur radio in a newspaper or general-interest magazine. For one thing, they almost always get the terminology wrong. For example, they often say that radio amateurs “broadcast” instead of “transmit.” Broadcasts, as you all know, are transmissions meant for the general public, and radio amateurs are specifically prohibited from making those kinds of transmissions. These aren’t egregious errors, but as a former writer and editor, they annoy me. Whenever I would come across something like this, I would try to contact the reporter and explain how they misused a term or didn’t quite get things right. I came to realize that what we needed, however, was something more comprehensive. What we needed was a guide that explained to the media a little bit about our hobby and some of the terminology that we use. A Field Day article in our local online newspaper was the final straw. After reading this article, I knew that I had to do something. The result you see below. I’ve sent this guide to all of the ARRL directors, section managers, and PIOs that I can find. Im also going to send this to news outlets and reporters that write about amateur radio. If you know of any other people/organizations I should send this to, please let me know. Or, you can do it. Download the PDF and send it to whoever you think should get it. Media Guide to Amateur Radio Reporting on technical topics can be difficult, and as journalists, you want to get things right. It is in this spirit that we offer this media guide to amateur radio. Below is a brief introduction to amateur radio, definitions of some of the commonly-used terms used in amateur radio, and suggestions on their usage. What is amateur radio? Amateur radio is a hobby enjoyed by more than 700,000 people in the United States and approximately 2 million people around the world. Radio amateurs enjoy communicating with one another using two-way radios and experimenting with antennas and electronic circuits. Although it is often characterized as a “dying hobby” or “your grandfather’s hobby,” it is alive and well, here in the U.S. and around the world. All kinds of people are radio amateurs, also known as hams. Hams are young, old, men, women, boys, and girls. Kids as young as seven years old have gotten amateur radio licenses and many hams are active into their 80s and beyond. You never know who youll run into on the amateur radio bands: young and old, teachers and students, engineers and scientists, doctors and nurses, mechanics and technicians, kings and entertainers. People from all walks of life are radio amateurs. In addition to being a hobby, amateur radio is also a service. In fact, the official name for amateur radio is the Amateur Radio Service. The regulations governing the Amateur Radio Service (Title 47CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter D, Part 97) note that there are five purposes for amateur radio: Provide emergency and public-service communications. Advance the state of the “radio art.” Improve the communication and technical skills of radio amateurs. Provide the nation with a pool of “trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.” Enhance international good will. All of these things are what radio amateurs have been doing for more than 100 years. To become a radio amateur, one must pass a test. Once they pass this test, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues them a license. There are three license classes in the U.S.: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. The exams for these licenses become increasingly more difficult, but the licenses issued upon passing the exams give the radio amateur more operating privileges. What amateur radio is not There are a number of personal radio services in the United States, besides amateur radio, including: CB (Citizens Band) – CB uses 40 channels around 27 MHz and is used for local chat, trucking, and hobbyist use. No license is required, but users are restricted to 4 watts output power for AM transmissions and 12 watts PEP for single-sideband transmissions. There are also restrictions on how high a CB antenna can be. MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) – MURS is similar to CB, except that it uses VHF frequencies. No license is required. Power output is limited to 2 watts, on five channels. It is used for short-range, business, and hobbyist communications. FRS (Family Radio Service) – FRS allows users to communicate with low-power handheld radios and is intended to allow families to communicate with one another over short distances. No license is required. Output power is limited to 2 watts and the radios must be equipped with fixed, non-removable antennas. GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) – GMRS is similar to FRS in that it also uses UHF frequencies and is intended for family use. A license is required to use a GMRS radio, but all that is required to obtain a license is to fill out an application and pay a licensing fee. The license permits GMRS users to use radios with up to 50 watts of output power and set up repeaters, which makes GMRS a more effective and reliable way to communicate when compared to FRS. All of these services require the user to use radios that have been “type accepted” by the FCC for use in that service. Radio amateurs, on the other hand, are encouraged to experiment with their own radio and antenna designs and may use transmitters with an output power as high as 1,500 W. Terminology and usage Amateur Extra Class Often referred to as simply “Extra Class,” this is the highest of the three classes of amateur radio licenses. To obtain an Amateur Extra Class license, applicants must pass a difficult test with 50 multiple-choice questions. After passing the test, Amateur Extra Class licensees have all the operating privileges afforded to radio amateurs. Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) A California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. Its mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote amateur radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology. Website: ardc.net. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) An organization, based in Newington, CT is a membership-based non profit corporation with more than 100,000 members around the world. Its mission is to promote and protect the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio, and to develop the next generation of radio amateurs. Website: arrl.org. broadcasting vs. transmitting Radio amateurs transmit. They do not broadcast. Broadcasts are defined as transmissions meant for the general public, and radio amateurs may not engage in any form of broadcasting (Part 97.113(b)). call sign A unique identifier issued to each radio amateur by the FCC. Whenever they transmit, radio amateurs must identify with their call sign. As a result, radio amateurs are often better known by their call signs than their names.When referring to a particular radio amateur, you should include their call sign. contesting A competitive, on-the-air event during which amateur radio operators try to make as many contacts (or QSOs) as possible during a specified time. During a contest, radio amateurs send and receive small amounts of information called the “exchange.” Contesting can also be referred to as radiosport. digital mode A mode of communication that involves sending and receiving digital information over the air. emcomm Short form of emergency communications. Field Day An annual event, sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, held on the last full weekend in June. It is an event that combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. On Field Day, more than 31,000 radio amateurs throughout North America set up temporary amateur radio stations in public places to improve their operating skills, show off amateur radio technology, and demonstrate how radio amateurs serve their communities and their nations. “Field Day” is always capitalized. A similar event, called Winter Field Day (WFD), is held on the fourth full weekend in January. This event is sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association, website: winterfieldday.org. fox hunting (see radio direction finding) General Class The second of three classes of amateur radio licenses. To obtain a General Class license, applicants must pass a test with 35 multiple-choice questions that is somewhat more difficult than the Technician Class license test. After passing the test, General Class licensees can operate on more frequencies than Technician Class licensees. ham radio “Ham radio” is a nickname for amateur radio. There are many theories about how amateur radio came to be known as ham radio, but the most sensible explanation comes from the days when all radio communication was in Morse code. Many men (and women, too) made their livings as professional telegraphers, and they were proud of how well they could send Morse code. They chided the amateur radio telegraphers as being “ham-fisted operators,” meaning that their sending was awkward and inefficient. Along the way, this got shortened to “ham operators,” and the hobby became known as “ham radio.” Whether or not this story is true, the “ham” in ham radio is definitely not an acronym, and should never be spelled HAM. Nor should the hobby be referred to as simply “ham” without the word radio. HF Short for high frequency. HF is the frequency range between 3 MHz and 30 MHz. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is the worldwide federation of national amateur radio organizations. The membership of the IARU consists of more than 160 member-societies in as many countries and separate territories. Website: iaru.org. mode In amateur radio, mode refers to the type of modulation and operating techniques that a radio amateur uses to transmit and receive information. Examples of modes include: CW (Continuous Wave). By keying a transmitter on and off, radio amateurs send and receive Morse code. SSB (Single Sideband). SSB is a form of amplitude modulation and is the most common voice mode on HF. FM (Frequency Modulation). Radio amateurs use FM for local voice communication on the VHF and UHF bands, especially through repeaters. Digital modes. There are many different digital modes, including radioteletype (RTTY), PSK31, FT8, FT4, and packet radio. Radio amateurs that operate digital modes use a computer sound card or dedicated hardware to encode/decode data as audio tones. Radio amateurs choose which mode to operate based on band conditions, available equipment, and the communication that they are trying to make. Each mode has different characteristics, including bandwidth, noise immunity, power efficiency, and the type of information it can carry (voice, text, data, images). For example, a weak-signal digital mode like FT8 can complete contacts under conditions where SSB voice wouldnt get through. radio direction finding An amateur radio activity in which participants try to find a hidden transmitter. The skills that radio amateurs acquire during this activity are useful when trying to find sources of interference or intentional jamming, but most often, participants do this just for fun. repeater An amateur station that simultaneously retransmits the signal of another amateur station on a different frequency. Repeater stations are often located on tall buildings or towers, thereby extending the range of VHF and UHF radios. Technician Class The first of three classes of amateur radio license, and the class of license that most beginners start with. To obtain a Technician Class license, applicants must pass a test with 35 multiple-choice questions that covers basic electricity and electronics, electrical and RF safety, operating procedures, and rules and regulations. UHF Short for ultra-high frequency. UHF is the frequency range between 300 MHz and 3000 MHz. VHF Short for very high frequency. VHF is the frequency range between 30 MHz and 300 MHz. For more information For more information about amateur radio, contact: Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, cwgeek@kb6nu.com, 734-431-4968 Rebecca Key, KO4KVG, rek990@gmail.com
- — ICQPodcast Episode 494 – Q and A 2026
- at 10/4/26 9:29amIn this episode, I join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news: Will RADE Be the Next SSB? New Azores Collective Brings School Amateur Radio Clubs Together UN Agencies Warn: Spectrum Interference Is Putting Early Warning Systems and Climate Science at Risk Summit Activators 12th Contact of the Day Wasnt on the Radio — It Was a Rescue On This Net, Etiquette Is No Trivial Matter Nearly 1,000 QSOs Made From a 12,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site in Turkey The episodes feature is Q and A 2026.
- — Videos from Mastodon
- at 9/14/26 10:43amThe other day, while reading Mastodon—which is kind of like Twitter for nerds—I came across a couple of videos worthy of sharing here. The scariest chart in electrical engineering Veritasium applies his tech explaining skills to one of the most misunderstood, but useful, design aids in amateur radio. Whole Milk: Deep Machine Learning CW decoding demo on Windows This is a demo of a new CW decoding application offering real-time full-band decoding of CW using deep-learning models and GPU- and NPU-accelerated waterfall and ML inference. The developer claims that, with a modern computer, it can decode all contest bands in parallel, and that there is no artificial limit on number of attached receivers. And, since I always post three videos at a time, heres a third thats been lingering in a tab on my browser for a couple of weeks now. The giant Collins HF discone antenna at the Titan Missile Museum This is really an incredible antenna, and you really can drive right up to it and hook your rig to it. I like that KB9RLW explains how discones work in addition to talking about the giant discone antenna.
- — A completely different picture of Wayne Green, W2NSD (SK)
- at 9/11/26 7:36pmBack in the 70s and 80s, and in the early days of personal computing, Wayne Green was kind of a legend. He was the editor of CQ magazine for a couple of years, then started 73 magazine. In 1975, he started BYTE magazine. But, as the saying goes, you learn something new every day. Heres what I just learned about Wayne Green. On Mastodon, someone posted: Every issue of #ByteMagazine in a navigable image file and downloadable PDFs. Its incredible how smoothly this site works in a browser, even the DDG browser on my phone. https://byte.tsundoku.io/ This, in and of itself, is kind of cool, if a bit hard to use. Personally, I think it’s easier just to go to archive.org to view back issues. Anyway, I replied: One thing that you may not know was that was involved in ham radio magazines, including CQ and 73 before he started BYTE. He was very entrepreneurial. He was always encouraging hams to use their electronics skills outside the world of amateur radio. I remember one editorial in which he thought that hams would be perfect for setting up and running home security businesses for one thing. He was kind of kooky, especially in his later years, but he certainly was a character. To which, someone else replied: LOL: http://archive.org/embed/Run_Wayne_Run This is a fascinating read. It tells a completely different story about Wayne Green that Green himself told and that is on Wikipedia.
- — Videos: What’s next for POTA, ham radio helps rescue man trapped in cave
- at 9/3/26 7:28amWhats next for POTA? I sometimes claim partial credit for POTA because Thom, W8TAM, was in one of my General classes. Maybe that qualifies me for one-half of 1%? one-quarter of 1%? Thom always teases me that Im ham famous, but I think his work on Parks on the Air (POTA) is making him way more ham-famous that I can claim to be. Here he is on the Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio video channel, explaining some of the changes coming to this popular program. Amateur radio tech aids Canadian cave rescue On the next episode of the ICQ Podcast, we are going to discuss an interesting cave rescue story. As it happens, we believe that five-watt QDX-M transceivers from QRP-Labs, operating on the 2200m band, were used to communicate through 100 meters of solid rock in the rescue operation at Rats Nest Cave in Alberta, Canada. The rescuers used JS8-CALL digital mode to send and receive text messages with the trapped man. Heres a news report on the rescue: The Calgary Herald also published a story on the rescue on August 21, 2026. For more information on the technology, you might want to read the recent article in MAKE: magazine, Cave Radio – Talking Through Solid Rock.
- — Free electrical engineering books from the University of Michigan
- at 9/1/26 2:55pmHams are notoriously cheap. Well, you cant beat free, can you? If you think so, too, then these books from Michigan Publishing Services, may be for you. Michigan Publishing Services is the publishing arm of the University of Michigan, and you can freely download the PDF versions of a wide variety of their books. This months edition of their newsletter, The Voracious Reader, features several electrical engineering books. If you really want to dig deep into the theory behind amateur radio and electronics, heres your chance. Digital Communications is one of the electirical engineering books featured in this months newsletter from Michigan Publishing. You can find the entire selection of EE books offered by Michigan Publishing by going here. But, the first title to catch my eye was Digital Communications: Modulation, Coding, and Information Theory. Digital modes are a big deal in amateur radio today, and if you really want to understand the theory behind packet radio and FT8, I suggest you give this book a go. The second book to catch my eye was Electromagnetics for Engineers by Fawwaz T. Ulaby. In addition to as much vector mathematics as you can stomach, theres an interesting Timeline of Electromagnetics, starting with the ancient Greeks and ending with the Palm Piilot in 1997. Thats kind of an odd ending point, but the first edition of the book was published in 1997. Other chapters of interest to hams are Maxwells Equations, Transmission Lines, and Radiation and Antennas. Other books that you might find interesting that are available for free include: Signals and Systems: Theory and Applications, 2nd Edition Modern Communications Systems Circuit Analysis and Design, 3rd Edition Image Processing for Engineers To download the books, you have to fill out a form that asks for your email address, your name, the course number, and the name of your college or university. You can enter a bogus name and email address, and for the latter two fiels, simply type in n/a. The website didnt complain at all when I did so, and I was able to download the PDF files. Let me know if you actually do download one or more of these books and what you think about them.
- — My one-day Tech class “bag of tricks”
- at 8/30/26 9:28amWhen I was a kid, I used to watch Felix the Cat cartoons. One feature of those cartoons was Felixs magic bag of tricks. Whenever he would get into a tight spot, he could make the bag into anything that he might need. For example, he might make it into an airplane and fly away from whatever trouble he had gotten himself into. Its even part of his theme song. One of the verses goes, Felix the Cat, The wonderful, wonderful cat, Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks. When I started teaching one-day Tech classes, it became apparent to me that I needed my own bag of tricks to illustrate some of the concepts that I was trying to teach. For example, to illustrate question T6A05, What type of electrical component consists of conductive surfaces separated by an insulator? I pass around a ceramic capacitor from the bag of tricks to illustrate this point. As I came across questions like these, I started throwing stuff from my junk box into a zip-lock bag. Ive been carting this bag around for 20 years now, and its accompanied me all over the country from California to New England. Im continually adding items to the bag of tricks. The most recent addition is a short length of shielded cable (question T6D03). I rarely take things out of the bag, so its accumulated items that illustrated the answers to questions that are no longer in the question pool. More on that later. Whats in my bag of tricks? Yesterday, I got a text from a fellow who is teaching one-day Tech classes. He writes: Can you kinda make an inventory of your bag of show-and-tell items for the HIAD (ham in a day) class? Since this bag of tricks has always been sort of an ad-hoc thing, and its continually changing, I had never really created a list of items. I replied, Hmmmm. Thanks for asking. I should probably re-think whats in there. Give me a couple of days. And so, thats why Im sitting at my desk, with the stuff from the bag of tricks not so neatly splayed out on the desk in front of me. Heres whats in there: This potentiometer is one of the components in my one-day Tech class bag of tricks. A metal film resistor (T6A01). A 25 kΩ potentiometer (T6A03, T6A02) A potentiometer without the case (see right) that demonstrates how a pot works. A ceramic capacitor (T6A05) An electrolytic capacitor, in case anyone asks about them. A toroidal inductor (T6A06, T6A07) A rectifier diode (T6B02, T6B09, T6B06, T6D01). Im also thinking about adding a small signal diode, such as a 1N4148 to the bag. Light-emitting diode (T6B06, T6D07) Transistors (T6B03, T6B10, T6B11). I have a couple of transistors in a plastic cases, a metal case 2N2222, and a larger power transistor. A PCB illustrating the circuit in Figure T-1 (T6C02, T6C03, T6D10, T6C04, T6C05). I designed this board specifically to explain these questions. I will happily send you one for a couple of bucks. 4001 integrated circuit (IC) in a 14-pin DIP package (T6D09). I keep thinking that I should get a big, honking processor IC to show as well. 78M05 voltage regulator (T6D05) A short length of shielded cable (T6D03) A dual-band HT. This can be used to illustrate lots of different questions. The most amusing to the class are when I use it to demonstrate antenna polarization (T9A03, T3B02) and cross-polarization (T3A04). To illustrate T3A04, I hold the radio so that the antenna is perpedicular to the ground and say, It might look cool to hold the radio like this, but for best results, you really need to hold the radio so that the antenna is vertical. A rubber ducky antenna (T9A04) Coax. I have three pieces of coax in the bag: RG-58, RG-213, and a piece of air-insulated coax. There are numerous questions about coax in the question pool. PL-259 (T9B07). The piece of RG-213 coax has a PL-259 attached. N connector (T9B06). What I had in the junk box was an N connector to BNC adapter. Length of flat copper strap (T4A08, T0A09) Clip-on ferrite choke (T7B11) Harbor Freight multimeter. I use this for all the multimeter questions, and I get a good laugh when I discuss T0A12 Which of the following precautions should be taken when measuring high voltages with a voltmeter? The answer is, Ensure that the voltmeter and leads are rated for use at the voltages being measured. I say that the meter says it is rated up to 1,000 V, but youll probably melt the insulation on the test leads and blow up the meter if you do. Finally, one thing I carry around with me is a vacuum tube. There are no questions on the test about tubes, but I show it to students who seem really interested in electronics. Once I explain how a tube works, theyre fascinated. What am I missing? There are probably a number of other things that I should have in the bag. Some that I could probably include kind of easily are: SPDT switch (T6A08). I probably could come up with a simple circuit board for this. Relay (T6D02). Im sure that I have some of these in my junk box somewhere. Meter (T6D04). Ditto. Length of heavy-gauge DC power cable (T4A03) There are undoubtedly others. Please, if you have something in your bag of tricks that I dont have in min, or if you have an idea for something to include, let me know.
- — Videos from HOPE: Hackers and hams, HERMES, 3d printing
- at 8/27/26 2:50pmCan it ham? Terry, NV0O, and Andrew, N3OCQ, talk about their journeys into amateur radio and why hackers and ham radio operators have a lot in common. HERMES: Secure, Long Distance Data Communication Over HF Radio Peter Bloom from Rhizomatica talk about HERMES, which provides secure, long-range digital/data communications over RF. HERMES was not designed to be used specifically in ham radio, but it will certainly have an impact in our hobby. Hacking the Layers: Hackers, Open Source, and the 3D Printing World Jim Griffin gives us a history of hacking, culminating in the invention of 3d printing and the role of hacking and open source in the 3d world.
- — The EMF Explorer: A badge for ham radio?
- at 8/26/26 1:10pmIm not sure how I discovered the EMF Explorer, but building one has been on my list of things to do for years now. About eight months ago, I even purchased the parts to build several of them, but never got around to it. A couple of weeks ago, I read about a workshop at DEFCON to build one, but I found out about it too late, and I couldnt sneak into the workshop. Last night, however, I finally built one. What is an EMF Explorer? According to the designer, Darcy Neal—who describes themselves as a new media artist, cyborg, and educator—the EMF Explorer is an electromagnetic frequency sensing circuit that lets you listen to the world of hidden electromagnetic frequencies all around you! Heres the scematic: As you can see, its a pretty simple circuit. The 100 mH inductors act as pickup coils, and the electromagnetic signals they pick up are amplified by the op amps and output to the headphone jack. To use it, you simply bring the coils close to something that you suspect is emitting electromagnetic waves, as shown in this video: Im not sure what all these sounds mean, but its been fun to wave my Explorer around at the various electronic devices and AC outlets in my home. The Explorer shown in the video was made from a kit that you can buy from Make: magazine. Its actually on sale now for $30. Since I had all the parts, I made my own: Since this is just a prototype, I left off the power switch and LED. Thats why theres no battery in the second battery holder. You might also notice that I used a 14-pin IC socket instead of an 8-pin socket. The reason for that is that is what I had in my junk box. The prototype board is worth mentioning, too. I was originally going to build this on some perf board that I had, but in pawing through my junk box, I came across the Adafruit Perma-Proto Half-sized Breadboard PCB. Each row of holes on this board connect to one another, just like on a a no-solder prototype board. Building a circuit on this board is much easier than if I had tried making it on a board on which I had to connect all the components myself. Adafruit charges $4.50 for this board, but, of course, you can get cheaper ones on Amazon. A badge for ham radio? One of the things that Ive been impressed by in attending hacker conferences over the past three or four years are the badges. At DEFCON, there was even a Badge Life Village. Some of them are even useful. For example, the badge I got at KernelCon is a mini-weather station. I think that ham radio is missing the boat by not having cool badges like this. So, what Im thinking is that a version of the EMF Explorer could be made into a badge for Dayton 2027 (and/or other ham radio events). To do this, I think wed need two things: Artwork appropriate for ham radio A PCB design incorporating this artwork. Anyone interested in helping me with this project? I think that I know enough about KiCAD to actually do the PCB design, but I wouldnt mind having some help with that, and I certainly am not a good enough graphic designer to come up with some cool artwork. If youre at all interested, please send me an email.
- — You know POTA. You know SOTA. How about BOTA?
- at 8/24/26 12:38pmA couple of days ago, I got an email from Rem, K6BBQ. He writes: I am the national representative for the US Bunkers On The Air (USBOTA) program. I want to share with you what BOTA is and how ham radio is part of this. Worldwide Bunkers On The Air (WWBOTA) consists of over 20 member countries and is an amateur radio awards scheme (like POTA and SOTA) focused on activating and hunting (chasing) bunkers. Some BOTA sites are also in POTA sites which some activators might find of interest. The USBOTA program started earlier this year and needs hams to help it grow. The US bunker locations can be seen on this worldwide map. From coastal fortifications and anti-aircraft emplacements to Cold War command centers, Nike missile sites and civil defense shelters they are silent witnesses to moments of national and international significance. WWBOTA exists to promote interest in them as part of our collective heritage and to connect the amateur radio community with these sites of history. We invite you to join us — and to know a little about the bunker you visit, not just its reference number. Sounds like fun to me, but unfortunately, just as there are summits near me in the flat Midwest, there are no bunkers near me, either. At least there are none currently. In a subsequent email, Rem mentioned that Civil Defense sites, such as fallout shelters, qualify as BOTA sites. He writes: One other thing included is Civil Defense sites, including fallout shelters. These have been the greatest number of sites Ive added. I dont want to send hunters to a place without a fallout sign so I do ask for a photo that can be found from Google Street View or webpage. There are some websites that claim to list shelter locations but these are only names of places (schools, city hall, fire station.). Its too vague. Other sites will be more specific with a photo of the sign and building. I see you live in Ann Arbor so I decided to check there. I found this. [This page mentions that many University of Michigan building may have fallout shelters.Dan] Unfortunately, what I found was too vague to be included. To have a site included, you need a description of the location and a photo. To add a site, you need to make an account on the USBOTA site and then go to the submit a new location page. I often go walking on campus. I just might scout around and see if I can find any that might still exist and are marked.
- — Making hams of hackers
- at 8/19/26 3:39pmSince I retired three years ago, Ive made it part of my mission to help hackers get ham radio licenses. Thanks to an ARDC grant, I have been able to teach one-day Tech classes at hacker/cybersecurity conferences around the country. August is a busy month for me, as there are two big hacker conferences at which I teach. DEFCON, which is arguably the largest hacker conference with 30,000+ attendees, takes place the first week of August in Las Vegas. Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE), which is run by 2600 magazine, takes place in New York City the week after. For someone whos kind of a homebody thats a lot of traveling, so I am glad to finally be back home. DEFCON: The big one DEFCON doesnt release official numbers, but various sources estimate attendance to be more than 30,000 people, making it the worlds largest hacker convention. So, its no surprise that my one-day Tech classes are well-attended. Two years ago, we held the class in a large auditorium-type room at the Clark County Library, and we had more than 90 people in the room. This year, we were able to pack 66 hackers into the room at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Ham Radio Village, which is the organization that handles all the logistics for this class, pre-registered more than 40 people for the class, but shortly after I arrived Thursday morning, people started queueing up for seats that might be available once those that pre-registered had checked in. All in all, we were able to shoehorn in 66 total. Honestly, Im always overwhelmed that so many would want to take this class. Overall, the class went pretty well. It was the first time teaching the updated question pool, so there were a few spots where I stumbled a bit. For example, they removed the question, What is the approximate length, in inches, of a half-wavelength dipole antenna? So, I had to talk around that when I got to the section on dipoles. The biggest problem was the room layout. It was long and narrow, and I dont think that the people in the back of the room could see the white board very well. They probably had a hard time hearing me, too. Next year, were going to have to make improvements. Overall, I had a fairly good result. After the class, 58 took the test and 46 passed. Over the course of the next few days, four more folks who were in the class took and passed the test. 50/58 is a pass rate of 86.2% Theres always HOPE Last week, I taught a class at Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE). This conference, while addressing many of the same topics as DEFCON, has a completely different vibe. For one thing, its held in New York City, which is very much different from Las Vegas. The attendance is also an order of magnitude smaller than DEFCON. This year, the conference was held at the New Yorker Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The hotel opened in 1929, and was the residence of Nikola Tesla, until he died in 1943. They even have a small Tesla museum with some artifacts from his apartment. I had a nice room on the 35th floor. It was kind of small, but it had views to the north and west. From our room, we could see Times Square, the Empire State Building, the Hudson River, and if we really craned our necks, the Chrysler Building. And, it cost about the same as my room at the Sahara in Las Vegas. It was our third time at HOPE, and the first two years, we did the class in a single day. this year, though, they asked if we could split it up into two, four-hour sessions. I was a little hesitant at first, but it worked out OK. The class was much smaller than the one at DEFCON—the first day there were 15 people in the room at some point or another—and some people didnt return for the second day. But, some people showed up the second day who didnt attend the first day, so it all evened out. Those that did attend asked a lot of great questions, and I really enjoyed teaching this particular class. 13 out of 14 students taking the class passed the test, and over the next two days, 12 others took the test. All of those passed. On top of all that, I had a great time in New York City. My wife, Silvia, came with me, and we got to see some of the sights. We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and wandered through Time Square. We also took the Staten Island Ferry and visited the 9/11 Memorial. We didnt do much at night, but maybe next year, well make plans to go see a show or listen to some jazz at a club somewhere. Changes forthcoming After teaching two classes using the updated version of my study guide, I think that Im going to make some more changes. The text for several of the questions could use more explanation, and I think that Im going to add some more illustrations as well. Ill be teaching my next class on October 10, here in Ann Arbor, and Im hoping to get these changes done by then.
- — Recent SKs: NU2J, K3SHD, K7AJM
- at 8/13/26 8:14pmThese three SKs all shared our passion for amateur radio. Marc F. Toussaint, NU2J Marc Toussaint, 73, passed away at his home in Bloomfield, NJ on August 5, 2026. Marc shared his fathers love of ham radio and received his amateur operator license from the FCC at age 15. Eventually, he advanced to the Amateur Extra Class Operator License, and also became a volunteer examiner who administered exams to prospective new amateur operators. Marc was a member of the Nutley Amateur Radio Club, serving as treasurer, secretary and club trustee for many years. Read complete obituary Casimir Vic Bak, K3SHD Casimir Vic Bak passed away peacefully at Hospice House in Coeur dAlene on August 2nd, 2026. Vic was born in Philadelphia and raised in Felton, Delaware. Growing up, he became involved in ham radio, Scouting, Civil Air Patrol, and ROTCVic parlayed his lifelong enthusiasm for amateur radio into an illustrious career as an Air Force officer, where he specialized in communications.Vics passion for ham radio continued after military retirement. He remained on the airwaves with his callsign K3SHD, connecting with friends near and far. Read complete obituary Arthur Movius, K7AJM Arthur James Movius III-known to all as Jim-passed away peacefully at his daughters home in Idaho on June 17, 2026Throughout his life, Jims devotion to ham radio never wavered. From his home on Montanas Stillwater River, he continued hosting weekly sessions with the Alaska-Pacific Emergency Preparedness Net, remaining an active and respected voice in the amateur radio community. Read complete obituary
- — Question pools should make teaching classes easier
- at 8/12/26 5:36pmLast week, I taught a one-day Tech Class at DEFCON, arguably the premiere cybersecurity/hacker conference in the U.S. It was my fourth year teaching this class under the auspices of the Ham Radio Village. This year, there were 66 people in the class. It was my first class with the updated question pool, and somehow, theyve made it even more difficult to teach classes with this question pool. For example, they eliminated the question that required an applicant to calculate the length of a six-meter, half-wavelength dipole antenna, but kept the questions: T9A10: In which direction does a half-wave dipole antenna radiate the strongest signal? T9A05: Which of the following increases the resonant frequency of a dipole antenna? What this means is that I have to basically teach the same material that I taught last year, but now this amount of class time covers only two questions instead of three. And, Id argue that knowing how to calculate the length of a half-wavelength dipole antenna is more relevant than many other questions on the test. On top of that, they kept a bunch of irrelevant or obsolete questions, including: T7A02: Which term describes the ability of a receiver to discriminate between multiple signals? Id argue that in the era of software-defined radio (SDR), the selectivity specification is hardly relevant any more. Obsolete questions like this one make it more difficult to teach the class because I have to apologize for teaching irrelevant topics. There are other obsolete and irrelevant questions in the question pool. In my humble opinion, the question pool needs to become less of a random collection of questions and more of a teaching tool. The question pool should not only test technical knowledge and knowledge of rules and regulations, but also make it easier for ham radio instructors like me to teach newcomers what they need to know to become successful radio amateurs. Ill be making some suggestions on how to do that in the future, too.
- — One lump or two (or three)?
- at 8/3/26 2:56pmIf theres anything that radio amateurs like to kvetch about its licensing. How many license classes should there be? How difficult should the tests be? What kind of privileges should each class get? Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the debate was incentive licensing. Incentive license was supposed to be an effort to get radio amateurs to upgrade their technical skills. As you progressed up the ladder from Novice to Extra, you received more operating privileges, mainly on the HF bands. In practice, however, it stripped privileges from General Class hams, and so many of them got upset with the ARRL—which backed the program—that I believe it was the start of the ARRLs demise. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the debate was about whether licensees should be required to pass a code test or not. In 1991, the first no-code Tech licenses were issued. In 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in Geneva voted to allow International Telecommunication Union (ITU) member countries to eliminate the mandatory Morse code proficiency requirement for amateur radio licensing. In 2007, the FCC eliminated the Morse code testing requirement for all amateur radio license classes in the U.S. In April 2000, the FCC stopped issuing new Novice, Tech Plus, and Advanced class licenses, leaving just Technician, General, and Amateur Extra as the classes available to new applicants. Being an Advanced Class licensee at the time, I was hoping to get Extra Class privileges, but unfortunately, that was not to be. I remained an Advanced Class license until 2005, which is when I started publishing study guides. After all, who would want to buy an Extra Class study guide from a guy with only an Advanced Class license? Fast forward to today Steve, N8GNJ, the fellow behind the Zero Retries newsletter, is trying to re-ignite this debate. (By the way, if you havent already subscribed to Zero Retries, you really should, at least if youre concerned about the future of the hobby. Despite the way he capitalizes Amateur Radio, a la the ARRL, its well worth reading. And, its completely free, although Steve is very happy to accept donations.) In issue #258, N8GNJ published an article titled, Fixing the US Amateur Radio Licenses. The article, which references a blog post by Bob, K0NR titled How to Fix the Technician License, In it, he says that many new hams arent all that interested in HF, and consider the current license structure, which is a holdover from the old incentive licensing days, to be a disincentive for upgrading only to obtain more HF privileges. He says that the current licensing structure, smacks of gamesmanship / hoop jumping / jerking them around, and simply, [new hams that Steve calls new tech hams] have no patience for such things. I think that hes right, up to a point, about this. Steve proposes that we combine the US Amateur Radio Technician and General Licenses into a single license that has all the privileges of the current General Class license and to promote all of the current Techs to this Standard Class. He would make the test for this Standard Class a bit more challenging technically, adding questions about digital technology and software-defined radio, topics which he feels are more relevant than arcane radio circuits or formulas that aren’t necessary to operate with current off-the-shelf equipment. This article has started an interesting discussion on the ZeroRetries discussion group. There, the idea of a two-tier license structure is quite popular, although the form of that structure varies from person to person. Several advocate for just a single license class and test. Im not sure thats a good idea, as youd have to make that test quite difficult, and that would discourage many people. One fellow suggested a single class of license with endorsements for things such as VE/VEC stuff, spread-spectrum operation, high-power operation, encryption, and Operational Compliance Observer (Radio Police). All of these ideas deserve discussion. Unfortunately, as in many other areas of amateur radio, the current version of the ARRL lacks both the vision to and leadership necessary to move this forward. Personally, Id like to stop kvetching and really start working on how to improve ham radio.
- — More QSLs: N7FAN, AD7HI
- at 8/3/26 7:47amThese QSLs are a bit different than the other QSLs I post here. Not because they dont spell words, but because they are from stations west of the Mississippi. Because of the way I have to mount my HF antenna, I dont do very well to the west. Also, the N7FAN card is for a rare FT8 contact.
- — More POTA notes, 7/30/26
- at 7/30/26 5:53pmHere are a couple more POTA notes: Ive discovered the limits of my 9 Ahr BioEnno battery. I used it for the following activations: July 22, 1 hour, 15 contacts July 24, 1.5 hours, 31 contacts July 25, 1.5 hours, 60 contacts July 27, 2.5 hours, 52 contacts July 29, 1.25 hours, 40 contacts About midway through this last activation, my KX3 began limitng the power output to 10 W. I guess that the battery couldnt supply enough current to output the full 15 W. It did continue to work at 10 W, though, for the remainder of the activation. I recharged the battery overnight, and it worked just fine this morning. My 40 contacts yesterday gave me 940 from the Iron Belle Trail (US-13184), so this morning, I decided to work the remaining 60 to get my kilo for the park. I made my first contact at 8:35 am, and for the next hour and a half, did pretty well. I made contact #59 at 10:05, which is close to 1 contact every minute and a half. Then, the band went south on me. Over the next half hour, I only managed 7 contacts.Even so, that put me over 1,000 QSOs for US-13184, so Im happy about that. My 1,006 contacts and 29 activations dont, however, get me onto the leader board, though. KE8VC leads with 117 activations and 6234 contacts! After lunch, it was such a nice day that I managed to cajole my wife to head out to the Pinckney State Recreation Area (US-3322) with me. The bands werent as cooperative as they were in the morning, but I did manage to make 40 contacts over the course of two hours. I would have liked to make more contacts, but it was fun just chilling by the beach and enjoying the day. Towards the end of the activation, a young man and his son came up to me and started chatting. He mentioned that he was planning to take the Tech test soon. I gave him my card and encouraged him to download my free study guide. I also gave him a demo of my POTA setup and explained what POTA was all about. I hope that he will get his license soon and join us on the air.
- — POTA notes, 7/27/26
- at 7/27/26 12:15pmSince the POTA gods (or in this case, a goddess) designated the Iron Belle State Trail (US-13184) a. POTA entity, this spring, Ive been working a lot of POTA. The park is less than a mile from my house, and I can be on the air within 20 minutes of leaving my house. After this mornings activation, I have a total of 900 contacts from US-13184. This has given me a lot of time to make some observations about POTA operation. Here they are in no particular order: Im hoping to hit the kilo mark at US-13184 sometime this week, so that I can hit some of the other parks in the area again. Specifically, I want to head out to Pinckney State Recreation Area (US-3322). Theres a nice little lake with a sandy beach there, which is great for warmer weather. Although there is more activity on the weekends, weekdays can be good days for activating as well. On Saturday, I made 60 contacts in an hour and a half. This morning, I made 52 contacts in about two hours and 15 minutes. If Im out early (say before 9 am), I begin operations on 40 meters. This lets me work close-in stations before the D-layer gets too hot for ionospheric propagation. Ive also noticed that ground wave propagation can be good on 40 meters early in the day. When it seems as though Ive worked all the hunters on 40 meters, or when propagation begins changing, Ill go to 20 meters. You dont want to wait too long to to this, but you dont want to be too quick, either. Being a CW guy, I mostly operate CW. The last couple of activations, though, Ive given phone a try. With only 15 W from my KX-3, Im certainly not the strongest signal on the band, but I have made contacts, and phone is a nice change of pace. Who knows? I might even give digital a whack one of these days. 18 or 19 wpm seems to be the optimum speed at which to call CQ POTA. Calling at higher speeds could put off slower hunters. Calling at slower speeds is a bit aggravating for me. Listen for the weak signals. Because youre not asking for a long contact, QRP stations will call you for a contact. Other park activators will also have weaker signals on average. I dont actually do this myself, but Id say that always using headphones will help you hear the weaker stations. I really should because its kind of comical seeing me lean in to hear a weak one on the less-than-great KX3 speaker. In general, there seem to be a higher percentage of women operating POTA. Its not an incredibly higher percentage, but it is something that Ive noticed. My 9 Ahr battery is good for at least 4 activations. I could have gotten away with a much smaller battery, but its nice not having to recharge after every activation. Activations can be more fun with a second operator, even if youre working CW. A ham friend stopped by the park this morning, just as I was wrapping up. We shared some observations, and when I was done, he set up his station. Next time, Ill bring my 40-meter contest filter so that we can both operate at the same time without interfering with one another. Now, here are a couple of observations directed at hunters: If an activator doesnt repsond to your first call, dont get discouraged. Be patient, especially if youre running low power. If you hang in there, the activator will eventually get to you. Hunters dont need to repeat exchange, unless asked to do so. If youre giving an activator a 559 report from Michigan, simply send 559 MI, not 559 559 MI MI. Having said all that, Id love to hear some of your observations. Please leave a comment below or email me directly.
- — QSLs: WA2PAY, W3SKY
- at 7/25/26 12:16pmHere are two new QSL cards for my collection of QSLs whose calls spell words. Both are from Florida, and both are very colorful.
- — ICQPodcast Episode 487 – A Taste of Ham Radio Friedrichshafen
- at 7/12/26 11:47amIn this episode, I joined Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss: Germany Likely to Get Full 4 Metres Band Back. The Brits on the podcast seem to love the 4-meter band. Unfortunately, I doubt that well ever get access to it here in the U.S. Eyeball-to-Eyeball Off-the-Air QSO Party. The Eyeball QSO Party is a weekly Zoom meeting that got started during the pandemic that continues to this day. Hams from different countries attend every week to share their opinions and activities. Canada Reviewing Policy on Antennas, Towers. Although this effort isnt specifically meant for radio amateurs, the Radio Amateurs of Canada thinks that the proposals will give hams much more latitude when it comes to putting up antenna structures. Researchers Create Space Wall to Weaken Solar Storms. Researchers believe they have developed an effective line of defence against geomagnetic storms that would protect radio communications, GPS systems, electrical grids and satellites from disruption. This is, however, all theoretical at this point, and the panel was dubious that this would work in practice. YOTA Camp Region 1 Austria July 2026. A highlight of this years YOTA Summer Camp is that every attendee will go home with a QMX+ they built, with the help of Hans Summers G0UPL of QRP Labs. Hans is also donating endfed antennas, power banks, microphones, and Morse keys. I want to be like G0UPL when I grow up. This episodes feature is a Taste of Ham Radio Friedrichshafen.
- — Today’s POTA activation: A nice change of pace
- at 7/11/26 12:19pmThis summer, I have been activating the Iron Belle Trail, US-13184, a lot. This is a newly-added POTA entity and it runs through Bandemer Park, which is less than a mile from my house as the crow flies, and less than a mile and a half by car. I can be on the air in 20 minutes or less from the time I leave my house. I popped over to the park this morning for a quick activation. I got all set up and made some CW contacts on 40 meters, but the action was kind of slow. I QSYed up to 20 meters, only to discover that there was some kind of contest going on. :( I made a contact or two there, then switched to 30 meters. I made a couple of contacts on 30 by hunting, but that still wasn’t all that satisfying. Then, I thought, why not give phone a try? I QSYed to 40 meter phone, found a guy operating a special event station and worked him. He gave me a pretty decent signal report, so I decided to try calling CQ POTA. I made seven contacts calling CQ. As I was getting close to the hour that I allotted myself to operate this morning, I decided to try hunt a few more. The first activator that I came across had three operators in North Carolina. Tuning down the band a little, I found another multi-operator activation that wasn’t even listed on the spots page. There were five ops there in Georgia. So, out of a total 29 contacts, 16 were SSB contacts, which I made in the last 23 minutes. Not too shabby for only running 15 W and a nice change of pace! My average report was 5-7. A nice surprise By the way, I had a nice surprise yesterday when I arrived at the park. The picnic table Ive been operating from at Bandemer was in pretty bad shape. The wood had warped and gotten quite soft, and one of the benches even had a hole in it. I reported this to the city on the SeeClickFix website on Monday, and when I arrived at the park on Friday, the rotting wood had all been replaced. The newly restored picnic table that I operate from at Bandemer Park. You can see the Iron Belle Trail, US-13184, in the background. I don’t know if this had anything to do with their prompt reply, but when I reported the issue, I noted that the hole in the bench could be a safety issue! At any rate, it’s even more of a pleasure to operate at Bandemer Park.
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