Ham On A Bike

Its that time of year for most of the Western Hemisphere. AUTUMN!  Shorter cooler days and in some areas frosty. Its the season where some of us cut back on our portable activities and operate from the warmth and comfort of our shacks.  Its also the season when some of us pull out our soldering irons and put them to work.  Be it , repairs or maybe kit building, Autumn can be the start of Kit Building Season. For me, I've got a few projects on my To-Do-List. At the top is the completion of my 2nd Low Band QRP Labs QDX Digital Transceiver.  Since we are moving toward the IN BETWEEN of Solar Cycle 25 and Solar Cycle 26 area, it is likely that I'll be operating more Digital Modes and Satellites than Morse Code and SSB. During the Autumn and Winter months my plan is to run the 2nd QDX unit via Raspberry Pi in JS8Call digital mode from my shack; especialy overnight. I may also look at assembling some other kits.  I came across a YouTube video from the guys at Ham Radi...

  Are you aware that in the U.S., August is National Emergency Management Awareness Month.  Emergency Management Awareness   National Emergency Management Awareness Month This organization will conduct a coordinated, industry-wide awareness and advocacy campaign to promote the capabilities of emergency management.  As Amateur Radio Operators this is something we should be aware and and ready to assist when needed. I t is in our DNA.     My question to YOU:  Are You Inclined to Assist In During A STATE OF EMERGENCY?" 2026 may seem like the entire world is under some sort of daily natural disaster, threat or emergency. Recent earthquakes in Japan, earthquakes in Venezuela, earthquakes in Columbia   Extreme heat conditions around the earth are deeply pushing our power grids to the brink of collapse. Drought conditions around many parts of the world causing widespread wildfires. Recent weather conditions in the U.S. have produced record rainfal...

  Many years ago the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. eliminated their logging requirements for Amateur Radio. Most of us continue to keep logging records for Awards.   For me record keeping has always been an integral part of my ham radio activities.  When I began my Commercial Radio Broadcast career in my late teens, I was blessed to have a Program Director, Broadcast Engineer, Traffic, Business and General Manager that stressed the importance of Record Keeping. To that end it has continually been a part of my life and is basically second nature. Recently I had an occasion where that Record Keeping came into play.  For the last couple of years in late July to late August, I've worked my Sunrise grayline HF propagation from Kentucky USA into JA, VK and ZL lands. Thanks to my record keeping I have a history of knowing there is an excellent probability of making contacts in the Japan and the South Pacific during this window. Additionally I ...

  It All Started With ... It all started with that first one.  Take a moments to read about some my Parks on the Air activations toward my quest for 10,000 (10 Kilos) contacts from US-7956 / Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve (EM78df) in Louisville, KY. USA.   August 2021, I took the plunge into Parks on the Air activations.  For over a month I had dabbled in hunting activators from my shack and other portable locations. At the time, my Morse Code skills were suspect as I had done miniscule Morse Code operating since 1991.  It was on a Sunday morning August 8, 2021 that I chose to activate US-7956 / Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve by using Single Side Band (SSB).  I'm lucky this site is less than four miles from my home and I guess you could say this is how my "Ham on a Bike" activites began,too. That "FIRST" and "SECOND" contacts were 20 meter Park-to-Park with Len / VE9MY and Linda / VE9GLF; from "Springhill Coal Mining National Histori...