This isn’t really amateur radio related, but Ralph KB8ZOY thought this item about a kid building a hamster-powered cell phone battery charger was amusing. He says, “The bummer is the grade this kid got for his project.” (He only got a C for this project and a D for the course.)
My question, though, is what’s [...]

Elecraft’s just announced a couple of new kits that builders and experimenters will find intriguing. Like their other products, they’re not cheap, but I’ll bet you get what you pay for.
I’m seriously considering buying the XG2. I would have loved to have one when aligning my KX1. That was the step that I had [...]

I got my letter from the ARRL confirming I am a candidate for Vice Director of the Great Lakes Division. I had a bit of a scare as I was at first disqualified because I had at one time operated an Internet bookstore that sold amateur radio books. After notifying the Ethics Committee that QTB.Com [...]

I got an e-mail from a guy who noted that he couldn’t find my name anywhere on this website. I looked and he’s right. So, here’s a little bit about me. I’m going to figure out a way for a link to this post to appear on one of the nav bars so that [...]

I just had a strange sequence of events occur on 40m CW.
I called CQ on 7.030 MHz. No one came back right away, but after monitoring for a minute I heard K9CGD call CQ. So, I answered his call. Well, as soon as I finished calling him, AA1LL calls me.
I asked AA1LL to stand [...]

Ralph KB8ZOY emailed me this morning with the following.
Dan–I have the Buckmaster HamCall CD dated 5/3/04 and have been doing some exploring. It is possible to query the database and export the results, say, into MS-Access. Here are some counts of hams in various Washtenaw County cities:

Ann Arbor - 369
Chelsea - 42
Dexter - 51
Lincoln - [...]

Without a doubt, today’s solid-state equipment performs much better and is easier to use than the earlier generations of ham gear that used vacuum tubes. Even so, there are still many amateur radio operators and electronics hobbyists who are building circuits that use tubes and enjoying their warm glow.
One of the reasons for this interest [...]

Some time ago, on the Elecraft mailing list, someone mentioned that an outdoor supply house was selling lead-acid battery packs for $15 or $20. That sounded like a decent deal, so I bought one, and as soon as it arrived, stuck it on the shelf.
I didn’t have time to futz around with it during the [...]

From time to time, I’ve been called a pig in the past. I think my mother was probably the first after getting a look at my room. I’m sure my wife has called me that at one time or another, too.
Well, now I’m officially a pig–a Flying Pig, in fact. I’m now a member of [...]

Here’s an editorial by Ward Silver, N0AX from the August 10, 2005 Contest Rate Sheet. It’s reprinted here with permission from the ARRL. About the only thing I’d change is his translations of the purposes of amateur radio as set forth in Part 97.1. Other than that, he’s right on….Dan
In preparing a presentation for the [...]