The Pizzicato Pulse Generator was designed by Gary Steinbaugh, PE, AF8L. His design appeared in the March/April issue of QEX. It is essentially a very low duty-cycle pulse generator that, according to Steinbaugh, “electrically “plucks” a transmission line.” And, if you observe “the line’s reaction on an oscilloscope, you can check the line’s length, terminations, [...]

Monday was my first session this year with the kids at the Ann Arbor Learning Center, a charter school here. At the end of school year in June, I was a bit frustrated that none of the kids had gotten their licenses. The teachers reassured me, though, that the kids would return in the fall, [...]

Electronic engineering trade magazines are written and edited to keep engineers on top of the latest developments. While most articles are definitely not for radio amateurs, every once in a while, hams will find something of interest. The September 14, 2006 issue of Electronic Design is a case in point. It has three articles [...]

Last night, I worked Rose KD8EGG. It was her first QSO–she passed the test on Thursday, September 14 and just recently found out that her callsign finally appeared in the the FCC database. This is a double win for me, as I have the honor of being her first QSO, sending her her first QSL [...]

40m is wide open tonight, especially to Europe. I’ve heard a bunch of Europeans tonight, and just work EG5EIG/MM, sailing in the Meditteranean. Here’s the description of this special event station from their QRZ.Com listing:
Special Event Station: Historic Ship “Isla Ebusitana,” launched in 1856.
A group of radio operator from the EA5 district will be [...]

I’ve gotten several e-mails responding to my Op-Ed piece in the September complaining about the clubs in their area. The correspondents have tried attending local club meetings only to get the cold shoulder. This is sad, but it’s the way things go sometimes.
I am encouraging these people to start their own clubs. I know this [...]

This was just posted on QRZ.Com. I got into ham radio via SWLing—like many of you probably did—so I thought you might be interested in this….Dan

Ian McFarland releases 2-CD journey into SW Nostalgia!
Colin Newell writes: Were you a shortwave listener back in 1974?
If you were a regular listener to RCI’s popular SWL Digest programme, [...]

Last night, my last QSO for the evening was with K5AF, Paul in San Antonio, TX. This evening, my first contact was with Owen, K1AF, in Southpoint, NC. Quite a coincidence!
I asked K1AF if he’d ever worked K5AF, and said that he’d not only worked K5AF, but also K4AF. This kind of reminds me of [...]

On Saturday, I didn’t get to make many contacts or work on any ham radio projects. I went walking in the morning, and in the evening, went to the Tigers’ baseball game. I did, however, manage to work K0AGF, the St. Paul (MN) Radio Club. They were operating a special event station, commemorating their 75th [...]

Last year, we started devoting one of our monthly meetings to building something. Last year, we built a small keyer kit, and it was an unqualified success. All 20 people who built the kit got it working. This particular kit was a good choice because it offered something for both beginners and old timers (old [...]