Antennas can be one of the most perplexing issues for both new hams this tongue in cheek talk will give you some ideas on improving your antenna options.

Learn about a shortened HF antenna design that dates back to 1958. We will walk through the theory, demonstrate implementations, and show you how you can obtain the complete Open Source design of this antenna for free from Open Research Institute.

Not sure why no one is answering your CQs. Is your station's transceiver and antenna system working well? How can I tweak things to better get out? The talk includes the Reverse Beacon Network, Online Tunable SDRs and more.

New Hams are often overwhelmed by the process of selecting and purchasing transceivers. The talk will discuss both new and used equipment, methods of procurement, feature selection and more. Talk includes a helpful spreadsheet of transceivers and features.

Come along for the story and stay for the great photos while Vince describes his unexpected entry into the Radio Amateurs of Canada's Portable Operating Challenge. He'll describe the ups and downs of traveling 3,000km and visiting 32 POTA entities and doing a large scale public service event along the way.

Identify the major factors that determine how well an STL will transmit and receive a signal on a given frequency. Factors discussed and illustrated with calculated and measured data: - Loop conductor diameter and material - Loop shape and number of connections and joins (elbows) - Number of turns and spacing between turns - Type of tuning capacitor - Type of feed system and matching network

Not all common plastics and adhesives are suitable for home brew antenna projects. Here a critical but simple look and a useful tabular guide of what to use and what not to use and a littler easy organic chemistry from real ham experience..

Presents learning styles for new or old hams to improve the enjoyment, memory, studying for tests and more. Will be discussing learning methods as developed by research in a fashion for the user. Especially good for hams studying for ham licenses, learning CW, etc.

We will be streaming our podcast live from the QSO Today Academy. We will talk about our workbench projects, new and interesting technologies and take listener questions.

HotSpots On the GO! Taking Digital Voice - DStar, DMR, C4FM - Mobile When you're beyond a Digital Voice (DV) repeater and on the go, how to take your hotspot along for the ride. A very brief dive into DV modes and HotSpots and then into the world of bringing them on the road. We will discuss Raspberry Pi based applications along with the world of SharkRF openSPOT's. We will discuss crossmode usage and even how to send a picture from the road. Will briefly mention using analog access to connect to your IRLP linked repeater systems and building a IRLP hotspot.

Amateur radio contests can be a lot of fun and one of the best ways to make contacts on the air. In this presentation, you'll learn how to get started and set yourself on a path to success. You'll be racking up the contacts before you know it!

The ICQPodcast Digital Talk Group is a club designed for anyone interested in exploring the world of digital radio. Regardless of your age or experience level, this group offers an opportunity to join a diverse community spread across various technologies. The club originated from a desire to support the ham radio community and engage younger enthusiasts in the digital realm. From this vision, the ICQPodcast Digital Voice Project was born. Over the past two years, the project has grown significantly, enabling communication for users of various digital modes such as D-Star, DMR, YSF, NXDN, P25, and M17. The ICQPodcast Digital Voice Project remains a work in progress, with plans to introduce additional modes of communication in the future. This ensures continuous development and provides ample opportunities for all members to expand their digital radio skills.

Ever tried to operate voice on HF but couldn't get a word in edgewise? Operating portable and want your battery to last a bit longer? Tune in as FreeDV contributor Mooneer Salem talks about how digital voice will help your signal make it farther.

Over 250 resource links Maps, Charts & Operating Aids to assist new and veteran hams. The vast majority are free, and others are very inexpensive.

Presentation covers basic small transmitting magnetic loop technology, operations, and environmental considerations.

What makes amateur radio wonderful? You! Come celebrate amateur radio with us on Friday evening at QSO Today Academy. Bring your stories of how amateur radio has positively affected your life and what you'd like RATPAC to cover in upcoming presentations.

Have you tried activating a SOTA peak or POTA park but had trouble self-spotting? Do you feel ‘dirty’ self-spotting an amateur radio activity with non-amateur cell-phone or satellite methods? Do you wish you had a simple way to find Summit-to-Summit (S2S) and Park-to-Park (P2P) opportunities in the moment? SOTAMAT is a new way of executing SOTA, POTA, and messaging commands in the field when you have no cell service, no APRS, no computer, and no satellite device. It integrates technologies such as PSKreporter, FT8, PSK31, SMS, eMail, Garmin inReach, Zoleo, Bullitt, SOTAwatch, SOTL.as and the POTA app. It's signature feature is the ability to generate specially coded FT8 messages using your cell phone speaker into an HF radio microphone, and have a worldwide network of skimmers execute your SOTA and POTA commands, or send messages. See breathtaking examples of Paul Mower, VA6MPM, use SOTAMAT to activate the very remote peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Would you like to use ham radio to chat live with other hams using your computer but without using the internet? Take a look at the Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network (TARPN) and a growing TARPN implementation: the North Carolina Packet network (NCPACKET). A TARPN is a stand-alone, point-to-point packet radio network that provides communication using only dedicated amateur radio links. You can chat live with or send messages to other hams in your network. To get started, you and a nearby ham set up a “node” based on a RaspberryPi, an inexpensive modem, and modest VHF/UHF radios. Each node can cost as little as $300 even if you have an empty junkbox! Whatever your age or skill level, TARPN is a fun way to learn new things, overcome interesting challenges, and chat with your ham friends!

Today, we're going to explore the fascinating connection between Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and Amateur Radio. As we delve into this topic, we'll see how AI, with its vast trove of information, can serve as a valuable tool in enhancing our hobby, regardless of whether we're tech novices or seasoned experts. Our journey will take us through the origins and basics of AI, the right and wrong ways to utilize it, and how to effectively access it. Finally, we'll weave AI into the intricate world of Amateur Radio and see how they can complement each other. So, get ready to dive deep into the exciting convergence of technology and hobby!

I spent 25 years looking for a way to easily phase antennas without expensive test equipment such as operational RX bridges and calibrated field strength meters. Using a combination of broadcast and amateur antenna techniques and taking advantage of some transmission line theory, I found a way to build an array using a low cost RX bridge (MFJ, VNA, etc.) to cut the transmission lines. Only low cost SWR bridges (perhaps CB type) are required to tune the array and achieve a near textbook pattern. Another advantage is that the pattern holds together over an entire band rather than only a few kilohertz common to other methods. The presentation will cover the basic approach and overview. A book on it is available through DX Engineering for those who want to dive in further.

RaDAR Rally encourages a challenging and rewarding portable operating experience by promoting the rapid deployment of your station in the outdoors and physical exercise while moving between deployments. 

The recent shortage of semiconductors, parts important for electronics, shows us that supply chains can be fragile. What does this mean? It means if we have a big problem for a long time, our advanced radios might be tough to keep working, which could be a problem in an emergency. To solve this, a new kind of radio called the RFBitBanger has been created. It's a type of low power, long-distance radio that is easy to build from basic parts using simple tools. It uses a new digital language, called SCAMP, made specifically for this radio. All the signal work is done by an Arduino processor. What's cool is that the radio has a small screen and buttons or you can even attach a keyboard. It's a full text communications system all by itself. SCAMP is pretty special too. Even though it only needs a simple 8-bit microcontroller, it can do lots of things that digital modes like FT8 can do using small bandwidth and something called forward error correction. The RFBitBanger radio has other helpful features. It can support CW (which is Morse code), RTTY (another way of sending text), and SSB phone (voice communication). We hope that the RFBitBanger can serve as an easy-to-build and easy-to-maintain emergency radio. It can also be a great educational kit. And, it can be a lifesaver when there's a big shortage of parts. Check it out at www.github.com/profdc9.

The ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Radio Pi is a freely downloadable Raspberry Pi single board computer disk image preloaded with software for listening to signals from the ISS and satellites. It was developed for the ARISS SPARKI (Space Pioneers Amateur Radio Kit Initiative) kit. It supports various modes including SSTV (Slow Scan TV), APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System), and also includes the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) FoxTelem software to decode telemetry from the AMSAT Fox series of CubeSats. This presentation will show how to download and run the software on a Raspberry Pi 3B or 4 with a RTL-SDR USB radio dongle. The AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, the CubeSatSim, will be used to generate signals to demonstrate the software in FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying), SSTV, APRS, and CW modes. Applications demonstrated include OpenWebRX, Direwolf, QSSTV, CubicSDR, and Gpredict for satellite tracking. If you have a Raspberry Pi you can try out ARISS Radio Pi disk image by following the instructions here https://CubeSatSim.org/RadioPi.

Amateur radio operators may have a requirement to make test measurements of their radio and associated equipment to ensure reliable operation and compliance. to regulations. This testing and measurement requirement is likely amplified when the operator choses to construct or build this equipment himself/herself. This presentation discusses practical and cost-effective solutions for a wide range of technical measurements at VHF and UHF (30 MHz to 3GHz) radio frequencies. Illustrative examples and recommended procedures will be reviewed within this technical presentation. A live Q&A session will be conducted at the conclusion of this talk.

This presentation will discuss SOTA (Summits On The Air) and my experience as a young ham with it. I will go over what SOTA is, why I do it, why others (especially other youth) should partake in it, and other basic information on SOTA operation for beginners. Information concerning gear and different hiking situations, such as what non-ham equipment to bring doing SOTA and different landscapes shall be included. Emergency communications will be touched upon, as when disaster strikes, you may not be in your cozy shack, or you may have to be at the highest location in your area to operate effectively both of which SOTA will prepare you for. Youth involvement will also be discussed as SOTA allows kids to get outdoors and brings a great opportunity to bring in new operators.