Amendment to ARRL DXCC Rules Will Expand DXCC List
The ARRL Board of Directors approved a motion to amend the DXCC Rules, when it met January 19-20. Section II, Subsection 1 of the DXCC Rules now will include a new Subsection (d): The entity has a separate IARU member society and is included on the US State Department Independent States in the World. In fact, the Republic of Kosovo (Z6) has been added to the DXCC List of current entities, increasing the total number of current DXCC entities to 340. The addition of Kosovo raises to 331 the required number of current entities confirmed to qualify for DXCC Honor Roll; Top of Honor Roll is 340. DXCC award accounts are being tabulated to reflect the change.
This change qualifies as an “event,” effective on January 21, 2018, at 0000 UTC. Nothing is retroactive.
http://www.arrl.org/news/amendment-to-arrl-dxcc-rules-will-expand-dxcc-list
Audio transformers 600:600 ohms
Small, cheap and widely available (eBay) transformers are frequently used in digimode interfaces. Read more.
The TinyKeyer
the (possibly) World's Smallest Fully-Featured CW Keyer with Computer Support
This keyer, based on Arduino design, employs the famous K3NG code. It can be used with any Windows/Linux/Mac logging or contesting software with Winkeyer USB (K1EL) support. The credit & big kudos goes to Anthony Good (Goody), K3NG, who did the tremendous work. It is a very small unit (outer dimensions 45 x 45 x 18.6 mm, appx. 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.73 in) which does not have any fancy options (a zillion of buttons, psychedelic flashing LED lights or cockatoo colored displays). It is intended for regular CW work and contesting with computer support, most of functions should be adjusted and operated via the computer. For standalone work an acoustic menu in command mode is used. Otherwise, only speed control knob and a mini LED indicating the command mode is on the front panel, nothing more. See here.
Tinykeyer has also a support discussion group at
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tinykeyer/info
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Chinese soldering flux ZJ-18
Many sellers from China/Hong Kong offering on eBay a "solder flux" which is of very bad quality.
What is behind the Hi-Tech look of the ZACH Iambic Magnetic paddle?
Many friends asking me to comment the new ZACH Iambic Magnetic paddle which I am now using. So, my trusty N2DAN Mercury has now a longer vacation and the new ZACH became my daily-paddle. It is very easy to adjust, much easier then the Merc. And once adjusted, I can forget what, where and why...
Read more: What is behind the Hi-Tech look of the ZACH Iambic Magnetic paddle?
2016 is here...
The bad thing is I keep getting older...
The good thing is I keep getting older...
Getting older is the best of all the other options.
Notes on call/QRP
Many well respected operators offered their opinions on call/QRP. It is considered sometimes as trying to gain unfair advantage, sometimes as deliberate altering of an official callsign but the majority considered it as counter-productive practice hurting both the user and his QSO partner. There is a significant number of high-profile DXpeditioners and contesters avoiding working, logging and QSLing call/QRP users.
Farewell Collins Mechanical Filters
FILTERED OUT FOREVER
For many radio amateurs, it’s the end of an era: Rockwell Collins, which designed and manufactured mechanical filters for more than two generations of hams, has discontinued the filters’ production.
The company posted on its website: “Over the past several years, we have seen a dramatic reduction in demand for narrowband analog filters. Due to this and other economic reasons, Filter Products will be discontinuing its mechanical filter products in the near future.”
The company acknowledged that the filters have since been eclipsed by digital signal processing, and this was a significant factor in its decision. Highly popular mainstays for many hams, the mechanical filters were valued for being able to achieve bandwidths of between 0.05 percent and 5 percent, with input and output transducers converting the electrical signal to and from mechanical vibrations. Rockwell Collins has not yet announced a date for the final production run.
Source: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1973 August 21 2015