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
TR4W is now Open Source
The TR4W support group is pleased to announce that TR4W is now Open Source'd on GitHub and licensed under GPL V3.
TR4W (TRlog 4 Windows) is an amalgam of base TRLOG code (TR4W/SRC/TRDOS) -originally authored and Copyrighted by N6TR, with a Windows application layer (TR4W/SRC) -originally authored and Copyrighted by UA4WLI. TR4W is mostly 3GL with some critical code in assembler. As such it is built for speed and supports over 150 contests.
The code is written in Object Pascal and can be compiled using Delphi 7 compiler, which you can google.
The source can be located at https://github.com/n4af/TR4W
Additional product information is available at http://tr4w.net/
Questions regarding code modification may be addressed to tr4wsupport<at>googlegroups.com
73, Howie N4AF
The TRMASTER.DTA database with CWops, FOC, HSC membership and names of more than 3500 contest regular participants can be downloaded here.