Learn CW Online

A new website to learn and practice Morse telegraphy has been launched: http://lcwo.net/ - Learn CW Online

There are already hundreds of training programs, MP3/CD courses and practice aids available, but LCWO follows a radically different concept: While sticking to well-proven methods for learning and practice, all you need for using LCWO is a web browser!

This gives the user the liberty to practice CW wherever an internet connection is available, always retaining the personal settings, scores and statistics.

Currently the site, which is available in 17 languages offers a complete Koch method Morse course, code group practice, callsign- and plain text training modes and also allows to convert random text to Morse MP3s.

A high score list is available to compare results with other users, personal statistics help to track training progress.

LCWO.net is a non-commercial project. Creating a free account only takes a few seconds, and you can start practicing CW right away!

Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK

DXpedition to Desecheo Island

Visit the WEB site

SolderSmoke NUMBER 100

SPECIAL CENTENARY EDITION
A look back to the beginning
Rome Travelogue: Palatine Hill
Fixing my old freq counter: Trials and Tribulations
Empire of the Air:
More great history, but more tech faux pas
"The radio art"
An historical precedent for our GONG
Lake DeForest?
A. Frederick Collins
Understanding Beta Independence
Understanding Feedback and Distortion
SPRAT 137: Minimalist Radio:
The FETer/ET-1: "Haiku from Solder"
Regens: Not for the faint of heart

ARRL: Bird's Eye Viewing

Go to the ARRLWeb's FCC License Data Search page and lookup the address of an Amateur Radio station you want to check out (type the station's call sign in the call sign field, then click on the "Submit Query" button).

When the search engine comes back with the results, copy the address to your computer's clipboard (select the address with your computer's mouse, then press the Ctrl-C keys).

Go to Microsoft's Live Search Maps page, paste the address in the Live Search field (press the Ctrl-V keys) then press the magnifying glass button.

More at http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/01/30/10601/

100 MOST NEEDED COUNTRIES

THE 2008 DX MAGAZINE 100 MOST NEEDED COUNTRIES SURVEY was conducted in September and October 2008.

Get it at http://dxpub.com/dx_news.html

World Radio Online - Magazine

World Radio Magazine, purchased by CQ Magazine a short time ago is now online at http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html. It looks just like a magazine that you would buy off the news stand. And, it's free!

This first issue is in full color and forty pages long, so it does take some time to download. It's a .pdf file over 12Mb long. It may not be long before the rest of the magazines go online.

VE5ISS ARISS Amateur Radio on International Space Station contact with King George School.

CQ to accept eQSL confirmations for award credit

CQ magazine will accept contact confirmations made on
the eQSL.cc electronic confirmation system for its operating awards effective immediately, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, and eQSL Founder and Webmaster Dave Morris, N5UP, announced Tuesday.

More at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2009/cq_to_accept_eqsls.htm

KD1JV's Surface Mount Video

OK SolderSmoke fans, here's a video for YOU! Steve "Melt Solder" Weber has put out his first video. It is about surface mount soldering. It is all very interesting, and some actual solder smoke is released, but I was a bit disturbed when Steve put the PC board on an electric stove and then started using this purple thing that looked and sounded like a hair dryer. Made me yearn for my Weller soldering gun. Great video Steve, thanks!

TX5C Clipperton 2008 Part 2/2

TX5C Clipperton 2008 Part 1/2

SolderSmoke 98

Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Year's in Rome, Fireworks, Abruzzo snow trip.
AA1TJ and the compact fluorescent bulb rig; "Michael the red-nosed Rainey, you'll go down in history!"
Billy's Asus eeePC : Amazin' piece of gear.
The Lure of Logic: Fixing my old Global Specialties counter (chip needed).
The Joy of Troubleshooting.
N3ZI's FB counter.
Balsa boxes.
Todd, VE7BPO, also getting logical.
Hans, G0UPL, back on 30 meter QRSS from London.
Lawrence, KL1X grabbing VK QRSS sigs in N. China.
My sigs steady in ON5EX grabber.
Dan's deals.
Book of the week: "Empire of the Air." Armstrong as a teenage ham.
MAILBAG:
Todd K5TAK on new name for Knack (no!)
Rick KC0PET has new 'scope, analyzer, Elsie
Bill N8ET Kanga USA getting going again.
Alan WA9IRS on Pete Millet's free online tech books
Wayne VA7AT on SDR
Frank VK2AKG is NOT the solenoid musician
Bill N3HQB was in Ade Weiss's summer camp ham class!
Roger K7RXV on shaving resistors
Dino KL0S on other free books on-line
Gareth G1DRG on BBC Digital Planet Podcast
Tim Walford's FB ham construction magazine
A word about words from our sponsors

Get it at http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/01/soldersmoke-98.html

Digital Mode Setup for PowerSDR 1.x by WA5QPZ - Part II

Digital Modes for Flex Radio, Part 1

QEX: A Software Defined Radio for the Masses, Part 4

It has been a pleasure to receive feedback from so many QEX readers that they have been inspired to experiment with software-defined radios (SDRs) through this article series. SDRs truly offer opportunities to reinvigorate experimentation in the service and attract new blood from the ranks of future generations of computer-literate young people.1 It is encouraging to learn that many readers see the opportunity to return to a love of experimentation left behind because of the complexity of modern hardware. With SDRs, the opportunity again exists for the experimenter to achieve results that exceed the performance of existing commercial equipment.

Most respondents indicated an interest in gaining access to a complete SDR hardware solution on which they can experiment in software. Based on this feedback, I have decided to offer the SDR-1000 transceiver described in this article as a semi-assembled, three-board set. The SDR-1000 software will also be made available in open-source form along with support for the GNU Radio project on Linux.2 Table 1 outlines preliminary specifications for the SDR-1000 transceiver. I expect to have the hardware available by the time this article is in print.

More at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/030304qex020.pdf

Days of Future Passed - ARRL SKN 2009

Digital Mode Setup with VAC for PowerSDR 1.x by WA5QPZ - Part I

SolderSmoke 97

DSB 80 "Kickpanel" project:
Rig reform
Harder than SSB?
Do we need to match diodes?
Terminating balanced modulators
An antenna for my "spot" ("net") circuit, LED
Thinking of speech processing
Driver hotter than final
---------------
MEPT QRSS:
VK2ZAY crosses Oz on 470 micro-watts
Using 9H1LO's grabber engine as time machine
My beacon box: 10 and 30 in same enclosure
Knights QSY to lower bands (temporarily)
---------------
Theory:
Thanks for beta independence help
Why does feedback lower distortion?
W3JDR's Ne602 modeling
Grinding resistors for precision
Broken counter leads to learning logic

Get it at http://www.soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke97.mp3

Southgate ARC: New Zealand scraps ban on traditional lightbulbs

The standard low cost, low pollution incandescent light bulb had been banned in New Zealand but on Wednesday the NZ Goverment announced an end to the ban.

There have been concerns raised around the world about the high-energy costs involved in manufacturing so called "energy efficient" light bulbs along with the potential risks resulting from the use of the toxin Mercury in such bulbs.

The pollution of the Radio Frequency spectrum by so called "energy efficient" light bulbs, which deprives people of their radio programmes, has been raised in UK national newspapers. Traditional incandescent bulbs do not cause RF pollution.

More at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/december2008/nz_scraps_lightbulb_ban.htm

USS COD SS-224 W8COD Operating CW (Morse Code)

The audio level is very high on this video, so turn your computer audio level down before viewing the video.