CQ Amateur Radio June 2021

JUNE BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — The Libertadores University Foundation and the Bogota Radio Amateurs League will air a special event stations 5J85FJR, 5J39FUL, and 5K48LRB from 0001 UTC, Tuesday, June 1 through 2359 UTC Tuesday, June 8 to promote the 2021 Los Libertadores University Foundation – LRB 2021 Certificate and contest. Frequencies include 80-10 meters using SSB, CW, and Digital. Email: <hk3ecoalfa@gmail.com>. Website: <www.qrz.com/db/5K48LRB>. Also see this issue’s Awards column, p. 97. FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY — The Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club will hold its Hamfest beginning 8 a.m., Saturday, June 5 at the Fair Lawn Recycling Center, 19-25 Saddle River Road. Phone: (201) 791-3841. Email: <fairlawnarc@yahoo.com>. Website: <http://flarchamfest.com>. Talk-in 145.470-(PL 167.9). HERMON, MAINE — The Pine State Amateur Radio Club will hold the 33 rd Annual Hermon Hamfest beginning 7:30 a.m., Saturday,…

New License Applicants Must Get FRN Before Taking Exam As of May 20th, everyone taking an amateur radio license exam must provide examiners with their FCC Registration Number, or FRN, before taking the test. Current hams and other FCC licensees will already have one, but prospective amateurs must sign up for a number ahead of time. The process is simple: Go to the FCC’s website at <https://tinyurl.com/njmmjjbv>, follow the prompts and fill out the form. The ARRL notes that you will need this number after taking your test to log into the FCC website to print out your license, which the Commission no longer sends in the mail. In addition, as of June 29th, all amateur applications will be required to include a valid email address. FCC Considers UHF/Microwave Ham Bands for Commercial…

As we go to press with our annual “Take it to the Field” special, we are thankful that most of us who wish to can once again look forward to taking our stations “to the field” in places beyond our backyards. With the wide-spread distribution and incredible effectiveness of the various COVID-19 vaccines, restrictions on outdoor gatherings and outdoor mask-wearing requirements are being loosened and more of us will once again feel comfortable operating from the great outdoors. Guidelines will still vary from place to place, depending on transmission rates and other factors, so the ARRL is extending its temporary OK for home stations to work each other for credit in this year’s Field Day, but it’s looking right now like many clubs will once again be able to gather…

After being postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first Youth on the Air Camp in the Americas is on track for mid-July in Ohio. It will provide a wide variety of ham radio experiences for up to 30 young amateurs from throughout North, Central, and South America. At press time, 28 of the 30 slots were already filled. Additional applications were being accepted through June 1st. The camp is scheduled for July 11-16th at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting outside Cincinnati. It is modeled after the very successful Youngsters on the Air camps in International Amateur Radio Union Region 1, encompassing Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and is supported by IARU Region 2 (the Americas). Planned activities include workshops on contesting, VHF/UHF digital modes, kit-building,…

Over time, my VHF/UHF go-box has been re-configured according to changes in technology, communication requirements, and operating preferences. As I thought about updating it again, I studied online sources such as <shack-in-a-box.com> to decide how to balance the inevitable trade-offs. I wanted to use it both as a base station at home and as a portable station for Amateur Radio Emergency Service activities in the Greater Manchester, New Hampshire area <http://gmares.org>. I ended up with a split-level arrangement which allows me to just lift everything out for home use when I’m not taking it portable. Photo A shows the updated go box (orange box), laptop, and solar panel ready to use. Capabilities I had in mind maximum flexibility for voice, Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System <www.arrl.org/nbems>, Winlink Global email <winlink.org>, cross-band repeating,…

What could be crazier than operating Winter Field Day1 in Iowa in a tent outside that was purchased from Fleet Farm to hold a utility tractor? Second, what else should you do to make it even crazier but to run high power? That was our plan for WFD 2021. We’re pleased to share our experience with you here through words and (mostly) pictures. First step was planning (Photo A) and working with a power amplifier (PA) that still needed to be repaired and tested. Rod, Steve, and Mark were up for the task. They had three amps to choose from and so they started to look under the covers and determined to work on an Amp Supply LK-500C running two 3-500Z tubes. This meant that the three of them needed to…