KM1NDY – Page 8 – A Secret Little Adventure Ham Radio Blog

FIELD DAY PREPS: How To Set-Up And Synchronize N1MM+ Ham Radio Logging Software On Multiple Computers By Using An Ethernet Switch To Create An Offline Local Area Network (Step-By-Step Instructions)

June 18, 2024 by KM1NDY

For last year’s Field Day, I took a stab at networking a couple of computers together with an ethernet cable so that our N1MM+ logging software could be synced up. It was both surprisingly easy to do, but equally daunting due to the curious lack of reasonably digestible tutorials tackling the topic on the interwebs. …

Don’t Cha Know What June Is? Band Pass Filter Season!

June 13, 2024 by KM1NDY

With ARRL Field Day around the corner, it is the time of year where amateur radio operators far and wide wonder if they are going to be stuck having their QSOs wiped out every time their neighbor keys up the microphone. Interference between stations in a multi-transmitter field day operation can be the norm if …

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go! A Raucous Post-Hole Diggin’ Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza…

May 27, 2024 by KM1NDY

And boy-oh-boy did we make a lot of noise! Running three generators, a cement mixer, and a tractor equipped with a scary-looking auger, we managed to dig…a hole! Congrats AA1F, on not only digging three feet into the ground, but on fixing your auger after it snapped a shear bolt when it wedged itself under …

HF Radio Blackout: You Are A Big Freaking Bully Sunspot AR3664

May 11, 2024 by KM1NDY

So much for playing radio this weekend. In the last half hour my 200mW Zachtek WSPR transmitter, cycling from 80M to 10M every 15 minutes or so, managed to be heard in 2 places… Both in Boston and presumably by ground wave. By comparison, here is a half hour block from a good propagation day: …

K-SARJ Technical Bulletin: Effect Of Near-Total Solar Eclipse On High Frequency Propagation Distances Using Cyclical Multiple Frequency Weak-Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR) Transmissions

April 21, 2024 by KM1NDY

Doing a little hammy ham ham research during the solar eclipse at the Ole Farm-O-La…Welcome to the first Technical Bulletin of the KM1NDY – Secret Amateur Radio Journal.

Another Attempt At A DIY AM Transistor Receiver Build…Still No Success Thus Far

April 8, 2024 by KM1NDY

Every now and then I decide it’s time to homebrew a receiver. You may remember my attempt back here. Or even way back here. They never work. So this even more complicated, 3 transistor, 2 diodes, and audio amplifier IC definitely did not work. Again. Well sort of. Technically it is actually a receiver. Just …

Singing Me And Georgie Down By The Seashore

April 7, 2024 by KM1NDY

Stole the OM’s radio, grabbed the puppy, and went to make a qso or two for the CQWW SSB contest down on the seawall at Castle Island. That is the Elecraft KX2 with the AX1 antenna. I only managed a single contact…but it was to Slovenia. I think it counts. KM1NDY

Koolertron For The Win, Or How My Cruddy Understanding Of Signal Generators And Oscilloscopes Led Me To Believe Mine Was Messed Up…

March 31, 2024 by KM1NDY

The mark of an expert is knowing not simply what you know, but knowing what you don’t know. There are things in life I am truly an expert in. Electricity is decidedly not one of those things. For every new tidbit I learn, a door opens to reveal a seemingly infinite number of topics I …

Generating Bad Signals And The Story Of The Poorly Tested Butterworth Bandpass Filter

March 31, 2024 by KM1NDY

(New follow-up post here!) How hard could it be to construct a little band pass filter, throw a signal through it, and see if it properly attenuates? A breadboard, a small handful of components, an online filter design tool. Fifteen minutes, tops? I was longing for the pleasurable jolt of satisfaction that one only gets …

How To Do Vector Calculations With Polar Coordinates On The TI-84 Plus CE Calculator

March 3, 2024 by KM1NDY

I would be absolutely lying if I told you that the polar coordinate functions of my beloved TI-84 Plus CE calculator were anything less than horribly annoying. Like a lot of math, and math calculators, there are roughly 3312 (that’s considered the “KM1NDY number”,i.e., K#, for those learning the most avant garde methods of mathematics) …