horzepa.com Blog » 144 MHz

Surfin’: Radioing Over the Appalachian Trail

Administrator — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:01:00 +0000

This week’s Surfin’ visits a Web site detailing the effort to traverse the Appalachian Trail by Amateur Radio.

Go West, OM, Day One

Administrator — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:13:05 +0000

Left home at high noon yesterday and arrived at the Super 8 in Clarion, PA, at 7 PM. You can see my APRS track here.

Traffic was light most of the way and I made good time until the last 75 miles of the trip. Construction on I-80 turned the four-lane highway into a two-lane highway and during the last 5-mile segment of construction, traffic moved at a 5 MPH clip! I probably lost close to an hour due to the construction.

Not much activity on 146.52 MHz, but I expect that will pick up today as I approach Hamvention.

A retired couple in the next room have a ham in the family. Their Cadillac SUV does not have ham license plates, but I noticed a call sign made up of self-adhesive letters (the kind you use to identify rural mailboxes) on the back of the SUV; I did not recognize the call and forgot it!

Weather was good driving out, but as I got farther west, it began to cloud up and the temperature dropped. Looking out this morning, the ground looks wet and the clouds are ominous (as you may be able to see in the photo).

Next stop, the Dayton Airport Hotel in beautiful downtown Vandalia, Ohio!

Surfin’: Splat That Path Online

Administrator — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:00:55 +0000

In this week’s Surfin’, read about a Web site that determines how well your signal gets from here to there. Then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

Surfin’: Twoer, Not Tower

Administrator — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:50:02 +0000

This week’s Surfin’ exposes one of WA1LOU’s favorite radios. Read it here, then come back here to post your comments, if any.

144-MHz band opening

Administrator — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:32:46 +0000

Two meters is open a bit this morning. Best DX received directly* by my APRS digi station was N3KTX-7 near Wye Mills, MD, over a 248-mile, 222° path.

* Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters

144-MHz band opening

Administrator — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:42:01 +0000

Two meters was open overnight. Best DX received directly* by my APRS digi station was N3KTX-2 near Frederick, MD, over a 282 mile, 239° path, and N3KTX-8 in Ocean City, MD, over a 248-mile, 207° path.

* Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters

144-MHz band opening

Administrator — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:29:23 +0000

The band remained open to the northeast during the day with a lot of stations in Maine received directly* by my APRS digi station. The best DX was VE1PKT in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, over a 509-mile 61° path.

* Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters

144-MHz DX

Administrator — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:38:06 +0000

What a night!* The band opened up in all directions. To the northeast, he best DX received directly** by my APRS digi station was VE1AAQ in Springfield, Nova Scotia, Canada, over a 457-mile 60° path; to the northwest, N2HLT in Branchport, NY, over a 225-mile 289° path; and to the south-southwest, WA4KXV in Virginia Beach, VA, over a 376-mile 207° path;

* That’s what she said.

** Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters

144-MHz DX

Administrator — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:48:13 +0000

My earlier report speculating the reception of DX via meteor scatter propagation turned out to be false. Instead, it was the beginning of an excellent band opening to the northeast. The best DX received directly* by my APRS digi station was VE9WRC in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, over a 511-mile 49° path.

* Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters

144-MHz band opening

Administrator — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:11:45 +0000

My APRS digi station received KQ1L-7 directly* on Sugarloaf Mountain in Kingfield, ME, over a 270-mile 28° path. This was a short opening with only one distant station received; I wonder if this might have been meteor scatter propagation.

* Directly meaning station-to-station and not via any repeaters