KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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From my Twitter feed: HamAlert, Arduino DDS, crimped connections

Posted: 11 Feb 2017 09:05 AM PST
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email




Cant wait to try this.Dan


Martin @ok1rr

#HamAlert get notification when a desired station appears on the RBN,
SOTAwatch or the DX cluster hamalert.org/about






EDN.com @EDNcom

RT @TMW_Community: Optimizing #Arduino & AD9851 DDS sig gen by Steve
Sandler ubm.io/1S15Ugo@picotest@ADI_News











hackaday @hackaday

Good in a Pinch: The Physics of Crimped Connections wp.me/pk3lN-10ST



The post From my Twitter feed: HamAlert, Arduino DDS, crimped connections
appeared first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.


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New "Novice" license being considered

Posted: 10 Feb 2017 01:45 PM PST
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email


A couple of days ago, the ARRL posted a news item, ARRL Seeks Opinions
Concerning Possible New Entry Level License.Â*Apparently, theÂ*ARRL Board of
Directors set up anÂ*An Entry Level License Committee in September 2016. (I
guess that Ive been lax in reading the board meeting minutes lately.)

The committee is gathering member input via an online member surveyÂ*and
will make recommendations to the Board for possible rules changes to submit
to the FCC. They note, The result could mean changes to the Technician
license, but it could also be an additional, but simpler, license with
privileges that would give a newcomer a taste of most facets of ham radio
from HF to VHF and UHF. The survey will be online untilÂ*April 7, 2017.

The survey page gives a little more insight intoÂ*the work of the committee:

What are the problems were trying to solve?

The declining population of new hams under the age of 30.
A decline in the number of new licensees who actually get on the air.
Amateur Radios lack of appeal for those under the age of 30, compared to
other technical hobbies.
The increasing challenge of engaging and retaining Technician licensees.
AÂ*reluctance in much of the amateur community to embrace newer technologies
of interest to the younger segment of the population.


The working mission:

Encourage students and young adults to learn about ham radio.
Train licensees for concepts necessary to be effective and successful.
Provide sufficient privileges that will make Amateur Radio more attractive.
Build in a strong incentive to upgrade to next license level.



The redditÂ*page discussing this has a lot of interesingÂ*opinions. Many of
the commenters say that theres really no need for a new class of license,
supposedly one thats easier to pass.Â*There is a lot of talk about making
the test more relevant. Several people pointed out the questions about PSK,
and noted that PSK is really an HF thing, and that Techs cant operate PSK
on HF.

I dont think that coming up with a new entry-level license class with
privileges that are even more limited than the Technician Class is a bad
idea, but whether or not its successful will depend completely on the
implementation. Unless the new class of license is accompanied by some kind
of program that will help these new licenseesÂ*really become engaged with
amateur radio, thenÂ*were just creating another class of inactive
licensees.Â*I dont know exactly what this program would consist of, but
without it, thisÂ*effort is doomed to failure.

And, whos going to develop and run this program? The only organization that
has the horsepower to make this work is the ARRL. They are going to have to
step up big time. Most clubs dont have the people or resources to do it
properly.

The post New Novice license being considered appeared first on KB6NUs Ham
Radio Blog.