Merry Christmas Everyone!

This was very cool!  A picture from a show on the Rocky Mountain PBS program “Colorado Experience”.  This is showing paleontologists from Colorado Mountain University in Gunnison Colorado looking at a dig site from the mountain above Gunnison where we have a transmitter site!  There are facilities here from Colorado Public Radio, various two way facilities, and one of ours too.  We are in the building on the right.  Been there many times.  I always had to let the University know when I was going up the mountain being careful to stay on the “road” when traversing the site.  Here is the reason! Cool to see it on TV!

Colorado Mountain University Paleontologists at the dig site on the “W” mountain above Gunnison Colorado.  Picture from my TV during the show.

From Chris Scherer at the SBE National office:

WW1USA Radio
Since debuting in 2014, amateur radio special event station WW1USA has reached more than 13,000 people in more than 60 countries across the world. This occurred as the ham operators were back for the final operation of the year for 31 consecutive hours on Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 14-15. Learn more about this incredible worldwide effort!

https://www.theworldwar.org/amateurradio

As written in previous articles, I love seeing old radios and trying to identify them in movies and TV Shows.  So here are some pictures from the 1st James Bond movie, “Dr. No”

 

This is a K.W. Vanguard Shortwave transceiver, as you can see on the website

https://rigreference.com/rigs/3531-K_W_Electronics_Vanguard

Note the amateur bands listed on the upper right hand of the VFO dial.  The website notes this was used in the Bond movie.  Interesting that they didn’t need the receiver rig on the right to be accurate.  Any ideas on its identity?

The lady above of course didn’t survive the next 5 minutes of the movie as she was eliminated by the bad guys in the movie.  She was trying to communicate with the British Intelligence center in the right hand picture.

Any idea what these radios are?

Very cool to see these radios.

 

 

 

 

More radio’s are featured in the Netflix show “The Americans” which is about Soviet spies living as regular Americans with families, jobs, and basically a “normal” life in Cold War era Washington DC, while carrying out espionage and covert operations as KGB spies with the FBI and other agencies.  They have been using ham radio’s and shortwave receivers in this series to show them communicating and receiving communications from “The Center” (Moscow) for their operations.

A Yaesu radio set to the 2 meter frequency of 145.00 mHz seen from “The Americans”.

I actually own one of these!  A Zenith Royal 7000 being used in the show.

I am in the process of studying for my Remote UAS pilots Part 107  license so I can fly a drone around towers for inspections and seeing what is going on up there!  Jeremy N6JER obtained his last year and EMF has bought several drones of the DJII Phantom variety to be able to do our own tower inspections.  You must have the certification to fly a drone for commercial purposes and have the knowledge to know when and where it is safe to fly.  I basically am studying all the information you must know to basic airman facts and laws.  I am learning how to read sectional charts and weather METAR information, and know what is required to safely operate a drone under these requirements.  Very interesting and fun.  As a supplement and to learn practical application too I am flying my Flight Simulator 9 (2004) again.  This is fun of course and really interests me as I am learning all about flight I can.  I have been flying a Southwest 737-300 around the country planning flights and using IFR.  Learning flight characteristics, weather, and how to use navigational aids is absolutely fascinating.

And yes, I can even land the doggone thing very well.  I have only made my “passengers” sick a few times!

Flight Simulator picture of a 737-300 landing

If you would like to see what is required for a Remote UAS certificate you can look here:  https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/media/uas_acs.pdf

We have finally brought 449.625 the WØKU (IRLP at this time) repeater online for the Monday night SBE Chapter 73’ of The Air VHF/UHF Net along with WØGV thru the AllStar and Echolink system.  Skyler KDØWHB has made all the links possible thru his AllStar Skyhub system, basically a computer that acts as a linking system for the various nodes that can connect together.  Very similar to an IRLP reflector.  The WØKU repeater has one of the best audio sounds on a ham repeater I have ever heard. Scott WØKU and Tracy KIØHC worked hard over the Thanksgiving weekend to get the IRLP link working thru Tracy’s network connection and were successful after a few hours work.  Scott connected into the W4YI IRLP/AllStar repeater in Chattanooga Tennessee and talked to Kenny, K4KR and all systems were working perfectly.  The nice this thing about the W4YI repeater is that it is capable of simultaneously connecting into the AllStar and IRLP networks.  So when we connected into the W4YI repeater link via IRLP it was already connected into the AllStar network where WØGV was already connected, so the entire system was linked up between the various repeaters.  Very cool system.  We do in the future hope to put WØKU on AllStar too. AND, you can see all of this on the AllStar “bubble” chart internet feature.  Email me for more information on this.  AND, be sure to try to join us via Echolink too.  Details are at:

http://www.ke0vh.com/net/net.html

The WØKU repeater antenna on Mt. Chief SW of Denver

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  SEE YOU IN 2018!

AND, Remember this?

SEE back issues of my articles available now! Copy or click these links into your browser to see previous installments:

 

ONE YEAR AGO:

http://www.smpte-sbe48.org/wp/2016/12/

TWO YEARS AGO:

http://www.smpte-sbe48.org/wp/2015/12/

THREE YEARS AGO:

http://www.smpte-sbe48.org/wp/2014/12/

I will be adding more to my website archives here soon.

AND

 Don’t forget the SBE Chapter 73’ Of the Air

AllStar (and Echolink) Hamnet, every MONDAY EVENING

At 7pm Mountain time (9pm Eastern) for radio discussions, both

Broadcast engineering and amateur radio.

Details on how to

Join are at http://www.ke0vh.com/net/net.html. I hope

You will be able to join us and share your engineering and

Ham exploits!  73’ es God Be With You!