Hamvention

I read RobertaX's post about the Hamvention, but I confess I've not listened to the podcast yet - yet!

Ham Radio 360 Day 1

Ham Radio 360 Day 2

Linux in the Ham Shack Day 1

Linux in the Ham Shack Day 2

Sounds like they got some rain there:

Interesting...but I wouldn't call that rain "heavy" https://t.co/y7Kt6XDDcK

— BobW (@K0NR) May 22, 2017

I wonder if that created any scooter problems.

And some other tweets:

Alinco DMR #hamvention pic.twitter.com/X231n7IKQ4

— Jeff Davis (@ke9v) May 20, 2017

The #hamvention crowd today. Venue is really maxed out with 20,000+ hams. Tomorrow is the big day. pic.twitter.com/0svR4UAKoV

— W0LD (@W0LD1) May 19, 2017

More on this later but wow, the Dayton folks outdid themselves on the food. Too much to choose from! #hamvention

— Jeff Davis (@ke9v) May 19, 2017

Traffic and parking at #daytonhamvention is a disaster. This may be my last year to attend!

— W0LD (@W0LD1) May 19, 2017

I saw many amazing things today, but the MOnSter6502 was my favorite https://t.co/cnrgFCEuG2 #makerfaire pic.twitter.com/82tM3Mfi9J

— probably not a robot (@jcook793) May 20, 2017

TYT MD-2017: Samples Landed

It's real!

Our TYT MD-2017 samples arrived yesterday! Stay tuned for videos and podcast. Pre-orders start very soon, estimated shipping in 2-3 weeks! pic.twitter.com/XiGFFxGdR6

— BuyTwoWayRadios.com (@2wayradios) May 23, 2017

TYT MD-380: Morse Code Narrator

More features via custom firmware for the TYT MD-380:

Thanks to DL4YHF, md380tools now supports a Morse code narrator mode for visually impaired hams.

— Travis Goodspeed (@travisgoodspeed) May 9, 2017

Part 95 Updates - Follow @2wayradios

We will tweet live updates of the Part 95 reform item during the FCC open commission meeting tomorrow #@mygmrs @radioreference #outdoors

— BuyTwoWayRadios.com (@2wayradios) May 17, 2017

Xiaomi MiJia HT

It lives!

The firmware in Chinese isn't so friendly, but I finally had @xiaomi #Mijia work on #hamradio repeaters. And it does fine! #hamr #vhf #uhf pic.twitter.com/Ug8ahqxclY

— Christian Diemoz (@Chris_Diemoz) May 7, 2017

Ham Licenses

Ham licenses chart.

Up: Extra
This is a high water mark for the Extra class license.

Down: Overall, Advanced, General, Technician, and Novice
Advanced and Novice will only go down since no new licenses are being issued for these classes.

Month	Extra	Advanced	General	Technician	Novice	ARS Total
Apr-17	143,835	43,842	172,747	373,169	9,558	743,151
Mar-17	143,739	44,117	172,793	373,487	9,670	743,806
Feb-17	143,379	44,392	172,558	372,436	9,753	742,518
Jan-17	143,358	44,732	172,682	371,998	9,882	742,652
Dec-16	143,337	45,071	172,807	371,560	10,012	742,787

Part 95 Changes - FRS and GMRS

Good summary of the FRS and GMRS Part 95 changes.

Or listen to the BuyTwoWayRadios.com podcast to hear the discussion.

TYT MD-380: $79

Wow.

$79 plus free shipping for a TYT MD-380.

Sounds too good to be true.

Xiaomi MiJia HT

Following...

Just received #XiaoMi walkie-talkie. A couple pics from unboxing and activations. More, including app and 1st #QSO, later. #hamr #hamradio pic.twitter.com/JIIenvEVrL

— Christian Diemoz (@Chris_Diemoz) May 2, 2017

TYT MD-2017: BuyTwoWayRadios.com Giveaway

Guess and #Win a TYT MD-2017! Listen to EP111 of The Two Way Radio Show #podcast for more. https://t.co/YiMxIkt5sW @brickolore #hamradio

— BuyTwoWayRadios.com (@2wayradios) March 27, 2017

Free (Almost) Antenna

Just pay US ($3.50) or Canada ($2.50) shipping:

FREE SMA TELESCOPIC VHF/UHF DUAL BAND ANTENNA

YES! This antenna really is free, just pay shipping and handling. Due to the popular nature of this offer please allow 2-4 weeks for shipping...WANT IT QUICKER? FOR ONLY $4.99 WE WILL BUMP YOUR ORDER TO THE TOP OF THE QUEUE. JUST CHOOSE SOONER THAN LATER AS YOUR SHIPPING TIME!..Orders limited to one per person. Orders of more than 2 will be cancelled. LIMITED TIME ONLY*** YOU MUST BE A LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER ***.*** INCLUDE YOUR CALLSIGN IN THE NOTES OF THE ORDER DURING CHECKOUT ***.*** ORDERS WITHOUT A VALID CALLSIGN WILL BE CANCELLED ****** CALLSIGN MUST MATCH YOUR NAME ***.Have you ever been on the fringe of your favourite repeater and wished you had just a little bit more power? Have you ever been out in the field working simplex and wish that you could pull in that weaker station a bit better? A 1/4 wave would do the trick, but why carry an extra antenna when you don't have to? Get the best of both worlds. Portability in "Rubber Duck" mode, extended range in 1/4 wave mode.
 

• 136-174Mhz / 400-480Mhz

• 16CM in "Rubber Duck" mode

• 48CM fully extended

Happy Anniversary!

Hopefully it is a happy one... if not, you may be in trouble if you are getting a radio and she's getting something from PSA.

sorry fellas, I got the best one ever!

A post shared by Ham Radio (@hamradio360) on Mar 20, 2017 at 7:30am PDT

Xiaomi MiJia HT

The pictures and specs got me interested.

• VHF frequency 136-174 MHz.
• UHF Frequency range 403-470MHz.
• 8 Days standby time.
• Up to 17 hours of talk time.
• Cost price around $35

Then I watched the video and realized it was a lot bigger than I thought. And then there was a question about the availability of English menus. Meh - wait and see.

*great* looking dual-band HT from Xiaomi @ $35 https://t.co/2FvyM3UtHN

— London Hackspace ARC (@m0hsl) March 8, 2017

InfiniiVision 1000 X-Series Oscilloscopes

Low cost doesn’t have to be low quality. Keysight’s new low-cost oscilloscope series w/6-in-1 instrument integration https://t.co/LJ9pvjiRm9 pic.twitter.com/GIFEg6Dwwq

— Keysight_News (@Keysight_News) March 1, 2017

Via @K0NR

Baofeng UV-5R: Teardown

All About Circuits tears down a Baofeng UV-5R:

"The radios we took apart for this week's teardown are the UV-5R and the UV-5RB, though there appear to be many products by Baoefang with a similar product designation (UV-5R, UV-5RA, UV-5RB, UV-5RC, UV-5R+, UV-5R V2, etc...). While only the UV-5RB will appear in the following article, the interior layout of the two radios is largely identical. I opened two radios because the UV-5RB that I initially tore down had multiple integrated circuits with illegible or completely absent top-side markings." 

Circuit drawings and other info at the link.

Via @K0NR

Community Outreach

An interesting idea... he appears to be using some sort of paper based communications system.

In an effort to build #community within my local area, I'm mailing letters to all #hamradio Ops inviting them to use the K4CDN repeater.

A post shared by Ham Radio (@hamradio360) on Mar 1, 2017 at 7:07am PST

UTK, NASA, and Ham Radio

Funny how themes sometimes appear on my radar...

"NASA chose UT as its winner, which will give the UT Amateur Radio Club time for a one-on-one chat with space station Mission Commander Shane Kimbrough."

Hams in Space

(You have to read the title of this post like the intro of this video.)

True, they spent the big bucks and are sending a TYT MD-380.

New transceivers headed to the ISS. No truth to the rumor that NASA is going to cut costs and use Baofeng radios https://t.co/SEBTAUSgTK

— BobW (@K0NR) February 28, 2017

Ten-Tec and Alpha RF

Some notes about the rebirth of Ten-Tec and Alpha RF.

Xiegu X5105: Pre-production Testing

Fred Lesnick, VE3FAL:

"This is a pre-production model and we are awaiting new firmware to be able to update some of the many issues with it."