Another week of amateur radio has expired. Expired Ham, get it? 🙂
Welcome to another issue of Expired Ham, a weekly newsletter where I discuss the ways I participated in the amateur radio hobby this week.
I somehow managed to mess up my calendar reminder to post a new issue of Expired Ham and that’s why I’ve missed posting them on the last few Sundays. I have corrected that so hopefully, I’ll be posting these again on Sundays like they should be.
Anyway, a reminder for you to send a letter to your representatives in Congress to urge them to pass the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act which will afford hams the same liberties for erecting amateur radio antennas on their properties that we are already afforded when erecting satellite dishes and broadband antennas. There are many of us who live in HOA-restricted communities who are unable to put up outside antennas for our ham radios and this is a huge bummer. Please read my previous posting from last week for more information.
Over the weekend, the Vienna Wireless Society had its annual Fall Picnic which was time well spent for all those in attendance. The picnic was held at the Nottoway Park in Vienna, Virginia on Saturday. Before the picnic, a few of us spent a couple of hours building the infamous “Tape Measure Yagi” antenna, which we then used after the picnic in a fox hunting event. I enjoy these exercises in direction finding and hidden transmitter finding. I won a trophy at our last foxhunt at our Spring Picnic, but sadly walked away empty-handed this time around. It was a lot of fun to build the antenna. Now, I just need to find a use for it. Perhaps I can play around with trying to make satellite QSOs?
CWops CW Academy Intermediate is going really well. We are now in the second half of the course and I feel as though I’m getting much better with my head copying skills at faster speeds. I anticipate that I’ll be moving on to the Advanced level course in early 2026 if all goes as expected.
I haven’t done much operating these last couple of weeks. I’ve not been able to get on the air for the past two K1USN Slow-Speed Contests due to either weather or obligations that kept me away from home during the event time. I need to take some PTO from work and try to do some search and pounce during a CWops CW Test, though I’m thinking I might need to set up SkookumLogger to control my radio much like N1MM+ can. From what I heard, the CWT is much like other contests where participants often use automated sending of the message exchanges. I might just have to see if MorseRunner has a CWT simulation that I can start using to practice. I know MorseWalker has one, but I think MorseRunner’s is probably more customizable.
That’s about all I have for you this week.
73s everyone!
Matthew, K2MAS
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