KZ4JC

RadioBursts.org

On a mission from FCC

Alerts

A Shout Out to Vicki Carnes / AD3i Stem Amateur Radio Club and Thursdays' weekly net

A worthy amateur radio cause, accepting donations, and wishlist items.

Wow!@home Distributed Radio Astronomy

Wow!@home is a very interesting distributed radio astronomy project seeking support and remote participation. It is a grassroots technical campaign sponsored by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) of University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, and is worth support and participation.

About KZ4JC

You should not find me on the popular websites like QR Zed. Instead, you find me here. It's cheaper, more or less under my control, and more fun.

Amateur radio registration info': Also available for no charge from FCC.gov, ARRL.org, Callook.info, wa5lru.org (University of Arkansas Amateur Radio Club), hamdb.org, and other websites call sign search:

    SMITH, ROBERT H, KZ4JC
    PO Box: 862
    MT PLEASANT, NC 28124
    Previous call sign: KO4UVV
    Previous license class: General
    Licensee ID: L02497287
    License Class: Amateur Extra
    FRN: 0031574379
    Radio Service: HA
    Issue Date: 11/19/2021
    Expire Date: 11/19/2031
    Date of Last Change: 07/01/2024 (License Issued)

GMRS registration info':

    Call Sign: WRTC913   
    Radio Service: ZA - General Mobile Radio (GMRS)
    Grant: 06/03/2022   
    Expiration: 06/03/2032

Radio "bio page":

I've been a fan of broadcast radio for as long as I can remember. I've mostly listened to obscure college or low power FM stations. For a couple years I was a representative on a station's "community board". Current favorite: 91.7 WSGE at Gaston College, although it's usually hard to receive over the air for me. I got radioactively interested in Ham Radio when a friend (Thanks, KT0BEG! aka The Renaissance Polymath photography) gave me a BaoFeng UV-5R and told me I would need a license to use it legally. Also, registration fees were soon going to increase from free to $35!

A Technician "ticket" was received without much extra effort by refreshing basic electrical and electronics knowledge already on board in brain from previous learning, and adding rules and conventions. The no cost, off-line, Ham Trainer app on my Android phone was used to learn rules, and do practice questions and sample exams.

GMRS registration was added for completeness, and $35.

General and Extra were added just under the wire before the Extra question bank changed on July 1, 2024. ARRL exam handbooks and the Ham Trainer App, which now needs updating, did the job for me.

Radio Interests: So many interests, so little time. I almost don't know where to start. I also have frugal or cheap tendencies, and am a DIY fan in theory if not always in practice. My collection of radios has expanded mostly thanks to the Grid Goodwill store. There I purchased far too many used UHF-only and UHF/VHF walkie talkies and scanners. These include several Arcshell AR-5 of two types, and some Motorola and other FRS/GMRS handhelds. Re-programming as many as possible with Chirp on Linux is fun. New equipment acquisitions include a Quansheng UV-K5(8) from AliExpress. "Nearly" completed kits include a (tr)uSDX with 3x18650 battery holder, and End Fed Half Wave Antenna kit bought from ARRL while the makers, HFkits, were out on summer vacation. Also have an assembled HF Signals Zbitx including 2x18650 battery holder. After a couple months wait-listed for assembly how to power a QRP Labs assembled QMX+ HF transceiver without over-powering is TBD. A 2 or 3x18650 battery holder?

Books: When available I buy used books, usually from Thriftbooks, Alibris, or AbeBooks.

KZ4JC Ham Writings

Now Reading:

Future Reading:

Previous Reading, Recommended:

Radio Club Memberships and Mentions:

Other radio websites I sometimes look at and follow with my RSS reader. Why are so many "Amateur" radio websites using standard plug and play website methods, filled with JavaScript and advertisements? Why is there so much duplication of material from one to another? We have RSS feeds for following multiple websites. My RSS feed reeder list has expanded so much, the following list is probably outdated, and I've tried to weed out the more advertisement and social media filled sites. A benefit of simple RSS readers like Capy Reader is they filter out most of the junk, but a downside is they sometimes only display excerpts.

Contact email: KZ4JC at radiobursts.org

Copyright 2024 KZ4JC All rights reserved