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Learning CW

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 I've set a few goals for 2024 when it comes to Amateur Radio.  I've done this because the list of aspects of radio that I want to play with is already pretty long and getting longer - and some require some more focused effort than others.  One that will require some focused effort to start with is learning morse code - commonly called CW.  My goal is my first QSO using CW by the end of 2024. There are a number of YouTube videos, mobile CW training apps, books and all sorts of things.  Pretty quickly though most signs ended up pointing to the Long Island CW Club .  They're pretty amazing - the curriculum they've created and evolved since inception since 2018, the schedule of classes (that now specifically have VK friendly classes on a Monday night), the setup on Zoom and their online Morse practice page.  All around it's been a pretty awesome experience so far - and I am learning CW!   They have a set of three sessions they ask all new memb...
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Home HF antenna cabling

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So I drilled a hole in the side of my house today!  I mentioned in a previous post that I'd got a permanent UHF/VHF aerial up on the roof.  The next step was getting something more permanent setup for HF.  I've been trying a few different aerials - but to use them I've had to run a bit of coax out the door and leave the door open.  It's been colder here the last few weeks - so leaving the door open has been a little sub-optimal, as well as the cable running across the floor and the deck.  Which has also thus limited how much time I have put into building and try different HF antennas.   The way my shack is setup my desk is against a wall that is actually the rear wall of the house - so I just needed to go straight through that wall.  Looking online and chatting to a few folk it seemed the way to go was similar with what you see for a phone or internet connection coming into a house.  One of those little grey weather resistant boxes attached...
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Installing OpenGD77 on an Retevis RT3s

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So the Brisbane Amateur Radio Club (BARC) that I joined has been playing with a few different digital modes - and one of them is Digital Mobile Radio or DMR.  The club's page on DMR has some information on how they got started, the radio most members have bought (Retevis RT3S) and there is also a page with code plugs configured with local repeaters to help get people going. The RT3S is a pretty cool little HT for $80-90.  It's UHF/VHF, has GPS, APRS (TX only) and DMR support - and it runs OpenGD77 - an opensource firmware that a number of club members have flashed their HT with. This all looked pretty cool - so last week I ordered an RT3S off the Retevis eBay store and it showed up a few days later.  I opted for the pack with the programming cable:   The radio itself is built pretty well with my only complaint being it doesn't have USB-C (or any direct DC) source of charging.  You need to stick it in the dock that it comes with.  I'll continue to l...
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HamClock

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 So I saw Jim W6LG post a video on YouTube about a cool little HamClock kit from inovato based on a small Quadra PC.  Watching the video - it looked like quite a cool little addition to the shack.  Reading the comments on the video and having a look at the product page I learned HamClock is a standalone open source application that will run on a multitude of platforms.   I love ordering new hardware as much (maybe more?) than the average nerd, however I reaslied I have a drawer full of Raspberry Pi's and other single board computers.  Given the low hardware specs required for this I figured I'd dig out a Raspberry Pi 3 and give it a go.  While HamClock once running does offer up a remote view/screen, I really liked the idea of having a little dedicated screen on my bench with this display.  I did some googling and came across what looked like the perfect little option -  Freenove 7 Inch Touchscreen for Raspberry Pi, 800x480 Pixel IPS Disp...
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