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Tag Archives: HAM and Amateur Radio
News June 13, 2013
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The Ham Radio ARRL Repeater Directory for Android Review

A while back I reviewed an app for finding Amateur Radio repeaters called Repeater Book.  In that review, I fondly remembered leafing through the Repeater Book that the American Radio Relay League (or ARRL) printed for years upon years.  I have not bought one of those in some time, and I think the ARRL noticed [...]

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Events May 29, 2013
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Dayton Hamvention 2013 – The Hams Were There

One experience I have yet to share about ham radio is the experience of the Ham Fest.  A Ham Fest is not where you go and eat ham with your fellow radio operators.  It is a conference where you can go to learn about the rigs, get training, and buy things!  Think CES combined with [...]

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Reviews May 23, 2013
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Baofeng UV-5RA Review – Can a $50 Ham Radio Be Any Good?

I hope you have been enjoying my series on Amateur Radio.  It’s been one of my favorite hobbies for about 20 years now, and I love sharing my knowledge with our readers. Today I am bringing you another radio review, only the second one ever for Gear Diary. Just like when I reviewed the Icom [...]

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Quickies April 12, 2013
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The Origin of the Term ‘Ham Radio’

Ham Radio Origins

I hope you have been enjoying my posts on Amateur Radio.  Other than mobile tech and the typical tech stuff I am into, it is one of my most favorite things to do in the evening.  Nothing beats chatting with a group of fellow hams about amateur radio itself, the tech behind it, or other things that [...]

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News April 10, 2013
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RepeaterBook for Android App Review

Way back when I was first licensed in 1993 to use a HAM Radio, the first thing I wanted to do was to get on the 2m band and hop on a local repeater.  How did I find them back then?  Well I went to the local radio store and bought the latest edition of [...]

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News March 5, 2013
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Ham Radio to be Featured in Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing on ABC

  I’ve watched Last Man Standing all season this year and am really enjoying the series in its second year.  One of the reasons I was attracted to it was that the character Tim Allen plays, Mike Baxter, is an Amateur Radio Operator.  He has been given the tongue in cheek call sign KA0XTT.  The “XTT” stands for Ex Tim Taylor. [...]

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News January 22, 2013
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Quirky Ham Radio Gadgets from Yesteryear: The Wouff Hong and the Rettysnitch

Well, the Wouff-Hong is not so much a gadget, but it has been a part of Ham Radio lore since 1930′s.  What is a Wouff Hong?  According to 1930 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook: The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio’s most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in amateur operation. [...]

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Outdoors November 18, 2012
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My Bag: Ham Radio Edition

Hurricane Sandy, the derecho and the upcoming winter season has had me thinking about what I carry on a daily basis. It also prompted me to consider what I might add to it to be better prepared.  In HAM lingo, we refer to this as our GO bag– the bag that serves in an emergency [...]

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News October 28, 2012
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Last Man Standing: Mainstream TV and Radio Connected for Special Event Today

I hope you are enjoying my continuing series of posts on Amateur Radio.  Occasionally, we get to have fun and come close to touching those who we watch on TV.  Well, not exactly but today there was a special event that almost never happens. What on earth am I talking about?  Well, today there was a very [...]

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Reviews October 26, 2012
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Icom ID-31A D-star Radio Review

  I hope you have been enjoying my series on Ham Radio and its various aspects; today’s post is the first review of a ham radio on Gear Diary!  Specifically, I will be reviewing the Icom ID-31A, which is the most advanced handheld radio I have yet owned and the most advanced currently available. What this won’t [...]

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How to Do It Yourself!, Outdoors September 17, 2012
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D-Star Breathes New Life into Amateur Radio

D-Star is the newest mode I have recently added to my Amateur Radio arsenal.  I bought an Icom ID-31A D-star, radio which I will be reviewing here soon, but I wanted to share a little about D-star and why it’s a cool mode before I did the review. The History of D-Star D-star is a [...]

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News August 27, 2012
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Before There Was Google Latitude, Foursquare or Facebook, There Was APRS

Hello!  W3RAZ again here on Gear Diary, for some more amateur radio goodness.  Today I am writing about APRS.  APRS?  What’s that?  We’ll it’s in many ways the precursor to Google Latitude and all of these apps on phones that have you checking into places, but it was invented 20 years ago by WB4APR, Bob [...]

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Quickies August 23, 2012
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Talk to the World with Amateur Radio

  In my second post on Amateur Radio, I talked about getting a 2 meter/70 centimeter handheld radio as your first radio.  The main reason I suggested those kinds of radio as the first radio to buy is that you will likely need it for local public service. A dual band radio relatively inexpensive and is pretty forgiving when [...]

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How to Do It Yourself! July 21, 2012
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Building a Simple Ham Radio Antenna without Soldering

One of the first things you might want to do after getting your Ham Radio License is talk on the radio.  However, there are many things you may have to do to get that done depending on what kind of radio you purchase. If you purchase a handheld radio, you likely already have an antenna [...]

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Quickies April 30, 2012
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Amateur Radio Apps for Android

A mobile phone is a valuable tool that can be used for many things, even Amateur Radio.  I thought I would provide a short over view of some of the apps that are available on Google Play.  As there are always new apps, I will probably do another post as I come across them.  If you have [...]

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