December 21, 2016

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club and family members will gather for a Christmas Dinner Thursday evening, December 22, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Sal's Italian Restaurant, in Henderson, Texas. Bring a big appetite and join us at Sal's for some great Italian food and fellowship!
The dinner is dutch treat so members and their families will pay for their own meal.



We will not have a business meeting in December, just the Christmas Dinner.

Sal's Italian Restaurant:

November 22, 2016

NTX Seeking Sec Manger Nominations

The ARRL's North Texas section is seeking nominations the Section Manager position. Nancy McCain was appointed in 2015 to serve out the unexpired term after the previous SM stepped down to due family and work demands. McCain sent out an email this week reminding members of the dates and noting that she is not a candidate for the position.

ARRL members may make find information on making a nomination by go to the ARRL website. It must be returned by close of business December 9, 2016. Ballots will be mailed in January.

McCain will complete the current term of office as North Texas Section Manager, which runs until March 31, 2017.

November 21, 2016

Got an opinion on the Tech exam?

If you have an opinion--good or bad--on any of the current technician exam questions, now is the time to speak up! The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) reviews the question pool every three years to makes updates and changes. The next update is scheduled for release in 2018.

According to the ARRL, the NCVEC's Question Pool Committee (QPC) is now seeking comments on the technician question pool. The QPC will accept comments and suggestions from the Amateur Radio community via e-mail through March 31, 2017 at qpcinput@ncvec.org.

The NCVEC QPC will take all comments and suggestions into consideration as it updates the Technician question pool for 2018-2022. Input from the Amateur Radio community may include suggestions for new questions, changes to the topic areas, or changes to existing questions in any of the current Amateur Radio examination question pools.

November 18, 2016

Trains, Fred, High Noon and Today

What do these all four have in common? And what does it have to do with Ham Radio? Here's a little diversion for your day.

Today (November 18th) is the 133rd anniversary of the implementation of the "Standard Time" zones. And while it was important enough to change history, it wasn't completely "official." The United States wouldn't formally adopt "Standardized Time" until 1918. But back in 1883 it was the railroad companies that decided it was time to standardize time across the nation. Trains connection the east coast to the west, spanned more than 100 different local times (generally set by syncing clocks to high noon) which really took a toll on your watch stem, not to mention the frustration of printing an accurate timetable.

The whole story is here in interesting detail. And while the government wasn't legislating the new time, the U.S. Naval Observatory did agree to help track it by sending out a signal by which people and communities could set their clocks. But wait! Remember, this is BEFORE the invention of the radio. The USNO transmitted the signal by the only nation-wide medium available: the telegraph. Several years later, when wireless transmitters were avialable, the USNO began transmitting the now familiar tones over the air. You can here them day and night here.

Eventually, the USNO began building and maintaining the nation's "Master Clocks" which today keep everything on time. From GPS signals to cell phones to JT-65 mode ham radio contacts to the Internet and everything connected to it-it's ultimately all synced back clocks at the USNO. Here's some info about it as well.

Finally, who is "Fred"? You know that voice you hear when you listen to the time signal? It says, "At the tone, 2 hours, 34 minutes, Coordinates Universal Time." Well, that would be actor Fred Covington. Or at least his voice. It seems he recorded those prompts back in 1978. And even thou he died in the late 1990s, his voice lives on to this day.

So take some time (pun intended) and celebrate the day Standard Time began!

November 12, 2016

Nov and Dec Meeting Dates Set

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club has modified it's monthly meeting plans for November and December due to conflicts with holidays. Although the club typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month, the club voted to move November's meeting to Tues, November 15th. The meeting will still be at the Central Fire Station at 7pm.

The club also set it's annual Christmas dinner for December 22nd. The meal, which everyone is invited to attend, will be held at Sal's Italian Restaurant at 414 US-259, in Henderson. (Map) The club has reserved the meeting room beginning at 6:30pm.

November 11, 2016

Club elects new officers for 2017 term

RCARC Officers 2017
The United State Presidential election is not the only only election going on this fall. The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club also recently held its annual officer elections, bring a familiar face back to the led position. Keith (KN5G) was elected president of the club during the officer selection in October. Keith served as the club's original president, serving two years before stepping aside, as required by the club's constitution.

Along with Kieth, Michael (WX5WMS) will serve as Vice-President, Danny (KG5OSD) will serve as secretary, Craig (AF5RI) will serve as treasurer and David (W5CWT) will serve as the club's public information officer. 

Outgoing president, David (W5CWT) said he was happy to see some old and new faces in the officer's roles.

"I think these new officers definitely have the bottom-line desire to promote Amateur Radio in the area and will serve the club and it's members well in that capacity," he said. The new slate of officers will assume their roles January 1st, 2017.

October 27, 2016

Day Trading in Amateur Radio Callsigns

The FCC is inviting comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11775) from a Nevada radio amateur that seeks changes to the rules governing the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Program. Christopher LaRue, W4ADL, of North Las Vegas, is proposing that any licensee obtaining a vanity call sign be required to keep it for the full license term.

LaRue contends in his petition that excessive and frequent vanity call sign filings are hampering the ability of other qualified licensees to obtain vanity call signs in one of the more desirable 1 x 2 or 2 x 1 formats. LaRue said that since the FCC dropped the fee to file for a vanity call sign, some applicants are taking advantage by regularly obtaining new call signs, thereby keeping them out of circulation.

The petition can be found on the web in PDF format here.

"Some are changing call signs almost monthly, just to keep the newer code-free Extra class operators from obtaining a shorter call sign," he said in his petition. "I even saw an older operator that said he does it all the time and has not even owned a radio in over 6 years. When I looked him up, he has had 16 different [call signs] in 18 months."

LaRue said his proposed minor rule change would require any licensee applying for and obtaining an Amateur Radio vanity call sign "be required to keep it for the duration of the license, which is currently 10 years." He said this would "alleviate a lot of the stress on the ULS system and manpower requirements" at the FCC. "It will also keep inactive amateurs from changing call signs regularly, thereby tying up call signs for 2 years after dismissal of said call."

Interested parties may comment using the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/ . Comments are due within 30 days of the October 26 posting date.

October 04, 2016

Hat entered in "Paint the Town Pink"

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club entered a custom-designed hat in Henderson's 2016 "Paint the Town Pink" cancer event. The fundraiser is organized by the Henderson Fire Department and co-hosted by the Henderson Chamber of Commerce and ETMC Henderson. The event will be emceed by David (W5CWT).

The club's hat, designed and donated by Craig (AG5RI), will be one of nearly 30 hats modeled by city and county officials before being auctioned to the highest bidder. Each table can tip their servers as well as the hot models. All the funds raised by the event are distributed by the fire department to local residents who have a loved-one battling cancer.

Paint the Town Pink is from 5:30-7:30pm, Tuesday, October 4th at the Henderson Civic Center. The event is free and includes a hot dog supper.

September 07, 2016

CAUTION: How much RF is too much?

It used to be a simple matter of stick it up, hook it up and transmit. And for some hams, that's still the case. But the first rule of good hamming is "Be safe" and that means watching out for the seen (like guy-wires in strange places) and the unseen (like too much RF).

It hasn't been that long ago that the FCC began requiring basic RF exposure evaluations for certain ham stations. In fact, many hams still remember the firestorm of controversy that accompanied the 1997 release of RF exposure standards by the FCC. The storm has subsided and the regulations now include a complete table showing every ham band and the RF level that triggers and required RF evaluation.

New hams may find this all a little confusing. But let's be honest, experienced hams could use a refresher course every now then as well. Here's a great article from QST with a complete overview of RF exposure. The ARRL has a nice page with lots of additional resources. and The HamRadioSchool.com has some great info as well.

Bottom line...Have Fun, but Be Safe!



August 15, 2016

The Deep Mysteries of SWR Exposed!

You learn about it when studying for the Tech exam, but it's really not until you hook up that first antenna and find no one can hear you that you truly begin to understand the importance of SWR (or standing wave ratio). Of course, that doesn't mean you understand it, just that it IS important.

Sometimes it seems that SWR is one of the most mysterious creatures in the world of Amateur Radio. You can even hear on-air discussion of guys bragging about and comparing their SWR numbers as if it were a contest. There seems to be a relentless drive to achieve the most coveted 1:1 SWR at any cost. But why? This article (in PDF format from the ARRL) is written to help explain what SWR actually is, what makes it bad and when to worry about it.

Understanding SWR by Example

August 02, 2016

Shhh....Can your Pi wisper?

If you are not familiar with the Raspberry PI, it is basically a full computer on a single board. The current version (v3) has bluetooth, Wifi, USB, HDMI output for a monitor, audio and more--all for $35! It runs Linux as the operating system (which is free). It includes 40 GPIO ports on the board. GPIO are awesome (here's how) since they are FAST can be used for anything. Some hams figured out a way to modulate the digital signal on a couple of GPIOs in way that it generates an RF signal. Plug a tuned wire into it like an antenna and PROOF...you've got a transmitter.

One problem is that since it is a down and dirty adaptation, it produces lots of harmonics and outputs about 10mW. The TAPR folks created a new board that plugs into the GPIO, adding band-pass filtering and cleans up the signal. Another guy in the UK did something similar but also added an amplifier boosting the signal to 150mW. And the UK version is actually cheaper than the TAPR one.

So, what can you do with it?? Well, plug SDR stick into it and you could use it as a QRP rig. But many folks are using it as a WSPR rig (pronounced "whisper" and stands for "Weak Signal Propagation Reporter"). WSPRnet.org is a group of people who use the same (free) software to control low-power beacons all around the world. The radio transmits a digital message then listens and logs all the stations it hears. It automatically uploads the data to the website which compiles a comprehensive, real-time picture of world-wide propagation.

Other Interesting Sites:
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/building-a-ham-tranceiver-with-an-rtl-sdr-raspberry-pi-and-rpitx/
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/transmitting-fm-am-ssb-sstv-and-fsq-with-just-a-raspberry-pi/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6smyUoLugsg
http://hackaday.com/2014/06/15/easily-turn-your-raspberry-pi-into-an-fm-transmitter/

July 30, 2016

Two new weather sites look great!

Two new weather sites offer some nice details in amazingly beautiful packages. Both sites have very similar looks and include some impressive animation that shows wind speed and direction.

Ventusky offers a nice set of options including an overlay showing current CAPE values. The temperature overlay has five options showing the temperatures from the ground level all the way to 9000 feet up. It also allows you to look into the future with wind forecasting.

The Windyty site offers a similar layout and has options to show as much or as little weather info as you want. It also has a free Android app available so you can enjoy it on the road.

You may not use these sites during severe events or for high-accuracy radar, but they seem to offer an impressive and unique view of current conditions.

July 29, 2016

Rusk County resident earns his ticket!

There is another new Rusk County ham this week after Danny passed his Technician license Thursday night before the club's monthly club meeting. Danny attributed his near-perfect score to lots of study leading up to the test.

Danny was one of several prospective hams who participated in the club's Technician Class over several Saturday's in April. Now it is just a matter of time until he is assigned a callsign by the F.C.C.

All the member of the club congratulate Danny on his accomplishment!

June 28, 2016

"Forever" stamps...now for QSL cards!

QSL cards are one of the things I love about ham radio. I have collected them since I first got my license nearly 25 years ago. But trying to make sure I have the write amount of postage for my cards in the everchange world of postal rates has been a pain. Now, the worry is gone.

The United States Postal Service's popular first class "Forever" stamp concept has now been extended to postcards. The "Forever" stamp was created several years ago so that you would not have to purchase additional one or two-cent stamps every time the rates when up. They were printed with the word "Forever" on the stamp instead of a value so you could simply use the stamp on first class letters regardless of the current postage rate or how much you originally paid for it.

Now, the post office has introduced a "Forever" stamp in a postcard variety. The stamp has no value printed on it, but does include the word "Postcard". It currently costs 34-cents to mail a postcard, so a 100-stamp roll coast $34 but you can use them "Forever"! Ask for them at the post office.

June 24, 2016

Field Day 2016 has Finally Arrived!

Join us for Field Day this weekend at the OEM building (behind the courthouse in Henderson). Here's a map if you need directions.

We will begin setting up around 11am Saturday (June 25) and the event will officially start at 1pm. We will man the station all night until 1pm Sunday.

Thanks to several club members who will be bringing their own radios, you'll get a chance to see and USE some top-of-the-line equipment. We will have at least two antennas up including the vertical permanently installed on the roof of the OEM.

So call the kids and wake the neighbors and join us for fun, fellowship and food! It's a great way to introduce someone to the excitment of amatuer radio! You can even step up to the mic and make some contacts. Your efforts can help use repeat our first place for 2F stations in the West Gulf Division!

See you there!

May 13, 2016

The Shack of O'Dell Hunter, K5ILL (SK)

O'Dell (K5ILL) and wife Dorrthy
By Keith (KN5G) - This morning I had the rare privilege of visiting the shack of a fellow HAM that I had never met. O’Dell Hunter, K5ILL, of Henderson, Texas is now a Silent Key, but I enjoyed visiting with him vicariously today through some of his personal items that have survived him over the years. A quick search on the Internet when I got back home revealed that O’Dell had passed away in 1980. His wife, Dorothy, just recently passed away in March of this year, explaining the estate sale being held at their home, and how I happened to discover O’Dell’s “Shack”.

Suzanne, a friend of mine was helping with an estate sale being held at the Hunter’s home. She recognized a framed Texas Radio Operator’s license plate from 1975, and knowing that I might be interested in some of the amateur radio related items gave me a phone call and suggested that I come and look through some of them.

Arriving at the estate sale, there were two cardboard boxes of QSL cards on the living room floor that O’Dell had collected over the years. Many of these cards were from Europe, Africa, and South America. Most were dated in the mid to late fifties, about the time I was born. I wish I would have had the time to look through each of them. As a fellow HAM, I know that each QSL card held a very special memory for O’Dell. I have a few paper QSL cards myself that I cherish, but most of my contact confirmations are electronic, buried somewhere in the memory of my personal computer, or

May 06, 2016

Coverage Map added to About Us Page

by Dave (W5CWT) I was wanting a nice way to represent our repeater's (N5RCA) coverage area. I stumbled across a nice online service that allows you to create good-looking coverage maps. The site is called Radio Mobile Online. It is very bi-lingual (both French and English) so don't let that throw you.

Basically, you create a free account, then log on and you can create multiple coverage maps. Make note that elevations and heights are in meters, not feet. You can change a variety of parameters including frequency, type of antenna and even line loss.

I created a coverage map based on our current situation (as closely as I could guess) and it looks very accurate based on signal reports we've received. I put a link to the image on the "About Us" page in the discussion of the repeater.

April 26, 2016

Checking Winlink email on Raspberry Pi

By Dave (W5CWT) - I've been wanting to find ways to check my Winlink email other than having to use a Windows machine. I dug out an extra Raspberry Pi and went to work with it. Surprisingly, the Direwolf soundcard program is so good these days that outperforms nearly every hardware TNC. (Here's a nice discussion on Direwolf.) And it's getting better all the time. It, combined with a Signalink (or other external soundcard), a radio and a power supply make up a great little digital station.

This is not a plug and play system. It takes a little effort and tweaking to get it right. Every set of instructions I found assumed more than I knew, it took some time for me to piece it all together. But in the end, I could check my email without a Windows machine in sight!

Here is my attempt to detail what I did.

April 19, 2016

"Thank You" from the Rusk Co. Library

As many of you know, the club recently donated more than a dozen books to the Rusk County Library. The books covered topics such as amateur radio, basic electronics, antenna systems, digital and emergency communications, as well as study guides for all three classes of amateur radio licenses. The total cost for the club was just over $200.

This week, the club received a Thank-You card from the library in appreciation for the donation. As noted in the card, the library has already seen some interest in the new books.



April 17, 2016

Tech Class begins with 11 students

Students take practice exams
Eleven students, raging in age from 9 to over 60, began their journey to becoming radio amateurs Saturday, the first day of the RCARC's current new ham course. Keith (KN5G) and David (W5CWT) lead the class as the students learned about the vast aspects of ham radio, how to use an HT and a little bit of wave theory.

Out of the four women and seven men who made up the class, most said they were drawn to amateur radio because of its role in emergency communications and public service.

the class runs each Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon through April 30th. At the end of the last session, students will have an opportunity to take the FCC's Technician Class License test administered by a local volunteer examiner team.

April 07, 2016

Longview club to host sidewalk sale

The Longview East Texas Amateur Radio Club is hosting a sidewalk sale this Saturday on the campus of LeTourneau University. While the website says the sale runs from 8 to noon, several folks (with apparently nothing better to do in the wee hours of the morning) will forgo sleep an arrive closer to 7 am. (I'm sure the college students would prefer the later time!)

Anyway, it's always a fun time and typically there are lots of good deals to be had. There's also some nice door prizes throughout the morning. The exact address is the Glaske Center Parking Lot, 2100 S Mobberly Avenue, Longview, TX 75602.

For more info, visit their website, which includes a map.

March 23, 2016

Club Invited to Tour Broadcast Station

Chuck (far right) poses with RCARC members.
The club had a wonderful experience traveling back in time as Chuck Conrad (KD5TZT) owner of KZQX in Chalk Hill, better known as QX-FM, hosted the club at his stations' studios March 31st.

Chuck has been in the radio business for a number of years, starting out with a Low-Power FM station and eventually transitioning to a full-sized commercial station. He also owns an AM station in Jacksonville and an FM translator station in Tyler. He began his career in the TV industry and then owned a sound company for many years.

Chuck is also a collector broadcast memorabilia and is preparing to open a museum in downtown Kilgore. However, during the visit, most of his collections were still at the KZQX studios, allowing club members to get a preview during the tour.

Read more about Chuck and his broadcast story here. Or visit the QX-FM station website here.

RCARC members got a chance to see the station studios in action, browse a huge collection of vintage broadcast receivers, view a large collection of television cameras and even step inside a classic mobile unit from KBTV (the pre-cursor to Dallas' WFAA Channel 8). His brownies weren't bad either!

Continue (by clicking "Read more" below) for more photos...

February 21, 2016

Radio books donated to Rusk Co. Library

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club donated 11 new books to the Rusk County Library on Thursday. The books, worth more than $250, cover a variety of topics including basic electronics, antenna designs, radio frequency interference and amateur radio satellites.

A copy each of the American Radio Relay League's Handbook for Radio Communications and the Antenna Book for Radio Communications, both large reference-style books, were also given to the library.

The club voted to donate the books in order to promote electronics knowledge and skills and increase the awareness of the role amateur radio operators play in public service and emergencies.  The books can be checked out or requested at any of the library's four locations in the county.

The club also donated study guides for each of the three levels of amateur radio licensee exams required by the F.C.C. The guides cover material in the Technician, General and Extra level exams. After using the guides, a prospective "Ham" can contact the club for help in scheduling an official testing session.

Several club members were on hand to deliver the books and the library's assistant director, Michelle Zenor, accepted them on behalf of the library.

February 17, 2016

East Texas Net now heard in Rusk Co.

Rusk County amateurs now have the ability to check into the East Texas Emergency Communications Service's monthly training net. The ETECS net is called on the last Monday of each month at 7:00 PM on the W5ETX linked system repeaters which includes the new repeater recently installed on ETMC's facilities in Henderson.

The net's agenda includes check-ins, announcements and training pertinent to EmComm operations. ARRL radiogram traffic and digital traffic using various modes of the Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Software (NBEMS) may also be handled during the net.

The net can be heard on any other linked repeaters, including:

  • Tyler on the “210” repeater (145.210 – 136.5),
  • In Henderson and Rusk County on the  “92” repeater (146.920 – 136.5),
  • In Hawkins on the “24” repeater (147.240 + 88.5) and
  • In Edom and Van Zandt County on the (146.620 –  136.5).
For more information about ETECS, visit their website.


February 14, 2016

Tyler Hams plan digital net on Sundays

The fldigi program is a free.
Several Tyler hams will begin holding a digital-mode net on Sunday evenings at 9 pm starting on February 21. The net is currently planned to be held on 10 meters, 28.123 MHz dial frequency, USB digital (1500 Hz audio--28.124.5 MHz rf--center frequency).

The first mode to be tried is a new mode called FSQ (Fast Simple QSO). This mode is available in the most recent versions of fldigi beginning in version 3.23. (User manual available here)

Not sure how well (or even if) Rusk County hams will be able to here them, but it's worth a try. The regular SSB net starts at 8 pm on 28.365 MHz. Then stick around at 9 pm as they move down the band to 28.123 MHz (+-) for digital.

The full details are available on the Tyler ham club's page.

February 13, 2016

Friends help new ham get on the air

Dana (AG5DA) got a little help from his friends this week. The guys, also members of the RCARC, help put up a 30-foot tower at Dana's house and stick a Comet GP-9 on top.

Craig, who is not that fond of heights, admitted it was a little harrowing at times. But in the end, Dana was able to get a nice signal out and sounded great on the repeater during the weekly net. In the shack, Dana uses a Kenwood TM-V71A dual band transceiver powered by an Astron VS-35M power supply.

He notes that he's "still got work to do such as grounding, but I am up and running!" He also adds that he "wouldn't have it running without Craig, Ken, and Eric!  It was done right thanks to those guys."


February 03, 2016

New Tech License Course set for April

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club will offer a Technician's license course to help non-hams earn their entry-level Technician License over three Saturdays in April. The course dates are set for April 16, 23, and 30.

Club members will present the study material in a fun and interactive way that will help students remember everything they need to pass the exam. Participants will also get a change to actually use radio equipment, send email via radio and practice their new skills.

Volunteer Examiners will be on hand for students to take their test at the end of the final class time. For more details on the course, visit our Technician Course page.

January 25, 2016

New NTX Emergency Coordinator named

Matthew Morris, K5ICR, has been appointed to the position of Section Emergency coordinator.  He may be reached at: K5ICR@arrl.net or by phone at 940-441-7220.

Matthew is currently in the Masters Public Administration program at the University of North Texas. His background in public safety includes active reserve deputy sheriff, assistant fire chief and in EMS.

Please join us in welcoming him to this position. I look forward to working with him for the future growth of North Texas ARES.

Nancy McCain - K5NLM
Section Manager - North Texas

January 19, 2016

Skywarn Class set for February 2nd

Rusk County residents will have an opportunity to refresh their storm-spotting skills (or learn them for the first time) in February. The National Weather Service will be in Rusk County on Tuesday, February 2, 2016. The class will run from 6 pm - 9 pm at the Rusk County Sheriff's Department Training Room, 210 W Charlevoix St, in Henderson. (Click link for a map).

The free training will include both Basic and Advance level training sessions and is open to the public. Hams, along with local EMS, firefighters and first responders are encouraged to attend.  Rusk County Office of Emergency Management is organizing the classes, so if you plan to attend, please RSVP emailing Patrick Dooley at patrick.dooley[at]ruskcountyoem.org so he can get a head count.

Relive the history of American Radio

Ever had the desire to step back in time and relive some of the golden years of radio? There's a cool website that features thousands of radio magazines from the back 100 years.

American Radio History has a website filled with magazines about radios, engineering, broadcasting and much more. Each magazine has been scanned in and even run through OCR technology to convert the pages into real text. That means you can search all the issues at once with a single search window!

Did you listen to WOR or WGN back in the day? They've got station books and written histories of these station and many more. Whether you're interested in the broadcast industry, engineering and electronics, early radio or DX and listening, they've got something you'll enjoy. They've even got 70 years of Billboard magazine!

Check out the entire collection at www.americanradiohistory.com.

January 07, 2016

6 Meter Opening

This Thursday evening, following the 146.780 net I checked the www.dxmaps.com site to see what was going on on 6 Meters and HF. Low and behold there was a pretty good 6 Meter opening going on. I tuned to 50.125 MHz and sure enough there was a station calling CQ!
After tuning around a bit I managed to work a station in Nashville Tennessee, and one in East Rochester, Ohio. As luck would have it I got a phone call about that time and by the time I got off the call the band had quietened down. I worked these two stations off of my 160 meter delta loop, which happens to tune 6 Meters pretty well. Kinda makes me wish I had a 6 Meter Yagi for these little quick band opening!

73, and keep an eye on the Magic Band, you never know when it might pop open!

Keith
KN5G

January 02, 2016

Having a little PSKFest with the 991

FT-991 during the PSKFest
by Dave (W5CWT) One of the pleasures of the new year, is the PSKFest hosted by the PODXS 070 Club! The event is held on the first Saturday of the year and causes the digital bands to light up like fireworks.

This year, I put my new FT-991 to the test and came away with just over 40 contacts. I only worked about 2 1/2 hours during the day, so, I was pleased. The 991 performed flawlessly.

One nice thing about the PSKFest is the automated scoring system. Simply export your QSOs to an ADF file and upload them to the scoring program. It instantly shows you your results and as well as updates the overall contest results. Check out the 2016 PSKFest live results page here.

If you dabble in PSK, mark your calendar for next years event. In the mean time, consider joining the 070 club. It's completely free and they send you cool stickers to note your PSK accomplishments. To join, simply make 100 PSK31 contacts and then send them your log. Find out more on the 070 website.