http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog Ham radio towers, software, coax, DXing, contesting, and life in general Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:58:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Propfire, the Firefox radio/solar propagation data plugin that displays sunspot/prop data in the status bar, is now (finally) compatible with Firefox version 3.0.  I had sent a plea for help to the developer community as some major changes to the browser had led to a number of issues.  Trevor Hobson ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/07/19/propfire-now-compatible-with-firefox-3x/ AN Wireless Tower Company and Command Technologies announced today the the two companies would become one in August 2008.  Dan Simmonds, KK3AN, will run the operation from the current AN Wireless location in Somerset County, PA. I've had great success with my ANWireless HD-70 purchase and installation - ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/07/15/command-technologies-to-join-anwireless/ After last season's pathetic performance on 160 and 80 meters, it's time to figure out what to do to replace the AlphaDelta DX-B half-sloper. The half-sloper design is questionable and is highly dependant upon many variables that differ from site to site (tower height, antennas, mast, sloper height, angle, etc.).  ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/07/07/lowband-antenna-planning-16080-meters/ Brandon, KF6SWL, wrote me in March to ask if he could have a high resolution copy of one of my amateur radio tower pictures.  He saw one that he liked on my ham radio tower project pages. He said that he needed this for his wedding plans! You see, Brandon ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/06/24/this-tower-takes-the-cake/ Working with a group called Mappingworld, I have created the Amateur Radio Licenses World Map, a world map that resizes countries to reflect the number of ham radio licenses. I found this to be an interesting exercise. Perhaps, you'll find it interesting as well.  If you look ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/06/20/amateur-radio-licenses-world-map/ I have some solar panels that I need to sell.  These are new-in-the-box Unisolar US-3 "framed" panels. Ideal for Field Day, QRP or other ham radio activities. The US-3 is rated at 2.68W at 8.1V under ideal conditions. Units have built in blocking diodes. These ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/06/15/solar-panels-for-sale/ Flooding and massive tornado devastation here in Iowa has made life here quite challenging for many.  The sunny skies today are a welcome sight to those building levees, clearing debris, pumping water out of basements and trying to restore some sense of normalcy. The Iowa EOC amateur radio ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/06/14/hams-assisting-in-iowa-disasters/ It has been quite a while since I've posted to the Ham Radio Blog.  Here's an update on what's been happening in my world (keeping me away from posting and ham radio in general). Work... My division of Emerson is still digesting a company  that ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/05/14/testing/ On Saturday, my dad (KØGVG) and I offered a Radio Merit Badge session for several Iowa Boy Scouts. We believe that, done properly, this is a great way to expose kids (and often their dads) to what could be a first step into the world of ham radio. ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/04/01/doing-a-good-deed-the-radio-merit-badge/ While I still haven't seen the article myself, I've been told that the April 2008 issue of CQ mentions my website.  I'm certainly glad to get the recognition and warmly welcome newcomers to my little pocket of the web. There is one unfortunate side effect of this additional ... http://www.n0hr.com/hamradio_blog/2008/03/26/cq-magazine-mentions-n0hrcom/