Author: dick

Review of “Portable Operating for Amateur Radio”, by Stuart Thomas, KB1HQS

As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought a copy of Stu, KB1HQS’s new book, Portable Operating for Amateur Radio, and had a chance to read through it over the weekend. My impression was favorable.

To be truthful, most of the information was not new to me. I’ve been doing portable ops for several years now. It’s available on the internet, as is most stuff. But, that said, this is a great source, especially if you’re just starting out with portable operating. Everything is right there, in one place … plenty to get you started and to have a great, fun experience with operations in the field. Stu writes from a huge amount of personal experience … he’s “been there and done that!” Even if you’re an experienced portable operator, there’s lots of good info here.

What I found most useful was the wealth of references he has gathered … websites, software, smartphone apps, and so forth. I’ve already bookmarked several sites and downloaded smartphone apps.

I’ve been sort of dormant on my portable ops due to a rough winter. I’m not as tolerant of nasty weather as I used to be. This book has inspired me to get back into getting out in nature to play radio. The book is easy to understand and good reading. I highly recommend it!

73 de Dick N4BC

Weather! Both Terrestrial and Space

I’m sitting in the shack with the antennas disconnected while Mother Nature participates in a light show and bowling match outside. Heavy, heavy rain and lots of lightning and thunder. Flash flood warnings and the whole enchilada! Been HOT and HUMID, too.

The space weather has been pretty unsettled today, as well. I’ve checked the bands several times today and haven’t been at all impressed. It has been a dismal day, propagation-wise. QRN has been high.

The rain is supposed be with us, on and off, through Sunday … seems like it’s always a weekend thing, doesn’t it?  The forecast for next weekend is a chance of rain again for what a forecast that far out is worth. We’ll see.

Keep smilin’ de Dick N4BC