Sputnik 1

almcr1 on June 30, 2011

sputnik 1The first man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet union on the 4th of October 1957, it marked the beginning of the Sopace Age. The satellite travelled at 29,000 kilometers per hour (18,000 mph), completed an orbit in 96.2 minutes and transmitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002 mhz and was monitored by many amateurs worldwide. Sputnik’s flight lasted until the 4th of January 1958 when it burned up after coming back into the Earth’s atmoshere.

Mike AA1TJ has taken on a project to rebuild the transmitter used in Sputnik 1 and hopes to complete it sometime this year before the 64th anniversary of its launch. This may prove to be a historic project, reproducing something that blasted us into the Space Age.

For more information, check out the wiki link.

73, Al

7 Band Portable Dipole Antenna

almcr1 on June 10, 2011

7 band portable dipole antenna

center

Bob Rice VE3HKY has produced another beautiful antenna, this time it is called the 7-Band Portable Dipole Antenna. I attended the London Amateur Radio Club meeting last night and he gave a talk on his new antenna. His previous 7-Band Semi-Vertical Antenna is documented at his site. His new portable dipole seems to compare nicely with the W3FF Buddipole. Contact Bob at bobrice2@sympatico.ca for more information, he has a DVD which shows him constructing one of the antennas. Let me know if you build one!

73, Al

p.s. link to video on how to build the antenna

WW2 QRP

almcr1 on June 9, 2011

One of the posters to QRP-L gave a link to the radios used by troops in WW2, the SCR-694. Old time QRP, link, there are 3 videos on this wartime radio.

scr694

73, Al

N3ZN Keys

almcr1 on June 5, 2011

N3ZNpaddles

K7QO on his website wrote an article about a beautiful paddle he had purchased called the ZN-4A from N3ZN Keys. If you are interested in paddles at all, take a look at Tony’s web site and enjoy the incredible workmanship in the paddles. What great looking paddles!

73, Al