09.04.25
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New website for Bayou State Remote Exams

Now we’ve gone and done it. Take a look at our new website. If you would like to take an fcc exam come check us out. It’s only $5 for the exam. The cheapest on the internet for remote exams. We only have room for 6 candidates a day so grab yours while you can. Bayou State Remote Exams

01.13.15
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RaspberryPi B+ (Update)

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I’m sure by now, the old RaspberryPi is being replaced by the new B+ board RaspberryPi B+ Board and the memory cards have changed from the SD to the microSD (I would recommend the 16GB class 10, since they are cheap now).  The new cases are RaspberryPi B+ Clear Case and you will need a heftier power supply (I would recommend the microUSB at least 1.5A or larger.

For those starting from scratch, visit the link below for the starter kit.
Amazon has them RaspberryPi B+ Complete Starter Kit

08.05.14
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Chasing DX – CQ CQ CQ

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DX is shorthand for “distance.” DXing is the pursuit

of distant stations with the goal of earning various DXCC Awards. A DXpedition is a trip to operate in a rare DXCC entity.

Tips

  • Don’t call the DX unless you can hear their signal.
  • When the DX station acknowledges someone’s call, stop calling until the contact is completed. Wait until you hear “QRZ” or something similar before calling again. (In CW pileups, the end of the contact may only be signaled by the DX station sending his own call sign.)
  • When calling, send your call sign, not the call of the DX station.
  • When a DX station is trying to sort out a call sign, he may send “W4? AGN,” meaning that he hears a W4, but can’t make out the rest of the call sign (AGN is a CW abbreviation for “again.”) If you aren’t the station he is looking for, don’t call.
  • If you’re trying to make an SSB contact, this is probably a good time to use speech compression (or speech processing) if your transceiver offers this feature.
  • If you make contact, send only the information the DX operator needs, typically your location and signal report.

Pileups

When a station suddenly pops up in a rare DXCC entity, US state or grid square, the result is a chaotic swarm of signals as everyone tries to make contact. We call these on-the-air mob scenes pileups.

The most difficult pileup occurs when everyone, including the DX station, is on the same frequency.

A good DX operator will try to make order out of chaos by imposing some rules. The most common technique is to ask for calls in order of call sign district:

“J77DR QRZ for sevens only!”

This means that J77DR only wants to hear from hams in the 7th call district. If your call sign has a number other than seven, you must remain silent and wait your turn.

As pileups become massive, the only workable solution is to spread it out. DX operators do this by transmitting on one frequency while tuning and listening through a range of frequencies.

For example, J77DR may transmit on 14190 kHz, but he will be listening for calls from 14195 through 14210 kHz:

“J77DR QRZ, 195 to 210!”

Or he may be somewhat less specific…

“J77DR QRZ, Up 5 to 15!”

This means that he is listening 5 to 15 kHz above his transmitting frequency.

Spreading the pileup in this fashion is known as working split. To make this work, you need to understand how to place your transceiver into the split frequency mode. Most modern radios have to variable frequency oscillators (VFOs) that you use to set your frequency. These separate VFOs are usually labeled A and B. When you place your radio in the SPLIT mode, you transmit on one VFO frequency and listen on the other. The trick is making sure that you don’t have them reversed.

Your best chance of making contact in a pileup is when the DX station is working split. You can analyze their operating patterns and pick a transmit frequency that gives you the greatest chance of being heard.

04.21.14
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Icom ID-5100 has been approved!

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The FCC approved the Icom ID-5100 on March 27, 2014.  The FCC ID for this new D-Star radio is AFJ348400.  This hopefully means that Icom will begin shipping these radios very soon.  You can review all of the available information about this radio at the FCC site.

On a similar note, Icom has also published the detailed manual at their web site.

On a side note: Mine has been ordered already, just waiting on it to ship!

source: AB4BJ Blog

07.13.13
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Shorten those cables

I’ve seen some other hams shortening those long cables on their Raspberry Pi projects, I went ahead and bought some off eBay. I have a 1ft USB 2.0 A/B cable. Now the mobile setup is manageable. I also have the 6 inch USB to Micro USB to power the Pi

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