February 2014 Contents
Feature Articles
Australian Rules Radio: Communications History Down Under
By David Maddison
Spanning a continent
roughly the size of the U.S., but with a fraction
of the population, Australia
has always had a need for communications. From Aborigines who carried
“message sticks”
across vast reaches
of the land, to high-tech deep-space listening projects
and a nationwide network of UHF CB repeaters, communications Down Under have a distinctly Australian accent.
The CubeSat
Revolution: The Birth of a New Space Industry
By Keith Baker
KB1SF / VA3KSF
Begun in 1999 with students and staff at California Polytechnic State University (Cal-Poly), the concept of the CubeSat was born. Small
in stature, but big in educational dividends, throughout the ensuing fifteen
years many budding engineers cut their near-space teeth
on these little
devices. To date, dozens
of CubeSats have provided interesting monitoring opportunities for the rest of us.
Weathering the Storm:
Amateur Radio in the Classroom
By Troy J. Simpson
W9KVR
Now in his sixth year of amateur radio operations at the school where he teaches Earth Science,
Troy has seen some highs and some lows. The W9GRS station at Glenn Raymond Middle School in Watseka,
Illinois presents the veteran teacher
with challenges in guiding
his students and his young amateur
radio operators along the path to adulthood.
Chasing HF Pirates
By Andew Yoder
For decades a group of dedicated individuals have livened up the otherwise
little-used frequencies around 6925 kHz to provide raucous,
irreverent, satirical, controversial and strictly illegal
programming. Longtime
HF pirate monitor, Andrew Yoder, who has written
four editions of the
“Pirate Radio Annual,”
explains the method
of their radio madness.
February
2014 Columns
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Researching Local Public Service Radio Systems
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Coast Guard Communications Systems
Utility
Planet
By Hugh Stegman
NV6H
Australia’s MHFCS Soundings Heard in Europe
Digital
HF: Intercept and Analyze
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz: the Conclusion
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
ARRL Turns 100 and Crazy Propagation
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Wireless Internet and Wi-Fi Radios
Understanding
Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Propagation and Shortwave Listening
The World of Shortwave
Listening
By Thomas
Witherspoon K4SWL
Tune in to Pirate Shortwave Broadcasts
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Canadian SW, KBC and Radio Australia
Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
Meteor Detection
in the 21st Century
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
One More Look Back
Adventures
in Radio
Restoration
By Marc Ellis N9EWJ
Becoming a Radio Amateur in 1920
The Broadcast Tower
By Doug Smith W9WI
LPFM Land-Rush
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
The Black Box Decoded:
How Tuners Work