Raspberry Pi Amateur Radio Digital Clock

Overview Amateur Radio Operators (aka HAM Radio) use 24 hour UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) for much of their operation. I decided to build a digital clock using the low-cost TM1637 4 digit displays and a Raspberry Pi Zero W instead of just a GUI clock. (Hardware is fun!) The TM1637 driven display has four 7 segment leds with a center colon “:” between two sets of digits. It requires two wires to drive the display plus 5V + and Ground for a total of 4 wires. For this particular project, I wanted the Raspi to get its time from NTP…

Joe Leggio WB2HOL Tape Measure Antenna

Tape Measure Beam Optimized For Radio Direction Finding Description This antenna evolved during my search for a beam with a really great front-to-back ratio to use in hidden transmitter hunts. This design exhibits a very clean pattern and is perfect for RDF use. It trades a bit of forward gain in exchange for a very deep notch in the pattern toward the rear. (You could optimize the design for more forward gain, but at the expense of a really good notch in the pattern toward the rear.) It is a design that can be constructed using only simple hand tools…

$70 End Fed Half Wave Antenna Kit for 10/15/20/40 Meters

ARRL Kit Purchase Link ARRL has partnered with HF Kits to bring you this easy-to-build 4-band antenna kit: an end-fed half-wave (EFHW) antenna. We built it in the ARRL Lab, set it up outside, trimmed the wire for the lowest SWR, and got it on the air. Now it’s your turn! The advantage of an EFHW is the ease of construction, it’s versatility in a variety of installation configurations (sloping, horizontal, L, etc.), no tuner is needed, and this one works on 4 bands: 10, 15, 20, and 40 meters. We chose a 250-watt rated antenna so you can comfortably…