Just the other day, the Doctor and I got to talking about ARRL Sweepstakes. I showed him my crystal mug and whisk broom from last year's Sweepstakes running (the W1AW team did quite well), and he showed me what kind of antennas I should look into for domestic contests. Being more of a DX RTTY contester, I really don't know…

Schley Cox, W4AMW, of Owensboro, Kentucky, told the Doctor that he's headed to see the cardiologist next week about a pacemaker. He's already started researching their use around RF and says he is happy to go all low power (QRP), if that's what's called for. Schley mentioned that he might also be able to operate his…

According to previews, the plot of the movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island -- set to be released February 10 -- hinges on Amateur Radio. The movie’s hero Sean Anderson (played by Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal that comes from a mysterious island where no island should exist. Sean decides to follow the signal with the unwilling assistance…

After four years under the Motorola umbrella, Yaesu has split from that company. According to Vertex Standard President and Chief Executive Officer Jun Hasegawa, effective January1, 2012, Motorola will keep the Vertex Standard Land-Mobile Division, while the amateur, marine and air-band will be under the Yaesu Musen banner. The new company will be known as Yaesu USA here in the…

This week, Surfin’ finds wiring diagrams for all those microphones that are on the loose in Ham Radio Land. Have mic? Need connection? Then a visit to the website Roy Frettsome, G4WPW, is just what the microphone doctor ordered. G4WPE’s Microphone Connections website is probably the most comprehensive and up-to-date Internet source for ham radio microphone-to-radio wiring information. Eleven years in the making,…