This week, we’ve gathered a few items that touch on everything from optimizing your award tracking to some interesting antenna builds. For those of us who spend time chasing DX, understanding where you stand with LoTW credits is always something that comes up, and we found a handy tool for that. Then there’s a look at a 40-meter horizontal loop, a classic design that still performs well, especially for portable work. We also have a piece on a specialized receive antenna for VLF to HF, which could be useful for those dealing with local noise issues. And for the experimenters, a LoRa APRS iGate project, a practical application of LoRa technology that’s gaining traction. Finally, a cloud-based suite of logging and propagation tools rounds out the selection, offering some modern conveniences for managing your station.
The LoTW DXCC Credit Analyzer is a browser-based utility designed to help hams visualize their DXCC progress. It processes ARRL LoTW DXCC Award Credit Reports, accepting .xlsx, .xls, or .csv files for analysis. This tool is beneficial for operators who want a clearer overview of their award standings.
SPACE Audio Recordings: ARTEMIS II Mission and ISS Public Audio provides access to public audio from NASA Mission Control and astronauts. These recordings, available through the SPACE RoIP system, include communications from missions like Artemis II and the ISS. It's a unique resource for those interested in space communications and real-time mission audio.
40 Meter Horizontal Loop Antenna Construction and Portable Deployment details the building and field setup of a 40-meter horizontal loop antenna. Often called a 'Sky Loop' or 'DX-Buster', this guide is useful for hams looking to construct an effective antenna for portable operations or a home station. It covers practical aspects of assembly and deployment.
The Aziloop DF-72 Antenna System for VLF to HF Reception from QuietRadio is a dual-mode, multi-directional receive antenna. It covers frequencies from VLF to HF and features electronic rotation and advanced filtering. This system is particularly useful for operators seeking to improve reception and mitigate noise across a wide frequency range.
CRXCluster: Cloud-based Tools for Amateur Radio Operators offers a suite of online resources for hams. This includes a logbook, an eMap with DX spots and grayline, a band map, vQSL, a Web/Telnet DX cluster, and propagation tools. It's a comprehensive platform for managing various aspects of amateur radio operations from the cloud.
The LoRa 433 MHz APRS iGate and Tracker Construction guide details building an APRS iGate and tracker using TTGO T-Beam v1.1 boards. It provides programming instructions with PlatformIO for a 433 MHz LoRa system. This project is ideal for experimenters interested in integrating LoRa technology with APRS for tracking and data relay.
That wraps up this week’s collection of resources. We hope you found something useful for your shack or next portable adventure. Be sure to follow us for next week’s picks, and we always appreciate your thoughts and comments on our social channels.
