News

Ongoing updates — gear changes, project notes, anything worth logging as it happens. Most recent first. Video entries pulled directly from the AE4JC YouTube channel; post entries pulled directly from X.

• 2026-08-21 — POTA activation of Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial (US-0791) with KO4LEM, Xeigu G90 and Buddipole on 40m SSB from the wooded trails in the middle of the Potomac. Also qualifies as US Islands DC003R (river island) for a dual-credit site — though it doesn’t count for IOTA under the river-island rules.
• 2026-08-20 — A new club directory page went up on the EM5060 site, mapping the ham radio clubs across Maidenhead grids EM50 and EM60. See it at em5060.com/clubs.
• 2026-08-17 — First time making it over 50 characters in a row at these CW practice settings. Signed up for CW Academy this fall.
• 2026-08-16 — The ICOM ID-52A Plus D-STAR handheld went to auction and sold for $580, boxed up and on its way to a new owner in California.
• 2026-08-16 — Wrote up the history of the RaDAR logo that shows up on some POTA Rover certificates. RaDAR — Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio — traces back to Eddie Leighton (ZS6BNE) in South Africa and a group of hams who first called it “Shack in a Sack.”
• 2026-08-15 — Got the Friday night 80 meter show going in the garage — a couple of regulars fine-tuning their TX audio. 80 meters is a world of its own after dark.
• 2026-08-14 — K4LLL (Rick) became the first operator to activate all 57 parks across Maidenhead grids EM50 and EM60, verified against POTA’s own public log record with every activation a valid 10+ QSO. Next closest is 51 of 57. Congrats, Rick!
• 2026-08-14 — A week of 6-meter meteor scatter during the 2026 Perseids — sporadic-E mixed in with the meteors some nights, the activity meter pegged near the peak. EM60 sky time-lapse and MSK144 operation in the video.
• 2026-08-11 — Assembled a beginner’s guide to meteor scatter ham radio — the gear, the software, and how to actually work a contact off a meteor trail. Read it at ae4jc.com/meteor-scatter.
• 2026-08-09 — First contact with the new BTECH UV-PRO, 146.520 simplex to KN4DND Tom, 18 miles out. Worked through the external Comet GP-9 at 12 feet rather than the stock antenna, so the distance says more about the antenna and the path than about the handheld. The UV-PRO is the new everyday carry radio.
• 2026-08-02 — After more than an hour trying to get HamClock to fill a 1366×768 screen on an old Dell laptop, the garage display went over to OpenHamClock too. The OpenHamClock setup guide has been verified and updated to match.
• 2026-08-01 — Worked KB9TVR via 6m meteor scatter on MSK144, 50.260 MHz, EM49 to EM60 — 1,037 km on nothing but ionized meteor trails. The plan made a few days earlier paid off almost immediately.
• 2026-07-31 — Meteor shower season sneaking up, with the flux monitor showing a visual ZHR around 55 meteors an hour over the next 24 hours. Time to plan out some MSK144 activity on six meters. Flux data from the Global Meteor Network meteor shower flux monitoring page.
• 2026-07-27 — The original HamClock has stopped working — X-ray, Kp and weather panels all failing to connect, terrain map download failing. Time to look at switching over to OpenHamClock. See the OpenHamClock setup guide for the install that followed.
• 2026-07-26 — Renewing an expired LoTW callsign certificate turned out to be harder than signing up for a new credit card. A callsign certificate expires after three years, and once it has expired the renewal path becomes a request for a replacement instead. Still an open question whether the new certificate should have been dated from the first QSO ever made with this call, or from the day the previous one expired.
• 2026-07-26 — Cleaning up the aftermath out in the side yard: mast sections, coax and the MFJ end-fed transformers back into their cases. The unglamorous half of every activation.
• 2026-07-26 — Alabama QSO Party operating with Ken K4EES, Wally N5VJX, WA4LDU, KD8JJF and NO5G, with the Kenwood video shot by Corey KQ4TPD. A good turnout of South Alabama operators for the state’s own party.
• 2026-07-25 — On the air with an end-fed half-wave for the final three hours of the Alabama QSO Party. Late start, but the last stretch of a state QSO party is often when the rate picks up.
• 2026-07-24 — Lunchtime ham radio, KR4DSL style: a Xiegu G90 propped on the console and a tablet decoding FT8 from the cab. Proof that a lunch break and a bit of wire are enough to get on the air.
• 2026-07-20 — Notice of scheduled ISS ham radio traffic: an ARISS telebridge contact with the Payload Operations & Integration Center at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. ISS crew member Chris Williams, KJ5GEW, working as OR4ISS, with ON4ISS as the ground station. Downlink 145.800 MHz FM — the cross-band voice repeater offline for the event.
• 2026-07-20 — One of the South Alabama POTA Posse rigs is down hard: WB4MBV’s station is out of its case and on the bench, boards and ribbon cables exposed. Part of the hobby nobody posts about as often as the contacts.
• 2026-07-20 — Wrote an article about VE6AB, SK. I admired Jerry’s trailer-hitch mast rotator online long before I found out he’d become a Silent Key. I never got to meet him, but I’ve been building on what he shared ever since — the full story is in The Mast Jerry Built: Remembering VE6AB.
• 2026-07-19 — Tropical weather expected over the next few days, so the gas cans came out and the batteries went on charge. Routine on the Gulf Coast, and the same prep that keeps a station on the air when the power isn’t.
• 2026-07-19 — Logged DL8YHR in Germany on 6m FT8, off a tip from N5BO that the band was open. Transatlantic on six meters is the kind of opening worth dropping everything for.
• 2026-07-18

• 2026-07-18

• 2026-07-14 — Received as a gift: a Tektronix 2215A 60 MHz dual-trace oscilloscope, from fellow ham KW4OV. Powered on and showing a live trace right out of the box — the first real piece of equipment for a future test bench.
• 2026-07-14 — Replying to the AE4JC.com progress update and its logo (the cross/antenna graphic referencing 1 Corinthians 1:18, also on the Faith page), fellow ham BlazingPaddles (K4NYMRadio) replied with just: “He who has ears to hear…” — a phrase Jesus used throughout the Gospels (Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8) after teaching in parables. Maps onto radio almost exactly: the signal’s on the air whether or not anyone’s listening — it takes a receiver, tuned in, actually paying attention, to receive it.
• 2026 July — AE4JC.com built and launched.
• 2026-07-09 — Worked Brazil on 6m FT8 during a band opening.
• 2026-07-08 — Worked Japan on 6m FT8 during a band opening.
• 2026-07-07 — N5VJX (South Alabama POTA Posse) pulled off a 13 Colonies clean sweep, plus all three bonus stations. Community achievement, shared from the Posse.
• 2026-07-06 — Mobile Hamradio Stuff.
• 2026-06-20 — Satellite QSO via AO-73, worked N2FYA_John through the AO-73 linear transponder while activating Blakeley State Park (US-11292) for POTA.
• 2026-06-20 — South Alabama POTA Posse group activation at Blakeley State Park (US-11292), the same outing as the AO-73 satellite QSO above — multiple Posse members on-site together.
• 2026-06-19 — YOTA Camp 2026 ISS Contact • Local RX in EM60 + Full Pass Livestream. See Milestones — this one’s a real highlight, not just a routine update.
• 2026-06-14 — Thread on OZ9AAR’s 23cm EME station: Carsten Grøn’s homebrew setup producing audible SSB voice echoes off the moon — rare and impressive — with his builds and weak-signal work documented at moonbounce.dk.
• 2026-06-10 — Six Meter SSB Net and Band Opening From The Driveway.
• 2026-06-03 — 6m SSB POTA activation from US-3711 (Weeks Bay), including a QSO with KQ4TPD and at least four park-to-park contacts received; the band stayed open afterward.
• 2026-05-16 — Lunch-break POTA hunt from the work parking lot: worked K5DB and N5ZE, activating US-7178 in Arkansas (EM26WD, 565.8 mi), on 20m SSB.
• 2026-05-10 — Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Ham Radio Station Layout — working meteor scatter with MSK-144 through a small antenna in the HOA.
• 2026-04-27 — Complimented WI0JK’s driveway EME station: “Driveway EME de WI0JK. I like it! Great job!” — ongoing interest in others’ portable EME setups.
• 2026-04-25 — RX & TX APRS MSGS with a Yaesu FT-5D.
• 2026-04-13 — Studying up on WSPR for an upcoming project: the network has grown from 300 stations to thousands over 18 years, now logging roughly 6 million spots a day.
• 2026-04-05 — N4MZ Amateur Radio Club POTA and RaDAR Rally Event, South Alabama.
• 2026-03-25 — Modified Par Electronics Six Meter Moxon.
• 2026-03-13 — Considered upgrading a Yaesu G5500 rotator for better accuracy — specifically weighing options for more precise EME moon tracking.
• 2026-03-10 — The basics of setting up your FT-891 for split operations.
• 2026-03-07 — The story behind the N1CC award, named for a QCWA member, shared with the Parks on the Air (POTA) group.
• 2026-03-05 — Lunchtime worldwide APRS w/ Baofeng UV-5R/Mobilinkd/APRSdroid and local VHF/UHF w/ Yaesu FTM-300D.
• 2026-02-27 — Fixed it with a hammer — antenna switch relay #1 was stuck, tapped it, now it works.
• 2026-02-08 — Group POTA operations at the Alabama Battleship (US-11376) with N5VJX, KQ4TPD, K4WXX, and WA4USA — a morning session together.
• 2026-01-14 — Interview with Jamie Millington, M7JMU (UK): a friendship that started with a beach-to-beach POTA contact — working from a vehicle in Fort Morgan while Jamie operated from a UK beach. Still in touch on X and Signal, watching for the right conditions to reach each other again.
• 2025-12-31 — Syncing FT-891, Quantum SDR, and Cloudlog through CloudlogCAT.
• 2025-12-30 — Added a PEP Kit from Matthews Watts Electronics to a Bird 43 Thruline Wattmeter.
• 2025-12-29 — Testing a QuantumSDR/FT-891/SDRSwitch/LNA/SG-500 combo with Klaus, DL3YEE, in Germany.
• 2025-12-27 — N2EME RXin/RXout SDR Switch, LNA, 3dB splitter, antenna, power supply, and transceiver connections.
• 2025-12-23 — First QSOs with an SGC Powercube 500W amplifier, discussed with W6LVP.
• 2025-12-06 — Several local N4MZ ham radio operators transmitting from the Alabama Battleship, remembering what happened on December 7, 1941.
• 2025-10-11 — EME “moonbounce” Day 2: signal lines popping on 70cm, but still no decodes — still searching for the right settings combo. W3IPA gave a G5500 rotator tip, so the 23cm Yagi got added to the satellite tracking setup, ending the manual antenna wrestling.
• 2025-08-28 — Workflow tip: a selection toggle in Ham2K PoLo Logger reformats ADI export filenames automatically for POTA submission, ending the manual renaming of every export.
• 2025-07-27 — Received a 13 Colonies Contest mug — a fun keepsake from the event.
• 2025-07-08 — Chasing K2G for the 13 Colonies event led to deeper use of HamClock, VOACAP, PSKReporter, propagation tools, spotting networks, and antenna performance — K2G was in the skip zone on 17m FT8, so the switch to 40m SSB is what closed it out. A fun learning experience.
• 2025-07-06 — Set up in the yard to chase a 13 Colonies station on digital but ended up calling CQ on 40m FT8 and making contacts instead.
• 2025-07-06 — Logged K2C during the 13 Colonies Special Event — down to K2G and the bonus stations for a clean sweep.
• 2025-07-05 — 8 down, 5 to go on the 13 Colonies Special Event, enjoying the holiday — with more AMSAT passes (JO-97) planned to chase the rest.
• 2025-07-04 — Planning to work more 13 Colonies Special Event stations via AMSAT (a JO-97 pass in the works), while the neighbors set off fireworks.
• 2025-07-02 — Worked the first two 13 Colonies stations via RS-44 AMSAT: K2E (Delaware) and K2L (South Carolina), during the 13 Colonies Special Event. Committed to chasing the rest after the early success.
• 2025-06-25 — A small shack upgrade: added a dedicated monitor for Winlink Wednesday sessions. A year into the weekly habit, still finding small ways to make it easier.
• 2025-06-12 — An evening in the shack, inspired by @VE5REV: catching up on Winlink messages — Microsoft Surface, VARA FM, ICOM IC-705, Comet GP-9. Same weekly gear pairing, still going strong.
• 2025-04-30 — Two weeks in a row is a trend: a lunchtime Winlink Wednesday check-in — ICOM IC-705 at 5 watts, Microsoft Surface Go 2, a mag-mount Signalstick antenna, VARA FM through the WB4EMA gateway. The weekly practice that’s carried on ever since.
• 2024-09-25 — Dual-radio EMCOMM check-in: Winlink over HF (FT-857D, Digirig, TN07 My Go2 antenna) running alongside a VHF net (CS800D PLUS, Comet GP-9) — practicing both message-passing and voice-net roles in the same session.
• 2024-08-25 — First D-STAR/DMR EMCOMM check-in: the home power went out mid-net, turning a routine check-in into an unplanned real test of the emergency power setup. Sometimes the best drill is the one you didn’t plan.
• 2024-06-29 — Reflected on 2024 Field Day with the N4MZ crew — asked others what they learned and shared personal takeaways from the weekend.
• 2024-06-15 — Squeezed out 13 QSOs on 20m SSB during a POTA activation — HF bands were strange with heavy QSB (S5 to S1); heard Australia but got no answers on bands that looked “good.” Still fun.
• 2024-06-10 — Tested a new 100Ah mobile power supply during a POTA activation: ran 50 watts SSB for about 30 minutes, reaching coast to coast on 20m plus a bonus DX QSO with Spain. The battery used only 3.5Ah.
• 2024-04-25 — Lunchtime mobile POTA activation at US-6358: worked KI5DVX (EM13KR, 631 mi) on 20m SSB, 59 with some QSB.
• 2024-04-19 — Barely squeaked out 12 contacts at a favorite POTA park on HF — bands were tough with loud static, but still an enjoyable activation.
• 2024-03-29 — Group POTA activation at Fort Morgan (US-0025): logged KJ6ER as a park-to-park contact from California on 20m SSB, while W6DFM operated CW alongside. A good time at the beach.
• 2024-03-25 — Referenced using the Arrow antenna and IC-9700 to make contact through FUNcube-1 (AO-73) during a prior Winter Field Day — local news was on site.
• 2024-01-29 — Winter Field Day gear notes: quiet, long-lasting generators, connectors organized in a tackle box, a Buddipole among seven-plus antennas in play. A great learning activity.
• 2024-01-28 — FOX10 local news visited and covered the Baldwin County Amateur Radio Club’s Winter Field Day activities. Watch the segment.
• 2022-06-01 — Granted a GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) license, callsign WRTB583 — a separate FCC service from amateur radio, for family/short-range use.

This section is meant to grow with small, frequent entries — new gear, mods, band openings, anything worth a line. Send updates over as they happen.