A Diary of Technology Pursuits
***** Important Update with WARC Band Warning (at end of Post) ***** I have been using the Elecraft KPA-500 and KAT-500 with two Icom rigs; the IC-7600 and the IC-7300. This article details how I have chosen to interconnect the KAT/KPA-500 with my IC-7300. There are also varying options for interconnecting the 7300 with this... Continue Reading →
I see that ICOM just released a new Firmware upgrade for the IC-7300. This is Version 1.40 and it has some good looking upgrades to the Waterfall and the scope display, among other things. I also like the added ability to customize some of the Front panel control functions. I am going to go through... Continue Reading →
There has been an ongoing discussion for quite some time about a reported "RF Tail" on the IC-7300. This report is based upon the fact that the 7300 provides a SEND signal that is supposed to be useful for telling offboard equipment if the 7300 is currently Transmitting or Receiving. Actually there are two of... Continue Reading →
I have posted these before, but people keep asking about the settings to use for RTTY on the IC-7600 with MMTTY. So this post provides my latest settings. This article provides my latest MMTTY settings screenshots. I am using it with N1MM+ Contest Logger. If you are having trouble using MMTTY with another program (N1MM+... Continue Reading →
11/8/2025 update - Found a very good Link from W4RNL (SK) discussing this broadbanding approach. He is my favorite source for practical antenna information. In his article, he gets into the details and performs some modeling of this approach to broadbanding dipole antennas. you can find his research here Many Hams use wire antennas, and... Continue Reading →
Note - While this Post documents my IC-7600 setup, I believe this will work equally well with the IC-7610 but I do not have one to test. If anyone can provide confirmation or feedback, it would be appreciated. I have had the IC-7600 for about 4 years and have now added the Elecraft KAT-500 Antenna... Continue Reading →
I have been operating some FT8 over the past few months. Technically, I find the mode very interesting as I have worked in Digital Communications for many years. But it sure is a change for Ham Radio. The only thing close to this that I have worked is probably RTTY, and I dabbled in some... Continue Reading →
On the morning of August 4th 2020, a Tropical Storm passed through the Northern Neck area in Virginia. The storm sent an EF-2 tornado through our area in White Stone, starting in the Windmill Point area and traveling about 15.5 miles, passing by Kilmarnock. The tornado missed our house by about 1000 feet, but put... Continue Reading →
I have a need to get on 160m occasionally for a contest, but have limited space. I tried a dipole, but it was just too much trouble. I had to bend the ends all around to fit my small lot. I keep hearing that an Inverted L is a decent antenna, but have never been... Continue Reading →
I have been experimenting with some Receive-antennas for the Low HF bands (80 and 160 meters is "low-band" to me). I discovered these popular antennas from other Hams at the Contesting Club (Potomac Valley Radio Club) I belong to. Nearly all the serious Contesters in PVRC, and all of their Superstations, have Receive-only Antenna options... Continue Reading →
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