Our mission: To advance the art, science, and …

1 4 January 2018 TechnicalJanuary 2018 Volume 102 Number 1 Our mission: To advance the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur and FeaturesIn This IssueSecond Century 9 Tom Gallagher, NY2 RFNCIS Newington: The Willing Suspension of DisbeliefChange Comes to QST 30 Steve Ford, WB8 IMYR epurposing Your Station for Satellite Operation 70 Chip Margelli, K7JA You may already have the gear for making contacts through the VHF/UHF LEO transponder satellites. amateur radio Licensing Revived in Costa Rica 73 Allison McLellanAfter legislation endangered operation, regulators and amateurs came together to advocate for licensing, which started again this Pine Board Project 31 Bob Heil, K9 EIDA return to yesteryear with a 5 W AM Low-Distortion Digital Audio Oscillator 35 Keith Kunde, K8 KKTame the discordant square wave with a digital filter chip Web-Hosted Software-Defined Radios 38G.

2 Keith Cambron, KC1 ATT amateur radio operators are putting software- defined receivers online for anyone to use. This article describes some approaches. Join the FT8 Revolution 41 Barry Feierman, K3 EUI Download a free program and start working DX with just a few watts. Testing the Eclipse s Effect on 80 Meters with WSPR 75 Barry Pfeil, K6 RMA brief window of daytime propagation opened, thanks to the moon s Hacks Group Tackles Maker Faire and More 77 Allison McLellanTwo brothers get together with their technology-minded friends and family for brainstorming, builds, and Maker 80 Rick Lindquist, WW1 MEAmerican Red Cross lauds arrl amateurs contribution to Puerto Rico hurricane response; FCC Chairman recognizes amateurs role in hurricane recovery efforts; arrl Executive Committee receives updates regarding entry-level license and amateur Auxiliary revisions; Duty Mobile Screwdriver Antenna 45 Michael Foerster, W IHShare a remotely tunable coil between mobile and fixed-base antenna 101: Sky-High SWR 48 Steve Ford, WB8 IMYPart of an occasional series on common troubleshooting techniques.

3 In this installment, we re investigating a sudden glitch in an antenna system. Product Review 49 Mark Wilson, K1 ROBreadboard radio Splinter II QRP Receiver/Transmitter Kit; INRAD M628 and M629 Desk Microphones; Elenco SP-1A Practical Soldering Project Kit; Pacific Antenna Easy Field Strength Indicator; Rexwood 1000W Receiver Kit; Hayseed Hamfest Re-Cap Kit; Aven Adjustable Circuit Board HolderTom Gallagher, NY2RF Publisher Steve Ford, WB8 IMY EditorBecky R. Schoenfeld, W1 BXY Managing Editor Jen Glifort Caroline Kenney Allison McLellan Assistant EditorsBart Jahnke, W9JJ Contest Branch ManagerRick Lindquist, WW1ME HappeningsBob Allison, WB1 GCM Product Review Lab Testing Mark J. Wilson, K1RO Al Brogdon, W1AB Bernie McClenny, W3UR H. Ward Silver, N AX Paul Wade, W1 GHZ Jon Jones, N JK Rick Palm, K1CE Joel R. Hallas, W1ZR Barry Shackleford, W6YE Kai Siwiak, KE4PT Bruce Draper, AA5B Contributing EditorsMichelle Bloom, WB1 ENT Production SupervisorJodi Morin, KA1 JPA Asst.

4 Production SupervisorMaty Weinberg, KB1 EIB Production CoordinatorSue Fagan, KB1 OKW Graphic Design SupervisorDavid Pingree, N1 NAS Senior Technical IllustratorDebra Jahnke, K1 DAJ Business Services Manager QST AdvertisingBob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Marketing ManagerYvette Vinci, KC1 AIM Circulation ManagerDiane Szlachetka, KB1 OKV Advertising Graphics DesignerSteve Ewald, WV1 XField Organization SupervisorGail Iannone Convention Program ManagerPage 49 Page 75 January 2018 5 Interested in Writing for QST? e-mail: Our CoverRadiosportDepartmentsARRL Member Services ..14 arrl Section Managers ..16 Convention and Hamfest Calendar ..98 Feedback ..37 Field Organization Reports ..100 Ham of Advertisers ..142, 143 Life Members ..97 New Books ..74 New Products ..37, 92 Officers, Division Directors, and Staff ..15 This Month in QEX .. Keys ..101 Special Event.

5 66W1AW Qualifying Runs ..96W1AW Schedule ..90 ColumnsAmateur radio World ..84At the Foundation ..99 Classic radio ..87 Correspondence ..24 The Doctor is In ..61 Eclectic Technology ..69 Hints & Hacks ..63 How s DX? ..91 Member Spotlight ..13 Microwavelengths ..65 Public Service ..85 Technical Correspondence ..67Up Front ..20 The World Above 50 MHz ..9375/50/25 Years Ago ..100 Our mission: To advance the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur and Mobile Editions arrl members can access the digital edition via a link at , download our iOS app from the iTunes Store, and download our Android app from the Google Play Corral 89 Bruce Draper, AA5 BThe Winter arrl School Club Roundup 90 Our annual Do-It-Yourself issue features a retro build from none other than audio industry ace Bob Heil, K9 EID. His modular Pine Board Project can be built from the supplied parts list, or from a kit.

6 [Photo courtesy of Bob Heil, K9 EID]QST (ISSN:0033-4812) is published monthly as its official journal by the American radio Relay League, Inc, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT, USA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: QST, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #90-0901437. Canada returns to be sent to IMEX Global Solutions, 1501 Morse Ave., Elk Grove Village, IL & Possessions: Membership in the arrl , including a 1-year subscription to QST, is available to individuals at $49. Licensed radio amateurs age 21 and under and the eldest licensee in the household may qualify for the rate of $25. Life Membership, in cluding a subscription to QST is available at $1,225.* Member-ship includes $21 per year for subscrip-tion to QST.

7 Membership and QST cannot be separated. Libraries and institutions, $49 per year. Single copies $ InternationalTo compensate for additional postage for mailing outside the US, the following rates apply:Canada: Membership in the arrl , including a 1-year subscription to QST, $62, payable in US funds. Life Member-ship, including a subscription to QST is available at $1,550.* Libraries and institutions, $62 per Other Countries: Membership in the arrl , including a 1-year subscription to QST, $76, payable in US funds. Life Membership, including a subscription to QST, is available at $1,900.* Libraries and institutions, $76 per without QST is available to the imme diate family of a member living at the same address, and to anyone who is legally blind, for $10 per remittances should be by interna-tional postal or express money order or bank draft negotiable in the US and for an equivalent amount in US in the arrl , including a 1-year subscription to Digital QST only, is available to Canadian and International members at $ 2017 by the American radio Relay League Inc.

8 Title registered at the US Patent Office. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Quedan reservados todos los derechos. Printed in the , DXCC , VUCC , DX Century Club , ARES , amateur radio Emer gency Service , Logbook of The World , LoTW , and arrl , the national association for amateur radio are registered trademarks of the American radio Relay League, arrl and QST in no way warrant the products described or reviewed is available to blind and physically handicapped individuals from the Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Call 1-800-424-8567 or go to by Applied Science and Technol-ogy Index, Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 21-9421.*Payment arrangements available. Please write for order to ensure prompt delivery, we ask that you periodically check the address information on your mailing label.

9 If you find any inaccuracies, please contact the Circulation Department at or 860-594-0200 immediately. Thank you for your and permissions: of our Online Privacy Policy can be found at : 860-594-0200 Fax: 860-594-0259 January 2018 Volume 102 Number 1 Page 70 Page 65