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SMA-503 |SMA-5035 noe OAD Loge eT Om SIAC Sere, se) Bueno @ Maldal MH-209, MH-209SMA Lenath: 3» Conn: MH-209 BNC, MH-200SMA SNA-male» Soft ubber cover, good performance in a smal package! ‘on: PL259* Max. Pwr: 1500” Call or visit your local dealer today! @ c www.natcommgroup.com | 800-962-2611 =OST Davia 8 Minster, NAZAR Publner ‘Becky R. Schoenfeld, WIBXY torial rector Jen Giifor, KCAKNL ‘Seni Etor Caroline Kenney Leanna Zabel ‘Assistant Eto. ‘Bart Jahnko, Was Radoepor & Fld Serioos Manager Fick Lindquist, Ww IME Happenings ‘Bob Alison, WBIGCM Product Review Lab Testing ‘Steve Ford, WB8IMY {Jol Morn, KA JPA, [Assistant Proauion Superdsor Maty Weinberg, KBIEIB Production Coordinator Davia Pingree, WINAS. ‘Seni Teenie stator Janet Rocco, WIL ‘Adversing Sales Manager ‘Bob inderbtzen, NOIR Product Development Manager ‘Yvette Viel, KCTAIM, ‘Marketing and Sales Manager ‘Stove Eval, WVIX Fog Organization Suporisor 4 May 2021 30 34 38 57 61 65 72 73 74 76 76 86 Contents May 2021 ¢ Volume 105 # Number 5 Second Century “The New Noma for Events Scavenger Time-Domain Reflectometer Coaxial Cable Tester Stan Johnson, WOS High-Efficiency 2 kW Water-Cooled Dummy Load Guenther Knobel, DKEET Product Review ‘Mark Wilson, KIRO [MobilnksTNCS for APRS; aprsf App for OS; Four State QAP Group Nowvoau 75A QAP AM Transceiver Ki Yaesu SCU-LANO Remote Control Unit, bhi NES10-2 MK¢ DSP Noise Canceling Speaker What to Expect During the Rising Years of Solar Cycle 25 Frank Donovan, WALPL Green Roving in o Red Rover Wiayne Overbeck, NSN ‘The ARRL Ham Radio Equipment Insurance Plan Jen Glifort, KCTKNL, ARRL Field Day 2021 2020 ARRL International EME Contest Rick Rosen, KIDS. 2020 ARRL November Sweepstakes — CW Kelly Taylor, VE&XT The 2021 ARRL June VHF Contest June 2021 Kids Day A Look Back — July 1971Columns Departments ‘Ate Foundation 85 aAmatour Radio Frequency Chat ene 60 Celebrating Our Legacy. 198 ARAL Section Managors 16 Giassc Rado. ‘84 Carticte of Code rofioney Contest Coral 71 Recipients 8 Correspondence. “-24 Convention and Hamtost Calendar... 83 The Doctors in 60 Feedhack 35,55 Edoctc Technology 56 Field Organization Reporte 70 Happenings 68 Guide to ARRL Member Benet 14 Hits & Hacks coon 4 Ham Rd. 124 Hows OX? SOI 78 Indax of Advertsors 126,127 Member Spotight 43 Offeers, Division Direcor, and Stat... 15 Publ Service 69 QST Cover Plaque Award 6 Technical Conespondence 52 Slent Kays. 97 “The Word Above 50 MHz 80 Special Event Siationg ne 82 Up Fron a S179 83 100,50, nd 25 Yeats AGO nncnnen86 Velunteer Monitor Program Report... 85 W1AW Qualifying Runs 84 WiAW Schedule. 7 WIAWs QSL Fle 28 Digital and Mobile Editions [ARAL members can access he cigtal ection ; Vaalirs twrwamtorgast,donrioed ow Write for QST [OS appfrom the Tines Ste, and dawrioad—_ wwwarrLorgigstauthor guide ‘ur Andro apo tom the Googe Play Store emai: qst@arrLorg Our Cover ‘Scie cas can rove vith be best of em — slong ss ey have a ht sup. Wayne Gert, NE cuted Ws 2025 Chey Bot ‘nba merowave elo ton that ere Brno to 10 GH. so he could ete mest out ‘lhe VHF expations, Rese a tho deta ms frie, “Groen Roung ina Rod Ror on pa toh nove [Steen Blaoo, NIBKE, an ‘eld Shai SHE. poi) apmmanadl Eepsonaee eer a yas Semiramis conse cea Ee eekanton ‘aires urea. Samer met Soames See, Seen emo Geter dees Ulan ee Torani = coer ts a SESS emer. ieee cesar Sennen. re parte US nck ts eo Seureneanaaren ze ere wegcereratnnte reenter tint siesenear mY epee yee Por oe SRE seen iee sae es Goa negra ‘Sainte los be dec Peed S79, 04009, UCD Dx cere Cah, Bre hr Peo Bohan fe otra eceaton te ‘rate Fe ae ‘Tbe knetosn odo Ray cague ‘ABEL ord OSTio wy wart he Sosnsicherbod a retonsstoeh, rewainiewia dey anges Neon rr Sees eBig eum Cane aces op ice gouhis Sa pariburreioeranent wilerdanis “= ‘S00 eee Tac or faraussenee Reps ard sions: pemasenvarto Ber to Orne Pay Fy re pvsy pati, “oephne 059-200 Feces » ST May 2021 5CO DUINO WANT TO GET STARTED WITH ARDUINO? 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DeDuino isnot affliated or endorsed by Arduino AGDIAMOND ANTENNA diamondantenna.net De OIC UD MALLU eo DIAMOND ANTENNA js the worldwide leader ale ale eC SON SR ecm UC mU Sa Ce me ee IS oe ee cme VOPR Momo OTR CCS) CC DCO a RUC Oe UC us us us ag u uaF use ju Deen) DR Re UES eee CRS etry Stainless steel mounting hardware & radials Strong waterproof joint couplings Type-N cable connection Sno es Highest gain Dual-band Base Antennal X30A / XS0A a fee m/e) mee eee ede) X700HNADavid A. Minster, NAZAA, ARRL. Chief Executive Officer, naa @are org Second Century The “New Normal” for Events Taking precautions for COVID-19 over the past year has caused significant changes in our lives, not the least of which was the cancellation of in-person hamfests and larger events. We were prevented from congregating for radio club meetings. Even ARRL Field Day was impacted — those group outings we enjoy every year were largely replaced by at-home operating. As a community, we sought ways to adapt so that we could remain connected despite being held apart by restrictions and regulations. ‘As part of those adaptations, we gained a new term in our vernacular: we “Zoom with each other. Companies are using Zoom to conduct business. Clubs are using Zoom to conduct meetings and even online hamtests. Analysts and industry pundits are deciaring that the acceleration ‘of society into a distanced or remote way of working and interacting is the new normal, and that we should ‘embrace it ‘Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to attend three virtual events: HAM-CON (the Vermont Ham Radio Convention) and Oriando HamCation — which are ordinarily in-person events brought to life by conducting them online — and the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, which is purely a virtual event. As the size and sophistica- tion of each event increases, the complexities of, and potential problems with, delivering a seamless, satisfying User experience rise exponentially. Itis easy to become critical of difcuities and failures of online events lke these, but conducting them illustrates how incredibly cifficut itis to configure, scale, test, and implement these virtual events. ‘There have been important lessons learned from conduc- ting these events, including: speakers must not use Wi-Fi or unfamiliar internet connections; speakers must use a ‘camera of good quality; buil-in microphones are generally inadequate; live meetings or meetings with live side chats must be moderated by someone other than the presenter, \who must be alert to muting attendee microphones during the presentation: the operations of a virtual event must be carefully handled, including emailing/posting links, ensuring mass emails aren't being routed into spam or causing server blacklisting, handling session recording, and more, It virtual events are so dificult (and in some cases expen- sive) to conduc, why do organizers do it? For the love of the hobby. For the feeling of community. For the inclusion ‘of many hams, from local to DX, who cannot travel 0 ‘events. So are virtual events just a fad? A consequence of the mes? Or are they the new normal — or, atthe very least, a forward-looking way of reimagining amateur radio ‘evenis? Here's my view: First and foremost, there is no replacement for being there. One of my greatest joys is to walk a hamtest — the bigger the better — to see equipment, hear the stories, and pick ‘out a gem or two to add to my own station. Seeing an old friend, exchanging a hearty handshake, and catching up is, another wonderful by-product of being there. Though online events and in-person events are two very different beasts, there are best practices that apply to bot. in-person events have a limited amount of space for speakers, This forces event organizers to be careful about curating their lineup of speakers. Online events don't have these space restrictions and often book more speakers and sessions than they otherwise would, which can lead to falling into the “just because you can, doesn't mean you should’ trap. Online events tend to work harder at having speakers create a script, and ft their presentation to a sspexific timeframe. Findings from the YouTube community indicate that talks in the 10 — 20 minute range are optimal —a constraint that in-person events could benefit from. ‘Sessions that are more experiential, from kit building to following along with a book, tend to be more popular and easily work in both environments! “The future seems to point to a hybrid model where getting back together in-person is highly desirable, but not atthe expense of leaving out those people who — for one reason or another — cannot travel to the event. ARAL. will be taking another crack at an online event this month (May 21 ~23) when we host the ARAL at Home event while sitting at home, missing the fun of Dayton Hamvention! Welllbe spicing things up with a collection of videos, activities, and perhaps a Sunday raffle. We hope to see you there! In the meantime, stay radio active! Be a connector! And visit our Ideation page at www.arrLorgideas to submit ideas for content, products, and more, eon Th yarg David A. Minster, NA2AA Chief Executive Officer May 2021 9Free Catalog/Dealers/Manuals Online ~ Visit: www.hy-gain.com or call toll-free 800-973-6572 P The Firs hcice of Hams Around tho Worst hy-gain. Antennas eee AV-680 cies 80-6 Meters hy-gain’s new AV-680 adds 75/80 Meters with no radials! + | nen 4, 3020971110 ree Po ERY ri = troy down continuous fortwo minute Highly Efficient “The AVE80 uses quarter wave stubs on 6, 10,12 + And 17 Meters avery ofisant ond basing cal and ‘apacty hats on 15,20, 0,40 an 80 Mears 0 traps. 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