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Welcome to Stanford Amateur Radio Club, W6YX
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Info for new members!
Hiking Trip to Black Mountain
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W6YX Hiking trip to Black Mountain
Sunday, April 28th, 2024, 9:30am to 4pm
Driving time to trail entrance: 30min
Hiking Time: 45min up, 45min down
Hiking Distance: 4 miles round trip
Hiking Altitude Change: 700 feet
We'll be hiking to the summit of Black Mountain this Sunday, April 28th, 2024, to operate portable radios and antennas. We'll try making voice, digital, and CW contacts, and perhaps try making contacts using solar power as well. If conditions are good, we should be able to make contacts up to several thousand miles away.
We plan to meet at the Tresidder parking lot at 9:30am and decide which cars to take. We'll leave Tresidder at 10am and drive to the Monte Bello Preserve parking lot on Page Mill. From there, we'll hike 2 miles to the summit.
We will eat lunch after we get to the summit, so please bring a packed lunch and one or two bottles of water with you. There is a latrine at the Black Mountain Backpack Camp, a short hike from the summit. Also, remember to dress warmly with multiple layers.
Schedule for Saturday, April 28, 2024, 9:30am to 4pm
09:30 am - Meet at Tresidder parking lot.
10:00 am - Depart Stanford Campus.
10:30 am - Arrive at trailhead. Start hike.
11:30 am - Arrive at summit. Set up equipment.
12:00 pm - Start making contacts.
12:30 pm - Lunch.
02:00 pm - Pack equipment.
02:15 pm - Start hike back down.
03:00 pm - Return to trailhead. Drive back to campus.
03:45 pm - Arrive back at campus.
Radio Equipment to bring:
- Charged handheld radio, e.g. Baofeng UV-5R.
- Log book or logging app.
Clothing:
- Non-cotton layers, including a windbreaker.
- Raincoat (just in case).
- Hiking boots / sturdy shoes.
Food and Water:
- Two liters of water.
- Lunch.
- Trail mix and/or Granola Bars.
Learn about EFHW Antennas
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Build Your Own Portable Antenna for the QDX Radio
Where:
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Join the Stanford Amateur Radio Club for a weekly activity starting April 13th, 2024, from 1pm-3pm during Maker Jam in Lab64, Packard Building, Room 134.
Learn about End-Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antennas and learn how to simulate and build a portable EFHW antenna for your QDX radio kit. Make your QDX radio into a fully portable Ham Radio station that you can take with you anywhere. I've used my portable EFHW antenna to make contacts several thousand miles away with my QDX radio while on hiking trips (see pictures below).
If you've already built a QDX kit, this antenna makes a great addition. If you haven't built a QDX kit, you are still welcome to join us and learn more about antennas.
The activity will last three Saturdays in April, and may continue into May if people need more time to finish building their antennas.
I hope to see you all there!
If you are interested in participating, please e-mail me at:
Build Your Own Radio
- Details
Save money by joining the bulk-order for kits (will place order in mid-December)
QDX parts, case, and pdf manual |
Completed QDX circuit board |
Completed QDX kit in aluminum case |
Quick summary:
- We'll hold weekly workshops (Saturdays, 1pm) to build radio kits, starting January 14th
- Beginners are welcome. We'll have experienced mentors to guide you.
- Each kit costs $69 for the board+parts, and $20 for the case.
- We'll place a bulk order for the kits in mid-December. We get a 10% discount if we order 10 or more.
- E-mail me (preferably by Dec. 11th) if you are interested in joining the bulk order.
- You'll keep your kit at the end of the workshop.
The Stanford Amateur Radio Club will be holding a weekly kit-building workshop starting in the Winter Quarter in January. We'll be working together to build our own personal QDX radio kits from QRP Labs. The QDX is a small radio, the size of a deck of cards, which can be used to communicate over thousands of miles by bouncing radio signals off of the ionosphere.
The screenshot below shows all the stations that heard me transmitting using a battery-powered QDX kit and a loop antenna in my living room in Palo Alto. Stations that heard me are the ones with time-stamps. My station was heard as far as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Azores Islands.
The QDX requires a computer (or any computing device, like a Raspberry Pi) to encode and decode the digital signals sent over the air. There are many free Amateur Radio software options that are popular. The screenshot below shows an example of the JS8Call software. This software offers functionality similar to e-mail and text messaging, but it runs entirely over the air, with no need for cell or ISP infrastructure. The screenshot below shows a chat between myself (KG4UHM) in California and another station (KL7DT) located in Alaska.
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