Issue 39 December 13th, 2014

ThumbDV: $120 D-STAR USB dongle
Our DV3000 product, which is designed to be the vocoder for our forthcoming UDRX-440 digital radio, also acts as a popular add-on board to the Raspberry Pi single board computer.
NW Digital Radio

SSTV transmissions from ISS set for December 18 and 20
The expected SSTV mode will be PD180 on a frequency of 145.800 MHz with 3-minute off periods between transmissions. Several passes will be over North America.
ARRL

Polish radio amateurs achieve 2 million km record
On December 8, Michal Zawada SQ5KTM reported a new record listening to ARTSAT2:DESPATCH from deep space from a distance of 2,316,759 km or 7.7 light seconds.
AMSAT UK

Low power, license exempt wireless network: UKHASnet
A simple, low power, licence exempt wireless network used for remote temperature sensing and high altitude meteorological balloon communications.
UKHASnet

DIY matchbox size APRS transceiver with MicroAPRS
This device can transmit and receive APRS beacon positions and APRS messages. Received packets are displayed on a small OLED screen.
DB1NTO

MacLoggerDX HD: Logging app for iPad
MacLoggerDX HD monitors spots from your favorite DX Cluster, alerting you to rare contacts or band opening, and displaying real time propagation paths on a zoomable map.
Mac Ham Radio

The importance of 1929
Why 1929? It seems that 1929 was really the beginning of much that we have come to recognize, for all of our lives, as 'Amateur Radio'....but to answer the question, we really need to go back a few more years.
VE7SL

DX Engineering acquires Bencher, Butternut Antenna product lines
ARRL

Icom introduces IC-2730A dual band VHF/UHF mobile transceiver
The IC-2730A provides VHF/VHF, UHF/UHF simultaneous receive capability as well as VHF/UHF receive. Main dials, volume, squelch knobs and primal buttons are symmetrically laid out for each band.
Icom

Yaesu introduces FT2DR dual band handheld transceiver
Unit includes touchscreen display, GPS, APRS, dual monitor, more...
GigaParts

First impressions: Wouxun KG-UV950PL
I initially thought this would be a 3rd-party rework, swapping 10m for 4m but it turns out that MLS commissioned a custom version to be made in the Wouxun factory.
PD0AC

Behind the scenes at special event station 2SZ
A look at the operation of 2SZ, a special event amateur radio station established at Mill Hill School, London to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the first radio contact between Great Britain and New Zealand.
Southgate

Morse Code in "Porky's Railroad," a 1938 Looney Tunes classic
There's a scene in the movie where a railroad telegrapher is sending a message in Morse Code. This was obviously being sent by a radio guy.
Geoff Foxx

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by KK4HSX. Thank you for reading! 73!