Don’t forget, our next Lecture and Lab will be one week from today. We’ll be learning more about the awesome, fun, and cheap USB radio receivers we set up last month. Don’t worry: it’s not too late for you to order one and join in the fun. We’ve got more details here.

In amateur radio news, there’s some great new information about the work done by ham radio citizen scientists during the 2017 total solar eclipse. You can read the original paper here or a less-geeky summary here.

The use of the FT8 digital mode is increasing very rapidly. I know that it’s gotten me back on the air despite lousy conditions; with FT8, a short opening is all you need.

And the WX4NCH National Hurricane Center amateur radio station will be on the air next Saturday, May 26th, from 8am-4pm Dallas time.

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Our next “Lecture and Lab” will be “Software Defined Radio on the Cheap” (Part 2).

Our original “SDR on the Cheap” was a big success and we now have 12 hams with working SDR’s.  This month we’ll be doing something more ambitious.  Intercepting and decoding digital signals.  So bring your SDR device and be ready to learn how to decode DMR, D-Star, P25 and others, if we have time. 

If you do not have an SDR radio, just Google RTL-SDR and buy one on line and bring it to the meeting.  They are under $25 from most suppliers and delivered to you within a week.

We will be working with Windows SDR# (SDR Sharp) software.  Which is free and downloadable.

ALSO:  If you don’t have an SDR radio/dongle – don’t fret – we’ll also be looking at websites which have active SDR-RTL radios connected to the internet which your can control from your own computer!  How cool is that?

Bring your laptop, RTL-SDR USB (if you have one), and an antenna which can be attached to your RTL-SDR USB antenna connector. (A 2 meter antenna is fine – or a long wire).

Lecture and Lab May 26th, 10AM – 2PM

Dallas Medical Center

3rd Floor Conference Room

7 Medical Center Way

Farmers Branch, TX

Free Parking!

SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT

Saturday’s Topic: “JPL Missions Part 9: Magellan” and “Tour of the Constellation Bootes”

Net Control: Kelley K5KTX
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM:
“Aliens” (1986)

2-Meter Repeater W5FC: 146.880MHz, PL 110.9, –
Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.

Youtube.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Facebook.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Twitch.tv Search “KE5ICX”

Direct Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCishlh8WmW7OXy9Q6sxsaag

Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skynet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion topic of the evening.

“The JPL Missions Part 9: Magellan”

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