Amateur Radio

I like to operate portable, but I really don't like running a Windows computer from batteries. I couldn't find a lot of options for Raspberry Pi that fit what I wanted it to do. So I started writing a logging replacement that would run on a raspberry pi with the goals of:

• Running on terminal and through an SSH session
• Getting the currently tuned frequency from a 7300
• Save to a CSV file that can be easily converted to a Cabrillo file
• Separately store non-contacted stations (heard only or partial contacts) and display them when tuned to that frequency
• Check for and warn for duplicates per band

I made a lot of progress on this over the last year and it's working surprisingly well considering it's written almost entirely using bash. The main drawback using this vs N1MM is that there's no centralized database, so if I am working in a group we can't check for dups across all operators. But so far I've really only used it for small contests and POTA activations, so that hasn't been an issue. I might be operating solo this year anyway. The only thing that really needs more work is that I should probably do a pretty significant re-write of the CSV logic to make it less of a manual process to convert it to Cabrillo. But I like starting out with a CSV because it can be modified using any spreadsheet program.

I'm curious what weird projects other people have taken on because you didn't like the options that were available?

Also if you know of logging software that fits my requirements and was written by someone who actually knows how to code, please feel free to share :)

Just a brief rant:

I'm seriously getting tired of looking for some information about a rig, antenna, etc and being directed to nothing but YouTube videos. It seems everyone wants to be a famous influencer.

Just look at the main QRZ.com page. It's all links to YouTube videos.

Sometimes videos help but it's become absurd - especially when it takes less time to read the information than watch some video. Oh, if you're making some stupid face and pointing at something, I doubt I will ever watch the video.

Just checked over to see what's going on at reddit and it would a appear both sub's have gone dark.

This year 33,861 people flooded to the Greene County Fairground and Expo Center for the world’s biggest amateur radio show.

This is a QST is for any Troy hams on this sub and others who might be interested in the hobby:

The Troy Amateur Radio Association (TARA) has a weekly social net every Thursday. The net is open to ALL amateurs - not just TARA members.

The TARA Social Net is a "directed-informal" net which means there will be a net control station and regular check-ins BUT the participants decide what they want to talk about as long as it's friendly and follows proper operator etiquette. Discussion will be round-robin in the order of check-in. If you're new to the hobby or nets, don't sweat anything - you can check "in and out" and just listen. The net is here for camaraderie and enjoyment of the hobby.

In addition to portable and mobile stations, new (1 year or so) and younger (college-aged or so) hams also get priority check-in (there's nothing special other than you get to talk first - which might be helpful if you have questions). If you're new to the hobby, this could be a good opportunity to gain some communal knowledge.

There are usually 3 go-arounds and 2 shared questions you can choose (or not) to answer. The first is a general question ("What's you favorite radio?"). The second is a randomly chosen question from the Technician, General, or Amateur Extra licensing question pools. We get to see what we think we know and what we really know.

The net is held on Thursdays at 8pm on the N2TY linked repeater system (145.17 MHz and/or 447.075 MHz) located in Troy, NY. Visit N2TY.org for PL tone, offset, and Echolink connection information.

No radio but licensed? You can use EchoLink to log in...from anywhere (we've had check ins from South Korea and England for example)!

Making this community for my fellow, Federated, hams to share links and learn.