W5KUB Streaming Video

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W5KUB.com has been webcasting hamfests for over 11 years.

The webcast has viewers in over 150 countries, and pulls an audience of approximately 50,000 viewers during the Dayton Hamvention.

Every year that W5KUB.COM has been webcasting they have been making improvements to the equipment and the technology. Today you can watch near HD quality video of these events in full screen on your computer.

There are several different aspects which make the webcast enjoyable.

First the webcast page has a chat room where hams around the world can log in and chat directly with the W5KUB.COM group at the event.

In addition to being able to ask real time questions and receive answers from vendors such as MFJ, ICOM, Yaesu and more, online viewers are able to chat with other hams, some located on the opposite side of the world.

Secondly, and this is the fun part, W5KUB.COM gives out prizes to online viewers. There is no cost to anyone! Viewers just have to be logged in to the chat room and winners are randomly picked from the list of logged in viewers.

The winner must claim the prize within the allotted timeframe (usually 2-3 minutes) to win it. Prizes vary from magazine subscriptions to high end equipment such as D-STAR radios, wattmeters, HTs, dual band radios, antenna tuners, microphones, and more. In the last two years, over $26,000 in prizes have been awarded to viewers. Many hamfest don’t award this much!

And thirdly, viewers get to virtually make the trip and ride along during the drive to and from the hamfest. The webcast usually starts one or two days before the ham event. Viewers are 'virtually' in the passenger seat and experience the entire drive, even getting pulled over by the police for speeding! Viewers also get to see the scenery while APRS on the W5KUB.COM page identifies their exact location and driving speed on the map.

W5KUB.COM plans to expand the next Hamvention show with new and special guests, in addition to regular interviews with manufacturers. To assure the best quality video, a dedicated Ka band satellite uplink will be installed for our internet connection.

The 2014 Dayton Hamvention schedule:

  • Wed. May 14 th 1300 UTC - go live beginning with the drive from Memphis, Tennessee to Dayton, Ohio -550 Miles and 10 hours of driving
  • Thurs May 15 th 1400 UTC - Webcast booth setup at Hamvention
  • Friday May 16 th 1300 UTC -Hamvention webcast begins
  • Saturday May 17 th 1300 UTC - Second day of Hamvention webcast
  • Sunday May 18 th 1300 UTC - Third day of Hamvention webcast
  • Sunday May 18 th approximately 1800 UTC - begin the webcast of the drive from Dayton, Ohio back to Memphis, Tennessee

W5KUB.COM has a Facebook group for viewers to follow the webcast and to provide suggestions throughout the year and discuss all aspects of ham radio.

W5KUB Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/w5kub/ .

To join the webcast - http://W5KUB.com

New CATfix software for the Kenwood TS-590S and TS-990S

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Ian Wade, G3NRW, has just released the 'CATfix' software for the Kenwood TS-590S and TS-990S radios.

CATfix is a Windows program that "fixes" a significant operational  shortcoming of the Kenwood TS-590S, and also helps set up the right  digital environment for the TS-590S and TS-990S.

The TS-590S shortcoming relates to the operation of the front-panel  

TF-SET button - namely, when you press and release this button, the two VFOs swap over, but the IF filters do not. DX chasers have long said they would like to swap the IF filters as well, so they can listen to the DX station with a narrow filter and around their own frequency with a wide filter.

CATfix provides an option that does this automatically - for example, when you are listening on VFO-A with IF Filter A, pressing TF-SET will switch to VFO-B and IF Filter B. When you release TF-SET, you return to VFO-A and IF Filter A.

For both the TS-590S and TS-990S, CATfix also addresses the special  requirements for setting up a clean digital environment.

Specifically, CATfix has options that let you do the following: -

  • Set the TX power to any (usually low) level

  • Set both VFOs to upper sideband

  • Turn off the audio processor

  • Lock the front panel to prevent accidental change

  • Turn off Auto Information to prevent application program overload

All of these options are individually selectable, and you can override them at any time.

Further, CATfix has a "raw" mode that lets you record all CAT traffic between the PC and the radio.

CATfix works with all versions of Windows from XP onwards, and is free.

Download the software from - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wadei/ts-590s.htm

Essex Hams get free data viewer

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Charlie Davy, M)PZT has taken a discussion from his local weekly 2 metre net, and built a new piece of software to make explore amateur radio easier.

The EssexPSK application is a simple receive-only data decoder that can display conversations in the common PSK and RTTY modes.  

The application runs on the Windows platform, is less than 1.5MB and has just two controls. Once the operator’s rig is connected to the PC’s soundcard, the EssexPSK waterfall starts showing activity to give users a taste of what PSK31 and RTTY have to offer.

Charlie M0PZT is the creator of the free contest-friendly logging application PZTLog, and has released EssexPSK as a free application to help to encourage easier access to the world of data:

“Often, digimode applications can be a bit daunting to a new user, so this program aims to make it very straightforward. All you need to do is set the incoming soundcard and then just select from the various PSK/RTTY modes”
— Charlie Davy M0PZT

Pete M0PSX from the Essex Ham website sees this simple tool as a great way for amateurs new to the world of data to dip a toe in:

“Data modes are a fascinating and absorbing part of the hobby.

Packages such as Ham Radio Deluxe are great, but they can be expensive, resource-hungry, and expensive, not to mention, tricky to set up. The EssexPSK app offers a quick and easy way to get started in the world of data, and is a great asset to the collection of material we’re offering to help new entrants to the hobby. Charlie’s done a great job in making this available as a free tool to allow PSK and RTTY to be demonstrated without fuss ”

The EssexPSK application is available free - http://www.essexham.co.uk/essexpsk

Charlie M0PZT - http://www.m0pzt.com

Essex Ham Introduction to PSK31 - http://www.essexham.co.uk/psk31-the-basics