Program

The magnitude of Richard Byrd’s all-out privately funded Antarctic Expedition in 1928 was going to put it in a class all by itself; perhaps one only bested by the Mars program with Space-X.  Join Mike Murphy, WU2D, of the popular Mikrowave1 YouTube Channel as he presents a history of Byrd’s south pole overflight attempt at the 2025 HamX.

Among the Friday HamX workshops is a NO-SOLDER Precision NTP Server by Bradshaw Lupton, K1TE; and Dhiru Kholia, VU3CER/WQ6W. Build a $25 GPS timekeeper, accurate to 20 nanoseconds.

Come prepared. Bradshaw has arranged a way to to pre-order parts through Amazon. (Note, bill of parts is for two GPS NTP servers. Bring a friend, share on-site, or build two units for yourself—the workshop itself is free.)

Additional information can be accessed through https://lupton.us/HamXposition/.

Ray Roberge, WA1CYB, will discuss AMSAT and the ASCENT group (Advanced Satellite Communications & Exploration of New Technologies) within AMSAT at the 2025 Northeast HamXposition.

Want to learn about the Software Defined Radio (SDR) that is being built for the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)?  Most satellites are hardwired to use the 2meter and 70cm bands. These are crowded and noisy. Moving up into the microwave bands gives amateurs greater flexibility with all modes. The 2-meter to 6 GHz SDR breadboard card is built and under test. Ray will talk about the high-level design and the status of the project.

Ham operators have access to a wide variety of satellites orbiting the earth. These orbiting repeaters allow reliable communications without relying on the ionospheric propagation we require on the HF bands. But there are things you need to know to be able to successfully utilize satellite communications on both the easy FM satellites and the more complicated weak signal satellites.

At his presentation “Operating the Ham Radio Satellites,” Mitch Stern, W1SJ, will review satellite technology and focus on the equipment and techniques used to make the contacts. There is nothing quite as rewarding as putting all the myriad details together to complete a satellite QSO! 

Join Larry Banks, W1DYJ, at his 2025 HamX talk where he will share the results of modeling his stack of home brewed 5-element 10m Yagi, 20m Moxon, and 15m dipole.

“Recently with the improving sunspot cycle, he reports, “now and then heard something I don’t understand. Recent modeling revealed counterintuitive antenna patterns.” 

HamClock is a ham radio application that integrates propagation forecasts, solar weather, DX spots, DX information, and terrestrial weather into one kiosk-style view that can greatly assist in DX hunting.

George Allison, K1IG, will demonstrate the program and show how to install it on your computer, as well as how to use a Raspberry Pi to display it in your shack.

George served almost 30 years in the U.S. Navy, finishing up as head of the Navy’s Computer and Telecommunications Command. 

RF PCB design is often considered one of the more challenging aspects of electronics engineering due to the high frequencies involved and the sensitivity of signal integrity. In this presentation, Max Kendall, WØMXX, will dive into the core principles that underpin effective and reliable RF board design. He will explore the importance of using a 4-layer PCB stackup, which allows for better isolation, dedicated ground and power planes, and improved signal performance.

Topics will include the role of copper pours in managing return paths and minimizing interference, as well as how to achieve proper impedance matching for critical RF components and transmission lines. Max will also walk through best practices for feedline routing, highlighting techniques for minimizing signal loss, avoiding crosstalk, and ensuring consistent characteristic impedance throughout the board. 

Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ, has created a ham radio software collection called “Andy’s Ham Radio Linux.” This freely downloadable software has over 100,000 downloads to date. It now runs on several flavors of Linux including Raspberry Pi.

Andy’s talk will be a high level discussion of some of the available software. You won’t want to miss it!

Join the Club Track on Friday afternoon. Affiliated Club Coordinator Bruce Blain, K1BG, will host this track featuring representatives from successful clubs sharing ideas and programs that will help clubs energize, invigorate, and grow.

Handwritten logs aren’t a thing of the past! Some of our fellow amateur operators, such as those with vision impediments, still record their contest logs on paper but many contests now require digital Cabrillo logs.

John Pooley, W1JPI, will discuss the applicability and merits of Artificial Intelligence including Optical Character Recognition and newer technologies like Generative AI for multiple topics within the Amateur Radio hobby with a focus on log transcription.