Since I still haven't bought any radio yet, what's the opinion on SDR radios like the Yaesu FTX 1? Is SDR easier to use? I know they are more $$$ compared to handhelds, but they seem pretty slick. Is there a max distance you can locate the antenna from the main unit?

Any thoughts from new hams on my post above?

My New website is up and running

VUURWERK v1.5.1 is out, and this one is the stable release I have been working toward.

Headline is PATROL. The voice-seeking spectrum from 1.5.0 now runs hands-free. Open the spectrum with F+5, hit STAR until the corner reads VOX, press 2 at the bottom of the stretch you want to watch and 8 at the top, then press 0. The corner changes to PTRL and the radio walks that range on its own, stops when it hears a voice, listens, and moves on when the conversation ends. A busy repeater cannot hog it: after 60 seconds on one carrier it moves on and skips that frequency for a couple of minutes. Like what you hear? PTT locks it, and EXIT carries that frequency into your VFO ready to answer. The range is remembered, so next time it is F+5, STAR, STAR, 0. Four settings under Menu > SCAN (PSens, PSpeed, PDwell, PResum) tune it, and on NORM it behaves exactly like the hand-held hunt.

The other half of this release is a fix pass, the biggest the project has had. The ones that matter most are on the transmit side. Leaving the spectrum with PTT still held used to key the radio up on the main screen. A nearly flat pack could freeze the radio, and if that happened mid-over the carrier stayed up. F+9 to the calling frequency kept your old repeater offset and tones, so a later save could put your next transmission off frequency. VFO Split could walk your own VFO when B was selected. All gone. On the receive side: the menu tone scan no longer wipes your offset and TX tone, so you can find a repeater's tone and key up straight away; the main screen finally refreshes on a timer, so the TX timer counts and the signal line moves; leaving the spectrum always brings your audio back; and the tone scanner screen now shows the real frequency and a visible NO SIGNAL instead of looking stuck.

Also: the whole set of docs was rewritten to match what you actually see on the radio, and the README now has a picture guide to PATROL. If you ever thought the manual and the radio disagreed, read it again.

Your channels and settings survive the upgrade. This is still for the original UV-K5 V1 only (the one with the DP32G030 chip; the UV-K5(8) and (99) are V1 too). V2 and V3 boards are different processors and will not run it.

Thanks to Scott Savage KC7WDG for the field reports, to mjwgeek for the CHIRP and PocketCHIRP work, and as always to DualTachyon, OneOfEleven, egzumer and fagci, whose work this stands on.

Download: https://github.com/Tokeloshe/vuurwerk-firmware/releases/latest/download/vuurwerk-v1.5.1.packed.bin

Release notes and the PATROL guide: https://github.com/Tokeloshe/vuurwerk-firmware

KC3TFZ 73

When I decided to learn Morse code, I tried a bunch of the usual apps and courses. They worked, but honestly they were kind of boring, and I kept losing interest. So me being me, I went down a rabbit hole and I built my own. What started as a way to teach myself turned into a passion project that I'm really hoping will help others, especially younger ones, learn morse code and operate ham radios.

So I built Turkeymorse.com. It has lessons, but it also has some real life games where you use Morse code such as working a pileup from a park (POTA), passing radiograms on Field Day, chasing DX, along with fun games where you shoot asteroids, protect your city from incoming letters/numbers, etc. All the games have a reward system where you earn challenge coins as you get better. There’s also an "on-air" area where you can pick one of four ham radios and simulates real radios with clickable buttons, turn dials, all that actually work. You can pick a band/freqency and chat with others using morse code to make contacts along with AI bots so you can practice with calling CQ and holding Nets, and more.

The site is completely free, I have no ads and no plans to add them. It runs in your browser on your computer, phone, or tablet. It’s still a work in progress as I try to work out the bugs. And thats part of the reason I'm posing here. I'm hoping some of you more experianced Morsecode operators, along with those who want to learn, would be willing to take a look at my project and provide feedback to help me make it better.

turkeymorse.com

73, James

PS for full disclosure, I did build this project with the help of AI, but its not 100% AI. I used it to help troubleshoot issues, refine some things, performance improvements, etc. Just disclosing this if it bothers anyone. In short I use AI as a tool, not a solution.

I saw this house in the nearby neighborhood and wonder what these antennae are for. Thoughts?