TXT Mario is an educational application I developed to both learn and teach C++.
You can find the Source on SourceForge.
Nov
14
Nov
14
Solar XML goes Live!
You can now download Solar XML, a solar widget program created by Derek (W4DTB) on Source Forge.
Screen Shot of the Application
Jun
26
Field Day 2011
Orange County residents who drove past the Blackwood farm in Hillsboro this weekend, may have been surprised to see the normally empty fields transformed into a makeshift radio command center. This year, our amateur radio club, the Orange County Radio Amateurs and the Durham FM Association, participated in the American Radio Relayer League’s Field Day.
Our club consists of over a hundred, licensed operators, who participate in weekly on-the-air meetings and monthly sessions at the EOC. For us, Field Day is one of the largest ham radio contests every year, which boasts 35,000 operators in a variety of entry categories. The goal of all teams is to make as many contacts as possible. Clubs use Field Day as an opportunity to have fun, connect with their communities, and prepare for disaster response. Our club is affiliated with ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, a branch of FEMA. We support the Orange County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with communications in disaster response.
To simulate a disaster, stations must begin setup after 2:00PM Friday, begin broadcasting at 2:00PM Saturday, and end broadcasts at 2:00PM Sunday. Our club (W4UNC) setup nine stations in a converted-bookmobile, a RV and under tents. On Friday we erected three forty-foot beam antennas, a sixty-foot vertical antenna and many other wire-based antennas, for a variety of frequencies and modes. For additional challenge our club operated using a maximum of 5 Watts of power, only powered by batteries. This made operating difficult as other stations used as much as 1500 Watts. We contacted about a thousand other stations using Voice, Morse Code and Digital Modes.
To many people Morse Code (CW) is a thing of the past, but for Hams, it is easier to understand in weak and noisy conditions. Morse Code operators can reach speeds in excess of 30 Words per minute, using modern paddles and keys. Additionally, we operated Digital Modes, which relies on a computer to send signals at high speeds, similar to Chatting or Texting. Our club placed 18th last year, and this year we want to be in the top 10. If you are interested on Getting on the Air or learning more, visit our website.
