The Richardson Wireless Klub > QRV Tech – Education Series

QRV Tech – Education Series

Shawn KI5PXG is kicking off an new Education Series for RWK – We’re calling it “QRV Tech” (h/t to Don KG5CK). It will be (mostly) monthly, usually on the third week of the month (check the calendar). We will start out on Zoom but we have plans to get together in person when there is a “build” type project.

The goal for this series is primarily education – teaching something new to those that are interested – but we plan on building things too (as part of the learning). We realize that not everyone will be interested in each subject (which is why we’re not making them presentations for General Meetings) – we’re aiming for 10-20 people or so each session.

Our topics will range from test equipment to microcontrollers to SDRs to antennas. This series is something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time. We hope that you enjoy and learn! QRV Tech?

  • QRV Tech – October 2025 – Amateur Radio meets amateur rocketry

    This month’s QRV presentation will be hosted by Joe Jaison from the University of Ottawa’s Rocketry team.  Joe will explain how they use radio in rocketry for telemetry using a mix of commercial and designed technologies.  He will additionally talk about some of their antenna design work to do beam-forming.  We hope that you can attend live, but we will also have a recording available after the presentation. 

    We look forward to seeing you on Zoom!

    Event Details:

    Join Zoom Meeting

    Topic: QRV Tech

    Time: 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

    https://zoom.us/j/93467541992?pwd=RjJqWkFPd0VjeSt2U21QL2hKc0QwZz09

    Meeting Recording

    Session Resources

  • QRV Tech – September 2025 – JS8Call

    One of the biggest complaints about the popular FT-8/FT-4 digital modes is that the exchange is short and fixed, and there’s no way to add to the QSO. What if I told you that there was a mode that used the same weak-signal technology as FT-8/4 but you could send whatever you want to the other party? For as long as you want? Well, join us tonight to learn about JS8Call!

    Meeting Recording

    Click the image to view the recording

    Session Resources

    JS8Call software: http://js8call.com/

  • QRV Tech – August 2025 – GOES Satellite Reception and Decoding

    During tomorrow night’s QRV session, we will learn about NOAA’s GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellite system and how you can decode its transmissions for yourself.  We will talk about what GOES is, how the data is channelized and transmitted, how you can setup your own ground station for receiving the data, and the software needed to parse the data into beautiful pictures of planet Earth.  I’ll be focusing primarily on my setup, but there will be others on the call who have made their own ground stations who can also share tips and tricks on how they setup their systems.

    We look forward to seeing you on Zoom tomorrow evening!

    Meeting Recording

    Click the image to view the recording

    Session Resources

    Link to my Google Drive with presentation, demo video, text file with links, and the images I collected during the 2 hours I had the system hooked up (directory structure is what comes directly from the satellite).

  • QRV Tech – June 2025 – All You Need to Know about RWK Field Day

    We’re moving QRV Tech for this month to next week!

    Please join RWK on Tuesday June 24th for this month’s QRV Tech. 

    Coming up at the end of June is Field Day 2025.  Field Day is amateur radio’s biggest event of the year, and hams new and old look forward to it every year.  At this QRV Tech session, you will find out what exactly is “Field Day” and how it got to be ham radio’s biggest annual event.  You will also learn how you can participate with RWK at Field Day 2025 and what you need if you want to participate on your own.  If you’re a new ham (or even if you’re old), you won’t want to miss this annual ham radio event.

    Meeting Recording

    Click the image to view the recording

    – – – – – – –

    Session Resources

    Read the history of RWK Field Day here. Thanks to Tim Bratton K5RA for doing the research.

  • QRV Tech – May 2025 – How To Participate In The Balloon Launch

    We’re taking advantage of the launch delay of our High-Altitude Balloon (now planned for May 31st) to again go over what’s on the balloon and how you can participate, either in person or from your shack.

    We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday for the May 2025 QRV Tech!

    Meeting Recording

    Click the image to view the recording

    – – – – – – –

    Session Resources

  • QRV Tech – April 2025 – Linear Amplifiers

    Larry KI5UXC is going to talk about (and possibly demonstrate) the benefits of adding some power to your signal by using a linear amplifier. While there have been some advances in linear amplifiers recently (especially in solid state amplifiers), using an older tube-based amp is not as easy as plugging it in. You need to know how to tune it properly, how to use it with various types of antennas, how to power it, and how to properly hook it to your radio (so you don’t blow anything up!)

    Meeting Recording

    Click on the image to view the recording

    – – – – – – –

    Session Resources

QRV Tech Meeting Location

These sessions will primarily be on Zoom, but we will have physical meetings for hands-on or build projects. Please check each session for details on the location.

Upcoming Events

Past Meetings

© Richardson Wireless Klub K5RWK, Box 830232, Richardson, TX 75083.                       admin login