N4UAU Personal Stuff
Hi my name is Sam Ulbing. As you
may have guessed I am a Ham or Radio Amateur operator and my call is N4UAU.
Hams can communicate through out the world. There are various methods of
communicating: voice, CW, computer protocols, some people use the moon to
bounce signals off, the amateur satellite works as a repeater. There are many
aspects to ham radio. I like to do electronic projects. When I am communicating
my favorite method is CW or Morse Code. I find it is a challenge to learn to
send and receive this code of dots and dashes. No matter how good you are,
there is always room for improvement. Also because CW is so basic a method of
radio communication, it is relatively simple to build equipment to send and
receive CW. I am a member of a CW net called the 
Waterway CW Net.
People have been designing better keys since the 1800’s. One of the CW Net members, ND7K complied a history of keys which you can read here. He is a collector of old keys as well.
This
is a picture of my ham shack and work area. Some people say "Neatness is next
to Godliness”. What can I say - some
neat little toys have been born here.
One of the nice things about electronics these days is that the parts
are so sophisticated that a person does not need a lot of test equipment or a
PhD in electronics to make some nifty projects.
My latest project uses a keyer IC from K1EL who has developed a number of exciting projects based on PIC microprocessors.
When
not doing Ham projects I like to ride my motorcycle a Honda
ST 1100 ST1300 which is a ‘sport touring’ bike. It handles a lot like a sport bike
but is comfortable enough to ride long distances and has saddlebags for
storage.
I bought an ST1300 in 2003 after 48,000 miles on the reliable ST1100. It's even better than the 1100.
The photo shows me riding under Bridle Veil Falls in North
Carolina. There are lots of pretty and
‘twisty’ roads in this area and it is only an 8-hour trip from Gainesville,
Fl. Here
are some motorcycle links including a map of some of the neat twisty roads
I’ve been on.
The
'scooter' is a new toy. For the previous 27 years sailing was my passion. I
raced small boats like Snipes and Lasers and eventually got into cruising. My
wife and I cruised the east coast of the US and Canada and also went down the
St. Lawrence River. We called the boat home for 5 years. In 1999 we decided to
sell it. If you are interested in Cape Dory sailboats you can visit the Cape Dory Owner's Web Page
Ham
Radio played a big part of our cruising also. The Waterway Radio and Cruising Club SSB net
provides many advantages for cruisers along the east coast of the US.
Weather, position reports, emergency traffic, and the ability to know where
your cruising friends are, even if they are hundreds of miles away are just
some of the benefits. You can listen to the net if you have a short wave radio
or SSB radio but you cannot join in unless you have an appropriate Ham
license. It is easier than ever to
become a Ham and testing is given in many locations. If you are on a boat in
the Bahamas, you’ll find tests are given in Georgetown and also in Marsh
Harbour.
In
November 1999 I received a Cover Plaque Award for my 4 part article:
"Surface Mount, You Can Work With It" starting in the April issue of
QST . Frank Butler W4RH is shown presenting the award at the Jacksonville
Hamfest. You can work with surface mount projects too, check out my Kits page.
To learn more about Ham Radio and find out how to become a Ham, visit the ARRL Web site
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