Ever Thought About Amateur Radio?

Have you ever wondered how you could get involved in ham radio?

It's easy. There is a wealth of information online including study sites, practices tests, and the complete test question pool for each license class. In addition, many local clubs hold classes. In case you haven't already heard, learning Morse code is no longer required.

Study the questions, contact a Volunteer Exam Coordinator, and show up for the test. There is a $14 test fee.

More on cooking systems

Here are a couple new(er) arrivals to accompany my earlier review of portable cooking systems.

First is a how-to for building a soda-can stove. This concept has been around for a while, and it is widely used by travellers and ultra-light hikers. An ingenious concept - MacGuyver to max.

Next, the wood-gas stove is a concept similar to the larger Vesto. This stove will burn almost any solid fuel.

The Kelly Kettle - brilliant for brewing a fine cup of tea

I learned about the Kelly Kettle on Wikipedia, and Outdoor Idiots has an entertaining article about this fascinating device. It appears the Kelly Kettle was invented by Irish fishermen for making tea in remote locations. With only a limited amount of time and fuel, one can have one or two cups of tea.

It is available from the Kelly Kettle Company in County Mayo, Ireland. The Eydon Kettle Company in the U.K. also sells a version called the Storm Kettle.

The New Zealand army used a similar device, called the thermette, during World War II.

No more code

It's official: Effective February 23 the FCC will no longer requires learning morse code (CW) to pass any of the ham license exams. Kinda sad and the end of an era. FWIW, CW still has legit uses, and is the best mode of transmission for long distance and lossy conditions. The first hams on scene after the Indonesian earthquake of 2004 used CW to pass their traffic.