Antenna SWR Goes Ballistic
Finally weather dry enough and not too cold to work outside so I got up on the roof for a closer look at the pesky wire antenna with unacceptably high SWR. I noticed that condition when my Kenwood HF refused to tune up on 80m altho it was tuning on 40m. So I loosened the center halyard to drop the balun within reach and immediately spotted the problem. The electrical connection on the shorter leg of the OCF Dipole had snapped off (see picture) so no wonder I had lousy SWR. My junk box contained the proper lug connector and easily crimped it in place and rehoisted the dipole. New SWR's are as low as 1.1 on 17m up to 2.6 on 15m and 3.5 on 30m. The biggest improvement was on 80m; it is now 1.9. The Kenwood TS-590 does manage to tune up on 30m. Next project: test that the old Yeasu FT-900 works well enough to sell it with a clear conscience.
December 12, 2016, Resuming Radio
The boat is nearly done (boat? What boat? See posting below). I know two years seems like a long time but I've tracked my hours and it's been around 200 man-hr so far. Actually, the boat is done; am now building and varnishing the mast and boom and getting a trailer tomorrow. Next step is to prepare the sails and rigging, touch up varnish the interior, put a coat of epoxy on rigid foam insulation that is serving as flotation beneath the seats, and launch. We'll try it first on some lakes around here, then take to Florida in January.
And now I've been resuming radio. After two years of radio silence and disposing of surplus and unwanted radio gear, I am now down to the basics, gear-wise. Made first contact in over two years last month, and that was satisfying. Used my Yeasu 817 qrp on 40m LSB from my cabin to Ohio, using the very portable Iditarod strung out on my deck. Back in Atlanta home shack, was not able to reach anyone even with 100-watts and could not tune wire antenna on 80m. Checked it with analyzer and found high SWR's on all relevant bands. Cobwebs maybe, after two years of idleness? Visually, ant looks fine from the ground. When I get drier wx in a few days I'll lower it for a closer look, and also examine the coax. Will swap the coax with a new one and test agn. October 21, 2014
Das Boat has arrived in 5 boxes today. I've vowed not to open them until I have my sawhorses build (see 2x4's in background) so I'll have a place to set things when I do open the mystery boxes. So here's a pic of what a 17' sailboat can look like!
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October 12, 2014
Today is my 67th birthday. I retired Sept 1 with plans to, among other things, build a boat in retirement. After many pleasant hours poking around the good 'ol internet on boat topics, and listening to interviews with John Harris, owner of Chesapeake Light Craft, I've settled on a CLC kit, the Northeaster Dory. I'd like to attend the week long class they hold but in my six weeks of retirement I've learned how busy retirement is even though, as I had been told, every day is indeed Saturday. Heck, even real Saturdays are busy. Besides, the class is in Annapolis and I live in Atlanta, so then I'd have to find a way to get the built boat back home. If I build it at home, it's already there!
So, my kit should arrive in the next day or two and I plan to photograph and record my adventures from box opening to water.
I chose a kit with reluctance; when I first started noodling this project, I wanted the pride of building from scratch, using only plans and sourcing all materials possible from local building supply stores. I was going to pick as simple plan as I could so I could be assured of success. On the other hand, I want a fun and functional boat, one I can sail as well as row (since the wind doesn’t always blow). I looked hard at plans from Dynamite Payson and almost went with one of his. But as I thought it through, I finally concluded that as a person with no woodworking skills (I’ve never built so much as a box from scratch) and one who is allergic to failure, I should start with a kit. Building from a kit will teach me woodworking skills so that later I might reasonably attempt a scratch-built project.
I feel the same way about ham radio projects. I have built a small number of radios and related gadgets from kits but I’m not going to feel really accomplished, and call myself a home-brewer, until I build from scratch, like Bill Meara does, and talks about on his excellent podcasts, Solder Smoke. Scratch to me means from individual parts, not from a factory box, just like baking from scratch means eggs, flour, baking soda and milk, not a factory box of ingredients.
Speaking of podcasts, Wooden Boat Dan has an excellent and enjoyable one on the subject of, yes, Wooden Boats, called Hooked on Wooden Boats. Give a listen.
This week I start converting my half of the garage into a boathouse to make room for the boat. It is 17’ so it’ll fit okay but my “shop” area is a mess and in great need of cleaning out, clearing out, and straightening up. I hope to accomplish that this week as rain is in the forecast so no bicycling for me on my regular Tuesday and the rest of next week we’ll be out of town in New Orleans at the Blues Fest.
So, my kit should arrive in the next day or two and I plan to photograph and record my adventures from box opening to water.
I chose a kit with reluctance; when I first started noodling this project, I wanted the pride of building from scratch, using only plans and sourcing all materials possible from local building supply stores. I was going to pick as simple plan as I could so I could be assured of success. On the other hand, I want a fun and functional boat, one I can sail as well as row (since the wind doesn’t always blow). I looked hard at plans from Dynamite Payson and almost went with one of his. But as I thought it through, I finally concluded that as a person with no woodworking skills (I’ve never built so much as a box from scratch) and one who is allergic to failure, I should start with a kit. Building from a kit will teach me woodworking skills so that later I might reasonably attempt a scratch-built project.
I feel the same way about ham radio projects. I have built a small number of radios and related gadgets from kits but I’m not going to feel really accomplished, and call myself a home-brewer, until I build from scratch, like Bill Meara does, and talks about on his excellent podcasts, Solder Smoke. Scratch to me means from individual parts, not from a factory box, just like baking from scratch means eggs, flour, baking soda and milk, not a factory box of ingredients.
Speaking of podcasts, Wooden Boat Dan has an excellent and enjoyable one on the subject of, yes, Wooden Boats, called Hooked on Wooden Boats. Give a listen.
This week I start converting my half of the garage into a boathouse to make room for the boat. It is 17’ so it’ll fit okay but my “shop” area is a mess and in great need of cleaning out, clearing out, and straightening up. I hope to accomplish that this week as rain is in the forecast so no bicycling for me on my regular Tuesday and the rest of next week we’ll be out of town in New Orleans at the Blues Fest.
When was the last time you took something apart for the fun of it?
Until two weeks ago, for me it was 45 years ago. That Sunday I was straightening up in the garage where my workbench is and look at a box of items destined for our local Electronics Recycling Day held twice a year. In the pile were a couple of items that looked interesting, now that I've read Bill Meara's book SolderSmoke that extols home brewing and scrounging of parts. It was a Princess phone look-alike and a Comcast modem, both defunct. What could be inside them? Anything I could use?
When I was a teenager in the sixties, I would be allowed to disassemble broken things around the house like clocks and electronics. Those clocks contained gears, sprockets, springs, and levers and were fun to examine and noodle about. Once in a while I could reassemble something and getting working again, but radios I never reassembled but instead unsoldered the parts and saved them. Some old resistors, toggle switches and variable capacitors (condensers!) I still have.
So I looked at the two items and thought, why not? If there's nothing of value, I can dump them back in the box for electronics recycling.
First victim was the modem. There were two visible screws with a sort of inverse torx looking head for which I had no tools even close. I hoped they were not structural and proceeded to pry off the top from the bottom, thinking it a press fit. I pushed, I tugged, I yanked and I pried with not one but two flat blade screwdrivers and only got the plastic to bend a tiny bit, then spring back. The crazy-looking bas relief torx screws were hold the top and bottom together. The leads to why the case as seen in the photo is mangled; even with drilling I could not release them so a hacksaw came into play. No going back now!
I dead reckoned where the screws were attached, then hacksawed across the top just below and just above the stud, like how a chop shop takes 2 wrecked cars, cuts out the good parts and makes one automobile. Rocking back and forth with a pair of pliers (they always come I pairs) limbered up the stud and it came free. There doesn't seem to be much to use now that I had it open. A few small switches and maybe a few of the caps.
Unbowed, I went on to the phone. This was entirely a press fit and even though I pried to the point of deforming the plastic around the screwdriver tip, could not release the top from the dial section of the hand piece. Since the hacksaw was still handy, and I had a vise just large enough to hold the hand set, I worked like a Civil War surgeon amputating a limb to carve open the top and reveal the contents. This looks more promising, or maybe just more recognizable, but I easily got the mic and earpiece out of it, the digital dial, and miscellaneous small parts like resistors that are larger than those in the modem and maybe possible to extract.
This morning, driving back from the health club a neighbor was throwing away a CRT computer monitor. Looks interesting, I thought. What could be inside? Anything I could use? On my workbench it now sits, awaiting my next surgical mood.
When I was a teenager in the sixties, I would be allowed to disassemble broken things around the house like clocks and electronics. Those clocks contained gears, sprockets, springs, and levers and were fun to examine and noodle about. Once in a while I could reassemble something and getting working again, but radios I never reassembled but instead unsoldered the parts and saved them. Some old resistors, toggle switches and variable capacitors (condensers!) I still have.
So I looked at the two items and thought, why not? If there's nothing of value, I can dump them back in the box for electronics recycling.
First victim was the modem. There were two visible screws with a sort of inverse torx looking head for which I had no tools even close. I hoped they were not structural and proceeded to pry off the top from the bottom, thinking it a press fit. I pushed, I tugged, I yanked and I pried with not one but two flat blade screwdrivers and only got the plastic to bend a tiny bit, then spring back. The crazy-looking bas relief torx screws were hold the top and bottom together. The leads to why the case as seen in the photo is mangled; even with drilling I could not release them so a hacksaw came into play. No going back now!
I dead reckoned where the screws were attached, then hacksawed across the top just below and just above the stud, like how a chop shop takes 2 wrecked cars, cuts out the good parts and makes one automobile. Rocking back and forth with a pair of pliers (they always come I pairs) limbered up the stud and it came free. There doesn't seem to be much to use now that I had it open. A few small switches and maybe a few of the caps.
Unbowed, I went on to the phone. This was entirely a press fit and even though I pried to the point of deforming the plastic around the screwdriver tip, could not release the top from the dial section of the hand piece. Since the hacksaw was still handy, and I had a vise just large enough to hold the hand set, I worked like a Civil War surgeon amputating a limb to carve open the top and reveal the contents. This looks more promising, or maybe just more recognizable, but I easily got the mic and earpiece out of it, the digital dial, and miscellaneous small parts like resistors that are larger than those in the modem and maybe possible to extract.
This morning, driving back from the health club a neighbor was throwing away a CRT computer monitor. Looks interesting, I thought. What could be inside? Anything I could use? On my workbench it now sits, awaiting my next surgical mood.
An Example of the Ham Radio Fraternity in Action
This story begins two years ago at a hamfest where I bought a used Yaesu FT-900 HF xcvr, a 15 or so yr old unit but one that still gets great reviews. Despite assurances fm the seller, let's call him Ernie S., it didn't transmit on either CW or SSB but that's another story. For now we'll say it finally got repaired.
This story is about obtaining a power cable as the one I had been using (because it also fits a Kenwood) is now at my cabin in North Carolina and I need to test the rig here in Atlanta. A new cable is so costly it is silly - $40 - and after spending $300 for the radio, $40 for a mic, and over $200 in repairs, I'm not in the mood to spend another $40.
So I put out a call on some yahoo groups I frequent asking for a junkbox pwr cable for sale cheap. Within just a few hours insomniac Bob, W4YBB, answered me at 4am to say he had one so I went over this morning to get it.
You can see from the photo it's never been used, and as a bonus, he had already prepped it with power poles that I also use - what a great boon!
He wouldn't accept money for it and just asked for a future favor. Being one who feels the future is uncertain I inquired what I could do. Bob, tho retired, is practically a full time volunteer for the Red Cross especially in EMCOMM and he's gotten two Knwd TS-590's for them. I happen to be a Knwd man, on my third xcvr, love them all and my current one is a 590 so I readily assented to his request for training or orientation. We talked further about his project and he has a flat roof and is looking for a way to mount an antenna.
It so happens I have a new, unused roof tripod I had bought to mount on the ridge of my roof but due to changed plans, no longer needed and never expected to need again and in fact I had been thinking just in the past few days what was I going to do with it? It is perfect for Bob's project so now I am freed from wondering how little I'd get for it at a hamfest and moreover, know it will have a good home for a good purpose.
So, here's an example of the ham radio fraternity in action. Bob answered the call to help a fellow ham, with expectation of little or nothing in return. I was able to reciprocate to help him out and not only that, put to high use something that had low value to me, simply taking up valuable real estate in my garage and in fact probably hard to sell had I tried. A wonderful win-win today!
This story is about obtaining a power cable as the one I had been using (because it also fits a Kenwood) is now at my cabin in North Carolina and I need to test the rig here in Atlanta. A new cable is so costly it is silly - $40 - and after spending $300 for the radio, $40 for a mic, and over $200 in repairs, I'm not in the mood to spend another $40.
So I put out a call on some yahoo groups I frequent asking for a junkbox pwr cable for sale cheap. Within just a few hours insomniac Bob, W4YBB, answered me at 4am to say he had one so I went over this morning to get it.
You can see from the photo it's never been used, and as a bonus, he had already prepped it with power poles that I also use - what a great boon!
He wouldn't accept money for it and just asked for a future favor. Being one who feels the future is uncertain I inquired what I could do. Bob, tho retired, is practically a full time volunteer for the Red Cross especially in EMCOMM and he's gotten two Knwd TS-590's for them. I happen to be a Knwd man, on my third xcvr, love them all and my current one is a 590 so I readily assented to his request for training or orientation. We talked further about his project and he has a flat roof and is looking for a way to mount an antenna.
It so happens I have a new, unused roof tripod I had bought to mount on the ridge of my roof but due to changed plans, no longer needed and never expected to need again and in fact I had been thinking just in the past few days what was I going to do with it? It is perfect for Bob's project so now I am freed from wondering how little I'd get for it at a hamfest and moreover, know it will have a good home for a good purpose.
So, here's an example of the ham radio fraternity in action. Bob answered the call to help a fellow ham, with expectation of little or nothing in return. I was able to reciprocate to help him out and not only that, put to high use something that had low value to me, simply taking up valuable real estate in my garage and in fact probably hard to sell had I tried. A wonderful win-win today!
Today's Radio Adventures - Aug 10, 2013
Aug 10, 2013 - Continuing the End Fedz antenna adventure (or EFHW for End Fed Half Wave) I braved the mosquitoes Fri evening to venture out on the back porch to try a qso with the new ant, using the Yaesu 817 on battery pwr. The far end of the ant was tied to my tower 23 feet up and the business end was tied to a table on the back porch. With little effort I answered CQ from N4LQ, Steve in Charlotte on 40m and received 569 sig rpt. Then I went up to qrp zone of 20m and heard Eliot KE0n calling CQ fm MN and he heard me at 559 RST. He was also qrp on a Par End Fedz and I worked him earlier this wk on another band. So the antenna works well, better than my past two trials of portable antennas - a segmented dipole which works just okay and a homebrew Buddistick that works hardly at all. I had put a lot of effort into those two, especially the Buddistick, with discouraging results so maybe my antenna building skills are not what they should be. For that reason, instead of building an EFHW myself only to face another failed experiment I bought the manufactured one that had received such good reviews and now I am glad I did. Finally, a successful antenna project!
Today's Radio Adventures - Aug 3, 2013
Aug 3, 2013 - the first of today's radio adventures was to set up my brand new Par End Fedz antenna that just arrived 2 days ago. This adventure went very well and the End Fedz appears to be a quality device and made in America, in nearby North Carolina. I prefer to buy American every chance I get. The ant was recommended to me by SOTA activator Tommy Mitchell, W4TZM. His is the 20w model for greater portability but I wanted 100w for use at my condo in Fla so mine's that model for 20m and 40m.
I set it up provisionally in the backyard as a sloper to test its tune and without any trimming I got good, low SWR's on both bands. It is 66' long and comes with a short stub for 20m but I found in this instance I got better SWR's without the stub. In Fla, where I am on a 4th floor balcony facing the ocean, it will not be a sloper but will be draped over the side of the balcony after dark so I'll have to retune it there and perhaps do some trimming. We'll see.
I set it up provisionally in the backyard as a sloper to test its tune and without any trimming I got good, low SWR's on both bands. It is 66' long and comes with a short stub for 20m but I found in this instance I got better SWR's without the stub. In Fla, where I am on a 4th floor balcony facing the ocean, it will not be a sloper but will be draped over the side of the balcony after dark so I'll have to retune it there and perhaps do some trimming. We'll see.
Aug 3, 2013 - today's second adventure was less successful, so far at least. It is to hook up my new solid-state rotor controller, made my MDS in good old Moultrie, GA (in America) to my ancient, probably 25 yr old Yaesu rotor. Naturally it is not going well. The Yaesu came with a now-obsolete six-pin "Jones" plug and in a failed rewiring attempt a while back, the wires may have gotten crossed. The MDS comes with a different connector. A search of the internet came up with wiring diagrams for various Jones plugs but not for mine! Helpful Glen at MDS replied to me on Friday evening to suggest a resistance test between pins to ascertain which were which. Good idea but none of my measurements matched up. Next step will be to lower the tower (happily, it is a tilt up and fairly easy to get at the yagi and rotator) and look for markings on the rotator to clue me in.
Something New I Learned Today
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July 28, 2013 - messing around with Yaesu 817, becoming familiar with its features. I hadn't really done this before as I was using it strictly for portable ops so I had needed to learn only the most rudimentary things to get on the air. Now that my Knwd TS-590 is in the shop as of yesterday, I have no other xcvr's but the 817 & the limited NorCal 40A.
So in using the 817 I decided to try the scanning I just read abt last night. (I've had the radio over a year and actually still a beginner due to lack of prior effort). I know abt scanning so that's not what I learned new today. The manual says "set the Squelch/RF knob to the point where background noise is silenced." Now here's the good part "When a signal is encountered that opens the squelch...." The revelation to me is that I had never thought abt using the RF Gain or squelch in a way that would filter out all but the strongest signals. I had thought of the RF Gain as something you could lower fm the max to try to magically pull a weak signal out of the mud but not as a tool with which one could manage or eliminate background noise entirely. I must experiment with this and report back my results. For one thing, in the 817 that knob can be programmed to be either RF Gain or Squelch. Mine is RF Gain presently.
July 28, 2013 - messing around with Yaesu 817, becoming familiar with its features. I hadn't really done this before as I was using it strictly for portable ops so I had needed to learn only the most rudimentary things to get on the air. Now that my Knwd TS-590 is in the shop as of yesterday, I have no other xcvr's but the 817 & the limited NorCal 40A.
So in using the 817 I decided to try the scanning I just read abt last night. (I've had the radio over a year and actually still a beginner due to lack of prior effort). I know abt scanning so that's not what I learned new today. The manual says "set the Squelch/RF knob to the point where background noise is silenced." Now here's the good part "When a signal is encountered that opens the squelch...." The revelation to me is that I had never thought abt using the RF Gain or squelch in a way that would filter out all but the strongest signals. I had thought of the RF Gain as something you could lower fm the max to try to magically pull a weak signal out of the mud but not as a tool with which one could manage or eliminate background noise entirely. I must experiment with this and report back my results. For one thing, in the 817 that knob can be programmed to be either RF Gain or Squelch. Mine is RF Gain presently.
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July 27, 2013 - 1) The "clarifier" button on the Yaesu 817 is what is also known a "RIT" (receive incremental tuning) elsewhere. I thought that the term "clarifier" was archaic. 2) how to install a CW filter in 817. Much easier than I had expected; easier than changing a light bulb, really, once the case is open. I had irrationally feared it would be technically challenging and stayed away from install the filter for a long while. Now let's see how it works. 3) if you plug 817 into a power supply, it will charge while you operate.
July 27, 2013 - 1) The "clarifier" button on the Yaesu 817 is what is also known a "RIT" (receive incremental tuning) elsewhere. I thought that the term "clarifier" was archaic. 2) how to install a CW filter in 817. Much easier than I had expected; easier than changing a light bulb, really, once the case is open. I had irrationally feared it would be technically challenging and stayed away from install the filter for a long while. Now let's see how it works. 3) if you plug 817 into a power supply, it will charge while you operate.
Illustrating my Split Ham Personality - QRP or QRO? I am so conflicted.
Illustrating my Split Ham Personality - QRP or QRO? I am conflicted. On the one hand Dr. Jekyll wants to use QRP for the fun and challenge of minimal operations; because you can build your own gear and antennas, and because of portability - take it to the field!
But Mr. Hyde wants to work DX and collect countries and is tired of being a 90-lb barefoot weakling being pushed around by more powerful stations so he craves power!
Yes, I know about John Shannon, K3WWP, (who is a national treasure by the way) who's worked the world many times over on 5 watts and simple wire antennas and who has made a QSO a day for 19 years (>7,000) on QRP so we all know it is possible but if you are still working full time as I am and have a limited amount of time to devote to DXing or even to just hamming in general, a little extra power is nice. Is this a long sentence or what? John's excellent and interesting website is http://home.windstream.net/johnshan/ and worth a visit, IMHO.
The upper amp in the pic is an old Heathkit SB-200 that I have not been able to get on the air and the lower is a "new" used Ameritron 811H I just acquired and with a tuner that is coming soon I will have it on the air when needed. My strategy, initially at least, will be to go barefoot to try to make a DX contact calling CQ but failing that, up the power.
The rigs on the bottom are my Yeasu 817 bought used in 2012 and my NorCal 40A built from a kit in the nineties. It needs a new keyer at the moment, by the way.
I still want DXCC QRP and have 88 countries so far, so I'll resume that after I get to 200 countries barefoot or QRO. Two hundred countries seems to be a nice threshold for DX accomplishments, based on the number of people at the DX dinner at Dayton a few years ago I attended. A well-attended event, the moderator had everyone stand who had 100 countries and of course that was most of us, absent spouses. Then remain standing if you have >200 and at least half the room sat down. So, I scientifically conclude that >200 would put you in the upper half and that's where I want to be. As the count increased to 250, etc. more and more people sat down till just one hero remained but I don't expect to ever get into a rarefied atmosphere; just the upper half will do for me. So I'll use my amp(s) to get me there, then sell one and keep the other for special occasions.
Wish me luck; I have 111 entities confirmed (but 146 worked) as of July 2013 so this could take a while!
But Mr. Hyde wants to work DX and collect countries and is tired of being a 90-lb barefoot weakling being pushed around by more powerful stations so he craves power!
Yes, I know about John Shannon, K3WWP, (who is a national treasure by the way) who's worked the world many times over on 5 watts and simple wire antennas and who has made a QSO a day for 19 years (>7,000) on QRP so we all know it is possible but if you are still working full time as I am and have a limited amount of time to devote to DXing or even to just hamming in general, a little extra power is nice. Is this a long sentence or what? John's excellent and interesting website is http://home.windstream.net/johnshan/ and worth a visit, IMHO.
The upper amp in the pic is an old Heathkit SB-200 that I have not been able to get on the air and the lower is a "new" used Ameritron 811H I just acquired and with a tuner that is coming soon I will have it on the air when needed. My strategy, initially at least, will be to go barefoot to try to make a DX contact calling CQ but failing that, up the power.
The rigs on the bottom are my Yeasu 817 bought used in 2012 and my NorCal 40A built from a kit in the nineties. It needs a new keyer at the moment, by the way.
I still want DXCC QRP and have 88 countries so far, so I'll resume that after I get to 200 countries barefoot or QRO. Two hundred countries seems to be a nice threshold for DX accomplishments, based on the number of people at the DX dinner at Dayton a few years ago I attended. A well-attended event, the moderator had everyone stand who had 100 countries and of course that was most of us, absent spouses. Then remain standing if you have >200 and at least half the room sat down. So, I scientifically conclude that >200 would put you in the upper half and that's where I want to be. As the count increased to 250, etc. more and more people sat down till just one hero remained but I don't expect to ever get into a rarefied atmosphere; just the upper half will do for me. So I'll use my amp(s) to get me there, then sell one and keep the other for special occasions.
Wish me luck; I have 111 entities confirmed (but 146 worked) as of July 2013 so this could take a while!
LxPedition to Jekyll Island, IOTA NA-058, May 27, 2012
Got set up early, for a change, in the South Dunes Park of Jekyll Island,
conveniently rt next to my hotel, the Hampton. As typical of the area,
there were plenty of Live Oak trees with cooperating limbs to choose from so I
chose some next to a covered pavilion. It was reserved for someone's
graduation party but they never came.
Hoisted the segmented dipole and stretched it out to its full length for
40m. Tried SSB first but no one could work me. Went down to 7062 for
CW and made 5 contacts - KA3P in Ocala, FL, KI4KGK, K2UFT and W4NSN in Atlanta,
and N4QA, Bill in VA. Then moved up to 20m and again could work no one on
SSB but worked DL8QS on CW at 14032. CW airwaves very crowded with WPX
contest all wkend.
Worked from 2:40 to 4:30pm. Tnx to all for working me and pulling me
out of the static.
conveniently rt next to my hotel, the Hampton. As typical of the area,
there were plenty of Live Oak trees with cooperating limbs to choose from so I
chose some next to a covered pavilion. It was reserved for someone's
graduation party but they never came.
Hoisted the segmented dipole and stretched it out to its full length for
40m. Tried SSB first but no one could work me. Went down to 7062 for
CW and made 5 contacts - KA3P in Ocala, FL, KI4KGK, K2UFT and W4NSN in Atlanta,
and N4QA, Bill in VA. Then moved up to 20m and again could work no one on
SSB but worked DL8QS on CW at 14032. CW airwaves very crowded with WPX
contest all wkend.
Worked from 2:40 to 4:30pm. Tnx to all for working me and pulling me
out of the static.
Antenna Projects Gone Wild
My project a few weekends ago, April 21-22, 2012, was supposed to be to install the new solid-state rotor controller box I've had for a few weeks and is
just sitting there on the shack table, doing no good at all unconnected.
However, this trumped by the excitement of building and testing a new antenna for portable ops I learned about 2 wks ago from some SOTA operators
in NC. Called the Iditarod portable dipole it is made from speaker wire (I used 22-ga but the one in the instructions was made with even lighter
26-ga). Sunday I built the first section, for 20m, tuned it up and made a qso. Then I built another 6′ or so for 30m, tuned and pruned, and qso’d.
Ran out of time and daylight Sunday so I finished it up with another 10′ on each let to make 40m. This segment tuned up right away without any
pruning! Made a qso with K3JRR, Larry, in Virginia and he gave me 579 on Yaesu 817 at 2.5 watts, so it must be working!
Working on this project caused me to miss my QSO365 string for 4/23/12, the 2nd one I’ve missed this, except for travel when I excuse myself fm QSO365.
I’ve enjoyed qso365; it’s made me improve my operating skills and diligence, and will still try to keep it up, but will no longer be obsessive about it.
My antenna distractions got worse Saturday at our monthly Decatur Hams and Eggs breakfast when Newt, N4EWT loaned me his Buddipole to try out that he
happened to have in his trunk. Doesn’t everyone ride around with Buddipoles in their trunks?
So, I’ve got to try that out before I have to return it so my rotor controller may stay on my desk with its warrantly quietly expiring while I try new things with due dates. Meanwhile, my tower is pointing due south so I can make good qso’s with Latin America!
just sitting there on the shack table, doing no good at all unconnected.
However, this trumped by the excitement of building and testing a new antenna for portable ops I learned about 2 wks ago from some SOTA operators
in NC. Called the Iditarod portable dipole it is made from speaker wire (I used 22-ga but the one in the instructions was made with even lighter
26-ga). Sunday I built the first section, for 20m, tuned it up and made a qso. Then I built another 6′ or so for 30m, tuned and pruned, and qso’d.
Ran out of time and daylight Sunday so I finished it up with another 10′ on each let to make 40m. This segment tuned up right away without any
pruning! Made a qso with K3JRR, Larry, in Virginia and he gave me 579 on Yaesu 817 at 2.5 watts, so it must be working!
Working on this project caused me to miss my QSO365 string for 4/23/12, the 2nd one I’ve missed this, except for travel when I excuse myself fm QSO365.
I’ve enjoyed qso365; it’s made me improve my operating skills and diligence, and will still try to keep it up, but will no longer be obsessive about it.
My antenna distractions got worse Saturday at our monthly Decatur Hams and Eggs breakfast when Newt, N4EWT loaned me his Buddipole to try out that he
happened to have in his trunk. Doesn’t everyone ride around with Buddipoles in their trunks?
So, I’ve got to try that out before I have to return it so my rotor controller may stay on my desk with its warrantly quietly expiring while I try new things with due dates. Meanwhile, my tower is pointing due south so I can make good qso’s with Latin America!
K9QRP
Snickers, "K9QRP," making a SOTA contact
If I had a big dog, he'd be K9QRO!
Summits on the Air
Summits on the Air, aka SOTA, is a fun program that combines hiking in the mountains with ham radio portable ops. Register yourself free via http://www.sota.org.uk/ and look for stations on sotawatch.org. You can earn Activator points by activating an approved summit as listed on the sota.org site and also earn Chaser points by seeking out (chasing) activators. If you're lucky as I was a few weeks ago as an Activator on Cowee Mountain in North Carolina, you might worked another Activator on another summit and earn points in both categories.
SOTA is accomplished with true portable stations not connected to vehicles, generators or grid power; i.e., batteries or solar powered. You have to hike up at least 100', so no driving to the summit! If, as an Activator, you post yourself well, you can be on the receiving end of a mini-pileup. I had my first on Cowee Mtn and also worked first DX, a Canadian station.
I've learned firsthand what I already knew but didn't fully appreciate before, than a good antenna is a most important factor. My first two activations, on Clingmans Dome and Waterrock Knob in NC, were barely successful. I made my minimum four contacts, but with difficulty. I was using a Buddistick homebrew that I put a lot of effort into building and got signal reports as bad as 22. Miracle, apparently, that anyone heard me at all.
Frustrated, I built a small dipole several experienced SOTA Activators told me about called Iditarod. It works terrifically! On 3rd activation, Cowee Mtn, I worked 9 stations. Still not a lot, but a big improvement over 5 hard ones both times before.
If you like hikng and getting into the out of doors, try SOTA to combine outdoors fun with radio fun!
SOTA is accomplished with true portable stations not connected to vehicles, generators or grid power; i.e., batteries or solar powered. You have to hike up at least 100', so no driving to the summit! If, as an Activator, you post yourself well, you can be on the receiving end of a mini-pileup. I had my first on Cowee Mtn and also worked first DX, a Canadian station.
I've learned firsthand what I already knew but didn't fully appreciate before, than a good antenna is a most important factor. My first two activations, on Clingmans Dome and Waterrock Knob in NC, were barely successful. I made my minimum four contacts, but with difficulty. I was using a Buddistick homebrew that I put a lot of effort into building and got signal reports as bad as 22. Miracle, apparently, that anyone heard me at all.
Frustrated, I built a small dipole several experienced SOTA Activators told me about called Iditarod. It works terrifically! On 3rd activation, Cowee Mtn, I worked 9 stations. Still not a lot, but a big improvement over 5 hard ones both times before.
If you like hikng and getting into the out of doors, try SOTA to combine outdoors fun with radio fun!
k4wk atop Cowee Mtn NC, Apr 29 2012
K4WK Bio
In New York in high school in the 1960’s I was a kid interested in things mathematical and scientific, including electronics and radio, and became a Novice about age 15. Unhappily, I never made a QSO during the one year you were allowed to be a Novice. After a year, you had to upgrade or out. So for me in the 10th grade, with the dating and car years coming on, I dropped out of radio.
In 1996, almost 50, I rediscovered SWL by reading the TechnoBuddy column in the Atlanta paper. That excited me like a kid and rekindled my previously dormant tendencies toward nerdiness. I soon had a small portable SWL receiver from Radio Shack.
This went on for a while till one day I stumbled onto Ham Radio Outlet which I had never heard of, and went in. It was like Toys R Us for me. Relearning the amateur radio licensing basics and the code came back like riding a bicycle might and soon, I was outfitted and licensed. I still have my straight key from High School, and my Heathkit Q-Multiplier but unfortunately, that’s all.
I enjoy CW (for the mental challenge; kind of like Sudoku for me), kit building, QRO as well as QRP (I must have a ham radio personality disorder to do that), SOTA, & DX. I want to ragchew more on CW; am solid at 16-17 wpm; would like to get up to 21-22 comfortably and I would like to ragchew DX and not just 599 TU.
Don’t care much for digital modes at this time. Have a few boatanchors I need to make operational. Goals for 2013 is to get 7 more states confirmed on LoTW (I have WAS but used mostly cards to get it), get 8 more countries LoTW confirmed on CW and on 20m for DXCC endorsements, and complete my unbuilt projects before starting any new ones. I try to make one QSO a day. I tweet @k4wk and have a website, www.hamdom.com, that is sort of a blog.
In 1996, almost 50, I rediscovered SWL by reading the TechnoBuddy column in the Atlanta paper. That excited me like a kid and rekindled my previously dormant tendencies toward nerdiness. I soon had a small portable SWL receiver from Radio Shack.
This went on for a while till one day I stumbled onto Ham Radio Outlet which I had never heard of, and went in. It was like Toys R Us for me. Relearning the amateur radio licensing basics and the code came back like riding a bicycle might and soon, I was outfitted and licensed. I still have my straight key from High School, and my Heathkit Q-Multiplier but unfortunately, that’s all.
I enjoy CW (for the mental challenge; kind of like Sudoku for me), kit building, QRO as well as QRP (I must have a ham radio personality disorder to do that), SOTA, & DX. I want to ragchew more on CW; am solid at 16-17 wpm; would like to get up to 21-22 comfortably and I would like to ragchew DX and not just 599 TU.
Don’t care much for digital modes at this time. Have a few boatanchors I need to make operational. Goals for 2013 is to get 7 more states confirmed on LoTW (I have WAS but used mostly cards to get it), get 8 more countries LoTW confirmed on CW and on 20m for DXCC endorsements, and complete my unbuilt projects before starting any new ones. I try to make one QSO a day. I tweet @k4wk and have a website, www.hamdom.com, that is sort of a blog.
