Upgrade

I upgraded to R1CBU 0.32.2. It tested fine with WSJT-X.

It has a new IF-shift feature to move birdies in the menu, but it was “unavailable” on the old base firmware I was running, so I had to upgrade to Base 1.1.9:

• https://www.radioddity.com/pages/xiegu-download
• write the image to an SD card
• boot it
• let it restart
• apply the base 1.1.9 upgrade from the system / firmware menu on the stock firmware

Upgrading the base to 1.1.9 went OK after figuring out some issues with a bad /dev/sdb device handle on my Linux notebook.

New Features

Now I can “IF Shift” when I find a birdie near or in the passband I’m trying to hear. It binds nicely to the bottom MFK for quick access.

This firmware continues to work for FT8. I tested power output with CW as well, since there was a note about needing to applying an output gain.

It’s nice to see the discrete values from the graphs also on the screen: received signal, TX power, SWR.

I’ve been experimenting for a while with 2 stop bits in flrig to get the initial connection to succeed more often. Sometimes it helps, and sometimes it doesn’t. I was hoping this update may help, but there’s no difference. I’ll go back to 1 stop bit.

My Week in Radio

• Winter Field Day
  • I logged for CW ops and listened along
  • I could hear 2-3 characters at a time

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • Field Day
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • Field Day
    • operated most
    • worked N3FJP, author of the software
    • W1AW
    • W2AEW see on youtube
    • worked with Kianna
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • field day trailer worked out great
• KB3PZY, Al:
  • first field day
  • Thanks Harvey for mentoring
  • 30 some contacts
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • antennas up at the field day site
  • got to WFD early
  • laptops, network, power worked great
  • 450-475 contacts made
  • SKCC
    • PR on 6M CW
    • Alaska on 15M CW
• WA3KFT, John:
  • WFD with another club, 75M
    • didn’t hear anyone in the afternoon, all noise
    • early evening it lit up
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • simplex net
  • welfare net
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • welcome Al
  • antenna install for WFD with lots of people
  • “how to cut a dipole the second time, every time” worked pretty well
  • used Joe’s tuner with 100W testing
  • PMAM pre-net
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • SKCC month ends on saturday
    • coordinating SKCC ops, had enough of it :)
    • worked 240 contacts with special callsign
  • worked WFD with cornwall station
    • proved total lid
      • operated a Elecraft K3 on 40M
      • heard W3R, but couldn’t get an answer
      • K3 needs VOX enabled for CW, so it wasn’t transmitting
      • quit for the morning
      • realized much later about VOX
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • winter field day at home: 40M and 80M *** Questions
• KD3EE, John:
  • What was the problem with the 80M antennas and that radio that rebooted?
  • How significant is the dipole arrangement (flat vs inverted-v) to multi-station operation?
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • originally thought it was RF
    • switched radio to AC-DC power supply, and then the radio was fine
    • trailers battery may not have kept up with the severe cold
    • new radio couldn’t tolerate voltage drop, but older radio was ok
    • LiFEPo battery struggles under 30F
    • CW dipole showed high SWR at one spot, still needed to be investigated more
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • when the weather is better, Ron will run a complete analysis on each antenna on the site.
    • we can talk inductance and capacitance then
    • there seems to be an RFI problem from a power transformer insulator up there as well
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • 80M dipole cut for sideband worked well
    • 40M CW in the corner may need some work
    • 1 beam was pointing at the 80M dipole, so likely caused lots interference
    • it’ll be good to analyze when no one transmitting
    • one 40M dipole may be close to noise.
    • some experimenting to do
    • we still got lots of 40M contacts
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • power-line interference has been an ongoing issue
    • Chuck has a small moxon for 137MHz that will be good paired with AM on his HT to search for the noise source
      • worked to find a bad pole in his neighborhood
    • inverted vs flat dipole
      • dipoles end to end have very little radiation off the ends.
      • inverted-v antennas would have seen each other on the ends
      • analyzers work with very low signals, so would have totally been skewed by nearby QRN and TX
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • Chuck, let’s build a dipole curtain array for field day.
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • HF vertical can have a ground plane, even in the air or on the ground? They help control common-mode current? Why use them?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • the ground plane is the other half of your antenna.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • Has the Amtron A99 on a tower without the ground plane kit, but has a TV mast below it on the tower, so may be serving the purpose.
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • IMAC 2000 antenna, 50 ft in the air without the ground plane kit. The galvanized steel mast underneath it served as the ground.
    • AMTRON 99 came with it, so he installed it. It looks cool.
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • Used tuned hamsticks in Colorado, and put out lots of radials.
  • KD3EE, John:
    • the computer and radio going wonky (touchpad, USB, etc) always remind me when I need to add radials to my vertical antenna.
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • With the IMAC, he knows he needs the ground plane kit as it gets higher in the air.
    • His is grounded to a gas pipe, so it seems to work pretty well, and he’s gotten to Australia.
    • Also has lots of coax to absorb it.
    • Has gotten to Australia with it.
• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • He’s planning for antennas on the house, 2 stories, walk-up attic. He has a dormer facing west, and was planning to mount antennas there. Easy to get to them from attic. Can he mount all the antennas on one plate or should he space them out?
    • regional HF (20m) antenna and dual-band 2m/70cm antenna.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Personally doesn’t like to have antenna on the house, since it draws lightning.
    • How much land?
      • Simon: L-shaped, 1/3 acre, but no trees that are actually his.
    • 40M would be a good horizontal wire for regional NVIS
    • grounding is imperative for lightning protection of the house.
    • those antennas, in size, are very different.
    • wires are easier for HF
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • the Hustler 5-BTV for 80-10M is a good option
    • he has radio and tuner for Simon
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • Hustler in the yard would be a good option
    • pin down the feed line and radials with lawn stakes
    • neighbors trees: any limbs over your property could be used to hold up an end fed antenna
    • get the antenna as high as you can get it
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • He has 5 antennas at the top of a tower, like a candlabra.
    • an edger is good for grooving the lawn for wires
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • sent link to the Hustler 5-BTV
    • the digital modes are FT8 and PSK31
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • Has an NMO lip-mount with dual band antenna clamped to the rain gutter of the shop.
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • using a copper pipe j-pole inside in the attic of the garage.
      • should work just fine.
    • an HF antenna in the attic would work fine too
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • for new hams and those in HOAs, attic antennas can be effective
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • Why’s the 5-BTV so highly recommended, compared to other variations?
    • WA3VEE, Ron:
      • the 5 walks the line of versatility and size
      • they’re different sizes
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • a 4-BTV is 4-bands, 5- is 5-band, etc.
  • KA3GLI, David:
    • on the 5-BTV, what auto-tuner is recommended?
    • W3GMS, Joe:
      • LDG RC-1 auto-tuner helps match as you get away from the vertical’s narrow, high-Q, resonant spot.
  • KD3EE, John:
    • remember you can build these HF antennas with some wire and toroids.
• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • How does height affect performance of a vertical: ground vs roof?
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • wire radials on the ground are easy. detuned by the earth.
    • lots of short radials are best
    • elevated radials will perform better, but will require tuning of radials.
    • random lengths are fine on the ground
  • KC3WRY, Matt:
    • a ground-mounted antenna is easier to tune, instead of up in the air.
    • ground-mounted can always later be moved.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • worked at an AM radio station.
    • when they moved, they rebuilt all the radials.
      • 60 short and 60 long radials
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • 8 radials with the 5-BTV at the beach was fine
    • gains aren’t as impressive after the first radials

While driving to winter field day, I heard lots of fldigi/flmsg messages sent and received during a drill on the W3EOC repeater system. They assigned municipalities to each operator to call them for reports.

I found the old AndFlmsg from sourceforge wouldn’t install on modern Android, so I couldn’t immediately decode messages.

I found and installed a new version of AndFlMsg, from a new provider. I’ll be ready to follow along the next time.

My Week in Radio

• at breakfast, I showed off a USB adapter to use a CW key on the computer to chat online or play video games to practice CW
  • I’m quickly improving my score as I practice.
• helped install antennas today at field day site
  • see the seasoned pros in action
  • afterward, I visited Micro Center, since I was relatively close

Others

• W3MFB, Mike:
  • ARRL VHF contest: 6M and 70cm SSB
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • field day site:
    • cold, but not windy
    • new 40M dipole for CW
    • new 80M dipole for phone
    • old 80M dipole tested good for CW
    • flipped the TA-33 beam
    • CL-33 beam has a broken element, still on the ground
  • Joe’s tuner is completed and ready to test for real on his open wire line
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • worked on the trailer a bit for field day
    • 12V lines and power bank
    • heat sources
  • field day site
    • straightened up George’s trailer
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • field day conditions may be challenging: maybe 20F if we’re lucky
    • zoom planning call on Thursday
    • next work day is friday
      • staging
      • vertical antenna
    • start at 11AM Eastern
  • working straight key: got a station in Hawaii
• KB3PZY, Al:
  • some 20M contacts
  • field day site
• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • messing with SDR
    • how does an RTL-SDR work?
    • one chip for radio and for USB
    • can it be repackaged as a PI hat?
  • looking forward to field day ops
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • SKCC: coordinating K3Y operators
    • he’s made 200 contacts on that callsign
    • top person may have 700 contacts
  • afternoon sked with friend
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • enjoyed simplex net on saturday
  • attended field day install
• WA3KFT, John:
  • January VHF contest: 6M
    • only 1 station found at startup
    • lots of FT8
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • thanks everyone who came to the field day
  • FTDX-10 does not have the CW filter
  • preparing power supplies
  • W3R is reserved for next year’s WFD

Questions

• W3MFB, Mike:
  • Everyone checking in, sounded clear. WA3KFT, John, clicks in and out on his Anytone rig. Why?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • 100W into the cable
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • WA3KFT is badly deviated, needed to turn down audio when receiving.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • As Chuck said, WA3KFT, John is loud.
    • Can hear everything just fine, no cut-out, so that may be Mike’s rig.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Mike, do you have the ability to set narrow/wide?
    • Delaware City UHF repeater exhibits clipping
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • has deviation set to wide
    • Yaesu hears John just fine.
    • AA3LH, Leon, is always loud, but OK.
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • google that radio and the problem. there are settings to adjust to mitigate it
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • Does anyone have any experience working aurora on 6M? There’s a flare coming tonight.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • a couple years ago when solar cycle was lower, he made a few contacts.
  • More people should use 6M.
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • Has anyone heard anything much about the effecst of solar flares today around 1pm?
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • forums complaining about bands being totally dead, even up to 2M
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • 10M and 40M were noisy around 4pm
    • 80M has some people, and is pretty clean right now
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • a K3Y operator was struggling to pull people out of noise
    • one station would be clear, then another like a spark hash
    • Jim heard warbling tones
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • Antennas were cut long, then installed, we tested, then adjusted. What’s the formula for determining the amount to trim?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • SWR guesses were just good guesses.
    • For adjusting the length of the dipole: “tuning your dipole, second time, every time”
    • lots of things affect resonance:
      • height
      • quality of ground
      • insulation
      • wire velocity factor
    • to adjust:
      • measure before you put it up, while long
      • install it
      • measure where it resonates
      • corrected length / original length = desired freq / resonant freq
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • What QSL card services do you use for custom?
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • KB3IFH prints cards, name tags, etc: https://www.kb3ifhqslcards.com/qsl-pricing-ordering
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • Chester QSL Cards
    • plain, white, glossy
    • they advertise in QST
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • CheapQSLs.com
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • https://www.gigaparts.com/customizable-standard-3-5-x5-5-qsl-card.html
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • found software for designing the cards
      • interface with database or CSV
      • prepare all the cards at once
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • cheapqsls.com had multiple designs
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • has used MS Publisher to layout cards
    • W3R cards look nice: yellow on dark

My Week in Radio

• RTTY Round Up got me the last couple states I needed on QRZ with the new callsign
• USB adapter for CW key on computer
  • use it with websites
    • vband for online CW chat
    • morse invaders
      • keying CW for video games is improving my accuracy
• Continue to practice to improve reading CW
• Visited the hamfest in Harrisburg, but didn’t buy anything
• Headed East tomorrow to help install antennas for field day next weekend
  • see how others do this more reliably
  • learn some better practices
  • my antennas usually get replaced regularly for repair or boredom
• Nothing for swap and shop

Others

• WB3LNY, George:
  • Hamfest in Harrisburg
  • local 6M repeater
  • modifying a big icom battery
  • got a new IRLP node from a guy in Chicago for portable use
• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • keep your groups.io account active
  • John Holler passed away
  • Jeff Dipolo operating VHF contest on: 50.140 USB, 146.52, 446.00
    • Chambersburg
  • new satellite: KW2
    • 436.950 down
  • Ham lunch on last Thursday this month
    • Glen talking about directional beverage antennas
    • show and tell
    • Riley will be there
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • shared some history with John Holler
  • helping restore service to a local repeater
    • introducing and balancing some more battery backups
  • some work on power supplies
• K3DMM, Denny:
  • dabbled in NA QSO party
  • trying some DX work to Fiji
• KD3BVC, Jeff:
  • just getting started with his Baofeng UV-5R
  • built a jpole
• N3RBG, Jeff:
  • 50 W, Comet GP-6, 70ft up a pine tree, good signal to/from Plymouth Meeting

I purchased a USB adapter to connect my CW paddles (1/8-inch audio plug) to the computer. I can now use Vband on-line chat to practice keying CW with other people.

The adapter simulates Left and Right Ctrl keys with the morse key, and the website interprets that as dits and dahs. It works really well.

I also found Morse Invaders, which is a typing tutor that uses CW: key the word before it hits your city.

Minor Linux Note: I use keyd to remap some keys on my laptop, so be aware how it may mess with the Ctrl Keys.

My Week in Radio

• RTTY Round Up a week ago got me Oregon, the last state I needed for all 50 states for this current callsign
• Strung up the 80M EFHW, found a lower SWR with counterpoise removed.

Others

• W1RC, Mike:
  • looking for a 2M transverter for his Elecraft radio
  • getting Yaesu Fusion working to check-in to a net
    • doesn’t like the audio so much
• W8CRW, CR:
  • helping chuck and george at the field day site on thursday
• K3EMI, Randy:
  • putting up an OCF dipole on the roof in nice weather
  • coax is super-stiff
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • setup the new riser for his desk
  • almost done building a power supply for a transmitter he built
  • some CW
  • excited for WFD
• K9CAN, Kris:
  • from Eugene OR
  • hosting a winter field day site on a mountain
  • working on a new antenna project
    • multiband
    • modular
    • 3d printing parts for it
    • doublet pieces
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • Thursday work session at field day site
    • 9:30am-dark
    • got ropes and pulleys into trees
    • next up
      • launch the dipoles
      • service the beams
      • saturday
      • cold and dry
  • Joe’s tuner is coming alive
    • steppers working in one direction and chattering in the other
    • feedback POTs reading fine
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • net control for Simplex Net and for Welfare Net
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • organizing shack
  • repairing and updating an old export 10M rig
  • preparing trailer for field day
• W3QP, Tim:
  • SOTA trips coming up in February
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • SKCC
    • scheduling operators
    • operated saturday and this afternoon
    • worked WA and CA
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • need to drop the new mast to fix 10M vertical dipole
  • TV pre-amp needs service too
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • Welcome K9CAN, Kris.
  • Helped at Field Day site
    • watching George with the potato gun for shooting high lines into trees
    • Met a new ham, KD3CJH, Kiana.
    • worked 8 countries testing beams at FD site

Questions

• AF3Z, Jim:
  • For WFD, How do we expect winter weather to effect electronics and radio gear? Any likely failures?
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • probably no worry here in PA.
    • in Rocky Mountains, CO, it did make a difference.
      • wire would kink but not unkink, breakage
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • crystals and oscillators will have a temperature coefficient
    • transistors won’t care
    • operators will be stiff
    • LCD screens will slow response, freeze and turn black
    • Li-ion batteries will degrade faster
    • starting generators can be difficult
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • trailer runs solely on battery + solar
    • 300Ah 13V battery
    • Summer field day used 18% of the battery to run FTD-10 radio for 2 days
  • KD3EE, John:
    • batteries may need to be swapped to keep warm, like digital cameras
    • has seen LCD on radios stop updating in cold
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • some batteries, like LiFePO, don’t like to charge below freezing
  • AC2EG, Eric:
    • Commercial-rated (not industrial) laptops can have trouble below 25F. maybe won’t boot.
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • LiFePO with a good BMS will keep it from charging in damaging (too cold) conditions
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • operating CW can be hard in the cold
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • For those in HOA, what might be a successful, inside antenna? Maybe not in the attic?
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • Do you really need to be horizontally polarized?
      • 10M dipole isn’t huge.
      • mobile ground plane verticals
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • horizontal will be best, but either way, I guess
    • wires taped to the ceiling?
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • magnetic loops?
    • 16 feet for a dipole?
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • 11M dipole hanging in a tree, 6ft from the ground: similar to hanging it from the ceiling.
      • split right off the coax, speaker wire
    • just try it
    • try a magmount vertical
    • try it on a balcony
    • near a window: magnetic loop
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • use 11M whip antennas, and trim it
    • wire across the wall
    • work from the balcony
    • drop a piece of wire from a higher floor
    • outside will avoid inside RFI
    • inside can mess with other electronics :)
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • may have an 11M whip to donate
  • W3QNZ, Joe:
    • recycled a pota antenna made of scrap wire and a cobra head
    • moved it into the attic
  • KD3EE, John:
    • may have a loop antenna to lend
    • run wires down the hallway or the loft
    • use lower power, digital modes, CW, weak signal for results

I updated rpt.conf on my node to enable the 813 DTMF code for making permanent link. The permanent link will try to re-establish itself after a disconnect.

It doesn’t re-establish upon reboot, so a macro is still needed on startup. I updated the existing startup macro to *81353085 after *77 (report).

My Week in Radio

• 80M EFHW today for better receive to place 21.6M-long EFRW
  • realized it may be better listening as it’s resonant
  • Random wire may be “noisy”, because tuned other than what I want to hear
• worked some contests:
  • PSK Fest: 15 contacts
  • RTTY Roundup: 70 contacts

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • 985 nets
  • Bill’s for antenna building + computer fest
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • playing with 1:1 baluns on G5RV
  • seeing different antenna performance through the week
  • quicksilver balun is doing really well
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • happy new year
  • field day work this week
    • wednesday meeting
    • thursday building
  • RPi 3B+ for an allstar node
  • 2 VE sessions:
    • Passed a local student for tech license: Kiana
    • Passed 8 more on Saturday
  • If you’re an extra, see about being a VE.
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • building a 1929 transmitter and power supply on contract: basically done.
  • 75M AM recently
  • At Joe’s for winter break to build a desk riser, etc.
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • built a clear, stackable case with a a fan for his ham clock.
• NA3CW, Chuck
  • final testing of Joe’s tuner project
    • building a wooden test stand for maintenance of the tuner
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • checked out field day site
• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • visited Bill’s for dipole build
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • visited Bill’s for dipole build
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • 80M DX nets and contacts
  • using remote web-SDRs to see how far away he here’s his net contacts: many states away, maybe even Europe
• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • played with computers at Bill’s
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • WFD chairman
  • Winter Field Day
    • Jan 24-25
    • active planning, building, testing
    • 14 people at Bill’s
    • master class in soldering dipoles
    • Thursday will be installing antennas
  • Working straight key night, including AF3Z, Jim.
• WA3KFT, John:
  • stranded wire is nice, but solder joints of stranded can make a weak point
  • preferring copper-clad steel wire far antennas.
  • has stayed up for 20 years before needing replacement

Questions

• KD3EE, John: I want a 2-meter antenna to build that’s simple, sturdy, and I can pull up into a tree. I have the 1/4-wave ground plane and a slim jim already. Flowerpot antenna looks cool. Suggestions?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • j-pole of copper pipe: tee, elbow, pipe
      • plans everywhere
      • sweat solder some joints
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • X50 that already has the ground plane radials
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • use a bit of conduit as a counterweight
    • pull a 25-foot antenna up into a tree above the mount point on that conduit.
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • see W6NBC’s website for home-made antennas
      • including slot design made of aluminum foil tape and pvc
      • delta loop for a bit of directional gain
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • second the j-pole: rugged
    • pipe is thick for better bandwidth
  • KD3EE, John:
    • Mike: i love the idea of hoisting above the mount point
    • Harvey: I have all those pieces here: i can have something by day break!
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Why can it be heard on the digital side?
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • Yes, you are hearing the intermod on digital.
    • echolink/allstar is external to the repeater, not integrated, so that radio is hearing the intermod.
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • You should not hear intermod for digital people.
    • 146.385 receive audio is sent to a simplex link, which is sent to Joe’s house, then into Allstar node to the internet.
    • People connecting via digital, goes to node at Joe’s, processed, then sent up the simplex link to the repeater.
    • People connecting through digital shouldn’t exhibit intermod.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Those people you thought were digital, may have been analog.
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • technically, if a digital person is listening to another digital person, it’s just a VOIP call, no RF really needed.
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • What’s the history of an HF radio that’s been “MARS-modded”, and what’s its purpose?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • MARS frequencies are near, but outside the HAM bands
    • In some radios, like IC-706, you remove a diode to allow it to transmit anywhere.
    • Make a ham radio able to transmit on any frequency.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • MARS = Military Auxiliary Radio System
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • commercial radios sold are not allowed to transmit outside amateur band for “type acceptance”
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • big manufacturers sell lots more gear beyond ham operators.
    • those radios can be used by other people
    • keep the average “appliance operator” from wandering out of band.
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • Understand the motivation to make it difficult. It’s illegal to work outside band on a radio not type-accepted in those bands.
• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • How do existing filters work when out of band?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Yes, they still pass through existing filters, so maybe not very clean.

My Week in Radio

• muted the APRS channel on my UV-PRO, so I don’t need to hear that squawking away
  • there is an option to mute digital, but it only works when it recognizes it’s digital
• been testing a doublet built from:
  • a split speaker wire,
  • 44ft end to end
  • a 4:1 balun
  • choke balun
  • 30 FT8 contacts on 20M at 1W for a park activation
• 80M EFHW today for better receive to place 21.6M-long EFRW
• worked contests:
  • PSK Fest: 15 contacts
  • RTTY Roundup: 70 contacts
• gave one of Tom’s cool little ATS radios to a friend’s kid, get him bitten by the bug

Others

• K3EA, Greg:
  • special event station
  • this past weekend:
    • rtty contest
    • psk31 contest
  • NA QSO party, CW next weekend
• WB3LNY, George:
  • working on some 12V power supplies
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • ordered some radios
  • great tuner
• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • RS-40 pass at 8:40 tonight
  • 437.625
  • no special equipment needed
  • trivia net on wednesday
  • Saturday Hamfest in Harrisburg, W3UU
  • new commercial satellite:
    • AST bluebird 6
  • mod firmware for ATS v4 radio
    • waterfall
    • s17432
    • decodes CW and RTTY
  • DigiRig Mobile: $49
    • audio
    • PTT (no need for VOX), so better than just a USB sound card
    • connect lots of radios
  • lots of SSTV
  • ordered a UHF Moxon SSTV antennas
    • big in RC airplane world
    • range video LLC
• K3DMM, Denny:
  • not much luck with SSTV yet
• KC3VZU, Bob:
  • not getting to the ham fest
  • working on full-band radio in truck, replaced the mic
• W3MW, Don:
  • finishing wiring of antennas
  • getting shack back in order
• KC3ZBI, Ron:
  • doing paperwork to do a ham radio program for a local school
• KC3EWN, Curly:
  • new Arrow antenna
  • Icom W-32A, full-duplex, 5W
  • ready for satellite
• K3EA, Greg:
  • DigiRigs have wiring for old rigs
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • watch 401MHZ and 401.025 for occasional satellites