My Week in Radio

• enjoyed getting to the breakfast
  • great to be unemployed this summer
  • time to find a job, though
• 10M open lots for FT8: Azores today with 4W
• headed to ham fest in harrisburg on saturday
• great collection of probes for my multimeters

Others

• W1RC, will:
  • local hamfest flea market
    • great gear
    • ten tec 555 scout, a favorite
      • adjustable bandwidth
• W3CRW, CR:
  • breakfast
• AC3NW, Manny:
  • considering budget and layout for first HF station
• WA3KFT, manny:
  • some nets
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • working on CW
  • building a rig
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • Perkasie RF Hill hamfest
  • 10M this weekend for HF DX: CQ WW SSB Contest
    • great for technicians
  • acquired a cool cat whisker receiver before it got trashed
    • to restore
  • winter field day work
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • carried QRP gear to the beach, but didn’t use it.
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • usual nets
  • breakfast
  • finished his table and a row of equipment
  • working on a heath kit
  • ordered a speaker for the heath kit
• KC3NZT, Harvey:

Questions

• AC3NW, Manny:
  • Considering antennas for HF in his neighborhood.
    • Trying to remain low-profile.
    • Vertical for HF: Hustler 5BTV
    • trapped vertical
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • used that antenna previously when he was a kid
    • 190 countries
    • 75m resonator
    • WAS on 75M SSB
    • for CW as well
    • solar cycle 20
    • Russia, China, Australia
    • used raised verticals
    • we’ve used that antenna at the field day site
  • K3FS, Renee:
    • an end-fed wire can be pretty invisible
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • that vertical could be sort of conspicuous
    • an 80m dipole with ladder line would be a great multiband
    • has chosen to an EFHW for his home
  • W1RC, Mike:
    • likes his 130-ft EFRW + tuner for agility
  • AC3NW, Manny:
    • end-fed sounds interesting
• K3FS, Renee:
  • has an older amplifier, Clipperton L
  • runs 4 5072 tubes.
  • does not have a tuned front-end
  • used pi network to match impedence to the amplifier
  • there’s a tuning module that can be inserted to give 50-ohm interface for transceiver.
  • doesn’t have that module
  • would an automatic tuner match the amplifier that’s not tuned?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • uses a 7300 with that Clipperton L for 10 meters
    • has inserted an MFJ tuner between the transceiver and the amp.
    • built-in tuner may not have enough range
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • has no trouble driving the Clipperton L with 7610
    • caution: built a circuit to key it
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • also has a circuit of a transistor driving a relay to key the amplifier
    • DIC relay
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • can share keying circuit to be safe
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • learning about his Clipperton L
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • another word of caution: look at the voltage on the relay.
    • it’s driver at a high voltage, so it runs hot.
    • use an LM317 regulator to bring it down
  • K3FS, Renee:
    • great to see so many Clipperton Ls around.
    • already has some tuners to use
    • thanks for relay advice
    • will use a quiet relay
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • How would one adapt a new speaker impedance to an old radio that uses higher impedance? matching wattage?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • speakers are pretty forgiving
    • the volume may vary a little
    • large speakers could require more current to move the cone
    • try it and see
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • 25W speaker doesn’t need 25W, that’s just the max
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • speakers going into clipping is what damages them.
    • sensitivity is rated in dB at 1W at 1M from the speaker
    • pick a speaker that sounds good to you.
    • Liisong speakers are a great option for radios
    • pay attention to how it sounds. a clipping speaker sounds like garbage.
    • 90dB is the benchmark: quite loud.
    • 200-5000Hz is about what we need for SSB
    • find 8ohms or higher
• KD3EMS, Chris:
  • Church is using FRS Retevis radios, Does anyone have any recommendations for ear pieces for extended use?
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • SAL Notes Zero

My Week in Radio

• practiced copying CW with Morse Maven app while on vacation with no radios.
  • Koch method to build up symbols, and now words.
  • I need to break the habit of repeating in my head, especially for similar letters, like F and L.
• listened to PA QSO party, but didn’t participate
• fixed antennas around home were not performing well
  • confused by a local repeater also experiencing power problem
  • bad connection to YAGI
  • 1 entire antenna broken and fallen out of the tree
  • untangled and reassembled everything

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • 985 activities, Red Rose, Salem in NJ
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • breakfast with Pottstown group
  • visited Pottstown repeater site to take photos
  • Pottstown UHF net
  • graphed coverage with “what’s my path” profiler
  • PA QSO parties: 63/67 counties + states, 10k points
    • good test for emergency comms
  • worked other special events
  • RF Hill Hamfest next weekend
  • CQ DX SSB coming up
• W3QP, Tim:
  • picked up LDG tuner at a hamfest
    • started testing it out recently
    • cleaned it up with deoxit to make it work
  • SOTA in vermont: 8 summits
  • summit-to-summit QSO party
  • cleaning up computer stuff around the shack
    • stuff to get rid of: wireless router, ethernet router, PoE, computer
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • avoided the PA QSO party
  • a little CW for random contacts on 10M
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • south control for simplex net: worked 7 counties
  • finished riser for his station
  • finishing touches on tower base at Joe’s.
• KA3GLI, Dave:
  • installed a ground-rod
  • ordered a throw line to launch some wires
  • planning location for his station in the basement
    • power
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • assisted with Joe’s tower swap
  • helped with last-minute things on tower base
  • picked up a nano VNA on amazon prime day.
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • 985 activities
  • net control for 75M PM/AM net
  • hosted new hams, James and Mike, to setup a test rig for logging in Kenya. USB to DB9 serial.
  • CQ DX WW SSB will be a great opportunity for DX
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • learned some colleagues are hams
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • problem: key up HF radio, and it would turn off.
    • troubleshoot for 2 days
    • 3 radios would work with the PS fine.
    • found a bad connector
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • 80m OCF thrown into a tree.
  • used the existing rope to pull a pulley into the tree, so it’s easier to get the wire up and down.

Questions

• KA3GLI, Dave:
  • Didn’t care for “Coax Shield” to seal connectors. Is there something better?
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • There’s a silicone tape, coax seal, that sticks to itself, and stays in place really well: 9 years.
    • Maybe you had a bad batch of that “Coax Shield” stuff.
    • try a different brand.
    • make sure the coax is clean.
  • W3KZG, Scott:
    • Coax wrap can be an absolute mess to remove.
    • Has found some recently that doesn’t stick.
    • likes adhesive-lined heat shrink for coax and other electrical applications.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • coax seal was fine in the past
    • squish it in like clay
    • try self-fusing tape: silicone, sticks to itself.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • coax wrap silicon tape
    • doesn’t stick to itself. friction, then electrical tape.
    • cut it off
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • does a wrap of scotch electrical tape, then the silicone coax wrap, so it’s easy to remove
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • has used a non-conductive grease from HRO on connectors
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • stretch and seal silicone tape from home depot.
      • not radio specific.
    • also grease. used on boat as well.
  • KA3GLI, Dave:
    • forgot about adhesive-lined heat shrink
    • lots of good ideas
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Are there big factors unexplored in causes of intermod that effects a handful of nets?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • interaction between 2 radio signals acting upon some non-linear element.
      • transistors in the amplifier
      • rusty bolt joint
      • crossed wires
      • power line
      • something that creates a mixing element, and causes a 3rd signal
      • adjacent towers
    • we have control of 1 signal, but not the other
    • could be the nearby cell tower
    • nothing has worked yet
      • lots of solid technical efforts
    • trying to solve it with coexistance
      • digital
      • auxiliary site at Joe’s house
        • different PL tone
  • W3KZG, Dave:
    • do other sites have intermod problems?
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • it is common
    • troubleshooting the second signal is often the problem
    • can also be a problem with field equipment
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • slipping connectors can cause it
    • commercial sites require a certain connector to avoid it
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • it can be a problem in non-RF equipment: medical, etc

My Week in Radio

• traveling:
  • cruise ships specifically forbid ham radios
  • practiced copying some CW
• listened to a little PA QSO party, but didn’t participate
• 21 has been lower power recently,
  • wondering if it’s my multiple antennas or the repeaters
  • definitely at least one feed line problem diagnosed during this net

Others

• K3EA, Greg
  • QSO parties coming up
    • Germany
  • CQ WW SSB
  • Vanawatu, SSB
• N7JMS, Jon
  • digi-pi
• KC3ZBI, Ron
  • talking to a classroom about radio
• KA0JQO, Kevin:
  • repeater power
  • when no double beep, then the repeater is putting out full power: 115W
  • when it’s beeping, the power is low: 20W.

Swap and Shop

• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • shortwave receivers

Week in Radio

• Welcome Manny!
• Attended the 3D Printing show in Belair on Saturday
• activated a new-to-me park in MD
• WW RTTY contest
  • 66 contacts, QRP, Rookie
• leaving on a cruise on saturday:
  • no ham radios
  • will miss Red Rose Hamfest

Others

• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • Skywarn in Dauphin county
  • Simplex Net
  • OCF antenna finally installed
  • 2m antenna mounted higher
  • received a 16 element yagi to refurbish
• AC3NW, Manny:
  • new extra license in January
  • building a shack
  • running coax outside
  • working on getting operational in general: VHF and HF
  • looking to install a vertical for VHF and dipole for HF
  • budget
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • getting ready for Red Rose Hamfest
    • testing some scopes and power supplies
  • setting up his military station
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • fixing up an antenna and its connections, so radio will tune better
    • replaced a lightning arrester
• WA3KFT, John:
  • hearing some other traffic in his location on 985
  • advice: always have an SWR meter in the coax line to keep an eye on things.
  • reading high SWR on current 2M rig
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • hosted welfare net on sunday
  • working at joe’s on tower
    • final install this weekend
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • working on his feed lines on tower
  • attempted to check-in to the old forks net on Saturday
    • but found Puerto Rico and Scotland instead, so made those contacts
  • hula hoop antenna on top of tower
  • evaluating performance and noise of different antennas he has up
  • noise from air conditioner unit
  • one more antenna to move, and then they’re all on the same mast
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • CW and POTA contacts
  • playing with PLL to track broadcast AM modulation
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • found the rtty contest
  • 7030kHz, found the FOC CW party there
    • worked some of them
    • 2 UK, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, US
    • exchange: signal report and name + FOC number
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • another week waiting for an antenna bracket for the 2024 Tundra
    • keep getting the wrong bracket
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • more 10M activity
  • worked a 6m repeater in Honey Brook: K3CX?
    • linked to other repeaters
    • enjoying morsle.fun: very helpful, 40wpm
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • playing with a receiver on the long wire again: China, Russia

Questions

• AF3Z, Jim:
  • With surface mount, integrated circuits, chips in modern rigs, how repairable do we think they’ll be?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • surface mount requires specialized equipment for soldering
    • swap whole boards
    • send it for repair
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • shipped a radio back for repair
    • parts sometimes aren’t available for repair
    • obsolete
  • KD3EE, John:
    • Xiegu radios: my X6100 or G90
      • cheap, chinese
      • Radioddity sells a “refresh kit” with common parts
      • I have internal battery to swap in some day
    • updatable software means new features and optimizations in the future
    • is it like cars, where they don’t need repair as much?
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • like TVs, some high power componests with heat sinks will still be replaceable
    • update-able firmware can extend the life
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • for icom rigs with burn-in problem, like ic-7610, repair turn-around is expected to be slow, but it got repaired quickly: 18 days turn-around.
    • updated firmware, totally refreshed, settings restored, replaced clock battery
    • great service from shop in MN
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • late 80s kenwood, never had anything wrong with it.
    • can deal with some surface mount
    • flashing may or may not be possible for replaced chips
    • never missed old car tech: more complex but less likely to fail
    • modifications to yaesu for external audio
      • days of work to make mods, so not accessible to most people
    • keeping rigs as long as possible
    • repairable: connectors, finals, power supplies
    • done with boat anchors
  • AB3AP, Mike:
    • old C64 computer had such a following there’s an FPGA reproduction of it.
    • favorite old radios may be cloned, emulated, or new chips fabricated.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • both his rigs have the original Motorola transistors that have been discontinued
    • ebay supposedly has equivalents (or fakes?)
    • other companies stepped up to make replacements
    • if there’s demand there will be supply made available
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • ARRL had insurance for ham radio gear: preparation
    • amazed at longevity of solid-state gear: Triton IV since the 70s
    • computers with high clock speeds
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • labor is getting expensive: $1000 labor to install $7 part
    • SDR radios, like 7300 is 10 years old, and working well
    • 10 years is probably a good lifespan
    • with labor price, budgeting to buy replacement might be best
    • doesn’t miss old car systems
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • they seldom commit suicide, but they sometimes get murdered
    • some new radios promise updates, but never deliver

On the way back from 3DPrintopia, I stopped to activate US-1587 Palmer State Park.

• 11 FT8, 1 CW contacts
• 10m, 15m, 20m
• Gabil slider whip

My Week in Radio

• replaced my RG-58 cable with KMR-400
  • $90 for 100ft, terminated
  • tested individual cables and combinations
  • nanoVNA “through measurement”
  • Wayne suggested
  • improved my 6.5dB loss to 3dB loss total
  • doubled power!
• Radtel RT-880G HT got a firmware upgrade
  • APRS beacons “just work” now.
  • still likes to show scrambled chinese for packets it doesn’t read well
  • might next look into using it for a personal digipeating APRS.
• this weekend
  • 3D printing show in Belair MD
  • WW RTTY contest - lots of fun previous years

Others

• W1RC, Mike:
  • learning a new radio and its menus with the manual
• W8CRW, CR:
  • 985 and local nets
  • flying drone to hang some ropes for another ham
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • attended Antique Radio Show in Kutztown: vintage broadcast radio and audio
  • Joe emailed photos
  • get on Joe’s email list
• WA3KFT, John:
  • running 6m and 2m nets
  • 700+ QSOs so far this year
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • attended breakfast
  • expecting to be at WFD doing 20-25wpm
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • PMAM net sunday night, good conditions.
  • working on a transciever for James, a new member
    • replacing a memory battery
  • tower at Joe’s is basically finished.
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • picked up a nice small Elekraft radio
  • 5w, EF wire, 50 QSOs on CW
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • W3GMS website can send event reminders too, in addition to Joe’s emails.
    • good reminder for hosts of nets
  • some CW
  • Saturday, tried working some other people besides his normal sked.
  • finally finished up photos for Longs Park festivals
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • 985 nets, Simplex Net on Saturday, Welfare Net on Sunday
  • Joe’s tower
  • vhf.dxview.com said VHF was open to Canada and east coast
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • progress on radio in the truck
  • had the wrong mounting bracket
  • help from KC3NZT, Harvey
• KD3APR, Paxton:
  • operating in a house without power

Questions

• AB3AP, Mike:
  • Winter Field Day sounds like it is 20-25WPM, and that’ll be comfortable. Faster requires lots of extra listens. What are others’ comfortable speeds?
  • W3DIB: 0
  • AF3Z:
    • keyers set to 35wpm, spacing is usually wider.
    • 20-25wpm is more comfortable
    • try to get contact info before the call
  • W3DIB, Greg: N2HM, Bob is amazing to watch
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • don’t worry about speed on WFD. people will slow if you need.
    • just skip people who go too fast.
    • working closer to 20wpm will get you more contacts
    • managed first straight key contact at about 6wpm at last field day
    • “we’ll help you copy, just try”
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • passed test with 13wpm for advanced
    • no longer that fast, out of practice
    • taught code in classes
    • first learned it in boy scouts
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • slower, took 2 attempts to pass 13wpm
    • 15-18 today
  • KD3EE, John:
    • morsle.fun: 25-30wpm if i can hear it multiple times
    • keyer at 20wpm, but leaving some space
    • I’ll hope to get help copying at field day
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • flags in boy scouts
    • passed 13wpm in 1967
    • barely passed 20wpm in 1979
    • practicing with a sked qso
    • 35wpm seems impossible, but he’s getting there
    • being retired gives him time to practice
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • https://lcwo.net/
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • use computer programs
    • also just listen to others’ QSOs on 40m
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • use a websdr to listen
  • KD3EE, John:
    • ARRL code practice files and podcast
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • hearing signals from south pacific right now on HF
    • practiced and learned at 59 years
    • always intended to use it
    • bought the CW paddle before a transceiver
    • doesn’t want to inconvenience others
    • prosigns are baffling
    • practice sites don’t necessarily demonstrate prosigns
    • seeing dots and dashes slowed us all down
  • KD3EE, John:
    • chase POTA to practice CW
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • relayed my message, and recommended spotting from pota.app.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • SKCC hangs out on +50khz and events, so good to listen there
    • simple exchanges
    • don’t do CW if you don’t like it.
• KD3APR, Paxton:
  • Seeing some repeaters offering “auto-patch”. How’s that work, and how’s it sound?
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • Univ Del had an autopatch.
    • you’d need to get permission and get the code to be able to use it.
    • it would place the phone call.
    • it would leave the TX up the whole time the phone was on.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • it’s been years.
    • other person would need to know to say “over” since the carrier stayed up even when remote is transmitting, and on one would otherwise know when the other person stops
    • got to use it once in the 70s to call for road help
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • needed to remind the phone side that the communication is being transmitted
    • don’t do business.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • you just can’t use the radio for your boss, “under ordrers”.
    • running a business vs doing a transaction.
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • Is autopatch still used and offered?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • repeater book lists autopatch as a service on some repeaters
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • it’s probably easy in the time of VOIP.

I upgraded all 3 nodes to 2.7.9. The 3EEj node was running warm.

I’ve been thinking of ways to get more power to W3GMS, and coax might be the weakest link. I have about 75ft of RG-58 outside and maybe 8 ft of RG-174 inside. I took down the flag pole Yagi to replace the coax.

I learned how to measure loss with a “through measurement” on the nanoVNA watching Youtube:

• The old coax run measured at least -6.5dB loss total
  • -4.5dB for the RG-58 by itself
  • -2.0dB for the RG-174 by itself
• The new coax, 100ft of KMR-400, by itself measured -1.5dB, and -3.3dB with the patch of RG-174
• SWR sweep of antenna on old coax showed lots of wiggles and hung generally low, because of all the loss.
• SWR sweep of the antenna with the new coax runs much higher on the 100MHz side, and takes a nice dip at the resonant frequency.
• Incoming signals look good and strong by the S-meter on the TYT-9800

The Radtel RT-880G got new firmware yesterday: 1.16. I had to run the upgrade software in WINE.

• APRS occasionally receives a message that PASSES the FCS check, but still mostly failed, and some are completely garbled chinese characters.
• TX APRS looks pretty good now. I’ve seen on BTech UV-PRO and on https://aprs.fi/.
• Listening to “Radio” mode is cool: 20M CW, FT8, and a little voice.
• The menus are pretty confusing, and it’s hard to remember the controls, especially in “Radio”.
• I was using the radio in “Full Band Tuning”, but it causes problems in spectrum mode, so I went back to normal mode.

My Week in Radio

• seeing more “alternate” FT8 traffic on the waterfall: dxpeditions and contests!
• tempted to replace my old cheap coax with something lower-loss for my 50W VHF to compare.
  • bust out the attenuators and the tinySA or maybe just the little digital power meter I have to measure at the antenna feed point.
• bring a wire and a whip to demo the Nano VNA before or after breakfast.

Others

• WA3CRW, CR:
  • working with W1RC to do some WIRES-X
• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • Simplex Net
  • Central PA Skywarn Net
  • Heathkit 102 on the workbench for refurbishment
  • amplifier and odds and ends to fix and sell
  • looking at antennas to mount on the barn
  • rebuilding a 16 element yagi for more convenient deployment/tuning
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • won’t be at breakfast, but Antique Radio Show instead in Kutztown
  • Red Rose Repeater Hamfest coming up on Oct 4.
  • has some gear from some other people to unload
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • wondering about 160m antennas:
    • been meaning to launch an antenna every year this time of year.
    • maybe inverted L.
  • IC-7100: radio in 2 pieces, so you don’t need so much at the control head.
    • using a 75-foot cat8 cable for a really long run between TCVR and head.
    • run to the gazebo to operate outside but high power if he wants.
    • lots of fun chasing on all bands.
• KC3YSM, Steve:
  • building a go-box
• WA3KFT, John:
  • 6m SSB nets
  • antique wireless net on sunday
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • VHF contest. spoke to someone randomly.
  • working some special events and pota stations
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • working at Joe’s on antenna
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • moving antennas to the new mast
    • 2m operational
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • collecting equipment to put radio in truck
• KD3APR, Paxton:
  • coming in on an HT
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • feeling better today
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • normal CW sked

Questions

• KD3EE, John:
  • I have my 50W mobile radio, home-built YAGI, 75ft cheap coax in a couple connected sections. How should I evaluate this system?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • check that the antenna is matched with the nanoVNA: SWR
    • have people on the repeater talk, so I can point for maximum signal
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • with nanoVNA, calibrate at the nanoVNA, then move calibration load to end and use a through-measurement to see loss in coax.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • bury-flex is a good deal
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • if you’re going to an LMR type cable, should good with bury-flex, since the outside doesn’t allow moisture. they use glue between outside braid and the seal. bury-flex will need heated a little to force the crimp end underneath the braid
    • buryflex is available at ham radio outlet.
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • What are some 160m antenna options?
  • height and length is a challenge.
  • aiming for an inverted L, but the radials will be a challenge.
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • 240-foot wire, 60ft in the air, fed by open wire line
    • 3/8-wave would need less radials
      • could be end-fed or inverted L
      • not balanced, so noisy
      • will need a tuner to match
    • 1/4 wave would need extensive radials
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • $150 automatic tuner outside. tunes anything.