For this year’s CQ Worldwide CW contest I heard KH6J from Hawaii on 40M, but I couldn’t contact them. Locals weren’t worth anything except for unique CQ zones as multipliers. I kept it to 5W and made 20 contacts on CW. I turned up to send 25wpm, since everyone was going so fast.

I still rely on the excellent decoder in the R1CBU radio UI, but I’ve been practicing reading CW too.

I purchased some pulleys and got some ideas about rope work and pulleys in trees on YouTube.

My Week in Radio

• activated US-1380, Marsh Creek, after breakfast on Friday:
  • testing my speaker wire doublet with 4:1 balun and 9:1 balun
  • 15 contacts on 10M FT8
  • 11 P2P CW contacts on 20M
• setup my Allstar node to keep recordings

Others

• W1RC, Mike:
  • new K3S radio
  • lots of nice features
• W8CRW, CR:
  • helped Bill with replacing his 2M antenna
  • simplex net this weekend is looking for homebrew antennas
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • researching and playing with some of his antennas
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • accompanied wife to Hawaii
  • loosened dipole to avoid any wind while gone
• WA3KFT, John:
  • lots of openings on 10M
  • all 14 antennas have stayed in the air through the wind
• K3FF, Rene:
  • working on his Clipperton power supply
  • fixing harback board
  • FT-101B. bought for parts, but fixed it up anyway.
  • learning more about the 3D printer.
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • playing with AnyTone 5555 from CR.
    • 10M radio
    • sounds great on AM
  • caught london and texas on 10M
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • getting his 7300 up and running with new antennas
• K3DBD, Bob:
  • working on a power supply from a repeater site
  • good article in latest QST on POTA
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • helped Bill with a new antenna
• W3KZG, Scott:
  • helped with Bill’s antenna
• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • spent some time listening to CW to learn
  • looking into allstar node with KN3I, John.
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • got his mobile radio mounted in the car
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • antenna party
  • new antenna is getting out better during simplex net
• VE2AED, Howard:
  • 50mi NW of Montreal
  • active on HF: lots of experimenting
• KC3HQZ, Jean:
  • working on HF antennas to be heard better
  • some radios in the shop: frustration

Questions

• AA3LH, Leon:
  • He has a G5RV antenna for traveling with 450ohm ladder line. It connects right to coax. Why doesn’t it need a 4:1 balun? Another similar antenna has the balun.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • the ladder line is part of the antenna, so it’s the normal feed point.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • G5RV suggested running balanced line the whole way back to the station.
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • Feeds the G5RV with 50ft of LMR-400 and it works pretty well.
• K3FF, Rene:
  • Wondering about capacitors in harbach rebuild kits having different capacitances for the Clipperton L power supply. Is there concern for in-rush current?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • has a Clipperton L, hasn’t messed with it.
    • higher capacitance is a benefit
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Sees nothing that limits in-rush current on existing board.
    • sent photos of his restoration process
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • designer of the B model says no need to worry about in-rush.
    • wire gauge should be sufficient.
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • schematic shows no in-rush management, so add it.
    • has some good experience using thermistors for managing in-rush.
    • 2.5-3ohm is sufficient.
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • Is anyone familiar with the Hex Beam and the center mount balun? Is it open at the top for mounting another antenna above it?
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • most hex beams he’s seen have been designed to be the top of the mast with a little stub to support the spreaders.
    • people who mounted another antenna above it did it with as stand-off from the tower below extending up through the webbing
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • has the question out to some manufacturers. waiting.
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Looking for short antennas for the car that fit in the garage. Fender-mounted on truck. Specs being mostly equal, how does he choose?
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • short antennas will be quarter wave.
    • longer will be better: half wave.
    • DX Engineering has a “compact antenna” that’s pretty good.
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • Anything close to 17 inches are quarter wave, and 30-some inches is half wave.
    • half wave can look pretty normal on a truck.
    • half wave can be less ground-dependent.
    • try to get as much wire in the air as you can.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • longer half wave antenna may avoid RFI from car.

My Week in Radio

• Allstar node being weird
• saw a great youtube video on APRS bots:
  • MPAD being very versatile for: weather, callsign lookup, location report to email
  • ISS bot that tells you the next pass
• listened to a couple sweepstakes contacts: to lazy to try to communicate that much exchange QRP SSB
• built a doublet on a portable operation today:
  • split 6.25M of speaker wire to be a 12.5M-long, center-fed, non-resonant dipole, like my portable EFRW I usually carry.
  • the rest is balanced feed line
  • right to the radio
  • tuned 20M and barely tuned 40M on my X6100
  • 2W FT8 heard in Africa and Europe
  • next try it with a 4:1 or 9:1 balun to match better

Others

• W1RC, Mike:
  • Elekraft K3S from an estate sale.
    • advanced radio
    • had a K3 that he never used.
    • computer with an RF section
    • will sell the K3
• KN3I, John:
  • Went to the Father Murgas Event in Scranton
  • signed up for N3FJP and LotW access
  • sweepstakes
  • fixing another ICOM radio
  • 80 meters
• W8CRW, CR:
  • clearnode is working again
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • Got some Aurora photos
• K3FF, Rene:
  • windy a couple weeks ago, found his amp cutting out for high SWR
    • antenna was arcing to another antenna at high power
• WA3KFT, John:
  • operating 10M net, got TX, NC, NJ, MA without trying
  • 28435kHz - retired net, 1pm EST
• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • testing airplane radios for work
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • chatting mobile
  • PM/AM net: abysmal geomagnetic conditions
  • computer work: database and labels for a church food distribution effort
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • relayed for low-power net controllers in simplex net
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • putting new antennas on the new mast
  • shopping other antennas
• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • Went to Scranton for 120 Anniversary of Father Murgas event: first overland telegraphy
  • started studying CW
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • Introduced an ATU to replace a manual tuner
  • connected an antenna directly to the radio
    • found lower SWR than with the switch, maybe needs replaced
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • check out the murgas amateur radio club website for that story
  • will be busier in radio as it gets colder outside
  • wants to get a 160M wire in the air
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • went to Scranton for the Father Murgas event.
  • met the guy who started HamSCI at U of Scranton: very nice shack for school.

Questions

• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • what are the types of solar panel installation, and which causes the least RFI for HF?
    • each panel could have micro inverter
    • or they could all run to 1 big inverter
    • read a central inverter may be easier to control RFI.
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • neighbor has panels across the street
    • 3 years old
    • no choice: all micro-invertors
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • find an installer who will do 1 large inverter
• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • What are the pointers and highlights of studying for General?
  • Using another test website to study, something besides hamstudy.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • hasn’t tested since 1979
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • test sites are “ham cramming”
    • look for “Gordon West study guide”
    • you already know most of it
    • FCC wants to make sure you know it at least once
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • has extra class study guide by gordon west.
    • study guide explains why the correct answer is correct.
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • used ham study to pass the test and get started
    • focused on what you need to know for the test
    • learn more later
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • learn the theory
    • to study and get on quicker, aarl has the question pool.
    • go back and get the Gordon West book for reference and learning later
  • KD3BPI, Simon:
    • will find that Gordon West book
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • Looking to step up from windom dipole (used for 4 years). on 10M, it has lots of lobes, so hard to predict results. Looking at a hex beam to put on a rotor on the mast. Considering wind loads for antenna, mast, and rotor. Different ways to mount the rotor: unistrut and thrust bearing. Any experience in strengthening a rotor installation?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • thrust bearing takes all the vertical weight, so none on the rotor.
    • without a brake, it moves easy enough for winds to turn the mast.

Portable Doublet

I built a doublet experiment at a park today.

• split 6.25M of speaker wire to be a 12.5M-long, center-fed, non-resonant dipole, like my portable EFRW I usually carry.
• the rest is balanced feed line
• right to the radio
• tuned 20M and barely tuned 40M on my X6100
• 2W FT8 heard in africa and europe
• next try it with a 4:1 or 9:1 balun to match better

My Weeks in Radio

• feel lucky to be in this area with lots of repeaters and traffic
• flagpole with YAGI snapped in the wind a week or 2 ago.
• strung the slim jim in the tree a little higher
• playing with nicsure firmware on the RadTel RT-880G.
• saw a great youtube video on APRS bots:
  • MPAD being very versatile for: weather, callsign lookup, location report to email
  • ISS bot that tells you the next pass
• listened to a couple sweepstakes contacts: to lazy to try to communicate that much exchange QRP SSB

Others

• WB3LNY, George:
  • Tried La Grange repeater in KY, but no one answered.
  • Keep as active as we can.
  • Use it or lose it: they’ll take it away
  • linking repeaters may help generate more traffic
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • working on some Yaesu FT-100’s
    • predecessor to FT-857.
• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • lunch Thursday this week
    • everyone share a radio gadget
    • lots of mini demonstrations
  • ISS scrubbed the SSTV after first couple days
  • ISS ham repeater is still good though
    • high pass monday, 4:45pm
  • Russian satellites doing SSTV
    • 435.890 ARCTICSAT-1: 2 good passes Monday morning
    • 5 minute cycle, so don’t be discouraged
• KK4KKW, Steve:
  • many times can’t make contacts while traveling: 2M or 10M
  • hearing people on HF, but not making contacts
• N7JMS, John:
  • digipi doing SSTV to get ARCTICSAT-1 images
• K3DMM, Denny:
  • doing some of the sweepstakes
    • got Hawaii
  • definitely trying morning pass of arcticsat-1
  • trying for ISS pass as well
• KD3BOV, John:
  • rain gutter antenna
  • getting started with the ICOM 2730

Swap and Shop

• WB3LNY, george:
  • new bird dummy loads
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • rohn 25 tower sections:
  • guy wire and anti-sway section for the rohn 25
  • 432MHz yagis
  • 2M yagis for weak signal
  • 950ft of philly strand on a roll
• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • shortware receivers
  • moto 25W transceivers
  • 24ft camper for sale: $1500

Since the flagpole Yagi fell, and I’m not rushing to put it back up, I figured I’d see if I can get my 2-meter antennas in the tree higher.

I threw the line up over the tree to have it drop down the middle, and I now pull the slim-jim antenna up through the middle of the tree. It’s not the highest antenna, above the ground-plane antenna.

I also took a moment to untangle the halyards and feed lines. I looped the 2 feed lines through a spring clip on the roof line to keep them from slapping around so much.

I’m getting good APRS decodes off the lower antenna, and strong repeater signals on the high antenna, but it doesn’t quite receive the 985 repeater.

My Week in Radio

• upgraded my meshtastic nodes: faster bluetooth communication
• new 3rd party firmware on the Radtel RT-880G
  • nice scanning, HF receive, spectrum analyzer
  • APRS beacon
  • used the spectrum analyzer to observe which of my car remotes were working and which needed a battery
• flagpole with my yagi snapped in the wind
  • have a cool video of it whipping around in the wind and breaking
  • digital until I repair that
  • i have a military surplus mast I may try next
• Playing a little 1W FT8, turned it up to 4W to get to Chile

Others

• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • Computers in place for logging on Winter Field Day
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • AWA Bruce Kelley QSO Party using 1929 and before gear
    • using a Type 10
    • made 21 contacts in this first weekend
  • using Drake R4A as receiver
  • building another 1929 transmitter
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • antenna survey at the field day site
    • 2 80m antennas on the same axis
    • 2 40m antennas on the same axis
    • each for CW and phone.
    • no more patch panel needed
    • antennas will run up and down with halyards
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • South control for Simplex Net on Saturday
    • learning to use a beam for the net
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • 10M CW at 1pm in the afternoon
    • chatted with Colorado and Marshall Islands
    • vertical dipole
• KA3GLI, David:
  • measured outside for a wire antenna and run of coax
  • setting up a listening station
  • need to build an unun for the new antenna
• KD3BWL, Frank:
  • using new rig to work repeaters in Chester County
• W3DIB, Greg:
  • Good to hear about computers for Field Day

Questions

• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • He has new test equipment from Ron, but needs BNC cables for it. What cable/connectors should he get?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • You want 50 ohm cables for radio work.
    • TV would be 75 ohms
    • 6ft BNC-BNC plus some adapters
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Avoid cheap cables: poorly shielded/crimped
    • Only trusted the cables he made
    • RG58 is fine for anything 100W or below.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • SO-239 with adapter to BNC works fine
    • stranded center conductor will be nice and flexible
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • will make some of his own cables
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • Likes dipoles, center-fed with ladder line. Should there be a couple twists in the ladder line?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • twists are recommended to keep it from catching much RFI in receive. it exposes both conductors to the noise, so it balances.
    • good signals on balanced lines are differential
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • twists also help with wind
    • he has a twist ever 2-3 feet.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • be careful to not cause crossovers
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • has 25 feet and about 4 twists.
    • it flops in the wind some
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • at field day site, each set of antennas are “coaxial”, so in a line, end-to-end, to give them the same direction, but minimal interaction.
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • antennas will be orthogonal (perpendicular)
      • 80M will run east-west to transmit north/south
      • 40M will run north-south to transmit east-west

I’ve paid for the Nicsure Patreon to get access to his new firmware for the Radtel RT-880G, and I’ve used his Linux CPS to flash it and load channels.

Having a Linux CPS alone is an amazing enhancement. The UI is not necessarily intuitive compared to other radios, but I’m getting accustomed to it. Most the functions I want from the menu are found by long-pressing the green button, and it shows you the shortcut key you could use. There are also posts about an extended manual that helps a bit, but I still found mismatches.

I have it beaconing APRS and receiving, but it still struggles to get a good decode. The stock firmware shows garbage decodes, but his one just doesn’t show anything for those failures.

It seems to have nice scanning, HF receive, and the spectrum analyzer.

The flagpole mast broke in the wind about 9:05pm EST or so. I captured the destruction on the Wyze camera that watches it. It snapped right above the point it’s tied to the garage. Fortunately, it fell in an OK direction, so it didn’t damage anything around it.

I could try to put it back up with some spare pieces and guy it next time, or I could try the military surplus mast I picked up at a Ham Fest this past summer.

I’ll be contacting the 985 repeater digitally through Allstar for now.

My Week in Radio

• Other clubs
  • Learned about geochron:
    • old mechanical map with terminator lines
    • new digital one with all sorts of visualizations, including ham radio
  • Presentation on Antennas and feed line at a Ham Lunch in Harrisburg.
• US-1418, POTA:
  • FT8, 10M, mostly 1-2W, but 4W some times.
  • also 1 CW contact
• Built conveniences into software I use for my radio weblog
  • easily link park identifies to the POTA site and callsigns to QRZ profiles.

Others

• KD3BPI, Simon:
  • Listening while mobile
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • setup and plan for WFD
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • PM/AM net
  • working on CW
  • Bruce Kelley Memorial event coming up in a couple weeks:
    • will operate 1929 TNT and 1929 Hartley
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • Hosted Welfare Net
  • At Joe’s to plan hardline from tower to building
  • worked on cable trays for his shack
• KC3KFT, John:
  • 10M has been open lately
  • Retired Net on 28435kHz or 28333kHz
• K3FF, Rene:
  • operated lots on CQ WW SSB. Lots on 10M.
  • working on Yaesu 991A that wouldn’t power on initially. (lightning?)
  • insure your good equipment
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • 1st General Class
• KD3BWL, Frank:
  • Learned about EchoLink
    • contacted a repeater in VA
  • other repeaters
• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • purchased a CW keyer to start learning
• W3QP, Tim:
  • Headed to Illinois for work:
    • aiming to activate Summits in Illinois and neighboring states
• K3DBD, Bob:
  • First time checking in to this net in a long time, even though being a long-time user.
  • 68 years into ham radio
  • chairman of technical committee in Pottstown Club.
  • preparing for ARRL Frequency Measuring Event on 8 November
  • fixing a broken PC board for an old wurlitzer juke box
• KC3YSM, Steve:
  • DXing: Chile, Italy, Canada
  • Mobile listening
  • Excited to hear Ron’s plans for WFD

Questions

• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • Has a keyer and paddles, how should he learn CW?
    • is it bad to start with paddles?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • taught CW
    • with a staight key, you can practice spacing within a character as well as the timing of dit and dah (3*dit)
    • straight key is easier to control speed and start slower
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Has gotten Rusty in CW
    • Used to be able to do 18WPM
    • Look at Koch Method and Farnsworth spacing
      • slow down by extending spacing between characters, not by slowing everything.
    • 10-15 minutes a day really helps.
  • W3GMS, Joe:
    • Call Joe and discuss at great length
    • CW instructor in the Military
    • Do not try any sending until you can copy 10 WPM
    • focus on recognizing the sound
    • don’t count dits and dahs
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • use CW software to train
    • ensure you practice at higher speed to avoid counting
    • G4FON software
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • don’t ever look at a chart or page of dots and dashes
    • it’s about sound
    • learn to receive well first
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • https://morsle.fun/ is effective practice and lets you stretch for speed