I was out mobile, but I couldn’t check-in to the 985 Workbench. I had a weak signal, and I got a boost in interference when car powered off. It was mostly through the mobile antenna/coax, and it was enough to drown out W3GMS. I confirmed with spectrum analyzer on UV-K5.

I also had my AllStar 3 node but it wouldn’t connect either. The node connected to my phone hotspot fine, and it got an IP and all that. I could use the web interface or DTMF, but DTMF was flaky/slow. While debugging, I connected to the parrot node (55553) fine, but I only got “connection failed” from W3GMS (53085). I connected to W3GMS fine from home network the next morning.

I took down the YAGI flag pole during a tornado warning. While I had it down, I attached the paracord that turns it with zip ties to make positioning reliable and less slippery. I shifted the paracord that secures it to avoid wear, and I straightened some elements.

my week in radio

I did some FT8 at 1W while camping and activating some POTA. I compared a 41-ft EFRW with a 17-ft vertical whip. The resonant vertical was booming.

I also read that lots of CW contesters are using computers to send that fast.

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • helped take down an antenna
  • local nets
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • some CW contacts
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • PM/AM pre-net and net
  • taking down that tower with CR, Joe, and gang.
  • reclaiming some of the antenna hardware
  • working on Joe’s tower
    • assemble to find the problems
    • very close
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • helped with Joe’s tower
  • break from the simplex net
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • finding 15m and 17m open
    • Germany, Alaska, Florida, etc
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • intermod sounds like a spaceship
  • considered doing WPX and a QRP sprint, but missed them.
• W1RC, Mike:
  • configuring a new AllStar node
    • got a node number
    • downloaded the pi image
    • written to a card
    • named it allstar.local, but can’t get the browser to it.
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • learning about noise on the waterfall from harvey
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • testing sessions coming up
  • upcoming fox hunt
• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • assembling some spare masts for an OCF dipole
  • simplex net
• KC3YTD, Steve:
  • new Yaesu 991, working well for first HF

Questions

• AB3AP, Mike:
  • Is anyone successful running trustedqsl (tqsl) on Ubuntu 25?
  • contact Dylan, K3DCN, for help
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I have it working on debian unstable, from the standard repo.
  • AB3AP, Mike:
    • got it working!
    • using the wrong name: trustedsql instead of qsl
• W1RC, Mike:
  • getting AllStar node booting, but can’t access it by its name, allstar.local.
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • mobaxterm, like putty, to setup through text, instead of web interface
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I often don’t see .local network work either
    • try IP addresses near your computer
    • login to the configuration of your router to see the list of nodes

The home antenna wire comes down every once in a while. I soldered and re-hung it, and it looks good. It seems to need a little power put through it, and then the SWR looks good. I wonder if some static accumulated, and that is causing higher SWR for a moment.

I confirmed that my AllStar Node is connecting to my Android hotspot when away from home. The node got a crazy unfamiliar 10.x IP, so I had no hope of remembering it. I still have trouble remembering the DTMF codes that I setup.

The activation at King’s Gap Environmental Education Center, US-4361 was tough-going, even though I was at the top of the mountain. I used the GRA vertical whip with tapped coil. Internet access flaked early, so successfully spotted myself on APRS with APSPOT.

Today I had some success operating 1W on 40m.

At 1330UTC, I made a handful of contacts, and got a strong -05 report. I even got a POTA in FL.

My Weeks in Radio

• French Creek State Park (US-1355)
  • All FT8, 1-2W.
  • Tried PSK, but no one responded.
• 80M EFHW, 130ft
  • Built a 64:1 unun for it to help match better than the 49:1.
  • Resonant in many places, maybe need tuner in one band.
• Customizing Allstarlink node to make it easier to manage.
• New R1CBU firmware for my X6100.
• Getting tempted about the zbit or sbit, but the X6100 scratches that itch for being able to customize it.

Others

• WB3LNY, George:
  • Dayton Hamfest.
• KA3TKW, Tom:
  • No net on holiday weekend.
  • Enjoying zbitx and zbitx.
  • Visited club in Letterkenny, satellite presentation.
  • New power connectors for the zbits.
• VE3HOH, Pete:
  • Tried 6M with a quarter-wave on mobile.
    • Worked well, trying some repeaters.
    • Working simplex on trip from Pottstown to Pine Grove.
    • Fixing connectors.
    • 100W.
• W3MW, Don:
  • 2.4GHz station ready to go with loop yagis.
  • Soon will have 5.6GHz by next month.
  • UHF pre-amp.
  • Pre-amp is more necessary, at the antenna, on these higher frequencies.
• KC3VZU, Bob:
  • Looking into RADTEL 880 w/ HF, VHF, UHF, SSB, 10W.

Swap and Shop

• W3MW, Don:
  • IC7300, 100w, portable, tuner, pack setup.
  • Looking at Yaesu, FTX-1.

I visited French Creek State Park (US-1355).

I deployed my 40-meter EFHW, strung up into a convenient tree. I operated with low power, typically between 1-2 watts, on the 10-meter, 40-meter, and 20-meter bands.

I primary operated FT8, and I also attempted some PSK, but no one responded.

I finally got my reboot command working correctly on my Allstar node:

79 = cmd,shutdown -r now

I also set up a convenient shortcut to connect to the 985 Allstar node. Now, instead of typing out the full connection string, I can simply dial *51* to connect. The macro definition for this is:

[macros]
1 = *353085

I can *6 to quickly disconnect from all active connections.