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
- picked up LDG tuner at a hamfest
- 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
- problem: key up HF radio, and it would turn off.
- 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.
- stretch and seal silicone tape from home depot.
- 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
- interaction between 2 radio signals acting upon some non-linear
element.
- 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