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
- final testing of Joe’s tuner project
- 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
- j-pole of copper pipe: tee, elbow, pipe
- 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
- see W6NBC’s website for home-made antennas
- 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!
- WA3KFT, John:
- 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.