Workbench

My Week in Radio

• 985 breakfast
  • chatted lots of Vic and Jerry
• pota
  • 2 parks: middle creek and state game land down the road
  • set up multiple antennas: efhw + tactical delta loop
  • telescoping antenna for CB walkie talkie
• observed some degraded propagation the next day or 2 over the weekend
• need to check and tune up my slim jim again

Questions

• KC3TYX, Vic: Tried to tune into WA3KFT’s 6M net, but could only hear 1 person. What kind of antenna should he have used for local contacts like that?
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • PVC pipe with caps and made a rigid half-wave dipole and put it on a lightweight rotor to change direction of the horizontal broadside.
    • try an omni-angle antenna (circular)
    • you may also hear better in the summer.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • used 2 perpendicular wire dipoles thumbtacked to the ceiling in an apartment.
      • single feed point
      • omni-directional
      • feed directly with coax
      • VHF frequencies have smaller antennas
      • thicker elements give wider bandwidth (copper pipe)
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • built one that looked like a hula hoop: folder 6m dipole in a loop
      • omnidirectional + wide bandwidth
      • he can lend it
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • double bazooka design
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • What’s the minimum to deploy in the field for HF, VHF, UHF?
  • KC3TYX, Vic:
    • radio, hamstick, battery
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • just his truck: it has everything for UHF, VHF, HF.
  • KC3YSM, Steve:
    • looking at plans for simple wire antennas.
      • KB9VBR pota performer on a camera tripod with elevated radials
      • going to try to build that one
  • WA3KFT:
    • handful of hamsticks
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • for emergency in car: UHF/VHF radio, CB, G90, some hamsticks
    • tune anything with a G90

My Week in Radio

• launched the newly-tuned slim-jim antenna
  • tuned the antenna, soldered in a bit more wire at the top
  • hung right below my quarter-wave
  • compared both antennas simultaneously with the 2 quansheng HTs with dBm measurements
  • lower antenna is for the Btech radio running APRS
  • upper antenna for general scanning and local
• learned about 900MHz radio at the SPARC meeting
• learned about satellite work at 21 lunch in Harrisburg
• had the thru-window cable flake out during check-in

Questions

• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • Has anyone used delving or divining rods for finding water or power lines?
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • Tried it as a kid with copper wire rods to find water and wires around the house.
    • Seemed much like the Ouija board with wires. Probably just recognized it.
  • KC3OOK, Bill: Had some well drillers do it, but seemed like part of the show.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Can’t see how it would work, especially a wooden stick.
    • Would need quite the field to cause movements in the wire
    • Probably easier to attribute it to minute recognitions of the douser.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • Has known dousers for water to use Green Willow Stick.
  • N3OGF, John:
    • His Dad doused for water lots of times.
  • W1RC, Mike:
    • There’s a Dousers Convention in Vermont.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • His well is 300 ft down.
    • Water doesn’t really “flow” underground.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Knew a custom home builder who was a douser.
    • If you drilled somewhere else, would there still have been water?
    • Stick would rotate up and back toward him near the water line.
    • Sister tried it and felt it, even though she may have tried to fight the movement.
  • W3JAM, Jeff:
    • Read an article, and he’s trying to find a conductor.
    • Doesn’t think it’ll work.
• KC3MAI, Joe:
  • QRM, HF Noise on low bands.
    • S5 noise on 40m
    • S3 on 80M and 160M
  • Is a certain amount of noise to be expected? Can it be remediated?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • QRM vs QRN: man-made vs natural
    • Static from lightning
    • Static from wind
    • Solar panel noise
    • Man-made noise can be fixed if it’s in your house
      • Try running off battery
      • Eliminate electrical things to see if anything fixes it
      • Cut the whole breaker
      • A dead short across the antenna may still see noise: thermal noise
        • noise floor
    • Neighborhood noise might be hard to remediate.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Has nearby PECO, appliances, Amtrak
    • Searched and found bad wall wart power supplies
    • Neighborhood plasma TV that growls on 75M
    • Has tracked down bad power line hardware
  • KC3MAI, Joe:
    • Has several Rokus that might have unclean power supplies.
  • KC3KFT, John:
    • Pole insulators on power lines can arc depending on weather, humidity, contamination.
    • 6M AM is a good band/mode for searching for noise also 2M AM.
    • Hit the pole with a sledge hammer to see if the noise changes
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • Crackling on hot humid nights near high voltage lines.
    • Wide-band spark
    • Every wire is an antenna, so could be an emitter.
    • CFL or LED lights
  • KD3ZIM, Bob:
    • Had a noise problem several years ago.
    • Called PECO, suspecting power line noise.
    • PECO traced the noise and fixed it.
      • cool receivers and spectrum analyzers
      • checked his scope in his shack and got started.
      • found the line 100-150yds from the house
      • heard the buzzing like welding.
      • cracked insulator on the pole
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • AM transistor radio is a good sensor for the noise
    • W3GMS, Joe, has some experience working with PECO
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • Call PECO or Bob or Joe to get Dennis from PECO to do the search.
    • Power lines can carry the “transmission” miles
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I’ve seen videos on Youtube of people searching
    • Electric company is responsible for cleaning up those emissions
    • You can build a tape-measure yagi for searching
    • POTA can be low noise area
    • Hear and see the crackles of very distant lightning.
    • Check the radio power supply

My Week in Radio

• I attended the breakfast and heard a little about the National Traffic System from Vic. I’ve added some nets to my calendar.
• I’m in the logs for N4T, the DXpedition to Dry Tortugas with some locals.
  • CW and on FT8
• My favorite radios have new 3rd-party software:
  • Quansheng HTs got F4WHN 4.0 which includes a code fix I contributed
  • X6100 got R1CBU 0.29.2 which has fixes for handful of bugs I reported
• I continue playing with some mobile Winlink and APRS
• EFRW was being flaky with high SWR.
  • Cleaned all the connections outside.
  • It’s an unprotected temporary build with alligator clips.

Others

• KC3SCY, Luke: listening to some CW
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • Led the breakfast.
  • 75M PM/AM Net
  • A professor of chemistry in CT liked our answer on the workbench about ice on the antenna. We never know who’s listening, so make it good.
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • Straight key work since field day
  • POTA, State QSO Parties
  • 15-minute ragchew QSOs
  • Slower with the straight key, so people don’t “recognize” him.
  • ARRL DX contest: used paddles, boring exchanges.
  • Heard his own QSO in a youtube video
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • Working on mobile antenna to clean it up.
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • Jumped up from 35WPM to 40WPM in weekly practice sked, and it was OK.
  • Working on heathkit project
• KC3TYX, Vic:
  • 2M nets
  • Breakfast
  • Another ARRL DX contest coming up this weekend, giving it a try.
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • Breakfast
  • Learning about direction of arrival for signals to locate signals of interest.
  • Some CW, but slower than Jim.
• W3QP, Tim:
  • Planning trips
  • Presentation for Pottstown Club
• K3FHA, John:
  • Repairing a 65-year-old radio.
  • Implementing a service bulletin to fix AGC.
  • Some HF nets
• WA3KFT, John:
  • Digging up lost gear
    • Halicrafters S38
    • Heathkit VF1 VFO
  • 6M and 2M work
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • All the 985 activities
  • Simplex Net: 39 check-ins
  • Spending every day in the ham shack
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • Worked West Coast on 10m.
• KB3AIS, Tim:
  • Purchased ICOM 2730a for portable radio.
• KC3YIG, Dave:
  • Breakfast
  • Simplex Net
  • Building some shelves for the radio desk.
  • Contacted N4T on SSB on 20M and 40M.
• W3MOW, Mike:
  • Good to hear everyone’s favorite interests and achievements in radio.

Questions

• AF3Z, Jim:
  • NV102 SSB CW transciever
    • CW is working
    • SSB isn’t going out
    • He has the oscilliscope for tracing, 10x probe for attennuation, AC coupled.
    • Looking at all the parts, what is the best way to couple with the circuit without interfering with the circuit?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • 10X probe should have helped
    • There is a 100X probe with very high impedance
    • Make a 2-3 turn coil of solid wire around a pencil, attach it to a bit of coax, poke around with that.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Put a little capacitance (2-3pF) in series on the end of the probe.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • Another way to make a “sniffer probe”: small wire loop on a piece of circuit board.
  • K3FHA, John:
    • Since SSB isn’t working, check that audio is getting into the modulator.
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • He has a 45-ft vertical antenna, end-fed from the bottom. It’s recommended to add an automatic tuner close to the antenna. Is 7-8 feet too far away? 14 gauge, 25ft, red/black twin lead to provide power. Is that too long?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • power delivery is OK.
    • 7-8 feet is fine. It becomes part of the antenna.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • 14 gauge is fine for auto tuner
    • Agree with Chuck
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • ICOM 2730A can hear the repeater, but no one can hear him.
  • W3MOW, Mike:
    • Thinking it’s a hardware issue, or is it programming?
  • KD3AIS, Mike:
    • Thinks the hardware is good, and the programming is good.
    • Has programmed previous radios for the repeater
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • Has a couple ICOMs.
    • Do you see the frequency shift while TX-ing? (It should.)
    • Try turning off the receive tone.
  • KD3AIS, Tim:
    • No receive tone programmed
    • Sees the shift
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • Do you have RTSystems or other software to program it?
    • He could not program the same radio without using the RT-Systems software.
  • KD3AIS, Tim:
    • Has not yet used programming cable or software.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • There should be lots of indicators on the display for every little feature that’s enabled.
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • Debug from simplex, then use other repeaters, then check configs for 985.
  • W3MOW, Mike:
    • From reading the manual, 985’s split tones could be a challenge.
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • On ICOMs, the correct tone setting is T-TSQL / 100.
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • Had that radio years ago, and programmed it the first time with RT-Systems.
• N3RT, Jay:
  • Meritron amplifier, trying to hit Christmas Island on 15M CW.
  • He flipped it on and it popped the fuse on the 240V line.
  • Can he remove tubes to isolate and test the power supply?
  • Are the ceramic fuses slow blow?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Do you have HV experience?
  • N3RT, Jay:
    • Has replaced some things, but always operated with the cover on.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • No problem turning it on with tubes removed.
    • Check manual about the fuse
    • Could be a complex interaction causing the pop of the fuse, like start-up resistor being blown.
• About my outside connections:
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • There’s a conducting grease for head bolts of an engine that he uses for outside connections, plus black plastic tape
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Don’t get any on the dialectric (short)

My Week in Radio

• Wind is nerve-wracking with my “temporary” antennas
  • long wire broke
  • one 1/4-wave ground plane worked itself loose and disconnected.
  • yagi on the aluminum pole is good
• X6100 was having trouble running and charging its failing internal battery
  • disable charging and it’s OK again.
• R1CBU 0.29.0 firmeware for X6100
  • finding and filing some bugs
  • they’re already getting fixed
  • will probably need to revert back to the older version
• Norfolk Island, VK9DX, FT8 on 10M, with only 2W.
• Radio with a waterfall is amazing to watch during CW contest weekends.
  • something is up!

Others

• N3ILS, Travis:
  • setup Allstar node for travel
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • listening to W1AW on Drake 4TRX for code practice
• W3QP, Tim:
  • trouble with IC-7300 on battery. blown fuze on one pole.
  • all bands on fan dipole have high SWR after wind damage
• KC3RFG, Jim:
• KC3YSM, Steve:
  • working on some DX with the cold weather
  • needed to adjust some audio settings for TX. much improvement.
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • Steve, good clean audio is so important for breaking the DX pile-up
  • hosted pre- and actual PMAM net
  • magneto synchronizer for an airplane, rebuild, repair
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • simplex net: east had some trouble, so running late.
    • 23 contacts
    • drywalling the ham shack
• KC3TYX, Vic:
  • weekly nets
  • tried a 10M net, went OK
  • hard to tell what was happening on simplex net from his station
• KC3TRW, Mike:
  • programming up some radios
• WA3KFT, John:
  • busy on VHF by his paper log, including a little 6m and 10m.
  • sorting parts and cleaning up the benches
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • some CW
  • working on an old heathkit TRX
    • removed some solder and resoldered
• KD3AKZ, Wayne
  • getting a rig on the air
    • still has a beep
  • studying for general
• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • building an antenna on an off-road magmount that was previously recommended.
    • tested well with nanovna
    • very strong magnets
    • mapping out some coax: shorter and better coax is better

Questions

• N3ILS, Travis:
  • Is it OK to use the internal tuner of the IC-7300 in series with an external tuner at the same time?
  • KC3NZT, Harvey: is it an automatic icom tuner connected by aux port
  • N3ILS: it is a manual MFJ tuner.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • uses both internal and external tuner.
    • sometimes one tuner gets you all the way there
    • stacking them won’t hurt anything
    • but it’s inefficient.
  • W3CRW, CR:
    • uses Yaesu with 2 tuners in series.
    • heavy lifting with the external LDG
    • fine-tune it with the internal.
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • IC-7300 can be made to match 10:1 in “emergency mode”.
      • it requires some of your power.
    • Does stacking the tuner skew the readings in the radio?
    • has used an automatic external tuner for icom. it disables the internal.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • tune the external tuner with internal disabled to get close
    • then fine-tune to get the rest of the way.
    • combo could result in weirdo impedance between them, if done in the wrong order.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • what NA3CW said
    • 2 auto tuners will compete and cause trouble
  • N3ILS, Travis:
    • Dave Cassler has a video saying “never stack them”, but that’s auto tuners.
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • Dave Cassler’s video is about 2 auto tuners.
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • Why does my SWR go up with ice on the antenna? It drifted from 1.2:1 to 2:1.
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • ice on the antenna changes the diameter. it’s a conductor.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • water dialectric constant is 80, compared to PVC insulation with 4.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • observed the same thing. jumped to 3:1.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • 10M vertical dipole fed by old window line with a tuner.
    • any time it rains, the normal settings don’t work.
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • he has 40-foot tall bamboo, and he can tap the wire to de-ice it.
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • this Friday is the breakfast
  • AWA PM/AM Net 3835kHz
    • https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/weekly-awa-nets/

My Week in Radio

• Reconfigured fldigi with some more modular macros and used them for a short time for CQ WPX RTTY contest
• Replaced my 71-foot EFRW with 107-foot wire
  • ATU works a bit harder than the previous, but stretching the counterpoise in a different direction helped.
• 5W into the wire got me a contact to Japan on FT8

Others

• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • building out his radio desk
  • new Drake TR-4A and matching transmitter
• W8CRW, CR:
  • Nets
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • checking out and testing equipment
  • interviewed on podcast: “operation freedom. ham radio in public service.”
  • KB3SVC presented on senior scams at another meeting
• W3QP, Tim:
  • 11 summits in Virginia!
• KC3TYX, Vic:
  • VHF nets, No HF.
  • hiking and geocaching.
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • 985 activities
  • tower work at Joe’s when weather permits.
  • acquired merantz professional CD recorder
  • PM/AM net pre-net host. much better at 3:30pm for pre-net.
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • 985 nets
  • South control for Simplex Net
    • 37 check-ins with only 2 controls
  • Passed along some gear to others via Joe
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • drove to Parkesburg, and remembered to bring mobile glass-mount antenna and HT, so could contact to the repeater via RF.
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • working on Omni 6, which is broken
    • getting worse as he diagnoses
  • visited old shack in basement and rearranged it
    • finally returned to MB102 heathkit rig with power supply
    • replaced some capacitors
    • now working!
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • email reminder was appreciated to host the workbench
• WA3KFT, John:
  • playing with some heathkit lunch boxes.
    • 2m, 6m, 11m
    • doesn’t have the 10m
    • they’re regenerative receivers
    • not very efficient transmitters
  • vibrator power supply for radios that run off 120V AC
  • was convenient back in the day to be able to hang equipment from the old dashboard in cars.

Questions

• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Given his recent foray into mobile radio and a glass-mounted antenna, he’s looking at mobile rigs. He’s seeming some that are higher-power single band, and some lower-power dual band. Also seeing single-band and dual-band antennas. But no 70cm single-band antennas. Recommendations and considerations?
    • WA3VEE, Ron:
      • Ron just runs high-power dual-band.
      • there are lots of 70cm repeaters around the area.
      • magmount antennas on top.
      • don’t worry about 65W vs 50W. close enough.
    • W3CRW, CR:
      • found a 70cm-only antenna on amazon.
      • still recommend dual band
    • WA3KFT, John:
      • dual band antenna is nicer for 70cm.
      • he dedicates a 70cm antenna and a 2m
    • KC3NZT, Harvey:
      • don’t worry much about power on dual-band radios
      • watch for nicer features
        • full-duplex
        • digital control
        • dual-watch
    • K3YVQ, Jack:
      • has Larson NMO 270 antenna to give away
    • KC3OOK, Bill:
      • recommended a couple radios with those features
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • dual-band rigs run less power because they’re a compromise.
      • single-band rig is no compromise, but more limited in features.
      • there are 470MHz antennas for commercial bands
      • feature: wishes his rig had split tones.
    • W8CRW, CR:
      • crossband repeat
      • split tones
    • WA3VEE, Ron:
      • Yaesus generally don’t support split tone
      • ICOMs generally do
    • W3GMS, Joe:
      • ICOM IC-2730A is great
        • split tone
        • good cooling
        • power makes a huge difference when you’re trying to open squelch on a repeater
        • nmo mount is nice, because you can swap specialized antennas.
    • KC3SQI, Wayne:
      • run IC-4730 for split tone and crossband
• KC3WWC, John:
  • Adding another dual-band antenna outside, probably dedicated to APRS. How close can they be or how should they be arranged?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • 5 vertical antennas: 10, 6, 2m, 220, 440.
      • 2m and 440 are harmonically related, so separated
      • all mounted on a bar.
      • 440 and 2m are separated 7.5 ft, so they don’t interact.
      • 35 ft off the ground.
      • can’t separate them that much on a car.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • if the antennas are harmonically related, attempt to separate at least 2 wavelengths
    • dual band antennas are
    • DX Engineering has an antenna bar already setup with multiples
  • WA3VEE, Ron
    • Diamond dualband is good. mounted on front.
    • 220 in the middle
    • something else on the far back of the vehicle.

My Week in Radio

• KC3TMZ, Matt:
  • 3d-printing and building antennas is great
• Trying to build a tactical delta loop
  • 4:1 balun
  • 2 17 ft whips
  • 25 ft wire for the top
  • 3d-printed base
  • not great so far
  • will be using the 4:1 with other antennas, like rybakov
• ISS pass with APRS
  • decoded relayed packets from Pittsburgh PA, Smyrna DE, Atlanta GA.
• Bluetooth control of a radio is pretty convenient, big phone screen

Others

• KC3TMZ, Matt:
  • ordered a bunch of ferrites, enameled wire,
  • 3d printing some antennas
• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • met up with KD3AIS
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • organizing the shack
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • PMA AM Net on 75m
    • it’s moving later due to propagation: 5pm
  • working on Joe’s tower project
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • drywalling the hamshack
  • working on Joe’s tower
    • almost all bolts installed an tightened
    • guided tower with rollers, aligning
• WA3KFT, John:
  • nets: Packrats, DelVa, Weather
  • spoke to David in Texas on 15M
  • Bob on 10M in Virgin Islands
  • nice band openings
• KC3TYX, Vic
  • VE accreditation.
  • helped with first VE session.
    • all computerized
    • worked with WA3VEE
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • chasing POTA
    • West coast, 20M
• K3YVQ, Jack:
  • working on go-box for crossband repeater
  • relay from HT on a hike to car with 50 watts
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • visited KC3NZT
• W3QP, Tim:
  • preparing for some SOTA activations
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • worked a VE session
  • organizing the shack
  • working on lesson plan for technician review to prep for general
    • short videos / presentations
    • can arrange to do some teaching up here instead of just in delaware
• N3CRE, Charlie:
  • trying to hook a headset to FTM-500
• W3EMF, Jerry:
  • originator of the Workbench Net
  • new 2M rig in vehicle to access 985 more

Questions

• KC3TMZ, Matt:
  • Purchased a new antenna that may want ground radials. What’s the best way to connect temporary radials to an antenna?
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • is removable a requirement?
  • KC3TMZ, Matt:
    • radials can stay, stapled to the ground
    • he wants to remove the vertical element, so dogs don’t tangle leashes
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • terminate all radials to 1 ring terminal and screw that right to a ground rod
    • it’s a 20/15/10M trapped vertical (he sold it to him)
      • doesn’t need guyed
  • KC3TMZ, Matt:
    • liking the idea of a metal pipe into which he can just drop the antenna
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • worked in a AM broadcast
    • drive a pipe into the ground to slip antenna into or onto
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • drive a pipe into the ground, flush
    • has a PVC pipe that holds up an inverted-v
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • copper braid with ring terminals, inexpensive on amazon
    • be careful to not short feed with ground in metal pipe socket
• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • magmonut often comes with a length of coax. is there a magmount wiht an SO-239 so you can do use whatever coax you want?
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • make your own.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • make your own.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • there is a bulkhead mount with SO-239 for the antenna that could be added to the magnet
  • K3YVQ, Jack:
    • there’s an empty magnet mount
• KC3WWC, John: I have a talent, how do we avoid doubling during checkin?
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • don’t worry about it
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • silent “this is”. grab carrier, drop it, then give call.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • some nets use “this is” protocol. that lowers the chance
    • net host resolves it
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • click method, and it doesn’t matter
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • bigger issue is digital link people and leaving enough space
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • pulse/click method, silent “this is”
    • net control watches for doubles
    • net contral asks for checkins
• K3YVQ, Jack:
  • Can I combine 2 batteries of different capacities in paralllel on a bus to get larger capacity?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • yes, it’ll work.
    • has a bus with power supply and battery on a bus of banana plugs
    • ok if they’re the same voltage
    • plug the batteries on the ends, and radios in the middle
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • batteries are sometimes limited on max current
    • lithium batteries’ voltage drops very late in discharge
    • a deader battery could be a strong current draw
  • K3YVQ, Jack:
    • they have BCM, so they protect themselves.
    • may look into 12V cigarette lighter to power pole charger.
• N3CRE, Charlie:
  • Having trouble pairing a wireless BT headset with FTM-500.
  • K3YVQ, Jack:
    • check that the bluetooth protocols are compatible
    • maybe a firmware upgrade will fix it

After Party

• KC3NZT, Harvey:
  • when we lack questions, we should present little lectures on testing and equipment.
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • has demonstrated diagnosing feed line problems
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • some things can be explained verbally, others more visual
  • KC3NZT, Harvey:
    • a list of resourcse and videos could live on 985 website
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • lots of zoom practice with document camera, etc in his shack
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I’ll bring my balun around for diagnosis on video
    • I have watched a video on using nano vna to test filters and baluns
    • I like to optimistically use it first, then dig in more if needed
    • I think that keeps me doing stuff that I might otherwise not realize to be possible
    • document my beginner experiences on a blog for my reference and others
  • W3EMF, Jerry:
    • echolink in the mobile
    • calling from Elizabethtown

My Week in Radio

• Really glad to get to field day with 985.
• Customized my AllStar node for better mobile use:
  • DTMF to shutdown
  • DTMF announce IP address
  • Announce ip with the start up macro
• Btech UV-PRO with KISS TNC support
  • It does APRS internally
  • KISS TNC for packet to connect apps on the phone via bluetooth
    • AprsDroid
    • WoAD for Winlink and serial terminal

Others

• W8CRW: field day
• WA3VEE: field day, photographs!
• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • Made 50 contacts on CW, goal was 10
  • Got a nice Drake 4x to help with CW and a new key
• W3FHA, John:
  • Working on a radio crammed with tubes
• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • Heard W3R on 80M CW, but didn’t really operate
  • Pelican case for Bird meter and slugs for it.
  • Checked into Simplex Net and Welfare Net
• KC3HQZ, Jean:
  • Fun on Sunday at 985 field day
• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • Winter Field Day
  • Logging contacts for Joe
  • Heard, “I’ve been waiting for you” from AF3Z under another club call
  • Tried Joe’s Begali straight key
  • Making room for a straight key
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • Bought a QSL card dated from 1949 that belonged to Dick, W3ORU, a recent SK from 985.
• WA3KFT, John:
  • Worked field day a bit
• KC3TYX, Vic:
  • Made a few field day contacts, but not much. He didn’t hear W3R.
• KC3YIG, Dave:
  • Fun at field day
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • Setup for WFD on Friday
  • Didn’t operate the event
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Great time at 985 field day on Saturday
  • Met Harvey, KC3NZT
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • South control for simplex net: 42 contacts
  • Welfare Net
• W3QP, Tim:
  • Fun at 985 field day
  • Had lots of RFI from electrical lines and other antennas
• N3CRE, Charlie:
  • Visited 985 WFD
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • Saw 985 field day on Sunday
  • Talked to KD3ACF, JT, a bunch
• K3YVQ, Jack:
  • 985 WFD
  • Learned about CW from Keith
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • Fun at field day, made some contacts
  • Looking forward to Summer Field Day
• KD3ACF, JT:
  • Got a cage for 705 and next POTA activation
  • Long chats with W3MFB
  • POTA hunting
  • New AllStar node
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • Operated Cornwall Ranger Station for WFD
  • Indoor station: 2I
  • Jim was their main CW op: 130 QSOs
  • Highlight: Saturday night, 80M, finally found W3R when Keith came to him.

Questions

• KB3ILS, Keith:
  • When operating straight key,
    • Do you rest your forearm on the table?
    • How do you grip the straight key?
    • Operation tips?
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • 3 fingers on the knob, arm on the table, only wrist movement.
  • NA3CW, Chuck, concurs
  • AB3AP, Mike:
    • European style: float the arm
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • In European style, key is often on the edge of the table.
    • Rests his arm on the table, grip thumb + next 2 fingers
    • Holds the key on his leg when camping
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • Luke is the operator he wants to emulate
• KC3YIG, Dave:
  • Electrovoice 719 mic needs a cartridge replacement. Tips, sources of parts, etc?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • No experience changing mic cartridges
    • That mic seems similar to the D104 with a crystal cartridges
    • Specific cartridges can be hard to find
    • Some people seem to replace the cartridge with one from Heil
    • With age, cartridges don’t sound right
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Has a Diamond 510HDM antenna, 17ft tall, can the antenna be placed near trees to hide it?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • You’re sounding good, so no hurry to put that up.
    • Ron’s antenna is next to a bunch of bushes
    • Foliage won’t attenuate much
    • It’s fine
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • Long antennas have nice gain
    • Tie a pipe hitch to the antenna 1/3rd down from the top
    • Hoist it to hang in the tree
  • NA3CW, Chuck: Feb 2018 QST, “Live Trees Affect Antenna Performance”
    • Did simulations with HF
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • His installation is 3-4 feet away from the tree and elevated on army mast
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • Has a tree in path of beam, and it doesn’t seem to affect anything.
    • Hangs other antennas
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • D300 stuck on a 2-inch piece of PVC attached to the deck railing
    • 10 ft from the ground
    • When he got above the roof, got an extra 2dB into repeater
    • Doesn’t make a lot of difference

My Week in Radio

• discovering some good old packet radio
  • 145.010
  • listen with multimon-ng
  • search for a terminal program for android and linux
• patched my favorite firmware (f4hwn) to better render the spectrum analyzer for wide or narrow scan ranges
  • built and tested on my own radio
  • patch was accepted to the open source project, so it’ll be in the next release
• POTA in the cold in prep for field day

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • new radio from HRO
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • after 985 breakfast, at field day site, will be introducing radios for field day
• KC3RFG, Jim:
  • first Raspberry PI kit for a Ham Clock
• KC3YSM, Steve:
  • nets and POTA
    • all US: GA, AL, MI
• AB3AP, Mike:
  • hanging out on 30m
  • learning to touch-type instead of handwriting from CW
    • ARRL MP3s online
    • 15 WPM typing, 18 WPM is a challenge
    • jots keywords usually to be faster
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • hosted last roundtable
  • net control for simplex net
  • working on ham shack
  • windy: gust of 39mph, antenna survived
• KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • couldn’t get to the repeater due to lots of QRN from powerlines, trains, etc.
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • SKCC had a weekend sprint-a-thon.
    • operated from Cornwall station as W3CRS
    • they were in 1st place until other clubs started uploading logs :)
• W3MFB, Mike:
  • experimenting using gutter and down spout and speaker wire as HF antenna
    • 10W and it worked.
    • recommending a similar setup to a friend

Questions

• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • We’re putting together some seminars/classes to share experience and knowledge.
  • What would you like to talk about? theory or operation?
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • get the scope and meters out and discuss impedance, etc.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • Ron’s discussion on oscilloscopes
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • general approach to trying to fix something
    • how to check equipment: bandpass filters, crystals
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • understanding solar data
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • propagation
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • revisit antennas and feedlines and their attributes
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • kit night to build something
    • favorite equipment on the bench that others should have
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • soldering technique
    • all basic test equipment
    • NA3CW, Chuck: validating readings from equipment
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • surface mount soldering
    • NA3CW, Chuck: good tweasers
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • refresher on setup and use of NanoVNA
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • soldering coax
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • digital modes old and new
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • sorting out limitations of test equipment, signal levels
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • tutorial for the young folks, how to build a repeater
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • how do you find an interfering signal, fox hunting.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • basic circuits
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • understanding antenna gain

My Week in Radio

• ARRL RTTY RoundUp
• Testing and repairing a piece of coax
  • no damage in the middle
  • NanoVNA, Smith chart, compared ends
    • one side showed a long spiral
    • other end showed no change upon being connected
    • so I knew I found something
  • compared to a working cable
  • cut off the end and replaced the SMA connector and it worked

Questions

• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • For lifepo4 batteries, what’s the proper way to charge and discharge?
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • depends how often you use the battery.
    • for storage, 50% capacity is good
    • otherwise charge it up full.
    • don’t keep it full all of the time.
    • not much of an issue, though
  • W3MOW, MIKE:
    • researching electric vehicles.
    • whatever you do to treat it better will just prolong battery life a bit
    • there will be better replacements in a couple years.
• KC3WWC, John:
  • I’m using my 71-foot random wire with a 9:1 unun.
    • I can give it 5W on many bands without the tuner.
    • It’s working, so not all loss.
    • Checked it at with the NanoVNA at different points and it stayed pretty low.
    • Disconnecting the wire definitely ruined SWR, proving to me that power is getting out into the wire, besides it otherwise working.
    • What am i seeing?
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • SWR is great for a rough indicator for reflected energy
    • reactance is more important for efficiency
    • losses can mislead you with SWR
    • any piece of wire will resonate at different harmonnics
    • had a shorter wire was resonant at some harmonics that happened to work
  • KC3SQI, Wayne:
    • with a random wire, the balun takes SWR of the antenna and reduces it by a factor of 10.
    • Tuner can offer extra protection for the radio
    • a random wire antenna is to be a bit off and close enough for most radios
    • he uses his random wire 71-foot random wire he uses for POTA, but barely needs the tuner.
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • every SWR meter is measuring voltage, current, and time.
    • ratio of voltage and current = resistance
    • a resonant antenna can have a high SWR because it’s feed impedence is not matched.
    • measuring voltage, current, reactance.
    • meters can be calibrated for other impedences, not just 50ohm.
    • SWR compares voltage, current, phase (time) with internal 50ohm reference.
    • watch amplitude of voltage and current on scope, and see it out of phase.
    • can have a low SWR on non-resonant antenna
    • can have high SWR on resonant antenna
    • longer pieces of wire can have more resonances
    • resonances may or may not fall in useful places.
    • low SWR does not mean efficient. could be losses.
    • all lengths of wire will have certain resonances.
    • everyone went with 50ohms as a standard.
    • TV coax is 75 ohms.
    • transformers get it close to what the radio wants.
• KV3JGB, Matt:
  • He has a Vibroplex, single lever, usually thumb is dit, finger is dah, but he’s reversed the dits and dahs for comfort.
  • Does it matter if he works reversed?
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • probably doesn’t matter
    • he learned left handed first then right
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • read about telegraph keys and bugs (semi-automatic keys)
    • Vibroplex made a mechanical key that’s left-handed
  • AB3AP, Mike:
    • left-handed bugs are more expensive
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I key left-handed, and I’ll have to reconfigure anyone else’s radio, or flip the key.
    • I just flipped the key to reverse it, and was able to adjust with a moment of practice.
• KD3AIS, Tim:
  • Who would you suggest to help install an antenna on the chimney?
  • KV3JGB, Matt:
    • lots of people are willing to help
    • antenna launch parties
    • Matt would help
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • try compromised installations for some more independent capabilities
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • come to a breakfast
    • let’s talk about your intentions, site, etc.

My Week in Radio

• ISS on scan, so I caught part of an image
  • passes are a bit early right now, and low
• Nice weather
  • local POTA including a couple solid CW
  • some maintenance of the VHF antennas
• Noticed today I can disable the tuner on my random wire antenna and still get OK SWR
  • sounds like loss to me
  • but putting 5W into the wire is still getting identifiable weak signals to Europe, Alaska, etc.
• Reading the AllStar manuals
• Adding 4:1 balun to my list of things to build
  • delta loop
  • Rybakov vertical

Others

• KC3SCY, Luke:
  • crystal receiver
• W8CRW, CR:
  • working on a 10m antenna
• W1RC, Mike:
  • likes SWR tools, since antennas are the final frontier
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • took the Kenwood mobile out of the car to replace the memory battery
  • how’s my audio?
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • Jim is low
  • arcing in a band switch, so disconnected 10m taps to avoid problems
    • added some feed line and changed antennas, so maybe time to try fixing it to do 10 again.
    • works now
  • finding some bad solder joints in some coax.
  • been in repair mode
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • working on Joe’s tower again soon
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • presenting in Pottstown on Friday on antenna analyzers
  • May be visiting the field day site
• KC3YIG, Dave:
  • picked up Alaska
• W3QP, Tim:
  • 2 SOTAs in Western PA
  • new Retevis 25W radio
• KV3JGB, Matt:
  • fixing some lines to get an antenna up in some trees
    • it’s working
    • first contact on 10M
    • also 15M for a rag chew
  • starting CWOps on Friday
• KB3ZIM, Bob:
  • published in latest QST, page 20
• KC3NZT,
  • testing coax with NanoVNA

Questions

• KC3SWC, Charles:
  • How do 12V batteries apply to Winter Field Day? li-ion, lead acid, deep cycle lead acid, AGM, gold cart batteries, lifepo4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.
    • WA3VEE, Ron:
      • at field day, we won’t be charging any batteries inside
      • uses AGM and lifepo4 for radios, no trouble in cold weather
      • AGM vents, so ensure it has ventilation
    • W3QP, Tim:
      • lifepo4 is a good choice for amateur radio
        • lighter
        • output amperage is usually only 2x capacity
    • W3MFB, Mike:
      • used marine cells lots
• W3FES, Fred:
  • Troubleshooting a switching power supply.
  • Rated for 15 amps.
  • Running a radio, 15W output
  • Voltage drops to 8V.
  • What can he do to diagnose the problem in the power supply?
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • need to look at the manual to see ratings
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • switching power supplies are usually working or dead