Workbench

My Week in Radio

• I’m using Allstar to avoid intermod.
• I added two more parks to my POTA list in Las Vegas. During my operations, I ran between 2-4W and made contacts with Brazil, Belize, and many stations on the East Coast. I primarily used digital modes but also tried some CW.

Others

• W3JAM, Jeff: Took down many antennas from his roof and is starting over with his shack setup. He might be unloading some gear and has an OCF dipole from Palomar Engineering ready to launch. He’s also building a large amplifier close to the legal limit.
• W3RJP, Bob: Getting started with Repeaterphone for Echolink.
• WA3VEE, Ron: Noted that a two-day hamfest is approaching. The Pottstown club is very welcoming, and he encouraged joining them this Friday night. Claymont has a VE session on Saturday, and Sunday will feature the Warminster hamfest. Last Saturday, at the DE hamfest, he met some high-schoolers from Felton, DE.
• KC3SCY, Luke: Listening to W1AW for CW practice. He observed that 10M is bad, and he’s restoring an old steel-wheeled wheelbarrow he found in the woods.
• KC3RFG, Jim: Experimenting with a magnetic loop in his yard. He upgraded to an aluminum loop, finding it more efficient on 10M but less so on 40M. Using his G90, he made a very strong contact with the Galapagos Islands.
• WA3KFT, John: Used 100W to break through intermod. He has a 2M 1K amplifier available for sale and is testing a Comet antenna.
• W3MFB, Mike: Testing a new radio in a new location.
• NA3CW, Chuck: Participated in the AMA PM net and is setting up a new Linux computer, having figured out how to transfer files between virtual machines.
• KC3OOK, Bill: Engaged in some regular nets and is continuing to build out his ham shack.
• AF3Z, Jim: Did CW at Cornwall Station and is practicing CW. Has an Astron linear 50A power supply, which weighs 47lbs.
• KD3AIS, Tim: Launching his EFHW for HF work with help from a neighbor.
• KC3TYX, Vic: Participated in various nets.
• W3QP, Tim: Is back from New Zealand, where he activated 20 summits (including Mount Doom) and made a 40M contact to France from NZ.
• W3DIB, Greg: Is running 100% Arch Linux.

Questions

• W3MFB, Mike: What are others’ experience with ground-mounted verticals for HF? What sizes, transformers, radials? Can it be on a tilt base? Is guying is necessary if they need a mast?
  • WA3KFT, John: At an old house, he drove a pipe into the ground next to a patio and used a cheap vertical with a loading coil, which was simple but single-banded unless multiple taps were used. His current 80M-2M vertical in the yard is multiband but a compromise.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne: Uses a random wire vertical for POTA, consisting of a single wire, radials, a 9:1 unun, and 35 feet of wire.
  • NA3CW, Chuck: Verticals in forests lose efficiency.
  • KC3WWC, John: Similar setup to Wayne’s: a 25-foot Rybakov antenna with a 4:1 balun.
  • AA3LH, Leon: Uses an Eagle 1 antenna, which is ground-mounted, has no baluns, uses radials in the grass, and is 40 ft tall.
  • KC3SQI, Wayne: Suggested loading up aluminum downspouts but noted the need for isolators to compensate for aluminum siding.

My Week in Radio

• I spent some time patching the open-source firmware for my HF radio. The original modification aimed to center and save the ATU network on the current frequency, which is effective for about 25kHz in either direction. The system saves the tuning network settings into both a cache and the database. However, it needs to update nearby saved tunings. I noticed the radio would click in new tuning networks within 1 kHz of each other. After digging into the code, I found the error in how it cached these networks.

• Unfortunately, intermod hits every Monday, so I had to jump to Allstar, even though I had tested RF earlier in the week.

Others

• WA3VEE, Ron: Discussed the Mud Mosey event.
• W8CRW, CR: Also mentioned the Mud Mosey.
• AF3Z, Jim: Had a CW sked.
• NA3CW, Chuck: Noted that the Mud Mosey operation sounded really good. Also discussed the AMPM net and propagation.
• KC3OOK, Bill: Participated in the Mud Mosey. Ron ran a net for people on their way in and out of the Mud Mosey service. Bill also served as net control for the simplex net and conducted a round table exercise to experiment with simplex.
• KC3YSM, Steve: Participated in the Mud Mosey for his first service operation.
• KC3NZT, Harvey: Listened to the roundtable.
• W1RC, Mike: Nearfest is coming up soon.
• AA3LH, Leon: Was on 10m last Tuesday, getting a 599 to Oregon, but then the signal dropped off completely. Later, he got a 599 to Los Angeles, but it also dropped off.
• KB3ZIM, Bob: Lots of mobile radio activity. Recent Chester County ARES/RACES meeting discussed revival of packet radio.
• KC3YIG, Dave: Struggling with building a vertical antenna.

Questions

• AA3LH, Leon: If flat straps are recommended for grounding, would they also be good for a counterpoise?
  • WA3VEE, Ron: Flat straps control inductance. An electrical ground is fixed, but a counterpoise is often deployed and redeployed in the field, making it hard to keep flat.
  • KC3NZT, Harvey: Probably makes no difference. He used a strap in his car because it’s cheap, and he’s used cheap wire shelves in the grass as a ground plane for a vertical, attaching to it with a strap.
  • AF3Z, Jim: Brought up the skin effect, where RF runs on the surface, not the middle. A strap may provide more surface area for RF.
  • NA3CW, Chuck: Frequency affects the depth of the skin effect. DC uses the entire conductor, 60Hz uses almost the entire conductor, but on VHF/UHF frequencies, it will stay in a copper coating on aluminum (like in LMR400).
• KC3NZT, Harvey: Are there any FCC issues with recording and replaying as a relay, especially for emergency communications (EmComm).
  • WA3VEE, Ron: ARRL started with “relaying” and that he records and plays back to demonstrate reception, so it should be fine.
  • NA3CW, Chuck: Advised to just be careful not to sound like you’re identifying as the other station.

My Week in Radio

• I have a blog of my radio notes, but I’ve fallen behind by over a month in posting.
• Tested a rybakov antenna with 4:1 balun and 25-foot wire out at a park.
• Btech UV-PRO (for APRS) has been seeing lots of beta firmware updates
• Attended a lunch with a Harrisburg 21 repeater group to learn about beacons and online tools for radio conditions
• My second 2M antenna (slim-jim) was performing badly
  • hanging next to the feed line of the higher antenna, and it was completely de-tuning it
  • pulled it up into the tree on its own line to provide space
  • still hangs lower than the other antenna to avoid interference
• contestcalendar.com has a google calendar feed, which i’ve imported to my calendar, so no more date math to figure out UTC

Others

• W8CRW, CR:
  • updated phone software, so allstar node is working.
• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • on digital to avoid connecting to anything on the roof in the storm
  • simplex net from the shack
    • always observing conditions on 2M
    • ducting
    • heard lots of distant stations, but not close
    • worked 50 miles across lancaster county
    • switched between vertical and horizontal: horizontal was better sometimes
    • new diamond antenna to install
    • swapping out everything on the shack
• NA3CW, Chuck:
  • hosting AWA pre-net
  • working on Joe’s tuner project: crimp connectors for components
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • out in the truck to operate in the weather
  • mobile simplex net, south control
    • copied all but maybe 3 stations
• KV3JGB, Matt:
  • new parts, a choke, for the HF radio
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • visited a friend’s barn of parts for 1929 hartley oscillator
  • triton 4 didn’t turn on for CW sked: bad power supply, so switched to battery
• WA3KFT, John:
  • 100W RF to get through
  • new bracket on the tower
  • modifications for being able to tilt down the antenna.
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • testing an IC-9700: working nicely
    • right on frequency
    • no harmonics
    • full power on every band
    • all configured
  • mud mosey for those helping, April 12, contact KC3TMT for info
• AA3LH, Leon:
  • back from weather events
  • in trailblazer, installed a new dual-band VHF/UHF radio
  • ran some 2M nets, but missed simplex net
  • 80M: rooster net and bible study net

Questions

• AF3Z, Jim:
  • AICO audio generator:
    • 2 tubes, precision resistors
    • wein bridge oscillator
    • siren like, but it varies on 15 second interval
    • what component failure causes the variation
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • check for a ripple from the power supply
    • sounded like a beating with the output
    • warble may vary with frequency
    • wein bridge oscillator was the first product of hewlett packard
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • check B+ voltage from the power supply and at the tube
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • looking at the schematic
    • uses a lightbulb to stabilize based on temperature
    • check the tubes and check that lightbulb
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • the lightbulb may not light, but it’ll use cold resistance of the tube
    • check continuity
    • if the power supply is giving ripple, the capacitor is bad

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