This is the end

I'm not going to publish any more posts. To all my faithfull readers, thank you. I gave it a try and decided that I need to concentrate on things at home and use my time in that way.

73 to all

DE W4MY SK

Begali Simplex

Pictured at the right is my Begali Simplex paddle (well, actually, that's the canned picture from the Begali site.) I have had it for almost 3 years now. Is it ever a nice paddle.

Begali is an Italian maker of CW paddles and keys. Mr. Piero Begali specializes in magnetic "spring less" keying devices, but this is a conventional design on the "low end" with no magnets.

You'd never know this is the "low end" version. At $133 plus shipping to the USA (about $20) it was a great value considering the superb quality of the unit. I think now it sells for $148 plus shipping, still a very good value.

I can honestly say I adjusted it once initially the way I liked it, and have not touched the adjustments since, nearly 3 years being carted around and used for Field Day, Mobile contesting (Winner NCQSO Party Mobile/2007) the little plastic cover is a bit tattered, but it has done its job as the sacrificial part to protect the key from dust, dirt and grime.

My next key will be (when I get some extra dough) the "Magnetic Traveler" which comes in at about $248. Have a look at it and you will see why it makes a great companion for mobiling or portable (Field Day) paddle.

I know for the purists the N2DAN Mercury original may be the best paddle ever, but I can't honestly say how, from a purely functional viewpoint, it could be better from even this simple low end paddle. I understand the Mercury's story so it may be worth $2500 to someone for its artistic and mystique value.

But speaking from a purely functional viewpoint, Begali is the last paddle you will ever need. And it is very nice looking to boot.

It will be making the CW from W4DCG Field Day Site this weekend! Be there of be square!

73 de Marty / W4MY

NU5DE

From the "Where in the heck did this come from" department:

"Special Events" column of July 2007 QST:

Jul 11 - Jul 15, 1800Z-2200Z, Austin, TX. Naturist Amateur Radio
Club, NU5DE. Nude Awareness Celebration - Nude Recreation Week.
21.365, 14.265, 7.256,. QSL, Naturist Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 200812,
Austin, TX 78720-0812. http://www.nu5de.org/

Reminds me of a Saturday night live skit. Who would have thought of combining these two hobbies? Good thing Amateur Radio is RADIO! I'm still laughing.

I don't know about you, but most clubs I've belonged to have 96% old men (of which I am included) and the thought of a similar demographic in this club send shivers up my spine! Here's something: Our Field day operation requests everyone have their own headset/boom mic and we standardised on Icom partly because of this. I'm guessing guys in this club bring their own chair? I could go on, but I'll quit while I'm ahead!

If you don't think I should have this on my blog, hey, I got this from QST magazine!

Preparing for Field Day

Lots of little things are coming together. I got the Red Cross generators today from Fred Winner. Fred will not be at field day this year as he has a prior obligation.

Ray, WA4WGA, is off in Ohio making preparations for his move in late summer up there. He has already gotten hooked up with a group up there running 4A and is already invited to operate.

Been keeping an eye on the "Kaz" group over in Franklin party as to their preparations. Wish them well in their effort, I know they will rack up a good score. I guess we can kiss NC Section first place in 2A good-bye! No worries, we are all in it for the fun anyway, right? Right!

In the house keeping department, there will be no blog entry from June 22-25. It will either be preparing for Field Day, Field Day, or recovering from Field Day.

See ya 73 Marty

DP in the Morning

Local FM commercial radio station WZAX (Zax '99.3) morning drive guy is "DP in the Morning" Dave Perkins. One of his features just after the morning prime time drive is "RBC Centura Spotlight on the Community" Each weekday at 8 a.m. he brings in a guest until about 9 a.m. All kinds of subjects are discussed of local interest in between the news, contests, commercials, music, etc. I'd say there probably is about 20 minutes of actual conversation that takes place during that hour.

Dave has invited the Tar River Amateur Radio Club to come and discuss Field Day on his show this coming Friday morning, June 22. What a treat! I was selected to represent our group and will have Daniel Joyner, KI4QXS, join me. Need to figure a way to "roll tape" and get a recording of this. Ray, WA4WGA, usually does this but he is away in Ohio right now on family business. I'll ask Dave about that.

Here are some things I'm going to suggest to Dave (DP) to ask us:

• What and where is Field Day and its purpose?






• How many hams participate in Field Day and why?






• Why is ham radio "needed" when there are far more modern ways to communicate?






• What is the origin of the term "Ham"? Who are some famous hams?






• Can just anyone get a ham radio license? How do you get one?






• How far can one ham talk to another via amateur radio?






• Isn't ham radio out dated? What are the modern aspects of ham radio?

KE9V

On the left hand side of this is a link to KE9V's blog. I look at it often and think its the best I've seen so far on ham radio related blogs. Almost every entry is like reading a well researched magazine article. How does he do that?


In addition KE9V also has a podcast of which I subscribe and enjoy listening to those. I recommend you check out the series on WW2 as it related to ham radio activity of that time. It was a series that I enjoyed very much.

Currently he is doing a 2 part podcast on H. P. Maxim of the ARRL. Great stuff, I encourage everyone to check it out.

Have a great weekend, see you Monday. (Field Day next weekend, Yea!) ...Marty / W4MY

Rare Situation

Here's a rare situation....

DX station sending me a QSL request with an SASE and green stamp!

Thanks, Vi c, glad to QSL! Now if I only got about 50 of these a month I could defray my own QSL expenses!

How much is a first class stamp to England now? 90 cents? I'll have to look that up on the USPS site.

Field Day 1977

It was Summer 1977. I had my Novice ticket since May of 1976. This was my first Field Day.

It was on McMillian Island on Lake Osborne, just south of West Palm Beach, Florida. the call was W4HAW. "CQ Field Day from Double-you Four Hams Are Wonderful" was our mantra!

To get on the island, you had to take a boat. Lake Osborne was really just a body of water that was part of the inter coastal waterway in between the mainland and outer barrier islands to the Atlantic Ocean. Talk about fertile RF grounding!

Take a look at that picture on the right, that's me sitting down! I went into the Navy three months later.

Take a look at the number of hams participating, 50! What a group. If I remember, we were 5A, I think. I had a pup tent and camp stove, it was at least 100 degrees, mosquitoes that would carry you away. Back then, there was no GOTA, but a novice station that used the same call as the host group. Only Novice class operators could setup and run it, and of course, it was CW only.

What great memories. It was the same today as you could operate in the phone band as a novice with a control operator. What a thrill. If I remember correctly, the rig in front of me in the picture was a Kenwood TS-520, and I was being shown how to tune it up before transmitting! Tune up, what is that!?! Back then Kenwood was the top rig among the common ham population. There was Collins and Drake, of course, but that was the equivalent of having a IC-7800 or Yaesu FT-9000 today. The Kenwood TS520 was a workhorse. Much like the IC-746, FT-990, or TS-570 is today.

My most memorable Field Day was in 1980 the summer before I was to get out of the Navy. It was in the Santa Rosa Amateur Radio club in Milton, FL. I was FD chairman (at 22 years old) in charge of all these old timers! It was held at Blackwater State Park in Santa Rosa county, FL. I remember it because I designed and built a mono band 10 meter 3 element yagi that we put up for FD that year. I wasn't knowledgeable about sunspots back then, but it must have been the peak, because 10 meters opened up for Field Day and remained open THE ENTIRE TIME, including in the wee hours of the night and morning. The run never stopped, not even at 2 o'clock in the morning. What a rush!

Gosh, that was 30 years ago this year! boy has allot changed. By the way, I got that newspaper article from my mother. Who else but your mother would save something like this. I have another picture from that 1977 FD of a picture of me putting up an antenna in another newspaper. Funny thing in 2006, the local newspaper here published a picture of me doing THE SAME THING at age 48.

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Till later W4MY

Why CW was Important to Ham Radio

We have all read the letters to QST, eHam articles, and group discussions with old timers about how eliminating CW has wrecked Ham Radio. Newcomers to this grand hobby see no relevance to this antiquated mode of communicating and view CW as an unnecessary roadblock. Just what is it about CW that has emotions and passions so exercised? Why is CW important to Ham Radio?

I look back into my own experience to try and explain this. I don't go back as far as most, but far enough I think. Having no recollection of ever not being fascinated by radio, my earliest memory is going to bed with a table top broadcast receiver in my bed under the sheets. This was a special radio with a shortwave section that my parents got for me. I don't actually remember the specific circumstances of how it came to be that I owned a shortwave receiver at age 9, but knowing my interest in radio, it doesn't surprise me. My parents were no help in encouraging me and even thought I would "outgrow" my strange interest!

Everything I knew about radio, propagation, magnetism, gravity, was a result of self motivation, curiosity, and ingenuity. It was a thirst for more knowledge. When I saw the ham radio station of my soon to be elmer, Bill Asbury, WA4GYZ, there was no doubt that instant I was to be a Ham. There was no obstacle too difficult, no mountain too high, ocean too deep, no code too difficult to stop me from my dream of being a radio operator. If the requirement had been walk over broken glass in your bare feet for 50 feet, I would have done it. I'm glad all I had to do was learn CW... no problem!

Having gone through all these "obstacles" and gotten my ticket, I was in the fold. I didn't realize it then, but I met and was involved with others who felt the same about radio as me. We had a shared experience of getting over difficult tasks (i.e., CW) and overcoming them. We "understood" each other in a way that others outside our hobby didn't. It was "safe" to talk about radio without fearing condescending remarks from most "regular" people. We could relate to each other at a higher level. CW was as much a test of your interest as it was a viable communications mode. If you were willing to put up with learning CW, it was thought, you really had the ham radio bug. It was a litmus test of your interest.

The world is a different place than it was in the 1960's and 70's when I was coming up. These old school ways of doing things have taken a back seat to more streamlined and practical matters. We old time hams are around enough folks that think we are strange for our interest in an antiquated hobby, ham radio. We don't want the same thing from fellow hams!

But, alas, it is what it is. So I welcome the new hams with open arms. I will endeavour to pass along my passion for this hobby that has given me so much pleasure over the years. Hopefully now, after having read this, the new hams understand a little better why we old timers feel the way we do. This might help all of us do what Reily Hollingsworth has been saying, "can't we all just get along?"

Cushcraft XM-240 "Big Thunder"

This is my Cushcraft XM-240 "Big Thunder" yagi I use for 40 meters here at W4MY. It is up at 73 feet on a Rohn 25 tower fed with Beldon 9913-F7 coaxial cable. I turn it with a Ham IV rotor nested in the tower on a chrome-molly pole 2-1/16" in diameter.

This is certainly not a "beginner's" antenna. It takes allot of work to get it in the air, but worth every minute of it. Even at this point in the sunspot cycle (dead low) I hear DX on 40 just about whenever I turn the radio on.

As you can see in the picture, it is a two element design with a driven element in the front, and a reflector at the rear. It has an inductor 3/4 the distance away from the center to help reduce the length and a capacitance hat near the end of each of the elements. I don't know much about the use of capacity hats except that they help increase the radiation resistance of an electrically short antenna thus increasing the efficiency. I can actually say they got it right, its performance is outstanding!

I did make a couple of structural changes to the original design to make it better able to withstand the elements long term. I beefed up the truss system by replacing the truss bracket with a steel one I fabricated. The aluminum one just didn't have the look of "long term" to it. I also put a stainless steel eye bolt at the two ends of the boom to hold the truss guy, again, Cushcraft's design was a little wimpy.

In the one year it has been up (or just shy of a year) it has performed magnificently. I'm glad I got it.

73 to all Marty / W4MY

Tour 'de Cure Trip Report

I wish I had some pictures, but alas, no camera was available.


Overview of TDC (Tour 'de Cure): A fund raiser put on by the American Diabetes Association where bicycle riders take a 150 mile trip over two days and are "sponsored" by donors. These bikers are supported by numerous individuals and groups to aid and support them on the trip. It takes a predetermined course which is marked and organized rest stops are provided along the way.


Part Ham Radio plays: Radio operators are assigned to "shadow" event officials, man fixed posts at rest stops, and patrol the route in mobiles picking up stranded bikers, and providing efficient communications between all these parts as well as getting medical attention where needed quickly and efficiently.



My part was to SAG (Support and Gear) which is a slang term for the rover who travels along the course to "support" the bikers and help where needed with rides, supplies, and eyes/ears for emergencies. I had lots of fun and met a bunch of cool folks.



Part of being a "SAG" is providing a means by which net control can know of your location. Of course, a query on the radio will accomplish that and is done frequently, but APRS is also used extensively. (See the article in this blog on the APRS tracker I built a few years ago)


The event June 9-10 went well. It went from Cary, NC to Oxford, NC, and back the second day. We had about 10 hams involved and covered it well. The number of bikers was down from previous years, so it was a little more laid back than usual. The weather was great, and the rain we got was during the overnight hours. Perfect timing!



The methods used are great training for tactical situations that occur during an emergency. If you are interested in that kind of thing, get involved in an event like this. Not only do you get to meet allot of good folks, you add some visibility to ham radio as well.



Keep on!

Tour de Cure

I've mentioned the Tour de Cure event coming up this weekend in Raleigh/Oxford. Its a two day bicycle ride of 150 miles (75 each day) to raise money for Diabetes research. Hams are needed to communicate and monitor the cyclists' safety and welfare. A perfect fit for ham radio. I've done it in the past and the service rendered has been superb. If you are interested in emergency communications requiring tactical calls and real life situations, this is the gig for you.



Now I am leaving Saturday morning early and will not be back until late Sunday, so there will not be any activity here until next Monday. I'm assuming that will be a summary of this weekend's activities.



Here is a link to the volunteer radio operator's page, if you are interested in seeing what goes on in something like this. Also, if you can hear the repeaters listed you may want to listen in on the activity. There will be plenty! Click here for the link.



Drive Safely!

GOTA Training

As you will soon tell, we are now officially in "Field Day" season. That usually starts after the last club meeting before the event (June meeting) through to the fourth full weekend. One of my duties that I took on was to give a briefing to the new hams who will be operating the GOTA station this year.

It will take place at my house at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday June 14. I have already posted this on the reflector. We will have three or four who I think will be attending. The agenda is:

• Using Writelog. I will have my laptop loaded up with the FD contest. I will go over data entry, and some of the basic functionality. It really is pretty easy.
• Listening and tuning. I'm going to go over the search and pounce protocol, and how to tune a SSB signal. Most of us take that for granted, but it does take a somewhat learned ear to do it.
• The IC-746. Since I own a '746 and that will be the GOTA rig this year (not mine) I will go over how to operate it. Mostly which knob is the volume control! HI!
• The QSO and FD exchange. What to listen for, when to transmit, what to say, and how to be flexible. Along with this will be a discussion of etiquette and manners.... uh, there are none, that was easy!
• I will put the 746 on the dummy load on 10 meters and I will go out to my mobile and call CQ and "run". I will get each of the students to work me to get as much of a real feel as possible.
• Hopefully, Chris will make some snacks and they will all be interested in my Field day "war stories" including my FD in 1976! [note to self: good subject for a blog post]

Anyway, that's what is happening here right now. Gota go. 73

TRARC June 2007 Meeting

As promised, here is my report from the Tar River Amateur Radio Club meeting on June 4, 2007. The primary subject was Field Day.

There were about ten members present with a new prospective ham, Mike, visiting for the first time. Welcome aboard Mike! (My apologies for not mentioning Mike's last name, it was one of those long names with lots of consonants)

It seems things are pretty much set. There wasn't much comment from the group, even when asked for contribution on things less settled, such as the Saturday afternoon meal. The consensus, from the leadership core (again), was to just make a run to Bojangles for a tailgate special. That's OK with me.

Fred Winner. KE4LXW, said he has prior obligations and will be unable to attend. This puts a wrinkle in getting the Red Cross ERV (That's stands for Emergency Response Vehicle) to house station #2. This will have to be Worked out off line.

I have to co ordinate with Fred on getting the generators, that seems a little dicey. We are rolling on. I was disappointed not to see Daniel, KI4QXS, at the meeting. Wanted to talk about his recent experience with HF. Hopefully he will be able to make FD.

That's it for this report. Its my story and I'm sticking to it! 73

My IC-W32A

I broke out my W32A handheld today. Got a couple of things coming up that will require it. Chris' new truck doesn't have a rig in it yet, and we will be going out tonight to the TRARC monthly meeting (tomorrow's post) as well as the Tour 'de Cure bicycle event this weekend.

Since I haven't had it out lately, I forgot how to program it. No problem, whipped out my Nifty Quick Reference . Its a "cheat sheet" laminated card (about the size of a credit card) that gives you the bottom line on how to do stuff with your rig. Five minutes later, its all programed. The Nifty card isn't a comprehensive manual, but a great memory jogger. Well worth $3.95 I spent at some long ago hamfest.

Anyway, I love my W32A handheld. Its the perfect size for me, has a little weight to it and is powerful. Choice of 1/2 watt or 5-1/2 watts. In the old days the main criticism of this rig was its short battery life. That was the early 90's. Battery technology has come a long way, and I now have the after market NiMH from W&W Manufacturing and that problem is solved.

I like the feature where I can simultaneously listen to a VHF and UHF frequency. It can actually be used a s cross band repeater. (I actually don't see much practical use for this feature, but that said, it is the absolute best hand held to use when in cross mode operation.) I believe its the only handheld now that you can transmit to the remote rig in cross band mode, and then listen to the remote rig's output and the source AT THE SAME TIME. This is difficult to describe, but once you've had this capability, it would be tough to give up. When you do communications for public service events, this is a very handy feature to have. Not absolutely necessary, but very nice.

I will be getting another one in the near future so that I can have a pair. The used street price is coming down, and having commonality is a nice feature.

Hope to see everyone at the TRARC meeting tonight, I'll give an update on that tomorrow.

73

APRSing

Followup on the APRS Tracker...with only 2.5 watts out, it seems to be producing allot of hits in Findu, that's good. One thing I don't like, and remember from the original setup, is that the cannibalized radio (Alinco DJ-120) doesn't remember the settings when it is turned off. Could possibly be because it doesn't have a built in battery anymore. Makes it necessary to keep 12 v to it all the time.

Will have to find a solution.

This is a quick entry, as my work schedule is very intense right now. I missed the VE session today as I was too tired to even think straight.

Tar River ARC meeting is this Monday (June 4). My next post will be about that. I am not going to make an entry tomorrow as it is Sunday. I think I'll establish that policy is that Sunday will be a post free zone! It will give me a chance to think about some stuff and maybe take some pictures!

See you in the pileups! 73

W4MY-9 (APRS Tracker)

This is not to be construed as a comprehensive and well researched article on APRS. There is so much to this aspect of the ham radio hobby all one has to do is Google "APRS" and thee will be a litany of information to peruse.

This is about my mobile tracker I built, or should I say I integrated together. In a nutshell, this group of components serves to "report" my position on the Earth to anyone who cares to know. This is done digitally and automatically, requiring no action from me other than to turn it on. It is not a full blown APRS. I can't receive and interpret other position information as in a normal APRS setup. Its one way -- outbound. Sorta like raising my hand and shouting, "here I am!"

You basically need three things for an APRS tracker. First, GPS receiver capable of outputting its current coordinates to a standard RS-232 serial interface. The Garmen Etrex is my instrument (yellow thingy on the right) No fancy mapping here. Just bare bones position info and "breadcrumb" navigating. Think of it as a very sophisticated compass plus.

Second, you need a digital controller/position encoder to receive the position information from the GPS RX, compose the packet of digital data for dissemination, generate the FSK tones, key the PTT, and then send to the VHF transmitter. I selected the Tinytrak3 by Bytronics. It was a simple single circuit board kit about the size of two postage stamps. It is located under the metal shield to the left of the box.

Third, is the RF transmitter. In my case I used a junked VHF (2 meter) hand held where the battery holder clip had broken. It is an Alinco DJ-120. They quit making these in about 1990.

The box its in is not a necessity, but I packaged them together like this for convenience. When activated, the unit transmits on 144.390 MHz my position which is received by a local APRS gateway link to the Internet. My data is added to the Findu database, and anyone with access to the database can locate me via the Internet. Wow, and its "real time" also.

I'd like to clarify here that you DO NOT need a laptop or computer of any type to use and run the tracker. All digital info and manipulation is done in the firmware of the digital controller/position encoder. You do, however, need a computer to SET UP the tracker so it knows the call sign (of course) and SSID, and all the reporting parameters you desire. You download this to the TinyTrak3, remove your connection and plug in the GPS RX, and off you go. Remember, there's no receiving of position information, hence no need for computer mapping or a computer at all. Just blinkidy blink with a couple of LEDs to let you know its doing its thing!

Here's what you do. Go here to my favorite Findu interface, In the upper left type in my call and SSID, which is "W4MY-9" (no quotes) then click the "Find" button. You will see a Google map come up with my last location received. If you do it again only this time select the radio button "Track(Breadcrumb)" you will see my coming and going in the last 10 days.

I am going to have it up and running this next week through the weekend of June 9th. I'm participating in the Diabetes Association "Tour de Cure" in and around Oxford as a radio op, and they need to keep track of where we are, so this is how they do it.

Neat, huh? I know there is allot more I haven't covered, so post any questions about my setup here in the comments and I'll try my best to answer them.

Fireman Training Grounds

Today I participated in a recognisance mission to review our field day site at the Rocky Mount Fireman's Training Grounds. I met with John Faulkner, KR4SV, who has our connection with the fire department. Robin, WA4WPD, was supposed to also be there but was unable due to an emergency.

Evaluation List:

1. Fire Tower - this is a 68 foot structure that can be easily ascended via a steep staircase and is relatively safe to operate on the top. It has plenty of room to work at the top to place the StepIR and D40 Dipole.

2. Low Band Antennas - one end can be tied to the fire tower at 68 feet and the antenna extend outward over an open field. The Superloop 80 can get tied to a non working light pole at about 30 feet. The Carolina Windom 80 will go out over the middle of the open field and we will have to construct a counterpoise with an extension ladder.

3. Shelter - The gazebo attached to an activity building is about all that is usable, as the inside of the building is being used for storage. It is adequate for adverse weather and will be OK.

4. Stations - Stations will be located in the ERV, Camping trailer, and under the gazebo (GOTA). The gazebo is about 150 feet from the tower and is located in the shade, so it is quite pleasant despite the mid day sun.

5. Necessary Facilities. The plumbing in the bathroom is not functioning, so there will have to be a portable toilet rented for the weekend.

6. Enjoy the pictures, see everyone at the June TRARC meeting.

Barry, K4CZ

I'd like to Embarrass Barry, K4CZ. Sorry, I don't have a picture of K4CZ.

Barry is a friend of mine from PVRC. He is a newcomer to the contest scene (as am I, just newer than me, so I can call him a newcomer ;-) He writes prolifically and I always read what he has to say. I have to say that if Barry were to write a book about accounting, I know I would enjoy reading it. To see what I mean, here is Barry's submission the the PVRC reflector for his WPX effort this past weekend.

Call: K4CZ ...

Comments:
My primary rig is out for repairs so I dusted off my TS-830 for some
casual operating between family events. The TS-830 is one of the last of
the"hybrid" rigs (6146B finals). The rig doesn't have a port for computer control and its grid block keying (-60V at the key terminal) isn't compatible with my Microkeyer so it was a "back to basics" contest for me.

I connected my N0XAS Pico Keyer and hand-sent all code with my
paddle...nottoo difficult but it made me realize how "lazy" I had become...I've
actually worked entire CW contests by pushing N1MM macro buttons and almost
never touching my CW paddle. The TS-830 definitely doesn't have QSK
either...theT/R relay is loud enough to rattle the shack windows...even my dog
couldn't sleep in his usual spot under the shack table! Quick
bandchanges?...fuggedaboutit...even if I write down the load, plate and
drive settings, I like to touch up the tuning while transmitting into a
dummy load...way too much work for casual operating. Like to
operate assisted?...well you can't just click on a spot and go there...you have
tospin the dial...and make sure you subtract 800 Hz from the spot since the rig
display is offset in CW mode when receiving. Crowded
band conditions?...well there aren't any roofing filters or non-stock filters
in my TS-830...just IF shift, VBT and a manual notch...provides a
completely different perspective on the fiercely debated comparisons between
the performance of the Orion II and the FT-1000MP.

Am I complaining?...sure am. Did I have fun?...absolutely. By the end of the contest, I even improved my CW sending skills quite a bit. I enjoy the competitive
aspect of contesting and am constantly striving for personal bests and higher
finishes in the rankings. Like most of you, one of the joys of contesting
for me is constantly refining my station to maximize the Qs obtainable within the
constraints of my equipment budget, operating skills and available time.
What I learned this weekend, however, is that in the process of "optimizing" my
station, I've computerized and automated so much of the contesting process that
the joy of radio is sometimes lost. I'm not going to give up my Microham
Microkeyer with its 150 features and capabilities or any of the other
conveniences of my station. However, I am going to make sure that I pick at
least one contest each season when I go"back to basics"...use the tube rig, send
CW manually, turn off the packet spots and maybe even log by hand...well, maybe
not log by hand. But don't worry...I won't take my nostalgia trip
during Sweepstakes...based on my slide rule calculations, my QTH is 140.701 miles
from the center of the PVRC universe so my modest scores will still contribute to
the greater good...assuming the universe remains circular and its radius doesn't
shrink significantly ;-)

Thanks for all the Qs from PVRC members and apologies to those who were subjected to my occasionally sloppy CW sending.

73, Barry K4CZ

Well, see what I mean? Good job Barry! Yes, operating was different back in the bad old days. And, no, I agree, don't go back to hand logging. I wasn't a contester back then, but I do remember Field Day and logging with a pencil and road map sized dupe sheet! If you were low man on the totem pole at Field Day back then, you spent the bulk of your time fueling generators and sharpening pencils! Yikes, perish the thought.

Rock on!

Radiocoversdot Com

I found a couple of years ago some great felt covers for radio gear by Radiocoversdot Com. Each one is made to fit the particular radio model. The embroidery is a nice touch.

Keeping the radios under the covers has really kept them looking nice and free of dust in the tiny crevasses. My only pet peeve is that the mic connector on the front must be removed for them to fit right. Small inconvenience, though.

They are fairly inexpensive and are a great value. here, the blue one for the IC-746 is about 2-3 years old, and the black one for the Yaesu is about a year old. The cleaning instructions state to be dry cleaned only, lest you will end up with a new keyer cover! HI!

I didn't really mean for this to sound like an advertisement, as I have no vested interest in this company. Just its something that has really worked well for me.

Memorial Day

To the members of all the US armed forces, past and present:

I know that this is not directly related to ham radio, but with so much owed by so many to so few I believe it is worth setting our hobby aside one moment. (I am re phrasing the famous Winston Churchill quote referring to the RAF pilots at the end of the Battle of Britian)

Without the sacrifice of those who went into harm's way on my behalf, I would not be able to opine on this blog, speak to others all over the world via radio, and assemble with my friends of a like mind at my monthly ham radio meeting.

My pale "thank you" is small in comparison. I'd like to mention specifically the ham radio operators that entered the US armed forces in the middle of the 20th century where communications was not nearly developed as it is today. Back then, America entered a great world war woefully unprepared. Hams were regarded as a "God-send" to the signal corps hitting the ground running in establishing quickly a ready communications infrastructure so critical for the survival of our civilization. Every time you see an old black and white news-reel picture of a B-17 spiraling to earth realize there was a radio operator on board most likely a ham. I mention that in hopes to bring this solemn holiday closer to home.

Thank you

WPX is Over / Whew!

I've been busy with the test so haven't visited here since Friday. Along with working WPX (see score at left) I built a horse platform (don't ask, XYL's horse hobby) Was working on it when I jammed a wood splinter into my left ring finger between my fingernail and finger tip. Ouch! Now I know what Chinese bamboo torture is all about. Good thing it was on my left hand, I'm right handed and need it for ..... CW sending, yea that's it, CW sending.... HI!

Anyway, WPX, yes, Don't think I'm going to win this one! 8-) But I broke 400!

Ahhh, the life of a contester!

New Tacoma Truck

Well, you all have seen my Tacoma truck in an earlier post (a week or so ago). We are now a two Taco family as my lovely and gracious XYL, Chris, KC4HDI has a new 2007 model. This was her choice.

So here is the question. She wants her 2M rig back in so she can talk to me. Unlike me, however, she does not want to drill any holes in it for an antenna. Does anyone know if the "through the glass" V/UHF antennas work all that well? A "lip" mount would have to be on the hood as this is a pickup truck.

So I'm open to suggestions and opinions. I am going to change the comments to "un-moderated" as I don't think this blog needs a security level [yet]. If you have figured out this is a veiled attempt to see if anyone is reading this thing yet, go to the head of the class! :-)

So let me know you are out there, and what Chris should do with her new truck.

73 and Go PVRC! ...Marty

WPX is This Weekend

I have to start taking my own advice. Operate! I haven't made a QSO in two weeks, and with Field Day coming up, I sure don't want to get rusty! Note to self, operate!

So, WPX CW is this weekend. Its one of those 48 hour tests that I have to pick 36 hours. Since I am off this weekend, I'm going to give it a concerted effort. Dust the rust off so to speak.

My Superloop80 is down for use at the Field Day. I've got the StepIR in the yard and have half a notion to put it on my tower at 30' and point it west. Hmmmm might just do that.

So, look for me! Good prefix hunting! 73

My Friend Ernie, K9LO

L to R in the picture above is Tim, KF4IIC, Ernie, K9LO, Travis, KI4KNB, and Les, W4FRA. This was from Field Day 2005 at Boddie-Noel and that was the GOTA station setup behind Ernie.

Ernie moved down from Wisconsin to take a job as Chief Engineer of a group of broadcast radio stations here. Talk about a fish out of water, there is very little commonality between North Carolina and Wisconsin culture! But Ernie was a ham, and that was enough common ground to welcome him in the Tar River Amateur Radio fold.

Well, last night, Ernie called me on the telephone from Wisconsin (he moved back early in 2006)

We had a grand time talking about old times, catching up, and such as that. I was glad to hear he was doing well and both of us were trying to outdo each other in conveying complements to each other.

Ernie never missed a club meeting or event except when he was laid up with a bad back. We made plans to meet up in Dayton for 2008 and that is one I will endeavour to keep. We made allot of jokes at Ernie's expense and he held his own and gave it right back. You guys in Wisconsin are lucky to have him, and even though he is a little rough around the edges, all of us in NC miss him.

Take it easy, Ernie, we'll see you in Dayton next year!

My HXL-17 Hexbeam

I took down my HXL-17 Hexbeam today. It has served me well, and I enjoyed having it up for the last three years. Some history

I bought this curious antenna from Mike Traffie himself when I was at Dayton in 2004. At the time, I was interested in this novel antenna and thought that 17 meters was a perfect testbed to satisfy my curiosity. Now $300 was allot to spend on a whim like this, but I had some extra "walking around" money that year, so why not?

I put it up on a pole mounted on the chimney at the peak of my ranch house (shown in the background in the pic). My guess it was up 28-30' from the ground. I also bought a light duty Hygain AR-35 "TV" rotator and mounted it all together. This was the recommendation from Traffie and the literature, so as to evaluate their claims.

I was very pleased with the results. No, it won't replace a full size mono band Yagi at 65', but I have to tell you, it is the best antenna I have ever used at this low height. I found the front to back ratio to be good, and always got good reports. If the band was open, I was right in the mix with everyone else.

My review on the air to a California ham brought about an unsolicited phone call from Mike Traffie himself. I was quite surprised that he was in much despair over my review. I thought it [the review] to be quite complementary in stating pretty much what I just said in the paragraph above. He was perplexed as to why I was not dimantling my tribander at 65' now that I owned the Hexbeam. I explained to him that if I was restricted in height and had to have a stealthy low profile antenna, the Hexbeam surely would be at the top of my list. I described its performance as "par" at 28' with my multi band Yagi at 65'. If you asked me, that's a complement. He wanted me to say it was better. We parted friends.

I think I'm going to sell it. It was fun, but I do not need its stealth or low height performance, per-se, because I already have my Force 12 (now at 85') and have no restrictions where I live.

I think you will agree about the stealth part. I took a bunch of pictures of it with my XYL's Olympus E500 ( a top notch camera) and the pic above was the best one, all-be-it not so good.

See you in the pileups!

My First QSO

A number of new hams in the area are upgrading to General and above due to the new rule changes eliminating CW as a requirement to transmit on the HF bands. Brings me back to my first QSO. Lets set the flux capacitor on the time machine to 1975 and rev the Delorian up to 88 miles per hour and go back....

It was October, I think, when I went to the home of my elmer, Bill Asbury, WA4GYZ, to take my Novice test. This is a story unto itself, but since this is about my first QSO, suffice it to say I left there not sure if I had passed or not. Back in those days, your elmer just proctored the test and it was mailed off and graded by the FCC.

That winter I ordered and built a Heathkit HW-16 with the help of my friend Jim Duke who's dad had built a number of Heathkit TV and stereo sets. I had it up and running after a few trips to Jim's house and a once over from his dad.

The winter was over and I had all but given up on my Novice ticket when it finely arrived in May of 1976! I got a big lump in my throat, it was time to get on the air! I called Mr. Asbury and asked him what to do, I had forgotten everything! He was firm, but compassionate with me in saying, "come on now, Marty, you can do it!" He was definitely "old school" and did not believe in pampering. I'll say.

The rig and antenna had to be completed and I spent the ensuing summer copying QSO's in anticipation. Finely, one full year after sitting for the test, I plugged in my only JAN FT-243 crystal on 3725 and listened. I was petrified with fear, but somehow managed to send CQ DE WN4OAR as I had done a bizillion times on my practice keyer, only this time I was watching the meter on the rig bounce as I sent. Would I be able to copy any response? Here it comes.... "WN4OAR DE W3IHA W3IHA K" I began to shake uncontrollably as if I were freezing. But I did not freeze, somehow I eeked out, "W3IHA DE WN4OAR RRR UR RST IS 579 579 QTH IS JUPITER, FL JUPITER, FL NAME IS MARTY MARTY BTU W3IHA DE WN4OAR KN" To which the reply, "WN4OAR DE W3IHA R TNX UR RST 559 559 QTH IS SILVER SPRING, MD SILVER SPRING, MD NAME IS LEO LEO RIG IS HW100 TO END FED ZEPP" and it went on with me giving Leonard my address and informing him of my first QSO. What a thrill! It was a very significant moment in my life and I remember it vividly. Mark that date in history as October 11, 1976 at 0021 GMT (UTC as we know it now)

What are first QSO's like for new hams today? I can tell you, back then it were scary!

MXL-990 Condenser Microphone

After hearing the MXL-990 on the air it sparked me to read the reviews on eHam. I had to try it out. An order to MusiciansFriend with the outboard phantom supply and pop filter I was on my way 4 days later spending less than $100.

This mic is now my primary station ragchew mic. Its a delight to use and always a good conversation piece, especially when asked how I achieve such good TX audio.

I mounted everything via the included isolation mount (a necessity IMHO) on my Heil topless boom and made all my cables. Every time I go to a hamfest I make sure I stock up on the connectors so I can do things like this when I get the urge! I wired the new mic via my 2-band W2IHY EQ/Noise gate to my FT-1000MP. Not that this is really necessary, but the W2IHY makes setting the levels a snap and inserting PTT.

I had to "re-learn" on how to speak into this mic, 8-12" away is the norm, not close up, it is very sensitive. So thats the other thing you have to watch out for with a condenser, its very sensitive. One time the phone rang in the other room and the guy I was in QSO with asked if I needed to step away and answer the phone! A quiet shack is a necessity. Audio reports have ranged from "pleasant full sounding" to "fantastic".

Bottom line, for a condenser, this inexpensive unit would be tough to beat at twice the price. Properly applied, I think it sounds as good or better than the ham specific mics in the $300-400 range (you know the ones I'm talking about) But don't run out and buy one without thinking it through. A condenser is not the best choice in some situations.

I couldn't be more pleased with the results. And to think I did it all for less than $100 is icing on the cake.

Character

Is what you decide to do when when no-one else will know.

PVRC (Potomac Valley Radio Club) leadership took it upon themselves yesterday to relinquish the hard fought 2006 November Sweepstakes club championship gavel. It seems that there is a geographical rule that all participants of any given club must all reside within an imaginary circle having a 175 mile radius. There apparently was some sort of violation of this rule that was brought to light within the PVRC ranks which precipitated this move. A class act making me proud to be part of this organization.

A little history. Radio contesting is alot like Grand Prix car racing. There is one track on which all the competing cars take to at the same time. There are many races going on within the big "race" where different classes, teams, and point standings are all competing within their respective groups. The Ferrari's are not racing against the Volkswagen Bugs, though they are on the track at the same time.

When a radio contest starts, everyone takes to the air to contact (and out contact) as many other hams as possible. But, like the Grand Prix, many competitions are going on at once. Throw all the manners your mother taught you right out the window. Its dog-eat-dog. Anyway, One of these "sub contests" is the club competition. Members of different clubs throw their final score in one big pool of fellow members with the object being the club with the most overall points wins.

PVRC was declared the winner for the 2006 Fall competition, but has shown immense character by declaring a self discovered foul passing the gavel to previously second place finisher NCCC (Northern California Contest Club)

I'm sure there will be plenty of Monday morning quarterbacking on this issue in the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by! 73 CUL Marty / W4MY

Working on Field Day

Put together to test out the StepIR and D40 today. Here are some pics. Everything checks out and is good to go. Both of these antennas will be atop a 68' firefighting training tower sitting on the top platform just as you see them set up here.

Out club call sign is W4DCG with GOTA call sign TBD. We've invited the Rocky Mount Amateur Radio Club (our sister club here) to join us in a joint effort, and if that pans out, the GOTA call will be WR4MT.

The one pic of the StepIR is a bit over exposed, but shows the antenna nicely against an otherwise dark background. This antenna is difficult to see which, in some cases, might be a benefit.

Not shown are the low band antennas which will be a Radio Works Superloop80 and Carolina Windom 80.

Had great weather today. A good day to get outside and play Ham Radio.

Are We in This, or Not?

OK, I'll get off my high horse after this post! But I wanted to show off my mobile setup that I used in the NC QSO Party. In the fist pic you see the High Sierra HS-1800/pro and mount. Notice the custom bracket and you might be wondering how it is attached. The High Sierra bracket is bolted to a custom made 1/4" plate of the same footprint using the holes originally meant for the tube u-bolts. At the bottom of the plate there is a piece of 2x2 box beam welded to the opposite side of the custom plate. The box beam is about 23" long and reaches over to a "receiver box that was added/welded to the Reese hitch. The receiver box is nothing more than another piece of box beam 2-1/2"x2-1/2" six inches long that the 2x2 beam coming from the antenna bracket plugs into. Nothing is attached to the body except for the 1" ground strap which High Sierra talks about ad nauseum.

The control cable and RG-58 coax is routed under the vehicle along the frame member and enters the cab through an axillary hole with notched out rubber plug that Tacoma provided. (Nice touch, Toyota, Thanks!)

The IC-706M2G is mounted on the floor under the driver's seat along with the N2VZ Turbo Tuner. I made sure the Icom was oriented so I could get to the two tweak pots for side tone and ... I forgot what else. Anyway, I have the 706 control head and speaker mounted on a custom bracket which is bolted to the floorboard just below the gearshift.

Although there might be some very good mobile antennas out there, I am VERY GLAD I have the High Sierra. In my opinion, having that antenna mated up with the Turbo Tuner is the absolute best and safest way to go HF mobile.

It may be hard to see this in the pics, but I also have a Larson NMO 2/70 mounted in the middle of the cab roof. Yes, this NMO mount required a 3/4" hole drilled through body sheet metal but is the best situation for VHF/UHF RF radiation.

I drilled that hole for the 2/70 and installed this big HS-1800/pro antenna with the best RF performance as priority. I believe I have retained the good looks of this truck by the quality of the workmanship and don't feel I will make the Hamsexy rolls. Hey, are we in this, or not?

Roll on!

I'm Flabbergasted!

I won 1st place (Mobile/In-State) in 2007 NC QSO Party!

Pinch me, is it real? Check it out!

It was a very slim victory, but even coming close to Jeff, NY4N, would have made me happy. Maybe Jeff just had an off day. I actually e-mailed Jeff last year after the 2006 event which he won and asked for some tips. He was more than helpful, a true sportsman and gentleman.

I have to mention, also, Jeff, NX9T. He only made 15 QSOs, all with me (I presume). He even went to the trouble to submit his log so as to facilitate my confirmation in the log checking. Class act, Jeff, thanks! Those 15 Q's (when weighted with my 57 multiplier) represented the value of my margin of victory.

Also, my friend Barry, K4CZ followed me for a much appreciated number of Q's. Seems that maybe Barry got into it as a result because he walked away with second place overall in the fixed single-op category. I remember Barry asking me if I thought anyone would want a Q from Durham county. I guess they did!

Last, but certainly not least, go my thanks to my lovely and gracious XYL, Christina, KC4HDI (You're still a YL in my eyes, honey!) for driving me while I operated, the whole 10 hours. We made only 3 stops; one for gas, one for the flat tire in the rain (a famous story by now, I'm sure), and one necessary. I take back everything I said when you kept making wrong turns!

Up until now, the only wood on my wall was in some of the picture frames for my certificates.

Not any more!

I won! (something)

I just got an e-mail from Henry, W2DZO, chairman of the 2007 NC QSO Party stating that I was going to receive a plaque. The email looks like a generic going to all the plaque winners so it didn't state what it was I won. Here's part of the e-mail from Henry:

Congrats! You are receiving this email because you/your club has/have won
aplaque for your 2007 North Carolina QSO Party effort. As usual, we will bring
your plaque to the Dayton Hamfest, Fleamarket spot #3301 if you would like to
pick it up.

Now I entered the Mobile/In-State category, so one would assume I won that. But I talked to NY4N during the GA QSO Party and he was also in the same category and got a few more Q's than I did. Its conceivable I had more mults, thus a higher score, but why then was NY4N listed as a plaque winner also? I seriously doubt I beat out NY4N. Therein lies the consternation.

I just guess I'll have to wait for the results to be posted. Hurry up, Henry!

Radio Nerd dot net

This morning I wondered by my good friend and partner in crime's blog, radio-nerd.net, and saw that he noticed my new endeavour here. He said in his post (I will paraphrase) that I have stumbled into the 21st century. He made a vague illusion that he thought he would never live to see that.

Well, Ray, here I am! Don't worry, I'll be posting about many things from 19th century radio, telegraphy, and such as that. I won't let you down!

Field Day 2007

Field Day is on my mind today.

There is no more engaging activity for the ham. If you are really into radio, and like the athletic aspects of the hobby, Field Day is for you.

Now how does "athletic" fit into ham radio? Sitting in front of a radio late at night intently listening to small signals coming from the ether is more accurately described as sedentary, not athletic. Field Day is different.

Try going 30 hours without significant sleep, climbing- pulling- pushing- trodding involved in erecting temporary antennas, surviving the elements, slapping bugs, troubleshooting, and 24 hours of operating. Then tearing it all down in a whirlwind leaving the area just as you found it, only your footprints as evidence you were ever there.

Everyone has a different perspective on what FD (Field Day) is, for me its the shared experience with like minded hams. Fellowship, shared adversity, teamwork, and most of all intense radio activity is what gives me the biggest charge. Some people say I try too hard and need to throttle back. Maybe so, maybe not. Hopefully there will be a place for me this year!

See you in the pile ups!

BS7H Scarborough Reef DXpedition

Yes, I worked 'em.

I can honestly say it was 50% shear luck. Yes, I was on 20 meters at the right time during our precariously short propagation opening on 20 metres; Yes, I have an antenna (Force 12 C3E at 85') that will do the job; Yes, I used a half-kilowatt amp (Ameritron AL-811) to give me just a little help; Yes, I had great advice from experienced DXer here locally; But all that added together did not assure me of the contact.

BS7 is the rarest entity on the DXCC want list and for all practical purposes NO NONE had this confirmed yet. That means that every ham in the world that had any casual interest in DX was trying to work them. With over 6 million hams in the world, my wild guess is that maybe 20% are interested or have the equipment to work DX. That's 1.2 million. Maybe half of those (again, I'm guessing) had the time available to actively pursue the DX.

Boil it all down, there could have been 600,000 hams in search of that elusive Q, and in fact only 44,00 QSO's were made (according to the BS7H web report)

You've got better odds winning a door prize at a hamfest raffle. Lucky? Yes!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...

...Begins with a single step. Here we go.

I have just finished reading, "Blogging for Dummies" by Brad Hill. Allot of good information in it, and would recommend it. It got me this far anyway. I suppose, like any good written work, there should be some sort of a thesis for my new blog, I'll do my best.

Ham Radio.

Not bad, eh? For those that know me, there's no surprise there. For those that don't (and right now that would be no one) you will get to know that just about everything in my life is connected to ham radio via less than three degrees of separation. (i.e., I met my wife at a job I got at a television station who's chief engineer was a ham, and he only hired hams, Good thing the EEOC never learned about him! She got the job through a connection of someone she met at a hamfest!) See what I mean.

Enough for now AR