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Tech Day – Ham Radio Education Event

September 23rd, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

Black Forest, Colorado
Sat Oct 13^th, 2018 (8:30 AM to 3:30 PM)

Location: Black Forest Fire Station 1
11445 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs

Come to our one-day ham radio education event.

Improve your radio knowledge and skills
Learn from informative presentations on amateur radio topics
Have your handheld radio programmed with local repeater and simplex frequencies
Have fun messing around with ham radio stuff!

Time	Activity	Presenter
8:30	Doors Open
9:00	How to Assemble a 2m J-pole Antenna	Adam White, K4SPB
10:00	Portable High Frequency (HF) Operating	Shel Radin, KFØUR
11:00	Basic Radio Operating and Net Procedures	Barrett Poe, WØASB
11:45	Lunch
12:30	DX with a Technician License Using Satellites	Vince Vella, KI6ASW
13:30	VHF Station: Beyond the Handheld Transceiver	Bob Witte, KØNR
14:30	Your First HF Station	Stu Turner, WØSTU
15:30	End of event

Lunch will be provided.

Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association

Check the website for updates: www.w0tlm.com
(some details may change)
There is no registration, no fee, just show up, learn and have fun. Contact: Stu Turner, WØSTU, [email protected]

Download event flyer: Tech Day 2018 Flyer

The post Tech Day – Ham Radio Education Event appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Getting on HF: The Fiddle Factor

September 19th, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

We’ve had a steady stream of new licensees come into our radio club driven mostly by our highly-successful Technician license class. Many of these licensees have gone on to get their General license so they can have fun on the HF bands. I’ve given advice and aid to a variety of people as they get their HF station set up and I’ve come to appreciate that for Average Joe Ham this is a big step. I’ve also noted some recurring problems that get in the way of success on the HF bands, which I’d like to explore here. Recently, I asked my twitter followers for input and got some great ideas from them, too. Thanks!

A basic wire antenna for the high frequency (HF) bands.

Here’s what I came up with as the four main barriers to success on HF.

Antenna restrictions

The first barrier that pops up are antenna restrictions which can come in the form of zoning regulations, protective covenants (homeowners associations), spouse’s opinion, potential objections from neighbors and your own sense of aesthetics. Any of these can limit the type and size of antennas you can or will install. More to the point, this can be a showstopper for some folks. They may decide that they simply can’t have an HF antenna on their property.

Of course, HF antennas tend to be large due to the longer wavelengths used (compared to simple VHF antennas). But there are some compact antenna designs that use magnetic loops, loading coils, etc.

RFI

The second issue that often pops up is radio frequency interference (RFI) from sources such as power lines and consumer devices. These issues can be very frustrating because you have to do two things: identify the source of the noise and eliminate it. If the problem is power line noise, your local utility is supposed to be capable of finding and correcting the problem. Some are better than others. Consumer devices are a huge problem due to the common use of high-speed digital circuits. If the interfering device is in your home, that makes it a bit easier to deal with…if it’s somewhere in the neighborhood, then its harder to diagnose and fix.

My twitter followers mentioned that solar electric systems often radiate RF energy (and they are a growing trend). Here in Colorado, we are seeing more problems with cannabis grow operations that use RF-ugly industrial grow lights. But Part 15 consumer electronics are a big and growing problem…too often they are little RFI generators.

Cost

I hesitate to add cost to the list but I do think it’s a factor. A starter HF station costs something like this (your mileage may vary): $750 for a new transceiver (think Yaesu FT-450 class), $100 for a power supply, $100 for wire antenna (homebrew) and coax => ~$1000. Yes, you can buy used gear and get this cost down…maybe to half ($500)?

Comparing this to a Baofeng HT purchase ($30), it is a lot more money. However, it is on the same level as other significant consumer electronics purchases such as a high end smartphone or mid-range notebook PC. As someone correctly pointed out to me, the utility of a notebook PC is very clear…you will get value out of it…but success with HF is still a gamble. What if you spend $1k on an HF station and never have any success with it?

Fiddle Factor

But I think there is another principle in play here, which I’ll call the Fiddle Factor. Actually this is the interaction of multiple issues.

Let’s start with a close to ideal situation for a first HF station: a simple antenna (perhaps a dipole) strung across a large lot (no space restrictions) with plenty of ways to hang the antenna (let’s assume there are plenty of trees). Oh, and no antenna restrictions.

This is an attractive antenna situation, but you’ll still have to mess around with getting the antenna hoisted, coaxial cable run, SWR checked and the antenna needs to be trimmed. This is one level of Fiddle Factor, call it F.

Now let’s say the lot is not that big and there are only a few supports available to hang the antenna. Now you need to fiddle with the antenna design to perhaps shorten it and compromise how it is being hung. So we have an additional fiddle factor which results in an F² (or F squared) situation.

Now suppose we decide to use a more finicky antenna design…perhaps a magnetic loop or a multiband dipole. (A magnetic is inherently narrowband, so you have to tune it for the specific operating frequency. A multiband dipole will need to be tuned for each band of operation and they usually interact.) This adds another fiddle factor bring us to an F³level challenge. Next we consult our homeowners association rules and find out that there are physical restrictions on how we can mount an antenna…and they might be vague and arbitrary. This gets us into F⁴territory.

OK, you probably get the idea. My point is that these challenges multiply and interact as you try and figure out an antenna solution. Now you could argue that a VHF installation has similar challenges but I think simple VHF stations inherently have a lower Fiddle Factor. More specifically, a basic 2m/70cm vertical antenna can be small and easy to install without a lot of tuning required.

Now put yourself in the position of a radio ham getting on HF the first time. These issues, especially the fiddle factor, can really get in the way of successful radio operating. In my next post, I’ll look at some ways of dealing with these issues.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Getting on HF: The Fiddle Factor appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

SOTA Activation from Teton Pass (W7Y/TT-122)

September 11th, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

While exploring northwest Wyoming, Joyce/K0JJW and I were looking for a suitable mountain for a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation. A little bit of research identified Pass Benchmark (W7Y/TT-122) as a good option. This summit is accessed from the Teton Pass trailhead, which is on a paved road (Route 22) heading west out of Jackson. There is substantial parking available at the pass and it appears to be a popular trailhead for hikers and mountain bikers.

Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW hanging out on the summit of TT-122.

The sign at the trailhead refers to this summit as Mount Elly, but I have not found that name on any of my maps or other sources. SOTA refers to it as “Pass Benchmark”.

Teton Pass sign — The sign at the Teton Pass trailhead shows an overview of the trails in the area.

We hiked south from the pass on an obvious gated road which later turns into a trail. We encountered several groups of hikers and mountain bikers so the trail definitely gets used and is in good shape.

The red line is our actual hiking track, which shows a few switchbacks not indicated on most topo maps.

We followed the trail past a radio site (and checked out the various antennas). The good news is the radio site is not on the SOTA summit, so not much chance of radio interference.

We continued south on the trail until we were due west of the summit. There is a marker there for the Black Canyon Trail, which leads off to the south. Don’t follow this trail, instead turn left (east) towards the summit. A few switchbacks will get you to the top in good shape. The one-way distance for the hike was 2 miles with 750 feet of elevation gain. Very pleasant.

On top, we started calling on 146.52 MHz with the Yaesu FT-90 putting 30W into a 3-element yagi antenna. We both worked Sam/WY7EM, Jim/K7AVL and Mick/W7CAT on 2m fm. We also caught WY7EM and W7CAT on 446.0 MHz. Thanks for the QSOs!

73 Bob K0NR

The post SOTA Activation from Teton Pass (W7Y/TT-122) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

SOTA Activation: Unnamed Summit 12306 (W0C/SR-129)

August 24th, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

It is always fun to do the first Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation of a peak. Most of the Colorado peaks have been climbed by someone along the way but there are still many that have never been activated for SOTA using amateur radio.

Bob K0NR SR-129 — Bob/K0NR takes shelter from the wind behind the rocks on the summit of 12306.

I noticed that an unnamed summit not too far from our cabin, referred to as 12306 or W0C/SR-129 had not been activated. At first glance, I thought this was because it was difficult to access. Further investigation revealed US Forest Service info on the Hayden Gulch Road (FS 396) that goes to the Hayden Gulch Trailhead at the west edge of the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness area. Joyce/K0JJW and I approached the trailhead from the west, starting at Granite, CO on Hwy 24, turning east onto FS 397 (marked at the highway) and then quickly looking for signs for FS 396. The San Isabel National Forest map is somewhat helpful but the Latitude 40 recreational map for Salida/Buena Vista is much better. The road is mostly easy 4WD but it is narrow in many places and moderate difficultly in a few spots. We saw crossover SUVs carefully driving the road with success. It was easy-peasy in our Jeep Wrangler.

The trailhead sign at the edge of Buffalo Peaks Wilderness.

Starting the hike, we followed the Hayden Gulch trail to the east. We actually had to search a bit to make sure we were really on the trail as we left the trailhead, as it was not super obvious. Hint: stay to the north (left) of the trailhead sign.

Our GPS track followed the Hayden Gulch trail into the wilderness area, then diverted north toward the summit.

The trail follows an old road that was likely closed when the wilderness area was formed. Once we cleared the trees (shown accurately on the map above), we left the trail and traveled off-trail towards the summit, trying to follow the contour lines and not lose a bunch of elevation. The hike promised to be very pleasant except that we had 30 to 40 mph winds from the west. This was not enough to stop us but certainly made the hike less enjoyable. The views were spectacular but a little difficult to enjoy with the wind blowing.

Our first view of SR-129 from the Hayden Gulch Trail, just as we emerged from the trees.

The hike was 1.8 miles one-way with about 1000 feet of vertical gain. Once on the summit, we got out the standard VHF SOTA gear: Yaesu FT-90 transceiver, LiFe battery and 3-element Arrow yagi. We both quickly worked Bob/W0BV, Walt/W0CP, Steve/WG0AT and Brad/WA6MM. WG0AT was on his way down from Eagle Rock (W0C/SP-113) so we missed a Summit-to-Summit opportunity with him. (We did work him earlier when he was on the summit but we were not.) WA6MM was a successful S2S contact from Mount Logan (W0C/FR-017).

This turned out to be a successful activation and a fun hike. We both concluded that we need to do it again…with a little less wind.

73 Bob K0NR

The post SOTA Activation: Unnamed Summit 12306 (W0C/SR-129) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Pikes Peak SOTA: Hike from Devils Playground

August 11th, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

Stock photo of Pikes Peak with snow on it.

I’ve been up Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) a zillion times via the Pikes Peak Highway and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway (currently out of service) doing SOTA activations, working VHF contests, participating in the Colorado 14er Event, maintaining repeaters and escorting visitors from out of town. See my previous post on activating by driving up the mountain: How To Do a SOTA Activation on Pikes Peak.

Joyce/K0JJW and I had Pikes on our SOTA activation list for 2018 but wanted to do a hike to access the summit. The classic climbing route up Pikes is via Barr Trail, a 13-mile trail that ascends 7800 vertical feet. This is a difficult climb for most humans but I will note that serious runners routinely run up the mountain just for fun. See Fred/KT5X’s comments on the SOTA database about running up the mountain and then doing a SOTA activation.

Another hiking alternative on the northwest side of Pikes Peak is the Crags Trail, also known as the Northwest Slopes route. This route starts about 4 miles south of Divide, CO at the Crags Campground. This hike is 7 miles one-way with 4300 vertical feet. This is easier than Barr Trail but still a significant climb.

Devils Playground

There is a shorter option that does not get much attention (except from some of the locals). The Northwest Slopes route crosses the Pikes Peak Highway at Mile 16 at a popular spot called Devils Playground. There is a large parking area there and the Northwest Slopes trail can be accessed at this point. Just cross the road, step over a cable fence (intended to block vehicles, not people) and follow the obvious trail to the summit.

Note: currently access to the summit by car is restricted due to summit house construction and Devils Playground is a staging area for free shuttle buses that take visitors to the summit.

This trail is 2.6 miles one way and 1300 feet vertical (mostly uphill but some up and down action). The last quarter mile before the summit is rocky and steep. The trail becomes more difficult to follow at this point but careful attention to the cairns will keep you on the right path. As shown on the map, this trail tends to stay close to the road so you will see vehicles along the way. All in all, this was a nice hike on a good trail.

Once on top, we set up our standard 2m FM station: Yaesu FT-90 and the Arrow 3-element yagi antenna. We quickly had a pileup on 146.52 MHz. It is kind of crazy up there when everyone starts calling because you are hearing everyone but the chasers are not.

Bob/K0NR using the Alinco HT and the PC board yagi to make a 1.2 GHz radio contact.

It was great to work Steve/WG0AT on Mt Herman (W0C/FR-063) and Brad/WA6MM on Mount Morrison (W0C/FR-092). I also worked Paul/W0RW on 1.2 GHz with my Alinco HT driving a two-element yagi PC-board antenna. (A quick comparison between the rubber duck and the yagi confirmed that the yagi does have some gain.) We ended up in a bit of a hurry as the clouds moved in but tried to work everyone we could. Our best DX on 2m FM was Dave/N0KM near Del Norte, about 100 miles away. On our way down, the clouds were in and out but no storms or lightning.

All of the usual warnings apply for hiking above treeline: start early and get off the mountain before the storms move in.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Pikes Peak SOTA: Hike from Devils Playground appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Colorado 14er Event: Mount Princeton (W0C/SR-005)

August 6th, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

This photo of Mount Princeton was taken in spring time with plenty of snow still on the summit.

For the Colorado 14er Event, Joyce/K0JJW and I decided to activate Mount Princeton (W0C/SR-005). I had climbed this summit many years ago, well before Summits On The Air (SOTA) was a thing. Princeton is a majestic peak that towers over Buena Vista and the surrounding area. We see that mountain quite often when we are up at the cabin, so I kept thinking it would be great to activate it for SOTA. Despite it being a popular 14er, it had only been
activated 2 times before (now 4 times with Joyce and me).

Hiking route to Mount Princeton shown on map (click to enlarge).

For complete information on climbing this summit, spend some time studying the 14ers.com web site. You will see references to the Upper Trailhead and the Lower Trailhead. A 4WD road leads to the upper trailhead which is where we started our hike at 11,800 feet. The Lower (or Main) Trailhead is way down at the bottom (8900 feet) which makes for a much longer hike. Also, you end up hiking on the road, which tends to be boring.

The Road

The 4WD road is mostly “easy 4WD” with some challenging spots inserted along the way. It was no problem to drive the road with our Jeep Wrangler. A crossover-style SUV would have trouble in spots but can probably make it with very careful wheel placement. We parked very close to the upper trailhead, just pulling off to the side of the road, but there is not much room there. There is a lot more parking near the communications towers shown on the map but you have to hike another mile or so on the road. We made sure we had a parking spot by arriving at the upper trailhead at 5:30 AM; we were the first ones there.

Joyce/K0JJW on the trail to Mount Princeton.

The trail starts out very distinct and is easy to follow. Later, the terrain turns to talus (fields of large rocks) which continues for the entire climb. In some spots, the trail fades and is difficult to follow. Even when you are “on the trail” you get to do a lot of rock hopping. There is a reason they call these the Rocky Mountains. By my GPS app, the distance was 2.1 miles (one way) with 2360 vertical feet.

Summits On The Air

For radio operating, we focused on 2m FM using the Yaesu FT-90 Transceiver with LiPo battery, putting out 30W into a 3-element Arrow yagi antenna. I did have my very first DMR SOTA contact with Terry/KE0HNW, using my Tytera MD-380 handheld on 70 cm. I also made a few calls on 446.0 MHz but never got a reply.

Obligatory summit photo of Joyce/K0JJW and Bob/K0NR.

Here’s my log…Joyce’s is about the same but with fewer QSOs.

UTC   Band  Mode Callsign
15:38 144MHz FM KD0VHD mobile
15:40 144MHz FM KS0E Jefferson
15:42 144MHz FM KI6YMZ Maroon Peak (W0C/WE-002)
15:46 144MHz FM N0MTN Mt Sherman (W0C/SR-061)
15:47 144MHz FM K0ETT Huron Peak (W0C/SR-010)
15:48 144MHz FM WA6MM Mt Bierstadt (W0C/PR-015)
15:49 144MHz FM KN0MAP
15:50 144MHz FM KD0YOB on his way up Mt Flora
15:53 144MHz FM KE0HNW
15:54 144MHz FM KE0RMY
15:55 433MHz DV KE0HNW My first SOTA DMR contact
15:57 144MHz FM W0AJO
16:17 144MHz FM K0BLL Mount Belford (W0C/SR-006)
16:30 144MHz FM W0ASB Mount Antero (W0C/SR-003)

This extra large cairn (trail marker) is placed such that you don’t miss an important turn.

We worked six other mountaintop stations, all of them 14ers. I also worked a few more summits on our way down the mountain but we were outside the activation zone, so I submitted those as a chaser log.

Thanks to everyone that came out to play!

73 Bob K0NR

The post Colorado 14er Event: Mount Princeton (W0C/SR-005) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Double SOTA: Mosquito Peak and London Mountain

August 3rd, 2018 |

Author: Bob KØNR

Mosquito Pass is a popular 4WD road in Colorado that takes you to 13,185 feet in elevation. It also provides access to two excellent SOTA summits, both over 13k feet: Mosquito Peak (W0C/SR-068) and London Mountain (W0C/SP-025). Joyce/K0JJW and I activated both summits on the same day. Fortunately, the weather cooperated nicely.

K0NR operating 2m FM on the summit of London Mountain.

The Road

We drove the road to the pass from the east (via Highway 9, heading north out of Fairplay then turning west onto County Rd 12 / Mosquito Pass Road). Consult the Pike National Forest map for more detail.

We’ve driven over this pass many times over the years and the condition of the road has varied quite a bit. Right now, I’d call this a moderate 4WD road. You will find trail descriptions online that call Mosquito Pass “easy 4WD” but I think that information is out of date. Our stock Jeep Wrangler had no problem with it but I would not recommend driving the road with a Subaru-class crossover SUV.

Map of the area shows driving tracks in orange and hiking tracks in blue.

Be aware that this road is closed by snow early in the fall and opens late in the summer. It is very unlikely to be passable in June and typically opens sometime in July. We decided to wait until August. Did I mention the road exceeds 13,000 feet in elevation? Check BushDucks for usually reliable pass information.

Mosquito Peak (W0C/SR-068)

Mosquito Peak as seen from the summit of London Mountain.

At Mosquito Pass, we took an unmarked 4WD north towards Mosquito Peak. This road is not shown on the Pike National Forest map. The road was in good condition but is a narrow shelf road with limited opportunities to turn around. We parked the Jeep at an obvious turn-around spot and hiked on up the south ridge to the summit. No consistent trail, but a few cairns here and there. The one-way distance was about half a mile with 500 feet of vertical gain, so not very difficult.

It was quite windy on top so we hunkered down behind some rocks to provide some shelter. Using the Yaesu FT-90 transceiver and the 3-element Arrow 2m yagi, we worked these stations without much trouble: W0BV, N0EMU, KN0MAP, W0DLE, KD0VHD and W9GYA. Our best DX was N0EMU near Calhan, CO at about 100 miles.

London Mountain (W0C/SP-025)

London Mountain as seen from Mosquito Peak. Note the Mosquito Pass road at the bottom of the mountain. Our hiking route followed the top of the ridge starting from the right (west side).

To hike London Mountain, we drove back down the pass to the west end of the mountain and parked the Jeep at the point another 4WD road heads off to the south (see map). This road was gated closed and marked “no trespassing”.

We followed an obvious but unmarked trail leading from this small parking spot up the ridge of London Mountain. For the most part, we were able to follow this trail all the way to the summit. In a few spots it faded out but we stayed near the top of the ridge and always found it again. There were times when we really wondered if the trail’s route was the best option but it worked out fine. There are a few steep sections and places where we used our hands on rocks. The variety of rocks on this mountain (including marble) made it an interesting and fun hike. Following the top of the ridge also provided some ups and downs and many small false summits. The one-way distance is 0.85 miles with 600 vertical feet.

On top, we worked W0BV, W0DLE, N0EMU, KC0PBR, KN0MAP and KL7GLK on 2m FM. The wind dissipated a bit so it was more pleasant to hang out on this summit. We left the summit around 1 pm local with blue skies and a few puffy clouds all around.

Joyce/K0JJW and Bob/K0NR hanging out on London Mountain.

These two summits are a great double-summit opportunity, as long as you have a capable 4WD vehicle. I suppose you could hike up the road but you probably can’t do both of the summits in one day.

73, Bob K0NR

The post Double SOTA: Mosquito Peak and London Mountain appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.