Archive for the ‘hamradio’ Category
Cold enough for antenna work
November 29th, 2015 | 
Author: My last big project before winter was getting a wire antenna up for 160m. My HF antenna has been a Carolina Windom up 40′ or so, hung below the trees. It has been a fabulous antenna for me, allowing contacts all around the world. But lo, it does not work well down at 160m. The HF gurus in my area continued to remind me that I needed to get down on 160…so that project finally bubbled to the top of the list. I would have a two HF antenna QTH!
My first try was an end-fed zepp. After some reading and encouragement from others, up went the wire. I placed 500′ of 12AWG up in the trees. This time instead of hanging it below the trees, I used the bow to shoot it right over the tops. My youngest daughter and I had a blast over the week doing the project, including making some homebrew ladder line to feed it. After about two weeks of working on and off on it, the time to test had come. The results were awful. Although it tuned up ok, I swear it generated noise. I heard birdies I’ve never heard before, but the signals I wanted to hear were 3 S units or lower than the same signals on my Windom. I tried different grounding solutions, and even tried re-orienting the end of the wire to make more of a loop. I added a 1:1 balun (based on some other reading) but that solved nothing.
Not every experiment results in success, so down came the wire. Funny, it took about 10 minutes to pull it all down compared to the week to get it up. Anyway, Fred KC9REG had given me a commercially made 160m double bazooka that I had stashed away in my barn. I pulled it out, laid it on the ground, and determined which tree limbs I could hang it from. No more laying wire in the trees – this one was going up in the clear. After about 3 hours of work (I must be getting better) the antenna was in the rainy 37F air.
I took the KX3 outside under a tree and hooked up the coax (no ladder line this time). While it tuned ok, there seemed to be no signals anywhere. A check of the KX3 on the Windom revealed that the Apocalypse had not occurred. Ugh. Will I ever get a working 160m antenna?
I texted Fred (I was so sick of ham radio by this point that I reverted to the phone). He assured me the antenna had worked the last time he had it up. We texted back and forth a few times, and then he called. He offered to bring up his analyzer to see what was going on. About an hour later Fred shows up and sees something very interesting…the antenna isn’t resonant on any frequency. We checked the PL259 at the ground and it was fine. We let down the apex and plugged his analyzer right into the antenna. It looked good, but the PL259 at that end of the coax was loose. Not just loose, it spun. It was held on by shrink wrap. This was a commercially made coax I had never used before. I won’t name names, but don’t trust fly by night ham radio stores that have nothing more than a website and a guy named Bruno making stuff in the back of a warehouse.
I drug the ends of the coax into the porch, and Fred pulled out his soldering gun(yep, he brought everything with him.) Fred had me back in business in about 5 minutes. Back out to the antenna, pulled it up, hooked up the analyzer and wow…it worked! Pulled out the KX3 and I had signals all over the place.
Finally, after an expensive long wire antenna building experience (just under $100 in raw supplies) an elmer named Fred came through with both an antenna, soldering gun, and knowledge to make it all work. Watch out 160m…here I come!
Cold enough for antenna work
My last big project before winter was getting a wire antenna up for 160m. My HF antenna has been a Carolina Windom up 40′ or so, hung below the trees. It has been a fabulous antenna for me, allowing contacts all around the world. But lo, it does not work well down at 160m. The HF gurus in my area continued to remind me that I needed to get down on 160…so that project finally bubbled to the top of the list. I would have a two HF antenna QTH!
My first try was an end-fed zepp. After some reading and encouragement from others, up went the wire. I placed 500′ of 12AWG up in the trees. This time instead of hanging it below the trees, I used the bow to shoot it right over the tops. My youngest daughter and I had a blast over the week doing the project, including making some homebrew ladder line to feed it. After about two weeks of working on and off on it, the time to test had come. The results were awful. Although it tuned up ok, I swear it generated noise. I heard birdies I’ve never heard before, but the signals I wanted to hear were 3 S units or lower than the same signals on my Windom. I tried different grounding solutions, and even tried re-orienting the end of the wire to make more of a loop. I added a 1:1 balun (based on some other reading) but that solved nothing.
Not every experiment results in success, so down came the wire. Funny, it took about 10 minutes to pull it all down compared to the week to get it up. Anyway, Fred KC9REG had given me a commercially made 160m double bazooka that I had stashed away in my barn. I pulled it out, laid it on the ground, and determined which tree limbs I could hang it from. No more laying wire in the trees – this one was going up in the clear. After about 3 hours of work (I must be getting better) the antenna was in the rainy 37F air.
I took the KX3 outside under a tree and hooked up the coax (no ladder line this time). While it tuned ok, there seemed to be no signals anywhere. A check of the KX3 on the Windom revealed that the Apocalypse had not occurred. Ugh. Will I ever get a working 160m antenna?
I texted Fred (I was so sick of ham radio by this point that I reverted to the phone). He assured me the antenna had worked the last time he had it up. We texted back and forth a few times, and then he called. He offered to bring up his analyzer to see what was going on. About an hour later Fred shows up and sees something very interesting…the antenna isn’t resonant on any frequency. We checked the PL259 at the ground and it was fine. We let down the apex and plugged his analyzer right into the antenna. It looked good, but the PL259 at that end of the coax was loose. Not just loose, it spun. It was held on by shrink wrap. This was a commercially made coax I had never used before. I won’t name names, but don’t trust fly by night ham radio stores that have nothing more than a website and a guy named Bruno making stuff in the back of a warehouse.
I drug the ends of the coax into the porch, and Fred pulled out his soldering gun(yep, he brought everything with him.) Fred had me back in business in about 5 minutes. Back out to the antenna, pulled it up, hooked up the analyzer and wow…it worked! Pulled out the KX3 and I had signals all over the place.
Finally, after an expensive long wire antenna building experience (just under $100 in raw supplies) an elmer named Fred came through with both an antenna, soldering gun, and knowledge to make it all work. Watch out 160m…here I come!
What is the big deal with amateur radio? What is it that you hear? (Part 1)
Shortwave radio has been a source for great sci-fi plots, spy intrigue novels, movies, and so on, since radio first became a “thing.” But, what is the big deal, really? What is it that amateur radio operators listen to?
In this video, I share some of the types of signals one might hear on the high frequencies (also known as shortwave or HF bands). This is the first video in an on-going series introducing amateur radio to the interested hobbyist, prepper, and informed citizen.
I often am asked by preppers, makers, and other hobbyists, who’ve not yet been introduced to the world of amateur radio and shortwave radio: “Just what do you amateur radio operators hear, on the amateur radio shortwave bands?”
To begin answering that question, I’ve taken a few moments on video, to share from my perspective, a bit about this shortwave radio thing:
Link to video: https://youtu.be/pIVesUzNP2U — please share with your non-ham friends.
From my shortwave website:
Shortwave Radio Listening — listen to the World on a radio, wherever you might be. Shortwave Radio is similar to the local AM Broadcast Band on Mediumwave (MW) that you can hear on a regular “AM Radio” receiver, except that shortwave signals travel globally, depending on the time of day, time of year, and space weather conditions.
The International Shortwave Broadcasters transmit their signals in various bands of shortwave radio spectrum, found in the 2.3 MHz to 30.0 MHz range. You might think that you need expensive equipment to receive these international broadcasts, but you don’t! Unlike new Satellite services, Shortwave Radio (which has been around since the beginning of the radio era) can work anywhere with very affordable radio equipment. All that you need to hear these signals from around the World is a radio which can receive frequencies in the shortwave bands. Such radios can be very affordable. Of course, you get what you pay for; if you find that this hobby sparks your interest, you might consider more advanced radio equipment. But you would be surprised by how much you can hear with entry-level shortwave receivers. (You’ll see some of these radios on this page).
You do not need a special antenna, though the better the antenna used, the better you can hear weaker stations. You can use the telescopic antenna found on many of the portable shortwave radios now available. However, for reception of more exotic international broadcasts, you should attach a length of wire to your radio’s antenna or antenna jack.
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
My buddy Shannon took his first amateur radio licensing test last Tuesday. We spent weeks trying to find him an exam session, jumping from club to club. We successfully found a VE session 50 miles from him. He passed both the Tech and General exams with flying colors! The VEs told him it would take 7 to 10 days before the FCC would post his license on their website. That was surprising to me, as I had seen the W5YI group get me a club call in two days within the last year. Oh well, technology does change and sometimes not for the better.
And then, 7 days later, Shannon sends me this link this morning: FCC not processing test results
What bum luck he has! Hopefully the fine folks in IT will get the problem solved quickly. A new ham awaits his call!
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
My buddy Shannon took his first amateur radio licensing test last Tuesday. We spent weeks trying to find him an exam session, jumping from club to club. We successfully found a VE session 50 miles from him. He passed both the Tech and General exams with flying colors! The VEs told him it would take 7 to 10 days before the FCC would post his license on their website. That was surprising to me, as I had seen the W5YI group get me a club call in two days within the last year. Oh well, technology does change and sometimes not for the better.
And then, 7 days later, Shannon sends me this link this morning: FCC not processing test results
What bum luck he has! Hopefully the fine folks in IT will get the problem solved quickly. A new ham awaits his call!
The long drive
I’ll readily admit that I don’t mind driving. I’ve been fortunate to own some pretty nice vehicles. My latest is a Ford F150 that has my Diamond VHF/UHF antenna mounted at the back of the the bed and my ICOM 2820 D-STAR radio nicely tucked into the console. When an impromptu trip came up Tuesday, instead of taking the ultra fuel efficient Honda, I took the truck. The ride is so much more comfortable, I enjoy riding up higher on the road, and of course the radio is much better than any temporary installation I can swing into the Honda.
It’s around 9pm and no one is around on the repeaters. This isn’t a route I travel very often so maybe I’m not on the active repeaters. I tuned over to 146.52 simplex. A quick call (not a long winded CQ) returns no takers. So wait a few minutes and try again. Just a simple call…”KG9DW mobile on I-39 southbound, listening on 52″. And back comes a fine OM – WA9CEG, John in LaSalle. I’m about 20 miles north of LaSalle, so I know John has a fine station. Even in the flat lands of Illinois, working a mobile station 20 miles away does require more than a Ringo Ranger on a 10 foot pole.
Even at highway speeds, our QSO lasted a good 30 minutes. We talked about what we do (or in John’s case did) for a living, family, radio, the weather…everything except for medical history! John worked in a steel mill and then owned an ice cream shop before retiring. His 6 kids were spread out about the area, with one living about 10 miles from my home QTH. We spoke of friends, common areas we’ve traveled, and then of happiness. We talked about things John was proud of, and the impacts he has had on others.
Talking with such a fine man, it was hard not to remember my own grandfather who died last year. The voice was similar, and so were some of the stories and advice. It was even harder not to think of my friend Fred Slayback who passed away earlier in the day after a long health struggle. As I as headed further south, I said my 73s before I ran out of range. John was still running a strong S5 signal as I fell over the hill for the flat run into McLean county. I hope to meet John on the air again someday, but if I don’t I’ll certainly remember our QSO on a rainy fall night in Illinois.
They say that it’s all about the journey and not the destination. Likewise, in ham radio it isn’t about the radio or antenna; it isn’t about the mode or technology. It’s about the conversations.
The long drive
I’ll readily admit that I don’t mind driving. I’ve been fortunate to own some pretty nice vehicles. My latest is a Ford F150 that has my Diamond VHF/UHF antenna mounted at the back of the the bed and my ICOM 2820 D-STAR radio nicely tucked into the console. When an impromptu trip came up Tuesday, instead of taking the ultra fuel efficient Honda, I took the truck. The ride is so much more comfortable, I enjoy riding up higher on the road, and of course the radio is much better than any temporary installation I can swing into the Honda.
It’s around 9pm and no one is around on the repeaters. This isn’t a route I travel very often so maybe I’m not on the active repeaters. I tuned over to 146.52 simplex. A quick call (not a long winded CQ) returns no takers. So wait a few minutes and try again. Just a simple call…”KG9DW mobile on I-39 southbound, listening on 52″. And back comes a fine OM – WA9CEG, John in LaSalle. I’m about 20 miles north of LaSalle, so I know John has a fine station. Even in the flat lands of Illinois, working a mobile station 20 miles away does require more than a Ringo Ranger on a 10 foot pole.
Even at highway speeds, our QSO lasted a good 30 minutes. We talked about what we do (or in John’s case did) for a living, family, radio, the weather…everything except for medical history! John worked in a steel mill and then owned an ice cream shop before retiring. His 6 kids were spread out about the area, with one living about 10 miles from my home QTH. We spoke of friends, common areas we’ve traveled, and then of happiness. We talked about things John was proud of, and the impacts he has had on others.
Talking with such a fine man, it was hard not to remember my own grandfather who died last year. The voice was similar, and so were some of the stories and advice. It was even harder not to think of my friend Fred Slayback who passed away earlier in the day after a long health struggle. As I as headed further south, I said my 73s before I ran out of range. John was still running a strong S5 signal as I fell over the hill for the flat run into McLean county. I hope to meet John on the air again someday, but if I don’t I’ll certainly remember our QSO on a rainy fall night in Illinois.
They say that it’s all about the journey and not the destination. Likewise, in ham radio it isn’t about the radio or antenna; it isn’t about the mode or technology. It’s about the conversations.
