AmateurRadio.com

Setting up

This is the first (but not last) year I participated in this contest, I have Larry W2LJ to thank as his blog posts regarding this contest inspired me. Both Julie and I made plans for this day, for me it was contesting and she hauled along all her cameras and gear and had a blast with her hobby photography.  The weather was fantastic with it being 31C in the shade but we were right on Lake Ontario with a nice breeze off the lake made it pleasant. I operated from Humber bay shores park which is just outside our condo. We brought along camp chairs and a portable table as we knew the park would be very busy and finding a picnic table would be out of the question. The contest started at 1pm local time which gave Julie and I time to pick out something to eat. (fruit crepes with maple syrup) Once we found our spot in the park and setup we sat and enjoyed the crepes as one has to fuel up before the contest.

The view from the op table

The rig I used was my Elecraft KX3 on external battery power, the antenna was the Chameleon CHA P mag loop antenna and my key was the Palm mini paddle   I was very happy with the Chameleon CHA P antenna, it only took me 5 min's to setup. It was very easy to tune but it was not until 1/2 way through my outing that I realized the KX3 had the preamp off! Once I put the preamp on finding the noise peak was much easier. I was very pleased with the setup and performance of the antenna. I was only able to operate for 2 of the 4 hours of the contest as Julie and I had dinner guests we had to be back home and prepare for. I only operated on 20m as this band was open and the QRP contacts were being heard. I was pleased that I made 11 contacts and I did have about 5 folks stop and ask questions about what I was doing. One gentleman told me that his dad was a ham and one of the young people that stopped told me she read about morse code in her history class! The band was in great shape and I was able to hear and work QRP stations all over the U.S. I made 2 contacts into New Jersey and for some reason I have never in the past made it to that state when doing portable field op's. I really enjoyed this contest and am looking forward to it next year.

Setting up the loop

The outdoor shack.

Chameleon CHA P

Fuelling  up before

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Setting up

This is the first (but not last) year I participated in this contest, I have Larry W2LJ to thank as his blog posts regarding this contest inspired me. Both Julie and I made plans for this day, for me it was contesting and she hauled along all her cameras and gear and had a blast with her hobby photography.  The weather was fantastic with it being 31C in the shade but we were right on Lake Ontario with a nice breeze off the lake made it pleasant. I operated from Humber bay shores park which is just outside our condo. We brought along camp chairs and a portable table as we knew the park would be very busy and finding a picnic table would be out of the question. The contest started at 1pm local time which gave Julie and I time to pick out something to eat. (fruit crepes with maple syrup) Once we found our spot in the park and setup we sat and enjoyed the crepes as one has to fuel up before the contest.

The view from the op table

The rig I used was my Elecraft KX3 on external battery power, the antenna was the Chameleon CHA P mag loop antenna and my key was the Palm mini paddle   I was very happy with the Chameleon CHA P antenna, it only took me 5 min's to setup. It was very easy to tune but it was not until 1/2 way through my outing that I realized the KX3 had the preamp off! Once I put the preamp on finding the noise peak was much easier. I was very pleased with the setup and performance of the antenna. I was only able to operate for 2 of the 4 hours of the contest as Julie and I had dinner guests we had to be back home and prepare for. I only operated on 20m as this band was open and the QRP contacts were being heard. I was pleased that I made 11 contacts and I did have about 5 folks stop and ask questions about what I was doing. One gentleman told me that his dad was a ham and one of the young people that stopped told me she read about morse code in her history class! The band was in great shape and I was able to hear and work QRP stations all over the U.S. I made 2 contacts into New Jersey and for some reason I have never in the past made it to that state when doing portable field op's. I really enjoyed this contest and am looking forward to it next year.

Setting up the loop

The outdoor shack.

Chameleon CHA P

Fuelling  up before

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Stories you’ll find in our August, 2017 issue:

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Microwave Backbone and DMR Repeater Network
By Wayne Heinen N0POH

The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio deployed analog repeater sites all along the Front Range of Colorado and had been linking them via the Internet for years. Due to the cost and reliability factors of commercial Internet, the club had been looking for a ham radio spectrum-based transport method for their IP needs which have been steadily growing over the years. What was needed was a digital link that could be created between the various mountain top sites, an IP based network of their own design that would be controlled by the club. Wayne explains how they did it.

Intro to Scanning Today
By Bob Grove W8JHD

The requirements of scanner listeners have been changing since the very first radios capable of tuning the public service bands were manufactured. While some analog scanners available today are still useful, many listener in more urban areas need significant upgrades to their listening posts to continue listening. Bob explains which radios are best for each technology today.

TSM Reviews: W4OP Loop Antenna
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL

Last year Thomas caught a bug: the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) bug. He found NPOTA the perfect excuse to play radio outdoors. From August to December 2016, he activated ninety-one NPOTA National Parks running QRP (low power). To do so he needed a stand-alone antenna small enough to set up easily, rugged enough to do so many times and capable enough to make contacts from some very remote spots. The W4OP loop filled the bill.

Using Weak Signal Modes for Propagation, RFI, and Antenna Analysis
By Robert Gulley AK3Q

Digital mode operating has changed everything for many hams looking for a way around the disappearing solar cycle. WSJT-X weak-signal software, which includes JT65, JT9, MSK144, JT8 and other specialized transmission modes for moonbounce, meteor scatter and aircraft scatter has extended two-way amateur communications on bands that otherwise might not be used. Robert has also discovered that these programs are an excellent resource for identifying and studying propagation, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) and antenna characteristics.

US TV Channel Assignments: Part 3
By Mike Kohl

This third installment in the series on the repacking of the TV band continues with the identification of significant communities within each designated marketing area (DMA). Markets numbering from 151 to 248 are covered this month.

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Winnebago County (IL), Broward County (FL)

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
Watching the Eclipse with a Radio

Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Honey, I Shrunk the Loop

Digital Voice
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
Feels Like the First Time

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
RG-6: It’s Still a Steel

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Connection Complications: Troubleshooting 101

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Coronal Mass Ejection Science

World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
The Use and Abuse of SINPO

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Radio from Four Continents via Shortwave and Internet

Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
New Callisto Devices

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
630-Meter Band Plan Takes Shape

Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Heathkit HG-10B VFO

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Stealth: A Philosophy and a Methodology

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, is publisher and managing editor of The Spectrum Monitor. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurRadio.com is offering a free prize drawing!

With the help of our generous sponsor, KB3IFH QSL Cards,
we’re holding a giveaway for 1,000 free full-color premium photo QSL cards.
This is a US$121 value and open to all licensed hams in the USA.

Read the rest of this post

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

With QSLs still arriving from previous 2m EME action, I was looking extra forward to late July's very short window.

When last month's activity was interrupted by my 140W brick amplifier catching fire, I was anxious to see if my repairs and homebrew RFC would still allow me to play on the moon. With July's best-positioned moonrises being too close to the sun (which was also rising at the same time), I was only able to spend a short time over two days before the moon travelled too far to the south and into my neighbour's trees.






Luckily I was rewarded with what seemed like very good lunar conditions, enabling me to easily work six different stations ... three of them being all-time new ones and boosting my EME initials total to 112.

I2FAK Franco / 16x19 el array
RK3FG Anatoly / 4x15 el array
G4SWX John / 4x16 el array
F4DJK Paul / 4x11 el array / #110
F5AQX Andre / 4x11 el array / #111
DL9DBJ Hartmut / 4x10 el array / #112

In addition, DL1VPL told me that he was able to copy me with his single 12el Yagi during the QSO with I2FAK! Needless to say, a contact between two single Yagi stations would be truly remarkable. I've only been able to copy a single Yagi station once over the years.

F4DJK's 4x11 el array

F5AQX's 4x11 el array

DJ9DBJ's 4x10 el array

I was gratified to see that letting the smoke out of my little amplifier last month apparently caused no permanent damage and the repair seems to be holding up ... but I'll leave the bottom off for now just in case it gets any more crazy ideas.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

With QSLs still arriving from previous 2m EME action, I was looking extra forward to late July's very short window.

When last month's activity was interrupted by my 140W brick amplifier catching fire, I was anxious to see if my repairs and homebrew RFC would still allow me to play on the moon. With July's best-positioned moonrises being too close to the sun (which was also rising at the same time), I was only able to spend a short time over two days before the moon travelled too far to the south and into my neighbour's trees.






Luckily I was rewarded with what seemed like very good lunar conditions, enabling me to easily work six different stations ... three of them being all-time new ones and boosting my EME initials total to 112.

I2FAK Franco / 16x19 el array
RK3FG Anatoly / 4x15 el array
G4SWX John / 4x16 el array
F4DJK Paul / 4x11 el array / #110
F5AQX Andre / 4x11 el array / #111
DL9DBJ Hartmut / 4x10 el array / #112

In addition, DL1VPL told me that he was able to copy me with his single 12el Yagi during the QSO with I2FAK! Needless to say, a contact between two single Yagi stations would be truly remarkable. I've only been able to copy a single Yagi station once over the years.

F4DJK's 4x11 el array

F5AQX's 4x11 el array

DJ9DBJ's 4x10 el array

I was gratified to see that letting the smoke out of my little amplifier last month apparently caused no permanent damage and the repair seems to be holding up ... but I'll leave the bottom off for now just in case it gets any more crazy ideas.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Welcome to the 195nd episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, Bill comes to us from West Virginia instead of Montana. We discuss the Boy Scout Jamboree, K2BSA, the CQWW contest, solar eclipses, the new and wondrous FT-8, Debian, ffmpeg, Deepin Linux, trunked radio recording, AI on a USB stick and a whole lot more. Thank you for tuning in.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].