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Priorities
11 November 2014 | by Tonight is the beginning of the 2014/2015 QRP Fox Hunt Season. Yay!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
I may not be there for a huge part of it. Boo!
But as always, there is a bright side, so this is not a "pity party". As the Hunt starts tonight, I will be with Marv K2VHW and Drew W2OU as we hold "Review Night" for our Technician License Class students. Next Tuesday is the Big Night and after that, I should be able to participate in the Hunts until January. Beginning in January, we will be starting another Technician License Class for the Clark, NJ Office of Emergency Management, who has CERT members wanting to earn their tickets. Ergo, no Fox duty for me this year - there's just too many slots that I would not be able to fill. I will have to be content with being a Hound, with limited hunting time, at that.
So the bright side is ushering new Hams into the fold. Even if a majority of the Clark CERT members become "emergency communicators" only, there is always a chance that the hobby will grab on hold to some of these individuals and they will come to enjoy Amateur Radio for Amateur Radio's sake. And that is what we old veteran Hams live for.
That's another reason why, during these classes, we try as hard as we can to impress upon the students the MANY facets of Amateur Radio, whether it be DXing, rag chewing, CW, kit building, restoring antique radios, digital communications, satellites, VHF/UHF, contesting ........ whatever. The list is almost endless and there's sure to be something of interest for just about everyone.
Now for tonight. The QRP Fox Hunts run from 9:00 to 10:30 PM EST (local time). I should get home around 9:30 or 9:45 PM. Assuming I take the time to wolf down (pun intended) something for dinner, that will leave me roughly 30 - 45 minutes to grab a scent, and find and work two Foxes. Think I can do it? Wish me luck (and propagation!).
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
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NAQCC Transitions
Big changes this month at the North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC).
Paul Huff, N8XMS of Livonia, Michigan becomes the new club President. He’s takes the reins from founder Thomas Mitchell, WY3H who recently retired the post. Meanwhile, John Smithson, N8ZYA of Charleston, West Virginia has assumed the Vice President role from the other club founder, John Shannon, K3WWP – who also retired his position.
Launched in 2004, the NAQCC promotes QRP and CW operation through numerous on-air activities. With more than 7,000 world-wide members, the club is very popular and continues to enjoy steady growth. Membership remains free and you can dive as deeply into the action as you care to go, without running out of interesting things to do and goals to achieve.
The monthly club newsletter keeps members informed, educated and entertained and has become one of the premier ham radio club publications available online.
Congratulations to Paul and John as they lead the NAQCC into the next decade of low-power radio fun and adventure!
Filed under: Ham Radio, Syndicate Tagged: club, cw, naqcc, qrp 
Jeff Davis, KE9V, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Indiana, USA.
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Veteran’s Day – 2014
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
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NW Digital Radio
I keep waiting on the mythical Universal Digital Radio…
Despite the long wait, development seems to be ongoing and very interesting things are in the pipeline from NW Digital Radio. This interview with John Hays, K7VE begins at 48:50.
Filed under: Ham Radio Tagged: digital, udrx, video 
Jeff Davis, KE9V, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Indiana, USA.
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Hardened Power Systems Launches Crowdfunded Campaign to Rebuild
Bill Harrison, KK4JPT, has announced that Hardened Power Systems has launched an online campaign to fund the rebuilding of their business.
On Halloween, the company suffered a devastating fire resulting in the loss of their manufacturing facility.
Hardened Power Systems manufactures several popular ham radio products including the D-HAP and JuiceBox.
Here is where you come in, we need your financial commitment to begin the process of rebuilding this business. We are determined to remain faithful to our commitment of quality, durability, and cost effectiveness. The process of rebuilding will take time and we are prepared for the journey ahead, but to expedite this process we need your support. In return we will make a promise to compensate you for your gift with limited editions of some of our gear to commemorate this event.
Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].
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Launching Antennas With Right Guard
Dedicated LFer, K2ORS (Warren), posted a short video yesterday of his friend's attempted 'pre-antenna launch' test flight: "Attempted to use an 8 rotor U.A.V, to lift a string over the trees with
which an antenna wire could be pulled up. However, there were some
control issues..." I'm not sure exactly what went wrong but I hope that beautiful machine was not damaged too heavily.
I've seen a few others using inexpensive quadcopters to get light strings up and over trees and it seems that they would be ideal for such tasks. As these devices flood the hobby-market, their prices seem to be dropping quickly and more and more amateurs are looking at these with antennas in mind.
Over the years I have tried numerous methods of getting a string up and over...slingshots, fishing rods... but nothing seemed to get me past the 35'- 40' mark, if that high. Maybe it was just poor technique on my part as others claim to have good success with these methods. Eventually I decided to try a homebrew 'spud gun' as I needed to get wires up to the top of my 70' Balsam.
I used Schedule 40 ABS pipe, the thick-walled stuff. This is becoming harder to find in the typical hardware outlets as most of it seems to be the lighter foam-core material which should not be used for this.
When I first fired it, I wrapped the breech in several layers of towelling, just in case it blew apart but felt confident enough to remove it after a few test shots.
There are several websites describing spud gun construction and a quick Google-search will bring up some interesting plans. My system pretty much follows this design, found here at spudgunner.com.
When I first fired it, I wrapped the breech in several layers of towelling, just in case it blew apart but felt confident enough to remove it after a few test shots.
There are several websites describing spud gun construction and a quick Google-search will bring up some interesting plans. My system pretty much follows this design, found here at spudgunner.com.
The first propellant that I used was hair spray but found that it quickly built-up a layer of sticky-goo on the inside of the cleanout cap and threads, making it very hard to unscrew the cap. I cleaned it thoroughly and changed to Right Guard spray deodorant which worked extremely well, was very clean burning and left no residue.
The first few times I fired the gun I was shocked to hear how loud it was, with a loud 'BOOM' reverberating around the neighbourhood. After a few shots, I fully expected to see the local RCMP arriving but when enquiring a few doors away, I was told that they had not heard anything! Perhaps it is because the thing is right beside you at the time that makes it sound so loud but I have never had any enquiries about it.
I have mounted an inexpensive (Walmart) spinning reel at the very top which has been loaded with a light (10lb) mono filament fishing line. This is attached to a homebrew lathe-turned wooden bullet, about 8" long, as shown below.
The first few times I fired the gun I was shocked to hear how loud it was, with a loud 'BOOM' reverberating around the neighbourhood. After a few shots, I fully expected to see the local RCMP arriving but when enquiring a few doors away, I was told that they had not heard anything! Perhaps it is because the thing is right beside you at the time that makes it sound so loud but I have never had any enquiries about it.
I have mounted an inexpensive (Walmart) spinning reel at the very top which has been loaded with a light (10lb) mono filament fishing line. This is attached to a homebrew lathe-turned wooden bullet, about 8" long, as shown below.
The bullet is lowered down the barrel to a peg mounted just above the firing-chamber. Once fired, it pulls line off of the spinning reel, hopefully to land on the ground on the other side of the tree. The initial attempt at launching the line over my 70' Balsam resulted in a perfect shot, but about 100' above the tree! The bullet pulled all of the line from the reel and snapped off. I eventually found it on the beach in a small bay about four properties to my south...oops.
I then backed-off on the amount of propellant and found that just a short one-second squirt was enough for a more controlled launch. It took me a few shots to get the feel of the launcher and compensating for the light wind. It is best to do this when there is no wind at all is it doesn't take much to blow the line and bullet slightly off course.
I have since used the gun many times, both here and at other ham's locations, to fire lines very high. It has always worked very well.
Should you choose to build something similar, be sure to build with caution and follow any safety instructions noted on the various websites. Most importantly, be sure to use the proper material.
Editor's Note: Using a combustion gun is inherently dangerous and can result in serious injury or death. Using the wrong materials, especially, can put the operator at risk. We cannot be responsible for personal injury or property damage resulting from use (or misuse).
I have since used the gun many times, both here and at other ham's locations, to fire lines very high. It has always worked very well.
Should you choose to build something similar, be sure to build with caution and follow any safety instructions noted on the various websites. Most importantly, be sure to use the proper material.
Editor's Note: Using a combustion gun is inherently dangerous and can result in serious injury or death. Using the wrong materials, especially, can put the operator at risk. We cannot be responsible for personal injury or property damage resulting from use (or misuse).
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
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Zombie Shuffle Recap – 2014
Tough work week and last night, I felt like a Zombie!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
I joined the Zombie Shuffle, already in progress at about 0020 UTC (7:20 PM Local Time). I got on 20 Meters and worked four fellow Zombie Hunters in pretty rapid succession. I thought it was going to be a great night.
I was a tad mistaken.
From there, it got slow - real slow - shuffle slow - slower than shuffle slow. This Zombie ended up doing a moon dance - looking like he was walking backwards. The perceived lack of participation or lack of good band conditions was a bit of a disappointment.
I stayed on for two hours and worked 13 stations - which somehow seemed appropriate. At that point, while the KX3 was merrily calling "CQ BOO" for me, I actually started to nod off for a few seconds. Being the conscientious, law abiding Amateur Radio operator that I am, I decided it was not a good thing for the Control Operator to fall asleep behind the key. So I accessed the local control point, pulled the big switch and made my way upstairs to get some much needed ZZZZZZZs.
Thanks to fellow Zombies WA5TCZ, KG9DW, KA5T, N5GW, N8RVE, W3KC, W1PID, W3ATB, AB9CA, N1ABS, VE3CBK, WA8REI and WB8WTU for the contacts - lotta good friends there, It was a pleasure to work you all! Five on 20 Meters, six on 40 Meters and two on 80 Meters (which was beautifully quiet without hardly any background QRN - oh if there had only been more Zombies there!).
By the way, I was one of the Elvis stations again this year - so if you worked me, I was worth extra pointage. And as always - special thanks to Paul NA5N and Jan N0QT for running another spectacularly fun event, my own tiredness notwithstanding!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
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Also, a very Happy 239th Birthday to the Marines! Semper Fi, Marines!
Lastly, a Happy Veteran’s Day to my Dad. I was rummaging through some papers in my desk when I came across the Certificate of Condolence that the White House sent upon his passing in 2001. My Dad was a WWII Army Vet who loved to talk about some of the European “sites” he saw during his tour in Europe (including the Passion Play at Oberammergau). He never spoke about combat, though – not uncommon for his generation, it seems. I also came across his wallet sized copy of his Discharge Papers. He was not an Amateur Radio operator, but he was a graduate of the Signal Corps RADAR and Repeater School (which probably explains in some way, my love for Amateur Radio). I also noticed for the first time that he was a recipient of medals for Combat in the European Theater, as well as a Good Conduct medal and one other. He NEVER spoke about those.
For all the Vets who have passed – Eternal rest, grant unto them Oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful Departed, rest in peace. Amen.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!