AmateurRadio.com

A happy looking KX3

I decided to take the KX3 out and about on my day off Friday, it was an overcast day so I thought it wise to do my operating from the mobile rather than taking the bike. I set up the mobile whip antenna on my car and situated myself in the passenger seat and was ready to go.(note….this time before the trip out I made a list of things to bring so I was not without important items as happened in the past)  Brought the KX3 up to the 20m QRP watering hole (14.060) and just wanted to check the SWR on the radio before sending out my 5 watts of raw power. The KX3 gave me an error message but it seemed I was still able to transmit and I did for a short time. Then I noticed as I moved up and down the band my

Not so happy KX3

SWR stayed the same at 1.4:1 no matter where I was on the band….even up into the SSB portion. It was then determined something was wrong and I had a fast look at the antenna and coax but all seemed ok. I then switched to my 15m whip antenna and the error message was gone but I still had this strange low SWR across the 15m band as well. So it was time to pack things up and head home. Once at home I put the KX3 on a dummy load and tried it out and all was just the way it should be. I then put the rig on the MFJ 1788 loop and again no problems. So I suspect it's the mobile setup and I did post the problem on the Elecraft reflector and was given advice to check the mobile setup. When at home I did want to give the KX3 the full workout and to do so I started to call CQ on 20m. Terry WA0ITP came back to me from Iowa and our signals were in around 339 and conditions wee not that great but we were able to carry on a decent QSO. So the KX3 is working good but it's just another "project" I have on the burner that has to be worked out.  No time today as I am on call  this week and the phone has not stopped ringing with calls for me to go in!
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Shortwave Broadcasting is Dead

Who among us didn’t get baptized in ham radio via shortwave listening? A special committee on the future of shortwave broadcasting paints a grim picture. “While there is still a critical need for shortwave in key countries, it is a medium of marginal and continuously declining impact in most markets.” The report said that even in countries where shortwave radio enjoys significant usage levels, “audiences will migrate to other platforms as they become more accessible.”

QRP Blog Ends Syndication

W2LJ decided to end the syndication of his ham radio blog on AmateurRadio.com, a popular blog aggregator. I don’t know how long his posts had been picked up and re-broadcast there, but it’s been available for quite some time. His explanation was guarded, though he did write that it was a decision he’s been mulling “since this past Easter”. He also mentioned that not all his musings are about ham radio, some of them detail his religious beliefs and that may have played a factor.

Larry says his blog will remain open for business.

Leaving TenTec

In other passages, Jim Wharton, NO4A has resigned from TenTec. He assumed day-to-day operation of the company as President in January of this year when Jack Burchfield, K4JU retired.

This is likely related to the new association with RF Concepts and the assessment of the need for multiple leaders as a result of the merger. Or Wharton found a better gig. Or maybe TenTec really is going belly-up. Hard to say as the situation there seems anything but predictable…

Filed under: Ham Radio Tagged: blog, tentec, w2lj

Jeff Davis, KE9V, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Indiana, USA.

If you are like me, you appreciate electronic gadgets with dials and displays. So when I discovered this “USB detector”,  I thought to myself that I really always wanted to know the voltage as well as the current consumption of my USB devices. And since it is more or less impossible to connect a multimeter, this is exactly what I need.

The device fully satisfied my curiosity. Actually one surprising result was that the charger for my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has a negative output resistance.

With a load it outputs 5.27 Volts as shown in the top image. Usually one expects the voltage to increase when the load is removed. But for this charger the voltage dropped instead to 5.13 Volts (second image). That should mean that there is the equivalent of a series resistance of (5.13-5.27)/0.98 which is about -0.14 Ohm.

I measured other chargers also, without finding a negative output resistance, so it seems as if it applies to this particular charger only. Out of curiosity, I also measured the current consumption of my Arduino Mega to 0.08 A without any shields connects.

The unit has two outputs which are different from each other. Output 1 is a fully functional USB port, while output 2 only connects DC power. What is that good for? Well, the epanoroma blog opened my eyes to the utility of this. If you charge your phone at some public place, then this feature isolates the data port of your phone. That may protect you from being hacked.

So there you see. The €5.13 were well spent and I even learnt something new by giving in to the temptation to click “Buy It Now” on Ebay.

But why does the Samsung charger have what amounts to a negative output resistance, is it by design or by accident?

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

North America SOTA Activity Weekend 2014, September 13ths and 14th, is a casual event involving tiny battery-powered radios on mountain summits.  It i s not a contest but is intended to introduce "Summits on the Air" to newcomers with home stations who try to work summit operators during one or two days. There are no rules regarding power levels, modes or number of bands worked, but please be courteous when more than one station is trying to talk to a SOTA operator on a summit.  The SOTA operators have just climbed mountains as high as 14,000 feet; they use low power; and they don't receive on split frequencies.

Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I’m all prepared for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, starting Saturday. Today I paid another visit to the Baishajia lighthouse and they will give me the VIP pass this weekend. I’m allowed to use the employee-entrance so I can come early and leave late, and I can go up the tower to string longwires. Electricity is free, too! (With the electricity bill they have over there I guess my use of a couple of Ah won’t make much difference).

This year the Taiwanese entry to the ILLW is three strong. Apart from me being at BaiShaJia on both Saturday and Sunday, BV1EJ will use a special call sign BV0LH from the SanDiaoJiao lighthouse, on Saturday. SanDiaoJiao is where the Spanish first discovered Taiwan and its English name is Santiago or San Diego Lighthouse. It is the most eastern tip of Taiwan. On Sunday BM2LDT and BX2AI will be at FuGuiJiao Lighthouse, which is the most northern lighthouse in Taiwan. Not bad and I hope a bit of promotion will result in even more lighthouses being activated in 2015. Have fun and keep an eye on the clusters to see where we can be reached. I’ll be active as BX2ABT/LH from 0100 till 0930 UTC on both Saturday and Sunday.

Hans "Fong" van den Boogert, BX2ABT, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Taiwan. Contact him at [email protected].

After I published my video of my portable operation, I have received several questions about the case that I use for my Elecraft KX3.

I did a bunch of research before I landed on what I use – which is the Pelican 1200.  I bought this based on my specific needs – mostly it is used in my car to get from work to the park.  But I have also taken it on numerous camping trips, etc.

As usual, let me know if you have any questions – I am happy to help!

Burke Jones, NØHYD, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Kansas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

After I published my video of my portable operation, I have received several questions about the case that I use for my Elecraft KX3.

I did a bunch of research before I landed on what I use – which is the Pelican 1200.  I bought this based on my specific needs – mostly it is used in my car to get from work to the park.  But I have also taken it on numerous camping trips, etc.

As usual, let me know if you have any questions – I am happy to help!

Burke Jones, NØHYD, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Kansas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].