Posts Tagged ‘amateurradio.com’
Bravo!
October 15th, 2014 | 
Author: Congratulations are in order to fellow QRPer and blogger, John N8ZYA. In an e-mail this morning from the President of the NAQCC, Paul Huff N8XMS, it was announced that John has been selected to serve as the new Vice-President of that fine organization.
A most appropriate and deserving choice!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
A most appropriate and deserving choice!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
N#A
This week, from October 13th to the 19th, the North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of its founding. There will be N#A stations on the air - N1A, N2A, N3A - all the way through N0A.
Yours truly will be on the air as N2A as follows:
October 16th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz (Wednesday evening EDT)
October 17th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz (Thursday evening EDT)
October 18th - from 0000 to 0300 UTC on 3.560 MHz (Friday evening EDT)
Coincidentally, I will be taking a vacation day from work this Friday, October 17th - so after some chores, I will probably get on during the day to try and work some of the higher bands.
As you can see from the table, I was on 20 Meters last night. It was dead - deader than a door nail! So towards the end of my shift, I checked with the Reverse Beacon Network to make sure that there were no N2A stations on 80 Meters and I shifted over there. It was better. Not much, but I did manage to make a few QSOs.
For all the information about the NAQCC's Anniversary celebration, you can go to http://www.naqcc.info/main_n3a.html. All the QSL information is there. To see a list of activity that's already been planned, go to http://www.naqcc.info/spot_schedule.php. Keep in mind, this is activity that has been pre-scheduled to this point. More will be added as operator's personal time permits. I know that I probably won't be able to add my additional Friday or Saturday daytime operating time until relatively close to when it's actually going to happen. In addition, I'm not sure that I will operate from home or perhaps the local park. So check the schedule often as it will most likely be amended - a lot!
As I mentioned before, another good tool to check for NAQCC Anniversary activity is to simply go over to the Reverse Beacon Network and simply plug in the N#A call for any, or perhaps the particular district your interested in QSOing with. For example, just enter N2A where it says "search spot by callsign" under the map. That will tell you where WA2NYY, WK2T, K2YGM or myself happen to be at any particular moment.
Oh, and if you try to work me as N2A, please be patient! I am trying to make these QSOs just a tad more than "TNX UR 599, 73 DE N2A". Not ragchews, per se, but definitely more than get-it-done-with-quick.
UPDATE: Thanks to the following, who kept me company during lunch and got in a QSO with N2A (me) in the process - Steve AB0XE, Andy KD4UKW, Anthony KK4VAU, Van N4ERM - all on 20 Meters - 14.060 MHz. Oh, and Van ..... not sure what you were using as far as rigs go, but your signal almost made my earbuds pop out - 599 +++! Great signal from North Carolina!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Yours truly will be on the air as N2A as follows:
October 16th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz (Wednesday evening EDT)
October 17th - from 0000 to 0200 UTC on 7.040 MHz (Thursday evening EDT)
October 18th - from 0000 to 0300 UTC on 3.560 MHz (Friday evening EDT)
Coincidentally, I will be taking a vacation day from work this Friday, October 17th - so after some chores, I will probably get on during the day to try and work some of the higher bands.
As you can see from the table, I was on 20 Meters last night. It was dead - deader than a door nail! So towards the end of my shift, I checked with the Reverse Beacon Network to make sure that there were no N2A stations on 80 Meters and I shifted over there. It was better. Not much, but I did manage to make a few QSOs.
For all the information about the NAQCC's Anniversary celebration, you can go to http://www.naqcc.info/main_n3a.html. All the QSL information is there. To see a list of activity that's already been planned, go to http://www.naqcc.info/spot_schedule.php. Keep in mind, this is activity that has been pre-scheduled to this point. More will be added as operator's personal time permits. I know that I probably won't be able to add my additional Friday or Saturday daytime operating time until relatively close to when it's actually going to happen. In addition, I'm not sure that I will operate from home or perhaps the local park. So check the schedule often as it will most likely be amended - a lot!
As I mentioned before, another good tool to check for NAQCC Anniversary activity is to simply go over to the Reverse Beacon Network and simply plug in the N#A call for any, or perhaps the particular district your interested in QSOing with. For example, just enter N2A where it says "search spot by callsign" under the map. That will tell you where WA2NYY, WK2T, K2YGM or myself happen to be at any particular moment.
Oh, and if you try to work me as N2A, please be patient! I am trying to make these QSOs just a tad more than "TNX UR 599, 73 DE N2A". Not ragchews, per se, but definitely more than get-it-done-with-quick.
UPDATE: Thanks to the following, who kept me company during lunch and got in a QSO with N2A (me) in the process - Steve AB0XE, Andy KD4UKW, Anthony KK4VAU, Van N4ERM - all on 20 Meters - 14.060 MHz. Oh, and Van ..... not sure what you were using as far as rigs go, but your signal almost made my earbuds pop out - 599 +++! Great signal from North Carolina!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Reaching the halfway point
At the conclusion of tonight's SPARC Technician License course, we will have reached the halfway point. Four sessions down with four to go and then the exams on the night of November 18th. There is soooo much to cover and so many questions to answer. Each session is supposed to end at 9:00 PM but except for one, they have all gone over.
In between classes, our students are supposedly doing their reading and we advised them to really begin with the online tests, if they haven't already. They know enough by now, that they should be able to at least get a 50%. I have also been e-mailing video links to them, giving them You Tube videos to watch that hopefully might augment the material we covered in class the previous week.
All this makes me wonder how useful are those HamCram classes that you read about. I've been a VE at a couple and they seem successful enough. I am told that the way it is supposed to work is that the students study the license manual and do all the reading on their own for 8 weeks prior to the cram session. Then the all day (or two day) cram session winds up being a "super review" session where the material is gone over, reinforced, and any questions or unclear concepts are made crystal.
I'm not sure that would have worked for me back in the day when I became a Novice. I liked the fact that there was a licensed Ham that I could go to each week to have as a resource to answer the questions I had - and there were plenty. Plus the fact we had to learn Morse, we needed that weekly encouragement with that, also.
Even though our students are sharp, they still have questions. We clear them up the best we can, so they can move on to the next batch of material without unsettled concepts lurking around in the back of their minds. I'd hate to think of how I'd spend a day (or two) answering 8 weeks worth of unanswered questions!
I suppose if you're a real disciplined, self-starter type that doesn't need the occasional nudge, then a HamCram might work well for you. I am happy with our format, though. I like the idea of getting to know our students over the 8 week period and helping them feel like they're being welcomed into the Amateur Radio community. I am hoping that these students will become way more than that, that they will become my friends who I will get to know even better, and share laughs and Amateur Radio adventures with in the years to come.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
In between classes, our students are supposedly doing their reading and we advised them to really begin with the online tests, if they haven't already. They know enough by now, that they should be able to at least get a 50%. I have also been e-mailing video links to them, giving them You Tube videos to watch that hopefully might augment the material we covered in class the previous week.
All this makes me wonder how useful are those HamCram classes that you read about. I've been a VE at a couple and they seem successful enough. I am told that the way it is supposed to work is that the students study the license manual and do all the reading on their own for 8 weeks prior to the cram session. Then the all day (or two day) cram session winds up being a "super review" session where the material is gone over, reinforced, and any questions or unclear concepts are made crystal.
I'm not sure that would have worked for me back in the day when I became a Novice. I liked the fact that there was a licensed Ham that I could go to each week to have as a resource to answer the questions I had - and there were plenty. Plus the fact we had to learn Morse, we needed that weekly encouragement with that, also.
Even though our students are sharp, they still have questions. We clear them up the best we can, so they can move on to the next batch of material without unsettled concepts lurking around in the back of their minds. I'd hate to think of how I'd spend a day (or two) answering 8 weeks worth of unanswered questions!
I suppose if you're a real disciplined, self-starter type that doesn't need the occasional nudge, then a HamCram might work well for you. I am happy with our format, though. I like the idea of getting to know our students over the 8 week period and helping them feel like they're being welcomed into the Amateur Radio community. I am hoping that these students will become way more than that, that they will become my friends who I will get to know even better, and share laughs and Amateur Radio adventures with in the years to come.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Solar Flares and CMEs
I was pointed to this NASA video by Don K2DSV. For those of you who are not sure, or perhaps were not even aware of, the difference between solar flares and coronal mass ejections:
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The TR9500 and her sister come to stay
The shack has gained a couple of 'new' radios, one of them look familiar?
It is the Trio/Kenwood TR9500 that I repaired last month for a fellow club member. Having no transmit audio I'd replaced a faulty transistor in the microphone pre-amp. Subsequently it's owner reported it was still misbehaving and locking up in transmit mode.
I'd offered to give it another look but the owner decided to cut his losses and wanted shot of it. He had just purchased a nice new radio at the National Hamfest and was also selling a 2m Trio/Kenwood TR9000 multi-mode set to make some room.
I liked the look of these pretty sisters and got both of them for a very reasonable price, the TR9500 costing just £10 in lieu of the previous repair work. I collected them at the weekend and got around to checking them out last night.
The TR9000 is a lovely compact rig, the case has the odd scuff but the front is in good condition and has cleaned up nicely. I just need to attend to the microphone plug as it wearing the ubiquitous piece of brightly coloured insulating tape. It is fully functional and I made a few contacts on it during last nights 144MHz UKAC. It is nice sounding and seems to have a good sensitive receiver.
The troublesome TR9500 has been back on the bench and connected to a dummy load and my X-50 dual-band collinear and I cannot find anything wrong. The ALC 'issue' I suspected was a red-herring, the audio does cuts out and the S-meter goes to S9 but only when the RF gain knob is turned to minimum not maximum as I'd thought, the same thing happens on the TR9000.
It is entirely possible the fault reported by its previous owner is intermittent (a bad joint, sticky relay etc) It is also a possibility that RF was leaking back in the rig causing it to lock up. I plan to use it in anger maybe during next weeks 432MHz UKAC especially if the receiver proves as sensitive as that in the TR9000.
As I mentioned the National Hamfest took place recently and since it is local to me I decided to go along on both days. The Friday was by far the busier day with lots of sellers in the outdoor flea-market with a genuine 'buzz' which seemed lacking on the Saturday, there were a lot less sellers outdoors.
The main hall left me a bit underwhelmed, the layout seemed a bit messy and some areas were cramped while others seemed to have acres of spare room. It was also very hot in the main hall especially on the busy Friday, however it was still an enjoyable couple of days and met up with some fellow tweeters and operators.
My purchases were modest and as well as the usual connectors and cabling I picked up a nice as-new 7A regulated linear power supply, a foot switch, a replacement satellite Quad-LNB, a very sorry looking 70cm linear amplifier and picked up one of those lovely Czech morse-keys for when I brave doing the code!
I also picked up this little 2.4GHz B/W video monitor for a whopping £1 and it works a treat. I have a number of 2.4GHz wireless security cameras (purchased back in 2009) intended for a PC-based PVR CCTV system but the whole PC system proved unreliable so they are sitting idle. This little monitor can receive on the four standand channels and as a bonus runs off 13.8V so ideal for sticking in the car and driving around the local housing estate eavesdropping on other similar cameras - I am joking of course!
The very sorry looking 70cm linear amplifier is a Tokyo Hy-Power HL-60U. I found it hiding away in a box of junk on one stall and after a bit of haggling got it for a fiver! From its appearance I really didn't expect it work, especially since the warranty seal had been broken. I wasn't too bothered about the power amplifier I was far more interested if the built in GaAsFET pre-amplifier still worked.
Getting it on the bench I opened the case, expecting to find it plundered and butchered and was pleasantly surprised to find the insides looked almost pristine. I think the main PA transistor may have been replaced, but while it looks a bit messy the flux resin around its joints looks the same as other areas of the PCB so not sure. It looks slightly different internally to some another photographs I found on line and I have searched the web for a manual and schematic with no joy. Tokyo Hy-Power went bankrupt last year and the website and precious data downloads have all but disappeared.
As it looked intact with nothing missing I connected up the dummy load, power meter and fed the input from one of my Baofeng handhelds. It powered up and was giving 15W out for a measured 3W in with no distortion on the audio, so far so good. However after connecting up the FT-857D and slowly increasing the input power is became apparent that 15W seemed to be about the limit of its output, not the 60W as promised.
Removing the dummy load and putting it on the X-50 antenna I had a listen around for weak stations to checked the operation of receive pre-amp and it worked! Should prove useful for the 70cm contests.
It is the Trio/Kenwood TR9500 that I repaired last month for a fellow club member. Having no transmit audio I'd replaced a faulty transistor in the microphone pre-amp. Subsequently it's owner reported it was still misbehaving and locking up in transmit mode.
I'd offered to give it another look but the owner decided to cut his losses and wanted shot of it. He had just purchased a nice new radio at the National Hamfest and was also selling a 2m Trio/Kenwood TR9000 multi-mode set to make some room.
I liked the look of these pretty sisters and got both of them for a very reasonable price, the TR9500 costing just £10 in lieu of the previous repair work. I collected them at the weekend and got around to checking them out last night.
The TR9000 is a lovely compact rig, the case has the odd scuff but the front is in good condition and has cleaned up nicely. I just need to attend to the microphone plug as it wearing the ubiquitous piece of brightly coloured insulating tape. It is fully functional and I made a few contacts on it during last nights 144MHz UKAC. It is nice sounding and seems to have a good sensitive receiver.
The troublesome TR9500 has been back on the bench and connected to a dummy load and my X-50 dual-band collinear and I cannot find anything wrong. The ALC 'issue' I suspected was a red-herring, the audio does cuts out and the S-meter goes to S9 but only when the RF gain knob is turned to minimum not maximum as I'd thought, the same thing happens on the TR9000.
It is entirely possible the fault reported by its previous owner is intermittent (a bad joint, sticky relay etc) It is also a possibility that RF was leaking back in the rig causing it to lock up. I plan to use it in anger maybe during next weeks 432MHz UKAC especially if the receiver proves as sensitive as that in the TR9000.
As I mentioned the National Hamfest took place recently and since it is local to me I decided to go along on both days. The Friday was by far the busier day with lots of sellers in the outdoor flea-market with a genuine 'buzz' which seemed lacking on the Saturday, there were a lot less sellers outdoors.
The main hall left me a bit underwhelmed, the layout seemed a bit messy and some areas were cramped while others seemed to have acres of spare room. It was also very hot in the main hall especially on the busy Friday, however it was still an enjoyable couple of days and met up with some fellow tweeters and operators.
My purchases were modest and as well as the usual connectors and cabling I picked up a nice as-new 7A regulated linear power supply, a foot switch, a replacement satellite Quad-LNB, a very sorry looking 70cm linear amplifier and picked up one of those lovely Czech morse-keys for when I brave doing the code!
I also picked up this little 2.4GHz B/W video monitor for a whopping £1 and it works a treat. I have a number of 2.4GHz wireless security cameras (purchased back in 2009) intended for a PC-based PVR CCTV system but the whole PC system proved unreliable so they are sitting idle. This little monitor can receive on the four standand channels and as a bonus runs off 13.8V so ideal for sticking in the car and driving around the local housing estate eavesdropping on other similar cameras - I am joking of course!
The very sorry looking 70cm linear amplifier is a Tokyo Hy-Power HL-60U. I found it hiding away in a box of junk on one stall and after a bit of haggling got it for a fiver! From its appearance I really didn't expect it work, especially since the warranty seal had been broken. I wasn't too bothered about the power amplifier I was far more interested if the built in GaAsFET pre-amplifier still worked.
Getting it on the bench I opened the case, expecting to find it plundered and butchered and was pleasantly surprised to find the insides looked almost pristine. I think the main PA transistor may have been replaced, but while it looks a bit messy the flux resin around its joints looks the same as other areas of the PCB so not sure. It looks slightly different internally to some another photographs I found on line and I have searched the web for a manual and schematic with no joy. Tokyo Hy-Power went bankrupt last year and the website and precious data downloads have all but disappeared.
As it looked intact with nothing missing I connected up the dummy load, power meter and fed the input from one of my Baofeng handhelds. It powered up and was giving 15W out for a measured 3W in with no distortion on the audio, so far so good. However after connecting up the FT-857D and slowly increasing the input power is became apparent that 15W seemed to be about the limit of its output, not the 60W as promised.
Removing the dummy load and putting it on the X-50 antenna I had a listen around for weak stations to checked the operation of receive pre-amp and it worked! Should prove useful for the 70cm contests.
Times have changed
The SET session went well. My wife had to work late, so I was able to get on the local VHF net which is affiliated with the NTS, in order to pass on our SET report. Admittedly, it's been years since I have handled any traffic. However, I was very active back in the 80s, serving for a long time as a NCS of the very traffic net I checked into. In fact, I was assistant to the Net Manager for quite a while there, also. So while I'm rusty, I'm no neophyte to traffic handling.
Here's the sticky part. I made my message as brief as possible, but it still came to a check of 27. And I got to listen about it. Yes, I understand the ARRL message form has lines for 25 words, but c'mon, really?
These messages were local in scope and weren't bound for the Second Region Net or anything like that. And it was only two stinkin' words over. You're going to give me flack for that? I hate to sound like an old crotchety curmudgeon, but back in the day, we sometimes handled messages with checks as long as 30 or even sometimes 35 words. And if some evening, you're lucky enough to get a ton of check ins, you're not going to send a net report because it would be over 25 words?
Seems to me the NTS should be begging for traffic, not making remarks so that people couldn't be bothered.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Here's the sticky part. I made my message as brief as possible, but it still came to a check of 27. And I got to listen about it. Yes, I understand the ARRL message form has lines for 25 words, but c'mon, really?
These messages were local in scope and weren't bound for the Second Region Net or anything like that. And it was only two stinkin' words over. You're going to give me flack for that? I hate to sound like an old crotchety curmudgeon, but back in the day, we sometimes handled messages with checks as long as 30 or even sometimes 35 words. And if some evening, you're lucky enough to get a ton of check ins, you're not going to send a net report because it would be over 25 words?
Seems to me the NTS should be begging for traffic, not making remarks so that people couldn't be bothered.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
2014 SET
This is the weekend for the 2014 SET - Simulated Emergency Test. Are you and/or your club participating?
The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club - SPARC, will be!
We are going to meet tomorrow at 10:00 AM at out EOC. Once there, I will hand out scripts to the "players" who will be dispatched at various sites around town. Basically, without giving away too much (some SPARC members actually read this blog - can you believe it?) we will be providing backup communications for the town as the result of a major natural disaster, including but not limited to, the manning of the regional shelter that is located in our town.
Each ARES/RACES member will receive an individualized script and will be directed, at specific times during the drill, to call the NCS and report a "situation". What is NOT scripted is the follow up actions and communications that will flow as a result of the reporting of the "situation". NCS has no idea of what he will be called about - the following communications will be dealt with as the circumstances dictate.
Right now, the script is still evolving and won't be finalized until tonight. This is when I should have a very good idea as to how many SPARC members will be participating in the drill tomorrow. Since tomorrow is Yom Kippur, some of our members will be unable to attend. I don't want this to be a boring, tedious drill. I want our members to actually do some communicating, and we will see where we go from there.
My part in all of this? I will sit in the EOC and will play the role of ICS, throwing some curveballs to the NCS as well. This should be interesting.
In addition, I will be looking for a volunteer to send a report of or activity to our Section Manager, our Section Emergency Coordinator, and our County ARES and RACES chiefs via NTS. (I would do it myself, but I'm taking the XYL out for dinner tomorrow night - today is our wedding anniversary!) This should be a good learning experience for some of our members who haven't has much experience with NTS. Instead of sending it as book traffic, maybe I can get four volunteers to send one message each.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
