Aggravation!

I was supposed to run the South Plainfield ARES/RACES Net last night at 7:00 PM local time. We hold it on the third Tuesday of the month. I went down to the basement and turned on my VHF/UHF radio that sits on the bench and ........nothing!

By rights, I should have run upstairs for an HT, or out to the car and used my mobile rig, but I still have enough Service Manager (stubbornness) in me that when something like this happens - I have to trouble shoot it - right away.

I was getting 13.8 Volts out from the power supply, but nothing at the radio. I checked the in-line fuses and they were fine. I checked the voltage at the transceiver end of the power cable and that was not fine. What the heck?

I checked all the connections at the fuse holders, made sure all the Ohm reading were zero from power supply to cable end and then hooked everything back up, turned on the radio - again nothing.  Argh!

Something told me to take a closer look at the Molex connector again. I swung the bench light over for more brightness, and sure enough, it looked like the blade on the one side looked a little bent, possibly not making contact with it's mate. I straightened it out, and snapped the Molex back together, the radio came on!

So here's the big question - how did this happen? I mean the radio was just sitting there. I don't remember moving it around or playing around with the cable in any way. I must have dome something without realizing it, because things like this don't "just happen". Do they? Molex connector innards just don't warp on their own and break contact. This one has me baffled. but it's fixed now (at least for now) so I won't beat my head against the wall trying to figure it out.

On the flip side, the Hustler VHF/UHF antenna on the car is really performing nicely. I can hear repeaters from a much greater distance than I was able to using that piece-of-crud-cheapie-antenna-that-I-should-have-known-better-than-to-ever-consider-using.  I was able to talk to Marv K2VHW on the drive home yesterday via a repeater that was a good 20 or so miles away from where I was stuck in traffic. 

The moral of the stories? Take wins wherever you can find them.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

That sinking feeling

Oy!

You know that sinking feeling you get when you step into the shack and you turn eveything on and something isn't right? And the last time you were in there, everything was working perfectly?

That happened to me yesterday. I stepped into the shack, turned everything on and the KXPA100 sat there like a silent, dark brick. Normally, when I turn on the KX3, the LEDs on the KXPA100 come on, even though I keep the output at 5 Watts. I like to know it's available when I need it for checking into the St.Max 80 Meter SSB Net on Sunday evenings, or for a possible DX ATNO popping up on the bands.

That didn't happen yesterday. It just sat there, foreboding and lifeless. 

The first thing you have to do is choke back that feeling of panic. Really ...... no one in their right minds wants to take a piece of hardware off line and deal with getting it repaired. In a perfect world, that never happens - but as we all know, this world ain't perfect.

So the next thing you do is start the troubleshooting process. And oddly enough, that begins with turning the KXPA100 "on". Weird, right?  But not really.  In use, the KXPA100 power switch is to remain in the "off" position. The KX3 itself is supposed to turn the amp on during power up.

Thankfully, when I flipped the switch on, all the LEDs lit and I heard a few relays click, so that meant the amp itself was okay. So that leads us to figure out why things still aren't right. Everything was fine when I last left the shack - what changed? What would cause the KX3 to stop talking to the KXPA100?

As it turned out, I finally remembered that during my last time in the shack, I had pulled the radio a little closer to me on the operating bench. Something must have happened then. I looked at the left side of the radio, where all the cabling is and I noticed that one cable appeared not to be pressed in all the way. And it took a real close look, because we're talking just a couple of millimeters here. Not even noticeable unless you were specifically looking for it. I gave the plug a push and, lo and behold, the lights on the amp came back on and everything was back to normal! Crisis averted! 

When I pulled the radio forward, I must have inadvertantly tugged on that cable, causing the problem. While I could very easily live without the KXPA100, I have become accustomed to, and enjoy checking into the St. Max Net on Sunday evenings, and as much as a dedicated QRPer as I am, I also have enough common sense to know that the KX3's maximum 15 Watts just will not cut it for effective communication there.

Oh well, what the heck are a few more gray hairs?

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least! 

Productive day

I had a good day yesterday. After I finished the grocery shopping and yardwork, I was able to grab a short catnap before my weekly Skype session with Bob W3BBO.

Afterward, I went down into the shack and installed one of those new S40A1 diodes that I had ordered for my Astron RS-35A. After soldering the wire back on and installing a new fuse, I crossed my fingers and hit the switch. The fuse didn't blow, I heard that satisfying hysteresis hum and measured 13.65 Volts at the output terminals. Huzzah!

That inspired me to put the KXPA100 back in line. Surprisingly, I remembered how all the cable connections went and everything seemed to work fine - for a few moments. And then came some agita.

When I would try and tune up on 20 Meters, I would get an "ANT FLT" - antenna fault error on the KX3 display. The receive went dead - everything remained on, but I couldn't hear anything on 20 Meters. I checked the other bands and they were fine. I went back to 20 Meters, took the PA offline and everything was perfect! 

What the heck?

It turned out that when I would switch the KX3 over to 20 Meters, for some reason unbeknownst to me, and perhaps only to God, the KXPA100 would switch from ANT1 to ANT2.  I only use the ANT 1 input and I switch between the Butternut HF9V and my W3EDP using an antenna switch. This makes it easier to disconnect antennas before a thunderstorm. I only have to disconnect the coax going from the antenna switch to the back of the KXPA100 instead of disconnecting two antennas from the back of the amp. It was a simple matter of hitting a button on the front of the KXPA100 to make sure I was on the ANT1 input. From there, I switched to the other bands, and then back to 20 Meters to make sure the amp stayed on ANT1 and did not change over to ANT2. Success and a sigh of relief!

The beauty of the KXPA100 is that it allows me to stay at 5 Watts all the time. ONLY when I increase power output above 10 Watts does it kick in and go to work. However, it has the same internal ATU as the KX3 and as long as it is powered on, the KX3 will use the KXPA100 ATU no matter what the power.

That done, I worked four POTA stations, including EC1R in Spain on 20 Meters. I tried calling him with 5 Watts several times with no answer. I then dialed the output up to 50 Watts and was answered, first call. I got a 559 report and I gave him a 579 report.

It's comforting to know everything works. 

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

 

Memories

I have no idea why this memory popped into my head while driving into work today. Maybe it was because I had the VHF/UHF on in the background and I was half listening to a Ham radio conversation.

As I was driving, my mind drifted back to all the trips I made to the Heathkit store back in the 80s. There was one on NJ State Route 35 down in the Eatontown area, about 25 miles or so from home. I would go there to get a "real life" look at all the stuff in the catalog. I spent a lot of time drooling there.

Eventually, I saved up enough money from my job to order a SB-104A transceiver I think what drew me to the rig most was that it had a feature, where at the push of a button, the power amplifier transistors were taken out of line and the unit became a 1 Watt transceiver. Shades of things to come, eh?

I spent a lot of hours building those circuit boards! After I got them done, I started inserting them, one by one, onto the main chassis as per the manual. When I got to about the third one, when I inserted it, the rig would go dead. It would just turn off. Take the board out, everything was fine.

I checked that board from ground to Heaven a million times. I couldn't detect any misplaced components, any solder bridges .......anything! I followed the troubleshooting procedures in the manual until I was blue in the face. I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Back in those days, Heathkit's famous promise and tag line was "We will not let you fail!".  I admitted defeat, packed up everything into the shipping box and brought it down to the Heathkit store in Eatontown. I had built dozens of Heahtkits by this time with nary a problem. This was my first (and as it turned out, only) failure.  

I brought the box in, explained to the Tech what was going on. He gave me a receipt (back in those days, everything was still done on paper) and told me to call back in a few days. And so I did. He told me to come back the following week. I was working at the camera store at the time and I had to work Saturdays, so Monday was my day off - perfect day for another trip to Eatontown.

When I got there, of course my first question was, "So what did I do wrong?" and much to my surprise, the answer was "Nothing". The look on my face must have been one of astonishment, so the Tech explained to me that the fault was actually in one of the factory pre-built boards that were part of the kit - and that when I inserted my board in, the problem manifested itself.

Apparent to him, not to me!  This was before my deeper education into electronics that would come a few years down the road. My troubleshooting skills at the time were not up to snuff. I expected the Tech to bring out my box with the fixed board and all the rest, wish me good luck,  pat me on the back and send me off on the way back home. To my further surprise, he came out from the repair area with my SB-104A totally finished and aligned! He told me that since it was a factory fault, the least he could do was complete the assembly and alignment process - gratis!

Wow! Fast forward some 40 years, and I'm not sure if there are many companies that would stand behind their product like Heathkit used to. I went on to build many more kits, including some non-Amateur Radio ones, like their professional stereo system. When their Master Builder program began I had way more than enough kits under my belt to qualify.

A few years later, I think it was 1987, I had graduated from DeVry with a degree in digital electronics and was working at Sinar Bron doing electronics repairs on studio strobes. I wasn't getting paid what I thought my skills were worth, and I started looking for a better paying job. I found one at a DoD contractor, to build circuit boards for the guidance systems inside cruise missiles. 

After the interview, I had to undergo a "soldering test". I was given components and a schematic diagram and I had to sit down and assemble a circuit board under the watchful eye of an officer from the United States Navy.  After I finished, he looked at the circuit board and asked me, "Where did you learn to do work like this?" and of course, I answered (with a smile) "Heathkit!". 

I was offered the job on the spot, but there was a caveat. It was explained to me that since this was a DoD job, if there were any military budget cuts, as last one hired, I'd be the first to go. I was thinking that the Reagan years would not last forever, and add to that, the commute from home would be expensive and a traffic nightmare, and that ultimately, the job didn't offer that big of an increase in pay to make it worth my while to accept.

The bright side turned out to be that the HR person where I was working found out through the grapevine that I was looking for a better position. She went and told the boss, who in turn promoted me to Service Manager, along with the increase in pay to just around what I was hoping for. I would stay on at Sinar Bron for another 20 years.

Thank you, Heathkit!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This was the culprit

 In my Astron RS-35A power supply. The symptom? Fuse blows as soon as you hit the power switch.

The culprit is one on the two main S40A1 diodes. Right now the one I removed is nothing but a fancy piece of wire. When you test it with a VOM, you get a reading of a direct short in both directions. Fortunately the other one is okay.

I'm going to order more than one, probably three. Not only is it good to have spares, but if I purchase just the one, the shipping costs are almost equal to the price of the diode! The version I took out of the power supply was rated for 800 Volts - the version I was able to find online is rated for 1200 Volts, so I should be fine, just fine.

Last time I had the same symptom in my 15 Amp supply, it was that one of the pass transistors had failed and shorted. I actually checked those first in the 35 Amp supply, but they all tested fine. I have an ample supply of those on hand should the need ever arise to replace one of those again.

By the way, if you have an Astron power supply that is broken and needs troubleshooting, and you're a neophyte to electronics repairs and have no idea where to start, may I recommend these two documents?

https://www.repeater-builder.com/astron/pdf/astron-troubleshooting.pdf

https://www.repeater-builder.com/astron/astron-repair/astron-repair.html

I left Sinar Bron 16 years ago this past April after a 22 year stint there. That was the last time I did electronics troubleshooting on a daily basis. This was a rather simple job, as linear power supplies are not that exotic. It was nice to see that I still have some of that ol' touch, and that the skills, instincts and thought processes are still there. Office work tends not to be as "stimulating", shall we say? I mean there's a bunch of problem solving and mental agility required, but it's not like knowing how to read a schematic and getting your hands dirty, and knowing in the back of your mind that you're dealing with some extremely high, and even lethal voltages. That requires a certain edge.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Not much done over the weekend

Other than yardwork, grocery shopping and helping out at soup kitchen on Sunday, not much got done radio-wise. I did manage to change out the power cord on a 20 Amp Clegg power supply that rightfully belongs to Middlesex County.  Someone had cut the power cord off of it and basically left it for trash.in the radio room at the County EOC.  I told John Garmendi, N2DV our ARES/RACES Bureau Chief that I could put a new cord on it, and I finally did. However I need to get one of these for it:

I don't need a package 0f 10, 25, 50 or 100. I just need one. Maybe this coming weekend, I'll drive up to Greenbrook Electronics in North Plainfield to see if I can just by a reasonable amount. For now, I have two cable ties acting as a motion limiter, so that the new power cord can't move about and the jacket get scraped by the chassis.

While I'm at it, I still have to trouble shoot and repair my Astron 35 Amp power supply.  The fuse goes as soon as you turn it on, indicating a massive short somewhere, probably the bridge rectifier.  Once I get that fixed, I just may put my KXPA100 amp back on line. Not that I use it that often, but maybe one of these days, I'll get in the mood to try and bust a major DXpedition pile up. I haven't gone QRO in years and I think the last time I used it was to QSO with a country that was an ATNO for me. I need the 35 Amp power supply to be working properly to put it back on line. I'm not into chasing DX like I used to be; but you never know when the bug might bite again.

After that, maybe I'll get to building one of the many kits I have in queue. Over the weekend, I've kind of decided against purchasing a QMX from QRPLabs. Fantastic kit, no doubt as Hans Summers offerings are superb, but I have my KX3 and it meets all my needs. I'd rather save my shekels and hopefully one day purchase a RigExperts antenna analyzer.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Crap!

 I was reading some stuff on the internet this morning when my phone chirped to let me know that my friend Bob W3BBO was on the air calling CQ. I saw that he was on 30 Meters, and I thought the band might be conducive to a Pittsburgh to Central Jersey QSO, so I ran downstairs to fire up the KX3. I flipped the switch on my Astron 20 Amp power supply and there was no hum and the rocker switch didn't light up.

Not good.

I checked to make sure the power strip that I have it plugged into was working and that showed to be fine. My Astron 7 Amp power supply is plugged into the same surge protector and it fired up just fine. I replaced the fuse and powered up again. This time, there was a hum and the rocker switch lit up - all for about a second. Then the new fuse blew.

I unplugged it, took off the cover and gave it a visual inspection. Nothing burnt, nothing charred, no funny smells. I then took a meter to all the major semiconductors - pass transistors, diodes and SCR and the readings were normal - no shorts. The filter caps look ok - from my experience with repairing studio strobes, those big electrolytics tend to bulge a bit before they have a "non passive failure" so I doubt they're the problem. That leaves the transformer itself or something on the voltage regulator board. I'm thinking the voltage regulator board as transformers in and of themselves really don't go bad without some evidence of getting overly hot or burning.

I don't have the time or resources to go into deep trouble shooting right now, so I'll rely on the 7 Amp supply for the time being - too many projects, too many things to do. Besides, running 5 Watts shouldn't even make it raise a sweat. While I was down there, after getting things transferred over and squared away, I made a couple contacts on 15 Meters with some Texas QSO Party stations. I also had a brief QSO with Lazlo HA3NA on 17 Meters (and I got a 579)!  It was really nice to see 15 and 17 Meters alive for a change. Maybe the sun spots ARE making a comeback.

When I do get the time, there are some wonderful resources on the web for fixing these babies. One in particular can be found here - http://www.repeater-builder.com/astron/pdf/astron-troubleshooting.pdf

It's a nice step by step resource and as it's been over 14 years since I repaired circuit boards down to the component level every day for a living, my trouble shooting skills are a bit rusty to put it mildly. I'll take whatever help I can get.

On another note, I downloaded Hamrs onto my cell phone after watching Tom K4SWL use it on his POTA videos. It's a super easy logging program to use, even easier than Ham Log NG. I like that you can create specific logbooks for individual POTA activations or other events. Each log can be converted to an ADIF so that I can import them into my master AC Log logbook on the laptop. I also downloaded it onto my Android tablet which should be a bit easier on my fat fingers in the field. This, of course, assumes that I will give up on paper and pencil. That may be easier said than done! LOL!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

New offerings

The heat wave across the United States sizzles - and it must have something to do with QRP kits, because they're coming forth like rabbits!

First, from the 4 Sates QRP Group - The Murania

This is an AM Broadcast band radio - just like we used to have back in the 50s and 60s.  Remember when you used to have one of these? We'd sneak them to bed with us and listen to ball games or Jean Shepherd K2ORS on WWOR Radio out of New York City.

It's described as perfect for the 1st time kit builder. The price is a modest $35. This would be a great kit for youngsters or scouts, because unlike a lot of Amateur Radio kits - this is something that can be used immediately after they've finished building it.  The details are at http://4sqrp.com/Murania.php

The other offering is a Simple RF Probe Kit from the QRPGuys:

Coming in at $10 - this is a great item to have on your workbench for troubleshooting RF circuits. No RF output?  Go back to the beginning stages and see where the output stops. Trouble has to be there! For details - https://qrpguys.com/qrpguys-simple-rf-probe

You can always get one of these to have on hand if you have trouble with your Muriana - although, like most 4 States kits, I doubt you'll encounter any problems.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Going cold turkey

"Going cold turkey" - a phrase familiar to some - unfamiliar to others. Perhaps many of my readers from outside the US have never heard of this American slang term before.  It means to break a habit ...... by stopping.  If you happen to smoke and decide to stop "cold turkey", that means stopping. Period. No gradually smoking less and less until you quit. Nope, you throw away your last pack of cigarettes into the trash can and never smoke again.

I smoked for a very brief period of time (maybe 1/2 a year) when I was in college and to this day, I'll enjoy a cigar at a wedding, if they're being offered; but I never smoked to the point where it became a habit. I can imagine though, for a hard core chain smoker, the thought of going "cold turkey" probably produces cold sweats and chills down the spine.

Thanks to the ARRL, many of us have become addicted to National Parks on the Air.  I say that in a teasing and friendly manner.  But the fact remains that for the past 12 months we have really enjoyed chasing and activating the over 400 National Park System entities.

A lot of folks went in whole hog and seemed to make it their mission to activate as many entities as possible.  Some made it a family affair, taking their spouses and children on a tour of the USA. Some seemed to take a sabbatical from work in order to satisfy their craving.  Some slept in cars, hopping from site to site, alternately activating and then hunting for a spot with WiFi so they could upload their logs to Logbook of the World.  A lot were like me, activating sites that were relatively close to home when chores and family commitments allowed some of that seemingly rare  commodity - free time.  One thing seemed certain, though, whether you were a hard core NPOTA'er or just an occasional dabbler ...... everyone who got involved had a good time.

So it is with mixed emotions that I anticipate the end of NPOTA 2016.  I will always have fond memories of my activations, and of how I incorporated NPOTA into the 2016 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, and of the many hours I spent behind the key (and microphone) as a chaser. I think I spent more time behind the microphone this year than in all my 38 years of Amateur Radio combined.

I will also fondly remember the friendships that have formed with many activators and fellow chasers on the air and through the NPOTA page on Facebook.  Call signs have become names and faces instead of just random letter/number combinations.  In a few instances, Hams that I have known for years and have only worked via Morse Code have now become familiar voices! And when was the last time a fellow Ham gave you cookies or a pizza for working them? Chalk up those innovative ideas for fellowship to NPOTA!

For many, NPOTA became an opportunity for us to rethink how we thought about Amateur Radio. A lot of us had to shed all previous notions and start thinking outside the box. For many it was the first time they ever operated outside the home Shack other than Field Day. NPOTA became a fantastic opportunity to learn about what works and what doesn't.  Many of us became more in tune with our equipment, using it in ways we never had before, expanding our capabilities and experiences. It was an opportunity for many to build and experiment with new antenna systems, new power systems, new ways of doing things that were previously taken for granted. For many of us, it also became a school for learning (real fast!) how to improvise when piece of equipment was forgotten; or how to make quick (and sometimes not so pretty) repairs when something would break or malfunction.  Through it all, we became better Amateur Radio Operators because of it; and there's no amount of money you can place on that.

It will be very hard for all NPOTA'ers when 23:59:59 UTC rolls around on December 31st and it's all gone; and we're all going "cold turkey". As far as this particular event is concerned, microphones and keys will go silent and we'll only have the sweet memories of the past 12 months to comfort us. It will seem strange not to turn on the rig and twiddle the dial looking for that new entity to work - looking for familiar call signs that we could count on to be activating some new place of historical significance.

So many thanks go out.  To Sean Kutzko KX9X and Norm Fusaro W3IZ from the League, who did a magnificent job tending and managing the NPOTA program. To the ARRL for sponsoring the event and making the resources available that  are necessary to run something of this magnitude.  Web space and server space don't grow on trees, so the next time you're ready to grouse about "What does the ARRL do for me?" ....... well, here's a good example.

Thanks to the many before mentioned activators, who provided me with so many moments of fun as well as so many moments of anticipation, and yes, even some moments of frustration.  Many thanks to the chasers who worked me (and will work me tomorrow during my two, final activations). Without all you fine folks, this NPOTA concept would have been just that - a concept.  You all breathed life into what may well go down in history as the most fondly remembered activity the ARRL ever sponsored.

Lastly, so many thanks to the National Park System and its employees. You have been the most kind and gracious hosts to all of us these past twelve months. You not only were knowledgeable and competent guides, you also became good friends.  We are in your debt for your generous hospitality.

72 de W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Doctor and patient are doing fine

A few days ago, I went out to the car as I usually do, for some lunchtime QRP.  In my haste to get everything put away after I was done, I inadvertently knocked the external battery off the car seat onto the floor. The KX3 started to move, as it was still attached, but a quick hand stopped it, and all was well. Or so I thought.

Gear on the backseat of the Jeep.

Yesterday, I went out again, and this time the KX3 wouldn't turn on. No problem, I thought to myself, the battery was probably on its way out, as it has been a while since I have given it its last drink.  So last evening, while I was attending a CERT class on animal handling during declared emergencies, I had the battery plugged in at home, charging.

When I got home, around 10:00 PM, I tried reconnecting the battery to the KX3 to see if everything was OK.  Still no sign of life - my KX3 was still flat lining..  Hmmmmmm ........ could the battery have gone totally bad?

I carried the radio down to the shack 13.8V power supply.  Viola!  It turned on! 

And then immediately turned off.

My brain went into over drive. What the %(#@*#$ was going on ?!?

I dread sending stuff out for repair.  Don't know why, I just do.  I was in the professional photographic electronics repair biz for over 20 years. I have fixed studio strobes costing well over $12,000.00.  I have taken apart digital camera backs that cost more than a Mercedes Benz. I have stared down banks of charged capacitors storing up enough electrons to supply 6,400 Joules of energy in one pop - certainly I should be able to figure out a relatively minor KX3 repair? Right?

I rolled up my sleeves and got down to it.  Obviously, this was a power problem.  But why was the rig shutting down so quickly?  Internal short?  Bad connection somewhere? Then I noticed that if I wiggled the power plug a certain way, the radio would stay on.  My mind immediately flashed back to the battery falling incident from the other day.  I must have done something to the power socket.

The power socket is the black, boxy thing to the right.

The advantage of building the KX3 (if that's what you want to call it) is that you know how it goes together, so you're not frightened at the prospect of taking it apart.  You've seen it in all its naked glory and you lovingly put it together at least once, right?  So what's the big deal in taking it apart?

Well, when you built it roughly five years ago, some of the finer details of how it went together get muddled up in the old memory banks.  That's why it's good to never toss the build manual!  Within about 5 -7 minutes I had it apart and had the display circuit in my hand.  A little extra light and a lot of extra magnification from a magnifying glass confirmed my suspicion.

The power socket is a surface mount device, just about like everything else on that display/control circuit board. The weight of the battery tugged the socket enough to unmoor it from its assigned, tinned pads.  When I would wiggle the connector "down" towards the circuit board, everything worked.  As soon as I let downward pressure go, the connector would break contact from the circuit board again and the radio would appear dead.

I ran upstairs for a pair of scrubs and to wash my hands to prep for surgery. NO! Just kidding!

I changed my soldering station tip to the skinniest one that I have for when I work on SMD devices and I re-soldered that connector onto its pads. I took great care to add just a little "extra" solder just to make sure the connection is good, solid and won't come apart so easily in the future.

I hastily (I'll get back to that in a minute) put everything together and fired the radio up. Fixed! Problem solved! High fives and happy dances all around!

I will have to go back sometime over the weekend to remove the front plexiglass display window, though.  In my haste, I wasn't so careful about finger prints.  I'll have to go back and clean that up.  Yes, I know ...... call me anal.  I can't help it!

But as this blog post says - the patient (and more importantly, the doctor) are doing just fine! And even more importantly - no return trip to Aptos!

PROGNOSIS: Excellent!  Today's lunchtime QRP session netted the following:

N0TA - SOTA peak W0C/PR-082 (Squaw Mountain) in CO on 20 Meters.
VP5/AC0W - Turks and Caicos Islands on 20 Meters
CT9/OM3RM - Madeira Island on 20 Meters.
PJ2/NF9V - Curacao on 15 Meters.

I chased KH7Y in Hawaii who was absolutely booming into NJ on 15 Meters, but could not make myself heard. Just goes to show, you can't win them all!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I guess it works - but not the best design!

I had a little more trouble when I went to the Jeep on Friday for my lunchtime QRP session.  I just wasn't hearing anything!  I know the bands can get that way, but the past few days had been relatively decent.  Like any other Ham Radio operator, my mind immediately went to "There's something wrong with the radio!"

As I disconnected the coax from the KX3, I noticed that the radio's BNC post turned a little bit as I removed the coax fitting.  I knew that by itself wasn't the problem, but I didn't like the fact that it was a tad loose.  I broke out the tools and did some field surgery on my KX3 right in the back of the Jeep!  I felt like Hawkeye Pierce, BJ Hunnicut or Trapper John from MASH.  I opened the KX3, removed the auto tuner board, and with a pair of needle nose pliers, I snugged up the nut that holds the BNC post against the inside housing of the radio. Then I put everything back together and turned the radio back on ..... still nothing.

I just recently replaced the PL259, so I twiddled that around, thinking that perhaps I didn't do as good an installation as I had thought.  Nope, no difference - that wasn't the problem either.  So even though I had taken the magmount assembly apart the previous night, I decided to look again there - a mistake on my part there? Once again, all was good there.  But I did notice that as I twirled the cable around, I was getting signals to appear, disappear and then re-appear. A break in the coax cable!

So I brought the magmount back in the house once again.  I decided that I was going to take it apart, cut back about 8 inches of coax and then put it all back together.  In the process of taking everything apart again, I just happened to pull on the center conductor of the cable and a six inch piece came out with my fingers.  It had indeed broken, back in the main part of the cable, and my plan to cut it back by a foot and reassemble turned out to be a good plan.

But I have to tell you, after working on this, I'm not really impressed with the design of this magmount. I hope you can figure out what I'm trying to describe.  The coax goes into a plastic housing. This plastic housing is roughly the diameter of a quarter and is maybe a 1/4 inch thick.  Each half has a hole.  The shield of the coax (which has been pigtailed) goes through the bottom hole, while the center conductor (which is kind of flimsy) goes through the upper hole. There are channels or depressions on each side for the wire to sit.

The is the order in which it all goes back together - from the bottom working towards the top.

1) Through bolt
2) Plastic insulator, so that the through bolt does not touch the magmount body (ground).
3) Magmount body
4) Coax housing with the braid sandwiched down, between the coax housing and the magmount body.
5) Metal washer.  The center conductor lays in a channel and is pointing up, to be sandwiched between the coax housing and the washer.
5) Threaded hex sleeve for the radiator.

Everything is held in place by the holding pressure created by screwing the through bolt into the threaded hex sleeve!  The center conductor is NOT soldered or otherwise electrically connected to the metal washer underneath the threaded hex sleeve, as I had previously thought.  And as I noted before, the braid is simply sandwiched between the plastic coax sleeve and the magmount body.  I made sure all metal surfaces were clean and shiny and used plenty of Deoxit to help ensure good electrical contact (there really are no true connections!) as best possible.

It seems to me that it would have been better for the coax to be soldered or otherwise connected to the metal sleeve and the magmount body other than just using physical contact and screw pressure to hold everything together.  But then I suppose that would have increased the cost of the product significantly.

In the near future,I think I am going to upgrade the quality of the coax, too.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

What a difference a day makes

As we go from Spring back to Winter.  Yesterday we had a high temperature in the low 50s. Today's high was in the low 30s. There's a chance for a light dusting of snow tonight. High temperatures for the next three or four days are not supposed to even make the freezing mark.

I started the big shack clean up this weekend and got maybe a third of the way done - well, maybe a little less.  Step one is tossing out all the junk that's useless and has no value. Step two will involve reorganizing what I keep. Step three will be to take care of whatever odds and ends are needed.

As expected, I have found a few items that I had looked for in the past, but was never able to find. "Oh, so THAT'S where that was!" I said that a couple times.

Hopefully, if I get a little bit done each night, I should be able to finish this next weekend. Going forward, I really have to avoid the hoarder mindset where I think that I will use every scrap that I save. If it's not of really useful value, from here on out, it gets tossed.

I had a modicum of success on last night's Run For The Bacon. The bands were pretty dead. Not sure if that was due to bad propagation, or if everyone was tuckered out from the NFC playoffs. I managed 7 QSOs - two on 40 Meters and five on 80 Meters. As usual, that puts me solidly in the middle of the pack.

Oh, I took a closer look at that "no-name" antenna switch that I had been using, and now I know why the Butternut performed so badly when it was connected to it. It turns out the SO239 connector was not soldered well and only "partial" contact was being made. I guess there is some mighty fine junk out there that is not MFJ!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

It may get wet

later this week - a lot wet!

It's too early to tell yet; and hurricanes are notoriously unpredictable, but it looks like Hurricane Earl might hug the Eastern Seaboard as it treks north this week.

Courtesy of AccuWeather.com

For more on Earl, you can go to AccuWeather.com.

On a lighter note, my bag of 12 fiberglass mast sections, which I got through eBay, arrived in the mail today. I haven't given them a good examination yet; but I can only wonder what the letter carrier must have thought. The olive drab bag is labeled, in official military lettering: "CAMOUFLAGE SCREENING SUPPORT SYSTEM WOODLAND/DESERT" with all kinds of official serial numbers and stuff. He probably thinks he's delivering to a survivalist or something. Next thing you know, I'll be put on some kind of watch list !!!! (Just joking!) Actually from when I served with Middlesex County Emergency Management back in the 1980's, I already have State Police and FBI dossiers opened on me from background investigations- so this would be nothing new.

Secondly, Jim W1PID posted another New Hampshire QRP outdoors story. You can read it here. These are always worth reading and really get the "Outdoors QRP" juices flowing! Truly, I think Jim has the outdoors "concept" nailed - his success rate proves this. A small transceiver and a wire, battery and key. I know for a fact that from time to time, I get too caught up in the trappings, worrying too much about the equipment and what to bring. The simpler, the better. KISS holds true to form here; and I think that's a lesson that I personally need to pay better attention to.

Last week, I got around to replacing the AAA battery holder in my AA0ZZ keyer that I got from the Four States QRP Group. The original that came with the kit kind of fell apart; or maybe I applied too much heat when originally installing it. The replacement that I ordered from Jameco arrived last week. I got it all re-wired and finally applied the decal that I made. By they way, that Inkjet decal paper works wonderfully! I highly recommend it.

Lastly, the next project will be to return back to my ATS3B and figure out why it's not working. I'm not sure I even remember from when I last worked on it so many months ago. I hear the "ATS-2" message in the headphones when I power it up. I also managed to calibrate the Reference Frequency Oscillator tonight to exactly 10.000.000 MHz. If I remember correctly, I had problems when I got to the Local Oscillator frequency trim step.

In any event, I am buoyed by the success I eventually had in getting the PFR3A to work. Even though I had a lot of help, I eventually got that to work; so I can probably get this to work - given enough time and research. I always have the ATS Yahoo Group archives to search for clues.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!