Never heard K2CAN

The Special Event Station that the LIMARC Club was holding to honor Apollo 11's landing on the Moon. I probably would have never heard them, anyway, as they were operating on 40, 20, and 15 Meters - all of which are probably unsuitable for an HF contact between Central NJ and Long Island. However, they never triggered HamAlert, which tells me they might not have been spotted anywhere.

This is a scan of a certificate I received for working WA4NZD from the Marshall Spaceflight Center ARC during the 25th Anniversary of the Moon landing, back in 1994. It proudly hangs framed on the shack wall.

Then Bob, W3BBO sent me photos of a couple Apollo certificates that he earned:

^This first one also commemorated the Anniversary of Apollo 11. While this second one commemorated the last Apollo mission - Apollo 17.

I should have checked the NASA On The Air website to see if nay of the NASA affiliated Amateur radio Clubs would be on the air this past weekend. Again, the idea came to me the day after. Typical!

While listening for a possible appearance by K2CAN, I also scanned the bands for POTA stations. I worked one on 20 Meters, and that was it. A bunch were listed on the POTA app, but I couldn't hear or could only barely hear any of them. So I spent some time reconfiguring my Jackite stand/holder.

Originally, all the PVC pipe lengths were 12" (30 cm) long. I shortened the ones in the cross piece to 3" (8 cm) long. In addition, I cemented all the pieces of the cross section together. This will prevent the Jackite from falling over to either side. 

I shortened the leg sections from 12" to 6" (15 cm) long.  This takes up a lot less real estate and is easier to pack in a bag for portability. The leg sections are still press fitted together. I didn't want to permanently cement the entire thing as it would make it much bulkier and harder to store or transport.

Later in the evening, after checking in to the St. max Net, I scanned 40 Meters for some POTA stations and was able to pit three in the logbook. Which brings another topic to mind, which I will save for tomorrow - after I do a little more research.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A bit more about yesterday.

When I first started building the Jackite support, I went the cheap route and tried cutting up the 2 foot sections of PVC in half using a hand saw. That was idiotic on my part. After about 15 to 20 minutes of getting not much anywhere, and only getting a sore and tired arm I decided I had enough of that. I went to Home Depot and bought one of these:

The brand is Husky, and it is a ratcheting  2" PVC pipe cutter.  A little pricey for the little I will probably make use of it, but I got the PVC pieces cut in SECONDS! A chore that would have taken all afternoon was accomplished in an "n-th" of the time, so I consider it money well spent. And you'd think that cutting 2" PVC with a cutter like this would be hard, but it took almost no effort.

The other thing about yesterday - that G4 geomagnetic storm ........WOW! I tired checking into the St. Max Net last night. Lloyd K3QNT, who is NCS, is usually 10 to 20 over 9 dB here at the W2LJ homestead. Last night I could barely hear him at times. I managed to get checked in, and when he called my turn, I made a few comments. When I let go of the mic, all I heard him say was, Larry W2LJ, are you still there?" So I knew I wasn't getting through. I was only able to hear two or three stations, so I shut the rig down early.

I was hoping to see Northern Lights last night like I did last year when we had a G5 storm. The skies were clear last night, but no dice. I checked several times and have come to the conclusion that a storm needs to be at least G5 before we'll see anything in New Jersey.

This week, one of the local Churches in town is holding their annual Feast of St Anthony carnival. I have sent an e-mail to our CERT Coordinator that I am available for duty a couple of nights this week, but I have not heard anything back. Last year, I spent most of my time escorting carnival go-ers across a busy street, making sure no one got injured, or worse. Maybe it's just me being an old curmudgeon, but is seems like drivers are more inconsiderate and reckless these days.  What I've witnessed on the roads recently could fill up another whole three, four or five or more blog posts. But this is not the place for that. My son Joseph has one of those dash cams in his car and some of the things that he has shown me that have occurred during his commute are enough to curl your hair. I should get one, but hopefully by this time next year, my commuting days will be a thing of the past.  334 to go!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Got stuff done!

This past week was extremely busy at work. So busy, that I didn't even get the chance to do my weekly Friday post about contests and special event stations. And yesterday was busy with chores and errands at home. But today I did get some "me time", and I used it to full advantage.

I got the Jackite stand built, And as promised, here are a couple of pictures.

It's made entirely of 2"PVC. And it is all pressed fit together so I can transport it more easily when broken down. I know it looks kind of flimsy, but the idea here is that this stand's purpose is only to hold the Jackite upright while my hands are free to pound in the tent pegs and secure the CamJams and tie down ropes. Otherise, it's just juggling things and watching them fall down, while doing my best octopus impression. I've ordered a camping stuff it bag to make it easy to transport the parts.

The other thing that I got done was to build the 4 States paddle.

It was a pretty easy build, and it works very well. The only thing that I think I got wrong is that the actual paddle levers are upside down, but I have other commercial paddles where the "ears" point down, so that doesn't bother me and it doesn't adversely affect performance.

This will make for a nice Field Day paddle and I can leave my March and Begali paddles safe at home.  The only pre-Field Day chore that I have left to do Is to e-mail all the newly licensed candidates that we've tested over the past year and invite them to Field Day.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Image of the Day

The photographer inside of me is captivated by images, And if the old adage is true that "A picture is worth 1,000 words:, then these two images are examples of what come to my mind when I think about QRP.

This image from the SOTA Facebook page, in fact it's now their cover page image. Didn't Steven pick a wonderful image? Who doesn't dream of someday taking a minimalistic set up to the top of a mountain and communicating with the world? I know I do, but I'm also wise enough to know my limitations and that I'm no Steve Galchutt WG0AT and the closest I'm ever going to get to this is operating portable from a picnic table somewhere. Still, the thrill is there, even if the panoramic vistas aren't!

The second image:

Isn't Alexey's station just grand? A One Watt homebrewed QRP transmitter. He posted a video of it on Facebook and it sounded oh, so sweet! Again, the closest I'm ever going to get to this is by building a kit of someone else's design. I'm not an Alexey UY1IF or a Bob W3BBO who can seem to cobble up working equipment just about every other day. I'm no engineer or designer - God didn't grace me with that kind of talent. But still, I can build some things (although with SMD, that's becoming harder and harder every day for my poor skill set) and when they actually work, the satisfaction is there that I didn't totally screw things up.

QRP is not for everyone. Sometimes it's actually rather easy, sometimes it's challenging, sometimes it's frustrating, but it's also always immensely rewarding. Whether you're working from a mountain top or from your basement, whether you're operating something you designed and built all by yourself; or maybe just from a kit you bought and built ........ the Ham Radio experience you can get from QRP is like no other.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

One of the things I wish I had

was the skill to homebrew stuff. And by stuff I mean circuits, receivers, transmitters, accessories and the like. Oh, I can build kits all right - although as I age, my eyes aren't quite what they used to be, and SMD components can send shivers up and down my spine when they are microscopic. I can look at a schematic and make repairs. Heck, I did that for 22 years for a living. But to look at a schematic, and take a bunch of components and build a working whatever? I'm out of my league.

I look at the creations of Dave AA7EE or Bob W3BBO and I just wistfully whistle to myself. To have the prowess and ability to build a receiver or transmitter from scratch, have it work AND look beautiful too? God didn't gift me with that kind of talent.  And that's OK, I guess. I just muddle around with the few things I can make, which are usually non-electrical and always would look nicer if someone else had built them.  

Which brings me to last night. I needed a solution for my American Morse DCP paddles. I took them with me to FOBB, but stopped using them part ways into the event. I was hand holding them, and my big meaty paws were causing problems. I have the tension and contact spacing set so that this thing feels pretty much like a touch paddle. The problem is that it's so small that when I would hold it in one hand and key with the other, the holding hand would mess things up by accidentally creating extraneous dits and dahs.

I want to use them for the Skeeter Hunt, but realized that I need some kind of base. That would allow me to handle it better. But what could I use? I went down to the shack and started hunting around. I didn't have any wood or metal blocks laying around that would be useful, but then my eyes landed upon and old Velamints tin that had been sitting on the shelf for years. A possibility?

I took a punch and made a tiny hole in the lid. Then I went into my parts drawers looking for a screw and nut skinny enough to go through the hole in the paddle, but long enough to reach into the case. After rummaging around for a while, i found what I needed.

I'll go to a sporting goods store on Saturday and will purchase some of those small and round split bead sinkers that are used for fishing. I'll pour a few packets into the tin and will put some tape around the edges to make sure it never accidentally opens, "spilling the beans" as it were. That should make the base heavy enough for table top use without making it too heavy.

Just like my drive on mast holder, it's no work of art, and it's no ingenious design, but it works and I guess that's all I can ask for. 

And perhaps I won't even get the chance to use the paddles this Sunday, anyhow. I may just be operating the Skeeter Hunt from the shack, if at all. 91% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Yuck!

The other place I haven't been having any luck is listening for N5J - the Jarvis Island DXpedition. When I get home, they seem to be concentrating on 15 and 17 Meters. Not only can I not hear them, I can't hear the pileup, either!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weekend mish-mash

This weekend saw a mix of various Amateur Radio activities. Getting on HF was not predominant, although I did get on Sunday morning for a bit and worked a few POTA activations. Brave souls, those activators, because all weekend long, the Space Weather Live app was VERY active. It seemed like every time I turned around I was getting a notification of a new solar flare or a "minor" radio blackout. On Facebook, more than one activator commented about the crummy band conditions and the noticeably fewer stations that they were able to log.

Saturday morning saw our monthly VE Session. We had two candidates, one of whom upgraded to Amateur Extra. Our other candidate got his Technician class license and missed becoming a General by only three wrong answers. He got 12 wrong and you're allowed up to 9. So close! The bright side is that he saw the exam, he has an idea now of what's on it and he should have a good idea where he's comfortable with his knowledge and where he needs to study more. I predict he'll be a General class Ham within a month or two.

On Sunday morning, I made the additional "modification" to my drive on mast holder. The lid hinges that I ordered through Amazon were delivered on Thursday. They did the trick to a "T" - or maybe I should say to an "L". HI!

The hinges lock in and brace the two boards at a 90 degree angle, just as I need them to. In fact, this configuration is so stable that in a pinch, any heavy weight will suffice, such as a heavy rock, or a cinder block, or a sand bag or something like that  It's an ideal drive on mast holder, and while a vehicle is certainly preferred, it's not absolutely necessary. Conceivably, with a heavy enough weight, I could use this in the field on Field Day would no longer have to mess with the PVC holder that uses the tent pegs and CamJams. That would be a time saver! The only prerequisite is that I'd have to find a location flat enough to place this on so that it's not leaning in any one direction too much.

BTW, before you ask, the 4 holes in the horizontal board are there to give the protruding U-Bolt threads and the nuts the space they need so that when collapsed, this contraption can lay totally flat and not wedged.

Other than that, the weekend was occupied with the normal weekend chores and duties. Hope you had a good weekend and I'm looking forward to the Skeeter Hunt next Sunday! 

Tonight we have a CERT training session with the NorthStar helicopter. NorthStar is the helicopter owned and utilized by the NJ State Police for the northern half of New Jersey. (SouthStar covers the southern half of the state). It is used primarily for transporting medivac patients to wherever they need to go depending on the circumstances and extent of their injuries. The session tonight will certify that we've been properly trained on procedures and safety requirements, so that we can approach the helicopter and assist with loading and unloading victims should it ever become =necessary.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Some refinements needed

Regarding the new mast holder.

Since the Jackite mast is kind of free floating within the PVC, this version is not quite as stable as the older one, but it is more convenient to use. It folds flatter and I need not mess with wingnuts anymore. With the old version, the Jackite was secured directly to the vertical board and acted as its own stabilizer.  The problem is that I keep this in the trunk and on the old version, the wingnuts would vibrate loose over time and get lost - probably went to the same place that socks missing from the clothes dryer end up.  I had to replace them several times and that was a pain in the keister.

With this version,  I'm not satisfied that the mast leans in towards the vehicle. So I ordered two lid hinges from Amazon. That will allow me to unfold and lock the vertical board at a proper 90 degree angle, while still allowing me to re-fold it back flat again.. Convenience always comes with a cost, I guess. Other than that, it termed out pretty well, and I'm satisfied with it ......or rather I will be satisfied with it once I attach the hinges.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend - and an oldie but a goodie.

First, the doings for the weekend:

Contests:

North American QSO Party, CW - https://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf

European HF Championship - https://euhf.s5cc.eu/euhfc_rules/ - NOTE: This is open to European participation only - this is for "What contest is that? purposes.

Batavia FT8 Contest -  https://batavia-ft8.com   (If you hear FT8 coming down into the CW sections)

ARS Spartan Sprint -  http://ars-qrp.com/Spartan_Sprint/Spartan_Sprint.html - Monday night

Special Events:

07/31/2024 | 127 Yard Sale/Newhope Community Church Mission to Uganda

Jul 31-Aug 3, 1300Z-1200Z, W8W, Bryan, OH. Williams County Ohio Amateur Radio Association. 146.820Mhz pl 107.2 3.900MHz LSB 7.230MHz LSB 14.250MHz USB. QSL. Williams County Amateur Radio Association, 3440 County Road 9, Bryan, OH 43506. wmscoarc@gmail.com

08/03/2024 | Popcorn Festival, Van Buren, IN

Aug 3, 1400Z-1900Z, W9EBN, Van Buren, IN. Grant County Amateur Radio Club. 7.250 14.250 DStar Ref #24 DMR TG 3100 / DMR TG 31656. Certificate & QSL. L B Nickerson - K9NQW, P O Box 1786, Marion, IN 46952. www.Grantarc.net

08/04/2024 | Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention

Aug 4-Aug 8, 0000Z-2359Z, K0C, Bridgeton, NJ. New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club . 7.185 14.250 18.140 21.350. Certificate & QSL. Thomas M. Perrotti, N2JIE, 785 Vineland Ave, Bridgeton, NJ 08302-4822. KØC will be in operation from various locations throughout the state of New Jersey, the United States of America, Europe and in Quebec, Canada, the site of the Knights of Columbus 142nd Supreme Convention. www.nj2kc.org

Regarding the oldie but goodie.

I'm going to fabricate another drive on mast holder like I had before. This time, I'm going to make it slightly smaller so that it eats up less space in the trunk. I'm also going to make a change. Instead of holding the Jackite by the U-bolts, I will use them to hold a section of PVC. This way I don't have to continuously tighten and loosen wing nuts. I will be able to just slip the Jackite into the PVC.  It will function exactly the same way, with a few cosmetic changes. I never had a problem with the old one not working properly. It was just a bit too big.

I went to Home Depot last night and got the materials that I needed. I ended up spending $22. The hardest part was finding two of the same sized u-brackets. They're in open bins and people must take them out to look at and then don't return them to their proper place. It was a jumble! It may not be elegant, but it's sure a lot cheaper than the commercial solutions out there.  (My boss at Sinar Bron, Ulrich Krahenbuhl, was an engineer. He always loved "elegant" solutions.)

I was going to try Craig WB3GCK's version, but the only lengths of galvanized pipe that they sell are 10 feet long. I only need a three foot section and not only do I not have a good enough pipe cutter, but I would also have no use for the remaining 7 feet. Seems like a waste to just throw it away. In any case, I should have plenty of time to build it this weekend, as scattered thunderstorms are predicted for both Saturday and Sunday - throughout the day and evenings - the culmination of yet another hellacious heatwave!

The other thing I need to do is to unpack and check out a purchase that was delivered the other day.

And I'll have to drop off the big (dead) battery at the metals recycling place in town. This battery has the BMS system incorporated into it. After communicating back and forth with the seller, he confirmed I can use the ACME battery charger that I presently use. He informed me I need to be watchful that once I get an indication of full charge (LED changing from red to green on my charger) that I unhook it and not let it go into a trickle charge state for a prolonged period of time. I never leave charging batteries unattended in our house, anyway. I'm too paranoid about something blowing up or catching fire to do that.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Quickie video

 

Bas PE4BAS ignited an idea in my brain about getting the audio that Bob sent me of his Progressive Receiver incorporated into the blog. I decided to let my video maker software generate a quick, down and dirty video. I apologize for the roughness of this effort, as the images are appearing multiple times in order to fit in most of the sound file that Bob sent me. This video is definitely not one of my better efforts, but it does serve as a vehicle to allow me to include the sound his new build produces. Sorry, Bob - you deserve better than this, but I wanted everyone to hear how good your receiver sounds!

And for those of you who have trouble with the Morse Code, here's a few world famous fellows doing some translating:

Those "eh eh ehhhh eh eh" sounds were PBX YSM TDM NVE ZYL. Gibberish, but at least it was actual letters and not just random dits and dahs!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

I wish I could build stuff like this

My friend Bob, W3BBO has been working on a Progressive Receiver for the past months and finally got it to the point of his satisfaction. There are two parts to it - the receiver itself and them the Converter Box which contains the outboard speaker and the modules which let him choose between 80, 40 and 30 Meters.

He sent me some audio last night of some CW he was copying on 80 and 40 Meters. I wish I could post it here. It appears that Blogger only supports picture files and video files - or I'm just too stupid to figure out how to attach an audio file- which is a real possibility.

In any case, Bob is way too modest, but his craftmanship is light years beyond anything I could produce. I've homebrewed some pretty basic things like UNUNs and even a memory keyer that was just parts and a schematic which I had to figure out how to put it altogether.

If I were to tackle a project like this my receiver would end up looking like one of those limp clocks from a Salvador Dali painting.  Bob's receiver is sweet to listen to and it's definitely not bad on the eyes, either!

I worked a few POTA stations Sunday morning and the bands seemed to be in good shape, then a geomagnetic storm came out of left field, causing the K index to go above 5 and unsettling conditions. Checking into the St. Max Net last night, signals were way down. The past couple weeks have been beautiful as I was hearing just about all the check ins. Last night I was having trouble hearing Lloyd K3QNT at times, the NCS for the net. He's always the loudest signal I hear and when his signal goes down, that generally means I'm not going to hear everyone and that proved to be the case.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend

This past Saturday, the VE Team that I am associated with held an exam session for Somerset County Emergency Management. We were asked to give Technician tests to 17 of their CERT members who wanted to obtain Amateur Radio licenses.

They were given instruction by Bill Kelly NB1LL via an online Microsoft Teams class. Bill did an outstanding job as all 17 got their licenses, with 5 candidates getting a perfect score. The VE team performed like a well oiled machine - all went well without a hitch, for which I am very grateful!

Before the exams began, I had a chance to chat with Alan Wolke W2AEW from YouTube fame. He whipped out his phone and showed me a QRP rig kit that he was interested in perhaps purchasing. I had never heard of this offering before - WA3RNC and his transceivers appear to be really, really nice.

He offers what appears to be a very nice quality two band kit , the Penntek TR-25, and will soon be coming out with a 4 band transceiver.

These rigs are certainly nice looking and from the video, they appear to perform quite nicely. If you're craving the building experience, you can get more information here - http://www.wa3rnc.com/store/

To be honest with you, these WA3RNC rigs were new to me. I mist be a latecomer to the party. I'm betting you folks knew all about these. If you didn't, they seem to be well worth looking into.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - when you care to send the very least!

My antenna for Lake George next Summer

 

I found a link to this wonderful video by Tom K4SWL on Facebook. I don't know how I ever missed it as I read his blog regularly, but miss it I did - probably in the busy-ness of life.

When we come up here to Lake George, I usually have two goals in mind regarding the Amateur Radio equipment that I bring along. I try to keep it as minimal as possible so that I don't take up a lot of baggage space in the car. I also try to be as inconspicuous as possible. The owners of the place that we stay at here, Stepping Stones in Diamond Point, are very tolerant of my Amateur Radio activities. I try to honor that by not doing anything that might disturb other guests here. So far, over the years, fortunately there has been some curiosity, but no complaints. I'm even known as the "Shortwave Guy" by some of the other regulars who have been coming here for years.

What I like about the antenna that Tom built and used in the video is that it is simple, small, lightweight and inconspicuous. I can toss this up in a tree that sits to the side of our cabin and no one will be the wiser for it. 

I already have enough speaker wire sitting on a shelf back home and I have a few of the binding post to BNC adapters sitting in my portable ops back pack "Go Kit". I am going to try this for FOBB this year.

72 de Larry W2LJ

Home Depot and antennas

 Home Depot is a home improvement store. What's that got to do with antennas - right?

Actually a lot. In fact, I'll be going there sometime in the next few days to buy some wire. I am going to futz around with an extended W3EDP over this coming weekend. This is how a standard W3EDP is built.

I am going to build one with the radiator wire that shoots off from the ladder line for 85 feet instead of 67 feet. This will load up on 160 Meters better than the one I am using now. I get decent results on 160 Meters with my "standard" W3EDP, but I am hoping to get better results with this new one. I recently ordered a 4:1 current balun from Gigaparts. Some wire from Home Depot is on my list. Hopefully, I'll get some decent weather to put it up over the upcoming Independence Day holiday weekend.

Other things from Home Depot that you can use for antennas are things like electrical enclosures for balun boxes, PVC for various antenna supports and the like. But what do you think you can use one of these for?

A 5 gallon paint bucket? What can you possibly use these for anything to do with antennas? Something I never considered, but my good friend Dave KD2FSI had the vision to think of. Actually, it's not the bucket itself, but the lid. Dave used the lid to come up with these:

He looked at the lid and how he figured this out, I'll never know! He cut out a circular part of the lid and turned it into a "flower". He made cuts and the little circular punches in order to prevent the plastic from cracking. When you alternately bend the "petals" in opposite directions, you now have a storage device for your wire antennas. Dave made me two,  a smaller one for my PAR ENDFEDZ and a larger one for my MFJ-1982LP that I used for Field Day and will use for the Skeeter Hunt. Look how nicely that stores! And it will now fit into my portable ops backpack much more nicely.

I wish I had the vision to think of things like this. You could sit me in a room with one of these buckets for a hundred years, and I'd never envision what Dave saw in a couple of minutes. That's just one of the things that I admire about him. He sees and find solutions to Amateur Radio problems that I'd never even consider.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This is not an advertisement

as I don't do advertisements. But this is something I saw mentioned on-line and purchased from Banggood:

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-Flexible-Desk-Large-33cm33cm-5X-USB-LED-Magnifying-Glass-3-Colors-Illuminated-Magnifier-Lamp-Loupe-p-1592702.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=USA

The one I had down in the shack finally gave up the ghost a couple of months ago. The bracket holder part gave out and the lamp crashed to the floor and the magnifying glass part shattered into a couple different pieces.  

I looked for a replacement on Amazon, but was not impressed with the prices. This one came in at under $30 and seems to be a good deal. This will come in way handy in order to build my QCX 40 Meter kit and my QCX+ 20 Meter kit.

As I get older, the old peepers ain't what they used to be. This will help.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very ;east!

QCX+ Video

Here's an interesting video produced by Hans Summers about his newest creation:

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

So I did it!

I replicated Dave KD2FSI's mast holder solution.

That is a 3 foot section of 2 inch PVC and a PVC coupler to serve as the guying collar.  I drilled three holes to accommodate the CamJams at more or less 120 degrees from each other. I didn't have a protractor to measure it exactly, so I had to eyeball it.

The CamJams come in sets of two, so in reality, I could have made four holes, 90 degrees apart from each other, but I've always been taught that the triangle is the sturdiest and strongest geometric shape that there is, so I went with that.

The Jackite fits in nicely and the CamJams actually take up enough space to eliminate a lot of the "play" between the inside diameter of the PVC and the outside diameter of the kackite. So far, this has come in under $20.00.  The CamJams were $7.48 per set of two, the PVC pieces were about $3.00.

The local sporting goods store did not have the tent pegs that I wanted so I ordered them from Amazon:

I had an Amazon gift card that my sister had given me for my birthday, so these didn't cost me anything. It was $7.00 for a package of 10, so if I had to purchase everything, this still would have come in at just about $25.

A much more "elegant solution" (my old boss at Sinar Bron, Ulrich Krahenbuhl liked that phrase - he was an engineer) than what I was using and a much easier way to insure the Jackite is as vertical as possible.  Thanks again, Dave!

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

I can always count on KD2FSI

Dave KD2FSI read my blog post and watched the video about the mast support that I posted the other day. He sent me a message on Facebook:

"Hey Larry,

I just finished reading your blog and watched the attached video about anchoring Jackite type masts and thought I would share a picture of my setup before you run out and buy ratcheting straps. 

I use cam-jam cord tighteners; they are lite-weight, easy to adjust and you don’t need hose clamps to attach straps to your PVC holder pole. I also use heavier tent stakes with a nail type head that can be easily pushed in or hammered in if necessary. This setup works great in grassy fields, but not so well on a rocky mountain tops or sandy beaches or any other place where you can’t drive in stakes. And that is why I came up with my pack frame mount. "

Dave was a software engineer by profession, and he has the ability to "think outside the box" that I only wish I had.  To me, he's like the MacGyver of Amateur Radio.  I look at his solutions to things and always end up thinking, "Why couldn't I think of that!" He has a gift, he truly does.

This looks like a less bulkier solution than those ratcheting straps.  I can use Dacron antenna rope that I already have, and a search online revealed that my local Home Depot keeps the CamJams in stock. I'll need to go and buy a new piece of PVC, anyway. For the life of me, I can't find where I put mine.

I emptied the back of the Jeep of all my radio paraphernalia when I moved Cara to college. I thought I put all of it back, but I can't find the mast holder!  I looked in the shack, I looked in the shed in the backyard - I have no idea where I put it. And it's not like it's a tiny thing, either. You'd think it would be easy to spot.

It's probably in the same place where all those socks go that are missing from the clothes dryer.

On a totally different note, we had a wild night last night! It was rainy yesterday and we had a high temperature of 72F (22C).  In the very late evening, I would say around 10:00 PM local time, an Arctic air mass started moving down out of Canada.  I had disconnected the antennas thinking we might get some bad thunderstorms. In fact, I got messages on the cell phone that we were under a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch until about 1:00 AM.

No thunderstorms, but some rain and some very gusty winds.  The weather station was reading sustained gusts over 25 mph.  How do I know this? I didn't sleep well at all with the wind howling past and shaking the windows. I couldn't sleep, so I would check the weather display from time to time rather than just toss and turn in bed.

So today, I feel somewhat like a Zombie from the lack of sleep, and that's very appropriate!  Tonight is NA5N's Annual Zombie Shuffle - hope to hear you on the air tonight. If I can manage to stay awake, that is!  Both of my antennas stayed up even though the wind tried hard to knock them down. The question now is, will I be able to stay up tonight; or will I just nod off at the key?!?

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

A challenge posted by Wayne NK6R

For the budding radio designers out there - a challenge presented by Wayne NK6R. I know this blog is read by a lot of people with tons more technical expertise than myself - and this seems like a most worthy project, so I am re-posting from QRP-L:

Hi all,

Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life from learning Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's gone on to promote Morse because it can help kids with certain cognitive or social issues. Such problems are exacerbated by social media, these days. We all know of teens who've ended up ostracized or worse.

He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them.

I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or assembled or both) that would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would serve as a code-practice oscillator for solo use. But with a short wire hanging from the PCB, kids could work "DX" -- like across a room, or better yet, outdoors.

This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he found very plausible, based on his experience with Morse advocacy: You hand kids the little modules (just a PCB with a built-in 4x AAA battery pack, code key, antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask them to try sending/receiving a few letters. The complete code would be silkscreened onto the PCB. After they try this, you say, "Now see how far apart you can get and still copy you friend's signal." This is where the magic happens, at least for those of us who have been leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :)  It takes things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other kids. At best it could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves.

I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX and one for RX, running so little power than licensing is a non-issue. Frequency? TBD. Something available in cheap fundamental crystals from Digikey. Each one would have its crystals offset slightly from the others, so the effect of having a number of them in one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW band. Picking out the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill many of us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do it as well.

It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only control should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at this power level is easily obtained.

This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping there's a tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from a minimal description and design the little rig.  The gentleman I spoke to has been frustrated over the years in trying to get his message out, and in trying to find ways to take Morse code to a wider range of kids. He felt that this idea had a lot of merit.

If you're interested in this project, or know of something that matches this description that's already available, please contact me directly.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

How about it, guys?

72 de Larry W2LJ - A builder of other folk's designs
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Went shopping

This is going to sound so un-PC and so sexist that it may offend some. I never bought into PC and I don't consider myself to be the least bit sexist, so if you're offended by such things, I apologize ahead of time..

I took a page out of the "Ladies Playbook". I'm sure many of you've heard the saying, "Depressed? Felling low or down in the dumps? Go shopping!"

And so I did. Upon the advice of Jason NT7S from his blog post in "Ripples in the Ether" and Bob W3BBO (who also purchased one), I went onto the E of Bay and purchased one of these Nano VNA vector network analyzers.  It was only $49, so if it doesn't work out as intended, it's not like I've broken the bank.  But the idea is that this little gadget will help me trim and otherwise optimize the antennas I build/construct for portable operations.

Bob sent me an e-mail with a link to a YouTube video where it's presented on how to get this little device to display VSWR - you know, how to figure out where an antenna is resonant, in order to get help with trimming it for optimal performance.

I'm no rocket scientist, or RF Engineer, but I am hoping this little doo-dad will help take the guesswork out of some antenna tweaking, without spending beaucoup $$$ for either a YouKits or a RigExpert unit. It's shipping from the US, not China, so I should have it next week. It comes with the battery and the necessary cables. I have a SMA to BNC adapter, so I should be in good shape. If not, I'll purchase the correct adapter somewhere.
72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!

New QRP Group

Thanks to Twitter, I have come across what seems to be a relatively new QRP group, based out of Indiana. They call themselves "Fireflies QRP"

Right now, I only see a presence on Twitter and there is a Groups.io e-mail reflector. Here is there Mission Statement (for lack of a better term):

"Welcome to the Fireflies QRP group. We are a group of amateur radio operators devoted to operating with low power, typically 5 watts or less. We embrace the spirit of doing more with less and operating outdoors. We encourage building your own equipment, also known as "home-brewing" and we are always willing to help someone new to the hobby. All are welcome to join, no dues... just fun!"

What I like about this group is, of course, their philosophy lines up quite nicely with my own. But it's more than that. Right now, their presence is just Twitter and the Groups.io e-mail reflector. If I hadn't run across them on Twitter, I wouldn't have known about them - and ironically, that speaks volumes to me. To me it says that the group is more concerned with the hobby and having fun than anything else.

I look forward to keeping in touch with the Fireflies. Who knows? Someday I might even get the chance to get out to Indiana! In the meantime, I hope to meet and work many of them via the ionosphere.

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