What did you do in the shack today?

[Uzi2]

I shut the radio off......too many "corntesters".

 

[ToddDubya]

Contests are fun when you're participating. Not fun when you're not. There are plenty of people looking to chat, just not during contests.

I hiked up to the AT shelter in the light rain to try the QRP tuner kit I built with a random wire (35' wire, 17' counterpoise). I got everything setup in the rain, and the picnic table was nice and dry. I was psyched to try out the tuner, which was tough because the receive on the radio is so quiet it's hard to tune for maximum noise when there is none. It also turned out that I could only turn the knobs clockwise or else this happened:



So that's gonna need some Loctite.

Okay, well I brought a backup antenna in case that didn't work, so take that antenna down in the rain, pack it back up, put up the end fed and I'm in business.

Today was also the test run for the new BaMaKeY with the Mountain Topper. I was able to send "QRL?" no problem, so I thought it would work. Nope, the first station with an F in the call and all hell broke loose. I swapped over to the single lever paddle and that worked.

I managed to get 22 contacts on 30m in about 45 minutes, so that was pretty good. I got some bizarre vanity call signs that people didn't think through before getting.

I got soaked, and I found some holes in my equipment I need to fix, and I didn't fall on the mile long trail turned ice rink. I've had worse days.

 

[ToddDubya]

Got some help last night over the phone on the TS440, so I understand some of the controls/knobs/settings better. Could hear OK, but still trouble with people hearing me. Might be a mic issue.

Got help with tuning antenna this morning, and now the TS440 is pulling in tons of stations on 10 meters, but still bad outgoing modulation. Switched to the Radio Shack HTX-10, and was able to communicate with at least 3 different stations: TM6M in Brest, France; N9GB in Stilwell, KS; and V31XX in Belize. So. that's something!

The squelch knob on the HTX-10 seems a little "fussy", but if I push it down a little, it seems to stay there for a while. I wonder if "tuner cleaner" would help here. The reception quality is a bit lower on the Radio Shack one, but that is not unexpected. Just something to work through. This radio has its usefulness, and I guess I can say it got me my first 10 meter "HF" contacts. This whole contest thing is a little annoying, and not totally my cup of tea, but it does have a use, which is to see that you can make 2 way communications between point X and point Y. To me, it would be much more useful to try to actually talk to people in other areas of the country or world. I'm sure that will come over time.

Oh, and I snipped off the plastic connectors on the Kenwood, so I can just wrap the wires onto the power supply posts.

1. Pretty cool that you sat in your (insert room of the house) and talked into a mic that wiggled some electrons that created electromagnetic waves on a wire that spread out in every direction and landed on the antennas of those three specific hams. The ones in Europe bounced off the earth and ionosphere a few times, too. And the people on the other end could understand what you said, and vice versa.

2. Contesting is like any other competition. People put a lot of time, effort, and money into it to see how many contacts they can make in how many countries or whatever the contest rules are. I never thought I'd get into it, but it is fun and it does get you thinking about how to improve your station and skills. There is a contest for EVERYTHING.

3. I think you're thinking of Deoxit. I've never used it, but if those radios are old and/or previously owned by smokers, it will probably help.

4. Cutting the f***ing power connectors off a radio is cathartic. Second only to peeling off the screen protector.

 

[Coyote33]

Pretty sure I spoke with S55OO in Slovenia just now. I said my call sign, and they repeated it back to me. Is that considered a "contact"?

 

[ToddDubya]

Pretty sure I spoke with S55OO in Slovenia just now. I said my call sign, and they repeated it back to me. Is that considered a "contact"?
View attachment 857015

Did you exchange signal reports?

 

[Coyote33]

Did you exchange signal reports?

Maybe. I did what I could. I think I clicked on it in QRZ and filled something out and now it is in the "log book". Is that what you mean?

I'm not really sweating it. I'm just happy I spoke to someone in another country, they heard me, and then addressed me, so I know it was a 2 way conversation. Works for me.

 

[Coyote33]

How does one produce a map like this?

I have less than 20, so it will be far simpler. The only map I can find is one at a time. It would be fun to see these together, so I could show my kids. The one I DO have is from the QRZ log book.
Thank you.

 

[ToddDubya]

I took out the FT-818 today with the QRP tuner (yes, the knobs are Loctited on now), the random wire, my Ear Candy (TM) CW audio filter, and the Teensy CW audio filter to see how everything worked. In short, it mostly worked great. The Teensy gets some noise into it on transmit that distorts the audio. It sounded fine on receive and when I keyed with Break-In turned off, so it had something to do with transmit.

The tuner worked really well. I was able to find a match and make contacts on 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, and 10, no luck on 12. According to the internet, I should be able to find a match on 12 so I'll give that another try next time. I wrote down the settings, and they were pretty repeatable, at least getting me in the ballpark when I switched bands.

The Ear Candy audio filter worked really well. The passband is pretty much 250 Hz. It doesn't help when a nearby station swamps the AGC, but weaker nearby stations disappear.

The Teensy "worked" really well. It's a bit wider of a filter than the Ear Candy so I heard nearby stations a little more, but it is plenty serviceable once I get the noise problem sorted. I have a feeling it was getting picked up by the long audio cable from the radio to the Teensy.

I also ran all day on my homemade CW paddle that I've used in the past, but not much. It works really well.

All in all it was a successful day.

Well, except I had paused the time on my logger when I was entering paper logs yesterday, and didn't unpause. So all but one of today's contacts have the same time stamp. I'll get that sorted.

Edit: I should add that the Ear Candy (TM) filter is a 4SQRP (4 States QRP) kit I bought. I added a few things like a LiPo battery, boost controller, USB charging, and put it in a candy tin (hence the name I gave it). The tuner is also a kit from 4SQRP.

 

[Coyote33]

I shut the radio off......too many "contesters".

Yes. While useful to test reception and transmission, that is about as far as it goes for me. I find it fun to have at least talked successfully to a couple other countries, for proof of concept.

 

[ToddDubya]

Maybe. I did what I could. I think I clicked on it in QRZ and filled something out and now it is in the "log book". Is that what you mean?

I'm not really sweating it. I'm just happy I spoke to someone in another country, they heard me, and then addressed me, so I know it was a 2 way conversation. Works for me.

The most basic QSO (contact) is:

CQ Caller: CQ CQ HisCall QRZed (QRZ, but it's pronounced Zed)
You: YourCall
CQ Caller: YourCall 59 HisLocation
You: 59 MA

Next time you're on, listen to how the exchanges go for a bit to get a feel. For a contest it's pretty quick and borderline rude. For a plain old QSO you'll have all kinds of folks: some who just want a signal report and your location, some who want your name, to know about your station, the weather, etc. You'll get a feel for it as you do it more. If you're feeling bold, call CQ yourself and you can talk as much as you like. Congrats on HF contacts. It's exciting, ain't it?

As for logging, you can use software if you want or a notebook, or I suppose don't log anything. But it's nice to be able to look back later. A logging program (software) will help with that. I bought software from N3FJP. It's nice for contesting and will interface with your radio if the radio supports that. Most logging programs do that. I bought their full suite so I can download logbooks for every contest, and I really like it. They have a trial version of the plain (non-contest) logger to see if you like it.

For POTA I use HAMRS, then import those logs into N3FJP. I might try Log 4 Old Men because HAMRS has some quirks and I think they stopped supporting it.

 

[Coyote33]

CQ Caller: CQ CQ HisCall QRZed (QRZ, but it's pronounced Zed)
You: YourCall
CQ Caller: YourCall 59 YOURLocation
You: 59 MA

Yeah, I kind of picked up on this after a while of listening. But I changed the part in red to what I was hearing more of today.
And the 59 must mean something like "Thanks, I got you" or something, because everyone just says that and moves on.

 

[UJay]

One of the great things about the hobby....

For me, my ham existence revolves around contesting.
Build my shack - radios, filters, antennas, switching, skills to contact as many people as possible, as efficiently as possible with the allocated time.
I enjoy the station building more than the actual operating.

Anyway.... The DX would be giving you a number like 100, 5, 50, K, 1K, KiloWatt... The ARRL DX contest the DX gives their 'power' and the US gives their state.

I like phone the least out of any mode, but had fun.... about 4.5 hours and 401 QSOs.

As far as the shack this weekend, besides operating, my buddy came over and we cleared some more trees as to continue to make room for the tower.

UJay

 

[ToddDubya]

No, the CQ Caller will repeat your call back so you know he's talking to you, then give you your signal report (how well he heard you, in these examples 59) and his location. Think: Doug, I hear you 59 in East Bumblast. Then you reply with 59 MA.

In a contest, everyone gives 59 because you don't care. In the real world, you should give a more accurate one. I usually give 5X. If I can hear but with some difficulty = 4X. Pretty tough to copy = 3X, and anything worse than that I won't answer them in the first place unless it's something exotic I want to reach.

Practical Signal Reports

Roger, you are 5-9, over. Get up to speed on signal reports. Readability, strength, and tone (CW).

www.hamradioschool.com

You'll hear "Roger" for "Thanks, I got it" or "QSL". Typically people sign off at the end with "73" which means "Best Wishes".

The easiest way to learn this is just to listen to other people's QSOs. Some people are more formal and will use both call signs when they pass back and forth, "Back to you, HisCall MyCall". Some people just say "Back to you". You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

And the 59 must mean something like "Thanks, I got you" or something, because everyone just says that and moves on.

It is a graduated numerical signal report of readability/strength/(tone for CW) simplified as RST.

Maybe read a book...

ARRL Operating Manual 12th Edition

The ARRL Operating Manual for Radio Amateurs has been recognized as a comprehensive guide to amateur radio operating — things you can do on the air with your gear. In some cases, you may need to pick up new software or another radio, antenna, or accessory, but in many cases you already have the...

home.arrl.org

 

[DarkNet]

Yeah, I kind of picked up on this after a while of listening. But I changed the part in red to what I was hearing more of today.
And the 59 must mean something like "Thanks, I got you" or something, because everyone just says that and moves on.

59

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

I like phone the least out of any mode, but had fun.... about 4.5 hours and 401 QSOs.

I am the same way. My order would be CW, RTTY, then phone, but I did enjoy it. I was dead set that I was going to log 500 QSO and I did, heading up stairs for dinner at 504 total. I ran 100 watts but in some cases I wished I had entered as high power category and turned on the amp.

When I am operating CW I have lightweight comfortable headphones, but for phone I have a Heil Pro 7 headset and while it is a great performed it is kind of heavy and sprung pretty tight on my head.

 

[ToddDubya]

I either just bought a 300 Hz CW filter for the Yaesu FT-8XX or I got scammed. We'll see. I paid with real PayPal (not Friends/Family) so there's buyer protection. It was expensive, but not $300 expensive.

Now does it go in the 857 or 818? Decisions decisions.

 

[UJay]

Welp..... fukkit;

Ordered my K4d today....

UJay

 

[Coyote33]

In a contest, everyone gives 59 because you don't care. In the real world, you should give a more accurate one.

Now that I think about it, I'd say most are 36-59, leaning more to the 36.

 

[Parker Duofold]

Welp..... fukkit;

Ordered my K4d today....

UJay

 

[UJay]

View attachment 859077

Nooyyyze!

I remember you had one... Interested if you replaced a K3? Difference is remarkable from what I *understand and* based today's actions on.....

UJay

 

[UJay]

Now that I think about it, I'd say most are 36-59, leaning more to the 36.

Think of the 'five nine', 59, 5nn, enn.. etc as a most beautiful cadence and not an actual signal report.

UJay

 

[ToddDubya]

I took advantage of the beautiful afternoon and hiked in to the AT shelter. There were some guys who had the nerve to be camping there, so I hiked another half mile or so until I found a suitable rock to sit on. I did okay, not great. But I've had worse days than sitting on a rock in the forest sending morse code.

Something was up with the radio. It was like the keyer buffer would fill up and have to catch up. I don't think that's even a thing and at 17wpm was definitely not the case. I think it might not have liked the counterpoise being as close as it was? I was running a random wire from the QRP tuner. But for the most part everything worked well.

 

[Parker Duofold]

Nooyyyze!

I remember you had one... Interested if you replaced a K3? Difference is remarkable from what I *understand and* based today's actions on.....

UJay

Yes I also have a K3 and it's in a box in the garage.

The receiver in the K4D is remarkably quiet. Signals jump off the noise floor. I really like the spectrum display. I had an old technology version in my old IC781 that was quite the rig in the 90s.

Keying is fantastic and full break in CW very smooth.

The new software to remote K4 to K4 over the internet is in beta testing now and the reports are positive.

 

[ToddDubya]

Welp..... fukkit;

Ordered my K4d today....

UJay

Do they have the same crazy lead time as their KX line of radios?

 

[UJay]

Yes I also have a K3 and it's in a box in the garage.

The receiver in the K4D is remarkably quiet.

There was a group of guys at the contest dinner in FL last month that said exactly the same thing. That and a recent W1DED interview with K0MD where he was singing its praises.

Signals jump off the noise floor. I really like the spectrum display. I had an old technology version in my old IC781 that was quite the rig in the 90s.

That was my dream rig when I was just getting in to the hobby. Those were pretty desirable radios where the Icom guys used them until the 10k$ replacement 7851's came out!
I settled for an IC-735 in the late 80s-90s... lol

Keying is fantastic and full break in CW very smooth.

Nice!

The new software to remote K4 to K4 over the internet is in beta testing now and the reports are positive.

Yeah, this has been promised for years, from what I remember, I have remote solutions worked out (With the K3) so will need to hopefully re-work little and be excited when it can be enhanced more.

Thanks for answering!

UJay

 

[UJay]

Do they have the same crazy lead time as their KX line of radios?

I don't think so ToddD- Looks like shipping next week. I received a late (East Coast time) email from Elecraft sales;



To which I replied;



UJay

 

[UJay]

I took advantage of the beautiful afternoon and hiked in to the AT shelter. There were some guys who had the nerve to be camping there, so I hiked another half mile or so until I found a suitable rock to sit on. I did okay, not great. But I've had worse days than sitting on a rock in the forest sending morse code.

Sounds awesome. Similarly I took advantage of the nice afternoon and crawled around under a 2001 F350 and replaced the starter... lol

Something was up with the radio. It was like the keyer buffer would fill up and have to catch up. I don't think that's even a thing and at 17wpm was definitely not the case. I think it might not have liked the counterpoise being as close as it was? I was running a random wire from the QRP tuner. But for the most part everything worked well.

what rig is giving you problems? It seems like RF from your description(s). Can you turn the output power way down and see if the same thing happens?

 

[ToddDubya]

I've only ever had to replace one starter and it was the middle of February. I remember laying on the ice in the driveway trying to get the finest pitch bolts out one ratchet click at a time. The 1/4" ratchet was the only tool that would fit.

It was the FT-818. I had an external battery, so I was able to turn it up to 11, i.e. 6w. I wish I had a picture to help illustrate.

The radio and tuner were sitting on a fake pelican case on the ground. Originally I had the radiating wire and counterpoise headed back from the tuner, and I think that was fine. I was getting nothing though, so I moved the counterpoise 90 degrees, perpendicular to the radiating element, passing behind the radio (away from the trail). That was bad, and that's where I thought maybe RF was the problem. So I moved the counterpoise the other way, which was toward the trail. That was much better, but not 100%.

Eventually I got QRMed off of 30 by the Futurama Hypnotoad, and moved down to 40 where I had no problems except cold hands. Coincidentally the tuner had a great match on 40.

Oh, I should have mentioned I brought my EarCandy CW filter and it worked so well. The only way I knew I had nearby signals was when the S-meter would jump up for no reason.

 

[timbo]

All this chatter in the 160m thread got me interested in ladder line fed antennas.

I found an MFJ-949E on QRZ for a reasonable price, so that's coming my way soon. I think I'll start off with the classic doublet and see where that takes me. I'll take another run at random wires, too. I'm smelling a Field Day project!

Before I put up the DX Commander I had a G5RV Jr at about 25'. It was okay, and my tuner would get me down to 40 and I think I even had one contact on 60m but I don't recall that being a great signal report. But the more I read about the pros of ladder line fed antennas, the more I don't understand why the G5RV converts to coax. Probably convenience.

I have a 265' doublet fed with homebrew ladder line that I need to get up in the trees before the leaves come out but the wind has been a constant 10-15 mph gusting to 20-30 mph for the past week which makes it nigh impossible to shoot a weight over the trees I want it it over. Hopefully it will die down in the next couple of days at least for a couple of hours. Once the leaves start coming out around here, it doesn't take long for them to go from buds to full grown leaves...just a few days usually.

On another note, I kept seeing J38R from Grenada being spotted on the cluster...so today I turned the radio on, put it on 10 meters, set the split to 8kHz above his calling freq and got him first call...he was listening 5-15 above. There was a serious pileup so I didn't think I'd ever get him but yeah, 100 watts and a OCFD got him...Boom!