What did you do in the shack today?

Dang, I was doing pretty good in the NEQP running CW until my battery shit the bed. I used a power station to recharge it last night after 8 hours of SSB and it should have taken a full charge, but she conked out. Maybe I should have used 25w instead of 50?

Now I'm stuck up at my Super Secret Squirrel Location with nothing to do. It's pouring so I'm stuck inside. I'm probably gonna have to abandon the hammock and just head home. Kind of a bummer.

This was a tough weekend. I never got a good pileup going on SSB, and would often call CQ for 10 minutes with no responses and try another band. CW did the best.

I've been thinking about a second battery, maybe something bigger than 12AH. That was kind of the point of the power station and high dollar car charger for the Bioenno, But those clearly let me down this weekend so maybe I could learn the lesson.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.
 
Something I learned this event was that on CW it was easier for me to run my own frequency than search and pounce. I had such a hard time understanding other people's CQ style that it took forever just to pick out the call sign. Even if they sent it the same way every time, which many didn't. I'm sure experienced contesters can do it, but I had a hard time. Call me old fashioned but I like "DE" before the call sign, or at least some separation from "NEQP". But being the caller I could set the pace and almost everyone at least attempted to match my speed. I started sending slow because I knew the 5-letter counties would be trouble. I can hear states no problem, but I thought I'd struggle with the unfamiliar counties. But shortly after I think I ended up at 20wpm where I hear and send better. Except for those pricks with bugs.

Another fun thing was this morning I started up on SSB and was checking to see if a frequency was clear.

Me: "Is the frequency in use? MyCall"
Immediate response: "The frequency is not in use"
Me: "Wait, what?"

It turned out there was a net on that frequency in like half an hour so the guy was just tuned to that frequency. I had a nice chat with him and got a state I needed.

I'll have to get my official stats off my other laptop, but I think I ended up just shy of 250 contacts. I got 43 states, some DX including Easter Island, and a little more than half of the NE counties. I spent/wasted a lot of time and energy calling CQ to nobody on SSB, but this morning when I switched to CW I'd get a nice run, sometimes immediately. Maybe my next challenge will be to do something like Field Day exclusively on CW. Hmm, or the 13 Colonies event I'm doing. I may have to look into programming the beacons on my 857 to use as memory keyers.
 
timbo said:
...and worked them on 12 meters just now. Sure would like to hear them on 40 & 80 phone. I haven't even seen spots for them on those bands.
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Despite deafening lightning crashes (QRN) and the ever present LIDS on their TX frequency, I finally worked Easter Island on 40 SSB just now...6 bands! I almost got up the nerve to work them on CW on 30 but I think I should start out slowly. It's been since the mid 80s since I've had an actual bonafide CW QSO....I listen to CW ops and can copy fairly well up to about 13-15 wpm but in the craziness of a rare station, I'd probably lose myself [laugh]. One of the things I wanted to do when I retired was to bone up on my CW skills but I've done precious little of that since I did.

I went on line and put my 6 contacts into their "please send a QSL to me" page and for 5ish bucks, I'll get all 6 cards sent to me...such a deal! [laugh]
 
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CatSnoutSoup said:
If anyone is up and reading this -- the end of the 3G0YA operation is happening today, 6 May 2024, at 14:00 UTC.

They are on 40m CW at 7.015 I worked them 1.5 kHz up just now.

It was easy but I was running about 750 Watts out.

🐯
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yep, I worked them on 40 phone an hour or two back, It was tough...lightning crashes, idiots not knowing how to use the split function on their radios and the ever present QRM'rs. But I worked 'em on 40 dammit! :D

Six bands worked! I'm done.

I was hoping to hear/work them on 75/80 phone but I'm too tired to stay up. I might get up early and check 75/80.
 
1714996646678.png

~866 Miles all 6 states and 27 (!) Counties!
1714997180643.png

One of the most successful NEQP's since starting rover operations ~20 years ago. We had originally planned on roving the 'new' CT counties and VT, but speaking with the NEQP Sponsor (K1KI) he said light coverage for ME counties and suggested coverage there - so that is where we went.

Self spotting was key to much of the success. In previous years I would call forever and no one would ever find us. Sat is the worst since we compete with 7QP and INQP and there are no mobile windows specified. Sunday NEQP is it.

For Batteries, Saturday we had a huge tractor battery for standby and a new large marine deep cycle that was procured last year for this. I ran 100w but it drained pretty quick,,,,Brought the battery in to the hotel room Sat night and charged it up. For Sunday we ran 50w and I changed the CQ repeat time from 4 seconds to 8 seconds. There was a power-gate charging from the truck, but it didn't keep up. There is heavy alternator noise (Or fuel pump noise...) from the F-150... so next year. Big power lead from battery into cab, (COAX!) heavy duty alternator replacement and do something about the effin' noise. The K3 NB and NR took care of most of it.

I need to write up the 3830 post with some of the above stuff....

UJay
 

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I made about 40 NEQP QSOs from here in South Carolina for an hour or so on Sunday afternoon. All of the contacts were on 20, 40 and 80 meter CW. Lots of activity. Since I don't know your callsigns I'm not sure if I worked any of you NESers. I won't post my callsign publicly here either so I get it. I did work NE1QP on a couple of bands.
 
I didn't do so hot on 80. 20 and 40 were my most productive bands. I should have looked into spotting before I left. I know it helps because my buddy spotted me after I got him in the log and I suddenly had a pileup. But I bet all combined I spent hours calling CQ with no response.

NE1QP threw me for a loop. It took me a few tries before I realized it was a call sign.

Man, I can't say I got anywhere near 121,866 for a score. Looks like I came in just shy of 17,000 pts with 245 QSOs. But a slight improvement over last year's total of about 1,100.

Haha, okay I got a grand total of one QSO on 80, and only two on 10m.
 
My solution to the battery problem is on its way. I have two 30Ah LiFePO4 batteries coming. They weren't cheap, but cheaper than the Bioenno batteries I normally buy. I watched a bunch of teardown videos because there are significant price differences. Like $80 for one, $280 for another. But the cheap ones are cheap and their battery management systems (BMS) do not work as advertised. Some have no current limit, no short circuit protection, no overtemp protection but they advertise as having those. I figured this is a once a decade purchase, so just get some that I don't have to worry about burning down my house.

I went with Amped Outdoors, which looks to cater to fishermen (think fish finders, trolling motors, etc). I already have a couple charging solutions so I didn't get their charger. These are relatively small and should fit in a small box/case. Depending on how I use them I may just stuff a power cable inside and not even bother with a connection on the side of the case. When I need power, open the box and pull out the cable.

But now I'm thinking it might be advantageous (or cool, honestly) to run the shack off solar. So we'll see about that. My super secret squirrel location doesn't get a lot of sun, but it tends to have a steady breeze that I've often considered trying a wind turbine. And the home QTH gets the regular amount of New England sun and an often annoying amount of wind. Just something to consider for the future.
 
Got the shack back up and running.

Currently only have a 2m and 12m antenna. Been listening to some nets for the last couple of nights- I think Quincy and Marlboro?
One of these days I'll set myself up to be able to talk, but that requires programming.

Need to look into shortening this 12m antenna to 10, I think it'll be far more useful to me.
 
Drix said:
Need to look into shortening this 12m antenna to 10, I think it'll be far more useful to me.
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O90SDTp.png


🐯
 
I got my new Kenwood TH-D75a set up to do Winlink VARA FM, programmed in some repeaters, and took it with me on a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia this past week. Me and my non-Ham buddies stayed at an AirBnB just a few blocks south of the Citadel, but didn’t know the orientation of the condo unit until we arrived.

Sadly, the outdoor patio and windows were all on the side of the building opposite of any gateways and repeaters within range. So, no QSOs for me :confused:
 
MaverickNH said:
I got my new Kenwood TH-D75a set up to do Winlink VARA FM
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Is there a VARA FM node within range of you on a semi-regular basis? There are a few Winlink check-in nets that I’ve been doing for the past few months mostly on HF but some on VHF. Not nets per-se, more like exercises to get proficient in the Winlink system.

Original Winlink Wednesday is one, and there’s East-Coast Winlink (no web page but the Winlink address is simply ‘East-Coast’, and there’s a FEMA Region 1 group that does monthly proficiency exercises often using the Winlink pre-formatted forms.

If you can get in to the network it’s worth checking out if nothing else but to get better at using the gear you have.
 
My 30Ah batteries arrived today. I have one wired up with Power Poles to an adapter for the charger. I'll swap that over charge them both up before I wire them in parallel. I was really hoping they would both fit in a .50 cal ammo can, but they're about 1/4" too wide. I have a plastic case picked out that'll work.
 
Because I haven't spent enough money lately, I spent some more. I have an Alinco DR-CS25T headed my way from HRO. I can finally scratch that 1.25m itch!

I'm not sure what I'll do for a more permanent antenna at the house, but I'm gonna whip up a yagi to play around with and maybe do some range testing with a friend who has a whopping 1w on his HT. Someone sent me a link to this recently and they're an interesting design. They look like a j-pole fed design where you can tweak the feed point to bring the impedance to 50 ohms. I've got what looks like 10 gauge solid copper I can use for the elements.

It looks like I'll want it to work in the 222-224 range for both FM Simplex and Repeater use, with simplex and repeater inputs at the lower end of that range.

1715802633686.png

1715803085189.png


Come to think of it, in the meantime I may make a 1/4 wave ground plane to get me going. HRO says it'll be here tomorrow. That's fast.
 
Okay, the 1/4 wave ground plane is ready to go. Lowest SWR is about 1.3:1, with the <1.5:1 bandwidth from 213 MHz to 231 MHz. I think that'll do. I was worried about being able to cover the full FM portion of the band and it gave me the whole band and then some.
 
Bam, I got my Alinco today. It took about 24 hours from order to delivery. I love HRO.

I busted it out, cut the power cable and installed PowerPoles, programmed it, and peeled the protective sticker off the display. There's no going back now.


I threw my call out on the repeater and someone came right back, so that's cool. He said everything sounded good, which is about what I expected being so close. I guess 10w and my 1/4 wave ground plane dangling a couple feet off the floor can bust through a few walls and make it up the mountain.

Then I talked to a buddy who lives about half a mile away. He's on an HT with about 0.25w and he sounded perfect. He was raving about my audio quality, which was good to hear. That was one of the complaints I'd heard about these radios so it's good to know it's not a problem. Receive audio is pretty clear both on the built-in speaker and with an external speaker

Programming is a bit cumbersome, but I just put in the local repeater, the calling frequency, and the other simplex channels. I don't see needing anything more than that. Changing settings is a bit of a drag, too. The radio itself has PWR, FUNC, and P1, P2, P3, P4. So you have to know which combination of those does what. I'll likely make a little cheat sheet.

Overall it's about what I expected. It's a fun little radio, and boy is it little. I thought the FT-8900 was small, but this is even smaller. And NO FAN!
 
Worked on my WSJT-X this afternoon trying to get my waterfall to be a bit flatter, looks like crap.

1715893357099.png

Thats my waterfall, my problem is, either I turn down my PC microphone gain to 1 to flatten it out, or I have to jack it up all the way. I feel like no matter what I do I can't win and get that smooth waterfall I see everyone else having.
 
Drix said:
Worked on my WSJT-X this afternoon trying to get my waterfall to be a bit flatter, looks like crap.

View attachment 881379

Thats my waterfall, my problem is, either I turn down my PC microphone gain to 1 to flatten it out, or I have to jack it up all the way. I feel like no matter what I do I can't win and get that smooth waterfall I see everyone else having.
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1715944767123.png

Here are the settings for 2m ^^^
1715944891456.png
Here are the settings for 6m (L) and 10m (R)

And this seems to be about the best place to keep audio input;

1715945036294.png 1715945073452.png

To stay on subject, I made my first 2m QSO with the new VHF setup. I hung a 10el 2m yagi and ran the feedline from the antenna right to the transverter (for minimal losses) and that first QSO was FN42<>FN22 on Ft8. I was pretty psyched. I have no idea what my power output is. Drove the transverter with .01 milliwatt and the transverter is capable of 40w.

Had another technician class session with the local radio club this week too,

UJay
 
UJay said:
View attachment 881494

Here are the settings for 2m ^^^
View attachment 881496
Here are the settings for 6m (L) and 10m (R)

And this seems to be about the best place to keep audio input;

View attachment 881497View attachment 881498

To stay on subject, I made my first 2m QSO with the new VHF setup. I hung a 10el 2m yagi and ran the feedline from the antenna right to the transverter (for minimal losses) and that first QSO was FN42<>FN22 on Ft8. I was pretty psyched. I have no idea what my power output is. Drove the transverter with .01 milliwatt and the transverter is capable of 40w.

Had another technician class session with the local radio club this week too,

UJay
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I feel like some of my problem may be rig v computer balance. What's your dt gain vs mic? I've also read the dB bar on the left is supposed to sit around 30, but when I see screenshot Noone really follows that.
 
Drix said:
Thanks.

I feel like some of my problem may be rig v computer balance. What's your dt gain vs mic? I've also read the dB bar on the left is supposed to sit around 30, but when I see screenshot Noone really follows that.
Click to expand...
I think the PC mic input is at 100% and I adjust the rigs' AF gain to get to around that 50%. I know the pro folks, or at least the docs say 30% input, but I am not disappointed at all keeping it to 50% input.

For transmitting, I had a problem with a Kenwood rig and a SignalLink where all of the volume needed to be way down and watch the Rig's ALC meter to show just a trickle- Overdriving TX audio is bad.

UJay
 
ToddDubya said:
Because I haven't spent enough money lately, I spent some more. I have an Alinco DR-CS25T headed my way from HRO. I can finally scratch that 1.25m itch!

I'm not sure what I'll do for a more permanent antenna at the house, but I'm gonna whip up a yagi to play around with and maybe do some range testing with a friend who has a whopping 1w on his HT. Someone sent me a link to this recently and they're an interesting design. They look like a j-pole fed design where you can tweak the feed point to bring the impedance to 50 ohms. I've got what looks like 10 gauge solid copper I can use for the elements.

It looks like I'll want it to work in the 222-224 range for both FM Simplex and Repeater use, with simplex and repeater inputs at the lower end of that range.

View attachment 881113

View attachment 881118


Come to think of it, in the meantime I may make a 1/4 wave ground plane to get me going. HRO says it'll be here tomorrow. That's fast.
Click to expand...
Damn...if I didn't live so far away, I'd give you my old school, pre-MFJ, Cushcraft ARX-220. Absolutely no 220 repeaters here within 100 miles, maybe further, of where I live in MO
 
Today in the shack I got a refund for an outstanding MFJ order.

Back on 4/1/2024 I ordered a cable (PNP-10MY) from them to interface my FTDX10 with their Ameritron ARB-704 amp keying interface.

When I didn't get a shipping notice from them after a few days, I telephoned MFJ on 4/1/2024 and talked to a somewhat disinterested fellow in the Ameritron department who told me that they did not actually have that cable but they would be manufacturing new ones within about two weeks and it would then ship.

That never happened and in the mean time I recently learn that MFJ is going out of business (which the guy talking to me probably knew at the time, at least on some level).

So something I have been forgetting to do all this week was call them for a refund. This evening I decided I would call Monday, but I would start the ball rolling by filing a claim with PayPal (my payment method).

Well I guess PayPal is aware of the MFJ closure because I filled out the claim and was immediately issue a refund ($44.95) no further investigation needed.

Martin F. Jue had to have known the company was going out of business at the time I and others were placing orders for items that were not in stock (and not listed as backordered) so that is a bullshit way for him to treat customers. But at least I got my money back.

I would be surprised if someone didn't buy the rights to at least some of their line.


🐯
 
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I just got home from a ham swap meet in CT. I had never been to a hamfest or swap meet before so I had no idea what to expect. There weren't a ton of people selling, but there was a lot of stuff, mostly older boat anchor types. I have a strict No Boat Anchor policy but they're fun to look at and dream about. It's just too dangerous to open that door.

I scored a rooftop four legged tripod (quadpod?) with thrust bearing for $100, an old Heathkit SWR meter for ones of dollars, a tilting mast base for a few bucks, a Kent single lever paddle for about $65 and a Bencher straight key for $40. So much for my goal of not becoming a key/paddle collector. This is why no boat anchors.

It was a good time, and certainly something for everyone.

And I nabbed a folding lawn chair from the side of the road on my way home.
 
The "quadpod" is a Glen Martin 4.5'. It had the remnants of a wasp nest on it so I blasted that and scrubbed it off. The thrust bearing was still bothering me. It sounded like it could use some grease, so I took it off and you could hear the balls rattling around inside. So I opened it up, spilled the balls on the floor even though I did it over a box, and got to work. I'm pretty sure I found them all.

It was clear water had gotten in and the balls weren't shiny and smooth anymore. But they're good enough for what I need. I ran the balls and housing through the ultrasonic cleaner which worked pretty well. I used the technique of putting the nasty item(s) in a baggie with solvent and submerging that in water. That way you don't funk up the cleaner and you can use way less solvent. It did a nice job.

Once that was all done I packed it with grease, reassembled, and put it back on the tower. I may replace some of the rusty hardware, but for now I just greased everything up good and put it back together.

If I'm still feeling ambitious I'll put a new cable on the Bencher key I picked up and that'll be ready to use.
 

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