What did you do in the shack today?

[CatSnoutSoup]

So I thought I might fire up the rig for the Sweepstakes later today.

I go to the weekly contest calendar to check the start time.

WA7BNM Contest Calendar: 8-Day Calendar

I then have to figure out what time it will be here when it is such and such time UTC.

This is made easier with this tool giving you the whole day at a glance in a graph and converting 24 hour to 12 hour format.

World Clock & Time Converter

Effortless time conversion and world time. Schedule conference calls, webinars & online meetings, plan travel and track flight arrival time across time zones.

www.worldtimebuddy.com

 

[ToddDubya]

Alright, I really wanted to give that mag loop a workout on 40m, so I got out this morning. I got about 15 before it appeared that the band closed. I got a boatload on 20m, eight on 12m, and 12 on 10m. I don't know if something was up with the RBN because I'd get nothing for a while, then all of a sudden spots all over the place with good SNRs, then nothing for awhile.

I think I would have done even better either earlier or later. I kind of missed out on 40m, although it did perform while it was performing. 12m and 10m I think I was late for Europe and early for the west coast. SNRs were good both places, just not a lot of activity.

In general, signal reports were about what I'm used to from people. I was generous with what I was handing out because everyone sounds loud with an S0 noise floor.

5w CW...

 

[ToddDubya]

So I thought I might fire up the rig for the Sweepstakes later today.

I go to the weekly contest calendar to check the start time.

WA7BNM Contest Calendar: 8-Day Calendar

I then have to figure out what time it will be here when it is such and such time UTC.

This is made easier with this tool giving you the whole day at a glance in a graph and converting 24 hour to 12 hour format.

World Clock & Time Converter

Effortless time conversion and world time. Schedule conference calls, webinars & online meetings, plan travel and track flight arrival time across time zones.

www.worldtimebuddy.com

That is handy. I finally just set the clock on my PC to UTC, and 24-hr clock on my watch. I just have to remember to add 5 this time of year. But I always struggle when contests/Field Day roll around.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

I finally just set the clock on my PC to UTC, and 24-hr clock on my watch. I just have to remember to add 5 this time of year. But I always struggle when contests/Field Day roll around.

My PC (Windows 11) is set for two time zones Eastern US and UTC. The displayed time is EST/EDT but if you hoover the mouse over the time in the task bar a pop-up will display both times. Unfortunately the UTC in that case will also be in 12 hour AM/PM format, as Windows treats it just like another time zone in your chosen scheme.

Some years ago I had the date format on my PC set to Year/Month/Day because I am a geek and wanted it to match my logging preference (used to avoid confusion in QSL exchanges).

 

[ToddDubya]

My PC (Windows 11) is set for two time zones Eastern US and UTC. The displayed time is EST/EDT but if you hoover the mouse over the time in the task bar a pop-up will display both times. Unfortunately the UTC in that case will also be in 12 hour AM/PM format, as Windows treats it just like another time zone in your chosen scheme.

Some years ago I had the date format on my PC set to Year/Month/Day because I am a geek and wanted it to match my logging preference (used to avoid confusion in QSL exchanges).

I was doing that, too. Then I said screw it and just changed it to UTC. That's my radio only laptop, so I have no reason to use local time.

 

[ToddDubya]

I'm watching the HRCC livestream right now. He's doing a shack roast. A lot of the pictures people have sent in look way nicer than what I have going on. My whole life is a disaster.

This guy's would be a massive improvement for me.

 

[ChevyGuy91]

Here's my current iteration. I'll probably tear it all apart again this winter and change it.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

Casually working CQWW CW.

I don't hear Marshall Islands on too often, V73KW is on 28017.5 right now.
He was easy to work. I already have the entity confirmed so not a new one for me.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

Also 3D2SP in Fiji just now on 28018.0

Again not a new one for me but not commonly heard, especially on 10 meters and so easy to work. Barefoot 100 Watts, didn't even switch on the amp.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

I have had to turn the amp on for the JA's on 10 meters.

Just a hair under 1kW (from just 25 Watts drive).

P.S.> Antenna is a full size five element Yagi on 10.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

KH0/4Z5LA Mariana Islands 28030.7

Holiday style Israeli operator.


Now the wife is calling me to dinner, got go while it's hot.

 

[ToddDubya]

Here's my current iteration. I'll probably tear it all apart again this winter and change it.

View attachment 939033

That looks pretty functional.

I keep thinking mine has to be super complicated, but it doesn't. I have the FTDX10, a 222 FM mobile rig, and a quad band FM mobile rig. Each of those has an external speaker, with the FTDX10 using a bookshelf speaker.

If I just got everything a little bit off the surface of the table I'd have room for wires and such. I've got a few CW paddles/keys I like to keep handy. Right now I just use a splitter on the back of the radio so I can have one straight key and one paddle connected. I'd like them to tuck away somehow.

I'd prefer a monitor to the laptop screen, and I'm tempted to get a monitor for the FTDX, but the laptop uses HDMI and the radio uses DVI and I'd want matching monitors. But I don't really need a bigger screen for the radio. It's so low res that a bigger screen wouldn't be a whole lot better.

I'm setup on the dining room table and the room is a mix of dining room stuff and radio crap. Considering I have exactly 0 people over per year, I should just commit it to radio. Especially since it's unusable for company anyway.

In summary: analysis paralysis. It's a classic temporary setup that became permanent.

 

[ToddDubya]

I couldn't believe the bands yesterday. My waterfall was just a solid wall. I didn't get on today to look.

 

[oldguy68]

Set up my new Yaesu FT-DX10 on the kitchen table and got a Pota 17' whip up in the yard and had a blast on 20m today.
Chatted with a few parks on the air guys and some random people.
Best qso was a guy from Italy, not to far from my mother's home town of Modena.
It was an awesome contact and then a guy from Lithuania come on.
No sad ham day today.

Then I had to take it all down for dinner!
Which made me sad..

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

Set up my new Yaesu FT-DX10 on the kitchen table and got a Pota 17' whip up in the yard and had a blast on 20m today.
Chatted with a few parks on the air guys and some random people.
Best qso was a guy from Italy, not to far from my mother's home town of Modena.
It was an awesome contact and then a guy from Lithuania come on.
No sad ham day today.

Then I had to take it all down for dinner!
Which made me sad..

Very glad for you, sounds like it was fun.

It is a great radio, and right now at $1199 a very good bargain I think.

 

[oldguy68]

I had a hard time deciding between either the Yaesu FT-891 or the FT-DX10.
But, I figured I would get the base unit first and learn on that.
Before I went with a mobile/portable.
It has a great manual and there are some good videos on-line for helping with initial setup.
The built in filters work well. I'm still learning how to use them effectively for noise free sound.
The knobs and buttons are a little cramped on the right. Another 1" wider would have given them plenty of room.
I have a mouse hooked up to it so I'm not always tapping the screen buttons.
My son had a DVI display which I commandeered for it.
I've never listened to or had another hf radio. So I have no other reference on sound quality. So if it sounds bad, it's me.
I like it, not expensive compared to other units and it has some nice features.
I was hoping the price would drop for black friday. I purchased it and a nice linear power supply.

 

[n1oty]

I had a hard time deciding between either the Yaesu FT-891 or the FT-DX10.
But, I figured I would get the base unit first and learn on that.
Before I went with a mobile/portable.
It has a great manual and there are some good videos on-line for helping with initial setup.
I have a mouse hooked up to it so I'm not always tapping the screen buttons.
My son had a DVI display which I commandeered for it.
The built in filters work well. I'm still learning how to use them effectively for noise free sound.
The knobs and buttons are a little cramped on the right. Another 1" wider would have given them plenty of room.
I've never listened to or had another hf radio. So I have no other reference on sound quality. So if it sounds bad it's me.
I like it, not expensive compared to other units and it has some nice features.
I was hoping the price would drop for black friday and when it did I got it and a nice linear power supply for it.

Sound quality will generally be much better if you use either a high quality headset or a high quality external speaker. I have NEVER relied on a radio's internal speaker. They are usually too small and the case integration is designed to simply make it "fit", not enhance actual audio.

 

[oldguy68]

Sound quality will generally be much better if you use either a high quality headset or a high quality external speaker. I have NEVER relied on a radio's internal speaker. They are usually too small and the case integration is designed to simply make it "fit", not enhance actual audio.

I'm getting yelled at by the family for the noise it makes.
Do you have any headphones you would recommend?

 

[n1oty]

I'm getting yelled at by the family for the noise it makes.
Do you have any headphones you would recommend?

My go-to setup at home is the Heil Pro set 7. It's pricey, but it is high quality. If you do not need the built-in Heil microphone and prefer to continue using your Yaesu microphone, Heil also makes the non-microphone style headsets as well.

 

[Gerbs54]

Broke the FT-891 out of the box for the first time and got it powered up. I cut a wire at ~65 feet and started receiving right away. I spend the night scrolling around and listening.

I had an SDR based in George up at the same time, I think I was receiving decently conspired to the SDR. Not sure how far I was making it on transmit. I did try to answer a CQ from a guy in Chicago but didn’t get a response. I also tried to hear myself on the SDR with no luck. I had the wire in an inverted V but the peek was only about 6’ off the ground.

I knew going into it that the 891 has alot of settings to mess with, I’ll have to work on learning the radio and getting the antenna set up better.

Either way pretty happy with the first impressions.

 

[ToddDubya]

Broke the FT-891 out of the box for the first time and got it powered up. I cut a wire at ~65 feet and started receiving right away. I spend the night scrolling around and listening.

I had an SDR based in George up at the same time, I think I was receiving decently conspired to the SDR. Not sure how far I was making it on transmit. I did try to answer a CQ from a guy in Chicago but didn’t get a response. I also tried to hear myself on the SDR with no luck. I had the wire in an inverted V but the peek was only about 6’ off the ground.

I knew going into it that the 891 has alot of settings to mess with, I’ll have to work on learning the radio and getting the antenna set up better.

Either way pretty happy with the first impressions.

Are you using a tuner? A randomly cut wire could have a terrible SWR and barely be radiating. Your radio won't like it either, and hopefully is throttling the power so it doesn't get damaged. I leave the display set to show SWR on all of my radios. You never know when you did something stupid (or a wire fell down) and you don't want to be putting 100w into a high SWR antenna (or you forgot to connect the antenna).

With the antenna 6' off the ground, it's basically radiating straight up (AKA a "cloud burner"), so you're more likely to be heard close in. Straight up, straight back down.

For SSB, you can probably go with the default settings for just about everything. It's worth knowing what settings there are, so you can change them later after you've used it a bunch. At this point, using it is more beneficial than tweaking settings.

Which band you're using, the time of day, etc will affect where and how far your signal goes. Generally if you can hear someone, and you're using similar equipment (i.e. 100w and a wire), they should be able to hear you. If they're using 1500w into a yagi at 1/4 wavelength above ground and you're using 100w into a random wire 6' off the ground, they may not hear you.

In summary, have fun!

 

[ToddDubya]

I had a hard time deciding between either the Yaesu FT-891 or the FT-DX10.
But, I figured I would get the base unit first and learn on that.
Before I went with a mobile/portable.
It has a great manual and there are some good videos on-line for helping with initial setup.
The built in filters work well. I'm still learning how to use them effectively for noise free sound.
The knobs and buttons are a little cramped on the right. Another 1" wider would have given them plenty of room.
I have a mouse hooked up to it so I'm not always tapping the screen buttons.
My son had a DVI display which I commandeered for it.
I've never listened to or had another hf radio. So I have no other reference on sound quality. So if it sounds bad, it's me.
I like it, not expensive compared to other units and it has some nice features.
I was hoping the price would drop for black friday. I purchased it and a nice linear power supply.

Good choice on the FT-DX10. I got one a few years ago and I love it. I try to keep the noise reduction to 4 or less (long press the button to adjust) because it can start to knock out the signal, too. But whatever conditions dictate they dictate. Unless someone is weak, I find adjusting the RF Gain can be better for making the audio more pleasant.

I'm using an old Polk Audio bookshelf speaker and I find that more than adequate. I tried a DX Engineering (MFJ knockoff) external speaker and it's decent, but not as good as the bigger speaker. Plus I like to set my radio on the speaker to raise it up a bit. I use the speaker primarily for CW, and a the the dual headphone version of the Heil BM-17 for SSB.

One thing I found when I first started using the Heil headset was how many people commented on my audio. It was like a couple S-units of gain. Obviously not actual gain, but perceived I guess. The speakers and mic have a frequency range more suited to voice, and I can say they are better than the hand mic/built in speaker, and better than other cheaper headsets I've used.

Moving to a headset is a little more involved than just the headset. You need a PTT (most people including me use a foot pedal), and the adapter for your brand of radio. It's not rocket science; I'm just saying it's more than a headset. If you don't mind the hand mic, there's nothing wrong with just using a good set of headphones. No need to overthink it. I've used all sorts, including the earbuds from my old iPod.

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

My go-to setup at home is the Heil Pro set 7. It's pricey, but it is high quality. If you do not need the built-in Heil microphone and prefer to continue using your Yaesu microphone, Heil also makes the non-microphone style headsets as well.

I have a Proset 7 as well, but only use it when doing phone operations, which for me is kind of rare.

Otherwise I use the same headset that I use for gaming (xbox), Hyper HyperX Cloud II, and I have found they have really good frequency response for CW. The microphone is modular, and so removable to get it out of the way.

The Cloud II has been replaced by Cloud III and are no longer available on Amazon, but as a matter of fact this thread made me just now check the manufacture website and they had them on closeout for $39 with free shipping.

HyperX Cloud II - Gaming Headset

HyperX Signature Memory Foam and Premium Leatherette, 7.1 Surround Sound

hyperx.com

So I just bought a second pair, so as not to have to keep taking them back and forth from the Xbox to the shack.

I use them via the 1/8" plug, but they have an interface that also allows them to work with a PC via USB. I have used them with their microphone on the PC to produce technical videos with narration and the voice response was quite acceptable.

I should note again for anyone new to ham radio, please don't be confused I use these just as headphones not as a ham radio headset.

 

[Gerbs54]

Are you using a tuner? A randomly cut wire could have a terrible SWR and barely be radiating.

In summary, have fun!

No turner but it wasn’t a randomly cut wire. I did a fair amount of research prior to building it as a 40 meter end fed half wave, the wire was attached to a 49:1 unun. I used chat GPT to check my math, it said 65.5 feet but I stated out with 70 and tuned it in from there. Based off what I cut I’d day it ended up around 63-64 feet, I left it long and folded over so I can adjust it once I get the wire higher. I keyed up through CW at 40w when I was turning it. The 891’s SWR meter isn’t that granular but I’d guess it was between 1.1 & 1.3.

I heard ppl on 40 & 20 but only tried to transmit on 40. The MUF was like 12mhz last night. I’m going to get the wire up around 20 feet at the peek in an inverted V and try again. I also have a digirig on the way to try some FT8.

 

[ToddDubya]

Oh, an EFHW. Those were all the rage a couple years ago. They have their share of haters, but I've probably gotten a thousand contacts with them. I only started using other antennas because I was tired of trying to find a suitable branch to get the end up in the air. I found it was good on 40/20/15/10. I just had to pay attention to where in the band I was operating, because you don't get the whole band.

A 45' high branch will give you about a 45 degree angle. I found that keeping the transformer near the ground, but not on the ground, helped get the lowest SWR dip.

Just a tip in case you plan on cutting the wire once you're happy with it. Folding it over isn't exactly the same as cutting, unless you're using bare wire. Callum (M0MCX, of DX Commander fame) says it's something like 1/3. So a fold of 1' actually looks like 4" of wire.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UwaIc3GdSA

 

[Gerbs54]

Oh, an EFHW. Those were all the rage a couple years ago.

Thanks for the tips. Building wire antennas is one of the things that interests me most so I’ll be playing around with different options. I think a 10m dipole with some wire and banana clips is next.

Coastal waves and wires is working on a book of his field notes, I am really looking forward to getting a copy.

COASTAL WAVES & WIRES

Amateur callsign K4OGO, I travel to coastal destinations chasing the magic of radio.

youtube.com

 

[ToddDubya]

Thanks for the tips. Building wire antennas is one of the things that interests me most so I’ll be playing around with different options. I think a 10m dipole with some wire and banana clips is next.

Coastal waves and wires is working on a book of his field notes, I am really looking forward to getting a copy.

COASTAL WAVES & WIRES

Amateur callsign K4OGO, I travel to coastal destinations chasing the magic of radio.

youtube.com

Glad to help. I've cut off the extra wire before trying to clean things up and screwed up my tune. At the time I didn't know why, but it was frustrating.

I tried one of Walt's more complicated antennas once and it was a solid fail. It wasn't the design's fault I don't think. I just didn't have a good way to set it up very well. He does some neat stuff.

I got onto the SKCC SSS here and there today. It's not a contest, and I wasn't very competitive. It's just kind of a nice way to get some easy CW QSOs under your belt with some actual information to convey, as opposed to "599 MA". Their logger makes it a little too easy though since it fills in their info once you type in their call, but I try to get it all on paper then confirm. Some day I hope to be able to have real QSOs at speed.

Maybe for 2025 I'll join NAQCC (North America QRP CW Club) where I don't have to use a straight key.

 

[ToddDubya]

Thanks for the tips. Building wire antennas is one of the things that interests me most so I’ll be playing around with different options. I think a 10m dipole with some wire and banana clips is next.

Coastal waves and wires is working on a book of his field notes, I am really looking forward to getting a copy.

COASTAL WAVES & WIRES

Amateur callsign K4OGO, I travel to coastal destinations chasing the magic of radio.

youtube.com

Glad to help. I've cut off the extra wire before trying to clean things up and screwed up my tune. At the time I didn't know why, but it was frustrating.

I tried one of Walt's more complicated antennas once and it was a solid fail. It wasn't the design's fault I don't think. I just didn't have a good way to set it up very well. He does some neat stuff.

I got onto the SKCC SSS here and there today. It's not a contest, and I wasn't very competitive. It's just kind of a nice way to get some easy CW QSOs under your belt with some actual information to convey, as opposed to "599 MA". Their logger makes it a little too easy though since it fills in their info once you type in their call, but I try to get it all on paper then confirm. Some day I hope to be able to have real QSOs at speed.

Maybe for 2025 I'll join NAQCC (North America QRP CW Club) where I don't have to use a straight key

 

[CatSnoutSoup]

So folks may have seen the thread I started about the new Yaesu VHF/UHF mobiles.

I was considering buying the new FTM-150RASP.

Well HRO wanted $379 for the FTM-150, but with the current coupons the FTM-500DR was $479.

One thing I could not do was open myself up to the chance of @drgrant calling skinflint on me, so this morning I ordered the FTM-500DR.

Kind of annoyed in a skinflinty way, as shipping was "free" but they charge $9.60 to "insure" your shipment. This was never the case with HRO in the past, my stuff was shipped UPS and my expectation was that it was fully insured.

But anyway, new radio coming.

 

[ToddDubya]

Dang, I was hoping to hear how well the Super DX feature worked.

Those new radios look like they bring in some of the user interface features I like about the FTM-6000R, and even seem to have some of the look and feel of the 891 for the memories. One thing I wish they'd do on their full dual receive radios is make it easy at a glance to tell which receiver is receiving. The Alincos will change the color on the side that's receiving. On my FT-8900 if I hear something I have to sit and watch to see which side is receiving, then make sure that's the "Main" side so if I key up I'm on the right one.

When I was setting up repeaters, it was nice to add things like offset and PL tone to the quick menu. Then once you're done, you can just take them back out again. And I like how you can scan by groups, bands, etc. If I left it in the car all the time I'd probably use the preferred memories, too so I could just scan local stuff.

My biggest beef with the 6000 is that it takes some wonky cable to program it. It has a USB connector on the faceplate, but as far as I can tell that's for firmware updates only. I found it easy enough to program manually that I didn't bother buying yet another cable.

Not buying both the FTM-150 and FTM-500DR is kind of a flinty move, to be honest.