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Well, folks, it's hard to put a description on this episode. We talk about our usual range of topics, but there is so much more thrown in that we can't even begin to enumerate it all. One thing that can be said, however, is that this episode was FUN. We hope you enjoy it all the way to the end. Apologies for the first 20 minutes or so of Pete's microphone audio. We promise, it does get better. THANK YOU for being a listener. We do this all for you.

73 de The LHS Guys

HOT PAW 

MORSE CODE DECODER FOR I PHONE

Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

Screen Snap of Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

I recently installed a ham radio station in my truck. Since then I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, using SSB mostly, since that is a novelty for me. Most of my operating has been using CW, but taking a side trip into PSK occasionally. Logging is somewhat cumbersome in a truck. I used big elastic bands to attach a small clip board to my leg so I could quickly write down a call sign and very basic information. This information would be then transferred to a computer log at home. I tried using the computer in the truck also, and that proved even more cumbersome, having the laptop jammed into the steering wheel.

I like to use a keyboard to send code but no matter what I used, it was a bit awkward in the truck. At the very least, the laptop stays put when its jammed into the steering wheel.  Using the passenger seat would require my changing the radio head orientation, the antenna control and paddles which are all set up for easy use from the drivers seat.

Occasionally I’d switch to CW and fumbled for a pen to write down a call sign, time, and band. The guy I was chatting with on 40 meter CW was running just a tad too fast for me to copy ‘everything he sent’, so I missed some of it. It seems that the ‘buffer in my brain’ is smaller than I’d like it to be and with FIFO being the rule, the beginning of a word vanishes as I copy the ending.
(FIFO, First In, First Out’) Some folks may complain that using a ‘decoder’ is cheating somehow. Yes, for a contest, but for every day QSO’s its not cheating at all. If you don’t like it, don’t use it!

I discovered this app and tried it last night for the first time. Wowzah, can it copy code! Just lean it up against your radio, or just near it,  and it copies CW. This is a really great help when someone is sending just a ‘tad faster’ than my ability to copy ‘everything’! Its also handy to ‘get the entire call sign’, while I was fumbling with other things in the truck! It works pretty well even in poor band conditions, and has Farnsworth Method as well as regular copy. It has ultra high speed copy, but I have not tried it. 1oo WPM code is hard to come by on the air.

This proves very useful in the truck, but my guess is that other hams will find it handy in other ways.

The 2015 annual VHF national field day is now officially finished. So what’s the news?

Firstly I managed so excellent DX from the comfort of my own shack.

DX you say?

Yep 3 countries

Wow(?)…well yes they were EI,GM and GW so not exactly a long way but DX none the less.

Uhh?

Well yes, if the bands are normally silent and there’s not a station to be heard then the end of the village is DX.

But if there’s a bit of activity as there was this weekend then its always nice to work a few stations in other countries. But what would be really nice is to hear this level of activity on the bands regularly, and there to be rag chewing alongside contesting.

The ‘official entry’ from Workington was camped up on Corney Fell. I arrived too late to help get set up due to domestic duties but the photo’s didn’t do the conditions justice. There was a good 30+ mph wind up there and that 2m antenna was flapping about a lot. Hence the extra guy .

The VHF bands are XYL friendly in my house as the antenna’s are smaller, can be overlooked (on occasion) and don’t warrant the usual response of ‘What the hell is that doing there?’ and ‘ How long do you intend on keeping that thing there?’ The answer to both of these questions is to mumble a bit and pretend to be busy doing something important.

So here’s a plea. Don’t make me take down this antenna, or worse still turn it vertically for FM. I’d quite like to work stations regularly on VHF SSB or even CW. Remember to switch the rig on, look for IO84 square and break the silence. A response to one contester today on 70cms was ‘That woke me up, I’ve been calling for 2 hours solidly and you’re the first one today’ isn’t good.

Portable, Ground Plane for 2 Meters made with BNC antennas

that you can ‘take down’

Its a compact ground plane antenna for portable use!

2 Meter Ground Plane Portable Gizmo Antenna in Operation 2

This antenna is built on a 2 inch washer. Holes were drilled in the washer to accommodate 4 radials. The center hole for the BNC to BNC connector was already there, but had to be reamed out. This (male to male) connector is where the coax from the radio is attached on the bottom of the washer. It also serves to hold (the center radiator element)! 

(Note: The radiator, in the center, needs to attach to a BNC MALE connector, the cable from the radio also needs a BNC MALE connector. I used a male to male adapter for this purpose. It didn’t fit tightly so I used an old bike inner tube to cut a small spacer for taking up the slack. I’d have used a metal washer for ‘fitting’ the adapter, but I had already make 3 trips to the hardware store, so I used what I had)

Gizmo Portable Antenna 

without the cover

Center Post of BNC Connector for the Radials are Shorted to the Shell Side

I used BNC female connectors from, Digikey, a good source for components! The center post of this connector is shorted to the ‘shell side’ to provide a ground plane with all the radials!

The 24 inch antennas from China were purchased on Ebay! CHEAP!  The 2 inch washer is from the local hardware store. Everything fits on this washer, a 2 inch space, but the center coax is tedious to attach with all the radials in place, especially if you have big fingers.

The Cap is from a spice bottle!

I live alone so it was not a problem! LOL

Spice Bottle Cover

I love to use things for which they were never intended! This spice bottle cap is a good example of this. At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll seal it to the top BNC antenna radiator element or not? If I seal it (with hot glue, maybe) , the cap becomes permanently attached to the radiator element, and would be difficult if not impossible to remove. The whole idea here is to use this antenna as an impromptu portable antenna!

2 Meter Ground Plane Portable Gizmo Antenna Hanging from a Taped Tie Wrap

A tie wrap is used to ‘hang’ the antenna. Its hanging from a hook on my porch at the condo. I put 50 watts into it to get a repeater 10 miles away. SWR was 1:1 This is a portable antenna! Its not meant to be a permanent one. If you have ever needed a 2 meter antenna that you can pull up into a tree with a string or rope, this is it! Hauling it up 40 or 50 feet on a rope will get you better results than at ground level.

There is a joke that says, have you ever seen a golfer with only 1 club? Ham radio antennas are in the same category as golf clubs. You just can’t have too many! 

All the elements can be removed for easy storage and transport, (radials as well as the vertical element)! I’m sure some clever ham will come up with a suitable case for this entire assembly. If I had one of those nifty clear plastic shipping tubes, I’d store in that! I’ll be on the lookout for one!

For a little while I’ve been pondering a problem on, or rather mostly off.

My SOTAbeams SB270 is a 2m & 70cm antenna that used a fairly unique way of holding the antenna elements. There are a set of elements for 2m and a set for 70cm. Each element had a hollow nylon cap head screw with a knurled end that was screwed into the plastic antenna boom. Unfortunately Richard can’t supply these as spares.

My SB270 is useful for, well SOTA, and the occasional VHF contest but what is makes up for in portability it lacks in gain. So I’ve thought about making a single boom version that covers 6m, 2m and 7ocm. The idea seems reasonable but the crucial aspect of mounting the antenna elements is a sticking point. Here’s a brief design brief.

1. Doesn’t need tools to assemble in the field

2. Must stay in place once installed

3. Must be easy to replicate (Just in case anyone else wants a go). So no need for specialist fabrication skills.

4. Must keep with the ‘elements live in the tube when not in use’ principle, So no big bulky parts

I have used standard pipe clamps and they get knocked about and blown around in our strong winds. Stauff type clamps need tools so they’re out. Some 3D printed parts are available on thingiverse but they look like they are for permanent installations or don’t really float my boat.

So, here’s the plea. Any ideas other than the one below?

The current thinking is to use some thicker walled ABS pipe (like durapipe which is cheap and easily found) and some threaded inserts for the parasitic elements. Only feeding the driven element is making me think a bit. May need a cut out or permanent part which has feeder and (ugly) balun.

Thinking caps on!

There is a new sunspot region rotating into view, producing moderately-strong (M-class) x-ray flares. This video shows you the first 11 hours of May 5, 2015

Expect flares throughout this week, which will degrade HF propagation DURING the flare, but enhance propagation overall (due to the higher Radio Flux). There might be occasional coronal mass ejections, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgis5Bg8dBk

Since Christmas I have been attempting (again) to learn CW. There are plenty of people to whom this comes naturally. I, on the other hand, had a promising career as a CW radio operator cut short by a tragic lack of talent (to steal someone else’s joke).

So, why bother? Well to be honest I quite like the simplicity, portability and cost of rigs that focus on CW. As the price and complexity of rigs increase it moves me to reduce my interest in this exotica. So to keep the hobby alive in my shack and to carry on learning about RF I thought it’d be nice to try some new stuff out. I can use what I have as a base (Icom IC-7000) and get out and about for UKAC VHF contests when I fancy it. But CW was always a bit of a step beyond me.

I’ve used a bunch of resources to help but by far the most useful was hooking up with a group on twitter called @lids_cw. Along with the plethora of software the encouragement from them has been excellent. What I have found out is that my sending has improved no end by getting on air but my receiving is stubbornly refusing to come together. Practice make perfect. The Goal for me is a Morse proficiency test at the Norbreck rally next year. Hopefully at 15wpm