AmateurRadio.com

The last time I was out and about with my KX3 my re-chargeable internal batteries let me down.........actually it was user error as I failed to charge them the evening before. Planing is everything they say so the spur of the moment thought of taking my KX3 to the field did not work out so well for me!  The weather forecast has been known to change from rain to sunshine on any given day. To me that is translated as  a non KX3 day thats transformed to a perfect KX3 outing day. To avoid my radio let down I went online and ordered a 12 volt portable 9800Ah Li-ion rechargeable battery pack. It has a wall wart for charging and seems to be a nice little unit. Larry W2LJ has the same pack and it seems to be working well for him. This

My Blue solution

way next time when the internal KX3 batteries TRY to let me down......I will plug in the "Blue solution" As a side note Elecraft offers (which I purchased) an internal battery charger called the KXBC3. This way you can load the KX3 with rechargeable batteries and just plug the KX3 into your power supply and have the KX3 charge the batteries on it's internal timer. Unfortunately this unit does not (as of yet.... but I'm hoping) have the ability to trickle charge the internal batteries. This way it's always ready to go! That is the only downfall to the KXBC3 I have found.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

My Buddipole Antenna, Configured as a 2 Element Yagi for 6 Meters

The ribbons are to keep me from poking my eyes out on the end of the whips.

Here, I’m trying the antenna out in my driveway before I take it to the beach.

 

 

 

Kx3 QRP Radio 

Six Meter Summer!

This pavilion is my favorite operating spot at Hagen’s Cove. 

It overlooks Dead Man’s Bay, on the Gulf of Mexico in Perry Florida.

I’m going to spend the summer playing around with my Kx3 on 6 meters. The antenna here is a Buddipole, configured as a 2 element Yagi. Its easy to assemble in the field, so I’ll take it to the beach (Hagen’s Cove) and try to make some contacts with it. I’ve been a ham for 22 years but have never done much with 6 meters. This will be a 6 meter summer for me. Join me, I’d love to have a ham radio buddy to share the adventure with.

de AA1IK, 73

Ernest Gregoire, AA1IK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Florida, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Driving home this evening, I had the second VFO scanning through the 50 or so memories across 29/50/145 and 433MHz, with a few in between!

It doesn’t often stop on 51.51 the 50MHz FM calling frequency, but I heard a loud voice ask someone to move to 51.530. I stopped the scan and tuned there.

The station had an English accent, so I guessed it was a local or an expat. Of course, it turned out to be the latter; EA7/G0WHX. He was a great signal working a G4 I couldn’t hear. There was a little fading, but I listened to the QSO for around 15 minutes.

A great reminder to call on 51.510 a bit more often! You never know who’s listening!

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

http://www.nj2bb.org/museum/index.html

Beginning at 0000Z June 1 through 2359Z June 2, 2013 102 ships will be participating in the Museum Ships Weekend. 

There will be Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines and more participating on most ham bands.

The details about the ships, frequencies, and certificate information has been listed on the Battleship New Jersey’s NJ2BB.org web site.

This looks like a lot of fun and a good opportunity to teach our kids and grandkids about our amazing maritime history!

Thanks to Ron, AA2RR, for reminding us of this fun weekend opportunity!

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

I don’t know why it is, but whenever I buy some piece of gear I always seem to end up with duff stuff. My weather station that I received a few days ago will not register any rain. A little voice says “why do you need a gadget to tell you if it’s raining in Cumbria?” but that’s not the point. I would really like it to work. I have sent an email to Nevada (the dealer not the US state) but have yet to receive a reply. Watch this space.

My UV-3R+ has also developed a fault, or at least its battery has. It started having a flat battery when I didn’t expect it, but irregularly enough for me to think that perhaps I forgot to switch it off. But now the battery won’t charge up. The charger works and I can measure a charging voltage on the battery pins but when I remove the battery from the charger the voltage across the two internal contacts is about 1.3V. I’ve ordered a replacement from 409Shop.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

 

Well its happening again. The computer which started out life nice and zippy like a gazelle in the morning sunshine, joyfully springing across the warm savannah has me wondering what I’ve done to inherit its predictable slow down. More time now is spent watching a little blue circle than is good for anyone

If I were a real cynic I’d think that these things are made to self destruct slow enough for you not to really notice but fast enough for you to buy a new one every few years to keep the silicon industry happy. Still, its a good time to buy a new machine as there’s a sale on…..That’s it no more sarcasm, I promise, honest.

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

Pat Tice, WA0TDA, is the manager of HANDI-HAM and a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].