AmateurRadio.com

Field Day 2012 for W2LJ was not to be, so far.

I went down and helped my sister clean out my Mom’s apartment as scheduled.  That was planned and was no big deal – in fact, I enjoyed spending some “alone time” with my big sister.  As we both have our own families now, that just doesn’t happen often enough.

The plan to go down to the Sarnoff Radio Club Field Day site got “kiboshed”, however.  Actually, my sister drove me past the site at around 11:00 AM as we were driving to Princeton to donate some paperback books.  I didn’t see anyone setting up at that point and had planned to stop by later, on my way home.

Of course, shortly thereafter, while packing items in the apartment, my cell phone went off – work. They were looking for a Cisco 9513 switch and line cards for an emergency switch replacement and “could I stick around close, on standby” just in case they needed me to come in and help them locate components?

So after our cleaning session ended, I hurried home just to be available, if needed.  Luckily, I wasn’t needed; but it did put a damper on my plans.

But in the evening, during my weekly Echolink session with my good friend Bob W3BBO, he mentioned his visits to some Field Day sites today and that he might visit a few more tomorrow.  Then it hit me!  Tomorrow!  Maybe tomorrow, when I am back down there, I can hit the Sarnoff site for a half hour or so. And that is assuming they’re still set up.  I know Field Day runs until 2:00 PM; but I know some clubs like to call it quits early.

So for a bit, I lived Field Day vicariously through Matt W1MST’s AmateurRadio.com, where he’s running some UStream of a couple of Field Day sites.  I was watching KC2RA for a couple of minutes when one of the guys mentioned setting up his tent so that he could sleep tonight.

Sleep on Field Day?  What is that, he asked, smiling knowingly?

When I was an officer with the Piscataway club (and was still single, BTW), I did my best to be there for set up, the whole event, and a good part of tear down.  I remember quite a few years where sleep on Field Day was nothing more than a few minutes of cat napping in Rich W2PQ’s pop up camber or Bill W2WK’s trailer. C’mon, man!  We’re there to operate, not sleep!  Who can hit the sack when there’s CW contacts to be made on 80 and 40!

Of course, the end result was being rather bleary eyed and dysfunctional for work come Monday morning.  The other side effect was hearing Morse Code in your head for about 3 – 5 days later until that faded away.  But those were fun days and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for all the tea in China! (Ooops!  Am I still allowed to say that; or is that something the PC police are going to shut me down for?)

Hope you all are having a wonderful Field Day!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Field Day 2012 is upon us and many of you are out enjoying the day.  For those who are working or can’t make their local Field Day event, there is always the option of living vicariously through those who are able.

Here is a live feed from Kings County Repeater Association (KC2RA) in Brooklyn, New York:



Or you can follow the Northwest Arkansas team of K5PO, WB0RUR, K5KVN, and K5OY here:

How is your Field Day 2012 going?

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

Whenever I have taken a rig to operate in the Great Outdoors using a wire antenna I have often been disappointed. This is probably due to my use of inadequate antennas – Miracle Whips and the like. When I have tried wire I usually fail to get it up high enough. Usually when hurling a rock attached to a string into the trees, the rock rebounds off a branch and narrowly avoids hitting me on the head. If I do manage to get it up high the rock irremovably entwines itself with a branch just out of reach. There has to be a better way!

AlexLoop WalkHam carrying case

I have long been an enthusiast for magnetic loop antennas and have often wished I could use one as a portable antenna. My Wonder Loop was an attempt to make such an antenna, but it was less portable than transportable (by car) and has seen more use as a spare antenna from inside the shack.

I looked longingly at the WalkHam made by Alex PY1AHD and wished I could make a portable loop as neat and compact as that. If I had to make it myself it might never get done so I decided to bite the bullet and buy one of Alex’s ready-made loops.

There are two versions of the AlexLoop. One is a kit using copper tube  for the radiating element and costs $199 US. The other version, called the WalkHam, uses stout coaxial cable for the main loop and comes ready built in its own custom made carrying case similar to a laptop case. The price of the AlexLoop WalkHam is $299 US. Shipping to the UK by express courier to the UK is a further $82 US. The total cost to me using PayPal was just over £250 at the present exchange rate.

AlexLoop WalkHam in its case

 The WalkHam is well made with gold plated connectors for the loop element. It is easy to assemble, though not so easy to pack away unless you have a photo to show how the parts go back! The mast is made of black plastic tubing and is in three push-together sections. Once assembled the antenna may be used whilst held aloft – hence the name. Most users will probably prefer some sort of mast.

The AlexLoop WalkHam ready for use.

The loop is 1 metre in diameter and tuned using an air spaced variable capacitor with a 3:1 reduction drive giving a 4 : 1 tuning range: 10m – 40m. Most magnetic loops including home-made ones only manage a tuning range of 3:1: 10m – 30m or 15m – 40m. My MFJ magnetic loop is the 40m – 15m version as it was bought during the last solar minimum when 12m and 10m were not much use!

The coupling loop has a diameter of about 20cm. The maximum power handling is 20 watts PEP, 10 watts continuous wave, making the WalkHam perfect for use with QRP radios like the FT-817 or Elecraft’s new KX3!

Tuning as expected of a magnetic loop is extremely sharp but I noticed little or no hand-capacitance effect. With a little practice the loop can be tuned by peaking for maximum noise in the receiver. If the SWR isn’t low enough then the tuning may be touched up using transmit and the rig’s built-in SWR meter if it has one (both the FT-817 and KX3 do!) If not, a simple SWR indicator as I used in my Wonder Loop would be a big help.

Subjectively the AlexLoop seems to work as well as my MFJ magnetic loop in the attic, which itself is comparable to a full-size dipole. There are not many portable antennas that would beat the AlexLoop WalkHam for performance, unless you are able to erect a couple of 40-foot masts!

One thing that would improve the package would be a way of erecting the antenna so that it will stand on its own. I think my arm would soon get tired holding the WalkHam aloft! Possibly a short guyed mast made of sections of electrical conduit would do the job: magnetic loops don’t need to be far above ground in order to work. Some users are reportedly using photographic tripods so I’ll probably investigate that in due course.

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

The past few days, “The Heat Is On” by Glenn Frey from the movie “Beverly Hills Cop” had been constantly running through my head.  It’s been a scorcher and was best described by my friend Kevin, who looked at me Wednesday night and just said one word – “Oppressive”.

Now, truth be told …. I love the Summer.  Just love, love, love it!  The heat and humidity normally don’t bother me too much, but (pardon the pun) there was no “warm up” to this.  One day – beautiful Spring weather. Next day – WHAM! – the height of Summer.  While we had the benefit of an accurate forecast, no one was ready for this, there was no ramp up of heat.

But today, the “Heat is Gone”.  Actually, it was still pretty bad all day; but at around 5:30 PM, while it was still around 90F(32C), dark thunderheads appeared in the western sky. By 6:00 PM it was lightning, thundering and pouring buckets of rain – and ….. it was also 72F (22C). A drop of almost 20 Farenheit degrees.  The balance of the forecast for the weekend looks good – sunny each day and highs in the mid 80s (29C).  That should mean excellent conditions for Field Day.

Tomorrow (and possibly Sunday) I have to continue to help my sister with emptying my Mom’s apartment. However, she just texted me that the David Sarnoff Radio Club will be having their Field Day just down the street (literally) from my Mom’s place.  The NJQRPers sometimes join in on Field Day with the Sarnoff group, so maybe on the way home, I can stop off for a few minutes and mosey a bit.

Another good friend, Rem K6BBQ posted another of his entertaining and informative portable ops videos.  The one shows his efforts during the 7th Call District QSO Party back on May 5th.

Since it was May 5th, Rem was also sure to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by partaking of a burrito for lunch.  It sure looked good and I’ll bet it tasted as good as it looked.  Rem is not only a superb QRP op, (and a superb PORTABLE QRP op) but is also a Ham in the finest tradition of the hobby, making sure that good food is also included as an important part of all these events.

Hope all of you have fun this weekend with Field Day.  You know, even if you’re not affiliated with a club, as long as you have time and no conflicting commitments, there’s always the backyard picnic table or patio table, or local park or whatever.  AND ….. even if you’re not into contesting (and we all know that FD is NOT a contest – Hi!) – Field Day is a good opportunity to try out that new portable antenna you just built. Or that new radio you just built, or that new antenna tuner you just built and need to try.  You get my drift – practical field environment!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

But the flesh IS weak, tonight!

I would like to operate a bit more tonight; but I am almost falling asleep behind the key.  Due to the heat in the house last night, it was very uncomfortable trying to fall asleep.  My pillow felt like a big sponge all night long; and I finally ended up drifting off around 3:00 AM.  Of course, that was only to wake up for work about 3 hours later.

I will have to be satisfied with one contact on 20 Meters, having worked Serge RN3DN whose QTH is near Moscow.  He had a very pleasant fist and a nice 589 signal into New Jersey and I received a 569 in return.  I would love to tune around and work a few more; but it’s not a good thing when your head snaps as you fall into that grey area between being awake and falling asleep.

The KX3 continues to amaze me. So many features jammed into a radio that is really only just a little bit bigger than some of the 2M handhelds that were around when I first started my Ham career 24 years ago.

Thank the Lord, the air conditioner repairmen came today and were able to make repairs without the need for a new compressor.  It reached 98F (37C) here in Central New Jersey today – not quite high as they expected.  With the combined high humidity, it was quite oppressive.  But right now, it’s a relatively cool 78F  (25C) in the house which is much, much better than what I had to deal with last night.  I should be able to garner a good night’s sleep tonight.

Tomorrow is expected to be very hot and humid again; but not quite as warm as today.  Heavy and possibly some severe thunderstorms are expected late tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening, which will break the back of this heatwave.  High temperatures over the weekend are expected around 85F (29C).

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Yesterday my son, Antonio, got his call sign: KDØSGL! He’s been putting his HT to use, too. It came in handy yesterday evening when we were at opposite ends of Walmart, and this morning he took it along with him when he went to mow grass for a widow. My daughter dropped him off along with the lawnmower, and I waited to hear Antonio on the radio so she could go pick him up when he finished. We have a couple of “private” channels programmed in our radios for simplex on 2m and 70cm with a sub-audible tone set for CTCSS.

The thing is, our handhelds don’t go quite that far if one of us is indoors — and I was. No problem! Once my daughter returned with the pickup, I just set my new (used) Kenwood TM-V71A to cross-band repeat between our two channels. It is as simple as turning it off and turning it on again while holding down the [TONE] button, so it only took a second. When my son finally called me, he was sending to the high-gain antenna on my pickup on 2m and being rebroadcast on 70cm at 50 watts. Needless to say he boomed in on my handheld on 70cm when he finally called, even though I was indoors. And when I replied on 70cm, the Kenwood in my pickup rebroadcast my signal on 2m at 50 watts, booming in on his handheld. He would have to have been mighty far away for us to have had trouble communicating.

One thing I like about the Kenwood TM-V71A is that you can set it to identify every 10 minutes using morse code when it is in repeater mode. I have it set to do just that. Sure enough, while I was working indoors waiting for Antonio to call, I heard “NØIP/R” a couple times in morse as my own personal repeater announced itself.

My friend tells me to watch out lest I drain my battery doing this, so I’m being careful how much I use my mobile radio in cross-band repeater mode. But for short periods for just my son and I, it is the perfect solution to extend the range of our handhelds.

Todd Mitchell, NØIP, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Minnesota, USA. He can be contacted at [email protected].

The first day of Summer came as a prototypical Summer day – hot and humid!  The high temperature did reach 96F (35C) and is expected to be about the same tomorrow (maybe a little higher) and in the 90s on Friday. A heatwave is defined as a period of at least three days with temps in the 90s – so Summer is starting off with a bang!

Unfortunately, our air conditioning unit picked a heckuva time to give up the ghost!  We have a repairman coming tomorrow and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will not need a new compressor.  Our Central AC unit was not brandy new when we bought the house 14 years ago, so it may be time for a new one. Eeep!

On the CW-Bugs Yahoo group, Donnie WA9TGT posted a picture of a beautiful (and I mean beautiful!) picture of a bug that he fabricated himself.  I would love to post a copy here; but the original is in his picture folder on the group, so  it is not public property.  If you are a member of the group, however, you can take a  look-see for yourself at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cw_bugs/photos/recent/1291589982/view  It is a thing of beauty and I wish I had the talent to make things like this.

Now for something not radio related: If you have a kindle and are also on Facebook, here’s a site to “like”:
http://www.facebook.com/EreaderNewsToday

Over the past few months I have been able to “buy” about 30 or 40 books for FREE.  There are all types of genres available and there may be days when it seems that nothing good is being offered except for a bunch of turkeys.  But then the days come when there are a lot of good mysteries, suspense novels, thrillers, etc. In true Ham fashion, stuff that’s offered for free can’t be all bad, can it?

This weekend is Field Day and the weather here in the Northeast looks to be perfect for it. I will not be participating this year as my sister and I have to finish clearing out my Mom’s apartment before the end of the month.  We’ve gotten a lot taken care of so far; and are about halfway done.  I think all the small stuff will be boxed up and moved out this weekend.  Whatever furniture is left over will be donated to charity and will be picked up next week.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].