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I enjoyed a drink and a meal with Justin, G4TSH on Monday evening. One of the things we talked about was some software called MMVARI. This software to decode RTTY has the ability to decode a number of streams. Ideal if you’re running a pileup from a DXpedition. Or, for those of us at home, to have a display of RTTY activity across a portion of the band.

You can see it in action from CE0Y/I2DMI in this video

From some quick googling around it looks like the software can be integrated into the N1MM contest logging software for RTTY contesting. I know one DXpedition group who are planning to use it too…

Haven’t downloaded this and tried it out myself, but it definitely looks of interest.

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

According to the UK repeaters website, two new 2m repeater channels have been internationally agreed:

• 144.9750MHz input / 145.5750MHz output (RV46)
• 144.9875MHz input / 145.5875MHz output (RV47)

Though these channels are not available for use in the UK yet, the wording of the announcement suggests that they eventually will be.

Looks like we dinosaurs who still insist on calling the calling channel S20 are going to have to give up QSYing to S23!

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

It is a very rare event when I am able to spend a majority of the late afternoon and early evening on the radio. Julie and rose this morning to do a much needed house cleaning once that was done it was time for a walk. It's September and the weather is starting to change on Saturday it was 38C with the humidity but Monday it was a nice 18C. After our walk it was  hobby time for both Julie and I, her with photography and me ham radio. I began by starting the PC and opening up the QRP spot website. I noticed a spot for VA2OTA who was activating a summit for summits on the air. I tuned to 14.060 for a listen but was not able to hear anything...... according to the spots he was there and looking for contacts.
So I setup VFO B on the k3 for 14.060 using my new Grove HS-900 antenna. This way I was able to listen for VA2OTA with in my right ear and on VFO A cruise all the other bands for contacts with my left ear. While waiting for VA2OTA my left ear picked up 4O3A at 14.019 I gave him a call and he came right back with a 599...not bad for 5 watts and an attic dipole. It was a very short QSO as he had many in line
waiting for him. I was hearing some action in my right ear but it was only other stations working VA2OTA so it was off to VFO A again to see what was out there. 40 meter was not to busy as it was still early so back to 20 meters. I came on a QSO that was just ending so I waited and called Vito ON6VL he came back to me and gave me a 559 report. Conditions were changing and Vito was starting to loose me so we ended our QSO. It was back to the computer and someone who posted a spot for VA2OTA said they had to use the audio peak filtering on their K3. That got me thinking and I not only used the APF (a link to YouTube for an example) but diversity mode as well. BINGO it worked at 14.060 VA2OTA jumped out of the noise floor. Now mind you it was...JUST....above the noise floor. I waited for my turn as there was a line up wanting to make contact. I gave him a call and he came back to me we exchanged reports and that was it.  So over all the radio time was a success.




Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

This one is going to be a little short, but here is some highlights of the ARISSat-1 on the event of it’s 1 month of service, and the 1 month of me trying to still receive it. While I am not bitter, I do cry myself to sleep sometimes at night, knowing I may never get to hear it. And if you believed that last sentence, I have some bridges in New York City I would like to offer you a great deal on.

So, here are some of the articles I have posted about ARISSat-1:

• Watch ARISSat-1 Deploy on NASA TV [VIDEO]
  

• Track and Watch ARISSat-1 on The Go!
  

• ARISSat-1 the Easy Way [VIDEO]
  

Also, Douglas, KA2UPW/5 has reported that over 3000 frames of telemetry data has been sent in from the satelitte in the last 2 days. So things are still looking good. If you have any images from the SSTV on the satellite, please share them. I would love to see them.

Now, I haven’t really added much more on the ARISSat-1 because I didn’t want to get too bogged down with it. There are a ton of other stores I wanted to touch on as well. And I will be as we move forward. One of which is an Apple Cider Mobile as Autumn approaches and Apple Cider becomes the new beer for the evenings. Along with cider donuts and cheese curds and all the other goodies you can get at those small stores at family apple orchards here in Upstate NY. All this makes for a fun night at the radio on my favorite 2 meter repeater.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday on AmiZed Studios and hosts a podcast called The Kim & Rich Show with his fiance’ Kim Dunne.

Rich Gattie, KB2MOB, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New York, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

For five months now my friend Keith (ACØVW) and I have been planning to get together and build Ham-Can kits together. Finally the day arrived when we could fit it in! Last Thursday Keith made the 2 1/2 hour drive from the Twin Cities to my house in Granite Falls for a kit-building session.

The first thing we did was to inventory the parts in each of our kits. All were present and accounted for except one — a 1000 pF capacitor was missing from Keith’s kit. So naturally I picked up the phone and called Radio Shack in Montevideo, MN. Where else are you going to find a part like this at a moment’s notice out in the sticks?

What I didn’t know when I called was that the store had already been closed for a half hour! But still the owner answered the phone, and without saying anything about being closed he went to see if he had the capacitor we needed. When he came back he said that he couldn’t find one, but that it was a bit hard for him to search all of his stock because he had to use a flashlight — that’s when he explained that the store was closed. After thanking him for going to the trouble I started lamenting our state, explaining how my friend had driven all the way out here only to find that he didn’t have all of his parts.

The fellow at Radio Shack told me to hold on while he went to search for the capacitor again. Next time he got back on the phone he told me he had found one! And not only that, he told me that he would deliver it to me since he and his wife happened to be heading our way in a few minutes. By now I’m really thanking him! But it gets better. He told me, “The only catch is that you can’t pay for it. We get paid by the smile.”

We met this gentleman and his charming wife at Subway, where he gave us the capacitor we needed along with a handful of others just for fun. All of this added up to way more than mere marketing. This was heart-warming small-town kindness, and yes, it did instantly make me a loyal customer.

Of course Keith and I insisted on purchasing their dinner. They showed us what had brought them our way. In the back of their pickup-truck was an antique mill they had just purchased. They were planning on grinding up a whole bunch of wheat that they had at home so they could make their own bread with flour they’d ground themselves. I gave them my card and told them to call me when they had a loaf of that bread, and we’d have them over for supper.

Whatever you think of Radio Shack, it’s still the only game in town for most of us when we need electronic components at a moment’s notice. Maybe we should think twice before going to Wal-Mart or ordering stuff online that we could otherwise get at the local Radio Shack. It may cost a few dollars more, but it might be worth it. If we don’t support our local Radio Shack, it may not be around for long (see here).

I for one am sure glad this Radio Shack is still around, and that the owner is such a fine fellow. I’d like to keep him in business so that the next time I come up short when building something, he’s still there to sell it to me.

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

I was perusing eBay a few weeks ago and stumbled upon an interesting listing:

What is it? According to the listing, it’s a remote adjustable half-wave dipole antenna with an SWR of less than 1.5:1 from 1.8 MHz to 55 MHz. How does it work? From the listing:

By Extending or retracting the 2 Antenna elements until you have reached the point of Resonance for the desired operating frequency. There by providing maximum forward power and little if any reflected RF power.

You have effectively built a custom cut to frequency dipole antenna each and every time you change frequency with out leaving the equipment operating position.

The Antenna is controlled by the flip of a switch, or could possibly be controlled by the micro processor in most modern day transceivers and could possibly track the VFO as you move up and down in frequency so it would always be at its resonant point.

A little intrigued, I e-mailed the creator, Frank McGinley, WB4NWV, to inquire about it. I asked how he developed it and told him that I’d be interested in doing a little post on his antenna design.

THE TITLE OF THE THE STORY IS HOW FAR HAVE WE COME.

LOCATION FORT BRAGG NORTH CAROLINA, UNIT OF ASSIGNMENT,  50TH SIGNAL BATTALION ( AIRBORNE ), FIELD TRAINING EXERCISE.

IT WAS DARK EXCEPT FOR THE LIGHT FROM THE STARS, THAT SHOWN THROUGH THE CLOUDS , IT WAS BITTER COLD AND THE WIND WAS HOWLING , THE RAIN AND SLEET WAS INTENSE, AS I STUMBLED THROUGH THE BUSHES TRYING NOT TO GET THE DIPOLE ANTENNA ELEMENTS TANGLED UP IN THE SAME BUSHES, UNSUCCESSFULLY I MIGHT ADD,THE TIME 23:45 HOURS I HAD TO CHANGE THE LENGTH OF THE DIPOLE  FROM THE DAY FREQUENCY TO THE NIGHT FREQUENCY, AFTER A HECK OF A FIGHT TO LOWER THE ELEMENTS TO THE GROUND AND SPENDING 3 OR 4 MINUTES TRYING TO UNTANGLE THE HALYARDS, THE FLASH LIGHT WITH THE RED LENS HELD IN MY MOUTH AND MY GLOVES REMOVED, MY FINGERS  SO COLD THAT THEY DID NOT WANT TO COOPERATE  I WAS SHAKING SO BAD FROM THE COLD THAT THE LIGHT WAS HAVING A HARD TIME STAYING ON THE SPOT WHERE I NEEDED IT, MAKING IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO UNTIE THE TANGLED MESS ALL THE TIME TRYING TO HURRY TO BE BACK UP ON THE AIR BY 24:00 HOURS

WELL AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE  FOREVER I GOT IT BACK UP,AND RETURNED TO THE WARMTH OF THE RADIO TELETYPE SHELTER, AND BEGAN THE PROCESS OF CHECKING THE SWR, ONLY TO FIND THAT IT WAS TOO HIGH, WELL BACK OUT INTO THE COLD AND RAIN I WENT, THE ANTENNA WAS TO SHORT, ROUND 2 WENT ABOUT LIKE ROUND 1 NOT VERY SMOOTH, AS THE WIND HAD BLOWN THE ANTENNA ELEMENTS INTO THE BUSHES, IT TOOK ME QUITE A WHILE TO UNTANGLE THEM,  LENGTHEN THEM  AND PULL THEM BACK UP, BACK TO THE RADIO VAN, CHECK THE SWR AGAIN, NOT FLAT BUT GOOD ENOUGH, I WAS SOAKED AND FROZEN AND WAS NOT GOING TO TRY IT A THIRD TIME, NOT TO MENTION THAT IT WAS 00:24 HOURS,AND TIME FOR ME TO CHECK IN WITH THE NET CONTROL STATION, I HAD NO TRAFFIC AND THE RADIO CHECK WENT WELL, IT WAS NOW TIME FOR ME TO GET OUT OF MY COLD WET UNIFORM AND INTO A DRY WARM ONE, WELL AS YOU CAN IMAGINE I WAS NOT A VERY HAPPY CAMPER, AND TO THIS DAY I DO NOT ENJOY CAMPING OUT, THERE WERE MANY DAYS  AND NIGHTS LIKE THESE THAT FOLLOWED , EXTREME HEAT,EXTREME COLD, WET AND SOGGY, BITING  FLY’S, MOSQUITOES,  YOU NAME IT AND ALWAYS THE SAME PROBLEM, TO LONG OR TO SHORT, KNEE DEEP IN MUD, UP AND DOWN BACK TO THE VAN, UP AND DOWN AND BACK TO THE VAN,AND NEVER COULD I GET THE SWR FLAT, CLOSE BUT NEVER FLAT.

TIME FLY’S WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN,  SOON 20 YEARS OF FUN TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE  HAD COME TO AND END,  AND IT WAS TIME TO ENJOY H. F. RADIO AS A SERVICE,  WELL THE MORE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME,  MY DIPOLE ANTENNA CUT FOR THE HIGH END OF THE BAND WITH A CLIP LEAD EXTENSION TO MAKE IT RESONANT AT THE LOW END OF THE BAND, WELL YOU GUESSED IT, BACK OUT INTO THE NIGHT IN THE SNOW IN MY BEDROOM SLIPPERS  P.J.’S AND HOUSECOAT, NOT A GOOD THING,  I KNOW I COULD HAVE USED AN ANTENNA TUNER OR COUPLER AS IT IS CALLED,  BUT ALAS I AM A PURIST, AND DO NOT LIKE THEM, EVERY TIME I HAD TO DO THIS,  I KEPT HAVING FLASH BACKS OF MY MANY FIELD TRAINING EXERCISES , THAT WAS WHEN IT STRUCK ME THERE, HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY.

WELL I TRIED EVERY THING, G5RV’S, OFF CENTER FED DIPOLES, YOU NAME IT I TRIED IT,  WAS I HAPPY, TO PUT IT MILDLY,  HECK NO,  SO IT WAS TIME TO PUT ON MY THINKING CAP,  MY MIND WANDERED BACK TO WHEN I WAS THE NONCOMMISSIONED  OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE MARS RADIO STATION AT FORT BRAGG, WE HAD A DIPOLE MADE FOR COLLINS BY HYGAIN THE TD-1 IT WAS MADE OUT OF TAPE MEASURE TAPES, IT WAS A POOR DESIGN,  IF YOU USED MORE THEN 100 WATTS IT WOULD ARC INTERNALLY , BUT THE CONCEPT WAS THERE,  CHANGE THE DESIGN SOME ADD A 13.8 VOLT D.C. MOTOR, SOME LIMIT SWITCHES AND A CONTROL BOX AND , YOU HAVE A MOTORIZED ONE HALF WAVELENGTH DIPOLE THAT CAN BE REMOTELY ADJUSTED FROM INSIDE THE RADIO OPERATOR’S  LOCATION, WITH NO NEED TO SEE  IT OR GO OUTSIDE TO ADJUST THE ANTENNA.

YES 1.8 MEGAHERTZ TO 55 MEGAHERTZ AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN WITHOUT COMPROMISING,  PERFECTLY FLAT SWR 1 TO 1, AND NO NEED FOR THE INFAMOUS ANTENNA TUNER,  IN THIS AGE OF ALL MODE ALL FREQUENCY  H.F. TRANSCEIVERS, THERE WAS A NEED FOR AN ANTENNA THAT WOULD COVER THE ENTIRE H,F, SPECTRUM WITHOUT COMPROMISE,  MANY THOUGHT THAT DAY WOULD NEVER COME, ARE YOU SICK OF DUMMY LOAD ANTENNAS AND ANTENNA TUNERS,  GENERAL COVERAGE TRANSCEIVER MEET GENERAL COVERAGE ANTENNA,  I GIVE YOU THE AMAZING TUNE-A-TENNA.

Frank has a fascinating story and I salute his service to our country.

Pretty neat. But… well, $25,000 is a lot of money for an antenna.  What do you get? A patent (7,286,100B1), trademark (3,336,489), domain names, and a few prototypes. According to the eBay listing, Mr. McGinley believes that the right buyer could base a business around this antenna design and manufacture them for about $300 each:

Our best estimate, the cost to produce the final product for sale should be around $300, Possibly lower.

Our best Estimate of the retail price of the semi-auto version would be $825, which equates to $525 per unit. If you advertise wisely on Ebay, Qrz.com and QST Magazine you should have no problem netting $500 per unit profit, possible more?

Our best estimate of the retail price of the auto version would be $1,225 which equates to $700 net per unit possibly more?

What do you think?  Is there a market for such an antenna?  If you think so, check out the eBay listing or contact Frank. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.

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

I’ve worked contests before.  Typically if I hear a contest taking place on the bands I’ll tune around and answer a few CQ’s to give points away.  However, I’ve never been serious enough about it to spend several hours working a specific contest and do most of it while running a specific frequency.  Most contests (excluding Field Day) I generally use the search and pounce method of scanning up and down the bands listening for contest stations calling CQ, then pounce and answer their CQ. 

I’ve had the Colorado QSO Party on my calendar for a few weeks now and coordinated the time with my wife so I could work the contest.  From the beginning I decided I wanted to try my hand at contest operations and I would log my contacts in a suitable logging software and submit my log.  I really had no expectations of just what the outcome would be.  My goal was to have fun and represent my state of Colorado as proudly as possible on the amateur bands.

The Colorado QSO party was scheduled to start at 6 AM (local) and run for 16 hours until 10 PM (local).  The work week prior had been difficult and I decided I wouldn’t get started too early of a start.  I had my priorities in the right order and made sure to switch on the coffee pot before the HF rig.  With coffee in hand, I turned on the computer and the HF rig just a little after 8:30 and positioned myself on 14.280 and began calling CQ contest. 

The Q’s began flying into the log book and I probably had logged 30 or so within what seemed like no time at all.  I quickly recharged my coffee cup and logged another 30 or so before lunch.  I took a short break for lunch and then things slowed down.  20m had been hot in the mid-morning hours, but all that changed after lunch.

The best laid plans, well…are not always exactly what you want them to be.  We’re trying to get new windows installed on the ground level portion of our house this year.  The salesman was dropping by for the contract signing and this took a little longer than planned.  After about 90 minutes the changes were incorporated (gotta keep the wife happy) and I was back on the air.  But I would have another 2.5 hours off the air as we agreed to attend a neighborhood BBQ (gotta keep the wife and neighbors happy).  I got back home and got back on the air for the last 90 minutes of the QSO Party. 

The final 90 minutes was slow and I switched between the 40 and 20m band and managed to work an additional 10 QSO’s.  All-in-all it was a lot of fun.  I worked a total of 138 QSO’s for a total of 8004 points. 

Band	QSOs	Pts	Mlt
3.5	1	2	0
7	7	14	2
14	130	260	26
Total	138	276	28
Score	8004

My setup for the Colorado QSO party consisted of my Yaesu FT-950 (I really love this rig), a Heil Pro-Set headset with the HC-4 mic and for true hands free operation, I dusted off my Heil footswitch.  I also logged using N1MM software for the first time.  I had searched for logging software which would work for the Colorado QSO party.  This did the job and I look forward to using it again for other contest logging. 

In closing, I’m not sure where my numbers will rank in the totals.  I know others who participated scored much higher.  I didn’t begin it to win it, I did it to have fun and mission accomplished.  I do look forward to the next contest and of course next year for the Colorado QSO party.  Radio Sport is fun, exciting and ham radio.

Until next time…

73 de KD0BIK/AE

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].