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Is is wise to buy your wife an appliance for Christmas…..maybe!!
6 December 2016 | by 
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
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Is is wise to buy your wife an appliance for Christmas…..maybe!!
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
» Leave a Comment (7)
LHS Episode #179: Spinning the Cube
In this episode, Linux in the Ham Shack discusses diverse topics including 915MHz operation, a new cube satellite, "smart" ham radio, a new Ubuntu distro with Budgie as the default desktop, games, ssh honeypots, a PHP-based logger and much more. Thanks for listening and all the best. Happy holiday season to all.
73 de The LHS Crew
Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].
» Leave a Comment (0)
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 136
SSTV active from ISS December 8-9
The SSTV images will be transmitted as part of the MAI-75 Experiment on 145.800 MHz FM using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver located in the Russian ISS Service module.
AMSAT UK
Last call to press for Senate passage of Amateur Radio Parity Act
The House of Representatives approved the bill in September, and the Senate must follow suit if the bill is to succeed.
ARRL
Hurricane Center on air for SKYWARN Recognition Day
WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center in Miami will participate in SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) on Saturday, December 3.
ARRL
Santa Net 2016
Every year on 3916, we give good little boys and girls a chance to talk to Santa Claus at the North Pole!
The 3916 Nets
2 element dual-rectangle beam for 70cm
The antenna described here is a direct-connect dual-rectangle beam for use on 70 cm between 440 and 450 MHz.
jedsoft.org
Easy homemade Outernet antenna
An antenna for less than $1 total cost, doable without power tools and soldering, in less than 30 minutes.
Radio for Everyone
Emergency preparedness on the road
If it is required that I spend the night away from home for whatever the situation, I am prepared, as I carry all the required gear that will keep me safe if I become stranded.
VE6AB
A review of the Elecraft KX2 general coverage QRP transceiver
The KX2 is a feature-rich pocket QRP transceiver. For those who are familiar with the Elecraft product line, it’s like a KX3 (feature rich portable rig) in a KX1-sized (much smaller, handheld/pocket) package.
The SWLing Post
Looking back at Cycle 23
Cycle 23 was a much bigger cycle with higher sunspot numbers than Cycle 24.
NY4G
Disturbing the peace: Can America’s quietest town be saved?
There’s a town in West Virginia where there are tight restrictions on mobile signal, wifi and other parts of what most of us know as simply: modern life.
BBC
Special event
Members of the ‘Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association’ (BIARA) will be active as NI6BB between 1600-2359z on Wednesday, December 7th, in memory of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Southgate
Video
How to set up an Outernet receiver
Outernet continuously sends out useful data like weather reports, news, APRS data as well as files like Wikipeda pages, images, videos and books.
RTL-SDR.com
Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.
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Mailbox, Coffee And The ‘Stew’
Recent mail has brought two nice surprises. As I am preparing for this weekend's ARRL 160m CW affair, a certificate from the ARRL arrived ... from last year's 160m CW Contest!
It seemed that I had somehow stumbled into top score from VE7 land for the single-op, low power division and since I haven't seen a QST in decades, this came as a complete surprise.
Over the years I've always tried to test the 160m waters at contest time just in case conditions are amazingly good ... which they haven't particularly been for the past few years of solar angst. Even piddly Cycle 24, for most of its lifespan, has proven powerful enough to mess up the Topband.
The 160 contest I enjoy the most is the December Stew Perry. It's the only one that's scored fairly and QSO points are determined by distance. Compared to working something close, any of the east coast grids from out west will get you a sack-load of points ... anything off continent earns you a boat-load. My strategy in the Stew has always been to 'search & pounce' the FN and FM grids for their high value point reward. If I had more late-night staying power in any of these affairs I could probably do a better job but I've found my fondness for the warm fleece-sheeted bed beckoning earlier each year. I'm sure it has nothing to do with getting older ... right?
I honestly don't know how some guys, much older than myself, can hang in there 'til dawn. Maybe it's coffee, which would certainly do it for me. If I even look at a coffee after the noon hour, I'm still counting sheep past midnight. A late night contest-coffee for me would guarantee no sleep until the following night unfortunately.
The second surprise was a nice QSL from Mark, WA9ETW in Wisconsin, confirming our recent crossband QSO ... 630m to 80m CW. Notice Mark's receiving antenna used on 630m, just a 100' wire about 15' off the ground! It doesn't take much to hear domestic signals on 630m so if you already have the WSPR software installed and are familiar with its operation, why not set your receiver to 474.200 in USB mode and see what you can hear. There are stations from coast to coast beaconing every night on this band. Be sure to set your software to upload your decodes to the WSPRnet site so that everyone, especially the beacon operators, can see who you are hearing.
If we worked in the recent 630m crossband event and you'd like a card, please let me know ... I'll be happy to put one in the mail for you.
How I do wish that the FCC would get on with it and legalize the 630m band in the U.S.A. Hopefully the turnovers in Washington will not translate into further delays as is often the case when big governmental changes are in the works. In the meantime, hopefully we can at least work each other in the ARRL CW 160 this weekend!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
» Leave a Comment (0)
Mailbox, Coffee And The ‘Stew’
Recent mail has brought two nice surprises. As I am preparing for this weekend's ARRL 160m CW affair, a certificate from the ARRL arrived ... from last year's 160m CW Contest!
It seemed that I had somehow stumbled into top score from VE7 land for the single-op, low power division and since I haven't seen a QST in decades, this came as a complete surprise.
Over the years I've always tried to test the 160m waters at contest time just in case conditions are amazingly good ... which they haven't particularly been for the past few years of solar angst. Even piddly Cycle 24, for most of its lifespan, has proven powerful enough to mess up the Topband.
The 160 contest I enjoy the most is the December Stew Perry. It's the only one that's scored fairly and QSO points are determined by distance. Compared to working something close, any of the east coast grids from out west will get you a sack-load of points ... anything off continent earns you a boat-load. My strategy in the Stew has always been to 'search & pounce' the FN and FM grids for their high value point reward. If I had more late-night staying power in any of these affairs I could probably do a better job but I've found my fondness for the warm fleece-sheeted bed beckoning earlier each year. I'm sure it has nothing to do with getting older ... right?
I honestly don't know how some guys, much older than myself, can hang in there 'til dawn. Maybe it's coffee, which would certainly do it for me. If I even look at a coffee after the noon hour, I'm still counting sheep past midnight. A late night contest-coffee for me would guarantee no sleep until the following night unfortunately.
The second surprise was a nice QSL from Mark, WA9ETW in Wisconsin, confirming our recent crossband QSO ... 630m to 80m CW. Notice Mark's receiving antenna used on 630m, just a 100' wire about 15' off the ground! It doesn't take much to hear domestic signals on 630m so if you already have the WSPR software installed and are familiar with its operation, why not set your receiver to 474.200 in USB mode and see what you can hear. There are stations from coast to coast beaconing every night on this band. Be sure to set your software to upload your decodes to the WSPRnet site so that everyone, especially the beacon operators, can see who you are hearing.
If we worked in the recent 630m crossband event and you'd like a card, please let me know ... I'll be happy to put one in the mail for you.
How I do wish that the FCC would get on with it and legalize the 630m band in the U.S.A. Hopefully the turnovers in Washington will not translate into further delays as is often the case when big governmental changes are in the works. In the meantime, hopefully we can at least work each other in the ARRL CW 160 this weekend!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
» Leave a Comment (2)
An SWR anomaly….that suddenly popped up!!
 |
| SWR on 15m...and hoping to see it again on 20m |
During the CQ WW CW contest last weekend the SWR on my K3 was jumping around from 1.4, 1.6, 1.3 and back to 1.6 and so on. This “flutter” has never happened in the past also it was only happening on 20m. All the other bands were just fine, I left this anomaly alone during the contest as most of my contesting was done on 15m. The next day once the contest was over it was time to look into it. I first wanted to check to make sure the issue still existed, as in the past I have had things just “disappear” to never happen again. The issue was still there so it was time to investigate.
My setup is as follows:
- Elecraft K3 operating at 5 watts.
- MFJ 1788 mag loop antenna.
- The coax is 30 feet of RG8X.
- There is an LDG switch allowing me to switch between the K3 and KX3.
Here is what I did and what I found:
1 - I switched the K3 to antenna B which is my dummy load. I found the SWR was stable as a flat match.
2 - I also have the Elecraft KX3 so I hooked that radio to the same antenna system. The SWR did not flutter as it did with the K3.
3 - I then hooked the antenna up to the antenna “B” connection on the K3 seeing the dummy load worked on antenna B. There was still a flutter in the SWR.
4- I then took the K3 out of service and opened it up tightening each and every screw I could find. This did not make a difference I still had the SWR flutter.
5- Even though the SWR was stable when using the KX3 I went ahead and made sure all the PL-259 connectors were tight. They all were good and snug.
I then posted on the Elecraft reflector site what was happening and the results I listed above. To my surprise all the advice that came back echoed the same……RF on the coax and making it back to the rig. I was informed that just because the KX3 did not have the issue did not rule out the feedline and or antenna. I did rule this out and was not going to look any further into anything other than the K3.
The following was some of the suggestions from the reflector.
1. If you can move the antenna further away from your shack. I am not able to do this as I am in a condo and the antenna is on the balcony.
2. Turn the antenna 90 degrees and see if the flutter becomes less.
3. Add a counterpoise to the ground lug on the K3.
Upon reviewing all this great feedback and wondering where to start, it was very odd that up until this weekend I had NEVER had an issue with the SWR on 20m. Then it occurred to me something I always do when it come to my trouble shooting which is to ask myself “Is there anything I have recently changed or added?” I went over in my head and there was nothing at all I added or took away from the radio setup. I proceeded to go out on the balcony to rotate the antenna 90 degrees as my other advice to myself when trouble shooting is preform the easiest things first and see what happens. The rotation of the antenna did nothing and back out onto the balcony I went to rotate that antenna back. While out there I checked out our balcony Christmas light to see if any had burnt out……….wait a minute the lights were just put up 2 days ago…….this equals a change!!! But could balcony lights funk up 20m??? I unplugged the lights and removed the extension cord I used to plug them in. I checked out the K3 and 20m was just fine now. I then placed the extension cord back out leaving it unplugged and the SWR I found fluttered just a tiny amount. I then plugged the lights in and check, I found the full-fledged SWR flutter returned. Therefor during the holiday season you will know I’m on the radio when the balcony Christmas lights are off!!
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
» Leave a Comment (0)
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