AmateurRadio.com

Not the best shot but it's an evening shot

I was able to get the loop on the air today after work and I was very much wanting to see if it was actually working on the air.........testing it and putting it on the air can be a whole different kettle of fish. I am happy to say the antenna works just fine if not better. It seems to tune to a better SWR and seems more smooth at arriving at a low SWR. In the past it seemed to have a very sharp tuning curve and if you did not pay attention the sweet spot was gone. So the bands were decent sounding well were I was on 30m that is. I called CQ and I had a come back from VE3HEU! Not exactly DX but it's a contact and from what I have been reading the bands at times have been rough shape......HI HI. Vic was so close we could had met for coffee in the local Starbucks for goodness sake.  He is a fellow condo ham that was using a mobile whip antenna and at 10 floors up using approx 90 watts. I am not that bold and my power is at a steady 5 watts as I don't want to have a knock at my door. This gave me a great opportunity some CW practice and boy when you don't use it for some time you really  have to think about what you are sending. It felt really great to get on the radio again as it has been go go go  here with work, out of town guests and just plan old stuff around the house that has to be done. I think I may stick with 30m's as it seems to be very much alive in the early evenings.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Today I operated from the caboose of the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad as it traveled from Meredith to Lakeport. I worked Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Curacao, and San Marino. Who could ask for more?

I’ve been working on the railroad for 10 years, but have only operated from the caboose once before. There was one train today running at 1:00 pm. My friend Tim W3ATB was the conductor. So I decided to take the opportunity.

I set up an Outbacker antenna on a grab rail of the caboose and ran some coax through a back window to a table inside. I set the Outbacker to 15 meters and tuned up the KX3. Right away, I worked DL65DARC in Germany. A few minutes later I worked HA7ITU in Hungary. Signals were strong, and I received good reports, so I knew we’d have a successful trip.

As the train headed out of the yard and along Lake Winnipesaukee, I answered more than a dozen DX calls on 15 meters. The train left early at about 12:30 pm. My first contact from the moving train was with Tony T77C in San Marino, Italy. Then I worked DL1BUG, Red in Germany. Red wanted to know my power and antenna when I told him I was operating from a moving train.

There’s no missing the smile on my face as I worked Rune, SM5COP in Copenhagen, Sweden. Here’s my log for the trip:

28 Oct-15 1533 21.024 DL65DARC CW 599 599 Germany
28 Oct-15 1534 21.011 HA7ITU CW 599 599 Hungary
28 Oct-15 1610 21.015 DL2DX CW 569 599 Germany
28 Oct-15 1631 21.021 T77C CW 599 599 San Marino
28 Oct-15 1633 21.027 DL1BUG CW 579 599 Berlin
28 Oct-15 1638 21.028 SM5COP CW 569 599 Stockholm
28 Oct-15 1648 21.028 PJ2/W4VAB CW 599 599 Curacao
28 Oct-15 1650 21.032 K5WE CW 599 599 OK
28 Oct-15 1654 21.026 DF3VM CW 579 599 Germany
28 Oct-15 1701 21.033 OK1FPS CW 579 599 Czech Rep
28 Oct-15 1712 21.030 LZ1WR CW 599 599 Bulgaria

Mike DF3VM was also curious about my antenna and power when I told him I was operating from a train. “UR doing a great job,” Mike sent. “Enjoy the ride on the train.”

You can bet I did… what a thrill to work across the big Pond from the edge of the little pond! Thanks all for the QSOs.

Tim… W3ATB has made a beautiful video of the operation. Hope you enjoy it:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R9OiqxWRaQ&w=560&h=315]

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Taking a close look at things

It's the fall and time for some antenna maintenance for me there is no tower to climb or any outdoor work for that matter. It's as simple as bringing the MFJ 1788 indoors from my balcony and having a look. I have had the cover of the antenna off in the past so it was no problem to quickly remove it and start investigating. Some of the things I look for are poor solder joints, little critters who have made my antenna home, the smooth operation of the tuning capacitor and the over all health of the components.  It was a good thing I did check the mechanical connections and without exaggerating I have to say that almost all nuts were

Checking the cap fins

loose......some very alarmingly loose! The hardware holding the stepper motor in place was the worst but not far behind was the larger nuts that held the large tuning capacitor in place. I can't remember the antenna acting funky at all but I do believe it was just a matter of time before something reared it's ugly head like a quirky SWR! Another thing I like to do while the antenna is apart and fully cycle the tuning capacitor for not only smooth operation but the equal spacing of the moving fins along side the stationary fins. There was only some minor adjustments needed to the capacitor fins.........BUT where does "Murphy"  fit into this adventure........well just as I was finishing my adjustments the antenna slipped off the TV tables I had it on and the control wire that runs the motor broke off the circuit board! Also the "feed loop" wire was distorted somewhat. The feed loop is 10

Some of the many nuts that were very loose.

Control wire torn off.

gauge wire in the antenna that is contorted into a egg shape, this little baby can really play games with how the SWR outcome on the loop is determined. I played with it when I first got the loop and that was a mistake as it occupied about 2 hours of my time to get the antenna's SWR back to "normal". I vowed to never touch that feed loop again, but thanks to Murphy it seems I have to revisit that dark cave again. I re-soldered the stepper motor wires back in place and did my best with the feed loop wire. The antenna was put back together and with my fingers cross I tested it and to my utter surprise the unit was working better than it has in the past.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

We just wrapped up our Technician license class sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association. Thirty people took the Technician exam with 27 passing (90%). Four people went on to pass the General exam.

We offer the class twice per year and it always fills to capacity. Invariably, we wonder “where are these new hams coming from?” and instituted a survey to try to find out. Here’s the data from the most recent class, which is typical of previous classes.

Demographics

The class was almost all male (90%) and mostly above the age of 30. From time to time, we’ve had groups of Boy Scouts come through the class which shifts the age profile a bit lower.

We ask about how they found out about the class. These responses overlap so we have them check all that apply. Most of these people find out about the class through normal “ham radio channels”, including the ARRL web site. A few people in the “other” category mentioned notices published in local weekly newspapers.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Why do they want to get their amateur radio license? Disaster and emergency communications continues to be the most common answer at almost 90%. This is followed by the closely-related Backcountry/Remote Communications (about 80%). About 60% of the respondents selected radio and electronics as a hobby. More than half said they want to learn about radio communications.

Not to be overlooked is the influence of family and friends at 45%. We often see family members of current radio hams that were badgered encouraged to get their radio license. We do see more than 20% that see a ham radio benefit to their involvement with fire, search and rescue, law enforcement and similar agencies.

Summary

Emergency and disaster preparedness rank high in the reasons why these people are interested in amateur radio. This may be fueled locally due to the recent devastating wildfires in Colorado. Many people experienced first hand what happens to the mobile phone and landline systems when disaster strikes. When All Else Fails. The other major motivation is the traditional hobby aspect of amateur radio. People like to learn about technology and have fun experimenting with it. Lately, this has taken the form of the Maker Movement.

73, Bob K0NR

The post Where Are The New Technicians Coming From? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

courtesy: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

With the recent mammoth coronal hole finally rotating out of view earlier last week, geomagnetic activity dropped to the lowest level it has been for some time. The K index as well as the DST, couldn't have picked a better weekend to improve, just in time for CLE 199. Conditions below the broadcast band proved to be better than normal in what has been a rather poor month of October propagation. It may be short-lived, as another large coronal hole is now rotating into view on the sun's eastern limb, along with a new active sunspot region ... good news for 10m fans this time of the year, but not so good for LFers.

courtesy: http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dst_realtime/presentmonth/index.html

:Issued: 2015 Oct 27 0010 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
#
#          Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 26 October follow.
Solar flux 106 and estimated planetary A-index 3.
The estimated planetary K-index at 0000 UTC on 27 October was 0.
No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours.
No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.
 
                              =-=-=-=- Trends -=-=-=-=-=--
Date 25   25   25   25   25   26   26   26   26   26   26   26   26   27
UTC  0900 1200 1500 1800 2100 0000 0300 0600 0900 1200 1500 1800 2100 0000
SFlx 106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106
A-in 11   11   11   11   9    8    8    8    8    8    8    8    3    3
K-in 3    2    3    2    1    1    1    0    1    1    0    0    0    0
Current Solar information 
available at http://www.am-dx.com/wwv.htm

                 **************************************
The following NDB stations were logged here using the Perseus SDR along with my inverted-L and 10' x 20' loop. CLE 199 was an 'A-B-C' event, calling only for countries or states / provinces beginning with those letters.

Time    Freq   ID       Location
24 13:00 209 CYT Yakataga Apt, ALS
24 13:00 212 CGL Coghlan Island - Juneau, ALS
24 13:00 223 AFE Kake Apt, ALS
24 13:00 229 AKW Klawock Apt, ALS
24 13:00 233 ALJ Hinchinbrook Island, ALS
24 13:00 245 HNS Haines, ALS
26 12:00 251 OSE Bethel Apt, ALS
24 13:00 266 ICK Annette Island, ALS
26 13:00 275 CZF Cape Romanzof LRRS Apt, ALS
24 14:00 281 CRN Sparrevohn LRRS, ALS
26 14:00 338 CMQ Campbell Lake (Anchorage), ALS
26 13:00 341 ELF Cold Bay, ALS
24 13:00 350 VTR McGrath, ALS
26 13:00 355 AUB King Salmon, ALS
24 13:00 358 SIT Sitka, ALS
24 13:00 372 FPN Petersburg, ALS
24 13:00 376 PVQ Deadhorse, ALS
26 14:00 379 IWW Kenai, ALS
24 13:00 382 JNR Unalakleet, ALS
24 11:00 385 OCC Yakutat, ALS
24 13:00 390 HBT Sand Point, ALS
24 13:00 390 AES Northway, ALS
24 13:00 391 EEF Sisters Island, ALS
24 13:00 394 RWO Kodiak, ALS
24 13:00 396 CMJ Ketchikan IAP, ALS
24 14:00 404 GCR Cordova, ALS
24 13:00 414 IME Sitka Apt, ALS
24 13:00 429 BTS Dillingham, ALS
24 14:00 525 ICW Nenana, ALS
24 13:00 529 SQM Big Level Isl, ALS

24 04:00 207 PY Fort Chipewyan, AB, CAN
24 04:00 215 ZAB Edmonton (Intl Apt), AB, CAN
24 14:00 221 QU Grande Prairie, AB, CAN
26 12:00 225 X5 Vegreville, AB, CAN
26 00:20 227 9X Brooks Apt, AB, CAN
24 04:00 230 VG Vermilion, AB, CAN
26 12:00 234 3Y Donnelly, AB, CAN
24 04:00 239 OJ Footner Lake, AB, CAN
24 04:00 241 YLL Lloydminster, AB, CAN
24 04:00 248 QL Lethbridge, AB, CAN
24 04:00 254 ZYC Calgary, AB, CAN
24 04:00 266 XD Edmonton, AB, CAN
26 09:00 272 YLB Lac La Biche, AB, CAN
24 04:00 287 PE Peace River, AB, CAN
24 04:00 292 ZET Edmonton, AB, CAN
24 04:00 295 8C Fairview, AB, CAN
24 04:00 299 TV Turner Valley, AB, CAN
24 04:00 304 FH Mc Leod, AB, CAN
24 04:00 305 Z1 Three Hills, AB, CAN
26 12:00 307 M5 Manning, AB, CAN
24 04:00 308 ZZD Edmonton, AB, CAN
24 04:00 311 9Y Pincher Creek, AB, CAN
24 04:00 328 5J Coronation, AB, CAN
24 04:00 329 X2 Athabasca, AB, CAN
24 04:00 332 XH Medicine Hat, AB, CAN
24 04:00 334 P2 Wetaskiwin, AB, CAN
24 04:00 338 ZU Whitecourt, AB, CAN
24 04:00 343 YZH Slave Lake, AB, CAN
26 04:00 344 YOP Rainbow Lake, AB, CAN
26 00:29 344 YC Calgary, AB, CAN
24 04:00 353 5F Chevron, AB, CAN
26 05:00 361 E3 Wabasca, AB, CAN
24 04:00 362 6T Foremost, AB, CAN
24 04:00 379 ZEG Edmonton Intl, AB, CAN
24 04:00 385 3M Drayton Valley, AB, CAN
24 04:00 388 MM Fort Mc Murray, AB, CAN
24 04:00 388 JW Jumping Pound Creek, AB, CAN
24 04:00 398 YOD Cold Lake, AB, CAN
24 04:00 405 9G Sundre, AB, CAN
24 04:00 405 2K Camrose, AB, CAN
24 04:00 408 Z7 Claresholm, AB, CAN
26 08:00 414 8M Elk Point, AB, CAN

24 13:00 206 SOW Show Low, AZ, USA
24 12:00 338 RYN Tucson, AZ, USA
24 13:00 403 AZC Colorado City, AZ, USA
24 11:00 410 DAO Sierra Vista, AZ, USA

26 04:00 376 ZIN Matthew Town, BAH

24 04:00 200 YJ Sidney Island, BC, CAN
26 08:00 200 YDL Dease Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 200 UAB Anahim Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 203 ZKI Kitimat, BC, CAN
24 04:00 203 YBL Campbell River, BC, CAN
24 04:00 206 EF Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00 214 LU Abbotsford, BC, CAN
24 20:38 218 PR Prince Rupert, BC, CAN
24 04:00 223 YKA Kamloops, BC, CAN
24 04:00 227 CG Castlegar, BC, CAN
26 00:33 230 YD Smithers, BC, CAN
24 04:00 236 YZA Ashcroft, BC, CAN
24 04:00 242 ZT Port Hardy, BC, CAN
24 20:42 242 XC Cranbrook, BC, CAN
26 00:34 246 ZXJ Fort St. John, BC, CAN
24 20:46 248 ZZP Queen Charlotte Is, BC, CAN
24 04:00 250 2J Grand Forks, BC, CAN
24 04:00 251 YCD Nanaimo, BC, CAN
24 04:00 257 LW Kelowna, BC, CAN
24 04:00 260 ZXS Prince George, BC, CAN
24 04:00 260 YSQ Atlin, BC, CAN
24 04:00 261 D6 Fairmont Hot Springs, BC, CAN
26 00:15 266 VR Vancouver, BC, CAN
24 04:00 269 YK Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00 272 XS Prince George, BC, CAN
26 13:00 278 1U Masset, BC, CAN
24 04:00 290 YYF Penticton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 293 MB Mill Bay, BC, CAN
24 04:00 302 6K Vernon, BC, CAN
24 04:00 312 UNT Naramata, BC, CAN
24 04:00 325 YJQ Bella Bella, BC, CAN
24 04:00 326 XJ Fort St. John, BC, CAN
24 04:00 326 DC Princeton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 332 XT Terrace, BC, CAN
24 04:00 332 WC White Rock, BC, CAN
24 04:00 344 XX Abbotsford, BC, CAN
24 04:00 350 NY Enderby, BC, CAN
24 04:00 356 ON Penticton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 359 YQZ Quesnel, BC, CAN
24 04:00 359 YAZ Tofino, BC, CAN
24 04:00 364 4D Helmet, BC, CAN
24 04:00 368 ZP Sandspit, BC, CAN
24 04:00 368 SX Cranbrook, BC, CAN
24 04:00 374 EX Rutland, BC, CAN
24 04:00 378 AP Mayne Island, BC, CAN
24 04:00 382 YPW Powell River, BC, CAN
24 04:00 382 YE Fort Nelson, BC, CAN
24 04:00 385 WL Williams Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 389 YWB Kelowna, BC, CAN
24 04:00 394 DQ Dawson Creek, BC, CAN
24 04:00 400 QQ Comox, BC, CAN
24 04:00 414 YZK Harper Ranch, BC, CAN

24 13:00 203 TCY Tracy, CA, USA
24 13:00 205 COR Corcoran, CA, USA
24 13:00 209 HGT Hunter Liggett - Tusi AHP, CA, USA
24 13:00 233 LG Seal Beach, CA, USA
24 13:00 335 CC Concord, CA, USA
24 13:00 344 FCH Chandler, CA, USA
24 10:00 370 PAI Pacoima - Whiteman Apt, CA, USA
24 11:00 374 LV Livermore, CA, USA
24 11:00 385 MR Pacific Grove, CA, USA
24 11:00 397 SB San Bernardino, CA, USA
24 11:00 404 MOG Montegue, CA, USA

24 04:00 415 CBC Cayman Brac, CYM

24 13:00 209 ITR Burlington, CO, USA
24 07:00 260 AP Sedalia, CO, USA
24 07:00 329 TAD Trinidad, CO, USA
26 11:00 373 TF Pueblo, CO, USA
24 11:00 392 BAJ Sterling, CO, USA
24 11:00 400 FN Fort Collins, CO, USA
24 11:00 407 CO Fountain, CO, USA
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Being social, or to be more accurate being social online is a full time job. Maintaining as much of a presence that people can easily find, holding information that is both reliable and easy to obtain is an incredibly time consuming role.

For the creator it’s a worrying concept, how will people find my information? is it relevant and the channels I use to distribute my ramblings, are they sustainable?

For years now I have only focused on Twitter. The Ham community on twitter is an excellent, thriving and international group. Simply tweet with the hashtag #hamr and you will be amazed how quickly you will get engrossed.

My Facebook musings have been for my friends and people I know. It’s a place I vent my frustrations, celebrate achievements and have an online yet private presence. However I do get many Facebook friend requests and not wanting to turn people away or offend I struggle to keep my radio friends in the loop.

So the easy solution is to create a Facebook page. And that is exactly what I’ve done. You can find it here www.facebook.com/m0tgn and all my radio related ramblings will be posted on line. You can “Like” the page, and you will be kept up to speed with anything that is interesting from my neck of the woods.

This is an experiment, and I cannot guarantee its perfect, but its a good place for updates that are immediate and require more than 140 characters.

Let me know your thoughts.

Dan Trudgian, MØTGN, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Wiltshire, England. He's a radio nut, IT guru, general good guy and an all round good egg. Contact him him here.

Being social, or to be more accurate being social online is a full time job. Maintaining as much of a presence that people can easily find, holding information that is both reliable and easy to obtain is an incredibly time consuming role.

For the creator it’s a worrying concept, how will people find my information? is it relevant and the channels I use to distribute my ramblings, are they sustainable?

For years now I have only focused on Twitter. The Ham community on twitter is an excellent, thriving and international group. Simply tweet with the hashtag #hamr and you will be amazed how quickly you will get engrossed.

My Facebook musings have been for my friends and people I know. It’s a place I vent my frustrations, celebrate achievements and have an online yet private presence. However I do get many Facebook friend requests and not wanting to turn people away or offend I struggle to keep my radio friends in the loop.

So the easy solution is to create a Facebook page. And that is exactly what I’ve done. You can find it here www.facebook.com/m0tgn and all my radio related ramblings will be posted on line. You can “Like” the page, and you will be kept up to speed with anything that is interesting from my neck of the woods.

This is an experiment, and I cannot guarantee its perfect, but its a good place for updates that are immediate and require more than 140 characters.

Let me know your thoughts.

Dan Trudgian, MØTGN, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Wiltshire, England. He's a radio nut, IT guru, general good guy and an all round good egg. Contact him him here.