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SCRIPT

AUDIO

Unlike the grand vistas that Jim W1PID encounters in the beautiful locales of New Hampshire, the views that I am afforded during my lunchtime QRP sessions are a bit more urbane.  However, as the season changes along with the leaves, even in a suburban setting there is beauty to be found:



Not bad for a parking lot view, eh?

As I was setting up the station, I noticed that the "stick" part of my Buddistick was ......well, rather sticky. I happened to have a can of this in the trunk, so I applied a bit to the whip and then proceeded to rub it in using some 3" gauze bandage from my First Aid kit.  Hey, you use what's on hand!


Little did I know that WD-40 actually stands for "Whopping DX - 40 Meters".  I didn't get on 40 Meters, but the can didn't know that, and the DX Spray seemed to work equally well on 15 and 17 Meters. In short order, after applying this miracle spray to my Buddistick, I worked T47GDXC, SM3PZG, RA1AOB and TF4X all in the space of about 15 minutes.

Who knew?  If I was aware of what WD-40 really stood for, I would have been applying it to my antennas years ago!  Just think ..... all the wasted time, all the wasted opportunities!  I could be on the DXCC Honor Roll by now.

Some would attribute my success today to the sun and something called "improved band conditions". But I, for one, know better. I have learned the secret of the magic "DX Spray".

Sob ....... weep!

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].

My stealth MFJ 1788

There have been many a time when on one band I have wondered if conditions had changed and another band had opened up. I have the MFJ 1788 mag loop and with this antenna to check another band another a total retuning is required, this means loosing the sweet spot on the band I am on! It can get frustrating retuning the loop to find out the band you were checking out is more or less dead from my spot on the map. With the downturn of the bands of late and sometime reading on spotting networks how a certain band is now open but to find out after a retune of the loop the propagation gods really didn't allow my neck of the woods to benefit from any opening. I then have to venture back to the previous band and once again retune the loop antenna. Don't get me wrong I am very happy with the MFJ 1788 it has allowed me a means to get on the air from this very antenna restricted area that I am in. I have also made some amazing contacts and am still very much able to enjoy the hobby of ham radio......but the retune thing can get to be a real pain! It was due time to try to come up with a solution, here at VE3WDM it seems that I sell a piece of gear to only find out that later on I need it!!!!!

LF Engineering H-900 that was sold

The easiest way for me to find out what is going on with the bands and at the same time leaving  the mag loop antenna alone is to have a separate receive antenna. But in my case just to string up a separate "receive antenna is not so simple being Im a condo ham. The receive antenna still seemed to be the simplest and best solution for me. I had to knock a receive antenna down to condo size and the best way to do that is the "amplified active antenna". Oh thats right I used to have one of those (LF Engineering active antenna) but wise me sold it and now once again I need it!! Before I dish out some cash for an active antenna I wanted to see what the reception was like with a wire antenna from the condo. Before stringing a wire antenna in the condo I wanted to see what was available to me.....I had a receive antenna looking right at me! I have a curtain rod that is metal and about 20 feet long. I ran some coax up to the curtain rod and down to the Elecraft K3. On the K3 you can add what's called the KXV3A board ( I have one installed on my K3) it allows you do add a separate receive antenna via a BNC connector.

KVX3 board in K3

At this point I have not been able to honestly give my receive antenna/curtain rod a good work out. But I am one step closer to my goal of having a separate receive antenna.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I’ll readily admit that I don’t mind driving. I’ve been fortunate to own some pretty nice vehicles. My latest is a Ford F150 that has my Diamond VHF/UHF antenna mounted at the back of the the bed and my ICOM 2820 D-STAR radio nicely tucked into the console. When an impromptu trip came up Tuesday, instead of taking the ultra fuel efficient Honda, I took the truck. The ride is so much more comfortable, I enjoy riding up higher on the road, and of course the radio is much better than any temporary installation I can swing into the Honda.

It’s around 9pm and no one is around on the repeaters. This isn’t a route I travel very often so maybe I’m not on the active repeaters. I tuned over to 146.52 simplex. A quick call (not a long winded CQ) returns no takers. So wait a few minutes and try again. Just a simple call…”KG9DW mobile on I-39 southbound, listening on 52″. And back comes a fine OM – WA9CEG, John in LaSalle. I’m about 20 miles north of LaSalle, so I know John has a fine station. Even in the flat lands of Illinois, working a mobile station 20 miles away does require more than a Ringo Ranger on a 10 foot pole.

Even at highway speeds, our QSO lasted a good 30 minutes. We talked about what we do (or in John’s case did) for a living, family, radio, the weather…everything except for medical history! John worked in a steel mill and then owned an ice cream shop before retiring. His 6 kids were spread out about the area, with one living about 10 miles from my home QTH. We spoke of friends, common areas we’ve traveled, and then of happiness. We talked about things John was proud of, and the impacts he has had on others.

Talking with such a fine man, it was hard not to remember my own grandfather who died last year. The voice was similar, and so were some of the stories and advice. It was even harder not to think of my friend Fred Slayback who passed away earlier in the day after a long health struggle. As I as headed further south, I said my 73s before I ran out of range. John was still running a strong S5 signal as I fell over the hill for the flat run into McLean county. I hope to meet John on the air again someday, but if I don’t I’ll certainly remember our QSO on a rainy fall night in Illinois.

They say that it’s all about the journey and not the destination. Likewise, in ham radio it isn’t about the radio or antenna; it isn’t about the mode or technology. It’s about the conversations.

Michael Brown, KG9DW, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Illinois, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I’ll readily admit that I don’t mind driving. I’ve been fortunate to own some pretty nice vehicles. My latest is a Ford F150 that has my Diamond VHF/UHF antenna mounted at the back of the the bed and my ICOM 2820 D-STAR radio nicely tucked into the console. When an impromptu trip came up Tuesday, instead of taking the ultra fuel efficient Honda, I took the truck. The ride is so much more comfortable, I enjoy riding up higher on the road, and of course the radio is much better than any temporary installation I can swing into the Honda.

It’s around 9pm and no one is around on the repeaters. This isn’t a route I travel very often so maybe I’m not on the active repeaters. I tuned over to 146.52 simplex. A quick call (not a long winded CQ) returns no takers. So wait a few minutes and try again. Just a simple call…”KG9DW mobile on I-39 southbound, listening on 52″. And back comes a fine OM – WA9CEG, John in LaSalle. I’m about 20 miles north of LaSalle, so I know John has a fine station. Even in the flat lands of Illinois, working a mobile station 20 miles away does require more than a Ringo Ranger on a 10 foot pole.

Even at highway speeds, our QSO lasted a good 30 minutes. We talked about what we do (or in John’s case did) for a living, family, radio, the weather…everything except for medical history! John worked in a steel mill and then owned an ice cream shop before retiring. His 6 kids were spread out about the area, with one living about 10 miles from my home QTH. We spoke of friends, common areas we’ve traveled, and then of happiness. We talked about things John was proud of, and the impacts he has had on others.

Talking with such a fine man, it was hard not to remember my own grandfather who died last year. The voice was similar, and so were some of the stories and advice. It was even harder not to think of my friend Fred Slayback who passed away earlier in the day after a long health struggle. As I as headed further south, I said my 73s before I ran out of range. John was still running a strong S5 signal as I fell over the hill for the flat run into McLean county. I hope to meet John on the air again someday, but if I don’t I’ll certainly remember our QSO on a rainy fall night in Illinois.

They say that it’s all about the journey and not the destination. Likewise, in ham radio it isn’t about the radio or antenna; it isn’t about the mode or technology. It’s about the conversations.

Michael Brown, KG9DW, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Illinois, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I usually cycle to work. Wow I hear you say, what a guy….Well thanks but I hadn’t finished the introduction. Cycling means you notice the seasons a lot more than if you drive. Its still the season for shorts and after some very mild days we’re definitely heading towards fully developed autumn. So what?

Well its time to spend fewer hours outside (because you’ll be blown across the street) and more time preparing for those murky days when projects are preferable to souwesters.

This year I have got a couple of PCB’s that need populating. 1 of them is the Budd Churchward Morseduino. The other is the Minima Transceiver.

Budd created a neat little barebones arduino and morse code decoder and he kindly gave me the gerbers. It is essentially a very simple device that will allow audio to pass through and it will give a reasonable decode of CW. I say reasonable because it is never going to be as good as your purists ears but it’ll help get the less talented on the air (hopefully). This video gives you a flavour

Project 2 it the Minima Transceiver, by Ashran Farhan of BitX fame. It is my first foray into complete rig build for the experimenter so I’m expecting some tinker time. Essentially it is a Arduino controlled simple transceiver (Any spot the link here?). This will be a lot more involved and I’m just getting my head around the schematic.

There seems to be a lot of useful information about so if I get stuck then google will no doubt be my friend! Here’s a little taster.

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