Last week a new toy arrived a Nanovna and I have been playing around with it and learning the ins and outs of the unit. This unit allows me to check antenna SWR, attenuation and coax switch isolation to name a few things. I am not going to get into the details of the Nanovna as there is lots of information for those interested available on the internet. My first project was to check the attenuation on one of the common mode chokes I made. It was made from RG316 coax, FT 240-31 mix toroid and had 10 turns on it. I never put this common mode choke through any testing as I did not have anything to test it. I was going by some charts, the type of toroid mix and the number of turns needed for 40m to 10m. 

Now that I had a Nanovna I could perform an attenuation test on the common mode choke I was using and see some actual numbers. I have been reading and -30dB or more across 40m-10m is great for a common mode choke. I calibrated the Nanovna and performed an attenuation test and to my surprise, the common mode choke I made failed! The common mode choke I made was above -30dB from 40m to 10m. It was not time to fix the problem and bring my readings below -30dB. 

The red line is the results

I tried reducing the windings around the core increasing them and doing a Nanovna sweep each time to see the results. My final result was 14 windings and that gave me the ideal results. The Nanovna indicated -35dB on a full band sweep (6.5MHz to 30MHz) on individual band sweeps the readings were 10m -44dB, 15m -34.5dB, 20m -35dB and 40m -35dB. I am much more pleased with these readings. 

Full band sweep

Pikes Peak is a great summit for a SOTA activation. You can hike up, drive up, or take the cog railway to get to the top. Pikes towers over eastern Colorado and has an excellent radio horizon in all directions. It is easy to work a bunch of stations on 2m FM. With a bit of effort, you can work Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and New Mexico on VHF.

Fraser/MM0EFI was visiting from Scotland, operating here in the US as W0/M0EFI. Here’s his HF operating experience, with cameo appearances by Carey/KX0R, Christian/F4WBN, Elliot/K6EL, and Steve/WG0AT.

Now for the VHF fun on 2m FM. I happened to be on South Monarch Ridge (W0C/SP-058) that day and we completed a Summit-to-Summit contact on 146.52 MHz, at a distance of about 80 miles—easy contact using just HT’s on both ends.

Fraser, thanks for the fun videos from America’s Mountain.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Fraser Does Pikes Peak appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

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Spin the Random Topic Wheel (Segment 1)

• Using Call Sign Prefixes and Suffixes

This Weekend in Hedonism (Segment 2)

• Cheryl’s Recipe Corner!

• Irish Cream

• Description

• Russ and I occasionally venture into the world of making flavored liquor (like Amaretto, Kahlua, etc).  While we have not ventured into Irish Cream, YET, this is a recipe that has been stashed backed with tons of fantastic reviews.  It is definitely a recipe open to alterations.  And, taste as you go… it might be too sweet for your preference.  Only add 1 can sweetened condensed milk originally, then add more as you deem necessary

• Ingredients

• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle Irish whiskey (You can substitute bourbon or brandy for the liquor, if you so choose.  Or use some flavored Crown Royal, maybe splitting it with something else… or using up an almost empty bottle)

• 10 ounces melted milk chocolate chips (you can substitute butterscotch, peanut butter or vanilla chips; if using semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, it will make the Irish Cream less sweet; or use 3-4 tablespoons chocolate syrup)

• 1 or 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk

• 2-1/2 cups heavy cream

• 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules (or 1/2 cup of double strength brewed coffee)

• 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

• 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract

• Directions

• Pour a small amount of whiskey into a large bowl. In the top of a double boiler, melt chocolate, stirring constantly until smooth (skip this step if using chocolate syrup.  To skip double boiler completely, heat a small amount of milk with chocolate chips in the microwave until melted, in 10-15 second increments between stirring.  WATCH CAREFULLY to keep from scorching). Mix melted chocolate with whiskey in the bowl. Gradually stir in sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Stir in cream, instant coffee granules (or brewed coffee), and remaining whiskey. Pour mixture into three 750-milliliter bottles, seal, and store in the refrigerator. Let rest, without consuming, for at least 1 month before use.  Gently shake bottle every few days to keep everything mixed up. To serve: shake the bottle well; serve in small glasses over crushed ice. Yield: 3 750-milliliter bottles

• Cheryl’s Mixed Drink Corner

• Bailey’s Mint Martini

• Description

• To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, enjoy this tasty minty concoction!

• Ingredients

• 1 ounce Baileys Irish Cream

• 1 ounce green Creme de Menthe liqueur

• 1 ounce vodka

• 1 ounce half & half

• Ice

• Whipped Cream - Optional

• Chocolate Shavings (or crumbled chocolate cookies) - Optional

• Directions

• Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add ingredients; cover and shake well. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings as desired.

• Russ’s Drink Corner

• Writer’s Tears Copper Pot Irish Whiskey

• Description

• Writers’ Tears is a unique marriage of Aged Single Pot Still and Single Malt Irish whiskey. Distilled entirely from barley, both malted and unmalted, this is a truly special Irish Whiskey. Writers’ Tears is triple distilled, non-peated and matured in Flame Charred American Oak bourbon casks. An award-winning whiskey that has also been included in Ian Buxton’s publication “101 Whiskeys to try before you die”.

• Details

• Mashbill: 60% malted barley, 40% barley

• Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

• Region: Carlow, Ireland

• Color: Pure honey

• Nose: Sugar, vanilla, confectionary sweets, malt, cream, touch of cinnamon

• Taste: Malt, sweet cream, vanilla, sugar cookies, light berry sweetness

• Finish: Soft sugary sweetness, hints of chocolate and vanilla

• Price: $45 (750ml)

• Rating: 86

• Bill’s Whatever Corner

• Clonakilty Distillery - Minke Irish Gin

• 43.6% ABV – 700mL

• Minke Irish Gin is a juniper based, citrus forward gin. Distilled from whey for a smooth, velvety mouthfeel. Every drop is distilled in our copper pot still. Minke Irish Gin was Awarded “Best Classic Irish Gin” at the World Gin Awards 2023. Inspired by the Minke Whale, the majestic creatures that swim wild off our Atlantic Ocean coastline. The same coastline that we forage our unique botanical Rock Samphire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samphire)), which is sustainably harvested along our Atlantic cliffs. This is harvested only by hand and only when in season.

• Clonakilty Distillery - Port Cask Whiskey

• 43.6% ABV – 700mL

• Clonakilty Port Cask stands out as a truly exceptional expression within Clonakilty’s cask series. This is a mature premium blend of single grain and Clonakilty Distillery’s Single Pot Still whiskey, which was named World’s Best Irish New Make Single Pot Still at the World Whiskies Awards in 2020. Clonakilty Port Cask is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon, and Ruby and Tawny port casks from the Douro Valley. This exquisite whiskey showcases a fusion of Irish whiskey with the delicate and nuanced influence of port.

Segment 3 (Announcements & Feedback)

• Hamvention 2024 Fundraiser

• Source: https://lhs.fyi/hv2024

Segment 4 (New Subscribers, New Supporters & Live Participants)

• Subscribers and Patreons

• Chuck Hailbronner

• Facebook

• Hal NineThousand

• Twitter

• @KiloDeltaNiner

• Instagram

• grumpeur

• Mastodon

• @LS5BAT

• @fedelapena

• @shtrom

• Mailing List

• KB3BMT

• Discord

• Ausmus47

• tuxclaw

• Not The Daddy

• HAL9000

• Greg

• Ellen

• Live Chat

• Darren, VK6EK

• Mike, K6GTE

• Ted, WA0EIR

• Tony, K4XSS

• Connor, KD9LSV

• Joel, KC0YEW

• Tom, N4HAI

• Jill, K1TTZ

• Alex, N7SM

• neimandem

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Bill Barnes (WC3B) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is Getting Ready For Successful Portable Operation.

We would like to thank an our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• Bob Heil, K9EID, Silent Key
• YLRL Celebrates International Women's Day with Special Event
• ARISS Celebrates 40 Years of Hams on the Radio Space
• Lunar Lander Still Functions Despite Landing Issues
• UK Amateurs Start to Use New Privileges
• Brandmeister Adds TETRA Based Network
• Applications open for YOTA Czechia
• Pop-Up Net Celebrates National Pi Day

Hello and welcome to the 535th installment of LInux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts cover changes to the Parks on the Air (POTA) program, HDMI's AMD denial, the passing of ham radio icon, Bob Heil (K9EID), KDE's new mega release, SDRtrunk and much more. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew