AmateurRadio.com

The antenna

Overall I have been very pleased with the purchase of the MFJ 1788 loop antenna. Considering the location I am in and the restrictions of a condo such as.....concrete all around you, other buildings blocking your signal, very small space to put an antenna and power level must be kept low as to not affect the neighbors. After doing considerable searching for the right antenna for this location it boiled down to this antenna. The power I run is 5 watts max and this is not new for me as I have been a QRP op for years now. Below are the reasons why I am pleased with this antenna to be followed by some of the not pleasing things about the antenna.
1. Very small foot print for an antenna that will give you 15m to 40m.
2. The antenna can be used mounted horizontally or vertically.
3. Once you get used to the tuning it's very fast and easy to tune.
4. I covered my antenna with as to keep it low profile and it works no problem with the cover.
5. The antenna remote control can operate either on AC or batteries.
6. Can be mounted on a simple tri-pod.

Some of the draw backs
1. The quality of the antenna is low, I had to make some adjustments to make it work as it should.
2. The band width is narrow and retuning has to be down often.
3. The SWR meter in the remote control unit is not very reliable.
4. Buzzer used to tell you the coarse tuning has finished is VERY hard to hear.

Repairing Cap spacing

On air results with this antenna have been good, with regards to receiving I have been able to hear the Middle East, South Pacific, Europe, South America and of coarse North America. Now hearing a station and contacting the station is another ball of wax. With my power restrictions I have made some very satisfying contacts. My modest signal has made it into South America, all parts of Europe, Iceland and Africa so far. There are two Loop antennas that MFJ makes and if I was to make the choice again I would had gone with the MFJ 1786 as it covers 10m to 30m. I have found with this antenna there is no way to tune it below 15m. The characteristic of the tuning capacitor will not allow it. I have read the MFJ 1788 is like a wet noodle on 40m and it's true I have not been able to make it into the U.S. The MFJ 1786 would had been a better choice with more band opportunities.   
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

At 1936z G8VDQ (93km) in IO91um was spotted here at -26dB S/N.  When there are GDX stations they seem to be copied. G8VDQ’s signal had -3Hz Doppler, suggesting aircraft reflection was involved.

UPDATE 1950z:  Es is still in evidence with DK6UG spotting me 4 times (so far) now at around -22/-23dB S/N.

UPDATE 2120z:  Es again; this time  IK1WVQ (1084km)  spotted at -20dB S/N.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

YOTA UK is taking place over the weekend of the 19-20 July at in Wolverhampton. Most of the activities will be at the Electricity Club near the City Centre, home of the Wolverhampton Amateur Radio Society. There will also be some outdoor activities in the near-by Baggeridge Park.

• This weekend offers two exciting days of amateur radio activities where you can: 
• Meet other young radio amateurs
• Learn about the Summits on the Air awards
• See how you can work through satellites
• Have a go at using digital modes
• See how easy it is to build portable antennas
• Take part in a Direction Finding competition
• Find out about the latest radio technologies
• Learn how to solder and use test meters
• Complete the Intermediate Practical Assessments
• Build a 20m PSK receiver
• Take the Intermediate exam
• Try your hand at operating the YOTA UK Special Event Station! 

Tickets are only £5 per day with additional cost if you want to build the receiver or take the exam. There is even a BBQ is included on the Saturday evening.

Full details of the timings, directions to the venue and a list of items to bring, will be forwarded by email.

Bookings are limited so book now – Click here

You can also keep up to date by following @YOTA_UK on twitter

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.

YOTA UK is taking place over the weekend of the 19-20 July at in Wolverhampton. Most of the activities will be at the Electricity Club near the City Centre, home of the Wolverhampton Amateur Radio Society. There will also be some outdoor activities in the near-by Baggeridge Park.

• This weekend offers two exciting days of amateur radio activities where you can: 
• Meet other young radio amateurs
• Learn about the Summits on the Air awards
• See how you can work through satellites
• Have a go at using digital modes
• See how easy it is to build portable antennas
• Take part in a Direction Finding competition
• Find out about the latest radio technologies
• Learn how to solder and use test meters
• Complete the Intermediate Practical Assessments
• Build a 20m PSK receiver
• Take the Intermediate exam
• Try your hand at operating the YOTA UK Special Event Station! 

Tickets are only £5 per day with additional cost if you want to build the receiver or take the exam. There is even a BBQ is included on the Saturday evening.

Full details of the timings, directions to the venue and a list of items to bring, will be forwarded by email.

Bookings are limited so book now – Click here

You can also keep up to date by following @YOTA_UK on twitter

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.

There has been no Es here since 1714z. I shall leave 10m WSPR running as it is quite possible there will be Es later, but the last hour has been very quiet on 10m.

At 1816z just spotted G0LRD who is a semi-local at a strong -13dB S/N. A few minutes later he spotted me at -23dB S/N. This may be conditions or that my antenna could be improved or is (unintentionally) directional.

UPDATE 1906z:  Still no more Es here this evening since 1714z. Intrigued why G0LRD is so much better here than me with him. Don’t imagine Dave has a very bad noise issue on 10m at his QTH so it is probably the antenna inefficiency here. I’d like to try a different antenna for 10m but this means antenna work which is very hard currently. The present antenna covers 10, 20 and 40m which is very useful and it does seem to get most of the F2 and Es stations OK. My 2W WSPR has been copied in Australia this year on 10, 20 and 40m.

UPDATE 1926z:    Es still around on 10m. DK6UG (633km) spotting me at -22dB S/N at 1922z which is similar to the report he gave G0LRD. We are both running around 2W.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

I have never really spent much time on the Software Defined Radio arena, but the more I keep loo at them they are becoming so interesting. The CommRadio CR-1a communications receiver is a true SDR (software defined radio), but does not require a computer. Enjoy the benefits and performance of state-of-the-art SDR, but in a conventional radio package.

 

As much as I hate to say, it might be time for me to make a purchase and spend some time playing with these. I really like the size of the rig in comparison to the SunSDR2 (http://nicktoday.com/sunsdr2-sunsdr-mb1-transceivers-software-defined-radios/). Hard to tell until I see them both in person.

 

Full story: http://nicktoday.com/commradio-cr-1a-another-sdr-looks-interesting/

Nick Palomba, N1IC, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Florida, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I like 30 meters very much, and have always made some nice contacts on this band. There are many times I find DX here, and I work them when I can, but I’m finding some long slow QSO’s here too. During the early evening hours, I easily work stations in the mid-western states on this band.

I’ve worked WB5QYG in McAlester, Oklahoma a couple of times lately, and did a quick search of his home town. Mc Alester is in what’s known as “Tornado Alley” where severe storms are always a certainty in the summer months. It’s also the home of the  Oklahoma State Penitentiary . –The local people call it “Big Mac”— That’s the reason for the first picture in this entry.

We have an enormous prison population in this country- more than any other country in the world. Just say’in….those are the facts, and an inordinate number of those are for non-violent crimes. I hope this situation changes because it costs a LOT of money to maintain these places. This is true in all 50 states. West Virginia is no exception, we have more than 7,000 incarcerated in our state.

I wonder how many of these inmates might be interested in radio?  Perhaps a good hobby would have required a better use of idle time and therefore a more productive life, and the decreased need for nationwide prison facilities? If not ham radio, short-wave listening is a good pastime. I know that’s just wishful thinking; but I’m an optimist…..

Too many people today find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many times it’s due to being born in unfortunate places where there’s little opportunity for a decent job, or little opportunity for getting a decent education. Sometimes social obstacles are much too difficult to overcome. The really unfortunate thing about these “casualties of life” is many of them have the intelligence to be productive members of society. To waste a good mind is a terrible thing.

John Smithson, Jr., N8ZYA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from West Virginia, USA. Contact him at [email protected].