AmateurRadio.com

It was hard to make a CW or JT65 contact this morning. Sounds like 2008. With less sunspots. I heard a weak CW station on 14060 KHz, but he was jammed by 2 other stations. Why? Anyway, I could make 2 qso's with PSK-31 (YO2UH and EA5ICP) on 20 meter

Yesterday I made 3 CW qso's. On 30m OM4KW and on 20 m OK2KN and Z63ZED. Maybe later on this day I will try my luck.

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

This weekend brought great weather and so it was out and about with Julie, but I did find some time for radio on Sunday evening. The bands were busy with contests and not wanting to get involved with them I skipped up to the QRP watering hole on 20m. I started calling CQ as I could not hear to much action. In a very short time W5TM came back to me and I was only 449 but it was a contact and that was good enough for me! Our QSO did not last to long as I was very much in and out I did send Edwin an email thanking him for the QSO. During my next CQ calling a G station came back to me but they were down in the mud. I switch on the APF and we did try over and over again to make contact but things just did not work out. It was pretty cool that my QRP signal was somewhat making it into "G" land. My last contact for the evening was with KA5KMS and this was a long QSO with a solid contact at both ends. Terry was running a Ten Tec Century 21at 25 watts into a dipole.  It was a good evening on the radio! They all were short QSO's but it will help keep me in the hobby, keep my code up and help me become more and more aquatinted with my rig. I have found that I can easily get lost in my ham programs, antenna issues and PC hiccups that involve radio. Bottom line it's great to put all that to the side and get on the radio and make some good old contacts.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 66 is now available for download.

George shows us chemicals you need for your workbench. Peter talks about DATV-Express, digital amateur television. Tommy repairs an Arduino and makes an IP address IDer for his Raspberry Pi D-Star HotSpot. Plus a lot more.
1:04:43 Good times.

Download

YouTube

George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Today I made more progress. I was able to paint the rack. I decided on a camo pattern since the box was sort of camouflaged. Not that I need it to be hidden, it was just for fun. I also mounted the top shelf.

Here is the rack with the radios and other things mounted.

A side view . . .

Top view . . .

View from the back . . .

The box with the rack inserted. The rack won’t be fastened into the box. I am going to be able to slide it in and out as needed. This will make working on things easier. It would also allow me to provide more airflow if it gets warm in the box during operation. I am thinking about putting a small fan in there somewhere. Not quite sure yet . . .

The box with the lid closed. The lid has an “O” ring around the top, making it water-resistant.

I don’t have anything wired up or connected yet. The space on the lower front portion will have a plate with antenna connectors and other things. That will be a project in itself. I’ll post again when I get more done.

Wayne Patton, K5UNX, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Arkansas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

 

Well, actually it’s red…

Anthony, K3NG, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com.

I have been working on putting my radios and gear into a portable box. My goal is a single station that is portable which I can use at home or outside the home. I wanted this setup to be able to be used at things like: Field Day, Communications volunteering for local events, or simply operating at a local park. I don’t want portable gear and fixed station gear at home. I think for me, having a single station that I know inside and out, that could  be used in multiple locations suits me just fine. A few guys in our club have talked about doing an informal get together at a fellow member’s farm and spend the afternoon operating. An informal “Field Day” just for fun. I finally have enough done to put up the first post describing my efforts.

For the box that will old the radio gear, I chose a MTM Sportsmen Dry Box called the Spud 7.

Inside the box, I am building an aluminum frame to hold the gear. I am using 3/4″ aluminum angle from my local bog box home store. Also used is some flat aluminum pieces where I did not feel the angle would work well.

Here is the outer portion of the frame.

There will be two shelves. The bottom one will hold both radios, a Yaesu FT-857D and a Paesu FT-8800R. Here is the frame with the radio shelf installed.

The frame is assembled with 1/8″ aluminum pop rivets. I find these easy to work with and they can be easily drilled out if I have to remove and replace something. Some joints have two rivets and other places have one.

The upper of the two shelves, will hold a LDG tuner, a SignaLink USB device and a PowerWerx power supply. Here is the upper shelf. I had it installed but had to take it out to drill the holes for mounting the power supply. The radios will be installed with the mobile mounting brackets that same with them. I ordered the optional mounting brackets for the power supply. So all these things will be held in bolts, nuts, and lock washers. The tuner will be held in with double-sided tape and plastic tie wraps. The tuner is lightweight enough to not move when I tested that solution.

Here is the upper shelf not installed . . . .

The tuner will be on the left, and the power supply on the right.

Once I get the upper shelf in, I plan on painting the frame with a black hammered spray paint. But that’s subject to change . .

The lower part of the frame will be covered with a plate. Mounted on the lower opening, will be a face plate which will have antenna connectors for each radio, power connectors, a power meter and a few other things. I am finalizing the plans for that now. I have it drawn out and designed, I just have to review it again and start ordering the electrical and antenna components.

I will write a Part 2 as I make more progress.  I am also going to work on a solar solution for power in the field. That will come later as well.

Wayne Patton, K5UNX, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Arkansas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

State QSO Parties come in all shapes and sizes but the intent is always the same — to stir up activity on the air and to have fun in the process! Approach these as serious contest activities or as a casual event punctuated by a little scorekeeping. Your choice. There are plenty of reasons to participate, but if you need more convincing, allow me to share with you five GREAT reasons why you should get in the party line!

1. It’s good practice for big contests. You get a chance to see how your station performs, and identify your weakest link. You can stress test that new paddle or audio chain, make certain your logging program is working properly with your equipment. In other words, a State QSO Party provides an excellent trial run for your budding contest station — if that’s your cup of tea.
2. Finish off your WAS basic award by snagging that State that you just never seem able to confirm. When dozens of operators are calling ‘CQ’ in their own QSO Party, from whatever state you might still need, chances are good that you will log a bunch of them, increasing your odds that at least one will confirm your QSO. Same goes for band and mode slots. Say you have the basic WAS award, but now you want to confirm all of them on RTTY. Or 80M CW. The State QSO Party’s will turbocharge your efforts to reach those goals.
3. County hunters lick their chops over QSO Party activity. And with good reason. Those who organize a QSO party usually go out of their way to make certain that every county in their state is activated. Even if that requires engaging multiple “rover” stations who drive to and operate from counties that may have a zero ham population and are never active. And bonus, some of these rover station operators find their mobile/portable adventure so enjoyable, it becomes the primary focus of the hobby for them. It’s just another of the many facets of amateur radio.
4. It’s a stress-free way to collect wallpaper, plaques, and bragging rights. Most QSO Party’s offer awards and plaques for top scores. And in many cases, you don’t need the biggest gun in the hunt to bag one. Do a little research and consider focusing on specialty entries. Enter as ‘QRP CW’ for example, and you will compete in a smaller pool while the plaque for taking first place in that category is even sweeter.
5. Participation will make you radioactive! It’s no coincidence that those who rarely make use of their radio are often the most vocal critics of – well – almost everything about the hobby. Meanwhile, those who are frequently active on the air are too busy enjoying the hobby to waste time picking nits.

Operating in State QSO Parties couldn’t be easier, especially for those outside the state where the exchange is usually just signal report, your state or province, and sometimes a sequential number that begins with one and increments each time you make a contact. Inside the state, operators will also include their county. You can submit your log electronically (usually Cabrillo format) or send in paper, the old-fashioned way.

Read the rules, sketch out a plan, put in the effort, and then watch your logbook fill to overflowing.

(adapted from a recent issue of Quintessence, a weekly, personal letter about amateur radio)

Jeff Davis, KE9V, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Indiana, USA.