Posts Tagged ‘amateurradio.com’
So sad
January 8th, 2016 | 
Author: I was browsing Facebook today when I saw this sad post (not verbatim) in the Amateur Radio group. "I am leaving the hobby after 10 years. I am tired of having people tell me that unless I have thousands of dollars of equipment, and lots of land for antennas that I am not a "real Ham" (I hate that phrase!). Have a nice life."
I feel badly for this individual, and I suspect there's more going on here under the surface. But, if that's the definition of a "real Ham" then I'm not one, either ...... and I've been at this "Ham Radio thing" for 38 years now.
I am not going to insult anyone's intelligence by feigning that I don't own expensive Amateur Radio equipment. I do. But when you look at my shack compared to a lot of others out there, mine is relatively modest. No, I'm way beyond two tin cans and a wire, but I'm also do not own enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation.
In the same breath, let me say that I do NOT begrudge anyone from owning enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation. Hey, if you are wealthy enough, and you're not ignoring the basic needs of yourself or your family in order to fund your hobby - more power to you.
The second part of his definition is nearer and dearer to my heart, though. I have never been in a situation where I felt I could put up the kind of antennas that I would like to have. At both my QTHs, the one in East Brunswick, where I grew up, and the one in South Plainfield where I currently live - both are typical NJ suburban lots that are 50 feet wide by 100 feet long. (15M X 30M).
I had a G5RV here in South Plainfield that took so may twists and turns that it looked like I was playing the three dimensional chess board from Star Trek. Everything I have has to fit on my property, even the radials under by Butternut have twists and angles to them. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Do I wish I had plenty of land where I could lay out a classic Beverage antenna for 160 Meters - or even put up a half wave dipole for 160 Meters? You're darn tootin' I would. But I don't, so I'm not going to shed tears over it. As bad as my case is, at least I can have outdoor antennas. A lot of people have to live with a lot less than I have, and I think about that every time I am tempted to complain or feel sorry for myself.
In the end, you make do with what you have. I'll probably never make DXCC Honor Roll, but I am closing in on 200 countries worked. Given the antennas that I have (and had), I think that's a pretty fair accomplishment.
The bottom line is that you can't let another person dictate to you what something as wide in scope as Amateur Radio..... is. Amateur Radio is many things to many people. My excitement over working Australia with 5 Watts might make you yawn. Your excitement over having your 100th message passed this month might earn just a shrug of my shoulders from me. Are either of us wrong? No, both of us are enjoying what we like best in a hobby that has enough room for everyone!
So the next time someone tells you that you're not a "real Ham", just smile and walk away. Anyone who truly thinks they know what a "real Ham' is, is just kidding themselves, anyway.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I feel badly for this individual, and I suspect there's more going on here under the surface. But, if that's the definition of a "real Ham" then I'm not one, either ...... and I've been at this "Ham Radio thing" for 38 years now.
I am not going to insult anyone's intelligence by feigning that I don't own expensive Amateur Radio equipment. I do. But when you look at my shack compared to a lot of others out there, mine is relatively modest. No, I'm way beyond two tin cans and a wire, but I'm also do not own enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation.
In the same breath, let me say that I do NOT begrudge anyone from owning enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation. Hey, if you are wealthy enough, and you're not ignoring the basic needs of yourself or your family in order to fund your hobby - more power to you.
The second part of his definition is nearer and dearer to my heart, though. I have never been in a situation where I felt I could put up the kind of antennas that I would like to have. At both my QTHs, the one in East Brunswick, where I grew up, and the one in South Plainfield where I currently live - both are typical NJ suburban lots that are 50 feet wide by 100 feet long. (15M X 30M).
I had a G5RV here in South Plainfield that took so may twists and turns that it looked like I was playing the three dimensional chess board from Star Trek. Everything I have has to fit on my property, even the radials under by Butternut have twists and angles to them. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Do I wish I had plenty of land where I could lay out a classic Beverage antenna for 160 Meters - or even put up a half wave dipole for 160 Meters? You're darn tootin' I would. But I don't, so I'm not going to shed tears over it. As bad as my case is, at least I can have outdoor antennas. A lot of people have to live with a lot less than I have, and I think about that every time I am tempted to complain or feel sorry for myself.
In the end, you make do with what you have. I'll probably never make DXCC Honor Roll, but I am closing in on 200 countries worked. Given the antennas that I have (and had), I think that's a pretty fair accomplishment.
The bottom line is that you can't let another person dictate to you what something as wide in scope as Amateur Radio..... is. Amateur Radio is many things to many people. My excitement over working Australia with 5 Watts might make you yawn. Your excitement over having your 100th message passed this month might earn just a shrug of my shoulders from me. Are either of us wrong? No, both of us are enjoying what we like best in a hobby that has enough room for everyone!
So the next time someone tells you that you're not a "real Ham", just smile and walk away. Anyone who truly thinks they know what a "real Ham' is, is just kidding themselves, anyway.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Guys who build stuff
Yesterday, after getting my fill of NPOTA stations, I was in the shack getting ready to pull the switch for the evening. It was just then that I heard a weak CQ on 3.652 MHz, from WT2W who lives in the Syracuse, NY region. It turned out that Jim was using a homebrewed transmitter modeled after a 1929 Hartley Oscillator.
Jim was putting out all of about 2 Watts to his antenna, but it was enough to garner him a 569 report from me. His signal was a little chirpy and a tiny bit raspy, but it was still pleasant to listen to and fully copyable. Shortly after our QSO, Jim e-mailed me the above photo. I know how satisfying it is to build a kit and have it work. I can only imagine how much more satisfying it must be to build something from scratch and have it work. I'm not the greatest scratch builder, but the few times I have and have had the finished product work were enough to make the ol' shirt buttons pop.
Another friend who is into building from scratch is my good buddy, Bob W3BBO from Erie, PA. As mentioned before, Bob is my Ham Radio mentor, and I've learned so much from him that I don't even know where to begin. Here are some photos of a series of regen receivers that he's been homebrewing.
Now does he do nice work, or what? Very nice work, indeed! I know that Bob has been conversing with Dave AA7EE, who's listed on the blog roll to the right. As far as I'm concerned, Dave's one of the Master Builders. His creations come out looking so good as to be museum pieces, in my humble opinion.
I wish I had an nth of the talent that these guys have. My creations always seem to come out looking more like something Dr. Frankenstein would have created. Functional, maybe, but definitely not pleasant to look at.
This afternoon, I worked three more NPOTA stations:
AC9FL - SSB - TR55 - Ice Age National Scientific Reserve
N4MJ - CW - BF04 - Fort Donelson National Battlefield
KS4YT - SSB - NP30 - Hot Springs National Park
Sadly, my SSB pileup breaking skills are nowhere near my CW pileup breaking skills. It's going to be interesting to see if they improve as the year progresses.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Jim was putting out all of about 2 Watts to his antenna, but it was enough to garner him a 569 report from me. His signal was a little chirpy and a tiny bit raspy, but it was still pleasant to listen to and fully copyable. Shortly after our QSO, Jim e-mailed me the above photo. I know how satisfying it is to build a kit and have it work. I can only imagine how much more satisfying it must be to build something from scratch and have it work. I'm not the greatest scratch builder, but the few times I have and have had the finished product work were enough to make the ol' shirt buttons pop.
Another friend who is into building from scratch is my good buddy, Bob W3BBO from Erie, PA. As mentioned before, Bob is my Ham Radio mentor, and I've learned so much from him that I don't even know where to begin. Here are some photos of a series of regen receivers that he's been homebrewing.
Now does he do nice work, or what? Very nice work, indeed! I know that Bob has been conversing with Dave AA7EE, who's listed on the blog roll to the right. As far as I'm concerned, Dave's one of the Master Builders. His creations come out looking so good as to be museum pieces, in my humble opinion.
I wish I had an nth of the talent that these guys have. My creations always seem to come out looking more like something Dr. Frankenstein would have created. Functional, maybe, but definitely not pleasant to look at.
This afternoon, I worked three more NPOTA stations:
AC9FL - SSB - TR55 - Ice Age National Scientific Reserve
N4MJ - CW - BF04 - Fort Donelson National Battlefield
KS4YT - SSB - NP30 - Hot Springs National Park
Sadly, my SSB pileup breaking skills are nowhere near my CW pileup breaking skills. It's going to be interesting to see if they improve as the year progresses.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New Year’s Day
Is always a kind of lazy day at the W2LJ household. Marianne and I are not big party-ers and in fact, last evening, we had to wake up to watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV. We were both fast asleep quickly after. Our two kids were up later than we were, talking with their friends online.
I got on for a bit last night for SKN. I don't know if it was just bad band conditions with the remnants of that CME lingering; or perhaps it was my atrocious bug fist. I made no contacts last night.
During the day today, I did a bit better. I worked five different NPOTA activations (6 QSOs):
N8XX - TR04 - North County National Scenic Trail
W1BXY - NS76 - Weir Farm National Historic Sight
NC8IN - NS55 - Ninety Six National Historic Sight
NR3P - SS01 - Assateague Island National Seashore
KK4ZUU - BP02 - Mnasassas National Battlefield Park
K7UPJ - NS55- Ninety Six National Historic Sight
I just realized now that I worked NS55 twice. Basically, I was dial twiddling, working the ones I could hear decently. There were a few others, but QSB was so bad on 20 Meters at times that I bypassed a few, thinking conditions would get better. They didn't, and going back to try and work those again, I found them to be gone. Sometimes the Propagation Princess is a cruel mistress!
Only N8XX and NR3P were CW, though. I had to break out the microphone and resort to SSB for the others. As Yoda would say, "A disturbing trend in The Force, I sense".
As mentioned in an earlier post, the 2016 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring NPOTA - but let that be just a foot note. I would hope that a lot of you who read this blog regularly will step up the plate and activate NPOTA entities using CW (and QRP).
Remember, it doesn't have to be an elaborate set up, with multi ops and crazy antenna installations that last all day. This NPOTA program was tailor made for portable QRP ops! Go to one of the entities, throw a wire into a tree, or perhaps break out the Buddistick, Buddipole, Alex Loop - what have you. Get on the air for a few hours and hand out some contacts!
Also, remember that this is a year long celebration. There were a bumper crop of NPOTA activations on the air today. It seems that everyone wanted to be active on "Day One", but there are 365 days left (this is a Leap Year, don't forget). So get out there and have some fun. That's what this is all about - going outdoors, setting up and having some fun.
This is OUR specialty, guys! Let's show them how it's done!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I got on for a bit last night for SKN. I don't know if it was just bad band conditions with the remnants of that CME lingering; or perhaps it was my atrocious bug fist. I made no contacts last night.
During the day today, I did a bit better. I worked five different NPOTA activations (6 QSOs):
N8XX - TR04 - North County National Scenic Trail
W1BXY - NS76 - Weir Farm National Historic Sight
NC8IN - NS55 - Ninety Six National Historic Sight
NR3P - SS01 - Assateague Island National Seashore
KK4ZUU - BP02 - Mnasassas National Battlefield Park
K7UPJ - NS55- Ninety Six National Historic Sight
I just realized now that I worked NS55 twice. Basically, I was dial twiddling, working the ones I could hear decently. There were a few others, but QSB was so bad on 20 Meters at times that I bypassed a few, thinking conditions would get better. They didn't, and going back to try and work those again, I found them to be gone. Sometimes the Propagation Princess is a cruel mistress!
Only N8XX and NR3P were CW, though. I had to break out the microphone and resort to SSB for the others. As Yoda would say, "A disturbing trend in The Force, I sense".
As mentioned in an earlier post, the 2016 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring NPOTA - but let that be just a foot note. I would hope that a lot of you who read this blog regularly will step up the plate and activate NPOTA entities using CW (and QRP).
Remember, it doesn't have to be an elaborate set up, with multi ops and crazy antenna installations that last all day. This NPOTA program was tailor made for portable QRP ops! Go to one of the entities, throw a wire into a tree, or perhaps break out the Buddistick, Buddipole, Alex Loop - what have you. Get on the air for a few hours and hand out some contacts!
Also, remember that this is a year long celebration. There were a bumper crop of NPOTA activations on the air today. It seems that everyone wanted to be active on "Day One", but there are 365 days left (this is a Leap Year, don't forget). So get out there and have some fun. That's what this is all about - going outdoors, setting up and having some fun.
This is OUR specialty, guys! Let's show them how it's done!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
PLT Devices – Have I welcomed the Devil in to the shack?
I joked recently about turning to the Dark Side, well my conversion really was complete after the Boxing Day sales.
I need to set up the ability to remotely operate the station via the internet as well as experiment with internet linking systems but the wi-fi link to the shack isn't fast or reliable enough. Now if I do a scan looking for wi-fi networks I can see well over a dozen, some of them quite strong and more are popping up all the time and I suspect this congestion is part of my problem.
The Samsung Smart TV in the house was also wi-fi linked but we were having increasing issues with the BBC iPlayer and Netflix with buffering or poor quality images because of poor signal and data rates.
Ideally I would be like to fit proper ethernet cables but it is totally impractical without major upheaval or unsightly trunking a definite no-no. In the end the only workable and affordable solution seemed to be to get some of those evil Powerline Transmission (PLT) devices.
I have suffered strong sporadic QRM myself which I have assumed were neighbours PLT networking devices as I'd read the horror stories, seen the videos and anecdotal reports of mains borne noise caused by them. So I hadn't even considered it until I saw a post and video by Dan Trudgian (M0TGN) about his experiences of using some Netgear devices and the apparant lack of interference to his radio activities. Some members of South Kesteven ARS had also started using them, so I took the plunge and ordered some Netgear ones reduced on Amazon in the Boxing Day sales.
Setting them up was easy, but the acid test was how much noise did they generate? I set up one device in the shack at the far end of the mains cable run to maximise radiation. Streaming internet radio and a HD movie on Netflix I then used the FUNCube Dongle PRO+ SDR connected to the OCFD to see what noise they were generating.
Here are my observations going through the various HF bands. Where noise is present I first stopped the streaming and then powered off the devices to eliminate them as the cause, where they were the cause it seemed eliminating the network traffic was sufficient to greatly reduce the effect.
While the antenna isn't optimised for 80m, signals can be seen as well as noise. Before you get excited this noise has been present for quite a while and isn't being caused by the new Netgear devices. This noise is what I suspected was generated by PLT devices used by my neighbours.
Shocking noise but again this isn't caused by my new devices, the noise has the same characteristics as that seen on 80m.
The band was busy, there is some noise again but not from the new devices, this was looking encouraging. I have also showed the adjacent broadcast band.
Again, largely noise free
Still largely noise free, the QRM that is present still wasn't due to the new devices
This was the first indication of QRM from the new devices, however it appears effectively filtered to leave the amateur allocation clear. The faint noise in the middle picture is not from the new devices.
Again this band was clear of noise
Showing the two ends of the band again the clear signal/noise from the devices again seems effectively filtered
While the amateur bands appear to be filtered, the transmission can of course can clearly be seen on some non-amateur bands and apart from 16 meters seems to avoid the broadcast bands.
This fairly rudimentary testing has largely given me confidence that they won't be any issues. The band conditions weren't brilliant when I did test, but even with the absence of signals on the band any noise would be evident as seen. Yes they clearly do generate QRM but thankfully not it seems in the amateur bands. I haven't heard any extra noise on any of the radios over the last few days so all is looking promising. I will keep you posted if there is any change.
I need to set up the ability to remotely operate the station via the internet as well as experiment with internet linking systems but the wi-fi link to the shack isn't fast or reliable enough. Now if I do a scan looking for wi-fi networks I can see well over a dozen, some of them quite strong and more are popping up all the time and I suspect this congestion is part of my problem.
The Samsung Smart TV in the house was also wi-fi linked but we were having increasing issues with the BBC iPlayer and Netflix with buffering or poor quality images because of poor signal and data rates.
Ideally I would be like to fit proper ethernet cables but it is totally impractical without major upheaval or unsightly trunking a definite no-no. In the end the only workable and affordable solution seemed to be to get some of those evil Powerline Transmission (PLT) devices.
I have suffered strong sporadic QRM myself which I have assumed were neighbours PLT networking devices as I'd read the horror stories, seen the videos and anecdotal reports of mains borne noise caused by them. So I hadn't even considered it until I saw a post and video by Dan Trudgian (M0TGN) about his experiences of using some Netgear devices and the apparant lack of interference to his radio activities. Some members of South Kesteven ARS had also started using them, so I took the plunge and ordered some Netgear ones reduced on Amazon in the Boxing Day sales.
Setting them up was easy, but the acid test was how much noise did they generate? I set up one device in the shack at the far end of the mains cable run to maximise radiation. Streaming internet radio and a HD movie on Netflix I then used the FUNCube Dongle PRO+ SDR connected to the OCFD to see what noise they were generating.
Here are my observations going through the various HF bands. Where noise is present I first stopped the streaming and then powered off the devices to eliminate them as the cause, where they were the cause it seemed eliminating the network traffic was sufficient to greatly reduce the effect.
80 Meters
While the antenna isn't optimised for 80m, signals can be seen as well as noise. Before you get excited this noise has been present for quite a while and isn't being caused by the new Netgear devices. This noise is what I suspected was generated by PLT devices used by my neighbours.
60 Meters
Shocking noise but again this isn't caused by my new devices, the noise has the same characteristics as that seen on 80m.
40 Meters
The band was busy, there is some noise again but not from the new devices, this was looking encouraging. I have also showed the adjacent broadcast band.
30 Meters
Again, largely noise free
20 Meters
Still largely noise free, the QRM that is present still wasn't due to the new devices
17 Meters
This was the first indication of QRM from the new devices, however it appears effectively filtered to leave the amateur allocation clear. The faint noise in the middle picture is not from the new devices.
15 Meters
Again this band was clear of noise
12 Meters
Showing the two ends of the band again the clear signal/noise from the devices again seems effectively filtered
10 Meter
I didn't observe any additional noise on this band, but unfortunately deleted the screen grabs ;-)So where was the QRM?
While the amateur bands appear to be filtered, the transmission can of course can clearly be seen on some non-amateur bands and apart from 16 meters seems to avoid the broadcast bands.
Conclusion
These Netgear XAVB5221 devices seem effective, indeed doing a speedtest in the shack was more than acceptable (the dire upload speed is a 'feature' of my cable ISP)This fairly rudimentary testing has largely given me confidence that they won't be any issues. The band conditions weren't brilliant when I did test, but even with the absence of signals on the band any noise would be evident as seen. Yes they clearly do generate QRM but thankfully not it seems in the amateur bands. I haven't heard any extra noise on any of the radios over the last few days so all is looking promising. I will keep you posted if there is any change.
PLT Devices – Have I welcomed the Devil in to the shack?
I joked recently about turning to the Dark Side, well my conversion really was complete after the Boxing Day sales.
I need to set up the ability to remotely operate the station via the internet as well as experiment with internet linking systems but the wi-fi link to the shack isn't fast or reliable enough. Now if I do a scan looking for wi-fi networks I can see well over a dozen, some of them quite strong and more are popping up all the time and I suspect this congestion is part of my problem.
The Samsung Smart TV in the house was also wi-fi linked but we were having increasing issues with the BBC iPlayer and Netflix with buffering or poor quality images because of poor signal and data rates.
Ideally I would be like to fit proper ethernet cables but it is totally impractical without major upheaval or unsightly trunking a definite no-no. In the end the only workable and affordable solution seemed to be to get some of those evil Powerline Transmission (PLT) devices.
I have suffered strong sporadic QRM myself which I have assumed were neighbours PLT networking devices as I'd read the horror stories, seen the videos and anecdotal reports of mains borne noise caused by them. So I hadn't even considered it until I saw a post and video by Dan Trudgian (M0TGN) about his experiences of using some Netgear devices and the apparant lack of interference to his radio activities. Some members of South Kesteven ARS had also started using them, so I took the plunge and ordered some Netgear ones reduced on Amazon in the Boxing Day sales.
Setting them up was easy, but the acid test was how much noise did they generate? I set up one device in the shack at the far end of the mains cable run to maximise radiation. Streaming internet radio and a HD movie on Netflix I then used the FUNCube Dongle PRO+ SDR connected to the OCFD to see what noise they were generating.
Here are my observations going through the various HF bands. Where noise is present I first stopped the streaming and then powered off the devices to eliminate them as the cause, where they were the cause it seemed eliminating the network traffic was sufficient to greatly reduce the effect.
While the antenna isn't optimised for 80m, signals can be seen as well as noise. Before you get excited this noise has been present for quite a while and isn't being caused by the new Netgear devices. This noise is what I suspected was generated by PLT devices used by my neighbours.
Shocking noise but again this isn't caused by my new devices, the noise has the same characteristics as that seen on 80m.
The band was busy, there is some noise again but not from the new devices, this was looking encouraging. I have also showed the adjacent broadcast band.
Again, largely noise free
Still largely noise free, the QRM that is present still wasn't due to the new devices
This was the first indication of QRM from the new devices, however it appears effectively filtered to leave the amateur allocation clear. The faint noise in the middle picture is not from the new devices.
Again this band was clear of noise
Showing the two ends of the band again the clear signal/noise from the devices again seems effectively filtered
While the amateur bands appear to be filtered, the transmission can of course can clearly be seen on some non-amateur bands and apart from 16 meters seems to avoid the broadcast bands.
This fairly rudimentary testing has largely given me confidence that they won't be any issues. The band conditions weren't brilliant when I did test, but even with the absence of signals on the band any noise would be evident as seen. Yes they clearly do generate QRM but thankfully not it seems in the amateur bands. I haven't heard any extra noise on any of the radios over the last few days so all is looking promising. I will keep you posted if there is any change.
I need to set up the ability to remotely operate the station via the internet as well as experiment with internet linking systems but the wi-fi link to the shack isn't fast or reliable enough. Now if I do a scan looking for wi-fi networks I can see well over a dozen, some of them quite strong and more are popping up all the time and I suspect this congestion is part of my problem.
The Samsung Smart TV in the house was also wi-fi linked but we were having increasing issues with the BBC iPlayer and Netflix with buffering or poor quality images because of poor signal and data rates.
Ideally I would be like to fit proper ethernet cables but it is totally impractical without major upheaval or unsightly trunking a definite no-no. In the end the only workable and affordable solution seemed to be to get some of those evil Powerline Transmission (PLT) devices.
I have suffered strong sporadic QRM myself which I have assumed were neighbours PLT networking devices as I'd read the horror stories, seen the videos and anecdotal reports of mains borne noise caused by them. So I hadn't even considered it until I saw a post and video by Dan Trudgian (M0TGN) about his experiences of using some Netgear devices and the apparant lack of interference to his radio activities. Some members of South Kesteven ARS had also started using them, so I took the plunge and ordered some Netgear ones reduced on Amazon in the Boxing Day sales.
Setting them up was easy, but the acid test was how much noise did they generate? I set up one device in the shack at the far end of the mains cable run to maximise radiation. Streaming internet radio and a HD movie on Netflix I then used the FUNCube Dongle PRO+ SDR connected to the OCFD to see what noise they were generating.
Here are my observations going through the various HF bands. Where noise is present I first stopped the streaming and then powered off the devices to eliminate them as the cause, where they were the cause it seemed eliminating the network traffic was sufficient to greatly reduce the effect.
80 Meters
While the antenna isn't optimised for 80m, signals can be seen as well as noise. Before you get excited this noise has been present for quite a while and isn't being caused by the new Netgear devices. This noise is what I suspected was generated by PLT devices used by my neighbours.
60 Meters
Shocking noise but again this isn't caused by my new devices, the noise has the same characteristics as that seen on 80m.
40 Meters
The band was busy, there is some noise again but not from the new devices, this was looking encouraging. I have also showed the adjacent broadcast band.
30 Meters
Again, largely noise free
20 Meters
Still largely noise free, the QRM that is present still wasn't due to the new devices
17 Meters
This was the first indication of QRM from the new devices, however it appears effectively filtered to leave the amateur allocation clear. The faint noise in the middle picture is not from the new devices.
15 Meters
Again this band was clear of noise
12 Meters
Showing the two ends of the band again the clear signal/noise from the devices again seems effectively filtered
10 Meter
I didn't observe any additional noise on this band, but unfortunately deleted the screen grabs ;-)So where was the QRM?
While the amateur bands appear to be filtered, the transmission can of course can clearly be seen on some non-amateur bands and apart from 16 meters seems to avoid the broadcast bands.
Conclusion
These Netgear XAVB5221 devices seem effective, indeed doing a speedtest in the shack was more than acceptable (the dire upload speed is a 'feature' of my cable ISP)This fairly rudimentary testing has largely given me confidence that they won't be any issues. The band conditions weren't brilliant when I did test, but even with the absence of signals on the band any noise would be evident as seen. Yes they clearly do generate QRM but thankfully not it seems in the amateur bands. I haven't heard any extra noise on any of the radios over the last few days so all is looking promising. I will keep you posted if there is any change.
Skeeter Hunt – NPOTA News
Several things:
First - The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt for 2016 is moving from the second Sunday in August to the third. So please mark Sunday, August 21st on your calendar for this year's Skeeter Hunt. There are two reasons for this. The most important is that yours truly has an outstanding monthly commitment each 2nd Sunday of the month. That's the Sunday I go help out at the soup kitchen in the next town over. I kind of blew that off the past couple of Augusts, and that's not right. There are some things more important than Amateur Radio, and this is one of those.
But hey, the organizer shouldn't go AWOL, right? (That's how I feel, anyway). So I have moved it back a weekend to the third Sunday in August, where it shall occur forever more. Another added benefit is that this makes the spacing between Flight of the Bumblebees, the Skeeter Hunt and QRP Afield and the Peanut Power Sprint a bit more even.
Second - I have gotten blessing from Sean Kutzko KX9X to incorporate NPOTA into the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt this year. Is that COOL or what? I'm not exactly sure how it's going to all work out. Maybe bonus points for activating an NPOTA unit for the Hunt - or possibly some special "memento" for activating an NPOTA unit during the Hunt. I'll have to ruminate on that one for a bit - but there's time.
Third - On a personal level, Sean announced some new NPOTA units the other day. This was a biggie for me, because in the Northeast, the Washington - Rochambeau Historical Trail was added. This is the route taken by General Rochambeau's French forces and General Washington's Continental forces as they both marched on towards the siege at Yorktown, which all but brought the American victory in the Revolutionary War.
The Washington - Rochambeau Historical Trail is within a stone's throw from my house - literally. To make this situation even better, there is the Frazee house located on the trail in Scotch Plains, NJ - the next town over. Rather than try and explain the significance of the Frazee house in my own words - allow me to post something from the official Website.
"As the legend holds, after the Battle of Short Hills, General Cornwallis and his troops passed by the house while marching toward the Watchung mountains, located a few miles to the north. Known to the locals as a prolific baker, Aunt Betty was baking bread at the time. Hungry and tired, the troops smelled the bread and Cornwallis approached her stating, "I want the first loaf of bread that next comes from that oven." Betty is said to have replied, “Sir, I give you this bread through fear, not in love.” Evidently impressed by her courage, Cornwallis is said to have stated, “Not a man in my command shall touch a single loaf.” While history offers evidence that Betty lived in the house and did, indeed, bake bread, the story of the actual conversation is not authenticated by primary source documents. The words allegedly spoken by the principals are found in the earliest authoritative source on the subject, F.W. Ricord's History of Union County, page 513, which is one of the sources cited in the National Register of Historic Places filing that led to the Frazee House being placed on the Register."
I'll have to look onto getting permission to operate from the property that the house is on. If that's not obtainable, there are plenty of other locations that can be operated from on the Trail, right in my local area. In fact, right in front of the Ashbrook Golf Course, is a monument to The Battle of Short Hills.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
First - The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt for 2016 is moving from the second Sunday in August to the third. So please mark Sunday, August 21st on your calendar for this year's Skeeter Hunt. There are two reasons for this. The most important is that yours truly has an outstanding monthly commitment each 2nd Sunday of the month. That's the Sunday I go help out at the soup kitchen in the next town over. I kind of blew that off the past couple of Augusts, and that's not right. There are some things more important than Amateur Radio, and this is one of those.
But hey, the organizer shouldn't go AWOL, right? (That's how I feel, anyway). So I have moved it back a weekend to the third Sunday in August, where it shall occur forever more. Another added benefit is that this makes the spacing between Flight of the Bumblebees, the Skeeter Hunt and QRP Afield and the Peanut Power Sprint a bit more even.
Second - I have gotten blessing from Sean Kutzko KX9X to incorporate NPOTA into the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt this year. Is that COOL or what? I'm not exactly sure how it's going to all work out. Maybe bonus points for activating an NPOTA unit for the Hunt - or possibly some special "memento" for activating an NPOTA unit during the Hunt. I'll have to ruminate on that one for a bit - but there's time.
Third - On a personal level, Sean announced some new NPOTA units the other day. This was a biggie for me, because in the Northeast, the Washington - Rochambeau Historical Trail was added. This is the route taken by General Rochambeau's French forces and General Washington's Continental forces as they both marched on towards the siege at Yorktown, which all but brought the American victory in the Revolutionary War.
The Washington - Rochambeau Historical Trail is within a stone's throw from my house - literally. To make this situation even better, there is the Frazee house located on the trail in Scotch Plains, NJ - the next town over. Rather than try and explain the significance of the Frazee house in my own words - allow me to post something from the official Website.
"As the legend holds, after the Battle of Short Hills, General Cornwallis and his troops passed by the house while marching toward the Watchung mountains, located a few miles to the north. Known to the locals as a prolific baker, Aunt Betty was baking bread at the time. Hungry and tired, the troops smelled the bread and Cornwallis approached her stating, "I want the first loaf of bread that next comes from that oven." Betty is said to have replied, “Sir, I give you this bread through fear, not in love.” Evidently impressed by her courage, Cornwallis is said to have stated, “Not a man in my command shall touch a single loaf.” While history offers evidence that Betty lived in the house and did, indeed, bake bread, the story of the actual conversation is not authenticated by primary source documents. The words allegedly spoken by the principals are found in the earliest authoritative source on the subject, F.W. Ricord's History of Union County, page 513, which is one of the sources cited in the National Register of Historic Places filing that led to the Frazee House being placed on the Register."
I'll have to look onto getting permission to operate from the property that the house is on. If that's not obtainable, there are plenty of other locations that can be operated from on the Trail, right in my local area. In fact, right in front of the Ashbrook Golf Course, is a monument to The Battle of Short Hills.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
An interesting challenge
I saw this posted on the 4 States QRP Group e-mail reflector. I added NY4G's blog to the blog roll and am posting a link to his "challenge".
http://ny4g.blogspot.com/2015/12/qrp-dxcc-challenge.html
He calls it "QRP Wars - The Morse Awakens".
Cute.
Now the question is - can it be done?
My answer is, "Yes, I think it can." Even with the worsening solar conditions. But (and there's alway's a "but") I think this competition favors those who are retired and can send mondo amounts of time on the radio. It also favors those of us on the East coast, who are closer to Europe and the Caribbean. And with the ARRL DX Contest which is held in February, if you really put your mind to it, it should be possible to work QRP DXCC within 100 days.
Am I going to put my money where my mouth is?
Not sure at this point. I just might try it for fun and just may keep a "diary" of the effort here on the blog - just for the halibut. Let me cogitate on it for a while. I have a couple of days left until 2016 rolls around.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
http://ny4g.blogspot.com/2015/12/qrp-dxcc-challenge.html
He calls it "QRP Wars - The Morse Awakens".
Cute.
Now the question is - can it be done?
My answer is, "Yes, I think it can." Even with the worsening solar conditions. But (and there's alway's a "but") I think this competition favors those who are retired and can send mondo amounts of time on the radio. It also favors those of us on the East coast, who are closer to Europe and the Caribbean. And with the ARRL DX Contest which is held in February, if you really put your mind to it, it should be possible to work QRP DXCC within 100 days.
Am I going to put my money where my mouth is?
Not sure at this point. I just might try it for fun and just may keep a "diary" of the effort here on the blog - just for the halibut. Let me cogitate on it for a while. I have a couple of days left until 2016 rolls around.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
