Amateur Radio

[mtnbkr]

I resemble this remark.

Attachment 89145

We’re on our summer trip, currently in Petoskey MI. Haven’t used the radio a lot, mainly to get Wx forecasts on the 162.x Wx bands for where we are.

Started up Hamstudy dot org for General. Also loaded a Morse tool for the laptop to learn to copy. My brother (an AE) gave me a ARRL handbook from 1977 he had when he got started. Lots of good info on vacuum tubes.

The ARRL VHF contest is less than a month away. Get on the air with your HT and work stations in the Single Op FM category. You won't be competitive, but you'll have fun.

http://arrl.org/june-vhf

Chris

[mtnbkr]

I’ve been racking up the more expensive purchases I’ve been wanting before I leave sales tax free NH. Last week was radio’s turn in the barrel.

I love my KX3, but I’ve always thought it was a little precious for field use - plus having to split the case to charge the Eneloops has always bothered me, so I usually use an external battery which defeats the small size in the field. I picked up a FT-818 a month or so ago for field use, I can easily pop the bottom plate to pull and charge the Eneloops; I have rails on it and a tuner bungied to the top. It’s a fun little low stress radio, but definitely from an earlier era - not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Last weekend I was up at HRO’s local store for some coax connectors, and fell in love with the ICOM IC-705 and accessories. I picked one up with the dedicated field backpack and tuner. I’m thinking this will be the perfect POTA picnic table rig, and having a decent built in scope is great.

I also recently picked up my truSDX kit from a local group buy. I need to order a case, but to be honest this will sit unbuilt until after my move. I used to love kitbuilding, so this should be fun.

Not using that KX3 in the field hurts my feelz.

The 705 is nice, but a bit too bulky for my tastes. But, it does a lot of things well.

Chris

[mtnbkr]

So, I got myself a Tr(uSDX) QRP rig and built a K6ARK micro EFHW transformer to go with it. Normal operation of an EFHW is to have a fixed length radiator wire for a specific band. You can take a wire sized for your lowest frequency and chop it up with jumpers or traps, but you're still looking at a mighty long antenna (64' for 40m). I've been using a coil-loaded EFHW at home. It's built for 20/40 and is less than 40' long. That got me to thinking...how can I make the coil small enough to fit the design parameters of the rest of my station, give me frequency agility, and not be a long as a full length antenna on the lowest band I require.

Introducing the micro dual-band EFHW. It's about 38' long and weighs mere ounces. It's tuned for the General Class SSB portions of the 20m and 40m bands. The coil form was 3d-printed by me, is .35" in diameter and roughly 4" long with 170 turns of 28awg magnet wire. SWR in the target band ranges is 1.5 or lower. The 20m element is about 31' long and the 40m stub connected to the other side of the coil is a bit over 6' long. Once I get around to finishing the peaking/tuning of the radio, I'll put the whole station on the air.



Chris

[2xAGM114]

Introducing the micro dual-band EFHW. It's about 38' long and weighs mere ounces. It's tuned for the General Class SSB portions of the 20m and 40m bands. The coil form was 3d-printed by me, is .35" in diameter and roughly 4" long with 170 turns of 28awg magnet wire. SWR in the target band ranges is 1.5 or lower. The 20m element is about 31' long and the 40m stub connected to the other side of the coil is a bit over 6' long. Once I get around to finishing the peaking/tuning of the radio, I'll put the whole station on the air.

Chris

Great job on the antenna! I've been considering K6ARK's kit for a while. Winding torroids that small looks intimidating. Did you use a vise or some way to hold the torroid? I'd like to make a EFHW for 20-30-40 and maybe get 17 in there as well. Nice design, perfect for SOTA without the need for a ATU.

[HeavyDuty]

So, I got myself a Tr(uSDX) QRP rig and built a K6ARK micro EFHW transformer to go with it. Normal operation of an EFHW is to have a fixed length radiator wire for a specific band. You can take a wire sized for your lowest frequency and chop it up with jumpers or traps, but you're still looking at a mighty long antenna (64' for 40m). I've been using a coil-loaded EFHW at home. It's built for 20/40 and is less than 40' long. That got me to thinking...how can I make the coil small enough to fit the design parameters of the rest of my station, give me frequency agility, and not be a long as a full length antenna on the lowest band I require.

Introducing the micro dual-band EFHW. It's about 38' long and weighs mere ounces. It's tuned for the General Class SSB portions of the 20m and 40m bands. The coil form was 3d-printed by me, is .35" in diameter and roughly 4" long with 170 turns of 28awg magnet wire. SWR in the target band ranges is 1.5 or lower. The 20m element is about 31' long and the 40m stub connected to the other side of the coil is a bit over 6' long. Once I get around to finishing the peaking/tuning of the radio, I'll put the whole station on the air.



Chris

If you ever decide to sell a kit with the coil form…

[mtnbkr]

Great job on the antenna! I've been considering K6ARK's kit for a while. Winding torroids that small looks intimidating. Did you use a vise or some way to hold the torroid? I'd like to make a EFHW for 20-30-40 and maybe get 17 in there as well. Nice design, perfect for SOTA without the need for a ATU.

Thanks. I just held it by hand. It's tiny, but the mag wire is fine guaged, so it winds easily. It's not a complex toroid, just your standard 49:1 winding. I've done a lot of those because I have a bit of an obsession with experimenting with EFHWs.

BTW, I used that antenna and the Tr(uSDX) on a summit the other day. I had already activated it for points, so I decided to play around a bit. I did 6mFM via my Yaesu VX-7 and an EFHW of my own design (mix 61 toroid), making 4 contacts (Yay VHF contest). Then I put the new EFHW up and made 3 quick contacts on 20m, including DX from France (F4WBN is a prolific and strong chaser).

Chris

[2xAGM114]

Then I put the new EFHW up and made 3 quick contacts on 20m, including DX from France (F4WBN is a prolific and strong chaser).

Chris

I've got Christopher in my log a half dozen times at least. He'll camp out on 20m and wait until my pile-up clears out. It's a faint signal but once I hear his call I know who it is.

I've also had a few QSOs with Hatori Hideo JH1MXV. I've emailed with him afterwards; super humble dude.

dit dit

[mtnbkr]

@RJ Were you on the Bluemont repeater near Northern VA last night? I heard a conversation between two guys and one mentioned being a full-time RVer. I didn't quite catch the full callsign, but it sounded like yours.

Chris

[RJ]

@RJ Were you on the Bluemont repeater near Northern VA last night? I heard a conversation between two guys and one mentioned being a full-time RVer. I didn't quite catch the full callsign, but it sounded like yours.

Chris

Chris - No, it was not me, sorry.

[theJanitor]

So I signed up for the Technician's exam in a couple of weeks. So I got online and started watching YouTube vids on radio operation and did some online practice exams. Some of the questions are 6 feet tall, and I'm only 5'9"

Are there any entertaining material I could be studying?