6 meter is fair this afternoon, lots of JT-65 hearing some Canada, Mexico and Euro, none coming back to me. Logged several stateside though.
The Ham Shack - B&B's Amateur Radio Club
- Thread starter jamesspo
- Start date
Bump...
Been piecing together a portable (camping) station for over a year, like Johnny Cash - One Piece at a Time. Started with a radio and battery, added a piece here and there. Got a new laptop a couple weeks ago so today I finally had time to sit down, put it all together and setup the digital modes. 20 & 40 were somewhat open, so made several PSK31 QSO, all CONUS except for a VE.
ARRL has a "contest" during the eclipse in a couple weeks, so in addition to snapping pics, I might also have a mic in hand. Shall see how motivated I get, not much of a contester, but I am curious how the eclipse may affect the propagation.
No, I don't set all this up every time we go camping, usually just the radio and battery, a quickie resonant vertical and get on the air.
It all goes in a large Pelican, along with antenna analyzer to quickly set the vertical, coax, and bits and pieces. The collapsible vertical, and a 4 foot steel stake to support it are the only loose pieces I have to remember. have enough wire in the case, so I frequently just toss a random wire out and use the tuner.
Been piecing together a portable (camping) station for over a year, like Johnny Cash - One Piece at a Time. Started with a radio and battery, added a piece here and there. Got a new laptop a couple weeks ago so today I finally had time to sit down, put it all together and setup the digital modes. 20 & 40 were somewhat open, so made several PSK31 QSO, all CONUS except for a VE.
ARRL has a "contest" during the eclipse in a couple weeks, so in addition to snapping pics, I might also have a mic in hand. Shall see how motivated I get, not much of a contester, but I am curious how the eclipse may affect the propagation.
No, I don't set all this up every time we go camping, usually just the radio and battery, a quickie resonant vertical and get on the air.
It all goes in a large Pelican, along with antenna analyzer to quickly set the vertical, coax, and bits and pieces. The collapsible vertical, and a 4 foot steel stake to support it are the only loose pieces I have to remember. have enough wire in the case, so I frequently just toss a random wire out and use the tuner.
Thats awesome! I really like field work. I don't get to do as much as I would like but still fun. I have the same radio, it is great for the field.
Glad to hear you got a good setup.
73
Glad to hear you got a good setup.
73
Cleaning up some stuff today, came across a clipping from 1995. Bellevue ARC, Bellevue NE, I was stationed at Offut AFB, most of the club was active or retired USAF so easy to use the base lake for a great Field Day site. Kenwood TS-520s, IBM XT clone, and generator for 110v, no 12v options here! Compare to my portable HF setup two posts above! What a difference.
Thread activity has died off as fast as the bands this fall...
FT-8 is all the rage now. When it first hit the scene this summer a few watts would work the world, quicker and easier than the JT modes. And of course digital gets through weak conditions when phone is useless. Now a few months later, FT-8 has become so popular I can't get QSOs on my set up. Forums have folks reporting they are running up to 1000w to make contacts. The upside is with everyone running to FT-8, the JT and PSK modes are peaceful and productive again on 20 watts. I've even been working some Olivia and Contestia on low power. Sweet.
73
W0BBB
FT-8 is all the rage now. When it first hit the scene this summer a few watts would work the world, quicker and easier than the JT modes. And of course digital gets through weak conditions when phone is useless. Now a few months later, FT-8 has become so popular I can't get QSOs on my set up. Forums have folks reporting they are running up to 1000w to make contacts. The upside is with everyone running to FT-8, the JT and PSK modes are peaceful and productive again on 20 watts. I've even been working some Olivia and Contestia on low power. Sweet.
73
W0BBB
I started running FT-8 mode around Halloween. Over 600 contacts, with 47 states and over 30 countries confirmed on LOTW. I gotta admit I'm hooked, especially with the bands in such bad shape.
de WK0DX
de WK0DX
Hi,
When the bands drop off, it is time to grab the Key. The oldest and the best Digital mode.
73s,
Stan
When the bands drop off, it is time to grab the Key. The oldest and the best Digital mode.
73s,
Stan
Oh I understand, I've worked cw but you're not going to work stations -20db below the noise floor. It at least my hearing isn't that good.Hi,
When the bands drop off, it is time to grab the Key. The oldest and the best Digital mode.
73s,
Stan
Hi,
Just remember that the noise floor drops as you reduce the bandwidth of your receiver. Radio is all about power v bandwidth. The nice part about CW is you gain that benefit in both directions.
When the Big Storm this summer had run up Florida's west coast, and then a solar flare had come right behind it, the relatively wide bandwidth SSB suddenly was wiped out. CW saved the day, and it was all which was left working. Because the CW ops were able to shove their power into a smaller space while simultaneously narrowing down their receivers. There can easily be 30 dB of improvement.
Stan
Just remember that the noise floor drops as you reduce the bandwidth of your receiver. Radio is all about power v bandwidth. The nice part about CW is you gain that benefit in both directions.
When the Big Storm this summer had run up Florida's west coast, and then a solar flare had come right behind it, the relatively wide bandwidth SSB suddenly was wiped out. CW saved the day, and it was all which was left working. Because the CW ops were able to shove their power into a smaller space while simultaneously narrowing down their receivers. There can easily be 30 dB of improvement.
Stan
Actually FT-8 only occupies about 50 hz, there are multiple signals in a 2.5 khz bandwidth like SSB. CW has it's place don't get me wrong, but a new mode of operation is always fun, for me anyway.
Hi,
Oh, yes. Always good to get into something new.
Next, we get to discuss phase shifting of the airways and what that does to signals. Another benefit of CW is your brain can discern the content in the face of massive phase shifts. Such as the ones which occur communicating on the polar path due to aurora. Of course that is pretty extreme when it comes to phase shifting. The dots and dashes sound like the morning song birds got into the espresso at sunup!
Most digital modulation schemes, better referred to as vector modulation, work on an intentional phase shift between an In-Phase signal and a Quadrature one. Not something which is likely to work in the presence of unpredictable path phase shifting, unfortunately.
Sorry. I am getting a bit too into this. We are leaving the realm of ham radio and entering the one of communications systems design. At least we woke the thread back up!
Back to the ham world. Enjoy all the modes! That is what it is all about. In time, we all ought to figure out what works best given any conditions.
73s,
Stan
Oh, yes. Always good to get into something new.
Next, we get to discuss phase shifting of the airways and what that does to signals.
Another benefit of CW is your brain can discern the content in the face of massive phase shifts. Such as the ones which occur communicating on the polar path due to aurora. Of course that is pretty extreme when it comes to phase shifting. The dots and dashes sound like the morning song birds got into the espresso at sunup! Most digital modulation schemes, better referred to as vector modulation, work on an intentional phase shift between an In-Phase signal and a Quadrature one. Not something which is likely to work in the presence of unpredictable path phase shifting, unfortunately.
Sorry. I am getting a bit too into this. We are leaving the realm of ham radio and entering the one of communications systems design. At least we woke the thread back up!
Back to the ham world. Enjoy all the modes! That is what it is all about. In time, we all ought to figure out what works best given any conditions.
73s,
Stan
Gentlemen,
after some weeks in B&B ando some humble contributions to this nice forum I discovered this community.
One of my other hobbies is SWL (my code is IZ1096SWL), either BCL than utilities and hams, with a small Grundig WR5401 and all the possible combinations of homemade external antennas coupled with the telescopic built-in one.
I also use the websdr sites with Fldigi (I have a particular fondness with Hell modes).
Just to say hello and to notify my presence (a sort of QSL...)
73 de Ferruccio
after some weeks in B&B ando some humble contributions to this nice forum I discovered this community.
One of my other hobbies is SWL (my code is IZ1096SWL), either BCL than utilities and hams, with a small Grundig WR5401 and all the possible combinations of homemade external antennas coupled with the telescopic built-in one.
I also use the websdr sites with Fldigi (I have a particular fondness with Hell modes).
Just to say hello and to notify my presence (a sort of QSL...)
73 de Ferruccio
Howdy
Been playing with a SDR dongle for SWL since my DX-440 died. Amazed a $29 dongle, and Raspberry Pi works almost as well, just not portable.
73 W0BBB (Bill)
AD2A checking into the net. 
I've been licensed since about 1994, I think. Ex-N2SMH. When I got into the hobby, a friend who was a shortwave buff (but not a ham) steered me toward vintage R.L. Drake gear. "Poor man's Collins," he said. So I went a little nuts and had an R-4B setup and an R-4C setup, both flanking a C-4 station console so I could use either receiver with either transmitter. The R-4C was especially sweet as it was fitted with a near-complete set of bandpass filters.
Then I caught the QRP bug big-time. Sold all the Drake stuff off and went whole hog into building QRP rigs. I went through quite a few rigs: NorCal 40, Wilderness Radio Sierra with all band modules, NorCal Cascade 20-meter SSB transceiver, NorCal .38 Special (30-meter CW transceiver), and many others. I also had a Heathkit HW-9 and a Ten-Tec Scout along the way. Now my "big rig" is an early Elecraft K2.
I did a lot of field operating and was very into "minimalist" antennas. I worked many, many countries at 5 W or less with nothing more than an 85' long wire slingshotted over the big tree in the backyard. I built numerous portable verticles, all sorts of other wire antennas like delta loops, and so on. Built my own T-match antenna tuners too.
Having said all that, I've been inactive now for a good 8-10 years. Life got in the way, and other interests superseded Amateur Radio. We moved a year ago and since then, my station and everything associated with Amateur Radio is packed up in boxes. Will I ever reactivate Amateur Station AD2A? I honestly do not know. But I wanted to check in here anyway and say hello!
I've been licensed since about 1994, I think. Ex-N2SMH. When I got into the hobby, a friend who was a shortwave buff (but not a ham) steered me toward vintage R.L. Drake gear. "Poor man's Collins," he said. So I went a little nuts and had an R-4B setup and an R-4C setup, both flanking a C-4 station console so I could use either receiver with either transmitter. The R-4C was especially sweet as it was fitted with a near-complete set of bandpass filters.
Then I caught the QRP bug big-time. Sold all the Drake stuff off and went whole hog into building QRP rigs. I went through quite a few rigs: NorCal 40, Wilderness Radio Sierra with all band modules, NorCal Cascade 20-meter SSB transceiver, NorCal .38 Special (30-meter CW transceiver), and many others. I also had a Heathkit HW-9 and a Ten-Tec Scout along the way. Now my "big rig" is an early Elecraft K2.
I did a lot of field operating and was very into "minimalist" antennas. I worked many, many countries at 5 W or less with nothing more than an 85' long wire slingshotted over the big tree in the backyard. I built numerous portable verticles, all sorts of other wire antennas like delta loops, and so on. Built my own T-match antenna tuners too.
Having said all that, I've been inactive now for a good 8-10 years. Life got in the way, and other interests superseded Amateur Radio. We moved a year ago and since then, my station and everything associated with Amateur Radio is packed up in boxes. Will I ever reactivate Amateur Station AD2A? I honestly do not know. But I wanted to check in here anyway and say hello!
Kc3cwb checking in from nw pa
Any satellite operators out there? I got an Arrow antenna for Christmas, can pick up FM birds real well, but how do you get a call in edgewise? Talk about pile up. Lots of fun trying so far though! Need to set up the 857 to work the SSB birds.
WhoooHoooo. A new grid in the log! FT8 17m DN70, but wait, I live in DN70?!?! A whopping 5 miles.
Welcome my friend, from W8DSW.
CQ de N4FO in sunny central Florida! Nice to know there are a few hams still around here. I have been a ham for 39 years; doesn't seem possible when I think about it. I still do some listening on HF and 2 meters and 440, but not much time for talking, unfortunately.
I, like some of the others started with a Heathkit HW-16 with HG-10B VFO. I made myself a 40 meter dipole and strung it up in my back yard and used it on 40 and 15 meters. I worked LOTS of CW on those bands since that was all a Novice class had back then. When I graduated from high school I went in the Army, so I didn't have much time for ham activities until a year or so later. Bought a Drake TR4C from AES and used it for many years to work both CW and SSB. Eventually sold that to a new ham and got an Icom IC-735. Tons of fun with that rig with CW, SSB, Packet, AMTOR.
Band conditions are pretty poor, but still hear some good stuff on 20 meters every now and then.
73,
Steve H.
N4FO
I, like some of the others started with a Heathkit HW-16 with HG-10B VFO. I made myself a 40 meter dipole and strung it up in my back yard and used it on 40 and 15 meters. I worked LOTS of CW on those bands since that was all a Novice class had back then. When I graduated from high school I went in the Army, so I didn't have much time for ham activities until a year or so later. Bought a Drake TR4C from AES and used it for many years to work both CW and SSB. Eventually sold that to a new ham and got an Icom IC-735. Tons of fun with that rig with CW, SSB, Packet, AMTOR.
Band conditions are pretty poor, but still hear some good stuff on 20 meters every now and then.
73,
Steve H.
N4FO
Anyone still have a Hammarlund Super Pro sitting around?
What a great radio!
What a great radio!
