2015 ARRL Field Day

Basic 20 meter inverted Vee dipole at 25 feet.

This past weekend I took part in my amateur radio club's Field Day activities as usual.  This year the big factor was the weather.  I had planned on just using a pop up shelter to better enjoy the outdoors but after watching the weather forecast for a week before hand I decided to err on the side of caution and go ahead and break out the extreme weather tent.  

I am so glad I did too. It was pleasant and dry Friday night when we set up but soon after we arrived back at the site Saturday it started raining and it never did let up.  Along with gusty winds we ended up with 3.5" of precipitation before all was said and done.  Dealing with the weather is what Field Day is all about.  While it did add quite a challenge my old gear and some new pieces came through with flying colors

In the above picture at the far left is a small shelter I constructed to keep the elements off my new 1000 watt inverter generator. 

Inverter generators are a relatively recent technology that work great for powering sensitive electronic gear like amateur radios.  The generator works by first producing AC power output like a traditional generator but next converts the current to DC then back to AC.  This "inversion" creates a clean output with a true sine wave at the required voltage and frequency.  

The engine is a four stroke so no premix fuel is required and a feature I really like that this little gen-set has is called Auto-Idle.  Unlike a traditional generator that always runs at full throttle this unit idles down and then increases engine speed based on the load applied.  This does two things. First it saves fuel and second with a light load such as my ham station the generator barely came off idle.  With a 100 ft extension cord between the generator and the operating position the generator could not be heard.

We used maybe a gallon and half of gas for the 18 hours of time we spent on the air.

A couple months ago when the club's sign up sheet came around I signed up for the 20 meter (14.000MHz) band and CW (Continuous Wave Morse Code) of course.  In the past years I had to tear down my permanent station and transport it to the Field Day site.  I have several ancillary devices like computer interface, antenna tuner and electronic keyer connected to the rig in my home station and it was always a bit of a pain to disconnect all this stuff.  

I've been active in the amateur radio hobby now for seven years. I figure it's something that's here to stay so I decided to add another new piece of gear to the station.  Something to make the logistics of portable operations easier.  I took a trip down to Columbus Ohio to visit Universal Radio where I source most of my radio gear and picked up a Yaesu FT857D  amateur transceiver.  The 857 is a full power HF, VHF and UHF multimode radio that has most of the features found in a full sized rig but comes in a very small package aimed at mobile use.

  

The pink cell phone and glassed belong to my lovely assistant the RoadQueen, who handled the logging chores on a spreadsheet program she created herself with a dupe checker even so we wouldn't waste time and effort working a station we had already contacted.  In contesting these are called "Duplicates" and are to be avoided because duplicate contacts to same station cannot be counted for points.

 The only other thing I added to the Yaesu was a Collins 300Hz mechanical filter to help navigate the busy and crowded Field Day band conditions.  Most amateur transceivers come without filters which can then be added as needed depending on the type of activity the operator persues.  

In the upper right hand corner of the circuit board are two slots where filters can be installed.  One space for CW and the other for SSB (Single Side Band) voice mode.  The Yaesu is set up with simple push pin sockets so I didn't even have to warm up my soldering iron.

What the filter does is drastically narrow the receiver's passband.  When the band is crowded with lots of stations operating side by side close in frequency to one another the operator can engage the filter and as a result of the narrower passband only hear one or two station instead of several.  A radio's receiver without a filter in line normally samples a segment of spectrum that can contain four or five or more CW stations all transmitting at once. Each station is transmitting on a slightly different frequency which makes the tone of the signals a little different in pitch but it still ends up being a wild cacophony of senseless noise.  

In preparation for Field Day I limited all my operating to using CW only and the 857 to not only learn the new rig but to hone my CW skills for the event.  It all paid off and I set a new personal best logging 159 contacts with stations in 34 different states, three Canadian provinces, the island of Puerto Rico and Argentina way down south.

Unfortunately the weekend wasn't without incident as wind driven rain did invade some club member's tents and curtail operations while soaked ground loosened the guy wire stakes of the 6 meter antenna causing it to come crashing back to Earth sometime during the night.  But I can happily report no loss of life or limb and we all managed to have a good time and eat lots of great food as is one of our clubs main objectives.

Did I mention it was wet?

News from Amateur Radio Station W8MDE

As usual radio-activity ebbs to its lowest over the summer months here at W8MDE.  Other interests like bike riding and maintenance on my yard keeps me outside while the weather is nice.  I've not totally disregarded my station though and have a couple upgrades to discuss.

With autumn comes the shorter days and colder temperatures and that's when I like to start concentrating on radio operations.

Since I set up my station at my current location I've utilized an old TV tower on the side of my house as a support for my main antenna.  I've hung various end fed half-wave wire antennas in this position using a tree in the back corner of the property to support the other end with great effect.  I like the end fed wire antenna because it works well on my small lot and unlike a standard half-wave dipole which is fed in the center I don't have a feed line drooping down into the middle of the backyard.

Not long into my ham radio career I joined the SKCC or Straight Key Century Club. Through this outstanding club I ran into a  couple Morse Code radio-telegraphy enthusiasts who happen to run a machine shop called LnR Precision located in Randleman, North Carolina.  Back in 2010 LnR purchased the Par End Fedz line of wire antennas from Par Electronics and has been manufacturing them since.

"LNR will be far better equipped to manufacture and expand the EndFedz line of antennas" and "will have much larger manufacturing capabilities and thus amateurs will benefit from much faster order filling. I wish to thank the many thousands of amateurs who have bought EndFedz and whom I think of as friends." - Dale W4OP

A couple weeks ago I installed a brand new antenna from LnR called the EF-Quad.  This is a unique wire antenna that can operate on four bands; 10, 15, 20 and 40 meters with a 200 watt power limit.  My average power usage is about 50 watts or less for most of my operating so there's no danger of burning out the matchbox of the antenna where the coax feedline attaches.

Early in the spring I cut down the two Maple trees in the back of my yard because they had grown too big for the property.  Because severe storms seem to be becoming the norm I decided not to push my luck with the potential damage risk the big trees posed and had them removed.  I wasn't sure how I was going to like loosing my backyard shade but I've adjusted and found the benefits far outweigh the negative.  I now enjoy a full view of the beautiful night sky and this fall I won't be spending hours raking up leaves. My neighbor was even happy with my decision because he noticed he was no longer constantly cleaning out small twigs, leaves and other detritus from his swimming pool.

The one problem I did have to overcome was loosing my antenna support.  In the meantime I simply pounded in an 8' metal T-post and tied off the antenna support cord to it.  This changed the orientation of the wire antenna into what we call a sloper in ham radio but showed little or no change to the performance of the antenna I had up at the time.

For a more permanent solution the RoadQueen helped me sink a 16' treated four by four in the corner of the lot to attached the support cord and raise the far end of the antenna up into the air a little bit higher than the T-post.    
 

The matchbox up on the tower is at a height of about 38' and the end insulator is now at 17' above ground.  Ham radio antennas work best when they're up as high as possible and in the clear.

At the top of the post I screwed in a stainless steel eye bolt along with stainless carabiner and pulley to make it quick and easy to lower the antenna for tuning or other maintenance.  At about the four foot level I screwed in a cleat to make fast the support line.

The antenna was cut nearly perfect and was working fine right away.  I made some contacts on 15, 20  and 40 meters but have not yet found an opportunity with 10 meters open to try that band.

Local stateside stations within about 1,000 miles boom in loud and clear due to the relatively low height of the wire.  Working DX is not out of the question either and I had some good fun contacting a few foreign stations using the EF-Quad.

                    40m    PA3BUD    Rotterdam, Netherlands

                    40m    OE3DMA    Altenburg, Austria 

                    40m    VA3PAW    Toronto, Canada

                    15m    F1USC    Chennevieres Sur Marne, France

                    15m    CE4SFG    San Fernando, Chile

                    15m    YL3BF    Liepaja, Latvia

                    20m    R3GMT    Lipetsk, Russia

                    20m    UY2LA    Kharkov, Ukraine

                    20m    DG1LHM  Berkenthin, Germany

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Another recent addition to the station is this fine NT9K Pro-Pump Standard long lever Morse Code key also made by LnR Precision.

 

Here's a short blurb I wrote about the key for my QRZ.com bio page:

"This key is the latest addition to my key collection and is my first choice if I wish to send with a hand key.  The Pro-Pump was built by LnR Precision of North Carolina, USA.  Its design was inspired by and closely resembles the legendary Amplidan Professional Marine Key sadly no longer in production.

I enjoy straight key sending. I have tried many different keys and in my opinion the long lever design is superior when it comes to hand keys. Sure I've only been pounding the brass for a short six years and was never formally trained as a radio officer but I appreciate quality tools and fine craftsmanship. I know it when I see it.  The precise and solid feel of the Pro-Pump allows me to send the cleanest code of all my keys. I use "arm off the table" European style of sending which I believe yields the most crisp and accurate code. Prior to acquiring this key I used the SKCC version  of the NT9K Pro-Pump.  That key was virtually the same but with highly polished brass and a decorative painted base. I prefer the more business like appearance of the Pro-Pump Standard model. A very handsome addition to my shack."

Last week I put the key on the air and had a blast participating in the 2-hour Straight Key Sprint held once a month by the SKCC.  These short weeknight sprints are great fun and the speeds are a comfortable 15 to 20 words per minute just right for hand key brass pounding.

                    20m    K7CHS    Arizona

                    20m    K7UM    Washington State

                    20m    W1LIC    Florida

                    20m    N0TA    Colorado

                    20m    W7GVE    Arizona

                    40m    K2HT    Missouri

                    40m    KA3OCS    Virginia

                    40m    N8KR    Ohio

                    40m    WN4AT    Alabama

                    40m    KK0I    Wisconsin

                    40m    K8TEZ    Ohio

                    20m    WB7EUX    Oregon

                    20m    N0CVW    Kansas

                    20m    AE5S    Nebraska

So now with the function tests accomplished I'm all set for the cold, dark days of winter where I can sit cozy and warm by the glow of my rig and enjoy the fine fraternity of my amateur radio brothers around the world.

ARRL Field Day 2014

W8MDE homebrew 10 meter rotatable dipole

Some notes from Field Day 2014

10 meters (The band I chose to operate this year) was in the dumps -Nearly a complete lack of propagation of 28 MHz signals.  That's the nature of the beast with the fluctuating solar radio flux we have been experiencing as of late.  I only made one contact all day Saturday and that was a potato farmer out in Oklahoma who was inside playing with radios while he waited for rain to stop so he could return to his harvesting.  

Our luck changed by Sunday morning when the band suddenly opened and we made half a dozen CW (Morse Code) contacts with stations in Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida.

When I first tested my 10 meter rotatable dipole on the air I made contact with New Zealand over 8000 miles from my location in Ohio.  Because that was only three weeks ago I figured I would be flooded with CQ FD callers during the event on 10 meters but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.

I spent some time tuning around the other bands and listened to my club mates making contacts on voice SSB or copied the digital back and forths on the laptop.  With our seven stations and antennas confined to a 1000 ft. diameter area they were easy to spot.  QSO counts were down for all the club members so I guess diminished propagation conditions affected all the bands to some degree.

Over all the weekend was a blast. Good food, friends and even the chance to explain and put on display our radio operating for a few of the local public that ventured out on Saturday.

Building an antenna specifically for the event is something that I have come to enjoy almost as much as Field Day itself.  Using my own workshop and materials easily sourced locally I find it very rewarding to craft the all important component of a radio circuit; the device that transforms a current in wire into a radiated electromagnetic wave.

I'm considering 80 meters for next year.

W8MDE 10 Meter Rotatable Dipole

I spent Father's Day finishing up my 10 meter rotatable dipole antenna project for this year's ARRL Field Day which is coming up in a couple weeks.  I wanted to change things up and try working a different band other than 40 meters where I have operated the past few Field Days.  The sun is putting out as many sunspots as it's going to during this solar cycle so it has the 10 meter band coming open usually every day for world wide communication.  So this and the fact that our club's field day location has a lack of trees for antenna supports I decided to focus on the shortest of the high frequency wavelengths.

This is the second homebrew antenna project I've built since becoming a radio amateur in 2008 and I had a great time with it.  A dipole is a most basic type of antenna and is easy to build.  Dipoles are usually made of wire and strung up between two supports but aluminum tubing can be used for the elements which is what I used so the antenna would be self supporting.

Materials I gathered from my spare parts bin and local hardware store.  I also used a new to me vendor; DX Engineering, to supply some high quality saddle clamps for the mast to Lexan plate connection and fiberglass tubing for the mast.  DX Engineering is located here in Ohio so I can consider all my antenna components for this project locally sourced.  The Lexan sheeting was a scrap piece from work and I fabricated a small aluminum angled bracket to mount the coaxial connector.  The antenna elements are made from anodized aluminum tubing I got at the hardware store.  

   

The jumper wires are #14 braided copper with crimped and soldered connectors.  The white PVC pipe acts as a support sleeve for the aluminum antenna elements.  I drilled a small hole on each side so a stainless steel sheet metal screw can provide secure electrical contact between the jumper wire and the aluminum tubing.  The feed line attaches at the bottom of the bracket.  In the picture the connector is wrapped with self vulcanizing tape and a cable tie to weather proof it.  Shortly after taking the picture I placed a blob of RTV 100% silicon on the top of the coax socket to further protect the exposed solder joint.  The ground side of the dipole attaches via a ring terminal connected to one of the socket mounting screws.

The cool thing about half wavelength dipoles is that the physical length can be approximated by a simple formula:  468(ft) / frequency (MHz).  I wanted my antenna to be resonant on 28.050 MHz so 468 divided by 28.050 equals 16.684 feet. That number should be close to the overall length of the antenna.

I designed the antenna elements using 6 ft sections of tubing with a smaller diameter 3 foot section that telescopes into the bigger piece.  This allows me to adjust the length of the element legs in or out to set the point of resonance of the antenna just where I want it.

With the help of my antenna analyzer I noted the SWR then extended the ends a couple inches at a time and rechecked the antenna with the meter.  After repeating this process a few times I observed the low point of the SWR curve move right into the area of frequency I plan to operate.  I locked the element tips down tight with a small hose clamp.
   

SWR Curve

27.062     1.5

27.303     1.4

27.573     1.3

27.955     1.2

27.968     1.1

28.197     1.1

28.208     1.2
28.622     1.3
28.902     1.4
29.180     1.5

I'm sure most hams would agree the most exciting part about making your own antennas is hooking up the rig and seeing if one can actually make a contact using the homebrew equipment.  It was late in the afternoon when testing was complete and I headed inside to my operating position to hook up the antenna to my transceiver.

Right away I heard signals coming in so that was a good sign.  I set my dial to 28.076 MHz and sent out some CQ calls using the digital mode JT-65.  After a few tries with no response I looked for a station who was calling.  Up popped a ZL prefix station on the decode screen which I recognized as one from New Zealand. It took two tries and on the second go ZL4AD received my signal and we completed the quick JT-65 contact spanning 8,811 miles between us.  

With that as a first contact I'm going to call this antenna project a success and I think the thing will work fine for making a few local stateside contacts during the Field Day event.

DX Update and a Station Upgrade at W8MDE

Old man winter still has us in his icy grip but I've been keeping warm inside at the operating position at W8MDE.  In the last week I've taken advantage of the multi-band capabilities of my backyard antenna and worked some DX.  Besides my regular log book of all the contacts I make I  keep a list of amateur stations I work located in other countries and I've managed to add a few new ones to the list.

As of right now the 10-meter band or 28 MHz is my favorite slice of radio spectrum.  10-meters is a great band for low power long range communications.  I've noticed every morning just after daybreak signals appear and quickly gain intensity as the band "opens".  It is most definitely hard to tear myself away from my rig to head into work for the day.

I have been mainly using the digital PSK modes to chase DX but I've also made a few CW contacts using Morse Code radiotelegraphy.  

PSK-31     7.040 MHz      HI8MU     Domincan Republic*

PSK-31     7.040 MHz      EA2BJS    Zaragoza, Spain*

PSK-63     7.040 MHz      F5RHD     France*

PSK-63     7.040 MHz      EH5ANT  Denia, Spain*

PSK-31     7.040 MHz      IT9CCB     Siracusa, Italy*

CW             24.902 MHz    IS0BOY    Sardinia, Italy

PSK-31     28.120 MHz    IV3JER     Italy

PSK-31     28.120 MHz    F1PKH      France

CW             28.020 MHz    E79D        Bosnia Herzegovinia

CW             28.020 MHz    YN5SU     Nicaragua

PSK-31     14.070 MHz    HR1EPZ   Tegucigalpa, Honduras

PSK-31     28.120 MHz     UR5ZD     Pervomaisk, Ukraine

PSK-31     28.120 MHz     R3FO        Dmitrov, Russia

PSK-31     28.120 MHz     ON4BWI  Merksplas, Belgium

*For these contacts I was using the 66' end fed half wave wire.  As a resonant antenna at the 40 meter wavelength the wire works much better than the short Gap Eagle antenna.

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Palstar SP30B Communication Speaker

One day I happened upon amateur radio equipment manufacturer Palstar Inc. based right here in Ohio.  What caught my attention was two models of communication speakers made and sold by this company.  External speakers have been around as long as radio but since most modern ham transceivers have built in speakers I never gave the idea much thought.  As predominantly a CW and digital operator the tiny on board speaker of my Icom 718 always seemed to work fine.  If I am sitting down for an extra long session or weak signal copying I usually use a pair of headphones.

After reading a few favorable reviews of the speakers at eham.net I decided the smaller of the two units would fit my needs nicely.  At the time I had a couple of days until I would be operating in the Straight Key Century Club's Weekend Sprint so I called up the company and purchased the SP30B.  The service I received from Palstar was excellent and the speaker arrived well packaged the Friday before the sprint.

Three different ways to connect your audio in.

The online reviews I read all had one thing in common and that is exceptional build quality.  Like any reasonable person I took this with a grain of salt but as soon as I lifted the speaker out of the box I noticed that indeed it was well built and heavy.

Here's a description from the Palstar website:

The Palstar SP30B shortwave speaker is a custom engineered shortwave radio speaker. To truly enjoy the radio listening experience, you need a high quality speaker.

After completing the R30A shortwave receiver to rave reviews among users, the Palstar team saw the need for a compact shortwave speaker that is tonally matched to the R30A and designed to put out clear, low-distortion reproduction of the frequency range of broadcast human speech.

The key to quality speaker sound is magnet size. The SP30B has an 8 Ohm speaker with a hefty 6 oz. magnet, a frequency response of 60 Hz to 8 kHz, and a 5 Watt power rating in a custom-built wooden cabinet (black or cherry). The SP30B is the speaker that will bring back good sound to your listening experience.

I chose the black cabinet to compliment the rest of my equipment which is also black and it does look great on my desk.  The real test though came when I found a patch cable in my spare parts and connected up the speaker to my rig.  I am truly impressed with the sound that comes out of the SP30B.  The natural background noise and harshness of the HF spectrum seemed to be reduced and the sounds I want to hear pop from the grill more clear and loud than I ever experienced before with my amateur gear.  The tone of received CW signals now have a much warmer and pleasant quality that really does enhance my listening.

Next I tuned in some amateur single side band voice transmissions and discovered sure enough this is where the speaker really shines.  I've never been a fan of side band audio and the Donald Duck like sound of transmitted voice.  With the Palstar's response tuned to the frequency range of human speech it was as if my receiver had been transformed.  The voices I heard had a clarity and warmth that the stock speaker in my radio can't even begin to touch.  I noted the same outcome later that night when I checked out the shortwave broadcast bands.
   

The joinery of the hardwood cabinet is very well done.

 I'm very pleased with the performance of this new piece of gear and happy to support a local business. Had I known what I was missing in the audio department I would have bought this thing years ago.  The volume is plenty loud and if it's turned up a bit I can easily hear Morse code signals or voice from anywhere in my house.  Kudos to Paul Hrivnak, N8PH the Captain of the Palstar ship and the rest of his crew.  Thanks guys for a great American made product.

   

News From ARS W8MDE

My winter operating season got off to a rocky start.  For most of the fall of 2013 I suffered from a debilitating case of PLN or Power Line Noise. This condition has been the bane of the amateur radio operator for nearly as long as radio has been around.  Whole websites have been devoted to the problem.  Usually the cause is a worn or loose connection in the power distribution system somewhere in close proximity to a radio's antenna system.  Another cause could be a pole top transformer ready to give up the ghost.

I like to describe it this way:  Imagine that a broken insulator or jumper cable with loose hardware up on a power pole has caused a very small gap to occur in the system.  In its unending quest to keep the circuit energized the current arcs across the gap or bad connection.  The side effect of this condition is that energy that should be flowing smoothly to our homes and businesses is radiated out into space as a broadband hash loudly sizzling from the speaker of a sensitive radio receiver.

In my case the interference was a solid S9 on my signal meter.  The PLN knocked out my ability to hear anything on the HF bands except the ARRL station in Newington, CT which transmits an amplified signal with high gain antennas that point more or less towards my location.  This whole event was very disappointing because during the winter is the time I most enjoy sitting comfortably inside playing with my radio gear.

With the help of my local amateur radio club the line department was notified and after a few weeks I noticed the PLN was gone and the bands have been back to normal since the 21st of December.  Detecting problems in the power distribution grid is one of the services hams offer to their communities.  Power line noise usually goes undetected and like a leaky garden hose the end result is a wasted product not getting to its intended location.  Yes the lights still come on in the neighborhood but with local grids carrying 5000 volts or more a leak in the system if gone unnoticed ends up costing us all money.

In other ham radio news we have arrived at the high point of the 12 year solar cycle.  World wide  radio communication on the High Frequency bands is made possible by the energy flowing from our sun and the way this energy reacts with Earth's upper atmosphere.  When I first got my license in 2008 we were at the bottom of the cycle with very low sunspots or none at all.  I did make contacts none the less and had fun but it has really been exciting and interesting to witness how the increase in solar activity directly correlates to increased radio propagation here on Earth.              

Above is an electronic QSL card I received from a Russian ham named Yuri after we had a successful PSK-31 contact one evening on the 40 meter band.  I was using my 40 meter end fed wire up 40 feet. As a horizontal antenna the EFW normally works great for close in work out to a range of about 500 to 1500 miles.  Now that the ionosphere is bristling with charged ions even my lowly flat wire is transmitting a signal over 5000 miles away!

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A new "old" antenna project at W8MDE

My very first amateur radio antenna I purchased from the commercial vendor Gap Antenna Products.  The attractive assembly of aluminum pictured above is called the Eagle DX.  I had the antenna mounted on a fifteen foot steel mast attached to the peak of the garage roof on the property where I lived at the time.  I used the Eagle for about a year before moving onto a different antenna so I took the antenna apart and stored it back in its original box.

The last few years I have only had a couple wire antennas up and now with the solar cycle in full swing I felt the need to get on some of the higher HF bands.  Time for the Eagle to fly once again!

The Gap antennas are unique radiators that really do work.  Technically they are multi-band vertical dipoles.  Vertical antennae have a lower radiation angle which puts signals closer to the horizon resulting in a longer "skip" distances.  A horizontal antenna shoots its signal up at steeper angles allowing it to return back to Earth much closer to it's origin.  With each successive bounce a signal loses some of its energy as it travels around the curve of the Earth.  A vertical antenna by nature of its low radiation angle makes it a good choice for "DX" or long distance communications using low power.  Less hops for a given distance means a louder signal more easily copied at the receiving end.

Dipole antennas are normally deployed in a flat or sloping position.  The Gap antenna is a dipole which means the feed point is in the middle of two antenna elements.  Unlike a traditional flat dipole the Gap is tilted up on one end.  The feed line coax does attach at the bottom end of the Eagle but a secondary piece of coax isolates the signal from the aluminum part of the antenna and deposits it at the feed point or "Gap" a thicker gray section with the yellow stripe visible in the photos.

While I was reassembling the antenna in my garage I noticed exposed wire showing at the end of one of the internal coax runs.  I made a quick call to GAP and spoke with Chris about it and he recommended simply capping off the end with a wire nut.  The original must have popped off while I was taking the antenna apart years ago.  Sure enough in my spare parts I found a wire nut that screwed down tight and even fit perfectly into the black shrink tube that was on the end of the wire. (See first assembly photo above.)  I've dealt with the guys at Gap a few times and have always had helpful and friendly service.

To operate on multiple bands the Eagle is actually a set of dipoles.  Points of resonance along the shortwave spectrum are accomplished by "tuning rods" placed around the main antenna on short PVC standoffs.

These rods work with the main body of the antenna to make up the various dipoles required for operation on the 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and 10 meter bands.   Of course with the 40 meter end fed half wave wire already in use I wasn't concerned with the Eagle's less than stellar performance on that band.  At 21 feet tall the Eagle is just too small to be an effective radiator at 7 MHz.

At 20 meters and up on the other hand the Eagle works very well and now with the help of the sun spots and the radiation they spew forth these higher frequencies are available for long range radio fun.

My garage worked perfect for the assembly process and allowed just enough room to build the antenna.  I only had to open the back door to attach the mounting plate and short section of fiberglass mast right before taking the whole thing out to the back yard.
  

The following photograph shows the mounting plate attached to a short section of fiberglass mast pipe I chose because it conveniently slips into the steel pipe of my heavy duty tripod.  As a dipole the bottom end of the Eagle must be insulated from the support structure.  This is accomplished by the short PVC sections directly under the U-bolts. (In the event a metal mast pipe is used.)

Two weeks ago with the RoadQueen's assistance we erected the antenna on the tripod in the back yard.  For now the installation is temporary although we did guy the antenna using four non-conductive guy lines spaced 90 degrees apart to prevent tip over and damage in the case of high winds.

  

The following day we put the radiator to work making contacts from one end of the country to the other during the Straight Key Century Club's February Week End Sprint.  I made a majority of contacts during the WES on 20 meters and a couple on 10 meters.  At the same time a radio tele-type contest was going on and had the whole lower end of 40 meters booked solid with loud RTTY transmissions.  40 meters was my only band of operation before but now the Gap Eagle allows me into different areas of spectrum to meet up with other SKCC members for contacts.

Another reason I had been wanting to put up the Eagle is to take advantage of the great propagation conditions and try to put some DX stations in the log using the low power digital mode PSK.  Here is what I've got so far:

(While the first two stations are not really DX as in a foreign country I don't normally hear many western US stations with my low wire antenna so to me they are DX)

2-09-14     10.139 MHz    KA5PNX    Eagle, Nebraska         

2-10-14     28.120 MHz    N7CMJ       Kalispell, Montana    

2-11-14     14.070 MHz    ZZ80DF      Brazil                        

2-12-14     14.070 MHz    DL1FAM    Langen, Germany      

2-12-14     28.120 MHz    NP3LY        Aibonito, Puerto Rico

2-17-14     28.120 MHz    IZ0RPS       Rome, Italy

2-17-14     28.120 MHz    UR5ICG      Donetsk, Urkraine

You may notice that the first contact on my list shows the frequency at 10.139. This is the digital only 30 meter band that is one of my favorites sharing attributes of both the 40 and 20 meter bands.  The Eagle was not designed to operate on 30 meters.  Back in 2008 when I first put up the antenna I noticed while sweeping the entire short wave spectrum using an antenna analyzer coupled to the Eagle that a dip in the SWR occurred near 30 meters.  I inquired about this with Chris at Gap and he said as long I kept my transmit power at 100 watts or less I should be good to go using an antenna tuner or trans-match to even out the impedance between the antenna/feed line system and my transceiver.  Using very efficient modes like CW and digital phase shift keying the bit of loss due to the miss match is inconsequential. 

Even though I didn't "homebrew" the Eagle but put it together from a box it was still great fun to play around with aluminum out in the garage while it's too cold to do much besides ski or snowshoe outside. Making contacts with hams on the other side of the planet using the Gap Eagle is just icing on the cake.

       

News From W8MDE

I don't do a lot of amateur radio operating over the summer months with the exception of Field Day or the occasional Straight Key Sprint.  At some point in the early summer before Field Day I like to set up my portable station and do a shakedown operating session to make sure everything is working properly with my gear.

In past years I have set up at my father's place up on the shores of Lake Erie or even simply out in my backyard.  This year I drug my station to the RoadQueen's house and we threw up a wire antenna to a big tree in the yard. I set up the transceiver and telegraph key on her coffee table. 

That weekend a special event called the Museum Ships Weekend Event was going on and I hoped to log a contact with one or more stations participating.  I enjoy WW2 history and this event is full of it.  As a history buff and radio enthusiast I find it a very unique experience to communicate with other amateur operators aboard these old naval vessels sometimes even using the ship's original radio equipment.  

My first contact was WW2IND.  Unfortunately the U.S.S. Indianapolis was sunk during the war so the club operating the event was set up near the ship's memorial in the town the ship was named after.  It took a while to receive the QSL card in the mail that confirmed our radio contact but eventually it showed up as a pleasant surprise in my mail box.    

How the second contact came about was a real thrill.  After searching around the band a while listening for ship stations to call and not finding any I settled on a clear frequency to call CQ myself hoping to make contact with any ham station.  After my first call I was promptly answered by a loud and clear signal with the call sign WW2DEM.  Holy Cow! A World War Two destroyer had just answered my CQ call!

Maybe the operator Stan had been calling earlier on the frequency and was taking a break or something and then heard my call coming across the receiver.  As is proper procedure I had listened for a couple minutes when I first arrived on 7.114 MHz to make sure the frequency was not in use so I was surprised when the ship station answered my call so suddenly. 

News From A.R.S. W8MDE

There is always something interesting going on at Recumbent Conspiracy Headquarters and this weekend it was the Straight Key Century Club Week End Sprint.  I took a few hours out of my busy weekend schedule and got on the air for some casual contesting.  Dividing my time up between three different sessions I made a few contacts starting on Saturday night; followed by a few more with my coffee Sunday morning, and later in the evening as the sprint wore down to the finishing time.

For July the theme of the sprint was "A Revolutionary Sprintathon"  Earlier this month America celebrated her Independence and to apply this to the sprint in an interesting way a bonus of 25 extra points could be won by establishing contact with stations in each of the original 13 colonies plus Britain and France.  I never made a connection across the pond but I ended up with 27 contacts in 19 different states eight of which were in one of the original thirteen.

July 2013 SKCC Week End Sprint Log

7.054 MHz    WK2S    New Jersey*

7.115 MHz    AK4JA    Georgia*

7.121 MHz    N1DN    Connecticut*

7.117 MHz    K5DP    Oklahoma

7.117 MHz    N5JPX    Mississippi

7.117 MHz    KB1NHV    Vermont

7.112 MHz    AC2C    Maryland*

7.057 MHz    K3RHJ    North Carolina*

7.109 MHz    WA3RF/qrp    Maryland

7.113 MHz    KI0I    Missouri

7.052 MHz    K8NS    Florida

7.056 MHz    WA1HFF    Massachusetts*

7.057 MHz    K0CW    Missouri

7.050 MHz    K2OGT    New York*

7.053 MHz    KJ4LEN    Florida 

7.055 MHz    W7GVE    Arizona

7.054 MHz    KB3KJS    Maryland

7.051 MHz    K8WSN    Michigan

7.054 MHz    K0SKC    Missouri

7.054 MHz    K4ZGB    Alabama

7.057 MHz    WU1V    Massachusetts

7.115 MHz    N8KZH    West Virginia

7.050 MHz    WB0PYF    Missouri

7.052 MHz    W9CC    Indiana

7.054 MHz    K2DEP    Maryland

7.058 MHz    KW3F    Pennsylvania* 

7.048 MHz    W9DLN    Wisconsin 

*Original thirteen colonies.  Only one bonus of 25 points can be taken per colony.  Multiple contacts with other stations in the same colony do not count as additional bonuses.  Too bad to as I hit three different stations in Maryland.

--

As often happens my mind experiences Morse Code overload and I need a break but I'm still in the mood to make contacts with my ham radio.  During the sprint I did check for signals on 20 meters (14 MHz) and the band seemed uncharacteristically dead for some reason. On my way back down to 7 MHz I stopped and had a listen on the digital/CW only band 30 meters.  The amateur service is considered a secondary user on this interesting little sliver of radio spectrum between the frequencies of 10.000 and 10.150 MHz.  What this means is we can use the band for amateur activities as long as we do not interfere with the bands primary users which are probably made up of governmental, military or scientific services.

30 meters is a cool place to operate which shares propagation attributes of both the 40 meter and 20 meter bands which lie both above and below.  Because of our status as secondary users 30 meters is off limits for contesting so the band is a nice place to go for quiet low power experimentation and ragchews away from the traditional ham bands which can be a flurry of activity on busy contest weekends.

I could hear some radio teletype signals and see that their traces were quite strong on my band scope so I knew propagation was in good shape.  I set my transceiver to 10.140 MHz which is considered a PSK-31 "calling frequency" and sent out some CQs to see if anyone could hear me.  After sending out ten or fifteen calls I was just about to give up when a strong signal appeared in answer and I settled in for a nice conversation with an operator named Don in Peoria, Illinois.  

PSK-31 is a great mode for casual ragchewing and it's a real bonus if you know your way around a keyboard.   The digital software in my laptop keys the transceiver into transmit and converts keystrokes of data into audible tones which are then sent out through space by my radio.  It really is amazing and what modern amateur radio is all about.  If you can type at all you can easily stay ahead of the buffer and watch your characters stream out in real time just as you can watch the incoming text appear on your monitor from the other operator. Instant messaging via high frequency radio waves.

On the screen of my laptop among other information provided by the digital program is what is called the "Receive Window"  In this area the incoming signals decoded by the software are displayed as text so the operator can see whats going on.  Outgoing text is also displayed in this window and unlike voice or CW (Morse Code) modes the software basically records both sides of the conversation.  This is an interesting and handy feature as it allows an operator to scroll back through a contact to find information or keep the conversation on track.  

People always ask what us hams talk about on our radios so here is a fine example.  I simply copied and pasted the whole QSO from the receive window and stuck it here on the blog.  I left it just as it was so a few little decode errors appear like typos in the text but over all the exchanges are pretty clear.

CQ CQ CQ de W8MDE W8MDE W8MDE pse K

W8MDE W8MDE de KB9UMT KB9UMT KB9UMT k

=

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

Good Morning and thanks for the call.  Name here is Mike Mike. QTH is Galion, Ohio  Galion, Ohio.  about midway between Columbus and Cleveland.  How copy?BTU KB9UMT DE W8MDE K

W8MDE de KB9UMT all 100% Mike  TU for ur information  ur report 579 579 579 

name hr is Don Don   QTH is Peoria IL  Peoria IL  loc EN50dp

nice to meet you this morning on 30m  btu Mike W8MDE de KB9UMT btt  i u   N 

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

FB Don and nice to meet you.  Your sigs are 599 599 Nice bright trace.  I was playing in the SKCC week end sprint but got a bit bored so I thought I'd try this band. I knew it was open because I heard some RTTY signals. Weather here is beautiful I just came in from the patio and it feels like it is going to get hot today.  Bright clear skies.

Rig is Icom 718 running about 30 watts to 66 foot horizontal wire end fed. I am using a auto-tuner.  Age is 42 years and been a ham since 2008.

BTU KB9UMT DE W8MDE K

RRR all 100%   yes reading your QRZ Bio and also your blog  hey, nice shots hi  vy nice station  I like the ic718 gud little rig and small enough to be on the go too   ur wire working FB    I like your hK ®ebrew 40m vert top load  very  nice   rig here ic756pro2, mixw, 20w, ant is homebrew 2 ele yagi    age 51  btu Mike W8MDE de KB9UMT Y      a

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

FB All copy solid here Don.  OK if you saw my blog you saw this years set up at Field Day. That is why I built that 40 meter short vertical for field day so I would not be dependent on trees. It works pretty well for its size. I have done side by side comparisons with the 40 meter wire and the signal is just down a bit.  It was a fun project and I learned a bunch from it.

Your station is working well also.  I just saw in the new QST magazine plans  for a full size 30 meter 2 element Yagi that looks great. My lot is pretty small so I'm not too sure how that would work out but it sure looks like that would be a fun one to build.

BTU KB9UMT DE W8MDE K

ne   RRR all 100%   yes ur project for FD a good one  looks good but if it works good even better hi   of course vert to horz wire very different depending on who you want to work hi  vy nice    yes I noticed that and actually this 2 ele is a basterized tri bander that was beat up at a Hamfest for $20 so I have about $60 in this antenna   my lot 100 by 80  so tight for me  really too big but had to try it    works well but with the ice and wind might go back to the rotatable dipole after 5 yrs up it really has been fun but wx getting worse it seems   also noticed ur a 30 meter digital group 30MDG member so nice to meet another member btu Mike W8MDE de KB9UMT baweovTt

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

R R  Sig looks good. I like 30 meters it is a very stable band with little qsb.  Your sig is very steady.  My 30MDG # is 5229  I used to have fldigi loaded on my old shack computer and enjoyed playing around with some of the other modes but got a new laptop recently and just running Digipan now. I like the larger waterfall at the bottom on Digipan. Mainly I just use it as a bandscope and to help zerobeat other stations on CW.

As you can see I got a full plate. I have a bunch of hobbies and interests.  My son is 12 years old so we have been doing a lot of shooting. He started with .22 rimfire and been doing that for a few years. This last trip out was his first time shooting centerfire rifle and he loved it!  We shoot pistol and rifle and air guns also target archery.  there is just somthing fun about shooting things Hi Hi!

ok will let the rig cool for a minute.  What are you into Don besides radio?

BTU KB9UMT DE W8MDE K

RRR all 100%   vy nice  fx on ur son and shared hobbies  always nice to be busy   keep the kids busy in things you want them in or they will be busy in things you don't want them in hi   between work and kids/family   radio and watching or helping the kids in sports keeps me busy   that and my interests are promoting 30m band here  great band  tu for ur 30MDG #  FB   my 30MDG#0001   so always like working other members  btu Mike and we do have some o9B so hope still cpy W8MDE de KB9UMT bkr

 

e( enm

 

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

Still good copy Don.  Wow you have a low number!  Hi.  Yes he stays busy. He has gotten involved with Boy Scouts this year and he reeally likes the structure and uniform stuff so I'm happy about that.  Ok I'll say 73 and thanks for a great ragchew on 30 meters Don. I hope to run into you again soon.

BTU KB9UMT DE W8MDE K

RRR all solid print   my pleasure   I like to ragchew more than short macro contacts which I can get on other bands but here on 30m always fun to actually 'meet' someone    we will look forward to the next time and see you in other modes so have FLDIGI ready hi   love to experiment   keep your son going on what you hv  grt job thus far   have fun TU agn  73 Mike W8MDE de KB9UMT skord o   zo

KB9UMT DE W8MDE

Great! FB Don take care and enjoy the rest of the beautiful weekend. CUL

 TU 73  DE W8MDE SK

TU Mike bye bye