Hello Everyone
Well I lost interest in the blog a while back. Just could not see saying nothing important over and over and over again…
Well there are a few new things going on this year so I’ll talk about them.
This is the 75th anniversary of the ARRL DX Century Club award. So the ARRL is running a mini DXCC to get people interested in the activity. Work 100 of the original areas listed (Some are not countries any more) and you fill in their spread sheet have some one sign it and send it in! Easy enough, yea right. All those Russian countries are counted ONLY as Russia and the same with a lot of the Caribbean countries. Well I am at a solid 53 right now with duplicates removed. I have till December 31st 2012. I’ll get it! And the contact I have are being logged for the real DXCC, I’ll get that too some day.
Well Logging and QSL’ing is different these days. We now have this wonderful “Log Book of the World” it seamed a bit confusing and redundant but after consulting with Ed (N5EM one of my trusted all things Ham Radio Resources) I understand that there are actually very good reasons for what they do. So I am good with it and have signed up and am waiting for the first confirmation to come back in an email this week. As my Backup I have several hundred AB5V QSL cards ready to go as well.
I now have a nice basic antenna field to run again Dipoles for 160M to 10M ready to go. I have them ready to get on the air at ant y time (Except for 40M damaged on leg this weekend will work on that this week!) have verticals for 20M and 15M and soon 10M going on line soon. I have pulled down the verticals for some work temporarily. I thing I can really improve the match and over all performance.
Now Field day is coming and I am going to make a real attempt to play HARDBALL this time. The Houston QRP club runs 5W maximum so it takes a really good station to get on the air and make a showing. That is what I am doing, I have the my Old Triband Yagi out and am trying to rehab it for the event. Not used since the early 1990’s the antenna is in great shape all be it a bit dirty. I will need a few new clamps and some plastic fabricated (right up my alley!) for the matching section. This big gun promises 8.5 dBd gain forward. I am going to clean the traps this week and polish the aluminum, replace the clamps and assemble the beast.
Just for Fun I have a 5 element 10M yagi I may take out, it’s a solid 8 dBd gain so its just being check out as well. The antenna is a HyGain 5 element “Long John” and is a solid performer. I may just keep it around the shack to stir up a few 10M contacts from time to time.
We really need a 6M antenna and station this year, so I am working that direction as well.
I have a 7 element Cushcraft Boomer with measured 10 dBd gain, NOPE too much trouble and I don’t want to risk damaging that thing! That’s for the QTH only!
So I am thinking to bring things up on 6M I will rehab my old 5 element 6M antenna.
A home built from my high school days this little monster is half of the old ARRL “5 over 5” antenna system. It worked very well and was built from scrap aluminum I scrounged from a channel 2 TV antenna (yes there used to be antennas specifically cut for single channels in the OLD days before I was born!) I have used that antenna successfully for many years and it’s a shame to let it go un used. So its will get a new boom a few new elements and a new balun and she is back on the air.
Rotators?? Good question, not sure what I will do just yet I have a large alliance rotator that might just work so I will go with it if it does for the tribander, if not its back to the Armstrong method for that weekend. For the 6M yagi a small old style Alliance rotator will do just fine. I know I have those things around with control boxes.
Antenna supports, a unique method will be employed, military tent poles with swivel bases I already have them all. I need to assemble a couple of them and steak them out in the yard so I can try out the assemblies. Raising and lowering the 36 to 40 foot tall masts will no doubt catch some attention but they will be temporary assemblies.
Feed line is fully available so no issues there.
Need to get the generator running again fully and have it prepped for the weekend. And prep the solar panels for the field with their batteries.
Well finally I have a 10x10 popup shelter and this year I plan to put down a floor of some kind so we will not be sitting in mud if it rains I am thinking plywood on 2x4s and we use Ron Spark’s trees for partial sun block along with Camo net and plastic tarps.
Well I’ll write more again soon!!
73 for now
AB5V
Randy
Well I lost interest in the blog a while back. Just could not see saying nothing important over and over and over again…
Well there are a few new things going on this year so I’ll talk about them.
This is the 75th anniversary of the ARRL DX Century Club award. So the ARRL is running a mini DXCC to get people interested in the activity. Work 100 of the original areas listed (Some are not countries any more) and you fill in their spread sheet have some one sign it and send it in! Easy enough, yea right. All those Russian countries are counted ONLY as Russia and the same with a lot of the Caribbean countries. Well I am at a solid 53 right now with duplicates removed. I have till December 31st 2012. I’ll get it! And the contact I have are being logged for the real DXCC, I’ll get that too some day.
Well Logging and QSL’ing is different these days. We now have this wonderful “Log Book of the World” it seamed a bit confusing and redundant but after consulting with Ed (N5EM one of my trusted all things Ham Radio Resources) I understand that there are actually very good reasons for what they do. So I am good with it and have signed up and am waiting for the first confirmation to come back in an email this week. As my Backup I have several hundred AB5V QSL cards ready to go as well.
I now have a nice basic antenna field to run again Dipoles for 160M to 10M ready to go. I have them ready to get on the air at ant y time (Except for 40M damaged on leg this weekend will work on that this week!) have verticals for 20M and 15M and soon 10M going on line soon. I have pulled down the verticals for some work temporarily. I thing I can really improve the match and over all performance.
Now Field day is coming and I am going to make a real attempt to play HARDBALL this time. The Houston QRP club runs 5W maximum so it takes a really good station to get on the air and make a showing. That is what I am doing, I have the my Old Triband Yagi out and am trying to rehab it for the event. Not used since the early 1990’s the antenna is in great shape all be it a bit dirty. I will need a few new clamps and some plastic fabricated (right up my alley!) for the matching section. This big gun promises 8.5 dBd gain forward. I am going to clean the traps this week and polish the aluminum, replace the clamps and assemble the beast.
Just for Fun I have a 5 element 10M yagi I may take out, it’s a solid 8 dBd gain so its just being check out as well. The antenna is a HyGain 5 element “Long John” and is a solid performer. I may just keep it around the shack to stir up a few 10M contacts from time to time.
We really need a 6M antenna and station this year, so I am working that direction as well.
I have a 7 element Cushcraft Boomer with measured 10 dBd gain, NOPE too much trouble and I don’t want to risk damaging that thing! That’s for the QTH only!
So I am thinking to bring things up on 6M I will rehab my old 5 element 6M antenna.
A home built from my high school days this little monster is half of the old ARRL “5 over 5” antenna system. It worked very well and was built from scrap aluminum I scrounged from a channel 2 TV antenna (yes there used to be antennas specifically cut for single channels in the OLD days before I was born!) I have used that antenna successfully for many years and it’s a shame to let it go un used. So its will get a new boom a few new elements and a new balun and she is back on the air.
Rotators?? Good question, not sure what I will do just yet I have a large alliance rotator that might just work so I will go with it if it does for the tribander, if not its back to the Armstrong method for that weekend. For the 6M yagi a small old style Alliance rotator will do just fine. I know I have those things around with control boxes.
Antenna supports, a unique method will be employed, military tent poles with swivel bases I already have them all. I need to assemble a couple of them and steak them out in the yard so I can try out the assemblies. Raising and lowering the 36 to 40 foot tall masts will no doubt catch some attention but they will be temporary assemblies.
Feed line is fully available so no issues there.
Need to get the generator running again fully and have it prepped for the weekend. And prep the solar panels for the field with their batteries.
Well finally I have a 10x10 popup shelter and this year I plan to put down a floor of some kind so we will not be sitting in mud if it rains I am thinking plywood on 2x4s and we use Ron Spark’s trees for partial sun block along with Camo net and plastic tarps.
Well I’ll write more again soon!!
73 for now
AB5V
Randy