Please follow me over to my new home on the web:
www.carolinaham.org
73
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A pretty good weekend and my first solo attempt at a contest!
Well, the title about sums it all up. To date, I have participated in a grand total of four contests. This past weekend's RTTY contest was the first contest I worked solo. Well, I guess I should say that I sort of worked it. Because of some work I had to do, I really didn't get to spend as much time on it as I wanted to.
But, I did make about 35 contacts this weekend, so I am very pleased!
But, I did make about 35 contacts this weekend, so I am very pleased!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Catching up...
It has been a long time since I posted here! Where to begin...
Well, the last time I posted, we were having some problems trying to get the local SKYWARN group up and going. In fact, certain people were actively opposing us. Since then, one of the two people who were actively opposing us has resigned his position within ARES. Not that he actually had anything to do with SKYWARN, but he used his title and position in ARES to convince people that he did.
We have also been able to successfully organize and launch the 'Foothills Weather Net', the SKYWARN group which covers the foothills of North Carolina.
Oh, what else... We have started the Southwestern North Carolina Traffic Net and we are now moving NTS Traffic here in SW North Carolina for the first time in a long time.
CCARS, with a lot of assistance from Frank and Nancy, was able to participate in JOTA this year. In fact, the scouts here in Cleveland County realized that there were, in fact, amateur radio operators, in Cleveland County. We had a relatively small turnout of Scouts, but we did have a lot of fun. Contacts? How about Germany, Poland and Croatia?
The net result of all this: ham radio is back on the map in Shelby NC.
On the personal side, I have really learned a lot about my HF Station. I run a Kenwood 520-SE and I have gotten nothing but good reports from it. The 520-SE runs into a G5RV at a height of about 29 feet. Yes, I would like to get it a little higher, but that is all we can manage at the moment. But, it works. Plain and simple, it works. I have made contacts on the west coast, in Europe and in South America.
What next? Who knows! I have been serving as the Vice President of CCARS, and I was honored to be nominated to be the President for the next year. I have also submitted my application to become a Public Information Officer for the ARRL. We shall see what happens with that.
Well, the last time I posted, we were having some problems trying to get the local SKYWARN group up and going. In fact, certain people were actively opposing us. Since then, one of the two people who were actively opposing us has resigned his position within ARES. Not that he actually had anything to do with SKYWARN, but he used his title and position in ARES to convince people that he did.
We have also been able to successfully organize and launch the 'Foothills Weather Net', the SKYWARN group which covers the foothills of North Carolina.
Oh, what else... We have started the Southwestern North Carolina Traffic Net and we are now moving NTS Traffic here in SW North Carolina for the first time in a long time.
CCARS, with a lot of assistance from Frank and Nancy, was able to participate in JOTA this year. In fact, the scouts here in Cleveland County realized that there were, in fact, amateur radio operators, in Cleveland County. We had a relatively small turnout of Scouts, but we did have a lot of fun. Contacts? How about Germany, Poland and Croatia?
The net result of all this: ham radio is back on the map in Shelby NC.
On the personal side, I have really learned a lot about my HF Station. I run a Kenwood 520-SE and I have gotten nothing but good reports from it. The 520-SE runs into a G5RV at a height of about 29 feet. Yes, I would like to get it a little higher, but that is all we can manage at the moment. But, it works. Plain and simple, it works. I have made contacts on the west coast, in Europe and in South America.
What next? Who knows! I have been serving as the Vice President of CCARS, and I was honored to be nominated to be the President for the next year. I have also submitted my application to become a Public Information Officer for the ARRL. We shall see what happens with that.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Interesting Day...
Yesterday (Monday) was an interesting day. There were several service calls to attend to, but there was another visit that popped up. Before we get into that, lets rewind a bit. Sunday afternoon, there were some severe storms, including a tornado, that moved through the area. Since there was no immediate danger to my family or myself and I had nothing to report to the NWS, I just sat back and listened. As reports of a tornado and large hail came in, I banged out emails to the NBC affaliate in Charlotte (WCNC). With those reports, they were able to confirm their data and warn the public that there was, indeed, a tornado moving east. That was Sunday.
Monday, I had the privlidge of visiting the studios of NBC-6. I met with Brad Panovich, Larry Sprinkle and John Wendel and we discussed how the Cleveland County Amateur Radio Service and the new Foothills Skywarn could be an asset to the Charlotte media. Before I knew it, I was sitting behind the Weather Desk with a camera in front of me and an Icom 746 behind me. The mic I had was NOT for the Icom! They let me talk to the camera for a few minutes and aired some of it on the evening news.
Very interesting!
Monday, I had the privlidge of visiting the studios of NBC-6. I met with Brad Panovich, Larry Sprinkle and John Wendel and we discussed how the Cleveland County Amateur Radio Service and the new Foothills Skywarn could be an asset to the Charlotte media. Before I knew it, I was sitting behind the Weather Desk with a camera in front of me and an Icom 746 behind me. The mic I had was NOT for the Icom! They let me talk to the camera for a few minutes and aired some of it on the evening news.
Very interesting!
Friday, April 4, 2008
My, my, my!
Well, what a weekend!
Last week we made a few changes. First, I added about 15 feet to the mast. So, the 2 meter J and the HF Dipole are higher. I also replaced the coax on the 2m J with 5/8 hardline. Yes, I do get better reception! But there was a hitch... Of course, we didn't test anything before we shoved it all up in the air. To my frustration, the N adapter at the top of the mast broke. Literally, it separated into two pieces. So, we pulled it all back down, fixed it and put it back up. All is well.
Of course, it can always be better, right? So I picked up a little amp: 8w in makes 100+ watts out. I was very careful as I set everything up and transmitted. Yes, I was careful to make sure I reset the power out on the transmitter almost every time. You guessed it - I sent 50 watts into the amp where it was expecting 5-8 watts. Oops. The amp doesn't amp any more. I'll see if I can get it fixed and go from there.
Let's see, what else can go wrong... Oh, I know, let's drop the old cell phone in, well, let's say 'dirty water'. Aside from the frustration of the $400 cell phone now being 'unclean' (really, just plain yuk) it didn't work! So, on Monday, I filed the insurance claim with sprint, paid my $50 deductible and accepted the promise that the phone I need for my business would arrive on Tuesday.
Ok, on Wednesday, I was told that it was backordered!
It finally showed up on Thursday.
Fun fun fun!
Last week we made a few changes. First, I added about 15 feet to the mast. So, the 2 meter J and the HF Dipole are higher. I also replaced the coax on the 2m J with 5/8 hardline. Yes, I do get better reception! But there was a hitch... Of course, we didn't test anything before we shoved it all up in the air. To my frustration, the N adapter at the top of the mast broke. Literally, it separated into two pieces. So, we pulled it all back down, fixed it and put it back up. All is well.
Of course, it can always be better, right? So I picked up a little amp: 8w in makes 100+ watts out. I was very careful as I set everything up and transmitted. Yes, I was careful to make sure I reset the power out on the transmitter almost every time. You guessed it - I sent 50 watts into the amp where it was expecting 5-8 watts. Oops. The amp doesn't amp any more. I'll see if I can get it fixed and go from there.
Let's see, what else can go wrong... Oh, I know, let's drop the old cell phone in, well, let's say 'dirty water'. Aside from the frustration of the $400 cell phone now being 'unclean' (really, just plain yuk) it didn't work! So, on Monday, I filed the insurance claim with sprint, paid my $50 deductible and accepted the promise that the phone I need for my business would arrive on Tuesday.
Ok, on Wednesday, I was told that it was backordered!
It finally showed up on Thursday.
Fun fun fun!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
A Brief Update...
Yes, just a quick update on the goings on around here.
The Shack
Well, it's a mess. It needs to be cleaned out, cleaned up and organized.
The 520se
Tuning is getting much easier. In fact, while it isn't second nature, it is starting to go quite quickly. It is almost easy to switch bands and re-tune the radio. I do know the radio set up for a long time before I got it, and I suspect there is oxidation built up on the contacts in various parts of the radio. But, I've found some good contact cleaner and soon, we'll have a run at cleaning up a radio.
The Contacts
Ah, this is the fun part! So far, in really what amounts to only a few hours of working the radio (working the radio in really poor band conditions), I've made about 12 contacts. One of those would count as my first DX contact: Costa Rica.
Along with the contacts, I have started receiving QSL cards. Before long, I think I will start posting them online somewhere and linking them here. We'll see. I have to say, though, I want to get some really good ones. if you're reading this, and you're a potential DX Contact, look for me on 20m or 80m!
73 de KI4ZJI
The Shack
Well, it's a mess. It needs to be cleaned out, cleaned up and organized.
The 520se
Tuning is getting much easier. In fact, while it isn't second nature, it is starting to go quite quickly. It is almost easy to switch bands and re-tune the radio. I do know the radio set up for a long time before I got it, and I suspect there is oxidation built up on the contacts in various parts of the radio. But, I've found some good contact cleaner and soon, we'll have a run at cleaning up a radio.
The Contacts
Ah, this is the fun part! So far, in really what amounts to only a few hours of working the radio (working the radio in really poor band conditions), I've made about 12 contacts. One of those would count as my first DX contact: Costa Rica.
Along with the contacts, I have started receiving QSL cards. Before long, I think I will start posting them online somewhere and linking them here. We'll see. I have to say, though, I want to get some really good ones. if you're reading this, and you're a potential DX Contact, look for me on 20m or 80m!
73 de KI4ZJI
Sunday, January 20, 2008
UPGRADE!!!
Thanks to W5YI and the folks at Ham It Up for their wonderful
practice test software. Using their study software, I was able to study
and upgrade from a Technician class to a General class license last
week.
On 1/17/08, I visited with N4BXB and we set up my new (old)
radio. I've got a Kenwood TS-520SE from Herb. We set it up, dialed it
in and I made my first few HF contacts! Now, getting on the air with
the Kenwood is not quite like using the FT-7800. The 7800 is 2m/70cm
FM. Turn it on, pick a freq, talk. The TS-520SE, on the other hand, is
a whole different world. See, the TS-520SE is about a 30 year old
hybrid radio. That is, it is solid state with tube finals. In other
words, it must be tuned before you transmit. Ever tuned a radio like
this? Here's how it goes:
to getting on HF soon!
Check back for photo's of the antenna party.
practice test software. Using their study software, I was able to study
and upgrade from a Technician class to a General class license last
week.
On 1/17/08, I visited with N4BXB and we set up my new (old)
radio. I've got a Kenwood TS-520SE from Herb. We set it up, dialed it
in and I made my first few HF contacts! Now, getting on the air with
the Kenwood is not quite like using the FT-7800. The 7800 is 2m/70cm
FM. Turn it on, pick a freq, talk. The TS-520SE, on the other hand, is
a whole different world. See, the TS-520SE is about a 30 year old
hybrid radio. That is, it is solid state with tube finals. In other
words, it must be tuned before you transmit. Ever tuned a radio like
this? Here's how it goes:
- Connect to a dummy load
- Select operating band
- Select desired frequency
- Check the 'Plate Idling Current' - must be 60mA
- Set:
- METER to ALC
- MODE to TUNE
- STANDBY to SEND
- QUICKLY adjust DRIVE to peak the ALC meter deflection (If no ALC,
adjust DRIVE) - Set:
- STANDBY to REC
- METER to IP
- MODE to TUN
- STANDBY to SEND
- QUICKLY adjust the PLATE control to dip the plate current.
- Set:
- STANDBY to REC
- MODE to CW
- METER to RF
- STANDBY to SEND
- Adjust the PLATE control and the LOAD control alternately to
achieve the peak power output - Set STANDBY to REC
- Select desired operating mode
to getting on HF soon!
Check back for photo's of the antenna party.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
