I loaded F4HWN 3.3 onto my UV-K5 to have a look. It only has 3 scan lists, and it’s awkward to cycle through them. I found starting the spectrum analyzer to be cumbersome as well, since i couldn’t attach it to a long-press of a button. The single VFO view is pretty nice; it puts lots of nice info on the screen, and it’s big. Ultimately, I went right back to AubsUK for the scan features.

CY9C St Paul Island Expedition

Someone spotted CY9C’s Saint Paul Island Expedition on the 21 mailinglist: 18095kHz, SuperFox FT8 mode. I tuned my WSJTX to the frequency, enabled SuperHound, and it crashed upon trying to decode.

  Running: /usr/bin/jt9 -s WSJT-X -w 1 -m 3 -e /usr/bin -a /home/john/.local/share/WSJT-X -t /tmp/WSJT-X
  sh: 1: /usr/bin/sfrx: not found
  Fortran runtime error: EXECUTE_COMMAND_LINE: Invalid command line

  Error termination. Backtrace:
  #0  0x7f02d8e21b9a in ???
  #1  0x7f02d8e22699 in ???
  #2  0x7f02d8e22afc in ???
  #3  0x7f02d90b8eeb in ???
  #4  0x7f02d90b9099 in ???
  #5  0x559f9788ca06 in ???
  #6  0x559f97885f15 in ???
  #7  0x559f97885467 in ???
  #8  0x559f978838a2 in ???
  #9  0x7f02d883edb9 in __libc_start_call_main
    at ../sysdeps/nptl/libc_start_call_main.h:58
  #10  0x7f02d883ee74 in __libc_start_main_impl
    at ../csu/libc-start.c:360
  #11  0x559f97883900 in ???
  #12  0xffffffffffffffff in ???

I filed a bug for the missing binary. In the meantime, I downloaded and installed the wsjtx deb file from sourceforge to make the DX QSO. I saw them again on 14.094MHz, but they don’t hear me.

I checked in on the bug, and the maintainer explained that those binaries are not open source, so not included with the Debian package. To fix it longer-term, I kept the new binaries, and went back to the package that Debian provided.

My Week in Radio

• The photos looked great from Bill’s, KC3OOK, antenna party
• https://ft8.live/ for a more responsive visualization of pskreporter data.
• POTA at Susquehannock
  • No digital, only sideband
  • QSO parties for Hawaii, Kansas, and Ohio
  • Bothered someone with a bit of CW badly
• Morse Machine app on Android for practicing
• I finally confirmed 50 states on QRZ.com with Hawaii
  • generally 5-10W
  • mostly digital, some sideband
• I started playing with a couple Meshtastic nodes
  • Impressive range for low power, ~125mW

Questions

• W8CRW, CR: Is there any device that would log a date-time every time you key your VHF/UHF transmitter?
  • W3DIB: string together an arduino, some AI, and voice recognition
  • WA3VEE: pull it from broadcastify
  • K3VIL: newer ICOM has a recording feature
  • NA3CW: security system that can log contacts opening/closing
  • W8CRW: looking for something radio agnostic
• KC3OOK, Bill: Balanced-L vs T-Match network tuner for open wire feed. Is one better than the other?
  • Balanced L = L-C-L and it’s fed on the low-impedance side.
  • T-Match has a wider range, but maybe less efficient.

My Week in Radio

• I Wish I had paid attention to the contest calendar for WW digital contest.
• I’m awaiting a confirmation on QRZ for my last of 50 states: Hawaii.
• Lots of new open updates for the Xiegu X6100.
• Started compiling firmware for Quansheng.
• Playing with a couple heltec v3 meshtastic nodes
  • marveling at the range, better than APRS?
• I did my first POTA activation by only voice, no digital.
  • lots of qso parties
  • heard Hawaii really easily
  • Wasted someone’s time trying CW

I ran some errands and wandered off to Susquehannock State Park, US-1425 to play. I started with SSB phone, and immediately heard Hawaii. The bands were busy with QSO Parties for Hawaii, Kansas, and Ohio, so I kept hunting people and easily got my 13 contacts. I never switched to the computer for digital modes!

In addition to the QSO parties, I caught a contact from Italy and K8MRD of Ham Radio Tube in a park in Texas. I bothered one last operator with a little CW, but I failed pretty badly. The radio was decoding for me, but my keying wasn’t up to the job.

My Week in Radio

• Iambic Keying
  • Tap, instead of squeeze, since I’m having trouble releasing the paddles in time.
  • Squeeze Keying at Ham Radio QRP
• I started patching and compiling my own firmware for my Quansheng radios
  • building and flashing works
  • my minor change had no effect
• New R1CBU 0.22.0 firmware for x6100
  • whole firmware is like a new radio
  • minor fixes and conveniences
    • peak marger on S-meter
    • nicer scrolling on waterfall
• POTA by the Susquehanna River in Marietta
  • I heard some lighthouse events
  • I spoke to someone on a nuclear ship in Baltimore
  • I ran into a fellow ham and ex-professor from 25 years ago, Paul Ross, W3FIS.
  • It’s so quiet away from my normal desk of computers, I thought noise reduction was stuck ON
• 10m looking pretty open today to California
• I’ve been keeping the blog up-to-date, and I use this net to document my week.

Topics

• Jeff, W3JAM, is having trouble with an MFJ antenna analyzer that’s not being reliable compared to his other analyzers.
• Bill, KC3OOK, is preparing for the weekend’s antenna party.
• Jim, AF3Z, participated in the QRP Skeeter Hunt with his Penntech, 68ft of wire, and a tuner. 5W on 40M got him 25 CW contacts.
• Luke, KC3SCY, is building a transmitter from 1929.
• Tim, W3QP, is planning some hiking and SOTA in Virginia.
• Harvey, KC3NZT, was in PEI (I think) doing a little HF and listing to ship traffic.
• Question from Jeff, W3JAM: What is Supermon and how does one get started?
  • It’s a web-based interfacet to an Allstar node.
  • ClearNode app runs on Android.
• Question from Harvey, KC3NZT: In 120V wiring, does a voltage between 0V and 120V mean a broken or loose ground or common?
  • KC3RFG: Yes! The AC world is different from the DC world.

I setup camp at Marietta Riverfront Park with the EFHW stretched from the pavilion to the nearby tree. I was expecting to get rained out, but it never came.

I got 23 FT8 contacts on 20m and 3 SSB contacts on 40m and 20m at 10W. I also spoke to a nuclear ship in Baltimore, and I heard some light house special event stations. It was so quiet there at the park compared to my desk full of computers that I thought the NR was stuck on.

W3FIS, Dr. Paul Ross, stopped by to activate, so we chatted a while after nearly 25 years since I last saw him when I was in college.

My Week in Radio

• Watching APRS
  • trying different radios/antennas w/ aprsdroid
  • slim-jim working better with any radio
  • watching logs and better-understanding the structure of the packets
• N3TWT repeater (South Mountain) looks good for “off grid” communication when camping in Cumberland county
  • heard lots of volunteer event activity
  • also heard N3FYI & N3KZ
• moving in September, so scheming new antennas
• maybe noticing a bug on AUBS firmware on Quansheng. I have copy of code to read and see about a fix.
• I tried another firmware, but missing the killer feature: scan on start

Notes from Others

• Everyone went to Kimberton Hamfest
• AF3Z, Jim: wait 30 years, and that shiny new radio will be affordable.

Questions

• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • using a generator, how important is ground?
    • KC3RFG, Jim:
      • already grounded if connected to home.
      • job site may require a ground rod, but doesn’t do much.
      • for field day, generator is the only “reference”, so no need for ground
      • modern generators have GFI built-in.
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • don’t let generator run down and stop under load, because it’ll degauss the residual magnetism
  • Heathkit SB102 w/ 6146B tubes. It wouldn’t tune up. is there concern with using 6146W tubes?
    • NA3CW, Chuck: 6146W is the ruggedized version. it should work. neutralize, and you’re good to go.
    • AF3Z, Jim: be sure to check the tubes with a tube-tester
• AF3Z, Jim:
  • cable management while being able to access and change. beat the rats’ nest. Are there good systems for cable management?
    • WA3VEE, Ron:
      • best if you can walk behind the desk
      • everything slides on felt feet, so must have some slack loosely coiled.
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • desk 90 degrees to the wall for easy access to the back.
      • garden velcro: can be snipped to any length you need.
    • KC3JAM, Jeff:
      • military systems require being able to get behind things.
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • Has anyone used DragonOS / Linux?
    • NA3CW, Chuck: Mint, but not Dragon OS.

My Week in Radio

• Mobile APRS is proving to be really short-range
  • Couldn’t even spot myself outside at Sam Lewis up on the hill
  • Cycled with it, but no traffic
  • Needs a real antenna
• Some POTA
  • Sam Lewis, US-1418
    • found the leading park activator, kn3a, in my spot. :)
    • storms rolling in, so called it quits
    • watched 20m slam shut: decoding 30 signals to 4
  • Susquehanna River, US-4567
    • Columbia Riverfront Park that’s open after sunset
    • spanned into the next day…again, so had an incomplete and a complete activation.
• Got an FT8 contact to Israel with 5W from home: first Asia for me.
• Weekly RTTY Test and FT4 sprint
• Ham radio software may not be the most efficient
  • fldigi left running but disconnected from radio ran CPU at 95C doing nothing.
  • GridTracker likes to burn cpu too when left running.
• AB3AP, Mike, on EZ-Hang slingshot: I’ve given up the slingshot and just swing my throw line by hand.
• KB3ILS, Keith: there are scripts online for 3d-modeling any size knob you need.

Questions

• W3JAM, Jeff:
  • Does anyone have experience using Drake TR4CW on AM?
  • Can you add a noise blanker to this radio?
    • Noise blanker would alleviate pulsing noise from electric fence.
    • Jeff will be getting the entire manual library on CD, which will have information.
• KC3OOK, Bill:
  • How do you connect a NanoVNA to an open wire feed line?
  • WA3VEE: Would you need a balun to start getting close to impedance to match the expected 50 ohm?
  • W3JAM: Doesn’t matter so much where it’s tuned, since you use it with a tuner anyway.
  • NA3CW:
    • You don’t want it to be resonant anyway, because being resonant will give you the largest extremes to tune when trying to move to other bands.
    • NanoVNA may be limited on the impedance it can read.
    • Dipole should be at least as long as half wave + a little
    • He extended a wire to get it to tune where it wouldn’t.
• WA3VEE, Ron:
  • SOCO connectors carry 208V. When rewiring those connectors, what’s a good caulk-like sealant that could be used for “potting” the inside of the plugs?
    • Plain bathroom caulk can be conductive.
    • Silicon may breakdown at lower voltage than needed too.

Ben and I grabbed dinner and headed to the Columbia Riverfront Park to activate US-4567, Capt John Smith Trail.

Since there were more people around, I setup the simple GRA-1900T next to our picnic table instead of throwing wires. 20m was very busy, so I was getting a bit lost in all the traffic. I moved to 40m and re-tuned to rack up my more local contacts. As the sun set, our reach got better on 40m. Of course, I accidentally crossed 0000UTC again into the next day, so it was 2 activations: one (incomplete) with 5 QSOs, and the other with 14 QSOs. I operated all digital, since it got dark, and we were looking to pack up soon.