985 Workbench: 2025-02-24

 Posted on 2025-02-24

My Week in Radio

  • I attended the breakfast and heard a little about the National Traffic System from Vic. I’ve added some nets to my calendar.
  • I’m in the logs for N4T, the DXpedition to Dry Tortugas with some locals.
    • CW and on FT8
  • My favorite radios have new 3rd-party software:
    • Quansheng HTs got F4WHN 4.0 which includes a code fix I contributed
    • X6100 got R1CBU 0.29.2 which has fixes for handful of bugs I reported
  • I continue playing with some mobile Winlink and APRS
  • EFRW was being flaky with high SWR.
    • Cleaned all the connections outside.
    • It’s an unprotected temporary build with alligator clips.

Others

  • KC3SCY, Luke: listening to some CW
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • Led the breakfast.
    • 75M PM/AM Net
    • A professor of chemistry in CT liked our answer on the workbench about ice on the antenna. We never know who’s listening, so make it good.
  • KB3ILS, Keith:
    • Straight key work since field day
    • POTA, State QSO Parties
    • 15-minute ragchew QSOs
    • Slower with the straight key, so people don’t “recognize” him.
    • ARRL DX contest: used paddles, boring exchanges.
    • Heard his own QSO in a youtube video
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • Working on mobile antenna to clean it up.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • Jumped up from 35WPM to 40WPM in weekly practice sked, and it was OK.
    • Working on heathkit project
  • KC3TYX, Vic:
    • 2M nets
    • Breakfast
    • Another ARRL DX contest coming up this weekend, giving it a try.
  • AB3AP, Mike:
    • Breakfast
    • Learning about direction of arrival for signals to locate signals of interest.
    • Some CW, but slower than Jim.
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • Planning trips
    • Presentation for Pottstown Club
  • K3FHA, John:
    • Repairing a 65-year-old radio.
    • Implementing a service bulletin to fix AGC.
    • Some HF nets
  • WA3KFT, John:
    • Digging up lost gear
      • Halicrafters S38
      • Heathkit VF1 VFO
    • 6M and 2M work
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • All the 985 activities
    • Simplex Net: 39 check-ins
    • Spending every day in the ham shack
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • Worked West Coast on 10m.
  • KB3AIS, Tim:
    • Purchased ICOM 2730a for portable radio.
  • KC3YIG, Dave:
    • Breakfast
    • Simplex Net
    • Building some shelves for the radio desk.
    • Contacted N4T on SSB on 20M and 40M.
  • W3MOW, Mike:
    • Good to hear everyone’s favorite interests and achievements in radio.

Questions

  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • NV102 SSB CW transciever
      • CW is working
      • SSB isn’t going out
      • He has the oscilliscope for tracing, 10x probe for attennuation, AC coupled.
      • Looking at all the parts, what is the best way to couple with the circuit without interfering with the circuit?
    • WA3KFT, John:
      • 10X probe should have helped
      • There is a 100X probe with very high impedance
      • Make a 2-3 turn coil of solid wire around a pencil, attach it to a bit of coax, poke around with that.
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • Put a little capacitance (2-3pF) in series on the end of the probe.
    • KC3SQI, Wayne:
      • Another way to make a “sniffer probe”: small wire loop on a piece of circuit board.
    • K3FHA, John:
      • Since SSB isn’t working, check that audio is getting into the modulator.
  • AA3LH, Leon:
    • He has a 45-ft vertical antenna, end-fed from the bottom. It’s recommended to add an automatic tuner close to the antenna. Is 7-8 feet too far away? 14 gauge, 25ft, red/black twin lead to provide power. Is that too long?
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • power delivery is OK.
      • 7-8 feet is fine. It becomes part of the antenna.
    • KC3SQI, Wayne:
      • 14 gauge is fine for auto tuner
      • Agree with Chuck
  • KD3AIS, Tim:
    • ICOM 2730A can hear the repeater, but no one can hear him.
    • W3MOW, Mike:
      • Thinking it’s a hardware issue, or is it programming?
    • KD3AIS, Mike:
      • Thinks the hardware is good, and the programming is good.
      • Has programmed previous radios for the repeater
    • W3QP, Tim:
      • Has a couple ICOMs.
      • Do you see the frequency shift while TX-ing? (It should.)
      • Try turning off the receive tone.
    • KD3AIS, Tim:
      • No receive tone programmed
      • Sees the shift
    • KC3SQI, Wayne:
      • Do you have RTSystems or other software to program it?
      • He could not program the same radio without using the RT-Systems software.
    • KD3AIS, Tim:
      • Has not yet used programming cable or software.
    • KC3SQI, Wayne:
      • There should be lots of indicators on the display for every little feature that’s enabled.
    • KC3WWC, John:
      • Debug from simplex, then use other repeaters, then check configs for 985.
    • W3MOW, Mike:
      • From reading the manual, 985’s split tones could be a challenge.
    • W8CRW, CR:
      • On ICOMs, the correct tone setting is T-TSQL / 100.
    • KC3RFG, Jim:
      • Had that radio years ago, and programmed it the first time with RT-Systems.
  • N3RT, Jay:
    • Meritron amplifier, trying to hit Christmas Island on 15M CW.
    • He flipped it on and it popped the fuse on the 240V line.
    • Can he remove tubes to isolate and test the power supply?
    • Are the ceramic fuses slow blow?
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • Do you have HV experience?
    • N3RT, Jay:
      • Has replaced some things, but always operated with the cover on.
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • No problem turning it on with tubes removed.
      • Check manual about the fuse
      • Could be a complex interaction causing the pop of the fuse, like start-up resistor being blown.
  • About my outside connections:
    • WA3KFT, John:
      • There’s a conducting grease for head bolts of an engine that he uses for outside connections, plus black plastic tape
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • Don’t get any on the dialectric (short)
985  w3gms  workbench  net 

See also