985

I posted to Facebook and got lots of discussion about the FM bandstop filter. When I started adding better external antennas, I could reach further (tx and rx**, but I also found that some VHF frequencies got much worse. It turned out I was overloading the receiver with the strong FM broadcasts in my area and increased sensitivity of the better antenna. I found a bandstop filter helped bring back those signals I was losing. [Read More]

I failed to check-in do to RF issues, but my summary is still good.

My Week in Amateur Radio

• Antenna movement
  • Trying my dipole antennas in new places
    • hanging dipole in back yard
    • still getting debilitating interference over 985
    • 21 and k3ir coming in pretty good
  • Restrung the EFRW antenna for HF
    • a little higher, straighter in the tree
  • It’s great fun to throw wires and strings in trees
• Overload on UV-K5 with better antennas
  • UV-K5 & UV-K6 for comparison - not broken
  • Balance antenna location good enough but not too good
  • Going to try a bandstop filter, but not sure about transmitting through it
  • Love the firmware options on Quansheng radios, but do I need a better radio?
  • It kills me that I’m so marginal for accessing my favorite repeaters.
• Modifying params database on xiegu x6100
  • Now shows me accurate bands and privileges, so i won’t accidentally wander beyond my privileges.
  • Modified the source code and rebuilt the database from my source
• I picked up an Evolve 3 laptop that runs on 12v
  • Getting linux installed on it
• Still learning CW
  • 20wpm
  • It’s so difficult to stay focused copying at 20wpm even for 1 minute

Reception Problems

During 985 net on Monday night, which is VHF on my UV-K5 running egzumer 0.22.0, I’d get periodic static in reception. It got bad enough to completely cut-out. I was using my simple wire dipole hanging in the tree outside.

K3IR had been frustratingly quiet as well, so I checked the antenna with the NanoVNA as it hung outside. There were no fluctuations in SWR, so it’s not connections or proximity.

I tried the Explorer QRZ-1 HT, and it sounded great on the same antenna on the same net. Is my UV-K5 broken?

To test a bit further, I ordered a new UV-K6 to compare. I also downgraded to egzumer 0.21.0 for further testing.

The next day, Tuesday morning, K3IR was sounding better, but I was getting the same periodic noises. The outside antenna doesn’t completely cut out, but shows terrible doubling/overload as if from FM station.

Inside, the magmount antenna on the 3d printer is better. Is the dipole outside too sensitive and bringing in more signal than the frontend of the UV-K5 can handle?

This Week in Ham Radio

• I keep tweaking the outside 2m dipole
  • I got it a little higher
  • It tests different day to night
  • Signal is good then gone every so many seconds
  • Checked it for loose connections in the wind. It seems fine.
• I’ve been learning to configure fldigi more
• BARTG RTTY contest over the weekend
  • I finally successfully ran the frequency for a bit calling cq and getting responses
  • I stuck to the 5W QRP class
• I’m scanning more frequencies for satellite repeaters
• Weather is nicer, so I got out on my bicycle. It’s time to activate some parks (on the bike?). The Tram mirror mount for vertical antenna might clamp nicely to the bag rack.

This Week in Ham Radio

• RTTY NA Sprint
• The 2m dipole is flopping around outside on this windy day.
• I heard the ISS pass on scan. That’s always pretty cool.
• I checked into the Simplex Net in Lancaster County I reached the West check-in to Mount Joy with my external antenna and my Quansheng UV-K5 running 5W.

This Week in Ham Radio

• I pulled my j-pole wire into a tree by string for tonight, so it’s outside the house.
• Started testing a longer 71-foot (21.65m) EFRW after months of using the shorter 41-foot EFRW.
  • seems mostly the same, so far.
• ARRL Internationl DX SSB Contest
  • First time using SSB on HF
    • Usually digital modes
    • Not a rag-chewer: here to discuss tech
  • 41-ft random wire
  • 10 watts
  • 42 valid contacts in 37 DXCCs
    • Did hit Russia, but then realized I had tuned too low for my privileges
    • Hit lots of other parts of Europe and South America
  • I was Surprised how well SSB worked
  • I might want a vanity url:
    • Shorter: less room for error
    • People don’t seem to expect “WW”
    • People misheard 2 -> 3
    • Might be easier to type
  • It was nice to chase, since I could pause, relisten until I got the call, etc.

Question about Tuning SSB

During the DX contest, people were tuned all over, not just on full khz. A woman with a higher voice confounded me for a moment as I tried to get her to sound right. I was tuning by 100hz, so some were boomy low, a bit high-pitched, and some were just right. Tuning people a little higher made them easier to read, but that probably makes me lower for them. I tried to keep them as low as I could understand. RIT/XIT might have been useful for longer conversations.

What’s the best practice tuning SSB to hear clearly and tx as clearly as possible?

My Week in Ham Radio CQ WPX RTTY contest Chased 41 contacts Called CQ with no responses Played in the front yard getting my existing random wire a little higher in the tree Running around 20 minutes before this meeting to try to get my 2m antenna in a place that makes sense. I failed, so I’m on EchoLink. Others’ Questions Number codes? 73, 72 best regards in QRP. Recapping equipment Check temperature ratings of capacitors 85C vs 105C Keeping voltage applied regularly keeps a capacitor in good function Try to operate capacitors nearer to their V rating to keep them “formed up” Is anything leaking from the bottom of the caps Signs of problems? [Read More]

My Week in Ham Radio

• Chuck’s repairs sound fascinating
  • enough basic electronics from childhood to get to general
• HF radio
  • QRP X6100 with 3rd party firmware - R1CBU
  • Maintainer is flaming out
    • ungrateful complaints
    • unhelpful bug reports
  • Source code is available, so some of us may pick it up
  • UI is an app running on a small embedded linux computer
• Flashed new firmware onto my Quansheng UV-K5 HT
• Restrung a random wire
  • From a steep sloper into a tree in front yard to flat horizontal to the shed in the backyard.
  • Patterns in FT8 contacts look a little different
• Learning CW
  • Morse machine
  • All 40 characters they quiz: Koch method
  • Try the feel with a 3d-printed iambic key
  • Next try a different character set: cwops
  • Next more traditional copying exercises

Question

• Often rebuilding and testing antennas
  • On HF, I can test with FT8 and pskreporter
  • See effect of my changes and maybe more propagation conditions
  • For VHF, how variable are the conditions?
  • On the fringe of accessing 985.
  • Slight repositions with unintuitive results
  • What conditions affect propagation to a repeater like this one?
  • What can I measure?
• Requirements for the Scout badge in radio?

My Week in Ham Radio FCC/ARRL meeting in Harrisburg Activated a state game land park after the meeting 10m near Middletown Lots of west coast Compared vertical whip with jumpered coil vs efrw Built more wire j-poles for more permanent mount NanoVNA is lots of fun, since I can now measure and tune any antennas Field day at Welsh Mountain with W3RRR club Repack bag yet again for portable op Learned about winlink Operated outside on 80m at 3pm, so slow Clipperton on 40m FT8 Back to learning CW on morse machine at LCWO. [Read More]

My week in ham radio:

• Discovered the 985 nerds podcast
• Watching Clipperton split operation
• Lunch in Harrisburg with ARRL & FCC
• ISS repeater broke squelch @ 2am
• Looking for a Winter Field Day
  • 985 is doing one
  • Will probably check out a more local one, like W3RRR’s event