…. but it wasn’t there!

Had a nice 80M CW QSO last night with Tony, KN4VL. There was some QSB and QRM, but we hung in there for about an hour ragchew. Tony is a retired Marine and has children and grandchildren in the armed services. I think I’m slowly making progress on the CW front.

Yesterday after work I wanted to swap out the feedline on the Carolina Windom from RG-58 to RG-8X. My plan was to lower the matching unit which has an eyelet on top that I used to raise the matching unit up to ~50ft with some heavy duty line.


I loosened the line and attempted to lower the matching unit, but the line was getting hung up in the tree branches above. I let the end of the line go and began to gently pull on the RG-58 feedline to slowly bring the matching unit down to a point where I could reach the line isolator (hanging 22′ below the matching unit) so I could swap feedlines. I got the line isolator down to my level and successfully swapped the feedlines. I then went to grab the end of the line to pull the matching unit back into the treetops, but it wasn’t there! Then I looked up. The line had been shorter than I thought – when I had pulled the matching unit down using the feedline, I had not realized that the line was so short and now the end was dangling a good 15′ above my head! I got out my ladder to try and reach the line but it wasn’t tall enough. I then tried standing on the latter with a rake, in an attempt to snag the line and pull it down. No luck. I had an idea. I grabbed one of the 10′ PVC pipes that I use for my G5RV during a portable setup to support the ends. The top of the pipe has a hole drilled through. I then grabbed about 20′ of small gauge wire, threaded a loop through the hole at the top of the pipe and then took the pole back out to the dangling line up in the air. I was able to get the end of the line through the loop, then pulled the ends of the small gauge wire tight, grabbing the line. I pulled the pipe down and the line came with it. I felt pretty stupid, but I was able to get the Carolina Windom pulled back up (now with the new feedline) and my station is up and operational.

While I think the new feedline has helped improve my signal a bit, I’m still having problems on 17M, 15M, and 12M. 17M I’ve always had issues with and from what I read, it might be an issue with the radio itself. I’m usually able to work PSK31 and Phone on 17M without the tuner, but when I dip down in the CW portion the SWR is much too high. Both 15M and 12M will not tune. Also the SWR is too high to use without the tuner. On my inverted vee, both 15M and 12M are usable. So – I know I will need to play around a bit to get everything working.

This weekend is the 2006 CQ WW DX Contest (Phone). I want to use the contest as an opportunity to complete my initial DXCC requirements. The Carolina Windom is good to go for 80M, 40M, and 20M – so I should have plenty of opportunity to work those DX stations.

At lunch today I was tuning around 20M, 17M, and 15M – lots of activity…. lots of stations testing equipment in preparation for the contest.

I need to do two things before the contest kicks off:
(1) fix the power cable to the radio. When I did some shack clean up, I moved all the equipment onto a new Alinco DM-330MVT power supply using the RigRunner. But I was having some problems with the adapter that goes on the back of the IC-706. I need to pull the power cable off, recheck the PowerPole connectors, and the four pins that connect to the IC-706.
(2) setup the ICOM CT-17 so I can save little time by having my frequency automatically saved when I log QSOs on the computer.

…. the question is – can I get both of those done before the 2000 (local) kickoff of the contest?

Special Events for the end of October

Oct 25-Oct 29, 0000Z-2400Z, Portsmouth, VA. USCG Auxiliary/ISAR Special Event, N4I. International Search and Rescue Competition. 28.450 21.290 14.250 7.210. Certificate. Richard Cook, AB4U, 14288 Riverside Dr, Ashland, VA 23005. www.internationalsar.com.

Oct 26-Oct 30, 1400Z-2300Z, Sycamore, IL. Kishwaukee Amateur Radio Club, W9P. Sycamore Pumpkin Festival. 14.268 14.042 7.268 7.042. Certificate. Bob Yurs, W9ICU, 1107 Commercial St, Sycamore, IL 60178. www.kish-club.org.

Oct 27-Oct 29, 1600Z-0200Z, Point Pleasant, WV. Main Street Baptist Church, K8J. Centennial Celebration, 1906-2006. 14.240 14.050 7.240 7.050. Certificate or QSL. G.E. Hodges, Rt 1 Box 646A, Point Pleasant, WV 25550. http://webpages.charter.net/ab8s/K8J%20main%20street%20page.mht.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2100Z, Ann Arbor, MI. US Coast Guard Auxiliary, N8A. 67th anniversary of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. 28.355 21.380 14.290 7.265. QSL. Tony Morris, WA8TM, 827 Asa Gray Dr #459, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-3522. www.cgaux.org.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2100Z, McKeesport, PA. US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 9, KD3HQ. 67th anniversary of USCG Auxiliary. 14.250. QSL. Walter R. Gretz, 253 Henry St, Whitaker, PA 15120.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2300Z, Huntington, WV. US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 2 8ER, K8E. Commemorating 67th anniversary of US Coast Guard Auxiliary. 28.350 21.340 14.280 7.282. QSL. Matthew Morris, PO Box 134, Cheshire, OH 45620.
Oct 28, 1400Z-2100Z, Carthage, TX. Panola County Amatuer Radio Club, WA5PC. Special Event from the grave site of country/western music star Gentaleman Jim Reeves. General phone bands. Certificate. Panola County Amateur Radio Club, 380 CR 1241, Gary, TX 75643. www.wa5pc.org. Weather permitting.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2300Z, Jacksonville, FL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary, W4W. 67th anniversary of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. 28.490 21.410 14.255 7.290. QSL. Joe Mac Ivor, 12632 Blue Eagle Way, Jacksonville, FL 32225.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2300Z, St. Marks, FL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary District Eight Flotilla 1-2, N4A. Coast Guard Auxiliary Special Event Radio Day. 28.400 21.400 14.247 7.267. QSL. Tom Ziko, 7849 Briarcreek Rd W, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2300Z, Philadelphia , PA. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary District 5-NR, K3G. Commemorating USCG Auxiliary 67th anniversary. 50.130 21.330 14.270 7.270. QSL. Joe Rzucidlo, 1013 Anderson St, Trainer, PA 19061.

Oct 28, 1400Z-2100Z, Flowery Branch, GA. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, W4A. Anniversary of US & Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. 21.360 14.278 7.278. QSL. Al Miles, 3325 Rangers Gate Dr, Marietta, GA 30062.

Oct 28, 1400Z-2200Z, Paris Landing, TN. US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 8-8E-10, W4A. US Coast Guard Auxiliary 67th anniversary. 28.335 21.370 14.285 7.242. QSL. Kenny Johns, AB4EG, 52 Buttonwood Dr, Jackson, TN 38305. http://a0820810.uscgaux.info.

Oct 28, 1400Z-2200Z, Quad Cities, AL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 24 8ER, W4F. Commemorating US Coast Guard Auxiliary 67th anniversary. 28.350 21.350 14.260 7.260. QSL. Roy Nagle, W4AQQ, 465 McClung St, Phil Campbell, AL 35581. http://a0530407.uscgaux.info/SED2006.html.

Oct 28, 1500Z-2000Z, Port Huron, MI. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 091-14-03, W8A. Celebrating USCG Auxiliary 67th anniversary & ISAR Special Event. 28.320 21.310 14.260 7.260. QSL. Rodger Catt, 1840 Kern St, Port Huron, MI 48060.

Oct 28, 1300Z-2300Z, St Marks, FL. US Coast Guard Auxiliary District Eight Flotilla 1-2, N4A. Coast Guard Auxiliary Special Event Radio Day. 28.400 21.400 14.247 7.267. QSL. Tom Ziko, 7849 Briarcreek Rd W, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

Oct 28-Nov 2, 1400Z-2200Z, Wheatland, MO. USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 0504, N0N. 67th anniversary of the USCG Auxiliary. 14.280 7.280 3.963. Certificate. Richard E. Hunt, KC0FDF, PO Box 96, Wheatland, MO 65779.

Oct 31-Nov 1, 0600Z-0600Z, Frankenstein, MO. Warrensburg Amateur Radio Club, WØO. Frankenstein FunXpedition 2006. 28.370 21.378 14.265 3.945. QSL. Dennis Gedeon, KBØNHW, 1811 Hillside Ct, Oak Grove, MO 64075. www.waarci.org.

Oct 31-Nov 1, 1800Z-1400Z, Frankenstein, MO. Mid-MO Amateur Radio Club, WØO. Frankenstein FunXpedition 2006. 21.040 14.040 10.113 7.040 3.540. QSL (100%
direct). Tom Hammond, NØSS, 5417 Scruggs Station Rd, Lohman, MO 65053. www.mmccs.com/mmarc.

Busy In The Shack

WX Station: Yesterday after work I was able to reroute the cable for the wind direction/speed sensor from the radio room over to the garage. This included a quick trip up to the roof. I now need to figure out where I’m going to place the rain gauge. The location is tricky because I don’t want it under trees and it should also be accessible for maintenance/cleaning. Today I need to try and move the webcam from the window ledge outside the radio room to the garage window.

CW contacts: I had two on 80M last night, the first was from MI and the second was from AL. Band conditions were pretty bad. Yesterday at lunch I had a short CW QSO with a Polish station on 20M. I guess that’s my first CW QSO to Europe. The station was sending fast, so I only picked up about half of what was sent.

W4M Memorial Day Special Event Station: in a continued attempt to close out all the loose ends from the W4M special event station, I am now sending out QSL cards to all the remaining contacts that I have not yet sent anything to. These remaining folks never sent me anything, but I’d rather send them the W4M QSL card than hang on to a bunch of extra cards. I’m also including a return SASE for those in the US. I completed 30 last night and would like to do 40 tonight. I just want to get a QSL card out to every contact and then officially close the book on the W4M special event.

N3FJP’s amateur radio logging software

I have been using the N3FJP’s amateur radio logging software since I upgraded to General a year ago. I’m slowly starting to realize what a robust program it is. About a month ago, I started using the DX packet cluster feature about a month ago – very slick. Last night I played around with the software’s ability to print out mailing labels, which (with a little tweaking) will be a much more effective way for me to do my QSL cards. Now I want to explore interfacing the computer directly to the radio with my ICOM CT-17 CI-V level converter. I’ve had the CT-17 since I purchased the radio well over year ago, but have never used it. Setting it up looks pretty straight forward. I should have an available RS-232C cable and then I just need to solder a set of PowerPoles onto the power cable and I’ll be in business. The biggest benefit this will give me is the ability to have the QSO freq directly logged. I may also be nice using this direct computer-to-radio interface with the DX cluster capability… simply click on the DX spot that you want to go to and the radio switches over to it. So… we’ll see how it goes.

Tom Mills – K6LHE – SK

Farewell to Tom Mills
by Ed Fong
Sept. 2002

This month we regret the lost of one of our long time member Tomas B. Mills (K6LHE). He was an avid admirer of the Motorola HT220 and had modified dozens in his life time. I officially met Tom in 1990 when I joined National Semiconductor but I had seen him previously at the Foothill swap. I also meant him at the Sunnyvale SARES meeting a few times in the early 80’s.

I would always meet Tom at the swap meet and he was always a joy to talk to. His knowledge of radios was unsurpass since he worked on the design of IC’s for radio and TV for 40 years. We would walk up and down the isles and he would see a radio and say “hey, I had one of those” and then would go through the technical details of the radio. He was the mastermind behind all the video driver chips using the VIP high voltage process at National Semiconductor. Chances are that your TV or computer monitor has a chip that Tom designed. I thought I had a passion for radios until I meant Tom. This guy knew his Collins R390’s and his HT220’s.

Tom lived in the neighborhood and I had talked to him just Wednesday August 28th when I was testing a radio with Ron Quan. He broke on in with his distinct voice “Hey, is that doctor Ed??” That was the last time I talked with him. He passed away Sunday evening September 1st.

He is survived by his wife Joyce. His daughter Jeni Johnstone and husband James, his son Robert Mills and wife Donna. They have two grand children Emma and Ian.

His widow Joyce had at the Sunday September 8 memorial service his HT220 and other memorabilia that made Tom so well loved by his friends.

So K6LHE, we say our final 73’s. It has been my privilege knowing you and you will be missed, but your influence on me will be with me for a lifetime.

Ed Fong WB6IQN

Morning 80M CW QSO

I snuck in a quick CW QSO before work with Kerry, K5KS, on 80M. 80M was pretty rough. I was able to understand that he was in TX and after a repeat I got his name. But we wrapped up the QSO after that.

Sunday in the shack

I was successful in transferring the WX station duties to the computer out in the garage. I first had to get the Davis Weather Monitor II talking with the computer – which was accomplished after I changed the COM port speed to 2400 baud. I then transferred all the Weather Display files from the computer in the radio room out to the garage. The Weather Display software started up, green lights indicating that it was taking data from the Davis Weather Monitor II. But I didn’t have any sensors plugged in yet, so the only data being displayed was the indoor temp (now the garage temp) and the barometer. The outdoor temp sensor is located near the garage, so I was easily able to reroute the cable into the window of the garage and connected it to the Davis Weather Monitor II box. The outdoor temp came up right away. The next challenge was setting up the FTP for my weather webpage. The Weather Display software has great wizards that walk you through setting up different aspects of the software – the FTP setup had such a wizard. And now the webpage is getting updated every 5 minutes. Great! I still need to (1) reroute the wind direction and speed cable to the garage (requires me to get on the roof), (2) find some place to put the rain gauge (may require me to get on the roof), and (3) get the webcam hooked back up.

Spent some time cleaning up the radio room. I finally unpacked the MFJ-989C tuner that I got to go along with the Heathkit SB-220 amp. Neither are setup – that’s a project for another day.

I was also able to make contact with MI3JQD, operating from Northern Ireland… and a CW contact on 30M with John, K9??? in Indiana.

Saturday

I’ve been recovering from a cold, so I have been on as much as I’d like. I had a couple notable QSOs today:

W7DK/90: The Radio Club of Tacoma’s 90th Anniversary special event station. An ARRL-affiliated Special Service Club since 1920, the Radio Club of Tacoma will mark the occasion with a homecoming dinner October 21 and a week-long operating event with certificates. Special event station W7DK/90 will be on the air October 16-22, and for part of the event will put its “old oak rig” — a circa 1930 breadboard-style AM transmitter — on the air. “We have done some historical research, and it’s been very interesting,” says the club’s Peter Baker, AD7EU. One item that turned up was a W7DK QSL card from 1938.

JOTA: Jamboree On The Air — a nearly 50-year-old tradition — provides an opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio for Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides, Cub Scouts and Brownies around the world, some of whom will be part of the next generation of radio amateurs. I had a nice QSO with two Scouts up in Wisconsin. One Scout was a 2nd Class and the other Life.

CW QSOs: the first few on 20M and 30M had the op at the other end blazing away a little to fast for me. I then went down to the good ol’ Novice sub-band on 40M and had a nice QSO with Fred, KC2IOD. His callsign looked familiar and sure enough – I worked him when I activated the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse (USA-567) back in February.

FISTS: I received the latest issue of the FISTS periodical. Lots of good reading.

Wednesday

I had two short contacts during lunch on Wednesday. The first was with a station in Slovak Republic and the second was with a station in Croatia. Both gave me good signal reports. I also believe that the Slovak Republic is a new country for me.

I’ve started to try and count up my DXCC contacts – and it looks like I have maybe 60. Which is kind of dissapointing. Lots more work to try and reach 100.

When I got home last night, I tied my feedline off to the rain gutter above the radioshack window which raises it off the ground between the house and the tree where the center point and feedline are at. This will ensure no one trips over the feedline.

I didn’t get on the radio last night.

Tuesday – On The Air

At lunch I was able to work a station on 15M from Pisa, Italy, IK5MEJ. I noticed some SWR issues on that band as well as 17M. But the contact went through.

Shortly after dinner I was tuning around a found CE/VE7SV from Chile operating on 20M. There was a bit of a pile up, but I was still able to work him fairly easily. I think this is my first contact with Chile. I then jumped up to 17M and was able to work Javier, XE2EX, operating from Ensenada, Mexico. This is my second contact with Mexico, but first Phone contact. The final DX contact was with Larry, V31LL, also on 17M and oeprating from Belize. A nice solid contact and Belize is a new country for me.

Just before bed, I jumped on the radio to get in a CW QSO. I heard KB2MBC calling CQ – I replied and he came back to me right away. It was Bill in NY, who I’ve talked to twice before. We exchanged RST (599 on both sides) and then commenced a 40 minute slow speed CW ragchew. Bill told me that it was currently raining and windy were he was at and was worried about his antenna comming down in the wind. He also told me about all the snow Bufflo, NY had received a few days earlier. It was nice departing from the standard RST, name, QTH, rig, WX exchange to a more free flowing conversation. Needless to say, I really enjoyed our QSO.