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So I am going to put up another antenna, either a wire loop or a random wire.... any advice?
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Aug 29, 2012 05:53
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TremorX posted:The HWN net has moved to 7.268 as of 11:00EST. This is all incredibly interesting to listen to, since I've never heard an emergency net in action before. Pity there's a local net ragchewing all over that freq right now. I wanted to hear tales of destruction and rain.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:11
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SiB posted:So I am going to put up another antenna, either a wire loop or a random wire.... any advice? If you have the space you should put up a loop definitely. You can't beat one for multi-band operation and simplicity. Some folks say that windoms or doublets are as good for multi-band, but a loop makes for a better receiving antenna so it wins in my mind. A full wave loop cut for 80 meters will easily tune every band above that, and will also be pretty resonant on the harmonic bands. They are best fed with ladder line, but you can get away with 300 ohm twin lead too if you must. Get a good 4:1 current balun and you can use the tuner in your rig. Read this: http://mysite.verizon.net/ka1fsb/loopants.html I have a 40 meter delta loop that I also use for 20, 15, and 10. It's great. I also have a 30 meter delta that I use for 30 and (sometimes) 12. Random wires can be fun too, and are a good way to get on the low bands. I have a 67 foot wire sloper that I feed with a transformer. I use it for 80 and 160, though it isn't the most efficient setup. It has a small radial field so it is more like a modified vertical, but it is the same idea. If I were you I'd start out with a loop for 80, 40 or even 20 depending on how much space you have. Whichever one you pick you shouldn't have a problem working any of the higher harmonic bands, and the WARC bands with a tuner.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:12
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Totally Reasonable posted:Pity there's a local net ragchewing all over that freq right now. I wanted to hear tales of destruction and rain. I think they're just moving to it later at night when 20m craps out. The EchoLink net was actually a bit more interesting.. *WX_TALK* for people in the affected area, and *MN_CONF* or *KA1AAA* for listen-only.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:15
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Jonny 290 posted:The old standby is WWV. Depending on your location, you should hear signals at 5, 10, or 15 MHz exactly. You can use this to calibrate your converter if needed. I used this guy's schematic but I designed my own PC board layout with surface mount caps and resistors. I don't have access to an inductance meter, so I have no idea how close my inductors are to the schematic values; I do see lots of mirror frequencies showing up in SDR#, though. The 100MHz oscillator still punches through pretty hard so I'll have to play with its attenuator resistors. I also live close to an FM college radio station and NPR translator, and their broadcasts tend to pop up all over the tunable frequency range of my SDR dongle. I'm going to try building an FM trap next and see if I can kill those and maybe try to optimize the input filtering some more. This guy sells pre-made upconverters based on a similar design, though there's enough info in the manuals for the different revisions that you could probably spec out and build your own. I may try that next.
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Aug 29, 2012 23:07
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Dijkstra posted:If you have the space you should put up a loop definitely. You can't beat one for multi-band operation and simplicity. Some folks say that windoms or doublets are as good for multi-band, but a loop makes for a better receiving antenna so it wins in my mind. Thanks for the great post! Ill definitely try a 40m loop, that should be around 143feet, going to have to see if I can fit that. I have an LDG tuner that I use with my IC-7000 so that should do. Will your loop tune everything from 6m-40m? Replacing the shingles of my rood ont eh 15th, so shortly after that I will put it up.
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Aug 30, 2012 19:18
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SiB posted:
Little tangent: if you're reshingling your roof, it's the perfect occasion to install a tripod or quadpod on the roof, if you ever want to goof off with VHF/UHF or vertical HF antennas later on. That way you can properly weatherseal the bolt holes, get your shingles sealed well, etc. Just throwin' it out there. Of course you may be in a HOA neighborhood that bans that sort of stuff...worth mentioning though.
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Aug 30, 2012 21:50
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Jonny 290 posted:Little tangent: if you're reshingling your roof, it's the perfect occasion to install a tripod or quadpod on the roof, if you ever want to goof off with VHF/UHF or vertical HF antennas later on. That way you can properly weatherseal the bolt holes, get your shingles sealed well, etc. Just throwin' it out there. Of course you may be in a HOA neighborhood that bans that sort of stuff...worth mentioning though. Ya thats a good idea for sure. I do have a 5/8 vertical whip for 2m up there now, however, I want to get a decent dual band (2m/70cm) vertical in its place. Also a 2m horizontal loop for sideband, maybe one for 6m also. The HF loop we are talking about, and a HF vertical would be nice also. I do have a 6m-30m fan dipole in the attic right now.... does it ever end? haha I still don't 'get' HOA's, probably because I have never lived in one. But anyways, VE6NM (sk) who used to be the president of RAC, lived right across the street from me. Our club just recently took down his tower and all the other antennas. Then at the end of the block there is a ham that has an antenna farm at his place, so if I have a few things around nobody will bother me i'm sure.
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Aug 31, 2012 00:27
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So I'm throwing around the idea of getting a Kenwood TM-D710A as a base station for home. I'd also use it as a digipeater since there seems to be a serious lack of anything reachable via handheld in baltimore. Any recommendations on antennas? I own a rowhome, so I can pretty much do whatever I'd like. Right now, I'd be focusing on 2m and 70cm since I'm still in a serious learning process.
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Aug 31, 2012 05:19
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SiB posted:Thanks for the great post! Ill definitely try a 40m loop, that should be around 143feet, going to have to see if I can fit that. I have an LDG tuner that I use with my IC-7000 so that should do. Will your loop tune everything from 6m-40m? Mine will work easily from 40-6. It is resonant at the low ends of 40, 20, 15 and 10, and tunes 30, 17, 12 and 6. 143 feet should be just about right, you may end need to trim it a little after you get it up due to environmental radiation resistance and the velocity factor of your wire. I would start with 145 ft or so, measure SWR on the low end of 40 meters and trim from there. And make sure you use a good current balun, don't waste money on a super cheap one. Good luck.
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Aug 31, 2012 15:43
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CQ FD! The region 1 field day starts in about 80 minutes. I won't be collecting points this year, only giving them away, since I'll just be running a fixed station from home. Good luck everyone, especially the /P stations!
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Sep 1, 2012 12:40
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chrisgt posted:Finally got my call sign! And .... The FCC misspelled my name and address. They spelled MARTIN as MARTLH. Go government... You can fix that easily with ULS as was already stated - And you can change all of it as far as I know, as far as your personal info is concerned at least. Bonus points: It's 100% free and they will mail you a new license. You can change your address / submit corrections to it all you like and every time you do they will send you a new license.
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Sep 3, 2012 05:11
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Sniep posted:You can fix that easily with ULS as was already stated - And you can change all of it as far as I know, as far as your personal info is concerned at least. Yep to all of that! I got it corrected right away and got my new license a few days later.
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Sep 3, 2012 23:16
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What's the status of SAARS? Has AG0ON made any contacts?
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Sep 7, 2012 02:51
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Well, just bought my first real radio (a friend lent me a 2M HT but it can't even hit the closest repeater like 3-4 miles away, it's pathetic), an ICom IC-2410H from eBay. Hope it gets here soon, in the condition in the listing, etc. Anyway, what is IRLP & Echolink? One of the repeaters in my area says it's set up for that stuff and it appears to be a way of connecting repeaters over the internet but any more details anybody can offer? Edit: Pretty much everything associated with ham radio on the web seems to be stuck in, yeah, 1995.
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Sep 7, 2012 03:51
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Curly Shuffle posted:What's the status of SAARS? Has AG0ON made any contacts? That is a good question. I'm taking over as station trustee since Absent-Minded Welder is putting up his own repeater in Maryland and the new regs won't let a person be trustee of more than one station at a time. I'm still not on HF. My FT-101 is still in the shop and I don't know when it'll be ready for action again. I don't know if there is still an active EchoLink station for AG0ON, but I can see about setting one up here if there isn't.
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Sep 7, 2012 05:27
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Arcsech posted:Anyway, what is IRLP & Echolink? One of the repeaters in my area says it's set up for that stuff and it appears to be a way of connecting repeaters over the internet but any more details anybody can offer?  Basically, the difference between the two is Echolink can be used with a client on your computer, but IRLP needs actual real live repeaters on each end to use. If you want to use the linking function of a repeater you're probably best off emailing whoever is the trustee to find out what the commands and stuff are.
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Sep 7, 2012 08:11
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Excellent, got my radio in the mail today & made my first contact! I'll probably be hanging out on this repeater, which is IRLP & Echolink connected if you want to call up. I don't want to post my callsign quite this publicly, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one using an IC-2410H so just ask the standard  question.
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Sep 15, 2012 07:10
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edit: Wrong thread I think.
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Sep 17, 2012 21:30
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Planning on taking my General exam saturday. Got the study guide today. Time to cram!
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Sep 18, 2012 20:02
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Pukestain Pal posted:Planning on taking my General exam saturday. Got the study guide today. Time to cram! Good luck on your test. I found that https://www.hamexam.org helped me with studying for my Extra.
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Sep 19, 2012 05:23
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Can I get away with zinc plated steel instead of copper in an RX only dipole? No TX, and my signal is pretty faint. I'd have a RG-58U feedline. I'm having a hell of a time sourcing materials locally. My local home depot has threaded zinc plated rods that are about the correct size, shape, and rigidity. Copper end to end would make this a lot simpler, but I'd have to order it online.
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Sep 21, 2012 02:29
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horse_ebookmarklet posted:Can I get away with zinc plated steel instead of copper in an RX only dipole? No TX, and my signal is pretty faint. I'd have a RG-58U feedline. Yeah, you should be good. Just make sure you have a good connection to the steel. If it were me, I'd get some sandpaper and remove some of the zinc finish and either solder or weld the jointed pieces together in order to be sure the plating doesn't keep the threaded parts shielded from one another. I got a question for you guys... Do you think this tube will work in my FT-101? 
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Sep 26, 2012 01:49
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So this morning there was a backhoe digging a ditch through our front yard, without notice. Turned out it was the power company converting from in-air cables to in-ground cables. We should have been notified, but they got done pretty quickly and the good thing is that we'll have less risk of lightning damage, and there'll be more room for antennas. I wonder if I should ask them to leave a utility pole....
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Sep 26, 2012 17:09
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Vir posted:I wonder if I should ask them to leave a utility pole....
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Sep 26, 2012 23:45
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KJ4PTR checking in. I hold a General license, and was originally licensed in 2009. Currently using Ham Test Online to study for my Extra exam. I own 3 radios. An FT-60, FT-8800r and an FT-450AT. Yes, lots of Yaesu. I currently have a G5RV strung across the yard, and plan to build a fan dipole to replace it.
TheNaeblis fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 12:19
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nmfree posted:It never hurts to ask, they might actually do it.  Some building contractor working next door seems to have cut our phone lines. Vir fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Sep 28, 2012 |
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Sep 28, 2012 09:40
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So, I got caught up in playing an ARG, and a whole lot of it has to do with SSTV signals and other radio fun stuff. Right now I'm stuck on what the hell this is: http://dialer.otp22.com/2012-09-29%2019-13%20UTC%20-%20202-999-3335%20-%209696.wav Any thoughts/ideas?
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Sep 29, 2012 20:32
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I was also going to ask about that ARG. Here's a spectrogram of the sound. Look familiar to anyone?
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Sep 30, 2012 17:59
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Saw this and figure some of my fellow Hams might have an interest. These look both useful and a good value. http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Military...320520244752%26
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Oct 2, 2012 14:40
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Shoot yeah, thanks for posting.
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Oct 2, 2012 20:33
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TheNaeblis posted:Saw this and figure some of my fellow Hams might have an interest. These look both useful and a good value.
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Oct 3, 2012 04:43
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nmfree posted:That is an excellent deal, usually it's $45+ shipped for 12' or 20' of 2' poles... I should jump on that. Yea bought a batch myself. Wish i had the cash to of bought a couple more.
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Oct 4, 2012 03:09
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McRib Sandwich posted:Not when the drive-thru speakerbox transmits on 30 MHz. Why there are 10-meter channels set aside for business use is completely beyond me. I noticed that when driving across I5 and I15 in southern california, we would use a bunch of modified Yaesu radios for race radios, and we pick up drive thru chatter out in the middle of the Mojave desert sometimes  Also picked up radio chatter at various yards and big box stores... kinda odd. Finally going for my Tech license this month. Our team was going to have a bunch of guys get licenses, and we were investigating throwing up a small blimp to raise an antenna during a desert race like a few desert teams do, but we did the math and figured it would be cheaper and less hassle to rent a half dozen iridium phones instead. Anyone have experience with that? Raising an antenna via balloon or blimp?
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Oct 5, 2012 19:40
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Numbers station alert! (on 20 meters) I was on w4ax.com tonight listening to the bands. I have to do it over the net now, my old shack is now my son's bedroom. I am looking at the waterfalls on the site and there is an odd looking signal at 14.132, LSB. I click on it and its a person reading phonetic alphabet letters with some numbers. "oscar whiskey uniform kilo 4 whiskey..." I was listening for over 20 minutes. There was an occasional pause, and the person reading even switched to a different person once. Another person who was listening with me on the site said they had heard it last night too. So maybe its a nightly thing? It stopped around 10:45PM EDT. Not sure when it starts, the other listener said that they had been listening for an hour. So what do you think it is, fellow ham goons? The signal was strong for 20 meters that late this time of year, it was about the only signal on the 20 meter waterfall. Maybe it was coming from near Atlanta, GA, where the receivers are for the web site.
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Oct 13, 2012 04:32
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Speaking of oddness on the stations, I'm hearing what seem like random tones at 7,077 KHz in CW mode. My current antenna is utter crap but they come in very clearly. Anybody else notice this? Any ideas? Also, speaking of that, I'm finally in a real house and can hopefully get some sort of real antenna. Any suggestions? I have my radio set up near a window at the front of the house, so I can run a line outside. I'd like to get something < $100 if possible, for the HF bands... anything you can suggest is welcome, I'm not picky about bands (anything is better than what I'm picking up now, i.e. not much at all) Edit: I think I figured it out, googling a bit more turned up http://www.qsl.net/ws1sm/digital.html which seems to tell me it's JT65 digital protocol, which hangs around 7076. Cool. Pham Nuwen fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Oct 13, 2012 |
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Oct 13, 2012 05:43
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Numbers stations will never get old.
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Oct 14, 2012 04:47
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Can somebody help me figure out what's going on with my receiver? As I spin through the frequencies, I get this very strong tone coming in about every 50-100 kHz (in the 10m band, at least). I've uploaded a recording of one instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxGi3I4wEak I don't know if this is something to be expected or not, if anyone can tell me what's causing those signals I'd appreciate it. Edit: youtube instead of the busted-rear end link Pham Nuwen fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Oct 14, 2012 |
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Oct 14, 2012 20:23
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That file doesn't seem to be present, but you might want to start by checking for local RFI. Try unplugging anything that's wireless from your computer while the radio's on and see if it has an effect. I found that my graphics tablet made a poo poo-ton of noise all over the HF spectrum, so you might discover something similar.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:05
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Pham Nuwen posted:Can somebody help me figure out what's going on with my receiver? As I spin through the frequencies, I get this very strong tone coming in about every 50-100 kHz (in the 10m band, at least). I've uploaded a recording of one instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxGi3I4wEak I don't know if this is something to be expected or not, if anyone can tell me what's causing those signals I'd appreciate it. Sounds like normal 'birdies' to me. Some of it may be from antenna/feedline placement, some is from the interaction of the different intermediate frequencies internal to the radio.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:24
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