Beautiful Weekend

 The fall weather is some of the best weather to be outside in.  My only operating position is outside so this is helpful.  This past weekend I was able to test my vertical fishing pole antenna.  Saturday was sunny but the wind was cool and the temperature was only 6C.  I've not gotten used to that just yet this fall so my hands were getting cold at times.  I try to set up out of the wind but sometimes it's just not entirely possible.  Anyway I was able to make a couple of contacts using the FT-817 and the MFJ-16010 L tuner.  The instructions say that no radials or counterpoise is necessary.  I tried it this way on Friday/Saturday and was able to make contacts with Arkansas and Georgia, USA and Winnipeg, Manitoba on 17m and 15m.  All 3 stations are just over 1000 miles from here.

On Sunday it was almost 16C and less windy so that was great.  I added four 17' radials laid out at 90 degrees to each other.  I had contact with Eastern France which was 3700 miles on the 12m band.  I'm not saying that the radials helped but they didn't seem to hinder so I will keep with them unless I find otherwise.

I hear a lot of traffic but most of the CW is too fast for me so I have fewer opportunities for contacts but that's okay.  I can only sit for short periods of time so that works just fine for me.  My receiving speed will improve as I get back into the swing of things. 

Don't they say a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work?  How can this not be enjoyable? 

Cheese es 72/73

Awakening

 It has been a very long time since I have posted anything on here mostly because I have been inactive in the hobby.  I spent a lot of my spare time dedicated to pipe band work/play and when things get busy in life our "lower tier" hobbies go onto the sidelines.  This happened with radio.  I also spent time working with vintage stereo receivers/speakers and I still am a big fan of physical media.  I do, however, think that the time has come to get back on the air.  I have actually set my bagpipes down for now for a number of reasons which I won't get into here but they are not gone...just off to the side after 13 years.

This time of year always screams "antenna work" for some reason.  I think I have always been more of a winter operator so this feels like the start of the season...kind of like a hockey team.  This past weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) I finally took some time to try out one of the projects I have been planning for.  I had purchased a 20' fishing pole similar to the old Wonderpole I had used for years which no longer seems to be available.  I am trying out a "random" wire vertical (29') wrapped around the pole and mounted on a camera tripod with an MFJ-16010 L-tuner which is designed for random wire antennas.  The tuner says that, for a random wire, no ground wire is needed.  Yesterday I set this up for the first time and decided to try it both ways.  I first tried with no wire on the ground side and then I added one because it just feels wrong without and I could find no info on line where someone has used the 16010 in this manner.  I did see one YouTube video using it in this manner without a radial or counterpoise and they seemed to be having success however the video was short and not a lot of detail was given.  I connected a 17' radial.  I went through the bands figuring out the settins on the tuner for each band and was able to get a good match on almost all of the bands from 80 metres thru 15.  12 did not match well.  I set up my chair beside the tripod and it felt comfortable again.  I have missed it.

I heard some good activity briefly on 20 and 30 but the bands were in rough shape yesterday afternoon here in eastern Ontario.  I will venture out again later in the week or next weekend to try again.  I was forced to use a power supply as my old battery had lost its ability to hold a charge.  I need a new battery as I hate using a power supply which can be noisy.

here are a couple of photos of the setup on the tripod:

 

The dowel slides into the fishing pole and sits on the 1"x 2" scrap of wood in a hole I drilled so it would have some stability.  It seems pretty solid.  More testing to come this week and hopefully some contacts with my rusty CW.

Cheers es 72/73 

Moving shacks

 I don't really have a 'shack' of sorts as most hams do.  I operate from my yard close to where my antennas are.  During the inclement months I would go into my small barn and operate from a small table and chair.  I have a small space heater to take the edge off when it's -30C and that has served me well.  The problem with my barn is that I share it with raccoons and squirrels.  It is an unwinnable battle with the current state of the barn and access points the critters have to its interior.  I'm not terribly upset that they are there.  They don't cause me any other grief...they do not get into my garbage or anything like that.

I also had an old decrepit large shed/building which raccoons lived under and I could store some things in but the doors wouldn't shut properly and the roof was rotting.  It needed to come down.  I tackled the task which ended up being much more work than I had anticipated.  It took two 20 yard dumpsters and two 40 yard dumpsters to take care of it all.  It took me months to deal with this very well built shed.  Now that it's gone I am having a new, but significantly smaller, pre-made 10' x 14' shed delivered from Pine Grove Sheds in Alexandria, Ontario, just 20 minutes away.  This shed will be located on the opposite side of the yard from the barn and I wondered if I could use this new shed as a new operating position or shack.  It will be protected from the elements and the raccoons and I am excited at the prospect.  I was thinking of putting a vertical antenna up as I had originally thought I would also keep the old operating position in the barn until I went in the other day and saw raccoon poop on my table.  I'm done with the barn.  I will move my antennas to new trees and have a new permanent shack.  This will allow me to leave things there without fear of rodent destruction.  I am getting excited at the prospect of this new locale.  I will post pictures once it arrives in a few weeks.

When I was thinking of putting up a random wire vertical I did a lot of youtubing and reading and I learned a lot about the differences between the EFHW and the random wire antenna.  I learned more about 9:1 ununs and their proper application as compared to the 49:1 auto transformer used in EFHW antennas.  I really enjoy when these concepts that I didn't quite fully understand become more clear to me.  I had been trying to use a 9:1 unun for my 80M antenna at 1/2 wavelength.  I had purchased a EFHW 80M mini tuner that plays the role of tuner and matching transformer but a part was incorrect in the bag and had been waiting for its replacement.  I didn't understand why the unun was giving me an "ok" match but not a great one.  I made some contacts but the SWR on the FT-817 was still fairly high.  Now I understand the difference between the 2 antenna types better and the need for the 49:1 transformer and that the 9:1 just wasn't going to cut it.  Once the proper toroid arrives and I finish the 80M EFHW tuner the 9:1 can be put away until the next time I decide to put up a vertical or random wire antenna....with a proper counterpoise.

Cheers for now,

Scott ve3vvf

Colaisde na Gàidhlig

 On a non-radio related topic, I have been spending more time this summer interested in my Scottish heritage.  My family, on my mother's side, comes from Scotland with a hint of Wales and Ireland thrown in for good measure.  My family comes from Nova Scotia and is chock full of MacDonalds, Masons, MacIntoshs, Frasers and Smiths.  In the north-eastern part of Nova Scotia there is a large portion of the population with Scottish ancestry and many had Gaelic spoken in their homes until very recently.  Cape Breton Island is part of Nova Scotia slightly to the north-east.  Nowadays it is connected by the Canso Causeway but before its construction in the early 1950s the Scottish culture was thriving on this little island. Even now there are homes where Gaelic is spoken.  The music and culture that was brought from Scotland hundreds of years ago is still celebrated and, to a certain extent, lived.

In Cape Breton there is a college called The Gaelic College whose purpose is to promote and spread the culture so it is not lost.  This week I begin Beginner Level 1 of Gaelic language.  It is a 28 week course offered through Zoom classes with exercises and group work and 1 on 1 practise with class mates.  I am very excited to begin learning.  I had been using the site Duolingo for a month or 2 to learn and I did learn a lot of the basics but it isn't the same as proper instruction from a real person.

I will post my progress.

Tapadh leibh (Thank you)

Scott 72/73

Summer's gone already

 Summertime is not a big operating time for me these days but as the weather gets cooler I start to think of antennas and what I need to do before the snow flies.  I had put up the doublet in the spring and it ran just touching the weeping willow tree because that was the path between my 2 supports.  The antenna got tangled up with the tree and I was not pleased with using the tuner each time I moved on the band or changed bands.  Some bands worked well and others not so much.  I decided to rethink my options.  I had put up an end fed wire for 40 and that was fine with the little tuner I built but I decided to drop it and put up a tuned dipole instead.  The end fed is a compromise and I wanted to do a fan dipole using the window line.  I made one with 40 on top and 17 underneath.  This antenna doesn't interfere with any trees and I reused my center support from the doublet making this antenna slightly inverted V-ish.  Now I have the 2 fan dipoles (20/30) and (17/40) and my EFHW for 80 which I am still not completely pleased with but I have it and will use it this winter.  It works and I make QSOs and that is what counts.

I plan on taking part in more NAQCC monthly sprints this winter and they use 20/40/80 which I now have covered.  I am not a contester but these are low pressure and I really enjoy having 2x QRP QSOs.  The days are getting cooler and my operating position (a lawn chair and card table in the barn next to the window) is ready for me.  The raccoons will soon be coming home to find winter homes and I hope to seal up their access to the barn but it is a challenge as they can be pretty crafty.  They stay on the second floor and don't bother my stuff but I'd rather not have them but that's what you get when you live rurally...that and the red squirrels.

I have  had a couple of QSOs this past weekend but I am still busy with other jobs and not had a lot of time to operate.  Soon enough, I hope.

Cheers es 72/73 -- Scott  

Doublet update

I finished the support post and here is a photo.  It keeps the center of the antenna at about 25' and out of the weeping willow branches.  The wire actually runs north-south.  I am looking south in this picture and the wire goes over that tree just to the left of the support that you can see in the distance.  The near end of the antenna goes over my head to my TV tower behind me.  I installed 2 guy ropes at the top of the 2nd 2x2 to give the antenna more stability because it gets extremely windy here.  It's surprising what you can throw together with what's on hand.  It was only a few hose clamps that I needed to get.

I am happy with the antenna except for 20M which I will install a dipole for.  Incidentally, last night before the support was installed I had a 40M DX QSO with Italy with 5W.  I was very pleased considering the conditions and the band.

Doublet Up and more to come

On Saturday I installed my doublet and the center hangs down to about 23' above the ground.  It's heavy over a long run so it does sag some.  I have decided to prepare my center support to take some of the load off and also to provide me with another use.  More on that later.

I tested my doublet with my tuner and found a very good match on 40, 17 and 15 and a reasonable match on 30, 12 and 10.  I could not match on 20M.  I made some contacts and was pleased with the flexibility I now have across the bands...except 20M.  I thought the issue was the length of my feedline so I trimmed 8' from it and still it behaved about the same.  Someone suggested that the length of the antenna may need some trimming.    I lowered the antenna and trimmed 2' off each end and raised it back up again.  The bands that were reasonable improved slightly in the SWR department but 20M stayed unacceptable.  Rather than fart around with this doublet to get something "reasonable" at the expense of the other bands I decided that I would prefer a tuned antenna for 20M so that I can get back to doing some QRPp work eventually.  I have decided to make a single 20M dipole and support it from the antenna support I plan to install.

In the QRP tradition I want this support to do the job with low expense and also with what I have on hand which is challenging.  I have wood.  I have a patio umbrella stand that anchors with patio stones in the NPM (non-penetrating mount) fashion since I'm not quite ready to dig and bury a 6"x6" or 4"x4" post as a base anchor point just yet.  I have a pulley and I have a 20' fiberglass Wonderpole with the tip broken off.  Originally I was going to use just the top section of this rod as I explained I was going to do in my post Still a Bit Chilly but I have changed my plan a bit to use the whole thing.  The only thing I am missing to get this support up are some hose clamps and some paracord.  I used up all the cord I had on the weekend so I will place an order at the local hardware store for a curbside pickup.

I am using two eight foot 2x2s end to end for the support and then I will strap the Wonderpole to it at the top.  This will give me close to 30' of support.  I may be able to get away with no guys at all, since the Wonderpole is light.   Just below the doublet I will attach a pulley and install a dipole for 20M.  The paracord attached to the legs will give me some added support.  Joining the 2 wood 2x2s end to end is a challenge and here is what I have come up with.

I ripped some 1x8 down to about 2" wide which is the same width as the main support pieces. the pieces are about 2' long.  I sandwich the support pieces at the joints and secured with some screws, wire and hose clamps.  The photos show wire I used but this won't be strong enough.  I don't have any fencing wire or I would use that and hose clamps are easily removed and adjusted.

I have strapped the support pole to the umbrella stand and will add the Wonderpole to it hopefully today,

More to come
Cheers de Scott ve3vvf