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

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  

NAQCC April Sprint

So I'm not a contester at all.  That requires operating skill, dedication and time to commit to the contests.  The NAQCC monthly sprints, on the other hand, are low stress, fun, short and did I say fun?

I have wanted to take part many times over the years but either didn't have the right band antenna or a good setup...or so I thought.  With the COVID-19 lock down of sorts I have had more time on the radio which has given me more confidence on the radio.  As well, I listened to the Ditdit.fm Podcast on the NAQCC and their contest sprints.  I've had a member number (1967) for years but just never used it.  It was time.  I looked on the NAQCC site this morning to see when the next sprint was and it was tonight!  I have a 130' random wire and my little tuner that will put me on 40 and 20...just not 80.  Those are the 3 bands the sprint runs on.

The toughest part, once it got going at 20:30 Eastern time, was dealing with the congestion.  It took a bit to learn to find a signal and focus on it alone and ignore all the others around you/it.  It makes me wish I had the narrow CW filter in my FT-817.  Anyway, 20M wasn't very good but 40 was full.  My plan was to stay for an hour and take what I got and be happy.  I didn't really feel the need to call CQ NA because I could just dial around and find others calling.  The sprint runs generally between 7.030 - 7.045.  All in all I made 6 QSOs and didn't stumble too much through them.  I was pleased with my effort and results.  The total points score was 144 after multipliers for using a Straight Key and the SPC multipliers.  I know many get dozens of Qs in the log but this was about me getting more airtime.  I used one of the popular loggers called the NAQCC Sprint Logger which was created by Ron Bower, AC2C.  It worked well when I went to enter my contacts after the fact and I was able to do a report that I cut and paste into the log submission page of the NAQCC.  It was painless.  This was a great experience and I hope to take part again next month.

Cheers es 72 de Scott ve3vvf,

Tuner Covers the Bands

I took some time yesterday afternoon on the Good Friday "day off" to try out the QRPGuys Multi Z tuner some more.  I started on 40M, where I didn't have any luck finding a match the other day, and had better luck today.  There's a hi/Lo Z switch and when I switched it to Hi I was able to match 40M quite well.  I even had a QSO with Ron, W3SSF, in Baltimore, MD.  It was turning into a ragchew but had to cut it short because of QRM.  30M tunes alright but I can obtain a better match without the tuner. 20M tuned up nicely and I may have had a brief exchange with 4A60O but he was quick and there were a lot of other callers in the pileup.  I didn't hear my exact call but very similar to mine.  He may have misheard my call because of the QRP.  He did not go in the log.  17, 12, 15 and 10 meters also tuned up will enough but those bands were pretty dead so there were no QSOs to be had.  It was a bit chilly but mostly it was a cool damp very strong wind so I operated from inside the barn.  Even with that my fingers were starting to get a little cold so I packed it in for the afternoon but not before proving to myself that this little tuner will work well for me on this random wire through a LDG 9:1 unun until I can get the doublet in the air.

Little Tuner Helpful

When I built the QRPGuys Multi Z tuner it was so I could use it with the Doublet I plan to put up (once I get a launching method) but then I thought I'd give it a try with my random wire since the Doublet isn't quite there yet.  The random wire is about 125' long, I believe,  and works very well on 30M but that's about it.  I hooked the little unit up via a short run of Co-ax to my LDG 9:1 Unun and I was able to tune it quite well on 20M and on 17M.  40M was not so agreeable and I didn't try 12 or 15 but if I were going to use this antenna and tuner together regularly some adjustments to the wire length would likely be required.  I tuned around 20 for a while and there was a lot of activity and I was getting a little over-zealous trying to reach a Brazilian station and also a few other DX stations but I really should have known better and stuck with something more domestic.  As it was, my battery was down to 10-11v and I knew my FT-817 wasn't even putting out close to 5 watts into a non resonant antenna...during poor conditions.   All that being said I was happy with the tuner and how easy it was to operate by tuning to dim the tuning LED.  As the LED gets dimmer your match is better.  It was super handy and I think I am going to enjoy using it.  Tonight I'll charge my battery and test it again on more bands on the next nice day.

A Beautiful Day

Saturday was one of the nicest days we have had in quite some time.  The wind was down and the temperatures were in the mid teens.  This was a perfect opportunity to spend some time outdoors.  As the yard dries up there will be a lot to do and being stuck at home will give me no excuse not to get stuff done.  After first doing some raking of twigs from the weeping willow (there are sooooooo many from this sort of tree...especially after a windy winter) I figured it was a perfect opportunity to do some outdoor operating.  I got my lawn chair and collapsible table out and brought out my portable kit.  Everything is still brown but it's better than being white.  I took this panoramic shot.  This summer my plan was to have that old storage shed taken down and removed but with COVID that has fallen down the list of what is important.

The sun was warm and I hooked up to the random wire.  Since 30M is the only band I can work without a tuner that's where I parked myself.  The DX stations I could hear were too weak for them to hear me so I had a couple of QSOs with domestic stations.  The band was fairly active.  I could hear at least one SOTA station and a couple of SKCC stations.  I was unsure of the SOTA exchange.  I was unsure if someone calling CQ SOTA is looking for a SOTA station or they are activating a SOTA station.  With my CW operating confidence (or lack there of) always hanging over my head I avoided the SOTA caller and instead my first call was a 2x QRP with AA9AA in Wisconsin and I always enjoy a 2xQRP...probably one of my favourite contact types.  I also called back to an SKCC station and had a brief QSO where we exchanged SKCC numbers names and Stare/Province.  I was just listening to some of the DitDit podcasts this week and one of them was all about the SKCC.  I've had a SKCC member number for over a decade now but I've never done much with it.  It's nice to be able to have a brief exchange with someone with a shared element.

I'm happy the snow is gone now and the yard is drying up.  I'm going to appreciate the increased radio operating time I'm going to have this spring.  Soon we will be planting the vegetable gardens and getting the flower patches cleaned up.  The perennials are already coming up.

With the warmer weather, as well, is the ability to start practising my bagpipes outdoors.  It's not an activity conducive to indoor practising when it comes to not annoying other people/cats in the house.  Soon, I hope.

*NOTE - I looked up the SOTA details and found that someone calling CQ SOTA is, in fact, activating a summit.  There's a whole community of chasers out there too.

Cheers for now es 72/37
de Scott

Doublet Dilemmas

When it comes to installing my, yet-to-be-built, Doublet antenna my biggest concern is weight and whether it will need a center support.  If it does need a center support what will I use and how strong will it be?  My original intention was to install an 80M doublet just because I have the space but that antenna will be significantly heavier than one for 40M.  The QRP Guys Multi Z Tuner that I just completed only tunes 10-40 so an 80M doublet is definitely overkill so it only makes sense to only put up what I will need in the immediate future.  As well, I have my random wire that will be modified to be my 80M antenna with the addition of the QRP Guys EFHW mini-tuner kit for 80M.  Once these projects are ready to test I will do so using my FT-817.

Here is the image from the QRP Guys website:

If I still need support for the doublet I have a couple of options I've been contemplating.  I could use a guyed wooden support made from pressure treated 2" x 2" or I could use a guyed PVC water pipe mast with about the same 2" diameter.  I live in a windy location but the center of the doublet will be somewhat shielded from the wind by my small barn but I still worry about it.  The wind on the antenna wire is not my concern as much as the window feedline is.  It is both heavy and easily caught by the wind.  Only putting it up will tell how these factors play out in real life.  The height this antenna will be remains unclear but I am hoping around 40' up.  One end support is the 40 foot TV tower attached to my house and the other end is a tree over which the para cord will be tossed so the actual height of that end support remains to be seen.

The center of the antenna, since I am unable to 3D print at the library is going to be something I have used before for dipoles, although this one is a bit larger.  It is a PVC water line "T".  It's durable and lightweight and I can easily drill or melt holes for the wires to pass through :

Cheers for now,
72/73 de Scott

Spring is Here Today

With the lengthening days, warmer temperatures and the reality of being stuck at home due to work policies surrounding the COVID-19 "situation" has me thinking about radio a lot more often these days.  Last weekend I decided to do some outdoor operating using my random wire antenna.  The temperature was 4C so it was quite bearable and I also had a nicer view than I would have had I sat inside looking at the barn wall.  Basically I sat just outside the barn window and ran a short length of RG-174 out the window to a chair.  The other end was connected to my LDG 9:1 Unun.  I set up and in 30 minutes I had 3 nice contacts on 30M and two of them were 2xQRP which always makes me extra happy.

 I have my rig, battery, key, clock and ear buds in a small Pelican case which I lined with "Cubed Pick Foam" from the local Canadian Tire store.  This allows me to keep everything organized and works a lot better than the computer carrying case I used to use.  The battery is a 7mAh and is heavy and would crush the other things in my bag.  Now it's held snugly in place by the foam. 

I have a small collapsible camping table and it worked great for keeping things off my lap.   I enjoy being outside again and with the COVID crisis looking like it's not going to end any time in the near future it will give me a chance to operate more often that I otherwise would have time for.  I am also taking some of my spare time to brush up on my code rx speed.  I started out using the standard G4FON program I installed years ago but have been found two other resources that are extremely helpful at increasing character and word recognition which will help with head copying and get past the barrier that exists when you try and write everything down during a QSO.  One of these resources is Kurt Zoglmann's Morse Code Ninja site which is full of links to Youtube videos he's created with all sorts of words, prosigns, call signs, etc at various speeds for aural practice for word and character recognition.  He has learned Morse Code to the extreme where he has even had books converter to code and listens to them.  He's pretty hard core on code.

The second site is called Morse Camp and it is quite simply laid out and easy to use for word recognition.  It plays words for you at a predefined speed (default appears to be 30WPM) and keeps repeating them until you think you know what it is and hit the space bar.  This shows the word or letter/number combination and you indicate with a left or right arrow whether you were correct or not and it moves on.  You can select word length but as you progress it increments on its own.

I think this seclusion we are all experiencing can be a challenge for those who suffer from anxiety or depression, let alone the rest of us who are also feeling the stress of the unknown be it job security, financial security, or even toilet paper security, apparently.  They say the key is to make sure to get out of the house for a walk or a hike or some other stress relieving activity.  Radio is that for me and I plan to do it as much as I can fit it in.  I don't need to sit there for hours...30 minutes is plenty and even just 1 QSO makes me happy when operating QRP.

72/73 de Scott ve3vvf