Category: radio

Thank You AmateurLogic.TV!

My internet capability here is rather limited, especially when it comes to large downloads. I had seen a few episodes of AmateurLogic before I left the States and now I wanted more. But try as I might, the download usually timed out before I could get the whole episode. I sent Jimmy an 2GB SD card with a SASE and asked if he could mail me back some of the earlier episodes. Not only did he fill the SD card, but he included a CD with the complete collection of AmateurLogic episodes. You guys are great! He also asked if I could send a video clip of our radio activities here…. hmmm, maybe I can do a segment on my MARS station. More to follow…

For your consideration

Here is a great ham webpage. Explore the links to the left under the Site Map. Dave, G3VGR, is a rabid CW enthusiast: “CW is my favorite mode of operation. I no longer operate any other modes as none give me anywhere near as much enjoyment as sending and receiving Morse. My microphones are stored safely somewhere in the garage and I removed the SSB option board from my K2 a while ago. I am a member of 8 CW clubs and like to participate in their activities.” He’s got a great collection of CW keys.

He also has a great collection of QRP rigs and homebrews a lot of his own equipment: “I am a Radio Amateur, not an Amateur Radio Operator”. Great quote!

I recently read this blog – from it’s first entry back in Jan 2004 up to today’s. Right off the bat, the blog looks cool. I like the MFJ-564B paddle as the background image. The QSL cards stacked along the right side are very cool. I enjoy the blog’s focus. Michael, WA5ICA, also only operates CW. He starts his blog adventure with two MFJ QRP rigs (15M and 20M) and operates from his truck.


It is interesting to see his operations and equipment change over time (participating in contests from the driveway, trying different CW keys, getting a new rig, new antenna). I invite you to start from the first post and work your way forward, I think you’ll consider it time well spent.

Link List

Jeff, KE9V, took down his blogroll. I completely understand why he did it… but I used it for my daily stroll through ham blogdom. If I was squared away, I’d have one of those RSS aggregators – I’d be able to neatly peruse through the latests posts. But I’ve never been able to get the hang of using those. I panicked a bit when I saw the blogroll was gone – but then I attempted to piece together what was there and added in some other blogs that I enjoy as well. So now over on the left side my link list is much longer than before. The beauty of my blog is that it doesn’t get much traffic, so I won’t run into the same problem Jeff had…. and I’ll easily be able to take my morning walk through what I believe is the best in amateur radio blogging.

QSL Cards… what makes a winner?

My dad has recently upgraded to General and has been getting on the air making contacts. This isn’t the first time he’s been on HF or exchanged QSL cards. Back in his younger days, he held the call KN6ILL (I Love Lucy) and operated an HT-20 transmitter and a National NC-57 for a receiver with an 80 meter dipole. His license lapsed but now he is back in the game with an IC-718. He is making regular contacts using PSK-31 and has started to receive QSL cards. But he hasn’t made up his own cards yet. I figured I’d try an help with a rough draft – something to get the creative juices flowing.

KD6EUG_qsl_draft

Wikipedia defines a QSL card as a written confirmation of either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, or television station. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and many are sent through the mail as a standard postcard. QSL cards derived their name from the Q code “QSL”, which means “I acknowledge receipt.”

I really enjoy QSL cards, both receiving them in the mail from other hams verifying our QSOs and designing my own to send out as an acknowledgment of the contact on my end.

The appearance of your QSL card can be important for many. It gives the recipient a snapshot of you… and I find it difficult to do that on the small area provided by a 3.5″ by 5.5″ card.

The general agreed upon minimum elements of a QSL card are the following:
– Your callsign
– Basic information concerning the QSO
+ the other party’s callsign
+ time/date of contact in UTC/GMT/Zulu
+ band or frequency of the QSO
+ mode (SSB/CW/digital mode)
+ signal report (RST)
– Your name and mailing address

Additionally most hams include the following information which is useful for a number of different awards:
– County (for the county hunters)
– Grid (for the grid hunters)
– ITU and CQ zones

After that the door is wide open on what is found on a QSL card. Many include membership numbers which go towards earning awards (FISTS, SKCC, 10-10, etc.). Some also include one or more logos of clubs and organizations they belong to (ARRL, ARES, MARS, SKYWARN, contest club, local club, etc.).

Many hams like to individualize their QSL cards with a picture showing their hamshack, antenna farm, QRP rig, mobile setup. Others put a picture of a some notable location or landmark near where they live (National Park, major league stadium, civil war battlefield, etc.). And a few portray an additional hobby they are active in beyond (or complimenting) ham radio. This is where you can really set your card apart from others, make it stand out in a crowd.

I think some sound advise is to keep the card relatively clean and simple – don’t try to do too much in such a small space. Have fun and make your card something you are proud to share with others.

Here are some other sites with more information on QSL cards:
– eham.net: QSL Cards
– WA7S: QSL Cards – How to Make Your Own
– QSL Factory
– The QSL Man

W6PO – Rememberance

http://sutherland.blogs.com/w6po/

This site was put together by Janice, KB6FNS, for her father, Bob Sutherland, W6PO, SK. I really enjoyed reading the entries about Bob’s amazing ham activities. The mix of childhood recollections, remembrances from fellow hams, and pictures are wonderful.

“As a kid, one task would be to turn on the ‘shop’ for my dad before he got home, so all the tubes would be warmed up. (Probably the ham shack too) There is a big breaker box inside the door with a bunch of switches that turn everything on.
During moonbounce activity, we were not supposed to answer the phone until it rang more than once. The ‘one ringer’ signal was from another ham who was verifying that the pre-arranged schedule was on and he was ready.”

Chicks dig amateur radio!

From the ASU website:

(Seated: KC7MOD and KD7LGH. Background: Six members of the Sun Devil Dance Team.)

While gathering before the upcoming football game, a group of ladies from the ASU Sun Devil Dance Team stopped by to watch W7ASU operate in the 2004 Collegiate QSO Party. No doubt impressed by our smooth (contest) operating techniques, we expect these ladies will be licensed in the near future. We just can’t wait until they join our club!

…. ..- -… -… .- …. ..- -… -… .-

note the expression on the face of KD7LGH – you can tell he is enjoying the contest!

Electric Radio – Celebrating a Bygone Era


I recently put in an order to AES for a few items I really didn’t need. Fortunately AES ships to APO addresses… while HRO does not. When stateside I prefer to order from HRO, having had great overall past experience with them. Quick delivery, no fuss, no muss. If I have a problem, I can call the store directly. I’ve also used HRO to give gifts (Father’s Day, Christmas, Birthday) to my dad, KD6EUG, and that has worked very smoothly. When I’m back visiting the folks in Sunnyvale, CA – I always try to stop by the HRO store there. It is near Fry’s Electronics – not far from Moffett Field. HRO also helped field the US Army Amateur Radio Society and the Baghdad Amateur Radio Society a complete radio setup, to include IC-7000, power supply, CW key, etc. HRO’s good people. However… they don’t ship to APO addresses, so I ordered from AES. Now AES will allow you to use a stateside billing address, but will send your order to the APO address. But here is the kicker – AES sends an invoice to your billing address… so the XYL gets it and finds out you have been ordering a bunch of stuff you don’t really need instead of saving money for our upcoming trip to Europe. But I digress. One of the items I ordered was the August 2007 issue of the periodical Electric Radio. What a wonderful little magazine! I’ve talked about other radio magazines in the past and lately I’ve taken a real shine to World Radio.

Electric Radio is a real jewel. Inside the front cover, the magazine states it’s intent upfront: Electric Radio is all about restoration, maintenance, and continued use of vintage radio equipment. So what does this have to do with me? I don’t restore or use vintage equipment. I wouldn’t know the difference between Collins, Drake, National, or anything other type of old, dusty metal cabineted stuff. Despite this, the magazine is still a joy to read. Page 2 talks about Electric Radio’s “Honor Your Elmer Contest” – how great of an idea is that?! Page 39 has an amazing article about the life of George Mouridian, W1GAC, SK. The magazine itself is the size of a church pamphlet with a nice sturdy color cover. The pictures inside are black and white – but what better captures the essence of classic radio than black and white photos. The gear is wonderful to see… massive tubes, huge dials, looks like some of the rigs could have easily of come from Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. I probably won’t subscribe and you may not either – but I do recommend you pick up at least one copy to have a look for yourself.

AEN5AC

During my deployment to Iraq, I wanted to setup and operate a MARS station. I know that MARS is not nearly as well used by deployed soldiers as it once was to send MARSGrams and use phone patches to talk to family back home. Access to the internet and AT&T Call Centers now enable most soldiers to stay in touch. However, it is always good planning to have a back up for communications – and a MARS station provides that. I have been through initial MARS training back in Virginia, completing the basic course and participating in local nets. It was good to get that training because it provided me a better understanding of how MARS functions and well as educating me on basic net procedures. MARS nets are generally not procedurally similar to how military voice radio communications function today. It was good to be familiar with the differences.

Applying for a MARS callsign to operate in Iraq is straight forward. I contacted Mr. Daniel Wolff, AEM1WF, in Germany. Mr. Wolff processed my application and assigned me my MARS callsign as well as provided me with the regional net plans and basic MARS information for operating in the region.

For a station setup, I am using an ICOM IC-7000. The rig is a reasonably priced, full-featured radio with a modest size that lends itself to portable operations.

The primary means of moving MARS traffic in the region is digital, specifically Pactor using the WL2K/Airmail PMBO (Participating Mail Box Office) backbone. To add a Pactor capability to my station I initially chose the Kantronics KAM XL. Although this TNC is only capable of Pactor 1, it can do the job.

I wanted flexibility for the power system. We our currently on the Iraqi power grid which is 240V. At some point my team may relocate to a US-controlled area where the power source could possibly be 120V. I needed a power supply that was capable of using both a 120V or 240V electrical source – the Astron SS-30M suited this requirement nicely. For power distribution, I am using a RIGrunner which uses the Anderson Powerpole connectors. I’ve had past success using Anderson Powerpoles; they provide flexibility of operation and a dependable connection. The power grid here is up and down – I needed a battery backup to provide sustainable power during the brief outages. The solution was an 18Ah battery tied in through West Mountain Radio’s PWRgate. The PWRgate automatically transitions from the Astron SS-30M power supply to the backup battery should shore power fail and does so without a drop of supplied amps. I’ve been in the middle of a connection with the regional WL2K/PMBO when the power grid dropped and the PWRgate kept my the power coming without interruption.

I wanted a simple, efficient antenna that provided coverage from 80M to 10M with a modest footprint and that I could deploy with minimal assistance. A 130′ inverted vee was the solution. I am fortunate to be at a location where our one-story building has a high 20′ ceiling. There was also an unused 30′ OE-254 mast already emplaced on top of the roof that I could use to support the center point of the vee. Some more scrounging around the camp rewarded me with additional support polls that I used to get both ends of the vee 35′ off the ground. The building and surrounding structures allowed me to orient the antenna NE/SW, leaving the sides to face NW towards AEM1US in Germany and SE to AEN5QT in Qatar – the two nearest PMBOs. I used ladderline from the center point down to a 4:1 balun and into the LDG AT-200pro antenna tuner.

Installing Airmail (version 3.3.081) on my PC was straight forward with good directions provided by “Airmail for WL2K MARS_Basic Training. PDF” and additional help from the Yahoo Group. The KAM XL TNC (version 1.07050) is supported by Airmail and configures all the Airmail software settings for you. I did a hard reset on KAM XL then configured the KAM XL’s XMITLVL setting via Airmail’s Tools>Dumb Terminal. I used the CAL command and then the T command (send square wave) to create a signal into the IC-7000. I incrementally increased the XMITLVL value until I peaked the IC-7000’s ALC meter into the red. I then backed the XMITLVL setting down one. I make slight adjustments of the XMITLVL depending on the band I am operating on.

With Airmail, connecting to a PMBO is relatively easy. Bringing up the HF Module and selecting Mode>Monitoring Enabled allows you to see all communications between the PC and the modem.

Once you select Mode>Monitoring Enabled you’ll see:
cmd= MON ON/OFF
reply=MONITOR was OFF/OFF

Close the HF Module window and then go back to Airmail and select the HF Module again.

This time when the HF Module is stared, Airmail connects to the KAM XL and makes the following setting adjustments (which you can see because “Monitoring Enabled” is ON):

2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS KAM-XL modem initialized OK
cmd= XFLOW OFF
reply=XFLOW was OFF
cmd= ECHO ON
reply=ECHO was ON
cmd= XMITECHO ON
reply=XMITECHO was ON
cmd= TXFLOW OFF
reply=TXFLOW was OFF
cmd= XFLOW OFF
reply=XFLOW was OFF
cmd= TRFLOW OFF
reply=TRFLOW was OFF
cmd= AUTOCR 0
reply=AUTOCR was 0
cmd= AUTOLF OFF
reply=AUTOLF was OFF
cmd= CRADD OFF
reply=CRADD was OFF
cmd= MAXUSERS 10/10
reply=MAXUSERS was 10/10
cmd= CRSUP OFF/OFF
reply=CRSUP was OFF/OFF
cmd= LFADD OFF/OFF
reply=LFADD was OFF/OFF
cmd= LFSUP OFF/OFF
reply=LFSUP was OFF/OFF
cmd= ARQID 0
reply=ARQID was 0
cmd= ARQBBS OFF
reply=ARQBBS was OFF
cmd= PTHUFF ON
reply=PTHUFF was ON
cmd= SHIFT MODEM
reply=SHIFT was MODEM
cmd= SPACE 3000
reply=SPACE was 1600
cmd= MARK 1400
reply=MARK was 1400
cmd= SPACE 1600
reply=SPACE was 3000
cmd= INV ON
reply=INVERT was OFF
cmd= MYPT AEN5AC
reply=ok
cmd= MON OFF/OFF
reply=MONITOR was OFF/OFF
cmd= PACTOR
reply=ok
cmd= MYPT AEN5AC
reply=ok

Next, select the callsign of the PMBO you are trying to reach. Combined with the integrated ITS HF Propagation software, it is easy to select the best frequency to attempt a connection. Airmail has the ability to control your rig directly and adjust the proper frequency and mode prior to transmitting. Adjustments can also be made manually by using the dial frequency/mode being displayed in the lower right corner of the HF Module window.

When trying to connect, Airmail will make several 1 to 2 second transmissions attempting to raise the distant PMBO. I adjusted the IC-7000s MONITOR function to allow me to hear and confirm that the data is being transmitted. The following is displayed in Airmail’s HF Module window when you initiate a connection:

2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Calling (PMBO’s callsign)

cmd=PACTOR (PMBO’s callsign)
reply=ok

Upon connecting, something like the following appears in the HF Module window:

2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Connected to (PMBO’s callsign)
(LINKED TO (PMBO’s callsign))
1AEN5AC (This is your callsign)
(Pactor1: )
[WL2K-2.1.8-B2FHIMT$]
Welcome to…. (info concerning this PMBO you connected to)

The Following are a list of frequencies that this PMBO scans.
Please note that not all these frequencies can be used from all locations.
Please consult your Netplan for proper usage in your area.

(PMBO’s callsign) last contacted the Central server 1 min ago.

AEN5AC de (PMBO’s callsign) QTC 0 Msgs 0 bytes>
[AirMail-3.3.081-B2FHIM$]
; (PMBO’s callsign) de AEN5AC
FF
(PACTOR STANDBY)
2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Disconnected from (PMBO’s callsign)

Airmail uploads outgoing mail before it downloads incoming mail – the process is automatic.

Despite heavy QRM and QRN, Pactor is able to get through with just a 100 watts. Pactor 1 has a slow data rate, but can get simple text emails through quickly. I have recently upgraded the TNC to an SCS PTC-IIusb Modem with Pactor 3 capability. The PTC-IIusb provides a more stable connection and better data rate transfer.

Future plans for the station include mounting everything in a road case for easy portability.

1 Faraday = 96 485.3415 coulombs

International Toroid Day, August 29th 0000-2359 Zulu time.


Special event station W1T honors the 176th anniversary of the invention of the toroid by Michael Faraday, and will be operated by many toroid luminaries, including Mychael the Toroid Guy. Please see http://w1t.org for operating times, frequencies, and modes or listen for the call “CQ T”
(long dash) or “CQ Toroid Day.”

Progress… slow and steady

– I’m making a solid effort to improve my working knowledge of basic electronics. I’ve been working through Understanding Basic Electronics and Chapter 4, Electrical Fundamentals, from the ARRL 2007 Handbook.


Honestly, this stuff does not come easy to me. But I’m committed to slug through it.
– Also working on my CW skills. It is slow going, but it feels great when I can actually get solid copy on a real QSO.

And totally unrelated:
– Been watching the new Battlestar Galatica series. I remember watching the original way back when. I’m enjoying the episodes so far.