KC8QVO

ARRL Gets A New Website

2010-03-24T06:48:00.003-04:00

The American Radio Relay League, ARRL, is launching their new website today! I heard the site was changing at the ARRL's section meeting at the past Columbus Hamfest. I will be curious as to what it looks like.

As per the bulliten on the current site, they will be down for a few hours starting around 10:00AM EDT (1400UTC).

Blogger FTP Publishing To End May 1

2010-03-21T17:45:00.004-04:00

I have been using Google Blogger all this time to get my content up on my site. I just publish over to a different server, which is accessed through my .com address. This is why my blog doesn't have a ".blogspot.com" address.

Well, Google is stopping the support of FTP publishing May 1. This is what allows users like myself to have their own address.

I am not sure what will happen between now and May 1, but hopefully I can get something in the works that will allow me to manage my blog on my .com address. I sure don't want to loose all of my content.

Tarheel Model 200 Screwdriver Antenna - Fixed

2010-03-21T16:55:00.002-04:00

I have been having some SWR problems with my Model 200 Screwdriver antenna, made by Tarheel Antennas. It is an older one, I believe I got mine in 2002. For the most part it has been a great antenna. I have used it for portable, mobile, as well as base use at some point in time or another. The versatility of a Screwdriver antenna makes them hard to beat in a lot of situations.

I suspected the SWR fluctuations were due to a bad connection some where. The first place I checked was the safety spring on the whip. I like to use the 3/8"x24 spring shock absorbers on all of my antennas with that style mount for some safety from impacts. As part of the design there is a wire that runs up the center of the springs (it doesn't matter what size, large or small, they all have it) so that when the whip bends over the stretching of the spring doesn't act like an inductor changing the resonance of the antenna - the wire shorts it out to maintain resonance. After having a spring fail in the past I checked this first. Sure enough, the wire strands inside were corroded and all but one strand was broken.

So I pulled the spring off and directly screwed the whip in to the top of the antenna. No luck. The SWR still went all over the place going down the road. Since we had a pretty good winter this year with lots of snow I figured all the subsequent road salt might be playing part of the problem by getting up into the coil. So I figured I had a bit bigger problem on my hands than replacing (or just removing) the spring.

I decided to take the antenna apart to check it out. I have had this one apart several times in the past so I knew how to do it, it really is a pretty simply constructed mechanism.

The first step is to raise the antenna all the way up to expose the whole coil. Then disconnect the shield from the top of the coil and slide it down. This exposes the coil. To access the entire coil you need to pull off the machined top of the base by loosening three set screws. This part has copper finger stock inside and is what makes the electrical connection between the coil and the base.

If you look above my fingers inside the part you can see the edges of the copper finger stock strip inside. This needs to be cleaned as well as the coil itself.

I didn't really have to do this as it turned out, but I pulled the guts out of the antenna. I was trying to get the mounting stud off the top so I could pull the PVC cap off to get the machined contact off the coil to clean it. The stud is ON THERE FOR GOOD. I don't know how they got it on that tight, but I would have ruined the antenna if I tried any harder to unscrew it. So I just left it in place and improvised.

For cleaning I used strips of a thin cardboard box. I wanted something I could rub the parts with that was mildly abrasive but also stiff and strong enough to not tear. Paper is a good contact cleaner - I learned that trick from some old CW operators for cleaning key contacts. I figured paper would work just as well here, but the cardboard is one better as it is thick and won't tear like paper.

Here you can see one of the strips I used. Note the black stuff on the cardboard. That is just from the finger stock surfaces!!! That isn't the strip I used for the rest of the coil.

After scrubbing down the coil and the contact I put it all back together. Surprisingly, the SWR still was fluctuating! I thought I had tried everything. The coax is sealed real well (with my favorite PlastiDip weather proofing treatment) so I didn't think that would be an issue. Though, I would probably have sliced it open just to inspect it. A can of PlastiDip is only $6 so even if I got one use out of it (which, if you seal up the cap REAL well with tape after you open it the can will last a while) it is pretty inexpensive stuff (as opposed to CoaxSeal).

After pondering what to do I got one more idea:

The screwdriver antennas are so big that the base alone is not strong enough to support it. There is a second support up off the base for two points of attachment (the ring support on the antenna for the mount is shown here). Originally, the base had a plastic strip around this secondary support hole on the mount. After a few months it wore through so I wrapped this part of the antenna that contacts the mount with electrical tape, as seen here.

Well, I figured the electrical tape was worn through. I couldn't really tell too easily so I figured it wouldn't hurt to add more to it anyway. Then the antenna started working! Only, I had put too much tape on and I couldn't tighten the antenna down all the way - the tape made it too tight in the hole. So after driving around this morning I removed some of the tape and got the antenna all the way down in the mount and it worked all the way home! I talked with Ernie VA6EJR in Alberta on 17 meters for a good while - with a solid SWR less than 1.1:1 the whole way!

If I had just gone to the ring and checked the tape the first time I probably would have had this antenna back up and running in no time. However, I am glad I pulled the whole antenna apart and took some time to inspect and clean the contact and coil. This antenna is in daily use on my truck, and quite frankly I am surprised it has held up this well for so long! Tarheel Antennas really are good antennas, just as with anything else they do need a little maintenance.

Mobile Antenna Experiment - Whip and LDG Z-11Pro

2010-03-16T18:54:00.010-04:00

This is something I have been wanting to do for a while and I just got around to doing it!

My screwdriver antenna, a Tarheel model 200 (the older model, mine is 8 years old - the new ones are made even better) is having some tuning problems. I need to take it apart and clean the coil as well as the finger stock on the top of the base which contacts the coil. My SWR fluctuates all over the place going down the road. That's not to talk bad about it - the antenna has LOTS of miles on it and we just came out of a pretty bad Ohio winter with lots of road salt.

Since the screwdriver is off the truck I figured I would use that as an excuse to work on my whip and tuner experiment. The first task was making the antenna mount. I did this just like I did on the other side for my CB antenna - I cut a 2x4 down to fit inside the stake hole and screwed a metal plate on top which is what the antenna mount attaches to, off to the side of the truck. The CB antenna has worked flawlessly for years.

The new antenna mount. Note the next paragraph.

This is the old CB antenna mount. This one has MANY miles on it, as does the screwdriver. They are on the truck nearly 100% of the time. Note the thick base under the spring - I machined that from stainless steel.

I had a broken tri-mag mount, one of the old MFJ's with the 5" magnets and 1/4" aluminum frame. Since it was toast already I took it apart and stole the top bar - the one that had the original 3/8"x24 mount bolted to it. The hole was already there - all I had to do was drill through the end to screw it to my wood block. The thick bar makes it hard to get the cap to latch shut. I will probably change it at some point.

After that - it was on to hooking up the wires. I decided to connect the ground to my screwdriver antenna mount. It was already grounded very well and it was easy to attach my tuner ground wire to one of the mounting bolts. The wire between the tuner and the antenna just plugs in to the center pin of the SO-239. I tinned the wire and left a blob of solder on the end just big enough to press fit in the center pin (not too tight). For my random wire antenna at the house I use an old PL-259 I melted off of a bad cable. I soldered 14g solid wire to the center pin, filled the body with epoxy to lock the wire in, and put a spade connector on the other side. This makes it a bit easier to work with, but I didn't have another junk PL-259 to use this time.

Note the tuner and the battery (black box hiding under the corner of the rug). I didn't feel like running the power cable for this experiment as well so I just threw an SLA back there.

The whip I am currently using is a 10m hamstick with a couple of Buddipole arms on the bottom for some extra length (see the first picture - the blue poles on the bottom are the Buddipole arms). The good thing with a non-resonant whip antenna is you can toss what ever you want in the air and get the tuner to do the rest. Generally the longer it is the more efficient it is on lower frequencies. For stationary use I have a 9' or so telescoping whip to put on top of the hamstick base (in place of the stinger). I have done that for more efficient operation on 40 meters on the screwdriver sitting in the driveway and it worked pretty good! I had about 15' of whip above the coil, but hey I got out.

So how does the antenna perform? Well, I had a nice conversation with Jeff G4SOF in England all the way home from work this evening on 17 meters. I was running 50 watts. I guess that's not too bad.

Now the real scoop -

The antenna loads up on 40-6 meters with the tuner. However, if I run a carrier at anything over 10 watts the SWR starts jumping around all over the place (key down CW). If I am running SSB I can get up to 100. I was hesitant to run much more than 50 watts at the time I spoke with Jeff because when I tuned up I did so on CW and the SWR went haywire with much power. However, after we signed I played around with the power and called CQ a few times at 100 watts SSB and never saw the SWR jump.

Running the tuner in this configuration places high voltage between the tuner and the base of the antenna. The wire I am using to connect to the two is not high voltage so I am probably getting some arcing. SSB has such a low percentage of power compared to CW that only on voice peaks do I hit whatever I set my output power to. CW is full power with every tap of the key, which means a much higher chance of arcing.

At some point in the future I will play around with a few different things - tuner placement (perhaps outside of the bed) as well as swapping the wire out for some high voltage stuff. My goal is to be able to run 40m CW. The thick bar for the mount also makes it hard to get the cap to latch shut. I will probably change it at some point to some thinner gauge steel, like the CB antenna mount is.

Here are some more pictures of the install.

Ahh. My favorite weather proofing - PlastiDip!!

I wrapped the wire here with electrical tape trying to up the breakdown voltage. I don't know how well it worked. If I key up on high power I still get the SWR going wild. What irritates me is when the tuner knows it is at a good match then when I kick the power up it goes out of whack. The tuner re-initiates a full tune cycle and the match it just had is gone. RF can be screwy sometimes.

IC-756ProIII and LDG Z-11pro

2010-03-13T11:29:00.008-05:00

The April edition of QST has some neat articles in it. One is adding a 5kc roofing filter to the IC-756proIII. The filter is produced by International Radio, the same company that makes the filters I put in my FT-857D last year - good stuff.

One fact of life with the middle of the road and down HF radios is they generally use a 15kc+ front end. My TS-2000 is no different. Even though the specific radio might be a DSP rig, the IC-756ProIII and TS-2000 included, there is only so much digital filtering can do to help the performance of the radio. Having a mechanical filter to narrow the passband up front is most definitely the best route to go. That way your DSP has less crap to work with = better performance.

This may be something I should look in to for my TS-2000. I have a blown RF choke on the CW keying circuit right now so I need to get my hands in the case anyway. Speaking of that, I ordered the part (3 to have extras) about two months ago. They were out of stock when I placed the order so I figured as soon as they become available again they will ship. Maybe I should follow up and see what the deal is...

In any event, adding a narrower roofing filter would surely add to the usability of the TS-2000. Having all those bands in one box is amazing. However, you can't get all that in one package without some sacrifices. Receiver performance, unfortunately, is one of them.

There is also a nice article on the LDG Z-11Pro autotuner in QST. I would like to see a review of the tuner. The article isn't a regular review. Maybe they can toss in some other tuners in the same range. I know MFJ makes one and the SGC tuners may fall in a similar category also.

RF Systems Engineering, of sorts

2010-03-05T19:06:00.003-05:00

My big work project right now involves setting up localized differential GPS base stations. I work for a John Deere dealer and we are trying to get some coverage for our area of responsibility on what is called "RTK", Real Time Kinematic correction. Basically, the idea is to put a localized differential GPS station up (like WAAS if you have a hand held GPS) - the units have a 1" accuracy at the GPS receiver out to a 12 mile radius (theoretically, based on propagation). You can read more of the systems and learn a lot more than I can put in a post here on John Deere's site.

My project has been piecing together the systems. The main components are coming from John Deere, so those are taken care of. However, power supply, back up power supply, RF routing, power levels, and ultimately building the the systems will be mostly my task.

This past week I have spent a lot of my time thinking about the systems and what should go in to them to get them on the air. We got the information filled out for the FCC license (coordinates, elevation, etc) so once we get out frequency and power allocation I can finish the EIRP calculations. Just for the mean time I plugged in some known component values - antenna gain and coax loss (the BRAND new 7/8" AVA5-50A from Andrew/Comescope/Heliax [replaced the LDF series, even lower loss] - the GOOD stuff!!). The rest of it we should be able to control from our radios. The power level will be adjustable between .2 and 2 watts with an amplifier of a max PEP of 50 watts.

Some challenges left to tackle - enclosing the components to where they are protected (in most cases from the weather - outside mounting) while allowing adequate cooling of the power supply. The amplifiers are not quite out yet, but they are supposed to be weatherproof for direct outside mounting negating the need for cooling (the whole case is a heat sink). The power supply is another ball game. I ordered some Astron RM-50M's for easy rack mounting. They will be the most versatile in our application since they can either be rack mounted or desk mounted. If we put it in a case it will go in a rack, however one location is inside a building on a desk more or less.

For stand-by power I am using two ~110Ah batteries in parallel and a PWRGate from West Mountain Radio. The PWRGate allows constant battery system maintenance with instant switching of the load from the power supply to the backup batteries. It actually is not powered itself, it takes power off of the power supply and passes that on to the batteries - however much it needs (you can set it for up to 10 amps of charge current). Once the voltage of the batteries comes up the charging current drops off until it gets to 13.8v. At that point the PWRGate switches to a float charge mode.

One aspect of this project that adds to the challenge is the fact that once these are on the air they will run 100% of the time at 100% load, except if the power goes out. We will have around 7 to 8 hours of reserve back up power. This is why the ventilation/cooling of the power supply is critical. I ordered one size larger power supply than I really needed (based on constant amperage) so they are running at a lower percentage load. This should help out on the reliability. However, if they get too hot, which can happen even at 60% or so load, they are going to fail.

All in all I have my hands full right now! This is a really neat project, though. I am very glad I can apply some of my ham radio know-how to getting these systems up and running. I don't necessarily know all the answers but I have a lot of resources to tap and know which ones to use - people, companies, books, websites, you name it. On top of this RTK project I still have to juggle piecing together the GPS systems that our customers run on their farm equipment (tractors, combines, sprayers, etc)...

AT Hikers Story: Three Hundred Zeroes

2010-03-03T21:47:00.002-05:00

I am not one to read books. I have books from my last quarter of college that I bought new because they were the only ones left and I needed at least something to flip through, which I never ended up reading.

However, I read the recent article in QST magazine about Dennis Blanchard, K1YPP, and his hike of the AT (Appalachian Trail). I discovered through e-mail correspondence about his book - Three Hundred Zeroes. So as soon as it was available I ordered it!

Those that have read several posts of mine probably have figured out that I like backpacking. I won't spoil the book any, but that is the main topic. The Appalachian Trail is what is typically thought of as the crown jewel of backpacking - over 2000 miles from Georgia to Maine along the Appalachian mountains.

Though there isn't much talk of Ham radio in the book, if you have any interest in backpacking, with or without Ham radio, I would recommend the book. I have a hard time putting it down. I have finished the first half of the book in three days (thats really saying something!). I don't know that I could ever devote my life to such a journey, but Blanchard does give me some inspiration for more treks, albeit shorter!

VUAC Taking Votes on EME Contest Categories

2010-02-14T09:39:00.003-05:00

For anyone that is interested in EME (Earth-Moon-Earth, or moonbounce, communications) I think you should read this and take a stance. This past Fall the VUAC changed the rules for EME contests, effectively chopping out the Assisted category.

The problem with this move is that EME is perhaps the most difficult, technically challenging mode of communication possible and requires either well-equipped stations or a little bit of planning to have a shot at making a contact at all. The smaller, lesser equipped stations have no chance of making many contacts (except with the big-gun stations like W5UN, KB8RQ). Without setting up scheduled contacts the chances of the smaller stations to compete is non-existent. Even if a schedule is set that doesn't mean that the two stations will be able to make it through, but without a schedule there would be no chance at all.

Here is a message from Army, AE5P with an offer to vote on the issue. Please read thoroughly. Note that any correspondence to be considered must be in by February 17th:

______________________________________________________
ARRL’s VUAC is considering revising the current rules for the ARRL International EME Contest, and we would like your input.

Effective with the 2009 contest, assistance is not allowed per rule 6.3 as follows:

6.3 During the contest periods, no contest entrant, in any category --single-operator or multi-operator-- may use non-EME means for the purpose of self-spotting, solicitation or coordination of QSOs or attempts to make contact; nor may any entrant use assistance or provide assistance in the form of frequency spotting or use any form of DX spotting, Packet Cluster, Ping Jockey, email, telephone, etc. Exception: liaison to coordinate band-by-band activity is explicitly permitted for the bands2.3 GHz and higher.

VUAC members have received numerous messages from many of you folks regarding this change; some in favor; some opposed. We are considering making further changes to the rules to address your concerns, and we would like to hear from the EME community on this.

Several proposals have been put forth, such as:

1. Reinstate the rules regarding assistance as they existed in 2008.

2. Establish a new class of operation called “Coordinated”. Entrants in this class would be allowed to post ONLY their call-sign and calling frequency via the internet or other methods for other entrants to see. Any station posting or viewing this information would be considered to be in the “Coordinated” class.

3. Let the current rules (non-assistance only) apply to one of the two weekends for 50-1296, and let assistance be used on the other 50-1296 weekend.

4. Run a separate EME contest for 50-1296 using assistance on the weekend reserved for 2304 and up.

5. Don’t make any further changes. Let the rules remain as they are now.

The VUAC would very much appreciate hearing from you concerning these proposals. Where do you stand on this matter? Which proposal do you prefer, and why? Feel free to modify any or all of this as you deem best.

Please respond to this survey to your VUAC representative AND to Army Curtis, AE5P (ae5p@arrl.net) . A list of VUAC members can be found at http://www.arrl.org/contests/vuac.html . Comments must be received no later than February 17, 2010 to be considered by the VUAC. If you do not have a VUAC representative, please respond to Jon Platt, W0ZQ (w0zq@aol.com ) AND to AE5P (ae5p@arrl.net ).

When you respond, please indicate what bands you have made EME contacts on, and if you have ever participated in an EME contest.
Please let us hear from you.
73,
Army - AE5P

49 States Covered With Snow?

2010-02-13T19:00:00.002-05:00

Yeah, that's what I just heard today on The Weather Channel! With the last snow storm that hit the south from Texas all the way through the pan handle of Florida, on to the Carolinas, all but ONE state, Hawaii, has some snow cover on the ground! Incredible.

We are again looking at some snow for Monday where I am. They are calling for up to 6" as of now, but I am sure that will change a bit. With the last two storms we got a foot the first time and 6-8" the second.

What happened to Global Warming??? I like the snow, though. Lets keep it around as long as we can!

Good Deal - Fluorescent Shop Lights, Grow Lighting

2010-02-13T17:19:00.004-05:00

Last year I set up a fluorescent shop light as a grow light for starting my garden plants. I got a 2 foot long single T-12 light. This got the plants growing OK but became problematic once I brought the plants outside. The plants were used to the very limited amount of light and got burned real easy in the sun.

So I figured I would get some bigger lights so I can get my plants used to more intense light!

Lowes has a really good deal on two bulb T-12 4' shop lights - $10! That's what I paid for my 2' single bulb T-12 last year.

I picked up two of them. Each bulb is 40 watts, so I will have 160 watts x 4' of lighting (as opposed to my 20w x 2' last year). That should help with getting my plants used to more intense light. I will still have about the same amount of plants.

Last year I used an outdoor timer for Christmas lights as my light timer. This worked OK. However, I found a digital in-wall timer today that I am going to try this year. It should make for a cleaner set up.

The next task is to get a shelf set up that I can mount everything to. I really rigged up my light last year and it worked, but I would rather have a nicer set up than what I did in the past. The timer will be in a box on one of the legs and the lights will be mounted so the plants get hit on both sides.

Red Wing Shoe Company - Great Boots!

2010-02-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

I ordered my second and third pairs of Red Wing boots today from The Rugged Boot and Shoe Company (the link is to the Red Wing dealer page, but the name of the store is The Rugged Boot and Shoe company in the phone book). I also realized that the pair I am wearing right now is nearly four years old! The guy I spoke with on the phone said I got them in 2006. Wow.

They lasted me this entire time as my daily shoes. For the past six months to a year I have been wearing on the inner layer of the dual density soul as the first layer has been worn through. However, the boots are still pretty solid. I have never had wet feet in them thanks to the Gore-Tex lining. Combined with treating them every month or so with Red Wing NaturSeal dressing they have worked flawlessly this whole time.

Before my Red Wings I wore a pair of Wolverines that weren't water proof. Besides the lack of waterproofing they wore quickly in comparison. I know people that have had great luck with them. However, the pair I had didn't hold up. At one point in time I worked for a landscaping company on a mowing crew and did a LOT of walking on all kinds of terrain in my Wolverines. From experience I can tell you that after an 8 hour day hiking around in uncomfortable boots with a string trimmer my feet HURT. That taught me to get a quality pair the next time around.

I wear model 2412's - which I ordered a replacement pair of. Once I get them I will send my current pair back in to be re-souled. That way I can use them as my crap pair and keep the new ones nice. Apparently they do a whole boot "tune up" when you send them in - you get new inner and outer souls, laces, and cleaning/treating of the leather. I have never had a shoe/boot re-souled before, so I am curious as to how they turn out.

The other pair I ordered are model 427's. They aren't readily made yet so it might be a while to get them in. I wanted a water proof black boot with good heavy tread. I will have to try them on before I buy, though. I don't think I will have any complaints, but if I do there is no re-stocking fee and I can pick something else out.

One piece of advice I will give to anyone looking for quality boots, especially if you are going to wear them nearly all the time, is be careful with how you select them! Go to someone that knows what they are doing - a specialized footwear store. Don't go to a retail store where the employees don't specialize in footwear, but sell everything. Being sized properly is half the battle. The second part of it is look at the features that are important to you - soul style/material, waterproof/non-waterproof, insulated/non-insulated, steel toe/safety toe/soft toe, the list goes on and on. The right boot is the one that fits well and is suited to the environment you use them. I know cost can be a factor, however really try to keep in mind how the boots will be used. The difference between the right boot and the wrong boot could be a decent amount of money, but if you aren't comfortable and get worn out it doesn't matter how much money you saved. Then if you take care of them and they last you three years or more you will probably save money over the life of the boot by not needing to replace them much.

If you want high quality footwear that is made in America you can't beat Red Wings! They are hand made in Red Wing, Minnesota. It isn't often in today's global economy that we find good quality American made products.

FYBO 2010

2010-02-06T20:33:00.006-05:00

I got a call from a friend several days ago about possibly operating FYBO this weekend. Since I didn't have anything really planned I figured it was a great opportunity to get together with some friends, play radio, and enjoy the outdoors. We made an excellent day out of it!

We got slammed with the winter storm that went through the eastern half of the US between Friday and Saturday. Where I live we got 12" of snow. Over where we were hiking there was a bit less than that, 8-10" but it did blow around a little and accumulate higher in certain areas. This made for GREAT FYBO weather!

Some of the trails had lots of downed branches and entire trees in some parts. All that snow loading really stresses the vegetation.

The hiking was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. However, it was much more difficult plowing through and walking on the snow than normal trails, however. Since the snow is soft your foot presses it down and you end up using up more energy than if your foot was firmly pushing on the ground. Add to that pushing the snow out of your foot path as you take a normal step and the hiking effort is probably doubled.

Some of my problems when hiking was first I got really hot. The second problem I had (go back to the first picture) is my antenna parts would snag all these low hanging branches loaded with snow. I had taken my coat off to cool down and then got covered with snow. Having a load of snow down the back of your neck is one good way to cool off! Maybe a bit too much...

After the hour or more hike we got to our destination - a rock overhang up in the hills. Joe KD8BKB is in the background there working the FT-817. We had to rig that one up to an SLA battery using the AA case and alligator clips. The power cable wasn't anywhere to be found. We made do and got it on the air though!

Where we parked (first picture) was not all the way back in the park - the access road back in there was gated and not plowed. It was possible to get in, but it was decided to just park there and hike in. The trip in went the long way around to the hill top where the rock overhang is - this avoided some steep elevation gains. In the snow it would have been near impossible to climb. We went that way on the way out and I went skiing several times. If it wasn't for my trekking poles I would have turned my pack in to a toboggan (and not by choice).

The overhang has a real neat layout to it. There is a table to set radios and a seat to sit on! Not a bad operating position, eh? Note the coax running along the ceiling.

Here is Joe's Buddistick antenna. It was loaded up on 40m.

The coax on the ceiling goes to my modified Buddistick (note the additional 10m Hamstick base between the coil and aluminum arms). I used some poles from my cabin tent as a mast (with a bit of duct tape to take up a bit of space so the PVC adapter to the Versa-T would fit snugly). The mast is just leaning up against a tree branch (note the tilt).

I had this antenna running on 20 meters. The antenna was actually too long to resonate on 20. I shorted out the whole coil and still had to drop the telescoping whip one section to get it to resonate.

You can't tell this from the picture, but there are two radials extending to both sides of the feed point (laying up in the vegetation). They have a white jacket on them so they hide quite nicely against the snow.

I didn't plan ahead very well on coax. What I did is I used my 35' run of LMR-200 that I use for my jumper dipole (my typical backpacking antenna). I rigged it to work. I probably wasted a good 45 minutes trying to figure out how to make it work with what I had. In the end it ran fine. I will make spade adapter wires for this so I won't get stuck in the same scenario again.

We didn't rack up a bunch of contacts. It was still fun to get out and do some hiking, light a camp fire, and hang out. The trip was also a learning experience for all of us on having the right stuff. I had too many antennas and supplies with me for the time that we had. If I was going camping for a few days then having the selections might have come in handy, but all I operated on was the Buddistick.

One improvement I did make before the trip was I put PowerPole connectors ON my battery. This way I can easily connect with any cable I have. Before I was using a spade connector cable that went to a PowerPole. I would take the cable off the battery when I packed it up. This lead to leaving the power cable at the trail head on one of my trips to Zaleski State Forest. With the PowerPole connector right on the battery itself this is one less problem I face.

I did not take many pictures on the way out, but I had to stop and take this one on our hike back out the access road that we couldn't drive in on:

Where all the foot prints are is the road. There is a covered bridge behind the trees to the left of the telephone pole. I think we timed our exit perfectly with the amount of daylight we had!

LDG AT-200Pro Autotuner

2010-02-02T20:36:00.007-05:00

If you read my post earlier about the Z-11Pro Autotuner by LDG you know I was really thrilled to get that and experience the versatility. That got me to thinking about getting something like that to stick in the shack.

The reason I bought the Z-11Pro was to use it with my FT-857D for portable operating. It is a fantastic tuner for portable use. Only, I ended up putting it in the shack and using it for my main HF station. That created an inconvenience for using in a grab-n'-go situation as I had to unhook it from the station.

So I solved my issue! I picked up an AT-200Pro tuner to keep in the station. This tuner works the same as the Z-11Pro in that it is RF-sensing, has memory recalls, and is fully adjustable from the front panel. The only differences are the box, meters, antenna ports, and power handling.

The AT-200Pro is a 200w capable tuner. It has 16,000 memory channels (memories recordable in 8 antennas per frequency). The tuner has two antenna ports on it, which are selectable from the front panel.

As was my only negative comment with the Z-11Pro - the AT-200Pro is LOUD. If you aren't expecting the relays to slap when you first plug it in you may be quite startled.

However, only the initial tuning sequence lets the tuner roll through all its impedance combinations. Once a setting has been acquired it is stored as a memory. That way when you go back to the same frequency (generally entire bands can be covered with one setting) the tuner knows exactly where to go - one click and it is tuned.

The AT-200Pro's relays are rated for 10 amps - heavier duty than the Z-11Pro's. As a result, the relays take longer to move and the overall time the tuner takes to acquire a match is lengthened. Again, though, once the tuner finds a match it is recorded and won't have to hunt again - just feed it a bit of RF and in less than a second it goes where it needs to go.

I had thought about getting an AT-100Pro tuner. However, I figured the extra $30 was worth the double in power capability. Plus, you get a power button, the 16,000 memories, and multiple antenna configurations whereas with the AT-100Pro there are just 4200 - 2100 per antenna port (I know, thats still a lot) without the antenna recall. At some point in the future I would like to get a higher performance base station rig and that could end up being a 200w radio. Having a 200w tuner would have me covered.

This past weekend during Winter Field Day we set up the AT-200Pro with a third HF station with a friend's FT-857D. It worked great! The Z-11Pro was in a box remote mounted at the base of my 80m 1/4 wave vertical. This week I am out of town again and have the AT-200Pro feeding a random wire with the plumbing as a counterpoise. No complaints here! When I get home in a few days I will hook it up in the shack.

Though I can't speak for the durability and longevity of the tuners having had them for such a short amount of time, I can honestly say that LDG really has a spectacularly operating product. If you are in the market for an HF tuner for low/medium power applications I think you will have a hard time beating LDG, especially for the money. Compare the Z-11Pro to a manual MFJ tuner - you are in the same ball park. The AT-200Pro is a bit over what a regular manual tuner runs, but not by much. When you factor in the autotuning and memory recall LDG is clearly the winner!

Winter Field Day - 1/4w 80m Vertical

2010-01-31T15:26:00.011-05:00

This is THE biggest antenna (electrical length) that I have ever set up! This was one of my two antenna ideas for Winter Field Day. The other one was a doublet with a balanced line feed. We had a G5RV set up that the other station was running on so there wasn't much of a point in me setting up another.

What I wanted to do was put together a vertical antenna that was made of some of the military tent poles that I have. The length wasn't critical as I wanted to try my LDG Z-11pro tuner in a remote configuration so resonance wasn't an issue.

It just so happened that I got within a couple feet at most of a full size 1/4 wave length on 80 meters! The total length of the antenna was just a hair over 69 feet. Each pole is 44.5" long and there are 14 of them. Then I had a 16' long crappie fishing pole way up top with a wire wrapped around it that was about a foot longer than the pole. All said and done there were 52' of aluminum poles and around 17 feet of crappie pole and wire on top.

The theory behind the crappie pole at the top is weight. The small fiberglass fishing pole weighs a LOT less than the aluminum poles. I made an adapter out of PVC pipe to attach it to the top pole. The mount for the crappie pole was very sturdy and it made raising the antenna much easier than if we had poles the whole length.

Speaking of raising the antenna - these poles made for quite a noodle of an antenna. We didn't think it was going to go up but we stuck with it. The pole bent a LOT on the way up. Once it was past 45 degrees or so it was a cake walk. Rex, W8WZZ tossed a rope through a tree and we used that as a gin pole of sorts so we could have a vertical component to our force vectors on the antenna. Before that the antenna was in no way going to go up.

It went up and it worked! For the rest of Saturday it was a bit breezy so the antenna swayed in the wind quite a bit. If I had a few more guy lines it would have been more stable. Overall it handled the conditions just fine though. I don't know if it would take a 50mph gust, but for our temporary set up it was adequate.

I bolted that PVC pipe in to the bottom section. I had made a 20m vertical antenna with these poles before and used a self-tapping screw and wire to load it with. That worked, but I just rested the bottom of the antenna on a piece of wood. In this case I wanted to make sure that the base was something that would hold firmly in the ground. I anticipated the antenna being a bit of a noodle so putting in the PVC insulator/base was the first thing I did. It worked great! Instead of putting the self tapping screw back in I just wrapped the wire around the bottom bolt. As long as it makes a connection that is all that matters.

The green radials are only 10' long. The black and gray ones are over 60' (they are elements for 4 direction a K9AY loop I had about 4 years ago).

Yes, the antenna is taller than the trees (most of them). You can also see how
the wind pushed it a bit. As I said, it is quite a noodle.

Here is the LDG Z-11pro tuner remote mounted. I put in an SO-239 bulk head connector through the box to make connecting the coax easy. I just drilled holes for the power, radiator, and ground connections. At some point I will probably put connectors on the outside of the box for quick connections and then seal up the holes. I don't want the tuner permanently mounted in the box, so having the normal connections on the tuner makes taking it out pretty easy.

My original plan was to run speaker wire out to the tuner for power. The Z-11pro can take internal batteries - with the addition of a (not included) battery holder. That would make things even easier, but I didn't have a holder. So I just put my SLA out there. That eliminated the long run of wire to power it. Since the tuner is RF sensing anyway you don't have to push any buttons - just key up and the tuner does the rest.

The bolt is my ground connection. This was a difficult assembly to get working. It would be so much easier to have ring terminals on all the wires... I just pinched the wires with the washers. It worked, but it took a while. You can also see my radiator wire that is on the bottom bolt of the pole. Nothing fancy.

This is the adapter from the poles to the crappie pole on top. I originally wasn't going to use that clamp. I thought that wrapping the radiator wire around the pole a couple times and then setting the PVC down on top of it would be enough for a good connection. The clamp probably was overkill, but there was definitely a good connection!

The blue rope is the one that goes to the tree (note the angle difference). This is what we hoisted up the pole with. The other three white ones are the normal guy lines. This is the same set of hardware I use for my VHF/UHF tower in EN39, on Field Day, VHF contests, etc.

This is the whole crappie pole. You can see the copper wire radiator wrapped around it. I just used cardboard to make up the gap between the pole and the PVC. It worked great!

The vertical would tune everything except for 160 meters. I will have to research this one and see what the deal was. 1/4 wave length on 80m is 1/8 wave length for 160m.

We weren't too competitive for this contest. It was a pretty relaxed "set up and have fun" event. However, we did make a few contacts. I don't know how well-known Winter Field Day is. We heard a few people calling "CQ Winter Field Day" but the contacts weren't flowing like they do during the real Field Day in June.

Another obstacle this weekend was the multitude of other contests running at the same time. The CQ WW 160m contest was this weekend. In my efforts to get the antenna to load on 160 I was amazed with how crowded the band was. I was not aware that the CQ contest was running this weekend. We got on the computer and looked to see what contests were this weekend. Ironically the CQ WW 160m contest is one of the largest contests - from an operator standpoint as well as, even more so, a heavily crowded band. It is a toss up between the CQ WW 160m and ARRL 160m contests as to which is bigger - both clog Top Band.

Maybe next year will be even more active! We sure had fun setting everything up and getting on the air.

Winter Field Day - Next Weekend

2010-01-25T20:04:00.004-05:00

Winter Field Day is next weekend! I will be participating with a few of the people I did Field Day with this past summer as well as the Ohio QSO party. It should be a good time. I don't know how competitive we will be but the food, folks, and fun will be a blast!

It is supposed to be pretty cold and snowy. That will make things interesting raising antennas and running coax. I have a few ideas I want to test out.

The first antenna I want to try is a remote tuned vertical, similar to the popular 43'. I am not sure what the length will be - whatever I decide to put together. In short it is a non-resonant "cheated" radiator loaded with my LDG Z-11pro tuner. I have a bag full of military surplus aluminum tent poles that I am going to use for it. Whatever length I toss together and can get to stand is what I will use. Though, getting stakes in for anchor points may pose an interesting challenge in frozen ground. Hopefully we won't get any real hard freezes between now and then. It is supposed to dip between 10 and 15 degrees for the low over the weekend so if I can get the antenna up before the ground becomes a rock that will be great.

I bought an LDG AT-200pro as well. It hasn't come in yet, so this weekend will be the first run for it (I hope, as long as it hits the store before first thing Saturday morning). I want to try a ladder line fed doublet with this one through my home made 1:1 balun as well as the LDG 1:1 balun. As for where the tuner will be mounted I am not sure - it may be a problem running ladder line to the rigs so I may have to drop the ladder line down from the antenna to the tuner mounted outside in a box. Though, I would like to keep the tuner at the rig so I can see how it works in relation to the Z-11pro (volume of relays clicking, speed at finding a new match, SWR fluctuation sensitivity with tuning up/down a band, etc).

Both the Z-11pro and the AT-200pro tuners are RF-sensing automatic tuners, no adjusting or button pushing required. The only caveats are you should tune with low power and for the first tune you need to let the unit "find" a match. After that it is programmed in to the tuner and you go back to that same frequency it senses that frequency and recalls the setting for it in a split second. They are really slick!

Z11Pro Tuner - Portable Antenna

2010-01-17T15:26:00.003-05:00

I am set up at my Dad's place for the week. All this week I have job training out of town and I will have less drive time and miles every day from here instead of home. So, of course I brought a radio with me!

I installed a wire through the outside wall last year to the faucet (out my ground wire hole from when I had a station set up here before, at one point in time there was a ground rod out there). There is less than 10' of wire. I use this as my counterpoise. After all, there is no better ground than solid copper - and copper water pipe offers that. If I used a ground rod I would have a ground, but not a counterpoise.

The antenna is my random wire. Towards the end of last year I set up this antenna. Before then I used my tiny magnet wire, which I never had a problem with because I was only set up for a couple days over a weekend or so. However, I replaced that with my stainless steel Surflon leader wire (.015", 10lb test). This has worked fabulously - it is much stronger than the magnet wire.

However, putting it back up today was an issue. It got caught on a branch. I got the support line (15lb test mono fishing line) through the tree fine. When I started hauling up the antenna wire it got snagged. When I got it snagged I went to the antenna side and tried to pull it backwards - back out of the tree. Well, the antenna broke. So I went to the other side to try and pull it through again. This time the fishing line broke. I can't win.

My antenna is several feet shorter than it was originally. My guess is I lost about 10' of wire. I can't see the wire or the fishing line well enough to figure out where it starts and ends - it is 25' up in a tree.

So I attached the antenna wire I had left to the fishing line again and hauled that up no problem. Why couldn't it have worked the first time? I wasted a half hour with that mess... Oh well. I am on the air now!

The Z11Pro tuner is absolutely fantastic for this antenna. The tuner is over by the window where the antenna and ground wire come in. It is connected to the radio with about 20' of coax (spliced together with a low pass filter in between). Once I get the bands memorized in the tuner the recall is lightning fast. No tuning required - one click to get back to the memory setting and it's done!

I just wish I could get a wire up as high as I do here back home. Then I would get much better radio performance.

Balloons and Onions? Ham Radio?

2010-01-03T15:26:00.007-05:00

I thought this would be a fun post. In my implementation of transmission line transformation I was looking at the terms "Balun" and "Unun" and only thinking someone with no knowledge of baluns and ununs, or ham radio in general even, would hear those and think "Hmm, balloon and onion? What do those have to do with radios?"

So, to clear up any, uh, cornfusion?:

Balun - pronounced Bál-Un (not Ball-Un, Balloon)

This is a device that transforms balanced loads to unbalanced loads (hence the term Balun), or the other way around. If you have a coaxial cable and want to feed a balanced antenna like a dipole or doublet then you would use a balun here. For a mono-band dipole you don't have to. It is the simplest style of HF antenna to make, and has been used for ever fed straight with coax since the impedance isn't too far away from 50 ohms. However, since a dipole is a balanced antenna it would help if a balun was used. For a doublet you would typically feed it with a balanced line as it is a multi-band, non-resonant antenna and balanced line doesn't attenuate in the same magnitude coax does with excessive standing wave ratios (SWR). In this case you would use a Balun between an unbalanced tuner (all auto and manual T, L, and π networks) and a balanced feed line. Note that tuners with built in baluns use 4:1 voltage types most often (read my post here for more info on that).

Baluns can be made to not only transform from unbalanced to balanced loads but they can also modify the impedance of the load in that transformation. For example - if you have a high impedance antenna, say a folded dipole (theoretically) with around 250 ohms if impedance at the feed point, you could use a 4:1 balun to bring the 250 ohm impedance down closer to 50 ohms where you connect your coaxial cable. Keep in mind a normal dipole has a 72 ohm impedance at resonance, in the folded dipole case with a 4:1 balun it would be around 62.5 ohms - an even better match than a normal dipole to coax (1.25:1 vs. 1.44:1 SWR).

Unun - pronounced Un-Un (not Union, U-Nun, Onion)

This is a device that transforms unbalanced loads to unbalanced loads (hence the term Unun). So whats the point? If both sides are unbalanced why use an unun? There are two reasons. First, and similarly with the impedance transforming baluns, you can use a unun to transform impedances of unbalanced loads.

Say you have a short vertical antenna (such as a mobile whip for HF) that provides an impedance of 12.5 ohms at resonance (80 meter antenna with a lot of loading). You can use a 4:1 unun reversed for a 1:4 transformation. This brings the 12.5 ohm impedance of the antenna up to 50 ohms to match with the coaxial cable and radio.

The second reason is for isolation. Occasionally antenna systems create feed line radiation due to common mode current on the outside of the coax. Antennas are supposed to radiate and feed lines are supposed to carry the signal to the antenna to radiate, not radiate themselves. If your antenna system is resonant and the SWR is good you can use a 1:1 unun near the antenna as a choke for the common mode current.

Balloons and Onions

On the other hand, balloons (as well as kites!) can still be used in ham radio. They can be used as a means of suspending a vertical (or, near vertical) wire as an antenna. As for onions, I have no clue. If you come up with a use for onions in relation to ham radio let me know!

Baluns - Homebrewing

2010-01-03T00:32:00.006-05:00

I decided to tackle a new aspect of Ham radio - transmission line transformation. One concept I have learned is a must, at least being in a very restricted environment from an antenna standpoint, as well as portable operating, is that impedance matching of non-resonant antennas is a necessary evil. This impedance matching is accomplished through the use of a tuner, the device that actually does the matching from whatever the antenna and feed line present to 50 ohms to make our radios happy.

Recently I bought an LDG Z-11pro tuner. The purpose of this is to match up with my FT-857D for portable operating. The tuner is fantastic - I am having a lot of fun using it here in the shack. However, it's purpose is to accompany the FT-857D in to the field - whether that is Field Day, traveling, emergency use, what have you. For matching unbalanced loads the Z-11pro is great. However, it doesn't have a balun.

LDG is doing a promotion right now where you get a rebate form for a free balun with the purchase of a new tuner. So I sent that in for a 1:1 balun. However, the LDG baluns are still a little big. When you consider the size of the FT-857D just about everything you match it up with is "big". So I figured I would research some balun theory and see what I could come up with for an even more compact balun.

I was over at Universal Radio yesterday and picked up the book "Understanding, Building, and Using Baluns and Ununs - Theory and Practical Designs for the Experimenter" by Jerry Sevick, W2FMI. There is a wealth of knowledge in the book, more so than one can digest in any short amount of time. It does take some technical knowledge from the start to make the most of the material, but the diagrams and schematics should be easy enough for any ham to understand.

I will say up front that I don't have a good way to test my balun at the moment. I need to get an analyzer, then I can make all kinds of measurements. At some point in the future I will invest in one.

The first balun I made is a 1:1 current type. This is probably the simplest balun you can make. There aren't any shorted turns or any weird winding methods to use. You just take parallel wires held together every so often with tape to hold them together and wrap them around a ferrite toroid.

I chose the 1:1 current type balun because all it does is transforms the match of the unbalanced tuner to a balanced feed line without altering the impedance. If I used a 4:1 balun the impedance that the tuner would have to match would be 1/4 of the impedance of the feed line and antenna. On high impedance loads this is ideal - the closer the impedance is to 50 ohms the better the power transfer is to the antenna. However, in the case of already low impedances chopping the impedance down by 1/4 more is REALLY bad. Tuners have a harder time matching low impedances than high impedances so it is always better to stay on the high side of 50 ohms.

For the one I built here I used a T106-2 toroid because it is relatively small yet should have enough capability for 100 watts. The type 2 material was chosen for the HF frequency range. There are 10.5 bifilar turns of 18 gauge enamel coated magnet wire. I mounted the balun directly to a PL-259 connector for ease of use with the Z-11pro (no coax jumper needed). Then I filled the hollow PL-259 with epoxy to set the wire in place. Without the epoxy I don't think this would hold together long.

Here are some pictures of the product:

The PL-259 is the unbalanced side that plugs in to the tuner and the empty wire pig tails are the balanced output (pretty self explanatory I think). I don't know if I am going to mount it in anything at this point. It is nice having such a simple, compact device. Though the durability might be an issue.

I have heard, from N5ESE, that using coax for the wires might be better. He states that he noticed a drop in the variation in SWR going from the bifilar wraps to the coax. By the way, I like his call sign. Send that one in Morse code - it just flows with a very unique rhythm. I have worked him on the air before too (CW of course), no mistaking that call!

Just for the heck of it I opened up my LDG 1:1 balun:

For about $30 that LDG balun is PRETTY EXPENSIVE for what it is! I am glad I didn't buy it. The big question is how efficient is the LDG balun vs. my homebrew one?

I know I am not the first to come up with this idea, but I am thinking about building a balun in to a film can. I am not sure how to get the PL-259 to attach to it, but its an idea. I would like to make it selectable between a 1:1 and 4:1 ratio, hopefully with up to a 50 watt power handling. The two ratios would require two toroids, of course.

On a side note, this is the adapter I made for the Z-11pro for use with random wire antennas (which is what I currently use as my main antenna). I was trying to come up with a way to attach my .015" stainless steel random wire antenna to the tuner and came up with this idea. It is a pretty slick method - and it allows use with multiple antennas real easy, like when I go back to my dad's place for a weekend I toss a wire up in the trees. Now all I have to do is put a spade connector on that one and I can make my time to get on the air that much faster!

The gray thing on there is a bunch of wraps of duct tape. I needed something to insulate the wire from the sleeve. I had not thought of my epoxy method when I made this one. I think the epoxy method would be better (so long as the 4 holes where coax shield is normally soldered in are plugged, otherwise the epoxy will ooze out).

By the way, the PL-259's I used for the balun and my random wire adapter are both recycled connectors. I shorted several of these out when I was installing a run of coax in my truck. I didn't want to throw them out because they had never been used so I held on to them and tossed them in my junk drawer. Since there was still coax soldered in to them I heated them up with a propane torch, unscrewed the UG-176's, and then pulled the wire out.

More on CFL Bulbs

2010-01-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

As in my previous post I am trying some CFL bulbs here. I got more today from Lowes made by Bright Effects. The bulbs I bought from Meijer yesterday were a generic Meijer brand.

I went with the same Daylight bulbs as the one I put over my station desk from yesterday as I like that color/glow better. This time, though, I went up from the 13 watt bulb (60w equivalent in incandescent) to a 20 watt bulb (75w equivalent in incandescent) to get a little bit more light. At first when I put the 13w bulb in the first thing I noticed was it didn't seem as "intense", so I wanted something a little brighter. The 20 watt bulb works just fine!

For my main floor lamp I got 26 watt bulbs (100w equivalent in incandescent). I figured the bulbs I put in there before were anywhere from 60w to 100w (my last bulbs were 100w). The 26 watt CFL Daylight fits just fine.

After using the bulbs this evening with the sun down I can see what they really do. I think the best way to describe the color is it has a slight blue tint to it and it makes certain colors, like white text on a dark background, "pop". I find it more refreshing and easier on my eyes than the incandescent bulbs in the past. It's amazing what a change as simple as different light bulbs will do to a room!

Compact Fluorescent Lights

2010-01-01T00:35:00.005-05:00

I have always used incandescent light bulbs. Last year I got a fluorescent light to use as a grow lamp for starting my garden seeds inside. Other than that all the bulbs I use are incandescent.

With all the talk about switching over to compact fluorescent light bulbs and saving energy I thought I would pick up a couple to try. I was in the electrical isle at Meijer here in Ohio looking for some other parts and spotted the compact fluorescent bulbs. So what the heck, why not give them a try?

Well I am surprised at how "clear" the light is from the "Daylight" bulb I got. I am not sure how else to describe it - the light isn't blue, but it isn't quite "white" either. This one is rated for 13 watts (60w equivalent incandescent). The other bulb I got is a "Soft White" bulb. It has more of a yellowish glow to it, and is lower wattage - 9 watts (40w equivalent incandescent). Both bulbs are Meijer brand and were about $3-4.

I don't know how accurate the conversion is between CFL wattage and incandecent wattage, but the bulbs I have seem to not be as bright as the incandecents. I may go up in wattage a step and see what happens.

Maybe I am just late on the bandwagon with CFL's, but I like them. I think I will go back and get some more!

One last comment - I don't notice any RFI from the light bulbs either. I know fluorescent lights can be culprits of RFI due to their regulators and what not. I don't notice any noise from my CFL's, as of yet.

Edit - the CFL's I am using (and I bought more today at Lowes, thanks Anatoly, KC8HYR for the tip!) are for general lighting in the room. My big fluorescent light is the grow light. Though, I wont' get that back out from storage until March or so when I get the garden going (I always say that and then end up getting a very late start, that can be my New Years resolution - get the darn seeds started well ahead of planting time!!).

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T00:22:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has a very successful and prosperous New Year in 2010!

I have been working on a coil for my mobile antenna to get it on 160m. I use a Tarheel model 200 screwdriver for mobile HF but it only covers 10-80m. My goal is to get the antenna to resonate on 160 with the new coil, by itself. The coil I am building is probably going to be a lot more efficient than any 2" screwdriver coil ever will be. The wire I am using is essentially 10 gauge aluminum wire (it is welding wire, but it solid aluminum). I have heard that the aluminum will be less efficient than other materials, however it is what I had on hand so I figured I would put it to use. Look for a blog post here in the next couple days about it. I am hoping to finish it tomorrow. There is a gathering at Universal Radio on Saturday morning so I want to have it working by then.

Here's a quick a sneak peak - the coil is 12" in diameter x 12" long with 5 turns/inch. I calculated the inductance to be around 750uH. As to how accurate that is I am not sure, but I hope it is at least that then I can trim to fit.

Wood Burning Stove for Cabin Tent

2009-12-28T23:53:00.007-05:00

If you read my posts much you probably know I like to go backpacking and camping. That is one of my favorite past times with my college buddies!

We have been wanting to do a winter backpacking trip. Last year we went to West Virginia in March, towards the end of the season. It ended up being a little bit late because all the snow had melted and the temperature was in the mid-70's during the day. Not much of a "winter" trip.

So we were trying to plan out a trip this winter, which at this point is still in the works. This Fall my friend Dave and I got to thinking about a winter trip again. We found a really great camp site the last time we went in October (don't ask where it is because we aren't saying). So what we were thinking of doing is hiking in to this one spot and setting up a base camp. After all, if we have an awesome camp site why pack up and move on? We can do light and fast day hikes in the surrounding area then come back to our awesome view camp. I should mention that the camp site is less than 3 miles from the nearest vehicular access, given we can get that far in a 4 wheel drive truck. The terrain also doesn't have much elevation change as it sits on a plateu surrounded by mountains and valleys (a plus). With snow we can load everything on a sled too.

Here is a picture I took at sunrise at the secret spot. I like this one because the clouds/fog hanging over the mountain tops disguise it a bit. In any event, there are about 6 or 7 ridges visible when it is clear.

So anyway, Dave and I were tossing around some ideas for the trip. If we are going to do a base camp why not make it really cool? We are going to lug all our gear in to one spot, leave it for a few days, and bring it back. I have a 10x14' cabin tent that would make a really good base camp. With several people going we could get everyone under one roof.

If we are going in the winter it would be nice to have some heat. Winter hunting camps have used wall tents and stoves for years. So we decided to look in to the stoves a bit. I remember from looking through the Cabelas selection that they have portable collapsing wood burning stoves. After looking through there I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to buy one - they are pretty expensive and is something I could probably make, for a fraction of the cost.

So we drew up some ideas over a couple of breaks between classes. The collapsing aspect was a must. So we tossed around a few ideas, settled on the theory of operation in the design of the one we went with, and refined the design a bit more.

One aspect we wanted was hinged folding and interlocking sides. The hinges would make assembly easier and the interlocking sides would provide a means of sealing up the stove when assembled.

Dave did some research in to stove size vs. burn time and came up with the dimensions. We settled on a 15x15x24" fire box. This size allows the burning of normal size logs, which means thicker wood can be burned and the thicker the wood is the longer it burns. Some of the small stoves, like the Cabelas Sheepherder and Alaskan stoves (see cabelas link above) are so small that the size wood that fits in there won't burn too long. With our stove we should be able to get around 8 hours of burn time, vs. 4-5 from one of the small stoves.

After we had the design and dimensions nailed down it was off to get some materials. We chose 16 gauge sheet steel because it is thin enough that it doesn't weigh a ton and thick enough to put up with the heat of the fire. Some of the designs we came across online used down to 22 and 24 gauge steel. Although this would be much lighter, the durability of the material would be a problem. The thin gauge metal just won't last.

We got the metal from a recycling center called Research Alloys. We walked out with a couple sheets of 16 gauge sheet steel for a whopping $14! We were off to a good start!

So here are some pictures of the end result. These are more or less in chronological order and should be descriptive enough to detail the design. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The fire box is made up of two parts - the top, right side, and back (on the right in the pictures), and the bottom, front (where the door is going to be), and left side (on the left in the pictures). In order to make it collapse in the way we envisioned this was the only way to do it. The added bonus of having two parts is the load can be split up if need be.

Here you can see how the parts collapse. The next step is laying them together.

This shows fairly well what the stove design was supposed to do. It isn't quite a pancake, but compared to fully assembled as a box it is pretty compact.

Here is what the assembled fire box looks like. You can see what I meant by interlocking sides in the design. The thin over lap on the top right side was an after thought (why it is so short). That is the hinged side for the top half. The idea was to have the side panel fold up tightly against the top panel. The hinges were installed so that the spacing between the side panel and the top panel was as small as possible. We figured the butt joint would be a decent closure for the side. However, the overlap (as we did) adds another layer of protection.

Also, that round yellow thing on top is 25' of 1/2" Kevlar fire wick. That is going to be used between the overlapping sides as a seal. It is the same stuff that fire dancers use in their flaming wands and what not - it doesn't burn, it holds fuel and the fuel burns but the wick holds flame after flame. I think it will hold up fine on the stove.

I spent quite a while working on the stove off and on for a couple of months to get it to where it is now. If I had a shop to work on it and the right tools (a brake, shear, etc) I probably could have done this stove in a few days. However, making do with what I had was a challenge and as a result I spent a LOT of time working on it.

Here you can see the front damper on the door. I went with a slider approach for simplicity. I was going to do a round one like what you see on most portable stove designs, however the slider was much easier and required flat cuts and not round circles. With the tools I have to work with the hole for the stove pipe was hard enough to make, let alone something as small as the damper. Instead of cutting big open holes in the door behind the slider I decided to drill out the area. I figured the small holes would keep any coals from falling through (I don't know how likely that would be, but it was a thought). It was more work but it may be a benefit.

This was my first approach to putting the legs on. The legs are made of 3/8" black iron gas pipe (the stuff Lowes and Home Depot sell). I went this way to save some work. I was originally going to use some of the sheet metal bent in to an L shape to make it rigid. Then figure some way to mount them to the fire box that would allow easy removal of them. That would have been quite a bit of work and Dave suggested I just use some pipe. So that's what I did.

Now, the pipe legs are attached with end caps to the fire box. In the picture above the end caps are welded to the fire box. I knew from reading on line that most black iron fittings are cast and don't hold a weld well. You guessed it - these caps are cast (which I knew as soon as I picked them up). However, I figured it was worth a shot to see what happens when they are welded. The welds stuck long enough for me to get these pictures and then two of the legs broke loose. Not good.

So the new design uses the same caps, only drilled and there is a 1/4" stainless steel bolt through the cap and fire box. These babys aren't breaking off!

I set the stove up outside last night and got it running. Here are some pictures from my test run.

The stove pipe will be supported when in use, I just leaned it against the bush for my test run. Also, the legs look a bit crooked (and not angled like they were when I welded the caps on) but they aren't going anywhere. I would prefer them to be angled out for stability but knowing they are strong is more important. Once set up it isn't too bad.

I let the stove run for about 4 or 5 hours. I used 4 regular size logs. Also, in the above picture you can see the bolts I used on the right side to tie all the panels together. I didn't use the kevlar seal on this run since it is outside. However, I will cut some pieces for the sides.

So that's it for the stove project for now! Our trek back to West Virginia is still in the works. I am not sure when it is going to be. However, I have a few other opportunities to use everything - including Winter Field Day. The ultimate goal with the stove is for our secret camp site in the Appalachian mountains, but any chance I get to put this to use I will take advantage of! I will post more as time goes on.

LDG Z-11pro Autotuner

2009-12-24T16:44:00.005-05:00

I got my first autotuner today - an LDG Z-11pro! The other tuners I have are manual. I have an MFJ 971 and a Palstar AT1500CV (replaced with the AT2K).

The reason I got the Z-11pro is I wanted to have a compact autotuner. I use the FT-857D as my portable radio and the small LDG tuners match the small size of the FT-857D quite nicely. I usually use my MFJ-971 when I need a portable tuner, but I wanted to get an autotuner to try. After all, they are easier to use. It was a toss up between the Z-100pro and the Z-11pro, but in the end I went with the Z-11pro.

I have a few friends that have the now-discontinued Z-100 and they work great. One of them mounted the tuner in a weather proof box up on a tower, KC8JPZ. I wrote a post about this. He has a youtube video that shows the box and all (click on the post link and the video is linked in there). The tuners are fantastic.

As for my Z-11pro - I bought it because it has more features. I wanted the manual tuning capability (you can adjust the capacitance and inductance up and down from the front panel as well as change the programming). However, when I plugged it in to the station I got a big surprise - the tuning sequence can be initiated automatically, no button pushing at all! What it does is it senses the SWR. If it is above a pre-set level (you can set it for 1.5, 1.7, 2, 2.5, and 3:1) the tuner will automatically initiate the tuning sequence to bring the SWR back down! I figured I had to initiate the tuning sequence by pushing a button (which you can still set the unit to do), but I had no idea it was SWR activated also!

After reading up on the Z-100pro and Z-11pro I think the Z-11pro is the only one that senses the SWR. Both tuners can interface with popular Icom and Yaesu radios (and the interface cables are included with the Z-11pro) to make use of the OEM tuning interface. Icom and Yaesu both have optional tuners that work with their radios by pushing a button on the front panel. LDG made use of these features and the same buttons work their tuners. Though, with the SWR sensing on the Z-11pro even those radio buttons and interfaces aren't needed!

So far I really like my tuner. It is able to find a match on all bands except 160 on my random wire antenna. The Palstar tuner I have has trouble with this band too, so I can't expect the light weight Z-11pro to do any better there. The Palstar tuner is my station tuner so that's where it will stay. I will use the Z-11pro for all my portable work. Though I do want to try it out in my truck with my 102" whip as an all-band 40-6m antenna (sort of like the Icom AH-4 tuner and AH-2b antenna, only at about 1/5 the cost). I have a full-size screwdriver antenna but the tuner would be something fun to play with.

The only complaint I have is this tuner is LOUD! I was very surprised with how much slapping goes on when you initiate the tuning sequence. If it has to hunt for a match the tuner goes through a gazillion capacitor and inductor combinations, all switched with mechanical relays, to find a match. If you aren't expecting it, like I wasn't, it surprises you!

Not to put down the LDG tuners (they are really good quality products) but the Z-11pro sounds like one of the MFJ autotuners. Though, it might be that all autotuners of this style do the same thing since they have to use relays to switch the capacitors and inductors.

One autotuner that I know is different is the Palstar AT-AUTO. This one doesn't use relays to switch fixed value capacitors and inductors. It uses stepper motors to turn variable capacitors and inductors - just like the manual tuners, only motor driven (and with a brain behind it).

In any event, for a small, light weight, versatile tuner the Z-11pro is a really good option. It sure beats the pants off any tuner built in to many of the popular radios (like my Kenwood TS-2000). It has a full 10:1 SWR matching range (not 3:1), has a fully automatic mode that is SWR-sensitive (no button pushing!), and is manually adjustable on top of it all. Buy one - you won't regret it.

Edit: 12/25

This tuner is AMAZING! I ran through all the bands with my random wire antenna and now every tune setting is programmed in to the Z-11pro. The tuner literally tunes to whatever band I move to as soon as I key up. One click and its THERE. In my comment above about the racket the relays make when it is doing it's initial tune it is most definitely annoying. However, once that cycle has been done on whatever operating frequency and whatever antenna you decide to use the tuner never has to "tune" again. The setting is in memory and when you go to key up on that antenna and frequency again the tuner goes right to it - no twiddling knobs and watching the SWR meter. Its just THERE. Plain and simple!

I put the FT-857D in the shack for some testing. I still haven't figured out how to interface the rig with the tuner. I have it all hooked up but the only tune function that works through the rig's tune mode is when I push the tune button on the tuner. The tune button on the radio doesn't kick the sequence on (and I have menu #85 set to TUNER). Weird. I'll keep working on it, not that I need it though.

Maybe I should go get one of the bigger LDG autotuners for the shack.. Hmm, an AT-200pro would be nice as it will handle 200 watt radios. Or, an AT-1000pro if I wanted to run some power. Though, considering my Palstar will take the legal limit I don't really need another big rig tuner. The ease of use of this Z-11pro is getting to me.

These LDG tuners really are that good - you won't be disappointed!

6.4L Ford PSD and HF?

2009-12-21T16:29:00.004-05:00

I am curious if any of you out there have the 6.4L Ford Powerstroke Diesel engine in any of your vehicles? Specifically 4wd (electronic T-case, not the floor shifter) SRW F250's and F350's. I have several questions about HF operating from them and some specific questions about the 250's and 350's. E-mail any responses to me at Steve (a.t.) kc8qvo (d.o.t.) com, or post a comment below. Or, if you know anyone that has one of these trucks (and possibly runs HF out of it) e-mail this to them.

If you have any vehicle with the 6.4L engine regardless of what it is, and run HF from it, what was your experience like? Was there a lot of noise? Did you fix it? What did you do to fix it? Did you ground anything? What kind of antenna are you using and where is it mounted? How is your power to the rig run? What rig are you using and what bands/modes?

Have you had any problems with the EGR, regen cycles, etc? Any shorted sensors? Any other big pains? How many miles are on the vehicle and how hard is it used?

With regards to the F250 and F350 SRW trucks - what gear ratio(s) does the truck have? What front spring capacity does the truck have? How is the ride quality? What is the fuel mileage? What tires? Any mods - tune, intake, DPF-delete?

With regards to F350 DRW trucks - same as above. I believe the only gears availble are 3.73's and 4.10's, but maybe the 4.30's too? I'm not sure. In any event, I am mostly intnerested in the gears and subsequent fuel mileage. Any mods - tune, intake, DPF-delete?

Antenna Theory and Line Transformation from DX Engineering

2009-12-13T20:38:00.004-05:00

This probably goes to show how much of a nerd I am with Ham radio, but I just read through the 22 pages of Tom W8JI of DX Engineering's PDF "Baluns: Choosing the Correct Balun" and found it a very worth while read. Anyone that operates HF should read through this. There are too many people out there that don't fully understand their antenna systems and line transformation. Admittedly, I only know so much when it comes to the subject but I know I think about antennas, tuners, and efficiencies more than a lot of Hams that toss a dipole in the air, feed it with coax, and slap a tuner and amp on it.

I will hold on to this PDF for sure and use it as a reference. There is too much in this article for me to soak up all at once but I just realized how much I don't understand with the subject. Maybe I am just to the point that I know enough to understand the ideas presented in the article, but getting it to be forefront in my mind will take some application of the ideas to see it first hand.

I checked the manual of my Palstar AT1500CV (now discontinued, replaced by the AT2K) to see what kind of balun it uses - it is a 4:1 Ruthroff Voltage type. From the article Voltage type baluns are not good because they don't handle current well, especially in mis-matched systems. Current baluns are ideal. Another issue with 4:1 baluns, regardless of whether it is a Current or Voltage design, is that the impedance transformation is from high to low. The impedance after the balun is 1/4 of the impedance before it. Tuners do a better job with transforming moderate to high impedances. When you take a moderate impedance and divide it by 4 you now have a low impedance - which is harder, and less efficient, for a tuner to match.

So much to learn and it will only be absorbed in my head so fast. This is the great thing about ham radio - you can think about the subject for an eternity and never learn everything there is.