Re: Topband: Made it! 80 Years a Ham
My thanks and appreciation for all the responses. . I regret to say that my physical condition, particularly my lack of finger dexterity, makes it impossible for me to answer each reply individually-but here's to the next 80 (minutes, hours, days, weeks, months???). 73 Paul W5DM _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Re: Topband: west coast in the mornings
I just worked K6SRZ in San Francisco @ 2355Z. Our sunset here in Tucson is at 0054Z. So I worked him approximately 1 hour before our sunset and 2 hours before his. BTW, he's a real RST 589. My antenna TX & RX is an inverted vee about 45' high at the apex and the ends about 6' high, rig is an old K3 + KPA500. In case you think the QSO was perfect for a NVIS antenna and a fluke, I have 55 DXCC entities confirmed with this setup. Worked all of the usual suspect JAs past sunrise this AM. Wes N7WS On 1/28/2017 7:56 AM, Carl Luetzelschwab wrote: Hi guys and gals, After walking Snoopy and going out for breakfast this morning, I got back on 160m around 1320z (8:20 AM local here in Ft Wayne - about a half hour past our sunrise). Between 1324z and 1340z I worked AZ, CO and OR with decent signals on my SAL-20 Shared Apex Loop. I also heard quite a few other West Coast stations, but they kept CQing in my face. It could be they have a noise problem or it could be a propagation issue (since we don't fully understand all the interesting things that happen on 160m). But it also could be those stations were listening to the west with their directional receive antennas, not towards the east since it was daylight here. If this was the case, be sure to take a listen back towards the east every once in a while. With the Sun in the southern hemisphere, ionospheric absorption is minimal on the mid to high latitude northern hemisphere paths. I hope to work some of you tomorrow morning! Carl K9LA _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Topband: 630m Crossband Night - Sat FEB 4th
One week from tonight, on Saturday Feb 4th, the 2nd Midwinter 630m Activity Event will take place. The highlight of this event will be the opportunity for amateurs, throughout North America, to attempt crossband CW contacts with Canadian amateurs operating on 630m. Canadian stations will call CQ on announced frequencies within the 630m band and listen on individual HF (QSX) frequencies for callers. Due to the RTTY and Sprint activities on the same night, some of the QSX frequencies have been shifted from those that might normally have been used in the past. There appears to be a lot of growing interest in 630m among topband operators. It is hoped that the USA will soon have access to 630m as a ham band. There will also be a large turnout of U.S. experimental activity, either in beacon mode or in two-way QSO mode with other experimental service stations. In past events, several Transcontinental crossband contacts have been completed. It is hoped that operating events such as this can serve to demonstrate the interesting propagation possibilities of this unique part of the spectrum and generate more new interest in the 630m band. To read more about this event, please see the ARRL news announcement here: http://www.arrl.org/news/second-annual-midwinter-630-meter-activity-night-set-for-february-4-5 This time out, there will be six Canadian stations, from Newfoundland to the west coast, hoping to work as many of you as possible! Station: CF7MM (Mark) CN89 Coquitlam, British Columbia Time: February 5, 0200-0700 UTC Transmit frequency: 475.0 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 1,801 kHz, 3,501 kHz, 3,528, and 7,028 kHz Station: VE7BDQ (John) CN89 Delta, British Columbia Time: February 5, 0300-0700 UTC Transmit frequency: 474.0 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 1,833 kHz, 3,533 kHz Station: CG7CNF (Toby) CN89 Burnaby, British Columbia Time: February 5, 0200-0800 UTC Transmit frequency: 476.5 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 1,827 kHz, 3,527 kHz, 7,027 kHz Station: VE7SL (Steve) CN88 Mayne Island, British Columbia Time: February 5, 0200-0700 UTC Transmit frequency: 473.0 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 3,526 kHz, 7,115 kHz Station: VO1NA (Joe) GN37 Torbay, Newfoundland Time: February 4, 2130 UTC, until February 5, 0130 UTC; After 0130 UTC, 5WPM CW beacon until 1000 UTC Transmit frequency: 477.7 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 3,525.5 kHz Station: VE3OT (Mitch) EN92 London, Ontario Time: February 5, -0500 UTC Transmit frequency: 477.0 kHz Receive (QSX) frequency: 3,610 kHz, 7,105 kHz Steve, VE7SL 73 New site location: WEB - "The VE7SL Radio Notebook": http://qsl.net/ve7sl/ VE7SL BLOG - "Homebrewing and Operating Adventures From 2200m to Nanowaves": http://ve7sl.blogspot.ca/ _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Re: Topband: More noise
Those cheap Baofeng chargers also generate a lot of noise on 160. Was sitting here wondering why tonight my noise level was S6 when it was S2 last night. Unplugged that piece of junk and noise is gone. Makes me want to throw the whole thing away, caused me a good 1-2 hours of frustration. wt2p On 1/28/2017 5:14 PM, Mike Waters wrote: LOTS of wall chargers are very bad. :-) Often, making a toroid choke by wrapping about 14t of the cord around a 2.4" OD type 31 ferrite core will kill the noise. 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 3:33 PM, James Wolf wrote: Nook wall chargers are also very bad. Jim - KR9U It turns out the the XYL was using a new (aftermarket) charger for her Galaxy Note 4 phone. This one was really bad. _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Re: Topband: More noise
LOTS of wall chargers are very bad. :-) Often, making a toroid choke by wrapping about 14t of the cord around a 2.4" OD type 31 ferrite core will kill the noise. 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 3:33 PM, James Wolf wrote: > Nook wall chargers are also very bad. > Jim - KR9U > > It turns out the the XYL was using a new (aftermarket) charger for her > Galaxy Note 4 phone. This one was really bad. > _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Re: Topband: More noise
Nook wall chargers are also very bad. Jim - KR9U It turns out the the XYL was using a new (aftermarket) charger for her Galaxy Note 4 phone. This one was really bad. The label reads model SK01G-0500100U. _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Topband: Webinar - Waller Flag RX Antenna 101 - How to Construct a WF
Join us for a webinar on Feb 16, 2017 at 9:00 PM EST Register now! - https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7735767269616129539 JC N4IS covers the concepts and decisions to build your own WF low band high performance receive antenna. Topics include: 1- What is a Waller Flag 2- Horizontal or vertical poles. 3- Common node noise, and detuning towers or TX antennas 4- Phasing lines and transformers 5- Feed lines and chokes 6- Preamplifiers, filter and R/T switches 7- How to measure pattern (polar plot) 8- How to test and evaluate results. 73 Ken K4ZW _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Topband: More noise
I noticed the band noise was up a bit last night. I assumed it was due to the known sources in this area. i.e. neighbors houses, and trees touching AC distribution lines. This morning, I rewired the computer network. Afterward I did the due diligence check for receive RFI in the shack. I was greeted with a huge amount of noise. I tracked it down using an FT-817 coupled to an old Zenith Wavemagnet. It turns out the the XYL was using a new (aftermarket) charger for her Galaxy Note 4 phone. This one was really bad. The label reads model SK01G-0500100U. FWIW, Art NK8X _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Re: Topband: west coast in the mornings
I suspect that lack of receiving antennas is the most likely cause. I noticed the same thing here on the East Coast when trying to work Europeans. Some had very loud signals but couldn't hear very well...requiring many, many repeats of the call sign. I thought it was just me having a problem with the TX antenna, but then noticed that other stations with even better set ups than mine were having the same difficulty with the same stations. However, I did notice that my beverages had very little effect early in the contest, but by 0400 UTC were beginning to behave normally. Some weird propagation was definitely at work. Heavy QSB at times didn't help matters. Still, this is one fun contest! 73, Ken K4XL On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 9:56 AM, Carl Luetzelschwab < carlluetzelsch...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi guys and gals, > > After walking Snoopy and going out for breakfast this morning, I got back > on 160m around 1320z (8:20 AM local here in Ft Wayne - about a half hour > past our sunrise). Between 1324z and 1340z I worked AZ, CO and OR with > decent signals on my SAL-20 Shared Apex Loop. > > I also heard quite a few other West Coast stations, but they kept CQing in > my face. It could be they have a noise problem or it could be a propagation > issue (since we don't fully understand all the interesting things that > happen on 160m). > > But it also could be those stations were listening to the west with their > directional receive antennas, not towards the east since it was daylight > here. If this was the case, be sure to take a listen back towards the east > every once in a while. With the Sun in the southern hemisphere, ionospheric > absorption is minimal on the mid to high latitude northern hemisphere > paths. > > I hope to work some of you tomorrow morning! > > Carl K9LA > _ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > -- Ken - K4XL BoatAnchor Manual Archive BAMA - http://bama.edebris.com _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
Topband: west coast in the mornings
Hi guys and gals, After walking Snoopy and going out for breakfast this morning, I got back on 160m around 1320z (8:20 AM local here in Ft Wayne - about a half hour past our sunrise). Between 1324z and 1340z I worked AZ, CO and OR with decent signals on my SAL-20 Shared Apex Loop. I also heard quite a few other West Coast stations, but they kept CQing in my face. It could be they have a noise problem or it could be a propagation issue (since we don't fully understand all the interesting things that happen on 160m). But it also could be those stations were listening to the west with their directional receive antennas, not towards the east since it was daylight here. If this was the case, be sure to take a listen back towards the east every once in a while. With the Sun in the southern hemisphere, ionospheric absorption is minimal on the mid to high latitude northern hemisphere paths. I hope to work some of you tomorrow morning! Carl K9LA _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
