tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64805661638900492352024-03-13T16:50:14.236-05:00KG5CCI's Radio (and more!) PageThis site is dedicated to my pursuits in Amateur Radio, Cooking, Travel, Fishing, Firearms, National Parks, Engineering and Coding, with the occasional explosion thrown in. It's a bit all over the place, but enjoy the stories. KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-49032510325636398152022-08-29T07:00:00.001-05:002022-08-29T07:00:00.184-05:00Park #6 - Mount Rainier<p>Back in June 2014 I had to do a work trip to Seattle. We decided to stay a few days later and go see some of Doni's family, and a do a trip around Mount Rainier and the Olympic Peninsula. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipfABLJyow0tPHqshri8LLlWQmDwvoMLl9wuGLTPyLoRcpuIyAzEQXenUlPIsv_4-tvm7OTXgjw4KymOkxYc3EvRGbtOHzywP3-KU66xZdC9oskR7Js1MQFAJxqDdL22AtSsCH2LklWTz6zT8WBEeK4cXrogXrmZZHRJ-BSbkN8lLztax76JWBYcsE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="1730" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipfABLJyow0tPHqshri8LLlWQmDwvoMLl9wuGLTPyLoRcpuIyAzEQXenUlPIsv_4-tvm7OTXgjw4KymOkxYc3EvRGbtOHzywP3-KU66xZdC9oskR7Js1MQFAJxqDdL22AtSsCH2LklWTz6zT8WBEeK4cXrogXrmZZHRJ-BSbkN8lLztax76JWBYcsE" width="320" /></a></div><p>Seattle is one of those places where the mountain kinda dominates the skyline: </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoG3HwOYJgPjpF1w1uC6_VH4w9KPaZ6lKXBhQI_DH22gFzDlvcGqxw70h7ISP3zDjz6OjCc6o8LoaolPZ3oobphuWroseu29QwXmleBKhp13KScZPPCZHAHMlsiZ9yJuqwr_u5p3kVxnA4sRDV-dHC6v3BfEsyJlbxOr5gnpUcb9_FwGh1OgWqIxGF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="594" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoG3HwOYJgPjpF1w1uC6_VH4w9KPaZ6lKXBhQI_DH22gFzDlvcGqxw70h7ISP3zDjz6OjCc6o8LoaolPZ3oobphuWroseu29QwXmleBKhp13KScZPPCZHAHMlsiZ9yJuqwr_u5p3kVxnA4sRDV-dHC6v3BfEsyJlbxOr5gnpUcb9_FwGh1OgWqIxGF" width="180" /></a></div><br />But we took a day and drove around and into the park from the Northwest, circled east, and then came out on the southeast side before going across the Tacoma Narrows. The mountain is up there in the fog:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGUSMGbWW9JK5jI93BtAaYyio_9eevbr8lqQdaAt3DcyYsxWp-RWjxGK7XnvnjMRXd25u_7Q-jPr7Iz_gK7lfvSEgktluEXZGq0NJ-YCSFnHSu2OhlGs6mK792hfNvtbZv1I1Vnz-vCkqoMuQJQeck-RK4w5d8kk-uZn02WQdKWizMqcN9oPk-5LB-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="594" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGUSMGbWW9JK5jI93BtAaYyio_9eevbr8lqQdaAt3DcyYsxWp-RWjxGK7XnvnjMRXd25u_7Q-jPr7Iz_gK7lfvSEgktluEXZGq0NJ-YCSFnHSu2OhlGs6mK792hfNvtbZv1I1Vnz-vCkqoMuQJQeck-RK4w5d8kk-uZn02WQdKWizMqcN9oPk-5LB-" width="180" /></a></div><br />I even brought a little radio with me, and tried to make a 2m Simplex contact from Paradise:<p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4ovU1OVQtaPh0LW8HZ0vTepPl20U3_DZlqOseHuJWGYVkoDCnR6fD62CdG0Uwm5f88YO1D6wcRE2jKNIJlMX1zxuKXmqCSrUG2BqLHjm9kIITTZ7iM0DfIZgovMbj64StOB-3V8SZbRdhd54xdiICSV_CPfiJRbepNuzu9DGq_hob4-yUhOlIgKQX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1056" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4ovU1OVQtaPh0LW8HZ0vTepPl20U3_DZlqOseHuJWGYVkoDCnR6fD62CdG0Uwm5f88YO1D6wcRE2jKNIJlMX1zxuKXmqCSrUG2BqLHjm9kIITTZ7iM0DfIZgovMbj64StOB-3V8SZbRdhd54xdiICSV_CPfiJRbepNuzu9DGq_hob4-yUhOlIgKQX" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Mount Rainier was a neat place. Unless I decide to climb it someday, I don't see myself needing to go back though. Lots of big mountains I haven't seen yet, but glad I saw this one :)<p></p><p><br /><br /></p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-77237880917451305172022-08-22T07:00:00.005-05:002022-08-22T07:00:00.171-05:00Park #5 - White Sands<p> I've been to White Sands twice now.. first back in 2010 I went for the Bataan Death March... where I walked 15 miles thru the dirt and sand to get a coin, and remember the sacrifice they made...... and then Also on the Atomic Amsat Road Trip. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o3ljIV8MRbtPilI_Rjwi4gJmDsEbfjF7q-kPhnxEHqnnv6bAvKswlH-Eo7WVMbuGEKGkEWZLUwZn8FDkdc8zAFWBg_uPcGwvbLvRl--s7fiuBDphgLUUYZT_dTmMS5K6p8XgOOU2-pDpoEB8NAHu4oqP0Ju34X5TrHCRQ3JGt0PZXLXMQhp7Wh_x/s615/nukebomb.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="615" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o3ljIV8MRbtPilI_Rjwi4gJmDsEbfjF7q-kPhnxEHqnnv6bAvKswlH-Eo7WVMbuGEKGkEWZLUwZn8FDkdc8zAFWBg_uPcGwvbLvRl--s7fiuBDphgLUUYZT_dTmMS5K6p8XgOOU2-pDpoEB8NAHu4oqP0Ju34X5TrHCRQ3JGt0PZXLXMQhp7Wh_x/s320/nukebomb.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a pic from doing the Bataan Death March (God I look young):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrQUitRtUSN6-vOsp9y8YeQa_T75m1IC8hzHeMK5YJzwrYPOiZL6SNQLgJOPrqAeUSZUvzU1f5ox4ZhSVzP5N_ffSWmuAiIrzvES1DkT_M5gH9aNxOVUaeQGv2st8ERwH1LaFi2lZsyC_-dOhE3ZV5ostajz3KAj-_veHuIZgz7Iter_73zR7PuZu/s711/daveatwhitesands.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="711" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrQUitRtUSN6-vOsp9y8YeQa_T75m1IC8hzHeMK5YJzwrYPOiZL6SNQLgJOPrqAeUSZUvzU1f5ox4ZhSVzP5N_ffSWmuAiIrzvES1DkT_M5gH9aNxOVUaeQGv2st8ERwH1LaFi2lZsyC_-dOhE3ZV5ostajz3KAj-_veHuIZgz7Iter_73zR7PuZu/s320/daveatwhitesands.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And of course you can read about the Atomic AMSAT Roadtrip here, on the portion we were at White Sands: <a href="http://www.kg5cci.com/2017/05/the-atomic-amsat-roadtrip-part-ii.html">http://www.kg5cci.com/2017/05/the-atomic-amsat-roadtrip-part-ii.html</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's all I've really got on this one. Been there, done that... it's centrally located to things I like, so I might be back there again :)</div></div></div><p></p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-53545270564092404042022-08-17T14:09:00.004-05:002022-08-17T14:09:26.751-05:00Park #4 - Glacier Bay<p>This summer (2022) I knocked one of the big tough parks off my list... Glacier Bay. My folks have been wanting to do something with the family for a few years now, and also return to Alaska. Combine that with the fact we haven't done a good family vacation in several years cause of the Pandemic, and collectively we all decided to an Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage. In the planning stages we specifically made sure we would be with a company, and on a boat, that spent a day in Glacier Bay. There are other ways to get to the park, but we would see the coolest stuff on a big boat, with guides that showed us around. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjs-xiD2mJmHpw4SMi4lc2xWR9Fi4Zl-TX2ePbCmqZFBL2jXYHmd9oIFwn11Ldnzb9o_-x0h1k412SUJxHq_TW-RUsN2B5jgHutrnYpb9fME83mjadyimpkMJGIFWc8G2fvk1MFxB3uN4-w8Ila46CY--tM5zEcTEeumphMBv_m1CYR2oly1R-Uf7lJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1132" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjs-xiD2mJmHpw4SMi4lc2xWR9Fi4Zl-TX2ePbCmqZFBL2jXYHmd9oIFwn11Ldnzb9o_-x0h1k412SUJxHq_TW-RUsN2B5jgHutrnYpb9fME83mjadyimpkMJGIFWc8G2fvk1MFxB3uN4-w8Ila46CY--tM5zEcTEeumphMBv_m1CYR2oly1R-Uf7lJ" width="320" /></a></div><br />We entered the bay and the Park in the morning and met an NPS boat with rangers who boarded the ship. We then floated around and looked at bears, porpoises, whales:<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiahFxmvownVn1oh9VqKn4VR0WfiG_mgC8-B0iLMDwOnkEGwD8JMfXwnSStUuKFVLe4-1yXUq6GWydGyDotK0vQyrJcumlOHYogxzd_uYvaoMpT47GikSLX6-tzvLo1p4Q_slfQi3tdvFs5xla7Pl2zXY-Y3ytk_5AQGleVBWIgcGpd8F2V_e1-aSaE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1056" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiahFxmvownVn1oh9VqKn4VR0WfiG_mgC8-B0iLMDwOnkEGwD8JMfXwnSStUuKFVLe4-1yXUq6GWydGyDotK0vQyrJcumlOHYogxzd_uYvaoMpT47GikSLX6-tzvLo1p4Q_slfQi3tdvFs5xla7Pl2zXY-Y3ytk_5AQGleVBWIgcGpd8F2V_e1-aSaE" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div> and of course, glaciers:<p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8tzhbUpH1_rOAVSKQiVnJa9gUDPtovxAE-hYwsozHQai6ZTEDFohzd4jpJJDfcDCFf7FT3eTW7VZriIfdKqkiNLcqFde4NmVkj_7-00kyLe2GexvWSBQkf4AtpD051ccpkw8zvukb9pTIUwQ9xlJ0AbDBNUud0erPcCkLDB1NjfqCJ8R4fQgN794u" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1056" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8tzhbUpH1_rOAVSKQiVnJa9gUDPtovxAE-hYwsozHQai6ZTEDFohzd4jpJJDfcDCFf7FT3eTW7VZriIfdKqkiNLcqFde4NmVkj_7-00kyLe2GexvWSBQkf4AtpD051ccpkw8zvukb9pTIUwQ9xlJ0AbDBNUud0erPcCkLDB1NjfqCJ8R4fQgN794u" width="320" /></a></div><br />There was one other cruise ship in the Bay with us, but we only saw them one other time: </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgySDlx6JhHylfnGT7DjsowtH328ZeXdjvDnyiytuaCPQ1MEI0nvDcv-C4mB2E52i7X3lGGX9FLPz2VqDQ0Kth6Rz6bDtIQgOglRFHGuXoioOOWBy4uuWtk514IrmjFmG-2dQOSUeC7hs_vvM8RDJGeN_i-AREaOTkfWiUjJ4GonIF9bD2TQGkAqDjt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1056" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgySDlx6JhHylfnGT7DjsowtH328ZeXdjvDnyiytuaCPQ1MEI0nvDcv-C4mB2E52i7X3lGGX9FLPz2VqDQ0Kth6Rz6bDtIQgOglRFHGuXoioOOWBy4uuWtk514IrmjFmG-2dQOSUeC7hs_vvM8RDJGeN_i-AREaOTkfWiUjJ4GonIF9bD2TQGkAqDjt" width="320" /></a></div><br />There were additionally some ocean Kayakers being dropped off by a smaller ship from Juneau, who were going in for close ups of the tidewater glaciers via human power: </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd0YftOys_rQ8bruq_1AuUFWKff2wYKzFKl8xz8XJLmjXXkjp59hmj1OawZV4S8uAiFjp0BqPk706PQixjmyYofI3Y5o-mZCY0VlSBXw6ubfoYLG674oUh6YSRa3i6sz8_vEyE9X_5BrdszKVBhFjyr9OVrEN0QgVV7UPfqkpUrHmR2OtXcUfR4ACC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1056" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd0YftOys_rQ8bruq_1AuUFWKff2wYKzFKl8xz8XJLmjXXkjp59hmj1OawZV4S8uAiFjp0BqPk706PQixjmyYofI3Y5o-mZCY0VlSBXw6ubfoYLG674oUh6YSRa3i6sz8_vEyE9X_5BrdszKVBhFjyr9OVrEN0QgVV7UPfqkpUrHmR2OtXcUfR4ACC" width="320" /></a></div><br />I'd never seen a true tidewater glacier before, until this trip... and on this trip I saw bunches of them. It's one of those places I'd like to go back and spend more time, say like in a Kayak, but for now seeing the entire park and the remnants of the different pieces of the Grand Pacific Glacier was totally worth it. </div></div>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-52508394238918768592022-02-01T10:32:00.002-06:002022-02-01T10:32:10.331-06:00Park #3 - Channel Islands<p> This one is a quick one - it's basically a rehash from an earlier blog post. In the fall of 2016, Wyatt, AC0RA, and me went to grid CM93 with satellite gear, and CM93 happens to be exclusively location in the Channel Islands National Park. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB2YCwR9DRtMsHSdlLpR--D5-0Sl9NDsblusHQh0Wfe35N6wLlO3v9uREbsrwQKqUraA20wedcwsEVY_Pv8YIHDZitfhfNqv69kVw2BSvAOBdSVp4twgGp8x5ljcFZyT36DIVxiWn5ETDqP7AtxKKus8pe-bRZL354XTJtV3ufBETgeIfD8fUPVBoV=s500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="500" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB2YCwR9DRtMsHSdlLpR--D5-0Sl9NDsblusHQh0Wfe35N6wLlO3v9uREbsrwQKqUraA20wedcwsEVY_Pv8YIHDZitfhfNqv69kVw2BSvAOBdSVp4twgGp8x5ljcFZyT36DIVxiWn5ETDqP7AtxKKus8pe-bRZL354XTJtV3ufBETgeIfD8fUPVBoV=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I did a 3 part blog series about the Islands, and really don't have much else to say on the topic. Here's the links here:</p><p>http://www.kg5cci.com/2016/10/getting-to-getting-around-and-surviving.html</p><p>http://www.kg5cci.com/2016/11/cm93-part-2-amateur-radio-from-edge-of.html</p><p>http://www.kg5cci.com/2017/05/cm93-part-3-channel-islands-national.html</p><p><br /></p><p>That's all I've really got for this one. National Park #3 on my list :)</p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-9359245057679584952022-01-17T07:00:00.022-06:002022-01-17T07:00:00.167-06:00Park #2 - Great Sand Dunes<p><b> Great Sand Dunes National Park: Visited June 25th, 2010 </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4VbcIlSjOadyRJ1lfhgJcpac7iqeqjSwVZZRzqzGqDZ7ZbrU4hdNoKqH4SVaMO6EDF4BcDX1P98mNmzF9mYAz2zIbYrKe0-XVRGnPMmm-TPxJZlwHb6ttsMw7QYIZ_Kp5FNqh0BfN1R3wQYk13RRRs_ZKLbX_lNox2RFw3bFGD0H9M7ywWrO13InG=s775" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="775" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4VbcIlSjOadyRJ1lfhgJcpac7iqeqjSwVZZRzqzGqDZ7ZbrU4hdNoKqH4SVaMO6EDF4BcDX1P98mNmzF9mYAz2zIbYrKe0-XVRGnPMmm-TPxJZlwHb6ttsMw7QYIZ_Kp5FNqh0BfN1R3wQYk13RRRs_ZKLbX_lNox2RFw3bFGD0H9M7ywWrO13InG=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This park Doni and I visited back in 2010 when we were on our way to my sister Beth's wedding up in Summit County of Colorado. Even though I'd been to Colorado many time, Great Sand Dune is on the west side of the Crestone range, meaning there's not a particularly good way to get to it, without having a reason to go there. In this case our path to Summit County took us west across Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico and up into Colorado from the south. From there we cut across the gap in the Crestones south of Blanca peak and into the area from the south. We had an afternoon free, so we stopped and dinked around in the sand. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguGtdoLr9_XZ3g7f42gzIFj6mNgYQPZmPMHRD9xHVqlBINAVUcUJuvFiCvu793cnCtba2SBJObq0PV_pd2CBwp4wFDXTghTfx0zWQtV13WVLjxNpCGG09JRJAxu-merHunv8jXDGsW8of3BRLeipk3N17Gu5IwWIh556SnJbi7pLFyBoRW3z2i5z3F=s604" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguGtdoLr9_XZ3g7f42gzIFj6mNgYQPZmPMHRD9xHVqlBINAVUcUJuvFiCvu793cnCtba2SBJObq0PV_pd2CBwp4wFDXTghTfx0zWQtV13WVLjxNpCGG09JRJAxu-merHunv8jXDGsW8of3BRLeipk3N17Gu5IwWIh556SnJbi7pLFyBoRW3z2i5z3F=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p>The dunes were huge, and that time of the year Medano creek was flowing well, so it almost had a 'beach' feel to it, with the sand water and sun. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCqOxzDV4UM2QdhKvq9L1rOqXObDegzoYl604ZwFnUv8uFGYqhY2mHbfn8xbVNNDGOcYzzD5kuSKraYPDKAS8Kr4tqZuYp1cxlP53WD_Kdt3geS6vrGPviIAn8DIAUc8McRDKabWcsJPd9nw09WTW6e5BjG4ksmY188vokqTF9o3m5Yc3s9_N4zJ0T=s604" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCqOxzDV4UM2QdhKvq9L1rOqXObDegzoYl604ZwFnUv8uFGYqhY2mHbfn8xbVNNDGOcYzzD5kuSKraYPDKAS8Kr4tqZuYp1cxlP53WD_Kdt3geS6vrGPviIAn8DIAUc8McRDKabWcsJPd9nw09WTW6e5BjG4ksmY188vokqTF9o3m5Yc3s9_N4zJ0T=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Unfortunately there was a large forest fire raging in the high peaks of the Crestones just to the east of us. It wasn't threatening the park per se, but I did notice some ash and soot in Medano creek, which was interesting. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis8his8EALc54RisgrYCWnycc9M7gNqVqUdK0_s4anIq8UMrYXh-Gn7bLSiOwZPNVg2U2alO8j51ZfDwrWj8UUtncWp29tHGpL0Ul5pb7fTeymUWhrgmG1cfvxM3p2dJoOhbpqy7aRMdCtrNO0KgBbanQtrHWe4GOmjxHdj07rkukGQi-Kgqr9nobn=s480" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="480" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEis8his8EALc54RisgrYCWnycc9M7gNqVqUdK0_s4anIq8UMrYXh-Gn7bLSiOwZPNVg2U2alO8j51ZfDwrWj8UUtncWp29tHGpL0Ul5pb7fTeymUWhrgmG1cfvxM3p2dJoOhbpqy7aRMdCtrNO0KgBbanQtrHWe4GOmjxHdj07rkukGQi-Kgqr9nobn=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon stop at an out of the way National Park. </p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-24365684666967740862022-01-10T07:00:00.001-06:002022-01-10T07:00:00.172-06:00Park #1 - Hot Springs National Park<p></p><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hot Springs National Park: </h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/miles-extranet-dev/image/upload/w_800,h_480,c_fill/Arkansas/migration_photos/21/6-hot_springs_national_park_102012_ach8443" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="330" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/miles-extranet-dev/image/upload/w_800,h_480,c_fill/Arkansas/migration_photos/21/6-hot_springs_national_park_102012_ach8443" width="551" /></a></div><br />So this one is easy. This was my 'local park' for the better part of 12 years when I lived in Little Rock. It was right down the road, and just required an easy drive. Heck I got married technically "in" Hot Springs National Park:<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgccCkYsvyWRm_E4tA0N7Ms8QA1lu82Rxii7WKE2X9Raje0bxktNiLt6SJyAtS_xS-Zybwlw0CXNq6gj4R1a3aORuqFM-nfl1_GsyQ0BCS8SxT4jARunlhJ2SAek666yPW-6Q7pXbf7aAVeNFJ_pGMM9VLhPWYtYntJ8o6vpmSGOdzU-U34cve4noNh=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgccCkYsvyWRm_E4tA0N7Ms8QA1lu82Rxii7WKE2X9Raje0bxktNiLt6SJyAtS_xS-Zybwlw0CXNq6gj4R1a3aORuqFM-nfl1_GsyQ0BCS8SxT4jARunlhJ2SAek666yPW-6Q7pXbf7aAVeNFJ_pGMM9VLhPWYtYntJ8o6vpmSGOdzU-U34cve4noNh=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This was at the Old Mill wedding chapel on the north side of the park. I've been trying to find some other better pictures, but before the age of Google Photos I'm having to dig back thru memory sticks and such... oh well, 'tis technology... </p><p>Either way, I've been in and around Hot Springs National Park many times over the past 10 years, so that's why it's park blog #1 on my list. If I ever find more pictures, I'll add them :)</p><p><br /></p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-63547557330650474722022-01-01T16:56:00.003-06:002022-01-01T17:08:34.705-06:00The National Park Challenge<p> So I'm adding a new category to this blog, in the hopes that it might get me writing a few more things more often. It's simple enough category, and it's all about a goal... and the goal is simple: </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>I want to travel to all of the National Parks in the United States in my life. </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzQowBLqhauNVLHbhPMkLgwdQuqEcBU9j28vsT04dKvbJ0-luZvc8t4VSAlxEc-6olcduGTFVOKtFpaNELkd5Q4R4DnoJdlkpT-N4xge4W7DY742D-2pjYl_q2mLWMhOJktbxBdyRIz3etnI9es0-bU2u2Kft95wUK7t7g8PSoShj3c_OwaAdcQ6WE=s1562" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1562" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzQowBLqhauNVLHbhPMkLgwdQuqEcBU9j28vsT04dKvbJ0-luZvc8t4VSAlxEc-6olcduGTFVOKtFpaNELkd5Q4R4DnoJdlkpT-N4xge4W7DY742D-2pjYl_q2mLWMhOJktbxBdyRIz3etnI9es0-bU2u2Kft95wUK7t7g8PSoShj3c_OwaAdcQ6WE=s320" width="246" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Yup. It's that simple. And yet it's not. So, let's start with the basic. </p><h2 style="text-align: center;">The Parks</h2><div>There are 63 National Parks in the US as of January 1st, 2022 - when I'm writing this. I've already been to 18 of them before, though 4 I probably should go back and revisit, cause I was only driving thru quickly and didn't get a chance to do much. The remaining 14 I've seen most everything I wanted to see, and would be OK not looping back to them again without a reason. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of the 45 parks I still need to visit, 30 of them only require me to literally get in my truck and start driving, albeit some are a fair distance. Of the 15 left after that 7 of them require a fairly long flight to either Alaska, Hawaii, or American Samoa first - and then I can drive to the park. 4 of the remainders require a flight, a drive, and a boat trip, and the final 4 require a flight, a drive, another flight, and then an amount of backcountry work involving planes, boats, and hiking. </div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: center;">My List:</h2></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYixr6xckqxGjqdYd1gSdzcACcF_uVp6qsv5pLakZptxOc8uhjYImEh1-SP2fevAcq2SEOMu47aslFmzSVI6a8ABsN4_PwRSq1ebFXvxx-GzcQc5bTVCbmf2iHalMWpU5oHqA7c8mPc2Qn4s1fdi6rmZ33oVK19UdNqRTV8ntu3mLSx4YDmIyK4RcA=s884" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="566" height="835" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYixr6xckqxGjqdYd1gSdzcACcF_uVp6qsv5pLakZptxOc8uhjYImEh1-SP2fevAcq2SEOMu47aslFmzSVI6a8ABsN4_PwRSq1ebFXvxx-GzcQc5bTVCbmf2iHalMWpU5oHqA7c8mPc2Qn4s1fdi6rmZ33oVK19UdNqRTV8ntu3mLSx4YDmIyK4RcA=w535-h835" width="535" /></a></div><br /><div>So, as you can see I've got a ways to go. I think what I'm planning on doing for this blog's sake is trying to cover parks I've been to in the past, post some pictures or something, and then use that as my reference for "I've been to that park". I've never been one much for remembering my NPS 'Passport' book, but I do normally take pictures. </div><div><h2 style="text-align: center;">Anyhoo...</h2></div><p>That's really it for now. This is my plan. I've written it down, let's see how things go. I'll be back thruout 2022 providing updates. Most will likely be short and sweet, some might be more detailed. Good luck to me. </p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-13466514228917019442021-04-29T10:17:00.009-05:002021-04-29T15:01:04.143-05:00So, you wanna be a 6m Rover eh?<p>Wow, look at you! You've completed working all 488 grid squares in the lower 48 on Satellites, and you've gone out and roved to a whole bunch of your neighboring grids with your trusty arrow and that pair of 817s or your new 9700. You've achieved one of the great feats in VHF/UHF and you've helped other get there too. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CsjQNueWYns/YHdaYO6qenI/AAAAAAAACMs/kuUCL6vysk0uuVZdnD2GHKg0tlkBhSUawCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="217" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CsjQNueWYns/YHdaYO6qenI/AAAAAAAACMs/kuUCL6vysk0uuVZdnD2GHKg0tlkBhSUawCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="243" /></a></div><br />OK well maybe not. Granted, I'm writing this entry today because of another friend recently hitting the gridmaster milestone, and of course I hit it a few years back, but I know there's just a lot of random folks who like to go out and rove, and especially in the Satellite world roving has become just part of the community. My goal here is to share how I'd like to see mentality become part of the 6m community too. Why? Well strap in, and let's break it down. <p></p><h4 style="text-align: center;">What is 6?</h4><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">6 Meters is the lowest frequency VHF band (or highest frequency of the HF bands, depending on where you draw the line) and so it has a lot in common with the 2m band that Amsat operators are well and familiar with. The wavelengths are short, so you can use it with manageable sized Yagis for high directionality and gain. It's great for Tropospheric duct style openings like 2m is, and you've got a lot of bandwidth in the Amateur portion (4mhz) so there's plenty of room to spread out with different modes, there's even some repeaters around on 6m. Chasers on 6 are mostly concerned with collecting grid squares, like they are on Sats and the other VHF bands. The VUCC award applies on 6 (and is highly sought after) and the ultimate prize for US based 6m operators is the 'Fred Fish Memorial Award' which is given to anyone working the 488 / 488 grid squares in the lower 48 on 6m. It is the 6m equivalent of Gridmaster, and just as (if not more) prestigious than gridmaster. </span></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BNMXoWVzZmQ/YHdbTeJ4LNI/AAAAAAAACM0/ekN95ifwNJ0ChfN89UjQ84u2-jjty2NOACLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-04-14%2Bat%2B4.14.36%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="466" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BNMXoWVzZmQ/YHdbTeJ4LNI/AAAAAAAACM0/ekN95ifwNJ0ChfN89UjQ84u2-jjty2NOACLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-04-14%2Bat%2B4.14.36%2BPM.png" width="175" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">6m also has a lot in common with some of the other higher freq HF frequencies too. Most HF rigs these days include 6m as standard. While 6m doesn't always bounce off of the layers of the atmosphere, it will <i>sometimes </i>leading to the ability to DX with it. There's also a form of atmospheric propagation known as <i>Sporadic-E</i> which is a form of shorter range 'skip' that allows an operator to work out to about 1500 miles, well beyond line of sight, but much shorter than traditional F and D layers openings you see with other HF bands. Sometimes multiple E openings will chain together and you can get 'multi-hop' conditions which get you out to 3000, or even 4500 and 6000 miles away as well, allowing for crazy long distance contacts on 6. There's also a form a propagation that works well on 6 meters known as <i>meteor scatter</i> which allows very loud and short paths to form out to about 1200 miles off of the trail of plasma that forms when a rock is burning up in our atmosphere. There's also this funky phenomenon known as <i>Trans Equatorial Propagation </i>or <i>TEP</i> that is kind of like a high altitude Sporadic-E opening the forms right over the equator... the point is there's a lot more ways you can bounce a 6m signal longer distance than you can with all the other VHF frequencies</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: center;">Why Rove on 6?</h4><div><br /></div><div>Well for starters it's easy. Unlike trying to do an expedition on HF - which will most likely require you going to another country to be on the receiving end of a pileup, just like on Satellites a rare grid may only be an hour away from your house. You can do an expedition on a Saturday morning, hand out a rare grid to a bunch of grateful chasers, and be back home by lunch. For those of you like me who like on the fun end of a radio pile-up, this is a deal that can't be beat. Second, the gear is manageable. A 6m Yagi is bigger than an arrow, but not so big you can't fit in a small car broken down (I rove in a mustang). You need low loss coax, but nothing ridiculous like hard line. LMR400 or LMR240 is excellent, but even good ol RG8x will be sufficient if you keep your runs short. As mentioned earlier, if you have a modern HF radio, you probably already have the band on your rig - so no transverters or other funky gizmos required. 3rd - Variety. As mentioned above there's LOTS of different propagation modes, so you have lots of ways to be effective. If you want to get on the mic, aim for May/June/July when Sporadic-E is popping and have yourself a nice sideband pileup. I love meteor scatter digital modes, so I aim for early weekend mornings when the meteors are good and crank out 30-40 contacts in a couple hours and have a quick easy WSJT log to upload. CW is also still alive and well, especially during the E-Skip season so you can do that too. No matter your preference for operating, you can find someone to work you on 6m on your mode of choice. 4th - The community. Like with Satellites there is a highly dedicated group here in the US that communicates online (Not as much Twitter as Slack and a handful of mailing lists and webpages with chat functions) talking about rare grids and where to find contacts. They're also very supportive of rovers and really get into the 'chasing' mentality. Think about the Satellite chasing community, and then add a bunch of big gun operators with fixed stations with huge amps all pointed at you... It's a lot of fun. </div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: center;">Alright, I'm in.. what now?</h4></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, first you need a 6m station that you can rove with. This is going to consist of a 6m capable radio, some way to power that radio, something modulate your signals into that radio like a microphone, or a usb to computer connection, or a sound card like a Signalink... you'll need some coax, a 6m antenna, what you want to put your antenna on, and then some way of getting around, namely a vehicle. So, let's double click on some of this:</div><h4 style="text-align: center;">The Rig:</h4><div><br /></div><div>As stated earlier, most newer solid state HF radios come with 6m built in, so it's pretty easy to find something with the capability to transmit there. The first difference between rigs you'll run into is the barefoot power rating. Bigger radios all made by the bigger brands (Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood) will typically run 100w peak on 6m. There's also a number of QRP rigs out there that will run barefoot powers of 5w or 10w, and then some stuff in the middle from different vendors in the 25w to 50w range. There's also a bunch of older and random stuff all over. Here's the first big difference from Satellites I'll point out - 6m - like EME - more power is better. Always. 100% of the time. You have no need to be careful with your power here, you're not going to burn some receiver up (unless you're doing something really stupid) so run all the wattz you can. If you want to use your slick new IC-705 or old trusty 817, then feel free to pair it with an Amp of some flavor so you're getting more power to your antenna. The point here is many of the 6m propagation modes that are common and popular are considered <i>weak signal</i> - this doesn't mean you should be QRP, but more the guy trying to RX is listening really hard (like Satellites). Often as a receiver of 6m signal you need to have good ears to hear the rover, and if the rover can run more power, great - it just makes it that much easier. So run power, whenever possible, as much as possible. <br /><br />The other big thing to consider with your rig is ease of use with digital modes - ie will it connect to a laptop. Sure, you can go out for a few months a year and catch some nice SSB opening on 6m and talk on a microphone all the live long day. But more often than not, like with HF, the action is on the WSJT modes. They make the best use of the weak signal properties of 6m propagation, and you also get the ability to do things like high speed meteor scatter, which is more or less impossible with a mic unless you have 2 pretty skilled ops following very particular procedures. So, you can use your old standby rig, but you'll probably need a digital sound interface for it, like a Signalink. The newest of the new HF+6 rigs like the 991 and 7300 have a soundcard built in, so all you have to do is plug in a single usb cord to your laptop and voila - instant digi modes. I highly recommend this approach, especially when roving, because less cords and less stuff is just easier to manage. Been there, done that. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Power Source: </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Power on the road is always a tricky problem. With satellites the passes are so quick, and QRP is considered normal, so you can get away with small batteries, or a cigarette lighter in your vehicle. 6 is a little different, so you got to keep a few things in mind. First, you're going to be in a spot for probably several hours at a minimum, or maybe even a long weekend for a solid activation. During that time if you're on digital you're going to be running 50% duty cycles with full power. This is going to sucks lots of Amps. Refer to your specific rig to find out just how many, but it's going to be noticeable. Second, the digi modes especially require time to make a QSO. A 'good' MSK144 qso might take 5 minutes, whereas you're TX/RX cycle is 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off for that entire 5 minute period. A slower QSO might take as along as 30 minutes doing that. The point is, it can take some time, and during that time your rig is eating power like a tasty burger. So, let's consider our options:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Batteries:</b> Sure, Batteries will work... for a little while. My 8.4ah Zippy that I can get probably 20 satellite passes out of on my 9700 will work for about 30 minutes on my 7300 doing 100w MSK144 on 6m. My old standby 35ah AGM batteries will go for a few hours, but as I've found out over the years the Lead Acid chemistry doesn't deliver enough voltage under load to really work well on rigs trying to put out 100w. At most on these things I usually can get 2-3 hours at about 75w on my 7300. It works OK, but it ain't great. The one battery I do have that is a rock star is my 100ah Bioenno LifePo4 that I paid almost $1000 for (for a very particular purpose) and have used on a few roves. I can get a solid 6-7 hours of 100w MSK on the 7300 with that bad boy before I start having voltage fall off around the 10%-15% capacity charge mark. That's enough you can put a pretty good dent in a Grid's rareness, but consider the cost. So, in short - Batteries <i>can</i> work, but I really don't recommend them if you've got something better. I'll also throw a quick shout to Solar, Wind, and other renewables in this category - I don't really recommend it because it doesn't provide enough power unless you spend thousands of dollars on very specific equipment, but you can augment it with your batteries to give you a little more headroom.... maybe.. You'll have to do the cost:benefit analysis yourself here and see what works best. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Power From Vehicle:</b> OK so batteries are iffy, what about using that portable dead dinosaur burning heat machine with 4 wheels and a spinny magnet thing that has sparks coming out of it? Yup, you certainly can power your rig from your car. Have done, will probably keep doing. Here's a couple things to remember though. 1st, to get good voltage your vehicle needs to be running. Most car batteries are lead-acid chemistry and don't maintain voltage well under the prolonged draw of a radio unless the alternator is charging it at the same time. You also run the risk of running your car battery down by using it for radio stuff and then can't start your vehicle anymore. This is not recommended practice. So you can use your car battery for powering your stuff without the vehicle running, but not for long. With the vehicle running you can normally power a 100w rig for essentially ever, so long as you've got gas. A few considerations though, car electronics make noise in the RF spectrum, if you're going to take this approach spend some quality time grounding and bonding things and adding lots of ferrites so RFI isn't interfering with your ability to hear. This is a topic all unto itself, so I won't dive in deep - just keep it in mind. Second, putting big draws on a <i>car</i> battery for digital cycle times will over time cause your battery to die a lot quicker, even if you're using it with the car running. Exactly why this gets really complicated, but in short a normal car battery is meant to start you engine by dumping a lot of amps into the starter, and then get charged back up by the alternator over time. It's not meant to constantly be dumping amps up and down by something like a high draw radio. The battery will handle it for a while, but consider the normal 3-4 years you might get out of a battery in your car, under heavy roving operation the life might get shortened to 18-24 months. Been there done that, and also have heard tales from other on this. Not the end of the world, but something to keep in mind. You can maybe sorta get around this by installing aftermarket high draw alternators and dedicated accessory batteries with deep cycle chemistry to sit next to your starting battery, but that's way beyond the scope here. The final thing I'll note about powering from your car is while the traditional draw of a 100w rig in the 15A-20A range for full power is usually well within what a vehicle can deliver, if you start adding amplifiers, be very careful. If you start pulling a total of something north of 30A during TX from your car battery, most alternators can't handle that kind of load at engine idle conditions. You will likely drain your battery and be stuck on the side of the road in some rare grid without a jump to help you home. Anyway, all this aside - powering from your car is a perfectly valid solution, with a few caveats and conditions to remember along the way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Generator: </b>The professional rovers choice is simply to bring a dedicated piece of technology to turn hydrocarbons into energy. Behold, the generator. This topic should honestly be self explanatory so I won't dive into too much, just make sure you get something rated to power whatever PSU you're going to use, then scale it up by 25% or so to have overhead. You'll need a vehicle to carry said generator, as well as fuel to power it. You'll need cords to connect everything, and most importantly you'll need to understand how it works to be safe and effective. But, if you do all this, the sky is basically the limit. On the dedicated 6m roves I take with AC0RA every summer we bring along a 9500w generator, and it will power a 6m and 2m station each running in excess of a KW of RF power, and all of our accessories (fans, laptops, phone chargers, ect) and the generator load very rarely will go above 50%. Lots of power, for when lots of power is required. As far as I'm concerned it's the gold standard for powering a rove, but like everything, it adds expense and complexity. Make the choice for yourself as to your flavor of power. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: center;">Antenna:</h4><div><br /></div><div>You need an antenna to operate radio (duh) but which one to get? Lots and lots of choices here, let's look at the pros and cons of each quickly:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Whip: </b>Stifle those laughs, back when I had the Jeep I had a 5/8 wave 2m whip that actually was pretty close to resonant on 6. I made probably 100 sideband contacts on 6m on that thing while truly mobile during 3 summers of e-skip. I want to clarify on this though, I probably could have made those contacts on a wet noodle of an antenna as well, and only when the band was extremely open and strong. Did it work? Yes.. did it work well? No... would it have ever worked for digital modes or meteor scatter or anything cool? No chance in hell. If you want to be a serious 6m rover, do not install a whip. Just don't. If you want to have a little fun while driving somewhere to operate with a serious antenna and the band is strong, ok maybe. Just don't you dare say 'BUT CCI SAID TO USE A WHIP TO ROVE ON 6' cause I'm not, and won't. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Omni / Loops / Dipoles: </b>Maybe a bit better than a whip, but not much. I see a bunch of 'halo' antennae on contest rovers every summer, and once in a while they even use them to make a contact with a big gun station on their way to a 12th place score. An Omni will get you on the air, let you play around, and probably be a bit more effective, but only by a little. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Moxon: </b>OK, so finally an antennae with a little bit of gain. This was actually my first 6m antennae I roved with for real. I made about 15 meteor scatter contacts with a home brewed moxon and 100w to some big gun stations and distances I wouldn't consider local. It worked, but it was slow and methodical. The 'Par Electronics' Moxon (http://www.parelectronics.com/stress-moxon.php) is rather popular with beginning rovers as well for a few reason. It's cheap, well made, easy to put together, and breaks down quickly, and it has some gain over an omni. This is a lowest class of 6m antenna I recommend for someone wanting to start roving on 6. There's definitely better options, but this is enough you can go out on a rove, and be effective enough to get folks attention with what you're up too. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AAISI3FJNMc/YIrN2ZFukHI/AAAAAAAACPc/btauyqdmwXcukI7Tkb8IhTXdvwYi-Y25wCLcBGAsYHQ/moxon.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="651" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AAISI3FJNMc/YIrN2ZFukHI/AAAAAAAACPc/btauyqdmwXcukI7Tkb8IhTXdvwYi-Y25wCLcBGAsYHQ/moxon.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><div><b>3 Element Yagi: </b>This is what I really consider the 'sweet spot' of roving antennae, and also what I really consider to be 'minimum effective' when doing weak signal 6m roving with methods like Meteor Scatter. The extra couple of points of db gain over a moxon is noticeable and really makes a difference pulling the weak signals out of the sky, and propagating your signal towards it's target. When I do high speed low drag 6m roves in the Mustang, I take my 3 element yagi, cause it's enough to get the job done, but also breaks down and stows quickly. As far as which one, I really like the MFJ1762 for a cheap, easy to break down yet effective 3 element Yagi (https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-1762) and handle low power well. Next step up would be m2 6m3ss (https://www.m2inc.com/FG6M3SS) Built a little tougher, handle a little more power, works a smidge better, and a little more expensive. But both are proven Yagi's I've used for 6m roving and get the job done when it counts. There's of course dozens of other models, from Comet to Inno, to Arrow and everything in between - but find one that works for your particular situation and you like... just get a Yagi and enjoy the benefits gain brings you. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zfPVw5kVke0/YIrIWIRFe9I/AAAAAAAACPM/vpP_8NpA61oqWeBDz-jgdzuTM_lbSGN9ACLcBGAsYHQ/aluminum%2Bmast%2Bwith%2B3%2Belement%2Bon%2Bit.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="608" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zfPVw5kVke0/YIrIWIRFe9I/AAAAAAAACPM/vpP_8NpA61oqWeBDz-jgdzuTM_lbSGN9ACLcBGAsYHQ/aluminum%2Bmast%2Bwith%2B3%2Belement%2Bon%2Bit.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>5 Element Yagi:</b> If you really wanna step up your game, go with a 5 Element. Depending on exactly which kind you have the setup will take longer than a 3, and may be pretty large to carry with you, but the results will worth it for operating. AC0RA has always generally said a 5 element is double what a 3 element is, a 3 element is double what a moxon is, and a moxon is double what an omin is. The db numbers are quick that exact, but the real world performance pretty well is. As far as reccomendations the gold standard of the rover 5 element is the M2 6m5xp (https://www.m2inc.com/FG6M5XHP) It's the only 5 element Yagi I would rove with, and has proven itself time and time again on trips I've been on to be a solid performer, yet also has the ability to break down easily and be portable. You go roving with a 5 element, even if you stick with 100w, you will get folks' attention. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mast, Base & Coax: </b></div><div><br /></div><div>You've picked a rig, you've powered it, you have an antenna, now where to put it and what to feed it with? Well for starters, use a good coax - doesn't have to be obscene low loss stuff, but it needs to be pretty good. 50mhz is in the VHF band, so you're losing more power than at HF frequencies, but only by a bit. Roughly half a db more loss at 6m than at 10m, and about a full db more loss at 6m than 20m. I would not recommend using RG174 or old school RG58, but something more like a modern RG8X is acceptable. For better performance go into the LMR category and use some 240 or 240uf. I personally use LMR400 or LMR400uf for my 6m stations, but I understand it's pricey and kind of heavy, so pick your personal poison here. Consider this along side whatever your support is going to be. If you're putting a super lightweight wire moxon up on a painter's pole or something made out of fiberglass, you're going to want light but strong coax - so think RG8X or LMR240. If you've got an aluminum mast with a solid support, LMR400 is probably fine. Right now I'm using an aluminum mast from Spiderbeam and LMR400 with my 3 element, and the whole thing is support well except in the strongest of winds, but I've worked my way up through the combinations I've described here too. Here's some ideas for masts I've tried along the way as well as some commercial options: </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Painter's Pole:</b> Good for a bit off the ground, small beam, light coax. Find at local hardware store. Started with this, was a good intro, but quickly I knew I'd need to upgrade. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Military Radar Netting Mast:</b> This goes by lots of different names and style, but in general they're 4' sections of Metal of Fiberglass Masts that snap into each other and work well at getting a beam up about 18'-20'. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7SCydLXStic/YHdVTs-7nfI/AAAAAAAACMk/sG_Hho9J_fYo35ToznBo4NukwOmgA_m3ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7SCydLXStic/YHdVTs-7nfI/AAAAAAAACMk/sG_Hho9J_fYo35ToznBo4NukwOmgA_m3ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Look for them in surplus stores or ebay. I still have a set of these I use from time to time, but 18'-20' wasn't quite high enough for me, so I went hunting for better. <br /><br /></div><div><b>Fiberglass Mast Sections:</b> DX Engineering has these (https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-ftk50a) or you can usually find them at any place specializing in fiberglass in bigger cities. They work well for modest antennae and coax and can get you a bit higher in the field. I used these for years and they worked well, but I still wanted something a bit beefier. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aluminum Mast:</b> Aluminum is pretty well the standard for solid lightweight metal, and a mast made of the stuff is no exception. I chose the Spiderbeam mast (http://www.spiderbeam.us/index.php?cat=c12_Aluminium%20Masts.html) in the 18m version to handle basically any portable yagi application I might ever have, after seeing AC0RA use one on his fantastically successful rover. You can use the small section to put a 3 element beam up dang near 60' with proper guying, or just use the top sections to go up about 30' with a strong base and no guying. You can also take out the top couple of lighter sections and only use the bigger section and put up a big beam (We've had up a 7 element 6m yagi before this way, though hoisting it was a bit sketchy) and it will handle it. It's extremely flexible to use, and will last a lifetime if properly cared. Like all quality things though, the price is high - especially once you get the accessories to go with it. But it is so far the top of the line when it comes to masts that I've found. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-to0mDr31bSU/YIrIP4_nYnI/AAAAAAAACPE/BXLU3glQ6oQ7P68-ZAwV54yMbRilg7dDwCLcBGAsYHQ/aluminum%2Bmast.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="651" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-to0mDr31bSU/YIrIP4_nYnI/AAAAAAAACPE/BXLU3glQ6oQ7P68-ZAwV54yMbRilg7dDwCLcBGAsYHQ/aluminum%2Bmast.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><div><b>Tower Trailers:</b> Heh, if you're seriously considering a trailer than not much to say. You probably know what you're doing :)</div><div><br /></div><div>So what about bases? Well, lots of options here. There's a couple different theories here. You could possibly just put the mast on the ground, and guy wire your pole really well, and it would probably work, as long as the base won't move laterally. Having a small something to keep it moving (Like This: http://www.spiderbeam.us/product_info.php?info=p244_Baseplate.html) is probably a better thought though. You also can have a really well supported base and just don't push your mast very high, and be OK. I'll leave the specifics up to you to figure out, but here's some examples I've used and seen that have promise: </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Drive Over Base:</b> I had a buddy who's a good welder build mine for me. Plate Steel, big steel pipe, built on huge bolts. It would take a hurricane to snap this, and I'd expect the mast to fail first. But it's compact enough it fits in the trunk of the mustang and I can have it deployed seconds after stopping in a grid. Quick easy and effective. There are some commercial options here too, such as from Penninger Radio: (https://www.penningerradio.com/) and many others. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9twfhw7P0uU/YIrIRzQ5BCI/AAAAAAAACPI/R4K0wVXkzP0HH_uj1ZbfXXSnnEYHB69_QCLcBGAsYHQ/drive%2Bover%2Bmast.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1081" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9twfhw7P0uU/YIrIRzQ5BCI/AAAAAAAACPI/R4K0wVXkzP0HH_uj1ZbfXXSnnEYHB69_QCLcBGAsYHQ/drive%2Bover%2Bmast.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><b>Tripod (er.. uh.. 4-pod?):</b> These range from small speaker style stands (Try a local Guitar Center or commercial Audio Store) to giant aluminum contraptions 4' tall and 12' wide.... such as the one from Spiderbeam made for it's mast I noted above: (http://www.spiderbeam.us/product_info.php?info=p130_aluminium%20tripod%20XXL%20with%202m%20legs.html) Range in price is all over</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Hitch Mount:</b> If you've already got a receiver hitch on your vehicle, why not take advantage of that? Back to Penninger Radio for good options, as well as a number of other commercial options. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Brewed:</b> There's a lot of variation here, AC0RA cuts supports out of angle aluminum and then bolts it to the frame in his pickup bed. Rovers in vehicles of all shapes and sizes have mounted gizmo's to their roof and driven around. You can really let you imagination go wild here.</div><div><br /></div><div>The key take aways though are as follows. Quality Low Loss Coax is needed, but you don't have to go microwave overboard. Higher is better - Always, and Make sure your mast is stable and can be setup and torn down easily and safely. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ways to Operate</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">So what step are we on now, let's take inventory... you got a rig, you can power it, you've got coax to hook to an antennae and know how to put it in the air, and you've got something to mount the whole beast on when you're out driving around. Awesome. So, how are the ways you can actually make contact with someone on 6 meters? Well, it mostly depends on the propagation methods, so let's break all those down. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Tropo - </b>This is the classic form of propagation on VHF, and really any RF. Point your beam at someone, radiate power, and that RF more or less goes in a straight line to the air to your target. I say more of less because it's very rarely true line of site, but with enough gain and power pretty much any time of any day you can make a contact with someone to 100mi or so using SSB, or 200-300mi using one of the digital modes with no really no propagation at all. This is enough to work someone a grid or two over pretty much any time. You go go to SSB and try over voice, or use a key and work CW, or use one of the digital modes. Pretty much any digital mode <i>will</i> work on tropo, but the popular ones will be FT8, JT65 and Q65 for 6m. Also of note in the 'tropo' category is <i>true</i> tropospheric ducting, which is a phenomenon involving pockets of air warming and cooler than the surrounding pockets of air that will allow your RF to 'follow a duct' of a particular air mass bouncing back and forth to extend it's range. This happens quite commonly over the gulf of Mexico, and a path between California and Hawaii, as well as in the midwestern states in the spring and fall. I won't get too much into this because this isn't a scientific journal (go read more about it on your own time, there's been lots of research done) just understand that is is something that can push your RF out there further than normal. As far as when this happens, it's kinda all over the place. Normally spring and fall, and normally early mornings right about sunrise... but those are just generalities... </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sporadic-E - </b>This is the mode most folks associate with 6m. For a few months around the summer solstice (and sometimes near the winter solstice) random pockets of ionization in the E-layer will form, allowing skywave propagation on the 50mhz (and sometimes 28mhz and sometimes 144mhz) bands. The E layer is high enough up that this allows a station to 'skip' the signal nominally about 1500mi (+/- a few hundred) out on a single hop. The ionization is usually quite strong and when aligned right can allow 30db+ (ie S9+) signals to propagation at 6m. The catch is in the name though, sporadic. You never really know when, how, where or why it will form - other than some generalities. You also have no idea how long it will last. There's a lot of theory about the weather playing some part, but it's all just theory with some evidence to back it up. As a rover to take advantage of Sporadic E a lot of it comes down to being in the right place at the right time, and then staying there. Normal modes to use on sporadic-e are SSB (if the propagation is strong) CW, and the digital mode FT8 - with FT8 being the prime place where most ops are hanging out these days. The normal benefits of voice vs cw vs digi all apply here, so pick the mode best for you. I will mention normally the rules of FT8 are 15 second sequences, and 50.313 is the 'channel' where most everyone congregates. The best Sporadic E typically occurs from about May 1st thru about July 31st, but may go up and down during that time, and normally starts in mid afternoon and will die off shortly after dark.... but these are all (once again) generalities. If you're going to rove to take advantage of Sporadic-E, be prepared to sit in a rare grid for several hours, if not a whole day or two to catch that opening. When it happens, and it happens strong you don't need much of an antenna or power to work a ton of people, but instead it's more getting a little lucky. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Meteor Scatter - </b>This is actually the propagation method that drew me to 6m. When a meteor burns up in the atmosphere, is leaves a trail of plasma (ie FIRE) behind it. This plasma can act as a little pocket of reflective atmosphere to bounce a 50mhz signal (as well as other bands, but 50mhz is about right) off of it giving you a quick burst of skywave propagation. This plasma burst is short lived, but very strong - making it possible to simply spew RF into a certain portion of the sky, waiting for a meteor to burn up in the general area you're nuking, and reflect your signal out to anywhere between 500 miles and 1300 miles or so, with 700-1000 being the sweet spot, for around 100 milliseconds. 100ms is very rarely enough time to get a SSB message thru (though it <i>IS</i> possible..) but it's more than enough time to get a WSJT style packet thru with callsigns and reports. That is what modes like FSK441 and MSK144 seek to do. Send a wide bandwidth, extremely short message that repeats over and over again to another station, waiting for a meteor to burn up and pass the message. Each station takes turns sending their message, 15 seconds TX, 15 seconds RX (for example) with synchronized clocks, and pretty much with time and perseverance (power and big antennae help too) a QSO can always be made. Things to remember about maximizing performance with meteors - early morning local time is normally the best time to do this.. the reason is something about the way the earth turns drags in more meteors in the morning rather than the evening, ect ect... You can always try to time your operation around the several major meteor showers that occur every year. The Perseids in August every year are a perennial event for Meteor Scatter enthusiasts as *lots* of rocks are burning up, making the time between messages very short, that said meteors are always burning up in the atmosphere, so this propagation method can pretty well always be taken advantage of. The standard mode these days is MSK144, and in north america most folks operate on 50.260mhz. Run 15 second sequences as standard, make sure your 'frequency tolerance' in WSJTx is set to 200hz (to allow for slightly off freq rigs) enable auto sequence, and turn off the 'short' mode (which is normally used for 2m scatter, and is outside the topic of this conversation) turn on our rig and wait. Of all the forms of 6m propagation this is the most reliable, and the easiest to duplicate time and time again. If you're wanting to rove, learn how to use scatter.. Any random saturday morning you can rack up 30-40 contacts in the course of a couple hours from a rare or semi-rare grid (or heck, even from home) on Scatter. It. Just. Works. One big downside to scatter is it doesn't require a pretty good antennae, and more power is better. a 3 Element Yagi up at 20'+ ft and 100w will do, but it might take some time to make a few contacts. More power is better, bigger beams are better - but always consider the cost:benefit analysis of what you bring roving. The other big downside is there is a pretty hard limit of around 1400 miles for a scatter contact, with contacts beyond 1200 miles being exceptional.... and multi-hop of scatter is basically unheard of. That said, I love meteor scatter. It makes the magic band truly magic to me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Aurora / TEP / EME - </b>There are lots of other propagations methods for 6m that I'm not to spend much time on, other than to tell you they exist. You can bounce 50mhz signals off the of the Aurora (remember, plasma?) at the higher latitudes, you can also once in a while get this propagation form known as Trans-equatorial Propagation, which is kind of like a chain of higher altitude E-Skip clouds over the equator that form near the equinoxes in the spring and fall and allow for really long 6m paths... sometime... You can also do EME with 6m if you really want too, but there's only a few brave enough to try and rove on 6m EME - if you think that's you, then I'll send you to W7GJ's blog (http://www.bigskyspaces.com/) to learn all about that. I don't really use these methods much, so I'll leave it to you, the reader, to dive in more. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Where to Rove?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The answer to this question is really fun... how about ANYWHERE!!! Unlike HF where states and countries are the main thing chasers are looking for, on 6m (and other VHF+ bands) the main token of map achievement is The grid square. This is just like Satellites too, for you AMSATers I haven't bored to death yet. So, If you can drive to another grid square, which generally is going to be anywhere from a few minutes to 90 minutes max away from your home, then you are a 6m rover. Like sats, certain grid squares are 'rarer' than others. Low population density areas normally equal rarer grids. Grids like FM13 that only have a sliver of land in them are normally rarer than those surrounding them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But what about the master list of what is 'rare' and what isn't? I mean if you're gonna rove, might as well make it worthwhile - right? Well head on over to the FFMA Groups.IO mailing list here: https://groups.io/g/FFMA and subscribe. This is the de facto list for those chasing the FFMA award and for general questions about grid chasing on 6m. From here sign up, or search the archives for the 'Leader Board / Most Needed Grids' spreadsheet currently maintained by Francis, KV5W. The link for the moment is here: https://1drv.ms/x/s!Ah-y5F2cQ5QHry47lJ1v4QS26EyW?e=M67jDw but I believe it changes with each release. The state of rareness right now in the 488 looks like this: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M-Ite_I4_xo/YIrALo0kSwI/AAAAAAAACO8/WIqTb9-9e-s2umP5OXxAlDfTfTmhSFaXgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-04-29%2Bat%2B9.18.11%2BAM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1583" height="147" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M-Ite_I4_xo/YIrALo0kSwI/AAAAAAAACO8/WIqTb9-9e-s2umP5OXxAlDfTfTmhSFaXgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-04-29%2Bat%2B9.18.11%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>From this map you can see the traditional out of the way grids, like upstate Maine, the great basin, the Dakota wheat fields, and of course the 4 classic 'wet grids' that there is no way to drive too all are needed by a very high percentage of 6m FFMA chasers.. but even some grids you wouldn't think of, like what has kind of become known as a 'Texas Cross' of EL18, EL19, EL17, EL28 and EL08. Also places like DN52 that are easy to get too, but very rare cause they're in the middle of nowhere. It's really all over the place. But, as a rover, if you choose to go to one of these grids shaded something other than green - you will have the attention of the 6m community. Guar-en-teed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Staying in Touch</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">As with EME (that I blogged about) I'm going to stress that letting big guns know where you are is paramount to being successful (ie, making lots of contacts) on a rove. It's not quite to the same degree, but close. Since there's so many different kinds of propagation modes, digital, cw, voice, and all of them are valid depending on type of rove you're doing - you need to let folks know how to listen for you. Pick your weapons, decide on tactics, choose the field of battle, and then go to the different places to announce your plans. As mentioned above, an email to the FFMA list is a great start. Doesn't have to be crazy just say "Hey All, I'm going to EM43 next Saturday morning to operate for a few hours on Meteor Scatter. Expect to be onsite 7AM local time, frequency will be 50.260 with me first, hope to work a bunch of you!" and that's all you need to do, you will have company. Chat pages have also become very popular on 6m and VHF chasing in general - a few of the big ones are VHF Slack (<a href="https://join.slack.com/t/vhf-chat/shared_invite/zt-dgto6yqo-N23lOst_JFETokMHVGNoOQ">https://join.slack.com/t/vhf-chat/shared_invite/zt-dgto6yqo-N23lOst_JFETokMHVGNoOQ</a>) Ping Jockey (for the meteor scatter enthusiasts, here: <a href="https://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtalk">https://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtalk</a>) and ON4KST Chat, here: <a href="http://www.on4kst.org/chat/login.php">http://www.on4kst.org/chat/login.php</a>. I prefer Slack, but folks still use all of them. In your FFMA email it's usually a good idea to say if you're going to be monitoring one of the chat pages as well. One extra note here, like EME you can tell folks where you are in the band and even generally where you're listening to setup a contact attempt with another station - but DO NOT send any information about the qso itself, such as a signal report, or a Roger or RRR over the internet. You have to make the QSO itself over the air, and any such <hint hint nudge nudge> on the internet is invalid. Don't do it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Final Tips</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A few final items of notes I've picked up over the years of roving, secrets I pass from me to you:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Be Loud:</b> You're going to be (hopefully) out in the middle of nowhere. There will not be sources of RFI near you. You will hear very well. Most home stations do not have this advantage, they will likely not hear you as well as you hear them. Therefore, use the tallest mast, the biggest beam, and the most power you can. This ain't sats anymore, you're not going to fry anything. Be loud. Obviously this is all within reason and budgets, but do your best to be loud and it'll go a long long ways. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Be Patient:</b> The very nature of 6m is sporadic and random contacts. Sometimes the atmospheric gods will smile on you, sometimes they won't. Sometimes you'll go 20 minutes without a QSO, then make 5 in 5 minutes. It's just the nature of the band. The good part of digital mode takeover, is you have a little bit of a chance to multi-task between the slow qso period, when you're waiting for that ping or waiting for that E pocket. So take advantage of it to do other things you need to do when roving (like eat :) ) so you're ready when the propagation takes off. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Make it Fun: </b>Go rove somewhere you've never been. Go setup in a campground and roast some marshmallows while you're waiting for the propagation. Grab some donuts and coffee and setup on dirt road of a mountain peak and watch the sunrise while working the rocks. Do what you can to combine a rove with some other activity so you're getting purpose out of it besides silly radio square coloring. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So that's it! That is my official guide to 6m roving. I'm sure I've forgotten a bunch of stuff, and fully intend to keep editing this as I find new things to add, get comments from others, and notice my spelling and grammar mistakes. But with the Eskip season coming, get out and get active and enjoy the magic band. </div></div>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-52905925824399879802021-03-29T07:00:00.001-05:002021-03-29T07:00:06.590-05:00Meteor Speed Run out west March 6th-8th 2021<p> So for too long (a few months) the center of the country on my 6m map looked like this:<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wtrADfWNAdc/YFo2a7n8WvI/AAAAAAAACIw/TUPgdKiuq_QX2nixiUfXAjkfeXdHcjsUQCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-23%2Bat%2B1.41.32%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="421" height="192" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wtrADfWNAdc/YFo2a7n8WvI/AAAAAAAACIw/TUPgdKiuq_QX2nixiUfXAjkfeXdHcjsUQCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-23%2Bat%2B1.41.32%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />I had managed to work all the grids around the high plains of Kansas, but had only rarely found operators in those great wheat fields to work. Once in a while a rover like NA6L or N0LL would roll thru and I'd pick one up a grid or two, but still there was a big gap. My buddy Wyatt (AC0RA) had the same dilemma a year ago with his map, so he setup his home station to be remote-controlled by some other operators, packed up the rover and headed to the high plains. In the course of a few days he managed to work 'himself' with EN41 local hams running the AC0RA station and Wyatt running the AC0RA/R Rover in all the grids he needed, in very similar style to how the K0D rove went down. I managed to miss Wyatt's rove because I was living in EM27 at the time, and had given up temporarily on chasing 6m grids. Now that I'm back in EM36, and in my 200km circle with the old EM34 QTH, chasing counts again. I've also made some improvements to the home station (which I'll document in later blogs) and so I've become a fairly effective 6m scatter chaser. <p></p><p>Anyhoo, since moving to EM36 I've done quite a bit of radio at home, but I haven't had a good rove other than a day trip down to EM43 with Matt and Wyatt last summer. I've had a plan to go grind out those Kansas grids for a while now, and finally in March a confluence of events came together in such a way I was able to make it happen. The plan would be to operate as KG5CCI/P and have Matt (NJ4Y) and Wyatt operate the KG5CCI station via remote control to pick up the grids from home. I would drive the mustang solo west to the EM05/EM06 line in Oklahoma, work myself on either MSK144 or the new amazing wonderfully powerfully </sarc> Q65 mode then head west near DM76 and spend the night. Get up early the next day and hit DM76 really early on scatter, then move up to DM87 and sit there for a while, also on scatter, since it was a top 50 most needed grid for the FFMA chasers. Then as the day would wear on I'd slowly work my way back east hitting DM97, DM98, and EM08 then spend the night in EM17 (Wichita) before getting up early the next day and blasting back home to EM36. Basically, it looked something like this: <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c9RQz0-1XAc/YFo6wu8i1lI/AAAAAAAACI4/afkMi9sm-SwDYHW2JHitUE9ixbtio4zMgCLcBGAsYHQ/KG5CCI%253AP%2BSpeed%2BRove%2BMarch%2B6th%2Bthru%2B8th%2B2021.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="1149" height="108" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c9RQz0-1XAc/YFo6wu8i1lI/AAAAAAAACI4/afkMi9sm-SwDYHW2JHitUE9ixbtio4zMgCLcBGAsYHQ/KG5CCI%253AP%2BSpeed%2BRove%2BMarch%2B6th%2Bthru%2B8th%2B2021.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />From a gear perspective I'd take the mustang - because of superior speed and miles per gallon efficiency. I'd also take my finely honed mustang portable kit of my drive on mast support, a 30' spider-beam aluminum push up mast, my 3 element MFJ1762 6m beam, about 40' of LMR400, my super trusty FT857d, and the assorted sound and computer accessories to make WSJTX work. I also threw in the 100ah LiFePo4 Bioenno Power battery so I would be sucking amps off the mustang's battery. After buying the battery last year in preparation for a second CM93 trip I hadn't really put it to a solid test yet, and wanted to really push it. The Home station would the 7300 into a modified Larcan running about 1200w going to my 5 element LFA up about 45' on the tower trailer parked next to my shop. More on that later too...<br /><br />From here there's not much to say other than things went off without a hitch. I took some periscope from the stops: <br /><br /><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="in" style="text-align: center;">kg5cci/p em05 on 6 <a href="https://t.co/bI6172vipX">https://t.co/bI6172vipX</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/1368270571146985474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2021</a></div></blockquote><p>After hitting EM05 and EM06 in separate stops (I couldn't get to the line cause of lots of recent rain) I continued west to Capulin, NM and spent the night in a Super 8 - which interestingly enough was the first time I'd been in a hotel since the beginning of the pandemic. Next morning I got up early and managed to operate from the DM76/DM86 line, even though it wasn't my intention:<br /><br /></p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: center;">Early Morning msk from dm76/86 line. <a href="https://t.co/v76ixqzoTa">https://t.co/v76ixqzoTa</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/1368520051972657153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></div></blockquote><p>After my super early start I migrated up to DM87, got on the air quickly, and took the shot that defined the speed rove: </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sJB_63hXgWk/YFo-_M4aXvI/AAAAAAAACJA/EPiF8phGv34IIC7EnORvRD_ONIim777rQCLcBGAsYHQ/mustang-rover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sJB_63hXgWk/YFo-_M4aXvI/AAAAAAAACJA/EPiF8phGv34IIC7EnORvRD_ONIim777rQCLcBGAsYHQ/mustang-rover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Pre sunrise, a quiet road in southeast Colorado, the moon in the background, and the antenna banging away at the meteors flying in the sky. Anyway, more periscope from the next stop DM97 a few hours later into the morning once I was back in Kansas: <br /></p><p></p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: center;">Dm97.... ULTRA LIVE!!! <a href="https://t.co/OUU5o5b93I">https://t.co/OUU5o5b93I</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/1368636194742022150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></div></blockquote><p>Then I finally moved up to EM08/DM98 line, worked a few more, and headed to Wichita to crash for the night. Final results, for about 8 hours on the air, 8 grids activated, 78 QSOs made, and 37 unique stations worked. Not bad for a weekend drive in early March. I also managed to get DM87 knocked down from top 20% of FFMA chasers needing it to 10% in my little activation, which is probably the most rewarding part of roving. <br /><br />I had a bunch of chasers donate some cash to help cover food, fuel and lodging expenses for the trip - which was a giant boon. It feels really good to know folks have my back when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. And oh yea, my map? Now looks like this: <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VrFlWUjsI3k/YFpBHbkVufI/AAAAAAAACJI/nyaqRkxvgjQPj4iXREQkwQLMduVsnEcWgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-23%2Bat%2B2.27.09%2BPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="372" height="208" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VrFlWUjsI3k/YFpBHbkVufI/AAAAAAAACJI/nyaqRkxvgjQPj4iXREQkwQLMduVsnEcWgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-23%2Bat%2B2.27.09%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still got that gap up in the far northwest corner of Kansas, and further up into Nebraska, but at least the southern part of the plains is cleaned up on my map. Need to find another 30 or 40 this summer during E-Skip season and that should put me on the leaderboard. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Good times :)</div><p></p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-70350276140250433242021-03-23T11:07:00.007-05:002022-01-02T08:42:30.040-06:00The Custom Jumper Blog<p><b>UPDATE 1/1/2022: New Prices, cause inflations and supply chain problems, and blah blah blah.. </b></p><p><br /></p><p>So here's the blog I've really been meaning to do for a while. It only should barely be called a 'blog' since this is more of a cross between a sales pitch and a menu, but here we go. </p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>Yes - I build custom coax jumpers to use with your Satellite setup. </b></h2><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LS19TpweDQM/YFnwZaXk-SI/AAAAAAAACH4/ivRCIycOWLIdvkxCGHC0jmHFHZEVsvJogCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1192" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LS19TpweDQM/YFnwZaXk-SI/AAAAAAAACH4/ivRCIycOWLIdvkxCGHC0jmHFHZEVsvJogCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>OK, so now that that's out of the way, let's get into the nitty gritty. First, when I say custom - I really do mean custom. I keep a small supply of coax and connectors around for the more common builds I do, but as a rule I order everything is made from scratch when you tell me you want them. What do I build your jumpers out of? Great Question!</div><div><br /></div><div>The only coax cable I use is genuine Times Microwave LMR. I've tried messing with other stuff, and it just isn't as consistent or as reliable. Times Microwave is expensive stuff, but it's worth it in my opinion. Normally for portable jumpers meant to be used with an Arrow or an Elk antenna I recommend (and 99% of my customer choose) Times LMR240 Ultraflex. It seems to be the perfect balance of very low loss, yet lightweight, rugged, and easy to work with. I do once in a while do a full LMR240 (not ultraflex) build for someone wanting a more permanent jumper, or for someone wanted to squeeze that last half a db out of their assembly. It's really just a preference thing for you. I do also once in a while make some LMR400 and LMR400uf assemblies for non-satellite uses, or for fixed Satellite or EME installations. Basically if you're needing a custom coax assembly made with low loss stuff, I can build it. I don't work with LMR600 or Hardline at the moment, as it's just too heavy and too expensive to send thru the mail. <br /><br />For connectors, I pretty well only use Amphenol RF. Once again, expensive, but they're the best. BNCs, N Connectors, PL259, pretty well covers them. Most have a male or female plug or jack option, some of them (like BNC and N) I can do right angle connectors too - which can be handy for certain types of antennae like the Elk Common port. <br /><br />Other random details, I use crimp shield connectors and crimp+solder center pins. Get around that argument by simply doing both. It makes a solid connection that gets even more solid when I put double wall marine grade and glue lined heat shrink tube over the crimp connector. That locks everything in place well so there's very little movement and good strength at the weak point in a coax assembly. Finally, I personalize each cable with the operator's callsign on a color label that also specifies the purpose of the cable. Normally I do a blue shrink tube and a blue label for a cable for the 2m side of an antenna, a yellow label and shrink tube for 70cm side, and red for 23cm. I've also got green, white, silver, and clear labels and shrink tube to use for different purposes. <br /><br />So now for some common builds. As of January 2022 the number 1 package I'm sending to operators is for the IC-9700, which is not surprising considering it's the only purpose built Satellite rig on the market right now. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-inMqhlLS-JU/YFoM1eT6LyI/AAAAAAAACIA/pmt94q4gO9MKtQq-cinmsC3vG1kcSUs_gCLcBGAsYHQ/9700%2BCables.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-inMqhlLS-JU/YFoM1eT6LyI/AAAAAAAACIA/pmt94q4gO9MKtQq-cinmsC3vG1kcSUs_gCLcBGAsYHQ/9700%2BCables.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Normal length for 9700 jumpers is 8' for the 70cm side and 8' 10" for the 2m side (to match the offset in feed point on an arrow) but I can do as short as 6' and as long as 10'... it's just a personal preference thing. Prices are as follows for this build:<br /><br />2x LMR240uf Jumpers, N-Male to BNC and PL-259 to BNC, Shipped anywhere in Lower 48:<br /><br />6' $110.00<br />8': $115.00<br />10': $120.00</div><div><br /></div><div><br />Second most common is a set for a pair of FT817(8). This build is usually 2x 6' (cut to length) jumpers for the radios on your chest in a sling. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O-p7Kc8u1zs/YFoOeOxpFxI/AAAAAAAACII/dBxe1223p4MFuNzHel1herovX7xIPiHywCLcBGAsYHQ/ft818.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O-p7Kc8u1zs/YFoOeOxpFxI/AAAAAAAACII/dBxe1223p4MFuNzHel1herovX7xIPiHywCLcBGAsYHQ/ft818.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br />2x LMR240uf Jumpers, BNC to BNC on both, Shipped anywhere in Lower 48:<br /><br />6' $100.00<br /><br />Next are just some example of different builds I've made for HT users, both with duplexers and without... They're not very common, so just message me for a quote - but hopefully it gives you an idea of things I've done and can do:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2 HT's mounted on a Boom Extension for an Arrow</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gh-app05gRQ/YFoPw_WakgI/AAAAAAAACIc/3-Ul0kJ2-qgFdt3dMn2QWEgf5VHFfub-wCLcBGAsYHQ/Two%2BHTs%2Bon%2BSingle%2BArrow%2BExtension%2BCustom%2BCut%2BCoax%2BLength.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gh-app05gRQ/YFoPw_WakgI/AAAAAAAACIc/3-Ul0kJ2-qgFdt3dMn2QWEgf5VHFfub-wCLcBGAsYHQ/Two%2BHTs%2Bon%2BSingle%2BArrow%2BExtension%2BCustom%2BCut%2BCoax%2BLength.jpg" width="180" /></a><br /><br />Duplexer Mounted on a Boom Extension with a common cable to a handheld HT</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LB8K4hndj0M/YFoPwqj7b8I/AAAAAAAACIQ/id49wU_pAgkVWyLclJaAIjKPWA8EQxyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/Close%2Bup%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bcustomer%2Blength%2Bcoax%2Bfrom%2Barrow%2Bfeed%2Bpoint%2Bto%2Bduplexer.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LB8K4hndj0M/YFoPwqj7b8I/AAAAAAAACIQ/id49wU_pAgkVWyLclJaAIjKPWA8EQxyGgCLcBGAsYHQ/Close%2Bup%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bcustomer%2Blength%2Bcoax%2Bfrom%2Barrow%2Bfeed%2Bpoint%2Bto%2Bduplexer.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-igcQVFrpnAE/YFoPwqMeUBI/AAAAAAAACIU/751QJmVXgMMmQW5FcXilzIxwCgZWWsU_gCLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bhand%2Bheld%2BHT%2Bwith%2B5ft%2Bcoax.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-igcQVFrpnAE/YFoPwqMeUBI/AAAAAAAACIU/751QJmVXgMMmQW5FcXilzIxwCgZWWsU_gCLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bhand%2Bheld%2BHT%2Bwith%2B5ft%2Bcoax.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hanging Arrow with HT mounted on Boom:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ozsB1S5Koec/YFoPw0BjcAI/AAAAAAAACIY/N2bXAX2qbhoU-GQ3X5x3CZ22sqEBzd0XQCLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bmounted%2Bto%2Bthe%2BArrow%2BHanging.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ozsB1S5Koec/YFoPw0BjcAI/AAAAAAAACIY/N2bXAX2qbhoU-GQ3X5x3CZ22sqEBzd0XQCLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bmounted%2Bto%2Bthe%2BArrow%2BHanging.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">HT Mounted on Boom with Cables and Hand Mic</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CDz1d3gWTvE/YFoPw5ata-I/AAAAAAAACIg/FdJ0-VNn5no7oo35UW_NNEyjkUxGJundACLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bmounted%2Bto%2Bthe%2BArrow%2BGround.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CDz1d3gWTvE/YFoPw5ata-I/AAAAAAAACIg/FdJ0-VNn5no7oo35UW_NNEyjkUxGJundACLcBGAsYHQ/Arrow%2Band%2BSingle%2BHT%2Bwith%2BDuplexer%2Bmounted%2Bto%2Bthe%2BArrow%2BGround.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, hopefully that gives you the idea. If you've got something different than this in mind, shoot me a DM on Twitter or drop me an email and we'll talk. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As far as 'how to buy' just reach out to me, we'll talk your build over and I'll give you a quote. If the quote is good, give me your email address (preferably one associated with Paypal) and your current address and I'll get to work. I don't ask for a deposit or payment upfront, so far I've never been stiffed by a member of the community. If you give me your word you want it, I'll build it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once the build is done I'll send you pictures of the completed package and an invoice thru Paypal (Don't worry, it's one flat cost to you that includes everything). Pay thru paypal, I'll get a message and then get it shipped out. I've used several versions of shipping over the years, but anymore I just go with USPS Priority Mail. That way I don't have to make special trips to shipping offices, the cost isn't prohibitive, and it normally makes it to the destination in a few days. Using Paypal also gets us both seller and buyer protection as well as discounted shipping. It's just easy that way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So that's it! Custom jumpers, built to order, by a Satellite Operator, for a Satellite operator. I never meant for this to become a business, it kinda just happened. I wasn't happy with what I could find on the market, so I bought all the tools and started doing it myself, and now I share my equipment and experience building with the community. If you're interested, hit me up on Twitter, or shoot me an email at dave@druidnetworks.com and let's talk. </div></div>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-49157786083288530922020-10-29T12:06:00.001-05:002020-10-29T12:06:26.600-05:00Fate has a sense of humor.. <p>OK So my last blog like 14 months ago, where I told you all what was going on in my life kinda fell flat on it's face. A few months after I wrote that - our time in EM27 came to an end. Exactly why and how is way outside the scope of this blog or what I really even want to talk about... but in general my wife's work didn't quite work out the way she'd had hoped, we really kinda missed the mountains of the Ozarks, and even Joplin, MO (population 50k) felt too big in the context of a global pandemic. So, we looked back south again - not quite as far as EM34 this time though - for the things we wanted. Good Schools, Small community, a view of the mountains, and of course, a QTH with a good Height above average Terrain :)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xO9JX10OOIw/X5rwh57RuhI/AAAAAAAAB4I/K_soCI5wOv8_OZpE0dH7td14f4ezNHf4ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="650" height="172" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xO9JX10OOIw/X5rwh57RuhI/AAAAAAAAB4I/K_soCI5wOv8_OZpE0dH7td14f4ezNHf4ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After some interviews, my wife found a new position in EM36 in Harrison, Arkansas. We'd driven thru Harrison many times going up and down the famous US65 thru the Boston Mountains, and liked the area. The schools had top ratings, land and homes were plentiful and cheap and I was still within 90 minute's drive of 2 major airports. There are of course some negative connotations about Harrison in the media, and while we have seen some of the stereotypes since we've been here - it's the exception rather than the rule. I'm a pretty well traveled person, and everywhere I've been I've managed to find dirtbags if I look hard enough, my new hometown is not unique. All I can say is the attitudes that have gained Harrison some notoriety aren't me, and I don't tolerate them from the people I associate with. I believe I'm where I am to make the world a better place, and I'm happy to start with my community. But seriously though, how you can hate a place that has a view like this from your front yard? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wgP_HcA8UMM/X5rz4dKn7TI/AAAAAAAAB4k/G159ZgD8tV4oDK_epvi6MQ8BLPy_4RkPACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="688" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wgP_HcA8UMM/X5rz4dKn7TI/AAAAAAAAB4k/G159ZgD8tV4oDK_epvi6MQ8BLPy_4RkPACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="180" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Yup - those are mountains (real mountains, especially when you try to run up them with a SOTA pack on) that are right across the valley from me. The new QTH is about 1400' MSL and it's up on a high knob just north of town. We got 10 acres, fenced in pasture, trees, a house big enough for nuclear family to spread out, and the extended family to come visit, and a dedicated office and shop for me to do my radio tinkering and still keep the internet running for the world, which is now more important than ever. It's everything we've really ever wanted... I just have a lot more maintenance to do that I did with a rental house.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rwJAlzIQJzc/X5r0LGL86uI/AAAAAAAAB4s/osYgKt249nA_lORmQODeAAonSwmi2Pe6ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="1223" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rwJAlzIQJzc/X5r0LGL86uI/AAAAAAAAB4s/osYgKt249nA_lORmQODeAAonSwmi2Pe6ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Oh yea, I also bought a tower trailer. Since I have some land now, I figure the first thing I do is put up a nice tower. Wife had precisely zero intention of letting me do that to our beautiful mountain views though, so when a tower on wheels that I can hide back in the timber between operating weekends came up for sale, that seemed to be a good compromise. The fact we can take it roving on expeditions was just an added bonus. Expect to see many more blogs about that in the future. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LM8RnDRRgD0/X5r0oFjGg3I/AAAAAAAAB40/F7h2w2gvFk05SQXL6Fan9dqJuAeyfzbXgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="1223" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LM8RnDRRgD0/X5r0oFjGg3I/AAAAAAAAB40/F7h2w2gvFk05SQXL6Fan9dqJuAeyfzbXgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />The world right now is a whacky weird place. I had no idea I'd be where I am now 12 months ago. So much has changed with my life, my job, and my family - but I still like radio. If anything, radio has been the one constant in my life the past year. I don't do as much satellite operating as I used too, but I have gotten really addicted to 6m, even more than I was now that I have a real QTH and can put up some real antennae. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's all I really wanted to say for now. I'm still alive, we're all OK, and I will try to blog more often than every 14 months now. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I promise :)</div></div><p></p>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-86750227123920275942019-08-31T14:46:00.000-05:002019-08-31T14:46:28.232-05:00My New World and my new Approach to hammingI know I've said this before, at least 3 times, but I'm going to try and pick the blogging back up. There's too many good stories and interesting information I need to share and document for posterity sakes. So without further ado, here's my "I'm going to blog more, blog" and I'm going to try and explain what happened, what situation I'm currently in, how that has impacted the things I do in the hobby, and I where I plan to take the hobby.<br />
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First, here's the history of the past 12 months. Many of you know at the end of 2017 I finished Graduate School. I actually wrote my master's thesis on a ham topic, which was a ton of fun. School was an interesting thing for me, I already had a good job with a good salary that I mostly enjoyed, but never one to sit on my haunches I wanted more. I was also being challenged by my fabulous wife, as she was going back to school as well seeking an MS in her respective field. On of the great things about being in the computer network field is that many of the better jobs allow you to work remotely from your home. This was always the number 1 goal for me, not necessarily making more money in my career, but having the flexibility to live wherever I wanted. My job in 2018 gave me a lot of flexibility, but I still did have an office I needed to go to sometimes. I wanted to find one of those gigs where the only office I had to go, was somewhere on my own property. Plus, to put a ham spin on this, a nice acreage or ranch out in the middle of nowhere is going to have much lower noise floor than one of the megapolis' that exist in our country today. Also, I'm a country boy, I want to get back to my roots and raise the kiddo in the same way I was if at all possible. My wife, being in the medical field though, wasn't quite so flexible. She still needs a brick and mortar place to conduct her practice. When we started down this 'Get Smarter, Acquire Stuff'' road 4-5 years ago, we knew at the end of it, there would likely be a move involved. We didn't quite know where, or when, but it was a bridge we knew we'd have to cross. </div>
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Doni finished her school in the summer of 2018 and began the hunt. After a lot of resumes, and a few heartbreaks, she found her job in Joplin, Missouri. Negotiations were settled, and she would begin in January of 2019. This means the foreshadowed move had finally arrived. Ironically, I had been approached by a company shortly after completing my school as well, who had offered me a different gig with better pay, cooler technology, and importantly - the ability to work from home. We had gone back and forth on when I would start this new position, and about the time Doni finalized her negotiations, I finalized mine. This means in a 60 day period, we were both going to be starting new jobs, moving to a new city, and selling the house we'd called a home for the past 9 years. Things got a little hectic, as you can imagine. </div>
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<b>Fast Forward</b></div>
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Skipping over a bunch of boring details unrelated to radio, here we are 8 months later. The EM34 house is sold, and the whole KG5CCI family is in EM27 and doing great. When we made the move the deal was we'd get a rental house for a year or so and make sure we liked the area, liked our jobs, and were sure this was the place to put down roots. We're about 3/4 thru this evaluation period, and things are looking pretty good to stay. Now, this current reality of a temporary domicile means I have little to no place to setup an antenna, and even when I've used my rover mast in the driveway, I can't hear much cause of all the city noise. I can sort of do satellites from the driveway, or my postage stamp backyard - but it's a far cry from my low noise horizon in EM34. Interestingly, I *do* have a much better vantage to the north here in EM27, and I've already worked KL7 a number of times from that postage stamp backyard without much effort at all. </div>
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I did luck out a bit though, and our rental house has a great little building in the backyard, that I believe must have been a wood-working shop at some point. It's well equipped with HVAC systems, insulation, and more power outlets than any person who isn't a ham or a wood worker needs. Having a good shop to tinker with things has really made living in the city bearable for me.</div>
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<b>So, what now?</b></div>
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The short version is everything is on schedule for us. This fall after a few financial things happen, we'll start looking for property in the country around Joplin. The only real requirements that we're after is we want at least 20 acres, we need good internet, and we absolutely positively must be able to see the horizon in all directions with a modest tower. From preliminary research, I think this can be done fairly easily. I'm not totally sure I want to immediately become a shack sloth, and never leave the Air Conditioned comfort, but I know at some point in the next 30 years when I start slowing down a bit I'm going to want a kickass home station. A 50' long beam on top of a nice tower, out in the country on a hill in Ozarks is gonna be pretty tough to beat. That's the goal anyway. </div>
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All this though is still in the future, for now you can still find me on the air time to time portable from somewhere. I've got rover bug and there is no cure - if you've been watching this summer you've already heard me from far west barren 7 land grids, and far away places like KL7 and VY0. Do not expect this to change anytime soon. I'm just barely a teenager in ham years, and plan to keep running until I can't anymore. </div>
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One really interesting issue with moving to a new location, is all of my previous VUCC chasing credit remained in Arkansas. The 200KM circle I used to use that would cover EM34 and EM24 are now well to the south. This means everything resets with regards to my chasing, and I start over. I *do* get to keep my DXCC credit, but that's a pretty small consolation for a VHF+ operator. In another way though it is liberating. I completed the 488 Sat chase from EM34, and now it doesn't matter... I can never add to that total again, unless we move back south (which probably won't happen). Everything I do from here, I do cause I want too - not because it's something I need to do to keep up with some silly numbers on a map. I have been freed in a way not all hams get to experience, and I plan to make the most of it. </div>
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<b>Any Hints?</b></div>
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Well, it's not that big of a secret where I plan to take things. I like Satellites, but I'm not obsessed with them like I used to be. I really enjoy Meteor Scatter, and plan to start investing more time and money into EME. I've also got some really killer expeditions I'm working on for next summer, including a return to a place I've been before, but this time with gear that's bigger and better. </div>
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Finally, I've got a kiddo that's getting older every minute of the day, and enjoys accompanying her weird dad on adventures with radio. She's been present for 2/3rd of my EME contacts from EM27, and even though we have to turn her DVD player off when we're on 70cm, she still wants to come with. Expect a whole lot more family style operations in the future, and maybe a new voice on the mic in the next few years. </div>
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That's all for now, but stay tuned... cause there's so much more to come. </div>
KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-59246335182169494082019-08-17T12:33:00.002-05:002019-08-17T12:33:39.445-05:00Home Station Build - The Stability WarThis is an old blog I never quite finished, but I think it's important more than ever with folks going to automatic doppler control, and wanting to use remote stations in Satellites. Therefore I've decided to put some polish on it and get it published in the hopes it may help someone else down the line.<br />
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Moving from manual doppler control to automatic doppler control on Satellites was supposed to make things easier. Once the migration was done, sure, but getting there was a battle. In retrospect I suppose this all came down to me doing things unconventionally, and in the end it was going the more conventional route that won the day. Here's where I went with the battle, and how I finally overcame the challenges of building an automatic doppler control station.<br />
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<b>SatPC32</b></div>
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There's a lot of satellite tracking and frequency adjustment programs out there, but I think SatPC32 is probably the best. When you're first getting it going you will need to calibrate it a bit to work with your radio. To do this, find a quiet spot in the passband on the bird and go into the Accuracy menu and mess with your uplink until you get it tuned just right. Once it's on, you shouldn't have to mess with it anymore assuming some other factor doesn't change. Other factors might include the things I'm going to talk about later, but this is where you'll keep coming back to to get your adjustments right. Learn this. </div>
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<b>Accurate Keps and Clocks</b></div>
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I already talked about the importance of up to date Keps in my blog <a href="http://www.kg5cci.com/2017/05/home-station-build-rotor-software.html">HERE</a> which should definitely read if you haven't. But knowing where the bird is in relation to you is how programs like SatPC32 to adjust your frequency for you. In addition to accurate Keps, you need to keep a very accurate clock on your PC. There are a ton of different ways to do this, which you can read about in some of my other blogs, but automatic doppler and digital modes both relay on your computer clock being accurate. Also consider when your keps get updated, you might need to go tweak with your SatPC32 calibration. It's usually not much, but any change in the factors might require a recheck. I wouldn't update your keps right before you're going to chase someone with a 30 second window at your AOS. Update and Calibrate on nice long passes where you've got plenty of time.</div>
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<b>Extremes!</b></div>
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When using a rig in the field, you're exposing it to all sorts of different kinds of environments. Hot, Cold, Wind, moisture, you name it. This is a big reason why I stress manual doppler correction in the field, each of these factors messes with things like the cpu clock in your computer, or the stability of the oscillator in your radio. Adjusting by ear is using the CPU in your noggin to adapt. However at home when having a computer do it, you need to keep these factors absolutely minimized. Keep your computer and rig in a normally controlled temperature (65F-78F is usually recommended) and keep it away from direct sun, sources of moisture or abnormal air currents. Now that's not to say cooling isn't a good idea, cause it is. Keep good ventilation to your rig so it can cool itself off. You don't need a fan blowing right on it (unless you're doing jt65 on your 857 for hours like I used too) but having the air around it moving is a good idea. </div>
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<b>LO Crystal Replacement</b></div>
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This one is optional, but useful for Sats, and *really* useful for things like Meteor Scatter and EME. In my 821h I upgraded to the CR-293 high stability reference crystal for the Local Oscillator. I'm not positive my original crystal was causing the problems, but the upgrade was fairly inexpensive (~$90 on ebay) and I had heard from other Icom users that it made a world of difference. </div>
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Here's the new crystal and the old one (after removal)</div>
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Where it goes inside the guts of the radio. Big Dashed Square is for the CR-293, small square is the original factory crystal. </div>
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After using it for 2 more years with the upgraded crystal I never noticed a difference, but other users told me they did. I considered this to be a good, although maybe not critical investment. </div>
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<b>Voltage</b></div>
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The final change that got me over the hump to solving all the stability issues came down to one simple, but crazy important thing I neglected to consider. If you'll remember at this point in my ham experimentation career I still relied on batteries to do everything. I had several 70ah banks of 12v slabs that powered things in my shop. I would use some of the higher performance lifepo4 Zippy's for portable work, but everything was still charged and discharged thru chemical means before being turned into RF. One day I was testing output on my rigs and noticed I never could get full power out on the higher watt settings on the higher frequencies. The Zippy was better, but still lagged a bit. This came down to voltage under load - which is a simple concept. The more power you're pulling from a battery, the ability it has to push that power drops, ie voltage. Logic follows then, for electrically powered clocking type things (like a cpu or an oscillator) voltage variations will change the rate at which they clock. In the perennial words of Gru - "LIGHT BULB".<br />
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I finally gave in and got a power supply. I didn't opt for anything huge, just a 30A 13.8V constant supply from Powerwerx. Based on the specs on my radios I figured this would be sufficient to get full voltage even under load, and it was. I went from being 500hz low every time FO29 came over, to be spot on every pass. And while it did put out a little bit of noise, it was nothing that a few ferrites couldn't fix for me. I had finally figured out the key to having good stability on a home automated satellite station and it was as simple as good power in, good power out.<br />
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<b>The Final Recipe</b></div>
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If you're just considering an automatic station for the first time, I would recommend in this order things you need to do to keep your doppler correction on point. </div>
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1. Stable Power</div>
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2. Accurate Clock</div>
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3. Frequently Up to date keps</div>
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4. Stable Temperature</div>
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5. Upgraded Oscillator Crystal. </div>
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Do this, and you should be good to go. Good luck in your own battles with stability, once you're won, the spoils of victory will be yours. </div>
KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-71347304283625097062019-08-05T12:40:00.001-05:002019-08-08T11:01:17.957-05:00QRP EME - An incomplete Guide, written by a blind guy leading the blind. So while I have about 40 drafts of blogs I've attempted to start over the past year and just haven't gotten done, somehow I've convinced myself to try and write something about QRP EME. Since finishing my 488 on Sats I've really been debating what to try next, EME is the natural evolution for a weak signal VHF/UHF guy who enjoys pointing his Yagi's at the sky.<br />
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OK, where to begin: Probably first, a disclaimer. I have made a total of 13 EME contacts in my entire ham career using my own equipment. And among those, only 7 were unique stations (I've worked a few stations twice, and one thrice). I did sort of make about 130 more EME QSOs on the W7D rove with Wyatt, AC0RA, but that was his gear and his setup, I was just the guy clicking the buttons and moving the beam. All this is to say, I'm hardly an EME pro. I know just enough to squeak out a handful of Q's a couple times a year with modest equipment. If that's why you're here, great - read on. I'm going to write this from the assumption you're a moderately skilled to above average AMSAT operator like me too. I'm going to assume you've got similar gear as me, and point out places where gear absolutely makes a difference. I'm also going to assume you're semi computer literate as doing this requires some mouse button mashing.<br />
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<b>Computer Stuff</b></div>
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You're not going to make an EME QSO with a QRP station without digital modes. It just won't happen. If you want to make your first QSO off the moon with CW or SSB, then go read something else. If you're still here, and haven't downloaded WSJT-X yet, go do that now. Click this: <a href="https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html">https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html</a> find the distro for you computer, download and install. If you don't know how to configure your radio and computer to make them play nice together, google your setup and you'll find hundreds of step thru guides on how. Once you've got it all working, you're going to want to play with mode JT65, Submode B. You're going to want to send 'short' messages too, so click that. JT65 works a lot like FT8, only slower. The TX/RX cycles are 1 minute long. The station transmitting will TX for the first 50 seconds of a sequence, and have a 10 second decoding period at the end of each minute. Depending on your Distro, JT65 will likely not decode everything in your waterfall automatically. You'll need to find a trace, click on it after the 50 seconds is up, and then it will decode. You'll also need to punch in their call manually, generate messages, and move the message sequence down the chain. No Auto-sequencing here. </div>
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The messages themselves are a bit different from FT8 too, you still exchange the grid, but instead of signal reports you'll send essentially just confirmation of reception messages that look like this:</div>
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Since practically every EME qso at QRP level will be somewhat scheduled, you should know who you're calling, and they should know who you are. Both stations will start with the 1st sequence, until someone decodes the other, the first to decode will go to the 2nd sequence, the "OOO" message (I think this means OVER OVER OVER). Once the OOO is received, that station sends back RO (Roger Over?) and then finally the original OOO station will send RRR (Roger Roger Roger). 73s are optional as the QSO is complete, but if you've got a path go ahead and send it to be cool. OK, so now that the QSO methodology is out of the way, how to do you find when, who, and where is a good time to make an EME QSO, great question!</div>
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<b>Situational Awareness Forever</b></div>
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The chances of making a random EME QSO at QRP levels are basically zero. You need every little bit of help you can get to pull it off. First question - When. Obviously the moon needs to be visible to you, and the person you're trying to work. It doesn't necessarily need to be visible to the eye (a New Moon is still good to bounce RF off of) but both stations need to be able to 'see' it with their RF.. even the big guns can't send signal thru the dirt. Next, the moon, like basically any orbital body we're aware of in the universe, wobbles just a bit when it's up there going in circles. At it's closest point in it's orbit around Earth the moon is about 359,000km away from me, and it's furthest it's about 406,000km away. Unlike Satellites where we wish we had something higher, 46,000km is a ridiculously far distance and can introduce a whole lot of extra path loss to our RF. As every great Nobel laureate will tell you, this is bad. You want to find a day when the moon is as close to smashing into you as it's going to get. The typical Apogee/Perigee cycle takes about 28 days. You've normally got a couple of days each month at or close enough to Perigee where the path loss is the lowest. So pick those days to play around. Also to take into consideration when answering the 'when' question are things like "Sky Noise" and "Declination". Sky Noise is just like it sounds, RF Noise coming from the Sky. The sun, for example, puts out a crazy amount of RF. If the moon is really close to the sun during your window, it's highly likely the Sun will drown out reflections from the moon. Also, the Milky Way Galaxy disc also puts out a noticeable amount of RF, if the moon is traversing along the disc, it too will drown out the echo signals. Pick days neither of these things are happening. Declination is where the moon is in relation to the equator. Obviously if the moon is at perigee, but you're at a highly northern latitude and the moon is over the southern hemisphere, You're not going to see it very long... or if you're at a *really* high latitude, you might not see it at all. </div>
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What this all means is there's a ton of factors that go into finding a good time to work EME, that are beyond your control. If you live in the US or Europe, probably the best way to find a good time is to look at an EME Calendar by one of the many operators smarter than me. I like the calendar built by Bernd, DL7APV, Here: <a href="http://dl7apv.darc.de/moon2010/moon2010.htm">http://dl7apv.darc.de/moon2010/moon2010.htm</a> But any of them will do. He takes what I just talked about, and more stuff to build a calendar of good weekends to work EME. Weekends are important because folks that are good at EME typically have spent a lot of money on their station. Those same people that have lots of money to spend on their station often have to work and sleep during the week. Therefore, EME activity is typically up on the weekends.<br />
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After figuring in mutual windows, perigee timing, declination, noise and the effects of capitalism you're now down to maybe a dozen good weekends a year to try this. Now consider things like weather, family obligations, and your own need for sleep, and you might have 15-20 hours a year when everything lines up as a QRP EME operator. Scared yet? Good, you should be... you should also be excited.. most folks will never make it past the 'when' question. </div>
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<b>Non-RF Communications</b></div>
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Since you're going to need to know who to look for, and where people are, here's a few links to get you going. First - <a href="https://www.livecq.eu/default.asp">https://www.livecq.eu/default.asp</a> - This is basically an online 'spotter' for stations being seen off the moon calling CQ. It's a good place to watch to see who's active, and where and on what frequency they're talking on. There are also numerous chat pages where EME ops congregate and setup skeds: <a href="https://logger.hb9q.ch/">https://logger.hb9q.ch/</a> is one very popular site, and primarily used by 432 and 1296 folks. <a href="https://www.chris.org/cgi-bin/jt65emeA">https://www.chris.org/cgi-bin/jt65emeA</a> Is another mainly used by the 144 bouncers. My personal favorite is the VHF-Chat Workspace on Slack which you can join here: <a href="http://chat.n5tm.com/">http://chat.n5tm.com/</a>. You might have to look around a bit, but between those 3 usually you can find a big gun online looking for skeds. The kind of station you're going to want to find is probably going to have 8, 16, 32 or more Yagis, and probably running legal limit (or more!) on that particular band. Find the biggest station you can to try and work. They're going to have to do most of the heavy lifting here. I won't name particular stations to try, but if you look and ask around in the chat pages it won't take long to find some real serious players on EME. The good news is so far every op I've run into that runs a monster station, is super cool, and happy to show you what they got. When you've sunk as much cash into something as these guys have, it's for a reason.. and that reason is to work you!<br />
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It's also worth mentioning that each website / chat system has their own rules and procedures for doing stuff, as well as accepted etiquette. Spend a few minutes watching and listening before busting in and going 'OH HAI EVERYONE I R QRPer AND WANT TO MAKE QSO!'. There's a certain language and flow for skedding an EME contact, so make sure you get it before piping up. One rule that is absolutely ubiquitous though is you're not allowed to exchange any QSO or Report information until after the contact has been completed. Things like one way propagation are very common in EME, and if you're exchanging reports via the internet, you're cheating. Do. Not. Do. This. It is a cardinal sin that will not be forgiven more than once. Also pay attention to the weekends of the EME contests. Contests have some of their own rules about 'confirming' contacts once completed and 'self spotting' your frequency and sequence. EME contests are much more lax than HF contests due to being about 60db more difficult, but pay attention and make sure you're not saying anything that will get frowned upon.<br />
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So, you've got JT65 working, You've found a few hours on a good condition day that you don't need to do anything else more important, and you've even talked with a big gun who's willing to try and work you. What now.. Oh yea, equipment!<br />
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<b>Broken Record VHF/UHF Operation</b></div>
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If you've ever heard me talk about satellite operation, get ready for a lot of the same. The rules aren't that different. </div>
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1. Prepare ahead of your window: This should be a no brainer, but it's worth mentioning anyway. Get to where you're going to operate from way ahead of time and test your setup. Make sure everything is working the way it's supposed too. Make sure there's no computer glitches, your SWR is good on your antenna, and your batteries or generators are full up. You want as few things to manage as possible when it's crunch time. </div>
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2. Location, Location, Location: In QRP EME, as in Satellite DXing, Location is absolutely key. This is also the single biggest advantage you have over a multi-yagi high power EME station as a QRP operator. Find a spot with no external RFI, far away from power lines and fluorescent lights. Find a spot up on a hill with a clear view of the horizon and no trees to get in the way. Find a spot where you can setup a tripod or small mast, and run the shortest run of coax you can to your rig. Find a spot where you can sit comfortable for an hour or two and not be disturbed by others. </div>
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3. Low Loss Coax: Every single fraction of a db matters in EME. You need the shortest run, of the lowest loss coax you can afford. LMR240 is probably an absolute minimum, with LMR400 being better. And while there's obviously a balance between how close you're going to sit to your antenna and power, if you're running more than a couple hundred of watts at VHF/UHF you're probably not reading this anyway. </div>
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4. The Biggest Beam You got: For a lot of us Satellite operators, this is going to be an Arrow. If you've got the Alaskan Arrow, break that sucker out instead. If you've got something bigger, great, use that. You can normally find 10'-12' 432 and 144 Yagis for around 100 bucks used at hamfests or online. You can always build something too, I put together my 17 element 432 yagi for about $50 in McMaster parts. You can beg the local VHF/UHF guy that has every kind of antenna in the world in his barn, but spends his days on 146.940 for an a proper beam too. Make sure to show him your awesome QSL card with Germany on 70cm a few weeks later and he'll probably let you keep the beam he'll be so dumbstruck. No matter what path you take, More gain = more success on EME.<br />
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5. Mount up: This is optional, but I do recommend putting your beam on a tripod, or some sort of a mast. Wait, is CCI actually suggesting the use of a Tripod? For Sats, I say no.. for EME, I say yes. A Tripod allows a stable platform for your beam pointing at something that's moving really slow. Remember, this ain't a tumbling LEO cruising across the sky in 14 minutes, the moon takes it's sweet ass time going east to west, so you you can too. A tripod also allows you to use a beam bigger than you can hold in your hand, and it's a bit safer if you're running more than 50w on VHF/UHF, which is personally where I draw the line. Additionally, while it's nice, you don't *have* to have elevation control on your mount. Since Luna is slow walking her roll, you've got an hour or so when she just hangs out on the horizon low enough that she'll still be in the beamwidth of most normal yagis without elevation adjustments. There's also this thing called 'ground gain' that sort of happens, sometimes, on some bands, over certain ground.. maybe... so it's worth pointing straight at moonrise or moonset, and just leaving your beam fixed in that spot for a bit. Finally, you don't have to, but if you can adjust polarity on your beam, it might also help from time to time. Since these signals are so weak and take a few seconds to detect, I would be very slow and deliberate with your polarity changes. Go 45 degrees at a time, and then watch for 10-20 seconds to see if a signal shows up... you'll know it if it's working or you're making it worse. In summary: Your mount is probably the easiest place to get creative. Just whatever you do, keep short elements closer than the long elements to the big cheese in the sky. </div>
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6. All the Wattz: Unlike satellites, there's no electronics you have to worry about frying on the lunar surface. You're literally bouncing RF off of rocks. Therefore, bounce all the RF you can. At an absolute minimum the power required on your end seems to be around 30w. I've made a few 30w QSOs with my 17 element 432 yagi, and others have made similar. I've never heard of any made < 30w. Obviously 50w is better, 75w is even better, and 100w or more are better yet. The 910 and new 9700 will both do 75w on 432 and 100w on 144 and should be enough with a decent beam to make at least a token qso or two. Give your rig a good voltage feed, keep them cool, and they'll run JT65 at full smoke with no issues. If you've got a small brick style amp, something in the 130-170w range, bust it out and hook it up. I know this is a different mindset than what we're used to as Satellite operators, but there is no such thing as too many ERPs when you're talking about EME. More is better, in every single case. </div>
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<b>Good Luck, we're all counting on you</b></div>
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If you've made it this far, congrats. You're obviously nuts, and I commend you. The final piece worth mentioning is that this all still requires luck. There are a ton of natural factors that can still degrade the signal that I haven't even discussed, or really even understand. Sometimes, despite all your preparation, a contact just isn't going to happen. You need to be ready for failure when attempting this, and be ok with trial and error that might take you the better part of a few years to figure out. You can always buy bigger better stuff and increase your odds, but that's some serious investment and dedication to pull it off. However, the rewarding feeling of bouncing a signal off the freaking moon is unlike anything else I've done in Ham Radio. If you're an AMSAT operator thinking of trying your hand at QRP EME - give it a shot. You've probably already got what it takes equipment wise, now just apply some knowledge and luck, and see what can be done. </div>
<br />KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-28752092838442856652019-01-17T09:43:00.004-06:002019-01-17T09:43:49.610-06:00Y U NO BLOG NE MOAR?print "hello world!\n";<br />
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Just wanted to drop in and let folks know I am still alive, and plan to blog again one of these days. Right now I've started a new gig, and I'm in the middle of a move, so I don't have time to even operate radio, let alone blog about it.<br />
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I do still have all my drafts from 2018 I didn't get finished, so the backlog of writing topics is where I'll try to catch up first. I've got a few new topics for 2019 I'd like to discuss, specifically involving ultralight carry-on operation for business travelers, as it's something I've got first hand experience with.<br />
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That's all for now, I'll be back soon. 73!<br />
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-Dave, KG5CCIKG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-63412922253116316522018-07-30T15:42:00.002-05:002018-07-30T15:42:41.176-05:00Oscar Zero QSO One and TwoShortly after I announced my plans for the June VHF contest, I got a random email I was not expecting:<br /><br />
<i>Hi Dave,<br /><br />if you are qrv on 432 for the ARRL contest we can try on sunday (June 10th) some EME. Have here new installed 128x11el. so it needs not much on your side. >20w and >10el. will do in JT65b. Will be qrv from your moonrise till 14:00UTC mostly calling CQ on 063 first.<br /><br />73 Bernd DL7APV<br /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span>
I was of course intrigued, but just didn't find a way to fit EME into my contest plans this year. I did however, make a note of the request, and decided to followup later...<br />
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In my spare time (which admittedly hasn't been much) I've been playing around the <a href="http://k7mem.com/Ant_Yagi_VHF_Quick.html">K7MEM Yagi Calculator</a> seeing what's possible. I've also been ordering a few antenna building materials here and there from <a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/">McMaster-Carr</a> - primarily dealing with custom Arrow designs that W8LID has been cranking out. Even though Bernd assured me that 10 elements and 20w would be sufficient, I wanted build something a bit bigger on 432mhz anyway for terrestrial work. Like most of my projects, the early stages occurred before I realized what I was doing, and it just spiraled from there.<br />
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For my new 70cm beam, I decided to mimic the design of the classic Arrow. I'd order 2 pieces of 6' long 3/4" square aluminum tubing, join them together with some 5/8" round tube, then use Easton 1816 Jazz Arrow Shafts (or 9/32" diameter aluminum round tubes) as my elements. I'd then use a stock Arrow Gamma Match element as my driven and my existing satellite gear to feed it. While the Arrow Driven is tuned at 435, and would be a little short, the adjustable match would make the SWR close enough. I got all my parts ordered, and when it arrived I got busy on the drill press.<br />
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18 holes is A LOT to drill by hand, but after measuring about 3 times the actual drilling went pretty fast. Cutting all the elements took even longer, but once I got a rhythm down, it wasn't too bad. The idea was simple, measure everything out about a 1/16th of an inch too long, use a pipe cutter to trim - glue in a point insert (to thread the elements together) hand file off the excess length and smooth the cut side, slap on a plastic cap and attach to the boom. A couple hours in the shop spread out over a couple weeks, and the 'Lunar Arrow' was christened. </div>
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Finding a way to mount the thing to a tripod did prove to be a bit tricky. I didn't want to put a saddle clamp and the associate bolts on the same plane as the element, so I cut a small piece of excess 3/4" square tube, and then bolted below the boom vertically, and attached the saddle clamp there. </div>
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The split boom design with the tube in the middle worked great to line things up, and the under boom square piece had the added bonus of providing some support in the boom break, and made everything tighten up and look nice and straight. </div>
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I put the monstrosity up on a short mast, and tested it in the back yard. After some dinking with the gamma I had a good 1.1:1 match on the SWR at 432.100mhz, and the field strength meter I borrowed from a local showed a respectable pattern with no weird random lobes walking around 50' so in front the beam. Yes I was using 2w and announced myself before spewing out the RF - to avoid the inevitable emails telling me I did something wrong.... </div>
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It wasn't a precision engineered, computer modeled beam, but I had less than 50 bucks in the whole thing, and it seemed to work pretty well. The only thing left to do was try a contact. I dusted off my trusty G-5500 (Cause ain't no way I was going to hold this 12' beam for the time it took to make an EME Q) and put it up on my 10' mast. I set a sked with Bernd for the 13th of July - when conditions were good - and waited. </div>
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The setup was as follows - My homemade Lunar Arrow, mounted on my G5500 Rotor System, 8ft' of Times LMR240 Coax into an Icom 821 running 30w on 70cm. Signalink USB hooked into that, going to a Laptop running WSJTX. I was running everything off of my 30A power supply with a extension cord back into my shop, but I easily could have done battery here too. Trees at my house block the horizon until about 20° - so I waited until the computer said the moon would be above them. The moon phase was new, and it was only about 10° off the sun, so I just kinda had to guess at where it would be. I was chatting with Bernd on the HB9Q chat page, so he told me when he began his transmission and I went to 432.063 and began listening. Amazingly, I decoded him on the very first sequence. I quickly replied, he decoded me, and we finished the QSO before I even really knew what happened. I've always heard EME QSOs were often a long drawn out affair, but this was just like any other JT65 contact I've ever made. I was obviously massively psyched. </div>
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I had a bunch of stuff going on the rest of the day, so I had to go QRT shortly after the contact. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke though I left everything setup and came back on the morning of the 14th to try again. This time I managed to decode NC1I, called him, and got a quick answer - marking my 2nd EME QSO ever. </div>
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This time I actually had my settings in WSJTX correct, and used the 'short' versions of the messages, which forgoes a message report and just exchanges callsigns and a 'over over over' message. Either way, it was awesome. </div>
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Life has been really busy lately, but I'm still finding time here and there to do some fun Ham stuff. This was project was cheap, used mostly stuff I already on hand, and was loads of fun. I have no plans to develop a huge EME station, but it was super cool to tinker a bit and make a couple of contacts using the 'ultimate dx' method. If you've even got a modest UHF setup, I'd highly recommend you give Bernd, Frank, or any of the big gun EME stations an email and setup a sked. You might surprise yourself with the results, I sure did. </div>
KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-34888592181995132412018-06-06T20:44:00.002-05:002018-06-06T20:44:40.033-05:00June VHF/UHF Contest 2018 PlanI know I haven't blogged in a while... sorry bout day - I'll try and jump back on that horse soon. For now though, here is my official 2018 June VHF/UHF Contest Plan!<br />
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<b>KG5CCI - Pilot Rock Mountain - EM35io</b></h2>
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This year I've decided to head to one of my favorite SOTA locaitons in the state of Arkansas, Pilot Rock Mountain, deep in the Ozark Highlands, northwest of Dover, AR. At 2201' MSL it's among the highest points in the state, and because it's deep in the Ozark St. Francis National Forest, it is among the quietest RF locations I've operated from. It also is ringed by sheer drop-offs instead of trees - which is rare in this part of the country. </div>
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I'll be operating in the Single Op 3 Band category again this year - with 100W on 6M, 50W on 2m, and 30W on 70cm. I have made some upgrades to the beams though, going from a 6m Moxon last year, to a full 3 Element Yagi, and upgrading from a wideband 3 Element 2m Yagi, to a optimized 144mhz 5 Element Yagi on 2m. Coax is upgraded all around, as is the mast support. Even though I'll be low powered compared to some of ya'll out there, elevation and remoteness should allow me to punch above my weight quite a bit. I'll also be taking full advantage of the digital modes, and will have WSJT-X capability on all bands. If you're marginal distance on 2 or 70 and wanna try JT65, QRA, or MSK - by all means reach out. </div>
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Like all things though, there's a catch - I was only able to secure about 24 hours worth of time to operate. I need to be back down the mountain into Civilization by noon on Sunday. That means I'll probably be operating from contest start (1PM local on Saturday) until about 10AM Sunday Morning. That should allow me the main afternoon, evening, and the meteor skip morning though to work as many people as I can. <br />
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I had internet up there last time I was there, but you never know what you'll find. I plan to be on pingjockey, ON4KST chat, Twitter @KG5CCI, and APRS as KG5CCI-5. Feel free to hit me up for a sked if you wanna try something awesome. </div>
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Good Luck to all, hope to hear you on the high bands!</div>
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KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-3931962390251031932018-02-05T11:00:00.000-06:002018-02-05T11:00:36.782-06:00Precision Time While Off the Grid <br />
Since I've started playing with 6 meters, I've gotten hooked on the WSJT modes like MSK144 and FT8. I won't go into deep detail about how these modes work (That's for someone elses blog) but just understand that they are digital, and they require your computer to be synced with a precise clock in order to function properly. At home this is not a problem, the NTP or Network Time Protocol, is a well established network protocol any modern computer can run, and serves to do nothing else beside keeping a computer's clock in sync with a central server on the internet. Cool right? This works just fine as long as your computer is ON the Internet, but what about when it's not.. what about when you're out in the middle of nowhere, and you don't have your Cable, DSL, or a 4G hotspot you can connect too.. what then?<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DMg8XC20NCI/WmZHQ3sOQUI/AAAAAAAAA4U/ctbKblzx4FssC7CVDg8N2bZyfEoyBepXQCLcBGAs/s1600/gps-constellation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DMg8XC20NCI/WmZHQ3sOQUI/AAAAAAAAA4U/ctbKblzx4FssC7CVDg8N2bZyfEoyBepXQCLcBGAs/s320/gps-constellation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Enter the Global Position System, or GPS. I hope I don't have to explain what GPS is, because any user of technology the past 25 years should be familiar with it. A series of US launched satellites constantly orbit the earth, and provide location data thru time based triangulation in 3 dimensions to anyone on the ground who has at least 4 of the satellites in view. Nifty huh? Also notice a very key word I used in my description: Time Based. Yup, you got it. In order for GPS to function, the Satellites must have very precise clocks on board, and must get updated from a central server often. If you have a receiver that can pick up a GPS signal, then you can determine what time it is. You don't even need 4 satellites - just one signal is enough to calculate the current time accurate enough for WSJT modes to work. Now of course, how to integrate that with a computer that is running WSJT software.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVyTUgWIsIg/WmZIu3grviI/AAAAAAAAA4g/8z3og5ym3kcliUaQ1oxuXz2YfOylRpUdACLcBGAs/s1600/s-l300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVyTUgWIsIg/WmZIu3grviI/AAAAAAAAA4g/8z3og5ym3kcliUaQ1oxuXz2YfOylRpUdACLcBGAs/s1600/s-l300.jpg" /></a></div>
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I looked around, and found an inexpensive option that looked like it would do everything I needed. The GlobalSat BU-353-S4 is $25 bucks with free Shipping on Amazon Prime, and has fantastic reviews. I decided to give it a shot. After receiving the BU353 I then paired it up with the NMEATime2 software by VisualGPS LLC (for another $20) and I was in business. NMEATime2 uses the NMEA string (GPGGA) protocol to receive 'ticks' from the GlobalSat as a timing reference, keeping the computer's clock perfectly in sync with the signal from the Satellites. Everything looked good, but I wanted a local test - so I put the laptop on Battery power, made sure the Wi-Fi was off, and went to the driveway with nothing but the BU-353. I set the clock a few minutes off, fired up NMEATime2 and watched: </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MSgHW8VepfQ/WmZLHVkVgiI/AAAAAAAAA44/tW0AFc7RLgUQ2HzPUth-LC8BM8AxCubIQCLcBGAs/s1600/driveway%2Btest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="994" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MSgHW8VepfQ/WmZLHVkVgiI/AAAAAAAAA44/tW0AFc7RLgUQ2HzPUth-LC8BM8AxCubIQCLcBGAs/s320/driveway%2Btest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The program showed the Satellite signal coming up, then showed it locked in place, and the time slowly started catching up. Within about a minute, the clock on the computer was perfectly synced, and the CPU second ticks were in perfect match with the ticks from the GPS Constellation. I was impressed. A bit more testing and tweaking and I figured I was good to go, but still, a field test was going to be required. </div>
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On December 10th I got up early and headed Northeast to EM46. It's a rare grid on 6m, and the meteor scatter action had been picking up - so what better place and time to test the BU-353 out.<div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Olp2vceeAQ/WmZMEeJrC_I/AAAAAAAAA5Q/U0bD1ZPLt-AgvHePedxKBfDmZXqyzd5IQCLcBGAs/s1600/20171210_065753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="994" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Olp2vceeAQ/WmZMEeJrC_I/AAAAAAAAA5Q/U0bD1ZPLt-AgvHePedxKBfDmZXqyzd5IQCLcBGAs/s320/20171210_065753.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made sure the Wifi was off, and just ran PingJockey on my phone - making sure my computer would ONLY use the GPS signal for clocking.. and what'da know, it worked beautifully. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KpOoPjtou5o/WmZMEcpdSsI/AAAAAAAAA5U/3Y5ez_25HxUKtEvOicwxJTHR37ZW1-R5gCLcBGAs/s1600/20171210_065730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="994" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KpOoPjtou5o/WmZMEcpdSsI/AAAAAAAAA5U/3Y5ez_25HxUKtEvOicwxJTHR37ZW1-R5gCLcBGAs/s320/20171210_065730.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I would almost venture guess to say my clock precision was *better* than most other WSJT users that morning, even though I was 200 miles from home on the side of a road out in the fields of the Arkansas Delta. If you need a solution to run the WSJT modes while out in the field - I don't think you can go wrong with this solution. </div>
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KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-10927804986745699712018-01-22T09:00:00.000-06:002018-01-22T09:00:02.316-06:00YADR (Yet another distance record) on FO-29Back in November my good buddy Jerome, F4DXV, sent me a message asking if I wanted to try breaking the FO-29 distance record with him again. We already held the record, but never one to shy from a challenge I said sure. He had already figured out the perfect pass, had a new spot on his end, and just asked me to get to one of my spot in the wee hours of the morning No big thing :)<br /><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmMT5JmOHVk/Wkac7xwDBLI/AAAAAAAAA0c/YCT9W-J05iU8uyFfgttldZR9B7O9chIwwCLcBGAs/s1600/KG5CCI-%2BDECEMBER2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1154" height="186" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmMT5JmOHVk/Wkac7xwDBLI/AAAAAAAAA0c/YCT9W-J05iU8uyFfgttldZR9B7O9chIwwCLcBGAs/s320/KG5CCI-%2BDECEMBER2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We actually had 2 days we could work with, December 10th or December 12th. Both days had a window, neither really favored either operator, and both had a 0.6° Maximum elevation window for with FO-29 at true apogee during the pass. We agreed to try for both - cause you never know what will happen. Good thing we did too, because some of the fiercest weather of the year struck France on the 10th, with driving rain and wind, making it impossible for Jerome to get to his spot. We crossed our fingers though, and set a sked for 2 days later. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B1BC9G-Q81Y/WkWXtTsj_HI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Ku54Phe4rPMkXw5PvF55z8GEUdDLlkL4wCLcBGAs/s1600/f4dxv-new-fo29-record.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1439" height="139" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B1BC9G-Q81Y/WkWXtTsj_HI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Ku54Phe4rPMkXw5PvF55z8GEUdDLlkL4wCLcBGAs/s320/f4dxv-new-fo29-record.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The morning of the 12th I drug myself out of bed at 2:45AM (local) and stumbled to the car. Quickly downing some caffeine and Cliff bars, I turned on some Metallica and navigated 90 miles Northwest to Mt. Nebo State Park near Dardenelle, AR in EM35. This was the location I used during our last FO-29 record, although I did park just shy of the summit this time, to take advantage of a slightly better angle for the pass, and to shelter myself from a strong westerly wind that was blowing. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5-lzvt3ZpwI/WkWXym6DhYI/AAAAAAAAAz4/sRchTmaA1jQWuGLAenJpiecesEF37rCFgCLcBGAs/s1600/20171212_044626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1248" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5-lzvt3ZpwI/WkWXym6DhYI/AAAAAAAAAz4/sRchTmaA1jQWuGLAenJpiecesEF37rCFgCLcBGAs/s320/20171212_044626.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jerome was already setup on his side, at his spot in JN04 up on a small hill. The weather still wasn't great, but it was a lot better than it had been the previous window. Via Twitter we both confirmed we were setup, picked a frequency and got ready to set another record. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EGcl8qnVuFI/WkWYyXeEAEI/AAAAAAAAA0E/k2iGzeLFMzY3ZD54p1bUprZdzuwGZotagCLcBGAs/s1600/QJzonJcK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1152" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EGcl8qnVuFI/WkWYyXeEAEI/AAAAAAAAA0E/k2iGzeLFMzY3ZD54p1bUprZdzuwGZotagCLcBGAs/s320/QJzonJcK.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We both had video going - though like normal Jerome's turned out way better than mine did. Having daylight helped :)</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6sPe9wSOvAY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sPe9wSOvAY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Here's my 'Video' that I took of our contact. All you can really see is my red headlamp, but the audio is there. I had my headphones plugged in by themselves at first (just in case the audio splitter was lowering my volume) but after I dialed Jerome in I popped it back in so you could hear both sides of the QSO.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzzICD1CspdakaMPcfN8LRTSXjHS0oI58O-X1-I8yhhSw6rGwv6GKeik5hpg9yJPW5b5N7yGbk1p3QATBqGRw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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And that's all she wrote. 7635km on FO-29 in the books. As you can tell from the videos, we had PLENTY of time to make the QSO. Enough time to rag chew and play with power settings even. What does this mean? It means that further is most definitely possible. Probably better bookmark this blog for 6-12 months from now, to see what we've done next :). </div>
<br />KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-55439518931499824542018-01-15T09:00:00.000-06:002018-01-15T09:01:07.879-06:00Four Eighty EightWith the completion of the K0D expedition, I was 487/488 on the CONUS grid chase via Satellite. EM41 was the only remainder. I briefly considered making the drive myself and using a club/1x1 call to wrap it up, but at the same time I kind of wanted to be at the controls of KG5CCI personally for the last one. I decide to be patient, and lo and behold another fellow operator came to the rescue.<br />
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Brian, KG5GJT, had a trip planned to Natchez, MS with his wife for their anniversary. Somehow using sweet talking mysticism that I have yet to perfect on my better half, he convinced her to let him do a few satellite passes while they were there. After a few missed attempts on AO-85, on 11/19/2017 at 0356z we made contact on SO-50. EM41 was in the logbook. And then there were none.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8I-kgyYFVwc/WlPR2fVkJ1I/AAAAAAAAA3c/MB2ARTMRtDMYMpruQv8ln_pCs-CXMXwQwCLcBGAs/s1600/kg5cci-ffma-map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1072" height="220" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8I-kgyYFVwc/WlPR2fVkJ1I/AAAAAAAAA3c/MB2ARTMRtDMYMpruQv8ln_pCs-CXMXwQwCLcBGAs/s320/kg5cci-ffma-map.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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All 488 grids in the lower 48 United States were in the log. My first Satellite contact was on July 13th, of 2014, and after making slightly over 4800 QSOs on the birds, 3 years and 4 months later I had em all. Mission Accomplished. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mouj7QiHl-0/WlPR2ovROqI/AAAAAAAAA3k/aFjF0pT-WvobIdW7dZUdnOKFtum0X9icgCLcBGAs/s1600/KG5CCI-Sat-World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mouj7QiHl-0/WlPR2ovROqI/AAAAAAAAA3k/aFjF0pT-WvobIdW7dZUdnOKFtum0X9icgCLcBGAs/s320/KG5CCI-Sat-World.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My global Map Looks pretty good too now - with a big pile of red over the US, much of Mexico, and a portion of Canada, South America, and Europe. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-chQUU5zTDJQ/WlPR2kSh06I/AAAAAAAAA3g/R4aZfhj-2YksWZ-wp5gMU-NKOzOYzT7FwCLcBGAs/s1600/kg5cci-rover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-chQUU5zTDJQ/WlPR2kSh06I/AAAAAAAAA3g/R4aZfhj-2YksWZ-wp5gMU-NKOzOYzT7FwCLcBGAs/s320/kg5cci-rover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even with the chasing, I'm even more proud of my Satellite rover map. In the same time frame I had activated 107 different grids on Satellites. I plan for this map to become more and more populated over the coming years, as it truly is better to give than to receive, and I know I've helped many other chasers on the way to their goal as well. </div>
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<b>Statistics:</b></div>
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As best as I can tell, 164 unique operators were responsible for the 488 grids. That means there was some serious rover action that took place. In some cases (like the W1AW/x calls) I'm really not sure who the operator was, so I left those alone, in other cases were a 1x1 was used by a group of activators, I gave both ops credit. With that in mind, my top 10 looks like this:<br />
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AL6D (Also as KM4RTS, NJ7H & K5T) 107 Grids<br />
W5PFG (Also as K5L & K5T) 36 Grids<br />
AC0RA (Also as K0D, K6R, and K5T ) 33 Grids<br />
WD9EWK (Also as W7O) 27 Grids<br />
N6UA 18 Grids<br />
AK4WQ 16 Grids<br />
N4UFO 13 Grids<br />
KX9X (as various KX9X/x) 9 Grids<br />
N9IP 9 Grids<br />
AA5PK 7 Grids<br />
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Full Stats in a spreadsheet <a href="http://www.druidnetworks.com/kg5cci_488_stats.xlsx" target="_blank">HERE</a> if you are really that interested.<br />
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<b>THANK YOU!</b></div>
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To all the operators along the way, especially the crazy rovers who spend much time and fuel going to places way off the beaten path, to help color in blank squares on a map. Now that this obsession has been put to bed, I can focus on what comes next. </div>
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73!</div>
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KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-14134501764315772682018-01-08T09:00:00.000-06:002018-01-09T13:45:19.936-06:00The K0D StoryEditors Note: This blog was originally published in parts, but for the sake of continuity, I have centralized it all here in this post and removed the other pieces. I hope you enjoy this format more.<br />
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<b>The Idea</b></div>
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So back at the end of October 2017, I was staring at my AMSAT grid map, and it looked a little something like this:<br />
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I had made a lot of great strides in the world of grid chasing, thanks to a bunch of really great rovers. Alex (N7AGF) Doug (N6UA) Clayton (W5PFG) and Paul (N1PEB) had managed to knock out several of the stragglers in random places around the map that were proving difficult earlier in the fall, then Patrick (WD9EWK) got a couple for me on his way to Reno for the AMSAT symposium, and Gabe (NJ7H, now AL6D) finished out a few of my far western grid pairs on his way to Alaska for a new job. That left me with just a big hole along the DN/EN field line thru the Dakotas, and EM41 to finish out my CONUS map on Satellite. EM41 would come in due time, but figuring out how to deal with that void in the Dakotas was going to be tricky. I could wait for someone else go rove thru the area - which might take years - Or I could take matters into my own hands. I've spent months building a properly functioning remote station here in EM34 that works well enough in most directions. I'm also a fairly accomplished rover in my own right, so activating all the grids and 'working myself' was definitely going to be possible. That said, I was going to need help.<br />
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I took the idea to Wyatt, AC0RA, one of the most accomplished rovers in the AMSAT and VHF/UHF community today, and also a good friend. I discussed the possibility of roving to each of the grids I needed over the course of a couple of days, using my parent's QTH in EN21 as kind of a 'home base' due to it's relative closeness to the grids needed. He thought the idea was solid, and agreed to help - I made a map of how to navigate the highways and byways to hit all the grids needed, in the shortest amount of time possible and we had our plan. Then of course, we started adding extras.<br />
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Anyone who's been following this blog has been watching my slowly growing fascination with 6m Meteor Scatter. Since these grids were so rare on Satellites, it figured that some might be rare on 6m too. Well, they are. Quite a few actually are in the '3rd rarest' category (yellow) on the FFMA chaser board. Since this rove was going to occur in November, chances of e-skip were basically slim to none, but meteor scatter could work. Also a few of the local big guns in the /0 region (K0SIX especially) needed some of these grids in their final 50 for 6m FFMA. Wyatt knew this too, and suggested the possibility of taking his Rover truck with a modest 6m beam on it so we could do both Satellites and 6. As icing on the cake, since there would be 2 licensed hams in the truck we could theoretically operate in motion with 1 driver and 1 operator. This was something that Wyatt had told me he was interested in trying at some point anyway - as for contests he normally goes out solo. With that it was settled and on the morning of November 9th, 2017 we would head north from EN21 and begin a nearly 2000 mile trip to activate 13 of my 14 remaining AMSAT grids needed to complete the KG5CCI 488 map. We would also operate 6 Meter MSK144 Meteor Scatter in motion, and from certain fixed locations on the rarest grid lines. I applied for the K0D 1x1 special event callsign. Since there were 2 hams, and I would be keeping my personal callsign for my Arkansas station, it would make everything easier from a logging perspective, and keep the operation on the up and up. I acquired LOTW certs, and setup a simple QRZ page with details for what we were up to. We were set for the rove.<br />
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The final piece of the puzzle was how to work 'myself' since I would physically be in North Dakota with Wyatt, using the K0D callsign, and in all likelihood out in the middle of nowhere lacking cell phone reception to remote into KG5CCI myself. I was going to need more help. Luckily another ham friend, Clayton, W5PFG, answered the call, and agreed to operate my station remote during the passes required. We tested the station multiple times to make sure remote operation was functioning correctly, and felt like it was ready.<br />
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The idea was simple enough, and the plan was set. The K0D expedition was on.<br />
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<b>Day 1: </b></div>
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November 9th at 4:00AM CDT we were on the road. Wyatt had met me at my Parent's QTH in EN21 near Crescent, IA the night before, and we got everything in the truck ready. Rolling out of bed at an ungodly hour we scarfed some breakfast Mom has prepared and jumped in the truck heading north. We had a long day ahead of us, and had to get moving early. It was ~720 miles to DN98 where we planned to spend the night. The idea was to go north to Sioux Falls as fast as we could, go west thru EN04, and then get on US83 which would parallel the DN9x/EN0x line thru the 5, 6 and 7 grid pairs, then finally pick up DN98 at the end of the night when we crashed in Minot. 8 of the 13 needed KG5CCI grids would be activated in this first day, and the times were going to be tight. The first goal of the day however was EN04 by 8:00AM local, to catch an XW-2A pass. We chatted for a bit once on the road, and at 5:00AM after entering EN12 we got on 50.260 and fired off a CQ:<br />
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It didn't take us long to get our first contact. KA8TBW was in the log at 5:08AM from EN12 while driving 75mph down I-29 south of Sioux City, IA. 8 Minutes for the contact with a 3 element beam, only 3' above the cab of the truck, and 100W from the IC-7300. The 6m in motion idea was really just secondary to the AMSAT grid activation, but already we were making contacts. We knew this was going to be a lot of fun. </div>
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We kept trudging along North on I-29 until Sioux falls, where we headed west on I-90 until Mitchell, SD. We grabbed gas and a Wyatt found a baked breakfast item which he raved about being damn delicious for the rest of the trip. We busted north out of Mitchell and got to the EN03/04 line. I already had EN03 in my Satellite log from Arkansas, but we were at the line so we did both anyway. I remoted into the home station on my phone, and Wyatt ran the IC-910 - 1 quick contact later we were back in the truck. Popular demand on Ping Jockey for some new ones required that we go operate from the EN13/14 line as well, plus our buddy Greg, W0LGQ needed both of them on sideband. I fired up a bit of periscope to capture our shenanigans. </div>
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6m Live from EN13/14 Line K0D <a href="https://t.co/2jLNnmZtPi">https://t.co/2jLNnmZtPi</a></div>
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— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/928631126117068802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2017</a></div>
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K0D Roving from SD <a href="https://t.co/MG2PdGhKeD">https://t.co/MG2PdGhKeD</a></div>
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— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/928628708901974021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2017</a></div>
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After screwing around at the corner for close to an hour (but making a ton of contacts on both Satellite and 6m) we headed back northwest again. We had plenty of time at this point, cause the next needed grids weren't until DN95 & EN05, and the next passes that looked favorable were going to be UKUBE-1 and CAS-4B, so we had time. We continued until reaching the town of Gettysburg, SD - just inside EN05 and stopped for gas and lunch at a local diner. It took a little bit to get our food, but the wait was rewarded with a darn good open face hot beef sandwich, which was the special of the day. Loaded up with beefy gravy goodness we headed north until getting out of town a ways, and found a dirt road to operate a CAS-4B pass from, right on the DN95/EN05 line. Wyatt hoisted the 6m beam and I grabbed at the Arrow. </div>
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This particular section of the trip was probably the most delicate time wise - we were still 350 miles from our Motel room for the night, and if something went wrong on these passes there were no other satellite windows with EM34 for several hours. Luckily though everything worked out. W5PFG was running the KG5CCI remote like a boss and picked me up operating as K0D right away. I worked a pile on CAS-4B, and Wyatt worked a bunch on 6M from the line. After about 20 minutes we jumped back in the truck and continued north. A quick hour on the road and we crossed into North Dakota, shortly there after we crossed into DN96 and immediately turned east off the highway onto dirt roads looking for the line. We found it just south of Hague, ND and got setup just in time for another CAS-4B pass (this one a little higher) but still in perfect position to work the entire US West to East.<br />
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Once again, I jumped on the IC-910 and Wyatt ran the IC-7300 from the truck. Once again I found W5PFG running the KG5CCI remote, and knocked out 2 more in the 488 chase. North Dakota is a rover's dream land. Flat treeless expanses for miles, clear view of the horizon everywhere. We couldn't have asked for better terrain. </div>
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Back in the truck again, we continued north. One more line op for the night and the hardest batch of satellite grids would be knocked out. Luckily we had many more options now for birds as the early evening brings on the 'XW Train' of Chinese Transponder Satellites, 1 by 1 for almost 3 straight hours. We wound north for almost 2 hours this time, crossing over I-94 just east of Bismark, turning east near the town of Tuttle, ND. The sun was getting lower in the sky, more snow was on the ground, and the thermometer was dropping fast... it was obvious we were getting pretty far north. We found a spot on a reasonably clear road (the initial road we had mapped was covered, and I mean *covered* in ice) and setup operations. This time W5PFG had a family commitment and couldn't run remote, so Wyatt braved the cold and ran the IC-910 on an XW-2C pass as K0D while I remoted into the KG5CCI EM34 station on my laptop from the truck. </div>
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Side Note: I just want to comment on the hilarity that is technology. I was sitting in a pickup in North Dakota, speaking into into a wireless bluetooth headset, connected to my computer, which was connected to a wifi hotspot, via my cell phone, which had established a VoIP link, over the internet, to my computer in Arkansas, that was piped into a radio, which was then transmitted at a Satellite and repeated back down to a receiver, being held by a guy roughly 10ft away from me. I often struggle to explain what I do to non-hams, but on this day, I was struggling to explain what I was doing to myself. </div>
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Anyway, contact was made quickly and I switched spots with Wyatt to let him warm up in the truck and work some 6m. I jumped on AO-85 to give the FM only folks a chance at some rare grids - and then we packed it up and continued heading north. KG5CCI was now 7 for 13 on grids - and the most time sensitive part of the trip was over. Things were looking good. </div>
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The goal for the night was Minot, but on the way we took a small break to meet up with Bill, ND0B, who lives near Harvey, ND. We hooked up with him at the local Pizza Ranch, where we stuffed ourselves silly on buffet pizza and fried chicken. This was my first experience at a Pizza Ranch, and while I'm not sure it'd be my first choice - when it was the only choice, I wasn't disappointed. It was hot, fresh, and plentiful. Considering where we were, I couldn't have asked for much more. After saying our farewells to Bill, we got back on the road, with the final 80 miles or so to go. The stretch of road between Harvey and Minot was amazingly desolate, and we also hit our low temperature of the trip here: </div>
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It was flipping cold. We continued to work 6M MSK144 while in motion, right into the outskirts of Minot. We found our motel for the night, and quickly unpacked. It actually had warmed up a bit - but not much. I believe it was 8°F in the parking lot of the Microtel as we were unloading our gear. I did need DN98 as well, so once again I jumped on the remote and Wyatt fired up the IC-910. This time though, things didn't go quite so well. The pass was a nice high descending FO-29 but for some reason my LinPhone Audio wouldn't connect. The bitter cold had been giving us grief on our devices, but this was something different. I ran inside to my laptop, already on the hotel wifi, but no luck there either. Something had happened to shut down the LinPhone voip proxy servers, and I couldn't connect my audio. This was the only technical failure of the trip, and it happened from a station location with good internet and warm facilities. Murphy had finally got us. I troubleshot for a while that night, but decided it was useless without the proxy server functioning. Exhausted after the drive, and having more options in the morning we made sure all the different battery powered devices were charging and called it a night. </div>
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<b>Day 2:</b></div>
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After 6 (more or less) hours of sleep, we were refreshed and ready for day 2. Over the night the LinPhone proxy server had begun working again, and my VoIP connection to my home re-established. A nice high AO-7 pass (and Wyatt standing in the cold again) and we had KG5CCI in the logs from DN98. 8 down, 5 to go. We got everything packed back up and got on the road shortly after 5AM local. The plan was to head west to DN88/78 Line, and be on site for FO-29 at 7:49AM local time. It was just over a hundred miles, and while snowing - it was cold and windy, so the roads were in fine shape. As soon as we got out of town, we fired up 6m again, and immediately started making Meteor Scatter contacts while in motion. Right about day break we got to our spot on the DN88/78 line and setup. This was the furthest point from home of our Trip, and also the rarest of the grids we planned to hit - both on 6m and on Satellites. Within seconds Wyatt had a pileup, and I setup the IC-910 for a 60° FO-29 pass. W5PFG was running KG5CCI again, and since the reception was good, and we had a bit of time to spare, I fired up some periscope:<br />
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k0d live from dn88/78 Line North Dakota <a href="https://t.co/b2TyGgYqf1">https://t.co/b2TyGgYqf1</a></div>
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— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/928982484695445504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2017</a></div>
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After an amazingly successful activation (I worked 21 stations on a single FO-29 pass and Wyatt worked 15 6m stations in about 30 minutes) we packed back up and begun - for the first time - going south. Originally we had thought about meandering over into Montana, but decided instead to shoot down to the DN77/87 line, since we were so close - and there was an SO-50 pass about 30 minutes later that we should easily be able to get too. We kind of aimlessly drove around til we got to a good spot - on what appeared to be a levee next to the Missouri River, direct south of the town of Buford, ND, and setup once again. Unfortunately the reception wasn't the best - so no periscope, but I did snap a selfie after working another ginormous pile on SO-50.<br />
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With DN88, DN78, and DN77 in the bag for KG5CCI, 3 more of the 488 had gotten knocked out in a 1 hour time span. Only DN85 and DN73 remained, and those were slated for K0D activation later in the day. We packed up from the line, and continued on the levee we were on, because turning around on the ice might have proven to be a bit tricky. At the end of the levee we surprisingly (and awesomely) found ourselves at the Missouri-Yellowstone River Confluence - which was a cool treat. </div>
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Wyatt did some logging and checked some email while I jumped out and snapped another selfie in front of the sign. I walked down to the river, to pay my respects to Lewis and Clark, and back on the road we went. We meandered just a bit, not knowing exactly where we were going, and ended up in the town of Fairview, MT. We needed gas, and needed food - so we found a Subway, fueled up, and decided the best bet was to go back east a ways to US85 and then south. For the next few hours we traveled south, without really a whole lot to do. And by 'not a whole lot to do' I mean we were kept busy logging, and working 6m in motion, as well as chatting on PingJockey and seeing when the passes would line up from DN85 and DN73. This was the point of the trip that it donned on me, that we'd driven over 1000 miles in the past 24 hours, and time had absolutely flown by. I've always found long trips kind of enjoyable with good company, or a good audio book - but was astonished just how far we'd gone in what seemed like the blink of an eye. A few miles after this epiphany, we did pass thru a small portion of Teddy Roosevelt National Park - and got to see a small piece of the famed 'Badlands' of North Dakota. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zM-yL134Mag/Wk7B4nrBTgI/AAAAAAAAA2U/oc0Bi73ImY8JBxKaGqThddQsIDeijhTOQCLcBGAs/s1600/Teddy%2BRooselvelt%2BNatl%2BPark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zM-yL134Mag/Wk7B4nrBTgI/AAAAAAAAA2U/oc0Bi73ImY8JBxKaGqThddQsIDeijhTOQCLcBGAs/s320/Teddy%2BRooselvelt%2BNatl%2BPark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We kept south on US85 until just north of the South Dakota line. We drove west of the highway and found a dirt road on the DN85/86 line. I didn't need DN86 for the KG5CCI 488, but we were there, and figured why not. With W5PFG manning the remote, we quickly hooked up for a contact on AO-7 and were down to 1 to go. Wyatt hoisted the 6m mast and made some good contacts there as well - including some stations far west out in Idaho - which is usually too far for both of us on Meteor Scatter. It had also warmed up significantly, and was near 50° - so we shed some of our polar gear and and repacked for 'warmer' temperatures.<br />
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We got back on US85 and kept going south, finally stopping for fuel and snacks in Belle Fourche, SD. Up until this point, we hadn't quite figured out our plan for DN73. It was on the far western side of the Black Hills, and and hotel for the night was in Wall, SD about an hour East of the Black Hills. A wildcard had also been thrown at me, in the form of Nick, UA0ZGX who I had asked for a sked while I was 2000km northwest of where I normally am. The perfect AO-7 pass for him was about 2350z - while the CAS-4B that was going to be the last grid was coming over at 2352z. Working Nick wouldn't get me a new grid, but it would get me another all important DXCC entity, and it would actually complete my WAC requirements. So, we decided to aim for a spot in the Thunder Basin Grassland, northwest of Osage, WY - just inside the line of DN73. I was chancing it to find a spot with a good location, but I figured out there I'd have a much better horizon that I would back closer to the Black Hills. We navigated to the area, found a rise on a pull off on the side of the highway, and setup shop. I fired up periscope, and well, you can see for yourself (Fair warning, some not so nice language was getting used, apologies for that after the fact).<br />
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K0D DN73 Wyoming <a href="https://t.co/SPVmFCaOHb">https://t.co/SPVmFCaOHb</a></div>
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— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/929131218884378624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2017</a></div>
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We had pulled it off. Despite from difficulties with noise, frequency coordination, and a language barrier, I had hooked up with UA0GZX as KG5CCI on AO-7, then switched over to CAS-4B, and operating as K0D worked W5PFG operating as KG5CCI from EM34, getting CONUS grid #487 in the logs from Arkansas. In retrospect, watching that live video I have to laugh at myself, but I was pretty overwhelmed at the time. In the course of about 5 minutes I had worked a new DX, completed the WAC Satellite requirements, and had gotten all but one CONUS grid in the logs. I was exhausted from driving and lack of sleep, but I was pumped full of adrenaline from the experience. The hour or so we spent in DN73 on the side of the road was some of the funnest ham radio operating I've ever done.<br />
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At the same time all this was going on, Wyatt had been working piles on 6m. We hung out for a while after the passes, since the spot was good and we were working quite a few stations. After about 30 minutes though the pings became less frequent and we decided to pack it in for the night. We had met every satellite goal for the trip - and only experienced one technical failure, which we were able to remedy without too much trouble. The 6m operating (while originally just a side thought) had turned out to be almost as important as the satellite fun, and there were requests for 2 more grids the next morning.<br />
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We got back on the road just after dusk, and headed to Wall, SD to crash for the night. We flipped a coin to decide whether to go back to I-90 and around the north side of the Black Hills, or right thru the middle. We opted for the 'thru the middle' path - and were rewarded with a bunch of altitude ear popping and nervous deer alongside the road. It was fun to drive thru the Black Hills again, as I hadn't been there since I was a kid, but I'm not sure I'd make the same choice again after dark trying to make good time. A few hours later we rolled into Wall, found our motel and nearly collapsed. Convinced of the need for a beer after such an epic accomplishment though, we drove a short ways to a local bar, for sandwiches and cold beverages. Hardly able to keep our eyes open we finished our chow and fell down quick like upon return to the room.<br />
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<b>Day 3: </b></div>
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Part of the reason for choosing Wall as our stopping place for the night, was that it put us in perfect position to the DN83/DN93 line - which was another set of extremely rare 6m grids. With meteors being the best in the early AM, we got up at 5AM and drove the 15 minutes or so out to the line just north of the Badlands National Park.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pVGazE42rEI/Wk7B95I4BWI/AAAAAAAAA2c/fG3FEdWJcW82kvCQ516qzJCPfV3QaWQ0wCLcBGAs/s1600/near%2Bbadlands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pVGazE42rEI/Wk7B95I4BWI/AAAAAAAAA2c/fG3FEdWJcW82kvCQ516qzJCPfV3QaWQ0wCLcBGAs/s320/near%2Bbadlands.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The weather was cool - but nowhere near what it had been up around Minot the previous day - so even though KG5CCI didn't need the grids on Satellites, I setup the IC-910 and Wyatt went to work on the IC-7300. As it was Saturday morning - the typical Ping Jockey weekly gathering time - the pile ups were big. We handed out both grids to 18 chasers in just over an hour of operating. Once again I have to admit that I was amazed what we were getting done with a 3 element yagi at 30' or so, and 100W. For anyone reading this that likes 6m operating, but gives up when E-Skip isn't happening, you're seriously missing out. Meteor Scatter is the bomb diggity. If you're still not convinced just look at Wyatt's face:</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNgP-4OV0Qk/Wk7CADQe6pI/AAAAAAAAA2g/_sxQ2qzq-s8vyF_Uo3TZ9fH56HbVtPapgCLcBGAs/s1600/wyatt%2Bnear%2Bbadlands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNgP-4OV0Qk/Wk7CADQe6pI/AAAAAAAAA2g/_sxQ2qzq-s8vyF_Uo3TZ9fH56HbVtPapgCLcBGAs/s320/wyatt%2Bnear%2Bbadlands.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That is the picture of a happy, happy ham. Anyhoo.... about 8AM we packed up the station and started heading east again on I-90. We continued to operate in motion on the interstate, picking up a new contact about every 15-20 minutes on average. It doesn't sound like much, but when you consider we were handing out grids AND traveling 75mph down the interstate, it's really pretty amazing. Wyatt decided he needed to make 1 final stop in Mitchell, SD (not hunting the breakfast pocket from 2 days before) but instead to grab some fishing poles at Cabelas. While he was inside I hoisted the mast and hung out in the parking lot making contacts, knocking out a few more 6m QSOs from EN03 that we had missed the 2 days ago on the outbound leg. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_BVl37fPD8/Wk7B31vHKBI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/aVVza5GQUmYWTOJcQthOm_P-7KklH_vSwCLcBGAs/s1600/Cabelas%2BParking%2BLot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_BVl37fPD8/Wk7B31vHKBI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/aVVza5GQUmYWTOJcQthOm_P-7KklH_vSwCLcBGAs/s320/Cabelas%2BParking%2BLot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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We also, by popular demand from the AMSAT crew, did an SO-50 pass to the west, working a few people that had missed the FO-29 pass a few days ago. After this, we stowed all the gear and decided to shut the RF down and take a nice mellow cruise back to EN21 and talk about the epic adventure we had just completed. </div>
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<b>K0D Statistics & Data</b></div>
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On the AMSAT Side of the House: <br />
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14 Passes Worked<br />
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19 Grids Activated </div>
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66 Unique calls logged </div>
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184 QSOs Made </div>
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Single Best Pass - 26 Contacts made on SO-50 at 1528z Nov 10th from DN87/77 line.<br />
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On the 6M Side:<br />
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24 Grids Activated<br />
37 Unique calls logged<br />
108 QSOs Made<br />
2581 MSK144 Transmissions sent<br />
2188 MSK144 Pings decoded<br />
Best Contact Distance - W8BYA in EN61 from DN78/88 Line at 1691.7km</div>
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General Stats:<br />
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1852 Miles Driven<br />
2591 APRS Messages Sent from K0D-5</div>
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<a href="https://aprs.fi/#!mt=hybrid&z=13&call=a%2FK0D-5&timerange=604800&tail=604800" target="_blank">Here's a Link to the APRS Trail</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.druidnetworks.com/K0D_sat_logs_final.txt" target="_blank">Here's a link to all the AMSAT Logs</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.druidnetworks.com/K0D_6m_logs_final.xlsx" target="_blank">Here's a link to all the 6m Logs</a><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ygIo59opLgTceJpbbliWKo6T0rpcQos-&usp=sharing" target="_blank">And Here's a link to All the 6m contacts we made plotted on Google Maps. </a><br />
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<b>Acknowledgments</b></div>
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It's hard to understate how many moving parts had to come together to make this adventure work. I want to make sure to thank my folks, for letting me and Wyatt use their house to serve as our launching pad before the trip, and our crash pad after the trip, as well as watching my kiddo for a few days while I went 'off to play with radios and space stuff'. I want to thank Bill, ND0B for meeting us for the Pizza in the frozen wastelands of Harvey, ND. I want to send a big thanks Clayton, W5PFG, for running the KG5CCI remote - and for all the advice and mentoring he's given me in the AMSAT world these past few years. And of course I want to thank Wyatt, AC0RA, who was crazy enough to agree to a trip to North Dakota with me, in November, just to fill in a few black squares on a map. Also the use of his pickup and equipment made something possible that I just wouldn't have been able to do solo. Thanks buddy. </div>
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<b>What's Next?</b></div>
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Well, you tell me. I've got some ideas, but they're all a ways out. For now, I'm going to keep writing and keep planning. But the rover bug will never die. We'll see where the grids take me. </div>
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KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-3868427726714657452018-01-01T09:00:00.000-06:002018-01-01T09:00:03.402-06:00Happy 2018 from KG5CCI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Happy 2018 Ham Radio Readers!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lDlhNwmGrxg/WkajDwUbfKI/AAAAAAAAA0s/6PPbnXU7K7QOYqhM6VpZ4choM2dt79VHwCLcBGAs/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lDlhNwmGrxg/WkajDwUbfKI/AAAAAAAAA0s/6PPbnXU7K7QOYqhM6VpZ4choM2dt79VHwCLcBGAs/s1600/unnamed.jpg" /></a></div>
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There isn't much substance to this post besides that. I have promised to get better at writing blog entries but thus far I have failed pretty hard. My goal for 2017 was to get a new entry out every 2 weeks - I did not meet that goal, with only 21 entries published during the year. In 2018, I will try harder. Now that I've got the 488 AMSAT chase completed, I SHOULD have more time. I'm also done with school, so I SHOULD have more time. All of these SHOULDs though can quickly get confounded by a gorgeous little blonde girl running around asking Daddy to help her out with things, and let's be serious - You all (and me) would probably be better served with me building and experimenting in the shop and then posting pictures to Twitter rather than writing about it in this blog.. Right? Well OK maybe not.. </div>
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THE POINT of this is I've got a lot more things to write about than I do have time and gumption to actually do the writing. With that in mind, for 2018 I'm going to set my goal the same. One entry, every 2 weeks. I will try my best to hit this goal. I'm going to use the scheduling function of Blogger to make them all come out on Monday morning too - that way every other Monday, you should have something to look forward too... or jeer at me for. Either way, it's entertainment. </div>
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For a little 2018 teaser - here are some of the things I've already started on: </div>
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<b>The K0D Story - Part II</b></div>
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<b>YADR (Yet another Distance Record) on FO-29</b></div>
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<b>Finishing the AMSAT 488 Chase</b></div>
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<b>More Meteor Scatter adventure</b></div>
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<b>Cheap Yagis</b></div>
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<b>Cheap Duplexers</b></div>
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<b>Precision Time Issues</b></div>
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<b>STFU about Millennials in Ham Radio (Written by a Millennial in Ham Radio)</b></div>
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See anything there you like? Good. I hope to make 2018 an enjoyable year. And if not, well that's cool too. 73's Ya'll. </div>
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-Dave, KG5CCI</div>
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KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-23966350932698773152017-12-28T19:14:00.003-06:002017-12-28T19:14:32.185-06:00Home Station Build - Polarity and Relays<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
One of the most contentious concepts when building Satellite stations is the idea of polarity. Normally with terrestrial stuff, this concept is pretty easy to understand. FM is usually vertical (due to the prevalent whip antenna that is everywhere) and sideband/weak signal stuff is usually horizontal (for ground gain). Satellites - and for that matter EME and Scatter - don't quite follow the same rules though. Polarity can get messed up on the signal by all sorts of things in transit, and considering with birds we're dealing with powers <1W often, having that extra 30db of gain you get by matching your polarity exactly makes a big frigging difference. Of the birds that are floating up there, all but FO29 and AO7 currently have linear antennae on them, so to get the best match you want a linear antenna down here on earth, aligned perfectly to what the bird in space is aligned too. This obviously gets tricky in a fixed position station. Enter the X-Pol antenna, which <a href="http://www.kg5cci.com/2017/10/home-station-build-new-beams.html" target="_blank">I spoke about here</a>. Now the question comes though, how do you best take advantage of what is basically 2 different antennae, with 2 different feed points, with a single radio?</div>
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<b>Relays</b></div>
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I decided to use Tohtsu CX-520D relays to best utilize the X-Pol design. They take 2 N-Inputs and put them on 1 N-Input, and switch between sides based on a 12VDC current. Current off - Take the horizontal side.. current on - take the vertical side. I had, of course, do a little soldering to make it work the way I wanted, but I attached a little stub of wire, and then put 12VDC quick connectors on the wire, so I essentially had a 'plug' so I could disconnect the long run of wires back to the shack, and keep the relay in place. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25vekcJY4-E/Wej1kqf-MqI/AAAAAAAAAts/xA7CwpajQl8YTXRuDqflUzOJcuzriNASgCLcBGAs/s1600/duplexer%2Band%2Btohtsu%2Bswitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25vekcJY4-E/Wej1kqf-MqI/AAAAAAAAAts/xA7CwpajQl8YTXRuDqflUzOJcuzriNASgCLcBGAs/s320/duplexer%2Band%2Btohtsu%2Bswitch.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Duplexer</b></div>
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Coming out of the common side of relay I hooked in a N-Type Barrel connector, and then went straight into the common side of a Comet CF-4160n duplexer. Obviously on the 2M side I'm using the 2M side, and on the 70cm side I'm using the 70cm side. In Satellites since we're receiving a signal at the same time we're transmitting a signal, the concept of 'desense' comes into play often, where a 2M transmission will overwhelm the 70cm receive. I've never had this problem with my Icom 821, but I didn't want to chance it. The duplexers essentially act as a filter to make sure only the signals I want are coming in the coax I want them to come in. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tDduZUZm0yA/Wej1nQyGx3I/AAAAAAAAAt0/07DuympshQg7DMJdYIQff4WPQClujYt0QCLcBGAs/s1600/2m%2Bside%2Bwith%2Btohtsu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="994" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tDduZUZm0yA/Wej1nQyGx3I/AAAAAAAAAt0/07DuympshQg7DMJdYIQff4WPQClujYt0QCLcBGAs/s320/2m%2Bside%2Bwith%2Btohtsu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Mounting</b></div>
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Finally I mounted everything inside a waterproof plastic box, and sealed up the coax ingress/egress points with silicon. I took a U-Clamp and attached the box to my cross boom, then cut specific LMR400 length to go from the Relay to the different polarity side of the antenna. I sealed up the coax holes with Silicone, let it all dry, then took the whole thing outside and stuck it up on the mast.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AzD22oKoNZw/Wej1nRPMVRI/AAAAAAAAAtw/65cNRb3Pya0x83xo_D9rEsb7vMlsq_EbQCLcBGAs/s1600/final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="559" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AzD22oKoNZw/Wej1nRPMVRI/AAAAAAAAAtw/65cNRb3Pya0x83xo_D9rEsb7vMlsq_EbQCLcBGAs/s320/final.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Controller</b></span><br />
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The goal was simple with my controller, adjust my polarity from the computer. That way when I was remoted in from another location, I could make changes no matter where I was. A quick search of Amazon led me to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Eight-Channel-Relay-Automation/dp/B0093Y89DE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1514507812&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+12v+relay" target="_blank">THESE</a> little gizmos. For $29 and free shipping I could click a button on my computer, and open and close a 12V circuit. This worked perfectly to control the Tohtsu relays, as well as turn on/off my Preamp, and do things like wire in a PTT toggle switch and control a small 12V LED light above my computer. I stuck it to a piece of plywood, and then used some Marine 12V bus connectors (to split the power from my power supply) to wire everything out so it was clean. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vs4FULJ_f2I/WkWQHIq7BeI/AAAAAAAAAzk/F4kboxWlvAk4Gah8UGpQ31XxBdjUJYWCACLcBGAs/s1600/relay%2Bboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1314" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vs4FULJ_f2I/WkWQHIq7BeI/AAAAAAAAAzk/F4kboxWlvAk4Gah8UGpQ31XxBdjUJYWCACLcBGAs/s320/relay%2Bboard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I fused everything (cause duh) and I also wired in a Solid State relay (12VDC in - 12VDC out) that I tried using to turn the power on and off to my 821, however I found out later that most SSR's have an inherent 10%-15% voltage drop across them under load, which doesn't work to well for sensitive Icom's. There are specific SSR's that don't have that high of a drop I've found since, but for now I've just been leaving my rig on when I need to use it remote (more on that later). Final product was clean and easy, and gave me a great source of 12V control in the shop, all from the computer. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-72047053640832024692017-11-27T07:00:00.000-06:002017-11-27T07:00:03.789-06:00My AMSAT Etiquette - Rule 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Rule 3: I don't jump in the pile when I don't need the grid.</b></div>
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This is one of my personal biggest beefs on the Satellites. I think it bugs me so much, because it's something that is done almost exclusively by operators that should know better, but choose to do it anyway. </div>
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If a rare grid (or a rare DX for that matter) is active on a pass, and you already have their grid or entity confirmed, you should exercise that RTL (release to listen) button, kick back, and enjoy the show. If you instead choose to immediately jump into the inevitable pileup, likely using all the watts you have, you're taking up precious time that the DX could be responding to others, giving them a new grid or new entity. Choosing the option to work a DX a 2nd time, makes you a showoff, a jerk, and otherwise makes active rovers who might also be listening less inclined to give you the time of day next time they're somewhere rare. In short, use that <a href="http://www.kg5cci.com/2016/08/situational-awareness.html" target="_blank">Situational Awareness</a> skill that is always getting brought up, and make sure you're not screwing someone else out of a new contact, just to show others on the pass how awesome you are... cause - pro-tip - You're not. </div>
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<b>Exceptions</b>: Obvious exception is that if there IS no pile and the rare DX is calling CQ, by all means give them a call. I will usually listen for at least 2 CQ sequences with no takers, before I make a QSO with someone rare I've already got logged. I will also cut a little bit of slack to people calling someone right at the edge of their footprint. Sometimes you just have seconds to determine who a caller is - that's OK too.</div>
KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480566163890049235.post-10369615907469768322017-11-17T23:35:00.004-06:002017-11-18T00:15:50.409-06:00Meteors and EM43So, in my last article talking about 6 meters, I mentioned EM43 and the desire for it to get activated. Well, since then I've done just that - twice now actually. So let me tell you my tale, first though, a quick precursor on grid chasing in the land of Six.<br />
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In my little part of the world, grids on Six are not that uncommon. Unlike Satellites, there are a LOT of people that do Six, and anyone with a dipole and 100W during Sporadic E season can make contacts pretty fast. There are also several contests each year where Six is a big part of the score, and rovers specially build themselves to cover lots of ground and make as many contacts as they can on VHF bands that include 6 meters. None of this stuff happens on Satellites. So as a general rule, if people live somewhere, there are usually at least some sort of active Six operators there. Well, that takes me to EM43. This grid is primarily in the River Delta area of Arkansas and Mississippi. There are not a whole lot of people out there, and it's not a particularly well to do region financially. That said it is beautiful in its own way, and has some of the best southern cooking you'll find.. so I enjoy trips there when the opportunity arises. EM43 also happens to be one of the only 2 grids near me that greater than 25% of the 'FFMA Leaders' need in their chase. Switch gears back to Satellites real quick, and the state of Mississippi is one of the rarest on the birds. It is often on people's "last to work" list for WAS, so I make it a point to go portable down there with an arrow at least a few times a year. With these two things in mind, a mission was cooked up to activate EM43 on Six, and activate the state of Mississippi on the birds. A date was chosen, and we were off.<br />
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Part I - The Perseids</h3>
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I got up at 4AM on August 12th and headed southeast. It was going to be just shy of a 2 hour drive, and I wanted to be onsite an operating by 6AM. I had packed all my gear the night before, so I stumbled to the Mustang, turned on APRS, and hit the road. About an hour down the road I exited the pine forests and hit the true delta country - while there was some fog, the drive was mostly easy going. K9CT was emailing about every 15 minutes watching my progress, especially once I crossed into EM43 waiting for me to setup. I crossed the Mississippi river at the Greenville crossing, found my spot, and got the Moxon up in the air. <br />
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As soon as I turned on the radio I could hear the telltale sounds of MSK144, and I figured K9CT was already calling me. As I got WSJT-X booted, sure enough he was there, and I quickly answered him. At this point, Problem 1 reared it's ugly head. The sounds came back after my first call, and I could tell I should be decoding them, yet nothing was happening on my screen... I noticed my fast waterfall display wasn't moving.. the wsjtx program was working, but it wasn't decoding clearly audible signal. I rebooted the program after 2 or 3 sequences where nothing was happening, and it promptly decoded Craig's R-01 report. I started sending my RRR, but after 2 or 3 sequences, noticed the waterfall stopped moving again. I rebooted the program, again, and as it came up I got his 73 message. So, QSO complete. Yay.. first new one handed out. Meanwhile though, WSJT-X was freaking out, and I didn't know why. This problem continued the entire morning and I never did fully solve it.. let me tell you, restarting the program every couple sequences got real old. <br />
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Despite the software problems, I was making QSOs, so I kept at it. Problem 2 occurred after working N8OC I got back out to spin the Moxon around to the south, and as I doing so something went 'snap' above my head, and I looked up to see my Moxon wire hanging loose on the back right corner.. not good. I promptly too it down and started looking it over. The wire had snapped right on the corner where the stress support connects. I seriously considered calling it a day, but figured I'd see what I could do. I had thrown in a small butane torch, a roll of solder, and my coax crimpers, to compliment my normal road-trip tool bag and lifetime supply of duct tape I carry everywhere, so I got busy... after 5 minutes of some very crude repair work I got the wire back together, and duct taped it to the mast. It wouldn't survive being taken apart again, but I just needed it work for another couple hours.... and it did. Every QSO I made after 1200z, was made on a busted, field patched antenna held together with globs of solder and 12 foot of duct tape. Moral of this story - ALWAYS bring tools with you to the field. <br />
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After Murphy was beaten down twice, things started getting better. The rocks were falling, and the pings were coming. I was fighting some weird noise at 50.283, but a QSY to 50.263 solved most of those issues. Pingjockey worked well as a place to announce my spots, and folks did a good job adjusting as I had to. While running several skeds with people, I activated auto-seq and got out to work some AMSAT, making 38 QSOs on 4 passes on the birds, so it really was a multi-mode rove with lots of happy chasers all around. Along with my 8 QSOs I made on the meteors, I wasn't unhappy for my trial attempt at 6m roving, but it left me wanting more.Oh yea, I of course did some live periscope too.<br />
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kg5cci/p <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amsat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#amsat</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/msk144?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#msk144</a> rover adventure <a href="https://t.co/8ThwNjXi2V">https://t.co/8ThwNjXi2V</a></div>
— Dave Swanson (@KG5CCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KG5CCI/status/896382342754779140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Part II: Upgrades, and a Retry</h3>
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I was hooked - but before a re-attempt, I needed an upgrade. The homemade moxon and PVC mast on a speaker stand tripod worked, but it didn't work well. The flimsiness of everything, un-optimized runs of coax, and of course the lack of gain needed to be dealt with. So, first order of business was a proper beam. Thru some wheeling and dealing I managed to score an MFJ-1762 for next to nothing. I acquired some military surplus 'Camo Netting Supports' which are 4' long aluminum interlocking mast sections that easily will support a small beam at anywhere from 16'-24' feet, but are small enough to fit in the mustang. I got some scrap iron together and had a Ham buddy weld me up a 'drive over, tilt down' base that also fit in the Stang's trunk, but still be a nice solid place to put my mast. Finally I measured out a run of LMR400uf that would run to the new antenna on my portable mast and be just right to fit back inside the car so the RF was only going the distance required, and no more, thru some quality coax. I tested everything out at home, and it was working good - so I picked another date to try again. October 14th, 2017 at 4AM I was on the road again.<br />
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I didn't have to travel quite as far this time, as activating Mississippi wasn't the goal, just the EM43 grid. So I stopped in EM43FV in the town of Mitchelleville, AR where there is a large grain elevator, with a huge gravel parking lot for the rice trucks to park and wait. Luckily it wasn't rice season, so the parking lot was completely clear, and provided a nice spot to park and operate. It took about 10 minutes to get the base/beam/mast fully assembled and up 20' in the air, which was a little bit longer than the Moxon, but it paid off big. I immediately was hearing much bigger signals that I had with the Moxon, and the contacts were coming much faster. <br />
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The cooler morning was working better too, as the rig was staying chill, and the laptop was running fine. I was making contacts with people that were further away, and making contacts with people running smaller stations. For example, I picked up Jim K5ND over in EM12 my 3 Elements and 100W to his Moxon and 100W in about 13 minutes - which is pretty fantastic considering the size of our stations. While running rocks, I also did setup the Sat station and work a few passes, considering there's always new folks on the birds. </div>
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I operated for a few hours, made 17 contacts and decided to call it a day. My improved setup had done everything I'd hoped it would, and I was happy with its performance, based on what I'd invested in it. Obviously a bigger beam and more power would yield more contacts faster, but that's down the road. What matters now, is I think I've become a somewhat successful 6m rover. And that's definitely another tool in my Ham belt.</div>
KG5CCIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595288811387404234noreply@blogger.com0