User:W0DBW
ke0etz - Christian Amateur Radio Operator
Derek Winterstien / Nebraska
Contents
- 1 Current Events
- 2 About Me
- 3 Memo: Proposal (Please Read)
- 4 Recent Equipment Photographs
- 5 Working Inventory
- 6 Antenna Tuners
- 7 My Tower
- 8 Some Local Nets
- 9 Vintage
- 10 For Sale
- 11 Local Repeaters
- 12 Sun Spots
- 13 Skip
- 14 Hy Gain Penetrator
- 15 Investigating
- 16 Scanning the HF dial
- 17 Wavelength to Frequency Table
- 18 mobile antennas
- 19 power supply
- 20 Note to Moderator / Admin
Current Events
UPDATED: Friday, March 18, 2016
I put the 70cm Yaga beam up on the tower today. Now it is much easier to hit the Omaha UHF repeaters.
SWIARC is testing digital mode on their .82 repeater starting today. Signal strength for me when from a 6+ down to 2 on the S-meter. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Ham radio is all about experimenting!
When I was transmitting on my old Kenwood TR-7400A today, using an omi on the roof several feet from the UHF yagi which is up on the tower, the Kenwood on full power wiped out the front-end on the UHF rig I was using, causing it to go nutty and shut itself off. It seemed to come out of it after being reset. I was a bit worried that it was toast. Reflected signal is low coming in the cable on the Kenwood, however, there is a lot of RF in the shack on full power transmit. The radio itself is a strong emitter of RF coming out of the case, more so than the newer radios. I am going to start setting my coffee cup on the Kenwood when I use it, so the stray RF keeps the coffee warm.
SOME OLDER POSTS:
I have been studying and experimenting more with cross-band repeat[...]. Updates to how it works and what is permissible by the FCC can be read on the wiki page about Ham Radio Cross Band Repeater. Maybe I will discuss [...].
In my area our local ham group, the Plattsmouth Amateur Radio Club, we have been experimenting with DMR and SDR. The club president, KB0OGO, did a demonstration of SDR with his new SDRplay receiver. KI0PY has demonstrated MotoTRBO with a Motorola branded HT while I have recently obtained the Tytera MD-380.
I've been building antennas, with my most recent endeavor to build a 6-meter "squalo" horizontally polarized antenna. There is a local 6-meter [...].
About Me
Renewed my interest in radio after over two decades in absentia and obtained my ticket last summer. I am testing for my General at the next available VE event and studying for the Extra, which I plan to achieve eventually. I plan to start working HF as soon as possible. This is all after not knowing for sure whether or not I would care to get back into radio. At this point in my life I think it is a good fit for me.
Memo: Proposal (Please Read)
This memo is something I plan to present to the leadership of local amateur radio clubs in my area. Please read and if you agree, consider printing it and presenting it your own local ARC.
Proposal to Create an Amateur Net for New Licensees
- Download: File:PtCaANfNL.pdf
Update: There is interest in the concept. Discussion is taking place to locate volunteers and select a time and repeater frequency.
About the "Go" Net (or whatever we decide to call it)along with details and the progress of implementation please see: SW Iowa and Eastern Nebraska Go Net
The name "Tech Net" has been abandoned for the purpose of disambiguation. It is not a technical discussion net. It is a net for those newly licensed to receive an inviting and warm introduction to the hobby.
Recent Equipment Photographs
Working Inventory
Transceivers I have collected and used over the years are listed here. I am trying to locate the ones I stored away. Since I have renewed my interest in radio communication after many years (late 80s early 90s) I have started buying here and there again. My radio hobby has to be on a budget so don't expect any super-mega-digital-all-crazy $$$ rigs in this collection.
Working Inventory: HF
Primary Base Rig:
- Kenwood TS-940SAT - A Solid State Competition Grade HF Transceiver. Solid state HF transceiver, radio bands from 160 to 10 meters, general coverage receiver from 150 kHz to 30 MHz, CW, SSB, AM, FSK, and narrow-band FM. 100 Watt out. The S model has no auto tuner, while my SAT has the auto tuner.
The nice thing about this radio is "no menus." Everything is controlled by manual controls on the face. It needed some attention when it came to me. I have corrected some problems with it including the well known PLL lock problem, the sub display not working, and a problem with the auto tuner. I think it is ready for use.
Primary Mobile Rig:
- Alinco DX-70T HF/6m Tranceiver - Working. This transceiver will cover 160 meters - 10 meters and 6 meters. SSB, CW, FM 1.8MHz-30MHz 100 Watts; 50MHz-54MHz: 10 Watts (AM) 1.8 MHz - 30 MHz 40 Watts; 5OMHz - 54 MHz: 4 Watts.
Shelved or in Storage:
- Clear Channel Ranger AR-3500 - In storage. Hand-me-down from a family member. I like my President HR2510 better although this AR3500 is the 100 watt model so it is more powerful. It does have power! This radio is in unknown condition. I haven't powered it up in over 20 years.
- Uniden President HR2510 - Working however since it hasn't been used much in a couple decades I think it is a bit out of tune. The SWR meter on it never seemed to work well. I used to thump the signal display to get it to register. I have worked this radio a lot and made many contacts. In 1990 I was able to make regular contacts in the UK. Used with the Hy Gain Penetrator antenna, which has to be shorted a bit for 10-meter operation, and during the right solar activity, this radio is great for making long distant contacts on HF band. Here is what it looks like:
When I get this back on a good antenna I plan to make some contacts before this sunspot cycle dries up. I will eventually put a log here. This is my only working HF radio right now.
I also have some old amps and equipment not worth mentioning. Though, the tube AMP I have will do 800 watts.
- Yaesu Sommerkamp FT-7B - This was also a hand-me-down from a family member. It once worked, but now doesn't seem to put out any power, low output problem. I plan to take it apart and start with a good cleaning, then go from there.
Working Inventory: VHF & UHF
- Icom IC-2820H with UT123 board. This is a dual band 2m / 70cm transceiver with optional D-Star digital mode. Mine has the D-Star board installed. I haven't had this radio very long. I will post some pics and a review after I have put some time in on it. There is the Nebraska D-Star Club, and the D-Star Repeater and User Directory. You can register your callsign for use on D-Star.
stock photo
- TYT TH-9800 Quad Band Transceiver. This radio does cover 10-meter but not with SSB so I didn't list it up there. It is strictly AM-FM mode. It is a Chinese knockoff of Yaseau. I got it for under $200 new. looks like:
stock photo
The above is a stock image. I will snap a pic of it as it is hooked up in my van as soon as I clean up the way I mounted it. Right now it is held to the dash by zip ties.
- Kenwood TR-7400A - My old VHF mobile rig. I dug this out of storage but can't find where I put the microphone.
Actual pic: I hooked this up to a VHF HT antenna and a 12v PSU to see if it still worked. Even if I had the mic I wouldn't key down on this type of antenna. I was picking up conversation from a couple local repeaters. Sounded good. When I find the mic I will hook it up in my van and see if it still transmits well enough.
- QYT KT-8900 dual band 20W MINI Moblie radio. This is a noisy little rig that I put in the wife's car. I wouldn't recommend this radio to anyone.
-
Kenwood TR-8300- tested and dead.
It was stored at my parents farm. I found it in a moldy box in an out building, rusted and wet. Total loss.
- Kenwood TK 880H - This is a Part 90 radio which retails with the following feature list: 32 systems / 250 groups (trunked mode), Max 600 channels (trunked mode), Max 250 channels capacity (conventional mode), 12 character dot matririx LCD, 10 character alphanumeric alias. This radio can be programmed for use on Ham bands. Programming is done with KPG-49D software. It is supposed to be 50 watts and programmable for use between 400 to 430 mhz. With a dummy load I tested it at about 30 watts. Requires a serial cable to program, serial on one end, RJ45 on the other.
Digital
I have been testing the water on DMR with the Tytera MD-380 which is MotoTRBO compatible. DMR is Digital 2-Way Radio. If you're interested in DMR take a look at Using DMR which is a guide to get you started.
Miscellaneous HTs
- Yaesu VX-2R
- Baofeng BF-F8HP
- Baofeng UV-B6
- Kenwood TK-380K
- Tokmate UHF
Actually I have a box full of HTs mostly China made and a few old Radio Shack "Realistic" models.
Antenna Tuners
Dentron Jr. Monitor
- HF coverage from 1.6-30 MHz
- 300w
Manufactured by Prime for Dentron.
MFJ-945E
- HF+6M coverage from 1.8 to 60 Mhz
- 300/60 and 30/6 Watt ranges
- ON/OFF lamp switch
- MFJ Product Page
MJF-941E
- HF coverage from 1.8 - 30 Mhz
- 300/60 and 30/6 watt ranges
- ON/OFF lamp switch
- Bypass
- 4:1 balun
- MFJ Product Page
My Tower
I have a Rohn BX40 tower. I would like to eventually go higher. Right now, the BX40 will have to suffice.
It is a free standing tower anchored to a concrete slab. The depth of the slab is below the frost line. Two of the 3 tower legs are grounded to 8ft 1/2" buried copper pipe. I have an HF antenna built on a 120ft stretch across the top of the property line fence. I also use the roof of my house and chimney for various antenna configurations.
