Posts

Beeline Mini PC Build Specs

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This Mini-PC is amazing.  For just $249,  the kit comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with Radeon Graphics , 2100MHz, 6GB RAM 500GB SSD.   The Beeline runs Windows 11 and all my Ham Radio related tools brilliantly: SmartSDR, FRStact, SliceMaster, CW Skimmer and the various loggers - ACLOG,  SKCC Logger/Skimmer, Log4OM. Beeline HARDiNFO Benchmark Beeline UNIGINE GPU Benchmark. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The stats exceed the custom  PC server build  I did just 3 years ago. AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics APU, 16 GB Crucial DDR4-3200, Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2 SATA SSD Custome PC Build HardInfo Benchmark Custom PC Build UNIGINE GPU Benchmark is only slightly better.

K-3007 Fairfield Lake State Park

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Thank you to all the hunters and P2P who helped me activate K-3007 before it closes to the public end of this month. AG5ZU Timothy Smith was also activating the park but I wasn’t able to find him for an eyeball QSO before I left the park. Located about 90 minutes south of Dallas, the 2500 acre lake was created in 1969 when the Texas Power and Light Company constructed a dam on on Big Brown Creek to serve as a cooling reservoir for the coal fired power plant. The lake is stocked with redfish, striper, catfish, large mouth bass, and even blue tilapia, which thrived in the year around warm waters from the power plant. Fairfield Lake has been open to the public since 1976, but the property is actually owned by Vistra Energy, which leased the land to the state at no cost. The power plant was closed in 2018 and the the property has been for sale for about $110M dollars. A private developer has plans to purchase the land and turn the park into a high end residential golf community. Acc...

K-2755 William B Umstead State Park

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I had a fun park activation this evening at K-2755 William B Umstead State Park just outside of Cary, NC. The 20M band was great and I made 62 contacts in just under 45 minutes with great signal reports for all. Umstead is a neat park and just about 10 minutes from the office! No overnight camping or parking is allowed and the gates strictly close at 6pm.  Rig was Elecraft KX3 at 15 watts, fed into the MP1 Super Antenna on a mag mount on top of the car, and one radial attached to the KX3 and hung out the window. 73 Chris de WX7V +5 All reactions: 13 13

K3Y Straight Key Month - January 2023

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The Straight Key Month special event (aka SKM) celebrates manual Morse radiotelegraphy using straight keys, bugs and cootie keys. It runs from Jan. 2nd through 31st.    Individual operators schedule time to be the special event station K3Y for their call areas, and only one station can operate for that call area at a time (usually in 1-2 hour blocks).   Hunters chase as many K3Y stations across as many bands possible for bragging rights.    Real time updates are on the SKCC SKED page, and the group even has a SKCC SKIMMER to that monitors your local log file to keep track of who you need to work. Working all 10 US stations is your basic "SWEEP"... add in KP4, KH6, KL7, NA, SA, EU,  AF, AS and OC for the Grand Sweep.  Logs are submitted by the K3Y operators, and the results are posted ever day to track Sweeps, Station Statistics and Participant Standings.   This year more than 200 stations operated as K3Y, logging 52,695...

CW Nets, Checking, Pro-Signs and Q-Codes Reference

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Wikipedia CW Rererences for Q-signals and Prosigns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QN_Signals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosigns_for_Morse_code _____________________________________________________________________________________ The SSN is a group of Radio Amateurs using Morse code have established several informal radio nets to promote the use of the sideswiper, so called "cootie" key. https://www.sideswipernet.org/ COMMON PROSIGNS AR = Means end of a transmission. It is not necessarily an invitation to transmit. AR is used after calling a station with which  contact has not already been established. AS = Wait, stand by for a short time BT = Separation, or break, between address and text; between text and signature in a radiogram. Also used between topics in a  QSO. IMI = Yes, this is a standard CW question mark. But it also can be used to ask for a repeat of difficult words as well as to indicate  a query (?). SK = The communications is concluded or clear. End of Wo...

Have Moxon, Will Travel. (Winter Field Day 2023)

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 For Winter Field Day 2023 I decided to set up a 6M Roving Station to try out the Stressed Moxon 6M by PAR Electronics .    The moxon is a lightweight, compact beam, equivalent to a two element yagi with similar gain and F/B per the companies website.    The mast is from the fiberglass handle of an old tree saw that I broke years ago (it pays to hang on to stuff like this).  The mast sits in a 50 lb steel patio umbrella base that I bought with this purpose in mind.    Cargo straps secure the base to keep it from sliding around during transport.  With this setup in the bed of the truck,  the moxon can be raised 12 feet above the ground,  more than half a wavelength on 6M so I think it will work pretty well.  The beam can be further adjusted with the “Armstrong Rotator” as required. I know its not the traditional season for “the magic band” but if this works out today I’ll be set for Summer Field Day later this year.  I’ve h...

Celebrating The New Year With Parks on the Air

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I got out Saturday afternoon to activate K-3010 Fort Parker State Park, which is located in east Texas just a few miles south of Mexia.  I stayed two hours, and took time to explore the park and read up on its history before heading home.   The park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps Company 3807c during the Great Depression.  The men completed a dam across the Navasota River in 1939, creating Fort Parker Lake. The dam, roads and park buildings were built using picks and shovels to quarry limestone from the local quarries, from which the county also takes its name.  The corps also built a replica of the old fort a few miles south of the park, now known as Old Fort Parker, as a 1936 centennial project. The park encompasses the old town of Springfield Texas, which at one time was larger than Dallas or Houston, but had virtually disappeared after the civil war.  The park was established in 1936 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Indian raid on...

WX7V 2022 Year End Christmas Break

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I was able to take vacation for the last two weeks of December over Christmas Break.  First week was a working vacation, but the second was "fully" off with plenty of time to play radio.  I was able to complete my Senate Quest with the SKCC, and organize some of my ham radio projects. I've also had time to use the Mosley Mini 32A extensively and must say that it performs admirably.  The receive on the beam is much quieter than the dipole, and combined with the Mercury IIIs really knows how to break a pile up. I've worked 24 countries and completed 159 QSOs (mostly on CW) over the break - with many on 20, 15 and 10 meters.  Calibrating the antenna to beam in the right direction was very easy using the Yaesu 450.  During a QSO, directional bearings for specific call signs are integrated with ACLOG, QRZ and the SKCC SKED page.   As I mentioned in my previous post, the mounting location on the roof is a bit of a compromise but overall I'm very happy w...

Mosley Mini-32A Beam

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Just before Christmas I got the Mosley Mini-32A two element triband antenna installed on the roof top at about 35 feet.  The job took two roofers about 4 hours to install and they did a fantastic work.   The majority of their time was spent in the attic adding the blocking and the braces required to support the roof-top tower as recommended by W8IO.   I believe the tower was made by Glen Martin but not 100% sure since I got it in a trade Grant, W5XJ.  The mast is 1.5 inch EMC. I used a Yaesu G-450ADC Medium-Duty Rotator, and a Yaesu GS-065 thrust bearing.   The tower is grounded to an 8ft ground rod right outside the entrance to my shack.  The antenna is fed with 100ft of brand new RG-213 coax. Mosley does a great job packing and shipping the kit.  The material is top quality.  The instructions were clear and easy enough to follow.  I assembled the antenna about 7ft off the ground and completed the test recommended in the manua...