Posts

Hello, Hexbeam!

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My refurbished hexbeam is finally up and operating perfectly!  Got T2C on first try.  I'm planning for many years of good years of DX atop the 45G tower.  I mounted the Carolina Windom just under the top plate,  running NW/SE. The 35ft tower is constructed of a short base section buried 4 feet in the concrete, three 10ft sections, and a final section cut at 5ft to meet the local planning and zoning requirements.   I'm using an Yaesu G-800DXA Medium Duty  rotor and ROHN TB3 Thrust Bearing. Enjoy the video I recorded of W8S to compare against my dipole. 73,  Chris de WX7V

WX7V - SKCC Brag Bonus Member - September 2023

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I had a great month and a lot of fun as the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) Brag Bonus Member.  I used my favorite cootie key - the Titan made by W1SFR. My score was aided by all the members working VC3K. I also completed my personal goal to work all states im September as the brag bonus member. Got the last state (North Dakota) with four hours to spare on Saturday!  Also worked Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, Portugal, Germany, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Canada.  Made 341 QSOs in Brag Month with 325.   Final Brag Score: 278 (Highest since January 2023). 73 Chris de WX7V  

Two Activations - With My Dad

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 I got to combine three things I love today on my 52  birthday:  My Dad, Ham Radio and State Parks!   Thanks to all the hunters who made todays activations so much fun!  I took my dad for a ride along, and he wound up logging for me the old fashioned way, pen and paper!  We had a blast at K-3011 and K-3049.   Enjoy the pics!!! We started at Fort Richardson State Park just outside of Jacksboro Texas, and dover over to Possum Kingdom State Park.   Didn’t have time for lunch but we did see some of our old stomping grounds, including the house we lived in for a few years in the 1980s.   Yaesu FT-857D,  ATAS-120a Active Tuned Antenna System 73 Chris de WX7V 

UK and India Trip Report

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 I spent August 14th - 26th in the UK and India as part of a business trip.  Knowing it would be hard to be away from radio for that long,  I took along my Elecraft KX3, AX-1 shortwave antenna, a Bioenno 3Ah LiFEPo4 battery, and a set up AA LiFEPo4 batteries to use as a backup and for SWL (Short Wave Listening) The plan was to activate in England as M/WX7V, as permitted for Amateur Extra licenses holders from the US under   CEPT agreement T/R-61-0, and to do some SWL while in India.  I also had set up my FlexRadio 6600 for remote operation thru SmartLink using Marcus Roskosch  DL8MRE SmartSDR for iOS application on my iPad. It would have been neat to operate in India as VU/WX7V.  The US has a bilateral agreement  with India but the permit process is extensive.  The Amateur Radio Society of India ( ARSI ) requires 5 original WRITTEN copies of the application , each submitted correctly and each with copies of your travel visa, copies...

KPH Crypto Broadcast Scheduled 7/22/2023 @20:00z

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The Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) will host a Crypto Transmission from KPH for intercept operators to decrypt using the Enigma Machine, or in my case a simulator.    Award certificates will be available for anyone who intercepts the message and submits the decrypted message within 72 hours of broadcast. KPH will be transmitting the message of the day today at 20:00z, using an actual message sent by a U-boat in the North Atlantic in 1942.   Posted CW frequencies for the transmission are 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8, and 22477.5.  Messages will be repeated, then transmitted 15 minutes later via RTTY at 6324.5, 8427.0 and 12585.5. Links: Event Announcement:  https://www.radiomarine.org/mrhs-events Procedures for setting up the Enigma Machine to decrypt the message.   https://www.ciphermachinesandcryptology.com/en/enigmaproc.htm Enigma Machine Simulator:  https://www.101computing.net/enigma-machine-emulator/ SKCC RandomGram An...

Ham Radio Gadgets Ultra PicoKeyer KIT

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 I recently bought the Ultra Pico Keyer kit so that I could have CW memories available when operating the FC-4CR, which itself is a work in active development with a bunch of us supporting Yu BG2FX with testing and hardware modifications.   The FX-4CR will eventually be a great portable radio, and I’ll do a write up when the firmware is stable and field tests are complete. The memory keyer kit was straight forward to build and I finished it in one evening.  The kit comes with a neat little 3D printed box, and you can choose different colors for the front like Thomas K4SWL did in his POTA Activation demonstration last year.    The buttons on the front can be used to record or send CW from memory.  The dial controls the speed and is adjustable from 5 to 30 WPM.  I have my set to about 15 WPM, which is about as fast as I can copy (always shooting for 20 WPM hi hi).  They keyer works with either a straight keyer or iambic paddle.   Iambic is re...

Jackson Hole, Wyoming POTA Trip Report

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 I was active in Wyoming on June 24th - 30th, 2023.  I was able to make 62 contacts - 45 on SSB,  17 on CW, all on 20M.  Longest contact was Spain (EC1R) at 7929 km. I also worked Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. and Puerto Rico, and at least 25 states. I used my Elecraft KX3, and a combination of the MP1 Super Antenna mag mounted to the roof of the car and the KM4ACK EFHW antennas.  Overall I’d have to say the MP1 outperformed the end fed!    2023-06-30 K-0698 John D. Rockefeller Jr. National Parkway 2023-06-30 K-0070 Yellowstone National Park 2023-06-25 K-6229 South Park State Wildlife Habitat Management Area 2023-06-24 K-0613 National Elk National Wildlife Refuge 2023-06-24 K-0031 Grand Teton National Park The views were legendary and the mosquitos were fierce!  I actually made two trips to Yellowstone- the first with family to see Old Faithful, a nice hike to see the Grand Prismatic Spring, and a dr...