I have heard several repeaters who changed their courtesy beep to the morse code "w" during weather alerts. Simple and does not broadcast as someone has to key the repeater.

I have used about 4 inch long sections of plastic coat hangar as a spacer. Drill through the ends big enough for your wire and tywrap with uv resistant ties. As long as they are tight you can place them about every 3 to 5 feet. This will keep an even spacing and help with interaction. I have used this asa temporary and a long term antenna. Good luck.

Ron W8VZM
read my blog at W8VZM.com

Don't forget to verify the quality of the ground connections on the GFCI's, the service panel and the ground rod. If any of these are poor the the ground will act as an antenna resonant at some frequency. One of the first things I do with RFI of this type is inspect and tighten all ground busses in the panel and double check all ground connections in the affected circuit. It might be in another outlet or in the fixture itself.

Ron W8VZM
www.w8vzm.com

The difference is the size and type of components in the tuner. The 902H has higher rated components to handle the higher RF voltages that are formed on some mismatch conditions. The 901B will not handle some great mismatch situations due to the physical limitations of closer spaced capacitor plates and type of inductor. While they appear to be about the same the 901B is better suited to trimming the SWR on a near resonant antenna, while the 902H will tame a wider range of antennas that are not resonant at all. I had one similar to the 901B many years ago. Same basic principle as the internal antenna tuners in the newer rigs not handling all types of antennas. Good luck!

Ron W8VZM
www.w8vzm.com

At a previous location I used a HyGain AV18-VS in the woods. It was ground mounted and I used it only on 80 and 40. I had 16 radials laid on the ground 8 1/4 wave for each band. It was a wonderful antenna for DX. Never a problem with the radials and installation was started and finished in about 2 hours total. Forget the 10 ft mast!

Ron W8VZM
www.w8vzm.com

I have used a pair of 8 pin Mic connectors available at most any ham shop.

Congratulations!

I have been licensed since 1978. I made it to 13 wpm to upgrade in 1980 then promptly dropped CW. I too have decided to go CW and this time do it right. Make sure to lets us know when you are ready to start on the air work. I will work you for practice and it will help both of us! Regular frequent practice is the key to learning (or relearning) it. I am posting about my relearning or remembering cw on my new blog. Good luck!

Ron W8VZM
www.w8vzm.com

Hello All!

Does any one have info on calibrating the watt meters on the MFJ-949E? I know I will not get pinpoint accuracy but I am curious about how close the readings really are.

Ron W8VZM
www.w8vzm.com

Hello all,
I am in need of a shack clock. My atomic LCD clock will not sync in my new basement shack. I would like to build a 6 digit clock. Any ideas? Of course I have the PC clock but I want a big display.

Ron W8VZM
W8VZM.com

Steve,
I have run a G5RV in the woods. The only issue I had is when the ladder line was too close to the trunk of a tree. Make sure you are at least 12" away and you should be fine. The legs will not have any problem from branches or leaves.

Ron W8VZM

When you replace the bad coax you need to think of a couple more points.

Make sure you buy a quality connector. The life expectancies of the cheaper connectors are a lot shorter than you might think. Also make sure you seal the connector after it is connected. Good quality electrical tape (3M), Coaxseal or the like are an absolute requirement. My method is 3M high quality electrical tape and start about 3 inches below the connector. Wrap toward the connector, overlapping the layers 1/4 to 1/3 of the width of the tape (think shingles). Be careful not to stretch the tape too much, this will weaken it. Take the wrap as high as you can at the connection point. I choose this because my antennas don't live long, I like to change them frequently. Stress loop at the top and drip loop at the entrance. Also pay attention to how your cable  gets through the wall. I have seen nicked coax or holes rubbed in it where it makes the entry through brick or aluminum siding.

I tend to pay for top quality and do it right on the antenna end of things. The point here is that you want to do everything you can to make the best connection at the antenna end to eliminate the frustration of antenna issues when you least expect or can afford them. Good Luck!

Ron W8VZM

I agree totally!

I will pay a bit more for a Premier event at a better location! Hara's survival is more likely predicated on the Hamvention. But I am sure that Hara can't afford the needed major upgrades just for Hamvention. I applaud the effort that DARA has made to keep the prices down but a little bit more for a better location is not out of the question. And yes other groups have tried but the attendees were not ready for a move. After this weekend I bet vendors and attendees both are "ripening" on the idea.

It will be a combination of many factors that will drive the change of venue or the demise of the Hamvention, not the least of which is Hara's condition (economy, gas prices, vendor viability, population shift, qty of hams, interest of non-hams, etc). For me continuing Hamvention attendance is not in question, I just wish it was in a nicer place. I also have many fond memories of Hara from my youth and young adulthood (both ham and non-ham).

Hara now is like the FM to AM converter that my girlfriend bought in the flea market this weekend. It is great to remember, It might even function, but as far as performance it is way below what is needed!

Ron W8VZM
Back in Springfield, OH
(Formerly KA8DRS, New Carlisle)

I worked for the Hamvention in its' prime and it is a massive undertaking. Getting enough volunteers is nearly impossible. Moving it out of metro Dayton would not be logistically feasible for the club to keep it  That being said, IT NEEDS TO BE MOVED. If they don't move it somewhere else then somebody else will have the opportunity to grow their show each time Dayton has another "blowout" like this weekend.

What really has me thinking is DARA is posting glowing reviews of participation. The flea market was probably the worst I have seen in the last 10 years at least. The number of shoppers on Saturday was pitiful! Sunday the flea market should have never opened. Inside the crowd seemed smaller as I had no trouble navigating the exhibits, even around the high traffic exhibits! Speaking of which, where was Ramsey Electronics and Trylon Towers? Some of the other smaller vendors were missing also. They could move the show to another venue much easier if the eliminated the dust cloths, pet hair removers, etc from the inside areas. If I want one of those I will watch an infomercial!

In the end all I can say to DARA is MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!

I have used this antenna and it will work well with a good radial system. I used ring terminals, soldered 4 radials in each terminal and then installed them on the u-bolt using a star washer against the mount, then the terminal, then the lock washer, and lastly the nut.I was lucky enough to be able to put out 12 1/4 wave radials each for 80 and 40. Good luck!

Anybody else having problems logging to FCC site? I have tried last night and this morning with no luck. I have my correct FRN and I was able to reset my password. After entering the info and continuing it just sits there. I have tried both Firefox (primary browser) and IE.