Define "CHEAP"?

For most hams, this equates to "FREE" and with FREE, many times, you get EXACTLY what you pay for, nothing more and sometimes LESS! I have heard good things about Scott KA9FOX's QTH.COM services but I have never used them personally. I use GoDADDY.COM and while it isn't FREE, it isn't outside the standard cost for a simple website host either. Check out their low end website hosting services for a simple setup and use website.

Gene W5DQ

There are several tricks you can use to tighten up a loose or loose-holding screw. First on to try might be winding a cotton thread or sewing thread (sized to fill the looseness) around the screw shaft, in the valleys of the machined threads, to provide some surface for the matching screwhole thread peaks to grab ahold of. The thread will act as a filler and tighten up the looseness. If that doesn't work, I have heard of taking a small flat faced hammer and a flat hard surface (like the hammer plate on a large vise) and tapping lighty (VERY LIGHTLY) around the screw shaft to flatten (widen) the peaks of the threads to help fill the gap in the loose threads.

Worst case would be to add a very (VERY) small amount (like a tiny drop at end of straightpin) of BLUE LockTite thread bond to the screw and thread it in place. This will provide a semi-permenant lock on the screw. You won't be able to loosen and adjust easily but it can be done and can be cleaned off the threads with solvent.

Good Luck,

Gene W5DQ

Apology accepted. I guess I am somewhat thin skinned when it comes to that topic. While I try not to resurrect old North-South differences, I was raised in the deep South by southern parents in the 50's and 60's and all my adult life after I left Dixie and started to make my way in the world, I have put up with people looking down their noses at people like me just because we happened to be from the South and was raised in a Southern tradition. I guess they figure we are all the stereotypical hayseed from down 'there'. When it hits home, intended or not, it raises my ire to the boiling point!

Back on topic, yes I too hate it when people go out of their way to cause trouble for the pileup. Some of it is just plain unknowing of the proper procedures and methods. But much of it is deliberate and those are the one that need to be strapped across the B+ of my amp while I work the pileup!!!!

73

Gene W5DQ

Ah, com'on Gene AF3Y. I had some respect for you before your idiotic statement of "...that most of these cave dweller baboons are from NC, SC, GA, TENN, AL, ARK,...", which sounds like a typical reponse from a displaced Yankee!!!!! So my family is a bunch of cave dwelling primates? Thanks alot you jerk!!!!

Before throwing rocks at the Southern gentry, take a look at the statistics .... there are petitions from ALL 50 STATES to seceed from the Union. So you high and mighty Northerners / Yankee sympathizers can come down off your soapboxes. People in the ENTIRE country are pi$$ed at the election results, not just the Old South states. Yes, I am from the South, born in Arkansas and while I don't live there currently, heart belongs to Dixie!

Sure, the South rebeled, was beaten and forced back into line with the rest of the US. Sure many in the South have a continuing bad taste from the whole affair but it would appear that the ones who are holding the grudge the hardest and longest over what happened nearly 150 years ago aren't from the South!!!

Gene W5DQ

I have a Force 12 C3S at 40' and it does a very nice job. Sure it isn't a 6 element monobander at 100' feet but I didn't have to sell my soul to the devil to put it up either. In fact the only cost was the antenna and feedline. Tower was a 'come get it out of here' deal from a guy renovating a house locally and I had a rotor from previous install to use..

From my experience and observation, the majority of ham yagi supports (towers, masts, etc.) are in the 40-50' range.

Good Luck but make sure it is a solid well engineered installation cause anything falling 40' will hurt it it hits you and probably kill you too.

73

Gene W5DQ

Most likely you turned the balun in a charcoal briquet

I did the same thing a few years ago playing with 160M. I had a balun I had homebrewed and tested and the design claimed it could handle full power out so I figured it probably would handle 500W from my small amp even with a high SWR. Everything was coasting along nicely on 160M CW and then everything was toast!!

Once I determined it was the balun, I decided it was just as easy to get a quality high power model so I picked up one of the 5KW models from DX Engineering. While not cheap, it sure beat replacing balun more than once and whether or not it actually will handle 5KW is unknown but I can tell you have have had no more problems with balun failures in the same setup. I keep the power down now to around 350-400W or so when on 160M and the same balun works great on 80-10M feeding an OCFD using ladder line from the ground where balun is up to the antenna / feedline junction of about 40'.

Gene W5DQ

Loren,

Havng been on 6M for quite a while out here in DM-15 Kern, County, Ridgecrest, CA, here is a couple of key points I have found hold true every year for 6M operations:

You'll get tired of listening to static before you get tired of operating on 6M. From my QTH, I only have a few big opening periods a year but from mid April, 6M starts to build with sporadic E propagation and is USUALLY strong through July and starts to taper off until it is very spotty from mid Sept till the following April. We sometimes have a small window of activity in Dec/Jan timeframe but it is short lived and not near as large as the summer openings. While you will be able to work stations with a dipole from your PA QTH, I would strongly suggest that you investigate installing a rotatable beam antenna in the 3 to 5 element class. Larger is better to an extent - long boom yagis tend to have a sharp lobe and are limited off the sides and rear so you'll miss stuff if you don't augment a long boom yagi with a omni-directional loop or something comparable.

I developed a PowerPoint Slideshow for our local club a couple of years ago covering 6M to introduce our new hams to 'the Magic Band'. I have posted a copy of it on my website if you'd like to download it. It is a general information and has links to other websites so it might be of interest to yu and others. I am by no means an expert on 6M but I have developed an understanding of how to work 6M successfully and have over 400 grids confirmed with only 7 DX so far but I keep trying.

The "INTRODUCTION TO 6 METERS" slideshow is at ........................ "http://www.radioroom.org/w5dq/w5dq-6.html" ................. being the 5th items down the list.

Good Luck and I hope to hear you on 6M this next Es season.

Gene W5DQ

It's good for about $3.403 per pound at today's SPOT price for COPPER.

http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/copper.html

Gene W5DQ

Good example Bob. This was EXACTLY the point I was making back in the thread. Short sweet and follow the CQ'ers pattern. 599 TU or ragchew but limit those macros!

Gene W5DQ

Going out on limb here, but I'd say if you work all 50 states on 10M and get them confirmed, you've got the cat in the bag    but then again I could be wrong 

Seriously, depending on your antenna(s) setup and the Take Off Angles (TOA) involved, you could have some rather large holes in your coverage map for 10M. You may need to work all you can with the current setup, do some modeling to verify your TOA's and then make some adjustments to get coverage to the areas that are currently void due to antenna patterns.

Good Luck.

Gene W5DQ

True, the last time I can recall seeing S&H Green Stamps was a kid (mid 70's) when I was in a local bowling tournament and was lucky enough to convert a rare 7-10 split. The special prize for that was 25,000 (loose) S&H Green Stamps. I had no use for them as I didn't even know what to do with them so I gave them to my mother. She stuck stamps in little books for days.

Back on topic but when sending greenstamps (dollars) out to DX stations, make sure that the DX station can accept them. There are some locations (not many but some) where it is illegal for the local ham to possess foreign currency (i.e US dollar bills). I would expect the penalties to be stiff with that sort of governmental control and you would not want to get a fellow ham in hot water over a QSL card request containing illegal dollar bills.

Gene W5DQ

Unless you require 100% exact confirmation on all data elements to create a QSL, I would say that a delta of -1 db isn't going to make a difference in your log results. Why your logging is different is, like was posted, probably due to the way you select stations by double clicking. I have noticed JT65-HF behave slightly different by clicking in different places vs typing in data. Personally I don't worry about the signal reports that much on JT65. I figure if the computer decoded them then it must have heard them. I have worked stations I personally did not know were there (no trace or sound to my ear) yet the computer decoded them and we had a QSO. Really weird having a QSO with 'nothing' seen or heard. Kind of like QSOing with Elvis or something like that.

Gene W5DQ

.... other than your current call is quite a mouthful on SSB (or fistful on CW). If you contest at all, I'd recommend unless you current call holds some significant meaning to you, retire it and get a shorter call. Then when your gramps passed, pick up his call and be proud of it.

I picked up my father's call after he passed over the log. I had a 2x3 '5' call (WB5UZU) and then came to CA in 1986 and got a 2x2 '6' call (KI6LO ... as was required back then after moving into a new call area). In 2008 Dad passed and I picked up his nice 1x2 '5' call (W5DQ) even though I am still in the '6' area. I plan on moving back to the midwest in a few years and probably will end up in '5' land again so my journey will be complete

Gene W5DQ

Send them your resume. Perhaps they can make you an offer you can't refuse. 

I agree. Something has to be done about the current status of development and maintenance. I thought we had problems in getting real time avionics to work right but this borders on ridiculous!!

Good morning Paul,

Not to belittle your choice of paper logs but if (or when) you get a stack of QSLcards, say 100+ in a single pkg, from the buro to update confirmations for in your paper logs and return QSL cards to, how long does that take you to do. If it was one or two then I would say it is a moot point. But if you were to receive buro cards like I do (and many of the hams I handle cards for a W6 Incoming DX QSL buro volunteer) at the rate of 50-200+ per quarter, I would think you would find that employing an electronic logbook would greatly simplify your logging and return QSL efforts. I can update my log and print a return QSL card label for each QSL in just a matter of a couple of seconds each and once I am done, the stack of QSL cards go back into the box to be shipped out in the next shipment (usually 3 to 4 times a year).

I too keep a binder with printed pages of my electronic logbook for that 'if all else fails' moment (along with seperate electronic backups of the log data files stored apart in case of fire, etc.) but I find having the ability to 'near instantly' being able to find a QSO or group of QSOs indespensible in my ham activities.

I think you might find that you would like electronic logging if you were to give it a whirl if you haven't before. Run an electronic logbook along side of your paper one for a while and see if you don't start leaning more towards the electronic one. Just some personal observations.

Either way, have fun and good luck in your DXing and QSLing.

Gene W5DQ