Hey All,

For me 6 M has been kind of tough (FUN, but tough) . Last  summer or two   were generally  "dry" here.  I  have to go back  maybe 3  years for decent QSO's (Caribbean, far W or far S  U.S.)  or any  Transatlantic copy (copy only).

So I was really happy to work KJ4UGO in Alabama on 5/9/13.If this is  my ONLY contact all Summer , at least I had fun and was able to put SOMETHING in the log  !

Admittedly MOST of the problem is on MY end having  a very difficult QTH . I am kind of limited to  an inverted Vee for 6 M on 120 ' (!) of RG-8x ( really can't use big coax here at the apt.).

My  IC-551 has one of the tandem finals open, so it will only do around 40 W. Additionally, I often back that down even lower (maybe to  20 or 25  W PEP ) due to RFI concerns here. But FWIW, the receiver  seems very hot. I HEAR stuff,"at times", but usually it's far  away , weak and I can't get a response (go figure !).

Despite most of this being my "fault", the spotting maps also   don't seem to have favored the NE US too much as well. Most paths are "point to point" in OTHER parts of the country. Additionally it takes a STRONG opening(or big station) for me to get in , even if it IS aligned toward New England.

I just bought a Saturn Halo. What do you guys think about using IT vs my half wave  diagonally  downward sloping vee shaped dipole ?


For those of you that have "easier" 6 M capabilities and/ or QTH's, enjoy this SHORT season  and make a dx contact for me (Hi).

de N1NQC FN 42 KI (MA)

Hey All,

I just got my General a few weeks  ago . I am now taking advantage of my voice privileges within  40 M on an "involuntary" NVIS (LOW) 40 M horizontal Vee shaped   dipole  15' over a flat apt. roof .I also need  to run QRP (4 W @ ant ) from the IC 735 due to building  fire alarm  issues.

It  has been a LOT of fun, punching through R-3 blackouts at up to S-9 + 5 or +10 anywhere from 150 to 250 Mi + away. I've had some GREAT long and fairly  stable  QSO's ( I'm a rag  chewer anyways, and  NOT the "you're  5/9/73's " type- if I can avoid  it).

I have done ULTRA QRP work( as  low  as single  milliwatts)  on V/UHF SSB/FM and loved it.

 On 10 M I've run 5 watts  (at times) , but with   the "lower" angle sky wave  of 28 Mhz  at , say 1000 mi, things often  tend to be much more of a QSB "roller coaster". The STABILITY of CLOSE IN 40 M NVIS has impressed the heck out  of me, even during daylight.

Now I gotta brush up my Morse  some and get back  into some CW QRP contacts.

de N1NQC

Thanks  Guys.

I have been working Ten meters for all of that 20 years and  also CW on 40 more recently.So not a stranger to HF, just lower HF.I did take the  Extra at  the VE session ,but missed it by a good amount.

Now it's time to "take a break" and build  CW speed and work on LOTS of backed  up bench projects.

K

Hey All,

After twenty years  as a Tech (probably a world record !) I took my General at MIT last night and passed it  the first time around.

Now back on the J-38 to build up my speed.

K

Hi,

 I built the WN6Q " Almost  A Crystal Set MPF 102  for the B'cast  band and it  worked phenomenal ! I used a ceramic insulated   var cap w/ ball drive and very  light  coupling on the antenna.Got at least a beat  note  on around  98%  of ALL AM radio channels.

HF versions have  been built. A SUPER simple  radio and if coupled  correctly  onto a  good  long wire antenna , should work well.

K

Hey All,

France  162  OK last  night, others V. or U.  weak.

K

Hey  All,

IC R-71a, Halli S-120 A, DX 440, Home brew (  SW crystal sets,1 active  device, 2 active  device, etc). Ant: 40 M horiz Vee dipole,75 ft long wire.

de K

  Hey  All,

This  "discussion" has  gone  on for around  100 years .I  feel it really depends  on what your definition of "broadcasting" is.

Fessenden was not a regular voice/music "sender". Christmas Eve 1906 /New Years Eve 1907 was all I know  of .

Herrold  may have done it on a "schedule", but  under what  type  of license or authority  and for how  long ? (anybody ?)It has been proposed that Herold's efforts eventually "became" a full time licensed  b'cast station  in CA (can't  recall which one w/o research. It also seems a stretch that these   truly  and  fully continued into the 1920's and    became a  licensed  b'caster. But  I  defer to the Herrold folks for  more info

 Enrico Caruso had one of HIS  performances  transmitted ( forget when or by who- but it was VERY early on).

Opera  singer Nellie Melba had one of HER performances sent out by the Marconi Co. , again very early on.

And let us not forget all the amateurs,including Frank Conrad (later  of KDKA fame) who loved to play  music.

The point  here is that   99% (if  not 100%) of the "broadcasting" that went on pre KDKA/WBZ was sporadic, relatively short lived and certainly NOT licensed as broadcasts.

If you REALLY examine "true " broadcasting KDKA was first (sort of). KDKA initially got a MARITIME SHORE station license(only  by default as there was NO broadcast class at the time.But the govt knew of their intentions. They  eventually got a broadcast license, but AFTER WBZ).

From a PRACTICAL standpoint,KDKA  went on the air, started  broadcasting  and as done so for 90 plus  years.Realistically by most criteria and in the opinion of nearly ALL broadcast historians , KDKA was first.Period.

 WBZ received the world's  FIRST license specifically issued  for BROADCASTING. So by the  "letter of the law" 'BZ is TECHNICALLY the world's  first BROADCASTING station. But this is highly literal and Westinghouse NEVER promoted this fact, lest they lose 11 months  of  "advantage" to KDKA.

de  K

Hey All,

I have only had a BIT of experience w/ QRP on HF CW around 7040 Kc. But I have had TONS of QSO's on V/UHF at SUPER low power levels (as low as single digit mW levels on 2 M ssb and low double digit mW's on FM) and had a BLAST doing it.

But since  most of the  QRP action is  on HF, using the  established BAND PLANS is critical ! Please give QRP'er's some space to work (ie around 7040, et al). There is plenty of room for QRO, digital, etc. The same goes for AM, they only need a BIT of spectrum, but it  must be CLEAR  of other modes .

FWIW, my latest (maybe  silly) QRP "experiment" is running an FT-60 at .5 W on UHF with a ludicrous 120 + ft of RG-8X, a diplexer and connectors/adapters inline  to an SO-239 gnd plane ant (we all know what they are like re pattern- dismal).

 I figure it's around 30 mW out. I am around 80% quieting into my buddy's  REPEATER (yes , I know I said the "R" word) about 25 mi away.

I intend to limbo even LOWER by (hopefully) finding a small Yagi and slapping even MORE coax  inline just to gobble up the gain and still get the same 80 % quieting. Ideally I'd like to get things down to the  single mW range (albeit WITH the Yagi's gain) , which would  be a first for me on UHF.Anybody know where I can buy long lengths  of  small  cheap crumby coax ? (hi, hi)

The other thing I want to try is using a 50 ohm resistor as an antenna to see what IT will do.

QRP is FUN.The advantage I see to doing it on V/UHF is the lack of QRM  from QRO stations.

K

 Thanks Guys.

I sort of smelled a problem here. It sort of reminds me of  the old Three Stooges joke : Do you know what this antenna is for ? It's for SALE !

There is nothing "wrong" with dbi, it's just that dbd  does not need the "correction factor" thrown in.

K

Hey All,

Anyone know anything about or have hopefully tried the new MFJ 1790 10 M antenna. There is near ZERO on their website, which makes me cautious.

Anyone know if this antenna always needs to be  meter tuned  when assembling for "field" ops ? Or does it just go together in a "flat" match ?

Any ideas of the 1: 1.5 to 1: 1 to 1: 1.5 bandwidth ?

What is the gain (if any) in dbd, NOT dbi.

Any info appreciated,

de N1NQC

Hi,

Scott's Electronic Parts(angelfire/electronic2) also has 'em.I haven't check prices between the different sources though.

Indeed these puppies CAN be buggy at times, even from the factory. But a factory  good earphone works GREAT. I'd buy at least 10%  more just to be sure.

Sometimes a problematic earphone can be "restored" by shorting the phone terminals or if need be gently tapping the earphone body with a pencil.These earphones, even if factory good do not "age" too well and over the course of some years ( 2, 3 or 5?) they start to get more and more buggy. Eventually they all pretty much die off. But as a "demonstrator" they are fine.

Some  crystal radio folks are using the piezo elements instead of crystal earphones. I have some elements in the shop but have yet to try them .

Crystal earphones DO need a "bleed resistor " as mentioned .

As mentioned the Schmarder  radioboard site has more info.

FWIW I have built MANY  crystal sets (some VERY high Q) and am quite active on the radio board (as "Krystallo).

de N1NQC

Hey all,
First rig used an old 1930's RCA AM b'cast/ 6- 12 Mhz tube rcvr. First rig BOUGHT a Halli S-120a.

K

 Hi All,

I use a 75 ft long wire which I "force" to work from 7 Kc all the way  up to around 20 M. From there the 10 M slope dipole takes over.

K

Hey All,

OK,here we go- free banders (again).

 First of all I do not condone freeband activity  within  the 10 M band or QRM'ing an on air  licensed service.

There are a lot of "listed" services along in the traditional free band range ("petroleum", ,etc) .Frankly, I have NEVER heard any of them in 40 + years of (admittedly) on and off  listening.

While it does not make it RIGHT for a free bander to operate on,  for example  a  ("supposed") "petroleum" frequency, there is a sort of real world "use it or lose" it mentality.If it's  vacant, folks will use it.It is my SUPPOSITION (only) that a lot of these licenses are not being used much (or at all ) anymore.

The CW portion of 10 M is obviously NOT vacant though  and any "smart" free bander would  stay out of there. They have "free run" from around 26 Mhz (or lower) all the  way through 28.0 Mhz ( including CB).

And while  many of us may not want to admit it, many (if not MOST) of the "older" hams got started on IN BAND CB. And within that group there was a minority that "drifted" ("accidentally" of course ) into the free band.It's like those who took a few puffs of something "naughty" in way back college but don't do it now. Today many of them will NEVER admit in "polite" company that they ever did it  .

Frankly I DO listen on the free band and find some (or many) of the operators as  "well behaved " as some of the ham bands. But at other times it's  childish or obscene. Some of them WOULD make good hams, but for WHATEVER reason ("lazy",  anti- establishment, etc) they don't get licenses.

One of my main gripes is the self (or group) issued "call signs" ,silly stuff like  "FT 2756 AB 56".
Being a ham I like REAL call signs so I have at least an IDEA what country  someone is in.Although fun to listen to as alternative to ham radio, free banders can get tedious after a while.I often just use them as "propagation indicators" to see what conditions are like in  between 10 M  and 12 M.

FWIW I did hear a nice QSO today between MI and S .UK- w/ Q codes, 5/9 reports etc.

To me the major issue is whether one is causing  QRM , THEN we can discuss the unlicensed aspect of it.

Free banding is  OBVIOUSLY NOT a big priority at the FCC ( OT- along with the HIGH powered Boston area  AM b'cast band pirates that stay on the air for 14 yrs + -OR- the   licensed AM  b'cast stations that don't ID or won't  adhere to power/pattern requirements, etc, etc ).

Oh well, blame Uncle Sam.

de N1NQC