Latest Happenings

Greetings from the trenches.  This weekend was a busy one as was the week.

I finally bit the bullet and subscribed to Ham Test Online (http://hamtestonline.com) and have started studying for the Extra Class license.  The way that it teaches is to give you some info as to the how and why of a topic, then test you on it.  Questions that you pass then have a reduced repetition rate than the ones you pass.  So it is teach you something, quiz you, teach you, quiz you, etc. and quizzing you repeatedly until you have it 100%.  So far I am running a 74% on 30 questions.  My goal is the have those numbers up around 90% on the whole test and then taking the test in either Madison (WI) or Muscatine (IA) this weekend.  Other than Sunday, I have been getting in about an hour each day of study.  Math is still kicking me in the backside, but I am optimistic.

Saturday, NØRWR, W9UPK and I worked to get W9UPK's storm damaged Stepp-IR down off of the tower and on the ground.  Such a shame that the elements don't hold up.  I have see so many high raves about this antenna, but I am not so sure that there will be one in my future after seeing how one lasts in Iowa.

Band conditions have been superb!  While on the way to W9UPK's QTH, I was thumbing through 10m and thrying to break through all of the pileups.  Didn't work one until I pulled into the driveway and then worked Vienna, Austria.  5/9 reports both directions and then a happy dance that I have finally worked some DX on 10m.  Getting a 5/9 as a mobile on HF from a station nearly 5000 miles away was a bonus.

Also while at it this weekend, we looked over the Motorola equipment that was given to us from Midwest Energy via the Davenport ARC.  Time to start tearing down the model numbers, figure out what we have and get ready to program it all.  The EC there in Davenport is looking to have an established set of linked repeaters along the Mississippi River from Davenport northward to the state line.  Our local repeater is doing so well that we were asked to help on that.  I was looking more towards getting the equipment for the two local hospitals here so we can have on-site ham shacks for emergency communication should something happen.

Well, off to another fun filled week of work.  Hey, gotta pay for my hobby one way or another.

73 de Mike, KDØMCV

ARRL Rookie Roundup

Well, I did get to compete in the ARRL Rookie Roundup for SSB phone that was held on April 17, 2011. Band conditions weren't great, but at least I did get in there and have a little action - along with work and other obligations.

Before getting into the results, I should probably explain what the Rookie Roundup is and how it works.  The contest is open to those individuals that have received their first amateur radio operator license within the previous three calendar years (for 2011, it is 2009, 2010 and 2011) as "Rookies" and all the others out there as "Old-Timers" or OT's.  The primary purpose is to get us rookies behind the mic (or computer or CW key) and getting a few QSO's as well as honing our operator and contesting skills.  It is also a perfect time for OT's to get out there and "elmer" those of us that are new.

As a rookie, you get points for each QSO (2 for each rookie, one for each OT) and a multiplier for each unworked ARRL section in the US, Canada and Mexico as well as one for each DX per band.  As an OT, you get one point for each rookie you work.

Now, as I said earlier, the bands weren't all that good and I was mobile, but still made 27 QSO's (14 rookie) and had 19 unique sections.  My score was 779 a respectable 7th place in the Tenth Call District of the US.  I was one point shy of tying for 6th place and 805 points from 5th place.  I was the only rookie in Iowa.

The most important thing is that I had fun and worked some fine stations - rookie and OT alike.  

Next contest I plan to get involved in is this coming weekend (May 7th) and is the 7th Call Area QSO Party.  This one has significant meaning to me as I originally hail from the 7th Call Area (Arizona) and am hoping to make my first contact with Gila County.  It is especially important that stations try to work me because when worked, each QSO with me will count as three QSO's and three states worked as I will be operating from the Iowa/Illinois/Wisconsin state lines and the counties of Jo Davies (IL), Grant (WI) and Dubuque (IA).  This ought to be fun and the final time to hone my skills before Field Day.

73's de KDØMCV

Happy New Year - 2011

We have come to the close of 2010 and turned the pages to 2011.  So, to all my readers, Happy New Year!

The year 2010 will definitely be a memorable year with plenty of ups and downs, but one of the biggest milestones in my life would be that I became an Amateur Radio Operator (affectionately, a Ham Operator).  I was finally able to beat down the demons that kept me from getting my license years ago as well as got off of my duff and study for first, my Technician License and then my General License.

While I have barely cracked open my first log book and have only six entries, I have at least done that and started the process to go beyond where I am at now in the hobby and grow with it.  Hopefully, by the end of 2011, I will have a full log book and be ready to start my second.

I have a few goals for 2011 (I don't do 'New Years Resolutions', but believe in setting goals) that I am looking forward to accomplishing:

• Obtain my Extra License - my biggest and most important goal;
• Assemble my home shack - mobile is great, but being out of the elements is better;
• Get involved in more contests; and
• Earn my WAS (Worked All States).

Above all else, I plan on having a lot of fun with this hobby.  

73's and all the best in 2011.

What Caused This?

For the past several weeks, I have not been able to get on the air.  Every time I try to tune in one of the HF bands, I would have really high SWR readings.  Seemed to me that it happened when we got our first snowfall, but I know now that the snow had nothing to do with it.

After doing a lot of research on the Internet and asking around the members of my club, no one could figure it out.  Then I found a troubleshooting checklist from Firestick (they make CB antennas) that I started working through.

I disconnected the coax from the mount and checked the continuity with an ohm meter.  Antenna checked out normal, so I disconnected the coax from the radio and checked to see if I had continuity on the coax.  Center conductor was fine, but I had no connection on the shield side.  Since my coax consists of a 6-foot jumper from the radio to the connector coming from the mount, I separated the jumper and just checked the one from the mount.  No continuity.  Scratched a little insulation from the shield at a few places and checked and finally found that the shield was not connected right at the top of the PL-259 connector.  Further checking revealed that the shield was completely corroded away from the PL-259 connector.  I have it somewhat patched for now, but I will have to order a new cable to go from the mount into the truck.

By the way, I think this is what was causing me to have problems tuning in any band other than 40m during the contest as I can now tune in 80m and 20m just fine now.

Feels good to get the problem solved.  Feels even better knowing that I found the problem and fixed it myself.  Looks like I will be working some of those high frequencies again in the near future.

73's

CQ Contest, CQ Contest.

Now, had I have known (or even realized the importance of this) that this weekend was a big contest, I would have requested the whole weekend off and probably Monday also (to recover and submit logs).  Yes, it is that big.

What is it that I am talking about?  The ARRL November Sweepstakes, of course.  This contest is second only to Field Day in the severity of it.  Rest assured that it is WOW big and important.

Because I had to work and had other husbandly duties (like take the XYL to see the new Harry Potter movie), I was really limited as to the amount of time I was able to devote to the contest.  I was fortunate enough to make 19 QSO's though, so I am grateful for that.  At least I got my feet wet and had some fun at it.

Another limiting factor is that I am still new at working with this radio and antenna combination.  I guess you can say that I am still in the learning curve of it, but I am working at it.

There was one major hurdle that I had to overcome and actually took all of my time Sunday.  The alternator in the truck went out and so here I was, in rural Iowa with no way to start the truck, a dead battery and dead alternator.  Thank God, I still had a cell phone.  The repairs were just over $300.00 and I was back on the road.  Too bad it had to happen this weekend.

73's to the QSO's I did make and to all the stations out there that participated.  Hope to see you next year.

BINGO!

Well, last night was fun.  Listening to stations come in from all over the Southeast US then one DX comes in and I started hearing stations from all over the lower 48 come out of the woodwork.  Tonight, I had to listen again and try to capture my first QSO.

Listening on 40m, I was again excited to hear a station in Queen Creek, AZ pop up calling CQ.  I tried for about 15 minutes to pull him in, but it was not to be.  Then I scanned around some more and heard stations in FL, GA, SC, OH and TN all coming in pretty strong, but again I could not get through.

I decided to de-tune the antenna and head on up to 80m to see what I could get there.  I heard a lot of net traffic coming through loud and clear, but I would again be snookered.  Because I am tuning the antenna by ear (and not a lot of practice at it), I was thinking that maybe I was doing it wrong.  Well, lets head back down to 40m.

Arriving at 40m., I re-tuned the antenna to get the most noise, then found someone that was doing a little rag chewing.  I tuned for the best sound and dropped to 7.175MHz where it was quiet.  Changing modes to AM and lowering power to the lowest setting, I checked SWRs and I was pulling a 1:1 - perfect. 

Scanning through 40m and I hear a station calling CQ.  Now is my chance.  I shoot my call sign out there and that I am mobile in Iowa, and he answers back that he has two of us doubling up - he takes me first.  I reply with my call and that I am indeed mobile.  I give my grid square (EN42 pm) and give his signal report - 5/9.  He comes back and tells me my signal to him, that he is in GA.  I announce to him and the whole world that he is my first QSO and about that time, my brain is gone - I cannot remember what to do next, because I was so elated that I had finally made my first HF QSO!

Somewhere in the process of him calling CQ and me losing my marbles, the phone rang.  It was my wife and all I could do was hit send on the phone and set it down.  She was able to listen in on it and was pretty happy that I got it.

So, now I am totally hooked on the HF bands.  I am also at a little delima - how long is it going to take me to get my WAS award?  I only have to work 48 more states.  :)

My First Experience On HF

Getting my Tech license was a thrill and earning my General was awesome, but nothing beats actually getting on the HF bands and living what amateur radio is all about - well, there is one thing better (so far as I have witnessed), but I will hit that point in a few moments.

Dropping down below 2 meters (144MHz) is pretty neat.  You hear stations from all over talking about this and that.  This morning, on my way to work, I heard a station in Oklahoma doing a little rag-chewing with a station in Missouri.  The signals were so strong and so clear that if I hadn't known that I was on 40 meters (7MHz), I would have sworn they were on our local 2 meter repeater.  Had there have been a break in their conversation, I would have called out there to them and tried to get my first QSO.  As it was, I was getting pretty close to being late, so I had to shut down the rig and go into the office.

When I got off of work tonight, I immediately headed up to a higher point than where my work is.  Work sits in a valley, but there are plenty of hills around here.  Finding one that has a farm road on it and no buildings close is a bit difficult, but not impossible, so I headed up north of work to a more hilly area, found a spot to safely pull off of the road and started tuning the dial around 20 meters.

I was listening to strong stations in FL, SC, TX, and GA coming in loud and clear - a good S9.  As I was tuning around, I heard a station that, honestly, caused me to get pretty excited and I witnessed my first non-contesting pileup - one station answering and 30+ stations calling.  Everyone was trying to get a QSO with station J7WTA on the Dominica Island - a rare.

J7WTA was coming in about 5/7 and so I thought I would try and make my first QSO even more special.  After trying my luck to reach out to this Caribbean nation for nearly 30 minutes, I gave up.  He was just about the same signal as the QRM (noise) and fading.  Missed my first foreign QSO but it was fun trying to get it and listening to all the stations that were likewise trying to make contact.  There are some happy hams as far away as Los Angeles and Phoenix that were able to eek out enough power to get over the top and catch a rare QSO. 

So, I will get back to trying to get my first HF QSO.  Who knows where the other station will be?  Here in the States?  Canada? or will I be lucky enough to have a QSO with a small foreign country somewhere out there?

73's