The Big Voice is on the Air!

The Outdoor Voice!

The shack looks like a tornado came through it today, but the deed is done.  I have the Heathkit SB-1000 hooked up and putting out a solid 500-600 watts on sideband.  I converted it some years ago to run on 115V so, I try not to crank it all the way up.  I've found in the past that 300-400 watts is the most I ever need to crash through any but the most severe pile-ups.  I have a nice Super Tuner, but I don't like to have to mess with it, so I prefer to use individual dipoles for 20, 15, and 40 meters.  The G5RV tunes all those bands and more, and I found that I never need more than 100 watts on the rest of the spectrum, and the autotuner on the TS-440 takes care of that.  I did make and put up a 20 meter dipole to test the amplifier, and it's doing a fine job.  I need to take it down and do a little trim work on it, but the SWR was very favorable.  I need to get out my antenna launcher tomorrow and get the thing a little higher in the air before I trim it.  Now antenna slinging is a chore I really hate.  I guess it's enough to just say it involves a sling shot, some .45 caliber musket balls and a fishing reel and line.  When I get everything all humming together, it'll be time to straighten out the cables and get the shack looking like the paradise it's supposed to be.

Stormy Weather

Well, the storms have come and gone.  We were lucky again, and the tornadoes skipped over us. My prayers go out to the families of those who were taken to God's bosom last night.  It's such a tragedy and the property loss is a terrible thing in this economy.  We had some wind, but if there was any lighting I didn't see it and if there was any thunder, I didn't hear it.  Our concern was that the severe weather was to occur between two and four AM, and we needed a way to listen for warnings.  I started to dig out my old WX radio (I think it's in the dry bag with all the rest of our camping stuff), but then WCNC's weather man suggested that we try this new app for the IPOD called weather radio. http://www.wdtinc.com/pages/imapweather_radio

It was just the ticket.  One of the things I dislike most about my old weather radio is that you get an alarm for every impending disaster.  We don't live in a flood plain and the flood warnings alone are enough to make you turn the WX radio off.  But with this new app, you can tailor it to alert only on storm warnings.  We got about six or eight storm alerts last night, and I can tell you it was nice to hear that they were only tornado watches and not warnings.   We did get to sleep last night, but I can assure you that this afternoon's nap will be much appreciated.

I see that the SFI is 108 and the absorption is down to 1.  Looks like it might be a good day for a little DX.  I've already checked 20 meters and there's a lot of activity there.  I had a great opening into the Caribbean on 10 meters yesterday.  Maybe the nap will have to wait!

Those Old Reminders Of QSL's Past

I spent a good part of yesterday scanning my old QSL cards from my KD3IC and KA3STI days.  They bring back a lot of memories.  I remember the first SSB contact I had.  It was with a British expatriate in Spain on 10 meters. I was so excited, I ran downstairs and told Betty.    I had already made more than 100 CW contacts, but as a novice, SSB access was very limited.  I soon upgraded to General and worked my first 20 meter SSB contact with a station in Greenland.  There are a lot of cards in this collection that can never be duplicated.  One, Y21VF from the German Democratic Republic was a particular coup for me.

I wanted to say that scanning these old cards is a labor of love, but it's really just part of the hobby.  Everyone should look back every now and then if for nothing else but to see how far you've come.

New Contacts on 17 Meters

I know that to many of you this is no big deal, but 17 meters is kind of new for me.  For one thing, I could never before get my TS-440SAT to tune the G5RV on 17. But since the storm took the antenna down, and I put it back up in close configuration to what it had been, it's become like a new antenna!  I am now able to tune all bands (except 160, of course).  Today, I worked a few stations in PSK-31 and two stations in sideband, M3JDF in Blighty (Darren Feather in Wickersley Rotherham, and OT4A Theo Bemelmans in Belgium.  My next big test is to fire up the Heathkit SB-1000 and run some wattage into 15, 20 and 40 meters.  So far, the highlight of my week was having lunch at Amelia's in Charlotte with my granddaughter.

Another Way to Be at Dayton!

HAMVENTION 2011:  W5KUB TO AGAIN NETCAST FROM THE DAYTON
HAMVENTION

Tom Medlin, W5KUB, says that he will one again be streaming
live audio and video from the Dayton Hamvention.  According
to Tom, this will be the 9th year that he will be netcasting
live on w5kub dot com beginning with his 550 mile ride from
his home in Memphis, Tennessee, right to the Hamvention site
at the Hara Arena in Dayton.

The W5KUB dot com webcast from Hamvention has become very
popular over the years, especially with folks who have never
attended Hamvention or have no way to get there.  Tom tells
Newsline that there are viewers are in over 150 countries
and during the 2010 Dayton Hamvention broadcast, he had over
50,000 hams watch and follow us for the entire show.

And during this years netcast, Tom will also be giving away
over $5000 in prizes to give lucky viewers.  Some of the
prize donors include Heil Sound, Kenwood, Yaesu, MFJ,
Kantronics, LDG and the ARRL.  That alone is something that
you won't want to miss.

So if you cannot make it to Hamvetion 2011, you can attend
vicariously from May 18th to the 22nd thanks to Tom Medlin,
W5KUB, and his crew at W5KUB dot com.  (W5KUB)
Credit to http://arnewline.org

Up, Up and Away!

I'll be listening for the Transatlantic Balloon Flight.  http://www.arrl.org/news/transatlantic-amateur-radio-balloon-flight-postponed You can listen on 30 and 40 meters from April 27th.

Back in the Saddle Again!

With the death of my beloved Kenwood TS-480SAT in September of 2009 and numerous personal and health problems, I dropped off the air. The shack filled up with unread QST's, CQ's and unopened QSL cards. It became difficult to even enter the room; I had to push aside piles of junk. At some point I became overcome with inertia. Just the thought of cleaning out the shack and getting back on the air was just too much for me.

On April first (how appropriate) I finally got up the gumption to shovel out the shack, pull out my old TS-440, added the new Rigblaster Advantage I bought, and wonders of wonders, my G5RV was still up and working like the champ it is. My first contact was a RTTY contact with Bob Brown, W4YJF in Selma, AL. When I looked at his shack on QRZ.com I saw that I had a Long way to go!

That's neater than any operating position I ever had while working for the feds! Well it gives me a target to shoot for. Of course, now I'm too busy working digital DX to clean up the shack and build the shelves I need. It's a vicious circle!

Well, the next thing I have to do is to get the TS-480 working again. It sends and receives just fine, but the RS-232 has stopped working and I'm unable to control it with my computer.