EPC Russia DX Contest 2012

EPC Russia DX Contest 2012. The contest starts at 04:00 UTC 06.10.2012 and ends at 04:00 UTC 06.10.2012. The objective of the contest is to establish as many contacts as possible between radio amateurs around the world and radio amateurs in Russia on BPSK63 mode. The Contest is annually held at the first weekend in October in BPSK63 mode on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters bands. Every station can be contacted once per band. The operator may change the bands without any restrictions. The output power should not exceed 10 watts on 160 meters and 100 watts on other bands. Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any time.

FT-8800R Back On The Air

We finished reprogramming our FT-8800R dual band mobile radio tonight.  After installing it we turned it on, hit scan, and immediately found a local net to join in.  Programming software makes the job so much easier than manual entry via the radio controls and menus.  What a bother it would be to upload several hundred frequencies manually.

In this day and age of cheap and plentiful memory and internet enabled devices, it is fairly easy to image radios in the near future coming pre-programmed with software that automatically keeps them synched with all repeater information - anywhere in the world.  Why not?  Since we are dreaming a little.  How about unlimited text labelling for each memory.  6 characters simply doesn't cut it.  Why only 6?  Why not 66, or 266, or even unlimited?  The memory certainly wouldn't add much cost.

NJ2X.COM 1st Anniversary

Today is the 1st anniversary of our website NJ2X.COM.  It has been a year of learning for us and we enjoyed the experience a great deal.  Thank you to our regular readers for your support.  We hope you will help spread the word and share our link with others interested in amateur radio, ham radio, and shortwave radio related topics. 

Our free daily feature, "FCC Technician Exam Question Of The Day" has been very enjoyable to write and we hope it has helped at least a few people to prepare for and earn their ticket.

We particularly enjoyed preparing cartoons for our "Ab Absurdo" amateur humor feature.  It was rather fun coming up with radio related absurdities and translating them into cartoons.  This surprisingly turned out to be a very relaxing and creative activity to engage in.  Hope we gave a few chuckles too.

In case you didn't notice the link on our home page, we offer the NJ2X Kindle Edition for those using the popular Kindle devices.

Looking forward to another year of writing articles for NJ2X.COM and helping others interested in amateur radio, ham radio, and shortwave radio.

73,

NJ2X

Soldering PL-259 Connectors

One of the most common tasks around the shack is soldering PL-259 connectors onto coaxial cable.  Here is an excellent video explaining how to solder a PL-259 connector onto RG213 coaxial cable correctly and easily in under 6 minutes.

NJ2X tips:

• Tin the center conductor if stranded - keeps the strand together
• Test with a continuity tester to confirm continuity and no shorts
• Avoid excessive heat which can deform the dielectric and change impedance and capacitance characteristics

Michael Faraday Birthday September 22, 1791

Michael Faraday was born on this day September 22, 1791.  Faraday researched and experimented with electricity. He eventually showed that a magnetic field could induce a current in a coil of wire, which became the basis for the generation of electricity.  His theory of electromagnetic induction eventually became "Faraday's Law".  He invented the earliest electrical motors (homopolar motor) which would prove to be one of the most important inventions in history.

Variable Capacitor Schematic Symbol (capacitance is measured in farads)

 

Faraday experimented with sending electrical currents through chemicals, discovering that molecules could be separated into gases and defining principles for the laws of electrolysis.  Faraday was prolific and engaged with the study of optics, magnetism, environmental science, education, light houses, and other interests.

The SI unit of capacitance, the farad, is named in his honor as is the Faraday Cage.

G4HFQ Software - Excellent Experience

We had a really great experience recently with G4HFQ Software.  We needed a little assistance with a program that we had purchased from Bob back in 2008 for programming our trusty FT-8800.  We sent an email and Bob responded almost immediately with just the right help.  Bob's software works very well and the service is tops.  Highly recommended.

225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution

Today we celebrate the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.  The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Have you read this inspired document lately?  Have your government representatives read it?





Considerations For A New Antenna - Part 1

Our shack was disassembled, packed up in boxes, and out-of-use for several months due to relocation.  We recently hit our tolerance threshold for being off-the-air and decided to take action and reassemble a station.

Nothing like a huge maple to hoist up the center of a fan-dipole.  Unfortunately, our new QTH doesn't have large trees to support our excellent Alpha-Delta antenna.  This has led us to spending some quality time reading our 21st Edition of the ARRL Antenna Book to gather up different ideas.

Our design criteria:

• No tower
• Multi-band (as many as possible)
• Effective for DX'ing including all 50 States
• Durable in a permanent all-weather installation (e.g. rain, wind, snow, ice, ...)

Considerations:

• No trees suitable for hanging an antenna
• Large hill rising to the North and falling to the South
• Tall chimney on house
• 150 feet of back yard

 In part 2 of this article series, we will select and install our first antenna in the new location.

David Packard (9DRV) - Birthday September 7, 1912

Today we remember David Packard (9DRV) on his birthday (born September 7, 1912, in Pueblo, Colorado). Packard was the co-founder and a longtime executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Company. Packard was a gifted electrical engineer.  He built his first radio while still in elementary school and earned his amateur radio ticket while in high school.

David Packard

Hiram Percy Maxim's Birthday September 2, 1869

Hiram Percy Maxim was born this day on September 2, 1869.

Lee De Forest Birthday August 26, 1873

Lee De Forest was born on this day August 26, 1873.  De Forest was an electrical engineer and inventor of the Audion tube with three electrodes instead of two in 1907.  The tube became known as the De Forest valve or triode.  His innovation made electronic amplification and switching possible.  The Audion Tube was a huge commercial success

FCC View of CC&R Preemption - Score One For HOA's

In a report released August 20, 2012, the FCC has recommended taking no action regarding expanding preemption rules to cover to private land use restrictions contained in covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) in home ownership deeds and condominium bylaws regarding amateur radio antennas.

Amateur radio operators across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to pursue their interest in amateur radio due to these restrictive covenants.  As the saying goes, sometimes it has to get worse before it can be made better.  For this round, score one for the HOA's and zero for amateur radio....

Excerpt from the report:

Recommendations
Private land use restrictions. Some commenters recommend that CC&Rs be preempted if they prohibit antennas that are within certain limits.  Others suggest that private land use restrictions on amateur antennas should be permitted only for safety considerations, and not for aesthetic reasons.

As noted above, however, other commenters believe that it is not necessary to preempt private land use restrictions in order to promote amateur emergency communications, given the ways that even amateurs subject to CC&Rs can communicate effectively and the nature of amateur emergency communications.
Moreover, while commenters suggest that private land use restrictions have become more common our review of the record does not indicate that amateur operators are unable to find homes that are not subject to such restrictions. Therefore, at this time, we do not see a compelling reason for the Commission to revisit its previous determinations that preemption should not be expanded to CC&Rs.

Kenwood TH-22AT

We picked up a pair of Kenwood TH-22AT 2m handi-talkies at a yard sale for a good price.  The pair came with drop-in charger and spare battery pack.  Very durable feeling to the radio.

Kenwood TH-22AT 2m HT

Kenwood put a lot of great features into this radio for its vintage.  Having been a TH-F6A owner for several years, the TH-22AT seems surprisingly rather familiar.  The TH-22AT includes 40 memories which is a must on a VHF HT.  The programming is bit clunky though manageable.  It only took a minute to figure out the 10 steps to enter a repeater into memory.  Here are the actual steps we took to program a repeater (145.25 MHz) with a tone frequency of 131.8 into memory number 33.

1) Press VFO
2) Enter the frequency by turning the dial until the screen displayed 145.25
3) Press T/CT
4) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
5) Press T/CT
6) Select the tone frequency by turning the dial until the screen displays 131.8
7) Press T/CT
8) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
9) Select the memory number (0 to 39) using the dial until the screen displays 33
10) Press MR

Violà!

The TH-22AT has the same standard Kenwood headphone / speaker jack configuration as our TH-F6A.  This means we will be able to use the TH-22AT with our APRS TNC plug-and-play.

Looking forward to using this radio as a spare, as a APRS tracker, and radio fox-hunting transmitter.


© Michael W. Maher and NJ2X.COM, 2012