W9DAZ

LaPorte "Cabin Fever" Hamfest coming up on February 25th

2012-01-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again.
One of my favorite little hamfests, the LaPorte County Amateur Radio Club "Cabin Fever" hamfest, is coming on February 25th, 2012.
As I have mentioned in posts that I have made in the past, this is not a big hamfest, but it's always well attended and definitely worth the trip. Hope to see you there.

Link to more information: Cabin Fever Hamfest

Elkhart County SKYWARN Spotter Training 02/09/2012

2012-01-28T20:10:00.002-05:00

The SKYWARN spotter training for Elkhart County, Indiana, is coming up on Thursday February the 9th, 2012.
There are two sessions currently scheduled for that day; 2:00PM EST, and 6:00PM EST.

The classes, which are open to the public, will be held at:
Elkhart County Corrections Complex
Jail Training Room
26861 CR 26
Elkhart, IN 46517

For more information contact Elkhart County EMA: 574-891-2238

Map of training location: Elkhart County Jail

Other SKYWARN training in the area: NWS SKYWARN Training

Archer [Radio Shack] 60-3030 "Space Patrol" Walkie-Talkies

2011-06-08T09:44:00.001-04:00

Last Friday I was perusing the Goshen Antique Mall when I ran across this neat old set of walkie-talkies. Like many of us in the radio hobby I have a fondness for all sorts of radios. And, like many, my earliest experiences with radio involved small AM transistor receivers and walkie-talkies like these.

I have of thought of buying similar walkie-talkies that I've seen listed on ebay but up until now I've managed to resist for any number of reasons.
But now, this pair of Archer "Space Patrol" radios was right in front of me where I could look at their condition. There are boxes for both radios, one of which is in good shape the other is pretty torn up. Both radios are very nice. They show signs of normal use, but are very nice looking overall. I was able to remove the backs of both of radios before purchase and found them to be very clean. There was not a hint of corrosion on the battery connections. One antenna tip was bent slightly but was easily straightened, otherwise they are fine.
Priced at $12.95 for the set I had to buy them. There was no choice in the matter.

A couple of 9v batteries later and I discovered that the old radios work perfectly. There is no squelch control, so when they are on there is solid static from the speaker. The range is limited. But they work.
I have been able to find precious little information about these old radios on the internet. A few links posted below are all that I can find, a few photos and an old ad from Boys Life magazine.

If anyone has manuals, brochures, ads, or any other source information about the Archer 60-3030 Space Patrol Walkie-Talkies please contact me: w9daz@arrl.net

Links:

Archer Space Patrol at "Retro Transistor Radio"
Archer Space Patrol at "Vintage CB Walkie Talkies"
Archer Space Patrol ad in 1971 "Boy's Life" Magazine

LDG YT-450 Autotuner

2011-05-24T14:59:00.001-04:00

For the last few years one of the most essential pieces of equipment in my station has been my LDG AT-100Pro autotuner. Easy to use, versatile, and extremely well made, it is a great piece of equipment.
So when LDG introduced their YT-450 autotuner, designed specifically to interface with the FT-450 and the FT-950, I decided to add one to my station as soon as I could.
Even though LDG products are reasonably priced, I'm perpetually broke. So it took awhile for me to save up the money to get one. But I did get one and I've been using it for a couple of months now. I like it.

LDG YT-450 autotuner and Yaesu FT-450 transceiver at W9DAZ QTH.

The product description for the YT-450 says:
An included CAT/Power cable interfaces with your FT-450 and FT950. This makes it an integrated tuner powered by the interface. No extra power cables are needed. Just press the tune button on the tuner and everything else happens automatically! The mode is set to carrier and the RF power is reduced, a tune cycle runs and the radio is returned to the original settings.

That pretty much sums up the YT-450 in my experience.
When mine arrived I took it out of the box, set it up according to the quick start instructions, and started using it. The YT-450 has performed flawlessly, matching every antenna that I have attached to it with one easy touch of a button.
There is something else too. Since I began using the YT-450 my Eagle One vertical antenna appears to be performing even better than it did before, especially on DX. I'm not sure why just changing tuners would make that kind of a difference, but it seems to have.
I am very satisfied with my LDG YT-450. It is a must-have piece of kit for any FT-450 owner.

A Real Radio Shack Store

2011-05-21T20:22:00.002-04:00

From the outside, the Radio Shack store located at 2016 Lincolnway East in Goshen, Indiana, looks like any other.

When you get inside though, it's a different story.

The first thing that you see are cell phones, cell phone accessories, and all of the other things that any RS offers. But when you look down the center of the store what you see are several rows of parts. All kinds of parts; resistors, project boxes, battery holders, wire, rf adaptors, fittings, plugs, and a good selection of soldering supplies.

This particular Radio Shack is a locally-owned store, not a "corporate store". General Manger Jeremy Van Lue told me that when his family acquired this store their intention was for it to be more like a "classic" Radio Shack store, offering the DIYer all of those things that they need and just can't find anymore. The Van Lue family also owns Radio Shack stores in nearby Syracuse, Indiana, and Nappanee, Indiana.

Although I live only a few minutes from the other Goshen Radio Shack store (a corporate store), I always make the 15-20 minute drive to the south-side store when I need something. Why? Because I know that they are likely to have it. If they don't, they will get it in a day or two. They are very good about that. Just like businesses used to be.

I often hear ham radio operators lamenting that "Radio Shack is just another big box store anymore". "Nothing but cell phones, TVs, and all of the other crap that Wal-Mart has". "The last time I went there they only had a few little drawers of parts and nobody working there had a clue as to what I was talking about".
I agree.
Until the current owners took over the south side Radio Shack in Goshen, every RS that I had visited for the last several years had been like that.

The people that run this store are not part of the amateur radio community, nor are they electronics DIYers, and I'm sure that most of their business is cell phones, TVs and all of the other crap that Wal-Mart sells. The people behind the counter are not going to be able to give you advice about how to complete a project.
But what they will do, and have done for me on numerous occasions, is bend over backwards to make sure that they found what I needed and that I left their store a happy customer.

The folks at the Radio Shack store on the south side of Goshen are making a real effort to try and stock what the amateur radio and DIY community needs. I sincerely hope that the amateur radio and DIY community will, in turn, support them.

Radio Shack

Electro-Net III

2016 Lincolnway East

Goshen, IN 46526

PH 574-533-2237

FAX 574-533-2426

One Year Later: Eagle One Antenna Continues To Impress

2011-05-05T23:56:00.001-04:00

It's been about 14 months since the Eagle One antenna was installed at my QTH. By now it has made it through a rough Northern Indiana winter, and it continues to work better than ever. That winter included a a couple of times that it was completely enclosed in ice, lots of snow, and high winds. I have never lowered the antenna when high winds or ice are expected as the instructions suggest, and I have not had a problem.
My primary HF transceiver is a Yaesu FT-450 that I run at 100 watts on transmit. I use an LDG YT-450 Autotuner to tune the Eagle One, which is mounted with a couple of clamps to one of the posts for the chain-link fence out back. There is only a single 34 foot counterpoise attached to the antenna, and laid out flat on the ground. No other radials.
Yet, in the last week, I have received 5/9 signal reports from; ZL50GH in New Zealand on 15 meters, E71A in Bosnia-Herzegovina on 20 meters, and LY5A in Lithuania on 20 meters, all using this very basic station.
Throughout it's first year of service the Eagle One has proved to be a very rugged, very versatile, and very capable antenna. All of which came at a price that is a downright bargain.
I'm impressed.

ARMAD 2011 Coming Up Soon

2011-05-04T17:10:00.000-04:00

"Let's ham it up for the troops!"
Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day will be held on Saturday the 28th of May, 2011. The event is held to honor those who currently serve in the Armed Forces, as well as our Veterans and Retired Military.
You can find out how to attend a rally in your area or on the air by following this link: ARMAD 2011

A Flip-Stand for the Yaesu FT-450

2011-05-04T11:33:00.004-04:00

I really love my Yaesu FT-450. Like many users of this fine little HF radio, I have found that the FT-450's excellent performance and many great features, especially for radio in this price range, far outweigh it's few not-so strong points.
But as I mentioned in my initial review of my then-new FT-450 back in September of 2008, "[the radio] badly needs a flip-down bail or some sort of support that could raise the front when the unit is being used on a low shelf or a tabletop".
Well, now my FT-450 has one.
A company called FingerDimple.com sells a product that is aptly called the "FT 450 Flip Stand". It costs right around $20.00. Kit shown below.

The only trick to obtaining one of these is that the FT-450 Flip Stand is not listed as a product in Finger Dimple's web page. Apparently you're just expected to know that they sell them, finding out by word-of-mouth as I did. So when you go to the Finger Dimple web page use the "contact us" feature to tell K8FF Wayne what you want. Wayne is a great guy to deal with. He has always answered my messages quickly and shipped my orders promptly.
The flip stand is a quality piece of kit. It comes with complete, easy to follow instructions, and installs in minutes using existing holes. So no drilling is required to install. Image below shows kit installed.

There is an option listed in the instructions for the installer to drill two holes that will allow the installation of two additional screws that hold the flip bail in place. I chose not to do this on my installation. But if I was going to move my FT-450 on a regular basis, folding and unfolding the flip stand often, I probably would. Even if you choose this option it appears to be a very straight-forward and simple operation.
The kit also includes a pair of taller rubber "feet" for the rear of the radio, to match the extra height of the front with the flip stand installed. This leads us to the only fault of the kit, albeit a minor one. These taller feet are not tall enough. The flip stand is so tall that the radio actually rests on the chassis itself at the rear, with the rear feet suspended in the air, when the flip stand is extended. See image below.

There are a number of different ways to correct this if you feel it necessary. For now, I find the angle to be just right for my operating location so I'm going to leave it alone.
Image below shows the finished product, with LDG YT-450 Autotuner. My Yaesu FT-840 is on the shelf above.

This is a minor fault, and easily corrected.
Overall, I found Finger Dimple's FT 450 Flip Stand to be a reasonably priced, easy to install, quality product. What's more it's sold by a fellow ham that you can trust.
I recommend it.

IMO SkyWarn 2011 Advanced Spotter Training Coming March 19th

2011-03-04T00:30:00.001-05:00

The 4th biannual Indiana Michigan Ohio Skywarn Advanced Spotter Training is being held at the Maple City Chapel in Goshen, Indiana, on Saturday March 19th.

This full-day severe weather conference is designed to train you in spotting techniques, equip you with information about the latest in weather technology, and connect you with other Skywarn communities from across the region.

The workshop is geared for experienced storm spotters, but is open to all.

The cost is only $30.00 [which includes lunch]. This entitles you to a full day of workshops led by meteorologists, EMA personnel and weather personalities who are leaders in the fields of weather forecasting and emergency response.

Pre-Registration is Required!

For more information or to register click here: IMO SkyWarn 2011 Advanced Spotter Training

Comet DS 150S Discone Antenna

2011-03-02T16:36:00.008-05:00

Over the course of the last couple years I've started to become more interested in the "listening" aspects of the radio hobby than I had been before.
Following the purchase of an old Realistic Patrolman 10-Band receiver at a hamfest, I have been doing much more AM and SW listening than I had before. I also use the Realistic radio to play FM stations while working in my shack. The built-in antenna worked fine for FM, and AM reception was acceptable. The radio would also receive a number of shortwave stations, but I knew that it was capable of much more, hooking up a piece of wire to the back of the radio as an experiment proved that. So I made up my mind to home-brew a proper long wire antenna in the spring when the weather improved.

About the same time that I picked up the Realistic radio I also added a scanner to my shack. Scanners are another whole subject that I plan on writing about sometime in the future. For now suffice it to say that the Radio Shack Pro-97 I use is a VHF-UHF multi-band analog receiver. Whenever I listened to it I had to disconnect my 2m/70cm radio from the Diamond X50 and connect the scanner to that. It worked, but the X50 wasn't ideal for the wide-range receive capability of the scanner. Using an HT antenna on the scanner inside the shack didn't work well either.

Clearly I needed some antenna upgrades at my QTH. Both the aforementioned long wire antenna and a dedicated antenna of some kind for the scanner. Especially since I am planning on upgrading to a digital scanner in the future.

After lots of shopping at hamfests and online I settled on the Comet DS 150S Discone Antenna. The antenna had good reviews, at least as good as any other, the price was reasonable, and that price included 65 feet of RG-58 coax.

When the DS 150S arrived from Universal Radio I found it to be a quality looking piece of kit. Nothing was missing and there were complete instructions.

My friend Ray, KD8HBZ, and I put the antenna together in about 15 minutes and then mounted it to a TV tripod on the roof of the house. That tripod was the former mount for my seldom-used Solarcon A 99 antenna which was moved to 20 foot mast along the back yard fence.

The Comet DS 150S Discone Antenna has been on the roof of my QTH, about 25 feet up, for the better part of nine months now. It has weathered a cold, windy, icy, northern Indiana winter without a hitch.

As a scanner antenna it is great. When using the Comet antenna I hear anything that I want to hear in the local area, which one would expect. But I also hear things like the hospitals in South Bend, IN, which I don't hear when using the same scanner in my car with a proper mobile antenna. When I attach my Radio Shack Pro-60 scanner (which I use to monitor air traffic almost exclusively) to the DS 150S I can hear Fort Wayne tower/ground control traffic. That is from an airport that is 55 miles away. So I was satisfied with the performance of the DS 150S as a scanner antenna.

Comet claims that you can also use the the DS 150S antenna to transmit on 2m/70cm, an added benefit that I had not considered when I purchased it. When I hooked up my FT-7800R I found that claim to be true. So besides gaining the scanner antenna that I needed, I also now have the second dual/band transmit antenna that I have been needing for quite some time.

The specifications say that the DS 150S "receives solid from 25 to 1500 MHz". With that fact in mind I plugged the coax lead into my Realistic Patrolman 10-Band receiver shortly after the antenna was installed. The results were amazing. There was a significant improvement on every band over what I had been using. While it is true that I had not been using an ideal antenna on any of them, I still find it impressive that a single antenna works, and works well, receiving AM broadcast, FM broadcast, VHF public service, and short wave. While I admit that I am not a serious short wave listener, I am seriously impressed with the performance of this antenna on short wave reception. This was something that I was not expecting when I purchased it.
In my experience the Comet DS 150S is a bargain. It's a great performing, versatile antenna, that cost less than $120.00 delivered to my door, including 65 feet of coax.
It's turned out to be everything that I was looking for, and more.

LaPorte "Cabin Fever" Hamfest 2011

2011-02-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

After attending the LaPorte Amateur Radio Club's "Cabin Fever" hamfest several years in a row now, I've decided that the name "Cabin Fever" is entirely appropriate. This is not a big hamfest and we usually don't spend more than an hour or two there. But my friend Ray, KD8HBZ, and I always find ourselves remarking about how good it feels to get out and get involved with amateur radio again after a long winter spent mostly indoors.

Besides, saying that it isn't a big hamfest isn't the same thing as saying that it isn't a good hamfest. Because the LaPorte Amateur Radio Club always puts on a good hamfest.

There were several dealers there that had tables full of parts. That's what I'm usually looking for at a hamfest.

One of the most interesting dealers that I ran across there was Bob Bieker of Highland, IN. Bob runs a business called N9TEW Tube Sales. He had tables full of tubes for sale. You can see his website by clicking on the link or call 219-924-0945.

But the LaPorte show also always has lots of tables full of people selling their own equipment. I enjoy browsing the tables full of used stuff.
As always, we finished off our visit to LaPorte with breakfast at "Round the Clock" family dining, 219 Pine Lake Avenue in LaPorte. Whenever you are in the LaPorte area stop there for a meal you won't be disappointed.
The "Cabin Fever" hamfest is well worth attending. LaPorte is a nice town with plenty of good places to eat, nice places to shop, and other things to do.
If you haven't ever been to this nice little hamfest consider attending next year. On your way home you'll likely find yourself remarking how good it felt to get out after a long, cold winter.

K2DSL Grid Square Locator Map

2011-02-15T22:14:00.001-05:00

Do you need to find a Maidenhead Grid Square? Well you can do it quickly and easily using the K2DSL Amateur Radio Ham Radio Maidenhead Grid Square Locator Map.
It's unbelievably easy to use.
Follow the link below to find this superb ham radio tool.

K2DSL Grid Square Locator Map

Marshall Hamfest Coming Soon Too

2011-02-08T10:37:00.001-05:00

The Marshall Hamfest is a favorite of ours as well.

Marshall Hamfest

LaPorte "Cabin Fever" Hamfest is Coming Up!

2011-02-08T10:22:00.001-05:00

The LaPorte Amateur Radio Club's "Cabin Fever" hamfest is coming up on Saturday the 26th of February, 2011.
It's always a nice little hamfest. My friends and I always consider it worth the 1 1/2 hour drive from Goshen, IN to visit the show.
Follow the link below for more info:
Laporte Cabin Fever Hamfest

A Stand for the Yaesu FT-817

2010-09-15T11:02:00.015-04:00

I really like my Yaesu FT-817. It is one of the most interesting rigs a person could ever hope to own.
But for all of its' strengths, the FT-817 has several weaknesses too. Not the least of which that it lacks a good flip-down type bail. It lacks any kind of a stand at all for that matter, and since it is meant to be operated portable it really needs one.
After I got my FT-817 a few months ago I looked everywhere for a suitable stand.
Before I found the design that is the subject of this article, the most promising one that I had seen was the Palm Radio Peg Leg The Peg Leg is a great design and I'm sure that it works fine.
But then I was surfing the net for FT-817 accessories the other day and I stumbled across this: The KR1ST FT-817 stand
It's an incredibly clever and simple design and, best of all, it costs almost nothing to make.
Of course, I had to build one.

My FT-817 stand under construction.

I didn't have a steel ruler so I had to borrow one from my dad. I used my Gerber EAB to do the cutting. The EAB is a neat little tool. I recommend it.
My FT-817 stand (deluxe version) took only minutes to build.
It works perfectly.

The finished product.

Things like this are exactly why I like amateur radio.
A very clever person came up with a way do do something himself, and then generously shared that knowledge with everyone else.
Many thanks to KR1ST for a great project.

The KR1ST stand with my FT-817 in place.

Eagle One Antenna

2010-03-23T17:48:00.021-04:00

During the course of a few days of ice and wind last December the "quick & dirty" mast that we had built for my HF wire antenna came tumbling down. That mast was never meant to be a permanent installation in the first place. But after it was up it had worked so well that I just left it as-is. The mast had made it through one northern Indiana winter, but the second one did it in.
So suddenly it was the middle of winter and I was left without an HF antenna.

I knew that my friend N9BAV Dan has an Eagle One vertical antenna that he uses as a portable for ARES/RACES. I'd seen his Eagle One antenna in use at the Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Expo last fall and was was impressed with it. It seemed to perform well, and the price was right.
Dan had told me that he really liked dealing with Steve Sheers at Eagle One Antennas as well.
Since I wasn't going to be able to get a replacement mast for the wire antenna put together anytime soon, and since it was now clear that I needed some kind of a back-up HF antenna even when I did get the wire antenna back up, I decided that an Eagle One would be just what I needed.
My plan was to order an Eagle One, get it installed and get back on the air quickly. Then the wire antenna set-up could be rebuilt from the ground up in the spring.
But life has a funny way of interfering with my fun. So it was late February by the time I finally got the money together and contacted Eagle One to order my antenna. I can say that Dan was right about the folks at Eagle One being pleasant to deal with. They actually answer their telephone, and they follow up afterwards. Steve is a very nice guy and interesting to talk to. The antenna arrived the day after I ordered it, very well packed and all complete.

I found the Eagle One to be of a very clever and simple design. It is also very well made.
Not as impressive however, are the instructions that came packed with the antenna. Disorganized and poorly illustrated, the instructions appear to have been re-written several times with little thought given to continuity or ease of understanding.
Yesterday, almost a month after receiving it, I finally got a chance to install my Eagle One. Since I did not order the optional tripod, and since I did not want to put a permanent mount in place yet, I decided to mount the antenna to one of posts of our chain link fence. It was extremely easy to install.

Eagle One antenna mounted on fencepost at W9DAZ QTH.

Eagle One antenna at W9DAZ QTH viewed from the end of 34 foot counterpoise.

Vertical antennas need radials to work well and the Eagle One is no exception. Since my installation is a temporary one I decided, for starters anyway, to try it with just a single counterpoise. To make the counterpoise I simply soldered a ring terminal onto one end of a 34 foot length of #14 stranded wire. I put a loop on the other end so that it could be staked down. The counterpoise was then attached to the bolt that is located just below the SO-239 connector.

View of the Eagle One at W9DAZ QTH showing counterpoise attachment.

After getting the antenna mounted and the coax hooked up I went inside and turned on the Yaesu FT-450. I started out by doing some listening on 20 meters. There was not much there, but then 1500 on a sunny day usually isn't prime time on 20 either. So I switched up to 40. Immediately I dialed in a net. As I meandered around I found one signal after another, but many of them were fairly faint. Finally I settled on an on a frequency where I couldn't hear anythng, 14.247.5, and listened for several minutes. Then, after tuning up with the LDG AT-100 Pro and asking twice if the frequency was in use, I called CQ. It was probably not more than a minute before I received a reply. W8DP from Anawalt, WV, answered with a strong signal. This very nice gentleman and I talked for over 15 minutes nearly as clear as if we were on a 2 meter repeater. I was impressed, and happy.

Another view of the Eagle One installed at W9DAZ QTH. Notice how well it blends in with the backgound.

It had been a long day and I was tired so instead of trying to make more contacts I decided to just do some more listening. By then the band was starting to open up and signals were coming in much stronger. I have no doubt I would have been able to work many of those stations.
So let's put all this into perspective.
So far I have made one great contact on my Eagle One antenna. What does that prove? Nothing. Time will tell how good of a performer it turns out to actually be.
Is the Eagle One the world's greatest amateur radio HF antenna? Of course not.
But I'll tell you what the Eagle One antenna is. It's a quality piece of kit. Well designed, and well made. It's sold by people who care about their product and treat you like customers should be treated. The Eagle One is lightweight, easy to set up, and delivers everything that manufacturer promises. All for less than $120.00 delivered to your door.
If you are in the market for an HF vertical, especially for non-permanent installations, give the Eagle One a good, hard look.

*Update*
After I posted this article I went in and sat down at my radio. After listening for a bit I called CQ on 40 meters. I was answered immediately by a station in Ashburn, GA, who gave me an excellent signal report. When we finished I called CQ again and got a station in Greely, CO. Another excellent signal report. We talked for nearly 15 minutes.
Back when I was using my wire antenna it worked well most of the time, but I always had trouble working stations located to the west and southwest. So I was happy with this contact in Colorado.
As soon as the station in CO signed off I was called by a station in Gainesville, TX. The station in Texas and I were able to rise above the QRM and have a conversation. Not perfect, but clearly readable on both ends. Both of us were running barefoot with minimal basic antennas and noise was bleeding over from everywhere. Still, we had no trouble talking.
The bottom line on the Eagle One antenna: I'm using a basic radio, running barefoot, using a vertical antenna with only a single counterpoise. Yet I'm talking to people all over the country, some in locations that I couldn't hit before, and getting excellent signal reports. I consider that acceptable performance, especially for an antenna in this price range.

*Note* 05/06/2011
See my update article: Eagle One Antenna 1 Year Later

The Warrior Song

2010-03-08T18:24:00.003-05:00

Check out "The Warrior Song".

May God bless our men and women in uniform.

2010 LaPorte Hamfest Was Worth The Trip

2010-03-01T22:03:00.005-05:00

On Saturday the 27th of February, 2010, KD8HBZ Ray, N9BAV Dan, and I, attended the annual K9JSI "Cabin Fever" hamfest in LaPorte, Indiana. Without reservation I can say that the 2010 Cabin Fever hamfest was, by far, the best in recent memory.
Our group has always considered the LaPorte hamfest to be a small one. The smallest one, really, that we attend all year. But we like to go anyway. It's the first of the year and it seems to signify the beginning of hamfest season.
But the last few years it seemed to have fallen some in popularity. Last year (2009) a number of the vendors tables were empty, and there was a very small crowd while we were there. When we arrived at 0730 local time this year the parking lot was nearly empty. I remember thinking that this year's show was shaping up to look like last year's.
But I was mistaken.
We walked in the door to find every vendor table full. By the time we left at 0930 there was hardly any room to move and the parking lot was jammed. There were tons of bargains everywhere.
Some examples?
I bought a Kenwood TM-241a 2M mobile, complete with microphone, power cord, and mounting bracket, for $40 OTD.

Some bargains from the LaPorte Hamfest.

My friend N8AES Brad had a decent Astron RS-20 power supply, one of the older ones with the meter, for sale for $40. Of course I left with that too. But perhaps the biggest bargain of the day, at least for me, was a Kenwood PG-3H filtered power cord that I snagged for $1.
There were many, many, more bargains to be had. If only I would have had more money to spend. The 2010 LaPorte "Cabin Fever" hamfest was a great time, and well worth attending. If you didn't make it this year you should seriously consider attending in 2011.

LaPorte, Indiana "Cabin Fever" Hamfest is This Saturday!

2010-02-24T22:46:00.005-05:00

The annual "Cabin Fever" hamfest in LaPorte, Indiana, is coming up this Saturday, the 27th of February, 2010.
I've been to this hamfest three years in a row now and it's a nice one. Small, but nice.
I'll be there with N9BAV and KD8HBZ. We plan on arriving about 7:30am or so, local time. If you want to try and meet up we will have our HTs set on 147.555 simplex. I usually also monitor the main hamfest repeater, but I'm always on 147.555 while at the show. Hope to see you there. W9DAZ

Here is the hamfest info from the club's flyer:

LaPorte Amateur Radio Club CABIN FEVER - HAMFEST !!! Saturday February 27, 2010 LaPorte Civic Auditorium 1001 Ridge St. LaPorte, IN. 46350 7:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. CST (Chicago Time) Talk-In: 146.610 (131.8 PL) 146.52 simplex Admission at the door - $5.00 Tables $12.00 each For information, email N9ROH@csinet.net Reserve Tables, mail check for $12.00 per table to: LaPorte Amateur Radio Club P.O. Box 30, LaPorte, IN. 45352 {Refreshments will be available}

Note that I didn't bother to copy the map and directions over to my site. If you need more information you can find it here: Cabin Fever Hamfest

Product Review - Diamond MR77 Dualband Mobile Antenna

2010-01-24T14:14:00.007-05:00

It's been just over a year since I purchased my Diamond MR77 antenna. It's the third magnet-mount dual-band (2m/70cm) mobile antenna that I have owned. Without question it is also the best.

The Diamond MR77 has a very low profile. Photo by W9DAZ Dave Zollinger.

At about 20" high overall the MR77 has a significantly lower profile than the previous two mag-mount antennas that I've used, yet it performs equally as well, if not better. But what really sets this antenna apart is the quality of construction. Both of my previous mag-mount antennas lasted exactly one year. Harsh Indiana winter weather conditions caused connections to fail on both of them. The MR-77 is now most of the way through its' second winter and it not only still looks like new, but it performs like new as well.

Red arrow points towards reinforcement on MR77 cable end. Cable on competitor's mag-mount antenna that I owned failed at this point. Photo by W9DAZ Dave Zollinger.

The MR77 has heavy duty reinforcements at both ends of the cable. At one end this negates the need to attach a "rig saver" type cable extension. At the magnet end it apparently helps to keep the weather out too.

Connection is reinforced at magnet end as well. Photo by W9DAZ Dave Zollinger.

Back when I first purchased the Diamond mag mount I was using an HT for a mobile radio. With its' high quality construction, low profile, and excellent performance, I feel that the MR77 is an ideal antenna for someone who is using an HT in a vehicle.
Since that time I have installed a Yaesu FT-7800R in my van, and I am still using the MR77 as the primary antenna. It has been a stellar performer in this role as well, regularly hitting repeaters 30 miles away on 20 watts.
On one occasion I had an early morning QSO on simplex that went until I was almost 40 miles away until we had to give up. What more could you want using a 20" tall, mag-mount antenna, out of the box with no tuning, running 20 watts?
If I sound like I'm a fan of the Diamond MR77 antenna, that's because I am. It performs. It is a high quality piece of amateur radio equipment. Best of all, it does not cost any more than the competition. If you're looking for a general use, dual-band, magnet-mount antenna, this is it.

More information: Diamond MR77 at Universal Radio Diamond MR-77 at RF Parts

South Bend Hamfest

2009-12-05T11:30:00.004-05:00

Good News!

The Michiana Amateur Radio Club has recently announced that they will be sponsoring a hamfest in South Bend, Indiana, in the spring of 2010. I am not a member of the MARC, nor am I involved with the planning or sponsorship of the hamfest. But I have attended a few of their events and I know that they are a great club.

Having a hamfest so close to home in Northern Indiana is great news. I hope that it will be well attended.

For more information follow this link: MARC to the MARC Homepage then click on the "South Bend Hamfest!" link. Or type: http://community.michiana.org/marcsite/ into your browser.

A Visit to Rochester, Minnesota

2009-12-02T09:46:00.019-05:00

Recently I had the opportunity to be a patient at the Mayo Clinic, located in Rochester, Minnesota. I realize that the term "opportunity to be a patient" may sound strange to some. After all, nobody wants to be a patient anywhere. But I have been battling chronic health problems for over five years now and I've been treated in many places, including another world-famous clinic. Following my visit to the Mayo Clinic I can say without reservation that while I was a patient there I believe that I received the best health care available anywhere in the world.
During the week or so that we spent in Rochester my wife and I had plenty to do most days. But there was some down time in the evenings, we had a weekend off, as well as one weekday.
Like any member of the amateur radio community I spent some of that down time on the air, and some of it on a trip to a great ham radio store. I found out that Rochester is a very friendly place for a ham to visit.
Like anyone who is taking a trip, there were lots of plans to make before I left home. Hotel reservations, arrangements for our home and son to be taken care of in our absence, finances, and vehicle maintenance. In addition to those more obvious travel plans, I decided to do a little research about amateur radio activity in the Rochester area as well. A Google search quickly turned up the homepage of the Rochester Amateur Radio Club, which includes a directory of the club's repeaters. Their club website is really well done, much better than most. It's worth checking out even if you aren't planning on visiting there. I managed to get the Rochester frequencies programmed into the Yaesu FT-7800R that serves as the mobile in my van. I had planned on adding repeaters for the Chicago area and the rest of the trip too, but I didn't have time. So during the trip up to Rochester I just monitored 146.520 simplex, assuming that I would make at least a few contacts like I always have when I travel. Well, you know what they say about what happens when you assume. During the trip I called CQ on simplex several times with no response, I didn't pass a single other vehicle with an amateur radio license plate (on the way there or the way back). This was a disappointment to me as I am usually able to make an occasional contact on the national simplex calling frequency, and I always see vehicles with ham license plates to call. But, as I said, no joy on this trip. While we were in Rochester we stayed at the LaQuinta Inn on South Broadway. The LaQuinta in Rochester appears to be an older hotel that has been remodeled. It was nothing fancy, but it was pleasant. They served a passable (and free) breakfast, the price was right, and the place was spotlessly clean. Most of all, the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Far above what one usually finds in this day and age. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to anyone.
As is my usual practice when I travel, I set up a radio station of sorts in our room at the La Quinta. On this trip I decided to keep it simple, so my station consisted of my Kenwood TH-F6A and
an antenna.

The "Hotel Radio Station". Kenwood TH-F6A, Pryme speaker/mike, Xantrex power supply.

Closer view of radio and speaker/mike.

For the hotel set-up TH-F6A was fitted with the Pryme 2101 Speaker Microphone, which I feel is the best one ever. I've settled on the Pryme Trooper series as the only speaker mike that I use now, and I've tried several. Normally when I travel I carry a dual-band roll-up j-pole, the kind that's made out of 400 ohm ladder line, to hang in the window of my hotel room. But when we arrived in Rochester I discovered that I'd neglected to bring it along. Luckily I make a habit of carrying a spare magnetic antenna in my van. About a year ago I picked up two small 2m/70cm antennas at a hamfest for around $12.00 apiece. Besides the fact that they were dual-banders, the little antennas were billed as "great scanner antennas". I didn't expect much from them, and my plan was simply to keep a spare mag-mount antenna in each vehicle in case something went wrong with my primary antenna. As it turns out, these are okay R/T antennas and they do actually make surprisingly good scanner antennas. I've ended up using them much more than I'd originally planned to.

Antenna for the hotel radio station. This worked better than expected.

In this case I simply carried one into my hotel room and stuck it to the HVAC unit that was located just below the hotel room window. This worked perfectly. The coax was just long enough to reach the nightstand where I had positioned my radio, and I was able to hit all 3 of the local repeaters that I tried. The last part of the hotel room radio station was my Xantrex 200 portable power supply. These are incredibly handy to have along. They can really save the day when the power goes out, at home or on the road. It was a neat little set-up and it worked very well. All of the stations that I made contact with in the Rochester area were very friendly and very helpful. I imagine that they get quite a few visitors with the clinic located there. Still, it was nice to get such a warm reception.
Two stations were especially helpful to me. I first made contact with KC0UCN-Dave, on a Minneapolis repeater while driving back from a day trip to the Twin Cities area. Dave told me that although all of the Rochester repeaters are open for anyone to use, the 146.820 machine is the one that most people use. This was very useful information. The other thing that he told me was that several of the locals often meet on 144.440 simplex in the early evenings. I often did not have a radio on until later in the evening, and I did not hear this group. But if you are in the area you might want to check it out.
The other station that was very helpful to me was W0STV-Steve. Like Dave, Steve took the time to fill me in on what goes on around town, and offer any assistance that he could provide.
As I mentioned above, we took a couple day trips while we were in Rochester. One of those trips was to the Twin Cities area so that we could visit an amateur radio dealer called Radio City. I've done some business with Radio City and found them to have excellent service. We arrived there about noon on Saturday (their parking lot was the only place the entire trip that I saw another amateur radio license plate) and the place was busy. They were also in the middle of a computer crisis, and were having to try and troubleshoot it while writing up all orders by hand. Still, they found the time to make sure that we were waited on, and they did it in the most friendly and helpful manner. Although I am nowhere near serious about it, I am very interested in astronomy. What makes Radio City so neat, in my mind at least, is that they are not only a ham radio dealer, but they are a telescope dealer as well. They had a very nice supply of telescopes and accessories. Radio City is a neat place. I only wish that I'd had more time, and money, to spend when I was there.
While were up that way I checked in on one of the Twin Cities Repeater Club's 2 meter repeaters. I also tried a couple other local repeaters, all with no response. Finally when we were leaving town in the evening I had a QSO with a station whose call sign I have lost. I also don't remember which repeater it was on. We had a nice conversation with the station in Minneapolis, and I'm sorry that I lost the note that I had his call sign written on. A short time later I had a QSO with KC0UCN on that same Minneapolis repeater, my first contact with him. I later talked to him again on the Rochester repeater.
On a final note. Around home I almost never have to park in a parking structure. However, parking in a garage turned out to be the norm on this trip. Not only at the hospital every day, but even a couple of times on our day trips. After a day or two, having to get out and remove the magnet mount antenna from the roof of my van every time we wanted to park became tedious. Not to mention the fact that you then have to put it back on when you leave. I also removed the faceplate and microphone from my FT-7800 for security when we went into the hotel at night. The week that we were in Rochester I had other priorities than constantly mounting and dismounting a radio and antenna. So after our Saturday trip I simply left the radio and antenna dismounted.

Diamond HT antenna on a window clip mount. Doesn't have to be removed to park in a parking structure.

In place of the magnet mount antenna I used a Diamond SRH77CA HT antenna on a window clip mount. This antenna, connected to my TH-F6A, was a very nice combination for operating around town. And that was all that I needed while I was there. I ended up not remounting the FT-7800 and antenna until we returned home.
Lisa and I enjoyed out trip to Minnesota. The southern Minnesota landscape is much more scenic than we expected it to be. We visited some interesting places, including Northfield, MN, and the scenic Minnesota Bluff Country. We received world-class medical treatment at Mayo Clinic. We stayed at a nice hotel for a reasonable price. But most of all, we met many very nice people. I don't remember which of them said it, Dave or Steve, but during one of our QSOs one of them told me, "That's one of the great things about amateur radio, no matter where you go, you've got friends".

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver

2009-10-25T21:02:00.007-04:00

Note: [11/30/2011] I am continuing to update this article as I locate more information about these radios.
If you have any information about these radios that you would like to share please do not hesitate to contact me.
A reader has asked for help finding a larger/clearer copy of the schematic for this radio. If you have one that you can send please let me know.
Thanks.

Last weekend, when I attended the Kalamazoo Hamfest, I happened across a Realistic Patrolman-10
Receiver.

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver. Photo by W9DAZ.

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver. Photo by W9DAZ.

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver. Photo by W9DAZ.

I'd never seen one of these before, never even heard of them actually. But I was immediately interested. Partly, I think, because it's a really neat radio. But also because I have one of the Realistic Patrolman SW-60s and I really like that old radio. The particular Patrolman-10 that was for sale at the hamfest was in real nice shape. The vendor that had it was set-up in the outside area. He demonstrated that all the features worked, then offered it to me for quite a bit less than the price he had marked on it. I walked around for awhile trying to talk myself out of it, but I couldn't do it. I bought the radio. I started doing a little detail cleaning on the radio tonight and took a few pics to post here. It really is in good shape and everything works fine.

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver. Photo by W9DAZ.

Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver. Photo by W9DAZ.

What has surprised me most about the Realistic Patrolman-10 Receiver is that, so far at least, I can find very little information about this model. Most of the sites that list the Realistic Patrolman models list the Patrolman-1 through the Patrolman-9. If anyone has any information about these radios, especially manuals or other documents, please email me: Email W9DAZ

Update 03/02/2011:

I would like to thank Walter for being kind enough to send a scan of the operator's manual for the Realistic Patrolman-10. I've had it for a few months now and I finally got around to converting his images to pdf format and uploading them.
So if you need a manual for one of these fine old radios, here you go.
It's in pdf format you can download it or print it directly from the site. It is my document hosting page so there is no cost, it's completely free.
Compliments of Walter and W9DAZ.

Realistic Patrolman 10.pdf -

Kalamazoo Hamfest 2009

2009-10-24T21:03:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday, the 18th of October, was the date of the annual Kalamazoo, Michigan, hamfest. Just like the previous year N9BAV-Dan, KD8HBZ-Ray, and I made our way to the show. Once again, we were not
disappointed.

.
The main floor of the Kzoo hamfest. There is also a tailgate area outside. Photo by N9BAV Dan Wiley.

Here's an image of me (center, good looking, no hat) perusing the tables. Photo by N9BAV Dan Wiley.

Kalamazoo is not a big hamfest. It's not full of dealers selling new gear. But there are plenty of smaller dealers selling everything that you go to a hamfest to get; connectors, coax, antennas, books, and other accessories. There were also many tables full of people selling their own stuff, which is what I really like. The Kzoo hamfest is always worth the trip. This year it was especially nice working the outdoor sales area because it was an absolutely gorgeous, crisp, clear, Autumn morning. Making a leisurely inspection of a bunch of nice old radios and sipping a cup of coffee while while the breeze rustles the Autumn leaves overhead is my idea of a good way to spend a morning. It goes without mentioning that we stopped off at MarJo's West in Schoolcraft, Michigan, for breakfast on our way to the show. But the highlight of the day had to be our visit to CB Ken's Electronic Parts.

CB Ken's Electronic Parts. Photo by N9BAV Dan Wiley.

I purchased an old Realistic Patrolman 10 multi-band SWL radio at the hamfest. I could not find a connector at the hamfest that I needed to adapt my outside SWL antenna to the old plug on the radio. Ray found business cards from Ken's at the show and learned that they are located right across the street from where the hamfest was being held. So we stopped in, and I'm glad that we did.

Melinda (L) and Margie (R) were very friendly and extremely helpful. Ken's is a cool place. If you are in Kalamazoo you should stop in. Photo by N9BAV Dan Wiley.

Located at 2825 Lake Street in Kalamazoo, Ken's is just full of batteries, tubes (yes, tubes!), transistors, and other electronic parts. They also have all types of coax, connectors, adaptors, antennas, wire, and some tools. Ken's also sells CB radios, scanners, and cordless phones. It's a really neat store, the kind of place that is getting harder and harder to find anymore. You can find them on the web at: www.kenselectronics.com October 18th, 2009 was a good day. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Amateur Radio Participates in Disaster Preparedness Expo

2009-09-26T22:09:00.014-04:00

Amateur radio played a large role at a Disaster Preparedness Expo this afternoon.
The semi-annual event was held at the Elkhart County Chapter of American Red Cross, located in Elkhart, Indiana.
Elkhart County ARES/RACES and SKYWARN were all represented with information and equipment on display.
In addition to emergency services that are directly related to amateur radio, such as ARES/RACES and SKYWARN, hams were spotted staffing the stations for several organizations from volunteer fire departments, to an animal rescue organization, to "Project Lifesaver".

Elkhart County RACES Chairman N9BAV Dan (L) and Elkhart County ARES Chairman KC9CDS Roger (R) provide information to some visitors at the Expo.

Elkhart County SKYWARN Director KB9AVS Steve (L) was on hand to provide information about the program. SKYWARN Early Warning Officer WX9RUB Bill is in the background in blue shirt.

KA9SYE John (R) provides information about Project Lifesaver to a citizen.

The Preparedness Expo was a great event. There was plenty of information about family preparedness, severe weather, fire safety, food and water storage, pet safety, and much more. There were "smoke houses" from two different fire departments so that kids could learn how to exit a smoke filled building, and the Elkhart City Police had their bomb disposal robot on display.
The Medflight helicopter landed about noon.

All of the kids who were present loved it. I have to admit that even though I flew on helicopters many times when I was in the Marines, it's still fun to watch one land and take off from close up. The flight crew stayed long enough for everyone to get a tour.
To top it all off, everyone who attended got a free lunch provided by Texas Roadhouse.

Inside the main tent.

One row of the many vehicles and displays outside the main tent.

Elkhart PD had their bomb disposal robot on display.

The Medflight helicopter was a big hit with everyone, especially the kids.

It must have taken a tremendous amount of effort to put on this event, one that is well worth attending. If you missed it this year you ought to mark your calendar for the summer of 2011 now.

Remember September 11th

2009-09-11T09:37:00.006-04:00

My favorite image of September 11. One picture truly can speak a thousand words.

Remember September 11th.
Today I am going to attend a remembrance ceremony at The Maples (work permitting) to honor those who died that day.
But I also remember that right now young women and men of our armed forces are fighting and dying in Afghanistan and around the world to protect us from the very same people who attacked the US on 09-11-01.
Where were you that day?
Do you remember how you felt?
What was your first reaction when you found out our country was under attack?
Remember.
That is why we fight.

Copyright Notice: There was no copyright listed at the site where I obtained this image. If you hold the copyright to this image contact me so that permission for use can be obtained.

Time For A Change

2009-08-27T17:32:00.008-04:00

Back in 2004, shortly after Canon brought out the first Digital Rebel, I had a chance to use one extensively. I loved the camera and as soon as I managed to get the money together I ran out and bought one for myself.
The original 6mp Digital Rebel is a wonderful camera and I loved using it for nearly 5 years. In the meantime Canon brought out one new model after another. Each and every time a new Digital Rebel was announced the temptation to buy one was almost overwhelming. Two things kept me from doing so, however. First of all, cameras are expensive and I couldn’t dream of buying a new digital SLR more than once every decade or so. Second, my Digital Rebel took great pictures and I liked it. So I saw no reason to be in a hurry to make a change.
But the original Digital Rebel did have its' limitations. It didn’t have a “RAW+ JPEG” shooting mode, the buffer filled quickly when shooting in burst mode, and numerous other features that were starting to make a difference as I became more and more serious about my hobby. Making the decision to replace the Digital Rebel was difficult, but finally the time came.
On the other hand, deciding which camera to replace it with was relatively easy. With the exception of two nice Minoltas, I've had nothing but Canon cameras since I became halfway serious about photography. I've had good luck with them, and feel that they offer good value for the money. By now I also have Canon lenses, flashes, and a host of other accessories. So if I decided to go with another brand of camera I'd have to start all over from square one. That simply wasn't going to happen. The replacement for my Digital Rebel was going to come from the line of newer Digital Rebels. I took a hard look at each of them.
The Digital Rebel XT is a nice camera and there are plenty of used ones around at reasonable prices. I’ve done quite a bit of shooting with a couple of different XTs and I like them. But there were a few things that kept the XT from being my first choice. Foremost among them were the fact that I didn‘t feel that gaining 1.7mp of resolution was worth changing cameras for, and the XT did not allow the use of my RC-1 remote control. Other than that, I feel that the XT is a real bargain and would not hesitate to buy one if I were a first time buyer in the market.
The much newer Digital Rebel XS is a very nice camera too, but it is lacking some of the features of the earlier XTi such as the 9-point auto focus, and again, the remote control. It also costs more than a used XTi, with less features, and is only available as a "kit" that includes the factory lens. I already have plenty of lenses and was not willing to pay for a kit that includes one. If Canon sold the XS new as a "body only", like they do all of their other SLRs, I would have been much more interested in an XS.
Then there is the Digital Rebel XSi, a camera that I would love to have. Other than a full-frame sensor, which none of the Digital Rebels have, the XSi is everything that I would want in a digital SLR. I believe that the XSi is about the best "pro-sumer" SLR on the market. I realize that Canon has brought out the T1i which is marketed 1 slot above the XSi, and has even more features. But the T1i also shoots videos. I know that all of the latest SLRs from several manufacturers now shoot video, and it's here to stay. In fact, that's why I own my S5iS, because it shoots great photos and terrific videos. That makes it the perfect back-up for my SLR. But in my twisted mind, SLRs are made to shoot photographs. That's why people like me buy them, and that's why I think the XSi is the best value in an SLR available today. Everything that you need, nothing that you don't need, and the price is right. Unfortunately that price is simply out of my range right now.
There was another factor to consider too. The Digital Rebel, XT, and XTi had all used CF cards as their memory cards. I have many CF cards that I have purchased over the years at great expense. The XS, XSi and T1i cameras use SD cards. So if I had bought an XS or XSi, I would have had to purchase new memory as well. Memory cards are not nearly as expensive as they used to be, but new memory cards would still be an added expense that I would not have if I bought an XT or an XTi.

Self portrait of me with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Shown here fitted with my Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM AF Macro Lens.
To get the shot I mounted my Canon S1-iS on a tripod and operated it with a Canon WL-DC100 wireless remote control.

So that narrowed the field of possible cameras down to one, the Digital Rebel XTi. Introduced by Canon in August of 2006, the XTi is loaded with features; a 10.1mp CMOS sensor , multi-basis TTL auto-focus with 9 focus points, and 3.0 fps continuous drive up to 27 JPEG or 10 RAW frames. Metering is 35 area evaluative, center weighted or partial, it has a beautiful 2.5” LCD monitor, an RGB histogram, I could go on and on but you get the picture. The XTi also uses my existing CF cards and since it is older than the XS and XSi I figured that good used ones would be fairly easy to find.
Like I said earlier, deciding which camera to replace my Digital Rebel with was easy. Now I just had to buy one. I started watching the used camera ads and the auctions a few months ago, waiting for just the right deal to come along. As it turns out, other people must agree with my opinion that the XTi is a pretty good choice in a digital SLR because I found relatively few of them on the used market. When I did find them, they seemed to sell for more than other cameras in their class. No joy.
Then, finally, a few weeks ago I walked into Sunny Schick Camera in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Since I live a few hours drive from Ft. Wayne I had never visited the store before. I’m glad now that I did. A small narrow shop, filled with cameras, lenses, bags, and accessories, Sunny Schick is staffed by genuinely friendly people. They had a used XTi body for sale at a reasonable price and offered me a good trade-in for my old Digital Rebel. This was it. It was time.
Although I have not done an extensive amount of shooting with it yet, I really like the XTi. It’s everything that I thought it would be, and more. The only thing that I don’t like about it is the size of the body, which is too small. I would much prefer an SLR body the size of the original Digital Rebel. The original Digital Rebel is a good camera, and even in today’s market I think that it would be a good choice for someone needing a first digital SLR or a more basic digital SLR. I think that says alot for the strength of the original design. I shot many good images with mine, and I loved the way it felt in my hand. When I traded it in the thought crossed my mind that I was going to miss that camera, and I hoped that I would not end up regretting the decision to do so. The good news is that now, weeks later, I do not regret the decision in the least. The Canon Digital Rebel XTi is a wonderful camera. In many ways it’s better than I thought it would be, and I look forward to years of enjoyable shooting with it.
Now that all is said and done, I guess it really was time for a change.

Field Day 2009 - The Night Shift

2009-06-28T16:22:00.005-04:00

All across America Saturday June 27, 2009, is Amateur Radio "Field Day".
The Goshen Amateur Radio Club held their Field Day near Gate 4 of the Elkhart County Fairgrounds. Field Day usually lasts until late Sunday afternoon, and GARC club members man the radios for the entire 24 hour period. During that time they try to make contact with as many other ham radio operators, using as many methods of radio communication (voice, cw or morse code, digital modes, etc.) as possible. The GARC earns points for every contact and competes against other amateur radio clubs. Extra points can be earned for use of certain equipment, such as solar power. Below are a few picture of the GARC operating Field Day 2009, at about midnight. To see pictures of Field Day 2009 taken on Saturday afternoon click here: Field Day 2009

N9YOD John operates HF phone. John organized Field Day for the GARC again this year and did his
usual, excellent job.

Field Day is an adventure for kids too. Amateur radio is very much a family activity.

KB9MLE Dave and KC9PNN Tim operate 6 meter phone. The 6 meter band was open for a good portion of the evening. The ICOM 706 they are using was solar powered during the daylight hours.

N9BAV Dan works PSK31 from inside the Elkhart County Emergency Command Center vehicle.

WT9U Jim and W9CG Ron work cw inside the Elkhart County Emergency Command Center vehicle.

Field Day 2009

2009-06-27T21:07:00.015-04:00

All across America Saturday June 27, 2009, is Amateur Radio "Field Day".
If you live in or near Goshen, Indiana, stop by Gate 4 of the Elkhart County Fairgrounds, and see how the Goshen Amateur Radio Club serves the community.
Need help programming your weather radio? They'll do it for free.
If you're interested in finding out more about amateur radio in general this is a very good time to do it. Live somewhere besides Goshen? Contact your local Amateur Radio Club to find out where they are holding their field day. Field Day usually lasts until late Sunday afternoon.

Below are a few pictures from Saturday afternoon. To see images from late Saturday evening click here: Field Day 2009-The Night Shift

The GARC Field Day site. Gate 4 of the Elkhart Couty Fairgrounds. Lots of vehicles and antennas.

GARC members setting up an antenna at Field Day 2009.

W9RAM Rod operates a radio while his wife, W9BAD Beth, supervises. In the foreground is a friend of theirs, Travis, who is interested in becoming an amateur radio operator.

More GARC members working hard. From L to R; KC9CDS Roger, N9BAV Dan, KD8HBZ Ray, and
N8FHX Ray.

N9DUZ Jim had his mobile SKYWARN station set up for field day.

Jim operates the his mobile SKYWARN station.

There was a pretty good view of the harness racing at the Fairgrounds from the Field Day site.

The Elkhart County Haz-Mat Unit was on display at Field Day 2009.

The main tent at the site. The black trailer in the background, owned by a GARC member, had two radios working all day. One of those radios was solar powered.

The Elkhart County Emergency Command Center vehicle was at Field Day. Open to the public for display, the vehicle also served as the CW "shack".

KD8HBZ Ray and KB9AVS Steve (partially visible in window) enter the Elkhart County Emergency Command Center vehicle.

The Rodenator

2009-04-16T18:55:00.003-04:00

I stumbled across this while surfing the internet yesterday. Suddenly, lawn care looks interesting again.....

Check it out: The Rodenator

Dan & Dave's Excellent Adventure

2009-04-02T21:48:00.003-04:00

On Friday the 3rd of April, early in the morning, N9BAV - Dan and I are going to head out towards Milwaukee. Our plan is to attend the AES Superfest, and enjoy a weekend away.
Neither of us has ever been to the Superfest, or even to the AES store in Milwaukee. But they are offering some seminars that we are both interested in, and Milwaukee is only about a 4 hour drive from here. I'll give you a full report when we return.
In the meantime you can follow our progress via APRS. Just follow this link: N9BAV APRS

Interesting 20 Meter H.F. Contact - S.S. American Victory

2009-03-22T22:07:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday afternoon I was in the shack working on getting an old computer up and running. This is going to be my dedicated ham radio computer to be used for logging, weather, and digital modes. I had the 2 meter rig monitoring the 146.895 repeater, as always. KC9FZT was at his home station working the Virgina and Oklahoma QSO parties, and the Russian Contest. WX9RUB was at the GARC Club Station doing the same thing. I kept an ear to the repeater as they discussed contacts and when they'd talk about something particularly interesting I'd turn on the HF rig for a bit.
Late in the afternoon Bill mentioned that he'd heard a ship operating in the area of 14.294. This piqued my interest, so I tuned it in. It turns out that the ship is a WWII "Victory" class vessel called the S.S. American Victory. The ship is now operated as a maritime museum and they have an amateur radio station on board that operates fairly frequently.
You can learn more about the ship on their website: S.S. American Victory
It took quite a bit of listening and trying, but I finally got through the pile-up, QRM, and fading band conditions, and made contact with an operator named Morris at 1940 with a 5/5 signal report. He told me to send a #10 business envelope for their oversize QSO card. I'm looking forward to seeing it.
I've also decided that the next time I'm in the Tampa area I'm going to visit the S.S. American Victory.

Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week

2009-03-16T09:18:00.003-04:00

The State of Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week for 2009 is the week of March 15 through the 21st. You can find out more information here: Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week You can download publications and brochures with information about how to keep you and your family prepared for an emergency from the National Weather Service by following this link: NWS Publications

Marshall Hamfest

2009-03-15T16:57:00.018-04:00

Before yesterday I'd never been to the Marshall, Michigan, hamfest before. KD8HBZ and I had planned to go last year but we'd had to cancel at the last minute. Earlier in the week things weren't looking good for this year either. I had made plans for the 14th with my son, not realizing it was the same date as the hamfest. Then on Thursday evening he told me that he'd decided he wanted to do something with some friends on Saturday instead, which is fine. He's a teenager. So that left me trying to organize something for the hamfest at the last minute. KD8HBZ couldn't go, he was in Lansing visiting one of the grandkids. N9BAV couldn't go, he was in Arkansas doing whatever it is rich people do with their spare time. KC9FZT couldn't go either, his wife wears the pants in the family and wouldn't let him. Even though it's not that far to Marshall, less than an hour and a half, I just didn't want to go by myself. I thought I knew better than to ask my wife, she gets so bored at gun shows and such. But I asked her anyway, and much to my surprise she happily agreed to go. The hamfest opens at 8am so I was hoping to leave Goshen no later than 6:30am. As it turns out we did manage to leave home by 6:30 but it was almost 6:50 by the time we had procured coffee and such, and were heading out of town. When we got on the Indiana 80/90 Toll Road, all settled in and cruising eastbound, I checked into a couple of repeaters. It wasn't surprising when nobody responded at that time of the morning. Thinking that there might be someone else on 2 meters travelling the interstate I decided to try calling CQ on 146.520 simplex. I turned to my wife and said that there was no way anyone was going to answer, but I was going to call anyway. I was proved wrong when I was answered almost immediately by KC9MQN from South Bend. Over the next several minutes we had a nice QSO as Lisa and I travelled farther and farther east, away from his station. We were about 20 miles apart when we first made contact and at least 40 miles apart when we had to give up. Considering I was operating my Yaesu FT-7800 on 20 watts with a magnetic roof mount antenna, I thought that was pretty good. There was very little traffic all the way to Marshall, and we cruised easily along at the speed limit, arriving at the show at about a quarter after 8. The Marshall Hamfest is a really good show. There was a good crowd on hand when we arrived at 8:15 and by the time we left at about 10:30 it was packed. I had read somewhere that the hamfest is held in a school gym so I wasn't thinking it could be real big. But the show not only filled up the gym, it also covered all the areas surrounding the gym, and several nearby hallways. One of the things that I liked about the Marshall Hamfest was that many of the tables, perhaps a majority of them, were made up of individuals selling their own equipment. I saw lots of neat stuff for sale. Many reasonably priced 2 meter units, and more than a few nice used HF rigs. Test equipment, amps, you name it, it was there. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures. I also ran into some people that I knew, like N8AES. Although I'd talked to him on the air many many times, we'd never met in person and it was nice to "put a face with the voice". I could have spent all day just looking and browsing, but by 10:30 Lisa was getting bored, I had what I needed, and we were both starting to get hungry. So we decided to go. Earlier, while we were on the way to Marshall, we noticed that the exit for M60 was only a few miles south of town. We decided to follow M60 west on the way home and stop off in Three Rivers, Michigan, to visit one of our favorite stores. Lowry's Books and More - Three Rivers, Michigan. Lowry's Books and More is one of the best, if not the best, used book stores I've ever been in. They carry new books, toys, games, magazines, and everything else that a good bookstore carries. But it's the used books that keep me coming back to Lowry's. Since US 131 by-passes downtown Three Rivers I often wonder how many people drive through this town annually not knowing this gem is only a few blocks away? When we arrived at downtown Three Rivers we still hadn't found a likely looking place to eat breakfast. Luckily for us. Because right across the street from Lowry's Books we found the Main Street Cafe (41 N. Main Street Three Rivers, MI 49093 Phone: 269-506-6738). The Main Street Cafe - Three Rivers, Michigan. We both had delicious breakfasts, the service was quick, and it was very reasonably priced. The Main Street Cafe is another good reason to get off of 131 and head downtown when you are in Three Rivers. The trip turned out to be a great day all the way around. We had a very nice drive through some pretty country and enjoyed the beautiful weather. But the reason for the trip in the first place was the Marshall Hamfest, and I discovered that it is a good one. I will definitely be back.

GARC participates in 2009 ARRL International DX Contest

2009-03-08T20:28:00.002-04:00

On the weekend of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 7th through the 9th, several members of the Goshen Amateur Radio Club participated in the 2009 ARRL International DX Phone Contest. Veteran contester N9YOD-John led the effort and was at the club station all three days. I was there for only a few hours Saturday evening, when these photos were taken. There were other club members involved at other times who don't appear in the photos. The GARC is an active and involved club. If you'd like more information visit the GARC website: Goshen Amateur Radio Club Visitors are welcome at any club meeting. N9YOD-John (foreground) and KC9FZT-Rod work the contest in the club shack. KC9NYF-Lisa (left) and KC9LXP-Beth discuss an HT in the club room while soon-to-be-licensed Tim watches the action in the shack. N9BAV-Dan and KC9FZT appear to be mystified by Dan's radio. N9BAV gets down to business on the radio that was set up in the club room so that we could run two radios at once. L. to R. WX9RUB-Bill, N9BAV, KC9LXP, and KC9FZT in the club room. Tim is entertained by the trained chimp we brought in to install radios for the event. W9DAZ-Dave operates while KC9FZT shows his best profile to the camera in the background. N9YOD and W9DAZ work the contest.

Radio Shack HTX-202

2009-02-23T21:29:00.007-05:00

The "new" HTX-202 with the speaker mike, manual, and power cord.

It's fun to get something new. Even if the thing that is "new", is rather old.
Most amateur radio operators are familiar with the HTX-202. I've seen them for sale at hamfests many times, and I've come within an inch of buying one several times before. Then the other day I was looking at the for sale list at QRZ. Someone had one listed in worn but working condition, complete with speaker mike, for $60.00, delivered. I couldn't resist. The Radio Shack/Realistic HTX-202 was made by Maxon in Korea. I've read that the design for this radio was based on a design that Radio Shack had previously purchased from Icom, but I don't know if that's true or not.
The HTX-202 has a great reputation for durability, as evidenced by the reviews at eham.
At 2 9/16" wide by 4 5/8" tall by 1 7/8" deep and weighing in at 19 oz without a battery pack it's big and heavy by today's standards. It is also very simple by today's standards, but it does have CTCSS encode and decode standard. It has 12 memory channels and two "special" channels for calling frequency and home repeater. The transmitter operates at 1 and 5 watts FM (low power and high power modes) on frequencies between 144 and 148 MHz. Antenna connection is a BNC.

The HTX-202. Closer view showing controls.

The radio arrived in the mail today, and it was just as the seller promised. Some exterior wear but solid, battery holds a decent charge, and it works. There was no charger cord included in the deal, but I had one laying around that would work.
I had also downloaded a manual off the internet and put it in a 3 ring binder before the radio arrived. The radio was easy to get up and running, although I struggled with the PL tones for a bit, even with the manual.
However once it was working I went out in the driveway, hooked it up to my vehicle antenna, and checked into the 146.895 repeater. WX9RUB gave me a "in there 100%" signal report. I'll take that for a $60.00 radio.
Where am I going to go from here with the HTH-202? I don't know. I do know that I like the fact that it will operate off of DC power with no battery attached. I've been having trouble finding a 2-meter mobile to mount in my van due to lack of space. This radio may be part of the answer. We'll see.

Motivational Poster - "Basic Math"

2009-02-17T20:45:00.004-05:00

Math is important.....

Product Review - Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio

2009-02-08T16:31:00.011-05:00

One of my earliest, and fondest, radio-related memories is of the time that I received my first real radio as a gift. I still remember the look of excitement, mixed with pride, on my grandmother's face as I unwrapped the package. I can remember the "electronic" smell as I pulled the two styrofoam halves of the box apart to reveal the AM transistor radio inside. I was excited, and I loved that radio. I used it to listen to Cubs games on the playground at recess with the white plastic earpiece. But time passed, and I don't remember what ever happened to that little radio.
I have often felt that a small AM or AM/FM radio would be a handy thing to have in my "Go Bag" for ARES/RACES/SKYWARN. We have battery powered AM/FM/Weather Alert radios at the house for my family to use, of course. But those are all larger radios, bigger than I want to drag along.
When I am out for emergency communications my primary radio is a Yaesu VX-170. My Yaesu VX-3R is used to monitor AM/FM/Weather broadcasts when deployed and to serve as a backup if the VX-170 ever goes down.
One of the main reasons that I bought my Yaesu VX-3R was to use as an AM/FM listening radio that could also work on ham bands. But as it turned out there was a problem with this plan. In their sales literature Yaesu points out that they put a ferrite bar antenna in the VX-3R for better AM broadcast reception, said that it gets great FM broadcast reception, and so on. Well, it turns out that the VX-3R does have great FM broadcast reception, and it even pulls in shortwave from around the world with only an HT antenna. But the VX-3R's AM broadcast reception is lousy. I mean really bad. So I have been concerned for some time now about not having a decent AM broadcast receiver in my emergency kit. Which leads us to the subject of this review.
I happened to be in the local Radio Shack a couple of weeks ago when I saw a small box containing a radio that looked an awful lot like the one that I had when I was a kid, labelled "Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio". You can view the radio on their website here: Radio Shack Model 12-467 With a price tag of fifteen bucks, I couldn't pass it up.

Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio

I brought it home not expecting much, but I could not have been more pleasantly surprised.
First off, the AM receiver seemed very sensitive. We live in a tri-level house. Sitting in my favorite chair in the half-basement level I normally can't get any AM radios to tune much of anything. This one did, right out of the box. I was fooling around with it and was delighted when a station identified itself from Indianapolis! Later that evening I carried it upstairs and found out that not only is it sensitive, but it is fairly selective as well. It did a good job of pulling signals that I wanted to listen to from the background noise. Stations from South Bend and Ft. Wayne were clear and enjoyable. As I dialed around I picked up stations from northeast Ohio, Windsor (Ontario), and one that was broadcasting in French so I assume it was from Quebec.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
It is very difficult to get a radio with a good AM receiver anymore. I've never used an RCA/GE Superadio although I hear that they are great. They are also difficult to find, large, and expensive. I have a Sony tabletop that I bought because they have a reputation for having good AM receivers. While the Sony pulls in stations in my basement pretty well, this little Radio Shack radio does it so much better it's not even funny.
The Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio is also the only radio I have ever tried that will receive AM stations in my office, which is windowless, below ground level, and a huge RF trap.
The FM reception on the little Radio Shack Pocket Radio is fine too. No problem there. But with the tiny speaker don't buy the radio intending to listen to high fidelity music. Keep in mind also that this is a mono receiver, even on FM.
Let's go back to the subject of using this radio in my "Go Bag".
The Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio radio is powered by 3 x AA batteries, rather than a 9 volt battery like transistor radios were in the old days. That's a good thing. My VX-170 and the VX-3R both have AA battery cases to power them in an emergency. So when I set up my "Go Bag" I made sure that everything that is battery powered, flashlights, and so on, all used AA batteries. That way I only have to carry one size of spare batteries. So the Radio Shack Pocket Radio fits right in in this regard too.
So far I've only had good things to say about the R/S AM/FM Pocket Radio. What about the bad points?
I've found that like any other non-digital receiver, once you tune in a station it will drift. You have to be an "active listener" with your thumb on the dial to keep weaker stations tuned in. Sometimes you even have to for fairly strong stations, depending on conditions. It doesn't bother me, but it will some people. Especially those people who didn't grow up in the days when the only radio in the car and the house was a dial-tuned AM model.
I don't know how long this radio will last, and for $15.00 I don't really care. Unlike other, more expensive AM receivers, if something goes wrong with it I'll throw it in the trash and buy another one. In fact, I already do own two of them. One is in my "Go Bag" ready for duty. The other one is getting used around the house, in the yard, and everywhere else my wife (I've caught her using it several times) and I need a radio.
I've seen lots of cheap, junky, low priced radios for sale that aren't worth the plastic they are packed in. The Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket Radio Model 12-467 is a real radio and an absolute bargain at the price.

Motivational Poster - "Survival"

2009-02-08T16:19:00.003-05:00

Motivational poster for the week: Survival!

Zombies Invade Texas!

2009-01-28T21:49:00.004-05:00

Real traffic sign in Texas. No kidding.

Read the story here: Zombies Ahead

Get Well John!

2009-01-10T16:14:00.003-05:00

Well known local amateur KA9SYE - John underwent surgery yesterday.
John is no youngster and I was concerned, as were many other people that I know.
So I am happy to report that I just got off the phone with N9DUZ - Jim, who reports that John is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. This is very good news.
John has been a fixture in the amateur radio community in this area for years. He has been a teacher, mentor, and friend not only to me, but to everyone.
Here is wishing John a speedy and full recovery. Our prayers are with you.
If you would like to send John a card, his address can be found at QRZ

Motivational Poster - "Attitude"

2009-01-06T11:47:00.004-05:00

This week we have a new motivational poster, "Attitude".
You just have to love our men & women in uniform, don't you?

Have a nice day!

New Ham Radio E-Magazine

2009-01-05T08:55:00.003-05:00

There is a new magazine for ham radio enthusiasts to enjoy, called "Ham-Mag".
Produced in France by F5SLD - Vincent, Ham-Mag isn't a publication it's an "e-magazine", available only online.
The best part about Ham-Mag is that it's free.
You can download the first issue by following the instructions at the website. Then you can sign up for a free subscription and subsequent issues will be delivered to your email.
I've downloaded the first issue and it looks pretty good.
Here's wishing F5SLD and his team good luck with their new venture!
Check out the new magazine here: Ham-Mag

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas

The True Meaning of Christmas

2008-12-24T08:32:00.004-05:00

Nothing says "The true meaning of Christmas" quite like; "25,000 lights, 500 blow molds, 35 Airblown inflatables, giant toy soldiers, candy canes and more."

FOX News

You can see more Christmas light displays here: FOX News "Tacky Tour"
And also here: tackylighttour.com

Motivantional Poster - "Teamwork"

2008-12-19T11:07:00.006-05:00

I was browsing some of the zillions of "motivational posters" online the other day and this one caught my eye.

"TEAMWORK"

You can find many more like this hosted at Photobucket

The Boondock Saints was a really interesting movie. After I found this poster I did a little surfing around and found out, much to my pleasure, that the long-rumored sequel is finally in production. An article that I had read about the sequel a few years ago had said that it was not going to happen, so I was very happy to hear about this recent turn of events. You can read an article about the sequel here: All Saints Day

Boondock Saints fan site: BoondockFans

Works in Progress

2008-12-14T11:49:00.004-05:00

It's the middle of December and the weather in northern Indiana is lousy. It goes from windy, blowing snow and freezing temperatures one day to mid 40s and rain the next. Work continues on my Lincoln Highway site. The site started out being about my hometown of Goshen, Indiana and the history of the Lincoln Highway in relation to it. But I ended up finding so many things outside of town that I wanted to write about that I recently started another site called Indiana's Lincoln Highway to document them. Recently I was in Ft. Wayne on business and I checked in "listening" on one of the repeaters. I was answered by KB9OS Larry. It turned out that besides sharing a common interest in amateur radio, we also share a common interest in the Lincoln Highway. I'm constantly reminded that Amateur Radio has a way of making a big world smaller.

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

2008-12-04T21:48:00.003-05:00

This amazing. Enjoy.

The Life and Death Cost of Gun Control

2008-12-02T15:04:00.004-05:00

The other day my wife and I were watching coverage of the recent carnage in India. My wife said, sarcasim dripping from her voice, "Isn't it nice to see how safe all that gun control has made them?".

Today I found this editorial at FoxNEWS.com It is well worth reading.

The Life-and-Death Cost of Gun Control By John R. Lott, Jr. Author/Senior Research Scholar, University of Maryland

Banning guns is in the news. India practically bans guns, but that didn’t stop the horrific Muslim terrorist attacks this last week. A football player concerned for his safety violates New York City’s tough gun control regulations by carrying a concealed handgun, and people call for everything from banning NFL players from carrying guns to demanding that the athlete serve many years in jail. When police can’t promise to protect law-abiding citizens such Plaxico Burress or the victims in India, why don’t we allow people the right to protect themselves? Where is the sympathy or debate in either case over letting people defend themselves? Given that the terrorists smuggled their machine guns in with them, would anyone argue that India’s extremely strict gun licensing and artificially high prices for guns helped prevent the terrorist attacks? In fact, the reverse is more likely the case. Would Plaxico Burress, the New York Giant’s receiver who was arrested yesterday, really have been safer just trusting the police to protect him? Terrorism In India, victims watched as armed police cowered and didn’t fire back at the terrorists. A photographer at the scene described his frustration: “There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything. At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, ‘Shoot them, they’re sitting ducks!’ but they just didn’t shoot back.” Meanwhile, according to the hotel company’s chairman, P.R.S. Oberoi, security at “the hotel had metal detectors, but none of its security personnel carried weapons because of the difficulties in obtaining gun permits from the Indian government.” India has extremely strict gun control laws, but who did it succeed in disarming? The terrorist attack showed how difficult it is to disarm serious terrorists. Strict licensing rules meant that it was the victims who obeyed the regulations, not the terrorists. Academic research has continually found that police are the single most important factor in reducing crime, but police can’t always be depended on to be quick enough. The attack also illustrates what Israelis learned decades ago. — Putting more soldiers or police on the street didn’t stop terrorist’s machine gun attacks. Terrorists would either wait for the armed soldiers or police to leave the area or kill them first. Likewise, in India, the Muslim terrorists’ first targets were those in uniform (whether police or security guards). Terrorists only stopped using machine guns to attack Israelis once citizens were allowed to carry concealed handguns. In large public gatherings, a significant number of citizens will be able to shoot at terrorists during an attack — and the terrorists don’t know who has them. With mass shootings becoming more difficult, terrorists were forced to switch to a less effective strategy: bombs. Bombings are more difficult for armed citizens to stop because they can’t respond after the bomb blows up. Still, even though handguns can only kill would-be bombers before they set off their bombs, during waves of terror attacks, Israel’s national police chief will call on all citizens who are allowed to carry guns to make sure they carry their firearms at all times, and Israelis have many examples where citizens with concealed handguns have saved lives. In their warped minds, both terrorists and the murderers are kamikaze-like killers, who value maximizing the carnage. Even if the killers expect to die anyway, letting victims have guns at the scene can help deter these crimes in the first place by reducing their expected return. Do Football Players Need Self-Defense? Physically huge NFL players admitting they feel threatened by crime? This hardly fits their tough, macho image. Our concern is supposed to be for women walking alone at night. Who can have sympathy for a professional football player such as Plaxico Burress who is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 232 lbs.? Burress, who has no previous criminal record, now faces between three and a half to 15 years for illegally carrying a concealed handgun with him in Manhattan, if convicted. He was arrested Monday and was released on $100,000 bail. — Burress had had a concealed handgun permit in the state of Florida for the last five years, but he forgot to renew it in May this year. While the massive size and strength of NFL players might make them seem like unlikely potential crime victims, their wealth and high public profile nonetheless make them particularly attractive targets for violent criminals. While “only” two players were murdered last year, that means a murder rate of 118 per 100,000 people, compared to 5.9 per 100,000 for the rest of the population. In other words, the rate for NFL players was 20 times higher than the average for the rest of the country. This is even higher than the most at risk segment of the population -– young black males between 18 and 24. It is even higher than the risk faced by police officers. Last year, the Washington Redskins’ Sean Taylor was killed during a robbery at his house. The Denver Broncos’ defensive back Darrent Williams was killed outside a nightclub. As Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber noted, “We are targets, we need to be aware of that everywhere we go.” Yet, the news coverage doesn’t engender much sympathy for Plaxico Burress. So, what do many NFL players do when they realize that their physical strength does not give them enough protection from violent crime? The same thing that many other would-be victims do — they get guns. Well over 50 percent of NFL players are estimated to own guns, somewhat higher than the 45 percent of American adults who own guns. Not everyone approves. Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and former Chicago Bears football coach, advocates banning NFL players from owning guns. Ditka said, “I don’t understand the league, why can anybody have a gun? I will have a policy, no guns, any NFL players we find out, period, you’re suspended.” AOL Sports writer Michael Smith also supports the ban and says, “If you carry a gun around, you’re more likely to hurt yourself than protect yourself.” It would be great if the police were always there to rescue would-be victims, but as the police themselves understand, they virtually always arrive on the scene after the crime has already occurred. Fortunately, just as criminals are deterred by higher arrest rates or longer prison sentences, the fact that potential victims own guns deters some attackers. The Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, which covers almost 30 years, also shows that having a gun is consistently by far the safest course of action for victims. Over the last three or four years, numerous professional players can attest to the benefits of owning guns. For example, Corey Fuller, the 5-foot, 10-inch, 210-pound defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens, was confronted by two armed robbers outside his Tallahassee house. One robber chased Fuller into his house where his wife and children were sleeping, but Fuller was able to grab a gun and fire at the attackers, who then ran away. T.J. Slaughter, a 6-foot, 233-pound linebacker, was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at motorists who pulled up next to him on the highway. Slaughter denied that he had pointed the gun at the motorists and claimed that they had threatened him. No charges were filed, though, possibly following Dikta’s rule, the Jacksonville Jaguars still cut Slaughter the next day. Jacksonville claimed Slaughter was performing poorly. Professional athletes’ physical strength hardly makes them immune to crime. Take a couple additional examples. – The Oakland Raiders’ Javon Walker (height: 6-3, weight: 215 lbs.) was robbed and beaten this past June while visiting Las Vegas. He was hospitalized with a concussion and facial injuries. – The Houston Texans’ Dunta Robinson (height: 5-10, weight: 184 lbs.) was robbed by two men in his home a year ago. The robbers bound him with duct tape and stole jewelry. Unfortunately all of the nation’s four leading pro-sports leagues — the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball — trivialize the athletes’ concerns over safety. The NFL’s official advice: “In some circumstances, such as for sport or protection, you may legally possess a firearm or other weapon. However, we strongly recommend that you not do so.” The league advocates passive behavior when confronted by a criminal. Fred Taylor (height: 6-1, weight: 228) a running back with the Jacksonville Jaguars made the point clear: “League officials tell us we need to take measures to protect ourselves. But the NFL says we can’t have guns in the facility –even in the parking lot. Crooks know this. They can just sit back and wait for us to drive off, knowing we won’t have anything in our vehicle from point A to point B.” Even professional athletes are not supermen. T.J. Slaughter expresses no regrets for having a gun despite running afoul of political correctness and being cut by the Jaguars. He says, “I believe legally owning a gun is the right thing to do. It offers me protection. I think one day it could save my life.” It seems a lesson that many who are not quite as strong can also learn from. Toys R Us The media can’t be blamed for some of the left out information and misimpressions about guns. For example, the news coverage over the weekend about a shooting at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert, California gave the wrong impression about guns. It seemed the perfect fit –- two couples squabbling over who would get a toy resulting in a deadly shoot out. Surely this demonstrated the dangers of letting people have guns for self defense. But political correctness made it difficult for local authorities to even admit a simple and important fact — the two couples were members of rival gangs. As Palm Desert city councilman Bob Spiegel told The L.A. Times, there were apparently “two rival groups shopping at the store.” Even stories that mentioned the gangs often left the mention until the end. Unfortunately, commentators at places such as the Huffington Post confuse letting gang members and law-abiding citizens carry guns. As one remarked: “does anybody still think concealed weapons laws are a good idea?” But in contrast to gang members, data for states like Florida or Texas indicate that concealed handgun permit holders lose their permits for any gun-related violation at hundredths or thousandths of one percent and even then usually for very trivial, non-threatening violations. Conclusion When police can’t promise to protect law-abiding citizens such Plaxico Burress or the victims in India, why don’t we allow people the right to protect themselves? Unfortunately, bans do more to encourage crime than prevent it.
John Lott is the author of Freedomnomics and a senior research scholar at the University of Maryland.

Being Thankful

2008-11-27T17:37:00.010-05:00

I love Thanksgiving Day. In fact, I believe it's my favorite holiday.
Having said that, I'm not going to try and write something profound. Basically because I'm not capable of profound thinking to begin with. But it is Thanksgiving Day and I feel compelled to write something, especially this year.
Elkhart County, Indiana, where I live, is the "RV manufacturing capital of the world". At this time last year we had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. But soaring fuel prices over the last year hit the RV industry hard and now Elkhart County has the highest rate of unemployment in Indiana and the surrounding counties aren't doing much better. That is a tremendous change in only one year. Needless to say it's been quite a shock to the system for everyone around here because, one way or another, virtually every business is effected when the RV industry suffers.
So what does all this have to do with Thanksgiving? My wife and I both happen to work jobs that are not dependent on the fortunes of the RV industry. I don't think that I have ever appreciated what a blessing it is to have a good, secure job until now. Right now. This year. It took watching other people suffering misfortune to make me appreciate what I have.
Do I really deserve to have it so good? My parents divorced when I was eight. I barely remember it. My sister, who lives outside of Louisville with her family, is three years older and remembers more of those days. Although they remained civil towards each other after the separation, there was no love lost between my parents for a long time. Eventually they both remarried and now they have both outlived their second spouses. At age 49 I feel really blessed to still have both of my parents. Both still live alone. Both are still active. Both are still sharp and really fun to be around. Dad is 84 and Mom is 79. For years my wife, my son, and I had to have two Thanksgivings. One with Grandma and one with Grandpa. Same with every other holiday. It was difficult and awkward. Then suddenly, a couple of years ago, we had to go to my sister's for a family event. Mom and Dad were both too old to go alone and my family has a van. So out of necessity we traveled together. We had fun. Today, Mom graciously invited Dad to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad's sister, another senior who lives alone, was included too. We had an absolutely wonderful time. We talked about old times. We laughed a lot, ate too much, and remembered all of those members of our family that have gone before us.
I am very thankful to have the family that I have. My parents, my wonderful wife, and my son (who at this very moment is sitting beside me watching Jeopardy! as we do most nights). These truly are the best years of my life.
My parents are retired and live on fixed incomes, usually just making it from one month to the next. My wife and I live from paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get out from under the mountain of debt that we we selfishly saddled ourselves with. But we all realize that with the way things are right now, we're much better off than lots of other people.
With all of this in mind we talked things over at the holiday table today. This year we have decided to forego giving Christmas gifts to each other (except for the kid, he still gets his). Instead we are going to donate the money we would have spent on each other to local charity. It's not going to solve all the world's problems, it's just our way our way of being thankful.

So That's A Meteor, Eh?

2008-11-24T11:07:00.004-05:00

I'm sure that many of you have seen this already. But it's just too good not to share here. A real, live, actual meteor captured by a police dashcam as it plunged to Earth in Canada (it's actually in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan, but I didn't want to have to spell "Saskatchewan", so I just put "Canada" instead). Cool, eh?

Read more here: Canadian Meteor

Updates, Whining, Excuses

2008-11-24T08:18:00.004-05:00

My regular readers (both of you) may have noticed that I haven't made any new posts for awhile. I can assure you that isn't due to a lack of interest on my part. I have several new articles semi-prepared just waiting for me to get to them. It's the getting to them that is the problem.
I'll skip all the normal whining and excuses, and just bring you up to date on a few things.
Thing 1. In my preview of the Yaesu VX-8R I said that I was going to make every effort to get my hands on one at the Fort Wayne Hamfest, and then bring you an update. Due to a death in the family I was unable to attend the Ft. Wayne Hamfest, therefore I do not have the promised update. I apologize for this, but the circumstances were beyond my control.
Thing 2. One of my other pursuits, besides amateur radio, is learning about local history. I have also lately become interested in the history of the Lincoln Highway. Recently I combined the two and started a website that looks at the Lincoln Highway in relation to my hometown of Goshen, Indiana. You can view the site here: Goshen's Lincoln Highway Getting the Lincoln Highway site off the ground has been quite time consuming. However, in a few months it will be more-or-less "finished" and it will be back to business as usual here.
In the meantime, keep watching this blog. I'll get new stuff up here as often as I can.

To Honor All Veterans

2008-11-11T08:47:00.003-05:00

To all those who have served - We thank you.

To all those who did not return - We will never forget you.

Spiny Norman
Goshen, Indiana
Veteran's Day 2008

Happy Birthday USMC

2008-11-10T12:36:00.004-05:00

Today, November 10th, 2008, is the 233rd anniversary of the founding of the United States Marine Corps.
I am proud to count myself among those who have served their country as a member of the Marine Corps from 1978 to 1984.
To all those Marines past and present, I say "Semper Fi!".

RACES Participates in Disaster Drill

2008-11-08T16:56:00.005-05:00

When the Elkhart County Emergency Management (EMA) needed communications support for a mock disater drill today, Elkhart County RACES was there to provide it for them.

RACES Incident Commander N9BAV Dan in the Command Vehicle.

Elkhart County EMA Incident Command Vehicle.

Several Members of the ARES/RACES team braved the blustery conditions to participate in the drill. A desire to serve others a willingness to help protect the community have long been a part of being an amateur radio operator. Today in Elkhart County was no different.

Members of the team in the staging area ready to be deployed. (Shown from l. to r.; WD9HHS John, N8FHX Ray, KC9CDS Roger, K9MV Paul)

KB9AVS Steve manning a roadblock during the drill.

Swing-A-Way #407 Can Opener - Product Review

2008-11-06T16:06:00.010-05:00

I have reviewed lots of different products since I started blogging several years ago. Most of the reviews have been about guns, shooting equipment, cameras, ham radio equipment, even flashlights. But I believe I can safely say that this is the first time that I have ever reviewed a can opener.
So why am I doing it? Simple.
The Swing-A-Way "Portable Can Opener" Model #407 is such a superior product that I felt compelled to write about it.

Swing-A-Way #407 Can Opener (Swing-A-Way Photo)

Like many people I find myself bothered by the steady decline in quality of everyday products. With each passing year it becomes more difficult to find things that actually do the jobs that they are designed to do, or that work for any reasonable period of time at all. This includes products that are sold under brand names that used to stand for quality.
In the space of about two years our family has gone through at least four can openers. One was an expensive electric one that never worked as designed, then promptly broke. The next one was a sliver colored metal thing that Mrs. Spiny Norman picked up at the grocery store. It was dull, would not cut, and the gears would not turn the can. It was awful. Then one day she brought home a can opener that looked like the model that is the subject of this review. I remember that she remarked at the time that this one was much more expensive that the cheesy silver colored one, but it would be nice to have a can opener that worked. Unfortunately, the blade was dull, it would not cut, and the gears would barely turn the can against the blade. After only a few weeks of use it fell completely apart. Having been riveted together, it was not repairable. It may have looked like a Swing-A-Way can opener, but it was marked "Made in China". So it was back to the cheesy silver thing (also made in China) for our family until we could find one that worked.
For awhile I actually took to opening cans in my kitchen with a John Wayne. The John Wayne may not be fast, but it works!
Note: If you don't know what a John Wayne is or why it opens cans, you're obviously some kind of liberal weenie and shouldn't be reading this. You're better off over at The Huffington Post lapping up your daily ration of fear and hate mongering with all the other brain-dead zombies.
Then, just when all seemed lost, good fortune smiled upon me.
While visiting New Haven one day I stopped by Paterson "Do it Best" Hardware (880 Hwy 930 East New Haven,IN 46774).
Paterson Hardware is one of those neat, old-fashioned hardware stores that has everything. So while I was there I decided to check the kitchen section for a decent can opener. They had a selection of several, but the Swing-A-Way Model #407 caught my eye. You could tell just by looking at it that it was better made than the others. Heavier construction, bigger, deeper, sharper gears. When I saw the American flag and the words "Made in USA" on the package, I didn't need to look any further. I paid $7.99 plus tax for it, which I feel is a bargain considering the fact that we paid nearly four dollars for the cheesy silver thing, more than that for the other one, and Lord knows how much for the electric one. With proper care there is no doubt that the Model #407 will last a lifetime. So even though you might pay a little more for it, in the long run it's a much better value for your money.
How does it work? Great. It rips through lids like they're not there. What else can I say? The Swing-A-Way "Portable Can Opener" Model #407 is a clearly superior product that is sold at a reasonable price, and it's made in America.
If you're tired of chintzy can openers that don't work, buy this one.
You'll be pleased with the product, and you'll be supporting American workers in the bargain.

November Campfire

2008-11-05T16:00:00.005-05:00

We have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather lately here in Northern Indiana. Temperatures have been in the 70's during the day and only dropping into the 40's at night.
Last evening KD8HBZ and his wonderful wife Debbie had Mrs. Spiny Norman and I over to celebrate my birthday.
They live in a neat old farm house located in the country just outside of Mottville, Michigan. We took advantage of the weather and had a campfire.

A November campfire in Michigan. Sorry for the poor photo, it was taken with a cellphone.

Imagine.
It was November the 4th, 8 pm, in Michigan, and the temperature was 50 degrees. There was just a hint of a breeze, and the sky was crystal clear.
Ray & Debbie have a son-in-law who works at a lumber yard. He brings home piles of scrap lumber to burn in the fire pit. This is no ordinary firewood, mind you. Most of it is very nice hardwood, very nicely dry. The aroma of the woodsmoke from the fire was wonderful.
A good campfire is one of those simple pleasures that we just don't seem to get around to enjoying as often as we should.
Thanks, Ray & Debbie, for a very enjoyable evening.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T08:35:00.007-04:00

It's Halloween.
Again.
Halloween is not my favorite holiday.
I feel that we spend far too much time and effort on Halloween, as evidenced by the lavishly decorated homes in our community. At the same time important holidays such as Veteran's Day are largely ignored.
But that still doesn't change the fact that there will be children running around everywhere today and this evening.
Children whose minds are focused on just about everything except their own safety.

So while you are out and about today:

Drive safely.

Watch out for kids.

Expect the unexpected.

Don't drink and drive.

And on a lighter note -

Whatever you do, don't leave alcholic beverages within reach of your pumpkins!

Have a Safe & Happy Halloween!

What Little Girls Do To Make Their Dads Proud!

2008-10-30T09:52:00.006-04:00

Is this a great country, or what?

A tip of the horned helmet to Bob for turning us on to this video.

Yaesu VX-8R - Preview

2008-10-28T10:45:00.005-04:00

If you're a regular reader of this blog (and there actually are some of you out there) you have probably noticed by now that I like Yaesu handheld amateur radios. I now own three of them and I can assure you that it is not because of pure, blind, brand-loyalty.
I own three Yaesus because every time that I have identified a need for a new HT, I have made up a list of the features that I wanted and so forth. Then I've gone out and comparison shopped. In all three cases Yaesu had what I needed and at the right price. Furthermore I have been very satisfied with the performance of my three Yaesu HTs, all of which are different models; an FT-60R, a VX-170, and a VX-3R.
So when I first heard about the new VX-8R I was extremely interested.

Yaesu VX-8R handheld amateur radio. Yaesu Photo.

Universal Radio has had a description of the VX-8R on their website for a couple of months now. But I wanted to wait until Yaesu posted it at their site before I mentioned it here. Today I see that they finally have.
Rather than copy/paste all of the specifications here I'll provide links that you can follow: VX-8R at Yaesu Website VX-8R at Universal Radio
In reading the descriptions it sounds like the VX-8R combines several of the best features of all three of my current HTs into one. Let's hope that they got it right.
Yaesu usually has a display and factory representatives at the Ft. Wayne Hamfest. Hopefully some dealers there will have them by then too. I'll try to get my hands on one at the show and file another report then.

Update 11/24/08 - See update to this article here: Updates, Whining, Excuses

Fishermen Catch a Dog in the North Sea

2008-10-24T14:58:00.006-04:00

For once, a little good news!
This is one of those genuinely heartwarming and yet still incredible stories that I just love to read about. Follow the link below to read about it in the UK's Daily Mail.

Link: Fishermen Catch a Dog!

Photo from UK Daily Mail

One Year Anniversary

2008-10-19T18:28:00.004-04:00

It's been one year since I received my Technician Class license and became an amateur radio operator.
My first contact was with K9MAK Mark on the 145.430 AA9DG repeater on October 18th, 2007.
That contact was made on the only radio that I owned at the time, a Yaesu FT-60R.
When I operated at home back then I used a 50 foot length of coax to connect the FT-60R to an Arrow Antennas J-Pole antenna that was mounted on the roof of my house. I used it mobile in the car with an MFJ mag mount antenna, still do for that matter.
Since then I have acquired more radios and lots more equipment. I've upgraded my license to General Class and now operate on high frequency. But most importantly I've made many new friends.
Amateur radio is a great hobby, rewarding in so many ways. My only regret is that I didn't start out at this much earlier in life, instead of waiting until I was in my late forties.
If you've ever thought about getting involved in amateur radio, don't wait. Do it. If you have any questions about how to get started contact me: w9daz@arrl.net I'll be glad to help.

Kzoo Hamfest Was A Good Time

2008-10-13T10:45:00.038-04:00

Yesterday was the Kalamazoo, Michigan, hamfest.
N9BAV, KD8HBZ, and I got up bright and early to make the trip. None of us had ever been to the Kalamazoo hamfest before. But we'd heard good things about it and it's located relatively close by, so we decided to attend.
We discovered that Kzoo isn't a real big hamfest, but it is a very nice one. The show is held in a nice facility, it's very well organized, and everyone staffing it was very friendly and helpful. To top it all off the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful, sunny, autumn day.
Like any good day we started our trip with a healthy breakfast.

We enjoyed breakfast at Mar-Jo's West in downtown Schoolcraft, MI

Mar-Jo's West is one of those restaurants that just looks like a good place to eat. Located right on US 131 (325 South Grand Street Schoolcraft, MI 49087 TX 269-679-5422) you pass by it whenever you go through town. Many times Ray and I had looked at Mar-Jo's West and said "we ought to eat there sometime". So Dan, Ray, and I decided to make it our breakfast stop on the way to Kzoo. As it turns out, it was a good decision. We had a great meal and terrific, friendly, service in a very nice restaurant. Just the way to start the day.
I've already given you an idea of what the hamfest was like once we arrived. But when I mentioned earlier that it wasn't a real big hamfest, I didn't mean that it was a little one either. There was plenty of good stuff to see there, both in the large indoor hall and the outdoor tailgate area.

N9BAV perusing the indoor hall at the Kzoo Hamfest.

For me, part of the fun at hamfests has always been meeting people. One of the more interesting persons that I met at Kzoo was KA5S.

KA5S with his portable HF CW rig at Kzoo.

KA5S was walking around with a portable HF outfit that would be neat if he was just using it for HF phone. But what really made this outfit unique was the fact that it was fitted with a set of paddles and he was using it for portable CW. I appreciate KA5S taking the time to talk to me about portable CW operation, and for allowing his picture to be published here.

Closer view of the KA5S portable HF CW rig, showing the paddles.

Once we had seen everything in the hall we headed outside to the tailgate area. As I mentioned before the weather was gorgeous, so we browsed at our leisure. I always like the tailgate area of hamfests because you see such a wide variety of things. Ray is one of those mechanically minded guys who can fix anything. It never ceases to amaze me the number of obscure old mechanical devices that he can correctly identify at a show like that. What's even more fun is listening to him think up a practical modern day use for them. Dan is an engineer who works for a company that makes electronic controls. He's also a whiz with computers and digital devices. Since hamfests always have lots of computer related equipment for sale, Dan is very interesting to be around as well. I really enjoy listening to my two friends as they look over and discuss all of the stuff on display at these shows.

Ray and Dan looking things over outdoors.

We all found some bargains and had a good time attending the hamfest.
When we left the show we decided to take Business 94 through town and then get on the Red Arrow Highway and follow it west to M40. We could then take M40 south back to Indiana and avoid some construction detours we'd encountered on the way to the hamfest.
Lucky for us we did.
As we were headed west on Stadium Drive (Red Arrow Highway), shortly after crossing US 131, we ran across a place called Red Arrow Cigar & Spirits. Red Arrow Cigar is a very nice shop filled with domestic & imported wines and beers. They also have nice wall humidor of fine cigars.

Red Arrow Cigar & Spirits. Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Best of all is the the cigar lounge. Filled with leather furniture, a fireplace, and a large flat-screen TV, it is comfortable and well ventilated. So we topped off a perfect day by enjoying a fine cigar in comfort.

The Kzoo hamfest was a good time.
I'm already looking forward to next year.

Kalamazoo Hamfest

2008-10-09T08:40:00.004-04:00

Sunday October the 12th is the Kalamazoo, Michigan, hamfest. N9BAV, KD8HBZ, and I have decided to make the trek up there.
None of us have ever been to this particular hamfest before, and we were all a little hesitant to go because we're all trying to save money for the Ft. Wayne hamfest that's coming up in November. We know from experience that Ft. Wayne is a good one. But we've heard good things about the Kalamazoo show, it's relatively close (about an hour and a half or so), and Kzoo is a real nice town to visit. So we're going.
More information about the show can be found here: Kzoo Hamfest
If you're going to be there and you feel like introducing yourself, please do. One of the things (if not the thing) that I love most about ham radio is meeting people and making new friends.
Our group keeps in touch with each other on 147.555 simplex when we're at hamfests. Give us a call if you're there.

Phoenix Lander Sees Snow On Mars

2008-09-30T10:38:00.004-04:00

I found the following article to be of great interest. I thought that you might too.
The Phoenix lander continues to find more evidence of past water on Mars as, and it has now also seen actual snow falling in the Martian atmosphere. One might also take note of the fact that the Phoenix lander, like the rovers Spirit and Opportunity before it, is now performing it's mission well past the time that it was designed to last.

Article is courtesy of FOX News:
Mars Lander Finds Evidence of Past Water, Spots Snow
Tuesday , September 30, 2008
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has discovered more evidence of past water at its Martian landing site and spotted falling snow for the first time, scientists reported Monday. A laser aboard the Phoenix recently detected snow falling from clouds more than two miles above its home in the northern arctic plains. The snow disappeared before reaching the ground. Soil experiments revealed the presence of two minerals known to be formed in liquid water. Scientists identified the minerals as calcium carbonate, found in limestone and chalk, and sheet silicate. But exactly how that happened remains a mystery. "It's really kind of all up in the air," said William Boynton, a mission scientist at the University of Arizona at Tucson. • Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center. Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic plains in May on a three-month mission to study whether the environment could be friendly to microbial life. One of its biggest discoveries so far is confirming the presence of ice on the planet. Scientists long suspected frozen water was buried in the northern plains based on measurements from an orbiting spacecraft. The lander also found that the soil was slightly alkaline and contained important nutrients and minerals. Scientists think there could have been standing water at the site in the past or the ice could have melted and interacted with the minerals. "Is this a habitable zone on Mars? I think we're approaching that hypothesis," said chief scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We understand, though, that Mars has many surprises for us and we have not finished our investigation." Mars today is frigid and dry with no sign of water on the surface, but researchers believe the planet once was warmer and wetter. NASA extended the three-month mission through the end of the year if Phoenix can survive that long. With summer waning, less sunlight is reaching the spacecraft's solar panels. Phoenix will be out of touch with ground controllers briefly in November when the sun is between Earth and Mars, blocking communications. Scientists are racing to use the remaining four of Phoenix's eight tiny test ovens before the lander dies. The ovens are designed to sniff for traces of organic, or carbon-based compounds, that are considered the building blocks of life. Experiments so far has failed to turn up definitive evidence of organics.

Kyle Is Now A Hurricane

2008-09-27T17:58:00.007-04:00

Another hurricane, and this one might make landfall in New England.
Read the latest update from FOXNews: Hurricane Kyle Forms in Atlantic, Puts New England on Watch
Saturday , September 27, 2008
Associated Press Eastport, Maine — A rare tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were posted for parts of the Maine coast on Saturday as Hurricane Kyle roared north toward the region with a threat of conditions similar to one of New England's nor'easter storms. "Hurricane season isn't over, " said Maine Emergency Management Agency director Rob McAleer. "It's been a very active season." It was Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere in New England, a hurricane warning was posted for Nantucket Island off the coast of Massachusetts in September 1996, according to the weather service office in Taunton, Mass. Two to 4 inches of rain had already fallen along some coastal areas by midday Saturday, and the storm was expected to deliver an additional 2 to 4 inches, said Eric Schwibs of the weather service in Gray. At 5 p.m. EDT, Kyle was centered about 315 miles west-northwest of Bermuda and 485 miles south of Nantucket, Mass., the National Hurricane Center said in Miami. The storm had top sustained wind near 75 mph and became a Category 1 hurricane Saturday afternoon. It was moving north over the open Atlantic at 23 mph. Kyle's center was forecast to be near eastern New England or the Canadian Maritime provinces late Sunday, the hurricane center said. The hurricane center posted a hurricane watch from Stonington, at roughly the center of the Maine coast, to Eastport, on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. A tropical storm warning extended from Port Clyde, about 50 miles northeast of Portland, to Eastport. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions, with winds of at least 74 mph, are possible within 36 hours. A tropical storm warning means conditions for that type of storm, with winds of 39 to 73 mph, are expected within the next 24 hours. Kyle could make landfall near Eastport, possibly late Sunday, the hurricane center said. That would put the storm's strongest wind in New Brunswick, rather than in Maine, which would get conditions more akin to "a garden variety nor'easter," Schwibs said. The government of Canada issued a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning for southwestern Nova Scotia, and a tropical storm watch remained in effect for the rest of Nova Scotia and southwestern New Brunswick. The weather service also issued flood watches for the southern two-thirds of New Hampshire and southern Maine through Sunday evening. McAleer said the storm's biggest threat in Maine would be the potential for high waves and small stream flooding. "We urge everyone to pay close attention to weather warnings, and stay away from any flooded roadways, or fast-running streams," McAleer said. The Coast Guard prepared crews and equipment for the storm and urged boat owners to secure their vessels in anticipation of high wind and seas that could run 10 to 20 feet high off shore. Eastern Maine's power company, Bangor Hydro-Electric, said it prepared for potential outages and planned to have additional crews on duty.

Hurricane Kyle-3 Day Forecast Track (NWS)

Here is the public advisory from the National Weather Service:

000 WTNT31 KNHC 272032 TCPAT1 BULLETIN HURRICANE KYLE ADVISORY NUMBER 9 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL112008 500 PM AST SAT SEP 27 2008 ...KYLE BECOMES A HURRICANE...TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED FOR A PART OF THE COAST OF MAINE... A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF MAINE FROM STONINGTON EASTWARD TO EASTPORT. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. AT 5 PM EDT...2100 UTC...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT ALONG THE COAST OF MAINE FROM PORT CLYDE EASTWARD TO EASTPORT. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF MAINE SOUTH OF PORT CLYDE TO CAPE ELIZABETH...INCLUDING THE PORTLAND AREA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA HAS ISSUED A HURRICANE WATCH AND A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN NOVA SCOTIA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF NOVA SCOTIA...AND FOR SOUTHWESTERN NEW BRUNSWICK. AT 5 PM AST...2100 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA HAS DISCONTINUED THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR BERMUDA. INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN NEW ENGLAND AND THE CANADIAN MARITIMES SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF OF KYLE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 500 PM AST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE KYLE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 34.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 69.7 WEST OR ABOUT 315 MILES... 505 KM...WEST-NORTHWEST OF BERMUDA AND ABOUT 485 MILES...780 KM... SOUTH OF NANTUCKET MASSACHUSETTS. KYLE IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 23 MPH...37 KM/HR. A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF KYLE IS FORECAST TO BE NEAR EASTERN NEW ENGLAND OR THE CANADIAN MARITIMES LATE SUNDAY. REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KYLE IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205 MILES...335 KM MAINLY TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER IS 995 MB...29.38 INCHES. TIDES OF 1 TO 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER LEVELS IN THE BAY OF FUNDY...AND ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES....ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COASTS OF OF NEW ENGLAND AND THE CANADIAN MARITIMES IN ASSOCIATION WITH KYLE. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES...NEW BRUNSWICK...NOVA SCOTIA...AND PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. REPEATING THE 500 PM AST POSITION...34.3 N...69.7 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTH NEAR 23 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...995 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 800 PM AST FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 1100 PM AST. $$ FORECASTER BEVEN

Montana Ham Assists In Rescue Of Fellow Amateur 600 Miles Away

2008-09-27T01:12:00.004-04:00

This incredible story comes from The ARRL Letter:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 27, No. 38 September 26, 2008. MONTANA HAM ASSISTS IN RESCUE OF FELLOW AMATEUR 600 MILES AWAY On Sunday, September 21, Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana, was just tuning around on 40 meters, giving his rig a test just before a scheduled QSO with his brother Rich, K7URU, in Spokane, when he heard a faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT): Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and was using a portable radio and Morse code to send out a call for help. Williams said he was able to understand the injured man's code even when his signal became very weak. "He called me. He must have heard me testing out the radio. When I finished, I signed off with my call, and then I heard, 'N7ODM, this is W7AU/7,' so I answered," Williams told the ARRL. "I told him to go ahead, I had solid copy. He told me that he was a hiker that had fallen and broken his leg. He identified himself as Russ, provided information as to his GPS coordinates, the shelter, food and water on hand, as well as his detailed physical condition. He told me exactly who I needed to contact for assistance." According to Williams, Ruby had slipped on a wet rock and broken his leg while out hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the high Cascades in Western Washington, 600 miles away from Williams. "Russ really had his act together," Williams said. "Before he even called for help, he set up his tent. It was raining when he fell, so he climbed into his tent and got into some warm clothes and had a snack of sunflower seeds and dried apricots. After that, he strung up a wire antenna, fired up his Elecraft K1 and called me." Williams said that Ruby told him he had a "couple of weeks worth of battery power" for the radio. Ruby asked Williams to notify the Snohomish County Search and Rescue in Washington State. "I didn't have their number, so I called my local 911 dispatcher. All they had was the info for King County in Washington, so I called them and they gave me the number for Snohomish. When I got a hold of Snohomish County Search and Rescue, they asked me to obtain additional info from Russ, such as the color of his tent and if he was in a clear or wooded area, and remain in contact with him as long as possible," Williams said. "Russ and I were able to maintain contact until about 8 PM on Sunday, during which time I was able to pass additional traffic between Russ and Search and Rescue, but then his signal got so weak where I couldn't copy it anymore. Before he faded, we had agreed to try and make contact in the morning. I tried, starting around 6:30, but he never heard me. I finally heard him calling me around 9 on 7.051 MHz. We kept in contact until he was evacuated from the site by Search and Rescue at about 10:35 AM," Williams told the ARRL. On Sunday, rescue crews reached Ruby, who had set up camp on Buck Creek Pass, at about 6000 feet just west of the Chelan County line. He was taken to safety Monday on horseback. Williams said that bad weather Sunday prevented a helicopter rescue: "It was snowing all night; Russ told me that when he woke up Monday morning, his tent was all covered in snow." "I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams said. "It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great. It was quite an experience. I'm just glad that he was a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It made the difference for him. What I did was not anything special. I'd like to think that any ham in Montana would've done the same thing."

Finally! A Sunspot Emerges!

2008-09-23T21:25:00.005-04:00

Is Cycle 24 finally beginning to warm up?
Below is a report from Kevin VE3EN from his outstanding website: SOLARCYCLE 24.COM
You can check out Kevin's site for all of your solar and aurora needs.

Here is his article:

Cycle 24 Sunspot 1002 Update 09/23/2008 by Kevin VE3EN at 14:10 This morning (Tuesday at 14:00) the new solar images show 1002 losing most of its flux regions and starting to fade. The new Cycle region that I first reported Sunday night grew into a small Sunspot cluster during the day on Monday. Towards the later part of Monday it had lost some of its flux region, however Sunspot 1002 remained a small sized spot cluster. This is the first real decent sign of Cycle 24. . This region was classified Monday as an eight-spot Dso Beta group with new Cycle 24 polarity. Some reports including the Mt. Wilson drawing showed 7 spots. The big question is now... when will the next Cycle 24 show itself?

Updated: Cycle 24 Photo Timeline http://www.solarcycle24.com/sc24.htm

Yaesu FT-450

2008-09-21T15:19:00.011-04:00

I added another piece of equipment to my station last week, a major one at that.
The decision to do so came as a result of something that I've been mulling over since I started operating on HF.
I bought a brand-new HF radio.

New and improved shack. HF rack on right holds ( from top to bottom, L to R) ICOM IC-735 xcvr, PS-55 power supply, Yaesu FT-450 xcvr, LDG AT-100Pro tuner, Astron PS-35 power supply, Radio Shack power supply.

Although I didn't really need a new HF radio, there were many reasons that I decided to get one.
Back when I first got my technician's license I ran right out and bought an HF radio with the intention of using it on 10 meters. The radio that I bought was a really nice ICOM IC-735 with a matching PS-55 power supply.
Considering my complete lack of knowledge and experience at the time I feel like I made a pretty good choice. But life happens and I never got around to using it on 10 meters as a tech. It ended up sitting a shelf collecting dust until I recently upgraded my license to general. When that happened the IC-735 was quickly placed into service and it worked.
I made contacts with it, even when using substandard, makeshift antennas. With limited funds and limited time I felt fortunate just to have an HF radio.
Then when I added the RadioWavz 40 Meter dipole antenna the performance really improved. But I still wasn't entirely satisfied, and I wanted a 6 meter radio. The IC-735 will not do 6 meters.
I had looked at some nice, classic, used 6 meter units. But by the time you would pay the $350-450.00 to get one of those stand-alone units you could be a long way towards a new HF radio that included 6 meters.
So taking everything into consideration I decided to buy a new radio.
The choice of which new radio to buy was a fairly easy one to make. I liked the ICOM IC-718 but it doesn't do 6 meters so it was out. Everything else that ICOM makes was too expensive. Alinco didn't have anything that I was interested in. The Kenwood TS-480SAT looked like a possibility, but it is expensive for what it is. Which brings us to Yaesu.
With the exception of one, all of the new radios that I've purchased since becoming a ham have been Yaesu products. That has not been a deliberate choice made out of blind brand loyalty or anything. It just seems like whenever I compare features and price, Yaesu always seems to have what I want. The same turned out to be true this time.

Yaesu FT-450.

The Yaesu FT-450 had all of the features that I was looking for and the price ($650.00) was less than anything else I would consider buying. So it was the FT-450 for me.
There have been plenty of technical reviews written about this radio by people who undoubtedly know lots more than I do, so I'll just give you my impressions.
First off, it's a small radio. In some of the reviews that I have read they made a big deal about that. It is a small radio, but not like an FT-817 or FT-857 is small. This is still a "full size" category unit in my mind. "Compact" maybe. I couldn't see this radio being used as a mobile in a car, but it would be great mounted in an RV.
I love the digital display. Everything is arranged conveniently for the operator to see. Especially all of the filters and DSP functions, which are visible on the left side of the display. For someone like me, who isn't always exactly sure which filter to use in any given situation, it's nice to be able to see a graphic representation of them on the display as you make adjustments. That way you can learn very quickly when to use the various features.

Left side of the display showing settings for filters and DSP.

Speaking of filters and DSP, I can hear very, very, well with this radio. Once I find a signal I can usually eliminate a good part of any noise that is present. I have also not had any problem being heard, getting good signal reports from everyone that I have called so far.
Something else that I really like about the 450 is the microphone. It's a full-size, hand-filling unit that is made for actual adults. While I have to admit that it looks a little bit out of proportion when compared to the rather compact radio, it feels great in your hand.
As many others have mentioned in their reviews, I found the built-in speaker to be small and kind-of tinny. So I'm running the sound through an external speaker now and it was a huge improvement.
I also don't like the smallish VFO knob. You can use the "DSP/SEL" knob to tune in 1.5 MHz increments, then use the VFO knob to fine tune. This was fairly easy to get used to but still. The little, cheesy, plastic feeling VFO knob could use some improvement. Having a nice, full-sized, VFO knob would give the radio a whole different feel.
The radio also badly needs a flip-down bail or some sort of support that could raise the front when the unit is being used on a low shelf or a tabletop.
Aside from these few complaints, I'm very happy so far. As a casual operator, the radio does everything that I need it to do, and does it very well indeed.
Very compact, and offering excellent performance at a very low price, I feel that the FT-450 is a real bargain in a high frequency transceiver.

RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole - Final Thoughts

2008-09-17T10:07:00.008-04:00

UPDATE: See Related Posts: RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole Is Operating

Last evening I was playing around with my brand-new Yaesu FT-450 HF radio (more on that in a future post), which was attached to the RadioWavz 40 meter dipole. Forty meters was really noisy with foreign broadcast stations, and 20 meters didn't have much happening. So I went up to 80. Soon I found two stations in Wisconsin having a nice ragchew session with each other. I tuned the antenna up with the LDG 100Pro and when they took a break I gave my callsign. The three of us ended up having a very pleasant conversation.
In the two weeks that I have been using it I have found that the RadioWavz 40 meter dipole works really well for the job that it was constructed to do. It is a great 40 meter antenna. But it has also proven itself to be very versatile. I have made several contacts on 20 meters with it and now I've made one on 80 as well. Even though I didn't use it to make any contacts on 15 meters it will tune on 15 too.
At this point you might be saying to yourself that a good antenna tuner will tune almost anything, so what? Why do you keep going on about this antenna?
Good question, and I have an answer.
I decided to post these final thoughts about the antenna because it has proven to be so versatile. Much more so than I had been lead to believe. Also, because it is small and very lightweight, it will work in many limited space applications where a longer multiband antenna like a G5RV might not.
Since this antenna has a balun as the center section you only need to run your coax to the center balun connect it. You don't have that length of balanced line that runs down from a G5RV-type antenna to contend with which, again, might be an issue in limited space situations or when installing in an attic.
The bottom line? I think that (keeping in mind you must use a tuner) the RadioWavz 40 Meter dipole is a great all-around HF antenna for limited space applications or temporary installations like a camp or on field day.
My original plan had been to do a "quick-n-dirty" install of the RadioWavz 40 to get on the air until I could get something better set up.
As it turns out, it works so well that I have no immediate plans to replace it at all.

Stuff For Sale

2008-09-10T22:15:00.052-04:00

THE W9DAZ FOR SALE PAGE

This page will be updated frequently, so if an item is listed here it's probably still available. If you want to buy something, or ask questions about an item, email me at: dz986@comcast.net I'll get back with you as quickly as possible.

Nothing currently listed for sale.
Please check back again soon.

RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole Is Operating

2008-09-07T20:18:00.014-04:00

UPDATE: See Related Posts: RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole - Final Thoughts

Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of some much needed rain. But conditions had cleared up nicely by 0900 when N9BAV Dan arrived. The sun was coming out, it was cool, and a little breezy. Perfect conditions to install the RadioWavz 40 Meter dipole antenna.
Being the "go-getter" types that we are, we left the project sitting, got in the van, and drove to the Olympia to have some breakfast.

The "quick-n-dirty" antenna mast.

Eventually, though, we got around to installing the antenna.
We had decided to do a quick-n-dirty installation using one of the posts from the chain link fence to help support the mast. That way I could try the antenna out in the "inverted-V" configuration, tweak it as needed, and get used to using it.
Then we can make a more permanent mast and mount later.

The top of the "V" is 33' above the ground.

The installation was done by about 3 PM, and for a thrown together job it really doesn't look that bad. The mast is a total of 34 feet high. The top of the antenna "V" is 33 feet above the ground. The antenna is fed by 90 feet of LMR 400 coax. When the install was done we went in the shack and hooked it up to my IC-735, via the LDG AT-100Pro tuner.
I already had the radio on 20 Meters so I surfed around 20 for a bit. There was a station from Northern Ireland coming in really strong but there was a big pileup that I couldn't get through. So I switched to 40.
Forty meters was alive up and down the band with the Tennessee QSO party. I heard a station (who was coming in pretty weak) calling CQ and answered him. He answered at once and gave me a 5/9 signal report. A little bit further up the dial there was another station from this same contest. This guy was coming in very strong and clear. He also had a pileup going. I got through the pileup the second time that I tried, and he gave me a 5/9 signal report. I worked one more Tennessee contest station and then cleared off for awhile.
About an hour later I went back to the radio and spent awhile listening on 40. After 2 stations finished a long QSO the frequency that they had been on went quiet for a few minutes so I called CQ. I was answered by a station in Baltimore, MD, with another 5/9 signal report.
I've also spent some time listening on 80 Meters and it was receiving very well. I was also able to tune the antenna on 80, however I did not try making any contacts.
Yesterday I told you that the RadioWavz 40 Meter dipole appeared to be a very well constructed antenna. Today I can tell you that it works very well on 40 Meters. Although I have not yet checked SWR without the tuner on 40, I can tell you that the tuner did not appear to have to "tune" when I pushed the tune button, it just indicated that SWR was already OK.
Overall I'm very pleased so far with the RadioWavz 40 Meter dipole. It seems to work very well for it's intended purpose.

RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole

2008-09-06T19:08:00.018-04:00

UPDATE: See Related Posts: RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole Is Operating RadioWavz 40 Meter Dipole - Final Thoughts

"Sheer luck!"
That was Bob's reaction when I told him about how I had made a 20 Meter contact with a station in Miami, using a 102" steel whip for an antenna and received a 5/9 signal report in the process.
I had stopped in to Phil's Ham Radio Store in New Haven, Indiana, as I often do when I am in the Ft. Wayne area. Phil Hooper AB9IZ runs a nice shop there. I enjoy dropping by, having a cup of coffee, and talking to Phil and his partner Bob. Bob Helt NY6J has probably forgotten more about radios and their operation than I'll ever know. So I had hit him up for free advice (to go with the free coffee) about where I should go next with HF antennas at my station.
When I told Bob that after talking with Charlie N9BIF I was thinking about going to a real simple wire dipole, probably cut for 40 Meters. Using my tuner I could use the wire antenna for 20 and 40. I would then have a suitable antenna for everything from 10 through 40 Meters, which are all of the frequencies that I am most likely to use right now. Bob thought it was a good idea too.
During the course of our conversation we were looking at the construction of a RadioWavz 40 Meter wire dipole antenna. It's a decent looking antenna. It seems to be well constructed, and very well sealed from the elements. I ended up leaving with it.
Dan N9BAV and I are planning on doing a "quick-n'-dirty" set-up tomorrow. I'll play with it some, then maybe we'll go to a cleaner, more professional installation later. I'll post an update when the antenna is installed and working.

The RadioWavz 40 Meter wire dipole antenna.

Closer view of the antenna.

Note the construction and weatherproofing.

Insulator at the end of the wire.

SO-239 connector at the bottom of the balun.

Turkeys In The Wire!

2008-09-05T13:50:00.006-04:00

Our family had a pleasant surprise this morning.
I looked out the back window and saw a flock (I guess that's what you call it) of wild turkeys strutting around in our back yard.

These are only a few of the dozen or so turkeys that visited our family this morning. I couldn't manage to get a shot of them all.

I can't say that this came as a complete shock because we have seen these beautiful birds around the neighborhood many times before. Two or three years ago it was just a pair. Now there are several.

The Wild Turkey is a beautiful bird. I am glad to see their species making such a comeback.

The surprise was the fact that they were inside the fenced-in portion of our yard. It was so cool. I barely had time to grab a camera (my S5-IS), then try to change the settings to make up for the low light. They were moving quickly when the spotted us. So needless to say I didn't get any good shots. The images shown here are the only ones that are even worth looking at. Regardless of how the photos turned out though, it was a thrill.
Even though it has been unseasonably hot lately, you can start to feel a hint of fall in the air up here in northern Indiana. Our visit from the wild turkeys this morning made it feel even more like Autumn is right around the corner.

Large Hadron Rap

2008-09-01T20:30:00.006-04:00

The unthinkable has happened.
I started watching a rap video and made it all the way through. Normally I can take about the first minute (or less) of a rap video, then I'll have to change the channel. But "Large Hadron Rap" by 23-year-old Michigan State University graduate and science writer Kate McAlpine is no ordinary rap video.

The lyrics of the particle physics rap are focused on the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.
I found the video to be incredibly entertaining as well as educational. Just plain fun.
Judging by the fact that the video has been viewed over a half-million times on YouTube, with more people watching every hour, it appears that I am not alone in that regard.
Enjoy.

New Solarcon A99 Antenna

2008-09-01T15:42:00.019-04:00

After KD8HBZ Ray and I made the made the upgrades to the old 102" whip antenna on Saturday, N9BAV Dan and I got together on Sunday and installed a new Solarcon A99 antenna.

The new Solarcon A99 installed at my QTH.

The Solarcon A99 is a CB antenna, so you may be asking yourself why an amateur radio operator would be installing one. After all, lots amateur radio operators don't want anything to do with CB, many of them to the point of being nasty about it.
I'll try to answer that question in two parts.
The first answer is that the Solarcon A99 is not just a CB antenna. If you read the description of the antenna at the link above it states, "Operates 10 thru 17 Meters with Tuner." The instructions that that come with the antenna list it as a "Ham, CB, Commercial" antenna and include instructions for cutting the antenna to the proper length for various bands and tuning it with the tuning ring feature. I had intended to buy one of these ever since I bought my ICOM IC-735 HF radio, back when I had a Technician license. At that time I was only going to use it as a 10 meter antenna. However I feel that it is such a versatile antenna that it was still worth getting even though I can now operate on many more frequencies than just 10 meters. The second reason for getting the A99 is that I do have a CB in my station. I feel that there are many reasons why an amateur radio operator should have a CB in their shack, the main one being emergency communications. In a disaster situation when all other means of communication are out, many citizens are going to try and use CB radios to communicate. They may need to call for emergency services, report dangerous conditions, ask for road closing information, or any number of things. If those of us in amateur radio who are tasked with emergency communications can't talk to people with CBs, I feel that we are really dropping the ball. I'm also not afraid to admit that I enjoy taking on the CB from time to time as well. There are still plenty of decent CB operators out there that enjoy a pleasant QSO.
So I felt that the A99 was a good fit for my station at this point in it's development.
Dan and I found the Solarcon A99 to be extremely easy to install. It went together in minutes. We mounted it on the roof of the house on a 3 foot TV antenna tripod on a 7 foot mast, which left the base of the antenna about 5 feet above the peak of the roof. It's fed with 60 feet of RG-213 coax.
Since this is a CB antenna and comes factory tuned for 11 meters, I decided that the first test after installation should be to hook it up to a CB.

The Cobra 19 LTD II and Aries SWR 450 SWR/Power meter and matcher. Used as a CB base station at my amateur radio station.

My CB "base station" is an old Cobra 19 LTD II paired with an Aries SWR 450 SWR/power meter and antenna matcher. The radio is powered by an Astron RS-12A power supply. There was no need to use the matcher with the A99 antenna. Right out of the box it had 1:1 SWR on channel 1, and 1.3:1 on channel 40. When I switched to channel 20, the middle of the band, it gave an SWR reading of 1:1. You can't do much better than that for an out of the box antenna with no tuning at all. I called for a radio check on channel 19 and got three replies all at once. All were loud and clear. I didn't experiment any further at that point. Then we hooked it up to my IC-735, via the LDG AT-100Pro autotuner. The A99 tuned a 1:1 SWR across the General portion of the phone band on 10, 12, and 15 meters. I was also able to tune all of the General potion of the Phone band on 17 meters but got a 1:3 SWR on most of it. Conditions were horrible at 2 PM on a crystal clear 90 degree afternoon, and I wasn't able to hear anything on any of those bands let alone make any contacts. Later in the evening, after dark, I turned on the IC-735 again. The lower bands were still dead. So I went to 20. There wasn't much action on 20, but it had been the same way the night before. Then I went to 40. Wow. I was not only listening to lots of QSOs on 40, but foreign broadcast stations were coming in too. Really well. Like they were local. Most of the QSOs on 40 were real weak, but one was fairly strong. The station that I could hear well was in New Mexico and he had a pile-up of stations calling him. Just for fun I tried tuning the A99 on that frequency and got a 1:1 SWR! The AT-100 was able to tune the A99 on 40 meters! So the next several times that the station in New Mexico said QST I tried to call, but I wasn't able to break through the pile-up. That was the only station that I tried calling. But I did spend the rest of the evening listening, and the A99 was pulling in stations from everywhere. It was fun. Up and down the bands I got broadcast stations on AM, FM, and shortwave from everywhere.
I'm very happy with my purchase of the Solarcon A99. It was relatively inexpensive, very easy to assemble and mount, and seems to work very well for it's intended purpose. Under the right conditions it appears that it will do more than it was intended to as well. Even though the antenna is 18 feet tall it doesn't weigh much, has low wind loading, and can be mounted using just about anything.
I'm sure that a Solarcon A99 will never be my main station antenna, but it will be an important part of my antenna system for a long time to come.

Weekend Antenna Upgrade

2008-08-31T17:01:00.007-04:00

As I had mentioned in a previous post it turns out that an old 102" steel whip antenna that I have mounted on a chain-link fence actually works as a HF antenna.
I had been planning on getting rid of this antenna when I installed a Solarcon A99. But since it turned out to be so useful I decided to just keep it where it is. Even when I eventually get better HF antennas installed I'm going to keep that old whip for a back-up.
With that in mind, KD8HBZ Ray and I spent a few hours improving the whip antenna's installation yesterday. We replaced the antenna's 1" diameter mast with much stronger 1 1/4" diameter tubing. We also doubled the height of the mast. The antenna is now 20 feet above the ground instead of the previous 10. Last, but not least, it got 50 feet of brand-new RG-213 coax with Amphenol connectors.

Whip antenna is barely visible atop new 20' mast. Patio rug and furniture covers are drying on fence.

The result is a higher, straighter, stronger, much better looking installation. But more important than that, performance was improved. I could hear many more QSOs on 20 and 40 than I could with the previous installation. Again, this is a low-cost, low-tech antenna. So the performance is relatively low as well. But it works remarkably well for what it is, and in my mind that makes it worth talking about.

Contact!

2008-08-28T19:52:00.016-04:00

I've had my General Class license for several weeks now, but so far I had not made use of my newly earned high frequency privileges. Although I had owned a nice high frequency radio for months, anICOM IC-735 with matching PS-55 power supply, I had not got around to getting any sort of suitable antenna up for it.

ICOM IC-735 HF radio and LDG AT-100Pro autotuner are on top shelf. PS-55 on bottom. Small power supply powers the tuner.

There are so many different choices available that it is hard for the beginner to know where to start. So I was very happy when my good friend K9BIF Charlie offered to come over and look at my antenna plan for the station. After looking over my set-up Charlie pointed out several potential problems with my original plan for a long wire antenna. He offered an alternative plan that makes much more sense. But it will likely still be a few more months before we can make that one happen. So while we were looking things over Charlie spotted an old 102" steel whip antenna that I have attached to a chain-link fence out back. He asked if I had ever considered using my antenna tuner to tune the whip antenna for HF use. My response was something along the lines of "never in a million years".

The 102" steel whip antenna mounted on the chain-link fence.

Needless to say, of course, it works.
Who would have thunk it?
A lowly old whip antenna attached to a chain-link fence with conduit and hose clamps.
Using my LDG AT-100Pro autotuner the whip antenna can be tuned to use all of the general portion of the phone band on 10, 12, 17, 20, and 40 meters, part of 80 and even a tiny bit of 160. What really matters though, is that it turns the old whip antenna into an actual, usable, 20 meter antenna. That evening, a few hours after Charlie left, I decided to check the conditions on 20 meters. It only took a couple minutes to find an ongoing QSO between two other stations. I used the AT-100Pro to tune on that frequency (which takes about 2 seconds) and waited for an opening. When they stopped talking for a moment I gave my callsign. One of the stations answered me at once, KD4WET in Miami, Florida! My first HF contact, a distance of 1,146 miles, with a signal report of 9 (strength) with some slight distortion. That's with 100 watts of power, and using an old steel whip antenna clamped to a chain-link fence!
So let's review the timeline here; 1.I bought that radio last November with the intention of using it on 10 meters until I could upgrade my license to General, 2.I was not able to buy an antenna and get one up so it sat, 3.In the meantime I upgraded my license to General, 4.Still waiting to get the "ideal" antenna set-up the radio sat some more, 5.Finally someone comes along and points out that a perfectly useable antenna has been bolted to my fence the entire time!
Is it a great antenna? No. Is it even a good antenna? No. It's actually a pretty lousy one. But it works well enough to get me on the air until I can get something better going. That's the point.
Since I got started in amateur radio I have read all sorts of articles about antennas. Most of them end by saying something like; "experiment, experiment, experiment". Well, that's the lesson that I have finally learned from this experience. I had been reading the words, I just didn't see the practical application of them, literally, right in my own back yard.
It took an "old hand" with some an experience and wisdom to get me pointed in the right direction.
Thanks Charlie.

Elkhart County ARES / RACES Serves The Community

2008-08-23T20:58:00.014-04:00

The Humane Society of Elkhart County held their annual "Strut Your Mutt" dog walk today. The event was held at Bonneville Mill County Park and members of Elkhart County ARES/RACES were there to provide emergency communications.
Amateur radio operators volunteer many hours each year providing communications services for all sorts of civic events. KB9BBI did a good job of organizing this event for ARES/RACES and everything went well. My friend N9BAV was net control, and I was his backup.

We set up the command post under a shade tree beside the river and enjoyed the day.

Dan ran his Yaesu FT-7800 on our main frequency from the hood of his truck. We ran my Yaesu FT-60 HT, with a mag mount roof antenna, on the backup frequency.

Dan has a nifty 2m J-Pole antenna mounted on a painter's pole for portable field use. It's perfect for jobs like this one. This was a very enjoyable event to work communications for. The weather was beautiful, and our efforts went towards a good cause.

Antique Mall Finds

2008-08-16T15:43:00.006-04:00

The weather was beautiful in Goshen, Indiana, this Saturday morning. Sunny, warm but not hot, almost no humidity, just a lovely day. Mrs. Spiny Norman and I had long list of things that we needed to get done. But we said to heck with it and went out to breakfast instead. It was a good breakfast too, at one of our favorite places, the Olympia Candy Kitchen in downtown Goshen.
After we finished eating my wife wanted to do some shopping at her favorite clothing stores so I decided to poke around in the Goshen Antique Mall. The Goshen Antique Mall is an interesting place to visit. It's a large building filled with booths that are maintained by individual antique dealers. The staff is very friendly, and there is lots of good stuff to look at.
I was happy to find 3 of the "Little Golden Books" series that I used to love when I was younger. Much younger. I wore out a couple copies of "The Sky Observers Guide" when I was a teenager.

My Antique Mall Finds

In another booth I was pleased to find a 1960 edition of ARRL's "The Radio Amateur's Handbook" at a reasonable price. The book is very interesting and lots of the information contained is more relevant than I first thought it might be. It's also fun to read the ads from those days.
The Goshen Antique Mall is a neat place. If you are ever in the area you ought to consider a visit.

How To Solder - The Basics

2008-08-05T20:01:00.005-04:00

Soldering is one of the skills that every amateur radio operator needs to know. Unfortunately it's something that isn't routinely taught in school, or other youth activities like it used to be.
I found this video while browsing YouTube the other day. It's very well done, concise, and accurate.
I hope that you find it as useful as I did.

Wicked Weather In Illinois and Indiana

2008-08-05T15:27:00.005-04:00

A powerful storm passed through our area last night, keeping the amateur radio operators of IMO Skywarn on their toes. Not to mention that it kept Spiny Norman up past his bedtime! The very same storm that swept through Wrigley Field in the video above, continued on into north-central Indiana. Luckily for us it had spent much of it's energy by the time it arrived here. But it was still a powerful storm, generating a terrific lightning show, loud claps of thunder, and torrential rain. I was standing alone in the middle of the intersection of CR 1 and CR 30 as the front of the storm crossed into Elkhart County from the west. The giant, curved, cloud wall illuminated by the almost constant flashes of lightning was an awesome spectacle. I stood out and watched, probably longer than I should have, until the rain came. When it started raining I went south on CR 1 towards Wakarusa. When I got to CR 38 I cut over to CR 3. While I was on CR 38 between CR1 and CR 3 it rained as had as I have ever seen it rain in my life, and I've seen it rain in Thailand and the Philippines. Thankfully Elkhart County was spared the brunt of the storm which appeared to go south of us, again. We've been lucky this storm season.
Let's hope that luck holds.

New callsign, new blog.

2008-08-04T17:59:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the new site. As you can see it's just like the old site, only the name has changed. My new callsign was recently approved by the FCC. So I wanted to change the name of the site. Along with the site name change, I wanted to change the URL. To make a long story short you pretty much have to start a new blog to get a new URL address.
So I did!
Enjoy!