May 23, 2006
Well, my dad and I went to Dayton, OH to Hamvention, and I think I brought back more than a new radio… I’m not feeling the greatest. I think it’s just allergies, but it’s sure laying me out today. It’s been two days since we got back and I still haven’t unpacked my radio! Man, that’s just wierd.
Anyhow, I picked up a new Yaesu FT-817. I also picked a few “accessories…” antenna tuner, balun, a bunch of connectors, etc. I also picked up an Arrow Antenna for doing some low earth orbit satellites.
Update:
So, apparently it’s more than allergies… I brought back a sinus infection and a double ear infection! Fun…
Well, I just got a lesson in proper electrical grounding last night. Tonya woke up in the middle of the night to hear a “clicking” sound coming from the GFI outlet in our upstairs bathroom. As it turns out, I just happened to be transmitting on 40 meters (around 7.200 khz). The clicking and poppings sounds culminated in the GFI actually tripping, though the clicking didn’t cease.
When we remodeled our upstairs, I took stock in that bathroom’s wiring. I almost updated it, but we weren’t working on the bathroom, so I left it alone. The previouso owners of the house had remodeled that bathroom a number of years ago and, at the time, there was no grounding system for the house. Code requires a GFI in the bathroom, and a GFI requires, well, a ground! Since there was no ground, the electrician connected the GFI’s ground connection to the water pipes.
Which, coincidentally, I also did for my radio… in the basement. Now, there’s a quite a distance from my water meter (where my radio’s ground is connected) to the ground pole. I do have a solid copper line running from the water pipe ground to the ground rod (as per code), but I think it’s too long to be running the radio on. Basically, my ground wire has become part of the antenna. That’s not good.
So I think I’ll be getting a ground rod tonight and driving it into the ground closer to the side of the basement where my radio is. Then I’ll run a copper line between it and the other ground rod. Wonder what that’s going to cost me…
May 9, 2006
Well, I got on the air this last weekend, thanks to my dad and my friend Korey. I made my first QSO with NK7U in Baker City, OR. He (and the contacts to follow) were doing a contest, so I pretty much settled for contest contacts. Not a bad way to get contacts in the log book, but I was itching for ragchew. Well, tonight I got one… but not over voice.
I had also been itching to get on the digital radio modes. However, my radio is an old tube type analog unit. Now, I’m sure I could hook my laptop directly to it with no problems, but that whole “RF” thing kinda scares me (I like my laptop, I’d like to keep it). Now, Tube or Solid State alike, most guys recommend separating that computer from the radio with some sort of isolation. A transformer, a photocoupler - anything.
Costs money - takes time (gotta order it online - Radio Shack sells cell phones). Not for me! I needed instant gratification! (not a trait I plan on passing on to my kids).
Well, I figured out how to get digital radio to work using a slightly different form of isolation - AIR!
It turns out that my studio headphones fit perfectly over my radio’s microphone!
I simply play the digital audio off the computer through the headphones and into the mic! Of course keying the transmitter is a touchy issue. These fancy schmancy new solid state rigs have auto- “push to talk” where the computer keys the transmitter. Not for me! The good ‘ole index finger does the trick. And the mic button can stay pushed to free up my hands for typing!
May 3, 2006
… and then shortly after, he peed on the dinning room floor. But, hey, he went to Tonya after that and said, “I peed!” I think we’ve had a break through!
And it was cheap! $10! It’s the imfamous “Pixie II”, the world’s smallest tranceiver (CIA gadgets not withstanding). It’s basically an oscillator on a switch with small audio amp. It’s been around for a while (since 1995, I think), but it really helped the “Altoids Can” QRP radio revolution take off.
Now that I have my full license, I can take this little rig out in boonies and work stations around the world with a radio that fits in my front pocket. How cool is that? The only catch there is that I have to get my Morse Code up to snuff. I can do 5 WPM, but that’s just painful. It takes 2 minutes to say “My name is Paul and I live in Normal, IL.” Ugh!
This weekend, my Dad (WB9YWE) is going come over and help me get my antenna tuned up for transmit! I’m actually going to use that old Yaesu Tempo One! The thing’s older than I am, but still seems to work well.
