The title of the post says it all! I have not had the desire to get out and do any QRP/p operations. The weather has been crazy hot with no relief in sight. It's odd even for NW Florida because we don't have this type of weather until late July time frame.
Field Day is this Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it. I will be joining the South Alabama Radio Club http://www.wc4m.net/. As of right now I will be the only CW operator. I plan on taking the night shift on Saturday night. This will allow for a nice and quiet time to operate. Plus I'll be able to hit 40 & 80 hard! One of the other benefits is that it won't be nearly as hot as during the daylight hours. I will have pictures and a full report to post once I get home on Sunday.
Both Mike KJ4LZD & John KJ4KRU are on the air! It's been great helping them setup their gear and hearing them enjoying the local repeaters. I have three other friends that I work with that are looking to take their exams here shortly. Furthermore my farther in law is almost ready to test! He lives in Oregon and I know from experience that some of the best repeater activity in the States is in the Willamette Valley, which is where is is located. 70-90 mile repeater contacts are normal in that area. I'll have a full report once we get him licensed.
Keep those radios one the air and hope to work you soon. 72
Steve
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Rain...
I had planned on getting out and operating portable this weekend but it is raining. Not just a little but typical Florida rain. I had hoped to set up on Postal Point this weekend. PP is a park on base that has a swimming area, playground, horeshoe pit etc. The best part is that the water is salty which means a lot of fun with QRP and vertical antennas. Whenever the weather cooperates I'll head down there and try to make a few contacts.
Mike KJ4LZD is setting up his station this weekend. He will be using a Kenwood 2m tx and a copper J pole antenna. I hope to hear him on the local repeaters today.
Not much else to say right now, because not much is going on. Best of luck and 72.
Steve
Mike KJ4LZD is setting up his station this weekend. He will be using a Kenwood 2m tx and a copper J pole antenna. I hope to hear him on the local repeaters today.
Not much else to say right now, because not much is going on. Best of luck and 72.
Steve
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Weekend Update
Mike and I went to the PARC (Ft. Walton Beach, FL) test session this past Saturday. Mike is a good friend of mine and a fellow Marine. I have talked to him about becoming an Amateur Radio Operator for a few months. About 3 weeks ago I gave him a testing date and study material and told him to get ready.
We met up at 0730 at the Waffle House to eat breakfast and drink some coffee. It was a good chance for him to ask any last minute questions that he had. We also had a great oppurtunity to talk about how crazy the last couple of weeks at work had been.
At 0830 Mike sat down and took his Technician exam. I took the oppurtunity to stand outside and B.S. with some of the Hams that I knew. About an hour later Mike came out of the exam smiling. Mike said he did well and that he passed.
Fast forward to yesterday. Mike and I looked him up in the database and sure enough there was his name and brand new call sign. KJ4LZD. I made a joke that I would now be calling him KJ4LZD "The Lizard". He got a chuckle out of that.
If you are in NW Florida keep your ear open for our newest ham. Good job Mike and now its time to get after learning the code!
Steve
We met up at 0730 at the Waffle House to eat breakfast and drink some coffee. It was a good chance for him to ask any last minute questions that he had. We also had a great oppurtunity to talk about how crazy the last couple of weeks at work had been.
At 0830 Mike sat down and took his Technician exam. I took the oppurtunity to stand outside and B.S. with some of the Hams that I knew. About an hour later Mike came out of the exam smiling. Mike said he did well and that he passed.
Fast forward to yesterday. Mike and I looked him up in the database and sure enough there was his name and brand new call sign. KJ4LZD. I made a joke that I would now be calling him KJ4LZD "The Lizard". He got a chuckle out of that.
If you are in NW Florida keep your ear open for our newest ham. Good job Mike and now its time to get after learning the code!
Steve
Friday, May 8, 2009
Busy Part II
The last few weeks have been crazy. All I can say is that I am glad it's over. Between all of the prep that went into the memorial and the working groups this week I have not had anytime for HAM radio. I hope to put a stop to that ASAP.
If I'm not mistaken, Dayton is coming up shortly. I would love go and with a little luck I might be able to put something together. What an experience that would be.
I have not QA'd my PFR-3's BLT yet. I hope to get a chance to work on it this weekend. There may not be anything wrong, but my gut tells me that I did something wrong during the construction. The transmitter and receiver are working perfect which I am very happy about. I'll post more info shortly along with the test QSO's that I made with it on 20, 30 and 40m.
Tomorrow morning I am taking a friend of mine to the local test session. His name is Mike and with any luck he'll be a licensed ham tomorrow.
72 for now.
Steve
If I'm not mistaken, Dayton is coming up shortly. I would love go and with a little luck I might be able to put something together. What an experience that would be.
I have not QA'd my PFR-3's BLT yet. I hope to get a chance to work on it this weekend. There may not be anything wrong, but my gut tells me that I did something wrong during the construction. The transmitter and receiver are working perfect which I am very happy about. I'll post more info shortly along with the test QSO's that I made with it on 20, 30 and 40m.
Tomorrow morning I am taking a friend of mine to the local test session. His name is Mike and with any luck he'll be a licensed ham tomorrow.
72 for now.
Steve
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
PFR-3 Complete!!!
I completed my PFR-3 last night. I will post some pictures and a report once I get the receiver aligned. I'm planning on doing it this evening. More to come...
Pictures below.
Steve
Pictures below.
Steve
Thursday, April 16, 2009
PFR-3 Build
Slow & steady is the best way to describe my build of the PFR-3 (http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html). I am making good progress and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I completed Group 3 (to include the Smoke Test) and half of Group 4 this evening. To finish up Group 4 I have 7 toroids to wind, tin and solder to the board.
Winding toroids does not scare me but, but it is tedious work. I use the Sierra build method of tinning the toroid leads. It is a different in that instead of scraping and tinning, you burn the enamel and then solder to the board. I have not ran into a problem with "improper leads" or cold solder joints so I will continue with the status quo. If you know of a better method, please do not hesitate to let me know!
I am really excited about finishing up with the project and getting it on the air. I hope to use it for Field Day in the Single Op, Single station, QRP w/alternative power category. I don't know what the official name of that is but I've still got time to research prior to the start.
I hope all is well with you and your's and look forward to working you soon! Best of luck and 72!
Steve
Winding toroids does not scare me but, but it is tedious work. I use the Sierra build method of tinning the toroid leads. It is a different in that instead of scraping and tinning, you burn the enamel and then solder to the board. I have not ran into a problem with "improper leads" or cold solder joints so I will continue with the status quo. If you know of a better method, please do not hesitate to let me know!
I am really excited about finishing up with the project and getting it on the air. I hope to use it for Field Day in the Single Op, Single station, QRP w/alternative power category. I don't know what the official name of that is but I've still got time to research prior to the start.
I hope all is well with you and your's and look forward to working you soon! Best of luck and 72!
Steve
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Busy...
Work has been really busy as of late. We are coming into the home stretch on our preparation for the annual EOD memorial. It is a very nice ceremony that celebrates the life of our fallen EOD warriors. More info can be found here http://www.eodmemorial.org/.
I have been working my way through the PFR-3 build. I have completed all steps through the Smoke Test 2. I have not conducted the Smoke Test 2 yet, so results will be forthcoming. I can't wait to get this rig on the air!
A good friend of mine recently tested for his Amateur Radio license. He passed it on the first try. His name is John KJ4KRU. Look for him on the air as he is most interested in CW. I am helping him to learn the code and hopefully will have him on 40m soon.
I've got 3 other guys that I work with that are going to take their test on May 9th at the Playground ARC in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. With any luck they'll make it without any problems. More info on the exam session can be found at http://www.w4zbb.org/. I'll post a report on how the exam session went.
I'm going to try and get out this weekend with the kids. We have had a lot of rain lately. If the rivers have dropped I will probably take them to the Blackwater. Of course I'll take along a radio and try to make a few contacts.
72
Steve
I have been working my way through the PFR-3 build. I have completed all steps through the Smoke Test 2. I have not conducted the Smoke Test 2 yet, so results will be forthcoming. I can't wait to get this rig on the air!
A good friend of mine recently tested for his Amateur Radio license. He passed it on the first try. His name is John KJ4KRU. Look for him on the air as he is most interested in CW. I am helping him to learn the code and hopefully will have him on 40m soon.
I've got 3 other guys that I work with that are going to take their test on May 9th at the Playground ARC in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. With any luck they'll make it without any problems. More info on the exam session can be found at http://www.w4zbb.org/. I'll post a report on how the exam session went.
I'm going to try and get out this weekend with the kids. We have had a lot of rain lately. If the rivers have dropped I will probably take them to the Blackwater. Of course I'll take along a radio and try to make a few contacts.
72
Steve
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