Saturday 29 December 2012

How to build an antenna switch

the bands are full of competitions today so I gave up after a few seconds.

not my thing at all.

so, as I'm planning a second antenna, a Windom off centre fed dipole, to get 80m and improve 40, I'm going to need a switch, right?

so after extensive research......

OK, I asked on the QRZ.com Homebrew & kit projects forum....

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?371010-can-I-use-mains-light-switches-for-coax-switch

so, those smart folks say that it's OK to use a mains light switch to direct the RF.....

so, first I need a metal case.....

it's been on top of the kitchen cabinet for a year, so it won't be missed by my very understanding XYL

mark it out.....

and drill a few holes.....


a dremel tidies the holes and the used sockets I got off ebay are attached...

then the switch....

its a 3 gang 2 way switch.....

so I reckon I can feed one line in, then the first gang directs the signal to one or the other of the remaining switches, giving 4 outputs.;.....


so, from the input socket to switch 1 then from the 4 outputs of switch 2 & 3 to the 4 sockets on the lid.....  I know the metal case should carry the ground, but I put a wire on as belt & braces..... (no flash... sorry!)


then, all assembled and testing for continuity......





so now that I know it switches as I had intended, I can mark on the switches so I know what goes where.....


and a rear view for the input




as Master Yoda would say..... pleased with this I am!!


Now to get the antenna sorted!!

Friday 28 December 2012

A few days, and a bunch of CW QSOs around Europe


HB9QR Switzerland
S57KW Slovenia
9A203ST Croatia
PA1CC Netherlands
DF5WDE Germany
DL1DUS Germany
RU4NAM Russia
II0ELET Italy
DK3QQ Germany
F5OWL France
S555E Slovenia
UA3RF Russia
SM5CQR Sweden
ON800TUR Belgium


Thursday 27 December 2012

So, summing up 2 months on HF.......

Bands:
10m   5
15m   1
20m   633
40m   21

modes
SSB   580
CW   81

countries.....
 these from eQSLs list.... don't complain and say that the Azores count as Portugal, OK??
 Also, only folks registered with eQSL count for the countries worked  certificates.....

and I've had a few SWL reports too, so they throw the numbers out a little too!

    AUSTRIA 3
    AZORES 2
    BELARUS 1
    BELGIUM 10
    BULGARIA 1
    CANADA 2
    CANARY ISL. 1
    CROATIA 4
    CZECH REP. 6
    DENMARK 2
    ENGLAND 5
    FINLAND 1
    FRANCE 22
    GERMANY 68
    GREECE 3
    ICELAND 2
    IRELAND 1
    ITALY 41
    KALININGRAD 1
    LATVIA 1
    LUXEMBOURG 4
    MONTENEGRO 1
    MOROCCO 1
    NETHERLANDS 42
    NORTHERN IRELAND 2
    NORWAY 6
    POLAND 9
    PORTUGAL 5
    ROMANIA 5
    RUSSIA (ASIATIC) 3
    RUSSIA (EUROPEAN) 15
    SARDINIA 3
    SERBIA 1
    SLOVAK REP. 1
    SLOVENIA 12
    SPAIN 22
    SWEDEN 3
    SWITZERLAND 7
    UKRAINE 8
    USA 16
 so that's 40 then......

10 US states:
Coneticut
Delaware
Illinois
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pensilvania
Vermont

 and the distance top 20?


PT0S St Peter & St Paul Rocks 3943
KC9KBB USA IL 3869
W8PT USA OH 3414
5N4EAM Nigeria 3372
AF3R USA DE 3308
RC9O Russia 3297
AA3B USA PA 3252
N2NC USA NJ 3206
K2WCT USA NJ 3184
K2QBV USA NY 3152
K2TQC USA NY 3147
K2WY USA NY 3096
K1PUG USA CT 3085
KB2UZY USA MA 3052
K1RAW USA MA 3000
KB1VXH USA MA 2996
W1KBN USA MA 2986
WB1GQR USA VT 2970
KB1CSI USA NH 2966
VE1ZA Canada 2594





Monday 24 December 2012

Christmas eve, and a few QSOs splattered around the day.

two firsts in one QSO.  a first on15m and a first into Montenegro.  403A


OE3CDS Austria
EB3DYS Spain
OK7FL Czech Rep
IK5OJB Italy
DL5YYM Germany
I1ZML Italy
S53KP Slovenia
HB9CCL Switzerland
F5LTZ France
4O3A Montenegro
DP87SIXD Germany
S58M Slovenia
IK3RJQ Italy

tomorrow is Christmas day so I don't think the radio will get a look in!!

Saturday 22 December 2012

Only 2 QSOs today, lots of other stuff going on.....

still, one in Germany, and a new country.... Belarus


DL0FF Germany
EW8O Belarus

Friday 21 December 2012


Another day of CW.  Complaints from #2 son because he can hear my CQ calls on his ipod headphones.....  and as we all know, that's his headphone's fault, not mine!!!
today's QSOs......

including AA3B in Pennsylvania.
which is another new state....






US0UX Ukraine
UX5VK Ukraine
HB9BIL Switzerland
IZ2XZM/QRP Italy
F3MB France
DJ8VC Germany
S51UJ Slovenia
AA3B USA PA


and #7 in the all time distance chart!



PT0S St Peter & St Paul Rocks 3943
KC9KBB USA IL 3869
W8PT USA OH 3414
5N4EAM Nigeria 3372
AF3R USA DE 3308
RC9O Russia 3297
AA3B USA PA 3252
N2NC USA NJ 3206
K2WCT USA NJ 3184
K2QBV USA NY 3152
K2TQC USA NY 3147
K2WY USA NY 3096
K1PUG USA CT 3085
KB2UZY USA MA 3052
K1RAW USA MA 3000
KB1VXH USA MA 2996
W1KBN USA MA 2986
WB1GQR USA VT 2970
KB1CSI USA NH 2966
VE1ZA Canada 2594





Thursday 20 December 2012

I was at an event the other day and I got chatting to a guy I hadn't seen in a while.  Told him I was into Amateur radio and he looked at me as if I was the geekiest nerd on the planet.  "but WHY?" he asked......  Well, now a couple of days later I have a good answer!!! 

Why go fishing, when you can buy your fish in Tesco?   it's the thrill of the chase, as well as the technical element of making your own kit...... and the great leveller that sometimes, its the kid with the cheapest kit that catches the big fish, just like it's sometimes the QRP station with a wire dipole that gets the DX,,,,,,,

ANYway!!

just a few QSOs today, all on CW 20m

one into Connecticut, so that was nice, low signal, down in the mush where the software couldn't read it so I was forced to read it for real which was good!  A new state is a new state!!

 
DL6ON Germany
DF2DM Germany
K1PUG USA CT
OM5NJ Slovak rep

 so, the top 20 for distance?
 
PT0S St Peter & St Paul Rocks 3943 SSB
KC9KBB USA IL 3869 SSB
W8PT USA OH 3414 SSB
5N4EAM Nigeria 3372 SSB
AF3R USA DE 3308 SSB
RC9O Russia 3297 SSB
N2NC USA NJ 3206 SSB
K2WCT USA NJ 3184 SSB
K2QBV USA NY 3152 SSB
K2TQC USA NY 3147 CW
K2WY USA NY 3096 SSB
K1PUG USA CT 3085 CW
KB2UZY USA MA 3052 SSB
K1RAW USA MA 3000 SSB
KB1VXH USA MA 2996 SSB
W1KBN USA MA 2986 SSB
WB1GQR USA VT 2970 SSB
KB1CSI USA NH 2966 SSB
VE1ZA Canada 2594 CW
RK9DM Russia 2543 SSB

Wednesday 19 December 2012

well, I'm improving.  I can get a fair bit of the received signal but the CWget is still a crutch in the background, but I'm slowly getting there.

the rest of my family are going nuts with the bleeping, so I've had to rig a bit of headphone jiggery pokery.  my old FT101B does have a headphone socket.  but my stereo headphones weren't switching off the internal speaker.  I tried a mono guitar lead and the speaker died...... so, I've made a cable that has a mono plug to stick into the rig.  then it splits, one cable to the headphones, one to the PC.

so the last few days it's all been CW work. all over Europe, into Russia, and a New York state contact too.


S52LB Slovenia
DL0AF Germany
DF5WBA Germany
DF7TH Germany
SP6LK Poland
K2TQC USA NY
S51WO Slovenia
DF8FU Germany
DL4FK Germany
DL6LBI Germany
G4OYC England
F6DIP France
DL1HTX Germany
UR5ZEP Ukraine
ON3ND Belgium
I1HLP Italy
IZ1CLB Italy
HB9DNB Switzerland
OK1AIT Czech Rep
OE6HAD Austria
DL2IAD Germany
R2ZAB Kaliningrad
UE10SK Russia
UA1APX Russia
DJ8EW Germany
DL5FAX Germany
DL0VK Germany
S57WO Slovenia
I1FLC Italy
DL6CZG Germany
IK3VUT Italy

Friday 14 December 2012

an all CW day!!

OK my sending is still awful, but it's improvin, and my receiving is also on the up.

todays QSOs as below


OK5JM Czech Rep
F5LIZ France
DF2AR Germany
HB9APJ Switzerland
IK1PXO Italy
EA7GW Spain    (40m)

and, I got a certificate!!!!

yay!!

the DOWN side is that I KNOW I've contacted a load more countries than only 26, but these are confirmed on eQSL.

Thursday 13 December 2012

an interesting couple of days on 20m.  I've been trying morse, a lot.

I'm still cheating on the receive, using CWGet as a backup to get stuff I don't copy, but I AM getting better, and I'm not totally "rabbit in the headlights" as much as I was......

so contacts of interest over the last two days?

well, JX9JKA this morning was a new one, Svein on Jan Mayen Islan, which I'd never heard of.  its a small island north of Iceland.  this radio lark really improves your geography!!

so, that was on SSB, as were a couple of others, but six of these QSOs were CW.

the last was low on the meter and the CWGet software couldn't deal with it, so I did that one completely unaided. I wasn't sure I had the call right...... VE..... really?

yup, my fist DX CW QSO into Halifax in Canada. and popping at #17 in the furthest distance charts.

and as if THAT wasn't enough, he eQSLed me straight away! Anthony, you're a gent!!


I4DVT Italy
DK8OHJ Germany
DL5ML Germany
SP7FRO Poland
DL6YRA Germany
S51ZZ Slovenia
JX9JKA Jan Mayan Island
S505SLG Slovenia
DL3APJ Germany
DL3MBB Germany
VE1ZA Canada


Tuesday 11 December 2012

not so many QSOs over the last few days, other things have got in the way.  but in the last two days I've had 7 QSOs.  and believe it or not, 6 of them have been cw!!  my sending is....... poor.

my receiving is worse.  I am using a morse decoder as backup, but QSOs are SOOOOO much harder than the tutor programs.  the stations send clearly, and I have to compliment them on thier patience with the idiot with the lousy code, but it's just so hard to get the dots and dashes to make sense!!  ah well, with time and practice I'll hopefully get better.

highlighted stations are CW


OK6DJ Czech Rep
IZ3NUJ Italy
IZ6BXV Italy
GI4BBE Northern Ireland
EA3AHH Spain
G3VSQ England
OK1AY Czech Rep
RA3BNM Russia
DL5NA Germany
HB9DEH Switzerland


Thursday 6 December 2012

still a load of QSB today.  no chance for any length of QSO at all.   there were a couple of other stations calling me, but i couldn't get them.


SM5CCQ Sweden
OZ4OLE Denmark
DB1AW Germany
EA3GLV Spain
DG8FU Germany
UA3LNQ Russia
DL9RDD Germany
SA0BVX Sweden
DL6ABF Germany
EA2DUX Spain
DJ1DG Germany


Wednesday 5 December 2012

Only 3 QSOs today.  longest was 2243 miles to Russia.

I was calling CQ when I heard another station also calling CQ  just off the frequency I was on.  I tuned up to see who it was and it was a guy I'd heard before, EA9KD in Cueta, the tiny Spanish owned plot of land opposite Gibraltar.  within a minute there was a pile up of stations yelling out for him.  NIGHTMARE!!!  poor guy, no chance for a simple ragchew. 

Anyway, here's the 3 contacts I had today.


DC6KW Germany
CT2GEI Portugal
RA6HJA Russia


I've also installed another CW tutor program from http://www.g4fon.net/  it LOOKS very impressive.....  not only morse, but simulated QRM, QSB, QRN, and all sorts of stuff.  I'll update you on my progress as it happens!

Tuesday 4 December 2012

a strange day on the radio.  conditions were very changeable, with most QSOs being lost to QSB within a minute.  strangely, as the day progressed, the background noise on 20m gradually dropped until at 5pm I could hear Canadian and US stations which weren't even twitching the needle.  definitely a first for me.


RK9DM Russia
EA1FL Spain
DJ6NH Germany
IN3XUG Italy
DJ7LWD Germany
I1OOU Italy
HB9PCH Switzerland
OH1SX Finland
HB9MTN Switzerland
LZ2LP Bulgaria
DM3KXL Germany
GI4BBE Northern Ireland
DL2GBA Germany
UA2FFD Russia
9A7DA Croatia
ON7GK Belgium

another first was a moment of madness.  I connected up the morse key and decided to call CQ on 40m.

as a back up, I installed a free program called cwget and set a mic beside the speaker of the Yaesu.

all went well.  I listened for a while to make sure no-one was already on freq. and then, with my crib sheet in front of me, I called CQ.  the software decoded my sending without any difficulty, so, miraculously, it appears that I was actually sending clearly, all be it fairly slowly.

then, horror of horrors, some one answered me!!!!!!

I went completely blank.  I could understand my call in return, but hat was it!!  the software told me the kind gent returning my call was GI4BBE, but I forgot when I was compiling my cribsheet that i'd need to resend HIS callsign!  I couldn't remember what G was.  and I hear it 20 times a day on the 2m repeater GB3NI.....

Never felt such an ejit all my life!!

I've tried o message the guy and appologise, but he's not on eQSL and he hasn't an email addy on QRZ.com.  he does have a youtube presence, si I've commented on his last vid to say sorry, and thanks......

back to the practice lessons on LCWO!!!!



Monday 3 December 2012

good grief, it's December already!!

not a wonderful weekend on the radio as I spent some time with the family instead.  I know, I know, I should be more dedicated to the radio, but sometimes you just gotta do these things!!

there was a fair bit of rugby on the tv over the weekend too, so that meant a chance to spend time with my boys watching it..... and my eldest playing a match on Friday night.....

ANYway!!

not a massive list of contacts, a few each on Sat & sun, 14 on Monday morning, then my XYL needed the computer to do some work, and as it's in the same room as the radio..... well, she gets priority.

here's the list.......


DL9ZBD Germany
DK5OH Germany
RN6MA Russia
UT6ER Ukraine
IK2VFR Italy
IK3XTY Italy
S58AB Slovenia
EA3AHH Spain
SP9IEK Poland
IK2DDK Italy
DF5YA Germany
F5VBU France
IV3EPO Italy
SP2WEG Poland
DJ1DG Germany
DK7SM Germany
I7IWN Italy
SM4AWF Sweden
OH1ECQ Finland
EA1MAM Spain

Friday 30 November 2012

a decent number of QSOs today, but conditions were very unstable with a lot of QSB.  very few of the QSOs were longer than a couple of minutes.  Sill, Iceland and the Azores as well as a wide spread of others.


S512IAPMC Slovenia
PA1WD Netherlands
TF6JZ Iceland
DK6KL Germany
CU3AN Azores
9A209A Croatia
IT9QQO Italy
UR5HRV Ukraine
DK9NM Germany
IW2BDH Italy
F8BMX France
US5LSC Ukraine
IW2NLM Italy
F4EZK France
CT1DDW Portugal
HB9W Switzerland
F4GIH France
DG9MGU Germany
DH0FAB Germany
OE5LHM Austria



Thursday 29 November 2012

Again, a little light on 20m today, a few 59+60 stations and very little else.

most notable QSO was a new US state, AF3R in Delaware.


EA3KT Spain
DD7OR Germany
DK5ZK Germany
DL1LAN Germany
RW3PJ Russia
OK1XPP Czech Rep
DH2KK Germany
HB9CPH Switzerland
PE1BVQ Netherlands
EA3AHH Spain
EA1MAM Spain
AF3R USA DE
IZ5WPT Italy

so, the mileage top 20 on 20m SSB now stands at:


PT0S St Peter & St Paul Rocks 3943
KC9KBB USA IL 3869
W8PT USA OH 3414
5N4EAM Nigeria 3372
AF3R USA DE 3308
RC9O Russia 3297
N2NC USA NJ 3206
K2WCT USA NJ 3184
K2QBV USA NY 3152
K2WY USA NY 3096
KB2UZY USA MA 3052
K1RAW USA MA 3000
KB1VXH USA MA 2996
W1KBN USA MA 2986
WB1GQR USA VT 2970
KB1CSI USA NH 2966
RK9DM Russia 2543
RA3QPK Russia 2466
RA3QPK Russia 2466
VO2NS Canada 2412

More work on Morse.  And after asking on several forums the general consensus is that the manual is wrong and it's perfectly fine to leave the Morse key plugged in permanently.  so I need to master the art of Morse!

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Propagation very sparse on 20m today.  Just a few QSOs so I spent my time working on my morse.  I use the lcwo.net page which is a very good tutor.

I have a morse key which I now have wired up to a 1/4" jack and the Yaesu FT101B seems happy enough beeping and blipping away.  I am still a fair bit away from making my first QSO though!

Here's today's log


DF4VK Germany
SM0ITO Sweden
PD3R Netherlands
IZ5WPT Italy
DL4IAL Germany
F6BFI France
IZ1TUG Italy
SP3SLD Poland
EA3BFX Spain


Tuesday 27 November 2012

another long chat with Horst DF1QA.  this is the FIFTH time we've chatted, and i mean chatted, not your contest "callsign 59 bye bye" rubbish!  two other contacts of interest, CU7CG in the Azores, and my first contact in Latvia, YL3ID


EA3AHH Spain
IZ3BJS Italy
DL1AZZ Germany
F4DZG France
LA8XH Norway
CU7CG Azores
DF1QA Germany
EA3YO Spain
DL0AGU Germany
LY1NDN Lithuania
DL1PV Germany
DC7AI Germany
DK2CC Germany
DK8QX Germany
OZ7IS Denmark
DL3PU Germany
DM2AOC Germany
OH5ZN Finland
YL3ID Latvia


Monday 26 November 2012

today marks a month since I first plugged the FT-101B into an antenna, so there is an excuse for a few totals....

today I got few new countries, in Wales, Slovak Republic, and Algeria


DL7UKR Germany
F4GMW France
ON2PU Belgium
UA3PQ Russia
PA1EDB Netherlands
EB1ADD Spain
IS0COY Sardinia
2W0CTL Wales
DK5KN Germany
DD8VX Germany
IZ0RTT Italy
DL9OBL/M Germany
LA9LRA Norway
DF5YA Germany
OM5LR Slovak rep
DF9YG Germany
DL4DAZ Germany
DF9YG Germany
DL1GKE Germany
UR9IT Ukraine
EA2HXO Spain
7T50I Algeria

so in the last month....452 HF QSOs as well as a load of local rag chews through the GB3NI 2m repeater

42 countries

Islands:
Majorca
Minorca
Azores
La Palma
Teneriefe
Sao Miguel (Azores)
Iceland
Jersey
Sardinia
St Peter and st Paul rocks


7 US states: IL, MA, OH, NJ, NH, NY, VT

so, in all, I'm VERY happy!

I still have to cross the equator, but I have time, right?





Sunday 25 November 2012

Not a lot of time spent on the radio this weekend.

just 5 QSOs, including another Island.

EA6BG on the Island of Majorca where I spent many holidays as a child.

as usual, all 20m SSB


HE5LC Switzerland
EA6BG Spain Majorca
EA4DNO Spain
IN3BYZ Italy
CT1CPS Portugal

Friday 23 November 2012

today's highpoint was a QSO with PD8SL.

this was my first QSO on HF with a female operator! 

as well as being a red letter day for me, it was also a red letter day for Carla, as this was her first ever HF QSO.  Poor wee pet sounded really nervous, not only speaking on the radio, but also in a foreign language.  Well done Carla!!

A bunch of other European QSOs as well......


PD8SL Netherlands
PC2EBE Netherlands
PA1FE Netherlands
OE5CNM Austria
EA7/G1WUU Spain
PA6N Netherlands
SA0ARJ Sweden
HB9ETH/M Switzerland
ON2FJ Belgium
F5TZY France
DL1WM Germany
LA3NO Norway
DL1EKH Germany
DL6DYL Germany
PD1JOL Netherlands
US5LSC Ukraine
IZ1XTG Italy
PD3E Netherlands
DM3KF Germany
DL1NKS Germany
PD1JKS Netherlands
PA3BRB Netherlands
DL8PW Germany
PA1JMN Netherlands
PD2HE Netherlands
DL0GEO Germany

Thursday 22 November 2012

a new country today!  Estonia.  ES5MG. 


EO6KDG Austria
ES5MG Estonia
F1BBU France
DK6UO Germany
DJ6PE Germany
DL5HAB Germany
DD3FU Germany
SV3GLL Greece
LX1NT Luxembourg
PD4JL Netherlands
PD1BM Netherlands
PD1ET Netherlands
LA5WTA Norway
RA3QPY Russia
UA1CDA Russia
EA3GIN Spain
SM5CCQ Sweden

also today I took a wander through google maps and the How far is it?  website to get the ACTUAL distances for a few Russian stations so the top 20 for distance NOW stands at:


PT0S St Peter & St Paul Rocks 3943
KC9KBB USA IL 3869
W8PT USA OH 3414
5N4EAM Nigeria 3372
RC9O Russia 3297
N2NC USA NJ 3206
K2WCT USA NJ 3184
K2QBV USA NY 3152
K2WY USA NY 3096
KB2UZY USA MA 3052
K1RAW USA MA 3000
KB1VXH USA MA 2996
W1KBN USA MA 2986
WB1GQR USA VT 2970
KB1CSI USA NH 2966
RK9DM Russia 2543
RA3QPK Russia 2466
VO2NS Canada 2412
RC6U Russia 2376
UA4PNT Russia 2228