Thursday 25 April 2013

touch key for CW

MK3!!

so, I decided that the keyer needed a niced enclosure than the pill bottle

as I have made a few guitars in my time I had some fret wire laying around.

I reckoned a strip where my hand rests would be an improvement on the lug......

so, some offcuts of rosewood, and ovankohl.......

as I was assembling the whole thing I managed to break a leg off a tranny, so I tried it without the darlington pair, just a single BC639 on each side. Delighted to discover it works fine!!


Tuesday 23 April 2013

Improved touch keyer:

power from a 9v battery added.  the earth terminal is on the case of the pill bottle so it's easy to always touch it when sending

so, prototype works, next step is to make it for real.....

what I'm THINKING is to have the earth spud on a panel in front of the touch plates.

I have guitar fret wire, which I could press into a slot across the front so that where ever my hand sits, a good contact will be made.

unless I'm wearing marigolds of course!!



So, I decide to move onto the Mk2 paddle, a touch keyer

I find this nice circuit recommended on a forum.

I nip into school and scrounge a handfull of transistors, and in half an hour I'm done.

soldering was simple, the cablecame from a dead set of headphones......

like this, with the soldering Iron still plugged in beside it, it worked fine.

so I wrapped all the wires to avoid shorts, switched off the soldering iron, fire up the glue gun to add some extra support where the screw eyes go through the lid of the pill box and test it again.

all good

one weird thing.  while actually applying the glue, with the glue gun in very close proximity to the pins, it triggers the electronic keyer......

anyway, assemble it into the pillbox and test again

still good.



switch off glue gun and put it away, and settle down to trying a few QSOs and.......

NOTHING!!!

after a lot of tinkering and testing, I discover that it works really well when there are (electrically)  noisy kit operating, but not if there isn't.

My Salvaged PC power supply switched on and running on the desk?

all good

touch the case of the supply?

nuffin!!

Ah well, at least i know it works (in the right circumstances!) and it's easily reversable so that if you like to send dits with your thumb, you hold it one way, dahs with the thumb, just flip it over.

and now to Mk3!!




Monday 22 April 2013

after the weekend's SA contest, there are just a few new entries in the distance chart......


ZL2IBF New Zealand 11381
PR5B Brazil 6243
HS5NMF Thailand 6069
OA1F Peru 5971
PY2EX Brazil 5927
PY4HO Brazil 5734
JA7QVI Japan 5729
HD2A Ecuador 5699
PY4RGS Brazil 5624
PP1CZ Brazil 5566
PW7T Brazil 5214
N2PW USA AZ 4936
HK1NA Colombia 4776
PV8ADI Brazil 4705
YV5DTJ Venezuela 4599
PR7AR  Brazil 4582
PJ4/SP9FIH Bonaire 4463
PJ4/SP9FIH Bonaire 4463
N9RV USA MT 4257
N9RV USA MT 4257
some DX and new countries over the weekend.

a few competitions gave me my first Israel, and a bunch of Brazilians.   I HEARD a Argentinian, ans several Australians, but didn't make contacts.


PJ4/SP9FIH Bonaire
4X4DZ Israel
K9OM USA FL
PY4RGS Brazil
PP1CZ Brazil
PV8ADI Brazil
PW7T Brazil
K8BTD USA OH
NB1N USA MA
PR7AR  Brazil
VE3CFI Canada ON
DL1DA/PVA Brazil
N3RS USA PA
K4BAI USA GA
PY2EX Brazil
PY4HO Brazil
K5EK USA NC
K3WWT USA PA


Friday 19 April 2013

so the keyer arrived in the post today and after raiding the cable box (don't ever bin a cable!!) I was able to weave together a loom of wires to connect the knife paddle to the rig.

half an hour's practice and I reckoned I could give it a go on the air.

DJ3EF was the poor guy on the other en of my feeble attempts!

so, first impressions?

a bit of practice and I'll get the hang of it, definitely less painful to use than straight key, but its a bit too springy.  and if I release the handle it can swipe across and thump the other side.

I need to damp it's travel.... maybe a little foam rubber?

I'll tinker!

for a 1st prototype, I'm very pleased, but work still to do!

I'm thinking about another direction, with a solid vertical bar with a switch on each side.  that'd loose the springiness, but the switches would need to be very free moving........

on the air yesterday and today?

OK1PGS/AM was my first aeronautical mobile contact.  just an exchange of calls and sig repts, so I don't know what he was flying, and he doesn't have an email addy on QRZ.com to ask him.....

the long distance stuff?

delighted to break a pile up and get my first into Tajikistan


K9LJN USA IL
w1pid USA NH
kb2uzy USA MA
EY7BJ Tajikistan

Thursday 18 April 2013

Making a homebrew CW paddle.

OK, my back problems are giving me pains in my arms, and overdoing the straight morse key is giving me RSI in my right wrist, so something needs to be done. 

ONE possibility is an air key, more to follow, but first, I'm going to have a go at a paddle.

as usual, budget to be kept at a bare minimum!

so, I had to get some other stuff at B&Q anyway so I threw a few other bits & pieces into the trolley.

bolts, nuts washers and 4 L brackets.  add a kiddie's knife that all our kids have outgrown and we get.......


for a base I'm not going to waste a nice piece of mahogany or cherry on a prototype, so I found a left over bit of spruce..... 

so start by drilling a hole in the knife blade.....


then mock up how things will sit......






then after checking clearances, get the screws into the wood...



which looks like this from the end.....



I reckon I have up to 5mm play in the gap, not that I'll need it.  If this all works, then I'll transfer it onto a nicer piece of wood and maybe make the brackets a little less Heath Robinson.

for those not in the know, earth goes to the centre, one wire to the left contact, one to the right, then a stereo cable to a jack plug into the electronic keyer.

now all I need is for the electronic keyer to arrive in the post from ebay land!

Updates to follow......

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Tuesday - Thursday...

a few interesting contacts......

K0TPPUSA MO
CN8YZMorocco
NS9IUSA WI
N4MWNUSA VA
UA0WWAsiatic Russia
W4KRTUSA FL
FM5BHMartinique
9K2MYKuwait

I also won a keyer on ebay, so I need to get a CW paddle.  PLANS are to build one, using a knife as the paddle.

pics to follow!















Monday 15 April 2013

Friday - Sunday?

a dirty great solar eruption knocked the bands dead, only a few signals trickling through.

Monday?

very hit and miss. 

I could HEAR several stations in New Zealand, as well as my first from Greenland and way north of Norway at Svalbard.  my best contacts?

PJ4/SP9FIH
an island in the carribean
and the other way, HS5NMF in Thailand

so the latest top 20 for distance......


ZL2IBF New Zealand 11381 CW
PR5B Brazil 6243 SSB
HS5NMF Thailand 6069 SSB
OA1F Peru 5971 CW
JA7QVI Japan 5729 CW
HD2A Ecuador 5699 CW
N2PW USA AZ 4936 CW
HK1NA Colombia 4776 SSB
YV5DTJ Venezuela 4599 CW
PJ4/SP9FIH Bonaire 4463 SSB
N9RV USA MT 4257 CW
N9RV USA MT 4257 SSB
K1AY USA FL 4179 CW
N4BP USA FL 4148 CW
KJ3X USA FL 4136 SSB
N4TB USA FL 4119 CW
W4SVO USA FL 4113 SSB
K4WI USA AL 4109 CW
K4MF USA FL 4074 CW
N6AR USA FL 4074 CW

Thursday 11 April 2013

nice day on 20m.

I HEARD Brazil, China, Bahrain, Mali, and some other interesting stuff, but didn't get back to them.

interesting contacts I DID make.....

K0TPP USA MO
EA6/DL9LBQ Ibiza
CN8YZ  Morocco
 RA9KY Asiatic Russia (repeat)
EA9UG  Ceuta and Melilla
and......
ZA/IZ4JMA a first in Albania

Wednesday 10 April 2013

so as promised, contacts of note.....

OA1F in Peru early on 5th
A71QM Qatar late in the evening of the 6th
CF3A Ottowa Canada just after
KA1EFO USA MA evening of 8th

as well as a host of Europeans.
so, repeat readers well see a change.  I've joined clublog, so rather than having the big string of callsigns, you can how look at clublog for the info.  I'll still include the new countries, new states and the extreme long distance stuff, but no more big long lists, OK?

I've finally got the Philips PRM8010 into the car. 

there were bumps along the process.....

firstly there was a nasty burning rubber smell which I tracked down to the cigartette lighter plug that I was testing it with.

then there was a lot of alternator whine coming through, so I got a supressor (good old ebay!)

so now it's in the car, and I called for a radio check and a nice friendly bloke did that for me, and then GI6LCJ who sold me the radio came on to say I was making the trip to him too, which was nice of him.  just the speaker to mount securely, and I'm sorted.


Thursday 4 April 2013

a ew late on Monday evening to add to the total...... but a few days without drifting off 20m CW.high point?

a new country is always a high point, especially if its a LOOOOONG way away!!  so early morning HD2A in Ecuador was a goodie.  I'm claiming it, even though I didn't get a full call return. he replied mi08m. I KNOW the signal made the trip, so there's a pin in the map!



F5MDM France
EA1KB Spain
SP9FKF Poland
DL1MFZ Germany
IT9QAU Italy
RW4CUO Russia
UA9MAX Russia
UT4FB Ukraine
UA1CE Russia
UA6FZ Russia
OK2BBR Czech Rep
DL2BA Germany
SP6AML Poland
OK1MIK Czech Rep
OK1ED Czech Rep
YO5CDF Romania
HD2A Ecuador
UR5PM Ukraine
OM1ADM Slovak rep
HA2NEP Hungary
IK2UEX Italy
UA3DFD Russia
IZ1DXF Italy
LZ1IT Bulgaria
OK1HWI Czech Rep
I3DBD Italy
YU1CA Serbia
OM3JS Slovak rep
UX0KR Ukraine
IS0SZU Sardinia
VE2GDI Canada QC
SV1CQN Greece
W2OKM USA NJ
OK2BEJ Czech Rep
WA2BLE USA NY
SP3FGQ Poland
YU7FL Serbia
W8PO USA KY
IZOCCD Italy
EA1BOT Spain
RU2FZ Russia
RX9WN Russia
F6EAZ France
IK1GKH Italy
UX3HX Ukraine
UA3BX Russia
UA3QIM Russia

so Equador does into the distance top 10 at #4......


ZL2IBF New Zealand 11381
PR5B Brazil 6243
JA7QVI Japan 5729
HD2A Ecuador 5699
N2PW USA AZ 4936

Monday 1 April 2013

Easter weekend.... another big contest, so rather than huff and grump I decided to play along.  as my wee protest I looked up each station on QRZ.COM so that I could say "Thanks John, Good luck"at the end of the contact......

so, from Friday evening until now, (monday afternoon) a good old time for putting pins in the map wih new contacts into Cyprus. Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, & Kosovo  A bunch of Canada & US contacts, but no new states......


UT4FB Ukraine ES9C Estonia
EU6KA Belarus RF9C Russia
OM3LL Slovak rep US1I Ukraine
DF6NW Germany S59N Slovenia
RW3WA Russia S51AF Slovenia
OK1AQW Czech Rep KC3R USA PA
RL3BZ Russia KM3T USA NH
S51UJ Slovenia VE3DZ Canada ON
SQ7IQM Poland CF3A Canada ON
KJ3X USA FL Z39A Macedonia
OL9Z Czech Rep KM3T USA NH
E7DX Bosnia & Herz WU2A USA GA
OL7M Czech Rep KK9A USA NC
WP2Z USA NJ RT4F Russia
SO2R Poland EE1W Spain
EA7KB Spain RL3A Russia
IR5X Italy II1A Italy
S53M Slovenia GJ2A Jersey
EW2A Belarus SQ7DQX Poland
RG3K Russia II9P Sicily
CN2R Morocco 9A28EU Croatia
RM3Q Russia RT4RO Russia
HG4F Hungary WX3B USA MD




P33W Cyprus NX0X USA MN
LX7I Luxembourg DL4RBI Germany
LZ4RR Bulgaria E72GF Bosnia & Herz
TM1T France Z61DX Kosovo
W3KL USA MD OE8PRK Austria
HK1NA Colombia OH6MM Finland
CR6K Portugal DL7ARH Germany
RX6AM Russia SP6QKP Poland
UP0L Kazakhstan DK3SB Germany
N9RV USA MT LA8BGA Norway
NV1N USA VT OK1US Czech Rep
RC9O Russia EA2IF Spain
PI4ZI Netherlands OK1RO Czech Rep
PR5B Brazil DK8LG Germany
VE3DZ Canada ON OH2BN Finland
8P5A Barbados DL4BBJ Germany
K3ZO USA MD DL5SVB Germany
VE9HF Canada NB HB9TPT Switzerland
VO1JNS Canada NL HB9ALO Switzerland
KD4D USA MD SP4GSW Poland
NN1N USA CT F6AUF France
9A33P Croatia

W3FV USA PA


so the top 20?

BIG Changes!


ZL2IBF New Zealand 11381
PR5B Brazil 6243
JA7QVI Japan 5729
N2PW USA AZ 4936
HK1NA Colombia 4776
YV5DTJ Venezuela 4599
N9RV USA MT 4257
N9RV USA MT 4257
K1AY USA FL 4179
N4BP USA FL 4148
KJ3X USA FL 4136
N4TB USA FL 4119
W4SVO USA FL 4113
K4WI USA AL 4109
K4MF USA FL 4074
N6AR USA FL 4074
W4DXX USA GA 4068
8P5A Barbados 4057
K0LUZ USA FL 4056
KP2MM US Virgin Islands 3987