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!!

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

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

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!!

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

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

DL0FF	Germany
EW8O	Belarus

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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!

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!!!!

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