100 Pound DXpedition

All good things

2007-11-02T22:35:00.000-04:00

Before we knew it was Noel Sandy and I weathered its strong winds and driving rain on St. Kitts. After passing us it went on to wreak havoc on Cuba and Hispaniola before stalling. Noel seemed to wait for our return to Miami. Now, it would appear, Noel has followed us home. The Northeast and especially the Massachusetts cape and islands are in for a beating from this storm that, by all appearances, seems to have it in for me. Seriously, this will be the third time I've been buffeted by the same piece of weather. That's just weird!

I said in a post in July that I had begun thinking about future of this blog. At just about 400 entries I believe I've had all the opportunities I need to express those ideas which were most important on this topic. I have discussed the planning, preparation, and execution of personal DXpeditions that were small, medium, large, and now too large. I hope that I have given some of you the thirst to try this for yourself. And, it would please me to believe that your first (or subsequent) attempt was made better by something I've mentioned here. I'm vain that way.
Officially, I am "suspending activity" on this blog. I will not delete the blog, nor will I promise not to make postings to it again in the future. I have simply "had my say" on this topic, at least for now.
My writing days are probably not over, however. I hope to put some of this newly reclaimed free time towards more substantive projects. You may see my name in print again sometime soon. It might also be fun to collaborate with other bloggers and writers out there. There are some very interesting and talented people in our community!

So, while this is not goodbye I understand in my heart that by suspending the blog it will never be quite the same, even if I resume it again someday. For those of you who have taken the time out of your busy lives to read my words, thank you. I have appreciated your comments and private emails more than you can imagine.

With deepest gratitude, your humble blogger...

B. Scott Andersen (NE1RD)

St. Kitts lessons learned

2007-11-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

We are home from our trip to St. Kitts. I thought I would capture some of the more important lessons learned from this trip while these details were fresh in my mind. Here they go in no particular order.

Concentrate on goals - I've always been big on setting and making goals for a 100 Pound DXpedition. For one thing, this provides focus during the packing effort as you ask yourself on each decision, "Is this helping me reach my goals?" During the trip the goals help provide a concrete measure of your effectiveness in both your planning and operation. If you are meeting your goals, or on pace to meet your goals, your plan is working. Finally, once you meet your goals you can take a breath and celebrate a bit for your job well done. All of these things make sense if your goals make sense. My goals for this trip did not make sense. The three state goals were:
1. DXCC
2. 1000 Qs in the contest
3. New record for V4 for CQ WW DX SSB SOLP
The unstated goal was to have a competitive contesting station on the island with just the stuff in my bag, implying the other goals. In truth, a goal of 500 QSOs in the contest with 100,000 points was probably a more reasonable goal. DXCC should have been a stretch goal at this point in the cycle.
Why did my goals get out of whack? There has been a steady progression of adding more-and-more to each trip. Some of this was to test limits. Some of this was due to laziness and poor preparation on my part. Certainly this trip did not get the same attention and focus that the Montserrat trip got, or that this trip deserved. I let the goals for the trip get out-of-hand and everything else followed soon after.
Be creative with your goals. For example, I wanted to participate in the CQ WW DX SSB contest on this trip. There are twelve different categories I could have competed: low-power all-band, LP 10m, LP 15m, LP 20m, LP 40m, LP 80m, QRP all-band, QRP 10m, QRP 15m, QRP 20m, QRP 40m, or QRP 80m. The records are listed below. Five of these categories, including QRP all-band, have no record on St. Kitts. I could have chosen to compete in one of those and been virtually guaranteed to have not only won the category but have set the all-time record for it, too!
The lesson here is simple: scrutinize your goals for your DXpedition well for they dictate, or strongly influence, many of the subsequent decisions you'll be making.

Get a local call sign - I am truly shocked by the listening skills of some operators. There will be some operators who will have NE1RD and zone 5 in there log this year because they logged what they wanted to hear instead of what they heard. That was both their problem and mine, though, as my goofy call sign (V4/NE1RD) caused many repeats and much confusion. All of this ate precious time during the contest and cost me several multipliers.

Terrain and building must be accommodating - Like the "get a local call sign" point, I covered this in a blog entry this week. A building providing multiple floors and high accessible points is crucial for getting your antennas in the clear. This is especially crucial if you plan on operating on the low bands.

You don't have to operate on the low bands - I have been trying to bring enough stuff to create antennas for all bands 6m through 80m. In fact, you can have a lot of fun and be very successful if you were to bring just the smallest of antennas that cover 10m-20m. With the exception of a couple of QSOs, that is all I worked on this trip. If I had declared up-front that these were the only bands to be worked I could have saved the weight of two masts (12 pounds), two 100 foot runs of coax (8 pounds), and the setup and tear-down time of these two antennas. Swap the Mosley Mini-32-A tribander for a simple Buddipole (8 pounds) or TW Antennas TW2010 (10 pounds or so) and not only does the weight budget drop, the need for a hard-sided golf bag to handle those long parts is eliminated, too. If you are trying to operate on the low bands it requires the long masts and the golf bag. Eliminating that goal, avoiding 30m-160m, simplifies things greatly.

Tools are heavy - I am carrying too many tools. The host can almost certainly provide everything but soldering iron and solder (I'll still carry those). If you are traveling to a villa or home where your host can provide tools it save you from carrying them. I didn't ask my host if tools were available prior to the trip but found a set more complete than the one I brought in a closet. Knowing I could have left the tool bag at home would have saved me about 5-10 pounds.

Your operating position is important - Again, because of my experiences on St. John, Deer Isle, and Montserrat, I thought there would always be something I could borrow from the house to make a reasonable operating position. It would be a small table, comfortable yet stiff chair, and so on. No such items were available at the St. Kitts villa. I'm sure the host would have provided one had I asked in advance. I did not. Next time I will.

Travel medicines are important - I should have packed Imodium or similar medications on this trip. I spent from 4 O'clock Monday morning until Wednesday morning with symptoms of food poisoning. I was miserable and dangerously dehydrated by the end of it. I spent time reading about oral rehydration therapy and drinking Cool Blue Gatorade. I was really quite nervous about traveling. Luckily, things had run their course by the time the cab came to take us to the airport. It could have been worse--and messier.
In retrospect, I had not been careful about making sure my immunizations were up-to-date, I had not had a flu shot, I did not carry anti-diarrheal medications, nor did I have or purchase insect repellant (the mosquitos ate us alive), or make other reasonable and prudent medical planning. Between the scores of mosquito bites, two presumed tick bites (false alarms), and the bout of toilet hugging, I think I've finally learned this lesson.

This is a vacation ... not an assignment. I've made this whole thing too big, really, trying to push limits, capture audio, create a DVD, blog about it, make a web site, compete with other in the local contesting club, and so on. If I'm not careful, I'll forget this is supposed to be fun and relaxing. In fact, that line was crossed some time ago.
I do enjoy these trips. I enjoy playing with the radio. I also enjoy sharing what I've learned in the hopes that someone else might happen upon these words and try it for themselves. But, too much of this sharing leads to a life lived in a fish bowl. After nearly 400 blog entries and several web sites, I believe I've shown just about all that needs to be shown to give a reasonably motivated reader a head-start in their adventure. I believe I pushed myself a little too hard on this one.

There were more lessons learned, of course, but these were the big ones. Now that I am home and resting comfortably in my own bed, I can reflect upon these and others. Soon it will be time to plan another 100 Pound DXpedition.

V4 St. Kitts & Nevis record from the CQ WW web site.


 Power Call                  Score       Qs    Zone Cty Year
 A    V47KP(W2OX)            6,196,554   4830  125  421  02
 28   V47NS(W9NY)            1,230,732   3054   34  119  00
 21   VP2KAC                 1,783,500   3941   37  137  81
 14   VP2KAA                 2,011,185   4186   37  150  81
 7    VP2KAE                   432,942   1600   27   91  81
 3.7  V44NK                     26,352    353   11   25  97

 LA   V44NK                    127,566    857   33   81  95
 L28  V47TV(OH3VV)             857,934   3284   31   95  91
 L21  V47NK                     67,320    660   16   35  96
 L14  NC2N/V44                   7,595    127   14   35  04
 L7   V49A(EW1AR)              135,408    705   18   75  05
 L3.7 V49A(EW1AR)               40,227    298   16   53  04

 Q21  V44/EW1AR(NC2N)           15,708    117   14   37  04

 MS   V47Z                   4,758,814   4308  119  402  94
 M2   V47NS                 11,531,688   7154  134  530  02
 MM   VP2KC                 37,770,012  17767  175  677  79

V4/NE1RD QRT

2007-10-30T13:03:00.000-04:00

Just a few hours after my last blog entry the flu hit and hit hard. I'm still dehydrated and haven't eaten anything since Sunday evening, but I am feeling better. My plans to casually work 17m after the contest were scuttled as a result. For those of you keeping vigil on the spotting network, thank you--and sorry.
I am very, very behind in email. At this point, I don't think I'll even try to catch up until I return home on Thursday. I do appreciate all the messages I've received, though! Thanks!
This will be the last entry from St. Kitts. 73!

Half

2007-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

The word of the day is half. We are about half-way through our vacation and CQ WW SSB is behind me. The villa, while beautiful, is about half what I needed. The building is nestled against a hill with the bulk of North America sheltered behind the mass. I had a pretty good shot towards the East and South but the other half of the compass was a compromise at best.
I had deployed antennas 10,15,20,40, and 80m for the contest. A 17m antenna was also erected upon our arrival so I could work before and after the event. Of those six bands, only half were usable during the contest. The tribander (Mosley Mini-32-A) did a pretty good job (with the caveats I'll list below) but the low bands were a bust. There was no way to deploy these wire verticals against this hill so that the radials could be elevated or even run in a reasonable way. As it turns out, 80m was so noisy that lots of us here in the Caribbean had trouble with it. Pounding rain storms and lightning probably contributed to the problems.
I had hoped to spend most of the 48 hours working the contest but probably only worked half of that. My operating position was on the veranda and either rain or bugs were attacking at night. Given the shape of the low bands (and my antennas), it made more sense to watch baseball.
As a consequence of losing half those bands I made fewer than half of the QSOs I had hoped to make. My original trip goals looked to post about 1000 QSOs. I made about 385, with all but 8 on the tribander. Below is the summary of my efforts.


Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:    0     0        0
   80:    1     1        1
   40:    7     4        7
   20:  115    16       44
   15:  238    14       31
   10:   24     7        8
------------------------------
Total:  385    42       91  Total Score = 79,800

This total is what I expected to have about half-way through the contest. Instead, it is my final (claimed) total. Needless to say, my little wager with fellow YCCC teammate Paul (K1XM) will go easily to Paul's FS/K1XM effort. I heard him running a nice pile-up several times during the weekend. (I just took a peek at the 3830 contest list looking for his post but it has not appeared.)
Now that the contest is over, we'll be relaxing and putting QSOs into the log at a more relaxed rate. Though we are only half-way through the week here I decided to take all the antennas down save the 17m fishing pole vertical. Weather forecasts call for thunderstorms over the next day or so and both Sandy and I were spending half the night going out to the veranda to see if the beam and masts had blown onto the golf course. We both need a good night sleep. I decided it would be better to just disassemble and pack these things up before the weather turned worse and we drove ourselves crazy worrying about this stuff.
This was a 100 Pound DXpedition but even that goal was only met half-way. The total weight of the checked bags exceeded 200 pounds. I hope to ditch some of this weight here on St. Kitts before we head back to the airport. The painters poles, while light, were seriously stressed by the trade winds down here. I'm still looking for a reasonable way to get this yagi in the air. In fact, it was only up about half as high as it should have been--barely peeking over the roof of the villa. I need to think about this problem as the antenna was coupling with the metal in the roof on 20m until I cranked it up a bit (further stressing the painter poles).
I plan on packing up about half the radio equipment in the morning. I'll take the audio processor out of the loop, I've already removed the recording equipment, and I'll probably switch to the Heil Traveler headset just to lighten the load on my head. It weighs about half as much as the Heil noise canceling model.
As of this writing we are about half-way through the Sox/Denver game. I've written more than half of what I wanted to say but I'm too tired to continue. Time to put up my feet, grab something cool to drink, and watch the game. 73 from St. Kitts!

Sense enough to come in out of the rain

2007-10-27T21:24:00.000-04:00

My callsign (V4/NE1RD) continues to bollix up operators world-wide. But, even with this minor annoyance I managed to put nearly 300 Qs in the contest log. This is far below the pace I had hope to make. I was able to work a few folks from home including some guys from the YCCC and my local club.
My operating position on the veranda is working reasonably well, at least during the day. Nighttime is a different story. I've been fighting off either mosquitos or heavy rain. Tonight's storm came up quickly and included some very high wind gusts. We scrambled to get the radio stuff inside and I lowered the beam to reduce the stress on those painters poles.
This brings up an important point. Though the 100 Pound DXpedition is principally a portable operation, you still need to have an antenna deployment that is resilient to the elements. Storms and high winds can come up quickly, especially in a place like the Caribbean. Antennas and masts should be guyed or strapped securely to a building or fence. It does you no good to bring a great antenna system only to have it destroyed by the first breeze.
As far as antennas go, the Mosley Mini-32-A has performed very well. I am able to do some A/B comparisons between the beam and my 40m/15m vertical and the beam is much louder (as you would expect). I have made most of my contacts on the yagi. The 40m vertical is up but I had very few options for where I could run the elevated radials. So, this antenna is not performing as it did on Montserrat but is still getting out. I expect to make more 40m contacts tomorrow before the contest ends.
The band that is most problematic seems to be 80m. The noise on this band is consistently S9 or worse. I have overheard others complaining about it, too, so I don't believe it is specific to this location. That's too bad. With all this extra space on the phone band, it would have been handy to have this band open and quiet.
I'll try to rise early to get back on the bands. I'd like to put in a good effort on this contest even with the limitations discussed. After the contest I'll likely pack up the 80m and 40m verticals and stick with the beam and 17m vertical for the remainder of my stay.

A bust?

2007-10-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

I had reserved judgement until now but I believe I'm going to have some serious trouble with this location. There is a very large hill between the villa and North America. I have a straight shot to Europe and possibly Africa, but the other directions are going to be a serious problem. At this point, the contest appears to be a "Worked all Brazil" effort with a Trinidad and Grenada thrown in for good measure. It will no doubt be better after European sunrise, but right now I'm not encouraged.
Google Earth probably gave me all the hints I needed to see this coming--but I booked the villa before looking. We had such great locations on St. John and on Montserrat I was lulled into the false belief that they'd all be that good. I was lazy, and it is costing me.
Before anybody starts feeling badly for me, I should state clearly that I'm OK with all this. I'm going to make the best of it and have fun. I might not "kick butt" like I had hoped in this contest, but I'll still do well enough to have fun.
Speaking of "kick butt" (the battle cry of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club members) I have talked with other club members already. The folks working J3A were so loud I needed to turn on the attenuator in order to work them. They've got the right idea: find a great location and keep going back.
The other problem I'm having has nothing to do with hardware or location. My callsign is "V4/NE1RD" Victor Four Stroke November Echo One Romeo Delta. For some reason this has confused just about everybody I've talked with on the air. The mangling and tortured miscomprehension of this simple series of characters has been an eye-opener for me. When I was first assigned the call I made an attempt to get a "real call" like V44RD. My messages were met with silence. I should have pushed harder. The combination of having a stroke in the call couple with a callsign that is somewhat familiar in contesting (NE1RD) has made most of the scant few QSOs I've made an exercise in repeats and fills. The lesson: get a local call. Period. This business of having the licensing agency giving you a call like "V4/NE1RD" is goofy.
Which brings me to another epiphany I've had. If you are thinking of going someplace, get the license first, then shop around for the location. Licensing seems to be the big hang-up in all this. The Montserrat licensing exercise was nightmarish. (No need to repeat all that here. Go read the blog entries from last year.) This St. Kitts thing with the "V4/" for the callsign after a long wait is equally frustrating. At this point, I think my order of assignments would be:

Pick the place you want to go
Get a reasonable license. Can't get one? Go back to step one.
Look for a private, secluded villa on a hill. Can't find one? Go to step 1.
Work out all the logistics. Can you get there easily (and inexpensively)? No? Go to step 1.

Pretty harsh, but I'm starting to think this is the correct approach.

Finally, some common sense perspective. I'm on vacation. I'm down here in a beautiful place with the love of my life. We're both tired and stress out (which is why we needed the vacation). I'm going to relax and have fun. If the radio thing doesn't work out 100% this time, so be it. I brought an excellent book (or two), we have a pool, we have a great view, and we have each other. There will always be another contest.

73 from paradise!
-- Scott

Photos posted

2007-10-26T10:41:00.001-04:00

I have added some photos to the DXpedition web site. I'll try to add more today. For those of you with Google Earth, you can get a different perspective by entering these coordinates:

N17.29725 W062.68932

We need to make a run to the grocery store to stock up for the contest. I'll be on the air doing some final system checks after that.

Rain

2007-10-25T20:52:00.000-04:00

All antennas are now assembled and tested. I was able to make a run on 17m mid-day before taking the time to assemble the Mosley beam. I wish I could have done more, but the tribander took more time to assemble and deploy than I had estimated.
I was going to use one of the bedrooms for my operating position for the contest but the large table on the upper veranda looked too inviting. So, the radio and associated electronics are now set up outside. At this moment they are covered with plastic as it is raining heavily. I believe the table is sheltered sufficiently to allow me to work there over the weekend. We'll see if I make a frantic move mid-contest.
I hope to get on 17m again in the morning for an hour but I do need to rest up and save my voice for the 48 hour contest.

Live! From St. Kitts!

2007-10-24T21:19:00.000-04:00

We are on St. Kitts! We arrived this afternoon and spent some time getting unpacked, doing a grocery run, and settling in. After spending a little time in the pool to cool off, I was able to build and deploy the 80m vertical. (I did not cut and solder the wire at home; I did that here.) I will assemble and erect the other antennas in the morning.
I've not unpacked the IC-7000 yet but was able to connect the FT-817 to the 80m wire vertical and give it a listen It was not encouraging. I have S9 level noise here on 80m. I don't know if it is conditions, the location, or a combination of the two. I'll know more tomorrow.

The Red Sox and Colorado are on. We're stretched out and enjoying the game. Go Sox!

Pushing limits

2007-10-23T23:15:00.000-04:00

When I first got this crazy idea of traveling with the radio I wanted a catch phrase which would convey the approach quickly. The tag line I settled on was, "Go light, work the world." Those words circle my logo for The 100 Pound DXpedition. Everyone works within limits whether they be space, time, money, or, in my case, weight and volume. I'm just more explicit about it.
Each trip I've made has become successively more complicated--and heavy. The general idea of traveling within the limits of checked airline baggage has been consistent, but the bags have been getting fuller and fuller. This trip has pushed these limits to the breaking point.
I don't think I was clear-headed about this until yesterday, when I stared at the pile of bags and wondered aloud, "why is there so much stuff?!" The answer relates back to the trip goals. In previous trips I was happy just to pack a self-contained and workable station within the weight and size limits imposed by the airlines. That, as I hope I have shown, can be easily done. This trip had additional pressures.
I'm heading to St. Kitts in the morning to work in the CQ WW DX SSB contest this weekend. My usual, and modest, goals of bringing just enough equipment to get on the air and participate have been replaced by more aggressive goals of bringing a competitive contesting station. I'm not saying this change in focus and goals has been a mistake, but as I begin thinking about it with a clear head (finally) I don't recall ever considering whether trying to assemble such a station under the 100 Pound DXpedition banner was reasonable. Indeed, as I reflect on the last few days of feverish packing, it may not be. Allow me to explain.
The radio, power supply, automatic tuner, and even audio mixer and cabling for the station fits neatly into a Pelican 1610 case and weighs well under 50 pounds. In fact, because I've used the foam padding liberally when I organized the case, I ran out of space long before I approached the weight limit. This collection of equipment is nearly identical to that brought to Montserrat earlier this year and will likely be the "standard set" I'll take on most trips. This isn't where the problems arose.
Feature creep manifested itself in antennas and accessories. In previous trips I was largely content with bringing a Buddipole which could be configured as a full sized antenna for any single band 20-6m, and some fishing poles or masts for the lower bands. If I needed to change bands, I would take a few moments to walk to the antenna and make the adjustment. Sure, it took time, but the antenna system was light, versatile, simple, and reliable. This seemed like a nice compromise for the time it takes to configure and reconfigure it.
Then I got greedy. I didn't want to leave the operating position during the contest. Being on the air during the contest from a little spot in paradise wasn't enough. I wanted to be competitive! I wanted antennas available for all the contesting bands (save 160m) set up and ready for use. I didn't want to lose time (and points) by fiddling with antennas when I should be running! This is where things started to go wrong.
I convinced myself that a tribander, a light one to be sure, would give me three bands with one piece of coax. A win, right? Well, perhaps. The Buddipole system weighs about 8 pounds. The tribander weighs a little more by the time you add in hardware to mount it. What's a few pounds, right? Then I needed something to mount it upon. I needed a mast. Two 8-foot painters poles would do nicely. Toss in another five to six pounds. Can you see where this is going?
Unwilling to recognize the big uptick in weight, I assuaged my conscience by telling myself I was getting three bands on one piece of coax. Yes. That was true. But I always could have three bands with that one piece of coax--just not simultaneously!
My approach of using fishing poles and fiberglass masts for holding up the ends of vertical antennas for the lower bands has always leveraged the height of a second or even third floor balcony. A 20 foot fishing pole may therefore hold up a 33-foot wire if that pole is fixed to a third story balcony railing. A 20 foot fishing pole weighs about a pound. That's a good deal!
My selection of the villa for this trip was done hastily and, I fear, poorly. No such second or third story balconies exist so far as I can tell. So, my masterful use of that additional height in previous trips cannot be repeated here. It gets a lot harder if you are trying to hold up a 66 foot 80m vertical from near ground level. In previous trips, I was able to get the 33 foot mast (about 4 pounds) up high enough to support the 66 foot wire vertical for 80m. It may have run down at an angle, but it worked nicely.
This trip forced me to bring out the 40-foot collapsible Spider Beam mast. It is a magnificent piece of engineering, but it weighs 8 pounds! And, I still need to bring the 33-foot mast for the 40/15m vertical wire antenna. So, I just tacked on 8 extra pounds to accomplish the same things I've done previously. Do things start to sound like they are out of control yet?
Let's review: I previously used the Buddipole for 6-20m (8 pounds). I've now replaced that with about 16-20 pounds of Mosley beam, mast material, boom-to-mast couplers, and hardware. I previously deployed 40m and 80m vertical wire antennas with 5 pounds of masts; this time it will take 12 pounds of masts to do the same job. This is an increase of almost 20 pounds from previous efforts. Yes, the beam should give me some gain--a little--but is it worth it?
Tucked neatly in my carry-on bag is the FT-817 and LDG Z11 tuner. The accessory kit is for the radio is packed in one of the other bags. I decided that having no back-up radio at all was probably stupid. I had taken back-up radios on almost all of my other trips and I shouldn't skimp here. Note that I don't count the weight of my carry-on stuff in my 100 pound budget. It isn't checked. So, this, too, is extra since it used to be included in the weight budget. Add another 5 pounds to the overage.
Greed is still working overtime. I've had compliments on my audio when operating from various locations. The Heil headsets do a very good job and I'm lucky to have a voice that drives them well. But, the bottom of the solar cycle is upon us and I wanted that little extra punch you get from high-end audio processing. I ordered the W2IHY EQ Plus system with all the cables for Icom IC-746Pro and IC-7000, Yaesu, Kenwood (for my K2). I'll reserve final judgement until we see the on-air results, but initial indications are this system works very well. It also weighs about 8 pounds packed. There's another 8 tipping the scale. DO you see the pattern yet?
My 100 Pound DXpedition is weighing in at about 210 pounds right now. The Pelican case comes in at 45. The two checked rolling bags come in right at 50 pounds (actually, they weighed in at 51 pounds each but the nice lady at the counter didn't ding me on it). The golf case came in at 65 pounds. Sure, the two of us checked all this in so we met the main criteria for a 100 Pound DXpedition: travel only with what will fit in checked bags, but there is too much stuff! Way too much!

This trip can serve as both a positive and negative example. On the plus side, it is possible to bring a very large compliment of gear even within the airline weight and space restrictions. I have all of the above plus tools, antenna analyzer, dacron rope, bungies, a couple of Heil Headsets (both the noise canceling units and the Traveler Dual), and more. It fit. It (somehow) made the weight cutoff. I should be able to deploy an impressive station while on St. Kitts.
The negatives for my execution are numerous and somewhat embarrassing. I did not think through the implications of trying to do intensive contesting. I just started chucking stuff in the pile--the very thing I've been preaching against all this time! I didn't fully understand or explore what tradeoffs were being made, and when I did attempt to do the math, I did it badly. Swapping the beam in for the Buddipole wasn't an even trade, though I kept assuring myself it was. Finally, I just got gadget-happy with the W2IHY unit. Sure, it will do a great job and I'll probably be very glad I have it, but I didn't even consider the weight when I ordered it. I wanted it, I knew it would help, I assured myself that I would "figure out how to pack it later." Duh. Bad plan.

All along I've tried to say what I've done right, what I've done wrong, and what I'd change to make things better. I plenty for all those categories tonight! I believe this is also the last of these major trips I'll take for a while. I was lucky enough to go to Montserrat with a great bunch of guys earlier this year. I'll be on St. Kitts in just hours. I'll have participated in one of my favorite contests from paradise by the end of the weekend. And, I believe I've figured out most of this 100 Pound DXpedition stuff. I hope I've shared enough here that you have figured it out, too. Maybe I just need a vacation from all these vacations! {grin}

I hope to be set up on St. Kitts this time tomorrow. Watch the packet spotting network for V4/NE1RD. 73 from Miami, Florida!

The eve of St. Kitts

2007-10-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

The week before a vacation is always hectic. There are things to do around the house, projects to finish at work, and of course all the preparations for the trip. We have one more day at home before our sunrise flight to Miami Tuesday. We'll need the time.
Packing is not yet complete. I had hoped to have this done at least a week ago, but failed miserably.
Execution on this trip planning and preparations has been sloppy at best. I have a thousand excuses but they are all lame. Truth be told, I have not been able to apply the same focus for this trip that I have put towards previous trips. We'll see if the results suffer because of it.
I currently have three bags packed:

A Pelican 1610 case with the radio, tuner, power supply, mixer, and lots of cables.
A golf bag with the Mosley Mini-32-A, two painter poles cut to be a mast for the beam, a 33-foot mast, a 40-foot mast, a couple of 20-foot fishing poles, and a few 48-inch fiberglass rods that I'll use to hold up radials.
A soft-sided long bag with tools, coax, headphones, the W2IHY box, and the Timewave analyzer.

The total weight of the above is about 150 pounds, still less than 100 pounds per person, but more than I would prefer. And, that doesn't include the things I pulled out tonight including coax, the backup radio (FT-817), and the small Buddipole system. The last item is most troubling. The Buddipole has always been my safety net. I can make an antenna for any band 80-6 with it and its tripod eliminates needs for external supports. If there is room (and weight) available in the fourth bag, I'll try to sneak it in. It would be too weird without it.
The ARRL had an announcement for me which in the ARLD043 DX news which read like this:

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS, V4. Scott, NE1RD will be QRV as V4/NE1RD
from St. Kitts, IOTA NA-104, from October 24 to 31. He plans
to run QRP power in the upcoming CQ WW SSB contest. QSL to home call.

Well, I'm not planning on running QRP, but the rest is good. I'm not sure where they got the idea I'd be running QRP. Perhaps they read my goals section on the DXpedition web site where I mentioned QRP, or maybe because I'd been QRP in the last couple of years they thought I'd repeat on St. Kitts. For the record: I'm planning on running Low Power (100 watts) unless the IC-7000 dies. If it does, I'm down to the FT-817 (assuming I find a way to bring it) and I'm back down to QRP.

Sandy is packing clothes and books while I type this. I still have that task ahead of me. My next entry will likely be from St. Kitts on Wednesday. I'll try to post pictures of the installed antennas.

W2IHY

2007-10-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

If you've not been visiting spaceweather.com you've been missing... nothing. The Sun's face is blank today. The Sun's face was blank yesterday. The Sun's face was blank the day before yesterday. Are you sensing a pattern? I'm new to the hobby. This is my first solar minimum. Somebody! Please tell me this isn't forever!
To paraphrase, "Everybody talks about the space weather, but nobody does anything about it!" Well, today I did... sort of.
I received a couple of notes in response to my post "I am a junk-box junkie" asking me if I had considered the high-end audio components from W2IHY Technology. Specifically, the EQplus unit provides processing that adds compression and depth to the audio to give it a very nice "DX punch". I had seen these units at Dayton but had dismissed the boxes as unnecessary. I am lucky to have a reasonably good voice for HF and usually have no trouble being heard, but the extremely poor conditions at the bottom of the cycle, and my friendly wager made me reconsider this option. At this point, I believe I could use all the help I can get!
I called W2IHY just after noon today and caught Julius Jones just as he was trying to slip out for lunch. I could have placed the order on-line but I wanted to be sure that I ordered all of the right stuff the first time. After all, I leave in just a week! I'm really glad I did this over the phone.
The conversation started out easily enough. Mr. Jones is quite personable and put me at ease immediately. I reciprocated, of course. He asked, "what is your call sign?" ""NERD!"," I said. "N E 1 R D." With that he laughed out loud and it took him a few moments to regain his composure. "I bet you're an engineer", he said, still chuckling. "Indeed I am!", I replied.
Now it was down to business. As long as I'm doing this, I got all the cables necessary to drive all the radios I own: Icom IC-746Pro, Icom IC-7000, Yaesu FT-817, and Elecraft K2 (with Kenwood microphone wiring). I arranged for quick shipping (though he normally sends things Priority Mail which is reasonably fast). It should arrive in the next couple of days.
The new audio "solution" also generates a new "problem": I have no place in the big Pelican case for the new gizmo. Ah, the challenges of packing never end.
I'll report here what I discover about this wondrous device before, during, and after the trip.

I am a junk-box junkie

2007-10-12T22:14:00.000-04:00

I am planning to bring my Yaesu FT-817 to St. Kitts as my backup rig. Should something horrible happen to the IC-7000 I would still be able to make some contacts. In fact, if I were to enter the CQ WW DX SSB contest in the QRP category I would set the record for that category on St. Kitts by default as no QRP entry has ever been made from there!
One problem with the FT-817 is the lack of a speech compressor. Speech compression can make an enormous difference in putting punch in your signal, especially at QRP levels.
A few years ago I purchased two of the DYC-817 compressors from Box 73, a web site associated with FUNK Amateur radio magazine. I assembled them both and gave one to a good friend Steve (W1CTO). We then traveled to Maine to the house of Steve's in-laws to operate Field Day QRP. The units appeared to work fine for the first hour or so, then Steve's unit died. About an hour later, mine died. I can't explain it. {sigh}
The failure of the DYC-817s was pretty disappointing. And, I still had the problem! I next opted for the W4RT One BIG Punch, a circuit board inserted into the hand microphone for the radio. This works very well! I could just use this hand microphone but I would much rather use my headset and foot pedal. So, I'm back to where I started: I would like to have a speech compressor available for the FT-817.
I started looking around for a solution to this problem again last weekend and stumbled across the FAR Circuits SSM2165 kit. Well, "kit" is a little bit of a stretch. FAR Circuits sells the board bundled with the ICs, one of the two voltage regulators, and an inductor. The ICs and inductor are surface mount devices. The other components: resistors, potentiometers, capacitors, connectors, and enclosure are left to the builder to scrounge.
The board and ICs arrived today and I began the scavenger hunt this evening looking for the passive components. I had most of the resistors and capacitors in my junk box but came up empty on the circuit board-mounted pots and connectors. I'll drop by Electronics Plus in the morning to pick up the remaining parts. Perhaps I'll have a working stand-alone compressor for the FT-817 complete by the end of the weekend.
Or, perhaps I'll have a non-working stand-alone compressor by the end of the weekend. That's the problem with junk-box projects of course: they don't always work first time. If it doesn't work first time, it will likely sit until after my return from St. Kitts since I've got very little time left before we depart and there are many unfinished tasks still on my list. Cross your fingers.

Finally, a few quick notes out to my fellow bloggers:

Jeff (KE9V) mentioned my videos in his Long Delayed Echoes blog. Thanks, Jeff.

Steve (K9ZW) mentioned my MFJ Cub Transceiver pages in his With Varying Frequency blog. Thanks, Steve.

Scot (K9JY) got a well deserved call out from the ARRL main page today for his Amateur Radio Contesting blog. Yeah, I'm repeating myself (I mentioned this earlier) but Scot's blog is really good stuff! Thanks, Scot.

More talk and a another tip of the hat

2007-10-12T12:23:00.000-04:00

I received another invitation to present my talk The 100 Pound DXpedition last night. So, there are two chances to hear me in November. I will be presenting at the Montachusett Amateur Radio Association meeting on November 14, 2007. I will also be presenting at the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club on November 15, 2007. Meeting details may be found on the corresponding web sites.

Congratulations to Scot Herrick (K9JY) for being spotted by Stan Horzepa (WA1LOU) in his Surfin' column this week. Scot's contesting tips are superb and Stan's posting will give it the attention those tips (and Scot's blog) deserve. Well done.

Station wiring drawing revisited

2007-10-11T10:44:00.000-04:00

I had forgotten that I had made this drawing for the Montserrat trip. For those of you wondering what the wiring diagram looks like for the radio, computer, mixer, and so on, here it is:

The only differences between this diagram and the setup I had the other night are (1) no Whattmeter, (2) I routed audio out from the iPod back to the mixer instead of taking it from the computer, (3) I'm using the RIGtalk serial adapter instead of the Icom CT-17, and (4) no external microphone (I decided I didn't need it).

Contesting tips by K9JY

2007-10-10T20:49:00.000-04:00

I got a note today from Scot (K9JY). He posted a summary of his excellent 30 Ham Radio Contesting Tips and wondered if his fellow bloggers might wish to weigh-in. Of course!
First, a big tip of the hat to Scot for pulling this list together. I have advocated many of these things but did not have them so succinctly stated or well-organized in my notes, or this blog. His observations about using QRP operations to sharpen your skills are dead-on, for example. I can attest that this approach has helped me a great deal in the brief time I've been in the hobby.
Many of the items on the Scot's list also appeared in the presentations at Contesting University, but Scot left off one very important point that was emphasized during those classes at Dayton: successful contesting requires that you keep your butt in the chair. If you are not in the chair, you are not scoring points. Stay in the chair. Stay focused. Keep working.
Another common mantra in contesting is, "If you're not CQing, your losing." As somebody who works contests at low power or QRP power levels, I find this a bit harsh, but there is wisdom here. Search and pounce (S&P) can provide a steady stream of points, but calling CQ and establishing a run is the only way to win those big contests. While you can't do this the whole time when you run low power or QRP, there are times when this is possible. In one contest I found an empty space on 80m and started calling CQ. After a few minutes I had a nice run going. The contest required the exchange of power levels (perhaps it was ARRL SS, I forget) and contact after contact received my exchange--including the indication that I was running QRP. One fellow, quite amazed at what he heard, asked for a repeat of the exchange and then asked, "you're QRP and you're calling CQ?" Amused, I replied, "Sure! You heard me fine, right? Why not?!"
That one thing: learning to be heard, might be the most important skill contesting will help sharpen. Whether it be in a contest or trying to break that pile-up for that rare DX station, learning how to be heard above the fray is an extremely valuable skill and contesting might be the most fun way to hone it.

Again, my congratulations to Scot for a fine series in September. Thank you!

Pre-St. Kitts equipment check

2007-10-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

We leave first thing in the morning two weeks from tomorrow. There is still much to do. I spent tonight doing a final equipment check for the radios, power supplies, and recording equipment. Here it is (though it will be organized better on St. Kitts).

Just before the Montserrat trip I also did this exercise. I set up a station with only those thing found in the Pelican case. I participated in the North American QSO Party just long enough to be sure thing were working. After putting 50 QSOs in the log I packed everything back up and began checking antenna stuff, coax, tools, and so on.
As fellow blogger David (K2DBK) says, "Turn in your log!" I did even for this very light effort and actually beat a few other fellows here in MA. Go figure!

I have had several inquiries about the use of the mixer and the capture of audio. The system is quite simple. The Behringer UB502 Eurorack mixer takes audio from several sources and combines them into a single audio feed. The connections are as follows:

Icom IC-7000 external speaker to mixer input 2/3

Yaesu FT-817 headphone jack to mixer input 4/5

Heil headphones to the mixer headphone jack

iPod headphone jack is connected to mixer tape in

Mixer tape out is connected to the Belkin TuneTalk iPod recording device

There is a button on the mixer called Tape to Mix which allows you to play back the iPod audio through the headphones without changing any wiring.
The mixer weighs very little but the brick on a leash power supply is hefty. Also, in order to keep the audio clean, I need to snap on a bunch of ferrite (which also eats into my weight budget). This is a tradeoff I'm willing to make, though, so I can meet one of the DXpedition goals: capture audio and video from the adventure so I can show people how much fun I had later!

A small wager

2007-10-07T18:16:00.000-04:00

I just returned from the Yankee Clipper Contest Club meeting. This is the first one held since the summer recess and clearly they wanted to "light a fire" underneath us to go out and kick butt. ("Kick butt!" is the club slogan. If you do any contesting at all, you've probably heard that on the air at least once.)
One of the suggestions from club president Mark Pride (K1RX) was to pick another club member to compete with in the next contest. I knew Paul Young (K1XM) was heading off to Saint Martin/Saint Maarten for CQ WW DX SSB so I let my hand pop up and said I'd be on St. Kitts. So, if Paul does Single Operator Low Power (SOLP), we'll compare scores.
Of course, if he does, I'm going to get my head handed to me. Paul is an extremely accomplished contester, world traveler, and very bright fellow. He's also expecting to have a log periodic for 20-10m on a 60 foot tower at his disposal. The only questions he has about his operation are "low power or high power?" (will his amplifier be there and working), and "assisted or unassisted"?) as he doesn't know about his internet connection options.
Just to give you some idea of how much trouble I'm in here, Paul's previous effort for this contest on Bermuda as VP9I delivered 2,905,112 points with 3,384 QSOs, 91 zones, and 301 countries. Putting this number in perspective is easy: Paul's single effort in one contest last year exceeded the sum of all my points from all contests. Ever.
Paul is the real deal and the "bet" is on. I now have one more goal for the trip (though realistically, this should be put squarely in the "stretch goal" category!). I'll make a note on the DXpedition web site how this worked out.

My beloved Chicago Cubs will need to wait another year to give its fans a championship. In the mean time, the Red Sox continue to perform. Even after a quarter century here in New England I'm still a Cub fan first and Red Sox fan second. So, while the Cubbies go home to lick their wounds, it looks like the Red Sox will advance to the next round.

For sale: Force-12 Sigma-5

2007-10-05T14:12:00.001-04:00

I have just put the Force-12 Sigma-5 on eBay. Click on the link to follow the auction.

It took a long time for me to come to this conclusion. I like the antenna! But, it just doesn't travel well enough for my uses. At this point, I just want to find it a good home.

Model release form

2007-10-05T11:58:00.001-04:00

For those of you who might wonder why we went to the trouble of making a Model Release Form for the DXpedition, read this tidbit from today's New York Times. Using someone's image requires their permission in many cases. Best to get it... up front.

Jamaica 100 Pound DXpedition by N0NJY

2007-10-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

Mail has backed up in my inbox. I just found this message from Rick Donaldson (N0NJY) about his upcoming trip. Here are the details. Sounds like fun!

Hey there!

I JUST found your 100 pound DXpedition site. haha. Wife and I are leaving on Tuesday for Jamaica. Below is our announcement if you can post it someplace on your sites. We're doing this with about 35 pounds of equipment, and our two pieces of luggage. Hope we get there ok!

Thanks!

73

Rick Donaldson, N0NJY

Jamaica DXpedition 2007 is a GO!

Who: NØNJY/6Y5, KBØIRW/6Y5 (Rick and JoAnne Donaldson)
What: Jamaica DXPedition
When: 12-14 October 2007
Where: Runaway Bay, Jamaica, West Indies
Why: For FUN! Island DXpedition (Celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and 18 years as hams together!)
QSL: Home call (NØNJY)

Operational Times: APPROXIMATELY 17ØØ-21ØØ UTC on Friday and Saturday, and 17ØØ-2ØØØ on Sun

Frequency: Split frequency operation during operations hours on 14.19Ø +/-1Ø KHz, TX, Listening 14.2ØØ - 14.23Ø (+/- 1Ø KHz)

Equipment: ICOM IC-735, Alinco Power Supply, Home brew antenna (Pictures on blog site for equipment)

Blog site with much more information for comments, and QSL information etc is located at: http://jamaicadxpedition2007.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone!

73,

Rick Donaldson
US Callsign NØNJY
Jamaica Call NØNJY/6Y5

Gear selection part 1

2007-10-03T15:19:00.000-04:00

The trip is now this month. In fact, I will be on-island in three weeks. Time to get these plans finalized. I will start with the main pile of radio gear. Here is the collection as of today. Except where noted, all this stuff is organized nicely in a Pelican 1610 case.

ICOM IC-7000 - This will be the main transceiver for the trip. It gives me 100 watts out, DSP, internal voice and CW keyers, and rig control functions in a very small and lightweight package.

HamMac - Computer logging is mandatory for any serious DXpedition or contesting effort. The computer is loaded with both MacOS X and Windows XP, runs logging programs like MacLoggerDX and N1MM, along with some software I have written for DXpeditions that process my log file and produce an HTML version for an online log searching feature for the DXpedition web site. The computer also has electronic copies of all manuals for items taken on the trip, propagation software, complete copies of the ARRL Antenna book and Handbook, and much more. This is not just a computing tool; this is also a reference library.

LDG AT-7000 - This tuner has the same footprint as the radio and tunes over a wide range. I hope to have only resonant antennas erect, but this is my "backup plan" should I need to run something weird like a random wire or loop around the building. It weighs very little and takes up very little space in the Pelican case. Plus, the interface is so easy: just push the "tune" button on the radio and it does all the work. I like that.

Heil Headset - I actually have three different Heil headsets:
All of these headsets are very nice. The Proset Plus usually stays connected to the desktop rig at home. The Pro Set Quiet Phone noise canceling headset was purchased after using one at K1TTT's superstation. The Traveler Dual Side was used on the Montserrat DXpedition and performed well (and was comfortable on the head, too). My plan is to pack both the Traveler Dual Side and the Pro Set Quiet Phone headsets. They don't weigh much, and I don't know which feature will be most important while down on St. Kitts: the low weight of the Traveler, or the noise canceling circuitry of the Pro Set Quiet Phone. For a few extra ounces, I can bring both. The headsets get packed in with the clothes (not in the Pelican case).

Foot switch - Keeping both hands free for logging is very important. I have never liked VOX. Perhaps the same thing could be accomplished with VOX, but I am much more comfortable with the foot switch. Just stomp to talk works for me!

Mixer - I am bringing the Behringer UB502 mixer. I recorded every on-air moment to my iPod down on Montserrat and it provided lots of great source material for presentations. (Also, if there was a question about me goofing up a log entry, I could go back and hear the QSO again. Nice.) Plus, after hearing the audio presented by the CN2R superstation, I'm wondering if I couldn't do something like that, too.

Alinco power supply - The heavy, but extremely rugged, DM-330 power supply served me well on Montserrat and will be accompanying me on this trip, too. Why this one? Lame as this might sound, this is the power supply I saw used by in a very impressive DXpedition video. Good enough for them? Good enough for me! It is a bit heavier than I would like, but seem very, very solid. Oh, and it is dead quiet, too. No hash at all. Recommended.

AntennaSmith antenna analyzer - The TZ-900 AntennaSmith from Timewave has been very helpful (and instructive) this spring and summer as I evaluate various antenna configurations and ideas. This will be packed in its own small Pelican case with the charger and USB cable in a separate bag. The Analyzer, like the headsets, also gets stuffed in with my clothes.

Small parts and cables - Also packed within boxes stuffed into the big Pelican case are various cables and small parts. These include a RigTalk, patch cables for the LDG tuner, adapters for the Heil headsets, power supply for the mixer, power harnesses for the power supply, radio, and tuner, extra snap on chokes to manage stray RF along wires, and various PL259/BNC/SO-239 connectors that are invaluable when you need to "try something" while visiting that faraway place.

This is the contents of the main Pelican case (plus some extra pieces) so far. All that is left to inventory are antennas, coax, rope, and tools. I'm still sorting out things in these categories. By the way, the Pelican case now weighs about 45 pounds. Note that includes the weight of the case (22 pounds). Life is good.
I'll continue the inventory discussion over the next couple of days. Perhaps a couple of pictures might help, too. I'll see what I can do.

Nashua group presentation

2007-10-01T22:27:00.000-04:00

I just returned home after presenting my 100 Pound DXpedition talk to the Nashua Radio club. It was a good group and a good time was had by all.
This is the last presentation before my St. Kitts trip later this month. That's good. I've got lots of planning to finish before we leave. It is time to get focused.

I'm still exhilarated over building that little MFJ radio this weekend. The Elecraft K1 Sandy got me for Valentine's Day is still in the box. I think the four day weekend around Thanksgiving would be a very nice time to get this project started. I don't know if I have the patience to take the pictures and do the write-up for the K1 like I did for the MFJ Cub, but I'm considering it.

MFJ Cub

2007-09-29T23:44:00.000-04:00

I have added "How to: Build a MFJ Cub Transceiver" to my home page "Hints and Kinks" section. You can get to my home page here: bsandersen.com.
I assembled and aligned this radio in one day. Well, I did all that, took the pictures, and did the web pages in one day! So, if all you're doing is assembling the radio, it should take only a few hours.
I set up the soldering iron late this morning and turned on the computer. Before I sat at the bench I cranked up a whole list of Soldersmoke podcasts. I had been so busy lately that I had fallen behind. I'm still not caught-up, but I got through eight of them today. They made an excellent backdrop to my own bench work.
I picked one of the worst days of the year to test the radio, though. The 40m band is filled to the brim with RTTY contesters. This does not make a very good environment for checking out the sensitivity of a new receiver!
I did not mention these items in the web pages but I'll add them here. Elecraft make some Mini-Module Kits that are very helpful for breathing life into a new radio:

DL1 Wideband 20W Dummy Load -- I used this to test and align the transmitter.

N-gen Wideband Noise Generator (100 kHz - 500 MHz) -- Peaking the filters in a radio is tedious work but this device provides a steady and extremely wide-band signal source. Just keep fiddling until the noise is loud, louder, loudest!

XG1 Receiver Test Oscillator / S-Meter Calibrator -- I have the original one that is a single band. Luckily, the band happened to be 40m. Elecraft has a new one that works on 3 bands (80m, 40m, 20m). Tune the radio to 7.040 and set it to 1 micro-volt. Can you hear it? If you can, that is good news indeed.

None of this helped me in my planning or packing for the St. Kitts trip. But, I love to build things and it had been a very long time since I'd built a significant kit. Melting solder is good! Tomorrow I'm back to St. Kitts planning. But tonight I'm going to play with the new rig...

Melting solder

2007-09-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

The ARRL has a new fall lineup of publications. I purchased the new Antenna book at Dayton and have ordered the new Handbook from the web site along with some other items. The first of it arrived today including the new version of Low Power Communications by Rich Arland (W3OSS, formerly K7SZ). [I tried to put a link in for the book but the ARRL site is tangled up at the moment.] The ARRL had a special bundling the book with a 40m QRP-Cub Transceiver Kit from MFJ. Though Sandy would likely insist otherwise, Scott needs a new toy! I will assemble the radio tomorrow. I have been missing the smell of melting solder.
I had lunch with my friend Rich (AB1HD). He had borrowed my FT-817 and some accessories to give them a workout with his digital gear. The last of the pile was returned today including the PAR End-Fedz 20/40m end-fed half-wave (EFHW) QRP antenna. I believe this particular model is discontinued and replaced with a 10/20/40m version. Both are rated at 25 watts continuous duty.
When I came home tonight I used my throw bag to get a line quickly up in a tree to see if the antenna is still in good tune. The 20m band looked great; the 40m band dipped far below 7 MHz. Adjusting the antenna is done by doubling back some of the wire on the end. I eyeballed the amount to change and had it resonant in the middle of the 40m band the first try.
Though this antenna is rated only for QRP or very low power work, it could still have a place on a DXpedition. If you wanted a quick way to hoist an antenna for listening for band openings, this one is a good idea. Also, you can hang this off a balcony from a high floor hotel room. It needs no counterpoise (though a small one does help) so it is ideal for those situations where you must deploy an antenna in a small area. Note that the other PAR Electronics offerings handle 100 watts or more. If the others are as nice as the one I own, I believe you'll be happy with them.

I would like to offer my humble congratulations to the 3B7C team for their efforts on St. Brandon. According to their press release this evening they put in 137,500 QSOs. Wow. They didn't use the "no sunspots" excuse; they just got it done. First class operators and good organization prevail. I have spent many hours watching DXpedition videos, reading DXpedition articles and books, and studying all that I can find from those who do this well. Obviously I'll be scouring anything coming from the Five Star DXers relating to this trip. It is one for the record books.

ZF2LH on 17m

2007-09-27T18:12:00.000-04:00

I sneaked1 out of work early to come home and watch the Cubs game. Though I have a very short commute, I tuned up on 17m and found ZF2LH (Larry) on 18.15750 hanging out and putting a few QSOs in the log on the HFPack calling frequency. He was on a Buddipole and had a pretty good signal though the band was closing. I wonder what configuration he was using? Anyway, keep checking these higher bands for openings. They are open much more often than you might expect.

Before I became engrossed in the game, I was able to sort about 50 cards for the outgoing QSL buro. I'll drop that box in the mail tomorrow along with some direct requests that came this week. This means I have only a small handful of NE1RD/1 cards to turn around to be completely free of QSL cards. Hooray!

[1] I had written "snuck" as in "I had snuck out of work", but the dictionary insists that "sneaked" is preferred. Who knew?

Propagation planning meandering

2007-09-26T15:17:00.000-04:00

One of the things Sandy and I did last weekend was pull together a pile of "spare" Buddipole parts to make a rugged version of the antenna. The VersaTee is the centerpiece of the unit with three shock-cord whips (two 5-section whips and one 7-section whip for the vertical radiator), and a pair of coils from the oldest of my Buddipole systems. I put a description of the antenna on the Yahoo Buddipole Users Group (BUG) this morning after a couple of emails were exchanged with Budd and Chris at Buddipole Antennas. Because the antenna has two shock-cord whips as elevated radials it performs much better than the "L" configuration (which has only one horizontal element). The far-field pattern should be nice and even in the azimuthal plane with a take-off angle between 20 and 30 degrees, depending on the ground beneath it. My first contact with this setup was with Wales on 20m. It was late afternoon here so Wales was in darkness. I still got a solid 59 with just 100 watts. I'll take it!
This is another candidate for the St. Kitts trip. The package weighs about 5 pounds (less mast). One thought is to configure a 17m version and put it on top of the painters pole mast I'm using for the Mosley beam. I'd run the two horizontal elements in parallel with the boom of the Mosley. I might need to try this before I leave. The California QSO Party is this weekend. Perhaps I will assemble the Mosley one more time after all!

HamMac got more tender loving care last night. I put the DXpedition web site source code on it, updated iLife and iWork, and installed DXLab suite. We were lucky to have the author of this software speak to our local club recently and I was convinced that I should have some of these resources available to me for my next trip. It seems like very good stuff!
I typically use MacLoggerDX as my logging program for DXpedition and contest logging. I probably will again for this trip, but I wanted to have the option of using N1MM if the mood struck me. This logging program is a favorite of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and is becoming a favorite of contesters in general. The comfort factor with MLDX is high with me. It has never let me down. We'll see.

The next big thing that needs to be done (and I've not started) is propagation planning. Now that I have an antenna that is directional, I'll need to figure out where (and when) to point it. The ARRL Antenna Book comes with a bunch of propagation prediction tables, there are many software offerings that do predictions, and there is a wealth of information for this on the web and elsewhere. It needs to be done. I don't want to be in the contest on Friday night wondering if I should be changing bands or turning the antenna. I should have that figured out well before I leave!

Finally, a note about traffic to this site. I'll never have the following guys like KE9V enjoy with his Long Delayed Echoes, nor should I. Jeff is promising new podcasts and I suspect the wires will be warmed by the number of downloads that generates. I know I'm excited to hear them!
This forum is reasonable for dropping some hints about the things I'm thinking about day-to-day, but deeper planning discussions or deeper analysis is best done through another mechanism.
All that said, the readers are spread out all over the planet. (I think this map shows the last 25 readers when the snapshot was taken.) I would just like to say to everybody, Thank you for reading! And thank you for all the supportive comments received both here on the blog and privately. They are appreciated.

Click on the image above for a larger view of the map.

3B7C now QRT

2007-09-25T16:57:00.000-04:00

The 3B7C online log now shows both my QSOs.

I represent just two of 135,718 QSOs in their log. Amazing!
Congratulations to the Five Star DXers Association for a job well done.

Antennas for travel: bring your brain

2007-09-25T10:59:00.000-04:00

I announced earlier this month that I was working on a white paper Antennas for 100 Pound DXpeditions. I am still working on this, and will continue working on it through the end of this year before I can claim that I have a complete draft. I had a very early (and sketchy) version of this up in the NE1RD Download Area for a few days to solicit comments, but I've since taken it down. I will put up a new (partial) version again after my return from St. Kitts.
This exercise is really a continuation of the research that I had been doing since the beginning of this adventure, and especially a continuation of a series of blog posts that I had done a year ago called Antennas for travel. In those posts I talked about fishing poles, Force-12 Sigma-5, Buddipole, Buddistick, and Superantennas MP-1. One thing I should emphasize is this: I rarely use an antenna right out of the box without thinking about what it is doing and how I can make it better. So, for example, when I say I used the Superantenna MP-1 on Hawaii, please note that I didn't use the stubby little 4 foot whip that came with it; I used the 12 foot MFJ whip. Also, I didn't just use the stubby little 8 inch rod packaged with the antenna; I added a 22 inch Buddipole arm (or two). Check out the photo below.

What's the difference? There is a great deal of difference! If you start with a 12 foot whip and add another two feet or even four feet in Buddipole arms, you have a full-sized, or nearly full-sized antenna for 20m. Compare that to an antenna that is only a 1/2 or even 1/3 the length of a full-sized radiator you would have if you simply used the parts that came in the box. There is a great deal of difference indeed!
The most important part of any antenna system is your brain. Bring it, you might need it. {grin} Take a look a what an antenna system offers out of the box, then ask yourself, "what can be done to make it better?" For antennas that use the standard 3/8 inch by 20 threads, the most obvious thing you can do to better the performance of the antenna is to add a long (12 foot) whip, and extend the area under the loading coil with items like a Buddipole arm or Hustler fiberglass pole. Full-sized antennas are better than shortened compromises. Doing everything you can to eliminate the need for a loading coil also helps. (Capacity hats are worth a whole post by themselves!)

Experiment. Part of the charter of the Amateur Radio Service is to extend the knowledge of this science and art. Those are high-sounding words, but you can help fulfill that charter by being a little adventurous with the antennas you use while traveling. You'll likely get better performance, make more contacts, and have more fun.

Backup rig

2007-09-24T12:14:00.000-04:00

I was up late last night (again). While Sandy was upstairs watching baseball, I was downstairs with the evening's project spread over the whole of the bed. I turned on The War by Ken Burns and began to work, first straightening out my Yaesu FT-817 kit, and then bring HamMac up to date.
The FT-817 has served as my "backup" radio for trips. Weight and space permitting, I'll include this in my St. Kitts DXpedition, too. If the Icom IC-7000 dies before the contest, I guess I'll change my category to QRP and work as much as I can with 5 watts. Of course I don't expect that to happen, but there's nothing wrong with being prepared.
In addition to the radio, I have a small power supply and the LDG Z-11 automatic antenna tuner with the W4RT one-touch-tune accessory. In fact, I have a bunch of the WR4T Electronics accessories including the FT-817 Reference book, the One BIG Punch speech compressor, a 500 Hz CW filter, and a bale.
I made a modification to the radio last year adding a small box to the rear with a PowerPole connector. The small power supply leads terminates in a PowerPole, the radio has a PowerPole connector, and the power cord for the tuner also has a PowerPole connector. I had somehow misplaced my "Y" connector for the power (so I could route juice to both the radio and tuner) so I crimped another as part of last night's exercise. Once that new power harness was in place, both the radio and tuner fired up happily.
It was then time to turn to HamMac. HamMac, as you might remember, is my laptop dedicated to radio work, especially DXpeditions and travel. I have not been deliberate in keeping the software up-to-date, nor had it been backed-up in a while. I worked towards both of those goals last night as part of this exercise. Included in the effort was installation of the new drivers for the West Mountain Radio RIGtalk USB rig control interface. MacLoggerDX recognized the radio immediately. (OOPS. MLDX was also out-of-date. A quick download and now I'm running the latest version of the logging program, too.)
The rest of the evening was spent loading software, manuals, and books on to the machine. I added the ARRL Antenna Book CD, the ARRL Handbook CD, and the ON4UN Low Band DXing CD. For fun, I also added the Chuck Adams (K7QO) Morse Code course. I'm trying, but sometimes I think my brain has become a dried and brittle thing.
I need to now review what is on the laptop and determine what else, if anything, needs to be added. I'll begin that effort tonight.

The St. Brandon log (3B7C) didn't have my 20m QSO in it when I looked this morning. Hopefully, this will appear later today. I did work them. Well, I'll put it on the card and (along with the 80m contact that does appear in the on-line log) and see if they confirm it.

Painter pole mast

2007-09-23T17:06:00.000-04:00

Thirty days until our departure. I just realized there are only four more weekends to finish up my trip planning. I need to get focused!

Sandy and I made a trip to Home Depot yesterday. There were a number of last minute items on the list but the biggest problem to solve was that of the mast for the Mosley Mini-32-A beam. I have heavy duty aluminum mast sections that I purchased from The Mast Company but each 48 inch section weighs 2.2 pounds (1 Kg). This is great stuff. It held up a very heavy monoband yagi on Field Day. It supported the very heavy Force-12 C3SS on Deer Isle, Maine for a special event. I just need far less for the 6 pound Mini-32A.
I purchased two 8 foot painter poles. I cut the threaded head off of one pole and removed the rubber bottom from the other. They now slip together nicely. A simple bolt through the two poles allows the stacked combination to be about 15 feet in length. It looked sturdy, but would it support the weight of the antenna?
Yes. I assembled (for the last time before the trip) the Mosley this morning and popped it on top of the stacked painters poles. Once guyed, it was quite solid. I'm considering adding a third painters pole! That would give me a combined height of about 22 feet from the three poles. Each pole weighs about 2 pounds so I've cut my weight for mast material in half. I like that!

The St. Brandon team (3B7C) is wrapping up their work. I had hoped to work them on either 20m phone or CW before they packed up. I listed on 14.022 for a very long time. I could barely hear them. Then I bounced back and forth between phone and CW ends of the band vowing to make my attempt as soon as they were readable in either mode.
The Mosley was set up outside the shack's window and pointed towards St. Brandon. (MacLoggerDX has a beam pointing feature but I'd never used it before today!) Finally, an opening on phone gave me my chance. I made my call and the return from 3B7C came though cloaked in QSB. A big tip-of-the-hat to the operator on St. Brandon. He spent the extra time confirming my call sign and fighting the noise to get me in the log. Thank you. I now have them confirmed on two bands. It should appear in their online log tomorrow morning.
This was a confidence builder for the antenna, but it also was a wake-up call for me. I had been hoping all this time that conditions and solar activity would have improved significantly by now. Obviously, they have not. If anything, conditions seem worse than those we had on Montserrat! I may need to reconsider my QSO goals for the trip.

Dave Bushong has a new podcast in his 99 Hobbies series. His guest this time is Carl Luetzelschwab (K9LA) discussing propagation. His podcasts are always fun. Give it a listen!

3B7C

2007-09-20T22:17:00.000-04:00

I worked St. Brandon (3B7C) on 80m phone last night. I'd love to work them a couple of more times before they go but I'll have to hurry. They will be QRT on 24 September according to their plan. If I wasn't so busy at work I would consider a DX-itis sick day. {grin}
The 3B7C web site has some really interesting stuff on it including a great feature that helps you plan when you should work them on a particular band. I wonder how hard that would be to add to my log processing program? Something to ponder, I guess.
This crew of top-tier operators is doing quite well considering it is at the bottom of the cycle. The Daily DX reported that the team has passed the 100,000 QSO mark. They also have a DXCC total of 187. Wow. One of my (stretch) goals is to work DXCC while on St. Kitts but I can't imagine putting that many in the log! They have been disappointed with 15m and 17m openings. That's not good news for me. I had hoped to work a bunch on 17m while on St. Kitts prior to the contest. We'll see if things improve in a month.
Speaking of which: the solar rotation cycle is about 27 days. So, we should start paying attention to solar conditions about 27 days prior to our arrival. That is near the end of this month. There are no guarantees, of course, but the part of the Sun facing us in a few days will be the part of the sun facing us during my week on St. Kitts. Let us all wish for sunspots and otherwise quiet conditions.
I'm still packing and weighing stuff. I may assemble the Mosley one more time this weekend and put it on the mast we're bringing. Maybe I can work 3B7C on SSB and CW on 20m with it. That would be a nice test!

Finally, if you have not already done so, you must visit Scot's (K9JY) web blog and catch up on his continuing series 30 Ham Radio Contest Tips. There are great ideas in here and not just for contesters. Highly recommended.

Twitter

2007-09-19T18:26:00.001-04:00

I am experimenting with Twitter, a very lightweight way to tell the world what you're doing. This isn't a substitute for the DX packet spotting system but it might be interesting while on a DXpedition to tell folks what I'm doing (setting up antennas, on the air, changing bands, trying 6m, etc.) You can use your regular RSS feed utility to follow along by using this URL.

feed://twitter.com/statuses/friends_timeline/8245932.rss

I will likely be using this on St. Kitts.

Presentation and award

2007-09-19T14:28:00.000-04:00

I've had a couple of things going these last few weeks that have kept me quite busy. First, and perhaps foremost, is the effort I'm putting into my antenna analysis white paper. I had a very preliminary draft up for a few days to solicit comments. I've since taken that down since so much has changed and been added. This is a long term project. Sure, I hope to get some results that I can use immediately for my St. Kitts planning, but I know I won't have a complete draft of this until early next year. I'll decide how best to distribute it when it is closer to completion.
It was a beautiful day on Sunday and I spent some chunk of it assembling the Mosley Mini-32-A beam with the new parts. It seemed to work very well. I've got one concern, though. One of the coils on the new parts has unraveled a bit on its plastic form. I think it will be fine for the St. Kitts trip, but I've got to think about what to do about this problem over the long term.
In addition to St. Kitts preparations, working on the antenna analysis white paper, and working a VE session Saturday morning, I've also been scrambling to get the new version of my 100 Pound DXpedition presentation ready. I finished the slides, audio and video editing, and rehearsals of the talk on Monday night. I gave the presentation to the PART club last night. It was well received (at least no rotten fruit was tossed in my direction). It is a completely revamped talk, much different and improved from the those I gave in 2006. I'm scheduled to give it twice more this year to other clubs (so far).
PART club elections were held last night. I had decided not to run again for club Secretary as I thought it would be good to bring in new blood to the Board of Directors. Steve Rimsa (WA1KBE) won that slot for the next year and I'm sure he'll do well. Congratulations, Steve!
Finally, prior to my talk I was presented with "Certificate of Merit" from the PART club for my contributions over the last few years. It was completely unexpected and, in a completely uncharacteristic way, I was speechless. For those who know me well, that is not a typical state for me! Anyway, the gesture is very much appreciated. It is a good group and I've been pleased to contribute in my small way. Here I am with PART President Bo Buddinger (WA1QYM) receiving the award.

Weighing in and self-sufficiency

2007-09-12T10:51:00.000-04:00

I've got a couple of things to report in today's entry. Things are starting to heat up for the St. Kitts trip. My packing exercise last weekend was a partial success. I have a first cut at the items to be brought with us on the trip but I'm still overweight. Since there are two of us I could bring a total of 200 pounds (100 per person) and still be within my general guidelines but I'm trying to reduce the total weight down to something considerably less. Here's where I stand right now (approximately):

Pelican 1610 -- 42 pounds. This now holds the IC-7000, Alinco power supply, LDG tuner, mixer and mixer power supply (for recording audio), and cabling for everything. The only thing missing for a complete station is microphone and paddles.

Golf case -- 60 pounds. This puts me over the 100 pound limit if I'm traveling by myself... but I'm not. {grin} In here is the 33-foot mast, Mosley beam, a three 20-foot fishing poles, pre-wired vertical antennas for 40/15 and 17m, radial wire, and a small Buddipole system. Also in here are five mast sections that weigh 2.2 pounds each (for a total of 11 pounds). There is other stuff in there as well, I'm sure. (I'm doing this from memory.) Note that coax and tools are not yet listed.

Miscellaneous stuff -- There is also a messy pile of stuff next to the big cases. A tool kit (10 pounds), 500 feet of coax (20 pounds), Heil headset in case with adapters (couple of pounds), antenna analyzer in small Pelican case (another couple of pounds), and a few odds-and-ends (Dacron rope, bungies, etc.).

As you can see, I'm still overweight. But, I could stick all those odds-and-ends, tools, and even coax in another bag (together all this stuff weighs much less than 50 pounds) with Sandy and I packing all our clothes and personal items into her bag. I know I could do this, but I'm hoping to do better.
One of the reasons why the weight is out-of-control is because the antenna plan is not yet complete. Do I need the mast sections? (11 pounds) Do I need all that coax? (Four pounds per hundred feet) Do I need all those tools?
The excess weight is an indication that I'm deferring decisions until I get to the island. That might be the right answer (wait-and-see), but it is more likely that I've just not thought about things enough here at home in my pre-trip planning. As more decisions are made more weight will come off the package.

I'm also scrambling a bit to get my new presentation finished for the talks I'm to give soon. I speak to the local club on Tuesday of next week. I present to the Nashua, NH club in October prior to the St. Kitts trip. I speak to another club in November. The first two talks will concentrate on the Montserrat trip; the November talk will most likely include things from the St. Kitts trip.
I bought a projector this week. It seemed like an extravagance but it takes a lot of pressure off of me. I won't be scrambling to borrow one every time I give a talk. I was on the edge of making the decision when another invitation came in the mail from the Framingham club. OK. Uncle. I picked up a Sharp XR-30X projector from Staples. I had a coupon for an online purchase, there was a $100 rebate on the unit, and overnight shipping was free. As the marketing slogan goes, "That was easy." This projector, combined with a small amplified speaker system, is all I need to do my presentations. I'm now self-sufficient.

Finally, I've been working feverishly on my study of antennas for 100 Pound DXpeditions. I've removed the very early (partial) draft from my public download area because there have been substantial additions (and some changes) since I put it up about a week ago. I've not gotten much feedback -- except that it is long -- from folks. I'm inclined to wait until I have something much closer to a finished product before showing it again at this point.
The last few nights have been spent studying the effects of ground. The type and shape of the ground beneath our antennas is always important but in these 100 Pound DXpeditions the antennas tend to be small, close to the ground, and situated above rocky or sandy dry soil. There are some things we might be able to do about this. I'm running though those experiments this week. There have already been some fascinating results!

That's plenty for today. Back to work!

Six

2007-09-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

This is not ham radio related. Skip it if you like.

My home town is Acton, Massachusetts. I wasn't born here, but I've lived here longer (nearly 25 years) than I've lived anywhere else. My QSL card has a picture of Acton town center with its obelisk and white clapboard town hall in the background. Just to the left and across the street from the green is a small monument with a brick pathway. I was there this morning at 8:46 AM.
I was also there a year ago on this day, and the year before that. On this sixth anniversary of 9/11 no bells were rung and no flags were carried. I was alone, sheltered from the light rain by large tree that stands between the small monument and the street.
There were no words today. I had none and no others were there to offer theirs. So, I stood in silence waiting for that one notable minute to pass.
Words that normally flow easily from my fingers now appear only haltingly. I cannot, or perhaps will not, convey all that I am thinking or all that I am feeling right now. Six years later I believe I am still processing the events of that day. It may take a lifetime to finish.

www.sep11memories.org

Packing (1st round) for St. Kitts

2007-09-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

I began the great equipment drive of 2007. Like those cattle drives of the Old West, pieces and parts are strewn over most of the living room floor with a slow and meticulous migration of all this junk towards the large cases that will eventually go to St. Kitts. I hope to have the first "draft" of the equipment packed into the Pelican 1610 and "Vault" golf case selected from all this stuff by the end of the day tomorrow. The balance will go back into storage. When I have a complete set I'll post the inventory and weight allocation here.
After a brief respite at the Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley celebrating a friend's 10th wedding anniversary, we returned home to this enormous mess still infesting most of the upstairs living space. Rather than deal with it, I returned to working on the antenna white paper Did I mention that the white paper is a partial draft? There is so much more to add it is dizzying. I began working on the low-band antenna section (which was left with little more than a "to do" in version 0.18). So, some of these antennas will be in the next version.
Finally, I was able to put in a full evening of work on my presentation materials last night. I've got the first of three talks to be given to local groups in just a week so I've got to get something finalized. Luckily, audio and video captured during the Montserrat trip is a lot more interesting than me talking... and I've got a bunch of that stuff. {grin}

Where'd he go?

2007-09-06T17:44:00.000-04:00

I have not blogged for about ten days. Miss me?
During this hiatus I have been trying to finish a draft of a white paper entitled Antennas for 100 Pound DXpeditions. You can find this in my download area. The file to download is named "Antennas-for-100.pdf" and it is approximately 26 MB in size so be patient.
I was not entirely happy with things I had done on Montserrat. Further, some of the "conventional wisdom" I received on various Buddipole configurations did not make sense to me (though I was reluctant to argue at the time). I decided not long after returning home that what was needed was a disciplined and scientific approach to this problem. What do these antennas do? How well do they perform? What configurations work? Which configurations are unsatisfactory?
I begin to answer some of these questions in this white paper. Here are some conclusions I've drawn on the Buddipole, for example:

No short whips -- The standard Buddipole configuration sold comes with stainless steel whips just under 6 foot long. They are too short for reasonable HF work. I will still use them for my 6 meter Yagi made from Buddipole parts, but I'll not use them again for HF. Period.

For 20 meters and up, no coils -- The standard Buddipole configurations specify coils and particular taps for the bands. I believe it makes more sense to remove the coils from the bag and substitute long whips (9 foot 4 inches) and two extra antenna arms. That can be used to make the antenna described below.

Only full-sized verticals for the Buddipole -- In the end, after looking at configuration after configuration for the Buddipole, the only one that really performs well is the full-size vertical with no coils and four radials. The 20 meter version requires four arms and a fully extended long whip, but it is great on that band.

At least 4 radials -- I've read lots of discussions about using just one sloping radial for the Buddipole. After extensive modeling, I am convinced this is a very bad idea. At least four radials are needed. Four elevated radials help create an antenna that performs very well. The one radial approach gives you a bizarre pattern with deep nulls.

I also analyze two other antennas: the Force-12 Sigma-5 and the TW Antennas Traveler. For their size, both antennas performed very well. The fact that they are multiband antennas (5 bands 10-12-15-17-20) fed with a single feed line means significant savings in coax weight. Instead of running five runs of small coax for five single band antennas, one could run a single length of high quality coax, reducing signal loss and still saving weight. It is important to assess whole systems of things, not just the pieces like the antenna.

I have presentations to give to local clubs beginning in about two weeks. My new slides are not done. So, I will likely disappear again for a while. Comments on the early draft of this white paper are encouraged. Let me know what you think.

Mini-32-A now complete

2007-08-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

This is just a quick note on a Sunday morning. I've finishing up a white paper for a project at work that is due tomorrow. Thoughts of the scramble the night before a term paper is due have come to mind more than once. (And like those preverbal term papers, I drug my feet on this one for a bit, too, so the fact I'm in here on a Sunday morning is a problem that is largely self-inflicted.)
Anyway, I thought it might be good to close up the business with this Mosley beam. Reviewing, the sequence of events went something like this:

I decided it was time to try getting a lightweight beam again.
After a bunch of agonizing, I finally decided on the Mosley Mini-32-A. I had a special order for this antenna, specifying that no piece be longer than 48 inches (so it would pack easily in my golf bag). Gary at Mosley said that could be done. My order was put in the queue. Life is good.
The antenna arrived in mid-July, but I didn't have time to look at it closely until later.
Only when finally trying to pack the antenna did I realize that a couple of the pieces were much longer than 48 inches!
I called Mosley on Monday and notified them of the problem.
Mosley stepped up on Tuesday and said that the new pieces would be fabricated and shipped out right away.

Those pieces arrived on Thursday. Mosley FedEx-ex the new pieces so I'd have them immediately. Again, a company's customer service is best measured by how they react when things go wrong. Mosley's response to this problem was exemplary. I couldn't be more pleased.

VP2M DXpedition video (abbreviated)

2007-08-24T16:01:00.000-04:00

I have posted an abbreviated version of the Montserrat DXpedition video to YouTube. Enjoy.
Part I:

Part II:

What makes a good blog?

2007-08-23T00:32:00.000-04:00

For somebody who said he wasn't going to blog for a while, I'm sure blogging a lot! {sigh} Jeff over at Long Delayed Echos dropped a post Mo Better Bloggin' asking "what does it take to make a good blog?" This didn't start with Jeff. AD7MI kicked it off and several others have chimed in. This is now an excellent thread leading through several blogs.
I have asked myself how to improve what I deliver but find the problem vexing. In engineering terms, blogging is often "open loop." I write stuff and people read it an hour, day, week, month, or even a year later. I don't know if those folks enjoyed it, thought it was a waste of time, or somewhere in-between. Feedback is good but under the best of circumstances only a small fraction of those who read will respond whether it is to a local newspaper, national magazine, or blog. So, in the absence of direct feedback, I take some direction by noticing what engages me.
Jeff follows 150 blogs according to a recent post. I follow fewer than 30 (though that number has been steadily growing). Some site are little more than announcements for DX. Others are very personal expositions. Obviously the more personal works inspire.
I followed K2DBK's trip to the Cayman Islands. I cringed reading about his antenna troubles, first concerned that he didn't have as much fun as he should have had, and then a pang guilt that I may have given him bad advice about radials for his Buddistick. I've still got a to do item to verify some of my Buddistick configurations and measurements.
Steven Weinert (K9ZW) writes With Varying Frequency and has been very active both on the bands and with his blog. We met in Dayton this year, finally conversing in person after so many correspondences electronically. Maybe that is the sign of a good blog: I really wanted to meet Steve!
Soldersmoke podcasts break up those long drives. I learned of the loss of Mike (KL7R) while on Montserrat. I felt like I lost a friend even though we had never met.
Other posts like Harry Potter Ruined my Marriage from K9JY's blog and KA3DRR's blog talking about Radio Dawg having a few tooth troubles remind me that we are people with lives and families, pets, hopes and dreams.
Close friends in the area blog, too, including Greg NE1OB's Sporatic Reflections, and now Rich AB1HD's Nerd on Call. Rich is just getting started but Greg has been at it for a while. Though Greg doesn't post often, he seems to spot the best stuff and talk about it. I know whenever a new post appears it will be something interesting. One of his last posts was about "throw bags" that aborists use to get lines over trees. That post cost me about $50! The blisters on my hands from practicing with these throw bags still haven't healed. What fun!
What I write here in my blog is focused on a particular topic: traveling with your radio. I do wander off-topic occasionally (as I'm doing tonight), but always circle back around. As with other blogs, I hope the distractions add and not diminish the value here.
I began rethinking the format, content, and commitment to this blog sometime in July. The problem I'm having now is understanding the advantages, and limits, imposed by this medium. Blogging seems like a good way to express brief ideas in staccato succession, but it is not particularly well suited to long discussions or the presentation of detailed technical information. For that, a white paper or even a book may be a better alternative. I will be eventually backing off this level of blogging so I can pursue some deeper ways to communicate.

What makes a good blog? Tell a story. Give something of yourself. People are drawn to honesty. Share your successes and your failures. Don't try to write for the ages; write for the moment with care. Understand the medium and your audience. I'm violating both those last tenants with this post as it is both too long (violating the best practices of the medium) and is off-topic (not strictly for a ham radio audience). I guess I should add that you should know when to break the rules.

I've had private discussions with some who read this blog about the general state of blogging in the ham radio community. This is so new that the vast majority in the hobby have never heard of it. We, who are here first, have a chance to be the standard setters. That's a little scary... and exciting. It will be interesting to see how this medium develops over the new few years.

Picture from the IOTA Contest in July

2007-08-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

Here I am in the RSGB IOTA contest, sweaty, tired, and taking my own picture at arm's length with my iPhone. This picture was before the thunderstorm rolled through. I am not making many contacts yet and I am not happy. The enclosure in the lower left kept the sun off of me. You can see the solar panel and Buddipole in the background. Boston Harbor and the menacing clouds appear in the background of the image on the right. That is a 33-foot pole with a 40m vertical wire hanging from it. You can see lots of other cool pictures on the RSGB IOTA Contest list of submitted logs page.

TW2010 company response and vertical thinking

2007-08-22T11:08:00.001-04:00

I wrote to the TW Antenna people last week looking for some basic information about the antenna. When I didn't get a response to the web form, I dropped an email message to them a few days later. The company got back to me late last night. Here is my questions followed by their response.

Very interesting. Looks like a nicer execution of the Force-12 Sigma-5 design. Does the antenna and base all fit in the travel bag? How much current does the electronics draw? (The Sigma-5 draws about 100mA to energize the relays.) If the unit is unpowered, does it "default" to the 20m band? Thank you for your time. -- Scott (NE1RD)

TW Antennas replies:

Hi Scott,

Sorry for the belated reply. We've undergone a move and a hamfest, and are just now getting caught back up to speed. It's been a mess trying to get our communications infrastructure back up since the move.

We designed the travel bag to carry everything related to the antenna (controller, cables, stand, etc).

The electronics draw about 200mA, as it has a microprocessor and LED's in addition to the relays.

Yes, the switching array will default to 20m when un-powered.
NOTE: It was suggested to us that latching relays could be used so the antenna remains on a band until it is specifically switched to another. Also, current consumption would drop on average, as the relays would not have to stay energized all the time. We're currently looking into this option as a possibility for the future.

Thanks for your interest and kind words. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

73's
-Richard.
TW Antennas

As Jeff (KE9V) pointed out in his post Little Store Bought Antennas this is still quite an expensive antenna. And, it is true as Jeff says that "shortened" antennas are a compromise, but perhaps not as much as one might think. Vertical dipole antennas are very effective and generally have good low radiation angle patterns which is great for DX. Switched Vertical Dipole Antennas (SVDAs) have been used on many lightweight DXpeditions with great success. They require no radial system and can be made fairly resilient to the wind and elements as evidenced by their record of service on DXpeditions like VP8GEO, VP8THU and many others.
The "shortened" part of this is accomplished by adding a capacity hat to both ends of the antenna and then applying a matching stub to null out that capacitive reactance. (The stub may actually be rolled up into a coil so it fits in the box, but you get the idea.) The book The Short Vertcal Antenna and Ground Radial (Jerry Sevick, W2FMI) discusses this idea extensively and found even very short antennas that have been properly designed can perform admirably.
My intention is to do computer modeling on all these antennas by the end of the year, but my crude back-of-the-envelope thinking goes like this: in a regular 1/2-wave center-fed most of the radiation comes from the middle 1/3 of the antenna. This is the high-current area. As we move outward towards the antenna's end current drops and voltage increases until we find very little signal being radiated at all. A Droopy dipole (a dipole hung such that some length near the ends is allowed to droop towards the ground) perform about as well as their flat-top cousins because there isn't much going on at the far end of the antenna.
The shortened vertical just rolls up that droopy part into a capacity hat. The length of antenna that is doing the vast majority of the work is still there. Further, though the radiation resistance (the part that does the good work for us) is lower in a shorter antenna, you can make up for some of this by making the radiator larger. Instead of using a wire 1/8-inch in size as you might on a dipole, the radiator for one of these verticals is one-inch in diameter. Even if the radiation resistance is only 25 ohms, a 2:1 transformer gives you a great match.
In these multiband antennas like the Force-12 Sigma-5 or new TW-2010 you still have loading coils for most bands which will reduce the efficiency. But, the other thing I'm interested in is weight, size, and versatility. Five single band antennas requires 5 runs of coax. A multiband antenna covering 5 bands requires one run of coax. I care about weight and size. It isn't just the antenna; you must also account for all the components that antenna system demands.
I erect a 40m full-sized vertical with two (or more) elevated radials as part of my antenna compliment. This antenna is also very good on 15m. If I can use a second story balcony, I am able to use a simple 20 foot fishing pole to hold this up. It is cheap, light, and very effective! I also erect a full-sized vertical for 80m suspended from a 33-foot mast. At this point in the solar cycle, antennas for 30m, 20m, and 17m give you pretty good coverage for bands that are likely to be open. Those can easily be done with fishing poles if you wish to have 1/4 verticals.
But, if you want to have vertical dipoles with an elevated feed point antenna systems like the Buddipole, Force-12 Sigma-5, and TW2010 provide a small, robust package for these antenna designs. And, when the Sun starts giving us spots again, the ability to have five bands on one piece of coax starts looking very attractive to me. $700 attractive? I'm not sure. That I need to think about. {grin}

I might disappear for a few days. I have a deadline at work and the Lowell Spinners begin a long home-stand. After that, it will be time to get serious about V4 planning!

Mosley steps up

2007-08-21T11:30:00.000-04:00

Gary from Mosley Electronics called this morning and left a message. I will need to return two reflector loading sections and the 10 inch by 3/4 inch piece that attaches to the boom. The replacement sections and new aluminum piece will be 48 inches or less in length will be shipped out today. Hooray!
This is very good. Not that there was a mistake, of course. No, that was bad. The good part is this: mistakes happen and the measure of a company's customer service is determined by what happens next. In this case, I made the call, they located the paperwork for my order, determined that there was a problem, and promised that the person best able to solve it would contact me with a resolution. In under 24 hours I was called back, they had a solution, and they committed to getting the new parts shipped to me ASAP. This all happened in about one business day. I like that.
For what it is worth, I recommend Mosley Electronics for their antennas and customer service.

Mosley notified of the problem

2007-08-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

I just got off the phone with Mosley and told them of the problem with the lengths of the reflector pieces. The gentleman found my order, read the notes to cut the antenna down to 48 inch pieces. They will pass the word along to Gary, who designed the Mini-32-A, and see what can be done. They'll call me back when they've got an answer. Hopefully, they'll figure this out and get me replacement parts in time to test them for the St. Kitts trip.

The simpliest tool: a ruler

2007-08-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

I made a post in early March In search of the featherweight tribander. I ordered a Mosley Mini-32-A in March with a special request that they make it to break down into 48-inch pieces. Because of this special request, I waited nearly four months for it to arrive and paid another $75 for labor to accomplish the alterations.
I had worried about things like Will it arrive in time for my trip?, How will I erect it on the island?, and Will it perform well enough to justify the weight? The last thing I was worried about was Is it really only 48-inches when disassembled? I didn't check that until this morning. OOPS. It isn't. Oh for goodness sake! I was so worried about checking out the antenna performance with fancy meters and on-air tests that I neglected to use the most simple and important tool: a ruler to see if the darn thing will fit in the case. Sheesh.
The reflector pieces that attach to the boom are both 52.5 inches long with no obvious way to make it shorter. I both angry with myself for waiting so long to verify the antenna dimensions, and a little bemused that nothing is easy with antenna makers! I will call Mosley in the morning and explain the situation. I hope that they will offer to send me a new set of pieces that do fulfill the 48-inch requirement. Otherwise, it doesn't go to St. Kitts. Of course, if they do send new pieces, they will have to be tested and run through the paces as I did with the antenna yesterday in the North American QSO Party. Speaking of which, here's how I did:


 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    0     0
   80:   50    22
   40:  149    31
   20:   61    26
   15:    1     1
   10:    0     0
-------------------
Total:  261    80  Total Score = 20,880

As always, claimed score is just that: my claim. The contest sponsor (The National Contest Journal) will compute my score after deducting all my miscues from the log.
I used this contest to put the new beam through its paces. The antenna assembled quickly and was upon the 20-foot mast and guyed in about 45 minutes. I also have a G5RV hidden in the trees so I could alternate between the two antennas to do A/B comparisons. I was surprised to find that the G5RV at 60+ feet with its arms in a flat-top configuration outperformed the beam most of the time. There are several reasons for this (though I am still working this out in my head). Here's my thinking:

The beam was only at 20 feet - The G5RV was up about a half wavelength on 20m; the beam is obviously very low for that band. I don't know what that did to the takeoff angle of the beam.

The beam was only "generally" pointed - Sure, the beam gives you some gain in the direction it is pointed, but as you move off to the side, the gain drops. I had it pointed WSW (or so I thought), but I wasn't all that careful. There were a couple of times that the beam was stronger than the G5RV during the contest. The two stations I remember talking with where the beam beat the dipole were both in the American Southwest (Arizona and Southern California). So, they were both very far away and in the direction I was generally pointing (maybe I had the antenna pointed too far South?)

Maybe the beam takeoff angle was too low for a domestic contest - Maybe the beam's takeoff angle was too low for close-in contacts. When I'm on St. Kitts the beam width will allow me to point generally to Europe or North America and the low takeoff angle will work better with everybody I'm interested in far away.

Maybe the beam takeoff angle was too high - Maybe it is just nuts to expect the beam to perform well if it is mounted so low. It is time to play with the antenna modeling programs.

As you might discern from the above, I have as many questions after yesterday's experiments as I had before them. The AntennaSmith showed good curves on the three bands. The antenna seems mechanically solid. It is about 8.5 pounds assembled (less mount) which is about what I expected. But, the performance was puzzling.

Finally, with all this antenna talk I've nearly forgotten to mention the other thing that got a shake-out yesterday: my backside. {grin} I attended Contesting University at Dayton this year and one of the points that was made repeatedly was if you want to win you have to keep your butt in the chair! I did just that yesterday. It was a 10 hour contest and I was in the chair all but maybe 10 minutes of it. (I refuse to do the waste dump in the bucket. I'm committed, but I have limits!) There is no way that I'm going to stay in the chair for all 48 hours of CQ WW, but I found working this 10-hour shift to be easier than I expected. And, as shown above, I was rewarded with my best score ever for this contest. So, though I obsess about all this equipment in this blog, it is important to remember that the most important component to your DXpedition is you and the commitment you bring. Just two months to go. I can't wait!

QSL card pondering

2007-08-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

I received a message today from UX5UO QSL printers today. They had spotted the DX bulletin announcement of the V4 DXpedition and sent an offer to print QSL cards for the trip. I have done all of my recent printing with QSLworks but the card produced for the Montserrat trip was a little disappointing. Chris (W6HFP) had his wife Inese, a very talented graphics artist, design the card but the printing was muddy with poor registration. Since I had pushed for QSLworks with the team, I had some amount of egg on my face because of it. So, though I'm not necessarily jumping ship from QSLworks, I am now considering other vendors.
I try to have the outline of the design for my card in place before the trip begins. That way I'm sure to get the photos of the right stuff. I would be frustrating to realize once you returned home that the perfect picture for your QSL card was the one you neglected to take!
I have also spent some time thinking about operating before and after the contest. I had lots of fun offering QSOs on the WARC bands while on Montserrat. Our thinking for that trip was contesters probably hand out lots of QSOs on 10-15-20-40m, but people still need even common islands on the WARC bands. Our thinking was rewarded with lots of big pile-ups and many thank-yous from hams for the new band. I think I'll try that again on St. Kitts. So, look for me on 17m and maybe even 12m at the top of the hour. I'll see if folks need NA-104 on the WARC bands, too.

Finally, speaking of artwork, I submitted my design for the DX Reference Wiki site. They have a logo design contest open until 31 October. This new site, mentioned on KE9V's site yesterday, is worth a look. And, perhaps in November, it will sport my new logo! {grin}

Better late than never

2007-08-16T11:42:00.000-04:00

In a recent blog entry I was unhappy with my poor performance planning the St. Kitts trip. One of the things I had botched was getting notifications out to the various publications that I would be on NA-104 for the CQ WW DX contest. I emailed out notices on 9 August and they have filtered out to the following places:

Radio Society of Great Britian - the RSGB IOTA site shows the activation.
National Contest Journal - the National Contest Journal shows it on the NG3K DX Contest Activities Announcements page
DX-IS - A new site DX-IS News has an entry with my announcement. This new site looks interesting. Keep an eye on it!
rec.radio.amateur.misc - The Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin was dropped on to the news group rec.radio.amateur.misc. This bulletin is echoed in many places.
VA3RJ's Islands Castles & Portable Operations - web site picked up the announcement.
I1-21171's blog - had an entry in his blog where he picked up the logo and translated the announcement into Italian (at least I think it is Italian!). That's very nice! I appreciate this extra effort!

Another site Weekly DX-Calendar by DH9SB had an entry for my Montserrat trip but not this one. I'll send a note to them this afternoon. There was also a note on the LoTW list by DXCC entity by HB9BZA that I had signed up for Logbook of the World for my V4 call. This is also an interesting site!

I've probably missed a few, but you get the idea. Though my announcements were sent very late, some have picked up on them and these postings will breed others as they get picked up by other sites. The utility of getting the word out isn't just so people look for you on the air, it also helps them find your QSL route and the dates of operation. If people see that you were only there one week in, say, October. They will hopefully not send you a card for a purported contact in July! So, today's lesson is: better late than never.

Hurricanes

2007-08-15T20:10:00.000-04:00

As mentioned on the the blog DX World of Ham Radio the path of the latest storms track directly over my favorite spots in the Caribbean. This paints a bleak picture and, selfishly, I am glad I'm not in its path.

Hurricane season officially extends through November, a month past our planned stay, and it goes without saying that a significant tropical storm or hurricane would be a serious problem for our trip! Of course, there is little that can be done in the case of a significant storm once you are on-island. But, in the case where a storm is heading there in those days just prior to departure we would have choices to make. I've always advocated safety first. There are few things worth risking your life and a family vacation can hardly be one of them. If the forecast above were for our planned week on the island, we'd be making alternate plans. Period.
The BUMS had a similar problem early this year. While we were not visiting Montserrat during hurricane season, the island's volcano had become quite active during the weeks leading up to our trip. We had make very deliberate plans should the volcano erupt, or even hint that it might erupt. Luckily, the volcano calmed and our visit was a happy one without incident. We were wary, vigilant, and alert. Nothing more. Nothing less. Our prudence didn't diminish anyone's fun.
I grew up in the midwest and had a brush or two with tornados. I've lived in Massachusetts for a quarter century. During that time a hurricane and Nor'easter have wandered by a few times. I've got a great deal of respect for Mother Nature. By the way, if she's reading this blog: Please don't screw up my trip! {grin}

Facebook revisited

2007-08-15T10:52:00.000-04:00

Steve Weinert (K9ZW) said:

It seems you have to join to even see your pages - perhaps you could post screen shots to show those less inclined to register before looking what your pages look like?

Here is a partial snapshot from the Facebook site. The site provides lots of customization including the inclusion of add-on applications like "Where I've Been", a world map that allows you to click/select places you been, or wish to visit.

You can put up as much or little information as you like. I'm open on some things and reticent on others. That's OK, in my view. Sites like this can be a tremendous time-sync/time-wasting-exercise. Of course, so can obsessing about your QRZ entry. My suggestion was to consider these other sites as a place to say a little more about yourself in a structured way.
I've noticed the average age of the typical user on Facebook is about 1/3 of mine. It is very popular with the High School and College crowd. But, they appear to let old geezers like me in, too. If they'll let me in, they'll let anybody in! {grin}

Mosley tested, shirts ordered

2007-08-14T22:35:00.000-04:00

I assembled the Mosley beam tonight. It went together easily and tuned up nicely on 20m, 15m, and 10m. It is a little heavier than I had thought it might be, heavier than would comfortably sit on a Buddipole tripod and mast. I'll need to figure out how I'll hoist this new antenna in the air long before leaving for St. Kitts.
The final assembly called for holes to be drilled in the elements and screws inserted to finalize the element lengths. Upon further consideration, I'm not going to do this. Since I am not erecting the antenna permanently it might be better to simply put a turn or two of tape around the elements to hold them in place. There is sufficient overlap between the aluminum tubes that tape should hold it securely for the seven days we are on the island. I'll verify that this is sufficient this weekend when I use the antenna in the North American QSO Party contest.
By the way, the quick check of the beam tonight was done with the AntennaSmith. I continue to be impressed with this unit and amazed as to how much time it is saving me.

Finally, if you have visited the St. Kitts DXpedition web site you will have noticed the graphic for the trip of the islands and sea turtle. I created this design (along with the 100 Pound DXpedition logo and the logo for the BUMS VP2M trip). I'm no artist, but I get by. {grin} I took a few minutes yesterday and designed T-shirts on Cafe Press for Sandy and me. I had created T-shirts for the VP2M crew, too. I believe this is a great team-building and excitement generating opportunity. The shirts give everybody in your group a common identity and give members a concrete, tangible, and visceral link to their upcoming adventure. The print on demand places like Cafe Press provide a very affordable way to create items specially for your trip. If you do organize a group trip (or even if it is a little family vacation) you might want to consider a little "teamwear".

RIGtalk USB to serial rig control interface on MacOS X

2007-08-13T22:56:00.000-04:00

I just updated my home page with the following relating to RIGtalk drivers on the Macintosh:

West Mountain Radio has updated their web site with drivers for both PPC and Intel Macintosh computers. As of this writing, the drivers were located here. I very much appreciate the effort by West Mountain Radio and their staff, especially Del Schier, who drove this project to completion. This is just one more reason to like West Mountain Radio stuff.
I have tested my RIGtalk with my MacBook Pro and Icom IC-7000 using MacLoggerDX. It works well and I happily traded heavier RS232C converters for that stick-of-gum-sized RIGtalk device and cable. That's how you make your 100 pound weight limit!

Social network websites

2007-08-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how much hams are using the new social web sites like LinkedIn or Facebook but I've invested a little time and created entries in both. You can find my LinkedIn entry here and my Facebook entry here. Additionally, I've created an Elecraft owner group on Facebook. Thus far, there is only one member (me). Hmmm.
The LinkedIn stuff is more about work history than friendship but the Facebook site seems like a nice step up from the limited information you can put on QRZ. If you've not considered these sites before, take a look!

TW2010

2007-08-12T23:24:00.000-04:00

The weekend passed quickly. I did not get a chance to assemble the new Mosley Mini-32-A beam. My goal is to get that assembled and tuned tomorrow night and use it next weekend in the North American QSO Party. I know the pieces fit together, but the instructions indicate that I need to drill holes in the elements once the proper lengths have been determined. That must be done prior to the St. Kitts trip and this week is as good as any other to get this task finished.
There wasn't sufficient time to complete the beam assembly but I did have a few minutes today to spend on another antenna. My Force 12 Sigma-5 antenna had been in storage since my local club's Field Day. I assembled it and put the AntennaSmith on it to be sure it was still in good tune. It was not. So, following the directions in the manual, I spread the coils for the 20m until it gave me a good match. The other bands (10-17m) were fine and needed no adjustment.
The other reason for disassembling the Sigma-5 was to get a glimpse at the controller board. I intend to make a computer model of the antenna and I wanted to see all the details for the matching circuitry.

An antenna similar to the Force 12 was recently released by TW Antennas called the TW2010 Traveler. A somewhat spirited discussion about this new offering erupted on the Yahoo Buddipole Users Group (BUG) forum. I threw in a few comments there, too. Here's what all the fuss is about.

The first thing to notice is that this antenna is very similar in shape to the Force-12 Sigma-5. Both the TW2010 and Sigma-5 are vertical dipoles for 10-12-15-17-20 meters, have control boxes in the center which contains relays for switching bands, break down small for travel, and have a remote control unit that allows you to do the band selection from your operating position 50 or 60 feet from the antenna. Both antennas handle about 1200 watts PEP SSB or about half that for CW. Both antennas claim high efficiencies and relatively low take-off angles.
The question some have raised is: can one of these antennas be efficient and effective? I can only say that the Force-12 Sigma-5 performed well on Georges Island (NA-148) during those operations and compared favorably with other antennas used. The new offering, the TW2010, is smaller, much smaller, than the Force-12 antenna. How will this affect efficiency and performance? That was at least some of the discussion in the BUG forum.
Another big difference between the Sigma-5 and TW2010 is the controller function. The Sigma-5 comes with a simple six position rotary switch for selecting the band. The switch is mounted on an L-shaped piece of plastic with the wires exposed. Pretty cheesy, really.
The TW2010 has a computerized unit that can connect to Icom or Yaesu radios and utilize the CAT interface to automatically band switch. Additionally, the controller cable is detachable with the TW2010 with molded connectors. (The control cable on the Sigma-5 is not easily detachable.) The cable arrangement is certainly nicer than that of the Sigma-5. The computerized controller may be overkill, but it is an interesting design decision.
The TW2010 also breaks down into smaller pieces than the Sigma-5 and requires no tools for assembly or disassembly. A manual is available for download off the TW Antennas web site which has the dimensions, assembly instructions, and other information.
I do have some questions about the antenna and have sent them off to the company. I've received no response yet. When I get those answers, I'll post what I learn here. Of course, should I never get an answer, that'll get posted, too. {grin}

I'm interested in the TW2010, but I haven't decided if the interest is just academic, or practical. I am very impressed with the performance of the Sigma-5 but it is bigger and bulkier than I had hoped it would be. The TW2010 looks like it might pack and travel better, but it is significantly smaller and may not perform as well. Oh, and the other thing: the TW2010 is $699 for the basic unit, nearly double the $379 for the Sigma-5. I'll need to get answers to my questions from TW Antennas, and do a bunch of antenna modeling before I take the plunge on this. Also, it would be interesting to compare computer models for both the Sigma-5 and TW2010, too. Now that I've had a glimpse inside the Sigma-5 and have the schematic for the TW2010, I should be able to create both models.

You snooze, you lose

2007-08-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

I have been very busy. That is a poor excuse for my complete lack of execution on the planning of the upcoming St. Kitts trip. I've tried to remedy some of that tonight but clearly my delays have been costly. As I like to say, "you snooze, you lose." I have certainly been asleep at the wheel! Anyway, here's what I managed to accomplish this evening:

Hotels - While the villa has been under contract for some time (and I just sent the final payment to the fellow a few days ago), the hotels for either end of the trip were not booked until tonight. Our itinerary is to fly from Boston to Miami, stay overnight in Miami, then take a very early flight to St. Kitts the next day. Our return trip also comes through Miami, arriving late, with our Boston flight early the next morning. We needed hotel rooms at the Miami airport for both ends of the trip. Done.

Boston hotel - Our flight to Miami leaves at 5:35 AM. Factoring in the roughly "two hours before flight" lead time and we're arriving at the airport in the middle of the night. We had intended to stay at a hotel at Logan (Boston's airport) the night before our flight as we had done for our St. Johns trip last year. But, I did not attempt to book that room until tonight and that may have cost me. For some reason, a room that cost $180 last year has doubled in price. Perhaps the Red Sox making their run for another World Series bid has hotels thinking rooms will be at a premium in October. Well, I'm not paying nearly $400 for a few hours extra sleep. We (I) tend to characterize prices in terms of equivalent ham radio equipment costs. In short, "that's a radio." So, forget it. Looks like a sleepless night.

Side trip planned - I enjoy the game of chess. I am a horrible, horrible player. I'm so bad, in fact, that I don't really enjoy playing the game with others as much as I enjoy reading about games, studying annotated games, and so on. Miami hosts the World Chess Hall of Fame, a place I'd been hoping to visit for some time. Sandy and I will take in the museum on our layover in Miami.

Announcements - This is the thing I am very late on. I should have sent out these announcements a couple of months ago. I have likely missed publishing deadlines on the major magazines. {sigh} Anyway, I've sent email to the ARRL, CQ Magazine, and World Radio, The Daily DX, and Announced DX Operations. I also created an entry on the RSGB IOTA web site. We'll see which, if any, actually appear. I often say that this blog highlights things I've done right and things I've done wrong. This is most definitely something I did wrong for this trip. Get those announcements out 3-4 months ahead of your operation to help ensure you make everybody's publishing deadlines!

Reserved the car - We only need the car for one day (to go to the museum), but I've got that booked.

Travel printouts made - I normally create nice folders with print outs of all reservations, electronic tickets, driving directions, and other information so we have all the information we need in one place. I now (finally) have this stuff printed and in the folder. I just need to make a copy for Sandy and I'm done.

Lots of the planning for a DXpedition falls into the category of "mundane" but that doesn't mean it isn't important. I waited to book a hotel and the price went up. I waited to send out my announcements and now I've likely missed publishing deadlines. These are stupid mistakes I should not be making at this point. But, that's why I'm writing this blog. It helps keep me focused and, perhaps, will help some of you get focused, too.

Finally, I actually took the new Mosely beam out of the box today (something else that's been sitting too long!). I will report my first impressions this weekend.

RSGB IOTA Contest log submission system up

2007-08-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

I have just submitted my log for the RSGB IOTA contest and completed the log activation. If you tried to do this earlier in the week and had problems (as I did), try it again. It is working fine now.

NA-148 LoTW uploaded

2007-07-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

I have uploaded all QSOs for the Boston Harbor Island Group (NA-148) to the Logbook of the World system. I immediately got 49 QSLs in return. If you do not see a QSL on LoTW and think you should, please contact me. Thanks.

2007 RSGB IOTA wrap-up

2007-07-30T11:48:00.000-04:00

I made it out to Lovells Island this weekend for the RSGB IOTA contest. Lovells is part of the Boston Harbor Island group (NA-148). I operated from Georges Island several times last year, including the 2006 IOTA contest, but had not yet operated from any other islands in the group until this weekend.
The reason for choosing Lovells Island for this contest was simple: they let you camp there. Most of the other islands, including the "main" island Georges, are day-trip-only destinations and the last ferry leaves about 6 PM. In order to put in a full 12-hours, I needed to stay long after the last ferry departed.
Those who know me are probably surprised that I would attempt such a trip. My idea of camping is a hotel room without room service. Still, I do own a small tent and some gear. Recent purchases bolstered my supplies. A quick inventory Friday evening showed I had all I needed except food. I own no camp stoves, have no freeze-dried meals, no portable cooking apparatus, and no wood or fuel to carry. So, I did what any 13 year-old would do under the circumstances: I made myself a big pile of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and declared victory.
Here is the cart with the camping gear and antennas stuffed and ready to go. (Click on the pictures for a better view.)

The weather was threatening Saturday. A strong cold front was to move through and bring with it a series of thunderstorms with the possibility of high winds and hail. Few people met me on the docks for the 9 AM ferry and most of those were rangers destined for work on the islands. We were told that fewer boats would be running that day because of the weather. I begin to doubt the sense of this excursion.

The ride between Boston and Georges Island takes about 30-40 minutes. From Georges, smaller boats shuttle between the other islands like Lovells. The shopping cart, which made it possible to move all this gear from the car to the ferry, was not practical down rough gangways and on-and-off these smaller boats. Luckily, the DCR staff was very helpful hoisting and hauling the large carts, bags, and bundles of the many campers heading for Lovells. It seemed the farther you get off the beaten path, the more friendly and helpful people become.
The weather continued to threaten and I watched the doppler radar on my iPhone. Eventually I had made it all the way to the camp site as thunderstorms crawled across Massachusetts. I sat at the picnic table and thought very hard about scrubbing the mission. I love the IOTA contest. I wanted to do well this year by putting in more time. But, stranding myself on an island with little food, no water (except that which I brought with me), and only the minimum of camping gear during severe weather was probably unwise. I looked at the radar again. It was coming. Even if I left now, I probably wouldn't get back to Boston before it hit. So, I decided to say. I pitched the tent.

It doesn't look like much but it did protect me from the onslaught that was to come. The picnic table provided my operating position. The Pelican case holds my K2. Batteries are charged by the solar panel in the background. The Buddipole as a 20m vertical stands on its tripod in the rear.

The view was magnificent. I set up the 40m/15m vertical on the rocks above the beach with the elevated radials tied off to trees along each side of the path. The Boston gas tanks and Logan airport are in the background.

Conditions were challenging. Some combination of no sunspots and the geography of the island (with a hill between me and Europe) made the first few hours of the contest frustrating. Then, I felt a sudden change of temperature. The cold front had arrived.
Quickly, I packed the radio back into its watertight Pelican case and gathered all the other parts (log, headphones, etc.) and headed for the tent. I made it inside and secured the rain fly just in time.
For the next hour or so it rained hard. The tent shook under the wind. Water came in. Lightning and thunder appeared but luckily no hail. I am feeling pretty stupid at this point.
Then it cleared. The sun came out. I eventually put the station back together and found 20m slightly better than when I left it. I was even able to sustain a couple of runs calling CQ.
I still did not meet even last years QSO count or score. I could hear Europe, but it was like eavesdropping on a conversation being held in another room. I ended the day with 91 QSOs, 9 multipliers, and a score roughly half of last years 6 hour effort from Georges Island. I'll be spending the next few weeks reviewing my performance and making notes for next year. I'm sure there is something to learn from all this.

eQSL and LoTW for V4

2007-07-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

In a little less than three months I'll be on St. Kitts. Time is short! I have begun working on the DXpedition web site and spent some time last night and this morning getting the eQSL and Logbook of the World set up. Both LoTW and eQSL are two phase processes. Here's the steps that make sense to me:

Create a LoTW certificate request for the new QTH. I have documented the steps for doing this on my web site.
Upload this to the LoTW web site.
LoTW will need evidence that this is a valid request. The easiest thing to do is to scan (or take a digital photograph) of the license issued by the local authority. (I took a picture of the license from St. Kitts, for example.) You can either send this to the ARRL as an attachment to an eMail lotw-admin at arrl dot org, or put this on a web site someplace where LoTW administrators can fetch it.
This LoTW request will take some time to process. Wait.
In the mean time you can begin setting up your eQSL account. Add a new location to eQSL using their mechanisms.
eQSL Authenticity Guaranteed is most easily obtained by getting it from the LoTW. So, wait until you have finished setting up the LoTW account before proceeding with the eQSL account.
The LoTW folks will eventually send you a .tq6 file. Finish setting up the LoTW account. Create a single QSO record in ADIF. Sign it with the new certificate and upload it to LoTW. It doesn't matter who you claim to have talked with as it will never be confirmed. I claim to have talked to myself (NE1RD), for example. The point is this: the next steps require that there be at least one QSO in the new account.
Now that you have LoTW set up and have at least one QSO in your "out box" there, you can use the LoTW credentials as a basis for Authenticity Guaranteed in eQSL. Return to eQSL and finish the Authenticity Guaranteed procedure using LoTW as the authenticator.

It sounds more confusing than it is. The idea is this: at each step you provide a little more evidence that you "are who you are", and you then use the previous steps to provide evidence for later steps. Think of it as climbing a ladder. Each rung brings you to another level which allows you to reach even higher rungs.
The upshot of all this is I should have both LoTW and eQSL accounts ready to accept my logs by the end of the day. With all of the other planning that needs to be made, this is a nice thing to get out of the way.

Weather and St. Kitts planning

2007-07-26T14:21:00.000-04:00

Planning for the Lovells Island trip has taken another interesting turn. While it is a gorgeous day here just West of Boston, it doesn't look like the sunshine will be staying. Violent weather is moving in for the weekend.
Saturday: 50% chance of thunderstorms
Saturday night: 30% chance of thunderstorms
Sunday: 60% of heavy rain
This is starting to look like a bad idea. That said, the rolling shopping cart arrived yesterday, assembled in minutes, and looks like it would easily hold all I needed to haul out there. Though it is not obvious from the picture, there is ample room for more stuff in this beast including water, food, and last minute items.

In the mean time, while I watch the weather forecasts, I've been working on the planning for the St. Kitts trip. A first draft of the logo for the trip was created last night. You can see this on the new web site dxpedition-v4.com. Again, this is just getting started so please excuse the skeletal form of all this. (Then again, you can watch the thing "fill in" as I go, I guess!)

I've already talked to the owner of the home we'll be renting down in St. Kitts so I know that 120v 60 cycle outlets with the expected USA fixtures are available throughout the villa. For those times when you aren't quite sure, though, here is a handy web site that has some interesting resources:
Steve Kropla's Help for World Travelers web site. The thing that caught my eye was the World Electric Guide: Electric Power Around the World resources page which identifies the power source (volts and frequency) along with the outlet shape for countries around the world. Very handy! This is no substitute for asking your hosts questions, but it provides a good starting place.

A thoughtful gift

2007-07-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

Rich (AB1HD), a friend from the local club, had read my story of the KX1 on my website and of the marred knob. He thought it might be nice to get me a replacement potentiometer so the rig would no longer bear a scar from that moment of carelessness. He surprised me with the little envelope at lunch about a week ago. I was delighted!
I spent about an hour tonight removing the old pot and inserting the new one. The old part did not yield easily and one of the pads lifted from the circuit board when I did finally free it. But, the new potentiometer went in easily enough and it was a simple matter of wiring a short jumper to complete the assembly.
The new potentiometer looks great. The radio still works well. I am a happy guy!
This gesture by Rich was a very kind and thoughtful. Thanks, Rich!

I love when a plan comes together

2007-07-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

I really do love when a plan comes together. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. Sandy and I had planned on making our way to Lovells Island (NA-148) this weekend for the RSGB IOTA contest. With two of us pulling and carrying, it would have been no problem for us to get the tent, rig, antennas, water, food, sleeping bags, and all of the rest of the stuff to the ferries and on to the camp site. That was the plan before Sandy caught a very nasty summer cold. She's been down now since late last week and there is no way we could in good conscience drag her out to an ocean island this weekend.
This presents something of a problem for me logistically. Going solo, I now have nearly as much stuff as I did for the two of us, and one fewer person hauling it. Two items came off the list immediately: the Mosley beam and my picnic table shelter that I normally use while on these islands. This has changed my chances of success from clearly impossible to improbable. I still have my big Buddipole system (for 20m and 80m), a 33-foot mast (for 15m and 40m), feed line, batteries, and the Pelican case with the rig, plus my backpack full of accessories on top of the tent, sleeping bag, etc. I plan on spending time this week working though the problem until either (a) I have paired down the gear to a manageable size, or (b) I abandon the attempt.
I have a small wheeled cart though it does not look up to the task. I have ordered a cart though it has not arrived. A friend has offered me use of a similar cart as a backup. I have options.
It will certainly be less fun without her, but there will be other chances to do this together. For now, I need to make a plan to do this alone. I hope to make final decisions on this by Thursday evening.

CQ WW VHF contest wrap-up

2007-07-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

Below are the totals from the CQ WW VHF contest this weekend along with a snapshot of the operating position taken late in the day with the camera in my iPhone. (It was pretty badly backlit so I cranked up the brightness.) The top antenna is a 6m Buddipole beam with an eight foot boom and three elements. The bottom antenna is an Arrow handheld antenna with the optional mount clamped to the Buddipole mast. Both antennas performed very well.

The big help was the location. Mount Wachusett is approximately 2000 feet high with a great view of Boston, Western Massachusetts, the Connecticut valley to the South, and New Hampshire to the North. The top is relatively flat and a favorite for hikers, tourists, and, for some reason, wedding parties. Seriously, lots of people drag their wedding party up their for a group picture with the Boston skyline in the background. (When this happens, I'm no longer the weirdest guy on the top of the mountain, IMHO!)

The Army Corp of Engineers has a relay station on top of the mountain. Apparently, LoJack (the car recovery system) also has facilities there as a fellow from LoJack dropped by to talk to me. Actually, quite a few people came by and chatted just as they had done two years ago when I had last been there.

The most gratifying visit was near the end of the day. I was just about to begin packing (you need to be off the mountain before sunset) when a fellow, a ham, introduced himself. He had never contested so I told him to take a seat and I would walk him through it. This was about the time that a very nice opening to the South appeared and we (first he, then I) worked into North Carolina, Georgia, DC and Virginia. He called and made the contact, then handed the microphone to me and I snagged a QSO, too. We worked about five people that way and by the end I believe he was hooked! Contesting is great fun and it looks like I've brought another young fellow into the fold. It was a very good day indeed.


Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
    6:  51     15
    2:  11      5
-------------------
Total:  62     20  Total Score = 1,460

By the way, check out the nice rock at the base of the tripod. No guying necessary that day. I just bungied the rock to the base of the tripod and it was solid.

CQ VHF Contest

2007-07-21T23:37:00.001-04:00

I traveled to the top of Mount Wachusett just 30 minutes from my home to work the CQ Magazine VHF contest. I had to skip this last year, so I can only compare my effort to the 2005 contest. I made 62 QSOs in about 5 hours for about 1400 points (claimed). We'll see what the total is after adjudication. Anyway, this is about twice what I did in 2005 so I'm very pleased.
The Buddipole 6m beam worked very well. I set it up as described here and it worked like a charm. After assembly I put the AntennaSmith on it just to make sure I had not goofed anything up. I knew within 20 seconds that I had not. I bought this analyzer as a time saving device and boy does it save time! I set it to sweep the 6m band and plot the SWR. In an instant I could see the range of frequencies where the match was 2:1 or better, and could see the roll off from there. The match was fine but I'm sure I could have made whatever adjustments necessary in just minutes. Having a tool like this is a big confidence builder. I'm fearless with this thing! Show me a goofed-up antenna and I'll debug it!
We had attempted some 6m work while on Montserrat but with no luck. I will likely be active on 6m while on St. Kitts before and after the CQ WW SSB contest in October. So, this was good practice for that deployment. Perhaps I'll even be able to find a few moments to go out to Georges Island before the end of the Summer and play on the Magic Band.
My log is updated. I have generated my Cabrillo file for the contest with Cab-converter and have even emailed it into the contest robot. Now that my "chores" are done, it is time to get back to more important things. I'm on page 115 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". No. Don't tell me how it ends. {grin}

Prepping for Lovells

2007-07-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

Just a few things to report. My Mosley beam has arrived. Hooray! Unfortunately, I've not had time to even open the box yet. I will try to work with it this weekend. If I can, and if all goes well, it will go with me to Lovells Island for the IOTA contest. But, I really need to be comfortable with the antenna before I attempt to travel with it. The last thing I want to do is trying to work out problems with a new, strange piece of hardware on an island with few tools and no electricity.
Speaking of the island, I'm not much for camping so I needed to make a trip to REI today to pick up a couple of very lightweight sleeping bags, two self-inflating pads, two compact pillows, and a couple of flashlights, and a couple of other cool items. The bad news: this came to nearly $500. The good news (and it better be really good): all this stuff is amazingly small and compact. We had been worrying about how we were going to get all this stuff on-and-off the island. This new stuff has reduced the problem significantly.
Lovells Island is fairly isolated. There is no fresh water on the island. There is no electricity. There are no lights. There are trees. There are remnants of an abandoned fort. There are paved paths, slightly eroded by the elements. Whatever you may need you must bring with you: water, food, fuel, batteries, shelter, and first aid supplies. The island is long and narrow with nearly a half-mile hike from the dock to the camp site. Those coming just to camp probably manage the logistics easily. I'm bringing HF gear, antennas, feedline, batteries, tools, and other equipment. Something with wheels to help haul the mound of loose stuff would be a big help.
I settled on a folding grocery cart to do the job. I should be able to stick the batteries in the bottom along with the large bottles of water we'll need. The 33-foot mast and Buddipole system can go in there, too, along with all the other stuff I bought today. Hopefully, the tent will also fit there. That will leave only the Pelican case with the K2 and the separate shelter for the picnic table to be hand carried. (My backpack should be able to hold the food and miscellaneous smaller items.) That's the plan, anyway.
Unfortunately, my first attempt to order the shopping cart failed (out-of-stock). I've cancelled that order and tried again from another vendor. I did not plan the details of this trip early enough. We'll see if my goof-up costs me.

Finally, I received my copy of the National Contest Journal today. In it was the results of the January NAQP contest where I found I had only made 50 QSOs for some small number of points. Plus, I had entered as 100 watts (not QRP). That's unusual! What was I thinking?! Oh. Now I remember. I used the contest as a way of doing the final shakeout of the equipment going to Montserrat. Contests are a great way to give all of your equipment a good workout prior to your departure. They're also a ton of fun.
See you all on the air this weekend for the CQ VHF contest. I plan on going to the top of Mount Wachusett either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning (depending on weather and a number of other factors). I'll try to post here when I leave for the mountain.

2007-07-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

I have released two new programs today. QSLpro is now finally released as version 1.01. I have had good luck with it producing QSL card labels for my personal operations and for the VP2M group. A permanent home for the distribution of this software needs to be found, but for right now I have posted it to the Yahoo! group for Cab-converter.
Additionally, I have begun packaging up a program called QSOstats. The small skeleton of the program has been uploaded to the Cab-converter file area to support Macintosh users producing Field Day summaries. Here is the summary of our very casual effort for PART.


Summary:
Band   CW Qs   Dig Qs    Ph Qs
--------------------------------
160m      0        0        0
 80m      0        0        0
 60m      0        0        0
 40m      0        9        0
 30m      0        0        0
 20m      0        6       30
 17m      0        0        0
 15m      0        0        3
 12m      0        0        0
 10m      0        0        0
  6m      0        0       11
  2m      0        0        4
 220      0        0        0
 440      0        0        0
--------------------------------
TOTAL     0       15       48
TOTAL ALL MODES            63

There is still a great deal to do around here. I'm planning on participating in the CQ VHF contest this weekend. Then, next weekend is the IOTA contest. I'll be staying overnight on Lovells Island so I can work a full 12 hours. That should be interesting! I've already got QSL cards for NA-148 but needed a red rubber stamp to officially put the name of the island on the cards. The Sign Man offers a very nice round stamp for this purpose. It is ordered and on its way. It should arrive right around the time of the contest so I'll be able to send out QSL cards from the operation immediately.

Phantom QSOs

2007-07-12T09:55:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I was able to work through the enormous pile of QSL cards that had accumulated over the last few months. As of Tuesday, I have no outstanding QSL requests. Additionally, cards for my fellow Montserrat DXpeditioners have also been forwarded to their respective final destinations in California, Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, and so on. Whew!
For all those contacts that are in the log, have matching times, dates, bands, and modes, the work is easy. My program QSLpro (which I've still not published...alas) works superbly printing 14 stickers per sheet with QSL information for up to five contacts per call sign. Just print, stick, stamp, and stuff. Easy!

It is the ones that don't match that are the problem. I had made a small pile of these miscreants in hopes, I guess, that they would be easier to handle if I just "looked at them later". Well, later came. When I was down to just those malformed QSL requests I had no choice but to figure out each in turn.
Some were easy. For example, one QSLed to NE1RD for the 2006 ARRL DX contest. Fine, except I was on St. John as KP2/NE1RD so there is no way that could have been me. Perhaps it was NE1R? Not my problem.
Another was much more puzzling. I will not give the call or country of this QSL request, but it cited two QSOs with me as VP2MRD, neither of which was in my log. My computer logging is pretty accurate (not perfect, but pretty good). It is possible I missed one. The chances of me missing two are astronomical. Something else is going on.

I purposely did not research this. If true, I don't want to know. But, I have a conjecture: a fellow watched the packet spotting network, saw my call, saw the frequency, never worked me, but filled out the card anyway to see if I would just send one back without checking my log. I'm sure this works some of the time. Obviously, it isn't going to work with me.
I don't know if this is what happened, but it is possible, I guess. It is also a bit sad, really, if true. I guess that's why I didn't research it. Like I said, I don't want to confirm this is what happened.

Let this be a lesson to all of you who perform QSL management duties: not every card will have a QSO that is in the log. And, perhaps, not every request will be a simple misunderstanding or honest mistake. Be on your guard. Protect your integrity as a QSL manager and, by doing so, protect the integrity of the DXCC and IOTA awards.

Thank you

2007-07-11T22:52:00.000-04:00

Thank you. I have received several email messages in addition to the comments posted here on the blog with many kind words. I do appreciate it.

As I said, I've been rethinking things of late. I am still very much committed to the concept of the 100 Pound DXpedition. Truth be told, I am more enthusiastic than ever! Just thinking about the return of sunspots gives me goose-bumps! {grin}
There are only so many hours in the day, though, and I have been concerned that efforts put into the blog, especially at the daily entry pace, detract from other long-term goals that I'd been setting... and not making. It was the realization that I had been tending to things day-to-day without spending much time at all on those long-term goals that brought me to the decision to rethink this blog in the first place.
And, not to stress the point, traffic to the blog has not been high enough to justify this level of effort. If would like to reach more people I need to be more creative than just dumping a few paragraphs in this lonely place each day. I am open to ideas on this. If you believe this concept is interesting, if you believe that traveling with lightweight gear to far-away places and working the world is cool, how can we better sell this to our fellow hams? That's one of the things I'll be thinking about when I'm not blogging here.

I look for this blog to be reduced to an entry or two a week for the Summer and lead-up to St. Kitts planned for late October. I hope that will still be enough to make this an interesting place for all of you to visit. I'll end as I began: thank you. Seriously. I am deeply grateful for the messages I've received and the posts to the comment section of the blog. I only hope I can live up to the high-praise you've given me. Thank you.

73 de NE1RD

Rethinking

2007-07-07T20:21:00.000-04:00

Sandy and I were able to make it out to Lovells Island today. We took the ferry from Boston to Georges Island, then took a boat from Georges to Lovells arriving in the early afternoon. Lovells island is covered in much denser vegetation that I had expected. There are some tall trees near the camp sites, tall enough to hang a dipole should I be ambitious enough.
The IOTA contest is still three weeks away so I have some time to do additional planning. The current thinking is to bring the 33-foot mast to hang a vertical for 40/15m, bring the "big" Buddipole system for 20m, and then use either the 40-foot mast as the basis for an 80m inverted-L antenna, or use the Buddipole with the big coils for 80m. That is still a lot of stuff to get on (and off) the islands. Since I am staying overnight, I'll need a tent, sleeping bag, food, water (there is no fresh water on Lovells Island), and other supplies in addition to the radio equipment. Even with Sandy's help, I'll still need to plan this carefully.

I have been thinking a great deal about the future of this blog of late. Though there are a few of you who appear to be frequent readers, the truth is there are only a few. Web traffic numbers identifying visitors, return visits, search strings, and other measurements have not been sufficient to justify the amount of effort I am investing in this outlet. Don't get me wrong! I love to write. I love to write about what I've learned and even mistakes I've made. But, it is no longer clear to me if this is the best forum for expressing these ideas. Perhaps the topic is too narrow to attract a significant web audience, and a blog format is too unfocused to provide a meaningful organization for a single topic.
I am considering writing magazine articles or even a book. In many ways, it would be far less pressure than keeping a daily blog, especially since many of my blog entries are the length of a short magazine article! (Imagine writing a magazine article each day. I become exhausted just thinking about it!) While the output in those other forms may not have the personal and intimate feel my blog entries (hopefully) have, there may actually be more information conveyed within a more sensible organization.
No final decision has been made. And, even if I decide to refocus most of my energy elsewhere, I will still use this outlet when it makes sense to do so.

For the other bloggers out there, I would like to thank you for your work and inspiration. My list of blogs checked each day keeps getting longer but here is my list: K9JY, K9ZW, KE9V, The DX World of Amateur Radio, KA3DRR, 99 Hobbies, K3OQ, ADXO, K2DBK, KB6NU, K0NR, N9PUZ, SolderSmoke, NE1OB, VK4VCC, W2IJ, W4TMN, WA1LOU, WA5ZNU, and I probably forgot a couple. As my post rate decreases, I hope all who visit my blog will check out these others. There is some good stuff out there.

-- Scott

QSLing and a trip to NA-148 for a look-see

2007-07-06T21:53:00.000-04:00

I spent some time this evening QSLing. Quite a pile had built up since just before Dayton. So, if you are waiting on a card from me, fear not: it will likely be in the mail come morning.

I'm hoping to head out to Lovells Island in the morning with Sandy to look over the camp site and locate possible operating positions for the RSGB IOTA contest held at month's end. Last year I spent six hours on Georges Island (also NA-148) and put about 100 QSOs in the log QRP. I'd like to more than double that this year. The new 48-watt solar panel, bigger batteries, and an overnight stay on Lovells should give me the full 12 hours of operation. I'll report back tomorrow on my findings.

Just a couple of kits

2007-07-05T19:20:00.000-04:00

LobsterCon 2007 begins this weekend. I will miss it yet again this year, though it has been fun watching the email traffic between those who are attending. If you love QRP, kit building, or great people, this is a fun event from all reports. So, instead of driving up to Maine to buy more kits, I thought it might be interesting to inventory the kits I already own but have not built. Here goes:

RockMite 40 - from Small Wonder Labs (Dave Benson, K1SWL). I have the 40m radio kit, the connectors kit, and even the nice anodized Mity Box case from American Morse Equipment/San Luis Machine Company. I completed the 20m version (with case) not long after being licensed.
Frequency counter/Digital Dial - This is an offering from Steve "Melt Solder" Weber (KD1JV) purchased in October 2005. Steve always has great stuff on his web site. As with most kits in the QRP community, if you see something you want, order it immediately as kits sell out quickly. While this particular kit is no longer available, it looks like some of it is now rolled into his QRP Base Station Accessory kit.
Crystializer - This was the give-away at Atlanticon in 2005. I didn't have time to assemble it, or participate in the interesting contest they had that year, unfortunately.
Signal Quality Monitor - This was the give-away at Atlanticon in 2006. Same story.
FT-817 VocalMaster - This is an offering from KG4JJH in 2006 accompanying his QST article. I like the idea. I've just not had time to get the kit together. (Actually, I only see the board. Hmmm. I wonder if I got the parts around here someplace...)
Tenna Dipper - Another Steve Webber offering. Read about it here.
Signal Quality Meter - Honestly, I had to do a little research to figure out what this bag of parts was! Oh boy. Where's the circuit board for it?
SoftRock-40 - Software defined radios are a very interesting advance in the hobby. This one (details here) is about as minimal as you can get. But it works! (Or, would work if I were to actually assemble it.)
ALT Tuner - from QRP Kits.
Marker Generator - Another NorCal kit. This one is a version of the VE3DNL Marker Generator. Why I need one, I cannot say. But, it was on the table at FDIM and I had to have it, apparently. ($7.50)
NorCal Keyer - This looks suspiciously like the keyer kit I just bought. Of course, I didn't realize I had this kit when I ordered the other one. Oops.
NEQRP SCAF - This is the SCAF filter from the New England QRP Club. I actually have two of these. I intend to build one as a stand-alone unit, and have the other available for integration into a radio I plan to design.
FCC-1 - Frequency counter kit from NorCal QRP Club. Looks great even in the bag. {grin}

Deserving of its own special place is my Elecraft K1 kit bought by Sandy last year as a Valentine's Day present. I am waiting until I have a nice block of time so I can really enjoy building this, perhaps after my St. Kitts trip.

So, there you have it. Lots of kits. Lots of fun still in bags. I wish the folks going to LobsterCon all the best, but it looks like I've got plenty of fun stacked up here!

The To Do list

2007-07-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

I finished Kon-Tiki late last night. Wonderful!
Today was spent catching up on some unfinished projects. To catch up completely I would need about 40 such days, so progress was modest to say the least! Prioritizing the list was too daunting to consider so I just picked a few and tried to get them off the list.
My niece graduated from High School in May and, being the extremely proud uncle, I video taped the ceremony. I was able to edit that footage down to something of reasonable length, create a nice DVD with menus and previews, and make ten copies for parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. Final Cut Express HD made the work easy and the final rendering was done with iDVD. It was the first movie made with the new Sony HDR-HC7, a purchase I made upon my return from Montserrat. The combination of camera, computer, and software worked well for me and I hope to take some great video while on St. Kitts this Fall. (There may even be a little taken on Lovell's Island at the end of the month. We'll see...)

I've still got Field Day logs to go through so we can post our club's entry. I have promised the Cab-converter community that I would make an update to that software to support Field Day. I'll try to get to that by the end of this coming weekend.
My To Do list is still too long but a couple of important things came off today. Like Aesop's fable of The Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady wins the race!

What I'm reading: Kon-Tiki

2007-07-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

I am totally engrossed in this book right now so don't expect any substantive posts here until I'm finished. Luckily, it is so good I can't put it down. Looks like it will be a late night. Highly Recommended.

Toolbox Talk: Dipoles

2007-07-02T14:07:00.000-04:00

I gave a number of Toolbox Talks over Field Day weekend. One was done with Ron (WQ1Z) on dipole basics. I did a little write-up to go with the talk that discussed the "magic" formulas cited by all the radio books. The point of the talk was: use the formulas, but understand they are guidelines and not absolute recipies. Enjoy.

There are standard formulas for computing the length of a dipole or dipole arm. A typical one is length (in feet) = 234 / frequency (in megahertz). Why 234? Let’s see where they got that number:

Light speed (c) is 3 x 10⁸ meters per second. Let’s convert that into feet per second. Multiplying by 3 x 10⁸ meters per second by 3.28 (feet per meter) to get 9.8 x 10⁸ feet per second. Since we know we are interested in frequencies as megahertz, it would be convenient to get rid of all these zeros and talk about feet per microsecond (and we’ll toss the MHz part of our frequency later to make up for it). So, light travels about 980 feet per microsecond. A wavelength is related to the speed of light and frequency with the following familiar formula:

nu = c / lambda meaning frequency = speed of light / wavelength
also wavelength = speed of light / frequency

Let’s test what we have so far with a 20m signal. We know the frequency (14 MHz). We know the speed of light in feet per microsecond (980). We can compute the wavelength (in feet) by dividing 980 by 14 to get 70 feet. A full wave of a 14 MHz signal is about 70 feet long. That seems about right!

We don’t want to cut a full wavelength of wire, though. We want to cut only 1/4 of that. So, we divide 980 by 4 to get how far light goes in a quarter microsecond, 980/4 = 245 feet. So, 245/frequency gives us the size of a quarter wave of light at that frequency in feet. That is pretty close to the “magic” 234/f. Why the difference?

All of the above was for light traveling in a vacuum. But, our signal is going in a wire, where the shockwave of the electrons travels a little slower than light. We call this reduction in speed the velocity factor of the wire. This value can vary widely. Ladder line has a velocity factor of 95% of c. RG-58 has a velocity factor of only 66% of c!

Let’s assume that the speed needs to be reduced to only 95% of c to account for the velocity factor of the wire we are using. That would change our formula to be (245*0.95)/frequency which is 233/frequency = length of wire for a quarter wave. That is suspiciously close to our 234/frequency cited by all the books you’ve read!

Of course, we had a horse-sized assumption in here: the velocity factor of the wire. This is why this formula 234/f is just a guideline. If the velocity factor is lower, you’ll need to make the wire shorter (as the signal doesn’t travel so far). The formula 234/f actually provides a worst-case length and a dipole arm will often be shorter than the size you compute. Then again, it is easier to make a wire shorter than longer! The 234/f is no “magic formula” and “234” is no “magic number”. They are guidelines. Use them as such.

Try some antennas

2007-06-28T23:06:00.000-04:00

One of my Toolbox Talks was on the 40m vertical antenna I discussed previously. There were two really fun aspects of this talk. The first was the look on everybody's face when I popped up that 10m mast. I forget how big and imposing this thing is when it is extended. The second thing fun about this talk was that we were able to use the antenna when we finished setting it up. Of course, it is good on both 40m and 15m!

Field Day has some funny rules for a contest. Each SSB QSO is worth one point. Getting a member of the local fire department to visit is worth 100 points. Do you know how long you have to work on SSB to get 100 contacts in these solar conditions?! So, at least in my view, if you do a little experimentation on the SSB station you don't really put that many points at risk.
We built this antenna and then used it. Looking back, this is a really great idea! We should have built about four antennas and had them all available to the SSB station so people could do a little "compare and contrast" between them. I should have put up

The Buddipole - The one on the 16 foot mast with the long arms and large coils
The Sigma-5 - Force-12 vertical dipole
A 15m vertical - a 1/4 wave 15 meter full-size vertical to compare with the 3/4 wave version on the 40m vertical
Buddistick - just to show that even a small antenna with a few radials can do a good job if deployed well

It would have been fun to have a 5-way switch so we could switch between all these antennas and hear the difference. We could listen to a strong signal, look at the S-meter, and then click, click, click to see how the different antennas stacked up.
I think I'll suggest that for next year's event. Field Day is a really great chance to try out new stuff, train fellow club members, and learn how to set up stuff in the field and make it work. Forget about points! Learn!

Our club is going to have a Field Day retrospective at the next meeting. We'll go over what went right, what went wrong, and what we might wish to change in next year's planning. Of course, I think this is a great idea. Even if you go on a 100 Pound DXpedition alone, go through the exercise of reviewing what you did and how you did. That's the first step in improving your operation and having more fun.

Field Day retrospective

2007-06-27T22:48:00.000-04:00

I was traveling immediately before, and then immediately after, Field Day which put a serious crimp in my blogging. Luckily, almost nobody noticed. {grin}
I was part of the planning team for the local club's Field Day effort this year. I wrote and printed the Field Day manuals passed out to participants, made the poster which greeted visitors to our site, and led the Toolbox Talks. The weekend was a tremendous success, IMHO, though exhausting. Here are a couple of pictures from the event.

This is the poster and stack of manuals. Thanks go to my colleagues at Verocel who gave me time on Thursday (all day Thursday) to get the manuals copied, collated, and bound. I expect the manual to be on the PART web site either tonight or tomorrow.

The club raffled off an Icom 718 transceiver.

Here I am, right in the middle of things. That's my military mast with a 20m monobander on top. It was up 16 feet by the time we finished.

Here I am doing a Toolbox Talk on the Buddipole. We had 22 Toolbox Talks in all over the weekend. All talks were very well received and made the event one to remember.

Here I am with Tom Frenaye (K1KI), the New England Division Director of the ARRL. I guess he should go on the cool people page on my web site!

This is me on the left with Bo (WA1QYM) listening in on the second headset. This was a headset-only event which made for a very relaxing, and comfortable operating environment.

Most of my Toolbox Talks covered items that I've already covered in my blog. That said, I might go back over some of this material over the next couple of days.

I hope everybody had a great Field Day!

Buddistick radials

2007-06-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

David (K2DBK) asked: "Scott -- When you have your buddistick mounted like that, do you just let the counterpoise wire hang straight down?"

The radials for a balcony vertical are run as far as I can without causing a nuisance. If I can drop a radial off the balcony and let it drape down two, three, or even four floors I will do it. Usually, this will be late at night so I don't attract attention to myself. If I am doing daytime operation, I'll usually try to keep the radials confined to my balcony or the area immediately adjacent to the balcony.
I don't just have one radial if I can avoid it, though. I made this set of wires that are packed with the Buddistick that serves as a set of radials. The wire is the really small stuff I keep talking about from The Wireman (though Jeff, KE9V, points out there may be cheaper alternatives that should be investigated). Each radial wire is terminated with a male spade connector.

I created a single eye connector with a bunch of short wires, each terminated with a female spade connector.

Here is a close-up of the ends of this bunch.

I connect the eye to the Buddistick mount for the radial and then plug in as many radial wires as I like. I'll usually add 3 or 4 to start for a quick operation and run them around the balcony. If I know I can leave the antenna up for a few days, I'll add more. I also add the long radial on the kite-winder and drop if off the balcony straight down if I can get away with it.
This whole arrangement only weighs a few ounces, fits easily into the Buddistick case (a very nice case!), and makes adding a good set of radials to this sweet little antenna very easy.

The last day of the show is tomorrow. Then, I've got a very early flight on Thursday and back home early afternoon. The Lowell Spinners had their opening night tonight (and I missed it!), but I'll be going Thursday. I can't wait!

In Tampa

2007-06-17T21:11:00.001-04:00

I'm here in Tampa, Florida. I brought the Elecraft KX1 and Buddipole with the hopes of doing a little CW to South America. I asked for, and got, a room near the top floor, facing south, with a balcony. What a view!

I called CQ, but there were no takers. I'll set it up tomorrow and try again.

40m vertical

2007-06-16T22:37:00.001-04:00

This afternoon I built and tested the 40m vertical that our club will be using on Field day. It used the 10m DK9SQ 10m mast from Kanga to hold up the vertical wire and used two elevated ~~verticals~~ radials to complete the design. This is actually the first time I had used the mast in a ground-mounted configuration. The other times I had deployed an antenna with it we were able to find a roof or upper-story deck to mount it. In those cases, I would just bungie the mast to a railing or post and not guy it. Today, I used three pieces of dacron rope fixed to the mast about 10-feet from the bottom to hold it in place. The ropes were held to the mast by a single cable tie. The nice thing about that arrangement was breakdown of the system was a breeze. One snip and the guy ropes were freed.
The exercise was to build a 40m vertical antenna for the local club's Field Day outing next weekend, but I also wanted to make something that could be taken to St. Kitts this fall. So, rather than use heavy or stiff wire, I used some of my magic #534 from The Wire Man which is claimed to weigh less than one pound per 1000 feet. It is light!
Here are the details of the construction: The mast is 10m long. I needed 10m lengths of wire to make the 40m quarter-wave lengths. So, I used the mast as my ruler to cut the three pieces of wire to the correct length (adding a generous amount of wire in each segment as it is easier to make wires shorter than "cut them longer"). I then cut a 2-foot length of 3/32 Dacron rope and tied the end of one of those lengths of wires to this rope. Some masts have enough carbon in them that they are conductive and could couple with our vertical wire element. The Dacron rope allows us to attach to the top of the mast without creating any coupling complications.
The Dacron rope is attached to the top of the mast by wrapping it around the very thin top section six or eight times, then taping it with regular electrical tape. It is a fine way to do it if your antenna needs to only last a day or a week. I'm sure it would not last a year that way. But, luckily, we 100 Pound DXpeditioners can take a few shortcuts!
The vertical element, now tied to the Dacron rope (which is in turn afixed to the top section of mast) should be run to a point well away from the bottom of the mast. When we erect the mast we will run the wire down at an angle to ensure it will not couple with the mast.
The vertical element and two radials terminate in a small, inexpensive center insulator normally used for dipole construction. These have an SO-239 connector and two wires coming out: one which connects to the center pin, and the other which connects to the shield. Use your multimeter to determine which side is the "hot" and which is the shield. Connect the vertical wire element to the "hot" wire of the insulator. I like to make a good mechanical connection by crimping on a butt splice or some other physical connector Soldering is OK, too, but this seems easier in the field. Since the 26 AWG antenna wire is so small, I just wrapped it around the bigger wire from the center insulator and honked on one of these splicers. The radials were attached the same way to the other side of the insulator.
The beauty of this antenna system is (1) it is very light, (2) it can be erected by one person, (3) if you already have the wires cut, ropes cut, and all the connections made, it can be up-and-running in 15 minutes. We'll try to make that time on the Saturday morning of Field Day as this is one of my Toolbox Talks!

I am off to Florida in the morning. I will be blogging on the trip assuming there is good Internet access in the hotel. Though I have plenty to do, I am taking the KX1 with me on the trip along with a Buddistick. I might try to make a couple of contacts from the hotel room... assuming I can get the window open!

Youtube video

2007-06-15T13:16:00.001-04:00

Video from the Monstserrat trip. Enjoy.

Field Day planning set

2007-06-14T20:36:00.000-04:00

This last week has been a blur. Field Day is just around the corner and I have been doing lots of planning and work for our local club. This project, and a couple of others (also club-related) have kept me busy every waking hour. I just noticed it has been a week since my last post. My how time flies!
The big project this week was the completion of the Field Day Guide, a document over 20 pages in length covering all aspects of the Field Day planning from the antenna and radio setups to where to park. We covered it all! Also in the Guide are supplemental materials for the 22 Toolbox talks, brief hands-on, practical presentations given by members, for members. This is promising to be a great day!
I'm going to repeat myself: Field Day is a great opportunity to hone your planning skills. Develop an antenna plan. Figure out how you will manage inter-station interference. Did you remember to watch the solar activity 27 days before Field Day weekend?

I'm leaving for Florida on Sunday morning. I was going to send a bunch of radio equipment ahead and operate from down there, but I'm so backlogged on other things that would be irresponsible. So, I'll be brining my KX1, my Buddistick, and a whole bunch of stuff I have been neglecting. There is writing to do. I have several books to read.

I have a VE testing session Saturday morning. I believe this next one will be my 36th, all, or nearly all, for the MMRA club under Bill Wade. Bill (K1IJ) has almost exactly 100 more sessions to his total than I do. That's quite a record of service! Greg O'Brien (NE1OB) has been filling in when Bill is away. Between the two of them we are in good hands.

Again, sorry for the long silence. With Field Day preparations now in good shape, I should be returning back to my normal (daily) pace. By the way, during my week-long absence, an anniversary date quietly passed. It was one year ago on 12 June 2006 when I posted my first entry to this blog. So, Happy Birthday to 100 Pound DXpeditioners everywhere. Here's to all of you who have taken up the cause, packed a suitcase, and taken your love of amateur radio on the road. I salute you! And, I'll see you on the air!

Finances

2007-06-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the sparsity of posts this week. Alas, other commitments have kept me away. One such distraction was a meeting of the board for my local club. For the past 16 months (or so) I have been the Secretary for the PART club in Westford, Massachusetts. The club was started 30 years ago by a bunch of hams who wanted to extend the emergency communications capabilities of the town. One of the founders of the club is our President today: Bo Buddinger (WA1QYM).
The club has experienced some growth over the last few years. Sure, the character of the club is largely the same with its monthly meetings (with great speakers), Field Day, and "Pumpkin Patrol" on Halloween. But the influx of new members, new ideas, and lots of energy to go along with those fresh faces, has pushed the club leadership a bit. Change is good.
Last night, in a marathon session that lasted nearly three hours, we created the club's first ever budget. We have money allocated for club activities, a plan to put some in savings for future equipment acquisition, and also a little pile of money to be put away for "a rainy day." I believe we did a very good thing.

In all the posts I've made about DXpedition planning I cannot remember any that specifically addressed the financial aspect of these endeavors. If you are planning a vacation and the radio is simply going along for the ride, then perhaps no additional financial planning needs to be made. But, if you are planning a trip like the one I made to Montserrat with a group, there will need to be a financial plan, a budget, accounting, and record keeping.
These was precious little enthusiasm for this work among the BUMS so I handled most of it. Still, from the very first teleconference held in August of 2006, I pressed other team members to assist in the record keeping for all our financial dealings to ensure we had a good accounting of the money spent, where it went, and which pocket was picked. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, you want to make sure that bills are paid on time so the trip can proceed as planned. Secondly, team members should pay their fair share, no more, no less. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, you want all team members to know that the financial burdens were shared fairly. It would hardly do to have rock-solid planning for your trip scuttled by bad feelings over money due to bad accounting!
Creating a budget wasn't easy for our group last night. One of the things we wrestled with was articulating, and then justifying, the club goals for the next fiscal year. Just as we did last night, a DXpedition team should also have definitive goals. One way of making sure everybody shares the same vision for those goals is to put a dollar figure on it!

You do not need to have a college degree in accounting to do a good job tracking the finances of even a relatively large DXpedition. I happen to believe that anybody who can get an amateur radio license and organize the other aspects of such a trip can use a spreadsheet, or even paper and pencil, well enough to track the finances for an excursion. Even if you are "all friends" and "we don't need to keep track of things so closely" and "it will all work out in the end", there are good, solid reasons why you should be a little nit-picky on this anyway. As I have stated for other aspects of trip planning, anything that averts trouble or avoids wasting island time is worthwhile. This is worthwhile.

SO2R

2007-06-03T15:03:00.000-04:00

I keep returning to my experience at Contest University because (a) it was exceptionally well done, taught by some of the top contesters and DXers in the hobby, and (b) I believe there is a significant overlap between DXpedtioning and contesting. Both activities require that QSOs be made during a fixed period. Both activities encourage working stations quickly.
Randy Thompson (K5ZD) covered the Single Operator 2 Radio (SO2R) subject mid-morning at CTU. Like most of the instructors, Randy began with a quick review of his accomplishments (which are considerable). Just a quick peek at his QRZ page and you'll see he makes an average of 20000 QSOs per year. I have not made even half that many in the last four years!
What is SO2R? It is a single operator seated in front of two radios. Ideally, there is additional hardware that helps route audio from both radios to your headset with options like one-radio-per-ear, or mixed to both ears. The extra hardware might also help route various antenna feed lines to the two radios and lock out transmission of one radio if the other radio is already transmitting. Fully automating such a system becomes quite a complex problem. Examination of products such as the MicroHAM MK2R provide some insight as to how hard this problem is to manage.

What problem are we trying to solve? Reviewing the DXpedition statistics for the VP2M DXpedition, you can see we made no contacts on 10m or 12m. It isn't that we didn't try. We did. But, if there was an opening, we missed it. One of the problems that a second radio (or at least a second receiver) can solve is identifying irregular band openings. The Northern California DX Foundation maintains a world-wide beacon network that makes it very easy to see if there is a band opening interesting to you. If you have one receiver, you need to make a choice. Should you stop making QSOs on your current band to check for openings on the other band? Or, should you ignore the other band, perhaps missing an interesting opening in the process? A radio with a single receiver gives you only these choices.
A radio with a second receiver like the FT-1000 or new Elecraft K3 gives you a second option: listening on the second band while you continue to work on your primary band. This option is one of the reasons why I am so interested in the K3. In a contest, that means you can look for multipliers on the second receiver while continuing to run on the main one. In a DXpedition, you can look for band openings either by hearing beacons, or even QSOs, on another band.
A second full radio, with full transmit capabilities, allows you to call CQ on two bands at once. This is illegal in a contest, but nothing precludes it on a regular DXpedition! Who knows, if we had been calling CQ on 10m all day while on Montserrat, we may have been the signal alerting others that the band was open! I believe lots of openings come-and-go because nobody bothers to call CQ. With automatic CW and voice keyers, good band-pass filters, and an alert operator listening on two bands, there is an opportunity to work many more QSOs than the single radio operator. Randy Thompson confirmed many of these claims in his presentation.

Bringing a separate radio when you are carrying your own gear (and trying to live within the 100 pound weight budget) may not be possible. If you are shoping around for a DX location already stocked with great ham gear, you might start with DX Holiday with their Rent-a-QTH program. There may already be an SO2R system there, or enough stuff you could cobble together one during your visit. Note that the very best SO2R stations are not cobbled together! They are carefully crafted with filters and stubs to manage inter-radio interferrence, and have an SO2R hardware system that routes audio, microphone lines, and antennas. Trying to build something like this on your DXpedition violates one of my main rules: keep it simple! All that said, I believe that if you can do simple things that can achieve some of these goals, it would likely be worth the effort.

My recommendation (and Randy's) is to become effective and comfortable with one radio before you attempt adding a second one to the mix. But, when you are ready to "graduate" to that second signal source, it would be best to begin with a second recevier. Listen for band openings. Listen to other signals on the band you are working. Don't lose your calling frequency, but be aware of other things going on. Since this capability adds nearly no weight to the DXpedition (a second receiver inside your radio probably weighs ounces), it is an excellent way to try this approach without blowing your weight budget.
Finally, and I make this point about most things, you should work out all the details of a particular approach or practice before you go on your trip. Practice. Practice. Practice. If you believe you'd like to try using a radio with a second receiver on your trip, try using it at home first. Don't spend your precious island time working out skills you should have mastered at home.

Subject change: June is Field Day month. Field Day can be a great opportunity to practice packing, deploying, and using equipment away from home. I'll be working with my local club putting up some antennas and sharing other tidbits. Plan ahead. See you on the air!

My first piece of HF gear

2007-06-01T22:41:00.000-04:00

I had lunch with my buddy Ron (WQ1Z) today. We covered a review of Contest University and Dayton, all over Peking Raviolis and noodles. There was one other piece of business as Ron had borrowed my Buddistick and wanted to return it.
Though it is pretty easy to set up the Buddistick without an antenna analyzer, having this tool makes it a breeze. I didn't realize Ron didn't have one or I would have loaned him my MFJ-259B.

I was licensed in 2002 and installed a dual-band radio in my car not long afterwards. I kept hearing chatter about "Boxboro", the name of the town adjacent to my home town (Acton) and, for the life of me, couldn't figure out what they were talking about! Boxboro is nice, but sleepy little community where nothing happens. Why was everybody talking about it?!
The answer was the Boxboro ARRL New England Division Convention held every other year in, well, Boxboro. After that was cleared up, I signed up. It was my first hamfest or convention.
It was there that I bought my first piece of HF equipment: an MFJ-259B analyzer. I had told Ron today it was my first piece of ham gear, but that wasn't correct. I had outfitted my car with an Icom IC-2800H. So, officially, it was my second major piece of ham equipment. It never even occurred to me that Ron wouldn't have one.

Long before I got this crazy DXpeditioning fever, I had been treating all my activities like something to be studied. I bought my analyzer even before I had bought a radio! I love to measure, study, and understand. That probably comes through in my posts. I've still got plenty to learn, but I believe that understanding leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to more fun. It has for me.

My to do list

2007-05-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

Things are starting to pile up again. I just noticed that I have not done my QSLing (that I had hoped to finish before leaving for Dayton). I will get to those this weekend.
I had also planned to publish my QSLpro utility that I've been using for the Montserrat cards, and now for my personal cards, too. Don Argo of Dog Park Software has offered to host the download page, so long as I don't stick him with the support calls. After feigning surprise (a private joke between the two of us), I gladly accepted his offer. Again, Don comes through for the Macintosh-hamming community. I now need to make good on my offer and package this up for his web site.
Not to pile on even more stuff, I had made commitments to write some articles on my recent exploits and have not typed a word yet. Not a letter. Goodness. It is time to get organized!
With thunderstorms in the forecast for the weekend I won't be tempted to head out to Georges Island. Perhaps this is a good time to finish up these tasks.

I had lunch with my good friend Greg O'Brien (NE1OB) today. Greg and I have a couple of things in common including our prefix ("NE1") {grin} and a love of all things QRP. As with my 100 Pound DXpeditions, I love seeing how much you can do with just the bare minimum of equipment. Plus, the QRP world gives me an excuse to build stuff--my first love. If you are not reading his blog, start. Recommended.

Summer is here and I'm wearing lots of cargo shorts these days. The extra pockets called out for some kind of gadget so I began stuffing my VX-5R in the front left pouch. It is a little bulky for this duty and the wear was beginning to abrade the stenciling from the front of the radio. Obviously I need a new HT!
I had been considering both the Yaesu VX-2R and Icom IC-P7A when I noticed Yaesu is releasing the VX-3R. I'm not sure when this thing is shipping (or how much it will cost) but it seems worth a look. Certainly, it would fit nicely in these pockets.

Finally, I'm heading to Florida in June for a trade show. My company is kind enough to let me throw a couple of extra Pelican cases in the booth shipment meaning I can travel light and still operate HF at night. That reminds me: I have to get that stuff ready to ship, too. Looks like I have one more thing on the list for the weekend.

XP on Parallels

2007-05-30T21:45:00.000-04:00

I did something this week I said I would never do again. I have given Microsoft money for an operating system. {sigh}
I took a degree in Computer Science over a quarter of a century ago. Even before graduation I have been doing professional software development on a wide variety of platforms, including the many flavors of DOS and Windows that have come and gone. I have even worked on projects where we poked around in the guts of Windows. As Han Solo said to Luke Skywalker, "You think these things smell bad on the outside?!"
So, why would I do this? Obviously, the answer is because I need to run some software that only runs on Windows. These include:

N1MM logger - This is the most popular logging program out there for contesters (at least according to the Contest University survey). It is used by the K1TTT contest station, and by many YCCC members. In fact, the author of the program is a YCCC club member! I would like to become more familiar with this software so I won't feel so vunerable when guest operating at a big station. The only way I can do that is practice with it.
Antenna modeling software - There are antenna modeling packages for MacOS X, but it doesn't look like it is ready for the kind of activity I'll be doing. I'm a developer--why don't I fix it?! Because, I've only got so many hours in my life for software and this is not how I want to spend them. So, I'll use one of the Windows off-the-shelf packages to do this work.
Propagation software - Contest University professors (and many who have written to me here) have pointed me to this software. It only runs on Windows.

There are probably other packages, too, but this is a representative sample.

I had loaded Parallels with a copy of Windows 98, but it wasn't very stable. Given my (now aging) knowledge of Windows 98, I'm not surprised. So, I ordered a copy of XP Home from Amazon which arrived this afternoon.
As I type this my XP Home Edition is loading security updates. Not just a few. A bunch. It is loading 79 security updates, to be precise. I'm not kidding. Really. 79. Sheesh. Of course, after it finishes with these, who knows what else it will need.

Hammac has provided a solid platform for doing my DXpedition work so far. It held up wonderfully on Montserrat and I've given it some abuse since returning. Parallels seems solid (though it was difficult to tell with Windows 98). So far, discounting the disturbing number of security updates being presently loaded, the XP installation and configuration has been smooth. With luck, I will have a dual OS laptop by the end of the evening.

Build a kit

2007-05-29T21:55:00.000-04:00

With all this talk of planning, classes, and work, one might forget that this is supposed to be fun. I've not forgotten. I'm having fun!
I ordered a kit from HamGadgets.com on Friday and it arrived today (fast service!). The PicoKeyer is a full-featured CW keyer on a 1.3 by 2.0 inch circuit board. Assembly was a snap. It worked first time. Highly recommended.
I'm sure some of the old timers are pining for the glory days of Heathkit and home-brewing. I believe Elecraft, Small Wonder Labs, and the thriving QRP community provide plenty of fun offerings that would give those old Heathkits a run for their money.
If you aren't building things I think you're missing out on half the hobby. Seriously. And, don't think that stuff you build is a compromise from the stuff you might buy. Small, inexpensive, low-power processors have become ubiquitous providing even simple, easy to assemble kits like the PicoKeyer powerful features found in products costing 5 times as much. There are plenty of clever kit producers out there making great kits.
Although I don't need a reason to buy a kit (other than wanting some fun, of course), this particular purchase had a purpose. I've been working on my code skills, especially pulling out call signs from a pile-up, with Morse Runner, but my code sending skills are also dreadful. So, I am using the newly-assembled kit as a practice keyer to go with the new paddles I bought at Dayton. I feel like I've got ten thumbs when I try to send CW. I'd like to get that number down to eight by the end of the Summer. {grin}

I'll be back to more Contest University retrospective tomorrow. Again, that experience was exceptional with lots of great information for contesters and DXpeditioners alike.

DXpedition contesting class

2007-05-28T18:16:00.000-04:00

One of the sessions I was most anticipating during Contest University was DXpedition Contesting. This session was headed by Jeff Steinman (N5TJ) just one hour into the event and he did not disappoint.
I traveled to St. John (pictures here) in 2006 for the ARRL DX contest believing that the proximity to the US and general temperament of the contest would make for a low-stress way to explore this kind of DXpeditioning. Sure enough, Jeff agreed listing the ARRL DX and WPX contests as great "starter" events where you could "have fun and run a lot of guys." Working the ARRL DX contest from the Caribbean means fewer hardware demands than contests like CQ WW since you only need to work US stations. Being right off the coast of the US surrounded by saltwater doesn't hurt, either.
Here is some of what was listed for Ingredients for Success as presented during this class:

Pre-contest planning (months ahead of time)
Local ham/host/station at location (rental or not)
- Existing antennas / equipment a big plus
- Better ability to deal with issues once on site
Optimal location

Basic propagation / station location and antennas
"Demographic" Propagation (e.g., Maximizing points per QSO and multipliers across bands)

Operator(s) experience and skill

Let's take a look at these things one-at-a-time. Pre-contest planning corresponds closely to everything I've been saying here. Good planning can help ensure you make your goals and you don't miss opportunities that might present themselves. Most of us need to do some planning in our lives, either at work or for projects at home. Why skimp on planning for this?
Jeff's second point, finding a local ham or host station with existing antennas and equipment is also well taken. My idea of a 100 Pound DXpedition is that you bring the minimum equipment you need with you to accomplish your goals. If you are able to bring nothing and do all you seek to do, then that constitutes a successful trip! There are contest station rentals that are available, and I believe that is a fine alternative to hauling your own gear. I may do that someday, but right now I'm enjoying packing my own stuff and marveling about how much can be done with so little.
The location bullet points relate to particular contest rules. For example, in CQ WW you get more points for a QSO with a different continent than with a QSO to the same continent. Since most stations are in either the US or Europe, one strategy for maximizing your points per QSO is to locate your station in either Africa or South America. That's why you'll find the VooDudes led by Roger Western (G3SXW) operating the CQ WW CW contest from equatorial Africa and the Caribbean Contesting Consortium (PJ2T) group running from South America on the island of Curacao. Just as in real estate, the three most important things are location, location, location!
This isn't to say that you can't do well or have fun from North America in the Caribbean, or on Hawaii, or from Scotland. You can, of course. But, it would be very difficult to win the top slot from one of those places because of the way this contest is scored. That's just a fact, and that is what Jeff is pointing out in his slides.
There are things cited in the talk that seemed obvious but are worth listing. If you want to win or even set a world record you need to have a 3 point location (like Africa or South America), a good (loud) signal to NA/EU on all bands, a great receive antennas on the low bands. For a 100 Pound DXpedition that involves carrying your own equipment, this is probably out of reach. If you were to team up with a multi-multi operation from one of these prime locations, though, it is likely that all of these things are already in place. Now all that is left is to stay in the chair and log accurately (Jeff's emphasis--and mine).

Here is the thing that was a surprise to me: a significant improvement for station operation is a Single Operator 2 Radio setup. The SO2R operations run pile-ups with the first radio while looking for multipliers or S&P with the other. This is the single biggest way to boost your score.
I would have bet money that the "assisted" guys (those who use the packet spotting network) would have beaten unassisted operators, but this is not the case. I would have especially thought that assisted category operators would have beaten the SO2R guys. Statistics show just the opposite. The DX spotting network does not provide a boost to the score as much as adding the second radio. In fact, the second radio (in the hands of an operator capable of using it) can add up to 15% to the score when compare to a single radio operation. That is huge!
I have been recently convinced of the utility of a second full receiver in a radio. I pitched in at the K1TTT and used a Yaesu FT-1000 during the 2007 ARRL DX contest. It isn't quite like having a full second radio, but the additional receiver allowed me to call CQ on the main tuner while doing S&P on the other.
The FT-1000 weighs about the same as a sack of bricks so it isn't a great "portable" radio. The new Elecraft K3, on the other hand, is about 8 pounds (3.6 Kg). I really want one of these!

I cannot relate the full contents on this session here, but I can say that the speaker emphasized some of the things in his discussions that I have mentioned here. Specifically, "Planning + Good QTH + Motivated Team = Results" (right from Jeff's slides). Well said.

My three-day weekend is nearly over and I'm finally starting to feel rejuvenated from my trip. I need to catch up on QSLing and start planning my St. Kitts trip in earnest. I'll drop a note here on the progress I make on both those fronts.

What the Prefix, Kenneth?

2007-05-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

Contest University had 11 professors and 21 different classes. Each student was limited to about a dozen sessions but the binders distributed had slides and notes from all classes so we could see what we missed. Since I had been assigned all of the classes I had listed as highest priority, it wouldn't do for me to complain about not seeing one session or another, but I confess that there were some I thought would have been fun to see had their been time. One such class was the Basic Contesting taught by Doug Grant (K1DG).
It isn't that I expect to find any dramatic revelations in the class notes. On the contrary, I hope I do not. Instead, I am looking for validation that I am studying the right things, am worried about the right issues, and am honing the right skills. There is value in hearing, "that's right. Keep working on that." For example, the slides provided the results from a survey of the some of the top operators. When asked what factors are likely to improve skills most they replied:

Operating at a Multi-Op station (biggest factor)
Joining a contest club
Going on a DXpedition
and Getting on the air between contests

There were other factors weighted as well. Note that Buying a better radio ranked at the bottom of the list. No surprise there.
There were other factors mentioned as important in becoming a better operator. One was Studying old logs and scores. This is just one aspect of improving your logging accuracy, something I know I've harped about in this blog. It does a disservice to everyone if you travel to an interesting place, work a station, then fail to log the contact properly. In a contest such a goof will cost you points; for a DXpedition it will cost the QSL manager time, and possibly a worthy operator a QSL card with all of the hard feelings you might imagine. UBN reports are sometimes available from contest sponsors which report QSOs that are Unique (a valid call sign that nobody else happened to have worked), Bad, or Not-in-log. Seeing where mistakes were made may help prevent future ones.

Not surprisingly, many of the most effective changes you can make to your station is in that area between your ears. Learning the difference between valid and invalid prefixes and call signs, for example, can help eliminate logging errors. In contesting, there are a few stations (and call signs) that are famous. Running across them even if you get a partial copy should trigger instant recognition. Examples include* (from the slides) ZD_Z, G3_XW, TF3_RA, V_1JA, and P_2T. Can you fill in the blanks?
I was ocassionally able to recognize when something rare would pop up in a pile-up while on Montserrat. I was able to work New Caledonia, San Marino, Ascention Island, and Cape Verde because I recognized that the call signs (prefixes) were from an "interesting" place. If I hadn't been aware of this, if I had just continued working the strong stations, I would have likely missed these more rare QSOs.
Believe me: I'm not patting myself on the back here. Though I happened to have spotted these, I now shutter to think of all the ones I missed. I am only now realizing how much work I have to do to really learn and internalize all these prefixes and their associated geography. As I glance through the call sign lists like those found in the Nifty DX Field Reference I am embarassed at the number of prefixes I do not immediately recognize. I'm sensing another software development project in my future. I'm imagining a drill-and-practice program to test me on my call sign and prefix knowledge. Hmmm. In the mean time, I will continue to page through the big binder of slides from CU and try to pick up more tips.

* Answers are ZD8Z, G3SXW, TF3IRA, VO1JA, PJ2T. I confess I knew only half of them. Obviously, I need more study.

Propagation planning

2007-05-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

Contest University was organized by Tim Duffy (K3LR) and a handful of other top contesters. Tim's accomplishments are well known. You can get a glimpse of his efforts on his web site. In addition to all this planning, Tim also pulled moderator duty for the Friday Hamvention Antenna Forum. Even if the term hero doesn't seem apt, I believe his efforts, and the efforts of those he worked with, can easily be characterized as heroic. Thank you, guys.

Check in at Contest University was Wednesday evening with the activities scheduled to begin bright and shiny Thursday morning. Each of the 150 students received a sizable bundle of materials and collateral including a binder containing slides for all presentations, an Icom shirt, and a cloth bag stuffed with magazines, catalogs, and other gifts. Each student was also presented with their personalized schedule.
Just as with regular college classes, Contest University filled classes on a first-come-first-served basis. Those who responded to the class selection email quickly were likely to receive the class assignments they wanted; those who waited may not have. It seemed like the fairest way to accomplish seat assignments. I received the message requesting me to complete this form at 11:15 PM and had made my choices ten minutes later. I took some ribbing from Tim Duffy for this. My late night diligence resulted in me being the very first of the students to respond thereby winning me first dibs on all the classes I selected. Those who waited were not so lucky. Just as with contests, you snooze you lose. {grin}
Classes were held in three rooms: the banquet room, and two nearby meeting rooms. Breakfast was served in the banquet room while Tim Duffy briefed attendees on the schedule. Based on the selection process described above, students would split into the two smaller meeting rooms for morning classes. We would reconvene in the banquet room for lunch and more classes. After lunch, we would split again receiving the remainder of our instruction in those smaller meeting rooms.

Dean Straw (N6BV), Senior Assistant Technical Editor for the ARRL, was top of my schedule with Propagation: What To Look Forward To. Though I had done very little propagation planning for previous trips, I was quite keen to hear this presentation. Allow me to explain.
Most the the antennas I have used on 100 Pound DXpeditions have been verticals or dipoles, neither with any appreciable gain in a particular direction. (The notable exception to this was my trip to Deer Isle, Maine (NA-055) where Dave Bushong (KZ1O) and I deployed a Force-12 C3SS tribander atop a rugged military mast.) Because I do not typically have a directional antenna, there is no need to have a plan for where to point it. On Montserrat, for example, we erected the 17m vertical and just worked everybody we could hear. There was no plan to turn it to the East for European sunrise or to later turn it West for a different opening. Propagation planning was limited to band selection.
Things are about to change for me. I have ordered a small Mosley beam which I intend to use on my St. Kitts trip for CQ WW SSB in October. With a 17 dB front-to-back ratio, I must now point the antenna if I hope to hear anybody. If there is an opening to Europe and I am pointing towards South America, I'll miss it. So, I must now know (a) which band should I be on, and (b) where should the antenna be pointed?
Dean Straw's presentation focused on the propagation tables included with the ARRL Antenna Book (which he helps edit). If you don't already own this book, buy it now. Highly recommended. Anyway, the tables are published as pages within PDF files on the CD bundled with the book. There are two files for each covered geographic region: one for summary predictions between that place and Europe, the Far East, South America, Africa, Asia, Oceana, and North America, and one for detailed predictions between that spot and another covered region such as W1, W6, KL7, and so on.
In addition to this division by geography, the tables are also organized by month, sunspot activity, and band. For example, there is a page in the summary document for KP2, in October, and a low sunspot count.

Yes. The numbers are small in the snapshot above.
The numbers in the table represent anticipated S-unit readings. It is assumed that both stations are running 1500 watts and have 3-element yagis at 100 feet. You then discount values from there. I am running only 100 watts so I subtract 3 S-units from each value in the table. Additionally, I must subtract more S-units because I am not using a 3-element yagi, nor is it at 100 feet. Dean Straw presented a whole page of rules for discounting these table values to match them to different operating conditions.

I have begun doing the planning for St. Kitts with these tables by dropping the published values into a spreadsheet and discounting the numbers using Dean's rules. It has been time-consuming to create a model for this, but I hope to work out a solid operating plan for the whole contest over the next few weeks. Of course, I'll publish it in a place where it can be viewed once I am finished.

This was just one of the classes (the very first one!) at CU. I will try to discuss more of them in future blog entries.

Sleep

2007-05-25T16:40:00.000-04:00

DXpeditions are to contesting as marathons are to sprints. Both can be intensive, but each requires that they be run at their own pace. In yesterday's post, I briefly mentioned some of the things that are required to stay in the seat including getting your sleep schedule aligned with your operating plan. Waking up at the right time to start the endeavor is one thing, but how do you manage your sleep schedule going forward?
There is an excellent article on the contesting.com web site describing A Sleep Strategy for DX Contests. The beauty of this article is you can start experimenting with some of the claims immediately (assuming you plan to sleep tonight). For example, the article states, "Researchers have found that sleep is structured into approximately 90-minute cycles." I have tested this hypothesis on myself by paying attention to the doze and wake times from a pleasant Sunday afternoon nap. Sure enough, I'll find myself sleeping either 90 minutes or some multiple of 90 minutes if I'm allowed to awaken on my own. If I set an alarm clock to wake me at some multiple other than 90 minutes, I do tend to be groggier when I rise. This is completely unscientific. The effects might all be in my head. But this 90 minute cycle seems to describe my sleep pattern.
I have made a point in those contests in which I have applied a significant effort to sleep in 90 minute (or 180 minute) chunks and have found that I am reasonably alert at the end of each sleep period. Though counter-intuitive, I believe that I feel less rested after a 120 minute nap than a 90 minute one. Again, this might be all in my head.
Contesters concern themselves with getting the most out of a 24, 36, or even 48 hour period. DXpeditioners typically do not have such constraints, though there are exceptions. If you have an opportunity to operate from some isolated island or other difficult to reach place and can only do so for a limited time, you'll want to get the most of every minute. Here, you'll be working the same game as a contester by trying to stay in the seat. Similarly, if you have only 24 or 36 hours left before you need to start packing and you've not met your goals, you may wish to put in that "last push" to fill your log. In either case, understanding your sleep needs (even if you cannot fulfill them) can be very valuable. With Field Day fast approaching, there is a ready-made laboratory for this research awaiting many of us.

I traveled to Illinois this last weekend to see my niece Katie graduate She was Salutatorian. She received one "B" in all her years of schooling (K-12) and that kept her from the highest honor. Mind you, nobody was quibbling about the grade this weekend!

While visiting my parents I noticed my Father's Icom IC-R2 was looking a bit worn. He is a retired airplane pilot and still enjoys listening to aircraft traffic, weather, and other things. So, with Father's Day coming up Sandy and I thought a nice new Icom IC-R20 might be just the thing. Thankfully, the manual for the radio is on the Icom web site. I have just downloaded it. I am sure there will be questions. He should get it tomorrow.

By the way, the radio is a surprise so don't tell him. Shhhh! {grin}

Stay in the seat

2007-05-24T20:25:00.000-04:00

I will be relating items from Contest University for a while as that event was crammed with information that I'm only now fully processing. One of the things emphasized by all the instructors at CU was "stay in the seat." You can't make QSOs (or points) if you are not in the seat. Ideally, you should be in the seat all 48 hours of a big contest. The top scoring operators do that, and you must do that, too, if you hope to compete with them. Students asked the obvious question: how can you stay seated in front of the operating position for 48 straight hours?

The answers varied slightly but came down to these points:

Sleep - do it before and after the contest but not during. How? What is the secret for getting your sleep schedule aligned with the contest? The answer was Ambien, a sleep medication. After a rush of horror passed over me at the mere thought of this, I confess I see the point. I am not tempted to try this, but neither am I likely to attempt a full 48 hour stint.
Nature's call - People eat. Later, people need to deal with the consequences. So, how does one deal with 48 hours without that bowel clearing exercise? The answer was to avoid fiber in the days prior to the contest in hopes that nothing would need to be moved. This idea was introduced as delicately as possible during discussions and raised more than a few chuckles. Given the sleep remedy suggested, I had wondered if there would be a suggestion of Imodium or other medication that would slow the digestive system. It never was. (I wonder if they've not thought of it, or if it wouldn't work as I hypothesize?)
Water - You need to drink water to stay alert. The suggested remedy is just as simple as you might imagine, and it includes a bucket. This idea drew far fewer laughs than the fiber idea, and it seems many in the audience had already given this a try. For the record, I did not rank among them (yet).
Caffeine - It was strongly suggested that you give up any stimulants in the week before the contest. That way, when you really need that kick late in the contest, the big cup of coffee, tea, or soft drink will do the trick. Of course, I was also thinking that caffeine, being a diuretic, also contributes to one of the problems mentioned above and should be avoided for that reason, too.

I was not particularly ambitious during my 2006 trip to St. John seeking only 500 contacts in the contest. Neither were we particularly hard-core on Montserrat (I made fewer than 1300 QSOs from there). I am planning on pushing hard during my St. Kitts trip this Fall. While a 48 hour effort during the CQ WW DX SSB is almost certainly out of the question, I may attempt something approaching a 36 hour effort. I've not formalized my goals for this trip, but that level of effort is intriguing--especially after being energized by Contest University. I'll have much more about this as the departure date for this trip draws near.

It seems to me that there is a significant overlap between contesting and DXpeditioning. It is not unusual, for example, to see famous contesters also on big DXpeditions. The crossover of experience is often mentioned. This message was recently passed on the Yankee Clipper Contest Club email reflector in response to the plethora of hyper-expensive radio offerings in recent years.

Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 13:46:28 +0000
From: "Donald J. Toman"
Subject: Re: [YCCC] Megabuck Radios
To: "Jordan, David"

Dave,

It should be added that, with the experience of one DXpedition under an operator's belt, with that $1000 radio, small amp AND G5RV, he may perform at least as well as he did with the $3000 antenna system.

The missing ingredient in any station setup is the operator. There is no substitute for experience and training in developing an operator.

A DXpedition pushes the learning curve better than any other training I know, and it doesn't need to be a large investment.

Cheers,
Don

I couldn't agree more.

Dayton retrospective

2007-05-23T21:57:00.000-04:00

I am back home after my tour of the country. I left home here in Massachusetts last Tuesday and returned last night. In that week I had driven to Dayton, rural Illinois, Bloomington, Illinois (to take my niece back to college), and back home again. In all, I put nearly 2500 miles on the Element.
There was a wireless access point in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and I tried to post a blog entry after Contest University. Unfortunately, the folks at Blogger (who host this blog) had made some changes to the posting software that made it impossible for me to work as I normally do editing my post offline then posting the resulting HTML. I was hoping that the problem would be fixed by the time I returned home. It was.
Here is the picture I was hoping to post last Thursday night.

This is some of the staff from Contest University. I wish I could have corralled all the instructors from this event but, truth be told, I was lucky to have gotten a group this big. You'll recognize some of the biggest names in Amateur Radio in this picture (not counting me, of course!). This picture is just one of the collection that has augmented my cool people page on my web site.
Contest University was fantastic. There were 150 pupils filling two conference rooms for most of the day. We were served an excellent breakfast and lunch as part of the deal and received a large binder containing all the slides from all the presentations. At $70 it was the deal of the show, in my opinion. I could recommend something like this for anyone interested in learning more about the hobby. Even if you absolutely hate contesting (and contesters) there was enough theory and DXing strategy presented that any HF operator would benefit from the material. Highly recommended.

Since I had only one day to peruse the show I took in most of it on a run. Upon entering Hara I made a beeline to the Buddipole booth to catch up with my fellow VP2M DXpeditioners. Chris, Budd, and Mike (and a couple of others) were in the booth surrounded by an enormous crowd. It was the first time I had seen these guys since we parted ways in Orlando after the trip. Chris and his wife are expecting their first child. He looked wrung out but happy. Budd was dashing around explaining ten things to twenty people and Mike was fulfilling orders one-after-another. Once I made it to the front of the pack, I exchanged handshakes and pleasantries with each in turn. All three were sporting a badge depicting our DXpedition logo with a small embellishment: lava running down the volcano. This was obviously the work of Paul "Lava" Van Dyke. I was informed that Paul had a badge for me as well, and he would be looking for me. (Again, at 6' 8", it was easier for him to spot me in the crowd than vice-versa!)

Just a few minutes later I did run into Paul. Sure enough, he had a beautiful badge with my name and call. Paul plans to return to Gingerbread Hill and continue his digital mode work. I hope all the RTTY and PSK31 operators around the world appreciate his efforts.

After saying goodbye to Paul I wandered over to the Elecraft booth and spoke with Wayne Burdick (N6KR). Wayne had written to me about the new K3 after finding my blog. At 8 pounds, it certainly does look to be a 100 pound DXpeditioner's dream! I told him that I knew he would be far too busy before Dayton to chat and that I would call him in the weeks after the show. I have missed the first production run for the new radio but will likely get one before the end of the year (perhaps after returning from St. Kitts).

Finally, the dinner and drinks for "bloggers and those who read us" Thursday was a fun time. I had dinner with Steve (K9ZW) and five others at the Spaghetti Factory. Hopefully, Jeff (KE9V) will be able to join us next year.

I expect to get back-on-track now that I'm home again. The week away was not a week off. I learned a great deal on the trip (and thought of a great deal more). I'll try to share all of it starting with tomorrow's post.

Shameless plug department

2007-05-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the shameless plug department. I will not be blogging for a few days while I travel to Dayton and attend Contest University. So, please consider spending some of your valuable time catching up on the wonderful audio programs by

99 Hobbies - which features interviews with people just like you and me who are doing fun things with the hobby. Dave Bushong (KZ1O) believes that amateur radio is a very large umbrella under which many different interests and disciplines lie. One of the fan favorites is his interview with Diana Morse, descendent of another Morse that you might recognize!

Long Delayed Echoes - Jeff Davis (KE9V) produced a series of audio programs discussing ham radio during the Second World War. They are magnificent.

I have roughly 40 hours of driving ahead of me in the next week. I head to Dayton tomorrow afternoon and will stop somewhere between here and there to sleep. I'll complete the trip on Wednesday and rest before my class Thursday. What will I do to fill all that time? I have filled an iPod with all the 99 Hobbies and Long Delayed Echoes podcasts. I believe they will be every bit as fun the second time around.

A quick reminder: I will be meeting some other bloggers and those who read us at 6 PM in the Crowne Plaza Hotel lobby on Thursday evening. See you there!

This is why we practice

2007-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful day today. The sun was shining with a cool breeze and it had not rained for several days so the ground was firm and dry. In other words, it was a perfect Spring day in New England.
I live in Acton, Massachusetts, a town seeped in American history and filled with trees and winding roads. The North Acton Recreation Area (NARA) is only a few minutes away and it seemed like the perfect place to set up a radio for the afternoon. I gathered together my QRP setup including:

Elecraft K2 and accessories in its Pelican case
Backpack with solar panel and charge controller
Small Buddipole system
One 17Ah battery
Hammac
Coax
Heil Headset

I planned on setting up for 17m and, failing to find good propagation there, would switch to 20m. Honestly, I didn't really care if I made many contacts today. I wanted to be outside and to check out the performance of the new 48 watt solar panel.

Things did not go smoothly. This is why we practice.

I have mentioned before that it is best not to cannibalize parts from one system to outfit another. Even if it means having some small amount of duplication it is better to have each system (antenna, radio, test equipment, etc.) be complete. I have tried to do this with each of the systems I have constructed: the two Buddipole systems, the Buddistick system, and the radios each in their own Pelican cases with all they need for a complete station.
The alternative, of course, is to own a large, loosely organized collection of parts from which you would coalesce bundles for a particular mission. I believe that way lies madness. The chances of omitting something important are great with this piecemeal strategy. A forgotten part like a connector or adapter might sound inconsequential but its absence might hamper or completely scuttle an operation.
I recently ordered a bundle of Buddipole parts and had carefully repacked my big and small Buddipole systems so each system was complete. Everything one would need for that particular system was in the bag. At least that was my plan. I did not do a good job in that organization. In fact, many things went wrong today. Allow me to enumerate them:

Rotating Arm Kit (RAK) - I had packed the knobs for the rotating arm kit but the aluminum brackets were missing. I had forgot to pack them.
Coax problems - I brought a 25 foot piece of coax to run between the bottom of the TRSB and the radio. The PL259 connector on one end of the cable must have been crushed at some point. It was no longer round and would not screw on to the SO239-BNC adapter necessary to fit either the TRSB or the K2.
Solar panel problems - The panel works very well... when it is face up. Unfortunately, the panel has a great deal more surface area than the smaller (15w) panel I own. Gusty winds kept flipping the panel closed. The corners of the panel have eyelets. I will run some dacron rope through them so the panel can be staked out.
Connector failure - One of the SO239-BNC adapters came apart in my hand. I used to think I had too many connectors. I now believe that I should go through my kits and ensure that there are sufficient spares for all types of connectors in each kit.
RF got into my noise canceling circuitry - I brought the Heil Noise canceling headset with me today. The Buddipole was lashed to the picnic table and was only a few feet over my operating position. This was far too close for that delicate signal processing. Turning off that feature allowed me to use the headset today but I now know that this is a problem. If I want to use this headset with the noise canceling feature I'll need to move the antenna well away from the operating position.

The above description makes it sound like today's exercise was a bust. No. On the contrary, I learned a great deal and even with these distraction I was able to make a contact. Here are some things that went well:

My settings for the Buddipole setup are good - I had mentioned in a previous post that my small Buddipole system had a slightly different setup than the documentation indicated. I need to tap in one coil turn and shorten the whip slightly from the documented directions for each band. My new guidelines work like a charm.
The AntennaSmith works well - I used the new analyzer today and it worked superbly. The internal batteries also appears to have held the last charge I gave it well. I should probably tuck a PL259-BNC connector in with the analyzer, though.
The solar panel works - I used the new panel to charge the 17 Ah battery. The panel powered the radio and kept the battery at nearly a full charge for the entire time I operated. This is very good news as I'll need every ounce of power on Georges and Lovells Islands this Summer.
England could hear me - I had a QSO with GB400AA this afternoon. This is a special event station celebrating the founding of the Jamestown settlement here in America. (I worked the Jamestown station last weekend). The station was set up near the place where the ships departed on that long journey to the New World. The operator at the special event station recognized my call. He knew me! As it turns out, he is a Cab-converter user. What a small world!
Calgary could (almost) hear me - I tried to call VE6AO and another station in Alberta but band conditions changed before they could work me. It was a little frustrating hearing these two stations discuss how I was there, above the noise, and then buried in the noise. Alas, that's the fortunes of operating at QRP levels.

Practice, practice, practice! Today's drill was good because it allowed me to test some new equipment (the solar panel and charge controller) and evaluate my efforts packing some existing equipment (the small Buddipole system). It was also good to get some fresh air and sunshine on this old bag of bones. {grin} Seriously, the only way to become more proficient at things is to practice. I would like to have my routine so honed and equipment organization so solid that I could just grab a few bags and know I could mount a successful portable operation. Practice, think, plan, repeat. I believe that's the way.

Speaking of packing, I will be packing for my long trip to Dayton, then Chicago tonight and tomorrow. My trip West begins Tuesday afternoon.

RF ground and the answer to "how many?"

2007-05-13T01:08:00.000-04:00

Last summer a fellow in a large truck had a lapse of concentration and slammed into the back of my Honda Element. Sandy and I were unhurt but the car was lost. That was unfortunate, of course, but it gave me a chance to reevaluate the radio installation. I bought another ELement and this time I did the job right. Well, mostly right.
I use a Yaesu ATAS-120 antenna for HF in the car. It is small and inconspicuous (though opinions on this particular point vary) and covers 40m-6m. The device is only half of the antenna, of course, just like with any vertical antenna design. The other half of the antenna is the frame of the car capacitively coupled to the ground. Coax from the radio leads to the antenna mount on the roof rack feeding the antenna but the ground path, the RF ground path, needs some help.
In my original installation on the first Element I was careful to provide a good RF ground path by connecting a piece of braid between the SO-239 mount for the antenna to the bolts holding the roof rack (and to the frame of the car). I worked into Europe easily with just 100 watts from my ICOM IC-706IImg and even worked Australia one Saturday morning on 20m.
When I replaced the car, I was careful to make sure roof racks were installed before I drove it off the lot. I had the two mounts (one for the ATAS and one for the 2m/440 antenna) on the back rack within 30 minutes of arriving home and the radios were installed within a few days. All was just as it was before except that little piece of braid. I had cracked the plastic on the roof rack of the first Element and I was determined not to screw things up this time with the new car.
I was too careful. The weather turned cold and I didn't have that perfect piece of braid in hand yet. I was still looking. I then found that perfect piece of braid. By then it was dark by 4 o'clock in the afternoon (it does that in the Winter here in New England) and who wants to try to figure out stuff like this in the cold and the dark?
In a sense, I ran this experiment backwards. If I had a problem tuning the antenna or generating a good signal I would have suspected a poor RF ground. On the first installation, I had no such problems as I had that piece of braid in place. In the new installation that braid was missing--and I had all the problems you might imagine because of it. The antenna was difficult or impossible to tune on 40m. My signal strength reported by other stations was significantly lower when compared to the reports I had received from the first car. I even believe I was picking up more noise.
I put a very nice piece of braid back in this special place today. As you might expect, things improved dramatically. Duh.

This story points to one of the complaints frequently heard about vertical antennas. The question "How many radials do I need?" is really the question "what do I need to do to have a sufficient RF ground?" The answer is not necessarily obvious. The placement of the feed point and height of the radials off the ground can make a big difference, for example.
My advice is to do some of these experiments with those verticals you deploy on your portable expeditions. But, don't just add radials and see what happens. Run the experiment "backwards", too. If you've run four radials and have pretty good luck, try three or two. Locate the knee in the curve by adding and subtracting radials so you understand the trade-offs. You know zero radials is almost certainly the wrong number and 100 radials would be over-kill. But, where is that (hopefully) low number where adding more radials isn't worth the trouble? That is knee in the curve. That is the interesting number. Of course, it goes without saying that you do all these experiments long before you leave for your adventure. Island time is no time to be fooling with such things!

Now outfitted with a newly well-RF-grounded antenna, I'll be leaving for Dayton on Tuesday. If propagation conditions permit I will be signing NE1RD/30 mobile celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club. I hope to work 17m and 20m SSB. Meet you on the air!

Generate some buzz, and the YCCC at 30

2007-05-11T20:49:00.000-04:00

Packing up your gear and getting to your destination is only the beginning of the adventure. It would be nice to also make some QSOs! Though contests can be a productive way to get those QSOs in the log, I know many reading this do not enjoy contesting. Many find the "you are 59 QRZ!" exchange is unsatisfying.
I enjoy contesting. I especially enjoy working in the major contests. Knowing that the airwaves will be filled with operators who may only operate three or four times a year is a thrill for me. Contests also provide a target rich environment. With all this activity, somebody will want to talk to me!
You can create your own excitement. We tried to do that for the Montserrat trip by publicizing the details of our trip in advance. There were many who found us on the air who sounded as excited to make the contact as we were.
Creating a special event station is also an excellent way to generate some buzz for your operation. Anyone with a license can apply for a special event station and a special 1-by-1 call sign once per year. You don't need much of an excuse. I'm waiting for a special event celebrating the operator's own birthday. It could happen.
Here's another example of buzz: The Yankee Clipper Contest Club is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Look for YCCC members operating on the air for the remainder of this year signing /30. I will be doing a little of this myself! And, I promise to give you a little more than "you are 59". {grin}
Let's put some in the log. See you on the bands!

BURO cards for Montserrat have arrived

2007-05-10T22:20:00.000-04:00

I received a drop from the W1 QSL bureau today. The following cards were received for QSOs with the Montserrat DXpedition:
CU2JT, PY4OY, F4EZD, EI2CR, EI3GYB, F5TJC, HB9SLO, SM7UZB, SM5CAK, SK3BG, SM3NXS (2), and K0TTT(!).
I also received a similarly sized pile of cards for NE1RD, NE1RD/1, etc. I will try to get these turned around before I leave for Dayton Tuesday afternoon. Failing that, I will get them out the moment I return.

I learned this week that I'll be traveling to Tampa, Florida for the Systems & Software Technology Conference (SSTC) in June. This is a trade show and I'll be one of the booth babes (absurdity intentional). The other two attendees from Verocel will be bringing family so I'll be on my own during the evenings. Naturally, the Devil Rays are playing in Arizona so there is no baseball in town during my stay. How on Earth will I fill my time? Maybe I could bring a... radio?

The supplies for the show will be shipped via carrier from the office to our booth on the show floor. I asked if I could slip an extra radio-filled Pelican case (or two) into the mix. My colleagues said, "Yes! Of course!" I just need to schlep it to the hotel and at the end of the trip roll back to the booth. Easy! I just need to be careful that I not pack anything I might need for Field Day (because it wouldn't be back in time).

Speaking of Field Day, those plans are coming along nicely for the PART club. Our goal this year is to have fun, teach, and learn. We are organizing a series of Toolbox Talks, 15-30 minute impromptu discussions about a particular topic. I'm participating in several of these where I will talk about portable operations, contesting, and antenna analyzers. I'll also give demonstrations of items you can't see in stores like the Buddipole and Buddistick, the AntennaSmith antenna analyzer, and the Force-12 Sigma 5 antenna. This is going to be a very hands-on event. If you happen to be near Westford, Massachusetts come Field Day, stop by!

Finally, blogging over the next 10 days is going to be difficult. I leave for Dayton on Tuesday, will be in Contest University on Thursday, attending the show Friday, then driving to Chicago (actually, far West of Chicago) on Saturday to attend my niece's High School Graduation on Sunday. So, if I miss a couple of days, just expect some especially fat posts thereafter!

300

2007-05-08T22:07:00.000-04:00

Tonight marks my three hundredth post. I began with this blog nearly a year ago with this:

I've just begun planning several DXpeditions and thought
it might be fun to keep track of the kinds of research,
thinking, and planning that goes into a successful
personal DXpedition. I plan on posting what I learn,
when I learn it. You'll see it all: insights, wrong
turns, goof ups, and epiphanies. If it helps you
plan your next DXpedition, I'll be very pleased indeed.

I have certainly had goof-ups and wrong turns! Mistakes made by me during planning or execution of these small DXpeditions have been highlighted here in the hopes that they will not be repeated (by me or by my readers) and that the lessons learned from those mistakes will lead to better planning, better execution, and better DXpeditions. Since I am no expert in any of this, I was (and continue to be) worried that my small observations, sometimes obvious, would not provide sufficient value to warrant the time readers must invest to follow my blog. Indeed, even now I go back through previous entries and wonder if I'm simply stating the obvious.
Perhaps that is the case, but the reason why such entries were made in the first place is that those obvious things were not obvious to me at the time! The aphorism "hindsight is 20/20" seems apt here. Frequently (especially after a particularly embarrassing lapse in judgement) I wonder if my particular screw-up was due to a pitfall that could victimize anyone, or if it was due to reasons peculiar to me. Perhaps one person's insightful observation is another's mundane recollection. These small observations made throughout these 300 entries probably fall somewhere between those two extremes.
There are some big observations I've made during all this, too. One of the biggest is a personal note that I may not have yet shared. My recollections on the Montserrat trip have solidified an idea that I had even before the trip began: it is better to be labor than management. Specifically, I spent many hours on the island in a role other than HF radio operator. I was updating the web site, updating the on-line logs, and struggling (along with Chris) to get the paper logs converted to computer logs so QSLing would be possible later. (Being the QSL manager, too, I had a vested interest in making sure this was done properly.) Every hour I spent on these administrative tasks was time and energy I could have spent on the air--and working on the air from this Idyllic location was the reason for going!
Don't get me wrong, I don't have any regrets. Well, maybe a few {grin}, but along with these choices came new knowledge and opportunities. At risk of being glib, my fortune cookie from lunch the other day read, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." To some extent, the Montserrat trip gave me experience in lieu of DXCC, 2500 QSOs, WAS, or even just more chances to work my friends on 20m from paradise. Instead of those things, I returned from the trip with ideas, insights, and a deep respect for those who organize the big DXpeditions. I've tried to pass some of this along in this blog and hope sincerely that you can take some of my experience and get what you want.
So, here's to 300. I had no idea if I would stick with it this long. I still have no idea who (if anybody) is actually reading this. Hello?! Is anybody out there? I don't know whether I have 300 more in me, but I'll keep posting so long as I believe what I have to say might help somebody have fun with their radio in a faraway place. Until next time, 73 from NE1RD!

Your operating position

2007-05-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

Once you have your antennas set up, coax feeds run, and your operating position set up, it will be down to you and your radio. The selection of the particular radio to use is a very personal decision, of course, based on the collection of preferred features, its interface, size, or even just a sense of trustworthiness and reliability.
In my view, the main interface to your radio is not the front panel with all the knobs. I believe the primary interface is the sound going in, and going out of it. The DSP, compression circuitry, filters, and other mechanisms inside the radio all work together to render the HF signal to AF. What happens next is up to you.
I am an unabashed Heil Sound fan. I had been using either the Pro-Set Plus or Traveler Dual headsets exclusively. I've added a new headset to the mix recently after trying it at the K1TTT superstation. The Pro-Set Quiet Phone is a headset with all the great stuff in Pro-Set Plus like a superb microphone element and a comfortable feel on the head. It also has noise-canceling circuitry that was very impressive in the K1TTT multi-operator environment. It only took about 15 minutes of operating with these beauties to convince me I needed a set for myself.
I used my Pro-Set Quiet Phone headset in last weekend's New England QSO Party. Like last year, I was using my Elecraft K2 running just 5 watts so having good audio is very, very important. In fact, out of the 39 contacts I made the contest (I was preoccupied this weekend) no fewer than 5 guys complimented me on my audio.
What my K2 is missing is a voice keyer. One of the reasons I didn't put more hours into the contest was because I was losing my voice. The internal voice keyer inside the IC-7000 had spoiled me! Keyers, both voice keyers and CW keyers, are indispensable tools for an extended operation. Of course you can say your call sign. Of course you can squeeze the paddles and send your call sign. The trick isn't to do it once or even 50 times; the trick is to do it 5000 times over an extended period.
For CW I have the microHam CW keyer which provides both CW keyer functions and rig control function with its USB to serial / CAT interface. The best feature on this unit is the big, round knob on the front for the speed control. You know, sometimes the best interface is the big knob that just does the right thing. I brought this unit to Montserrat and it performed very well. Most logging programs have some facilities for triggering the keyer memory. I developed an add-on for MacLoggerDX called FKeyer for this purpose. Yes. Being a programmer does occasionally have its advantages {grin}.
Voice keyers seem more complicated, but they shouldn't be. I have owned the MFJ 434B Voice Keyer for a while but have not set it up yet. After this weekend's wear-and-tear on my voice, I'm now motivated to get this device working with the K2. I wonder how much current it draws? It would be very nice to have a voice keyer on Georges Island (and Lovells Island for the IOTA contest). The new Elecraft K3 offers a voice keyer option, too. In my view, if you operate SSB, this is a mandatory component.
Finally, you need some way to key the transmitter. I have tried and tried but I just can't find the right combinations of VOX settings that make VOX usable for me. I prefer keying the transmitter though mechanical means. If at all possible, I'll use a foot switch. I've posted previously on how to find a nice lightweight (and cheap) foot switch for this purpose. I found that there are times, though, when using a foot switch isn't the best option. When operating portably with nothing but dirt (or sand) beneath my feet, the foot switch can be difficult to locate with your foot and even harder to trigger. I had built a hand-switch from junk box parts and it worked. But, Paul "Lava" Van Dyke (VP2MVO) had a Heil HS-2 hand-switch on Montserrat and I was foolish enough to give it a go. It felt very nice in my hand and was rock solid (like the rest of the Heil offerings). So, I now own that, too. It lives with the noise-canceling headset and will be used for all my portable operations.
It is less important to have the foot switch if I am not computer logging. If I am paper logging, I can write with one hand and use the hand-switch with the other. (Of course, using that strategy, I should really learn to manage the paddles with my left hand so I could write with my right. I'll put that on my New Year's Resolution list next year!)
Your operating position, your radio, headset, foot switch, keyers, and even rig control all combine to give you your presence on the air. If these elements work together and are comfortable to use then you'll be able to operate for hours at a time, days on end, and fill your log book with lots of nice QSOs. But, if you've not thought through these things, if the operating position is uncomfortable, or unoptimal, you will expend energy to overcome that deficiency while you operate. Eventually, you'll tire (or your voice will tire) and that ever valuable Island Time will be wasted.
My advice, obviously, is to consider all these things the next time you evaluate your equipment. To use a running analogy, you can't run a marathon with a rock in your shoe. Work out all these things prior to your trip so operating is a pleasure--and a breeze--on your DXpedition.