Ham Radio Tips
Moderator:
Tom Valosin, WB2KLD
The objective of this page is to provide new and experienced amateur radio operators with tips to enhance their radio experience.
Send questions, or suggestion to Tom at Valosin@midtel.net
6 Meter QSO
During a 6 meter QSO the op who holds a Technician License and is preparing for her General exam, knowing that I am listed as a
mentor by the ARRL, asked me a question.
She referred to a "sample question" found in her study guide. "Why is USB (Upper Side Band) used on 20 meters and LSB (Lower Side Band) usedon 40 meters?
The answer in the study guide said that the choice of which side band is "used by convention"; LSB on 160, 80, 40 and USB on 20, 15, 10 and VHF.
She is in the legal field and said "If I ever said that something is used by convention", the judge and jury would think me a fool - they
want a real explanation and so do I.
Well, I know the choice has to do with how our radio circuits are designed. But, she wanted a more detailed answer for her. I told her I
would provide her the answer in detail in written form.
In order to find an "easier to understand, detailed answer", I posed the question to KE7OG, Dave Casler, who writes the "ASK DAVE" tech column for QST. He has a way of taking complex answers and making them understandable to people without a technical background. The following quote was his reply.
"There is an historical reason. Many older rigs used a tuning oscillator that was tunable between 9 and 9.5 MHz. This was mixed with the incoming signal to produce a first IF output. Mixing this with a lower frequency (e.g., 40 meters) would invert the desired signal, and with higher frequencies would not. This signal was then mixed with a fixed oscillator (the appropriate values being switched into the oscillator by the band switch), which mixed it down to 455 kHz for the final IF. It went through filters to get the sideband signal. The convention through the communications industry was (and is) to use Upper Sideband, but if you set up the 455 kHz IF for that, the inversion for frequencies below 10 MHz forced Lower Sideband. Ham operators are about the only ones to use LSB.
These days, with digital radios, the choice of sideband is arbitrary, but tradition lingers on.
Hope that helps.
73, Dave, KEØOG"
Well, I hope that also gives you perspective about the USB/LSB choice beyond saying "by convention'.
73, Tom, WB2KLD
ARRL Instructor, Mentor and Volunteer Examiner
Annual 13 Colonies Special Event
The Annual 13 Colonies Special Event will take place July 1 - 7, 2023. The 13 Colonies Special Event is an on-air amateur radio event honoring the original 13 colonies, US independence, active military personnel, and veterans. All amateur radio operators are welcome to participate, including shortwave listeners. Certificates will be available for all participants. Each US state that was one of the original 13 colonies has a special call sign. All HF bands will be open, including the WARC bands, with the exception of 60 meters. Simplex on 2 and 6 meters is encouraged and the use of 40 - 160 meters is encouraged for stations in the southern east coast. All modes of operation may be used, including SSB, CW, RTTY, and digital. The mode of operation is up to the individual colony/state station. Please refer to each special event station's QRZ page for more details and information.
Check out this video. Probably worth your time to watch - maybe present it at the club. It is a good "refresher" and "thought provoker".
The presenter does show some interesting OSHA based facts but also compares "an estimate for world wide hams".
The "meat" of the presentation starts at 3 min 57 seconds.
Do you know about the "DUAL fall restraint"? That seems to be a relatively new requirement by OSHA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJO-L3td_p8&feature=youtu.be
Also - near the end he talks about zerofall.org. Prices seem pretty good.
I don't much climb anymore but may "take the zerofall pledge" as an educator and programme presenter for our local club.
HVCDXers
With the Summer storm season and Field Day right around the corner, now would be a great time to give your portable emergency generator a check-up. Don't wait until you need to use the generator to find out it won't start!
Many users of generators do not take the time to properly store them after use. Many are just put away in the back of the garage or into a storage shed without giving it any thought. Here are some tips on how to store them properly:
If there is still gas in the tank, either drain the gas or add some fuel stabilizer, such as STA-BIL. This will keep the gasoline from deteriorating and usually will make it last for 18 to 24 months.
Run the generator with the fuel stabilizer, then shut off the fuel supply valve until the generator stops. This will make sure that no gas remains in the carburetor or fuel line. Change the oil using the manufacturer's recommended oil viscosity. The recommendation is usually SAE HD30 for warmer months, or 10W-30 for colder months.
Clean the generator with a clean cloth, and cover it with a plastic cover or a tarp.
If you store any gasoline in an approved storage gas can, make sure you add STA-BIL to it. Better yet, pour the leftover gas into your automobile gas tank. Buy some extra oil and a small funnel so that you can add oil next time you run the generator. It is sometimes hard to get the correct oil in the middle of an emergency, and small engines will burn oil on extended run, causing the low oil shutdown to engage.
Buy an extra spark plug for the generator.
Store your electrical extension cords and adapters with the generator so they will be right there when you need them.
If the generator gave you any problems during the last run, take it to an authorized repair facility to have it looked at. The next emergency is not the time to be playing junior repairman with the generator.
Keep a tag on the generator noting when it was last used and serviced, along with the age of the stabilized gasoline in the tank. Better yet, keep the gas tank empty.
Read the generator manufacturer's instruction manual and keep a copy handy for reference!
- Thanks to the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club's newsletter, The Compass
Operating Tip
This contesting is nuts. Why do we do it?
~ Written by Scott, N3FJP as posted here with his permission
http://www.n3fjp.com
This question isn't software specific, but the reasons for the tremendous fun of contesting aren't always evident and they are too important to miss, especially for new folks just entering the hobby. What draws us to spend major contest weekends happily glued to our radios?
Whether you just want to make a few contacts or you have serious competition in mind, there’s nothing like a contest to get you on the air! Radiosport offers a great opportunity to speedily connect with lots of fellow hams, enhance your operating skills, learn about propagation, demonstrate the ability of Amateur Radio, practice copying weak signals for emergency preparedness, accumulate lots of DX entities, states or sections in a hurry and discover the strengths and weaknesses of your station! That's more than enough incentive to enjoy the many fun radiosport events we can look forward to annually, but club contesting adds another great element – the team! When you contest with your club from your home station, every point that your station earns is added to the club’s cumulative score, so everyone is pulling together to reach a common goal.
Following CQ World Wide CW 2020, one of our club's excellent, experienced contesters, having just made over 1,000 Qs, wrote on our virtual clubhouse text chat group, tongue in cheek: This contesting is nuts! Why do we do it?
Spent from the weekend, I couldn't help but laugh out loud, but the question stayed with me. This contesting IS nuts. It's hard work, takes education, effort, dedication, experimentation, knowledge, ingenuity, planning and serious time in the chair. Why DO we do it?
It turns out that, at least for me, there are lots of great reasons! Here are a few off the top of my head. I'll bet that you can add to this list...
Amateur Radio's basis and purpose includes emergency communication. There is no better opportunity to determine, band by band, the strengths and weaknesses of your station than during a contest. If your station can't make many contacts during a contest, you will be ineffective in passing emergency traffic out of your affected area.
And that is just one piece of how contesting enhances our emergency communications ability. A contest provides the opportunity to:
- Practice copying information from stations both weak and strong.
- Check the ergonomics of our station during extended operations.
- See how we hold up with significant time in the operator chair.
- Learn about propagation and what to expect at various times of the day on different bands.
And if the emergency communications contest benefits don't stir your juices, many of us find the contest experience itself to be tremendous fun! The contesting experience alone keeps us coming back and circling the next events on our calendars because:
- It is thrilling to communicate to every state, section and the 4 corners of the Earth, including some rare and exotic locations, with nothing but a piece of wire or metal in our yards, from the comfort of our homes and families.
- It is thrilling to set goals, like beating your previous personal best score, having the fastest QSO rate in the club for a 1 hour period or scoring top 5 in the club and then striving to accomplish it.
- It is joyful to share a quick connection, however brief, with all the other stations that have become familiar on contest weekends.
- It is thrilling to watch the bands rise and fall like the tide over the course of the contest weekend, anticipating what may open next.
- It is thrilling to watch our individual and club's collective QSO rates soar when the bands come alive, on our club's real time leader board.
- It is thrilling to simultaneously, whole heartedly cheer our NEMARCS brothers and sisters on, while doing our very best to leave them in the dust!
- It is thrilling to recognize the very real accomplishments of our scores, individually and collectively, with our club total. We know full well what goes into building a successful station and putting in a successful contest effort!
- It is joyful to exchange quick banter on our virtual clubhouse text chat group during propagation lulls, as well as share needed multipliers, mentor new folks and encourage everyone to do their best.
- It is thrilling to see our club rankings in print and moving up the list when the final results are released!
- It is thrilling to watch our club's scoreboard participant numbers grow, seeing new guys jump in for the first times, knowing the fun that awaits them!
- It is thrilling to get that certificate in the mail, after you have placed well enough to earn one!
- It is fascinating to learn the strengths and weaknesses of our stations, that are so quickly revealed on contest weekends.
- It is thrilling, after the contest is over, to improve our stations, our antennas and our operating skills, to see what we can do better next time. In fact, the grand contest never ends. We are always looking for that edge and helping each other find theirs!
- It is thrilling to befriend such a fine group of folks, with whom to share this amazing adventure!
This is really, really fun stuff!
Posted: Saturday, April 8th, 2023
Antenna Wire
Did you ever want to make a wire antenna and realize you don't have the needed length of wire?
You have 3 options.
1) Go out and buy the needed length of wire. - That is an ouch - it costs part of your hard-earned hobby money.
2) Ask your friends if they have wire they can spare. MAYBE you will get lucky!
3) Gather what lengths of wire you have and connect the pieces to get what you need. Great, but how do you connect the wires? What is the best way?
Twist the ends together and hope. NO! This is the time for a WESTERN UNION SPLICE!
What is a Western Union Splice? It was developed "way back when" by the Western Union Telegraph Company to splice wires they were stringing on their poles - MILES long!
"The Western Union or Lineman splice was developed during the introduction of the telegraph to mechanically and electrically connect wires that were subject to loading stress. The wrapping pattern is designed to cause the termination to tighten as the conductors pull against each other. This type of splice is more suited to solid, rather than stranded conductors, and is fairly difficult to complete.
The Western Union Splice is made by twisting two ends of a wire together counterclockwise 3/4 of a turn each, finger tight. Then, using needle-nose pliers, the ends are twisted at least five more turns, tightly. The cut off ends are pushed close to the center wire. "Short tie" and "long tie" variations exist, mainly for purposes of coating the connection with solder. The longer version may aid in solder flow. NASA tests on 22 and 16 AWG wire showed that the Western Union Splice is very strong and is stronger than the wire alone if done properly."
Because we are using stranded wire this joint becomes much harder to do. First we strip back about 1" on each wire we want to join. Then we twist the wire strands together to make a more solid wire. When wires are twisted in a tight bundle you can better manipulate it and it accepts solder much better.
SAFETY: Wear safety glasses when doing this. Hot solder can do extreme damage to your eyes should you get even a dot in your eye. I know I had it happen and I was blind for a whole summer; never again.
Before we solder there is a point that must be made. Solder when used with heat has a capillary action meaning that it will gravitate to the heat source. When the wire is properly heated and solder is introduced, the solder should almost "soak" into the joint. When joining wires, I always put the iron on the bottom and the solder on the top. This speeds the completion of the joint which makes sure I do not overheat the wires insulation, compromising the joint.
This info is taken from WIKIPEDIA. You can see the entire info at https://www.instructables.com/How-to-make-a-proper-Western-Union-solder-joint/
Till next time, 73, Tom, WB2KLD
March 26, 2023
On Air Operational Suggestions
Okay, what do I do with my rig(s) and license? Here are some ideas.
I heard (read) about an upcoming contest. I'm not really into competition (my station isn't sophisticated enough). Okay, I can understand that. Are you perhaps interested in helping with emergency communications? Wonder if your station "cuts the butter"?
Folks involved in Emergency Communication (EMCONN), either with their local club, ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service), RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service), MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System), SATERN (Salvation Army Communications), RED CROSS or other served agency
routinely participate (a couple of times a year) in drills, known as COMEX (Communication Exercise).
If so, a VHF Contest is an excellent chance to find out if you station can indeed "cut the butter". During the contest you get to communicate with other stations. You DO NOT need "top drawer" fancy radios or "big antenna's". If band conditions are good you may work both local and
distance stations. If 10 or 6 meter propagation is good, maybe you will work stations down south, in the Caribbean or Europe! Just remember, if on FM only simplex frequencies are used - no repeater operation.
Contact me, we can discuss it and I will try to answer your questions.
Tom, WB2KLD
Shack Ideas
Recently I was monitoring the HF bands listening for a signal from a rather rare country (Crozet Island). Darn noisy fan! Yep, the fan on one of my shack power supplies was irritatingly loud! The power supply is a switching power supply manufactured by MFJ, specifically the MFJ-4245 MV. It can easily deliver 40 Amps, is twin metered for Amps and Volts. Voltage can be set exactly where you want. All in all, it works very well, except for the noisy fans. MFJ does keep their cost down by using a "run of the mill" 4 inch fan. (This supply uses 2 fans). I called HRO
in Salem NH, ready to order a new supply. I really like the sales staff there - they don't try to "oversell". They questioned me, knowing the supply was relatively new (pre covid) because they "keep track" of transactions. They suggested I check out "U-Tube" for a video on this problem. For less than $19.00 per fan I ordered new fans as, suggested by the video. Got them from AMAZON. The fan is produced in AUSTRIA. It is the NOCTUA NF-A8 FLX.
Was the effort worth the time and dollars? YOU BET IT WAS! When I turned the supply back on the fans were so quiet I thought I wired something incorrectly. I could not hear them operating. I held a tissue near the fan output and saw it move. Indeed the fans were operational. I am very happy and plan on changing out fans of this type in any equipment including my computer tower. Thank you to the HRO Staff for putting me onto this fix.
Lightning Protection Basics for the HF Station
By Walt Mahoney, KC1DON
The following is taken from the March 15, 2023 issue of the ARRL Letter
With spring (hopefully) just around the corner, late winter is a great time to evaluate our station lightning protection arrangements prior to lightning season. This short article is not a comprehensive review of the subject, but does suggest some basic protective measures we can all take. The suggestions are based on my experiences as an AM broadcast engineer, and later in my career with industrial plant control systems. Two comprehensive resources are Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur (2nd Ed., ARRL), and a three-part series, "Lightning Protection for the Amateur Radio Station," by Ron Block, KB2UYT (now NR2B), which was published in the June, July, and August 2002 issues of QST. The later articles are available for free online at http://www.arrl.org/lightning-protection.
Lightning as a natural phenomenon is usually (~90% of the time) a downward negative electric discharge, with the earth as the anode. The length of the discharge is usually 1 second or less, and the potential can vary between 40 and 120 kV. Once the arc is established, the rise time to peak current is about 0.3 seconds, during which time the peak current flow can be from 5 to over 200 kA. If we consider the time integral of the lightning current over the entire flash duration, the energy released is something on the order of 10 billion watts. The key takeaway with this amount of energy is, we don't need to take a direct hit to cause harm to people or damage equipment. A lightning strike will induce hazardous voltages in nearby conductors through induction or via any reasonably conductive material.
I am assuming that nobody will be operating their station when lightning is anywhere in the vicinity, and all equipment is de-energized and grounded per recommendations in the ARRL Handbook. Even in this condition, the two routes that damaging amounts of energy can be coupled to a transceiver are via the power supply and the antenna connections, with the antenna connection being far more vulnerable. These two routes require different protection strategies.
On the power input side, obviously the best protection is to unplug the power supply from the branch circuit. I realize this isn't a practical solution for everyone, and we may not even be at our operating location when the storm arrives. The next best thing in this case is to use a quality surge protected power strip having an on/off switch. The quality and effectiveness of these surge protective devices (SPDs) vary greatly, and as always one "gets what they paid for." I recommend the Tripp Lite "Isobar" power strips.
Look for units that are circuit breaker protected and provide a minimum of 900 joule protection, and be aware that some imported power strips offer zero surge protection beyond a simple fuse. Our most common transceiver configuration now uses an outboard 14 V dc power supply. Obtain a broadband ferrite ring and wind as many turns as can comfortably fit of the dc transceiver cable through the ferrite. It's important to wind the positive and negative conductors together, and locate the ferrite as close as possible to the transceiver.
Protecting the antenna connection is a little more challenging. As a kid I would unscrew the feed line PL-259 and stick it in a pickle jar, which sort of worked. In modern times we have coax antenna switches, and it goes without saying your transceiver should always be switched to a dummy load of an appropriate power rating when not in use. The dummy load is highly recommended to avoid transmitting into an open circuit when one inevitably forgets to throw the switch. Some switch manufacturers such as Alpha-Delta and Daiwa also incorporate gas discharge tube (GDT) surge protection. Look for a switch that grounds all unused connections, and be sure to ground the switch body itself. 450-ohm ladder line can be protected by old-time knife switches, which are getting scarce. The second step is to add a GDT- type lighting arrestor which will shunt current to ground when the gas ionizes at a given voltage. As with SPDs, not all GDT arrestors are suitable for amateur use. Ideally, we want a device having a low let-through energy and minimal insertion losses. As part of my professional work with industrial radio modems, I found the Polyphaser IS-NEMP series offers the happy combination of low VSWR from 1.8 MHz through low-band VHF and a very fast-acting GDT. The housing and connectors are built to mil-spec standards. Again, there are less expensive arrestors of dubious provenance available through online sources. I caution some of these will demonstrate much greater VSWR than is advertised.