QSO Parties and WAS

Well it has been a little while since I last blogged. So I thought I would sit down and give everyone an update of what has been going on here lately. I've definitely caught the contest bug. The past couple of weekends (ever since we got our shack set up) I've been working different contests that are feasible for me to work. Robin (AJ4IJ) worked the PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint. I have to say she did really good too. I've been working the different state QSO parties. I really haven't given them any major effort. I think I worked one station in the Vermont QSO Party, and a handful in the New Mexico QSO Party, as well as the New Hampshire, and Mississippi QSO parties. I did put forth more of an effort in the North Carolina QSO party today. I ended up with 33 contacts and about 1700 points total. While it will not win a prize or anything, it was still nice to work it and see how the radio/antenna/ and new antenna tuner was performing.

In case you didn't know we added a new LDG AT-200Pro Auto Tuner to the shack. It seems to be working really well. So well in fact that prior, I've been having to cut the power back on the upper end of the 75/80 meter band when checking into the Tennessee Phone net as the SWR runs a bit to high for our liking. So now with the tuner in place, I am able to hit 3.980MHz with full power without even blinking. Really, with the antenna, that was the only place we had trouble with as far as SWR was concern. Of course we can't work 15 meters at all but our Windom is not resonant at all for 15. It performs without issue on the other bands though.

I've also decided it was time to update my Worked All States map and have included it for you all to see my progress. I've got a ways to go and I'm going to have to get a 15 meter antenna up if I ever plan on get the 5 band WAS.

Did I mention we got a new FT-1802 to replace the new Radio Shack 2 meter rig. No more noise when we key up from the laptops. I'll have to get a shot of our shack up here soon.

Until next time 73, God Bless, and Good DX,
AJ4JD - Tim

Proud Papa Ham

One can only imagine the smile that has been across my face since yesterday. Why so happy you may ask. Well it all stems from a contact with Santa Claus that my harmonic (KJ4EGJ) made. You may recall an article from back in December that Duncan MacLachlan (KU0DM - Youth Editor for ARRL) wrote about Santa Claus (W6S).

Well yesterday, Duncan's latest youth article appeared on ARRL's website. Well I can tell that I had a smile much like the Cheshire Cat's when I beheld in mine eyes my daughter's picture and small piece about her contact with Santa. Of course I had previously knew this was going to happen and had been anticipating the article for the last week. It was about 3 weeks or so ago when Duncan contacted my XYL (AJ4IJ) about the article he was planning, and was hoping to get a little information from her about the contact and of course ask permission to write about Ashby in his article.

Yes, I am quite the proud papa. Ashby, you go girl. This coupled with the speech you gave that garnered 2nd place at the 4H competition at your school about Ham Radio tells me you are going to go far in the hobby. For those who don't know already, Ashby gave a speech about her Ham Radio hobby in a 4H competition at school. Now it has been published in our local 470 ARG newsletter. You can read more about it at my XYL's blog along with more about Ashby's contact with Santa. You can also catch Duncan's article on ARRL.org at the following URL: http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/02/09/10623/?nc=1.

Until next time, 73 and good DX to all,
AJ4JD - Tim

The Antenna is Finally in the Air

Well today we finally got the antenna in the air. Last week we put it all together and made a valiant effort to try and get it in the air but failed miserably. The odds were against us as the wind was blowing something fierce, and we ended up losing one arrow in the tree and the other lost its notch.

So today, we tried again. This time we had a different plan. Instead of bow and arrow, we opted for a sling shot and a 3oz. fishing weight. Our first few attempts were for naught. The weight was too big and kept getting caught on the sling once it was release. So we decided to cut the thing in half. Once we did that we started having better results. Unfortunately, where we originally wanted to put it on one side was too tall for us to achieve. So we opted for a bit shorter beech tree. By doing this we no longer has a need to run a support rope or pulley system as before this we were going to run it up in a tall pine tree.

Well after a couple of attempts we finally had the short side up in the tree and it was time to trek to the other side. This one was more than we bargained for. Getting the rope up in the old oak tree up the ridge wasn't the problem. The problem came when we tried to raise the antenna. We found that as we raised it the long side was going to get hung up on a branch of a dogwood tree and there was no way to guide the wire out from under it. With this in mind we only had one option... Chop It Down. I trekked back down the ridge to get the ax and the saw. 2 blisters and a bruised thumb later, we had the dogwood hewed and the antenna up in the air. The battle was won with the exception of running the coax into the house and connect it to the radio.

With daylight, strength, and energy waning rapidly, we decided it was time for some dinner before finishing our small war. So we ran out to Cap'n D's for some fish and brought it back to the house. We filled ourselves on fries, fish, and hush puppies and decided it was time to put a hole in the floor. We had originally planned to connect the coax running from the antenna to the house into a lightning arrestor, and take a second run of coax on into the house. This would have required us to put another hole in the house and to find screws to mount the arrestor to the house as well. So instead we ran the one run in through the garage door in th basement, into the crawl space under the shack and up through the floor until such time comes when we have screws for the arrestor and enough motivation to put a new hole in the house.

It wasn't long before we had our Windom connected to the radio and were ready to see how it performed. On 80 meters, the SWR is pretty good up to about the DX Window. after that the tuner needs to be used and past 3.900 MHz we have to cut the power back a bit. On 40 meters the antenna is mostly flat. On 20 it is completely flat without a tuner. same on 10. The only band it won't even tune on is 15 meters. Other than that, it does quite well for a multi bander that's supposed to work 80 - 2. So far I've made about 5 contacts with it and one of those were to the Bahamas. All reports have been 5-9 except the Bahamas reported 5-7. So I can't complain considering we can only run 100 watts at this time.

So we accomplished what we set out to do, with a few exceptions of course. In the end the result was good. We are finally on the air and that's all that matters. Stay tuned and I will get some pictures posted in the next couple of days or so. Anyway, many thanks go out to dad (KU4ME) for helping us out tremendously in this project and to the XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) for all her hard work too.

Till next time, 73 and Good DX.
AJ4JD Tim

Playing Catch Up

I know it's been a while since my last entry so let me play a little catch up. January has been a busy month and to be honest I haven't done a whole lot of radioing. What radioing I have done has been on 2 meters, checking into the different nets and the occasional QSO here and there. We attended the Morristown hamfest a couple of weeks ago where we bought all the wire we needed to build our own Windom antenna to put in the backyard. We bought a 100' of RG-8, 25' of RG-213, 140' or so of some 13 awg copper wire, some PL-259 connectors, and a couple of dog bones insulators. While at the hamfest, Robin (AJ4IJ) won a major award... a 2008-2009 ARRL repeater directory. That's the first time any of us has won a prize at a hamfest. We all thought that was pretty neat.

Since the hamfest, we've purchased a 4:1 balun from The Wireman, some thimbles, and we are still waiting on an I.C.E. lightning arrestor to arrive. Once that gets here, we will have everything we need to build and raise our antenna, and bring our HF radio home. Yes we finally purchased an HF rig. What did we purchase you ask? Well, we got a great deal on an ICOM IC-756 Pro. Gotta love the fish finder on that rig. It's been over at Dads(KU4ME) ever since. It works quite well and has great audio. I can't wait to get it over here and get on the air to see how we do with the Windom.

What else has been happening, well last weekend Robin and I went to take our EmComm level 1 and 2 tests. We passed with flying colors and are now EmComm 1 & 2 certified. We await our certificates. With me passing the EmComm tests, I have officially been appointed as EC for Union County ARES here in Tennessee. Up until now, Claiborne County has been taking care of our counties needs when it comes to emergency communications. We have quite a bit of work to do to get the ball rolling but look forward to get an Amateur Radio presence going on in our county. There are several hams in our county so we have a good base to recruit from.
Anyway, that's all I have for the time being, until next time...

Good DX and Happy Contesting
73 de AJ4JD
Tim

Happy New Year to all HAMs

Seeings how this is a new year now, I thought I would wish ever one a Happy New Year and hope that it brings much fortune, as well as many hopes and blessings. 2008 was a good year for me and my family personally. I got involved in Ham Radio this past year, having earned my ticket in May and worked up to Extra by July. Since then I became a member of the Claiborne/Union County ARES and look to be appointed EC of Union County sometime this month. I became a certified storm spotter along with the rest of the family (Robin - AJ4IJ, Ashby - KJ4EGJ, Mom - KF4SSI and Dad - KU4ME). We attended a few hamfests (Knoxville, Waynesville, and TenTec). We worked several special events (The Smithsonian Institute, The FBI, Collins Radio 50th anniversary of their S-Line radios, just to name a few, and we even called CQ for the 470 ARG 1st anniversary special event as W4H). We participated in a few contests (IARU HF Championship, NAQP, TNQP, and the PSK31/63 Deathmatch, speaking of which I placed 26th in the Medium Power Category). Finally, to cap off the year we finally purchased our very own HF rig (an ICOM 756 Pro). Those were the highlights of 2008 not to mention all the great HAMs we have had the pleasure of getting to know and meet at different times and occasions like the All Hams picnics held by Jack and Teresa (KD4TNY and KI4ZQO), and we are looking for many more highlights in 2009.

To start the year off right in 2009 we plan on attending the Morristown Hamfest tomorrow. We are hoping to find some deals on parts to put up a Windom so we can bring our HF rig home and get on the air. The rig is currently over at Dads as he has a couple of HF antennas up already and we needed a place to test the radio out before we bought it. This weekend is Kids Day, a chance for youngsters (HAM or not) to get on the HF bands and make contact with other HAMs (young and old) and get to know what HAM radio is all about. I think we will try and get Ashby over to dad's to make a few contacts. The weekend after next is the 1st North American QSO Party of the year. If everything works out okay I'm hoping to work the contest so if you hear me calling CQ, call back.

Yes 2009 definitely brings promise on it's wings and hope for many great things. Maybe this year I will earn the WAS, and WAC awards. I should also obtain EmComm levels I & II along with several ISO certifications in preparation of becoming EC for Union County ARES. There will also be several contests to participate in and hopefully, with any luck, any of us may have a great showing. So to all the HAMs out there, Happy New Year and may 2009 bring you the best DX, best contesting and many achieved milestones.

Best of 73 and good DX to all
de AJ4JD
Tim