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
Showing posts with label KI4ZQO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KI4ZQO. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2009
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Antenna Maintenance, My First Asian Contact, and W4H Update (My first real pileup)
Well, yesterday we decided to go over to dad's (KU4ME) and play some radio. This was of course after we did a little maintenance to the wires we have up in the air over there. We needed to remove some of the tension on the ZS6BKV multi bander. There was a branch that was creating tension on the twin lead close to the choke as well as to much slack in the support rope we have strung the wire on. So after cutting out a whole big branch and removing the slack in the support rope we moved to the inverted vee for 80 meters. The balun had slid down a little back towards the house and had dropped a little as well. So we moved the balun back up the support rope and hoisted the antenna a little higher. We also got the multi-bander up a little higher as well. After we finished the antenna maintenance we went inside to eat supper that mom (KF4SSI) had made and watch an episode of Dexter.
Once we finished with supper we headed out to the shack to see how well our maintenance improved things. I started scrolling around on 20 meters and heard a station calling CQ contest from Japan. Ever since the Summer Olympics special event, I've been aiming at making a contact with Japan. Unfortunately, we've never heard any station from Japan when we seen that they were spotted on the DX Cluster. Well, I heard this station calling CQ contest on 14.317 and realized that it was a Japanese station (JR5VHU). So I tried a time or two but my timing was off. On the third go round I threw out my call and running a bare 100 watts, he picked me up. I was so elated that it didn't matter to me that it was a very short contact due to the station being a contester. I couldn't believe it, I had just made contact with Japan on 100 watts. I started doing my little Japan DX dance in the commanders chair and asked my XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) if she wanted to try. So she sat down and proceeded to make contact as well (her first Japan contact also). So she did the Japan DX dance as well. We finally convinced dad to give it a try even though the station was starting to fade. He almost gave up after the third try but went more time and made contact as well. It appears that the maintenance we had done had paid off. Robin made another contact with a Japan station (JH4UYB) shortly there after and we decided it was time to start calling CQ for the special event W4H.
It was about 8:00pm and I was all set up to log. However, Robin did not want to take the first shift calling CQ so we swapped spots and she logged and I called CQ. I found us an open spot on 80 meters as 20 was dying fast and there wasn't much happening on 40 meters other than noise and broadcasters. So 80 it was and I was able to find a spot on our special event calling frequency 3.850. My very first call and N1UK came back to me. We ragchewed for a few minutes and when we signed with each other he said he'd put me on the DX cluster. Sure enough he did and it wasn't long before the pileup started. It wasn't to bad at first. It was a slow trickle and I had time to give each calling station a little information about the event and how to receive QSL cards from us. I must have called CQ for about 40 minutes and made contact with 24 stations. I did talked to Mrs. Teresa (KI4ZQO), Mrs. Cathy (KI4YPO), Rick (N4JTQ), Bill (N4BHK), and Kevin(KG4LGL) . These are all local hams that are active on the 470 repeater and active on the 470ARG net. As a matter of fact, Rick is out NCS for the net and Cathy is the NCS for the 470 ladies round table.
So after about 40 minutes I was desperately needing a break and Robin was more than happy to take the reigns. She called CQ for about an hour and let me tell you the hornets nest of a pile up she had. There were a couple of times where everyone was calling at once and she couldn't make out anything to call for in return. She instead had to go back and call QRZed again just to try and pick out a call. Well in the hour she called CQ, she ended up with 46 contacts. Some of the most notable were with N3FJP (the maker/programmer of the logbook program we are using). She also had special event station N8F for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald event contact her. In total now Robin has made a total of 51 contacts for the special event in 21 states.
Well after her hour she still had a pileup that wouldn't quit. However, she was needing a break and we tried to get dad to take it over. He declined and so I had to take it back over. I must have taken it for almost another hour and made another 30 contacts or so and ended up with a contact in Puerto Rico(KP4BAI) and many different states. Overall I now have made 88 contacts for the event and have worked a total of 32 states and 1 DX entity.
So with a week to go on the special event, I don't know if I will be able to get back on until Saturday. Hopefully though, Robin and Dad, along with other 470ARG participants will be able to get on during the week and call CQ for the event. I know that Rick has worked the event a little bit but I'm not sure of anyone else at this moment in time. Anyway, that's about all I've got for the present moment in time. I now await the QSLs to start rolling in. I just hope I can use the special event call towards my WAS award.
Anyway, until the next post,
73 and Happy DX de AJ4JD
Tim
Once we finished with supper we headed out to the shack to see how well our maintenance improved things. I started scrolling around on 20 meters and heard a station calling CQ contest from Japan. Ever since the Summer Olympics special event, I've been aiming at making a contact with Japan. Unfortunately, we've never heard any station from Japan when we seen that they were spotted on the DX Cluster. Well, I heard this station calling CQ contest on 14.317 and realized that it was a Japanese station (JR5VHU). So I tried a time or two but my timing was off. On the third go round I threw out my call and running a bare 100 watts, he picked me up. I was so elated that it didn't matter to me that it was a very short contact due to the station being a contester. I couldn't believe it, I had just made contact with Japan on 100 watts. I started doing my little Japan DX dance in the commanders chair and asked my XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) if she wanted to try. So she sat down and proceeded to make contact as well (her first Japan contact also). So she did the Japan DX dance as well. We finally convinced dad to give it a try even though the station was starting to fade. He almost gave up after the third try but went more time and made contact as well. It appears that the maintenance we had done had paid off. Robin made another contact with a Japan station (JH4UYB) shortly there after and we decided it was time to start calling CQ for the special event W4H.
It was about 8:00pm and I was all set up to log. However, Robin did not want to take the first shift calling CQ so we swapped spots and she logged and I called CQ. I found us an open spot on 80 meters as 20 was dying fast and there wasn't much happening on 40 meters other than noise and broadcasters. So 80 it was and I was able to find a spot on our special event calling frequency 3.850. My very first call and N1UK came back to me. We ragchewed for a few minutes and when we signed with each other he said he'd put me on the DX cluster. Sure enough he did and it wasn't long before the pileup started. It wasn't to bad at first. It was a slow trickle and I had time to give each calling station a little information about the event and how to receive QSL cards from us. I must have called CQ for about 40 minutes and made contact with 24 stations. I did talked to Mrs. Teresa (KI4ZQO), Mrs. Cathy (KI4YPO), Rick (N4JTQ), Bill (N4BHK), and Kevin(KG4LGL) . These are all local hams that are active on the 470 repeater and active on the 470ARG net. As a matter of fact, Rick is out NCS for the net and Cathy is the NCS for the 470 ladies round table.
So after about 40 minutes I was desperately needing a break and Robin was more than happy to take the reigns. She called CQ for about an hour and let me tell you the hornets nest of a pile up she had. There were a couple of times where everyone was calling at once and she couldn't make out anything to call for in return. She instead had to go back and call QRZed again just to try and pick out a call. Well in the hour she called CQ, she ended up with 46 contacts. Some of the most notable were with N3FJP (the maker/programmer of the logbook program we are using). She also had special event station N8F for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald event contact her. In total now Robin has made a total of 51 contacts for the special event in 21 states.
Well after her hour she still had a pileup that wouldn't quit. However, she was needing a break and we tried to get dad to take it over. He declined and so I had to take it back over. I must have taken it for almost another hour and made another 30 contacts or so and ended up with a contact in Puerto Rico(KP4BAI) and many different states. Overall I now have made 88 contacts for the event and have worked a total of 32 states and 1 DX entity.
So with a week to go on the special event, I don't know if I will be able to get back on until Saturday. Hopefully though, Robin and Dad, along with other 470ARG participants will be able to get on during the week and call CQ for the event. I know that Rick has worked the event a little bit but I'm not sure of anyone else at this moment in time. Anyway, that's about all I've got for the present moment in time. I now await the QSLs to start rolling in. I just hope I can use the special event call towards my WAS award.
Anyway, until the next post,
73 and Happy DX de AJ4JD
Tim
Thursday, September 25, 2008
All Hams Picnic
This past weekend Jack (KD4TNY) and Teresa (KI4ZQO) put together the second All Hams Picnic at Norris Dam State Park. Several of our area's HAMs showed up for fellowship and just a good time with good food. We got to meet several of the Hams that we talk to on a regular basis on the 2 meter repeaters that are in our area. It was good to meet them all and finally put faces to callsigns. The final count in the guestbook was 46 and after further observation the count amounted to around 65 or so when the signatures included and family... I'd say it was more like 80 considering not everyone signed the book.
Anyway, we all had a great time and we all got our bellies full on BBQ, hotdogs, and all the other fixin's and trimin's along with desserts. For those who missed it, below are some pictures we took. Maybe this will entice you to show up for the next one.
You can also check out Robin's (AJ4IJ) blog for more picnic pictures.
Robin-AJ4IJ, John-KU4ME, and Karen-KF4SSI
sitting around having a blast
Jack-KD4TNY, Teresa-KI4ZQO, and another Gent
who was there with Bruce-KI4QIS and family
Cathy-KI4YPO, Rick Sr.-N4JTQ, Ashby-KJ4EGJ, Robin's Head (AJ4IJ),
and a few others in the background
Several Hams gathered around for a live QSO. Sharon,???
Dusty, Ricky-KG4WYW, Jim-KQ4AB, Kevin-KG4LGL, and Tom-AG4SF
Anyway, we all had a great time and we all got our bellies full on BBQ, hotdogs, and all the other fixin's and trimin's along with desserts. For those who missed it, below are some pictures we took. Maybe this will entice you to show up for the next one.
You can also check out Robin's (AJ4IJ) blog for more picnic pictures.
Robin-AJ4IJ, John-KU4ME, and Karen-KF4SSIsitting around having a blast
Jack-KD4TNY, Teresa-KI4ZQO, and another Gentwho was there with Bruce-KI4QIS and family
Cathy-KI4YPO, Rick Sr.-N4JTQ, Ashby-KJ4EGJ, Robin's Head (AJ4IJ),and a few others in the background
Several Hams gathered around for a live QSO. Sharon,???Dusty, Ricky-KG4WYW, Jim-KQ4AB, Kevin-KG4LGL, and Tom-AG4SF
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wet Waynesville Hamfest Update
So I thought I would get in here and give everyone an update on the hamfest in Waynesville, NC. Robin (AJ4IJ) awoke early Saturday morning to a rainy one. It was around 6:00am as we were heading out the door when mom (KF4SSI) and dad (KU4ME) call. Robin says, "tell them we are on our way." At the same time I hear mom on the phone, "we just got up, can you give us an hour?" To which I reply no we're heading out the door now. I then hear dad in the background mumble, "they can't wait, they'll miss the deals." Mom's reply, "Well, go ahead and go on, don't worry about us."
So out the door Robin and I trot to the car and the out the driveway and off into the rain. We stopped to fuel up and the rain just kept falling. We stopped shortly after the fuel stop to grab nourishment and make a pitstop at a Micky D's. Once we were finished there we continue our drive east in the rain, struggling to stay awake and pondering if the rain would let up once we were through the mountains.
We finally reached our destination and the rain had let up considerably. We paid our entry fee and entered the hamfest. We walked around and looked at the wares that were available. We checked out the bone yard and really didn't find anything. Robin did spot a tower that would have been nice to have. However, we did not have the money, nor the means to transport it home. We really weren't going with the thought of purchasing anything unless we found a deal we couldn't pass up. It was nice to see that there was plenty of HAM gear at the HAM fest though.
We didn't stay very long. It was about 30 - 45 minutes before we decided we seen all we wanted and decided to head back west. On our way we rain back into more rain, but we figured once we were back on our side of the mountains the rain would be finished. With that in mind we decided that we would go home, pick up our trusty side kick b3ene (that's our dog Clover) and head North to Kentucky and take Clover for a sniff/walk at a park. You can read more on that at Robin's and mines outdoor blog.
We didn't get any photos at the hamfest. There really wasn't anything that caught Robin's eye. So we hope for better luck at TenTec's hamfest towards the end of September. There we will get to meet some of the hams we frequently talk to on the radio.
Well that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for the new toy (lent to us by dad). Also, check out Robin's blog for the latest special event station we've worked (The Smithsonian Institute has gone QRT forever). BTW, thanks Jack (KD4TNY) and Teresa (KI4ZQO) for calling dad who called Robin about it, who called me.
So out the door Robin and I trot to the car and the out the driveway and off into the rain. We stopped to fuel up and the rain just kept falling. We stopped shortly after the fuel stop to grab nourishment and make a pitstop at a Micky D's. Once we were finished there we continue our drive east in the rain, struggling to stay awake and pondering if the rain would let up once we were through the mountains.
We finally reached our destination and the rain had let up considerably. We paid our entry fee and entered the hamfest. We walked around and looked at the wares that were available. We checked out the bone yard and really didn't find anything. Robin did spot a tower that would have been nice to have. However, we did not have the money, nor the means to transport it home. We really weren't going with the thought of purchasing anything unless we found a deal we couldn't pass up. It was nice to see that there was plenty of HAM gear at the HAM fest though.
We didn't stay very long. It was about 30 - 45 minutes before we decided we seen all we wanted and decided to head back west. On our way we rain back into more rain, but we figured once we were back on our side of the mountains the rain would be finished. With that in mind we decided that we would go home, pick up our trusty side kick b3ene (that's our dog Clover) and head North to Kentucky and take Clover for a sniff/walk at a park. You can read more on that at Robin's and mines outdoor blog.
We didn't get any photos at the hamfest. There really wasn't anything that caught Robin's eye. So we hope for better luck at TenTec's hamfest towards the end of September. There we will get to meet some of the hams we frequently talk to on the radio.
Well that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for the new toy (lent to us by dad). Also, check out Robin's blog for the latest special event station we've worked (The Smithsonian Institute has gone QRT forever). BTW, thanks Jack (KD4TNY) and Teresa (KI4ZQO) for calling dad who called Robin about it, who called me.
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