season 2012
It is time for ham radio again.
This year seems to be going so fast that there is no need to complain, but just go with the flow. These are the days when you go to sleep on Monday and seem to wake up on Friday, in time for weekend. No point in trying to explain what did not happen as planned, just reschedule and hope for the best. These are different times and call for a new approach and even a new attitude, if one is to remain sane and prove to be the dynamic person that one is supposed to be. I missed some days and weeks, but I am not judging and holding myself to account for something that I elect to do in and on my own time.
We are into another hurricane season. This is something cast in stone. And when dealing with these "stones", one has to be permanently on the ball, and there is no getting away from anything. I have not been close to the local ham radio hub for a few weeks and I am not in a position to determine whether the ham radio product in V4 is in a state of readiness or in a state of preparedness. To me the difference is significant, but there are always different strokes for different folks, and I am not delving into that here.
Ham radio operators need to be ready and prepared for this season. Ham radio entities that form part of, or are engaged in activities under the umbrella of the Country's National Security system should always be ready and prepared, and we should not have to worry about them ... but we need to see to our own individual ham radio state of readiness and preparedness ... in relation to our perceived level of participation and involvement in the National scheme of things. If we are not on the National team our outlook could be different to someone who is a National team member. While I may be at home cuddling, you may be in the back of a 4WD seeking to provide communications for people in the back of the land ... but your family should be already safe and cuddled.
Ham radio activity usually increase in the hurricane season. Radios come for all over, and from under too. Some radios could fail because they have been stored, improperly stored, for months. Other radios have been sitting on the operating table, but just not switched on, because operators were too busy for the hobby. That happens to all of us at times. Nothing new. Sometimes we have to make a super human effort to keep the ham radio spark alight, but every now and then it goes dim, and even goes out for a little while.
The 40-meter vertical antenna at radio station V44KF was repaired today. This repair was prompted by the start-up of a 40-meter net by ham radio operators in V4. The 7.145 MHz net is scheduled for 4.00 pm on Sundays. After trying various times of day, it seems agreed that this time is most suitable for most of the hams in V4. The good thing about the timing is that the 40-meter band is opening to Europe before our sunset, and there might be a little DX to work. I am hopeful that from this net and any resulting DX activity, V4 hams would get the distinct impression that they need to look at improving the efficient of their DX capable antennas, and the simplest antenna is a properly installed vertical.
Aluminum antenna tubing is still the number one problem for ham radio operators in V4. I have been recycling pieces of aluminum tubing for almost 40-years. Aluminum tubing is a one time purchase and investment. But hams can be creative and innovative and make substitutes for the aluminum tubing. Hams are winding helical antennas on pvc tubing, using discarded copper tubing from air conditioning systems, using electric wire suspended from supports and trees [but not touching any part of the tree], lashing wire to vertical standing non metallic structures [fiberglass, bamboo, wood] ... as long as it is vertically oriented.
I have discovered that as long as the antenna is 1/2 wave long and you can get a vertical section out of it, you are good to go. The more of it that is vertical, the better for you. If you can feed the antenna in the center, no problem, but it is not critical where you feed it along the length, just that you will have to use your tuner to match the feed point impedance to the coax line. The vertical antenna feed point work best with a solenoid balun, and the "ugly balun" is my favorite, where 20-feet or so of the feed line is wrapped onto a 4.5-inch PVC pipe to make a solenoid choke.
The vertical antenna cannot be beat if you are looking for DX. I don't give a second look at any other antenna. I am looking at the DX Engineering 65-foot vertical for 80-meters, but it may only be 0.5 dB better than the 32-foot top and bottom loaded vertical home brew antenna, but I would like to prove that practically for myself, one of these days. The good thing about the 65-foot antenna is that with top and bottom loading, it might be a welcome solution for 160-meters. Now I only need to develop an interest in that band.
The season is here, we don't have much time, and before we know it the Independence week and weather will be upon us. Let us pray that we do not get a 2012 version, because I am not liking what I am seeing of 2012 so far.
This year seems to be going so fast that there is no need to complain, but just go with the flow. These are the days when you go to sleep on Monday and seem to wake up on Friday, in time for weekend. No point in trying to explain what did not happen as planned, just reschedule and hope for the best. These are different times and call for a new approach and even a new attitude, if one is to remain sane and prove to be the dynamic person that one is supposed to be. I missed some days and weeks, but I am not judging and holding myself to account for something that I elect to do in and on my own time.
We are into another hurricane season. This is something cast in stone. And when dealing with these "stones", one has to be permanently on the ball, and there is no getting away from anything. I have not been close to the local ham radio hub for a few weeks and I am not in a position to determine whether the ham radio product in V4 is in a state of readiness or in a state of preparedness. To me the difference is significant, but there are always different strokes for different folks, and I am not delving into that here.
Ham radio operators need to be ready and prepared for this season. Ham radio entities that form part of, or are engaged in activities under the umbrella of the Country's National Security system should always be ready and prepared, and we should not have to worry about them ... but we need to see to our own individual ham radio state of readiness and preparedness ... in relation to our perceived level of participation and involvement in the National scheme of things. If we are not on the National team our outlook could be different to someone who is a National team member. While I may be at home cuddling, you may be in the back of a 4WD seeking to provide communications for people in the back of the land ... but your family should be already safe and cuddled.
Ham radio activity usually increase in the hurricane season. Radios come for all over, and from under too. Some radios could fail because they have been stored, improperly stored, for months. Other radios have been sitting on the operating table, but just not switched on, because operators were too busy for the hobby. That happens to all of us at times. Nothing new. Sometimes we have to make a super human effort to keep the ham radio spark alight, but every now and then it goes dim, and even goes out for a little while.
The 40-meter vertical antenna at radio station V44KF was repaired today. This repair was prompted by the start-up of a 40-meter net by ham radio operators in V4. The 7.145 MHz net is scheduled for 4.00 pm on Sundays. After trying various times of day, it seems agreed that this time is most suitable for most of the hams in V4. The good thing about the timing is that the 40-meter band is opening to Europe before our sunset, and there might be a little DX to work. I am hopeful that from this net and any resulting DX activity, V4 hams would get the distinct impression that they need to look at improving the efficient of their DX capable antennas, and the simplest antenna is a properly installed vertical.
Aluminum antenna tubing is still the number one problem for ham radio operators in V4. I have been recycling pieces of aluminum tubing for almost 40-years. Aluminum tubing is a one time purchase and investment. But hams can be creative and innovative and make substitutes for the aluminum tubing. Hams are winding helical antennas on pvc tubing, using discarded copper tubing from air conditioning systems, using electric wire suspended from supports and trees [but not touching any part of the tree], lashing wire to vertical standing non metallic structures [fiberglass, bamboo, wood] ... as long as it is vertically oriented.
I have discovered that as long as the antenna is 1/2 wave long and you can get a vertical section out of it, you are good to go. The more of it that is vertical, the better for you. If you can feed the antenna in the center, no problem, but it is not critical where you feed it along the length, just that you will have to use your tuner to match the feed point impedance to the coax line. The vertical antenna feed point work best with a solenoid balun, and the "ugly balun" is my favorite, where 20-feet or so of the feed line is wrapped onto a 4.5-inch PVC pipe to make a solenoid choke.
The vertical antenna cannot be beat if you are looking for DX. I don't give a second look at any other antenna. I am looking at the DX Engineering 65-foot vertical for 80-meters, but it may only be 0.5 dB better than the 32-foot top and bottom loaded vertical home brew antenna, but I would like to prove that practically for myself, one of these days. The good thing about the 65-foot antenna is that with top and bottom loading, it might be a welcome solution for 160-meters. Now I only need to develop an interest in that band.
The season is here, we don't have much time, and before we know it the Independence week and weather will be upon us. Let us pray that we do not get a 2012 version, because I am not liking what I am seeing of 2012 so far.
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