Yes yes, yell at me. I haven't been posting on this blog with any regularity. It's been a stressful 6 months while I was looking for work. Well, that is coming to an end, since it look's like I'll be getting the contract with GeoMagic up in RTP/Durham. Tentative start date is the day after labor day.
So... what is going on in my world of Ham Radio. The big news is that, since I'll have an income source, I went ahead and ordered my 2M mobile rig... the YAESU
FT-7900R. I spent the extra $20 on 3-day shipping to make sure I got it before next Friday, so I can get Jack (N6UYB) to help me install it. He did my tri-band antenna and power lead last month, and rigged it so installing the radio should be a snap.
Upcoming events include the Ride Without Limits out of Moncure, NC, 9/15 - 9/16.
73's
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Busy, and Moving Forward
Last week, I volunteered to participate in the Firecracker Bike Race as a communication link. Spent four hours at Rest Stop #1 as a rest stop comm guy.
Going Live
Yes, I know. It's been a shamefully long time since I've blogged here or in any of my other blog pages. Chalk it up to laziness, and a massive amount of work related to Toastmasters.
What have I been doing? I've participated in a number of bicycle tours as a SIG (Support and Gear) vehicle. I've also installed a tri-band (144/220/440) mobile antenna on my truck.
Tomorrow I'll be presenting a speech to the Raleigh Preppers group on the subject of Amateur Radio as part of their monthly meetup. Nice to be combining three different extracurricular activities in one go.
What have I been doing? I've participated in a number of bicycle tours as a SIG (Support and Gear) vehicle. I've also installed a tri-band (144/220/440) mobile antenna on my truck.
Tomorrow I'll be presenting a speech to the Raleigh Preppers group on the subject of Amateur Radio as part of their monthly meetup. Nice to be combining three different extracurricular activities in one go.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Some Field Day Photos
Yesterday and last night, I took a few photos with my phone at Field Day. I just copied them to my computer this morning.
Here is the big directional antenna at the 20M CW station being assembled on Friday afternoon.
Mike Murphy (WA4BPJ) uses a king sized slingshot to launch a line into the trees to set up one of the 40M voice antennas. I worked with Mike during one of my shifts on Saturday night.
Mike Murphy (WA4BPJ) uses a king sized slingshot to launch a line into the trees to set up one of the 40M voice antennas. I worked with Mike during one of my shifts on Saturday night.
Here is the completed 20M CW station. You can't see the, but there is an operator and logger in the screened tent.
And here is the 40M phone station in operation. This station is right across the road (driveway) from the 20M CW station. Here you CAN see the operator and logger. No, I'm not in this picture. I pulled my shifts in the middle of the night.
This antenna supports another band... 20M phone, I think. The 40M phone station was about 100 feet behind me at this point. Off in the distance at the bottom of the hill you can see two tents... that's the GOTA station. I made that walk several times.
Field Night
"I just flew in from Field Day, and boy are my arms tired..."
OK, its a stale joke, but as I sit here at the keyboard with a cup of coffee, I really am tired. I was up until 4a.m. last night/this morning after spending about 1/2 an hour at the RARS Field Day GOTA station, and 4 hours at the 40M phone transmitter... 2 hours logging, and 2 as the operator.
Admittedly, I came well provisioned for my stay at field day. I had a small ice chest full of caffeine filled soda, and a thermos filled with hot coffee. I had also stopped by the Donut shop to get two dozen assorted donuts to share with the folks at Field Day. OK, I think I may have gobbled down as many as a quarter of these, before, during, and after my stay, but its the thought, right?
I arrived back at the Carrol farm at about 9:45p.m., and quickly made my way down to the GOTA station. Surprisingly, it was still busy at 10 at night. It took a while before I could sit down as a logger, but I stayed in that position through two operators, about 30 minutes total. Then it was time to walk back up the hill to the 40M phone station and pour a cup of coffee.
For those of you who haven't participated in a Field Day event, especially those who haven't worked with SSB radio of any kind, signals heard on amateur radio are not like those on your car radio. There is generally lots of background noise, and sometimes the voices you here are difficult to make out. It. took me a couple of hours (between the GOTA station and logging at 40M station) before I was picking things up as well as the operator I was working with. This doesn't mean that I always copied everything... but I was getting most of the stuff he got, and some he didn't. Of course, when we missed things, the operator would have to ask for a repeat until we had it all. As I got this information, I would enter it into the computer.
At 1a.m. it was time for me to pour another cup of coffee and switch over to the operator station. By this time, I was fairly comfortable logging, but let me tell you... being the operator is a whole lot more complicated. Not only do you have to try catching the call sign and report of the contacts as the logger does, but you also have to: (1) record the contact on paper, (2) send out your station's report (using foot pedal to key the mike), (3) request repeats on information you and your logger may have missed, (4) repeat any of your information that your contact may have missed. Doesn't seem like that much as I type it now, but when it's all happening at once its easy to get confused. I didn't start getting comfortable operating until about 2:30a.m., and I only managed that by ditching writing the contact info on paper.
Will I do it again next year? Oh yeah. But next year, I'll be better prepared, and a little more experienced.
Man am I tired...
OK, its a stale joke, but as I sit here at the keyboard with a cup of coffee, I really am tired. I was up until 4a.m. last night/this morning after spending about 1/2 an hour at the RARS Field Day GOTA station, and 4 hours at the 40M phone transmitter... 2 hours logging, and 2 as the operator.
Admittedly, I came well provisioned for my stay at field day. I had a small ice chest full of caffeine filled soda, and a thermos filled with hot coffee. I had also stopped by the Donut shop to get two dozen assorted donuts to share with the folks at Field Day. OK, I think I may have gobbled down as many as a quarter of these, before, during, and after my stay, but its the thought, right?
I arrived back at the Carrol farm at about 9:45p.m., and quickly made my way down to the GOTA station. Surprisingly, it was still busy at 10 at night. It took a while before I could sit down as a logger, but I stayed in that position through two operators, about 30 minutes total. Then it was time to walk back up the hill to the 40M phone station and pour a cup of coffee.
For those of you who haven't participated in a Field Day event, especially those who haven't worked with SSB radio of any kind, signals heard on amateur radio are not like those on your car radio. There is generally lots of background noise, and sometimes the voices you here are difficult to make out. It. took me a couple of hours (between the GOTA station and logging at 40M station) before I was picking things up as well as the operator I was working with. This doesn't mean that I always copied everything... but I was getting most of the stuff he got, and some he didn't. Of course, when we missed things, the operator would have to ask for a repeat until we had it all. As I got this information, I would enter it into the computer.
At 1a.m. it was time for me to pour another cup of coffee and switch over to the operator station. By this time, I was fairly comfortable logging, but let me tell you... being the operator is a whole lot more complicated. Not only do you have to try catching the call sign and report of the contacts as the logger does, but you also have to: (1) record the contact on paper, (2) send out your station's report (using foot pedal to key the mike), (3) request repeats on information you and your logger may have missed, (4) repeat any of your information that your contact may have missed. Doesn't seem like that much as I type it now, but when it's all happening at once its easy to get confused. I didn't start getting comfortable operating until about 2:30a.m., and I only managed that by ditching writing the contact info on paper.
Will I do it again next year? Oh yeah. But next year, I'll be better prepared, and a little more experienced.
Man am I tired...
Friday, June 22, 2012
Field Day 2012
Spent a few hours today at the RARS Field Day location, helping set up a few antennas (20M CW & 40M Phone). I'll be back tomorrow night to help man the 40M Phone for a couple of hours. Looking forward to my first HF experience.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Coming Up: Field Day
Last night, I attended the monthly RARS general meeting. Topic covered was Field Day, which is coming up later this month. I had already planned to attend, filling a slot on the 40M radio (probably at night), but after the presentation, I'm hoping to show up for the setup on Friday, hit the GOTA station (and BBQ Dinner) on Saturday, and at early morning session at the microphone on Sunday. Guess we'll have to see.
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