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Amateur Radio Roll Call

Ordered a 4 band OCF dipole, should have it up next week. While my last dipole was configured in a V, I'm going to see if it makes much difference as a flat top, not inverted. I know inverted allows for omni-directional, however the two fed ends if setup flat should give me excellent coverage into Canada, Alaska, PacNW, Arctic and other end would be Caribbean, So. America, Africa. Haven't done this before, however this configuration should increase DX due to take off angle of signal. Stay tuned. ;)


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Since I'm a Tech, I wanted to give HF a whirl before anything else. I had a QT80 10m radio I had bought a while ago in anticipation of this and finally got things set up... I think lol. Have a vertical EFHW up a fiberglass telescoping mast down into a 49:1, wound an air core choke and then ran the coax (M&P Hyperflex 5) to the radio. Did some tuning with a NanoVNA and have the SWR at about 1.20-1.25:1 across the SSB portion where I'm allowed to transmit.

Of course conditions are crap now so I dont hear anything and my calls are unanswered. I'm assuming all is well since I know that I have everything hooked up properly and my SWR is good lolol! I'll keep at it and see what if anything happens.
 
I was a citizen band radio user for so long. Had a group in my home town we'd get on every morning. I used to run a 2 driving 4 kicker tuned perfectly.

Lately I have been looking into a 10 meter hand held and licensing. We shall see, I already have a lot of hobbies.
 
MaytagMan said:
Since I'm a Tech, I wanted to give HF a whirl before anything else. I had a QT80 10m radio I had bought a while ago in anticipation of this and finally got things set up... I think lol. Have a vertical EFHW up a fiberglass telescoping mast down into a 49:1, wound an air core choke and then ran the coax (M&P Hyperflex 5) to the radio. Did some tuning with a NanoVNA and have the SWR at about 1.20-1.25:1 across the SSB portion where I'm allowed to transmit.

Of course conditions are crap now so I dont hear anything and my calls are unanswered. I'm assuming all is well since I know that I have everything hooked up properly and my SWR is good lolol! I'll keep at it and see what if anything happens.
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I'm hoping to have my new antenna setup this week. When I do I'll reach out and we can try to make contact!
 
George Scott said:
I'm hoping to have my new antenna setup this week. When I do I'll reach out and we can try to make contact!
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Sounds good! I'll have my son next week so may not be on here as much. I'm getting what sounds like some tv-type signal too so may need to look into a bandpass filter? I can see how people get into spending money with this, and I did things on the cheap and held together with chewing gum and old wire scraps 🤣
 
Got my antenna up, however something isn't right. I replaced it with the exact same one, but I have a S9 noise floor (very loud), and hearing hardly any stations. I left the coax disconnected close to a year outside, so I'm thinking the center pin of the coax is oxidized. I'll have to bring it down and clean it, hopefully that's all it is. I have a 6 foot copper rod I buried into the ground to ensure a good ground. I should definitely be hearting stations on 20m, and not hearing much of anything.
 
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MaytagMan said:
Since I'm a Tech, I wanted to give HF a whirl before anything else. I had a QT80 10m radio I had bought a while ago in anticipation of this and finally got things set up... I think lol. Have a vertical EFHW up a fiberglass telescoping mast down into a 49:1, wound an air core choke and then ran the coax (M&P Hyperflex 5) to the radio. Did some tuning with a NanoVNA and have the SWR at about 1.20-1.25:1 across the SSB portion where I'm allowed to transmit.

Of course conditions are crap now so I dont hear anything and my calls are unanswered. I'm assuming all is well since I know that I have everything hooked up properly and my SWR is good lolol! I'll keep at it and see what if anything happens.
Click to expand...

Vertical's are noisy on HF. Because sideband is horizontally polarized, it's best to use a dipole, beam, etc. If you can throw a dipole in a tree, you should have a much better experience. There's a guy on ebay that sells homemade dipoles 40m-6m, and they work great. I just have to figure out what's going on with mine. You're not far from me, so we should be able to work 6m or 10m.

We're at the solar cycle peak, so conditions should be decent. I've been getting out well over 100 miles on 2m fm lately! The band has been great. If we get some tropospheric ducting, I can get into Hawaii from California all on 2m fm simplex on 146.520. Should happen this summer, when the tropical storms heat up. I leave my radio on .52 24/7. I really want to get into 2m ssb, but that would require buying another expensive radio, which I don't feel like doing. Thinking about getting an all band/mode Icom this time, after having been a Yaesu user for 30+ years. Getting tired of Yaesu's burdensome menu.

There was a guy selling a Yaesu FT-991A brand new for $1k shipped; a great deal! Trying to get my antenna situation squared away before I spend anymore money on a radio. Maybe I'll sell my FT-DX3000; wish it did 2M, but it only goes up to 6M.

On a sidenote, I talked to a guy flying a Cesna (aeronautical mobile) this past weekend on .520 simplex. First time talking a guy flying an airplane over Mt. Baldy. :D
 
Eqwhipped said:
I was a citizen band radio user for so long. Had a group in my home town we'd get on every morning. I used to run a 2 driving 4 kicker tuned perfectly.

Lately I have been looking into a 10 meter hand held and licensing. We shall see, I already have a lot of hobbies.
Click to expand...
CB.jpg


What was your handle good buddy?

HT
 
Rod said:
Got my antenna up, however something isn't right. I replaced it with the exact same one, but I have a S9 noise floor (very loud), and hearing hardly any stations. I left the coax disconnected close to a year outside, so I'm thinking the center pin of the coax is oxidized. I'll have to bring it down and clean it, hopefully that's all it is. I have a 6 foot copper rod I buried into the ground to ensure a good ground. I should definitely be hearting stations on 20m, and not hearing much of anything.
Click to expand...

I'm lucky when I don't have an S9 noise level. I live in a very noisy environment. Doesn't help have a big solar array on my roof either. Have you checked your grounding, sometimes the ground dries up and there goes the ground. When was the last time you were OTA? Has there been and new changes in your environment since? Just some thoughts, you probably already covered :)
 
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