Only downside is: I had to eat all the cookies!

Gil.

Hello Tess,

Great find. the antenna is probably just a long piece of wire... You could always use a long wire, around 60' or so...

Gil.

Good looking RMs.. What did you do to take the sidetone volume down?

Gil.

Hello Randy,

I would definitely be careful about that. Maybe the company that makes it can give you some information...

Gil.

Great discovery tonight.. I often got AM stations coming in so loud, copying weak signals was impossible.. Until I noticed that when I used my magnetic loop antenna, there was no QRM! The loop filters out everything outside of the lower part of the 40m band!

Also, my RM it turns out transmits on either 7028.1 or 7028.8kHz. I regularly get picked up by reverse beacons about 800 to 1300 miles away. It seems like the best range is 900 miles.

Gil.

It's red!

Ray suggested yellow flames as well, but I am lacking the artistic talent  ::)

Now it needs some kind of a stand and a fiberglass rod to extend the capacitor knob, as to avoid touching the loop while tuning, which could be fatal!

Gil.

Hello Wes,

I could hear you all right, though there was some fading. The KX3 indeed is working great. Ray and I have been able to make contact every time we tried, but only reliably on 20m. You might want to drop in, same time and freq. I am sure we will get a better path some time.. It's good practice for Morse  :)

Gil.

My PAR does 10/20/40m, one antenna... Then I have my magnetic loop for 30 and 40m as well. Check out PAR, they work great.

Gil.

Quotehttp://www.earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf

Yep.. See: http://www.earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf
I built it, worls like a charm. it does need a tuner.they have other models: http://www.earchi.org/proj_homebrew.html
My PAR end-fed is similar, and works without a tuner, 1.1:1 SWR.

I like end-feds, much easier to hang on a tree.. I shoot a wire up with a slingshot...

Gil.

Quotei am hearing that with a 4:1 balun and a ground plane i can ling up a random wire, so i am researching that.

You can make an end-fed with a 9:1 unun. No ground plane...

Gil.

Hello Wes,

Have you thought about the KX3? It's a bit more money than an 817, but believe me, worth every penny!
Filtering down to 50Hz! Right out of the box.. You can get a built-in ATU also.. 12W max, works great.
Thanks for the CD by the way  :)

Bob, let me know if you'd like to try establishing contact too...

Gil.

I've been calling CQ every day for a couple weeks. Nothing but static...

Gil.

That's great guys! Nothing better than a simple QRP CW radio  :)

I want to go camping as well, and made a list of what I had today, and what I needed.. Still quite a bit i need, including a new tent. My KX3 will come along of course, with my PAR 10/20/40 end-fed, slingshot, weights and fishing line.. Not sure about a solar panel. I may just load up on AA cells or bring my 2.9Ah 12V battery. I need to get away from the stress of work for a while.

Jim, if you want to try that QRP rig, let me know, we can try establishing contact.. Those are neat little radios. I have a Mantiz FX-2 and I like it. Same philosophy of use..

Ya'll have a great week-end :-)

Gil.

QuoteIf you're bugging out in a nationwide emergency, w/o your digital capability and opting only for CW, are you talking OCONUS then?

No, but I do keep in mind that motorized transportation might not be available.. So, the less I carry the better. Down to ounces.. Also, SW receiving is much more important that transmitting.. Digital modes are probably the least used modes after SSB, AM,FM,CW. In a nationwide emergency, again, I believe few of those stations would be operational for long. So, I just wouldn't bother with the extra weight.
I don't have a BOL, so I wouldn't move out by choice. In those circumstances, I'm not carrying a laptop! My KX3 does SW listening, RTTY and PSK31 right out of the box, that's what I'll reach for first. The internal ATU can even tune a 25' RG-174 cable, with nothing at the end of it! The internal batteries can easily be recharged with a small foldable solar panel.. The ideal survival radio. No Winlllink? Who cares, there would be no internet anyway, and too few people use it.. The KX3 while being small, isn't my smallest radio, but it does so much.. For anyone with a safe location to bug-in, digital modes are a nice addition to an existing station, but not for me. For me it just means extra stuff I have no need for on the move... I'll still experiment with it because I want to be able to send emails to my parents in case of regional blackout, but that's it.. I also want to get into some NTS nets to be able to send radiograms.. They have 10wpm nets, and that's great for me. It won't be long before I can do 20wpm anyway..

I like to divide preps in three categories: "Indispensible", "nice to have" and "extra." A radio goes into the "nice to have" category. A laptop is an extra. So, digital modes are "extra," meaning that anything in that category will be dropped first or most likely not taken along when relocating. One might ask: "Why isn't a radio indispensible?" I can live without a radio; probably not without a water filter. You get the idea.. Digital modes and it's associated hardware is pretty far down my list..

Gil.

Quote2.  I need to figure out -- right now would be good -- which of the RMS  stations have the capability of running everything off of emergency power.  And which ones intend to.

I suspect none of them would be running for long. Either they would not have the capability or generators would run out of gas. Also, the station owners might be looted. Remember, they are mostly owned by older OMs. People would have other concerns than maintaining a radio station.

That is why I think digital modes are nice for local or regional emergencies; not a nationwide one. I am leaning towards having Winlink capabilities myself, mind you.. Anyway, if you can do digital, you can obviousely do SSB. Do not discount CW. You can do more with CW and Morse than with any other mode using very little power. CW is my go-to mode.

I will say again that being portable is a must. You never know if, when or where you'll have to go.. If I have to bug out, the computer and Signalink box stay behind..

Gil.