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Messages - solaris0121

#16
I came across the "grasstenna" - a regular long wire or dipole laid out on the grass...... the drier the ground is apparently the lower the losses.  Sorry I cant find the link now, but it may be worth testing...... probably similar to your video Gil where you had your wire laid over the bridge.  Sean.
#17
Morse Code / Finally Started learning CW
May 02, 2018, 03:57:03 AM
I passed my Foundation several weeks ago and seem to be drawn more and more towards CW (I notice when the bands look dead on my PRC320, theres always some CW down there in the mix).  Ive ordered a QCX 40m kit that should arrive very soon.  No going back now.

I should say its been largely encouraged from watching Gil's videos and seeing the logical arguaments laid out - and of course his clear passion for the mode.  But lets not blow too much smoke up his derriere  ;D 

I also picked up a free key ( a nice solid WW2 vintage) at radio club last week, and also from Ebay a couple of used keys, oscillators and the little MFJ practice box , with the built in speaker and LCD.

So far, i know several letters by sound - ive set the letter speed to 25wpm (hardcore!! lol )  and delivering around 15 wpm (lightweight) total to give me enough space in between.  The MFJ trainer is quite useful walking around the park, it just plays and plays (unlike my iPhone apps).  Ive been listening at bedtime while reading, not with a view to deliberately trying to pick out the letters, just letting my brain take in the speed of the dits and dahs...... tuning my ear in to the speed.  Its a niuce surprise when a letter pops into your head without thinking about it.  My little tecsun receiver sits on the office table if im working from home during the day and i tune in on 40m to the CW bands and have a listen.

I play classical guitar (badly self taught) and its a little like that - 2 months ago I decided to learn Cavatina (the deer hunter).  Its way above my level but I wanted a challenge and the first few days my brain just didnt know where to put my fingers and everything was a muddle.  I thought at 1st , this is impossible !  Its just not physically possible to move your fingers to those positions and do it at any kind of speed.  But several weeks later, I can just do a passable version of the song (someone listening would recognise it, but probably ask me to stop playing  :) )   Now my fingers just drop to the right place, my brain is thinking 3 steps ahead, the fingers are almost doing their own thing in the background - good old muscle memory !

So learning CW is the same I'm betting - its just a case of taking that "its impossible - how can I ever do this ?" brain set and just slowly working through it..... bit by bit..... letter by letter...  From the chaos, order will come.

I'll update in a few weeks where things have progressed to.

Atb, Sean.
#18
Only the same risk your television loves with most days :)
#19
I tried a little experiment yesterday - I made up a little wire from my clansman radio that connects into the outer braid of my tv aerial socket, so I can use the co-ax cable that runs up the side my house onto the roof as an HF antenna.

It worked - kind of...... I didnt have enough time to try any contacts.   But more importantly,  its good to have it as an option in case a time ever came when i might need to get rid of the antennas in the garden that can be seen by everyone.  Or a time when I might be out and about or staying at a relatives house.   I'd be interested to hear if others could try it and let us know what results you get - maybe arrange a CW or SSB sked one morning or evening with everyone plugged into their tv aerial stealth antennas !!!! that would be a blast.

(PS - make sure your aerial isnt plugged into any kind of distribution system (active or passive) in case you pick up some nasty voltage or static that fries your radio)
#20
I've already had a brief chat with Hans about that (waiting for my 40m kit to arrive )  he also suggested using an OLED display (as I wanted a green display for my project) to save a little extra power.  He is planning on changing the displays to the green/yellow type as they can be read in the daytime with the backlight turned off.

I have cleaned out the internal electronics from a broken clansman hand crank charger and that will be the case for my new QCX kit, using a drop down converter for the 24 volt Nicad batteries.  It will have a small speaker built in as well as it's own keyed, so completely self contained.  I also have a second spare case and will probably build an emtech tuner into that.
#21
Gil, I wonder what savings might be made by adding a little switch to to let you turn off the lcd display and led back light..... maybe a little push micro switch so you can check the charge level every now and then.
#22
Nice link Andy, something g like that could be made up, rolled around your support mast and be slung in the car, ready made to guy out.....

I wonder what it's also like for dx when pushed up higher - and the wires are more vertical ?
#23
Thanks Gil, i was hoping that lowering a short EFHW almost horizontal to the ground (a few feet , tied to stakes or a tree) might force it into operating NVIS  on 40 and 20.....  the reality is I should just get out there and try it...... im just a little new to all the theory.

I have 2 of the 320's, one of them is the thick finned version.  Ive just purchased some capacitors for the power supply modification which I need to do very soon.

The past few days since the antenna went up ive been calling out on 7187.5 (prc320) as well as 14348 and 3793.   Are you guys using these frequencies ?  Would be great to have a 320 to 320 QSO over the channel !!!     73's Sean.
#24
Hi guys, my 1st post here as newly licenced ham in the UK (M6OLR).  I have a couple of PRC-320 radios ive had for a while and with the new licence i installed a 5band EFHW antenna from the chimney to a pole down the garden.

I noticed on 20m and 40m i dont really pick up any local stations in the UK and I understand to do this I need to mount the antenna for NVIS use.  As I understand it, is this simply a case of LOWERING the antenna and ensuring its horizontal ? *eg to fence height, a metre or so off the floor. 

Im thinking that when im out and about portable i will get a 3 band EFHW and use a fishing pole with it mounted vertically for DX and horizontal (low down) for NVIS - or is it more complex than this ?  Tactically, I like the option to change my radiation pattern when out in the field portable.

Interested to hear your thoughts...... M6OLR