Since the logbooks are no longer required, I generally only keep a short term 'log' type entry of my contacts, having made a short QSO log that I print onto scrap paper to keep notes during the chat.  In my case, I do not pursue awards, but if I did, logging is absolutely essential to receive an award.  There are OTHER reasons why logging software may enhance the hobby aspect as well.

There are times when I wish that I had logged all contacts, especially when someone in particular proved to be a nice fellow to chat with. I'll rarely remember a callsign from a week ago, much less a month ago, but it IS nice to be able to quickly call-up previous contacts and have notes like: 'collects old Vibroplex bugs, builds QRP, lived in Colorado for 15 years as aerospace engineer...  ' because it allows you to pick-up on the previous conversation, rather than to start from scratch.  Of course, that's for me, because I enjoy a few long conversations, rather than a large number of contacts, though that is also a popular aspect of hamming for many people.

Post TEOTWAWKI there might be only ONE award:   W.A.S.  (Worked All Survivors)     ::)


73 de RadioRay ..._ ._

$1,700 - 25,000  Manpack Radio // 20-50 Watt, depending upon type//
$ 200 +                2x Batteries
$300 +               Solar panel or hand crank  generator
                         Antenna kit (wire prefered)

$280 - $1000  +  Laptop/message terminal
$80 - 120           interface unit & cables
$200                 2x batteries
//recharge using the same as the manpack radio//

Large rucksack to carry it all (>25+ pounds ???) in ADDITION to your already full rucksack (>40+ pounds) , of 'camping' gear.
and muscles & endurance like a Green Beret, because this stuff is HEAVY!

Kinda like this - -



Ps. He is SMILING because he has a TRUCK to carry it all...
-or-

Learn a skill: Morse code, in this case, and carry a multi-band "QRP" ham radio, the size of a paper back book //also can listen to shortwave radio with it...//, in an accessory bag the size & weight of a small shave kit...



Which contains not only your transceiver, but also your antenna kit, spare AA batteries.  Your messaging unit is between your ears and you can write down the received messages if you need a hard copy...

So, my advice to ANYONE wanting radio communication further than the range of a handi-talkie is to learn the Morse code (the G4FON 'Koch' FREEware is excellent as are MANY on-line Morse tutors.)  Gil knows the latest websites to learn the code. By learning a skill, you operate VERY efficently, inexpensively and in an effective manner.  You can take your Morse radios along with along WITH your daily 'carry' rather than instead of being able to carry anything else.

OTOH - if you hae a LOT of money and muscles like a Green Beret, then please contact ME and I will act as your communications sales agent, set you up with excellent, mil-spec gear that is going to not require you to learn much of anything and -naturally- it is going to be EXPENSIVE, heavy and I will CERTAINLY take my VERY generous commission...    ;D  Thank you KINDLY!

I remember a certain fellow who was doing a cross border operation long ago...

Speaking of his VERY expensive, state-of-the-art, military communications equipment, here is the gist:

'This stuff was amazing, the message terminal was about the size of a paper back book, could send and receive text, maps, pictures and even operator drawn illustrations. It hooked into our manpack radio and sent it's transmissions as a high speed burst.  It did everything - except actually WORK!  We finally dropped back to plan B and made contact with base in a neutral country, using enciphered Morse without any problem. Sooner or later, you find yourself on the side of a hill, with the stub of a pencil, pounding it out in Morse code.'


Lighten your load - use skill not money.


QSL:  "Go Small - Go Now!"

>RadioRay ..._ ._

This is actually more realistic than you might imagine.  Long range sailors often seek advice for conditions, injuries and etc. when thousands of miles from anywhere.  A sailboat is not fast enough to get to help and often even a fishing boat may have immediate need of advice. I've heard it done on the ham bands for a fishing boat crew member who had been knifed by a Guatemalan crew member.  The radio doctors walked the Captain through how to initialy stabilize the patient, take vitals, then posiition him for best chance of survival ... the list went on.  The boat was off of the Guatemalan coast and their coast guard really was not interested at all.  The U.S. ham radio operators who put the doctors on the radio got in contact with the U.S. Coastguard and U.S. Navy and the Navy was going to respond with assets in the area.  This embarrased the Guatemalans into taking action and sending a cutter. The boat captain sounded U.S. and had no ham license , but when unable to raise anyone other than the unresponsive Guatemalans, he went to 14300 - The Maritime Mobile Service Network (ham radio) and THEY got things rolling for him - license or not, it was a boni fide emergency and a matter of life or death.

In a societal breakdown, this would also be much safer for the Doctor, if he were ABLE to render assistance by radio, it would mean no traveling for him, which is generally dangerous during a SHTF situation for the obvious reasons. Digital modes such as WINMOR would even allow a person to send pictures of an injury/infection & etc. for the doctor to look at, including from a country doctor in need of a consultation with a specialist.

"Uuuuuh - no Doctor - that looks like your Rolex, not a cervex.  Were you wearing a wrist watch at the time of the last procedure and are you CERTAIN that you were still wearing it after you finished?"
    ::)



>de RadioRay ..._ ._

Ouch!

Oh No Gil, I was kiddingly reffering to the TWO WATTS of radio frequency power being "excessive 'power", when one Watt would do.    :D  moooo-ha-ha-ha.  QRP Morse is amazingly effective and while there's nothing wrong with 1500 Watts and a huge beam in the air, this is living proof that you can have an effective, small, lite, portable station which would be MUCH easier to keep running in a TEOTWAKI situation, like the rigs that you've built and put on the air. It needn't cost a fortune to have an effective ham radio station. I didn't express my amusement very well - sorry.


:)  ;)  :D  ;D  ::)


Sorry, my friend I was trying to make a joke to emphasive the power of QRP in real world communications. However, text only,
without voice or facial expression is so easily misunderstood. 


MAN - you're doing well.  Sorry for the mis-understanding. Frankly, I'm quite impressed with what you've accomplished, in teaching yourself, passing three exams up to Extra, along with the code and then DOING IT!  Many people can't bring themselves to actually get on the air.


//Hint: One reason that I ask questions on the air is to ensure that you must copy & understand to answer.  You did that just fine, including a change of frequency. //

73 de RadioRay ..._ ._

Well Gill -

Strictly speaking, you were just showing off with those two Watts and could have done it on ONE...    ;^)
You're a young man and let all that power go to your head.    :o


Seriously though - as I mentioned while we talked on the air (in Morse), you were quite readable even at the two Watt level.  Yes, it was noticable when you upped it to 15 Watts , but not absolutely required. That type of VERY SMALL power consumption would be easy to keep a radio operating if you have any sort of alternative power source. It just goes to show you what can be done with a small, home made radio, proper frequency selection, and a good basic antenna. There was -no doubt- more absorption and noise being inside of your apartment, but - it still worked quite well!  If you ever set-up in a park someplace, it'll be excellent. 

I was running my "full" 14 Watts into a homebrew dipole here.  Nothing fancy.

Good CW from you too.  I am amazed how rapidly you're advancing in your Morse code!



73 de RadioRay ..._ ._

Abdul was using AMTOR as e-mail over radio.  This system us still in place and has actually been seriously improved into what is now the WINLINK system. 

-...-

This was also done by an English citizen of the Falkland Islands during the Argentinian invasion.  Ham op(s) sent recon information and most importantly, intel about where there were NOT hostages being held, freeing the British to strike without concern for accidentally killing hostages. Naturally, he was disobeying the 'authorities' when he did this.

-...-

In Grenada there was also a ham - Mark Baratela - who did a little 'two step' with the communist authorities so that he would hang-on to his ham gear, and he was THE VOICE during the U.S Invasion.


Information is a weapon, tool and yes entertainment.

Another factor to remember is what we've been calling "NVIS" which is HF radio for continuous coverage out to about 350 miles.  A semi-round pancake of continuous coverage, regardless of hills, mountains, urban canyons & etc.  Another factor is that is can be VERY difficult to radio direction find because the signal is not coming from you directly, but is being refracted off of the ionosphere almost straight over head.  When 'they' ask 'where is he?" the answer might just be "He's up THERE!".   :D  Seriously though. a low antenna and a few Watts on HF can give a lot of local and regional comm support.


>Ray

Alll of this for NVIS is for a horizontal antenna, in this case a dipole.  Vertical antennas have a dead zone off the end that points toward that sky, which is why you do not want to use a vertical antenna for NVIS. Over wet soil (I am on a peninsua which projects into the Chesapeake Bay...) the math ways 1/4 wave over ground.  That would be roughly 32 feet on a forty meter antenna.

HOWEVER - real world experience as well as antenna modelilng software says that anything above your head -to avoid clothes lining yourself or others- is going to give you a signal UPWARD at high angle, which is what you want for NVIS.

1.  Antennas lower to the ground do have higher ground losses.

2.  Antennas lower to the ground receive much less noise and greatly reduce 'long range' signals, because the ground is focusing on what is received from over head (short range 0 - 350'ish miles) , rather than receiving signals which come in lower over the horizon, which you are not interested in for NVIS. This includes the noise from distant T-storms.

In Short:   Having a moderately reduced received signal strength with GREATLY reduced noise, gives you a higher "signal to noise ratio". This is a GOOD thing! Example: Hearing my guy at S5 instead of S7, but with the reduced noise level from distant T-storms and medium and long range interfereing stations = success for us because I hear much more of his signal that of the interference.

Tactically:  A low antenna for NVIS is :

1.  Less likely to be seen/recognised as an antenna at a distance. 

2.  Quick to deploy/tear down, so you are able to set-up rapidly when needed and to get-out-of-Dodge, should that be necessary.

3.  A low HF dipole produces far less ground wave, which can assist in avoiding accurate radio direction finding, should that even be an issue.

4.  NVIS is VERY difficult to radio direction find, especially if you transmit from a valley, gorge, culvert or even in an 'urban canyon' in a city.
    4.1  A 1x1 mile DF fix in rural Kanses might inculde a single farm house, while the same 'fix' in a metro area inculdes many thousands of
    people, cars driving  through & etc. // food for thought //


>>> Any outside antenns is better than no antenna - every time.  For the ham shack at home, it's bet to have a couple of different antennas for different uses/distances.  The HIGH dipole for medium & ong range, then the low dipole for enhanced NVIS as an example.


Even a 'slant wire antenna', that is a wire tossed into a tree with a wire as an antenna worked with a 'ground' wire along the ground can yield impressive results. Though far from the best, in a time pinch, you do what you have to do.  If it's lunch time on the trail, sand in a sock tied to a line tossed over a limb will get the antenna wire up quickly and that way you're not carrying lead sinkers in your pack... Why carry the extra weight?  //Be sure to dump the sand out of the sock before you wear it...  :P  //


Time for lunch and to play radio...


>Ray


>>> Here is a good sourch on a home installation to enhance local NVIS radio contacts, using a low loop.

http://www.wc5c.org/LinkClick.aspx?link=NVIS_Loop.pdf&tabid=394&mid=847

The Award is the "Thousand Mile per Watt" award.  The little RockMite is a wonder.  I just got off the air with my 20 meter RockMite - half Watt rig.  A good fellow in Georgia and I talked for about a half hour in slow CW.  Now - it's a LOT easier with power, but after about 10 - 20 Watts it's  a law of diminishing returns.  You burn more power, carry more weight and add to the complexity, yet gain little more in return - if at all.  That sweet spot of a few Watts and GOOD Antenna, like the dipole or one of Gil's EndFedz and you're able to communicate. 

Down sides of the RockMite:

1. Basically a single frequency, though you can shift it a few hundred Hz for a 'side tone.

2. VERY low power, so that you must have a good antenna, or else...

3. The little receiver IS very sensitive and that's a plus, but it has no filtering, so it's wide as a barn door and so it hears ALL signals in the pass band along with the ham you're trying listening to.  BTW - this is nothing new to old time hams and with practice, your brain tunes in on ONLY the signal that you want, but that requires a little bit of practice.  The Good Thing: practice is enjoyable.


Up side -

A.  It's a complete ham radio transceiver for under $30... 

B. It runs on anything from a 9 volt battery up to a car battery -

C. It draws so little power that you could keep it running with little effort.

D. They are very small & lite. You could put a few of them into your shirt pocket.



Mine is built into a little pipe tobacco tin and still has room for plenty more 'stuff' in there...




>Ray

NVIS for 'area communications - roughly 0 - 350 miles out, that's a BIG pancake.  I found the best frequencies of course change with season, time of day and of course - solar flux.  However, the general rule is 'as high as you can go and still makethe contact, because the lower that you go, the MORE atmopsheric absorption that you have, higher noise & etc...

3.5 - 7 MHz has been most effective for me, starting with 3.5 int e mornings, until it would fade, then using 7 MHz until it would go 'long'.  Naturally the 5 MHz voice allocations are excellent for NVIS, but ham 5 MHz is channelized, so not a lot of wiggle room.

OTOH during the last year and Buddy & I were rusing digital in the 3.5 MHz band and had almst 24/7 converage, with him being between 200-275 miles out, depending upon his location & antenna.  The dipole was the best of the lot.

>>> Antennas:  I've worked a LOT of NVIS down throght he years, and while ground losses DO increase -as Gil pointed-out - as the antenna comes closer to dirt, the 'quality' of the ground effectes that muck.  For example, I live on a salt water saturated peninsula, so my ground is quite conductive.  However, in open desert I have quite literally laid my wire dipole on the sand and made NVIS contact with base - about 10-12 Watts output in CW - no problem.

Lower antennas reduce much of the NOISE so there can indeed be lower signal levels, but better signal to noise ratio often more than makes-up for that.


Here's my standard NVIS in the field antenna:  half wave dipole from above head level at any conveinent height when over normal or dry soil. If you can easily get it higher - fine, but you will not gain much, so remember that ANY antenna is better than no antenna.  On a reliable radio path, even a 'slant wire' over a limb with a 'counterpoise' "ground" laying on the ground or even a bit over the ground is fine for the <350 miles we are talking about, thoughit's a 'fuzzy' estimation.

Have a look at actual, measured antenna exxperiments on NVIS
per antenna heights.  The results will surprise you.


http://www.tactical-link.com/field_deployed_nvis.htm


Time to go play radio......





>de RadioRay ..._ ._

TNH DE ASA

Aaaah!  So you KNOW about that!

Fortunately we had few if any , LT's to turn the cranks, so power was usually from the BIG power supply and a vehicle battery.  The big supply could use a 6 volt storage battery, but being a sneaky ham, I'd use a standard 12 volt vehicle battery, by clamping the black power lead the battery negative and removing a battery water fill cap about half way between negative and positive poles ont he battery, then insert a long screw driver between those battery plates and clamp the positive lead to that.  Instant 6-7 volts DC with plenty of current to hum the vibrator into making high voltage for the tube set.  The screw driver would bubble and fizz a bit and they were always etched pmt he bottow 4 to 6 inches when finished, but it was a reliable source of 6 volts for the vibrator power supply in a world of 12 volt car batteries!

I did have one Buddy who turned the hand cranks like a stallion, but he whined like a school girl    :'(   the entire time, so we were ALL happier when I had a vehicle battery near-by. 

I was in love the first time that I saw an FT-817 decades later...
   

de Ray
W7ASA ..._ ._
//Good eye - yup! I was 'one of them'...//


Ps.  We should pound some code back and forth some time.  I'd be happy to be ground station while you're out with your rucksack & radio.

Hey Frosty,

Good talking with you. Using mass media to effect mass psychology proves that false flag & disinformation can be a powerful weapon.  Just watch our media at work - - -


>Ray

...unless you're operating CW on a tube rig with an antenna made from barbed wire and coat hangers, you're not a real ham...

Hmmmmm, have we MET???     ;)

ha ha ha ha ha

IT's funny the things that you said are really rather accurate.  Seeing things that I've grown used to through other people's eyes is always enlightening for me. The thing is, these problem people remind me of when I used to drive to work past a cattle feed lot.  I'd usually see one animal who was working SO HARD to be King of The Mountian, fighting for all it's worth to keep every other animal away from it's 'mountain top' . . . it was standing on a pile of the group's manure.  That's how I see the uber 'look at me' guys.  They fight and whine and pull people out of the way so that they can celebrate their pyric victory by standing on a pile of their own poop and it's clear that the more poop, the BIGGER THE VICTORY!!! Wow - what a maaaan! Sounds like a place I used to work...

The good people usually come to meet you after a  trip or two around 'The Mountain', but they are are rarely seen by those on the top.

OTOH - as pointed-out, you find that everywhere and we see it in many forums, which is why I am pleased that Gil has a few small hurdles for people before they can post on this site.  You're right though - the nay-sayers usually contribute little but malign much.  That is the reverse of a successful life.


73 de Ray
W7ASA ..._ ._

Ps.  Actually I HAVE used a tube GRC-109 CW transmitter/receiver set into a wire fence as an antenna... I save the coat hangers for 2 meters...  ::)  ;D  :D

Dave Benson designs some great rigs.  I have my old SW40+ from 1999, in a aluminum clam shell case that I got at a surplus store for under a buck.  I was leaving on a 9 days survival trip with Hoods Woods into the No Return Wilderness and built this in a day and a half...  Not my best work, but it's still working, all these years later.

I just landed some cash from selling my big rig, so plan to do more building and like you (Gil)  I am thinking of a small, mono-bander, likely with a EndFeds type antenna coupler for quick QSOs with a half wave wire in the air.

>Ray

Ps.  XTAL control makes it MUCH more difficult to make QSO's but entirely do-able with patience.  A VXO of even 10-20 KHz swing can change that entirely with not much change in parts count.

Funny how the 'inverse' rule works:

I used to work in very highly complex military robotics research.  The work WAS fascinating and sometimes FUN.  However, when it came to my life away from work, on my little sailboat, I specifically did NOT want anything high-tech aboard.   None of the CRAP that you see in Sailing World with the chromed everything & paid bikini models on the cover. (Well, the girls aboard are fine, and no need for bikinis... ;)   This is for many reasons, not the least of which is survivability of 'simple tech' and frankly the opportunity to keep it simple while learning new skills. If I wanted complex high tech, I could go work some overtime.


Same-same in ham radio. I appreciate the ability for digital modes to make some aspects of HF communications convienent. HOWEVER, I truly enjoy the sheer efficiency of CW (Morse code) for long range communication. It is a joy to use skill, rather than money to solve a problem.  It's a joy for me to never have to re-boot my hand key or have an essential laptop prevent my transceiver from working...   It is a joy to have a conversation with someone in an elegant manner, using a home brewed, simple radio, with a wire tossed into a tree for an antenna while out camping.  I cannot remember ever having someone take the time to tap out an obscenity in Morse, though I hear it often in SSB voice. The ability to build a tiny transceiver into a pipe tobacco tin and tap code to a fellow camping almost 700 miles away using it on battery power is still simply amazing to me, even after doing it for forty years. I also know that it works - when all else fails.

If it's too much like work, why do it for fun?  If work was so great, they wouldn't have to PAY us to do it, now WOULD they?

:)   >>>This sermon is available on CD for a $30 offering...  <<<   :)

de RadioRay ..._ ._


Ps.  Simple like this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvHfRJvjUN4&feature=colike

and this ...

http://youtu.be/hj9va9LMB78