KC9JTL-R in the ARRL 2009 September VHF Sweepstakes

Christopher (KC9JTL) and I had a great time roving to the EN42-52-43-53 grid convergence by Dodgeville, WI for this contest. We got a bit of a late start, but the beautiful drive down there was shorter than I expected, so we arrived more or less as planned, but initial set-up took a bit longer than planned so we got on the air from EN42 about 5:15 pm on Saturday evening.

Our antenna lash-up was as follows. I have a hitch carrier for the back of the Suburban, so we built a platform to which we bolted a roof tripod for a mast. Thanks to a donation by KC9IWE we had a push-up mast mounted on the tripod. On that I put a 6 element WA5VJB "cheap yagi" for 222 MHz, then a 4 element beam for 2 meters, then a 10 element beam for 432 Mhz. On top of it all I put a rotatable dipole for 6 meters that Christopher and I made out of an old fiberglass puptent pole covered with aluminum foil. Rotation was via an "armstrong" rotor.

Our plan was to try and get some 2 meter FM activity going—we even brought a separate 3 element beam for vertically polarized work on 2 meters—but unfortunately FM was a bust. We CQed all the way down and beamed back toward the north but never heard a peep (except N9WU/R who was already down at the grid convergence and heard us right off.)

When we set up on an old airport runway just outside of Dodgeville, we found right off that the feedline was hosed on 432. So we had to settle for QRP FM into a handheld "cheap yagi" from EN42 until we could replace the feedline when we stopped in EN52. And the other glitch is that we found that my FT-897D was almost totally deaf on 6 meters—we had at least half a dozen guys tell us that they could hear us just fine, but we could either not hear them at all or just barely. Still trying to figure out whether that's a hardware problem or some software setting. So we left some 50 MHz Qs on the table.

The really pleasant surprise was 222, on which we had just 1.5 watts from a Yaesu VX-6R into a 6 element WA5VJB "cheap yagi" (I now have an Elecraft XV-222 transverter on that band, thanks for KC9BQA, but I didn't have time to build the needed interface with the FT-897). As you can see below, we made as many Qs on 222 as we did on 432 with 20 watts into a 10 element yagi. So that's a very inexpensive way to get a real footprint on that band.

The whole antenna set-up worked out pretty well. We even moved the vehicle with everything up and in place to transition from EN52 to EN53 (granted, it was only about 1/4 mile on a back-country road).

Despite the inevitable obstacles and limited operating time, we made 75 QSOs. Headed back home much too late, but Christopher kept me awake by filling me in on all sorts of arcane Bionicle lore. It was a lot of fun and we'll definitely be doing it again.

QSOs Multipliers
50 10 10
144 39 26
222 13 13
432 13 13

2009 ARRL June VHF QSO Party

My son Christopher (KC9JTL) and I had a blast in this, our second VHF contest (see Christopher in the July 2008 issue of QST magazine as part of the write-up of the January contest).

We had some antenna upgrades from that January contest. I homebrewed a 2 element coax beam for 6 meters and it worked better than I had any reason to expect. I also got the beams up on the roof this year, so we had much better coverage from our ridgetop location.

6 meters was a blast and Christopher really enjoyed being able to work station after station on that band. It was really cool to see the opening move from the southeast on Saturday afternoon up into the east and northeast, including French Canada on Saturday evening. Then on Sunday it opened to our west and northwest, but some to the south as well later that day. So we literally worked all over the country.

We added 222 MHz to our line-up late in the game after horsing around with the transverter throughout the contest. Once we got the transverter working, we did a quick antenna lash-up, with the coax soldered directly to the feedpoint of a WA5VJB "cheap yagi" up about 15 feet. In the end, we were able to make about five QSOs in four grids on 222 MHZ. That was pretty cool and a good learning time for KC9JTL.

We also had a dinky 6 element yagi on 432 MHz -- all that I had time for -- but in the end we actually worked 7 grids with that dude using only the 20 watts from the Yaesu FT-897D. Of course, the guys on the other end with umpty-ump element stacked yagis at a hundred and some-odd feet were doing all of the heavy lifting. But still, a QSO is a QSO.

The action opened up on 2 meters at the very end of the contest and we were running contacts right up until the curtain closed. Very exciting. When it was all done and we had a chance to catch our breath, Christopher said, "Do they have another one in the Fall?" I think he's hooked. I know I am.

Our station and antennas are modest, but the fun factor was huge.

Adventures in EchoLink

In my ongoing quest to upgrade our family communication network (and avoid the cell phone trap) I have recently gotten an EchoLink node going at my QTH. This will allow me to call back to the house when I'm out on the road, especially when I take business trips up to the Twin Cities.

For hardware, I'm using a garbage-picked Toshiba laptop; most of the keycaps are popped off of it, so somebody dropped it into the dumpster. I got it up and going using an external keyboard, but now I don't really need the keyboard at all. More on that later. A homebrewed sound card interface and 2 meter transceiver completes the package.

I've set up the node in my shack for the moment, running to a simple copper pipe J-pole up on my roof. This has let me play around with different hardware and software configurations without too much stress. The Linksys router you see there is a WRT54G-TM running the extremely cool Tomato firmware (actually, it's running the Tomato VPN firmware because I hope to have a personal VPN connection going soon.) This was the result of one more excellent bit of advice from Chris, KF9OP. I was going to buy a dedicated wireless card for the laptop, but he suggested spending just a bit more and getting a router that can be flashed with new software to do any number of sophisticated wireless tasks. Great idea. I picked up a few of them for pretty cheap off of EBay. One is configured as my main Internet wireless access point, with gain antennas on it so the signal is available throughout the whole house. But then I've connected another, configured to operate as part of a Wireless Distribution System (WDS), to the computer running EchoLink.

It needs to be wireless because ultimately, when I have all the bugs worked out, the whole shebang is going up on my silo. The rig, computer, router, and power supply will sit just under the dome and I'll extend a mast above the dome with a nice 2 meter gain vertical on top. Then I should really get out like gangbusters. I've also got a gain vertical for 2.4 GHz that will be connected to the router, to boost the wireless path back to the house.

Since it's going to be at the top of the silo, I don't really want to have to climb up there every time I want to tweak a setting on the computer. So I installed the TightVNC server on the laptop. It allows me quick and easy remote access to that PC from my shack. In fact, there's even a TightVNC client for Puppy Linux, so I can access the laptop running Windows and EchoLink from my Linux machines. Now how cool is that?

I have not used the EchoLink much for family communications, although I have a business trip in the near future that should be a nice time to try it out. But I have had some delightful QSOs from hams who have just decided to "drop in". One afternoon I chatted with a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, connecting through their W9HHX node. Then later that evening, Al (W6AAX) called from Simi Valley, CA. He has family in the area and was wondering about the ham radio activity here.

And about fifteen minutes after I signed off with Al, Daryl (N5SCA) called from Lampasas, TX. It turns out he grew up in the La Crosse, WI area and was, again, wondering about ham radio activity in the area prior to a trek to a family reunion here later this year. Again, we had a nice chat and hopefully will be able to meet when he visits the area.

Puppy Linux

I have long yearned to cut the umbilical cord with Micro$oft, forsaking their operating systems forever. Why? Basically, because the ever-increasing thirst for computer resources (CPU, RAM, hard drive space, etc.) in exchange for little or no significant benefit in what I'm actually able to do with the computer drives me nuts. Let's face it, if you don't play some of the more resource-intense games (which I don't) then you simply don't need the vast majority of the horsepower of our current PCs. The main reason we need to keep upgrading hardware all the time is because Micro$oft orphans its older OSs. And each new OS from Redmond hogs more and more hardware resources in order to keep from running glacially slow.

Several years ago I set about building two PCs for our home use. I was highly motivated to utilize one of the many available Linux distros for the operating system. I had read and had been told that Linux was ready for prime time and that installation was simple, as was maintenance. And that is precisely what I needed because, while I am fairly PC savvy, I do not have a lot of time to waste horsing around trying to get things to work. An operating system needs to find all my hardware and work, with no muss and no fuss. Period.

Well, I tried Mandrake (now Mandriva) Linux, the Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xbuntu line-up, and Knoppix. Each time there was something wrong, at least one thing (and sometimes more than one thing) that just made it a no go. So, in the end, I held my nose and forked out the $$ for two licenses of Windows XP (which hands down is the best OS that Micro$oft has ever released.)

But the desire to cut that cord has stayed with me. And I think maybe I've found the knife that's going to let me do it in the form of Puppy Linux. Puppy is not the most capable release. It's not the flashiest release. I tried it because several hams have chosen it specifically for their amateur radio-related software. And guess what? It works.

I have installed Puppy on six computers so far, from a 300 MHz Celeron with 128 MB of RAM up through a 2.2 GHz multi-core something-or-other with 2 GB of RAM. So far, Puppy has found and installed everything as it should. It has even found and installed a couple of rather obscure wireless adapters. Each time, I've been able to get onto my home network and out onto the Internet, which makes finding and fixing any little glitches much easier.

Its ability to install on really minimal hardware is the thing that thrills me the most. Puppy installs itself completely into RAM, so its performance even on minimal computer hardware is impressive. How totally stupid is it to be sending perfectly good desktops and laptops to the dump, when at least a significant percentage of them are still perfectly useful if all you want to do is surf the Web, do a little word processing, maybe keep track of your finances? And there are tons of ham radio tasks that can still be handled readily by lower-end hardware like this. Michael Barnes captures my thoughts exactly:

Using Puppy Linux brings back many memories of my early years using computers. Seeing Puppy Linux perform so well as a desktop Linux and taking up only 60 MB storage, one is reminded of how elegant programming used to be when computing used to be fun and useful with very little RAM and very little storage.

While some will argue that disk and RAM are cheap, generations of computers are being orphaned and the end user isn't seeing any improvements in either the application or environment. Puppy Linux not only provides the means to bring older computers back to life, it also provides the tools to create dedicated devices that can operate without a hard disk. It is possible to create media players, web terminals, email terminals, thin clients, x-terminals, and even Skype VoIP stations with very minimal hardware.

Thanks to a small distribution like Puppy Linux, it is possible to set up a fully functional workstation with a motherboard, low-cost processor, power supply, case, 128 MB DRAM and either a 128 MB thumb drive or a CDROM drive, at a cost of about $150 (USD) without a monitor.

No, forget $150. How about free? There are computers capable of running Puppy being thrown away all the time. Monitors too.

I think I'm going to use Puppy to resurrect two lower-end laptops I have kicking around the place, so my kids can use them for their school work. In fact, since it is a snap to get Puppy to boot from an inexpensive USB stick, I think it might be a nice idea to snarf a higher-end laptop off of EBay that's selling cheap because it has no hard drive and no operating system, then give it new life by running Puppy off of an 8 or 16 GB flash drive.

Specific ham radio groups and individuals like the West Australian Repeater Group and the creators of the digital mode software package FLDigi seem to have glommed onto Puppy Linux as a particularly appropriate platform. As I said, that's what got me looking into it in the first place.

It may very well be that other Linux distros would now perform much better for me than they did a few years ago. But I'm hooked on Puppy.

Making the Connection

In the aftermath of the very fun ARRL VHF-UHF 2009 Sweepstakes, I am in the process of trying to upgrade my VHF-UHF capabilities. I've got a number of antenna projects planned—yagis, halos, all the good stuff—and, of course, putting more antennas in the air means that you've got to run feedline and make a connection to your rig.

In the past, I would have rather blindly figured that, since they put an SO-239 connector on the back of my rig (even for 2 meter and 70 cm connections) it must be just fine to use that for VHF-UHF stuff. Well, I'm finding out that that is an incredibly naive view.

Many of you may already know this, but the PL-259/SO-239 combination does not maintain a constant impedance as the frequency increases. So down in the HF range, you're probably fine. But as the frequency increases into the VHF and certainly in the UHF range, the connector itself can start giving you an impedance mismatch and the mounting signal losses that go with such mismatches. N connectors maintain a constant impedence at much higher frequencies, hence their usefulness in VHF and especially UHF and microwave applications.

Here's what Chris, KF9OP my microwave guru has to say about the matter:

When I think PL259, I think vacuum tubes, the Ed Sullivan show and the 1950's.

Then there's the post-hippie 1970's BNC option for less than 50 watts and less than 250 MHz. However, BNC was only designed for less than 500 MHz, and its main benefit is ease of connection. If this isn't of value, then I would only use it because of cost/availability.

The 1980's man, uses N for more than 50 watts, SMA for less than 50 watts.

The 1990's man doesn't use connectors, since the 1 dB per connector hit is too great. He solders directly to the PCB ;)

The millennial man doesn't use coax at all! He integrates his radio into his antenna and runs his power/data up the tower. ;)

Now Chris is way out of whack with his estimate of 1 dB per connector; a properly installed connector, of the correct type for the frequency used should be more like 0.1 dB. But that last point is something that Chris and I have discussed a lot. Especially as you go up, up, up in frequency it makes less and less sense to spend big $$$ to try and corral that RF as it goes through a feedline. If you put the transmitter at the antenna you save all that expense and path loss. But since that's not always practical, one does sometimes need to run feedline.

So, back to connectors, there was a good article on the installation of N connectors last year in QST magazine, "Those Type N Coax Connectors," in the April 2008 issue. Unfortunately, it's not on-line yet. But there is a diagram on this here. And there's an interesting exchange about the relative merits of the N connectors in ham radio applications over on EHam.net.

73 DE W9HQ

In Honor of Richard David (SK), the Original W9HQ

When I upgraded to an Extra class license and changed my call sign to W9HQ, I wondered about the man who had held this call sign before me. I did some initial searching back then, but came up empty on any specifics. Then the pressing details of life pushed that search out of the way. Early this year, I began searching again in order to put some information about him on this blog. Alas, I found the news that Mr. Davis had died just a few days before. I had missed the opportunity to correspond with him.

I believe that it is crucial to remember those radio amateurs who have gone before us. I am honored to have the call sign W9HQ and I want to make sure that I pay proper tribute to the man who held it before me. So far I have only been able to secure the published obituary and a beautiful tribute to Mr. Davis from a woman who stayed with that family as a foreign exchange student. He sounds like a wonderful person. I will be adding more information about his professional life and his ham radio activities as I am able to learn about them.

I would also like to ask all to pray for the repose of his soul.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Anima eius et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace.

(Eternal rest grant him, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.)

A Tribute to Richard Davis, by Ms. Gilly Simpson

Richard Davis, Obituary

SOUTH BEND -- Richard A. "Dick" Davis, 93, of South Bend, died at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 13, 2009) in The Sunset House of Mishawaka.

He was born Sept. 27, 1915, in LaPorte to Arthur S. and Louise (Wendt) Davis. On April 8, 1938, he married Marie E. Spromberg in South Bend.

She survives in Mishawaka along with two daughters, Kathryn L. (Gary) Wilson of Markle and Liese M. (Tom) Kreiser of Elkhart; one son, Dr. Timothy E. (Sandy) Davis of Elkhart; one adopted daughter, Gilly Simpson of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

One brother, William Davis, and one granddaughter, Megan Wilson, preceded him in death.

Mr. Davis was a 1933 graduate of Central High School, South Bend. He began working at Bendix Corp. as a mail clerk and delivered the mail around the plant on roller skates. He retired in 1979 as supervisor of the aerospace division after more than 40 years of service. He had been active in the Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

He was a longtime ham radio operator with the call signal W9HQ, and a member of Community Congregational Church of South Bend, Bendix Retirees Club and the Izaak Walton League. Mr. Davis, aka the "Watchdog of Juday Creek," fought off developers and pollution sources to preserve the creek, one of Indiana's last naturally spring-fed waterways. He designed and built his own home and cabinets, built dollhouse furniture for his daughters and volunteered at the Clay Township branch of the South Bend Public Library after his retirement, where he devised a method of repairing the bindings of old books that was adopted by other area libraries.

Do It Yourself

A number of hams bemoan the fact that it is more and more difficult to build your own gear these days. What with the very powerful trend in electronics toward surface mount devices (SMDs) and unbelievably compact integration, it is indeed extremely hard to build anything that comes close to rivaling purchased gear, at least in terms of the radios themselves.

For this and other reasons, it is probably true that more hams than ever are "appliance operators", that is, they simply buy their gear off the shelf, plug it in, and start communicating. And frankly, in my opinion there's nothing wrong with that. Let's face it, if we are going to draw some imaginary line in the sand and say, "Ham radio as a hobby was ruined when [fill in arbitrary event here]", then there's really no reason why the line shouldn't be drawn at spark gap transmitters and crystal receivers.

But that is not what ham radio has ever been about. It is intrinsically a technical hobby. If somebody likes working with older radios and decades-old technology, fine. But the hobby itself has always been about technical innovation and advancement of the state-of-the-art. (Frankly, a lot of the technical innovation available to hams is on the software side of things and that's something I'd like to explore in a future posting.) And, as always, it's also about having fun. There is plenty of that to be had, even if one must needs fall short of homebrewing a complete modern transceiver. Those with a hardware bent can still build lots of interesting and useful devices. Any given edition of the The ARRL Handbook and most issues of QST magazine have projects of varying degrees of difficulty that are well within the reach of most hams.

Here's a simple one that I did, a rig control cable for my Icom IC-746. These things will set you back $15-25, depending on where you buy them, but they're dirt simple to build. I just cobbled mine together on a piece of perf board, using parts I scrounged from other bits of trashed electronics. My total cost was exactly $0.00. I used the G3VGR circuit found here:

http://www.qsl.net/g3vgr/civ.html

Super simple, super cheap, works great. (There's an even simpler circuit in the 2008 ARRL Handbook.) I have a similar interface for my Yaesu FT-897D. I control both rigs simultaneously from Ham Radio Deluxe. Cool.

I've also built computer-rig interfaces for digital modes like PSK-31.

Here's a list of stuff I'd like to build in the future:

• Remote antenna switch (I'm actually working on one right now)
• Battery charge controller for solar operation (I'm working on that now too)
  
• Balanced antenna tuner
• Audio break-out box
• Keying circuit for my Heathkit amplifier
• Active attenuator for foxhunting
• QRP CW transmitter (or perhaps even a transceiver)
• QRP antenna tuner
  
• ????
  

There's a few years of projects for a busy guy like me. And of course, this leaves aside for now the myriad interesting antennas that one can build.

I'll keep you posted.

73 DE W9HQ