Putting the "Ek" in "Geek"
Ham Radio
QRP Afield 2008
Sep 23rd
Just got back Saturday afternoon from QRP Afield 2008. Steve NØTU and I, along with Steve’s pack goats Rooster and Peanut, hoofed it up Mt. Herman (just west of Monument, CO) on Friday afternoon in time to make camp right behind an east-facing rock cliff on the southern end of the Mt. Herman ridgeline. What a spectacular place to spend the evening!
ARRL Puts 1915-2004 QST Articles Online
Sep 10th
“ARRL Presents New Membership Benefit”
That was the title of a news item appearing yesterday on the ARRL web page. At first glance, I figured it was just some kind of new equipment or identity-theft insurance.
Yawn.
Then I read the announcement. Boy, was I wrong!
The ARRL has placed all QST articles from 1915 to 2004 online, with free access for ARRL members.
El Cheapo Tilt Stand for the Elecraft K1
Aug 24th
I already told you in a previous post about how much I like my Elecraft K1. I use it mostly in the field, when we backpack up a mountain or trail for an event like Field Day or one of the QRP field events held each year. The one drawback of the K1 is that having the controls on the front panel instead of the top makes it harder to use when you (and it) are sitting on the ground in the woods. Usually, I’d just find a rock or something to stick under it to prop up the front (and I can show you the scratches on the bottom of my K1 to prove it). Now, let it be known that Elecraft offers the KTS1 Wide Range Tilt Stand as a possible solution to this problem. And I’m sure that it’s a fine product. I was a little put off by the $35 price tag, though, so I finally decided to fashion a stand of my own.
Elecraft K1 Internal Battery Pack (KBT1) Upgrade
Aug 24th
I really like my Elecraft K1 QRP rig. Mine’s the 4-band model (40, 30, 20, and 15 meters). I also have the KAT1 internal ATU and the K1BKLTKIT backlit display installed. It’s a great rig for QRP CW in the shack or in the pack. Mine is a staple of my Field Day excursions.
Typically, when I hit the trail with my K1, I pack a 2-AH gel cell to power it. Works great, but the gel cell is kinda heavy and bulky. So, in a moment of boredom (I had the itch to build something, I guess), I ordered the KBT1 internal battery option and installed it.
4Nec2 Input File for Shortened Antenna Model
Feb 9th
Here is the 4Nec2 input file for my shortened antenna model:
I welcome any comments on the validity of the model.
Note that I make no claims that this is a super antenna. It works. It appears to suit my needs, given the constraints under which I designed it. I’ve documented my antenna design and building efforts here in my blog mainly so anyone who might be interested in learning about and using antenna modeling software like 4Nec2 might find the information useful. In my case, the model appears to predict behavior that’s consistent with the actual performance of the antenna. This is good–and cool.
Some Antenna Pictures, and Three More Bands!
Feb 8th
It’s high time I posted a few pics of my new antenna. First, the loading coil. This was made from a stock MFJ inductor (3″ dia, 10 turns/inch). the center rod is a nylon rod I purchased from U.S. Plastic, and the brass fittings are 1/8″ NPT couplers and a nipple from McMaster-Carr.
Logging QSOs in Ubuntu–XMLog and Wine
Feb 3rd
Up to now I’ve been using XLog for logging ham radio QSOs in Ubuntu, but I gotta say I’ve never really liked it much. The user interface leaves a lot to be desired in terms of being unambiguous. I’d been using XMLog for doing my general logging under Windows–it’s a great free program that allows me to easily import contacts from my contest logger and exports to ADIF for sending to Logbook of the World. So, this morning I decided to see if I could get XMLog to run under Wine in Ubuntu 7.10.
20m Shortened Vertical On the Air–On 40m!
Feb 3rd
I was able to steal some time this weekend to construct the 20m shortened vertical I’d been designing using 4Nec2. It didn’t turn out quite like I was planning, but it’s good nevertheless. I used half-inch-dia aluminum tubing and a section of an MFJ prewound coil to build it, and I used construction techniques stolen largely from AD5X’s portable vertical design. The main differences between his design and my implementation are
- I used a single 6-ft aluminum tubing section on the bottom instead of constructing multiple smaller sections.
- I used another single 6-ft aluminum tubing section above the coil instead of the telescoping antenna.
- My coil used only 3″ or so of the MFJ prewound coil, and I used a length of nylon rod instead of wooden dowel. Mine is also tappable with an alligator clip.
- My antenna has a 30″ brass rod forming a tee at the top of the radiating element, as a capacity hat.
Antenna Modeling with 4Nec2 and Wine, Part Deux
Jan 30th
Last week I told you about how I’d gotten a nice free antenna modeling package for Windows called 4Nec2 to run in Linux using Wine. Since then, I’ve been able to create a few models and run them, and I gotta say I’m really impressed with the capabilities of 4Nec2. I doubt I’ve even scratched the surface of what’s possible, but it’s worked flawlessly for me so far. I have experienced a few minor glitches that are the result of running under Wine, but those are minor and easily worked around. Mostly, those glitches are associated with trying to run the help file, and I haven’t spent any time trying to fix those things. No big deal, as far as I’m concerned, and certainly not a knock on 4Nec2 itself.
