20031101.qrp v03_n091.qrl.20031101 Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 19:03:15 EST From: qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: QRP-L digest 3091 QRP-L Digest 3091 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) [160442] zip cord j-pole? by David Hinerman 2) [160443] Solar/Propagation for SS by na5n@zianet.com 3) [160444] Re: zip cord j-pole? by applitech@mcg.net (Claton Cadmus) 4) [160445] Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! by Ade Weiss W0RSP 5) [160446] Help - Ft 7100 by Mark Hogan 6) [160447] Re: Solar/Propagation for SS by 7) [160448] What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Kenneth Cooperstein 8) [160449] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by Chuck Carpenter 9) [160450] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Bruce Muscolino 10) [160451] Fwd: [425ENG] 425 DX News #652 by Ed Tanton 11) [160452] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Al Scanandoah 12) [160453] MFJ-400 keyer info needed by "Michael Bower N4NMR" 13) [160454] Re: anyone tried the manual screwdrive mobile antenna? by "Adam Vazquez" 14) [160455] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by "Tony Martin W4FOA" 15) [160456] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by "Michael Melland" 16) [160457] NORCAL BLT on 80 meters? by "Mike WA8BXN" 17) [160458] Re: Solar/Propagation for SS by James R Giammanco 18) [160459] Elecraft KX1 Morse Feedback System -- A Boon for Visually-Disabled Amateurs by "Bruce Prior" 19) [160460] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by John Sielke 20) [160461] So long eighth-inch chisel tip, you've served me well...Hello 0.25mm round tip etc... by 21) [160462] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Bruce Grubbs 22) [160463] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Dave Fouchey 23) [160464] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by "Chris Trask" 24) [160465] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too]speed by Bob KB2FEL 25) [160466] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by "Lawrence Makoski" 26) [160467] Slow Speed CW sprint?? by Bob KB2FEL 27) [160468] W5KDJ Final Log_Fox by Wayne Rogers 28) [160469] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by "Tony Martin W4FOA" 29) [160470] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? by Kenneth Cooperstein 30) [160471] Re: Slow Speed CW sprint?? by Karl Larsen 31) [160472] FS by goemans 32) [160473] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] by "Bob Baxter" 33) [160474] For sale: DSW-40 and K1 by Bruce Grubbs 34) [160475] Re: Slow Speed CW sprint?? by John Sielke 35) [160476] Fox Hunt Logs Posted on Web Page by Roger J Wendell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 19:22:00 -0500 From: David Hinerman To: qrp-l@lehigh.edu Subject: [160442] zip cord j-pole? Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.1.20031031192004.00b257e8@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Folks, Has anyone tried making an HF J-pole from zip cord (aka speaker wire)? Dave -------------------------------------- Dave Hinerman WD8CIV@att.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 18:07:47 -0700 From: na5n@zianet.com To: qrp-l@lehigh.edu Subject: [160443] Solar/Propagation for SS Message-ID: <20031101010748.5798.qmail@klaatu.zianet.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Gang, While I enjoy the physics of the sun, I don't consider myself a propagation guru by any means. However, taking in all that has happened in the past week with the sun, some good assumptions about propagation over the next few days, particularly for the SS this weekend, can be made. For those of you not wishing to read on for all the lame descriptions ... SUMMARY: This will be a GREAT weekend for SS. You'll be picking up 10/15M as additional bands you wouldn't have normally, 20M will remain open longer into the evening than normal, and 40M should be fairly quiet on saturday night. What else could you hope for following this week on HF? -------------------- FIRST, forget all about those X10's, X17's and stuff this week. Let's pretend we're on the downside of cycle 23 and SS is tomorrow without all that solar and aurora stuff happening. Like it would have been. The solar flux would be about 120 right now, solar wind would be in the 400-600 km/sec range due to a coronal hole, meaning the average A-index right now would be 10-20 for fairly calm or active conditions -- no geomagnetic storming. Here's what the bands would be like for SS this weekend. 10M - forget it. Probably not open with a 120 solar flux. 15M - Very rough daytime, some openings, weak signals. Gone by sundown. 20M - The main daytime band, closing down mid evening, a bit noisy. 40M - Main nighttime band, a bit noisy from the A-index 10-20. 80M - About as usual, a bit noisy from the A-index. You would plan your SS strategy accordingly, meaning working primarily 20M daytime, 40M/80M nighttime, and lucky if you get some daytime 15M in. Two possible daytime bands, two nighttime bands. But last week, old SOL gave us quite a show, belching it's guts out all over our solar system. So what did that do to things as of Halloween Eve and the SS weekend? Well, the solar flux, describing the ionization of the E/F layers is: 31 OCT 249 (measured) 1 NOV 240 (predicted) And the A-Index, describing our magnetic field is: 30 OCT 162 (measured, SEVERE storm levels, with levels up to 400!) 31 OCT 110 (measured, SEVERE storm levels, with levels over 200) 1 NOV 40 (estimated, active/minor storm levels) 2 NOV 10 (estimated, normal non-storm levels) What does all this mean? First, recall that the solar flux effects the ionization of our E/F layers, and therefore, solar flux effects frequencies ABOVE about 10 MHz, not below. Solar flux effects 20M, 15M and 10M. These bands are NOT effected by geomagnetic storms, except some crossover on 20M if severe. SOLAR FLUX is artificially high due to the flare activity. On some of the reports you may have read things like "solar flux is flare enhanced" or "solar flux reading are inaccurate due to the flares." This is because solar flux is measured at 2880 MHz, which is NORMALLY immune to flare activity. Large flares will effect frequencies that high. But so what? It is still a measure of enhanced ionizing radiation reaching the earth. And that radiation is what ionizes our E and F layers. The more ionization, the more free electrons floating around to make these layers very reflective to HF signals. Bounces them suckers right back to earth. For us, that's a good thing. It also raises the maximum usable frequency (MUF). So this high solar flux, 100 points above our 90-day normal, is a blessing to HF ops. This higher-than-normal solar flux will begin to boil back down to normal over the next few days, back to its 120-130 normal range. But for right now, it's like having conditions near the solar maximum. This means 10M will be open during daylight hours with very long skip distances and little signal attenuation. That's a good thing. 15M will also be open and in fairly good shape all day long and shortly into evening hours. That's a good thing. 15M tends to be more sensitive to the HEIGTH of the E and F layers, which will be bouncing around. This will cause periods of heavy QSB, but for a contest like SS, long enough to work the guy. 20M will be about as normal, although the high solar flux will allow it to remain open longer into the evening than has been typical over the past few months. GEOMAGNETIC FIELD. Recall here, that the state of the geomagnetic field, characterized by the A-index, effects mostly frequencies BELOW about 10 MHz. Thus, the A-index primarily effects 40M and 80M, not 20/15/10M. Our magnetic field has been in a state of SEVERE storming over the past 3 days. Noise levels on the lower bands, and spill over into 20M, has been awful. With an A-index >100, communications on these bands becomes very difficult at best. But the storming is now subsiding. The shockwave is gone and the high solar wind is subsiding. It is no longer "wiggling" our magnetic field into an agitated state. Tomorrows A-index for 1 NOV is predicted at 40, coming down from todays 110, showing it is now QUICKLY settling down. Keep in mind, tomorrows 40 is the 24-hour average for the UTC day, ending about sundown. 2 NOV is predicted for an A-index of 10. Therefore, the effective A-index saturday night, when you'll be shifting to 40M, will be closer to A=10 ... which is a normal level for an undisturbed magnetic field. In other words, 40M should be in pretty good shape tonight, and even better saturday night. All these coronal holes we've been experiencing past 2-3 months have kept the A-index at 20-30, so conditions this weekend on 40M should actually be better than you have been used to for the past couple of months. This is due to a phenomenon noticed by hams for years. Often following a MAJOR or SEVERE geomagnetic storm, it seems our magnetic field gets especially quiet for a couple of days. Very quiet. And that is what we'll be experiencing saturday-sunday ... very quiet conditions on 40/80M. So for SS on the downslope of the solar cycle, this is about the best possible scenario you could ask for. Certainly MUCH BETTER conditions than if none of this solar stuff had happened. Normally, conditions would be worse as a result. So here's what the NEW SS band plan looks like: 10M - open, likely much of daylight hours, long skip, good signals due to the unusually high solar flux 15M - open all day, into the evening, good signals, some QSB 20M - about like normal, daytime band into the evening, but will remain open longer into the evening than it has been past couple of months. 40M - typical 40M, but noise levels should be quieter than normal sat. evening, and low signal attenuation on long skip paths. 80M - possibly slightly less noisy than usual at night. So you are picking up 10 and 15M as usable bands with good skip propagation and low signal attenuations. 20 and 15M will be open into the evening longer than usual for even more SS time on these bands. And when you're forced to drop to 40M, it will be abuzz with gobs of signals, some on long parths, below normal attenuation and noise levels. Inspite of all the solar activity, magnetic storms, aurora, leaving many to believe this weekend might sport a dozen contacts, you are wrong. Conditions are actually well above normal for this point in the solar cycle. Of course, it won't last long, and by mid-next week, we'll be getting back to the normal solar-cycle-on-the-downside scenario. A COUPLE MORE THOUGHTS. So some of you may be asking "Well if the A-index/geomagnetic storm doesn't effect the higher HF bands, then how come I heard no signals on 20 or 15M past few days with such a high solar flux?" Good question, easy answer. With the highly enhanced ionizing radiation reaching earth during the flare activity, which raised the solar flux, this energetic radiation (like that 10MEV and 100MEV stuff) penetrates farther into our ionosphere than normal. While it is highly ionizing the E/F layers, which is GOOD, it also reaches down far enough to highly ionize the D-layer, which is BAD. Signals must pass through the D-layer TWICE for skip propagation ... once on it's way UP to the E/F layers, and once coming back FROM the E/F layers to the earths surface. The D-layer always attenuates your signals to some extent as they pass through the D-layer, more so to the lower frequencies than the higher ones. But when enhanced radiation is allowed to reach the D-layer, this layer becomes highly ionized, which highly attenuates your signals when passing through them. In fact, you can reach a point where the D-layer is so dense with free electrons from ionizing the oxygen and nitrogen, it can completely absorb all of the signals. This is EXACTLY what causes a total HF Blackout - a highly ionized D-layer then causes extreme or total attenuation to all HF signals. That's why all the bands were dead during this past storm. Not from the geomagnetic storming, but from all the energetic electrons/protons entering our atmosphere. Remember the GLE ... Ground Level Event? We had periods where this solar radiation was being detected on the earths surface. You can bet the D-layer is getting pretty well wiped out when this stuff is passing through the D-layer and still able to reach the earths surface! Second Question. "What if we experience another major flare this weekend?" You have to realize from the above description, that a flare causes two types of "energy" hitting the earth. The ionizing radiation travels from the sun at the speed of light. So if a major flare does occur, the speed of light stuff will be hitting us for the DURATION of the flare, usually less than an hour. So for the duration of the flare, you might be bothered by the bursty noise of the Type II sweeps, stuff getting down to the D-layer and enhanced noise levels. But usually within an hour, it stops, the D-layer quickly recovers to its normal state while the E/F layers takes longer. That is good, since once the SOLAR part of the storm is over, the solar flux will be higher and the higher bands in better shape. The other "energy" from a flare is the shockwave, bringing tons of solar debris and particles to smack into our magnetic field, triggering a geomagnetic storm to wipe out the lower bands. However, this stuff does not travel at the speed of light. The normal shockwave from a flare takes 45-55 hours to reach earth. These huge X10/X17 flares the otherday are very unusual, in that they were so fast, they only took 19 hours to get here. Even if one of those happens, SS will be nearly over with before the shockwave gets here. So we're pretty much out of the woods right now, even if a major flare occurs in the next few hours. Whether you're doing SS or not, have a nice weekend and enjoy the bands. Remember, 30M will be benefitting from these good conditions as well, for those of you wanting to QSO instead of SSing. And if you do SS, there may be some periods of noisy conditions, but generally, the bands will be in much better shape then they would have been normally. Jan N0QT will be doing her SS thing, and I just might do the 30M thing saturday night. Jan has taken NM in SS in the past QRP, but got beat by a station last year, so she might be on a vengence. So if you have a vengence too, it's not a bad weekend to give it %$#@. 72, Paul NA5N ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 22:31:24 -0600 From: applitech@mcg.net (Claton Cadmus) To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160444] Re: zip cord j-pole? Message-ID: <3FA2E2BC.17574.248CDBF@localhost> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Content-description: Mail message body On 31 Oct 2003 at 19:22, David Hinerman wrote: > Has anyone tried making an HF J-pole from zip cord (aka speaker wire)? I haven't tried it, but I think speaker wire might be a bit lossy. 300 ohm twinlead would be a better choice, but if you have the wire give it a shot. The late Doug DeMaw W1FB wrote an article about a snake antenna and used speaker wire. I seem to recall he calculated or measured the impedance at about 200 ohms. But his wire was probably insulated with a different material than the wire available today. Hope this helps some, 73 de Cla KA0GKC ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 01:13:00 -0600 From: Ade Weiss W0RSP To: qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Subject: [160445] Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" Hi gang: I'll be on 7035-7041 again with my Altoids-2 which uses a d.c. rcvr w/o RIT or offset. One drawback is not being able to call zero-beat with this setup. So, please broaden your filters and listen +/-300Hz minimum. Also, I've noticed that some stns hotdog it at 28wpm with 2microsecond breaks for responses. In addition to me, I hear many instances of slower stns calling these operators with no success. Sooo, a QSO is a QSO -- if it takes a couple extra seconds to scan off-zero, it may be worth than 2 mins of the 28wpm almost-no-break-for-listening-for nothing approach. Admittedly, this sounds like a totally selfless plea for everyone to help out the slow stns etc. Not really -- I just want to make some QSO's with a rig which includes manual T/R switching and "finger on the tuning cap" offset during receive!!! Oh well, now everyone knows that I ain't as noble as I seem :) 72, Ade ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 23:13:59 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Hogan To: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [160446] Help - Ft 7100 Message-ID: <20031101071359.84896.qmail@web9603.mail.yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii anyone out there can take a pic of the inside of their ft-7100? One of our reserves S.O. has gotten one somebody hacked up pretty bad. Vibration on county roads jarred D03 loose. It has been soldered on top of the original leads, kinda a bad job too. I've pulled it all down, and I think the body of D-103 goes closest to the power lead but need to be sure... If someone had a book or a digital photo I would appreciate it. I dont charge tehse kids for the parts fix so any help is appreciated. Mark Hogan / N5OBC Wagoner County Sheriff's Office C/47 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 05:25:45 -0500 From: To: Subject: [160447] Re: Solar/Propagation for SS Message-ID: <000001c3a062$b2e69180$5726ad80@f1n5n8> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Paul, Great description...read it end-to-end. There's just one part of it that I can't get through this thick skull of mine... What is it about our ionosphere's D-layer that...when highly ionized by solar flux...it causes such absorption of hf energy instead of just causing much shorter 'skip', its being closer to Earth's surface than the F-layers... 73. Bill, N4QA http://www.n4qa.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 07:03:48 -0500 From: Kenneth Cooperstein To: qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Subject: [160448] What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <3FA3A124.3070904@att.net> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT For a longwire (random wire) antenna made of magnet wire, what is the lightest gauge that will work OK at 5 watts? 40 watts? I am contemplating a 250 ft length. Maybe in the trees, maybe hanging from a kite at the beach. Ken KC2JDY ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 08:02:16 -0600 From: Chuck Carpenter To: adeweiss@sd.value.net, "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160449] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.20031101080216.00831450@mail.9plus.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Ade, I agree with your approach. I hear the same situation quite often. The speedy stations are being called by slower stations and sometimes slightly off freq. But the slower folks usually don't get a reply. Not too productive sometimes for a mostly-for-fun type of contest. I like to space calls about 3 to 5 seconds and use a minimun 500 Hz filter (switching to 200 or so only if needed). Now for an international big-gun contest like this weekends SS, that's a different sort of animal. >I hear many instances of >slower stns calling these operators with no success. Sooo, a QSO is a QSO -- if it takes a couple extra seconds to >scan off-zero, it may be worth than 2 mins of the 28wpm almost-no-break-for-listening-for nothing approach. > Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ, Point, Rains Co., TX - EM22cv, NETXQRP #1 QRP-ARCI #5422, QRP-L #1306, QRPp-I #115, ARS #1280, SOC #57 Zombie #759, COG #11, 6 Club #201, FP #601 oo http://www.netxqrp.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:04:21 -0500 From: Bruce Muscolino To: cprstn54@att.net Cc: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [160450] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <3FA3BD65.467749C0@erols.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ken, For a 250 foot long wire I would not use magnet wire. Magnet wire is too soft. It will stretch and break in that application. I have used magnet wire from #24 to #30 for a temporary 40 foot long wire where both ends are attached, but never much over 40 feet. The antenna would last 2 to 3 weeks before being blown away by the wind. Instead of magnet wire, consider using a heavier wire. I use Home Depot's #14 household wire for my long wires these days. 73 > > For a longwire (random wire) antenna made of magnet wire, what is the > lightest gauge that will work OK at 5 watts? 40 watts? > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:18:30 -0500 From: Ed Tanton To: qrp-L Reflector Subject: [160451] Fwd: [425ENG] 425 DX News #652 Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20031101091759.02b944a8@pop.earthlink.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed >Subject: [425ENG] 425 DX News #652 >Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 11:16:18 +0100 (CET) >From: 425list@425dxn.org > > >__________________________________________________________________________ > HAVE YOU MISSED A PIECE OF DX INFORMATION? > Do not forget that the opening page at www.425dxn.org features an > engine that allows you to search anything you want within the site >__________________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > 1 November 2003 No 652 > =========================== > *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** > **** DX INFORMATION **** > =========================== > Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH > >/---------------------------------------------------------------------------\ >! Information, reports and suggestions must be sent to: ! >! ! >! Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ: DX information ! >! (e-mail i1jqj@425dxn.org - BBS I1JQJ@IK1MJJ.IPIE.ITA.EU) ! >! Maurizio Bertolino, IZ1CRR (I1-21171): 425 DX News WWW Pages ! >! (e-mail i121171@425dxn.org) ! >\---------------------------------------------------------------------------/ > > >>> 425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE <<< > >The 425 DX News monthly edition (October issue), edited by Maurizio Bertolino >(I1-21171/IZ1CRR) is now available for free downloading in either.pdf or .doc >formats at http://www.425dxn.org/monthly/ In this issue you can find a report >with pictures on the BQ9P operation from Pratas, as well as the usual >features (the October weekly bulletins, QSL routes and addresses, calendar >and news from the web). > >6W - Karel, ON5TN will be active (on 10-40 metres CW with some SSB) as > 6W/ON5TN from Toubacouta, Senegal on 7-18 November. QSL > via home > call. [TNX ON5TN] >EA8 - Cesare, I5WEA will be active as EA8BVY from Tenerife, Canary > Islands (AF-004) from 30 October to 1 December. >GM - Peter, GM3OFT has had to cancel his 1-2 November trip to the Isles > of Fleet [425DXN 651] beacuse of bad weather. [TNX VA3RJ] >HA - Gabor, HA3JB has been authorized to operate as HG3IPA > (International Police Association) until 30 September 2006. He > will > be active during the IPA Contest. QSL > direct to HA3JB (Gabor > Kutasi, P.O.Box 243, H-8601 Siofok, Hungary). [TNX HA3JB] >HL - Eight operators from the Incheon DX Club (namely HL2WP, HL2IFR, > HL2UOK, HL2XIQ, DS2AGH, DS2LGK, DS2PQP and DS2QJS) will > be active > as D90ID/2 from Sungbong Island (AS-090) from 31 > October to 2 > November. They plan to have two stations QRV on 10-160 > metres. QSL > via HL2WP. [TNX HL2WP] >JA - Look for 7N1NAI and JQ1QFO to be active (on 40, 30, 20 and 6 metres > SSB and CW) from Mikura Island (AS-008) on 1-2 November. > QSL via > home calls, direct or bureau. [TNX JI6KVR] >PJ2 - Gerben, PG5M (ex-PA5NT and PA0GAM) will be active in his spare time > as PJ2/PG5M from Curacao (SA-006) on 1-15 > November. QSL via home > call, bureau or direct. [TNX PG5M] >TY - ON4JM will be leaving for Benin on 2 November, where he will stay > until 23 December. He plans to operate in his spare > time (during > local evenings and on Sundays) as TY4JM (requested call). > QSL via > ON4JM, preferably via the bureau. [TNX NG3K] >VK - Johan, PA3EXX/VK4WWI [425DXN 645] has revised his plans and will > operate as VK4WWI/9 from Cato Reef (Coral Sea > Islands Territory > South Group, OC-???) on 2-6 December. He will be active > on 10-80 > metres SSB and CW. QSL via home call. The trip to > Marion Reef > (Coral Sea Islands Territory North Group) has been > cancelled for > this year. [TNX PA3EXX] >VP8_ssh - Dany, LZ2UU will be working at the Bulgarian Antarctic base "St. > Kliment Ohridski" on Livingston Island, South > Shetlands (AN-010) > from mid November through late February 2004, and will > operate as > LZ0A on all bands CW, SSB and RTTY. [TNX OPDX Bulletin] > >XU - Jack, ON4AJT (XU7AJV) and Wim, ON6TZG (XU7TZG) plan to operate from > Koh Poah (AS-133) starting on 1 November. The length of > their stay > is not known. [TNX 9V1RH] > >CARIBBEAN TOUR ---> Pete, VE3IKV/VA3RA will be active as PJ7/VA3RA/m, >FS/VA3RA/m and PJ6/VA3RA/m from St. Maarten/St. Martin (NA-105) and Saba >(NA-145) between 8 and 15 November. He plans to operate mainly 10 and 6 >metres SSB and CW. QSL via VE3IKV, direct or bureau. [TNX NG3K] > >IOTA 2004 ---> Created back in 1964 by the late Geoff Watts, BRS-3129, the >IOTA Programme will celebrate its 30th anniversary through an on-air activity >event that will run from 1 January through 31 December 2004. The IOTA's 40th >Anniversary Awards Programme (or IOTA 2004 for short) will adopt the same >format and rules as the very successful IOTA Millennium Programme (IOTA 2000) >and will be administered by the Chiltern DX Club-The UK DX Foundation on >behalf of the RSGB IOTA Committee. For full details, please visit >http://www.cdxc.org.uk >_____________________________________________________________________________ > > > =========================== > *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** > **** GOOD TO KNOW ... **** > =========================== > Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH > >QSL D2EB ---> There have been a few problems with the logs that needed to be >sorted out. The backlog is now expected to be cleared in about two months; >inquiries can be sent to iz3etu@libero.it [TNX D2EB] > >QSL D4B & D44AC ---> Mario, IK3HHX is receiving several direct cards for >contacts made with D4B and D44AC in 2003. Please note that the QSL manager >for D4B is K1BV; as far as D44AC is concerned, IK3HHX can confirm (direct or >bureau) only QSOs made from 21 March through 2 April 2002. [TNX IK3HHX] > >QSL SM1TDE & SM1T ---> Eric has cleared all the backlog for SM1TDE and SM1T >(EU-020) dating back to summer 2002. All QSOs have now been confirmed via the >bureau. Eric will continue to be active from Gotland Island at least until >mid-August 2004. He operates on al bands mainly CW, with some RTTY and very >occasional showings around 14260 kHz SSB. [TNX SM1TDE] > >QSL TY3M & TY0T ---> As of 1 July 2003 Ciro, I8ACB can reply to direct cards >only. Bureau cards can be sent to I8QLS. [TNX I8ACB] > >QSL VIA VK4FW ---> Please note that effective immediately the new address for >all correspondance is: Bill Horner, P.O. Box 513, Nambour 4560, Australia. >[TNX VK4FW] > >SV2ASP/A ---> Dominik, DL5EBE reports that the campaign he and the German DX >Foundation started at Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen resulted in an Icom IC-706 >plus PTC adapters which were donated to Monk Apollo, SV2ASP/A in early >September. Hopefully this new rig will encourage Monk Apollo to operate on 6 >metres from either the Mount Athos fire station or the new monastery at >Sochos, near Thessaloniki. > >TC80 ---> All TRAC Branch stations used the special prefix TC80 (e.g. TC80IST >for the TRAC Istanbul European Branch station) on 29 October to celebrate the >80th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. [TNX QRZ-DX] > >TRIDENTUM AWARD ---> This award is issued by ARI Trento, information >at http://www.aritn.tk >_____________________________________________________________________________ > > =========================== > *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** > *** NEWS FROM THE WEB *** > =========================== > Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH > >K3WWP: John's Ham Radio Activities web site is now in its eighth year of > operation and has recently changed its URL. Now it can > be found > at http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/ [TNX K3WWP] >LOGS: The complete 3C0V logs (SSB, CW, RTTY and PSK) are now available > at http://www.tabarca.es.mn [TNX EA5YN] >LOGS: The BQ9P (Pratas 2003) logs are now available at > http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~iota/newpage64.htm [TNX JI6KVR] >LOGS: The PZ5A contest logs are now available at > http://www.mdxa.org/pz_2003.html >QSL ROUTES: A collection of QSL routes for stations active during the recent > CQ WW DX SSB Contest is now available at > http://www.arrakis.es/~ea5eyj/ [TNX EA5EYJ] >_____________________________________________________________________________ > > > =========================== > *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** > ******* QSL INFO ******** > =========================== > Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH > >=================================================================== >CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER >=================================================================== >3XY1L UY5XE GU5W G4JVG SC0UT SM0WKA >4L1FX DJ1CW H7A TI4SU SN0VC SP7VC >4S7FBG DL9GFB HB0/HB9AON DJ2YE SN8M SP8MI >4S7JWG DL9MS HC1/EW1AR W3HNK SV0IE DL2YAG >4S7WAG DL9GFB HC1/NP3D W3HNK T20VB UA4WHX >4W1SW JI1NJC HC1HC NE8Z T30VB UA4WHX >4W2A JR2KDN HC8/N1KO W1ZS TA3DD K3PD >4W4W JI1NJC HC8N W5UE TC80IST TA6RU >4X6FR 4X6OM HF8KAF SP8KAF TC80KNK TA3BN >5J0X N1WON HG10SVK HA8RJ TC80KOC TA2KI >5N0HVC OK1DXE HI3NR KB2MS TF3W TF3GB >5N0NHD JH8BKL HK0/N2WB N2OO TI5N W3HNK >5N43EAM IK2IQD HP1/DL2OE DL7CM TI8M W4BD >5R8FU SM5DJZ HP1LR DL7CM TM5CRO F5RMY >5U7JB ON5NT IH9P KR7X TM5MCL F6CPX >5V7BR F5RUQ II1D IZ1CCE TM7Z F5CWU >5W0MW DJ7RJ IL7X IK0WHN TO5A F5VHJ >5W0UU OH3UU IO7J IK7JWX TR8CA F6CBC >5W0ZY JA2ZL IR8M IZ8BGY UA0CW W3HNK >6W1RD EA7FTR IR9U IT9CHU UE1NFF RN1NU >8P1A NT1N J42EVO SV2EVS UK/JE7RJZ JE7IDA >8P2K KU9C J42T SV2BFN UP5G LZ1YE >9H3SB DL5XAT J42X SV2GNC UT2FA/P UX3FW >9H3UD DL5OB J43GRC K6HRO UV7M US5MTJ >9J2GS PA3CPG J43J DJ5JH V25C KU9C >9J2KC JL1NKC J49Z IK8UND V26B WT3Q >9K2GS W6YJ KH0A JF1MIA V26CW KM9M >9M6A N2OO KH0AA JA5DQH V26DX KU9C >9M6OO N2OO KH0C JA2KCT V26EM W2SN >9N7ET JI1LET KH2VL/KH0 JM1LJS V26G N2ED >9N7MV JA0UMV KP2A W3HNK V26OC N3OC >9N7XD JA7KXD KP3Z WC4E V26R KA2AEV >A45WD YO9HP LT1F AC7DX V26U W2UDT >AH2R JH7QXJ LU1DZ/P EA3RE V47DM K2DM >AM1SAT EA1EG LU7EGY/D LU1DMA V47KP K2SB >AN0MPM EA7ZM LW5EOL/D LU1DMA V47NS W9NY >AN7MPM EA7ZM LX5A LX1RQ V55E ZS6EGB >AT0AAG VU2JOS LX7I LX2AJ V55V ZS6MG >B1Z JA4HCK LX9SW LX1RQ V63DX JA7HMZ >BV0BSF BV8BC MB2HFC G4BWP V63TN JA7GAX >BW0HCS BV2KI MD4K G3NKC V73AZ K9JS >BW3/JD1BKQ JR3PZW MJ2Z M5RIC VB2C NB1B (a) >C4W 5B4WN MM0LEO W3LEO VB2C VE3TPZ (b) >C5Z K6VNX MM0Q MM0BQI VK9CYL VK3DYL >CE0Y/SP9EVP SP9EVP NP2SH N3ZNI VK9XD VK2CZ >CE0Y/SP9PT SP9PT OA4WW OH0XX VK9XG W0YG >CE0Y/SQ9BOP SP6GVU OH0B OH2BH VO2WL VE3JM >CN2PD G3LDO OH0V OH6LI VP2E N5AU >CN2R W7EJ OH0Z OH5DX VP2EJF K5MR >CN8YR K4KU OH5B OH5AB VP2ETG N5TJ >CN8YZ EA7FTR OK8BWW CT1BWW VP5B N2AU >CO8LY EA7ADH OM9AMI SP8MI VP5DX NU4Y >CQ0T CT1ILT OX3UB OZ1GER VP5T N2VW >CT3/OZ5IPA OZ5AAH OY4TN ON5UR VP9I K1JN >CT3AS DJ8FW P29AM NU5O VU3SNM/VP9 W3HNK >CT7A CT1GFK P29VR W7LFA WH0J JA2QAO >CT7ECP CT1FIJ P40A WD9DZV WH0L JO2JDJ >CT9ASA CS3MAD P40B I2MQP WH0M JG3DOR >CT9CNE CS3MAD PA/ON4IPA ON6ZV WP2Z KU9C >CT9EPM CS3MAD PA0SSB PE1MPI WP3C W3HNK >CT9L DJ6QT PJ2T N9AG XE1L WA3HUP >D2BB W3HNK PJ4/DL5NAM DL9NDS XU7ACE ES1FB >D44TD CT1EKF PJ4/DL7NFK DL9NDS YB0ECT K5ZE >D44TT K1BV PJ4/DL9NDS DL9NDS YB0ZDA YB0AI >D70LW HL3VQ PJ4T DL9NDS YJ0OMN W4WET >EA8AH OH1RY PT0F W3HC YN4SU TI4SU >EA8BH OH2BH PY0FF W9VA YO2LEA K3PD >ED1ISS EA1RKV PZ5A W5UE ZA0IS ZA1FD (c) >ED1SIC EA1URV PZ5CQ KD5CQT ZA0IS IK7JWX (d) >ED4FTC EA4GU PZ5DX K3BYV ZC4CW G3AB >ED5TAT EA5ELT PZ5FF K2FF ZK1AQT W6ORD >ED5TTE EA5GQK PZ5JR K3BYV ZK1IPV W6ORD >EM60QM UX7QJ PZ5UE W5UE ZK1SSB W6ORD >EN750WKD UT7WZ RM0A UA0ANW ZK2ZY JA2ZL >EY8MM K1BV RW2F DK4VW ZP44CC ZP5AA >FM5WE K3PD S79AX ON5AX ZS5T ZS5BBO >FP5BZ F5TJP S9SS N4JR ZY5JP PY5ZHP > >(a) except for VE >(b) except for USA >(c) 1998 >(d) 2002 >_______________________________________________________________________________ > > =========================== > *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** > ******* ADDRESSES ******* > =========================== > Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH > >5I3A Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 2958, Dar es Salaam, > Tanzania >9V1GO Bob Marshall-Read, Potong Pasir Avenue 1, Block 115, Flat 11-882, > Singapore 350115, Singapore >CT1ILT Filipe Monteiro Lopes, Rua Manuel Jose da Silva - Espinheira, > 3720-537 Sao Martinho da Gandara, Portugal >CX1TA P.O. Box.29, 27000 Rocha, Uruguay >DJ2MX Mario Lovric, Kampenwandstrasse 13, D-81671 Munich, Germany >DK7JQ P.O. Box 101318, D-42784 Leichlingen, Germany >EA1RKV URE Vigo, P.O. Box 742, 36200 Vigo - Pontevedra, Spain >EA1URV Union de Radioaficionados de Valladolid, P.O. Box 495, 47080 > Valladolid, Spain >EA4GU Manuel Montero Rayego, C/Condes Cifuentes 25, Urb. Tarrago Chalet > Medina Azahara, 19420 Cifuentes - Guadalajara, Spain >EA5ELT Delegacion Local URE Torrente, P.O. Box 110, 46900 Torrente - > Valencia, Spain >EA5GQK Francisca Martinez Magana, P.O. Box 2117, 03080 Alicante, Spain >EA7ZM Manuel Camberos Marfil, P.O. Box 262, 29080 Malaga, Spain >G4JVG Steve Telenius-Lowe, 27 Hertford Road, Stevenage SG2 8RZ, England >HP100RCP Radio Club de Panama, P.O. Box 10745, Panama, Panama >JA0UMV Tohru Kataoka, 15-9 Sakae, Kamo, 959-1382 Japan >JA2ZL Anci Yamada, 17-8-2 Takirocho, Tajima, 507-0813 Japan >JA5DQH Akito Nagi, P.O. Box 88, Tokushima, 770-8691 Japan >JE7IDA Kunihiko Nakano, 2-5-4 Mitsuwari, Morioka, 020-0011 Japan >JH1SWD Shuichi Matumoto, 2-15-16 Nakanaru, Hitachi, 316-0007 Japan >JI1LET Koji Iijima, 7-12 Tenma, Gyoda, 361-0076 Japan >JI1NJC Yasuyuki Iizuka, P.O.Box 3, Naka, 311-0100 Japan >JR2KDN Yuichi Yoshida, 4th Floor, Kato Building, 529 Rokugaike, Nagoya, > 462-0002 Japan >JR8XXQ Kimi Saito, 501-43, 1-4, Saiwai-cho, Nemuro-city, Hokkaido, > 087-0021, Japan >K2UO George Oliva, 5 Windsor Drive, Eatontown, NJ 07724, USA >K3PD Pete DeVolpi, 408 Hillside Ave., New Cumberland, PA 17070-3036, USA >LU1DMA Luis Fernandez, O. V. Andrade 1638, 1718 S.A de Padua - Buenos > Aires, Argentina >MM0BQI Jim Martin, 3 Lismore Ave, Edinburgh, EH8 7DW Scotland, UK >NB1B Dennis Egan, 3 Keith Rd, Wayland, MA 01778-4517, USA >NE8Z Rick Dorsch, P.O. Box 616, Hamburg, MI 48139, USA >OH5AB Radiamateur Club Saimaan Viitoset Ry., Lappeenranta, Finland >OZ5AAH Preben Jakobsen, Gjethusparken 25, DK-3300 Frederiksvaerk, Denmark >PE1MPI E.G.E.C.A. Herwegh, Schooldreef 30, 4566 AR Heikant, The Netherlands >SP6GVU Andrzej Kaleta, P.O. Box 498, Wroclaw 2, Poland >SP8MI P.O. Box 27, PL 38-700 Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland >UT7WZ Miroslav Lupiy, P.O.Box 94, Lviv 79000, Ukraine >UX7QJ P.O. Box 30, Melitopol-11, 72311, Ukraine >V73NS Neil Schwanitz, Box 8341 APO, AP 96557, USA >VE2CVI Raphael Cloutier, 239 Place Cotnoir, Boisbriand, QC J7G 1L5, Canada >VE3TPZ James Davidson, 65 Youngs St, Stratford, ON N5A 1J5, Canada >VK3DYL Gwen Tilson, 3 Gould Court, Mt. Waverley, Victoria 3149, Australia >WW9CW Craig Wilkins, 2507 214th St N lot 6, Port Byron, IL 61275, USA >***************************************************************************** > > 425 DX NEWS WWW PAGE ---> http://www.425dxn.org > >***************************************************************************** > > <<< 425 DX NEWS REFLECTOR SUBSCRIPTIONS >>> > > If you want to SUBSCRIBE, please send a message to > 425server@425dxn.org > with either > subscribe 425eng (for the English version) OR > subscribe 425ita (for the Italian version) > in the SUBJECT (leave the body of the message blank) > > If you want to UNSUBSCRIBE, follow the same procedure and > replace subscribe 425eng or subscribe 425ita with > unsubscribe 425eng or unsubscribe 425ita respectively >***************************************************************************** > > > > >Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ/KB2TJM >425 DX News Editor >E-mail: i1jqj@425dxn.org >http://www.425dxn.org > >____________________________________________________________________________ > DX SPOTS ON YOUR CELLULAR PHONE AT: www.smscluster.org > >Mauro Pregliasco (i1jqj@425dxn.org) * Maury Bertolino (i121171@425dxn.org) >____________________________________________________________________________ > > > 72/73 Ed Tanton N4XY Ed Tanton N4XY 189 Pioneer Trail Marietta, GA 30068-3466 website: http://www.n4xy.com All emails & checked by Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect LM: ARRL QCWA AMSAT & INDEXA; SEDXC NCDXA GACW QRP-ARCI OK-QRP QRP-L #758 K2 (FT) #00057 -------------------------------------------------- "He that gives up a little liberty to gain temporary security will lose both and deserve neither". --Benjamin Franklin "Suppose you were an idiot ... and suppose you were a member of Congress... but I repeat myself." --Mark Twain -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 09:21:54 -0500 From: Al Scanandoah To: cprstn54@att.net Cc: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [160452] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <3FA3C182.2000401@rochester.rr.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ken I'm sure I'll stir up some debate, but I don't think magnet wire is a good choice for a 250' run; it's not very flexible compared to stranded wire and it's likely to break rather easily - and often. 72 - Al, K2ZN Kenneth Cooperstein wrote: > For a longwire (random wire) antenna made of magnet wire, what is the > lightest gauge that will work OK at 5 watts? 40 watts? > > I am contemplating a 250 ft length. Maybe in the trees, maybe hanging > from a kite at the beach. > > Ken KC2JDY > > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:41:40 -0500 From: "Michael Bower N4NMR" To: "Qrp-L" Subject: [160453] MFJ-400 keyer info needed Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Does anybody have any info on the MFJ-400 Econo Keyer? This is the keyer that uses the Curtis 8044 chip (older chip). In particular, 1) Do you have the schematic? 2) Do you know which way to the chip should be inserted (where is pin 1)? Reasons for asking: 1) the negative lead on the battery came off and I want to make sure I put it back in the right place. I'd hate to burn this up. (It's not mine.) 2) I took the chip out of change it with another one but wasn't paying attention when I took it out. (I know - 3 lashed.) TIA Michael N4NMR ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 9:47:00 -0500 From: "Adam Vazquez" To: qrp-l@lehigh.edu Subject: [160454] Re: anyone tried the manual screwdrive mobile antenna? Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit A month or so back, Lentini's in CT had one of the portable screwdriver antennas out for show. Impressive. The latest QST shipped with the new MFJ catalog with a couple of pages describing the beasts. You might want to call MFJ for a copy. You might want to put a spring on the top whip, especially the long 10 or 12 foot whip. It won't flex at all. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 08:56:34 -0600 From: "Tony Martin W4FOA" To: , Subject: [160455] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <005601c3a088$57d1ceb0$6401a8c0@Delldude> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Gang, I agree with all that is being said, but I would like to make one comment. I am a longtime QRP'er (QRPARCI #374), and it seems like today, more and more, people are operating QRP like it must also be QRS. Oh yeah, there are cases where QRS/QRP is necessary (RST 339, etc), but when you have two way QRP at 559 or 579, it just isn't necessary to send 10 WPM. Just a thought that has crossed my mind a lot in the past few years. Lets jack up the speed a bit, it might just liven up the QSO. Just my 2cents. Tony, W4FOA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Carpenter" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2003 8:02 AM Subject: Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] > Ade, > > I agree with your approach. I hear the same situation quite often. The > speedy stations are being called by slower stations and sometimes slightly > off freq. But the slower folks usually don't get a reply. Not too > productive sometimes for a mostly-for-fun type of contest. I like to space > calls about 3 to 5 seconds and use a minimun 500 Hz filter (switching to > 200 or so only if needed). > > Now for an international big-gun contest like this weekends SS, that's a > different sort of animal. > > >I hear many instances of > >slower stns calling these operators with no success. Sooo, a QSO is a QSO > -- if it takes a couple extra seconds to > >scan off-zero, it may be worth than 2 mins of the 28wpm > almost-no-break-for-listening-for nothing approach. > > > > > > Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ, Point, Rains Co., TX - EM22cv, NETXQRP #1 > QRP-ARCI #5422, QRP-L #1306, QRPp-I #115, ARS #1280, SOC #57 > Zombie #759, COG #11, 6 Club #201, FP #601 oo http://www.netxqrp.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:26:58 -0600 From: "Michael Melland" To: , "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160456] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <001601c3a08c$9884a000$0300a8c0@computer> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I guess I have to agree re: contests etc..... but... I operate at no more then 10-15 wpm. Why.... I don't want to talk to the same people all the time ... sorry everyone. I think the pool of available op's capable of sending / receiving intellegible cw above that level is pretty small. And... unfortunately will become even smaller as things progress God knows I wish I was faster... but poor hearing and I suspect the fact that I operate portable all the time under lets say "interesting" conditions has me into the slow speed habit. And.... did I mention I'm Norweigan and Irish.... oh the cross I bear. A good example I like to point out is law enforcement shooting. Speed is important.... very important... but not everything. We train our officers to draw,aquire and shoot "As fast as they perfectly can." I think from what I hear on the bands, it would be a good rule for cw op's as well. "Don't send faster then you can perfectly." I can copy 20 wpm well with an op with proper form. I struggle to achieve <10 wpm with about 60% of those I have contact with. Mike, W9WIS ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 10:31:42 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time) From: "Mike WA8BXN" To: Subject: [160457] NORCAL BLT on 80 meters? Message-ID: <3FA3D1DE.000007.01652@etower> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Has anyone modified the Norcal BLT for use on 80 meters? I think I have s= een something on doing this in the past but could not find the info anywhere.= I searched the archives here and tried Google but did not come up with anything. Thanks for any info!=0D 73/72 - Mike WA8BXN ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 07:48:47 PST From: James R Giammanco To: bill@n4qa.com, qrp-l@Lehigh.edu Subject: [160458] Re: Solar/Propagation for SS Message-ID: <20031101.104108.4639.0.n5ib@juno.com> On Sat, 1 Nov 2003 05:25:45 -0500 writes: >What is it about our ionosphere's D-layer that...when highly ionized >by solar flux...it causes such absorption of hf energy instead of just >causing much shorter 'skip', its being closer to Earth's surface than the >F-layers... Not seeing Paul's reply yet, I'll jump in here and Paul can repair all the damage I do later :^)) The D layer, being at a lower altitude, is somewhat more dense than the E and F layers. That is, the particles, both the free electrons and their "parent" ions are relatively closer together. When a radio wave comes along and causes the particles to "wiggle" due to the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of the wave, it's more likely that the particles will collide with other particles and/or recombine into neutral atoms again. These collisions use up energy - the energy of the wave. That's what causes the attenuation. And the more highly ionized the D layer is, the more frequent the collisions and the greater the attenuation. At higher altitudes the particle density is lesser and there are not so many interactions. The waves are rfracted moreso than absorbed. OK Paul, I've turned in my exam paper - now waiting for you to grade it :^)) 72 Jim N5IB ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 15:55:22 +0000 From: "Bruce Prior" To: unlisted-recipients:; (no To-header on input) Subject: [160459] Elecraft KX1 Morse Feedback System -- A Boon for Visually-Disabled Amateurs Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed I spent a lot of time yesterday playing with and learning about the Morse feedback system in the Elecraft KX1. (The manual calls it "CW feedback," but it's really not CW until it's transmitted.) Since I'm only a so-so Morse op, I've set the speed at 25 WPM. I'll be letting my long-time friend, Walter Hendrickson, VE7BGJ, have a go at this next week. Walter was blind at birth. He's a true Morse expert, so I'll predict that he'll run the system at 35 or 40 WPM. This is what I've learned so far: A significant advance of the KX1 over both the K2 and K1 is its Morse feedback system, which can be toggled on and off. With Morse feedback engaged, the KX1 is completely controllable by a visually disabled operator. The same facility allows a sighted operator to use the radio without reference to the LED display. Just as top pushbuttons can be used to key CW on the KX1 in case of a malfunctioning key or keyer paddles, so the Morse feedback system is a backup in case of LED system failure. Here's how it works. Morse feedback is controlled by these choices on the CFb menu: OFF, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40. The numbers, which use a long dah to denote zero, represent the Morse feedback speed in words per minute. Within the menu mode, as the rotary encoder is rotated, the menu label is enunciated except that PLy is abbreviated to Morse P. Similarly, various commonly-used modes, such as RIT, VFO lock and unlock, LSB, USB, and the important Frequency Announce mode are abbreviated with efficient one-character Morse announcements. Frequency Announce mode is an enhancement of the Morse feedback system which makes it very useful to visually impaired operators. The Morse feedback differs depending on the rotary tuning encoder speed mode. (In LSB and USB receive modes the frequency readout does not adjust for the CW offset, although the KX1 allows CW transmission in those modes. An operator wishing to find an LSB net, say, on 7228 kHz could tune to exactly that frequency on the LED display or by Morse readout, and then when transmitting on CW, the appropriate offset is injected so the transmission can be heard by others on that net.) Whenever the BAND pushbutton is tapped while Morse feedback is engaged, the Morse readout gives the MHz digits, then a pause, and then all integer kHz digits. In LSB mode the readout begins with L, and in USB mode the readout begins with U. If RIT is active, R follows the frequency. The following chart was originally a table in MS Word format, which is quite messy in e-mail. It is supposed to show how Morse readout and chimes and ticks allow the operator to keep accurate track of frequency via audio feedback as the KX1 tuning encoder is rotated. KX1 Morse Frequency Announce Mode Every 100 kHz Every 10 kHz Every 1 kHz Every 100 Hz LSB/USB 5 kHz/step coarse tuning 3-digit kHz segment Morse 2-note chime normal 1 kHz/step coarse tuning 3-digit kHz segment Morse 2-note chime 100 Hz/step tuning 00 Morse last 2 kHz digits Morse high tick 10 Hz/step tuning 0 Morse 0 Morse last kHz digit Morse low tick I'll look forward to obtaining Walter's evaluation, but at this point I think that Wayne Burdick has come up with way to control the KX1 through this Morse feedback system that makes the operator completely independent of the LED display, yet operating with the system engaged is also very efficient. By the way, there is another way to initiate the system: by holding the MENU pushbutton on power-up, the Morse feedback system becomes active at 10 WPM; for 20 WPM, hold BAND at power-up, and for 30 WPM, hold RIT. That power-up system also makes the LED display go to its brightest mode, which may be helpful for operators with partial vision. One more note: the LED display system on the KX1 (using modern low-current technology) is a significant improvement over the unlit LCD display in the K1. The brightness can be programmed between 0 and 6. Even at 0, the LED is still visible in ordinary indoor light, and I find that in the dark that setting is plenty bright enough, yet it's not dazzling. The 6 setting is very bright, indeed. I can only imagine my setting it that bright when operating in direct sunlight. For using the KX1 inside in the daytime, I prefer a 3 setting for the LED display. The three digits plus decimals are displayed scroll-fashion, giving the appropriate level of information depending on whether the encoder is in super coarse speed (LSB & USB: 5 kHz per step), normal coarse speed (1 kHz per step), fine speed in any mode (100 Hz per step), or very fine speed in any mode (10 Hz per step). 72, Bruce J. Bruce Prior N7RR Kairos Research 853 Alder Street Blaine, WA 98230-8030 360-332-6046 Patronize tobacco-free enterprises and institutions. _________________________________________________________________ Add MSN 8 Internet Software to your current Internet access and enjoy patented spam control and more. Get two months FREE! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/byoa ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 11:01:07 -0500 From: John Sielke To: qrp-l@lehigh.edu Subject: [160460] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <3FA3D8C3.4060200@pobox.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Gang, > I agree with all that is being said, but I would like to make one comment. > I am a longtime QRP'er (QRPARCI #374), and it seems like today, more and > more, people are operating QRP like it must also be QRS. Oh yeah, there are > cases where QRS/QRP is necessary (RST 339, etc), but when you have two way > QRP at 559 or 579, it just isn't necessary to send 10 WPM. Just a thought > that has crossed my mind a lot in the past few years. Lets jack up the > speed a bit, it might just liven up the QSO. Just my 2cents. > Tony, W4FOA Thanks, Tony. I have the same observation. If you are capable of around 18-22 wpm that seems an ideal speed. If there are weak signals, and particularly QSB, it is easier to copy a contest exchange sent at 20 WPM than at 10, since the qsb may well catch some characters at 10 wpm. I find with 339 signals, sending "words twice" at higher speed gets through better than slowing down to 10-12 WPM. This is not to say that if all you can handle is 10-12 WPM, you can't have a QSO. It won't be long before you are up there in speed. John W2AGN ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 11:04:51 -0500 From: To: Subject: [160461] So long eighth-inch chisel tip, you've served me well...Hello 0.25mm round tip etc... Message-ID: <001a01c3a091$e35f94e0$5726ad80@f1n5n8> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ok, I'm finally breaking away from doing SMT projects/repairs with the trusty Ungar iron w/ 1/8-in chisel tip. Guess I'll keep it around...just in case. I've only been using the thang for thirty years or more. Headed this way from Mouser, via Brown, is a brand-spanking-new Weller WSD81 soldering station. Not too fancy...not too plain. And, from Digi-Key, several LT-series tips, PLUS some neat little Surfboard(SMT to SIP adapter boards by Capital Advanced Technologies)...and a Vector Electronics 8019 prototyping board. Maybe soon I'll get around to finishing the... we'll just have to wait and see... Promised the XYL I'd work some O/T to cover the expense... Ellie says "hey!"...er...I mean, "WOOF!". 73. Bill, N4QA http://www.n4qa.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:10:43 -0700 From: Bruce Grubbs To: cprstn54@att.net, "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160462] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <200311010910.43526.mail@brucegrubbs.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I've used #24 and #26 stranded Teflon coated wire for temporary wire antennas from 40 feet to 270 feet (in that case a 270 foot horizontal loop with 4 supports) without breakage problems even in high wind. The key with this light wire is to leave some slack- especially if the supports are trees. The horizontal loop is rigidly attached to the support only at the feedline- the other supports allow the wire to slip freely. 73, Bruce N7CEE ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 11:39:34 -0500 From: Dave Fouchey To: mail@brucegrubbs.com, "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160463] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20031101113517.01f61798@mail.comcast.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Having over 10,000 feet of #9 Copperweld available I don't worry too much about magnet wire strength. I find that the #14 available from Home Depot works well also. I do have some #18 magnet wire I use for temporary antennas, got it off a large relay coil, have no idea how many feet are on it, the coil is over 9 inches long, 6 inches in diameter with a 2 inch bore for the center. Came out of an old Locomotive... But stick to the larger wire for permanent installations, stands up well to icing. 73's Dave WA4EMR Sterling Heights, MI At 11:10 AM 11/1/2003, Bruce Grubbs wrote: >I've used #24 and #26 stranded Teflon coated wire for temporary wire antennas >from 40 feet to 270 feet (in that case a 270 foot horizontal loop with 4 >supports) without breakage problems even in high wind. The key with this >light wire is to leave some slack- especially if the supports are trees. The >horizontal loop is rigidly attached to the support only at the feedline- the >other supports allow the wire to slip freely. > >73, >Bruce >N7CEE ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:56:15 -0700 From: "Chris Trask" To: , "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160464] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <00e001c3a099$122bb2c0$74044bab@default> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > For a longwire (random wire) antenna made of magnet wire, what is the > lightest gauge that will work OK at 5 watts? 40 watts? > > I am contemplating a 250 ft length. Maybe in the trees, maybe hanging > from a kite at the beach. > To reduced both the bulk resistance and the skin effect, you should use the largest size available, even possibly using copper refrigeration tubing. Better yet is to use Litz wire. Chris ,----------------------. High Performance Mixers and / What's all this \ Amplifiers for RF Communications / extinct stuff, anyhow? / \ _______,--------------' Chris Trask / N7ZWY _ |/ Principal Engineer oo\ Sonoran Radio Research (__)\ _ P.O. Box 25240 \ \ .' `. Tempe, Arizona 85285-5240 \ \ / \ \ '" \ IEEE Member #40274515 . ( ) \ '-| )__| :. \ Email: christrask@earthlink.net | | | | \ '. http://www.home.earthlink.net/~christrask c__; c__; '-..'>.__ Graphics by Loek Frederiks ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:20:15 -0800 (PST) From: Bob KB2FEL To: jsielke@pobox.com, Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [160465] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too]speed Message-ID: <20031101172015.40603.qmail@web60509.mail.yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii --- John Sielke wrote: > > Gang, > > I agree with all that is being said, but I would > like to make one comment. > > I am a longtime QRP'er (QRPARCI #374), and it > seems like today, more and > > more, people are operating QRP like it must also > be QRS. Oh yeah, there are > > cases where QRS/QRP is necessary (RST 339, etc), > but when you have two way > > QRP at 559 or 579, it just isn't necessary to send > 10 WPM. Just a thought > > that has crossed my mind a lot in the past few > years. Lets jack up the > > speed a bit, it might just liven up the QSO. Just > my 2cents. > > Tony, W4FOA > > Thanks, Tony. I have the same observation. If you > are capable of around > 18-22 wpm that seems an ideal speed. If there are > weak signals, and > particularly QSB, it is easier to copy a contest > exchange sent at 20 WPM > than at 10, since the qsb may well catch some > characters at 10 wpm. I > find with 339 signals, sending "words twice" at > higher speed gets > through better than slowing down to 10-12 WPM. > > This is not to say that if all you can handle is > 10-12 WPM, you can't > have a QSO. It won't be long before you are up there > in speed. > > John W2AGN > Hi Gang, I am in the same boat as you John and Tony, At the faster speed you loose less to QSB. With bad QSB and speeds at 20 or above you can get at least one part of the exchange in. RST or State or NR and so on. Then go back for the rest. It may take two or three exchanges but if the op wants the points he will go back several times. I also never have a problem if someone asks QRS and those who like the slower speeds should not be afraid to ask. However, it seems or sounds, there are some ops who set their memory keyer at 25WPM with short spaces between CQ's, start sending and then go out for coffee, with their key still sending. That can be frustrating for a person sending QRS!! That request is never heard. I can't do this on 20 but on the other bands, I always check in the novice portion for slow ops... its good for some extra points. I am surprised most of the time on 21.110 and 7.110. 72 Bob KB2FEL/8 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 12:52:06 -0500 From: "Lawrence Makoski" To: , "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160466] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <001e01c3a0a0$de554e90$efb5590c@larrysahyqy001> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Remember the FISTS motto: "Accuracy before speed" 73 de Larry W2LJ - Vivat Morse! W2LJ@arrl.net http://www.qsl.net/w2lj ARRL Lifemember QRP ARCI #4488 NJQRP #47 FISTS #1469 QRP-L #778 FP #612 QRPp-I #759 ARS #1528 --- K1 #1647 --- AmQRP, CQC #746 > > A good example I like to point out is law enforcement shooting. Speed is > important.... very important... but not everything. We train our officers > to draw,aquire and shoot "As fast as they perfectly can." I think from what > I hear on the bands, it would be a good rule for cw op's as well. "Don't > send faster then you can perfectly." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 09:57:45 -0800 (PST) From: Bob KB2FEL To: Low Power Amateur Radio Subject: [160467] Slow Speed CW sprint?? Message-ID: <20031101175745.61958.qmail@web60509.mail.yahoo.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Gang, I am starting to feel like an antique with the words I am going to use Hi Hi. In the "olden days", slower ops had their frequencies and they were called novice. Even if they could pass the written portion for the Extra, they were stuck in the novice portion until they could pass 13WPM General and 20WPM Extra. The separation of band segments had reason and that reason was to allow the slower CW ops the opportunity to operate stations at their cozy speeds. We are now faced with ops who want to improve but they have less people to talk to at 5WPM and 13WPM. As per the recent posts even less opportunity during contests. I would like to suggest that we start a slow speed CW contest or sprint. Higher points for slower speed. 5wpm=2points 13wpm=1point Freq would be in the novice sub portion of the bands. ARE there any Clubs interested?? AMQRP, NORCAL, NJQRP? and the list goes on and on!! I think it would be fun!! 72 Bob KB2FEL/8 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 12:23:36 -0600 From: Wayne Rogers To: qrp-l@lehigh.EDU Subject: [160468] W5KDJ Final Log_Fox Message-ID: <20031101.122337.-1587925.0.w5kdj@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit 10-29-200302:00 W5YR 559TX GEORGE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:01 W5USJ 559TX CHUCK 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:02 KD5KXF 559TX MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:03 W5TB 559TX DOC 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:04 K9OZ 559IL BRUCE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:05 W0CH 559MO DAVE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:06 N4ROA 559VA DAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:06 KK5LD 559TX DAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:07 K5JHP 559TX BILL 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:08 N1TP 559FL TOM 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:09 N3BJ 559VA ALAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:10 N5ZE 559TX LEW 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:10 AJ4AY 559AL JAY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:11 K3PH 559PA BOB 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:12 K4BYF 559FL JACK 3 CW 559 10-29-200302:12 N0WX 599MN MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:13 W9XT 559WI GARY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:14 K4ADI 559SC FRANK 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:15 N0EA 559MO WAYNE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:16 K6XR 559CA REGGIE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:17 W0RSP 559SD ADE 1 CW 559 10-29-200302:18 AD6JV 559VA BILL 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:19 W7ILW 559AZ WALT 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:20 N5EBD 559TX KEN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:21 AG4PJ 559AL DAVE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:22 K2ZN 559NY ALAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:23 K5BGB 579TX ROD 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:24 AG0T 559ND TODD 4 CW 559 10-29-200302:25 K8DDB 559MI MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:28 W2XN 559FL FRED 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:29 AA7EQ 559AZ BOB 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:30 KF0N 549IA LARRY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:32 WE9U 559WI GLENN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:33 K8KFJ 559WV GARY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:34 KI0II 559CO RON 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:35 KD5CMN 559MI MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:36 N0JRN 559MO JERRY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:37 N3ZPG 559OH FRANK 3 CW 559 10-29-200302:38 K5EOA 559LA WAYNE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:39 K0UU 559NE JEFF 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:41 AC7A 559AZ TOM 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:42 KR0IE 579CO TIM 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:42 W0PWE 559IA JERRY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:43 AA5O 559LA VERN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:44 W5YR 559TX GEORGE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:45 WA9TZE 559WI JIM 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:47 VE6EX 559AB DAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:48 N9AW 559WI JERRY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:49 N9KW 599IL JOHN 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:49 NK9G 559WI RICK 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:50 W9HL 559IL RANDY 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:51 KB9YIG 559IN TONY 2 CW 559 10-29-200302:52 KJ0C 559MO JIM 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:54 W0ANM 559MN CHRIS 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:54 KC5NT 559TX ED 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:55 W9XU 559WI LON 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:56 N4IM 579TX COLE 5 CW 559 10-29-200302:59 K5OI 559OK TIM 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:01 K5DI 559NM KARL 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:02 AF4LQ 559KY MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:02 K5SR 559TX DALE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:03 K6VNX 559CA ARLEN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:04 N8IE 599NH DAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:04 N1FN 559CO ET 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:05 W9XU 559WI LON 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:06 N0TK 559CO DAN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:08 N4DD 559TN DENNIS 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:09 N5IB 559LA JIM 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:10 KW4JS 559TN JOHN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:13 K2QO 559NY MARK 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:14 NA8M 559MI JOHN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:15 WA8ZBT 559TX DENNIS 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:16 WC5RR 599TX CHRIS 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:17 KV2X 599NY TOM 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:18 WA8BXN 559OH MIKE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:19 N0IT 579MO DAVE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:25 AB9CA 559AL DAVE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:26 W0NTA 559CO DICK 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:27 K9DI 599IL WAYNE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:32 VA6RF 559AB EARL 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:33 WD7Z 559NM DAVE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:35 NK6A 559CA DON 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:36 AK7Y 559AZ GREG 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:37 W8YMO 559OH HARRY 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:39 WB4X 559NC BRENT 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:40 WE9K 559WI GLENN 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:41 KC2CK 559NY DON 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:50 K0PC 559MN PAT 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:51 K3ESE 559MD LLOYD 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:53 K8CV 559MI WALT 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:54 NV4V 559KY PETE 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:56 KG6WP 559CA WARD 5 CW 559 10-29-200303:57 KI0KY 599CO STEVE 5 CW 559 Wayne_W5KDJ ex: SV0WWW_TF2WJN 100% A1 ARS_1392 ARCI_11325 FP-626 e-QSL FISTS_10060 SOC_538 HQRP ARRL ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 13:15:27 -0600 From: "Tony Martin W4FOA" To: , Subject: [160469] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <00d301c3a0ac$82cba8b0$6401a8c0@Delldude> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Larry, I wouldn't dispute that for one second. BUT, please, once you can send and copy, try speeding up a bit or you will never find out where your "wall" is. I will always be glad to slow down for anyone but listening to the FISTS frequencies I wonder if anyone ever goes over 10 WPM? Not a criticism, but once you learned to walk, then you learned to run.....right? Tony, W4FOA FISTS 5959 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence Makoski" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2003 11:52 AM Subject: Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] > Remember the FISTS motto: > > "Accuracy before speed" > > 73 de Larry W2LJ - Vivat Morse! > > W2LJ@arrl.net > http://www.qsl.net/w2lj > > ARRL Lifemember QRP ARCI #4488 NJQRP #47 > FISTS #1469 QRP-L #778 FP #612 QRPp-I #759 > ARS #1528 --- K1 #1647 --- AmQRP, CQC #746 > > > > > > A good example I like to point out is law enforcement shooting. Speed > is > > important.... very important... but not everything. We train our > officers > > to draw,aquire and shoot "As fast as they perfectly can." I think > from what > > I hear on the bands, it would be a good rule for cw op's as well. > "Don't > > send faster then you can perfectly." > > > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 14:53:07 -0500 From: Kenneth Cooperstein To: qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Subject: [160470] Re: What gauge magnet wire for longwire antenna? Message-ID: <3FA40F23.3040207@att.net> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT I was the original poster. Apparently, I was not clear. When used with a kite, the wire will be supported by the kite line -- either by wrapping around the line or with twine. Therefore, it will be supported. I can not use refigerator tubing because it is too heavy, unless my kite is 100 ft across, which it is not. I believe my kite (a 7.5 sq ft parafoil) can hoist around 4 ozs of wire in a good wind and around 1 oz in a light breeze. I do have a 9 foot Cody manlifter but it is bigger than my whole QRP pack. In the woods, the wire will be "in the trees," meaning resting on various branches. I won't have any unsupported lengths greater than maybe 30 ft, so magnet wire should be OK. I expect to use fresh wire each time. Other hams have reported having excellent results with 100 watt SSB using a 28ga magnet wire antenna. So, I believe that 28ga is the heaviest I have to go. The question is, How light can I go before I lose, say, 1 dB? 250 ft of 28 ga. magnet wire weighs around 2 ozs. Not a lot,but not nothing for a small kite in light airs. 250 ft of 31 ga weighs only 1 oz. Better for the kite. Significantly worse for propagation? Ken KC2JDY ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 13:51:31 -0700 (MST) From: Karl Larsen To: Bob KB2FEL Cc: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [160471] Re: Slow Speed CW sprint?? Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Sat, 1 Nov 2003, Bob KB2FEL wrote: > Hi Gang, > > I am starting to feel like an antique with the words I > am going to use Hi Hi. > In the "olden days", slower ops had their frequencies > and they were called novice. Even if they could pass > the written portion for the Extra, they were stuck in > the novice portion until they could pass 13WPM General > and 20WPM Extra. That is the old way. It is dead. > The separation of band segments had reason and that > reason was to allow the slower CW ops the opportunity > to operate stations at their cozy speeds. Not true at all. They had the novice bands because they were novice class. When they upgrade they get into the new frequencies. > We are now faced with ops who want to improve but they > have less people to talk to at 5WPM and 13WPM. As per > the recent posts even less opportunity during > contests. > The time will come soon when code is not required to get an Amateur Radio License and then only people who WANT to use code will exist. If you really want to use code you really want to do it well. So we should keep the CW speed above 15 WPM for all QRP CW contests. Give the new guys something to shoot at. > I would like to suggest that we start a slow speed CW > contest or sprint. > Higher points for slower speed. > 5wpm=2points > 13wpm=1point > Freq would be in the novice sub portion of the bands. > > ARE there any Clubs interested?? AMQRP, NORCAL, > NJQRP? and the list goes on and on!! > > I think it would be fun!! > > 72 > Bob > KB2FEL/8 > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears > http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ > -- - Karl Larsen k5di Las Cruces,NM Az ScQRPions - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 16:05:49 -0600 From: goemans To: QRP-L Subject: [160472] FS Message-ID: <005d01c3a0c4$5065f840$6e356880@PAUL> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Hello, Short "outdoors" season here, so I have for sale: A Waters and Stanton (England) ATX Walkabout 80-6 portable vertical antenna. This is the same as the MFJ 1899t. In like-new condition, with instructions. I will throw in a custom-built BNC mounting plate with a short RG174 coax/BNC that will clamp to any flat surface, such as a picnic table edge! $90 shipped in conUS. Paul R Goemans WA9PWP Stoughton, WI 53589 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 15:26:20 -0700 From: "Bob Baxter" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160473] Re: Spartan Sprint -- LISTEN off-freq please!!! [me too] Message-ID: <00df01c3a0c7$301d0490$2f552aa2@radioroom> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Remember the FISTS motto: > > "Accuracy before speed" I'll drink to that!! They're are a few ops on the bands that I can't copy at any speed. Bob Baxter AA7EQ Bisbee, Az. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 15:28:00 -0700 From: Bruce Grubbs To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [160474] For sale: DSW-40 and K1 Message-ID: <200311011528.00449.mail@brucegrubbs.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I'm selling a Small Wonder Labs DSW-40 with manual, the blue heavy duty anodized cabinet, an ultralight custom foam case, a halfwave end fed antenna, film can tuner, and a power plug. The DSW-40 is in very good condition mechanically, with a couple of small scratches on the enclosure. The antenna includes a 1/4 wave counterpoise, and works with the included film can tuner. The tuner has a built in N7VE LED SWR indicator, but normally does not need to be retuned, once set. I'm also including circuit notes on the tuner. This is a complete lightweight field station, needing only a battery pack, paddle, and earphones for operation. I'm asking $140. I'm also selling an Elecraft K1, SN 510, with the built in automatic antenna tuner and noise blanker options. This is the four band version, covering 40, 30, 20, and 15 meters. The 4 band filter board has been modified Elecraft's blue trimmer caps, which allows operation in a wide range of ambient temperatures without detuning. The package includes the manuals, the wide range tilt stand, a Paddlette Backpacker K1, a power cord, and a custom ultralight foam case. The Paddlette mounts on the base of the tilt stand, or on the left rear corn of the K1. You can also use the Paddlette leg mount, which is included. This is a complete station needing only a power supply and antenna. The K1 is in excellent condition electrically and mechanically. I'm asking $550 for the package. You can see photos of both rigs and their accessories at n7cee.brucegrubbs.com/rigs Please email with any questions. 73, Bruce N7CEE -- Bruce Grubbs Flagstaff, Arizona E-mail: mail@brucegrubbs.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 17:43:24 -0500 From: John Sielke To: qrp-l@lehigh.edu Subject: [160475] Re: Slow Speed CW sprint?? Message-ID: <3FA4370C.2080907@pobox.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > If you really want to use code you really want to do it well. So > we should keep the CW speed above 15 WPM for all QRP CW contests. Give > the new guys something to shoot at. > > > Right! Meanwhile they are excluded? Not too clever a way to encourage folks to develop a liking for CW. John W2AGN ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 15:57:52 -0700 From: Roger J Wendell To: cqclist@yahoogroups.com, qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Subject: [160476] Fox Hunt Logs Posted on Web Page Message-ID: <20031101.155755.2368.0.zeekzilch@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dear Foxes and Hounds, I've started posting the Foxes' Fox Hunt Logs at: http://www.cqc.org/fox/logs_winter_03-04.htm I've just put W5KDJ's log there, from Tuesday night, and will continue posting the others as I receive them each week... Tnx, Roger WB0JNR FoxHunt@RogerWendell.com Your humble CQC and Fox Hunt Webmaster http://www.RogerWendell.com - ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! ------------------------------ End of QRP-L Digest 3091 ************************ --------------------------------