tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492198961748373782024-03-13T15:31:40.219-04:00W8TN's RamblingsW8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-51915545155349213812024-01-28T12:30:00.008-05:002024-01-28T13:21:12.169-05:00Clipperton Island Confirmed on 6-M<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmJuz7OGgs-fskjH5k1epHR85ww18JsLVFhhR5wHaTEPAR_ctq4BdBWGGBr2-kD5ECtD5pXtv_nAH4MDhJ3YdoE28HbArjngw8dOqFIUjmiqpFPhLUFbYbzfOw7HkXEUQEYmfEP_5KCMa7_hTnijdFbMkhijFKHuoAzEEQKXrdNKffiVlVM6hsacMwT7H/s929/TX5S%20Heading%20Image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="929" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmJuz7OGgs-fskjH5k1epHR85ww18JsLVFhhR5wHaTEPAR_ctq4BdBWGGBr2-kD5ECtD5pXtv_nAH4MDhJ3YdoE28HbArjngw8dOqFIUjmiqpFPhLUFbYbzfOw7HkXEUQEYmfEP_5KCMa7_hTnijdFbMkhijFKHuoAzEEQKXrdNKffiVlVM6hsacMwT7H/w640-h350/TX5S%20Heading%20Image.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>What a <b>THRILL </b>to get this entity confirmed on 6-M. I spent
a fair amount of my time on Clipperton (FOØXX) in 1985 trying to
make even a single 6-M QSO. We set schedules with California KW
stations to no avail. Not a single Magic Band QSO was made in our 8
day operation of 30,958 QSO's. <i>(Click on any image to see it larger.)</i><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnJn_XszEnbjq6PV_16DsA2tesCovSQPk8Vkcl6aN2t5zUeVmhi3F8-Cm0mb-Tle7wVPsESJHg0qYxaxAIufOIhZILfyhwoTrn6qYG0z7GjG-zqG4LCVyS6l1xkbd57uLNn6XnTkaYPG72yT0SOXl0ZYyUM7LAtLFwDXScVAGJ-AKGB5U9KtZ8HzwhyPb/s958/W8TN%20at%20FO%C3%98XX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="958" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnJn_XszEnbjq6PV_16DsA2tesCovSQPk8Vkcl6aN2t5zUeVmhi3F8-Cm0mb-Tle7wVPsESJHg0qYxaxAIufOIhZILfyhwoTrn6qYG0z7GjG-zqG4LCVyS6l1xkbd57uLNn6XnTkaYPG72yT0SOXl0ZYyUM7LAtLFwDXScVAGJ-AKGB5U9KtZ8HzwhyPb/w640-h442/W8TN%20at%20FO%C3%98XX.jpg" title="W8TN on Clippertion as FOØXX in 1985" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W8TN as FOØXX from Clipperton in 1985<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>This year's TX5S operation made a<b> </b>total of <b>226 QSO's</b>
on 6-M including EME.<br />
<br />
In 2013 TX5K made <b>329 QSO's</b> on 6-M including 56 on EME by
W7GJ. <br />
<br />
In 2000 FOØAAA made <b>139 QSO's</b> on 6-M.<br />
<br />
In 1992 FOØCI made <b>279 QSO's</b> on 6-M.<br />
<br />
Those four Clipperton Island operations may have produced all the
Magic Band contacts <b>EVER </b>made on 6-M with Clipperton Island
- <b><span style="font-size: medium;">973 QSO's!</span></b> <b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">A RARE QSL indeed.</span></b><br /></p><p>This contact now gives me confirmations on 10-Bands and 3-Modes with Clipperton Island. Maybe someone will operate 2-M EME from there in the near future?<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmqeEqEwHu8OWUFs-5DKy16LH6xq-H_UY1hnDB-YXTkLvacEvVjo8WZYpop5bObibOvgZlfBj4VWNo2apyv4GIJCYtxI0jF2w2RwJcZ_RhrR9wOjDjqQnLwi7BaPeGgpzFdFTu08omYiry2NqLYdGyXy5DJZclSGhm0m3S65YGJdyPA7c03zipdMDQ0RS/s909/LoTW%20Confirmation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="108" data-original-width="909" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmqeEqEwHu8OWUFs-5DKy16LH6xq-H_UY1hnDB-YXTkLvacEvVjo8WZYpop5bObibOvgZlfBj4VWNo2apyv4GIJCYtxI0jF2w2RwJcZ_RhrR9wOjDjqQnLwi7BaPeGgpzFdFTu08omYiry2NqLYdGyXy5DJZclSGhm0m3S65YGJdyPA7c03zipdMDQ0RS/w640-h77/LoTW%20Confirmation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />And, to make this contact even more memorable, I worked ZL7DX, Chatham Island, less than one hour before I worked Clipperton Island. <b>WOOF!</b> Some days the <i>Magic Band</i> is truly MAGIC!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2rj8PaMNSBW7_CIx8GE0RHVxSNR-ClnuC1Gu8szBKJ7wo0HtcLFFdvtpPiseKQRDf5OE9hhVbX2DiF39q4MsA3ETDi-Bionv1E6WQlOTlGt6E8U9yoR1H-26hOdghsB7v7ywjnheiGP9jj0Dw2D9C29oArhxjWd2nCDu9NJDNGeCmXhdmtTf6wLrav1V/s909/ZL7DX%20LoTW%20Confirmation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="107" data-original-width="909" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2rj8PaMNSBW7_CIx8GE0RHVxSNR-ClnuC1Gu8szBKJ7wo0HtcLFFdvtpPiseKQRDf5OE9hhVbX2DiF39q4MsA3ETDi-Bionv1E6WQlOTlGt6E8U9yoR1H-26hOdghsB7v7ywjnheiGP9jj0Dw2D9C29oArhxjWd2nCDu9NJDNGeCmXhdmtTf6wLrav1V/w640-h77/ZL7DX%20LoTW%20Confirmation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>These LoTW confirmations bring me to 157 All-Time Entities confirmed on 6-M. WOW! I never dreamed of reaching such a level on 50 MHz.<br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-16376367223959754602023-11-19T11:38:00.004-05:002023-11-19T11:48:10.618-05:00QSL'ing Tips & Tricks - Hint #4 - Bypassing Postal Thieves<p style="text-align: center;"> <span face=""Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fcff01; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">A series of "Tips and Tricks" for obtaining a QSL when normal means fail.</span></p><p>If you need to acquire a QSL from a DX station via the postal service, this method can have its own risks. Mail delivery in foreign countries is not always the best of services and those who handle the mail are not always the most trustworthy.</p><p>Your envelope could just never get delivered - go missing in transit - or the contents of your envelope may not arrive. Some nefarious person can "tamper" with your envelope and<br /> A. Remove the money you included<br /> B. Remove the SAE you included.<br /> C. Or, just "take" the entire envelope for themselves.</p><p>It seems that when a foreign ham gets a lot of mail from overseas, the "bad guys" in the postal system will begin to recognize that these mailings many times contain U.S. dollars. Thus they actively look for those envelopes and take the contents (or the entire envelope) for themselves. Being aware of this you can take steps to "disguise" your envelope and prevent pilferage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Never put callsigns on the envelope. This is a dead giveaway! Personally I like to print my envelopes so the text can be as clear as possible to the machines and people who sort the mail along the way. I also like to capitalize the name of the country to make it stand out. (<i>You can click on any image here to see it in a larger size.</i>)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiwX2r56KKPIxz6wcDckRUVKPo4AE5HDBBUwjL8W594G6U5-4aucfPKLQLetZeCFCGXN2CPva21FjKX8eWyIX_ZSwTVKrZcjL8JR0y_RM4prd80oLLEWgRdLIiwsGaNbJ-0qUvoaGFL_dYK50WvLfAvgCTBcl2R195BS8xLyNMiOrYM2psMtCO_gXYVWl/s784/Outgoing%20Envelope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="784" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiwX2r56KKPIxz6wcDckRUVKPo4AE5HDBBUwjL8W594G6U5-4aucfPKLQLetZeCFCGXN2CPva21FjKX8eWyIX_ZSwTVKrZcjL8JR0y_RM4prd80oLLEWgRdLIiwsGaNbJ-0qUvoaGFL_dYK50WvLfAvgCTBcl2R195BS8xLyNMiOrYM2psMtCO_gXYVWl/s320/Outgoing%20Envelope.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>For my SAE (Return Envelope) I like to spell out my country AND put in the normal abbreviation for it:<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXZn_WPnTQq4gSv0Fd_5pO0KbW8xo3wlajf-ltccANJBYgxxo7x4f3ggmEXHSBCNuM2hK-lWxHohhkSdityTbkoW8uR3Xfz9IgT_nvCC96XOWnrA8vO_JURYQA9K-CvjtAYgmHPsGWNKLKftkQ1E4weYTS9KmBpsJyFxc5ZJsHJbR8PtYFeVkfnYBNsPM/s751/Return%20Envelope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="751" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXZn_WPnTQq4gSv0Fd_5pO0KbW8xo3wlajf-ltccANJBYgxxo7x4f3ggmEXHSBCNuM2hK-lWxHohhkSdityTbkoW8uR3Xfz9IgT_nvCC96XOWnrA8vO_JURYQA9K-CvjtAYgmHPsGWNKLKftkQ1E4weYTS9KmBpsJyFxc5ZJsHJbR8PtYFeVkfnYBNsPM/s320/Return%20Envelope.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>VERY IMPORTANT: </b> Never allow your dollars to be seen through the envelope even if it is held up to a strong light. I like to fold my dollars in half and insert one end of them in the Return Envelope and then slide my QSL up under the Return Envelope flap over the dollars to further conceal the money. I also press the folds down well to make the envelope as thin as possible. <span style="color: red;"><b>HINT:</b></span> Use the nicest bills you can find. Torn, dirty, or even heavily wrinkled bills can not be exchanged in some countries. I have even purchased 100 Brand New bills from my bank for this purpose. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimG06inyiJx3EcqNIpVtq_THv9FW5Fx610Peny7KCojaNlgVDOcQF3Yblv_W6RTpf_vITwZXY-efhh28dowliL89wWo0rEmAZnet5cpESvt_mU23fiM90HkwcqtKu4iSsOxDGgaAuOXWPn7SC2nWWoEznnJMvNI9lQTUMp47ZTYXTSn9Guq9b6BYGL9TC6/s586/Hide%20Dollar%20Bills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="586" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimG06inyiJx3EcqNIpVtq_THv9FW5Fx610Peny7KCojaNlgVDOcQF3Yblv_W6RTpf_vITwZXY-efhh28dowliL89wWo0rEmAZnet5cpESvt_mU23fiM90HkwcqtKu4iSsOxDGgaAuOXWPn7SC2nWWoEznnJMvNI9lQTUMp47ZTYXTSn9Guq9b6BYGL9TC6/s320/Hide%20Dollar%20Bills.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, all those tricks may just not be enough. If you find a DX station who posts that his mail is being stolen or that envelopes arrive without money, there is another step that has been proven to work several times. Make the envelope look like it is a business communication which contains a "bill" and not money. I created a fake invoice in Microsoft Word with the word "INVOICE" large and Bold so that it would show through the envelope. I inserted it in a business size envelope from my defunct business to make it appear even more real. In every instance where I have used this trick - it has worked. The money and QSL's arrived at the DX station and I received my return QSL from him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EfUhumXK2T195DuE7oejObuS9iDbDolpt13jTccvacng6aKDwoq2oB01HBtadj3fSRBRpypMfUfLjB5fuN7rqn_wRmt1Vjaye7onDfxVzTnDh43CQqwQ_roPOACaJNW_4r-K7TAKM7g_hcyEMiIeg4oq5GBAXyc6R4c0lVW0LvBmPslChfgiufbUO1WH/s1108/LU8ENU%20Envelope%20-%20Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="1108" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EfUhumXK2T195DuE7oejObuS9iDbDolpt13jTccvacng6aKDwoq2oB01HBtadj3fSRBRpypMfUfLjB5fuN7rqn_wRmt1Vjaye7onDfxVzTnDh43CQqwQ_roPOACaJNW_4r-K7TAKM7g_hcyEMiIeg4oq5GBAXyc6R4c0lVW0LvBmPslChfgiufbUO1WH/s320/LU8ENU%20Envelope%20-%20Small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p>If even the "Fake Invoice" trick fails, you can still ask the DX station for a PayPal address where you can send him the money to pay for him sending you a QSL. LoTW has helped immensely to remove the problems of getting paper QSL's by mail but sometimes this is what you need to do in order to obtain that elusive confirmation!</p></div>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-39976548994226063422023-10-23T11:55:00.001-04:002023-10-23T11:55:52.660-04:00QSL'ing Tips & Tricks - Hint #3 - QSL Cards<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">A series of "Tips and Tricks" for obtaining a QSL when normal means fail.</span></span></p><p>Why would anyone even go to the trouble of getting a QSL card from any DX station they work? One of the main reasons is that a confirmation of a QSO is essential to many awards. Logbook of the World (LoTW) has made a major impact on confirmation of contacts but not every station uploads their logs to LoTW. That leaves a "written" confirmation (QSL card) as the method needed to apply that contact toward many awards. And, collecting QSL's from rare DX stations is <span style="color: red;"><b>FUN!</b></span> Looking back through a stack of attractive and informative QSL's allows you to remember those contacts and educates you, your family and friends about the interesting places around the world which you have contacted.</p><p>You can view many different QSL's from all 340 Current DXCC entities from 1920 to the present on the <b><a href="http://hamgallery.com/qsl/" target="_blank">K8CX QSL Museum</a></b>. In addition to QSL's, the K8CX Museum contains Sound Clips, Photos from the Dayton Hamvention, Tributes to Ham Operators, and several other interesting items. Check out the <b><a href="http://hamgallery.com/" target="_blank">Table of Contents</a></b> for all that info.</p><p>An important first step in filling out your own QSL is to make certain the DATE is understandable to anyone in any country around the world. If you put the date down as "10/12/2023" does that mean October 12 or December 10? American usage calls for a month/day/year date format, the United Kingdom and much of Europe use a day/month/year format, and most countries in Asia use the year/month/day format. Confusion! Putting the date in the wrong format can result in the dreaded "<i><b>Not in Log</b></i>" result. Make sure you either spell out the Month or create columns on your QSL that leave no doubt as to the date of the QSO:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXirJ6rnj9QKFTKYcQP9kkp-y5TFUHMQq0oObka3ykvg2yO2aiLfHBQGW0-BX6swvQf5R4fxmr6BDIwDd3sBueMlGGLDP3yZUxucKWPnmtfF-nRFJQN3r6bY-6-_EC1dykMsJqbigXvjZmzunyURJMSA7gCNYZQgwn-Rr33Ouo90MpSriwe6BG7af2Q9pc/s739/Date%20Spelled%20Out%20on%20QSL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="739" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXirJ6rnj9QKFTKYcQP9kkp-y5TFUHMQq0oObka3ykvg2yO2aiLfHBQGW0-BX6swvQf5R4fxmr6BDIwDd3sBueMlGGLDP3yZUxucKWPnmtfF-nRFJQN3r6bY-6-_EC1dykMsJqbigXvjZmzunyURJMSA7gCNYZQgwn-Rr33Ouo90MpSriwe6BG7af2Q9pc/s320/Date%20Spelled%20Out%20on%20QSL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It should go without saying that you need to write out your QSL information in a legible manner. Always think that your QSL is being viewed by someone for whom English is <b>NOT </b>their primary language. PRINT everything as clearly as possible. Better yet, use your Logging program to either print the QSO information directly onto the QSL Card or onto an adhesive label. This is not difficult to do and provides the clearest way to put all the necessary information onto your QSL. (The pre-printed information on my QSL in the image below has been grayed out to better show the QSO information I printed onto the blank QSL with my own computer & printer. Click on any image to see it larger.)<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhnVoNrvIPBsuDWVg96lZJ1PbWcyI4XoUifFIiL1py4r66FgUoCvQEx6xY-ldAKPwBm6m1ZlXsKJ0wQPEf8C_C4KCErCgpv1quf1sNDqjL4gR3-D84RvyR0R9jBOOvM46paRhrT-uIaonaC5DrASuR8Gs0SR2WDyddmMzt-mRsjqnAswR0MaHdwrSAaZ1/s651/Sample%20LogPrint%20QSL%20Printing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="651" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhnVoNrvIPBsuDWVg96lZJ1PbWcyI4XoUifFIiL1py4r66FgUoCvQEx6xY-ldAKPwBm6m1ZlXsKJ0wQPEf8C_C4KCErCgpv1quf1sNDqjL4gR3-D84RvyR0R9jBOOvM46paRhrT-uIaonaC5DrASuR8Gs0SR2WDyddmMzt-mRsjqnAswR0MaHdwrSAaZ1/s320/Sample%20LogPrint%20QSL%20Printing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Where to have your QSL's printed? There are dozens of printers who will print QSL cards for you and you can even print them yourself. (See my Hint #1 Post <b><a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2023/10/qsling-tips-tricks-hint-1-blank-qsl.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b> for a way to print your own.) For several years I have been using <b><a href="https://www.ux5uoqsl.com/" target="_blank">UX5UO Print</a></b> to print my QSL's. Gennady is located in the Ukraine and appears to still be in business even with the current Russian war. As of October 2023, 21,972 unique callsigns from 320 DXCC countries have already been printed by "UX5UO print". You can get 1,000 Luxury cards printed with Full Color on the front and single color on the back for less than $85 including shipping! Below are my current QSL's which were printed by UX5UO from photos I provided. You can see the rear of one of the QSL's above - the grayed out area.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfCpMLUyOny2CMYvdQ0xMH-hVeET-namajRtxdgS2UJCWaXEfcrxYVA6IcW_dasv39in1-tBaNM-vY40oowz4OsyifvovnGe895oEYc62AWfxmi_QMDNKFxzYJtoR0Av-88aWrobrlNpiUBR7XkQZYI3sEADpiS1_SLpgM2ELmYAdiQd-VNiuqlbFbiXM/s1252/W8TN's%20Current%20QSL's.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="1252" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfCpMLUyOny2CMYvdQ0xMH-hVeET-namajRtxdgS2UJCWaXEfcrxYVA6IcW_dasv39in1-tBaNM-vY40oowz4OsyifvovnGe895oEYc62AWfxmi_QMDNKFxzYJtoR0Av-88aWrobrlNpiUBR7XkQZYI3sEADpiS1_SLpgM2ELmYAdiQd-VNiuqlbFbiXM/s320/W8TN's%20Current%20QSL's.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>You do not need fancy QSL's but you do need at least a basic one to be able to send for the QSL's you want to collect. I have worked four New Ones on 6-M in the last 3 days and <b>TWO</b> of them are <b>NOT </b>on LoTW! Therefore, I need to send my QSL to them or request their card via OQSL (more on that method later.)</div></div>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-45850692019695164322023-10-18T18:11:00.005-04:002023-10-18T18:15:34.711-04:00QSL'ing Tips & Tricks - Hint #2 - Using Email<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A series of "Tips and Tricks" for obtaining a QSL when normal means fail.</span></span></p><p>Often you "think" you had a good QSO but it never shows up on LoTW or on the Online Log for the station you think you worked. If it is for a <b>New One</b> (on a particular Band or Mode) or even an <b>All-Time New One</b> (<b><span style="color: red;">ATNO</span></b>) then working a bit to secure a confirmation for that contact is warranted.</p><p>If it is a DX'pedition, you really need to immediately try to work the DX on that same Band or Mode for an "Insurance Contact." That way if your initial QSO can not be confirmed, you have a 2nd chance with the insurance contact.</p><p>A good first step to acquiring the confirmation is to send an email to the station you worked - or to the QSL Manager. You can usually find the email address on <b><a href="http://QRZ.com" target="_blank">QRZ.com</a></b> under the callsign of the DX station you worked. Or, if the DX has a Manager, look at the Manager's QRZ.com address for his email.</p><p><b>ALWAYS </b>be polite in your email. Never make statements like "You busted my call!" or "Why did you not put me in your log?" Being polite always pays off.</p><p>Make the subject line descriptive of what you want. Something like "<b>4L4DX QSL Question from W8TN</b>" will tell the DX or the Manager what you are seeking.</p><p>In the body of your email, keep it "short and sweet." Describe why you think you had a valid QSO for which you are seeking a QSL. For a WSJT-X contact, you might include something like this:</p><div><div></div><blockquote><div>I have a question about a QSO I believe I completed with 4L4DX on
17-M FT8 back on May 30, 2023. I am writing because this QSO does not
show in Club Log.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Below are all the pertinent items I have in my ALL.TXT file:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: monospace;">230530_031930 18.100 Tx FT8 0 0.0 506 4L4DX W8TN EM98<br />230530_031945 18.100 Rx FT8 1 0.2 2012 <b>W8TN 4L4DX -17</b><br />230530_032000 18.100 Tx FT8 0 0.0 506 <b><span style="color: red;">4L4DX W8TN R+01</span></b><br />230530_032115 18.100 Rx FT8 -9 0.2 2012 <b><span style="color: red;">W8TN 4L4DX RRR</span></b></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: monospace;"><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b></span></div></div><div>If it was an SSB/CW/RTTY QSO, you could say something like this:</div><div><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div>Dear Mr. Jones,<br /><br /></div><div>I sent my QSL with $2 U.S. and a self-addressed envelope to the following address on 05/05/2014 (05-May-2014):<br /><br /><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Esmond
Jones<br /></span>P.O.
Box 10868<br />Georgetown<br />GUYANA<br />SOUTH AMERICA</span><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>As
of 02/11/2015 (02-November-2015) I have not received a QSL from 8R1AK.
Did my envelope/QSL/$$ get lost in the mail? Do I need to send again?<br /><br /></div><div>QSO info:<br /></div><div>W8TN<br /></div><div>05-March-2014 (05/03/2014)<br /></div><div>2209 GMT<br /></div><div>12-M (24.950 MHz)<br /></div><div>SSB</div><div><br /></div><div>This is my only 8R QSO on 12-M. Thank you for your consideration.</div></div></div><div></div></blockquote><div>Finally, keep track of these emails you send. Make a note in your log as to when you sent an email or make a "Label" or "Folder" in your <b>SENT </b>email folder for "QSL Questions" and put these emails there. That makes it easy to look back and note if you have not received a response after a reasonable time. This will allow you to follow up with another email or try to contact someone else.</div><div><br /></div><div>For reference, both the above examples were successful. The QSL Manager agreed that I had a valid QSO and saw to it that my QSO with 4L4DX was placed in the online log. And for 8R1AK, I did receive the paper QSL a few months after sending this email.</div>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-90792745578889347732023-10-18T17:36:00.000-04:002023-10-18T17:36:11.148-04:00Update WSJT-X to the Latest CTY.dat File<p> The following quote is from: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://norfolkcoastamateurs.co.uk/cty-dat-country-files/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://norfolkcoastamateurs.co.uk/cty-dat-country-files/</a></p><blockquote type="cite">
<p>Have you ever wondered how all of the various types of amateur radio
software, e.g. N1MM and DX Cluster nodes, keep up to date with the
plethora of changes that occur to a simple list of countries and
prefixes? These changes take place almost daily and getting it right
can be vital for contest point scoring and award tracking so you need
to log the correct information.</p>
<p>Which DXCC entity is GB4CTY located in this week? It could be any of
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Island, Guernsey or Jersey. </p>
<p>What about G3YPP/NHS. Surely the /N places him stateside.</p>
<p>It would be a remarkable feat if every single program was updated
individually by their development teams every time a prefix or entity
changed or a new Special Event Station was activated.</p>
<p>Fortunately, most logger and contest software makes use of cty.dat
files which have been kept updated by Jim Reisert, AD1C as a labour of
love for many, many years. Known as country files, full details can
be seen on Jim’s website here: <a data-id="http://www.country-files.com/" data-type="URL" href="http://www.country-files.com/">Country Files</a></p>
</blockquote><p>This is from: <a href="https://www.country-files.com/contest/wsjt-x/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.country-files.com/contest/wsjt-x/</a></p><blockquote type="cite">
<p>The <a href="https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.6.1.html#LOGGING" rel="noopener" target="_blank">WSJT-X User Guide</a> states, “WSJT-X includes a built-in cty.dat file containing DXCC prefix information. Updated files can be downloaded from the <a href="https://www.country-files.com/">Amateur Radio Country Files</a>
website when required. If an updated cty.dat is present in the logs
folder and readable, it will be used in preference to the built-in one.”</p>
<p>Starting with Version 2.7, you can update the country file from
within the program. In Settings, click on the Colors tab and you’ll find
the information at the bottom of the window.</p></blockquote><p>WSJT-X pull down <b>File | Settings... | Colors tab</b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTRy94c8tcV7ImQqnY9R3ow1NNedYhL92n2FZ6oKjLCujpJ8KiQQ3EulpyiGZ-NVO9qSKL7lzU0tFaWPFNqPpeREg_MUywU8E4y9lI3ZRIDkUIwoX8G3OsjMWEV6tGCqudVIrtJv2REHzAPoX7eLD4CABH7Be2gzHZ9HzuTOJpfTQnPJ7TrA7E4_jzQNd/s550/Update%20CTY%20files%20in%20WSJT-X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="479" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTRy94c8tcV7ImQqnY9R3ow1NNedYhL92n2FZ6oKjLCujpJ8KiQQ3EulpyiGZ-NVO9qSKL7lzU0tFaWPFNqPpeREg_MUywU8E4y9lI3ZRIDkUIwoX8G3OsjMWEV6tGCqudVIrtJv2REHzAPoX7eLD4CABH7Be2gzHZ9HzuTOJpfTQnPJ7TrA7E4_jzQNd/s320/Update%20CTY%20files%20in%20WSJT-X.jpg" width="279" /></a></b></div><p></p><p>This update process simply can not be any more painless. Doing this
assures that your WSJT-X decodes are identified as the correct country.
And, if you use supplemental programs like JTAlert or GridTracker, they
can give you audible or text/email alerts for those decodes you need.</p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-80436959861639065952023-10-16T12:35:00.002-04:002023-11-26T09:11:54.113-05:00QSL'ing Tips & Tricks - Hint #1 - Blank QSL<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>A series of "Tips and Tricks" for obtaining a QSL when normal means fail.</i> </span></span> </p><p>Recently a friend told me he was trying to obtain a QSL for a contact that was several years old. He had sent his QSL + SASE to the QSL Manager but the manager replied with a note saying he recently had downsized, moved, and no longer had any blank QSL's. The manager <b>DID </b>state he had uploaded the logs of the DX station to the QRZ Logbook and my friend's contact <b>WAS </b>listed there. However, since he had no blank QSL cards, he was unable to confirm the contact.</p><p>My method of solving such a problem is to send some <b><span style="color: red;">BLANK QSL cards</span></b> to the QSL Manager. I learned this trick from Steve, KØCS, (now a SK) several decades ago. YI1BGD in Iraq came on the air in the late 1970's and Steve worked them for an ATNO but could not get a QSL. So, he had 100 QSL cards professionally printed and he airmailed them to Iraq. He then sent his QSL + SAE +$5 <b>EVERY MONTH</b> for a year until he got it confirmed. Unfortunately it was not with one of the QSL's he had printed! Still, I learned from that trick and have used it on a few occasions to secure a QSL for a needed State or Grid. </p><p>To help my friend get the QSL he needed I found a website where you can quickly design a Blank QSL. The site will produce a PDF file which you can use to print on your own printer or at a local print shop. Then you just send the Blank QSL's to the QSL Manager and ask him to fill one out. Here is the website I used: <b><a href="https://www.radioqth.net/qslcards" target="_blank">QSL Card Creator</a></b>. You can make just a very simple, basic QSL or get creative by adding graphics. Below is the Blank QSL I created for my friend. It took about 5 minutes to do this.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJq5_cIUX3nOtyctF23lMOJbs3sdy7r7ih60PsEjvRqI-FTPHJI3s1jdA9sMGmHW1kVGPHhrzn1kcHwXQ26zhcUGpyoviSphAm2P_dzW9RvMY5G6e2NutjKexOTExc91bQuP110T1S7p0yOE6zkSEhT4f-btixM-KXUSeiaXMUiHESynudTmmKMgShGhy/s438/A35TR%20Blank%20QSL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="438" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJq5_cIUX3nOtyctF23lMOJbs3sdy7r7ih60PsEjvRqI-FTPHJI3s1jdA9sMGmHW1kVGPHhrzn1kcHwXQ26zhcUGpyoviSphAm2P_dzW9RvMY5G6e2NutjKexOTExc91bQuP110T1S7p0yOE6zkSEhT4f-btixM-KXUSeiaXMUiHESynudTmmKMgShGhy/s320/A35TR%20Blank%20QSL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I gave my friend 6 of these Blank QSL's (which I printed on some card stock) to send to the QSL Manager. I will post back here his results.</p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>BONUS HINT:</b></span> You can use this method to print <b>Blank QSL's</b> for yourself to confirm contacts you may have made while portable - like Field Day or POTA.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: #ffd966;">/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\</b></span></p><p>The A35TR QSL Manager <b><span style="color: red;">DID </span></b>respond by filling out one of the blank QSL's and he returned it to my friend. The Blank QSL preparation was well worth the minimum effort it took in order to receive a confirmation for a New One which had seemed impossible to get confirmed in a normal manner.</p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-57358076448024987932023-09-05T14:20:00.001-04:002023-09-15T09:35:33.798-04:00Configure JTAlert to Send Text Msg or Email User Alerts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMhabvrL9N0YO0417hndR2sthodnYyJKHHVanrhwJd26vUBwSlEZpRC-mhzhQ0DgxjRzCOLYhOAVyzZIUvmNKIg8xWkYOJDZPKNr3H2khXaEyeWXxiOxZlQcxe81lRefcJsXs5zMe7f4JQGH_GHY-dPmbHlil6DB1Yzo3ySoL-CIo5zv-EE1lj1QfxwuS/s677/Text%20Me%20-%20Email%20Me.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="677" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMhabvrL9N0YO0417hndR2sthodnYyJKHHVanrhwJd26vUBwSlEZpRC-mhzhQ0DgxjRzCOLYhOAVyzZIUvmNKIg8xWkYOJDZPKNr3H2khXaEyeWXxiOxZlQcxe81lRefcJsXs5zMe7f4JQGH_GHY-dPmbHlil6DB1Yzo3ySoL-CIo5zv-EE1lj1QfxwuS/w268-h167/Text%20Me%20-%20Email%20Me.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><b><a href="https://hamapps.com/JTAlert/" target="_blank">JTAlert</a></b> has the ability to alert the user (you) by playing an audible message for Wanted States, New DXCC, New Zone, New Grid, or several other decodes you want to be notified about when it decodes a callsign matching one of your "Needs." This feature has garnered me several New Ones on 6-M (both DXCC's and Grids) by playing an audio message of "Wanted Call," "New Country," "New State," "New Grid," or any of a dozen or so other alerts. This feature is wonderful as long as you are close enough to your computer to hear that audible alert from your computer's speakers. <p></p><p>But what about when you are too far away to hear that alert? To solve that problem Bill, <b><a href="https://www.qrz.com/db/WT0DX" target="_blank">WTØDX</a></b>, has written a procedure to allow JTAlert to send a Text Message and/or an Email in addition to that audible alert using JTAlert's User Alert feature. <span style="color: red;"><b>Zowie!</b></span> I would say this procedure is the "<span style="color: red;"><b>Bee's Knees</b></span>" but you have to be "of a certain age" to understand that phrase! Maybe I should call it "<span style="color: red;"><b>Lit</b></span>", or "<b><span style="color: red;">Dope</span></b>" or "<b><span style="color: red;">Fire</span></b>" to be more current in my slang. In any event, I think this is <b><span style="color: red;">Absolutely AWESOME!</span></b></p><p>I was lucky to be a "Beta Tester" for this procedure. My findings were that "Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of creating folders and working with text files should be able to follow this procedure with no problems." It took me exactly 1 hour to complete the procedure AND record 2 pages of notes at the same time. I did already have a Gmail account with 2-Step Verification enabled so that gave me a bit of a head start.<br /></p><p>The procedure is contained in a 19-page PDF file. It is that long because it has a <b>LOT </b>of screenshots to make each step easy to follow. An overview of the procedure is:<br /></p><p>- Create Gmail email account (optional if you already have a Gmail account you want to use)<br />- Enable 2-Step Verification for the account<br />- Generate an Application Password for that account<br />- Edit the Send Alert file and save as a batch file<br />- Download CMail application<br />- Store Send Alert batch file and CMail application in a folder<br />- Configure JTAlert<br />- Test<br /></p><p>You can download the PDF file plus two text files (Send Alert.txt and CMail test.txt) which are described in the procedure, as a ZIP file from this link: <a href="https://w8tn.com/JTAlert_User_Alert.zip" target="_blank">JTAlert User Alert Files</a>. UnZIP that file then follow the procedure in the PDF file.<br /></p><p>Below are screenshots of an email and a text message created by this procedure<b>.</b> I had left my radio receiving on 17-M and JTAlert decoded 4L7T which would be a New One for me. It then sent me the email and text messages shown below. (I missed working 4L7T because I was on the mower and did not hear my phone ding!)<b><br /></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsu_JH-VSS5l-3StIeW-hFsChdpM69q0bMOnJGDO-RRxSNACrzGLwoE6l8Df1sBkfV3yh_T9oNT_fmLggbB7psVzbvhbWCI_yqU4O8T1ZioQfYZZHhLUWMS83tf6Ctq73h2KSUNGIkx1ipNQ9Vy1AdF-T54SYTu0oY9qxjrouRkaEVbQNPY49hmb5Vm8I/s1160/4L7T%20Email%20+%20Text%20Msg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1160" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsu_JH-VSS5l-3StIeW-hFsChdpM69q0bMOnJGDO-RRxSNACrzGLwoE6l8Df1sBkfV3yh_T9oNT_fmLggbB7psVzbvhbWCI_yqU4O8T1ZioQfYZZHhLUWMS83tf6Ctq73h2KSUNGIkx1ipNQ9Vy1AdF-T54SYTu0oY9qxjrouRkaEVbQNPY49hmb5Vm8I/w320-h210/4L7T%20Email%20+%20Text%20Msg.jpg" title="4L7T Email + Test Message" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4L7T Email + Text Message<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The latest version of JTAlert is 2.60.10 available <a href="https://hamapps.com/JTAlert/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. My version is 2.60.5 (Build date: 7-Feburary-2023) and this procedure worked just fine with my older version.<br /></p><p>Combine the above procedure to alert you to needed callsigns which <u>your own station copies</u> with the HamAlert feature which will send you a text message when a needed entity is spotted on the Cluster or reported to PSKReporter, and you have covered all the bases. Here is a Post detailing the HamAlert notification feature: <b><a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2023/01/dx-spots-that-only-you-need-on-your.html" target="_blank">DX Spots that "Only YOU Need on Your Phone</a></b>.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">UPDATE</span></b> <b>RE Verizon Wireless:</b></p><p></p><blockquote>For those of you with Verizon Wireless, please read the following
article regarding a new "feature" to disable email to text messages. <br /><br />If
you have turned off email to text "spam" messages, then you will not
receive the alerts. (Thanks to Jim KC4HW for pointing this out).<br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI',sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/verizon-has-a-new-way-for-customers-block-email-to-text-spam-messages.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/verizon-has-a-new-way-for-customers-block-email-to-text-spam-messages.html</a><br /><br /></span>-- <br />73 Bill WT0DX
</blockquote><p></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-35568957988292195682023-06-05T18:09:00.003-04:002023-06-05T18:13:10.750-04:00Messi & Paoloni Coax Presentation<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KHID89Km8xV2UBENn36vlvLt88KuKWh7uVliQNt5XofVcauHAPFd3JBhQXa9GqKddB9a8YFJTXmkmAIq61_p418Nq8_2p7MIBOKq1i7DgRJ52UquKh0va7DFffApF7IwQEYd-Guf4Gp6TEOD6-VWXXkg-xSRj2PZrfKQBmxEP2CILThh-VOEifo6dA/s1298/M&P%20Display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1298" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KHID89Km8xV2UBENn36vlvLt88KuKWh7uVliQNt5XofVcauHAPFd3JBhQXa9GqKddB9a8YFJTXmkmAIq61_p418Nq8_2p7MIBOKq1i7DgRJ52UquKh0va7DFffApF7IwQEYd-Guf4Gp6TEOD6-VWXXkg-xSRj2PZrfKQBmxEP2CILThh-VOEifo6dA/s320/M&P%20Display.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samples of Messi & Paoloni Coax</td></tr></tbody></table>At the June 3, 2023, meeting of the West Virginia DX Association (<b><a href="https://wvdxa.com/" target="_blank">WVDXA</a></b>) I made a presentation about <b><a href="https://messi.it/en/home.htm" target="_blank">Messi & Paoloni</a></b> Coax Cables and the M&P connectors. I have been using M&P coax for a few years now and am AMAZED at their quality and performance. On my last order I asked Christian Messi to send me a sample or two of M&P cables and I would show them off to some local radio clubs. Well, he sent me <b>NINE (9)</b> samples! WOOF!</p><p>So that meant I had to put them together in a way that would show off their characteristics. I decided to mount them on a display board with the names of each cable above. You can click on the image above to see it in a larger size.<br /></p><p>During the meeting I was given time to describe the Messi & Paoloni cable and connector lines. Most of those in attendance were not familiar with the brand. In addition to the above display, I had prepared a handout which was distributed to all those attending. <b><a href="https://w8tn.com/Messi_%26_Paoloni_Coax_Supplier.pdf" target="_blank">Click Here</a></b> to download that handout in PDF format. Obviously I am a "fan" of M&P products and do not hesitate to recommend them.<br /></p><p>Not only did I discuss the varieties of coax which M&P supplies but I also spent a little time describing their excellent line of connectors. I focused on the UHF-EVO improvement to the standard PL-259. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS9v5FKo_iPTz3gFrBlwZl9lPxomlqeCUNa6aZJekkuyz9f4VNUTxJAVA5-Rur0iNfHh--ZF1iPKK78xzKCoTxPoC2PpWoREizZT04nMIdj5uRWlwC0MXdIQVGGF_PrUV2Sj_0pxETg2nWZ2wWmAWT9ubrSUq-ajzDQKcDhPGYk-4AP_KeUHB3U0BXQ/s2048/M&P%20Presentation.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="2048" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS9v5FKo_iPTz3gFrBlwZl9lPxomlqeCUNa6aZJekkuyz9f4VNUTxJAVA5-Rur0iNfHh--ZF1iPKK78xzKCoTxPoC2PpWoREizZT04nMIdj5uRWlwC0MXdIQVGGF_PrUV2Sj_0pxETg2nWZ2wWmAWT9ubrSUq-ajzDQKcDhPGYk-4AP_KeUHB3U0BXQ/s320/M&P%20Presentation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W8TN Making the Presentation<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>At least one person there was so impressed he said he was planning to replace all of his station coax soon and would be replacing all of them with M&P products! So, that was a good result. If anyone has any specific questions about M&P coax and connectors, just contact me at your convenience. And, I am available to make this presentation to your local radio club if requested.<br /><p></p><br />W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-34156254608868979952023-03-07T12:13:00.001-05:002023-03-07T12:25:48.500-05:00ZC4RH - British Military Bases, Cyprus - 2-M EME<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Today I received a QSL for my QSO with ZC4RH on 2-M EME! This is my 63rd Country confirmed on 2-M EME with one more worked but not confirmed (VK.) (Click on any image to see it larger.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQAYqJS1HeTzXPIFNouYz4pO6l2zYUXCdzw21DezKTdXknS_Dtu7N2bYQZxl-vZ4Ycjt3e5H5CgER775wR43a2QKEof9LlIrL9JYUPFHeQXAMbkGNuyn99CdpALwE_6XYz2WqF85fW-i8itPXX6KYdu5R0_YtDH721uS7NA8BlJWemCHy_797tobGsQ/s788/ZC4RH%20QSL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="613" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQAYqJS1HeTzXPIFNouYz4pO6l2zYUXCdzw21DezKTdXknS_Dtu7N2bYQZxl-vZ4Ycjt3e5H5CgER775wR43a2QKEof9LlIrL9JYUPFHeQXAMbkGNuyn99CdpALwE_6XYz2WqF85fW-i8itPXX6KYdu5R0_YtDH721uS7NA8BlJWemCHy_797tobGsQ/s320/ZC4RH%20QSL.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br />Chris, PA2CHR, Jos, PA3FYC, and Dave, ZC4RH, set up and operated an EME station on three VHF bands in November 2022 from an extremely rare location. The British Bases on Cyprus occupy only about 98 square miles so it's quite small. This operation took at least a year of planning, on-site visits, pre-shipment of all equipment by UPS/DHL, and loads of preparation. Many difficulties had to be overcome but the final result was a huge success.<br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The ZC4RH operation ended with:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> 144 MHz: 213 QSO's / 432 MHz: 54 </span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">QSO's</span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> / 1296 MHz: 32 </span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">QSO's</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span>For 2-M the ZC4RH station consisted of: FT857, SSPA, LNA and 2 x 10/10 ele x-pol yagis (16 dBd). My own 800-watts and 2 x 14/14 XPOL InnovAntennas was sufficient to finally make the QSO - just moments before their MoonSet on the final day of 2-M operation.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1H4kBlnnpE1EtU868qnU9jxjinp43xMJAghx6w5w5y2d-RvE3zfGU8NFrPoez126MoA1v2DpuJ9Wtk73oI9YOaCSGhskLqTEoo6jMG3_q3xx3iChPs-GLgldkRP3Ue6avPn8zyO16t9uRb6Yg9H2MGtnFNZUX1rxB_Qan3_uEqf_1V23OEFLhHrP6Q/s684/ZC4RH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="684" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1H4kBlnnpE1EtU868qnU9jxjinp43xMJAghx6w5w5y2d-RvE3zfGU8NFrPoez126MoA1v2DpuJ9Wtk73oI9YOaCSGhskLqTEoo6jMG3_q3xx3iChPs-GLgldkRP3Ue6avPn8zyO16t9uRb6Yg9H2MGtnFNZUX1rxB_Qan3_uEqf_1V23OEFLhHrP6Q/s320/ZC4RH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span>I am just <b>SO </b>excited to have added this very, very rare entity to my list of countries worked and confirmed via 2-M EME! Opportunities to work such stations come along seldom so to check this one off is a <b>HUGE</b> satisfaction to me. My sincere <span style="color: red;"><b>THANKS </b></span>to Chris, Jos, and Dave for all their efforts in making this happen!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span>Previously I have worked Chris, PA2CHR, and Jos, PA3FYC, from </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span>TD9FYC (2018) and </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span>VP2EMB (2019) as both New Countries for me. I'm anxiously waiting to see where they go next!<br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-28900067043827812992023-01-23T18:47:00.005-05:002023-01-24T09:24:04.040-05:00DX Spots that "Only YOU Need" on Your Phone<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMR6eSpoiUVFxQE0BYYI9OIx1QUBjazhdlRK_sdKbDAdBaoMoFIvhUnQ4V4XQkaYbTaKay_ZLxLDRObXz-gbKBKdMUZJX8inUd4h8V9_KrlMBjA_aMzV-6c4KPi6KbknLP37i5H87rJ-haFioR0IChmKpQ6lcBdmgvOX_14n527e-W5lFRYVp1_QW-A/s202/HamAlert%20Logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="202" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMR6eSpoiUVFxQE0BYYI9OIx1QUBjazhdlRK_sdKbDAdBaoMoFIvhUnQ4V4XQkaYbTaKay_ZLxLDRObXz-gbKBKdMUZJX8inUd4h8V9_KrlMBjA_aMzV-6c4KPi6KbknLP37i5H87rJ-haFioR0IChmKpQ6lcBdmgvOX_14n527e-W5lFRYVp1_QW-A/w163-h144/HamAlert%20Logo.jpg" style="float: left; height: 121px; width: 138px;" /></a></div>Chasing DX on 6-M is always challenging. The propagation is not very predictable and stations can appear only for moments before disappearing - never to be heard again. I have long searched for a way to be notified when there was an opening that "might" allow me to add a new country to my totals. Early on my push was to just reach the 100 entity level for 6-M DXCC. My quest took 37 years and 10 months on the band before DXCC was achieved. Still, mine was the first 6-M DXCC in West Virginia and only the 739th award issued worldwide. During a lot of my pursuit there were very few countries who authorized operation on 50 MHz. And, most major manufacturers did not include that band in their radios. (<b>Plus, FT8 did not exist!</b>)<br /><p></p><p>Very early on there was a net on 28.885 MHz which alerted folks to openings around the country. In 1989 it alerted me to an opening for KG6DX on Guam. That opening lasted less than 90 seconds for me but gave me a New Country. Sometime in the late 1990's, I joined with several of my 6-M DX'ing friends all over the country, and created a telephone alerting network to let others know when an opening was happening. I kept and distributed a list of calls, names, phone numbers, XYL's name (in case she answered the phone), and a listing of the prefixes that person <b>Did <i>NOT</i> Need.</b> Below is a snippet of a later copy of this list (click on any image to see it larger):</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqiz7KicGfVEKObyPhUAoy19TlrXvEK4fmROW8NYZ1onWkJA_o0tKOk6grne83CP9IhEPyJdCyOPougyvIPFC3TGS_KRS11sed1lxLvapqn8hVdZ0VojXeOkQcv04VTlXLjOLzWJzxx_aqPIq7Pv-EhcKGJ0XLuOMDiOC8KCKxXX99GqMxhVihkigeQ/s653/Not%20Needed%20List.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="653" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqiz7KicGfVEKObyPhUAoy19TlrXvEK4fmROW8NYZ1onWkJA_o0tKOk6grne83CP9IhEPyJdCyOPougyvIPFC3TGS_KRS11sed1lxLvapqn8hVdZ0VojXeOkQcv04VTlXLjOLzWJzxx_aqPIq7Pv-EhcKGJ0XLuOMDiOC8KCKxXX99GqMxhVihkigeQ/s320/Not%20Needed%20List.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>One tool I also used was to put a "Baby Monitor" at the radio, let the radio scan the lower part of the band, and take the monitor with me when I was out of the shack. In later years I set up Logger32 to send a text message to my phone when Telnet posted a spot for a New One for me.<br /></p><p>Most recently I have been using <a href="https://hamapps.com/" target="_blank"><b>JTAlert</b></a> to announce <b>NEW COUNTRY</b> or <b>NEW GRID</b> over the computer speakers when my station copied a New One. This has been very helpful and alerted me to the fact that I was copying China while I was on the back porch grilling burgers!</p><p>But if I depend on only being alerted when my station actually copies a New One, I may not make it to the radio in time to score a QSO because the openings are so short. Over the years I have missed many New Ones because I did not have the radio turned on, I was at the store or otherwise unaware of an opening, or multiple other reasons. In reality you can not sit at the radio all day waiting for the propagation gods to favor your location. But, as we know, (per <b><i>K4OM</i></b>) the way to succeed on 6-M (or most bands) takes your "<b><span style="color: red;">Butt in the Chair!</span></b>"</p><p>The trick is an "Early Warning" system. Something that would tell me that a country I need is being heard or spotted "somewhere near me." Call it my <b><span style="color: red;">6-M DEW Line</span></b>. I think I may have found that! It is <a href="https://hamalert.org/about" target="_blank"><b>HamAlert</b></a> which is a is system that allows you to get notifications when a desired station appears on
the <a href="https://dxwatch.com/">DX cluster</a>, the <a href="http://www.reversebeacon.net">Reverse Beacon Network</a>,
<a href="https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk">SOTAwatch</a>, <a href="https://pota.app">POTA</a>, or <a href="https://pskreporter.info">PSK Reporter</a>. You only need to sign up for a HamAlert account (free), load the HamAlert app on your phone, and enter "Triggers" to tell the system when you want to receive an alert. <b>AWESOME!</b> As you can see below, HamAlert processed over <b>13 MILLION</b> spots and sent over <b>218 THOUSAND</b> Alerts just <span style="color: red;"><b>TODAY!</b></span><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru7CdTzeGAQ20Xfa9qCqlPFWGbxtrnu3ToMQDCqidILQy0vu58mrQVEPglyur05jsZUI4m3KpqQsapK_R1PM_IuCRn43jsdcajHXCcE3WrP6F-JzILCiZgDB2qvv7iwkxQT6nhJDIWgxHU7xmYMg1bSC9ZbJ3UrdSRBIq2VeQEcP1r9SLcmOsECC-Jg/s675/HamAlert%20Stats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="675" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru7CdTzeGAQ20Xfa9qCqlPFWGbxtrnu3ToMQDCqidILQy0vu58mrQVEPglyur05jsZUI4m3KpqQsapK_R1PM_IuCRn43jsdcajHXCcE3WrP6F-JzILCiZgDB2qvv7iwkxQT6nhJDIWgxHU7xmYMg1bSC9ZbJ3UrdSRBIq2VeQEcP1r9SLcmOsECC-Jg/s320/HamAlert%20Stats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You can set up the parameters (Triggers, Limits, Destinations, etc.) on the online <a href="https://hamalert.org/" target="_blank">HamAlert</a> page. Under "Destinations" I chose the HamAlert app on my iPhone as where the alerts would be sent and chose "Morse" for the sound. I made no changes from the defaults on the "Limits" page. On the "Triggers" page, I set up a Trigger for 6m and attempted to load my Club Log records into the "DXCC" condition. Unfortunately after the upload, HamAlert only had 104 entities for me on 6-M instead of the 143 it should have had. So, I ended up editing the DXCC list manually for the 197 entities I have not worked. <b><span style="color: red;">NOTE:</span></b> Do not take too long editing your list without SAVEing it as you can be logged out of HamAlert and will have to start over. (<i>This is the voice of experience talking!</i>)<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONpd_SgW4N3Nh_D54h8R5j3vtUDhXDU9HYMJP_FHgG6sX3r9FSsLqcfygDGiLFI401wOxtqaaMQj4oFxIjCqNHY34-kfAGZmCnn6UqMGWTyNFTUWmep77wSImfDbPm0roNsSU-QRyZ6rD-O21DhEgNOdRjfAFgMMVQ_OJm69CrM9SZ5BPP6JAE9SDWA/s502/Triggers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONpd_SgW4N3Nh_D54h8R5j3vtUDhXDU9HYMJP_FHgG6sX3r9FSsLqcfygDGiLFI401wOxtqaaMQj4oFxIjCqNHY34-kfAGZmCnn6UqMGWTyNFTUWmep77wSImfDbPm0roNsSU-QRyZ6rD-O21DhEgNOdRjfAFgMMVQ_OJm69CrM9SZ5BPP6JAE9SDWA/s320/Triggers.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><p>The first time I did this I was getting a lot of spots from VK's for VK and ZL stations which I need. But, that was just Too Much Information (TMI) that I could not use. This was because HamAlert was processing spots from everywhere to generate my alerts. So, I set a condition where the CQ Zone of the "Spotter of the DX" had to be in the U.S. or Canada (Zone 3, 4, and 5) - see above image. That stopped the spots completely. But would it still work the way I wanted? Since I could see on the Cluster that U.S. stations were working Brazil, I edited the DXCC list so that it showed I needed Brazil. The alerts started coming in (only from U.S. hams) so I knew I had it working. Editing the DXCC list to remove Brazil from my "needs" and the PY alerts stopped.<br /></p><p>Then, a spot for ZP, Paraguay, appeared! That was one I need! But, after rushing to the radio, I did not have propagation. Still it alerted me to the "possibility" of a ZP in the future. Below is a screenshot of what appeared on my cell phone. I received an alert sound in CW and the alert information appeared on my phone's Notification Screen just like other news or weather apps.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm3EKUSoJ87uDXYD57qhZZ-GgY5x6cEheY8KZRzfqrt_qTfssv9ZFu_PeMzueYBlkGPtD5DLHTxMjDrbA_SGU5Wr33JIuNYR0Q5ZUsOnZVChOEQdG-0iJd__oMyx65F448foaMZr8LojgYKEu43b3MhZaR1HsA6uAuy6u6JcjSkYld8GIsdhX1qMBAQ/s644/ZP5DA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="644" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm3EKUSoJ87uDXYD57qhZZ-GgY5x6cEheY8KZRzfqrt_qTfssv9ZFu_PeMzueYBlkGPtD5DLHTxMjDrbA_SGU5Wr33JIuNYR0Q5ZUsOnZVChOEQdG-0iJd__oMyx65F448foaMZr8LojgYKEu43b3MhZaR1HsA6uAuy6u6JcjSkYld8GIsdhX1qMBAQ/s320/ZP5DA.jpg" width="320" /> <br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p>As "Sources" I chose spots from the "Cluster" and spots received by "PSKReporter." That way, if a station copies a country I need but they do not post it to the Cluster, and if they have WSJT-X or JTDX set to send their reception information to PSKReporter - I'll see that spot! No need to just depend on ONLY stations who choose to spot a station on the Cluster. </p><p>The second night after setting this up my phone started receiving alerts from hams on the West Coast spotting VK and ZL stations. BINGO! Just what I wanted. No alerts "from" VK or ZL hams. ONLY alerts from those in the U.S.<br /></p><p></p><p></p>With the 6-M season just around the corner and the Sunspots ramping up, I have great hopes that this app will assist me in working more New Ones!W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-59923110500347726272022-11-03T12:03:00.001-04:002022-11-03T12:03:28.643-04:00Z66X, Rep. of Kosovo, Confirmed on 6-M<p>Between June 28 and July 4, 2022, Adrian, KO8SCA, Martti, OH2BH, Ville, OH2MM, Driton, Z61DX Enver, Z61EK, and Naim, Z62NS, carried out an activity from the Republic of Kosovo. Their plan was to concentrate on 6-M to hand out the most recent DXCC entity, Z6, to as many as possible. Their plan was also to concentrate on stations in the USA and Japan. They took an Elecraft K3S, an SPE amplifier and a 7-element InnovAntenna (LFA-2) with an 8.9m boom.</p><p>Of course, I was primed and ready to try and work them as this would be a New Country for me on the Magic Band. Day after day I was sitting at the radio with my antenna headed toward Kosovo but no signals were received. In fact, from what I could see on PSK Reporter, there was no one in the U.S. copying Z66X. Then on June 30th I saw PSK Reporter spots showing that Z66X was being copied in the USA. (Click on any image below to see it in a larger size.)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FMZ77EbVj4crzvM7aMtt39kRD_zNrv6KgsG8Il8Ct15SZPV0SgqxKZxz_oy87W51HW0bZ5_elpxziifdRWlZg2ylGMV9VMcfWhv7Wz49CYjwrx-SGCB8GdvlUjJDbuNFaIoETwkLVvno7REnD7vwpzKXOF8AA8yOhcSK03YRxRlzjtOFWr7QqpnFOQ/s1071/June%2030%201st%20PSK%20Spots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="1071" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FMZ77EbVj4crzvM7aMtt39kRD_zNrv6KgsG8Il8Ct15SZPV0SgqxKZxz_oy87W51HW0bZ5_elpxziifdRWlZg2ylGMV9VMcfWhv7Wz49CYjwrx-SGCB8GdvlUjJDbuNFaIoETwkLVvno7REnD7vwpzKXOF8AA8yOhcSK03YRxRlzjtOFWr7QqpnFOQ/w417-h143/June%2030%201st%20PSK%20Spots.jpg" width="417" /></a></div><p></p><p>However, the opening seemed to favor the South East part of the country and not me. Note there was 1-1/2 hours between that first spot (on the left) and the ones on the right. This was good information. It told me not to give up if an opening seemed to be short lived.<br /></p><p>As the days wore on, it seemed that almost no one in the U.S. was working Z66X. I was there, in the chair, every morning - just in case. That patience was rewarded on July 3rd when I had my first decode of Z66X:<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTLKSTPZCQYvs5VCItBiv5t4HxUAbSiLfkRwH9z4sVoUYYu_4l5mDUw0NcrcmS12LDZ9iSJxoLw-qIfEPfgbE265kVWZK42LtnRIv5O_CCACztqONWL_uyl91HcrIcagu6rqOXP7ycs1f2Ekpj6N_PCqf41_TL75UEn2h2iyVnSZWnqpdq_728heHOg/s540/1st%20Dedode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="540" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTLKSTPZCQYvs5VCItBiv5t4HxUAbSiLfkRwH9z4sVoUYYu_4l5mDUw0NcrcmS12LDZ9iSJxoLw-qIfEPfgbE265kVWZK42LtnRIv5O_CCACztqONWL_uyl91HcrIcagu6rqOXP7ycs1f2Ekpj6N_PCqf41_TL75UEn2h2iyVnSZWnqpdq_728heHOg/s320/1st%20Dedode.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The bad news is that was a "one and done" decode. Nothing else was copied from Kosovo for some 2-1/2 hours. Still, I remembered what had happened three days earlier so I stuck with it. That effort was rewarded almost 3 hours after my first decode when I again began decoding Z66X. I began to call and call and after many transmissions, made a good QSO:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcjvhajoLhZ2xb-g_ywUVWufyXKYHyn8vyxHXP3NWSiUDF8gPcslebOF8Ml6Dxxj20MPuRpEqSeh-sQXhcE6MiCcijCzQ73EGemc09BKF9p9RPZqO_aAe-hftXqj37sUi2TzDUsTYQj06bC0dtJFBGkkpakSGiQ4PI-iJMRv9Nx1W7BTYgP4OEIrTZA/s525/Z66X%20QSO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="73" data-original-width="525" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcjvhajoLhZ2xb-g_ywUVWufyXKYHyn8vyxHXP3NWSiUDF8gPcslebOF8Ml6Dxxj20MPuRpEqSeh-sQXhcE6MiCcijCzQ73EGemc09BKF9p9RPZqO_aAe-hftXqj37sUi2TzDUsTYQj06bC0dtJFBGkkpakSGiQ4PI-iJMRv9Nx1W7BTYgP4OEIrTZA/s320/Z66X%20QSO.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There was a lot of jumping up and down and many "<span style="color: red;"><b>YA HOOO</b></span>"s taking place in my shack after that! A <b>VERY RARE</b> New One had been added to my 6-M Entities Worked. Just 16 days later I was rewarded with an LoTW Confirmation and today, a beautiful QSL arrived in the mail:<br /></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0oQ5xQy_fwMpOEY8qyF6vcm2MiM-71DIIQOl8_9Nx7Qi_XTjcX3XyMx0UXBu7-A1C1xKLPYxi1SDHpbQ9a9_ljUSxMUssRAghGHRG31r2xXLp8YH-c6ypxAtdSx2hO1E5hf2w0z3bH7EsSKlhxT83Pg-AoksmqKG86uDwLHg-mlitsF3Ot7Ioo-HAw/s741/Z66X%20LoTW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="95" data-original-width="741" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0oQ5xQy_fwMpOEY8qyF6vcm2MiM-71DIIQOl8_9Nx7Qi_XTjcX3XyMx0UXBu7-A1C1xKLPYxi1SDHpbQ9a9_ljUSxMUssRAghGHRG31r2xXLp8YH-c6ypxAtdSx2hO1E5hf2w0z3bH7EsSKlhxT83Pg-AoksmqKG86uDwLHg-mlitsF3Ot7Ioo-HAw/s320/Z66X%20LoTW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6p6AroURacRN1-tLlBJUHodPtWdz9laFh8xJag17WmAk0b7wbOEEXXpO9A0sBgZTaIXey6zUEG9sktsszkmt8fHnK9HrrMEPzCp_SLD-oTW0Irr-jA5v7RN0J_rqOpUkmqin6zP8FCpEpJheECMh1kWfwKFwRd6QjRB3RXYBshenE5AlNZxZNSWLW4g/s2437/Z66X%20QSL%20side-by-side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="2437" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6p6AroURacRN1-tLlBJUHodPtWdz9laFh8xJag17WmAk0b7wbOEEXXpO9A0sBgZTaIXey6zUEG9sktsszkmt8fHnK9HrrMEPzCp_SLD-oTW0Irr-jA5v7RN0J_rqOpUkmqin6zP8FCpEpJheECMh1kWfwKFwRd6QjRB3RXYBshenE5AlNZxZNSWLW4g/s320/Z66X%20QSL%20side-by-side.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><div>When I found the following recap on Twitter, it really put into perspective the magnitude of my QSO:</div><div><br /></div><div>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204,204,204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div id="m_7262034297460229844gmail-node-43717">
KOSOVO <span class="il">Z66X</span> 6M DX-PEDITION RECAP<br />
<br />
Many have wondered about the delay on publishing the <span class="il">Z66X</span> QSO statistics
and log updates for the variety of databases such as ClubLog and LoTW.<br />
<br />
The truth is that Martti, OH2BH was diagnosed with COVID following the
Z6 trip and he is still suffering of it. The other <span class="il">Z66X</span> team members,
Adrian, KO8SCA and Ville, OH2MM have shown no symptoms yet and they are
assisting with the log process. In total some 3572 QSOs were made, out
of which <b><span style="color: red;">44 QSOs on 6M FT8 were made with North America</span></b>. Please QRX for a
few more days for the log update.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Champ, E21EIC had the entire Siam DX Group present in the
temple to talk to Buddha about Martti’s case. The message was loud and
clear: “Buddha says that the DX-ers never die!”<br />
<br />
You can also delight Martti, OH2BH with your “get well” wishes by email.
</div></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote><div>73 Al 4L5A</div></blockquote>
</div>
</div><p> 6-M is always the "Magic Band" but sometimes you have to "make your own magic" with planning, patience, and perseverance!</p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-9182548538158613322022-09-07T15:41:00.001-04:002022-09-07T15:41:34.814-04:00Another Cable Order from Messi & Paoloni<p>As I am getting close to completing my new antenna array (a pair of 14-element InnovAntenna XPOL yagis) I wanted to make sure I had the best possible cable to connect my antennas to my station. Of course, in my opinion, there is <span style="color: red;"><b>ONLY ONE</b></span> choice for that - <a href="https://messi.it/en/home.htm" target="_blank"><b>Messi & Paoloni</b></a> from Italy. If you visit their website you will see a pop-up showing that you can now purchase their products from <b><a href="https://www.gigaparts.com/" target="_blank">GIGAPARTS</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.buytwowayradios.com/" target="_blank">BUY TWO WAY RADIOS</a></b>. However, since I have made several purchases of custom cables direct from M&P, I chose to do that again.</p><p>Instead of buying a standard length of a particular cable, I ordered cables to fit the place where I needed them and, I had their best quality "N-Male" connectors <b>SOLDERED </b>on to the ends of the cable. Since my station is already using the ULTRAFLEX 10/.400" cables to run from the LNA's to the <a href="http://www.linkrf.ch/" target="_blank"><b>LinkRF</b></a> <b>IQ+</b> dual channel receiver, I chose that same cable for my jumpers from the Power Dividers to the T/R relay. I also purchased a couple of 3-foot jumpers for use in the shack.</p><p>I placed the order on August 31 and received all the cables on September 6, 2022 - less than a week from Italy! It would have been even sooner but the Labor Day weekend intervened. Below you can see 2 of the cables I ordered (a 1m and a 4m) complete with the "Test Results" for each cable! <span style="color: red;"><b>AWESOME!</b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9GTMQMpxJE2jn3mmC3lxt9qKljscJHErQJD2Zb9sw25hFqYI209AIbwHcNVXefsQHayMVXzzOqgA15oO7IRlXMqZZ1tZQ2IbVHiFsHR418ss9neluQa4RS30tE2gGPT6Mtir_7-cD1LS8c3NsuYa7UkxnfWWe7OknXnhOZqyWZIF4NPcjErs37iDiw/s1026/2022-09-06%20Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1026" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9GTMQMpxJE2jn3mmC3lxt9qKljscJHErQJD2Zb9sw25hFqYI209AIbwHcNVXefsQHayMVXzzOqgA15oO7IRlXMqZZ1tZQ2IbVHiFsHR418ss9neluQa4RS30tE2gGPT6Mtir_7-cD1LS8c3NsuYa7UkxnfWWe7OknXnhOZqyWZIF4NPcjErs37iDiw/w400-h285/2022-09-06%20Order.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-76275022240215073292022-08-20T12:22:00.004-04:002022-09-06T13:37:36.931-04:00Custom-Made Driven Element Measuring Tool<p>In tuning my InnovAntenna LFA 2-M yagis (and later my XPOL antennas) I needed a simple way to measure the Driven Element (DE) dimensions. The manual for my 2-M antennas says:</p><p></p><blockquote>Hose clips are ready to place on the driven element sections and need to be loosened to allow the insertion of the end-loop element sections. The loop end sections are easy to identify and once inserted should be tightened to around 0.890m from the inside of the loop section one side, to the inside of the loop section on the other side. This loop will need adjusting once the antenna is complete with the above measurement being the starting point.</blockquote><p>According to the manual for my 2-M antennas above, the DE loop sections should
initially be set to around 0.890m from the inside of the loop section
on one side, to the inside of the loop section on the other side. I
found it really difficult to measure this distance across the square
boom while I was trying to adjust them. So, I measured the width of the
boom at 38mm and deducted that from the 890mm total distance (890 - 38 =
852mm). Dividing that by two gives 426mm from the inside of the DE to
the closest side of the square boom. </p><p>The solution thus became obvious. Since the antenna boom is square, a tool could be built to measure from the closest side of the boom to the inside of the DE loop. So I took a short length of 1/2" X 1/2" wooden molding and taped a printout of a millimeter scale to it. The printout of the mm scale was not 100% accurate but I decided it would serve perfectly as a "relative" measuring tool. That is, if I measure one Driven Element at 426mm according to this tool, I could measure another to 426mm and they would be the same. It would not matter if the distance was actually 427mm. Just being able to adjust the corners of each DE loop to be the same distance and then adjust the DE loop on the other side of the boom to be the same was my goal. I positioned the printout on the wooden stick so that the "Ø" on the printout was exactly 300mm from the far end. That made it easy to adjust the DE's to the initial setting of 426mm (just add 300mm to the scale reading) and then move the DE's in easily repeatable amounts. <i> (Click on any image to view a larger size.)</i><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNHaCISmXBFMSQlILl0bFIzXBfBZCzxENa1jMKKYLe7iVHMSB9DTTVO24dCga767UNl9M_O0D2CeNkcc4_2EqSnucKtUQPo1iZxpCkDcKnjGC9nzEsCpJqm2xG-Bf-ipb0TycbaCquDuF8fOGeMDUL8Ka5D_SMJfVot8CHhVTB7WSwsHJR8uEIp9q3g/s1118/Driven%20Element%20Measuring%20Tool.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="1118" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNHaCISmXBFMSQlILl0bFIzXBfBZCzxENa1jMKKYLe7iVHMSB9DTTVO24dCga767UNl9M_O0D2CeNkcc4_2EqSnucKtUQPo1iZxpCkDcKnjGC9nzEsCpJqm2xG-Bf-ipb0TycbaCquDuF8fOGeMDUL8Ka5D_SMJfVot8CHhVTB7WSwsHJR8uEIp9q3g/w320-h53/Driven%20Element%20Measuring%20Tool.jpg" title="Custom-Made DE Measuring Tool" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Custon-Made Driven Element Measuring Tool<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>All I had to do was to place the end of the wooden stick on the side of the square boom and then measure to the inside of the DE using the scale on the measuring tool.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQy7rXWUXDlxjVjnvZj3aUnEWPa359zDsYUr2hL7kXWu4VfTFQE5ly3rp1vX4AwY9DnUN8BnXJS1AMWhT90eEmgKOqfIP6S5kL9VAOJCsdyvS2zekwpKieWoLISSwytecdp-n6uS4i4K7s-_ZKjQXj15QNt2p4V6CBwBzusA7KFZXvRZhzUGVaaSaaoA/s1162/Using%20DE%20Measuring%20Tool.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1162" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQy7rXWUXDlxjVjnvZj3aUnEWPa359zDsYUr2hL7kXWu4VfTFQE5ly3rp1vX4AwY9DnUN8BnXJS1AMWhT90eEmgKOqfIP6S5kL9VAOJCsdyvS2zekwpKieWoLISSwytecdp-n6uS4i4K7s-_ZKjQXj15QNt2p4V6CBwBzusA7KFZXvRZhzUGVaaSaaoA/w400-h239/Using%20DE%20Measuring%20Tool.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DE Measuring Tool in Use<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Once I tightened the hose clamp (Jubilee Clip in the U.K.) on one end of a DE, it was extremely easy to move the measuring tool to the other end, adjust it to the same measurement and then tighten that hose clamp. This made the adjustable portion of that DE square to the boom. Then I just used the same measurement on the tool to set the DE on the other side of the boom. Simple! I sure wish I had thought of this back in 2017 when I was trying to adjust my 13-L antennas!</p><p>And, after I posted the above, Carlos, WD6Y made a similar tool for 70cm:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGw82knyhoZqqv9B4poqjrQTMtp-gAUDOWq2PhVv2NAxrHXpnsFHXWHp1l6Ts9bp8AbmHDMI4PPtQCb6PbnzfOoEjsBsdUyQ_VzH0n6ep_7cc7yKFOmkuUvGMHmbG24cDybt4Yhv8hZN-ZB8uvm_krHBjtBRkMuX0Ws5MKeeLJsKVWVg_TNHR-W8hFg/s666/WD6Y_70cm_DE%20_Measuring_Tool.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGw82knyhoZqqv9B4poqjrQTMtp-gAUDOWq2PhVv2NAxrHXpnsFHXWHp1l6Ts9bp8AbmHDMI4PPtQCb6PbnzfOoEjsBsdUyQ_VzH0n6ep_7cc7yKFOmkuUvGMHmbG24cDybt4Yhv8hZN-ZB8uvm_krHBjtBRkMuX0Ws5MKeeLJsKVWVg_TNHR-W8hFg/w271-h400/WD6Y_70cm_DE%20_Measuring_Tool.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-64914423556213453422021-06-27T17:36:00.003-04:002022-06-23T08:54:54.317-04:00FINALLY the 8-L 6-M InnovAntenna is UP!<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1Wi3HXqi-HGI5kgV1FffWqoeKBErxGgI6rC1ziduKWNcoBPQ453Fv0AQZbrKno2lYjlN1H3AvpPuSB04EblNd6mfThH6QYtQl_Ite90idofdRRuTVZRf70jzRUPafkgZweVw05No6ea2/s853/Through+the+Trees.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="641" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1Wi3HXqi-HGI5kgV1FffWqoeKBErxGgI6rC1ziduKWNcoBPQ453Fv0AQZbrKno2lYjlN1H3AvpPuSB04EblNd6mfThH6QYtQl_Ite90idofdRRuTVZRf70jzRUPafkgZweVw05No6ea2/w300-h400/Through+the+Trees.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8-L at 95'AGL Through the Trees on Rohn 45<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>This project has been a long time coming. In July 2015 the 8-L 6-M InnovAntenna yagi arrived from Great Britain. I had spoken to Justin Johnson, GØKSC, at the Dayton Hamvention in May and placed the order. But it was not until August that I was able to construct it. Check <a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2015/08/building-innovantennas-8-l-6-m-lfa-2.html" target="_blank"><b>THIS Blog Post</b></a> for those details.<p></p><p>The build took place at the QTH of my good friend, Tim, K8RRT, because he had much more available room than me. Once the antenna was built, I raised it to about 39-feet on Tim's Rohn 45G tower to proceed with tuning the antenna. Check <a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2015/08/tuning-8-l-6-m-innovantennas-lfa2-yagi.html" target="_blank"><b>THIS Blog Post</b></a> for the details on the antenna tuning.</p><p>Once I had the new antenna at my QTH, I was not able to get it up on the tower immediately. My tower is located in the woods behind my house (down over the hill.) The base is located about 35 feet below the level of the house and it is quite difficult to get to and work around. Still, as Lance, W7GJ, was about to operate a 6-M EME DX'pedition from V6M, the Federated States of Micronesia, I felt the burning need to try and work him even if the antenna was not atop the big tower. So as any reasonable ham would do, I erected the antenna temporarily in my front yard! <a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2015/08/tempory-installation-of-8-l-6-m.html" target="_blank"><b>Check THIS Blog Post</b></a> for the temporary installation details. This did not please the Homeowner's Association but the really good news is that <u><b><span style="color: red;">I WAS HEARD</span></b></u> by Lance! I was not able to complete the QSO but still, it was 1/2 of a 6-M EME QSO in my book!<br /></p><p>I still could not find a way to get the antenna up onto the tall tower. It lay on the patio for the next 3 years. But in the summer of 2018 I really wanted to join in on all the DX fun (it had been 4 years since I worked a New One on the Magic Band) - and, I hoped to just maybe work a Japanese station on 50 MHz. So, I took down the EME antennas from the short tower at the house and put up the 6-M antenna. See a photo on the Photo Link below.</p><p>In the 3 weeks the antenna was on the EME tower, I managed to work <span style="color: red;"><b>ELEVEN New Ones</b></span> bringing my 6-M total to 121. This certainly proved to me the value of this antenna. However, it had to come down before it was damaged. I had just "roped" it to the side of the EME tower and any windy day or a thunderstorm threatened to damage the antenna. Still, it had proved its worth!</p><p>Move forward three more years to the present and I finally decided that I was just not going to be physically able to work on my 85-foot tower myself. So, I contracted with a firm who has done a lot of antenna work for local hams. I had them remove the damaged 4-L SteppIR and the 12-foot mast that supported it. Then they pulled up the new 15-foot mast (<a href="https://w8tn.blogspot.com/2021/06/1-58-heliax-feedline-mast-for-6-m-beam.html" target="_blank"><b>See THIS Post</b></a> for info on the new mast,) the 1-5/8" Heliax, and then pulled up the 8-L 6-M InnovAntenna to it's new location at 95-feet AGL. </p><p>It took a week to complete this project. You can <span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/h9wisuiV5MeSYDaj7" target="_blank"><b>Click HERE for Photos</b></a></span> of this project. Click on the "i" within the circle to read a description of each photo. Then click on the first photo to move through all the images in a larger size. Also,<b> <span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://youtu.be/Sratv7DRk1E" target="_blank">Click HERE for Video</a></span></b> (less than 6 minutes) which is a compilation of several shorter videos shot while the antenna was being pulled up from ground level to its final resting place.<br /></p><p>Day #1 of the project was me with my grandsons, Owen and Grant, clearing the area, putting together the sections of the beam, <b>me breaking the balun!</b>, and the need for me to make <b>TWO </b>trips up and down the hill. <b><span style="color: red;">WHEW!</span></b><br /><br />Day #2 had Joe Beam and his crew come and remove the 4-L SteppIR antenna. Thank goodness the grandsons, Owen and Grant were also here to help take apart that monster. I only had to make one trip up and down the hill and don't think I had another one in me. After accidentally breaking the balun, I followed the advice of Charlie, N8RR, and managed to re-build the balun with a new piece of coax plus using the 25 ferrite toroids from the damaged balun. You can see the result of that re-build on the above Photo Link.<br /><br />Day #3 started with "Marvin" of Joe's crew climbing and "limbing" a bunch of trees to give enough room for the antenna to go up and to later rotate. Due to the physical exercise of the previous days, I was not able to make it outside until noon except to greet the crew upon arrival. After the Aleve<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(tm)</span> kicked in, I went out and made one more trip over the hill to help with pulling up the 8-L 6-M beam. Owen ran the tag line and both of Joe's crew were on the tower. Joe was at the top of the hill running the winch. You can see a photo of the antenna on its way up on the Photo Link above.<br /><br />Day #4 "Marvin" and "Paul" came to trim one more tree and to pull up the 1-5/8" Heliax. It was a "Good News - Bad News" kind of day. <br /><br />My Grandson Owen and I rolled out the 190-feet (or so) of 1-5/8" Heliax with "Paul" from Joe Beam's crew holding the end which had the 7/16" DIN connector which Tim and I had installed. Click <a href="http://w8tn.blogspot.com/2021/06/1-58-heliax-feedline-mast-for-6-m-beam.html" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> for details on that. This would be the end at the top of the tower. We had to use nearly all the neighbor's yard clear to the street for the cable to unroll the entire length of cable. <br /><br />Right away Paul hooked up the pull rope and using the winch, pulled the Heliax up to the top of the tower. "Marvin" was up on the tower to secure the cable. This went VERY fast! I can not imagine trying to haul this cable up by hand. It weighs 0.72 pounds per foot so the 140-feet or so that we used today weighs about 100 pounds.<br /><br />At this point Paul went up the tower to attach the "hangers" to secure the Heliax to the tower plus carry the weight of that cable. Marvin started climbing a tree that had to be cut back and began working on that. Owen took off to the doctor because he picked up a serious case of poison ivy or poison oak when he was here on Day #3. He ended up with a steroid shot and is feeling somewhat better.<br /><br />I then began installing the female N-Connector on the 1/2-inch Heliax which runs under the back yard and into the shack. Just to make sure this system would play, I put a small amount of my blood onto my work! Before I finished that connector, my grandson, Grant, showed up and he helped me saw off about 42 feet of the 1-5/8-inch Heliax which was surplus to this installation and then helped me use the Commscope-Andrew Easiax Automated Prep Tool (CPT-158U) to prepare this big feedline for the connector installation. That went quite well and the big Heliax now has a 7/16" DIN connector on the shack end as well as the antenna end.<br /> <br />At this point, Joe Beam showed up just as his crew was finishing and packing up. Grant left to go do other things. After Joe and his crew left, I finished the connector installation on the 1/2-inch Heliax and connected the 1/2" to the 1-5/8" cables with a 10-foot jumper of 1/2" SureFlex Heliax with an N-Male on one end and a 7/16" DIN Male on the other. <br /><br />I then taped Ziploc bags over each of the connector joints - just in case. As it turned out, as I was picking up my tools, it started to rain! Not a lot but it was enough to make me glad I had covered my butt so to speak. I will apply a more permanent weatherproofing solution to those joints at a later time.<br /><br />I quickly hooked up the new antenna and did an SWR check. Things looked REALLY good. Remember my antenna was tuned for the low end of the band for SSB and CW but my tuner will adjust the SWR at 50.313 to 1:1 so, no worries!</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JqNk3qQFGZ08x2SYCRS4skAS3PTafgkBLuiWw5flEjzhpSSE-MkGXwzXW8SMd-Zb8aOCYV9VGKuVYp0ywHXi3CIcTZhigKl2t43VEGm-GSsN0r7c1sH-ZSaPG2nO-U1RadwHKnAIQ_co/s395/Logger32+Antenna+Direction.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="350" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JqNk3qQFGZ08x2SYCRS4skAS3PTafgkBLuiWw5flEjzhpSSE-MkGXwzXW8SMd-Zb8aOCYV9VGKuVYp0ywHXi3CIcTZhigKl2t43VEGm-GSsN0r7c1sH-ZSaPG2nO-U1RadwHKnAIQ_co/w243-h274/Logger32+Antenna+Direction.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Logger32 Beam Heading <br /></td></tr></tbody></table>50.100 1.1:1<br />50.150 1.2:1<br />50.200 1.3:1<br />50.250 1.3:1<br />50.300 1.4:1<br /><p></p><p><br />Now here is where the Bad News comes in. Just after checking out the SWR, I found my rotor did not rotate. That was a huge <b><span style="color: red;">BUMMER!</span></b> I was trying to hear the K8MMM beacon and went to rotate the antenna a little to the West and the rotor controller gave me an "E 1" error message. At this point I called it quits for the day. But when I came back later, I found that the rotor would rotate just fine in the ClockWise direction but not at all in the CCW direction. Possibly that was just an issue with the CW wire between the controller and the rotor. I also found that I had picked up two ticks on my left leg. Thankfully neither one infected me with any "tick-borne" diseases.</p><p>On Monday, "Paul" came to help figure out the rotor issue. He climbed the tower checking the rotor cable as he went and found no problems. Where the cable attaches to the pigtail coming out of the rotor I had used a pair of "Trailer Plugs." Paul found some corrosion there and by plugging/unplugging the connections plus a little cleaning of the pins, the rotor now turns just fine. As you can see in the image on the right, my M2 Orion RC2800PX rotor controller interfaces just fine with Logger32 to tell me where the antenna is pointed and to allow me to quickly and easily rotate the antenna. <a href="https://youtu.be/lNS4NBdxlGo" target="_blank"><b>Click HERE</b></a> for a 20-second video of this feature in action.<br /></p><p>I think this installation will play very well. There is approximately
262-feet of feedline from the antenna to the radio including all jumpers. The combination of
1-5/8" and 1/2" Heliax pieces should result in a total feedline loss of
1.35 dB which includes an allowance of 0.50 dB loss for 10 connectors
(0.05 dB per connector.)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92NM4i2bXTdl9Od2X4QDm_TutPfQw9-ombWK4vqhzKEbg8MGqXX-gMuKcnXl0MLJzaFJWY9cJulcXE2CMVUUH6fMS4aMITOEUQR6NbMepCGh3s0kX_sF3sK5KRv5jo0Aob1jtukS9g_XE/s365/9K2NO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="38" data-original-width="365" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92NM4i2bXTdl9Od2X4QDm_TutPfQw9-ombWK4vqhzKEbg8MGqXX-gMuKcnXl0MLJzaFJWY9cJulcXE2CMVUUH6fMS4aMITOEUQR6NbMepCGh3s0kX_sF3sK5KRv5jo0Aob1jtukS9g_XE/w400-h41/9K2NO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>On June 26, 2021, just 5 days after installing the antenna the above station was decoded. This 9K2NO (Kuwait) entity would be a New One for me (No. 124 on 6-M) but propagation did not last long enough for a QSO. I think at this point I will say this antenna project was definitely worth the effort! <b><span style="color: red;">Bring on the 6-M DX!!</span></b><br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-13525741841840372962021-06-05T19:17:00.000-04:002021-06-05T19:17:00.904-04:001-5/8" Heliax Feedline & Mast for 6-M Beam Installation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9jnbdyWATlTdV7GqVZ6PY62mlUrNX2sAN2K_KqnVhQdJlIzJeW6haxidbPd5YgL90RLvECKTswJOlNPSs8XPeLBMFQ8pIvktE4i-Dz8OsSH16JsEjFobsLhTmdvWogb5rV31-nab4aXH/s594/Bringing+it+Home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="518" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9jnbdyWATlTdV7GqVZ6PY62mlUrNX2sAN2K_KqnVhQdJlIzJeW6haxidbPd5YgL90RLvECKTswJOlNPSs8XPeLBMFQ8pIvktE4i-Dz8OsSH16JsEjFobsLhTmdvWogb5rV31-nab4aXH/w151-h173/Bringing+it+Home.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>Progress continues to be made on the 2021 Antenna Project to put the <a href="https://www.innovantennas.com/en/shop-page/190/3/vhf-uhf-ham-radio-antennas/50mhz-yagis-all/8-element-50mhz-lfa2-yagi-11-67mInnovAntennas%20shop.html" target="_blank"><b>8-L InnovAntennas 6-M yagi</b></a> (11.7m, or 38.4-foot boom) up on top of my 85-foot tower. <p></p><p>On May 24, 2021, Grandson Owen drove me to <a href="https://www.metalsdepot.com/" target="_blank"><b>Metals Depot</b></a> in Winchester, KY, with a trailer, to pick up the new mast - a 15-foot length of 1-1/2" Schedule 80, A500 Uncoated Steel Pipe, 1.90" O.D. x .200" wall x 1.50" I.D. (T511280 Structural Steel Pipe.) I had to go with this 1.9" O.D. pipe over a 2-inch O.D. mast because of the size of the top section of my tower. On the right you can see the photo of the new mast on the trailer. The inset shows a close-up of the end of the mast. To prevent the mast from rusting, grandsons Owen and Grant have sanded, primed and painted the mast as it was uncoated when I bought it. (<i>Click on any photo to see a larger image.</i>)<br /></p><p></p><p>Thankfully a few years ago I had acquired a length of used 1-5/8”
Heliax cable (Commscope-Andrew AVA7-50) which had been removed from a
cellphone tower. Click <b><a href="https://w8tn.com/Images/Bringing%20the%20Cable%20Home%20from%20Ravenswood.jpg" target="_blank">HERE</a> </b>to see a photo of the Grandsons (Owen & Grant) helping me bring the cable home. (Yes, they were <b>MUCH </b>younger then!)</p><p>The next job was to install connectors on the 1-5/8" Heliax. These connectors are 7/16 DIN female and each connector is 4 x 2-1/2 inches and weighs 1.7 pounds! Not your typical PL-259. You can see an image of one of those connectors on the left. I had worried about how to install these and recently found that Commscope-Andrew makes a special tool to do this. Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfvzrNQ1HAw" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> to see a video of this tool (CPT-158U) in operation. It is just amazing to me to see how simple it is to use this tool. After watching that video I decided I just "had" to have that tool for this project. I found it on eBay (new) for $85 so that was purchased.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjh3ei6EJNTOFevicbYg9ZZE2BXLZJDOfOpmOImmvvMF_ch85upiEbUvPwcGG0z2sMTSgXODOx34xU7QL1s9SiBp06DKB-YsYSPVMoLDEI9pZf4YbZSyHDVLm2EYdUbcBjYno32QAXsxW/s366/7-16+DIN+Female+Connector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="366" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjh3ei6EJNTOFevicbYg9ZZE2BXLZJDOfOpmOImmvvMF_ch85upiEbUvPwcGG0z2sMTSgXODOx34xU7QL1s9SiBp06DKB-YsYSPVMoLDEI9pZf4YbZSyHDVLm2EYdUbcBjYno32QAXsxW/w148-h126/7-16+DIN+Female+Connector.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then on June 1, 2021, Tim, K8RRT, came to help me install the first connector. This will be on the end of the cable that is at the top of the tower. Once the cable is installed and unrolled to the top of the hill, it will be cut to length and the other connector installed.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFCUSxMM_SgqAFVVjszxDj5PfIDJZDTs79wPRVKl9nTs-UtyR_xeM2YysAv_Qtrcno1ykWy3-JqEoeEqIbwtIujvIkAoDu4w4vhdVOxJPBX3_JUGC08c-3ELbu6bYP79edV0JoGmoPeFH/s715/Installing+Connector+-+Knuckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="456" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFCUSxMM_SgqAFVVjszxDj5PfIDJZDTs79wPRVKl9nTs-UtyR_xeM2YysAv_Qtrcno1ykWy3-JqEoeEqIbwtIujvIkAoDu4w4vhdVOxJPBX3_JUGC08c-3ELbu6bYP79edV0JoGmoPeFH/w133-h209/Installing+Connector+-+Knuckle.jpg" width="133" /></a>On the right you can see me working on prepping the cable to install the 7/16 DIN connector. Note the red-bordered inset - this is what happens when you fail to wear your gloves! But, this is a GOOD thing. As amateur radio lore goes, an antenna will just not work right unless you bleed on it!</p><p>I can attest that this method (using the Commscope-Andrew Easiax Automated Prep Tool) is totally the berries! I have installed connectors many times on 1/2-inch and 7/8-inch Heliax over the last 30+ years and this method beats the dickens out of the old methods! Cut the Heliax off flush, run the Easiax tool (chucked in a power drill) for 5-10 seconds to remove the outer conductor and trim everything else to size. Then, use the plastic separator tool to separate the foam from the outer conductor, put the two parts of the connector on the cable, and tighten! <b><span style="color: red;">DONE!</span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> You can see the installed connector on the left.</span></span></p>Why did I choose to use such large feedline? Since the feedpoint of the
6-M beam will be 272-feet from the transceiver/amplifier, I need to
minimize the loss in that length of feedline. For the entire 6-M feedline I will use 46-feet of <a href="https://messi.it/en/catalogue/50-ohm-cables-ham-radio/outstanding-performances/hyperflex-13.htm" target="_blank"><b>M&P HYPERFLEX 13/.500"</b></a> cable to connect the antenna balun to the top of the 1-5/8" Heliax. Then I will run the Heliax down the side of the tower and up to the top of the hill where my shack is located. This should take 150-feet of the Heliax. A 10-foot jumper of 1/2" SureFlex Heliax will connect the 1-5/8" Heliax to the 63-feet of 1/2" Heliax (LDF4-50A) that runs under the back yard, under the house and up to the shack. A 3-foot jumper of the M&P HYPERFLEX 13/.500" will connect to the amplifier. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lOtnYBE-TT__jkIRfyPPe7Clj4ms6TtcCwb2wq4Gdjsv5uIcjruELrdCY1wxRJgcaQi1DCWTbz16SK39A7_Sfm77F2m1wX1ibpgCRXZWlx-1Ym1XgvpQOhh0bktMif9rIOjihI8ghGfn/s534/Installed+Connector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="534" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lOtnYBE-TT__jkIRfyPPe7Clj4ms6TtcCwb2wq4Gdjsv5uIcjruELrdCY1wxRJgcaQi1DCWTbz16SK39A7_Sfm77F2m1wX1ibpgCRXZWlx-1Ym1XgvpQOhh0bktMif9rIOjihI8ghGfn/w150-h107/Installed+Connector.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>By using these low-loss cables, and taking into account the loss in all the connectors, the loss in 272-feet of feedline should be only <b><span style="color: red;">1.36 dB</span></b>. Were I to use Belden 8267 (RG-213) cable (an excellent cable), my feedline loss would have increased to <b>3.95 dB</b>. Putting 1,500-watts into the Belden RG-213 would result in only 605 watts reaching the antenna. 900-watts would be lost. By using the above Heliax feedline, the same 1,500-watts at the amplifier would result in 1,097 watts reaching the antenna. That's an <b><span style="color: red;">extra 492 watts</span></b> or 81% increase in power transfer over using the Belden RG-213. AND, a reciprocal improvement will be seen on received signals.<br /><p></p>The next issue was to see if the current antenna rotor would work. Since the SteppIR antenna had failed some years ago, I disconnected the rotor in order to protect it. This rotor is an <a href="https://www.m2inc.com/FGOR2800PXAZ" target="_blank"><b>M2 Orion 2800</b></a> with the RC2800PX controller. You can see an image of the controller on the right.<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvhgfTq7kRsPVX0vDnI3Zk66OPNJLyUhzPDZwrswzIVIg6t_z3n7bWr7htkWMbqouvIx1qrMTrS2xaWRQgCulbVra3RpkGQqVt47i3Q_G8_D-tbndRNY7okOEEuIzlo2lUGhlKfwAIhL_/s546/Orion+RC2800PX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="546" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvhgfTq7kRsPVX0vDnI3Zk66OPNJLyUhzPDZwrswzIVIg6t_z3n7bWr7htkWMbqouvIx1qrMTrS2xaWRQgCulbVra3RpkGQqVt47i3Q_G8_D-tbndRNY7okOEEuIzlo2lUGhlKfwAIhL_/w178-h130/Orion+RC2800PX.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>First I fished out from behind the operating desk the pigtail from the rotor control box. It ended in an 8-pin trailer connector and I plugged that trailer connector pigtail into the mating trailer connector on the lightning arrester. Then I powered on the rotor. No joy! I had no directional indication and when I tried to rotate it, I got an "error" message. Crap! So, out came the manual and I started to troubleshoot the problem. <br /><br />Finally, after wasting a couple of hours on the troubleshooting issue, it became aware of the fact that the lightning arrester was not connected to <b>ANYTHING!</b> The cable to the rotor on the tower <span style="color: red;"><b>WAS NOT CONNECTED</b></span> to the lightning arrester. Boy, does that make me feel <b>STUPID!</b><br /><br />Now that I knew the issue, I began trying to hook up the rotor cable. But, I had to now figure out which wire in the rotor cable went to which pin in the lightning arrester. Rather than destroy a $3,000 rotor, I took my time and triple (or more times) checked my work. You see, there are 8 wires in the cable going to the rotor. The first problem was that the colors of those wires do not agree with the manual's "Getting Started" section. Then I saw that the wires in the rotor cable (which is then connected to a lightning arrester and then connected to an 8-pin Trailer Connector), had even <b>DIFFERENT</b> colors of wire. The mating trailer connector is then wired to the control box - <span style="color: red;"><b>WITH DIFFERENT COLORS OF WIRE!</b></span> What a "cluster" that is! <br /><br />After I eventually resolved the color code problem, I still did resistance checks on the wire to the rotor <u><b>JUST TO MAKE SURE</b></u> I did not fry something. Once I was ready, I turned the antenna 30° and ran over to the window to see that it had indeed moved the antenna. <b><span style="color: red;">IT'S ALIVE !!!</span> WHEW!</b> What a relief. Then I moved it back and it rotated the other way. After working for literally <b>HOURS </b>to get the correct wires connected, my rotor now turns the antenna! <span style="color: red;"><b>YIPPEE!!!</b></span> The problem was that while I <b>HAD </b>made notes of the wires color code when it was installed, my notes were confusing after so many years. It turns out that my notes were correct (color to color.) If I had just added a little bit of a description, then things would have been so much simpler. Nevertheless, I can now check off "one more thing" that needed to be done on this project. Forward, ever forward!<br /><p></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-6431737055222235512021-05-26T17:42:00.008-04:002021-05-26T17:50:32.292-04:00More Messi & Paoloni Cable Purchased from Italy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX2IYiKqmbAhNMSTxh4aSVOummSVczWs7TeJ8-JjTeozvY5tEy7cK2H5Y12Wxp66T3rA5arquRdCioOSr590BdcZIr-sv6IlzEc9xI49-fHbaO5j_86W6tfrIvqQODo0Gc2otQqlW4HUC/s829/46-foot+Jumper+for+6-M+Yagi.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="829" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX2IYiKqmbAhNMSTxh4aSVOummSVczWs7TeJ8-JjTeozvY5tEy7cK2H5Y12Wxp66T3rA5arquRdCioOSr590BdcZIr-sv6IlzEc9xI49-fHbaO5j_86W6tfrIvqQODo0Gc2otQqlW4HUC/w122-h119/46-foot+Jumper+for+6-M+Yagi.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>About a year and a half ago I purchased two 25m lengths of M&P ULTRAFLEX 10 for my 2-M XPOL system. I was really pleased with the product and the speed of service. <a href="http://w8tn.blogspot.com/2019/10/messi-paoloni-coaxial-cable.html">http://w8tn.blogspot.com/2019/10/messi-paoloni-coaxial-cable.html</a> This cable was built in Italy by <b>Messi & Paoloni</b>. They have been producing cables since 1984 and have received very good reviews.<br />
<br />
Now that I am about to install my 8-L 6-M InnovAntennas yagi, I found that I need a 46-foot (14m) length of cable for that project. This cable will connect from the Driven Element, along the boom, down the mast, around the rotor, and connect to the 1-5/8" Heliax feedline. Times LMR 600 was suggested as the cable to use but since it has to flex whenever the rotor turns, I began to look for another solution. In looking at the <a href="https://messi.it/en/home.htm" target="_blank"><b>M&P website</b></a>, I felt that their <a href="https://messi.it/en/catalogue/50-ohm-cables-ham-radio/outstanding-performances/hyperflex-13.htm" target="_blank"><b>HYPERFLEX 13/.500"</b></a> cable would do as good a job or better than the LMR600. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3pP7EY98E5riLBTDZM7DZUXYGrM-Mc5CqQtyeHPM7hd_YcTswPcH-WYzBNeITOCQh10B7_MqUHOt7j0C4YiSxIoDgUU8eQOt2m2SSgjq7zRqDC5A18aKzTxVgCm4yq3QWAsbnKdexkKJ/s956/3-foot+Jumper.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="956" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3pP7EY98E5riLBTDZM7DZUXYGrM-Mc5CqQtyeHPM7hd_YcTswPcH-WYzBNeITOCQh10B7_MqUHOt7j0C4YiSxIoDgUU8eQOt2m2SSgjq7zRqDC5A18aKzTxVgCm4yq3QWAsbnKdexkKJ/w131-h111/3-foot+Jumper.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>LMR 600 has a solid center conductor and the <span class="il">M&P</span>
cable has 37x0.56mm copper wires. I felt this was better for a cable
that was being flexed as the antenna rotated. At 50 MHz the <span class="il">M&P</span> has 0.6 dB loss and the LMR 600 has 0.5 dB loss per 100 feet. That means the extra loss with the M&P cable in my installation would be less than 0.05 dB. Also, the <span class="il">M&P</span> cable claims to have 100% screening where the LMR 600 says >90%.<p></p><p>Therefore I ordered the 46-foot (14m) length of <b>HYPERFLEX 13/.500"</b> with a soldered N-Male connector installed (for the antenna end) and a 7/16" DIN Male for the end that will connect to the Heliax. I also ordered a 3-foot piece with N-connectors on each end for an in-shack jumper. Now here is where it gets amazing!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I paid via M&P's PayPal link at 0230 GMT on 21-May-2021.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The cables were delivered to my door at 1944 GMT on 26-May-2021.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">Less than 6 days</span></b> (<b>including a weekend</b>) from placing the order until receiving the product <b><span style="color: red;">FROM ITALY!</span></b></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdWJKhfrIM5LW3-vopWj6kP0LrLURYqzNvvC77-Q1EZlZeo3T3DMehjdn8ejSCGSQn6Qjuu1d2Hd6QI3udIXMavoL-uWJ8XIeSv0wZ3DLVREEP6-L-h5E1G13ShEgw0yPuY7BDE73VOo3/s760/2021-05-26+Test+Report+3-ft+Jumper.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="585" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdWJKhfrIM5LW3-vopWj6kP0LrLURYqzNvvC77-Q1EZlZeo3T3DMehjdn8ejSCGSQn6Qjuu1d2Hd6QI3udIXMavoL-uWJ8XIeSv0wZ3DLVREEP6-L-h5E1G13ShEgw0yPuY7BDE73VOo3/w92-h120/2021-05-26+Test+Report+3-ft+Jumper.jpg" width="92" /></a></div>That time included M&P constructing the cable to my specifications and shipping it to my door. <b>WOW!</b><p></p><p>When I unboxed the order, I found the 46m length of cable (with connectors installed) neatly coiled and wrapped in plastic (see photo at upper right - click on any photo to see a larger image.) Also the 3-foot piece with N-connectors was in its own plastic bag and it included a Test Report where M&P had connected that particular cable to an analyzer and printed out a <b>TEST REPORT</b> for the Return Loss and Impedance of that piece of cable from 100 kHz to 200 MHz (see the image on the left.) <span style="color: red;"><b>WOOF!</b></span> I am totally impressed and <b>MORE </b>than pleased.</p><p>I should also mention that the cables are secured with very nice Velcro straps with the M&P logo. AND, a lens cleaning cloth is also enclosed. You can see that cloth in the center of the upper right photo with the phrase "<b>The DXers PRO Choice:</b>" on it. Yep! You can bet that M&P is <b>MY </b>choice for cables in the future.<br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-25029882222363465482021-04-21T12:45:00.003-04:002021-04-21T12:45:30.192-04:00Mouse Without Borders<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfbymwmFV5d2YrFRV2FtQxp7fll2CRJZzct2JHl_levfnPE0FynAOj3C-lXmVxWfaeaHIRui6pNkRQ_ODjhp7F3m41rVhZZuZnteISyIYkubbZp7YxcOYFI02_7q9miySp-_jNE3aDL9L/s435/Minion+Graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="435" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfbymwmFV5d2YrFRV2FtQxp7fll2CRJZzct2JHl_levfnPE0FynAOj3C-lXmVxWfaeaHIRui6pNkRQ_ODjhp7F3m41rVhZZuZnteISyIYkubbZp7YxcOYFI02_7q9miySp-_jNE3aDL9L/w198-h175/Minion+Graphic.png" width="198" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"> Eureka!</span></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">What a <b><span style="font-size: large;">WOWZER</span> </b>of a morning this has been!!!</span><p></p><p>Today I stumbled upon a piece of software that will make my life just <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>SOOOO</b></span></span> much easier. <br /></p><p>You see, I have two separate computers in the shack as you can see in the photo on the right (Click on any photo to see a larger image.) Both have monitors mounted on a stand which let me see <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>FOUR </b></span>separate screens at the same time. But since they are separate computers, I need <b>TWO</b> keyboards and <b>TWO </b>mice to control them. Not only that extra hardware is required but my brain has a certain degree of difficulty in navigating between the two computers. 90% of the time I grab the wrong mouse and 20% of the time I type on the wrong keyboard. It's a <b><span style="color: red;">HOT MESS!</span></b></p><p><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Once I complete my XPOL EME antennas and the associated hardware/software, I plan to run MAP65 and Linrad on one computer (the Dell T1700) to get the highest performance possible. But, at times I will need to copy text from that computer to the other one for use on one or another Chat pages or to enter into my logging program. I may also want to copy a screenshot from one computer to the other as well.</span></span><b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4pTAu-ZEcxyKLBitNdbYBBX7RpJbNA2xYQl_66jCH8j5hwBjCUctvUu6XBSBBKywomV-ktLRoNM-3iZ2tly_x9VJ0aRm5vmUT2tAc3DPjvts2QsaL-e_dRt-w434BSHfhywx7oDd2Pgx/s1242/Multiple+Monitors.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4pTAu-ZEcxyKLBitNdbYBBX7RpJbNA2xYQl_66jCH8j5hwBjCUctvUu6XBSBBKywomV-ktLRoNM-3iZ2tly_x9VJ0aRm5vmUT2tAc3DPjvts2QsaL-e_dRt-w434BSHfhywx7oDd2Pgx/s320/Multiple+Monitors.png" width="320" /></a></div>It is of course possible to control multiple computers using only one keyboard and mouse by adding a piece of
additional hardware like a KVM (Keyboard, Video and Mouse) switch. Still, you have to <span style="color: red;"><b>REMEMBER </b></span>to flip that switch when you want to control the other computer. However, even with a KVM switch, you can not transfer text or files between the computers. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to flip that KVM switch or even use a second keyboard or a second mouse when working with both computers <b>AND </b>be able to Copy/Paste text or transfer files? <span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>YES IT WOULD!</b></span></i></span><br /><p></p><p>For quite some time I have struggled with the 2-keyboard/2-mouse setup when I have needed to copy information from one computer and paste it in the other computer. My work-around was to copy the text then paste it into an email in my Gmail account. Then open that same email on the other computer and <b>AGAIN </b>copy the text before I could paste it where I wanted. Definitely not a satisfying process and certainly one I did not relish using. </p><p>Today I did a Google search for this string - "<i>transfer clipboard contents between 2 computers on the same network</i>." In the results that were displayed, the first item I looked at (a Post on Superuser.com) had what seemed to be the answer. A Microsoft software product called <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35460" target="_blank"><b>Mouse Without Borders</b></a> seemed to do everything I wanted and <span style="color: red;"><b>MUCH MORE!</b></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFH8cq62-qRyw52KsUN_oeNGHRYDw-gqUuRnMdEQRTrlSxVrfAcbf2doFQJ19f_XjyTebkImLs_3FG8vzKBu7s1z5MGaWcGmrx6kaSokubTj9VkWNZXCenkTCzvcj8skIeUPu8OzRTD4oD/s208/Mouse+w-o+Borders+Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFH8cq62-qRyw52KsUN_oeNGHRYDw-gqUuRnMdEQRTrlSxVrfAcbf2doFQJ19f_XjyTebkImLs_3FG8vzKBu7s1z5MGaWcGmrx6kaSokubTj9VkWNZXCenkTCzvcj8skIeUPu8OzRTD4oD/s0/Mouse+w-o+Borders+Logo.png" /></a></div><p></p><p>Mouse Without Borders is a Microsoft Garage project by Truong Do. Garage
projects are side projects that Microsoft employees like Truong build
for fun on their nights and weekends. Mouse Without Borders was designed
for people who use many computers in the same room. For example, a
laptop or tablet that you take to meetings might sit right alongside the
desktop PC in your office. </p><p>If you are like me with more than one computer, and they are all on the same network and running
Windows, then you should try Mouse Without Borders. This application
allows you to move your mouse between computers like you would if you
had a dual monitor setup. The nice thing here is that copy and paste
works well between all computers. You can easily move your mouse on
the monitor of computer A, copy something and then move your mouse off of that screen to
the monitor of computer B and paste it. Plus, this software will allow you to use one mouse on as many as <span style="color: red;"><b>FOUR </b></span>separate computers! Amazing!</p><p>Although I have not tried it, it appears that you can use this software with your desktop <b>AND </b>a tablet/laptop together! <b><span style="color: red;">WOOF!</span></b> What a concept! In my situation with two desktops each having two monitors, I can just move my mouse to any of my four monitors with ease, just like they were connected to the same computer.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi5X3BGpiCDCK6fbYRvpkiLmEgKxtO891xa3eYKJEHx7UhRGgO_WruRdBhkdYgM7Uz9FjZPYxlyktH2L6U5htSuxO_SIxcKJco2Ny9AYT6-cftTvqakoOUweIYapRmc2C1hXUEHXru_V0/s540/Mouse+Without+Borders+Graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="540" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi5X3BGpiCDCK6fbYRvpkiLmEgKxtO891xa3eYKJEHx7UhRGgO_WruRdBhkdYgM7Uz9FjZPYxlyktH2L6U5htSuxO_SIxcKJco2Ny9AYT6-cftTvqakoOUweIYapRmc2C1hXUEHXru_V0/w320-h160/Mouse+Without+Borders+Graphic.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/mouse-without-borders-mousewithoutborders/0523308d-3406-4273-b86e-bef28aa6b50d" target="_blank"><b>CLICK HERE</b></a> for the Setup/User Guide which contains the step-by-step instructions for installing the software on all computers. The most recent version (2.2.1.327) was published on April 6, 2021. Supported Operating Systems are: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, (32/64 bit). .Net 4.0 & up. <br /></p><p>Would you not want to have an incredible mouse that can seamlessly move from one machine to another? If you are new to the idea of using a single mouse and keyboard to work with multiple machines or if you are having more or less troubles while using other software/hardware KVM then you <b>REALLY </b>want to give <span style="color: red;"><b>Mouse Without Borders</b></span> a try. The first impression of new users are: “It is incredible! It is impossible!”</p><p>Downloading, installing and setting up the software on both computers took less than 10 minutes. My mind is blown wide open by this! My use of two computers just became <b>MUCH </b>more efficient and <b>TONS </b>more pleasant! If you have more than one computer and want to use both from one keyboard/mouse, <span style="color: red;"><b>YOU NEED TO INSTALL THIS!</b></span><br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-12847267591498351582021-03-29T18:23:00.000-04:002021-03-29T18:23:30.371-04:00Ham Radio STILL Gives Me a Thrill!<p></p><p>Last night provided me with a thrill in Ham Radio that just never
seems to get old. Snagging that elusive DX on a New Band. Working a <b>New One</b> is only surpassed by working an <span style="color: red;"><b>All-Time New One</b></span>
(<b>ATNO</b>) and it seems several in the <a href="https://wvdxa.com/" target="_blank"><b>West Virginia DX Association</b></a> (WVDXA) scored one of those "rarest
of the rare" contacts with this DX'pedition to A2, Botswana. <b>CONGRATULATIONS
</b>to all those folks! Hopefully you got your piece of pie as a reward for scoring
that QSO!!!<br />
<br />
I am reminded of how it was "back in the day" when a <b>New One</b> was
worked. Back then there were no WARC bands (30-M, 17-M and 12-M) so
the record keeping was a "little" easier. Still, it meant having
separate <span style="color: red;"><u><b>PAPER</b></u><b> </b></span>DXCC lists for each band <b>AND </b>for
each mode!<br />
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Yt65mPmxUl-NPU8gDBqK7QqO8v9x-TIIMQQ4Q59Si7sYI_-4COP4TtwBziHr7TZ8Jx0_FNO1L8aBbWCmPhRoElr9T89-iVLivsvFiTBU4F1pTodRH_ao5ys6vnq9VAI0vi9o4uPyq_kd/s288/Bandmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Yt65mPmxUl-NPU8gDBqK7QqO8v9x-TIIMQQ4Q59Si7sYI_-4COP4TtwBziHr7TZ8Jx0_FNO1L8aBbWCmPhRoElr9T89-iVLivsvFiTBU4F1pTodRH_ao5ys6vnq9VAI0vi9o4uPyq_kd/s0/Bandmap.jpg" /></a></div>Note: at the beginning of my DX'ing career, I had only <b>ONE </b>DXCC
List because there were no 5-Band awards. If I worked A2 on one
band, that was all I needed in my mind. And, if I worked them on
SSB, I made no effort to work them on CW let alone RTTY (digital.)<br />
<p></p><p></p><p>Since there was no <a href="https://www.dxcluster.info/" target="_blank"><b>PacketCluster</b></a> spotting system back then, you
found the DX by simply tuning your radio and checking out <b>EVERY </b>signal you heard until you could identify that station. If you happened to run across a pileup on the
band, you had to then physically check your list(s) to see if that
was a <b>New One</b>. But I can tell you that if it was an <b><span style="color: red;">ATNO</span></b>, that list
was kept in your brain and you knew instantly you had never worked
that country before!<br />
<br />
There were check-boxes in your paper logbook to let you record if a
QSL had been sent or received. But you still needed to keep paper
records to record when you sent for a QSL, where you sent for it
(bureau, manager, direct, etc.), and what you enclosed ($$$, SAE,
etc.) All this paper-shuffling made you feel more like an
accountant than a ham radio operator. That data can now be easily
recorded in your logging program and instantly available to you. It is simply amazing what an improvement that is.<br />
<br />
Plus, today with the <b>PacketCluster</b>, <b>computer logging</b>, <b><a href="https://clublog.org/" target="_blank">Club Log</a> </b>and
<b><a href="https://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world" target="_blank"> LoTW</a> </b>- that record-keeping "burden" has been removed. Today you
don't need to tune the bands looking for DX, your logging program
will take the incoming PacketCluster spots, check them against your
log, then color-code them for you to tell you not only what stations
have been spotted but whether or not it is a <b>New One</b> or an <span style="color: red;"><b>ATNO </b></span>for
<b> <u> <i>YOU</i></u> </b>personally!<br />
<br />
On the image at the upper-right, you can see that there are three spots from the PacketCluster that are color-coded Blue. <i> (Click on any image to see a larger version.) </i>These spots are displayed in my
logging program's BandMap. Those are <b>New Ones</b> for <span style="color: red;"><u><i><b>ME</b></i></u></span>. If they were Red,
those would be <b>ATNO's</b>. If I hover my mouse over any of those (like I did
with AP2HA in the above screenshot) I get a pop-up (shown in Yellow) with tons of detail.
<b> BOY</b>, that's so much of an improvement over the "<i>old days</i>" that you
just can't believe it unless you were there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUw09LBqdO0LbdUnOw_IxSw9tsL-fL_NNWe4YDR-zdp-JSrR78kqKhOSNiAGcR7olRSKc0hmMYsdYYuBvLEnGdCqZQp-nhmFEmvUoe_AcU5SdkK5Pnx8bc1bmypqkilgfqdVJYcqikssS/s260/Worked-Confirmed+Window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUw09LBqdO0LbdUnOw_IxSw9tsL-fL_NNWe4YDR-zdp-JSrR78kqKhOSNiAGcR7olRSKc0hmMYsdYYuBvLEnGdCqZQp-nhmFEmvUoe_AcU5SdkK5Pnx8bc1bmypqkilgfqdVJYcqikssS/s0/Worked-Confirmed+Window.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Green square shown just to the left of most of those calls
indicate that station is an LoTW user, as does the "+" sign in the
Yellow pop-up. <b><a href="https://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world" target="_blank">LoTW</a> </b>has improved the DX'ing hobby beyond measure.
At one time I waited <span><b><span style="color: red;">13
YEARS</span></b></span> to get a QSL from an ATNO! And, when
that card came, it was still an ATNO as I had never worked that
country again in all those years. Today, you can sometimes get an
LoTW confirmation while the DX'pedition is <span style="color: red;"><b>STILL UNDERWAY!</b></span>
<b>WOW!</b><br />
<br />
All one needs to do is to click on any spot in the above BandMap and
your radio jumps to the exact frequency and mode for the spotted
station plus the callsign gets placed in the Call field of the
logging program and is ready to be logged once the station is worked.</p><p></p><p>
Your logging program can also tell you where you have and have not
worked that particular entity (band/mode/QSL Rcvd or not.) In the
screenshot on the left, I have A2, Botswana, Confirmed (shown in Red text) on
10-M and 20-M SSB plus 30-M and 40-M CW. The two Yellow "DIG"
fields show that I have "Worked" (Blue not Red text) A25RU on 17-M
and 30-M Digital Modes. They are Yellow since I typed A25RU into
the Call field to see these Worked/Confirmed records and the Yellow
says I have worked "A25RU" (not some other A2 station) on those
Bands/Modes. If I had just typed "A2" in the box, there would have been
no Yellow boxes, just the Mode shown in Blue text since it was not
confirmed on those QSO's. Plus the Yellow box for 80-M CW indicates my QSO from last night (as recorded in my log.) It is <b>SO </b>easy to check what bands/modes you need an entity on now, just enter the prefix for the entity and your <b>Worked/Confirmed</b> window will display all that data! No need to shuffle through all those PAPER DXCC lists! <br />
<br />
From this data I can easily see that from this A25RU DX'pedition I have
added two <b>New Bands</b> to my A2 list of stations worked as well as one
<b>New Mode</b>. And, it also shows a gaping hole for 12-M which is one I still
need.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnUNK6LC96SyhaurYGlhPJE3NOQkcK3ZUWiv1XT9z-K0nyPUfYHkXm877Bm6Mf9DDkxa7sYAFIeW-vnvTxEoyesPdo_AHj7HH6_CHZwJWC4XG8_Ely7tAp_x9w5dnQxUmi2HcSEnIWeIV/s608/Log+Search.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="61" data-original-width="608" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnUNK6LC96SyhaurYGlhPJE3NOQkcK3ZUWiv1XT9z-K0nyPUfYHkXm877Bm6Mf9DDkxa7sYAFIeW-vnvTxEoyesPdo_AHj7HH6_CHZwJWC4XG8_Ely7tAp_x9w5dnQxUmi2HcSEnIWeIV/w640-h64/Log+Search.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>If I want to check when I worked those stations, I can just click on
any of the above boxes and get a pop-up with my log data. For
instance, if I click on the Red SSB for 20-M, what I see is shown above.<br /><p>Are you kidding me? <span style="color: red;"><b>1973 </b></span>for
that A2 QSO? <b>WOW!</b> Some of you reading this may still have been in
diapers or not even born then!<br />
<br />
Still, the way things used to be, you were never 100% sure your QSO
made it into the DX Station's log until you got his QSL (or not)
which would always take 6-months or more and sometimes <b>YEARS! </b>
Today, you just need to check out an online log to see if the DX has
recorded your QSO. Below on the right is a screenshot of <a href="https://clublog.org/" target="_blank"><b>Club Log</b></a> for the log of the A25RU DX'pedition checked against my own call.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKsDErTMpodEn00R0IQudhGlPEkmpxPC7na5QPVcebjFDTbNHsvmgnFN5xu8LemNSaVM_Asi0Hqu7xe9rJA-yMAhgu2WhGLmV2sjiYDkWjEjwbk9g_NX82quqf2wqoy2dVNFcb7wSWdiD/s254/Club+Log+for+A25RU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKsDErTMpodEn00R0IQudhGlPEkmpxPC7na5QPVcebjFDTbNHsvmgnFN5xu8LemNSaVM_Asi0Hqu7xe9rJA-yMAhgu2WhGLmV2sjiYDkWjEjwbk9g_NX82quqf2wqoy2dVNFcb7wSWdiD/s0/Club+Log+for+A25RU.jpg" /></a></div>Bingo! All my A25RU QSO's made the log! That is <b>SUCH </b>a
benefit that you can't imagine. Years ago I was certain I had
worked A5, Bhutan, for my very last country. That would have put me
on the <b>Top of the Honor Roll</b>. Two of my friends heard the
QSO and congratulated me on the contact. <b>BUT</b>, almost a year later I
got back a "Not in Log" to my QSL request. I was <span style="color: red;"><b>CRUSHED!</b></span> If I had been able to
check online at that time for my contact and seen it was not there,
I would have tried for another.<br />
<br />
Finally, my logging program, <a href="https://www.logger32.net/" target="_blank"><b>Logger32</b></a>, even tracks my progress toward various
awards. Looking at my confirmations for <b>Mixed DXCC</b> I can see my
totals in the screenshot at the bottom of this Post.<br /><p></p><p>That 80-M QSO with A25RU last night gave me 240 entities worked on
80-M All-Time and 237 Current since I have 3 Deleted entities worked
on 80-M. You can see two Yellow boxes with a "W" in them. That
indicates that A2, Botswana, has been "Worked" on those Bands but
not yet Confirmed.<br />
<br />
The Green boxes with a "G" in them indicate those QSO's have been
Confirmed AND Credit for them has been "Granted" by ARRL. The
Orange "C" box tells me that QSO is "Confirmed" but not yet Granted
toward my DXCC. </p><p>This table is a <span style="color: red;"><b>HUGE </b></span>help in trying to confirm your contacts. Just scroll through the list and see what contacts are "Worked" but not "Confirmed." Click on the "W" box and a pop-up will give you the log information on that entity/band QSO. Below is what I see if I click on the Yellow box for 80-M on the A2, Botswana line. This gives me the information for <b>ANY </b>station marked as "W" (Worked and NOT Confirmed.) That will allow me to track when (or if) I sent for a QSL and give me access to all the information regarding that QSO. Using these tools you can stay up to date on your QSL'ing. And, we all know, the QSL is supremely important. Without a QSL or an LoTW Confirmation, you have <b>NO</b> Credit for working that entity. Anyone can "claim" they worked anything but if you can <span style="color: red;"><b>PROVE </b></span>it, that makes all the difference.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MiA82mREtjI2Vxktbrijo3HmW1NsOiZi1LAmaBhF4jTM-EXTjY0uZYLQNBxAu6mbltLKMLTE-N5kSA907hw8TYsIrE8t1Crwo27yS7WekL1q3ToHuLhHlHVJSu7TbvZT2ujZPCzrce4a/s656/Worked+NOT+Confirmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="67" data-original-width="656" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MiA82mREtjI2Vxktbrijo3HmW1NsOiZi1LAmaBhF4jTM-EXTjY0uZYLQNBxAu6mbltLKMLTE-N5kSA907hw8TYsIrE8t1Crwo27yS7WekL1q3ToHuLhHlHVJSu7TbvZT2ujZPCzrce4a/w640-h66/Worked+NOT+Confirmed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
The Red boxed text in the image below simply shows I've been DX'ing for a <b>LONG
</b>time. I have Worked and Confirmed <span><b><span style="color: red;">18</span></b></span> entities which no longer
count for DXCC! Some of those countries I have worked on as many as
3 modes and <b>NINE </b>bands! But, <b><u>none of those QSO's</u></b> count
anymore because those entities have been <b>DELETED </b>from the
ARRL DXCC List. BUMMER!<br /><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCJDRCZ1VbISSCPuzR6KadsIZG5ykRxcGeC-XCldCBr5yU5dcMdvHzwp97SuKxgoIw05hD5cTsF3M5Vm42gVvdpQjl50I0zztB6AGB2uHq-gvcvMCl_gp32rP3_SL454rJ42yzoZmFzXF/s739/DXCC+Awards+Status.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="739" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCJDRCZ1VbISSCPuzR6KadsIZG5ykRxcGeC-XCldCBr5yU5dcMdvHzwp97SuKxgoIw05hD5cTsF3M5Vm42gVvdpQjl50I0zztB6AGB2uHq-gvcvMCl_gp32rP3_SL454rJ42yzoZmFzXF/w640-h269/DXCC+Awards+Status.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is the list of countries/entities I have Worked and Confirmed
in the past that no longer count for DXCC:<br />
<br />
1. Abu Ail Is.<br />
2. Yemen Arab Republic<br />
3. Saudi Arabia/Iraq Neutral Zone<br />
4. Germany<br />
5. German Democratic Republic <br />
6. Bajo Nuevo<br />
7. Serrana Bank & Roncador Cay<br />
8. Kingman Reef<br />
9. Canal Zone<br />
10. Czechoslovakia<br />
11. Territory of New Guinea<br />
12. Bonaire, Curacao (Neth. Antilles)<br />
13. Sint Maarten, Saba, Saint Eustatius<br />
14. Malyj Vysotskij Island<br />
15. Southern Sudan<br />
16. Aldabra<br />
17. Penguin Islands<br />
18. Walvis Bay<br />
<br />
<br />
So, even though I have been DX'ing for over 50 years, I
probably enjoy it now more than I ever have. That is because of all the new technology that makes the hobby easier to enjoy. For me, this thrill of
contacting some far-off country on a band where I have never worked
them before, is <b>STILL </b>powerful! It just does <b>NOT </b>get
old!<br />
<br />
Please remember this history when your QSO does not show up in an
online log as fast as you expect. Or when you think it is taking
too long for LoTW to update after your upload. Today things are so
much better than before so please - have a little patience! Remember, I waited <b><span style="color: red;">13 YEARS</span></b> for one country to be confirmed!!! Just enjoy what we have now and keep
working the <b>New Ones</b>!<br />
</div>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-52202353274727750322021-01-27T13:35:00.000-05:002021-01-27T13:35:48.440-05:00Replacement for Wire Nuts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85pZT6EVhNbYjOYz1NxX0ZV3XrS8xZN3JSun_uS6rs9gcmQoLfEDKjZZyLoWYggttS7VcG8E9Zf2Wf709pHlsoLO6QlwIHNs1ThoRKoKkf2gBM8x6-DkRFAmocoJRmYryp1z326s2fX0z/s281/Wire+Nut+Cut-away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="281" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85pZT6EVhNbYjOYz1NxX0ZV3XrS8xZN3JSun_uS6rs9gcmQoLfEDKjZZyLoWYggttS7VcG8E9Zf2Wf709pHlsoLO6QlwIHNs1ThoRKoKkf2gBM8x6-DkRFAmocoJRmYryp1z326s2fX0z/w177-h113/Wire+Nut+Cut-away.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>First, a disclaimer. I have never been an advocate of the use of Wire Nuts for connecting together multiple wires. Too many times I have seen where the nuts have been loose or even fallen off the wires they are supposed to be connecting together. To combat this I have seen where the installer twisted on the Wire Nut and then taped the connection to keep the nut from falling off! But, for as long as I can remember, it seems that they have been the standard method used for splicing wires in electrical wiring. <p></p><p>The photo at the upper left is a cut-away view of a Wire Nut and you can see the imprecise way this method of connection is supposed to work. (Click on any image to see a larger version.) Standard wire nuts are roughly conical in shape and usually have ridges on their sides so your fingers can get a good grip. Some types have little side wings instead of ridges. Inside the plastic cone is a little square-cut spring that provides tension on the wires to hold them securely. As you tighten the wire connector by twisting it, the spring draws tighter around the wires.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaML43YZKd1lXOVWHwKhexcMRDPrBCDTWwmCMjywbKAr8NKdHpWLRcx1rQNwxZI4QZdPkvt292FtmwIV-wQMTuueeISF9mVA3ufs4amKunUtd-SxlbL1WvK7VRRVHYv8Xic4By61w9uXX/s351/Compare+to+Wire+Nut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="351" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaML43YZKd1lXOVWHwKhexcMRDPrBCDTWwmCMjywbKAr8NKdHpWLRcx1rQNwxZI4QZdPkvt292FtmwIV-wQMTuueeISF9mVA3ufs4amKunUtd-SxlbL1WvK7VRRVHYv8Xic4By61w9uXX/w181-h145/Compare+to+Wire+Nut.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><p></p><p>But recently I have found what I think is a superior way to join together 2 or more electrical conductors. It is the Wago line of LEVER-NUTS® which is available at Amazon, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. In the photo at the right you can see how the <a href="https://www.wago.com/us/lp-221" target="_blank"><b>Wago 221</b></a> model compares to a Wire Nut. The Wago connector is smaller, faster to install, able to accomodate multiple wire sizes including solid and stranded conductors, and in my opinion, <b>MUCH </b>more secure!</p><p>Wago Connectors were designed to make the splicing process easier without needing tools. The Wago clamp technology makes for faster installation and eliminates maintenance. All these connectors use clamps to terminate stranded, fine stranded and solid conductors. <br /><br />Once the wire is inserted into the connector, the Wago clamp secures the conductor and encloses its insulation. This guarantees that the conductor does not come into contact with any live parts, which in turn increases safety.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYUXxwwpatkPMD2qtdrrXOEj1gN_HgW9gdIZpDM7DiqOSm4QAbMxq8VxeGiQRr5TBZoAoF4iXOJV6JijCkvLoxm5aOP__lRJcEe0PUUkKvwzczr2hXdu6aD2Lh4GbKcE-Xhm0hOnJESU3/s449/How+to+Use.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="449" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYUXxwwpatkPMD2qtdrrXOEj1gN_HgW9gdIZpDM7DiqOSm4QAbMxq8VxeGiQRr5TBZoAoF4iXOJV6JijCkvLoxm5aOP__lRJcEe0PUUkKvwzczr2hXdu6aD2Lh4GbKcE-Xhm0hOnJESU3/w240-h176/How+to+Use.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Installation is simple, pull the orange lever up, insert a stripped conductor, and push the lever back down - done. WAGO's 221 Series compact splicing connectors easily, quickly, and safely connect solid, stranded, and fine stranded wires ranging from 24-10 AWG. The connectors come in two sizes with the 221-412, 221-413 and 221-415 (for connecting 2, 3 or 5 wires) able to accept all wire types from 24 to 12 AWG. The "6" series (221-<b>6</b>12, 221-<b>6</b>13, or 221-<b>6</b>15) is capable of connecting conductors from 20 to 10 AWG.<br /><p></p><p>There is an older model called the "222" which is not made of transparent material. I prefer the Model 221 which is transparent and you can clearly see whether your wire is properly positioned inside the clamping compartment. But, the 222 model does accommodate wire sizes as small as 28 AWG so those could be useful to connect smaller conductors.</p><p>If there is a downside to the Wago connectors, it appears that you can only install ONE conductor per section. Wire Nuts and Terminal Strips can accommodate more that one conductor for each connection but these Wago LEVER-NUTS® (for me) will replace the Wire Nuts for everything except the applications where I need a Terminal Strip.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vQec_M3lKLOLp6Ckf4pK-0FiScOUj9O8UZ2te8eXPk294FAOBb3-FUyiCkMgUC-DQLpi7dNlasb2zodngZzkSkVp8sfj_DNsuI3TdMhrzic-6gWDu-Usw-sA-4-YgVUFpLxAuLeu_juN/s415/Test+Probe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="415" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vQec_M3lKLOLp6Ckf4pK-0FiScOUj9O8UZ2te8eXPk294FAOBb3-FUyiCkMgUC-DQLpi7dNlasb2zodngZzkSkVp8sfj_DNsuI3TdMhrzic-6gWDu-Usw-sA-4-YgVUFpLxAuLeu_juN/w145-h140/Test+Probe.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>One <b>MAJOR </b>advantage I see for the Wago Lever-Nut® is that the conductors are not deformed by twisting them when you connect them with Wire Nuts. If you ever want to change that connection, it usually means you need to cut back the conductor and strip the insulation again. With the Wago connectors, the conductors are <b>NOT </b>deformed and can be reconnected with no issues. Simply lift up the lever and pull out the conductor.<br /><p></p><p>Each Lever-Nut® has two test slots (or ports) that allows you to connect a meter test probe on the connection. <b>COOL!</b> You can see in the photo on the right how a Green test probe is able to slide right into the test slot to test the connection.<br /></p><p>As I understand, Wago pioneered lever nuts and received UL certification on the first such device in 2003. Obviously I was a bit "late to the party" in discovering this product! Generic 221 and 222 style lever nut connectors can be found, but Wago is such a leader in this space that the term “Wago connector” is now applied as a general term. In reading the comments from various users it appears that some of the "knock off" or imitator connectors are missing some of the features or the quality of the Wago brand.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckhuky3ogYy3rpHnHTXYW4t5Sd3OXVqzFvX_nrroKYuu7NwIWvrfS2qbJdctnsVpUioAeWO-975dlvVNfRg77O-oYUvRf131z65W5_upij8h2rGhpjPCN2iloGZC1oU2guLcozdSi1e0v/s439/DIN-rail+Mounting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="439" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckhuky3ogYy3rpHnHTXYW4t5Sd3OXVqzFvX_nrroKYuu7NwIWvrfS2qbJdctnsVpUioAeWO-975dlvVNfRg77O-oYUvRf131z65W5_upij8h2rGhpjPCN2iloGZC1oU2guLcozdSi1e0v/w170-h157/DIN-rail+Mounting.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br />As you can see on the bottom left image, there are also "mounting carriers" available for all 221 Series Splicing Connectors (2, 3 and 5 conductors) and can be installed either vertically or horizontally. Secure the carrier by simply snapping it onto the DIN-rail or using screws on smooth surfaces. Flexible mounting clamps simplify both connector insertion and removal.<p></p><p></p><p>The "mounting carriers" also allow you to mount 2, 3, and 5 conductor Wago connectors to any flat surface by just screwing down the mounting carrier. You can mount them vertically or horizontally and the Wago connectors simply snap into the carrier.<br /></p><p>The photo on the bottom right shows a cut-away view of the Wago 222 connectors. Both the 222 and the 221 models are UL approved and rated for 600 volts at 20 amps. </p><p>From my research, I would choose to <b>ONLY </b>use the Wago brand because of the quality issues I noted for the "look-alike" knock-off brands. As in most circumstances in life, "<i><b>You Get What You Pay For!</b></i>" <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibf4nFd1LqOe-Fkw3UxtfIPpyOXs3kB9T0SAmTXiFbMAh-IY5pCvW8aBH4B5vVwcHg68LfmqOVpmCJ2ZWz_7yjYvFxSTYe8TJfGxLSNn9afE5hkF9YyfS1EISsFPfqsEDJ3LppdQVbZVpU/s638/Cut-away+View.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="638" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibf4nFd1LqOe-Fkw3UxtfIPpyOXs3kB9T0SAmTXiFbMAh-IY5pCvW8aBH4B5vVwcHg68LfmqOVpmCJ2ZWz_7yjYvFxSTYe8TJfGxLSNn9afE5hkF9YyfS1EISsFPfqsEDJ3LppdQVbZVpU/w206-h157/Cut-away+View.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>To check these out I purchased an assortment containing 10 of the 2-port, 10 of the 3 port, and 5 of the 5 port from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NKSHVF6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank"><b>Amazon</b></a>. My cost was $16.43 including tax (free shipping with Prime.) That is about $0.66 per connector for this assortment. If you were to buy a higher quantity, the price, of course, goes down. For example, an order of 100 of the 2-Port model runs about $0.29 per connector.<p></p><p>Here is a 3-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8gLG6c-iKc" target="_blank"><b>VIDEO</b></a> <b></b>that demonstrates and describes the 221 Series of Wago LEVER-NUTS®.<br /><br />I will be passing some of my assortment of Wago connectors off to my Grandsons for them to put in their tool box for future use. That's just what a Grandpa does!<br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-41585723264493842302020-12-30T17:41:00.009-05:002021-01-12T08:12:00.933-05:00Sycamore Tree Removal<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsXhi73odzWTWSyeg3Ui9OAjrWUwxW6UbfxVTPiI-jsnTPfoWkoxBiqPd5SuZOYv4RKn4waI4nQbOsV2vqqc7TJGfWN_QoNLnDXFQmKrRFT1tB4g7VDEbwVGrb6EpEZptj7aSNxl_K1Dx/s333/Damaged+DE.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="247" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsXhi73odzWTWSyeg3Ui9OAjrWUwxW6UbfxVTPiI-jsnTPfoWkoxBiqPd5SuZOYv4RKn4waI4nQbOsV2vqqc7TJGfWN_QoNLnDXFQmKrRFT1tB4g7VDEbwVGrb6EpEZptj7aSNxl_K1Dx/w104-h140/Damaged+DE.jpg" width="104" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damaged DE<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I have a "forest" of trees directly East of my EME antennas. In the winter when the leaves and sap are gone, it seems not to be a huge problem to my moonbounce operations, but in the spring and summer it provides a "brick wall" that keeps me from hearing all but the very strongest EME signals. Two of these trees (directly behind the house) are Sycamores. It turns out that Evelyn is severely affected by the dust these trees develop under their leaves in the summer. If she steps out on the back porch, she will start exhibiting an allergic reaction in less than a minute! Thus, these trees <b>HAVE TO GO!</b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOM-L2VWFuKTXAJi6Om0g8XH6XdBphYJoyApayzlsxx1Rct4vE1m95vi_mwYlycr71-QevuDCLXU1x1yOFxcD_NLrqjSxmXEsUh4CjLbHdpdC9yqV4Ls_PIQ_0t5zuU4lDe_jO_X_fqiUp/s688/Messing+With+Antennas.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="490" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOM-L2VWFuKTXAJi6Om0g8XH6XdBphYJoyApayzlsxx1Rct4vE1m95vi_mwYlycr71-QevuDCLXU1x1yOFxcD_NLrqjSxmXEsUh4CjLbHdpdC9yqV4Ls_PIQ_0t5zuU4lDe_jO_X_fqiUp/w104-h146/Messing+With+Antennas.jpg" width="104" /></a><p></p><p>Once we decided to have these two Sycamores removed, we chose RealTree Tree Services (a local tree service) and they were able to schedule the removal for today. I told them we just wanted to "drop" the trees over the lip of the hill where they sat. Therefore they did not need to be cut up nor did we need the stumps ground down. This kept the costs down.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdTPBtbUd_RsSVK2uaVYXbfeXy_qa71OYlxk4lyLdow-LYNkwkCJYpk3l8mhAWiewBVpSHO2StmR7lR1lD34gXNzka33ORANfiR_mn0vJTMhcA0yunEHyOwHag4iwqdDtcS57uBRaR6YZ/s797/Stripping+Limbs.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="519" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdTPBtbUd_RsSVK2uaVYXbfeXy_qa71OYlxk4lyLdow-LYNkwkCJYpk3l8mhAWiewBVpSHO2StmR7lR1lD34gXNzka33ORANfiR_mn0vJTMhcA0yunEHyOwHag4iwqdDtcS57uBRaR6YZ/w113-h174/Stripping+Limbs.jpg" width="113" /></a></p><p>These two trees were directly East of my EME array and provided significant blockage from 70° to 110° in Azimuth. This was the direction of my MoonRise and that's where I need to see the moon to be able to work stations in Europe. In the photo on the Top-Left you can see how close my antennas are to these trees even when the antennas are turned broadside to the trees. And you get a bit of an ideal of how tall the trees are. The tree cutters estimated the largest one was 65-feet tall. The image on the Center-Right shows a better view to indicate the height of the trees.<br /></p><p>Over the last 3 years I have been on EME, these trees have grown to the point where they prevent my antennas from pointing in their direction. I first noticed this early in February of 2020 when my SWR suddenly shot up. I tracked that problem down to the fact that the trees had reached out and GRABBED the driven element of one antenna and actually pulled it apart. (See the image on the Top-Right of this Post.) <b><i>Click on any image to see it larger.</i></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfX53KgoQYKiJzBxw1S1W74GNdNmA6Ei_31WjLbqlS9ykD06Z5JSHEj1vhyqCiHUIGv2jhs5cFOAb8uhi6mFUg_VifPplvAPBrfTbZKNe8kV5jWv5cwFRgH9MLKeGfMnG7Cd1ZpEXF47oY/s1112/Ground+Crew.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1112" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfX53KgoQYKiJzBxw1S1W74GNdNmA6Ei_31WjLbqlS9ykD06Z5JSHEj1vhyqCiHUIGv2jhs5cFOAb8uhi6mFUg_VifPplvAPBrfTbZKNe8kV5jWv5cwFRgH9MLKeGfMnG7Cd1ZpEXF47oY/w175-h111/Ground+Crew.jpg" width="175" /></a></p><p>For multiple reasons I asked my Grandsons (Owen and Grant) to come down today to help out. I knew they could clean the debris from the yard and could cut any of the trees that fell across the "trail" we used to access the HF tower. They showed up about 8:15 a.m. and brought their friend, Logan, as well. Evelyn had made a <b>BIG </b>breakfast for them with ham, eggs, biscuits, fried apples, hash browns, and hot chocolate. After they ate (and the tree service had not arrived) I had them do a small amount of tree trimming at the mailbox. Later I had them check our whole house generator and replace the battery in it.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnU59KKYWl1lvX4v0U5qcUaDj7pHltXxU0w1HbMhbzHA2sPtXZ97ZGYY3zyEsy9x8apKt7Cj8NpNOhs9IOKpdUNGvAW7wCltEZhRQEwiWsOJwT8yWepJWklCqUcWwdq5pXR2RH8FVLaPG/s1076/Stumps.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1076" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnU59KKYWl1lvX4v0U5qcUaDj7pHltXxU0w1HbMhbzHA2sPtXZ97ZGYY3zyEsy9x8apKt7Cj8NpNOhs9IOKpdUNGvAW7wCltEZhRQEwiWsOJwT8yWepJWklCqUcWwdq5pXR2RH8FVLaPG/w185-h127/Stumps.jpg" width="185" /></a></p><p>When the tree service arrived, they saw that we had three strong men available so they cancelled their own ground crew. The one guy that did all the major work then paid my "ground crew" $100 of what he had planned to charge me. You can see on the Bottom-Left photo my Ground Crew cutting up the large tree. It fell across the "trail" so they got to work with their chainsaws and cleared the way. Logan is on the left gathering up one of the ropes for the tree service guy.<br /></p>Click <a href="https://youtu.be/d70F0QMYQ6Q" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> for a 30-second video of the trees coming down. I was a little slow in starting the video for the large tree falling so it is not included. That large tree definitely shook the ground when it hit.<br /><br />There are still a <b>LOT </b>of trees to my East but I'm hoping that by removing these two large trees (which were so close to the antennas that the branches were touching the antenna elements) that my signals toward MoonRise will improve. Maybe it is wishful thinking but I feel like I can see more "sky" than I could before removing these two Sycamores. Time will tell. However, on Thursday morning I can tell there is a great deal more light coming into my bathroom. Those trees were definitely blocking a bunch of sky.W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-10889587442075382152020-12-28T15:18:00.002-05:002020-12-28T22:59:19.455-05:00Weatherproof Cable Entry Port<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz6MwX0ayuUSdhgDtgGdKnwKviDTAxgKKzwJvFfZnPtmR0XUtuJr7GPxusQ9njhxW_ZwsvWcNUr98hQSzhF4K2pqvAr-P68lhnGSI_Cvj0blvrlTyO2MFOvqyDfLKh24UgutHpdiM7BED/s742/Current+LNA+Box.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="593" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaz6MwX0ayuUSdhgDtgGdKnwKviDTAxgKKzwJvFfZnPtmR0XUtuJr7GPxusQ9njhxW_ZwsvWcNUr98hQSzhF4K2pqvAr-P68lhnGSI_Cvj0blvrlTyO2MFOvqyDfLKh24UgutHpdiM7BED/w222-h278/Current+LNA+Box.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9B5jshCEERDJWY3fzH5qq3919QZEnZTX0gDZqzDxmtZ2LlDunSOLsNgLaZ9F23uQVsuzhJ818TLn6JF-MkTPIWjZe8Knx3HJBSNS7YPRtsiZdv80Sab7J6xJhogMIhAMO6e9HsKcHtps/s456/10-10+Image.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="456" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9B5jshCEERDJWY3fzH5qq3919QZEnZTX0gDZqzDxmtZ2LlDunSOLsNgLaZ9F23uQVsuzhJ818TLn6JF-MkTPIWjZe8Knx3HJBSNS7YPRtsiZdv80Sab7J6xJhogMIhAMO6e9HsKcHtps/w281-h179/10-10+Image.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roxtec EzEntry™ 10/10</td></tr></tbody></table>When I built my current EME antenna system 3 years ago, I used a PVC box to hold the T/R relay and the LNA close to the antennas (see photo at left.) Since I was using cables which already had the terminations installed and I did not want to remove those connectors, my only option was to drill a hole large enough for the connector to pass through the wall of the box. Those holes are marked by Purple arrows in the image.<p></p><p>As I began construction of my new XPOL array, I needed to purchase a new and much larger plastic box to hold the multiple relays (5 this time) and the two new LNA's. Because I have purchased a pair of matched 1/4 λ cavity LNA's for this system, I need a <b><span style="color: red;">MUCH </span></b>bigger box than before. These LNA's (click <a href="https://w8tn.com/wd5ago-144-mhz-cavity-preamps/" target="_blank"><b>HERE </b></a>to see them) are 17-inches long.</p><p>This new system will require <b>FIVE </b>large coaxes plus multiple control wires to enter the box. In the old system I had THREE large coaxes and needed to drill holes in the box large enough to pass the connectors on the ends of the cables. I was never able to manage to waterproof those large entry holes well enough to keep water out of the box. As we all know, water is the enemy of electronic equipment.<br /></p><p>Looking for a more elegant solution, I came across the <a href="http://roxtecproducts.com/ez_entry" target="_blank"><b>Roxtec EzEntry</b></a> system. This solution provides a cable entry seal that can be used to weatherproof pre-terminated cables <b><span style="color: red;">without the need for removing the terminations.</span></b> That is <b>AWESOME!</b> You can use any cables with connectors already installed and be assured the Cable Entry Port is weatherproof and insect-proof. It is also a system that can be modified to add or remove cables with ease.</p><p>Different size cables are easily installed. To adapt the sealing modules to different cable sizes, simply peel off layers from each half of the blue modules until it fits the cable. It is important that you leave a 0.1 to 1 mm gap between the halves of the blue module when placed around the cable. Unused blue modules can stay in the frame for use as "spares" in the future. During installation all parts are lubricated with the supplied lubricant. Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djxco2DE5kg" target="_blank"><b>HERE </b></a>for a 5-minute video of the installation process.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4LjsCNmoV7OLDlZJVEJkNVs0_qWP7GxlSoZ6PDfQ4WLgU5uqX6YFQ2LFuc8tr4sl8dFhB0WisuBmy7LLEOvW8-52bEwBJil7nXaNM4c0akk1dyedsQFMeRDBPW_ZUXBfZcqpiLFHpMan/s729/Cables+Installed.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="729" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4LjsCNmoV7OLDlZJVEJkNVs0_qWP7GxlSoZ6PDfQ4WLgU5uqX6YFQ2LFuc8tr4sl8dFhB0WisuBmy7LLEOvW8-52bEwBJil7nXaNM4c0akk1dyedsQFMeRDBPW_ZUXBfZcqpiLFHpMan/w262-h172/Cables+Installed.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdKL9dPdFL6QDwtdVJ7Qtt0V7krN5s2BmUdYfO33aNyLZVhPFYLf3wE-0zeAyVR4o7zjBZsGuVb1vl5tofdYwGVQIw5IycVvdTjoOUo5E6Z6_68ExZt2dH5npI3dAdvSKSD0vTMfLxWUy/s816/Installing+Modules.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="816" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdKL9dPdFL6QDwtdVJ7Qtt0V7krN5s2BmUdYfO33aNyLZVhPFYLf3wE-0zeAyVR4o7zjBZsGuVb1vl5tofdYwGVQIw5IycVvdTjoOUo5E6Z6_68ExZt2dH5npI3dAdvSKSD0vTMfLxWUy/w216-h168/Installing+Modules.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Module Installation<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Once all the modules and cables have been installed, an integrated compression unit is tightened with a Hex key. This compresses the modules for sealing, squeezes out the excess lubricant, and the installation is complete.<br /><p></p><p>I was really excited to learn about this product which I believe will greatly improve my ability to keep water away from the relays and LNA's for my new array. This system is available in many sizes but I decided to go with the Roxtec EzEntry™ 10/10 model. It allows for up to 10 cables each ranging in size from 0.138-0.650 in (3.5-16.5 mm). This is more than large enough to accomodate 1/2-inch Heliax which has a diameter of 0.51 inches (12.95 mm.) Overall size of the unit is 2.76 x 6.61 in (70x168 mm) which will easily fit my new box.</p><p>I also think it is important to note that you can install the Roxtec EzEntry frame in the box without the blue modules and run the various cable into the box through the frame. Once everything is connected and positioned, THEN you can install the blue modules to seal the cables. This makes the process very convenient.<br /></p><p>I have found several suppliers of these products online. The model I have decided to use (Roxtec EzEntry™ 10/10) is available for about $85 including shipping. I feel that is a super low price to pay in order to weatherproof cables entering my Relay/LNA box.<br /></p><p></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-32945678860414214062020-10-01T19:22:00.004-04:002020-12-28T23:01:20.885-05:00Moon Globe<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDSeFUn7g8s-0uQkCB4EcPKw0DvYlIXa_nWFrwHumv7OEuV0eXFXAf2YsYLPJB2AmNZgR-E954ymq-r5Yw_veF-2ZFK0LHi5djWoWA-aIxSy7NAMSEVEjogjSK3I2gyP_T6Y-Hf6ymMzY/s691/202-09-27+WD6Y+Sstation.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="691" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDSeFUn7g8s-0uQkCB4EcPKw0DvYlIXa_nWFrwHumv7OEuV0eXFXAf2YsYLPJB2AmNZgR-E954ymq-r5Yw_veF-2ZFK0LHi5djWoWA-aIxSy7NAMSEVEjogjSK3I2gyP_T6Y-Hf6ymMzY/w183-h155/202-09-27+WD6Y+Sstation.jpg" width="183" /></a></div><p> For more than a year I have been serving as an "<span style="color: red;"><b>Elmer</b></span>" to Carlos,<a href="https://www.qrz.com/db/wd6y" target="_blank"><b> WD6Y</b></a>, in his efforts t<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span>o build a 70cm EME station. An "<span style="color: red;"><b>Elmer</b></span>" is defined as a mentor; an experienced operator who tutors newer operators.<br /></p><p>Recently Carlos sent me a photo of the current configuration of his station. In one corner of the photo a Moon Globe caught my attention. (See photo at Left. Click on any photo to see a larger image.)</p><p>In my next email to him I added the following post script: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTclo-kOAD8eTIf2DTic4nTUbBHILlwF5p0o_0f2wcwwxZukmHaUjs-ljGh7tXH9xOC3yIpmkp9Ri7fT4HHjp1s643H6uiHKxjpLPQIn1xc8BTObSYSxrFrR5vrEQE9pQf-BjXzysLHtx7/s633/Moon+Globe+Box.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="633" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTclo-kOAD8eTIf2DTic4nTUbBHILlwF5p0o_0f2wcwwxZukmHaUjs-ljGh7tXH9xOC3yIpmkp9Ri7fT4HHjp1s643H6uiHKxjpLPQIn1xc8BTObSYSxrFrR5vrEQE9pQf-BjXzysLHtx7/w172-h171/Moon+Globe+Box.jpg" width="172" /></a></p><p><b></b></p><blockquote><b> "P.S. I like the moon globe behind the IQ+ receiver!"</b></blockquote><p>Yesterday my wife picked up the mail and there was a box from Amazon. She asked what I had purchased and I said, "<i>I'll have to open it and see because I can't remember having any orders outstanding.</i>"</p><p>Later that night I opened the Amazon box and found a <span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>Beautiful Gift Bag</b></span> from Amazon. I proceeded to carefully open the bag (so that my wife could re-use it at a later time if she wanted.) Inside was the box you can see on the Right and I believe <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2N2UAS/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3TQDJ45AQA3KT" target="_blank"><b>THIS</b></a> is that product on the Amazon web site.</p><p>I waited until today to see about putting a battery in it. But, when I started to open
the battery compartment, I found there was just a small plastic tab
I needed to remove to activate the included and installed batteries.
One pull and the Moon Globe lit up when the switch was flipped!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUpFzAxg-haD505hlCX5Bk7GGTU8_1dXHtamU3cvzODubHq0V_U9RnFoF1v9cAmfBBJrNiY7OG9dbS_JGiKjpG-tUFbkOwQ3qmW49GItzNIP7-Pz1LikjleRiAyAWfBIguFcDU1UR9gzk/s948/W8TN+Station.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="948" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUpFzAxg-haD505hlCX5Bk7GGTU8_1dXHtamU3cvzODubHq0V_U9RnFoF1v9cAmfBBJrNiY7OG9dbS_JGiKjpG-tUFbkOwQ3qmW49GItzNIP7-Pz1LikjleRiAyAWfBIguFcDU1UR9gzk/w183-h157/W8TN+Station.jpg" width="183" /></a></div><p></p><p>It did not take long for me to find a suitable place to put the lighted Moon Globe. On August 21, 2017, I traveled to Sweetwater, TN, with my great friend, Karl, K8KT (SK) to view the Lunar Eclipse. I took quite a few images (see the best <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/EcR43phK4z1wj7aC9" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>) but my favorite was the "Diamond Ring" photo and I had that one professionally printed. As you can see in the photo on the Left, it now prominently hangs on the wall of my shack. It is also on my EME QSL (see it <a href="https://w8tn.com/W8TN_QSL.jpg" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.) <br /></p><p>I was totally <b>SURPRISED </b>to receive this thoughtful gift from <b>WD6Y </b>and can not be <span style="color: red;"><b>MORE THANKFUL!</b></span> The gift itself is a minor item but <span style="color: red;"><b>the thoughtfulness of the sender was immense!</b></span> (Plus, my wife is especially appreciative for the Gift Bag!)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>THANK YOU, Carlos!</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /> </b></span></span><br /></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-9825089622502676332020-08-24T19:55:00.002-04:002020-12-28T23:12:36.411-05:00GridTracker with Logger32<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlPBfN-JfW4qY61_wUjhE4d_VS34A4JWWU9PaWby5FH9HFsfIlm8E2faYNErqdgklXz-F4DRpy8uY_LhBRE5V5frJ1v8dRPHQ4shrrk-aNeem6Nea4PJ2Qo0obwp8WTxg04A2eetEPW3n/s263/WOW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="263" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlPBfN-JfW4qY61_wUjhE4d_VS34A4JWWU9PaWby5FH9HFsfIlm8E2faYNErqdgklXz-F4DRpy8uY_LhBRE5V5frJ1v8dRPHQ4shrrk-aNeem6Nea4PJ2Qo0obwp8WTxg04A2eetEPW3n/w210-h183/WOW.jpg" width="210" /></a>New Ham Radio software continues to appear which adds tremendous functionality to our hobby. Computer programs for Amateur Radio applications seem to be growing at an exponential rate. This provides a lot of utility for hams but also comes with a (sometimes steep) learning curve!<br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiF_PuRKvxDhcOnROwx2TouDn_zD-PERGq0VGXAsk5GbegLWqg5ozXg6aMkNO4kK7YJQt4_nxSILZQhNXRsxySyhvnJXx02betWAHv85HcAcu4whcdJEIVVPthMODsvRCbsvRdrzuseFV/s1026/5Z4VJ+QSO+Indicated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1026" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiF_PuRKvxDhcOnROwx2TouDn_zD-PERGq0VGXAsk5GbegLWqg5ozXg6aMkNO4kK7YJQt4_nxSILZQhNXRsxySyhvnJXx02betWAHv85HcAcu4whcdJEIVVPthMODsvRCbsvRdrzuseFV/w262-h179/5Z4VJ+QSO+Indicated.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Path: W8TN to 5Z4VJ<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Yesterday I decided to take a look at the program called "<b>GridTracker</b>" and I can report that my mind was officially <b><span style="color: red;">BLOWN!</span></b> I had previously been using <b>JTAlert</b> since the beginning of December, 2019, and was very pleasantly surprised that it helped me work a half dozen New Countries and a couple of New Grids in really short order.<br /></p><p>GridTracker performs similar functions. JTAlert interfaces with WSJT-X or JTDX and provides audio and visual alerts for stations you may need for various awards and you can find it <a href="https://hamapps.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>. GridTracker does the same thing but includes a graphical (map) interface which is <b>WAAAAAY COOOOL!</b> On the right you can see the map showing the paths between stations I could hear on one period on 20-M yesterday. The <span style="color: red;"><b>Red </b></span>path showed up while I was working 5Z4VJ. (Click on any image to see it larger.) Notice that I had it display the position of the moon (at that time just off the West coast of South America.) Hover your mouse over the moon and you will see the Azimuth and Elevation for the moon from your QTH.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table><p>To begin learning about <b>GridTracker </b>I found a video on YouTube by Josh, KI6NAZ, who posts a lot of videos under the heading of "<b>Ham Radio Crash Course</b>." This particular video is 1-1/2 hours long and has Josh interviewing the creator (author) of GridTracker, "Tag" Loomis, NØTTL. You can see that video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4mGq7le3co" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.<br /></p><p>Even though I was watching the above video, I still spent <b><span style="color: red;">SIX HOURS</span></b> getting GridTracker up and running and trying to understand some of its features. The reason I placed the "<b>WOW!</b>" graphic above is because the functionality (and complexity) of this program is <b>HUGE!</b> I have only scratched the surface of what it will do and what I have seen is just phenomenal. In fact, I would stop the video every so often and use what I just saw/heard for learning about my installation.</p><p>You can download GridTracker <a href="https://tagloomis.com/grid-tracker/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>
and rather than printing all the features in this Blog, I will just
refer you to that page. Suffice it to say that GridTracker is a
companion program for WSJT-X or JTDX. It listens to what those programs
decode and displays that information on a map. It also interfaces with
your digital log and will give alerts for stations you have not worked
or have not confirmed. Say for example you are working on your W.A.S.
award, it's nearly impossible to just look at what WSJT-X (or JTDX)
decodes and know where a particular station is located. GridTracker has
a database of all U.S. hams and compares their call to that list. It
can then display the information for that station for you.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadJOjvztFLdKDaPUnMmfryDnxbOvmfA5FI74e2eTz0Z2TnXH7CoLYIgKMgLHqsCUk0XK9-i3HpJLFY-RCmXtvx5wk2wzpfk7j2OZayvrNKRS366s_HLLwuUFfrfZxqbeTobRhertd7tjZ/s456/WSJT-X+Band+Activity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="456" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadJOjvztFLdKDaPUnMmfryDnxbOvmfA5FI74e2eTz0Z2TnXH7CoLYIgKMgLHqsCUk0XK9-i3HpJLFY-RCmXtvx5wk2wzpfk7j2OZayvrNKRS366s_HLLwuUFfrfZxqbeTobRhertd7tjZ/w234-h77/WSJT-X+Band+Activity.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><p>Note that I just said "display that information." <span style="color: red;"><b>BOY</b></span>, that is an understatement! GridTracker can display more information than you can even imagine. And, that is one of the keys to the utility of this program.<br /><br />I looked for an online "manual" for installing the program and what I found was a PDF file (find it <a href="https://tagloomis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GTQS_0318.pdf" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>) for Version 1.18.0318 and the current version is 1.20.0821. In the YouTube video "Tag" says this information was written <span style="color: red;"><b>TWO YEARS</b></span> ago and is out-of-date. Still, it is a bit of a start. "Tag" has a real job and works on improving GridTracker on the weekends but it seems to be evolving very quickly. The YouTube video was created just 3-1/2 months ago and I found a <b>TON </b>of things that were different in the current version. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi_BG1LDv8d1IA1Xo3APCq-J0JAKdAAGVvyntvcZ4CF7MmUlclRyxEu88w-lNuiVcWkk0K7dK5TPf5B34HJqooO5d3KH_9Tl2W-GdqQno-ZJPZ8jbEXXHo_LMFBwzLewFxLweecN1ZBhI/s752/General+Tab+%252B+Logger32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi_BG1LDv8d1IA1Xo3APCq-J0JAKdAAGVvyntvcZ4CF7MmUlclRyxEu88w-lNuiVcWkk0K7dK5TPf5B34HJqooO5d3KH_9Tl2W-GdqQno-ZJPZ8jbEXXHo_LMFBwzLewFxLweecN1ZBhI/s752/General+Tab+%252B+Logger32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="752" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi_BG1LDv8d1IA1Xo3APCq-J0JAKdAAGVvyntvcZ4CF7MmUlclRyxEu88w-lNuiVcWkk0K7dK5TPf5B34HJqooO5d3KH_9Tl2W-GdqQno-ZJPZ8jbEXXHo_LMFBwzLewFxLweecN1ZBhI/w210-h169/General+Tab+%252B+Logger32.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Settings for Logger32</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Db45XPODudZjM1L0jE1HtPa9YmvMcS0hij9VfL09FogKCajsjeVhIZnXBfAoziWEN6YDEzfwgAPw0xn4qUvyr5lEfFIvVysQDjc84iEK_uEeh_mjt3Z-jelii17h9l2HwubL18absCzd/s664/Lightning+Strike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="664" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Db45XPODudZjM1L0jE1HtPa9YmvMcS0hij9VfL09FogKCajsjeVhIZnXBfAoziWEN6YDEzfwgAPw0xn4qUvyr5lEfFIvVysQDjc84iEK_uEeh_mjt3Z-jelii17h9l2HwubL18absCzd/w262-h195/Lightning+Strike.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightning Strike Alert Settings</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I won't try to give a step-by-step description of how to install this program but, it is really not that hard to do. For those with limited screen real estate, there are some things I can suggest to help out. Right off the bat, you can shrink down the WSJT-X window vertically because you no longer need to see a LONG list of stations, GridTracker will take care of that for you. In the upper left you can see I shrank mine to about 5 lines tall. Next, if the GridTracker map takes up too much room, you can grab the left side of it and shrink it to the right to just leave the control panel.</p><p>There is a grid of 18 buttons in the lower right of the control panel. Just above that grid is a button called "<span style="color: red;"><b>Call Roster + Award Tracker</b></span>." Click on that and position the window that opens below your WSJT-X window. On the <b>Call Roster</b> there is a menu screen with many selections. Once you select what you want, Right-Click in the Black area and choose "<b>Hide Controls</b>." To get that menu screen back, Right-Click to the right of the word "Callsign" or any blank part of the menu bar and choose "<b>Show Controls</b>." If you Left-Click on any column header in the Call Roster, the contents will be placed in order. For example, click on the DXCC heading and all the same countries will be grouped together and alphabetically. Click again and the column will change between "Lowest to Highest" to "Highest to Lowest." When you are finished, click on the "<b>Age</b>" column to put the spots in order with the most recent showing first. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr align="left"><td>In that "Grid" of 18 buttons, the "Settings" button is at the right end of the second row. It looks like two gears meshed together. This is where you access most of the controls for GridTracker. There are 11 tabs on that screen to organize the settings in a logical manner.</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHabgtCXil6yzQslASI_4dOfBuL1NU900j12NIZX8TrnIT0romkZFUG4Q0p9awzAqQSqC-_hIXW2x0WDwLQQiec5-AodpLItP_DoPuq6SfOn9XV1fUglpvRnG4fQ_Fm5o7BsYIMDAYfCj/s958/Settings+for+New+States.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="958" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHabgtCXil6yzQslASI_4dOfBuL1NU900j12NIZX8TrnIT0romkZFUG4Q0p9awzAqQSqC-_hIXW2x0WDwLQQiec5-AodpLItP_DoPuq6SfOn9XV1fUglpvRnG4fQ_Fm5o7BsYIMDAYfCj/w262-h84/Settings+for+New+States.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><p>Once you set up the Audio Alerts, you will get a pleasant female voice saying "<b>New State</b>" or "<b>New DXCC</b>" or whatever alerts you have enabled. There is also a Button for <b>Lightning Strikes</b>! I thought this was a really nice feature. It will indicate on your screen and play an Alert sound if lightning is within (I think) 30 miles from you. (See the "Lightning Strike Settings" image above.) So, I turned that on but nothing seemed to happen. An hour or so later a <i><u><span style="color: red;"><b>HUGE </b></span></u></i>sound burst from my speakers and nearly cause me to lose control of my bladder! It was the Lightning Strike audio alert (default is set to "Long") and the volume level default was set to 100%. I managed to find the controls for that under <b>Settings | Audio</b>, dropped the volume level to 41% and changed the alert to a "Voice" alert. Whew! If you want to hear the original sound, click <a href="https://w8tn.com/long-strike.mp3" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ86OTrwGWIx54biYnt4x-bou6vNXMiQ6BaxRZQ0NNmvEpqRQgtjlYMxwsCeFJLKWRFoveh2FA5quL6PkOnlFbaN44m3ggv3bMcKfenTXL3R3xwbqPUI1s4u-wIq11whvM1msI8cLwmVU/s246/ClubLog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="246" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ86OTrwGWIx54biYnt4x-bou6vNXMiQ6BaxRZQ0NNmvEpqRQgtjlYMxwsCeFJLKWRFoveh2FA5quL6PkOnlFbaN44m3ggv3bMcKfenTXL3R3xwbqPUI1s4u-wIq11whvM1msI8cLwmVU/w101-h92/ClubLog.jpg" width="101" /></a></div>If you want to see how I configured GridTracker to work with Logger32, check out the second image above (on the right.) It gives the settings I used in GridTracker and the ones I used in Logger32. Now, spots from WSJT-X (GridTracker) flow into the UDP Bandmap in Logger32 and, when I tell WSJT-X to "<b>log</b>" the contact, it transfers to my Logger32 Logbook.<br /><p>Use your mouse-wheel to scroll in or out of the Map. If a country is shown bordered in Red it means you decoded someone calling "CQ NA" or "CQ JA" etc. Click on <b>Settings | Map</b> and you can adjust a ton of things there and you can even change the map source. </p><p>In <b>Settings | Logging</b> you can tell to get your log from ClubLog, LoTW, QRZ, eQSL, or from a local ADIF file. You can set a "Button" for many of these on the menu and/or tell GridTracker to get the file at startup. By mistake I clicked the "<b>Log?</b>" button for ClubLog (see above on the left) and today I find that my QSO from last night has been uploaded to ClubLog!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjaeqi5Yj7xfPWX3WQlQNCqL16ZEPfx6r-rOGhyphenhyphen4jKZ6TOsTT0jj24TZW0AA1pfP1xZfo3NlIQ9RD4VoWpFzn6D_QDQ9Zbyk3pFcNpbKmRBKFrCJX8QCUS47F0zCgzxfhI5Cjbc2qdvwZ/s636/Hot+Key+List.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="555" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjaeqi5Yj7xfPWX3WQlQNCqL16ZEPfx6r-rOGhyphenhyphen4jKZ6TOsTT0jj24TZW0AA1pfP1xZfo3NlIQ9RD4VoWpFzn6D_QDQ9Zbyk3pFcNpbKmRBKFrCJX8QCUS47F0zCgzxfhI5Cjbc2qdvwZ/w182-h209/Hot+Key+List.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><p>The place where I have NOT managed to fully understand GridTracker is in how to get it to just display ONLY the spots I am interested in. I can "hear" the audio alert for "<b>New DXCC</b>" but I can't see the spot in the Call Roster. I did manage to get it set up to display "<b>New State</b>" and you can see above the settings I used for that.</p><p>Press "<span style="color: red;"><b>F1</b></span>" anytime and you will get a pop-up with all the Hot-Keys like you see in the image on the right. Right from that pop-up you can print that list. A push of one of two Buttons will pop-up a window for PSK Reporter for the last 24 hours or a set time to see who has heard you. OH, there is a text messaging feature built-in where you can send a text to another user of GridTracker. Maybe you need him on another band or something so just message him. This only works if he is using GridTracker.</p><p>Click on the "<b>Show Stats</b>" button on the end of the top row of Buttons, and the window that opens has more detail about your logbook than you can imagine! Keep scrolling down to see it all. You can set GridTracker to pop-up a window from QRZ, HamQTH, QRZCQ or the free "CALLOOK" to give information on the station you are working. You can see that function during the YouTube video above.</p><p>Click on the button that looks like a Gold Cup and toggle between EIGHT different "Overlays" for various awards. This will show graphically (on the map) what Continents, CQ Zones, ITU Zones, States, DXCC Entities, Counties, Grids, etc. that you have worked. Just zoom in with your mouse for more detail. Hover your mouse over the Grid that is shown and see a pop-up of those stations you have decoded from that Grid.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOiOAwlz82c5aI_JmASnoaNjax1EFE_za2VrOPN9v9fjQnrpbiikYorT5VDmMHQE8oJGt1FpUmgcDO8kSn3y3OQkbiM3pIupc79a071iWqQmIn9XxY3wmP9KFIv2t3SA1anaMoYhchXlY/s398/WSJT-X+Settings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="398" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOiOAwlz82c5aI_JmASnoaNjax1EFE_za2VrOPN9v9fjQnrpbiikYorT5VDmMHQE8oJGt1FpUmgcDO8kSn3y3OQkbiM3pIupc79a071iWqQmIn9XxY3wmP9KFIv2t3SA1anaMoYhchXlY/w162-h116/WSJT-X+Settings.jpg" width="162" /></a></p><p>I know I have covered only PART of the functionality of this program here so you can see why my mind was totally <span style="color: red;"><b>BLOWN </b></span>yesterday. It did take a little time to get this set up, and I know I need to figure out how to display only the spots I want, but the program is working <b>GREAT </b>without any "Gotches" so it seems to be a <b>VERY </b>well-written piece of software.</p><p>On the left above is a list of the items that need to be configured in WSJT-X under <b>Settings</b>. These are just the UDP settings that worked for me - your mileage may vary!</p><p>So, this is my "overview " GridTracker. I will continue to be learning how to work this going forward but I see that for many folks, this will be a <b>WONDERFUL </b>addition to your software stable.<br /><b></b></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn"><span class="hgKElc"></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlPBfN-JfW4qY61_wUjhE4d_VS34A4JWWU9PaWby5FH9HFsfIlm8E2faYNErqdgklXz-F4DRpy8uY_LhBRE5V5frJ1v8dRPHQ4shrrk-aNeem6Nea4PJ2Qo0obwp8WTxg04A2eetEPW3n/s263/WOW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></p>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-7173425084032618252020-03-11T11:53:00.002-04:002020-12-28T23:06:56.117-05:00FINALLY! Reached the 2,500 Level on the ARRL Challenge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8_1uopYSq9DyOXXKJLmVOoMXceBZAGJXg_kVi1dNMiHe5XuRK9yHZfaxIdT8Q8dfaoqIBdo6P0gT2GWtbum0tiVaw5NKeNWOWO-LcZk-IKsFwLRQBhzesskSGRL6h6y8T_KmqOLuJg21/s1600/W8TN%2527s+2500+Medallion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8_1uopYSq9DyOXXKJLmVOoMXceBZAGJXg_kVi1dNMiHe5XuRK9yHZfaxIdT8Q8dfaoqIBdo6P0gT2GWtbum0tiVaw5NKeNWOWO-LcZk-IKsFwLRQBhzesskSGRL6h6y8T_KmqOLuJg21/s1600/W8TN%2527s+2500+Medallion.jpg" /></a>Thirteen years after I first achieved the basic <a href="http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-challenge" target="_blank"><b>ARRL DXCC Challenge Award</b></a> with 1,000 confirmations, I have now reached the 2,500 confirmation plateau. When the envelope arrived with my 2,500 Medallion, it was a feeling quite a bit more exciting than receiving the QSL for an All-Time New One! (See photo of my 2500 Medallion at left - Click on any photo to see a larger image.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gPk6FWl4yiOswSPFGo6-_hhsHWpBNNly1XFnlNcchb3MMCxyHgLpQ3Ihnd3thvisrmnyj7Q4P_Tcvl3jCiHWPd7WXcwy8AHlizkNnMNf1SLXPMnW8JxlOTS5Slz6h7Ny0dKc9k_gxa4S/s1600/Challenge+Plaque+with+2500+Medallion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="446" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gPk6FWl4yiOswSPFGo6-_hhsHWpBNNly1XFnlNcchb3MMCxyHgLpQ3Ihnd3thvisrmnyj7Q4P_Tcvl3jCiHWPd7WXcwy8AHlizkNnMNf1SLXPMnW8JxlOTS5Slz6h7Ny0dKc9k_gxa4S/s200/Challenge+Plaque+with+2500+Medallion.jpg" width="145" /></a>Once I took the photo on the left, I pealed off the 3M backing tape and affixed the 2,500 Medallion to my DXCC Challenge Award. You can see the on the right. This plaque hangs right on the wall as you enter my shack! <br />
<br />
The way this award is figured is by counting your CONFIRMED "Band-Points." Each "Band-Point" is earned by working a country on one band and getting it CONFIRMED. Since this award applies only to the 10 bands from 160 through 6-M (60-M does not count), and since only "Current" countries (entities) are counted, when you multiply those 10 bands by the current maximum number of countries (340) you find that the maximum number of "Band-Points" you can achieve is 3,400. But, to reach that level, you would need to work (and CONFIRM) each and every country in the world on each of those 10-bands. Imagine trying to confirm 340 countries on 6-M!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWzQEYueLyJ7AUi3CMGAiVNOTufL2De3Qb_5DlK00shxRT3wcJq-5BWJ8qdTkh5JNmKAKZezt9ryZ6atZV30VsUM412uJ5QnW40i3ShXdNvuvo62m0wmCxNwQDBOTfRxL5QrT2nbktt0J/s1600/3000+Medallion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="340" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWzQEYueLyJ7AUi3CMGAiVNOTufL2De3Qb_5DlK00shxRT3wcJq-5BWJ8qdTkh5JNmKAKZezt9ryZ6atZV30VsUM412uJ5QnW40i3ShXdNvuvo62m0wmCxNwQDBOTfRxL5QrT2nbktt0J/s200/3000+Medallion.jpg" width="200" /></a>Below is the basic rules statement for the DXCC Challenge Award as found on the ARRL web site:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The DXCC Challenge Award is earned by working and confirming at least
1,000 DXCC band-points on any Amateur bands, 160 through 6
meters (except 60 meters). Certificates are not available for this
award however, there is a distinctive wall plaque available to display
your achievement. Plaques can also be endorsed in increments of 500
additional band points. Deleted entities do not count for this award." </i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Should you manage to reach the rarefied height of having 3,000 Confirmations, your "Medallion" would look like the photo on the left. It is difficult for me to imagine my achieving that level but, as I make this post, I have 2,513 Confirmed and am waiting on another another 13 QSL's for stations already Worked. So, only 474 more to go - <span style="color: red;"><i><b>Never Give Up, Never Surrender!</b></i></span><br />
<br />W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-849219896174837378.post-57604566114230308212019-11-24T05:30:00.001-05:002020-12-28T23:05:36.912-05:00QSO Today Podcast with W8TN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx56pstDecHoBbzTrxZNvsMWWP7y5tSR-Wv0qpwKXzRdhFO-prCdUces5y_mmWpxfonSj3_6i3bSAnGUXl6SUt6DPSHZHNo_4_hPyiX9_Itvi6RRKtyyNXUkaGcZd59GE9t3TfETupbEj3/s1600/QSO+Today+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx56pstDecHoBbzTrxZNvsMWWP7y5tSR-Wv0qpwKXzRdhFO-prCdUces5y_mmWpxfonSj3_6i3bSAnGUXl6SUt6DPSHZHNo_4_hPyiX9_Itvi6RRKtyyNXUkaGcZd59GE9t3TfETupbEj3/s200/QSO+Today+Logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.qsotoday.com/" target="_blank"><b>QSO Today</b></a> is an audio podcast created by Eric Guth, 4Z1UG / WA6IGR. It consists of audio interviews with hams from around the world. As the host of the QSO Today Podcast, Eric poses questions to those being interviewed about their own personal ham radio story. He asks questions about how the person being interviewed got started in ham radio, about their first rig, their Elmers, about what affect ham radio has had on their career, their family life, what they see as the most exciting aspect of ham radio today and a host of other things.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hl2K4oao417c8DtfhuZQ7hMVz5flOmlqmWre6LsoxKLrF8rNHwm_caA83bmXGi7ZFTOlK2ABMDcfsEJLfkVmv4ij22ZFtOxwdi63EpAlQaz1wi_wZIhsYIPPxJFm_n5R4IgtGq8aWtnc/s1600/QSO+Today+Skype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="205" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hl2K4oao417c8DtfhuZQ7hMVz5flOmlqmWre6LsoxKLrF8rNHwm_caA83bmXGi7ZFTOlK2ABMDcfsEJLfkVmv4ij22ZFtOxwdi63EpAlQaz1wi_wZIhsYIPPxJFm_n5R4IgtGq8aWtnc/s200/QSO+Today+Skype.jpg" width="134" /></a><br />
Each interview runs about an hour and can be listened to online or can be downloaded on Apple Podcasts. <a href="https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/4z1ug5578327" target="_blank"><b>Episode 200</b></a> is an interview with Eric himself as the subject. All prior episodes can be accessed and a list of all the interviews is available <a href="http://qsotoday.libsyn.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.<br />
<br />
Eric has been doing this for 4-1/2 years as a way to document the stories and ham radio history for hundreds of individuals in our hobby. As of today, November 23, 2019, Eric has produced 277 episodes.<br />
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Today's Episode 277 is with me, W8TN. The interview was conducted over Skype on November 10, 2019. The image at the right is from the Skype app during the recording.<br />
<br />
I consider many of those who have already been interviewed as being absolutely at the pinnacle of this hobby. Looking at the list of hams who have already been interviewed, I am extremely honored and humbled to be included here.<br />
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Using the embedded player below you can listen to this Episode right from this Blog. Note there are buttons to rewind 30 seconds or skip ahead 30 seconds.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12136979/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/000000/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe>W8TNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10532445198219110423noreply@blogger.com0