Saturday, June 4, 2011

On Target

Basically, Boy Scouts organize into Teams that typically include an adult HAM operator.  They drive or hike ti various high peaks and then attempt to signal another Team on a distant peak.  The HAM helps the Scouts know if their signals are being seen.

Here's the link for the program:  http://www.grandtetoncouncil.org/ontarget/

We will be adding more descriptive narrative here soon.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Our next antenna project: The Open Stub J Pole

Greetings!  Yesterday we penned a post covering a wide range of topics.  You can read it below this post.  One of the topics discussed putting a possible antenna above our roof.  Well, lo and behold, VVARA Stalwart Member Bob S. (WB6ODR) graciously stepped forward (electronically) to do a little online Elmering.  Bob sent an email saying:
"You talked on your web site, about needing a different antenna that might stand up to some weather.  May I suggest the OSJ (open stub j pole) dual band antenna from Arrow Antennas  http://www.arrowantennas.com/sub/jpole.html.  I made 3 of them and they are just great and sturdy.  I attached a .pdf of the home brew antenna.  I think Arrow only wants $39 or so for the antenna and it's almost not worth making yourself for that price.  Very sturdy and may hold up to whatever weather you subject it to."

The antenna  on the PDF to which Bob refers was created by Allen Lowe (N0IMW).  We filed the PDF on our Google Docs and you can click here to see it.

We swapped a couple of emails with Bob about the antenna.  The project calls for using 3/8th aluminum rod and therein lies a story.  Here is how we told the story to Bob:

"When I was assembling parts for that first home grown yagi, I was visiting Family down in Mesa in April,  I decided to prowl the scrap yards--it seems there are a LOT of scrap yards in Mesa.  Anyway, I found a 10-foot length of 1/4 inch aluminum for the yagi for $3.30 total.  Next to it was a bin of 3/8th 10-foot rods and I thought "what the heck," and bought one of them for $4.40.  Well, our truck only has a six foot bed so I took along a hack saw and randomly whacked away at the 3/8ths rod with no clue that I might ever need it for the project you sent along today.  By some miracle I whacked it off with only a few inches to spare for having the right length for this project.  Pure blind luck!!!!  Thought you'd enjoy that story."

Bob followed up with a cautionary tale, "Don't do like I did and start putting threads and assembly until you have studied the print.  I threaded the wrong piece, twice, it still works but the resonate frequency is a little off.  Like I said, it's a great antenna for a dual band and the mount is very versatile."

I told Bob I would post up here on the website about the project so I spent some time this morning before the net online researching the Open Stub J-Pole and found a lot of interesting and helpful material.  That's one of the great things about the World of HAM--amateur radio operators really enjoy helping other operators learn about their various projects.  I've never been part of a group of people who are so universally helpful.  It's awesome!

Here are two great high quality photos of the project prepared by Jeffrey Bell (N1BMX). You can click on the graphics to see a large version.  Note that Windows will resize the graphic to your screen and you will then need to click it again to see the full size version. Note also that the originals are over one meg each so they may take awhile if you wish to right click them and save them to your computer. (Additional notes are below the JPGs.)



You can read more about Jeffrey's project by visiting his website for this antenna:
http://www.n1bmx.com/blog/?p=97

Here are some other resources:

http://www.w4cll.com/ijpole.html
Chuck W4CLL

http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/?j-pole-antennas,76
by Mike Walkington, VK1KCK

The Wikipedia on the J Pole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-pole_antenna

THANKS, Bob, for getting me back on track to do another antenna project.  I have all the right materials and maybe even the right attitude to set forth on this project.  I appreciate your Elmering me into doing this.  We will keep you posted as the project unfolds this spring.  Hopefully, it will be a relatively speedy project.

Have a great day & Many Cheers!  73, jp

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Late May Update

Periodically, we will do a blog post that is merely a discussion of "whazzup" with our HAM radio life.  After we took our road trip Friday The 13th, we've not been too busy with HAM stuff.  We have managed to check in every day with the Knobby Knee Net at 7 am (Arizona Time).  This net is conducted by the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association.  The net's a total hot.  The more we listen in, the more we enjoy it.  Each operator has their own personality and interests, of course.  Over time, one begins to learn more about the "regulars" and what they are doing and thinking and so forth.  Everyone's behavior is so pleasant and polite.  It's really refreshing and we are very thankful for the miracle of Echo Link to be bale to check in ourselves and listen, too.  Sometimes we actually listen to the entire net which is often nearly two hours long.  Luckily, we can multi-task while we are listening so we're not just sitting there glued to the speakers.  I check in and the other participants often have something to say about my remarks.  I feel very welcome there on that net.  It's great!

I returned the ARRL General Study book to Gary W. who lives a few doors to the west of us.  We chatted about our mutaul neighbor Chuck A. who has his Technician license but isn't doing anything with it.  Gary agreed to give both Chuck and myself a tour of his radio shack this coming week.  I then talked with Chuck and asked him to participate so things are looking good in that direction.

I also did participate for the second time in the local Tuesday 9 pm net.  The operator KK7Q calls roll and those who are present on the air repeat their call signs.  This process generally takes less than 30 minutes.  It dawned on me this week that I ought to use a digital voice recorder to capture the roster of active call signs.  Then I could use QRZ to make my own roster of local club members.  The local club does not send out an Alpha or Call sign roster like the VVARA does.  I really would like to know who's who here in Idaho Falls.

I've been thinking about Terance C.'s suggestion to put up a fixed antenna here at the house.  It would have to be something that could come down during the winter when we're gone so we wouldn't worry about it toppling into the roof of the house.  The only practical place to position the antenna is in a location that is a major ice dam area during the winter so its existence during the cold season isn't practical.  The more I think about putting the ground plane there, the more I like the idea.  We shall see.

I need to find out for sure if and when there is going to be a General test coming up in June.  Sadly, it's difficult to get information about such things here.  I'd like to upgrade to General.  Speaking of upgrades, I did change my address on the FCC database and they sent me a new and updated hard copy license.  I need to go get that laminated.

KK7Q (Terry T.) has offered to use his SWR meter to analyze the ground plane.  I doubt that I will do that unless and until I erect it above the house.  I've also decided not to pursue DSSTV as I need to spend the money on other stuff.  Although I am very intrigued by DSSTV, I know that I won't really be using it hardly at all, if ever, so there's no point in spending the money for stuff that will simply sit around.

Finally, I went to the local Motorola shop on First Street.  The guy there takes care of a lot of two-way radio communication needs for local businesses. He doesn't carry HAM radio stuff, per se.  But he DOES stock RG58 coax cable and all the connectors you can imagine.  He will put together custom cables for a reasonable fee of perhaps $10 per cable plus the cost of the coax and connectors.  That's real nice to know.  He seems like a cheerful and friendly guy.

Well, that's my late May update.  Have a Great Day & Many Cheers!  73, jp

Saturday, May 14, 2011

MFJ-1714 vs. Yagis & The Groundplane

As everyone who reads this blog knows, we've been totally preoccupied with building an effective Yagi antenna to use during our backcountry travels.  We have no idea the amount of hours (and money) we've thrown into The Yagi Project.  Well, we have to admit it's been a relative failure and we're abandoning it at least for now.  Why?

In a nutshell, the MFJ-1714 Long Ranger half wave telescoping antenna works better than our homegrown Yagi, takes up less space than the ET-style groundplane and is a breeze to use in seconds.  It reaches out as far and produces excellent TX and RX.  Frankly, we only discovered this by accident-- quite literally.

We built our homemade groundplane on Tuesday, finishing it up at 6 pm that day.  We ran a preliminary test from our backyard and then took it out to what we call Windmill Ridge east of town Wednesday afternoon.  For some reason it simply wouldn't work.  And we were having trouble getting the Yagi to work as well.  We were very frustrated and packed up our stuff and drove off.  When we were almost home, we realized we left the groundplane out in the field at our test site.  So, we turned around to fetch it.  When we arrived at the site, we looked and looked and couldn't find it.  Sadly, we finally found it.  We ran over it when we left and we totally flattened it.

As we sat rather dejectedly there, we thought we might as well try out little MFJ-1714 Long Ranger.  We popped it on the HT and put in the freq for the Jump Off repeater 65 miles away.  Much to our abject amazement, N7TDC picked up our signal and we carried on a great QSO on three freqs.  I was amazed at the power of the MFJ-1714 Long Ranger.  I hadn't even thought it possible the little thing would be so powerful and had never bothered to test it here!

The following day I decided to go west of town and try to hit a repeater 69 miles far to the south with the Yagis.  No luck.  At that point, I thought, "Well, why not try the MFJ-1714 Long Ranger again."  Much to my surprise once again, it produced a great signal and we had a great QSO with W7GIB in Downey, Idaho!  At that point, I was sold and convinced.  I went home and pulled the Yagis out of the Samurai and kissed them goodbye.
Friday (yesterday), we did a 164 mile backcountry road trip through some remote parts of Southeast Idaho.  While on the dirt portions of this long route, we saw only a grand total of 3 vehicles---so we're talking remote here.  While out in the boonies, I decided to test the HT and the MFJ-1714 Long Ranger once again off Sedgewick Peak and, lo and behold, KF7LUB answered from downtown Logan, Utah!  (QSO with KF7LUB shown in photo at top of blog.)  You can click here for an account of the trip.

At this point I no longer plan on carrying a Yagi on our road trips--unless it can be shown to me that a Yagi can outperform the MFJ-1714 Long Ranger.  I am very pleased with this antenna and it fits perfectly in my "go kit" along with the GPS and the digital voice recorder, old-fashioned compass, various maps and freq lists, etc.  My next blog post will show the contents of this kit.

Many readers of this blog will undoubtedly remember the opening scene of the Lone Ranger's TV series.  The Masked Man is riding his white horse while blazing away at imaginary villains.  The words to this song were: "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Ho Silver--the Lone Ranger."  Now, whenever I pull out the MFJ telescoping antenna, I head the melody to that theme song and I've morphed the lyrics to:

"A fiery handheld with the speed of light, a cloud of TX 
and a hearty Hi-Ho Signal--The Long Ranger!"

By the way, I did get the groundplane back up and running the following morning and therein lies a story.  I set it up in the front yard and ran an antenna check via the local ERARC repeater on Iona Hill (146.64).  N7TDC answered and we had a great QSO.  He became curious about the groundplane and said he would like to build one.  Since I had a lot of leftover welding rod, I said come on by and pick it up.  Sure enough, Terance C. stopped by within the hour and we had a wonderful FTF meeting and chattered together about all manner of HAM topics.  THANKS, Terance, I am looking forward to meeting with you again.  The photos below are of the groundplane on Wednesday before is became a FLAT groundplane as shown in the last photo!

Have a great day, Many Cheers & 73!  jp

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

New Antenna

Here is the new antenna we built today.  It is a 1/4 wave simple groundplane antenna.  We saw a version of this antenna Saturday at KK7Q's house.  Terry T. graciously sent us a PDF of the plans as they appear in Chapter 18, Page 38 of the ARRL Antenna book.  We will put up a more detailed description of this antenna tomorrow.  Thanks to Gary W. AE7LE for helping us check the antenna this evening via the ERARC 146.64 repeater on Iona Hill.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hollow Arrow Yagi A SUCCESS!

N7NUU conducted a test of his two ounce Yagi antenna about 0930 May 9.  He used both half watt and 5.5 watt power on his IC V-8 HT.  We received his TX very clear up here in Idaho via our Echo Link connection to the VVARA Mingus repeater.  (N7NUU's lineal distance from the repeater was 22 miles.) The outdoor photo has minimal contrast so it is next to impossible to see the .025 music wire elements of the antenna.  See lower photo for a better understanding of this lightweight backpacking antenna.  (Photo by Robin W. N7OAU)
Here is a rendition of the original hollow hunting arrow Yagi antenna as described here by Paul Dryer (KD5IVP). Click here for the original hollow arrow design by Paul Dryer.  His construction diagram is shown below.

N7NUU used all of the "ingredients" as specified in the design and finished his first edition on Mother's Day. May 9th, we tested it out on the VVARA Mingus repeater to an Echo Link connection in Idaho Falls.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Great meeting of the ERARC

The May meeting of the Eagle Rock Amateur Radio Club was great in many ways.  First off, it was well attended and a majority of those present came early to talk with one another.  Second, the meeting was held in a room that contained a lot of radio equipment.  We don't know the usage or backstory on all that technology but it certainly wasn't a sterile room. Third, the meeting started on time and the business end of the meeting was delightfully short and sweet.  The club has a total treasury of $6500 and appears willing and able to support worthy radio-related projects.  Fourth, the featured presentation was precisely and exactly what I was hoping to learn: How to Program a Han Held Transceiver (HT).  Bob S. (KB7VWC) the presenter really knew his stuff and passed it on to the group in an enjoyable and memorable way.  Fourth, the followup presentation was exciting stuff--the Bone & Back marathon and DSSTV.  In a nutshell, you can interface an HT with a netbook and send really high quality digital photos over the radio airwaves from a remote location to any given enabled recipient location.  Club members will be doing it at the Bone event. The club and one of its very active members, Terry T. (KK7Q) is helping members grapple with the learning curve during a weekly one hour net on 146.94.  THANK YOU, TERRY! We will be chattering more about this intriguing topic here soon.  Lastly, about half of the members stayed around after the meeting's close to exchange more thoughts, ideas and tech tips.  Bob S., The HT program presenter, helped me one-on-one to FINALLY learn how to properly program my Icom IC V-8 HT.  I have been extremely frustrated with my lack of success in this aspect of the HT's operation.  I was expertly coached to prepare a 3x5 card with specific instructions in my own words on how to leap this hurdle.  I came right home tonight and converted the card into the learning aid below.  It was a great gift of HAM Elmering tonight and I am most appreciative of the assistance.  THANK YOU, BOB!
Terry (left) and Bob (right) are shown in the photo above during Bob's HT programming presentation.  I can hardly wait to dive into the DSSTV functionality.  Many Cheers & 73, jp

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

If at first....

 ....you don't succeed, try, try again. 

I'm sure we all grew up with that motto.  I know it's ingrained in my brain.  Just because we may not succeed on any given day is no reason to drop the ball.  Sooooo....here's what happened today.

We were studying various HAM-related topics and mulling over some emails we received regarding yesterday's experience.  By and by, we stumbled onto a much more complete and thorough listing of Idaho's 2 meter repeaters.  This list includes ALL of the local nearby repeaters in the vicinity of Idaho Falls.  We had heard the Eagle Rock Amateur Radio Club (ERARC) maintained a repeater on Iona Hill northwest of Idaho Falls.  Sure enough, that machine's frequency was on the list we found this morning.

Naturally, we had to do a radio check from our front yard here in the middle of the city.  We used our MJK Long Ranger 2 meter half wave antenna and came through loud and clear. Terance C. (N7TDC) in Rigby received our signal and we exchanged greetings.  Before signing off, he said that he had heard me do the antenna check off Sawtell yesterday but I hadn't heard him.  Frankly, I was shocked and alost speechless but I thanked N7TDC and we both signed off the Iona Hill ERARC repeater.

Well, that really started some wheels spinning and I began reviewing the frequencies I had programmed into the radio yesterday.  Although I can't be certain, I suspect I goofed up on the input of the PL tone yesterday.  Nevertheless, it was amazing to me that somehow my signal had gone over or around Iona Hill itself.  The hill is an old volcano and sits a few hundred feet above the Snake River Plain.  I'd guess it's 2-3 miles diameter at its base and it's highest elevation is around 5500 feet (400 feet higher than my previous antenna test site).

Naturally, I packed up everything and headed out for Iona Hill to see if I could reach Sawtell.  Never having been there before I took the wrong road and drove deep into remote farm country onto the northeast side of the hill before deciding to stop.  While I was out there, I figures I might as well try Sawtell from the flanks of Iona Hill to replicate my previous test site minus the presence of the hill.  My location out in the farmland was about 7 miles north of the previous antenna test site and only 120 feet higher.   Therefore, the distance to Sawtell was 72.9 miles instead of 80. (43 33.254 -111 52.920)

Using Trusty Elmer Don Butler's advice, I corrected my bearing and used the Suzuki as a windbreak at my back.  (The wind was then blowing to near 40 mph.)  My first contact off Sawtell was very poor.  I did make out the call sign: KE7OGS and that comes up as Dee O. in Springville, Utah.  Presumably, the Intermountain Intertie helped route my signal down to Dee's local area.  Dee said my signal was very poor, about 40 percent intelligible.

At first I was disappointed and signed off and began to put the antenna down when another operator recognized my test signal.  I did not get his call sign but we carried on a clear conversation. He said my signal was "full quieting" and said it sounded like I was standing right next to him.  He was 25 miles south of Idaho Falls on Interstate 15.  So, consequently, we now believe that we have obtained a clear signal from 73 miles distant to the Sawtell repeater.  Our Yagi was pointed directly at the Sawtell bearing and Iona Hill lay between me and the operator on I-15.  There would be no other way for him to receive our signal on that frequency.  So, we have partial success today!!

After breaking down our gear, we found a way to drive to the top of Iona Hill.  Up there the wind was probably blowing a steady 40 with higher gusts.  We attemped to reach the Mount Harrison repeater with no luck.  Frankly, it was all we could do to hold onto the antenna, much less keep it aimed.  Meanwhile, there had been a recent (last year probably) wildfire up there and the wind was filling our eyes with fine volcanic dust.  Not fun.  So, we packed it up and bagged it for the day and drove home to a nice hot lunch.

All-in-all, it was a very interesting day.  I am truly happy to have validated our ability to reach the Sawtell repeater.  I couldn't understand how we could get out 63.4 miles to Jump Off and not be able to reach Sawtell.  Don believes it's the topography but clearly someone heard us yesterday so maybe the local lay of the land didn't have as much affect as we would have suspected.

It was blowing too hard to set up the tripod for a photo.  The tripod would probably have blown over to Wyoming by now.  The two photos embedded here are just for representative purposes.  The first one below is our first site on the north flank of Iona Hill.  Sawtell would be approx. where the arms of the "X" cross. The second is a general view of the busy electronics site atop Iona Hill.

Thanks for reading!  Cheers & 73, jp

Faces of the VVARA Mingus Repeater


Repeaters are the "bread and butter" of the 2 meter world.  Who knows how many thousands of 2 meter repeaters dot the world landscape.  Many such repeaters are maintained by various amateur radio clubs and the tireless volunteers who make those clubs tick.  We are very fortunate to belong to one such club: The Verde Valley Amateur Radio Club (VVARA).    The VVARA repeater is located up on top of Mongus Mountain at one of the electronic sites there. My wife and I love Mingus Mountain and we go there fairly often.  In fact, we were up in that neck of the woods this past February 11th.  You can click here to read about that trip. 

The VVARA Mingus repeater will always hold a special memory for me as it was on this machine that I made my very first radio contact after receiving my FCC call sign.  I've never forget the stage fright I had when pressing the TX button to begin to speak.

Sometimes we forget that repeaters are just a reflection of the human faces that maintain and operate them.  So, today, we'd like to say thanks to the most recent group of VVARA members who trekked up the mountain April 30 to provide some routine maintenance for the trusty repeater.  Without the people you see above (and many other VVARA members as well), we wouldn't be checking in on the morning Knobby Knee Net.  Our Arizona neighbor and Dear Friend N7NUU is fond of speculating that the VVARA repeater is the most reliable such repeater up on Mingus and, in an emergency, would probably be operative longer than even the municipal public service agency repeaters located there.

So, THANKS, GUYS, for all you do to keep this machine up and running--we appreciate your volunteer service!!!!!!

Left to right in the photo above are: Bob Thompson (KC8BOB), Steve Pearson (KC7TIL), Jim Beck (KJ7NW), Mike Wingate (WA6LSE) and Bob Kiekenapp (KØCKE). The photo was taken on a tripod by KØCKE (AKA: Capt. Bob). KØCKE is one of our most active and energetic HAM Elmers. He's really helped us in so many ways. THANKS, CAPT. BOB!

Cheers & 73, jp

Monday, May 2, 2011

Finally: Failure

We finally hit the wall on how far our little 5.5 watt hand held VHF transceiver will transmit.  Encouraged by our success in reaching 63.4 miles to the Jump Off Peak repeater, today we attempted to reach Mount Harrison (122 miles) and Sawtell Peak (80 miles). (Click here for an interactive map shown in the screen shot above.)  Finally, we enjoyed failure.  We could raise nary a peep from either repeater.  For Sawtell, we even relocated our test site to two other locations with no luck.  So, for all practical purposes, our effective range now stands at the "high water mark" of 63.4 miles with the homegrown Yagi and 52 miles with the Long Ranger.

That's not too shabby but we are itching to do better.  We suspect our bearing for both repeaters may have been off a few degrees.  Also, the wind was blowing hard this afternoon, gusting into the mid-20 mph range.  It was very difficult to hold the Yagi antenna steady.

We are going to calculate a much more precise bearing for each of those repeaters from our test sites and give it another try after we also learn how to create a stable mount for the antenna.  We won't quit trying to reach those repeaters until we have exhausted all options, even if it means rebuilding the Yagi again with much closer plumb and square alignment and tolerances.

One of the net benefits of today's effort was that we really took our organization to the next level.  We used printed checklists and filled in all the appropriate data fields for each attempted test.  We also brought along a digital voice recorder and turned it on when we began to transmit our test signal.  In this manner, we will be able to keep much better logs of our various tests on this antenna (and others in the future).

Even though we are thoroughly enjoying our failure today, we have only just begun!  Tomorrow's another day!

Cheers & 73, jp


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Yagi Test #3


We went back to the same spot described in the blog post below after lunch on May 1.  We prepped our 3rd PVC "T" and aligned the elements much better plumb and square.  There's still more work to do in that regard but we are coming along well.  We also now hold the antenna in the proper polarity alignment.  Our Online HAM Elmer, Don Butler (N4UJW & The Ham Universe website) got quite a chuckle out of improper aiming of the antenna during Test #2.  He's right, that antenna works a heck of a lot better when it's held correctly!  Don today put online an article about using the protractor to align drill holesin a piece of PVC pipe.  You can click here to check it out.

We transmitted an "antenna check" message to the Jump Off Peak repeater.  The first response was too garbled to decipher.  The second response was so clear it was as if the operator was standing beside us carrying on a FTF conversation.  We are 99% certain his call sign is K6ROV.  However, in looking at QRZ, the person with that call sign is registered in Metro Los Angeles at a Hawthorne, California address.  How in the world we could reach California from an obscure Idaho repeater is beyond me.

Sadly, I forgot to ask his whereabouts and equipment.  From now on, I'm using a checklist each time I conduct one of these tests.  I'm also going to bring a digital voice recorder to capture the transmissions so I can study them later in more detail.  K6ROV said I was coming through very clear and complimented me on the antenna project.  Well, live and learn!  We will keep at this project until we not only have a workable antenna but also some proficient on-air procedures with which to conduct ourselves.

Below is a screen shot of a Google Map we made showing the signal test site in relationship to the city's most visible landmark--the water tower.  You can click here for the actual zoomable Google Map.

73, jp

Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Yagi Project continues



We haven't had much time lately to continue tinkering with The Yagi Project (YP).  First, we had to visit our 87-year-old Mom in Indiana and then we had to prepare to leave Arizona for our Idaho Falls home.  Meanwhile, we have swapped a lot of email with Don Butler (N4UJW & The Ham Universe website).  Don has been extraordinarily helpful in trying to help us learn how to build the YP without a drill press.  We will talk more about that later in this blog post. THANKS, DON!

Yesterday we had enough time to buckle down and put together Draft #2 of the YP.  We used Don's idea and it was a great improvement over our earlier haphazard method of drilling holes in a PVC "T."  After marking and drilling the four holes, we threaded all four with the metric tap. (The driven elements were already threaded in Draft #1.) We purchased a cheap soldering rig and solder at Harbor Freight for a mere $7 total and really anchored down the alligator clips to the small coax cable. 

Then we brought up Steve F.'s  (KE7ZIW) great web page of the Utah 2 meter repeaters and the Intermountain Intertie.  Although the intertie is mostly Utah machines, it includes several Idaho repeaters and even one in Northern Arizona on Navajo Mountain.  Click here to see a map of the intertie system. THANKS, STEVE!

We uploaded the long-lat for the Jump Off Peak repeater into our Garmin 60CSx GPS unit and then programmed our HT for the machine's frequency and tone. 

Since we're rather certain it would be problematic to reach Jump Off Peak from the central city of Idaho Falls, we drove 8.25 miles east to find a nice high spot on the flanks of the local foothills. Our elevation in the city is roughly 4750 feet.  Our location and elevation east of the city was 5100 and offered a line-of-sight opportunity to reach Jump Off Peak at a distance of 63.4 miles away.  ( N43 30.621 W111 53.320) We used the GPS's onboard compass to get a good visual bearing on the repeater's location on the far side of the Snake River Plain beyond the Idaho National Laboratory near Howe, Idaho.

After assembling and aligning the antenna, we transmitted an "antenna check" to the repeater.  After hearing no reply, we were rather discouraged.  Just as we were getting ready to pack it up, we heard a faint reply.  We could not make out the call sign but we gathered that we had been heard by someone using a 10 watt mobile unit.  We thanked them for their reply to our antenna check and prepared to sign off.  At that point, about 3:55 pm, we received a much stronger signal from Jonathan S. (W7VEO) who lives in Marsing, Idaho.  Marsing is located due west of Boise not far from the Oregon State line.  Jonathan was using a 75 watt rig with a j-pole antenna and his signal was very clear.  He told us our signal was very good with minimal static.  It was great talking with him.  THANKS, JONATHAN!

We suspect our signal was relayed through the intertie to the repeater on Mt Harrison and then to War Eagle Mountain east of Boise.  We definitely need to learn more about how that intertie functions and whether we should even be using it for something such as an antenna check.  We sure hope we are not treading where we shouldn't be! 

After taking some photos (tripod & time delay) and making some notes, we packed it up and called it a day.  So far, we are very pleased with the progress of the YP.  We will continue to work with Don to find an accurate way to drill the hole in the PVC "T" so that the driven elements are in perfect alignment with the reflector and director elements.  We suspect we will go through at least two more drafts before settling on a final version of the antenna.

It's exciting and thrilling for us to be able to use a little 5.5 watt hand held and be able to reach a repeater so far away.  As astute readers of this blog know, that was our primary purpose for obtaining our FCC license in the first place.  Of course now we are studying for our General exam and hope to learn a whole lot more about amateur radio than just low power handhelds and home grown antennas!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great day and Many Cheers!  73, jp

PS--The graphic below was designed and sent by Don B. (N4UJW & The Ham Universe website).  We used a woodworking pipe clamp and a metric ruler to refine this idea.  It works great as far as locating the four holes.  The only remaining issue is that one must be able to correctly align one's drill so that each driven element is BOTH plumb and square to the planes of the reflector and director elements.  In Draft #2, we were successful with 3 out of 4 holes.  A slight slip up in drilling the fourth hole caused one of the driven elements to be about 15 degrees out of plumb.  Practice makes perfect, eh? THANKS, DON!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Echo Link Success!


Thanks to Capt. Bob (KØCKE) and some experimentation and a little luck, we enjoyed our first success with Echo Link (EL) this afternoon.  It sure felt great to finally put all the pieces together and make a real connection.  Our Idaho Elmer Gary G. (W7FSI) was the first to mention EL soon after we received our FCC call sign.  Gary lives in Stanley, Idaho, and suggested we learn EL so we could talk through the Galena repeater.  We downloaded the software right away but soon realized we would need to validate our call sign before we could use EL.  The validation process turned out to be more time consuming and cumbersome that we thought it would be.  Meanwhile, Capt. Bob graciously offered to help us learn EL.  Various schedule conflicts, the validation process and so forth precluded getting together while we were in the Verde Valley, Arizona.

As soon as we returned here to Idaho Falls late Tuesday afternoon, our thoughts turned once again to EL.  Naturally, there's a lot of various "stuff" one has to do after being gone 5 months.  Once all those chores were out of the way, we focused today on EL.  Our first attempt to set up a microphone failed miserably.  We then went to Wal-Mart and bought a Hewlett-Packard USB headset with an integrated microphone.  (HP Product: VT501AA#ABA) for $24.99, plus tax.  As soon as we unpacked the microphone, we began conducting sound checks via the EL test server.  Once we had the audio at a somewhat OK level, we used Google Voice to call Capt. Bob to chat about EL.

Capt. Bob was his gracious, patient self and happily walked us through the labyrinth of check boxes and links necessary to actualize EL's functionality.  We linked into the VVARA Mingus repeater first via Bob S. (WB6ODR).  The audio was pretty bad.  So, we went back onto the phone with Capt. Bob and he helped us adjust our various audio settings.  We then used Jack C's EL connection via (W7JLC) and enjoyed much more success.  We must say that it was truly thrilling to be able to link a PC sitting here on 12th Street in Idaho Falls with the repeater high atop Mingus Mountain.

We finished up a fine session talking with Capt. Bob once again via a Google Voice VoIP connection.  We both agreed that, although it's sometimes daunting, it's important to keep up with the "latest and greatest" technology.

THANK YOU, Capt. Bob--please pin a Gold Star on your HAM Elmer chart today.  "Ya dun good!"

With any luck at all, we will participate in the Knobby Knee Net tomorrow morning.  We will report back on the results here afterwards.  (Followup:  Yes, we were able to join the morning net Friday.  The incoming audio on our end was a little weak but we could sstill understand most of what was said.  We were told our signal was good on their end.  Bob S. was the moderator this morning and he was such a wonderful and welcoming host.  Thanks, BOB!  We really appreciated the hospitality shown during our brief visit to the net and look forward to joining in more often.  Isn't it ironic that it's easier for us to join the net from 800+ miles away than it was while we actually down there in person?)

Have a great day & Many Cheers, 73, jp

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Yagi Project



Shown above is my "spin" on the backpacking Yagi shown in the diagram below and described on a very thorough webpage.  I am indebted to Paul Dryer (KD5IVP) for his awesome work in building the 2.1 ounce backpacking antenna.  I am also indebted to Don Butler (N4UJW) for finding the design for me.  Don runs the Ham Universe website.  (Click here to visit it.)  Don also is happy to serve as an online Elmer.  I emailed him asking for help to find a very lightweight Yagi design.  He sent several designs and I chose to work with this one.  When I received the .025 music wire I could see right away that it would be too flimsy for my needs.  My wife and I travel remote back country roads so we need a stout Yagi that can fit into our Suzuki Samurai to be able to transmit to distant repeaters.  I took the hunting arrow design and adapted it with PVC pipe and quarter inch aluminum rod.  I bought a 12 foot length of rod at a scrap yard in Mesa for $3.  The pipe and fitting cost $1.12.  My neighbor (N7NUU) ordered a length of RG174U coax online with two BNC connectors already attached on both ends.  I'm not sure what he paid for that cable and will find out soon.
Anyway, we split the cable as he plans to build the original arrow design since he's an ardent backpacker.  I have yet to solder the cable ends to the alligator clips.  The driven elements are out of alignment because I need to align their mounting holes with a drill press.  There's no way to use a hand held dril and get the holes perfectly plumb and square.  I used a metric 7 mm tap and die to thread the driven element rod ends and then screw them into the PVC fitting.  Since I am using a PVC "T" it is easy to align the elements with one another. I'm pretty sure the antenna will function a lot better once everything is better aligned and the cable soldered to the clips.  Well, that's about it for now--will add more soon.  Thanks to Capt. Bob K. (KØCKE ) for helping me check the antenna out today on the VVARA Mingus repeater.  Have a great day & 73, jp

Click here for the original hollow arrow design by Paul Dryer.  His construction diagram is shown below.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Mid-April update

My how time flies!  We received our hard copy FCC licenses in the mail and had them laminated.  We took digital photos of the licenses and emailed them to ECHOLINK administration.  We are now validated to use ECHOLINK.  We just have to learn HOW to use it. 

We are also going through the validation for ARRL's Log Book of The World.  Hopefully, we will complete those scripts today.

Our Yagi antenna project is coming along but rather slowly.  We have most of the parts and hope to put the first version together within the next few days.  That's about the sum of our HAM news.

Cheers & 73, jp

Monday, April 11, 2011

TARA (W9REG) -- My Hometown HAM Club

I was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana.  For the uninformed, Lafayette is the County Seat of Tippecanoe County and the birthplace of Purdue University across the Wabash River in West Lafayette.  (John Purdue made his fortune in Lafayette but chose land across the river for his school.  That's why it's safe to say it was actually Lafayette that was the birthplace of the university.)  Anyway, the people I grew up with were all serious Type A people.  Nobody did anything half way.  It was all out or nothing.

Naturally, I became quite curious as to what sort of HAM Club would exist in my hometown.  Sure enough, Lafayette and Tippecanoe County have had a HAM club for 60 years.  Above is a photo of some of the members back in 1953.  Pretty notalgic photo.  That's back when I would have been in first grade at St. Laurence School on 19th Street.  I was lucky to be able to build a primitive crystal radio back then, let alone mess with stuff like you see above.  The club here is called the Tippecanoe Amateur Radio Association (TARA) and they run a first class club.  You can click here to visit their website.

I'm just going to miss their April meeting by one day.  Darn!  I've been here in Lafayette for a few days helping my 87-year-old Mom with various chores.  Today's my only day with some free time before I leave for Arizona tomorrow.  I am hoping to make contact with at least one TARA member, if only to say "HI & 73."  Next time I come back to help Mom, I will be certain to plan my trip around TARA's monthly meeting schedule.

NOTE:  I "borrowed" the photo from that TARA website's history page.  Believe it or not, they have their club minutes online dating clear back to 1951!!!!  Be sure to check out the History link on their page--there's some great photos there and lots of nostalgia.  Thanks, TARA, for use of the photo.

Cheers & 73, jp

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Status report

Here's a summary of  "whazzup" with our Amateur radio learning curve.  First, we've put considerable time into what we're calling "The Yagi Project."  We would like to have a portable Yagi antenna to reach far distant HAM repeaters during our back country travels in Arizona, Utah and Idaho.  Through the hospitality of a online HAM Elmer, Don B. (N4UJW), we learned of a backpacking Yagi that uses music wire and a hollow arrow shaft.  (Click here for Don's tremendous website--Ham Universe--it's awesome.)  THANKS, DON! Anyway, we were going full speed ahead on this project until our special order of music wire showed up.  Opps, the .025 wire is so flimsy we can't imagine it will work as advertised.  My cohort N7NUU is undaunted and plans to use a larger diameter wire.  N7NUU's a hardcore backpacker who will be hiking the length of the Teton Crest Trail this summer.  he wants to be able to communicate on that hike with this portable Yagi design. (Click here for a description of the arrow shaft Yagi.) Meanwhile, I've switched gears and will be adapting the arrow shaft design using PVC pipe and thick, inflexible aluminum rods.  Today or tomorrow I will be roaming the scrap yards of Mesa, Arizona, looking for a supply of such rods.  This is a very important project for us and we simply have to get it done soon.

Each morning, I tune into the VVARA's morning "net."  It starts precisely at 7 am and continues until members run out of things to talk about.  I haven't yet spoke up.  I want to make certain I understand the verbal protocols before speaking up on the morning net.  It is very interesting to listen to. 

After our lunch last week with some VVARA members, we had hoped to learn more about ECHO LINK.  We've downloaded and installed the software.  However, the verification process is very complicated and we can't proceed on this project until we receive our FCC hard copy license in the mail.  ECHO LINK is therefore on hold for the time being.

Yesterday, we received permission to post up the Utah 2 meter repeater frequencies here on this website.  The Utah Frequency Coordinator sent us a nice note granting permission.  He asked us to put up all of the Utah repeater frequencies and we will do so soon.  THANKS, John (K7JL)

Today will be our first trip to Ham Radio Outlet in Phoenix.  We are really looking forward to it.

We now roam the Craigs Lists of the West using the search term "HAM radio."  When we find gear for sale, we go to eHam dot com to study reviews about the gear.  It helps us learn.  Yesterday, we found an old Radio Shack HTX-202 hand held in Mesa.  We hope to take a look at it today and, if the price is right, we might add it to our new collection of HAM gear.

We will be going back to Lafayette, Indiana, Thursday for a few days to visit Mom.  So, we looked up the Tippecanoe HAM club and will just miss their April meeting by a whisker.  Darn.  Anyway, with a little luck perhaps we can meet one or more HAMs from our hometown while we are back there.

We also spend a fair amount of time studying the various HAM clubs of Idaho.  We will also just miss the state convention this month.  We did send off our dues for the Eagle Rock Amateur Radio Club and will definitely attend their May 4th meeting.

One important project that's on the front burner demands immediate attention: creation of laminated 2 meter repeater state maps for AZ, UT and ID.  We simply have to have them in our travels.  I suppose a printed list will work OK, too, but I'd really rather have actual maps of the machines' locations.

Well, time to run along this morning--the VVARA net begins in a few minutes and it's becoming a real morning routine to listen in.  The moderator/operator always puts out a call for anyone on ECHO LINK.  I sure hope I can join in from Idaho once in awhile.

Thanks for visiting this website.  Have a great day & 73, jp

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Lunch with VVARA members

Each week various members of the VVARA get together for a lunch.  Locations vary.  Today it was the Gold Dragon, a long-time Cottonwood eatery.  The members in attendance all know each other.  They were most welcoming to me and made me feel right at home.  I appreciated that so much.  Many of them have been licensed Amateur radio Operators for many years.  Some are relatively new but I'm only a week out of the FCC womb of call signs.  So, it sure was nice of them to be so gracious and exhibit such hospitality.  Capt. Bob (KØCKE-our first follower of this blog) was very enthusiastic about helping me learn Echo Link.  He invited me over to his place in the next couple of days to learn how to use this intriguing and versatile computer-to-HAM functionality.  I am very excited about Echo Link and look forward to being mentored in its operation.  (THANKS, Capt. Bob!). KØCKE's XYL, Aiesha W. (KF7IAJ) has recently turned to electronic published to release her book "Mystical Vapors."  It's great to meet people who are willing to use the latest and greatest in the world of publishing.  Electronic books are going to overturn the staid old world applecart of hard copy publishers!  We introduced ourself to everyone there and passed out some homegrown business cards we made at Office Max moments before the lunch began. Several of the attendees invited me to participate in the VVARA's 7 am Net each day.  I've been listening in each day but haven't had the gumption to sign on and say hello.  Maybe we will give it a try soon.  Thanks for inviting me to a great lunch!  73, jp

Monday, March 28, 2011

The IC V8

An icy V-8 sounds like a cold tomato juice drink.  In this case, however, an IC-V8 is a hand held 2-meter transceiver made by Icom.  Dear Friend, Neighbor and Ham Elmer, Gary W.(N7NUU) swapped out the Yaesu for this IC-V8 yesterday afternoon.  The Yaesu could receive but not transmit and it's keys were balky, too.  Both of us are "new" to this radio so we spent about 90 minutes fiddling with the various memory programming functions and so forth.  Icom's 80-page manual isn't the clearest of manuals.  (Click here to access the manual from our Google Doc's account.)  We will order the aftermarket "quick start guide" today.  Gary says those little laminated, pocket-size "cheat sheets" make a world of difference.

After we finally programmed in the VVARA 147.22 Mingus repeater and it's corresponding PL tone, Gary called up Jack C. (W7JLC) in Prescott.  (The Mingus repeater is a little over 20 miles line-of-sight from our location.) Jack pointed me in the right direction March 15 when I called around looking to find the soonest Technician exam.  Jack was very encouraging and gave me some tips on where to begin to study for the exam.  It was only fitting that he would be our first call with the "new" IC-V8.  We used the The MFJ Long Ranger 2-meter half wave antenna for the call and Jack said our transmissions sounded really good.  Gary and I then used 145.50 to talk on simplex with each other.  I still need a lot of "Elmering" before we even think of using the HT all by ourselves.

We spent a couple of hours yesterday messing with this website.  Each person we asked permission to use their material sent a nice email graciously giving us the green light to use their online resources.  We started a "Kudos" page here on the blog to thank everyone who is helping us.  The Kudos page needs some more work but it's a start.  We submitted  the online paperwork to join the VVARA and were happy to note a blog comment here from Capt. Bob (KØCKE) this morning.  Thanks, Bob!

Meanwhile, we shipped off the IC-V8 manual to Office Max so it can be printed.  Hopefully, we will pick it up today.  I can easily see one thing I will want and need to learn is how to use cloning software to interface this computer with the HT.  We will need to program a lot of repeaters in the areas we travel in five states: Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.  There's no way I want to think of inputting all those frequencies by hand!

We are looking forward to our very first visit to the Ham Radio Outlet store in Phoenix next Tuesday.  I'm sure my wife will want to zip tie my hands behind my back while I am shopping in there.  Hopefully, I will be able to exercise some discipline and keep the expenditures relatively low.

Well, that's about it for yesterday.  Many Cheers & 73's. jp

Sunday, March 27, 2011

First HT

Dear Friend & Neighbor Gary W. (N7NUU) loaned me a Yaesu FT-23R.  I found the operating manual online.  (Click here to access it.)  Ironically, the day I rec'd my call sign, I also rec'd my first HAM equipment purchase in the mail.  It's a MJF-1714 2-meter antenna called the "Long Ranger."  I have yet to make my first transmission on the Yaesu (or any other radio, for that matter).  My wife and I served for many years as USDA Forest Service volunteers.  We logged over 4,000 total official hours each from 2001-2007.  From 2004-2007, we served at the remote Bowery Guard Station on Idaho's East Fork of the Salmon River.  We were issued a Forest Service handheld radio and taught to use it very sparingly.  As a result of using that USFS radio, we have been ingrained to only use the radio when we have a very specific need and purpose for using it.  Consequently, I have a built-in reticence to use this Yaesu until I am thoroughly conversant in its operation AND have a specific reason for wanting to key the PTT button.  At this point, I really don't feel at all comfortable using the Yaesu since I don't know HAM etiquette yet. Hopefully, that will change soon.