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