I received my ARRL Volunteer Examiner credentials today. Now I can proctor the amateur radio exams the club puts on every 3rd Tuesday of the month.
QSL Package from the Zero Bureau arrived
Today I received a 10 pack of QSL cards from the Zero Bureau, this is the first batch I’ve received since getting a ‘0’ callsign. Also got my first Shortwave Listener(SWL) card, oddly it was from FT8, I don’t quite understand why you would listen and not work me. Most of the cards were from the CW contests and one from a POTA contact. I like getting cards.
Operating WA4USN on the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier
While on vacation in Charleston, SC, I saw that they have an aircraft carrier museum ship, the USS Yorktown. It was very close to where we are staying. After activating the SS American Victory for Museum Ships weekend I checked to see if the Yorktown had an amateur radio station. The Charleston Amateur Radio Club runs their club station onboard the USS Yorktown. I emailed the club and they got back to me that they would open the station. Thanks to Rick N8BKN and Tom AJ4UQ for their time and hospitality. Propagation was in an out but I managed a few contacts, one to a guy whose dad served on…
Certificate from Museum Ships Day activation of SS American Victory
Today we received the certificate from the Battleship New Jersey that organizes the Museum Ships day where we activated the SS American Victory docked at Channelside in Tampa, FL. Coincidentally, I have plans to visit another ship this weekend. That will be my next post.
K-1829 Alafia River State Park
I’d been saving this one for a nice day off. Alafia River State Park has a great system of mountain bike trails, probably the best in Florida. I’ve been here once before to go riding. I tried to take some videos with my phone on my handle bar phone holder but it came out too shaky. You can see some videos of the trails here, https://alafiatrails.com/ After doing some riding, I had lunch and then setup the radio. I used the Wolf River Coil on 40m first. I could hear people really well but they weren’t hearing me. I got 5 contacts pretty quick, but then nothing so I setup…
CQ WW CW 2019 – 110 contacts, no decoder, all head copy!
I’ve been working hard on my CW skills. I took the level 2 prep class in the CW Academy and we’ve been meeting every week in the time between sessions. I’ve been putting a lot of time into and it’s coming together. I figured I’d try this contest without the decoder and see how I did. I was able to copy one call, then another, and so I just kept going. Last year I made 176 contacts, with the decoder, this year 110 without. I had to listen over and over to many of them, but some I got on the first try. In this contest contacts from your own…
Easy Rotor Control(ERC) and Yaesu G-450A setup
After I ordered the Flex, I wanted a way to move the antenna when I wasn’t in the shack. The are some after marker rotor controllers but they are pretty expensive and don’t get the best of reviews. I considering building one out of Arduino following some plans from K3NG. It looks like a fun project but I would want a spare rotor to test with (I looked at the last ham fest but the prices weren’t great on the ones I saw). So I searched for alternatives and found the Easy Rotor Control, ERC v4. I bought the kit version from Vibroplex, which is the US distributor. It arrived…
K-4633 Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest
On the way back I stopped at K-4633 Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest. I only attempted to pronounce it once, the other ham said they can’t pronounce words like that up north. This one is well north of I-75 and about 10 miles down Keri Rd, which is an unpopulated road so it was a really nice drive. There were multiple entrances to the park, I picked one that looked nice on google earth. I paid another $2 entry fee and drove down the road for awhile. Really nice views. I was on a conference call for work with a guy from England, one from New Zealand and a group in…
K-4634 Picayune Strand State Forest
State Forests are my favorite type of activation. Hardly anyone around and they’re massive (the two things are probably related). This one is accessed via a bridge east of Naples, FL that goes over I-75 (it’s not publicly accessible from I-75). Another half mile or so from the entrance is the fee station and info booth. ($2 fee per person) Then its on a road that looks to go on forever. Six miles down this road, I made a left. An overhead view of this state forest shows a grid of roads like it was planned as a residential area. My plan was to active K-3618 Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State…
New rig, Flex Radio 6600
When I get into hobbies I tend to go all in right away. With ham radio I found that strategy to be a little financially irresponsible. The Icom IC-7300 had just come out when I started and spending over grand on just one piece for the new hobby didn’t sit well with me so I found a deal on the Icom IC-7410 used (from a military officer, so I felt comfortable buying it over the internet). I’ve mastered the 7410 and wanted more. I’ve been radio shopping for a few months and finally pulled the trigger on the Flex Radio 6600. This radio is basically a server, you connect the…