I was testing out the MFJ-564 iambic paddle, just having put a connector on the back (RS 274-274) and heard N6MZU calling CQ on 40 meters. Angel lives in Los Angeles, and was running his Kenwood to a 5el beam up 50ft. He gave me a 579, and he was easily 599. It has been hot in LA today, 80's, but cooled down to the 60's. He gave a good report on the K1.

I notice a bit of thumping on the AGC so I think I will try the upgrade kit and also probably change the C31 to 1uF or less.

- posted by Leigh @ 04:55 z 0 comments

I put my Cabelas pole into the Rakgear backpack I got on sale from Geek.com for $15, and poked it out the headphone port, and wrapped 16ft of Teflon-coated silver-plated wire around it, and tied a loop to the backpack handle. Then I attached 14ft of trailing wire to the ground side of the binding post, and put the 10 AA's on the back of the KX1.

20m sounded dead, but probably from lack of activity as much as the geomagnetic conditions. I could get L=0 C=0 on it, but I supect ground loss was a big part of that, as when I got off concrete and onto dirt it went up to L=6 and 1.5:1.

I switched to 40M and got 3:1, but it was too hard to get the longer wire out of the backpack (poor planning) so I just tried it anyway. I heard W6HVR on about 7.045, 599, talking to a VA7, whom I could barely copy. I called twice after their QSO ended, and Gene answered me. He was in Oregon, and said he could copy. He had to go open the door (I think for the cat) in the middle of the QSO, and then after a while said his arthritis was acting up, and we said 73. He said my KX1 was doing a fine job.

I looked up Gene and he's a member of the Old Old Timer's Club, of people who were hams or other radio operators more than 40 years ago. The group started in 1947, when the bar date was 1907! I'll be eligible myself in a few years (got my novice at 7)...I think it's the first organization I've seen whose web site boasts a link to Members that have NOT been reported dead.

Along the way, an anthropologist stopped and took a picture of me...I will post it later if she sends it along. Update

- posted by Leigh @ 18:20 z 0 comments

I put about 20 feet of wire on the end of a 25ft piece of Radio Shack TV twinlead, which I ran through the wall right where the roofline meets, and from there out to a tree, right at roof level. For the other side of the twin lead, I hooked up some copper wire that I'd previously run around the base of the house. 40 and 30 were good matches with the KX1, while I was sitting on the sofa watching Lassie reruns. I got L=C=0 on 40 and 30, with no balun, so it seems like there might be a bit of ground loss, hi hi, even though I did get some signals. 20 matched with the KXAT1, but was fairly quiet. I did hear 14.070 coming in, so probably 20M was quiet because of the bad propagation forecast and the evening coming on.

On 7.018 or so I heard N8SEX John 579 and he gave me a 559 at first and then a 579. Tom is in Dublin, OH and was running 100W from a Ten Tec Jupiter. Then the band changed and he gave me a report of QSB.

On 30M I heard a CO8 calling CQ but making few QSOs, though I could hear people calling him. I called a few times, but then gave up.

- posted by Leigh @ 04:07 z 0 comments