K0MLF/7

We hiked to the Almaden Quicksilver Mine County Park and I brought my KX1 and Buddipole parts. I forgot the DC barrel connector for my LiPo battery pack and forgot a pole for the Buddipole, so I had to use 1.5W to a wire in a tree. K0MLF/7 Don near Zion, Utah and I had a nice CW QSO on 7.035. Don said he knows the San Jose area, and that it was 90F where he was. I took a picture of my KX1 as I was packing it up; I didn't use it with the ground radial coiled up... I'm hoping to get the new shock-corded mast from the Buddipole folks of they have them at Pacificon.

Labels: QRV, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 19:45 z 0 comments

 
RZ9UF
I worked RZ9UF, , Victor, in 652100, Kemer. obl., pos. Yaya (Яя) (no36ff) with PSK31 on 14.071295 and got 599 and sent 479. At the end the band faded and it was lost in the noise

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:46 z 0 comments

 
IK2UU
I answered PSK31 on 14070.835 IK2UU Walter Cesare in Siziano, Italy JN45oh. He gave me 599 for my K3 at 30W to the SteppIR 3el up 12m and I sent 599. Walter Cesare is looking for a few states to complete WAS, but California isn't one of them, and he asks for LOTW confirmation.

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 16:33 z 0 comments

 
ON8WW
20M PSK31 was hot this morning to EU and I heard Greece, Germany, Poland, and maybe even Israel. I answered a few but the first I got was ON8WW Dave in Beerse, Belgium JO21KH. Dave gave me 599 for my K3 at 30W to the SteppIR 3el up 12m and I sent 579 QSB.

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 16:12 z 1 comments

 
E51NOU
I heard E51NOU (Rarotonga, South Cook Islands) on 7.002 Mhz and got 599/599 CW to my 5W to the SteppIR dipole.

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:02 z 0 comments

 
KH7XS
I worked KH7XS again, this time on 40M 7003.46 from home with my K3 at 5W to the low loop for a 569 to send a 599. Bill was louder on the SteppIR and there was less local QRN but he heard me on the loop while I was hooking up the SteppIR coax.

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:49 z 0 comments

 
SM4OTI
I heard SM4OTI call CQ DX on 7.003 and got an answer on the first call from my K3 at 50W to the SteppIR dipole. Steve gave me 569 and I sent 569. Steve was in Leksand, Sweden.

Labels: DX, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:20 z 0 comments

 
KD0CLW
There was a little activity on 20m, but nothing higher, so I went down to 30M and found, surprisingly, lots of digital activity. I answered KD0CLW Don, in Topeka, KS. Don gave me 599 and I sent 579 for his OM30W from his TS-530 to a fence-mounted vertical. Don has been a ham only a year or so, with a recent upgrade, after years of SWL'ing. I was running 5W from my K3. 10141.721, PSK31

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 03:19 z 0 comments

 
ZL1AMO
I listened on 17M and heard some QSOs in progress, so I switched my SteppIR to the band and checked the tuning on the last frequency I heard someone say "Standing by" on. I gave a quick CWID at 50W and got back a call from ZL1AMO Ron in Auckland, New Zealand. I upped to 100W from my K3 and had a nice QSO with Ron, who reported it was 15C there. We exchanged a bit of CW fun as well.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:35 z 0 comments

 
V73NS
I just worked Neil on Roi-Namur on 14.003 with 5W from the K3 and got a 559 first call, CW. I gave Neil 599. We've QSO'd before and I was in the log and Neil said a quick hi when I let him know it was QRP.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:40 z 0 comments

 
G4RCG
I turned on the K3 and heard a watery DX signal on 10.106. The QSO ended and G4RCG called QRZ. John heard me the first time but it took a few calls at 75W to the 550' loop to get the call in and receive 439 but things picked up after that and John mentioned our previous QSO on 20M, which was with the same antenna but about half the power. Still 30M DX late at night to England is pretty fun! I sent 559 and we were on our way.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:04 z 1 comments

 
HK3/IZ0GPY
I took a break from microwave experiments and worked HK3/IZ0GYP on 7.001 CW with 50W but it took 100W to complete the 599599 exchange.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:31 z 0 comments

 
TI8/DL4MO
I heard TI8/DL4MO calling CQ on 10.105 and got 599 and sent 559. Lothar didn't hear me at 5, 10, or 35W so I went to 85W to the SteppIR 30m dipole from my K3.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:07 z 0 comments

 
A35RK
I heard A35RK in Tonga Paul who gave me a 5x7 and I sent 5x9. I ran 100W from my K3 and SteppIR 3el on 14.185.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:15 z 0 comments

 
NH6JC/M
After I packed up my K3 for the ZF2NU DXPedition, I finished installing software on an Ubuntu Thinkpad. I tried PG4I's XDX cluster client, and saw that NH6JC/M was still calling CQ on 10.108. I'd heard him earlier so decided to give another listen with the K2 and 40m OCF doublet about 15' off the ground. Mitch came back right away with 569 and I returned 579 with some QSB. Mitch was using a IC-7000 to a Hustler antenna on his car parked near the water. The QSB got a bit worse and we called it quits, but the band was quiet and Mitch's rig did a find job picking up my 5W.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:33 z 0 comments

 
KL7J

I worked KL7J again on 30M (10.112 Mhz) but this time with my KX1 at 3W to a 33ft wire on a picnic table and a 28ft wire as high as I could throw in a tree at Palo Verde Elementary School. Les gave me a 339 but pulled my "QRP" out of the considerable pileup.

After that Les called "QRZ QRP" and I heard him work a few more, including N9OHW Mike who was running a similar setup from the Sunnyvale Baylands, though he got a 449! I guess it's the saltwater advantage.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:25 z 0 comments

 
KI6IMM
I had a brief CW chat with KI6IMM on 7.037.50 using 100mW from my K3. Hunter gave me a 599 from his K2.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:35 z 0 comments

 
TX5C
Elecraft announced they're nearing production on their K3 second receiver board, so I hope to get mine soon. It would have helped today, as 30M was quiet and I heard TX5C running EU on 10.107 CW with a small 3KHz split. I listened politely for an NA opening. I heard a few JA's and some others get chastised, but in general it was a polite pileup. When I started hearing my "neighbor" AE6RR get called back I gave it a try with a slightly wider split; the trick was a narrower split though! 100W to the SteppIR 30m dipole for a 599/599.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:11 z 0 comments

 
H7/IV3IYH
I heard H7/IV3IYH in Nicragua on 7.005 CW and tried 5W, 15W, and finally 100W from my K3 to my SteppIR 40/30 dipole up 12m. ON sent me 599 and I sent 599.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:47 z 0 comments

 
ZS3/G3LZQ
I heard ZS3/G3LZQ on 7.010 with my low loop and used the K3 NB and NR to make it readable. There was some slow QSB so I thought I might have a chance and switched to the SteppIR dipole at 12m and got through the second time with 100W. OM sent me 599 and I sent 599, and he made one more QSO, then said SRI QRT. Op is John in McDougalls Bay, South Africa according to ARRL DX news.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:54 z 0 comments

 
FO5A/MM
I worked on fldigi a bit, adding a patch for colorized macro buttons (red=tx, green=rx, yellow=both) . Then I turned on my K3 on 40M and heard FO5A/MM calling CQ at a good clip on 7.016 and answered with 5W to my low loop antenna. I got 599 right back to my 599. OM said he was south of San Diego, off Baja.

Update: Here are some pix of them on the way to Clipperton.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:13 z 0 comments

 
V7NS

I've been upgrading my desktop from FC6 to FC7 and while it was going on I recompiled fldigi and listened to CW on 20m, which has been open to the south surprisingly late these days. I heard a VK2 down low on the band, but he wasn't going to hear me. I turned to 14.015 and heard V73NS calling CQ very fast CW from Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll. He heard me at 5W but I got a string of ?'s until I went to 75W at which point I got 599 and sent 599.

I'd heard him once before on my KX1 portable from a hotel but not been able to get through.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:54 z 0 comments

 
VP6DX
I worked VP6DX in their last night on 14.003 this time on CW with my K2 using K6YUU's low dipole. They came back immediately and sent 599 to my 599. Pretty amazing!

Hmmm...this one shows as not in their log...

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:24 z 0 comments

 
KH7XS

I set up my K3 in my car parked at the Stanford campus and used the BatterySpace LiFePO4 battery and the MH2 microphone to a 20m Hamstick and heard KH7XS Bill on 14.211.5. Bill was running 1200w with his 200ft tower up 800ft above the Pacific on the the eastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii. Bill had recently moved from Florida where he had 4 towers 200ft and is just now getting his Hawaiian superstation up. He has up k3 on order and had a few questions about mine, and I told him the NB was working FB for some noise I was hearing on the campus. He gave me true 5x9, s9 on the meter} for my 100W and I sent 5x9.

There was no sign of RF feedback with teh MH2, and even though the supply voltage dipped to 9.9v when I pushed the rig to 100W, I got no bad audio report, so my experience with VP6DX the other day must have been due to the lack of shielding or bypassing in the cheap headset I was using.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 17:42 z 0 comments

 
VP6DX
I worked VP6DX on Ducie Island on 14.190/14.245 for a 5x9.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:19 z 0 comments

 
LU6EC
I heard LU6EC Ricardo from Azul, Argentina, GF03BF. Ricardo gave me a 579 and I sent 579. Ricardo was using his Kenwood TS-450 at OM40W into a 6el. PSK31 on 14.071.30 2.5W K3 SteppIR.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:01 z 0 comments

 
HS0ZBS
I heard HS0ZBS Kurt from 150km East of Bangkok, Thailand. Kurt gave me a 579 and I sent 459 QSB}. PSK31 on 14.071.44 25W K3 SteppIR.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 16:18 z 0 comments

 
CX4ACH
I heard CX4ACH San in Montevideo, Uruguay. I was running 5W from my K3 and SteppIR on 14.071.684 PSK31. San was using 30W to an Icom 775 DSP and a KLM 6el.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 00:40 z 0 comments

 
PP5TG
I heard PP5TG Walfredo in Blumenau, Brazil. I was running 5W from my K3 and SteppIR on 14.071.836 PSK31

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 00:25 z 0 comments

 
K6ACJ
I got my BatterySpace LiFePO4 battery and ran my K3 on it at 50W (about 12A) and then down to 30W to get under 10A pull, slow CW in a QSO with K6ACJ Bill. It's charging again now.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 07:08 z 0 comments

 
E51MMM
Not much on today but I heard E51MMM in the Cook Islands on 7.005 switch to working split and gave a couple of calls at 5, 10, and 50W and finally 120W from my Elecraft K3, but I was too early in the pileup. I switched to later and got answered quickly.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:55 z 0 comments

 
EA8URL
I built my Elecraft K3 and tested it a bit before I put it on the air in the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes. So my first QSO was there, with K1LZ, but I'll report on the K3 and SS later. Just now I had the first CW QSO on 18.077 with EA8URL who gave me 599. I tried at 10W first but got no answer so I cranked up to 120W and still no answer. Then I noticed I had my SteppIR pointed 180 degrees so I pressed the button and probably should have gone back to 10W but I got the answer immediately at 120W.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 17:44 z 0 comments

 
HP1JRA
I talked to HP1JRA Julio in Panama who says to QSL Via EA5KB on 7071 with 5W. Julio gave me 599 and I sent 599.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:30 z 0 comments

 
UA0ZC
I heard UA0ZC on 10.107 calling CQ and answered on CW. Val gave me 449 and I sent 579 and upped from 5W to 10W. The tail end was cut off by another OM calling over us, so I never quite was sure if he copied my info.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:04 z 0 comments

 
KL7J
I worked KL7J 10.108 with 5W for 559 and sent 599. K2 and SteppIR 30m as dipole.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:20 z 0 comments

 
HB9TNW
I heard HB9TNW calling CQ DX on 14.031.75 and gave an answer. He heard me at 15W from my K2 to the SteppIR 3el pointed 35 and gave me 449 and I sent 559. There was QSB but not deep and at one point he was S5 houg usually S1. Celson was in St. Gallen, Switzerland and running OM100 watts to a beam up 20m.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 19:25 z 1 comments

 
9M2GCN
9M2GCN (9M2/JH3GCN ) near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Couldn't get my call on 15W so went to 35W on FREQ:10110 CW.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 14:27 z 0 comments

 
NL7G
I realigned my KX1 after checking L2 according to some recent postings on the Elecraft list. With 14V I get 3.5W on 20M and 2.5W on 40m. A recent post shows this produces acceptable harmonics. I ran on a 12v battery with my SteppIR 40m dipole and got NL7G Mike near Kenai, AK on 7023 but LA5HE DX was calling and he said 73. Mike was running 1KW to a vertical. So I guess the KX1 still works.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:43 z 0 comments

 
CO8LY
Both 20m and 30m seemed to have shut down so I went to 30M where I quickly heard CO8LY on 7.003. Eduardo heard me at 5W but needed fills, so I cranked my K2 up to 5W and we had a QSO on CW Eduardo gave me a 599 from Cuba and I sent 599.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:35 z 1 comments

 
ZL4PW
I listened on 20m and heard KH6S in Hawaii, on the Big Island, talking about hurricane Flossie preparations. I hope he's alright there and that the storm misses the island. 20m was extremely quiet (no QRN) and had nothing much else so I went down to 30m where it was quiet as well and I immediately heard zl4pw on 10.108.50 and I got the chance to use the K2 DSP, which I find watery if signals are strong and not very useful in heavy noise. Tonight, it was just great, and I used a 700Hz IF filter and a 200Hz DSP filter and it made copying easy. We had a quick CW QSO as Paul found my copy difficult due to QSB even with 35W. He gave me a 449} from and I sent 539}. At the very end I thought he said "RIG TONITE?" but he must have said something else...

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:22 z 0 comments

 
WB6W/KL7
I worked WB6W Glenn in North Pole, Alaska on 7.019 CW.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:00 z 0 comments

 
KE7KFH and PSK-20; VK4BDJ SWL
I was doing some repair work on the PSK-20 I built a few years ago and decided I wanted to test it. I heard KE7KFH on 14.071226 and we had a QSO on BPSK31. Owen gave me a 599 from Albany, OR 97321, USA (CN84lp) and I sent 599 for his 50W from an 857D to an inverted vee. Owen said I had some sidebands, so I expect the VOX drive cutoff isn't accurate yet. We said 73 around 0615Z. Later I heard from VK4BDJ that he copied Owen, but not me; I was pointed north so that's not surprising.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:15 z 0 comments

 
KH7CC
I heard NH7UA call CQ and be answered by KH7CC, who got his call but they NH7UA couldn't decode anything. I popped in and said "GUX RX BOTH 589" and Tom KH7CC in Maui, HI answered and said I had a strong signal for my 5 watts to the SteppIR 40m dipole.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:50 z 0 comments

 
VK3JMB
I heard VK3JMB calling CQ on 14.071.95 and saw he had a QSO with KA3L nearby. I called at 1W and then at 2W but got a 599 at 5W from my K2 and SteppIR. Dave is near Melbourne, Australia and is using MixW. The band was fading so although I gave him 599 I noted there was fast QSB causing dropouts. Dave requests LoTW or Bureau QSL.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:06 z 1 comments

 
LA5HE
I heard LA5HE on 10.110 but couldn't break the pileup with 5W so I tuned around a bit. When I came back he'd gotten stronger, but 5W didn't do it (at least the first time) and as it was getting late I turned on the HFPacker amp at 35W and got in the second time. Rag gave me a 539 and I returned 579. Lars is in Telemark (Norway) and said he'd been to Palo Alto several times. K2, HFpacker amp, SteppIR 40/30 as dipole

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:28 z 0 comments

 
VK3AMA
I heard VK3AMA from Melbourne (QF22pf) on 14.071.6 PSK31. I got a QRZ for 5W and a 449 for my 25W from my K2 and SteppIR and HFPacker Amp. I sent 579 because of some flutter or other propagation issue. Laurie has been a ham since 2006

My HFpacker amp got quite not; not sure why.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:45 z 0 comments

 
FO/N6JA again
I worked FO/N6JA> again at 0637Z this time on 7.001.4 CWfor 569, again with 15W.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:38 z 0 comments

 
FO/N6JA
I heard FO/N6JA on 10.110.4. I got a QRZ for 5W and a 449 for my 15W from my K2 and SteppIR. I sent 559.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:27 z 0 comments

 
UA0ZK
I heard UA0ZK (again) on 14.070.7. I got a 599 for my 5W from my K2 and SteppIR. Vasiliy was chasing DX from Elizovo, Kamchatka, and I sent 599 as well.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 07:08 z 0 comments

 
VR10XLN
I heard VR10XLN talking to a UA0 and then calling CQ on 14.071.5 and answered him but another UA and I both tried. I let the other OM have a chance and when it didn't work I answered again, with 7W from my K2 and SteppIR. Clive was running a IC706Mk2G with 70W to an OMANT: Dipole from his QTH in Hong Kong, Western Side. Clive gave me a 559 QSB} and I returned 599. Clive's regular call is VR2XLN.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:46 z 0 comments

 
WA5ZUP
I heard WA5ZUP calling CQ in the NAQP RTTY Contest on 14109 and got a report from John in NM. Running 5W into 3EL SteppIR up 10m pointed 89 degrees.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 19:57 z 0 comments

 
ON60CRD
I heard ON60CRD Michel on 14.071.4 PSK31 and got a 599 and sent 479 (flutter but strong) from his 40W from his Yaesu rig. SteppIR was pointed 31 degrees. Michel said it was special event call for the 60th anniversary of "UBA" (their radio association) and he was in a small village 20KM south of Namur. He reported sunny and temperature of +23C and requested bureau QSL.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:37 z 0 comments

 
HK3JJH
I heard Pedro HK3JJH on 14.241 SSB and he answered me the first time in the pileup with my 10W to the SteppIR. I got 5x6 5x7 QSB and gave 5x9+20. Pedro is on Bogota, Colombia.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:56 z 0 comments

 
HA9RU
I just turned on the KX1 and SlimGem 10W amplifier and heard HA9RU (Hungary) on 14.014 with the 66ft OCF doublet up 6 meters. OM heard me the first time but it took a couple of tries to get the call right.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:10 z 0 comments

 
CO6DW
CO6DW in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba gave me 599 on 14.071.78 with 5W. SteppIR pointed 100 degrees. QSL via EA5KB.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:08 z 0 comments

 
VK4GP

I had a bit of time tonight and 20M was still open so I answered VK4GP Donald on Bribie Island near Brisbane, Australia. Donald reported 589 with consistent good print to my 7W from the K2 to the SteppIR now correctly pointed at Australia (245-35=210). Donald was running 40W to a Force-12 beam from an FT-847.

Donald reported that he recently traveled to China, and has done ham house swaps in British Columbia, New Zealand, and the UK. He was just putting the finishing touches on his PSK Meter, but didn't have any need for the Linux software for it, as he's still experimenting with Linux and using Windows mostly on his 5 computers. Donald was aboard ship in Tokyo Harbor in 1945 for the signing of the peace treaty, and at 84 is retired from a career in government service and RF.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:40 z 0 comments

 
R3AA
I worked R3AA Alex in Moscow on 14.070 with P 6W on PSK31 at 0540Z. Alex gave me 549 QSB and I gave him 579 QSB. SteppIR pointed 340 degrees but it seems to be about 40 degrees off, hi hi.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:05 z 0 comments

 
KH6/N0CO
I heard KH6/N0C0 Bill in Oahu call CQ on 10105.5 and gave him a 559 and got 579 for my 15W from the K2 to the SteppIR 30m pointed to 75 degrees. Bill moved to Hawaii from Minnesota about 10 years ago. We called it quits due to QSB.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:41 z 0 comments

 
XE2S
I heard 10m to 6m was open. When I got home at 8:30J I heard 10M ragchewers, but 12m was quiet. I heard some San Jose hams on 6m SSB but on 50.105 CW I heard XE2S and got a 599 DL49 and sent 599CM87. 5W, FT-817, SteppIR with 6m passive element.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 03:30 z 0 comments

 
VK2QV
10M was open today, I heard, so I listened a bit but it was just the tail end of the opening; I could hear some beacons in Utah and the pacific northwest. 20m stayed open and around local midnight (0650Z) I heard VK2QV Chris in the the Blue Mountains 74km west of Sydney. Chris was running 50W from a Yaesu FT-857 to a 80m dipole. He gave me a 469-529-QSB. I got about 90% copy at the best but we had a nice QSO with several reports. SteppIR Yagi at 10m pointed 240 degrees.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:54 z 0 comments

 
RU0LX/mm
I worked RU0LX/mm Victor in the Bering Sea RP50md with my beam pointed 320 degrees. Victor said the seas were moderate and it was cloudy. 599, 599, 5W.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:41 z 0 comments

 
E51TUG
I worked E51TUG in Northern Cook Islands Norther Cook Islands OC-080 for 5x9 and sent 5x7. YL op was very nice and called me back over QRM. SSB on 18130 with 15W to the SteppIR at 223 degrees.

image

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:09 z 0 comments

 
RW0LM
RW0LM Yuri in Vladivistok gave me 599 on PSK31 14.072.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:26 z 0 comments

 
RA1QLC
20m PSK31 has been open late these days. I heard RA1QLC Victor from Cherepovec-citi, Russia KO89xd (RDA VO-04) and he gave me 599 and I also gave him 599.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:05 z 0 comments

 
UA0CAA
UA0CAA Sergey in Khabarovsk, Russia (PN78ml, RDA HK-01) called CQ and I answered on 14.071. Sergey had a great 599 signal and sent me 599 as well and I had my SteppIR pointed 315 degrees, now that I can. I was running 5W from my K2.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:00 z 0 comments

 
K1JT

I came home to find the neighbor's tree crew finishing up tree trimming, and got them to remove one branch that kept my SteppIR from rotating more than 90 degrees. What a difference! Now I can rotate 360!

I worked Joe K1JT on 14.076 JT65a with 5W from the K2 and my now free-to-rotate SteppIR. Joe was -11dB S/N in a 2.5KHz bandwidth for his 10W, and gave me -10dB report as well.

Joe was very patient as I wasn't running the latest release from their Subversion tree and it doesn't give HF operators much time to react -- it expects you have a 2.5s path delay to read the decoded message! So I may have fumbled the protocol and timing a bit. But at least I got it to key my K2.

233600  1   7/9                    CQ K1JT FN20              1   0
233702  Transmitting: JT65A   K1JT WA5ZNU CM87
233800  8   -4  0.1  -22  3 *      WA5ZNU K1JT -10           1  10
233800  1   8/10                   WA5ZNU K1JT -10           1   0
233858  Transmitting: JT65A   K1JT WA5ZNU CM87 OOO
234000  7   -5  0.3  -22  3 *      10W HR RRR                1   0
234000  1   9/11                   WA5ZNU K1JT -10           1   0
234101  Transmitting: JT65A   -11 TNX JOE 7
234200 13   -6  0.3  -22  3 *      TNX 73 GL                 1   0
234200  1  10/12                   WA5ZNU K1JT -10           1   0
234304  Transmitting: JT65A   5W HR RRR 73
234400 11   -1  0.3  -22  3 *      CQ K1JT FN20              1  10

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 23:56 z 0 comments

 
7K1PTT
I had a bit of a frustrating time chasing pileups on 30m and 20m, both the usual DXpedition suspects and a few Finnish and Czech stations. So I tried for an easy Japanese call on 30m (10.126), but 7K1PTT took 5 tries to get my call and gave me a 339 so I decided to call it quits for the night, even though OM was 559.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:54 z 0 comments

 
ZS6WAB JT65a
I gave up on trying to recompile WSJT and just wrote a command-line utility to key the K2 via the serial command. It seemed to work, so I answered the next CQ I heard, which was ZS6WAB for my first JT65a QSO; I received his KG67 and a report of -15DB. I didn't know you could send anything otehr than 73 shorthand so that's all I sent but I wrote -7dB on the QSL card.

045100  2   6/24                   CQ ZS6WAB KG46            1   0
045201  Transmitting: JT65A   ZS6WAB WA5ZNU CM87 OOO
045300 10  -14         1  2   RO  ?
045300  2   6/25                   CQ ZS6WAB KG46            1   0
045359  Transmitting: JT65A   RO                            (Shorthand)
045500 10  -14         1  3   RRR ?
045500  2   6/26                   CQ ZS6WAB KG46            1   0
045600  Transmitting: JT65A   RRR                           (Shorthand)
045700  5   -7  0.1    0  1 *      -15DB TU 73               1   0
045700  2   7/27                   WA5ZNU ZS6WAB KG46        1   0
045800  Transmitting: JT65A   73                            (Shorthand)
045900  6   -5  0.4    0  3 *      CQ ZS6WAB KG46            1   0

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:54 z 0 comments

 
AC4BB
I answered AC4BB Bryan in Talldegga, AL on 14.070 PSK31 and we had a short QSO but the band dropped out when Bryan was sending and I never heard anymore. Funny thing, last time we talked was Nascar race day, and this was too!

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 03:40 z 0 comments

 
TG9AKH
TG9AKH Guatamela gave me 569 on MFSK16 on 20m.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:36 z 0 comments

 
VE7AXU
I worked VE7AXU John in Delta, BC, Canada on 20M PSK-31 with PSK-20 rig at 2.5W to a 66' OCF doublet up 20'. I was testing the PSK-20 I am about to send to my father N5LK and in fact had worked John before when he was looking for MS for WAS.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 22:13 z 0 comments

 
W5ZHI
I built a new PSK-20 for my father N5LK as I couldn't figure out what was causing the VOX oscillation in the old one. It appears to have been a couple of problems, one of them being a broken resistor on the base of the final PA, and the other a MOSFet in the Mic mute that kept going bad (perhaps related). I jumpered over the FET and it seems to work fine. Nevertheless, I'm going to go send him the new one. I tested it out today on 20m 14.072 with my SteppIR at 35ft and answered W5ZHI Dick in Albuquerque, NM. Dick was running about 50W, from his IC-746 Pro at 5W to a small amplifier, which he says gives him good linearity (30dB or so). He did have quite a nice signal. Originally, he reported me as weak but then I noticed I was beaming West instead of East! We had a nice long chat about his ham radio repair work that he does in retirement, and about reminiscences from time in the Bay Area, when he met Prof. F. E. Terman.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 20:00 z 0 comments

 
KI6IMM, K7TQ, N5LK

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:30 z 0 comments

 
W5PPD

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 19:56 z 0 comments

 
KI6IMM
I worked KI6IMM on 145.23Mhz, for his first QSO. 3/15/07 00:52Z

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 00:52 z 0 comments

 
KH6/AA4V

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:16 z 0 comments

 
JQ2IQW
I worked JQ2IQW on 18.143 for a 5x5 and sent 5x3 with my SteppIR pointed 260 degrees and running 35w.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:32 z 0 comments

 
XF2K
I worked XF2K with 5W to 550' loop with my K2 and got 599 and sent 599. Larga Island IOTA NA-246 Tamaulipas State group

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 03:39 z 0 comments

 
VA7ANTA
I worked VA7ANTA, a special event, on 3525 with 5W to my loop. I had accidently pulled my key jack half out when doing some analyzer tests on the loop, and so had to press a button to send "TU 599 CA"...good thing it was 599 really...OM sent 559.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:08 z 0 comments

 
ARRL DX Contest

Labels: Contest, QRV, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 23:59 z 0 comments

 
J7OJ
J7OJ 599 KW => 599 CA 7049.44 830pmJ

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 20:30 z 0 comments

 
N5LK
We worked N5LK on 17m CW. Sigs were weak but readable until QRM and then QSB set in. 1PM Juliet.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:52 z 0 comments

 
KH6LC
I worked KH6LC Oliver on 7019.80 and got 599 for my 5W to the SteppIR pointed west. I heard some 589's and some 599+20's so I know he was giving good reports. Oliver was S9+40 and said he was running KW and testing an antenna for the ARRL -- a 4EL M-Squared Beam! So, if reciprocity held and I was running 23dB less power, then probably I should have been S9+20 there!

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:40 z 0 comments

 
UR7FM
UR7FM Gennadiy in Ukraine gave me 599 on PSK31 14.070

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:49 z 0 comments

 
6i2IA
I heard 6I2IA, Paco in La Paz, Mexico. Paco gave me a 559 and I sent 599 QSB and we said 73. CW on 7014.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:59 z 0 comments

 
LU7HF
I got 599 from LU7HF on 14.044.48 CW for 10W into SteppIR pointed 260-180.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:29 z 0 comments

 
CO2NB
I worked CO2NB in Cuba on 7002.11 with 15w. He heard me at 5W, copied most of my call at 10W, and got it at 15W. The SteppIR was pointed at about 260/80 degrees instead of the 100/290 that it ought to be. Conditions were difficult and the A index was 22.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 03:18 z 0 comments

 
VR2BG
I tried to work Uruguay but it was just too weak, though CX1JJ heard me. I can't swing my SteppIR that way. I heard VR2BG in Hong Kong on 14.007 and got an answer the first time and an 559 and sent 579. The band was very quiet. My beam heading was 255 degrees, about as close as I can get to 310 or 47 degrees. 15W, K2.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 01:32 z 0 comments

 
LW6HAR
I just worked Peter LW6HAR in Cordoba, Argentina (FF78rp) on 14.071.30 PSK31. Peter gave me a 599 and he was initially 599 but went down to 479 QSB...the signal was still strong but the phase lock was poor. Unfortunately, I couldn't aim by SteppIR at 134/314 and had to settle for 75 degrees.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 00:25 z 0 comments

 
CQ 160 meter contest (K2, 15 watts, 550' loop)

I hooked my 550' loop, which is sagging a bit these days, and set my K2 to 15w for the CQ 160M CW Contest and tried to see how far I could work. I heard VE5UF, VA5DX, N8EA (Michigan), K5GO (Arkansas), W0BH (Kansas) and even an Ohio station too weak to even try call, but they didn't hear me. Here's what I managed, starting at 1806.83 and moving up:

K7TJR	OR	599	0402Z	1806.83
KF6T	CA	599	0406Z
K7NJ	UT	599	0409
K6XT	CO	599	0411Z	eQSL
K0RF	CO	599	0415Z
W7CT	UT	599	0417Z	eQSL
K6NR	CA	599	0429Z	1849.95
K6RB	CA	599	0431Z	1855.32
K7NV	NV	599	0431Z	1858.30
K7OX	WA	599	0436Z

Labels: Contest, QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 05:06 z 0 comments

 
W9C
I worked W9C commemmorating 90th Anniversary of the first transcontinental passing of a formal message via radio on 14.040. I was about the 5th station worked. I believe the op was N0SS Tom, because he recognized my call. 15W K2 to SteppIR at 35'.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 20:03 z 0 comments

 
N0GRA (MFSK)
I heard N0GRA Grant near Denver, Colorado with MFSK on 7073. Grant was running about 50W to a 150' longwire from an ICOM 746 Pro. Grant was thinking about trying Olivia and was interested in the FEC aspects, but found MFSK to be an interesting step as well. Grant said I was S7, which was about the noise level, and the signal switched between 100% and 50% copy. Grant was 579 to 599 with occasional peaks at S9+20. I was using my SteppIR on 40m pointed West.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 04:00 z 0 comments

 
6I2HUM
I heard 6I2HUM op Oscar, a special event station in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico on 21.290 with my K2 at 15W to the SteppIR.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 21:16 z 0 comments

 
WB6MLC and K6ACJ
I turned on the K2 and heard WB6MLC and K6ACJ on 3555 and heard they QSO to 3580 CW so I sent a QSY as well and then copied the mail on PSK for a while and joined in at the end.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 07:10 z 0 comments

 
K1Y/KH6 Max
I set up my KX1 and Buddipole vertical at the park and worked K1Y/KH6 Max (probably KH6ZM) with my KX1 in straight-key mode, 2.5W and got him on the first try; maybe he liked my fist, hi hi. Max sent a 559 and I sent 599. Max sent SKCC# 00X, which didn't make sense to me, but I guess it's a special event number.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 22:02 z 0 comments

 
W4RM RTTY ROUNDUP
I heard W4RM on 7046.60 599+ and gave him a call on RTTY with 5W and he came right back with "WA5ZNU 599 VA" so I sent "TU 599 CA CA." 0628Z

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:29 z 0 comments

 
N3GAD
I cranked up the SteppIR and F12 mast to about 30' now that the wind has died down, and decided to load up the Drake TR-4C for the first time on it. I put a fan behind it, and loaded it up to about 150W, which seemed to be about as high as it would go. That was about 350mA, so 210W dissipation. The RTTY contest had taken over just about everything but the Extra band, which was hopping with a big pileup for 1A4A, but I heard N3GAD calling CQ on 7027.1. Chris was runing 25W into a dipole up 20ft from High Rollins, New Mexico. Chris recognized my QTH as a Xerox location, and said he also worked for Xerox. QSB set it, and I lost of some of the details about his new rig, but he said he was getting back on the air after a long hiatus. He also told me about his 40/17M 5/8 wave antenna made from pipe, and said his QRZ.com page had a picture.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 02:38 z 0 comments

 
WN1Z
I heard WN1Z Orrin in Susanville, CA call CQ on 3555 around 0600Z and we had a QSO for about half an hour. Orrin was running 100W and I gave him 559 and sent me 539 for my 15W. Orrin said it was 24F and a bit snowy at his tent, and he's using a propane heater, at least until he goes to sleep.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:25 z 0 comments

 
WB6MLC and K6DBG
I tried to meet some HFPackers on 80m but heard nobody so I tried 160m as well. Then I heard K6DBG Chris on 3558 or so so I said a quick hi, and then back to 3555 where I heard Ken WB6MLC. Nobody else showed up so we tried 1996 and Ken said I was 579 down to 1 Watt!

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 06:32 z 0 comments

 
NH6P
I got a 559 from NH6P in Hilo, HI on 21.027.16 and 5W to the SteppIR up about 30' on the Force-12 mast. I sent 599 with my straight key, but the OM was using a keyer. Op was Fred, W6YM.

Labels: QSO

- posted by Leigh @ 19:21 z 0 comments