Amateur (ham) radio, VHF/UHF, portable operating, backcountry adventure and technical stuff
PJ4/K0NR NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Bob K0NR will be active as PJ4/K0NR from Bonaire (IOTA SA-006) from Oct 28 to Nov 9th, SSB and PSK31 on 30M through 6M. Also active on FM OSCAR satellites (Grid FK52). QSL to home call.
The AO-51 schedule has it configured for modes that I cannot work portable, so I will be focused on SO-50. Send me an email if you want to schedule a contact.
As an electrical engineer, I’ve always been a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE publishes Spectrum, which is an excellent magazine for technical topics relating to electrical engineering (EE). They recently added an audio podcast called Spectrum Radio to their program, covering topics interested to EEs.
This past week they published a audio clip concerning ham radio. This includes some on-the-air audio and an interview with Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF. It is well done and worth listening to….maybe share it with some of your non-ham friends.
From the ARRL web site:
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 11, 2006 — Ending a protracted waiting period, the FCC’s Report and Order (R&O) in the so-called “omnibus” Amateur Radio proceeding, WT Docket 04-140, was adopted October 4 and released October 10. In it, the FCC adopted nearly all of the changes it had put forth in its 2004 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the proceeding.
The complete FCC report and order is available online here.
One of the key rule changes for the VHF community is that auxiliary operation will soon be allowed on the 2-Meter band. Currently, auxiliary operation is limited to the 222 MHz band and higher.
Part 97.3 defines auxiliary operation in this manner:
(7) Auxiliary station. An amateur station, other than in a message forwarding system, that is transmitting communications point-to-point within a system of cooperating amateur stations.
In everyday language, we might call this a link, as in a control link for a repeater system or a link between two repeaters. Amateur radio stations that are connected to the Internet, using EchoLink or a similar system, are also auxiliary stations.
The existing FCC rules on Auxiliary Stations are:
§97.201 Auxiliary station.
(a) Any amateur station licensed to a holder of a Technician, Technician Plus, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operator license may be an auxiliary station. A holder of a Technician, Technician Plus, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operator license may be the control operator of an auxiliary station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held.
(b) An auxiliary station may transmit only on the 1.25 m and shorter wavelength bands, except the 219-220 MHz, 222.000-222.150 MHz, 431-433 MHz and 435-438 MHz segments.
(c) Where an auxiliary station causes harmful interference to another auxiliary station, the licensees are equally and fully responsible for resolving the interference unless one station’s operation is recommended by a frequency coordinator and the other station’s is not. In that case, the licensee of the non-coordinated auxiliary station has primary responsibility to resolve the interference.
(d) An auxiliary station may be automatically controlled.
(e) An auxiliary station may transmit one-way communications.
The FCC will be modifying paragraph (b) to be:
(b) An auxiliary station may transmit only on the 2 m and shorter wavelength bands, except the 144.0-144.5 MHz, 145.8-146.0 MHz, 219-220 MHz, 222.00-222.15 MHz, 431-433 MHz, and 435-438 MHz segments.
This means that auxiliary operation will be allowed on 2 Meters but the weak-signal portion below 144.5 MHz and the 145.8-146.0 MHz satellite subband are protected. This opens the way for EchoLink and other auxiliary stations to use the popular 2-Meter band.
Is this a good thing? Maybe, maybe not. This could be a positive change that allows for greater operating flexibility. If hams use good judgment on the frequencies they use, it will probably work just fine. On the other hand, it could result in a bunch of uncoordinated auxiliary stations causing interference to other radio uses. As usual in ham radio, the end result will be determined by the amateur radio community (and not FCC regulations).
73, Bob K0NR
One of the really well-done and useful technologies available today is the Universal Serial Bus (USB). If you don’t know what this is, you have been living under a rock or simply refuse to own a computer. The first revision of the USB spec (USB 1.0) was released in January of 1996. The standard has been revised and improved over time and USB ports are now standard on virtually all computers today.
USB has become the preferred and standard method for connecting electronic devices to a computer. Yes, there are some applications that might require a different connection such as IEEE-1334 (AKA Firewire), but for the most part the world has embraced USB.
In my collection of electronic stuff, I have quite a few devices that use USB. Let’s see. The computer mice that I use with notebook computers all use USB. My Garmin GPS, my digital camera, my Apple iPod, my external hard disk and my keychain Flash memory drive all have USB. The really cool thing is that I can just plug these devices in and they pretty much work. Sometimes the first time you use a device, you may have to load the right driver. On subsequent connections, it just works.
Then there is my ham radio equipment: all stuck in the archaic world of RS-232. You remember RS-232….it’s that 9-pin D connector that might still be on your computer. My newer computers don’t even have it anymore but some of my other ones do…which is the problem. If a manufacturer wants to be backward compatible with older computers (like the ones that many of us hams still have lurking in the basement), you need to support the “old” serial port.
If you have a newer computer without an RS-232 port, you can’t connect it to brand new ham equipment. Now, the good news is that there are adapters that convert the new USB port to connect to older RS-232 equipment. See an example of one here. My experience is that these converters really do work but they require some setup to get it right. Instead of the device self-identifying (like a USB device would), you have to specify the right COM port, the right serial speed, the right parity bits and so forth. Why did we ever have to set parity? Why couldn’t it just always default to a common setting?
USB is also very fast, with USB 2.0 running at 480 Mbit/s, compared to maybe 115kbit/s for RS-232. USB also supports hubs and addressing of multiple devices connected to one USB port. RS-232 was pretty much a “hook up one thing at a time” bus.
The point here is that it is time to move on. Come on, ham radio manufacturers, forget the old RS-232 ports and give us USB. Bring ham gear into the 21st century.
73, Bob K0NR
Humboldt Peak – 2006 14er Event
Bob KØNR and Joyce KØJJW
The Colorado 14er Event is a fun mountaintop ham radio event. See my previous posting of the event announcement. Joyce and I decided to hike up Humboldt Peak in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Humboldt is the 37th highest peak in Colorado with an elevation of 14,064 feet.
We drove the Jeep up South Colony Lakes Road to within about 1.5 miles of the end of the road. Yes, the road is dang rough. We backpacked in to just past the trailhead and camped out Saturday night. There was heavy rain on Saturday afternoon that delayed us some and it rained a little through the night. On Sunday morning, we hit the trail at 7 AM and made the summit around 11 AM, about an hour later than expected. The trail is easy to follow until the end, where there is a bit of rock scrambling.
Our equipment was two dualband (2M / 70 cm) Kenwood handheld rigs with 1/2-wave vertical antennas. We both made a bunch of contacts on 2M FM. I also tried 446.0 MHz but didn’t work anyone on that band. After operating about 45 minutes, the clouds moved in and we headed back down. The rain held off until about the last mile or so of hiking. We got back to the Jeep and bounced our way back down the 4WD road.
It was good to see some radio operators on non-14er high spots (Mosquito Pass and Sante Fe Peak). The log is a bit sketchy due to serious brain-fade at 14,000 feet. Any corrections would be appreciated. Thanks to everyone we worked…sorry we missed a bunch of you.
K0JJW Log [ Time ~11:00 AM to 11:45 AM MDT]
Call Frequency Name Location
K6?? 147.42 Mike / Pikes Peak
KC0TXK 147.42 Nathaniel / Mt Princeton
W0NX 147.42 Keith / Shavano
K0CAO 147.45 Chris / Belford
N0XGC 147.42 Mike / Pikes Peak
W6OAL 147.42 Dave / Parker
AC7SX 147.42 Joe / Uncompahgre Peak
K0NR Log:
K7MWD 147.42 Matt / Belford
KC0SZO Sherman
WB0RRU Dave / Colorado Springs
KC0YAF Pikes Peak
AC7SX Joe / Uncompahgre Peak
N0XDW Jeff / Mount Bross
N0WAE Santa Fe Peak
W6OAL Dave / Parker
K0CAO Chris / Belford
73, Bob KØNR
Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun Sunday, August 13th 2006 and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. The prime operating hours are from approximately 9 AM to noon local time (1500 to 1800 UTC), but activity may occur at other times during the day. Most mountaintop stations will be running low power handheld radios. Stations running high power need to keep in mind that they can interfere with stations they cannot hear.
Two awards to encourage mountaintop operating throughout the year are available. The Summit Award is given to radio amateurs that contact 10 or more peaks and the Pinnacle Award is for operating from 5 or more peaks.
Radio operators with 14er climbing experience who plan to climb a 14er should log their name and intended peak at the HAM 14er Yahoo group.
The Summer 2006 issue of QRP Quarterly showed up in my mail box today with my VHF QRP column on page 36. It looks like a few Internet references got edited out of the article, so I will list those here.
Colorado 14er Event web site: http://www.14er.org
QST article on the Colorado 14er Event: http://www.14er.org/OCTQST.pdf
Ham14er Yahoo! Group (Colorado 14er Event): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ham14er/
73, Bob K0NR
This past weekend was packed with family activities, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to participate in the CQ WW VHF Contest. Finally, on Sunday morning, I decided to pack up and head to Mt Evans (14,000 foot mountain with a road to the top). Actually, the agreement with my spousal unit was that we were going on a mountaintop picnic that also happened to include a 2M / 6M ham station. I operated in the Hilltopper category (QRP power, operating for 6 hours or less).
The station was an FT-847 running 10W to a 3-element 6M Yagi and an 2M9 Yagi on 2 Meters. The antennas were on a 15-foot mast mounted on the hitch of my SUV.
I started operating around 1930 UTC and found 6 meters open to the midwest. Of course, 2 meters gets neglected by the single ops when 6 meter is hot, so not many QSOs on 2 meters. The contest ended at 2100 UTC, so my operating time was limited.
About 1.5 hours of operating netted:
36 grids on 6M, 2 grids on 2M
76 total QSOs
Score: 3116
Now I am wishing I had gotten up there early in the morning….maybe next year.
The 2 band format is really nice for a simple portable or rover station. As long as 6 meter propagation is good, two bands is plenty of action. Also, the Hilltopper category works well if you can’t spend the whole weekend playing radio.
73, Bob K0NR
NASA successfully launched STS-121 Discovery today, July 4th.
From the ARRL web site:
Three hams will be among those taking the trip to the International Space Station aboard Discovery. They are Commander Steven Lindsey; Pilot Mark Kelly; mission specialists Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, Lisa Nowak, KC5ZTB; Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers. Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut from Germany, will join the Expedition 13 crew of Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, and Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and will remain for at least part of Expedition 14. NASA is pinning its hopes on a successful Discovery mission, since the space shuttle is the only vehicle capable of transporting the components remaining to complete the ISS, including the ESA’s Columbus module, which has been outfitted to accommodate Amateur Radio. More information on the STS-121 Discovery mission is on the NASA Web site.
I had previously posted some thoughts on STS-121.
73, Bob K0NR
It is well known that the standard “rubber duck” antenna that is supplied with a handheld VHF or UHF transceiver is not very efficient. It represents a compromise between size and efficiency, with size winning out. In other words, the antenna is small and doesn’t radiate very well.
I just came across an article by Dick Kiefer (KØDK) that explores this issue in detail, including a design for a 1/2-wave antenna for handhelds. I’ve been a big fan of telescoping 1/2-wave antennas. They are excellent performers while still being light in weight and compact for hiking and backpacking.
Brief highlights of the KØDK article:
For 2 Meters, a 1/2-wave antenna performs ~5 to 8 dB better than a rubber duck.
For 70 cm, a 1/2-wave antenna performs ~3 to 7 dB better than a rubber duck.
Not too surprisingly, the 70-cm (440 MHz) rubber ducks did a little better than their 2-Meter equivalents, since an antenna of a given physical length will be longer in terms of wavelength at the higher frequency.
Take a look at the article for more details.
73, Bob K0NR
The results for the 2006 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes were published in the July 2006 issue of QST. I’ve listed the Single Operator Portable (AKA QRP) scores below. My totally wimply score of 544 gave me 10th place in the overall contest. Of course, I dominated the Colorado section, which is easy to do when you are the only contest entry. The important thing is that I had a good day playing radio in the mountains. See my previous posting about this QRP backpacking contest effort.
Take a look at my soapbox comments (and photos) at the ARRL web site.
73, Bob K0NR
| # | Call | Score | Section |
| 1 | KA1LMR | 45,504 | NH |
| 2 | K6MI | 36,427 | SCV |
| 3 | W9SZ | 4,875 | IL |
| 4 | KI7JA | 3,040 | OR |
| 5 | W6DWI | 2,106 | ORG |
| 6 | WB2AMU | 1,577 | NLI |
| 7 | N8XA | 1,156 | OH |
| 8 | KG6TGI | 736 | ORG |
| 9 | KQ6EE | 728 | LAX |
| 10 | K0NR | 544 | CO |
| 11 | N7IR | 192 | AZ |
| 12 | N3TEP | 160 | WPA |
| 13 | KC2JRQ | 108 | NLI |
| 14 | N1ZGY | 45 | EMA |
| 15 | NU0C | 36 | NE |
| 16 | WA7VHF | 20 | AZ |
| 17 | VE7VIE | 18 | BC |
| 18 | WB0IWG | 16 | WPA |
| 19 | KC9FVW | 15 | WI |
| 20 | W6NCT | 6 | SB |
| 21 | KZ1AMY | 1 | VA |
I received this honor at Hamcon Colorado at Estes Park. Thanks to the Technical Specialist team in Colorado for all they have contributed. See http://www.k0nr.com/ts.html
– 73 Bob K0NR
From: ‘ARRL Web site’ To=memberlist@www.arrl.org>
Sent: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:54
Subject: Bob Witte, K0NR: 2006 Section Operator of the Year
Bob Witte, K0NR of Monument has been named the 2006 Colorado Section Amateur Radio Operator of the Year. The announcement came at the Saturday evening banquet during the HAMCON 2006 Convention in Estes Park on June 10th. Bob is currently the Colorado Section Technical Coordinator and has been instrumental in building the cadre of Technical Specialists to over 20 individuals who are available to assist League members resolve technical problems. Bob also leads the Colorado BPL Team which keeps an eye out for any mention of BPL depoyment throughout Colorado. A well-known VHF contester, he currently writes a columns for CQ VHF and QRP Quarterly.
Please join me in congratulating Bob on this well-deserved achievement.
73,
ARRL Colorado Section Section Manager: Jeff Ryan, K0RM k0rm@arrl.org
The handheld digital multimeter (DMM) is a basic tool for ham radio applications. Here is a list of 10 things you can do with a DMM.
1. Check the power supply voltage on the new power supply you just purchased.
2. See if your HT battery pack is fully charged.
3. Measure the current that your transceiver draws to estimate how long your emergency power system will last during a blackout.
4. Sort the bag of resistors you purchased at the swapfest.
5. Check a fuse to see if it is blown.
6. Troubleshoot your broken rig by checking the bias voltages against the service manual.
7. Figure out if the AA batteries the kids left for you are dead.
8. Verify that your coax is not shorted between the shield and center conductor.
9. Check the level of the power line voltage in the ham shack.
10. Check for good DC continuity between the ends of the TNC cable you just soldered.
Let me know your ideas to add to the list.
73, Bob K0NR
Just in time for the Dayton Hamvention, ICOM has announced the IC-91AD 2M/70cm handheld transceiver with D-STAR capability. I’ve written some about the new digital voice standard, D-STAR. Universal Radio has this new rig priced at $525, a definite premium over equivalent FM radios. This is the first dualband handheld that supports D-STAR.
73, Bob K0NR
From the emcomm.org web site:
“The Wilderness Protocol” (ref. June 1996 QST, page 85), recommends that stations (both fixed, portable or mobile) monitor the primary (and secondary if possible) frequency(s) every three hours starting at 7 AM local time, for five minutes (7:00-7:05 AM, 10:00-10:05 AM, etc.) Additionally, stations that have sufficient power resources should monitor for five minutes starting at the top of every hour, or even continuously.” The primary frequency is the National Calling Freq…146.52 MHz. The secondary freqs. are 446.0, 223.5, 52.525 and 1294.5 MHz.
Here in Colorado, the summer months mean that many people head for the mountains. Mobile phone coverage has improved in many parts of the high country but is still not reliable in all areas. Ham VHF repeater coverage is extensive but also does not cover the entire state. This is where the Wilderness Protocol comes into play.
Let me take the liberty of modifying the Wilderness Protocol for use in Colorado:
Principle #1: Don’t ever rely on a radio or mobile phone to get you out of trouble in the backcountry. Your primary strategy must be self-sufficiency. Avoid trouble. Be prepared for the unexpected.
Principle #2: In remote areas, monitor 146.52 MHz as much as possible. This applies to backcountry travelers, mobile stations and fixed stations.
Principle #3: Know what repeaters are available in your area. The Colorado Connection is a linked repeater system that covers many (but not all) remote parts of the state.
Just my opinion.
73, Bob K0NR