My musings on Ham Radio … and stuff!
Many don’t seem to realize that the six meter band is actually VHF. Conditions have been pretty good lately … it’s that time of year. I had a pretty good run on 19 June. The contacts were using FT8.
I just wish I could have worked all of the stations that heard me 😀 .
73 de Dick N4BC
The repeater antenna has been repositioned and braced against excessive sway, and all repeater operations are back to normal. If you recall, high winds had blown the antenna into the tower and one of the elements had hung on the tower structure.
Six meters FT4 and FT8 were busy this afternoon. Seems like Cycle 25 is heating up
I picked up a new “Pocket Portable” iambic key from CWMORSE this week. It’s 3D printed and is really nice quality. I’m looking forward to getting out into the field with it soon.
Field day is coming up soon. Our club, in concert with several others, is mounting a combined operation, as we have in past years. Hopefully, it’ll be a great event.
73 de Dick N4BC
A further update on the repeater antenna … The wind whipped it into the tower, a U-bolt got latched under one of the diagonal tower braces, and it’s stuck there. We’ve switched over to the backup antenna (just a few feet below this one), and will tend to the stuck antenna during the next tower inspection, unless Mother Nature pops it loose before then.
Our plans are to add a pvc standoff to hold the mast away from the tower. The backup antenna (a dual band fiberglass stick) already has one. Hey, hindsight is 20/20, right?
73 de Dick N4BC
Somehow, out main repeater antenna has flexed a bit too much! From the picture, it looks like the top may have flexed into the tower structure and gotten caught. We’ll be going to the site on Saturday morning to further evaluate the problem. I haven’t seen the actual antenna yet … just this photo that was sent to me. We’ve still got the backup antenna if needed.
73 de Dick N4BC
The days are longer than the nights, propagation is trending better, the trees and flowers are in bloom, and the temperatures are beginning to feel spring-like … Spring must surely be here!
It’s time to break out the portable gear and give it a good going over and cleaning. I anticipate being more successful in getting out into nature to operate this year … last year was a TOTAL failure due to the pandemic.
73 de Dick N4BC