The KEØVH Hamshack for July 2016
The current layout of the KEØVH Hamshack November 2015 till now!
The KEØVH Shack has changed again as you can see in the above picture. I guess I played enough with the Flex 3000, and one weekend I decided to see if anyone had anything they might want to trade for it on the ham radio websites QTH.com and QRZ. Com. Sure enough, Al, VE3TTF wanted to sell or trade his 1.5 year old Kenwood TS-2000 and he was only interested in trading for a Flex 3000. Nuf’ said! So we arranged the trade and now the shack has a practically brand new TS-2000 in the lineup starting ahead of the FT-897D!
The TS-2000
On the operating shelf next to the FT-897D
I am using the 897D primarily as the digital mode rig, and the TS-2000 for voice at this time. Ham Radio Deluxe and the other digital mode software programs run on the Windows 7 computer, and the TS-2000 is controlled by the DX Labs Suites program on the Windows 10 computer in the shack. Most of my operating lately has been with JT-65HF on the 897D. Great mode for some of the poor conditions we have had on HF lately. I upload my logs to Logbook of the World, and I do a little bit on EQSL. If you want to see my logs look up my call at www.QRZ.com and go to my logpages there. Really cool stuff!
The July 4th weekend saw the “13 Colonies” (http://www.13colonies.net/) operating event. They offer special QSL cards and certificates for the stations worked. Due to poor HF band conditions though the east coast stations were not easy to pull out during the event. It seemed that the signals were so weak here in the middle of the country while the west coast stations and the east coast stations were giving each other 5×9 reports. Unless the stations were just using the “standard exchange” during contests we just weren’t getting the stronger signals here in the middle of the country. So Tuesday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th (while the special event stations were still working, I tried using the remote SDR setups on the internet that are available to see if the stations were any more audible that way. Here are the remote SDR links: Sedona, AZ http://w7rna.dyndns-remote.com:18901/ and San Francisco http://69.27.184.62:8901/.
My good friend Shane Toven, KØSDT in Laramie WY, who also is a K-LOVE contractor, told me about this item, a P175 FM Broadcast analyzer, for around $200! From the website: The P175 FM Broadcast Analyzer is a stand-alone low-cost solution for FM broadcast analysis. It provides complete FM modulation and basic AF spectrum measurements in standard FM radio band 87.5-108.0 MHz through the antenna input. Built-in LCD display and control interface allows to measure and collect data in terrain without need of any PC computer. This kind of analyzer is an essential equipment for all FM radio stations to ensure compliance with basic technical broadcast standards and to accomplish the highest audio quality possible. Shane actually used this to help set our RDS on our station at KLWV Chugwater (Laramie) to have the phase setting to the pilot correct. Very cool handheld unit! They also sell RDS Encoders, accessories, and parts. Very affordable too. Check out the Website at : http://pira.cz/fm_broadcast_analyzer/. Here is a picture!
If you missed my article on the setup and installation of the new KLDV GV-40 you can still catch it at the Nautel page: http://www.nautel.com/resources/customer-stories/k-love/
I saw another great example of ham radio in the movies when I watched the movie “Frequency” starring Jim Cavielzel and Dennis Quaid. Really cool use of ham radio in this movie, with of course some creative Hollywood license, such as the fact that the Heathkit SB-301 was actually only a receiver, not a transceiver. There is a great Wikipedia article on all this too, both the radio and the movie’s use of the radio and ham radio. I really encourage you to check this out when you can. I really enjoyed the murder mystery that was the main story of the movie. This is one of the best examples I have ever seen of ham radio in the movies. Here are some pics:
The beam antenna with the Aurora Borealis that was part of the story, and Jim Caviezel “talking” on the Heathkit SB-301
Dennis Quaids character “Frank Sullivan” tuning the radio, and his QSL Card
Sorry to be so late with this months article. It has been a super busy couple of months though, due to the KLDV HD project, things breaking elsewhere, and so on. I really thought the summer would be busy due to projects, maintenance, and of course things failing in the summer heat. I am now driving a 2013 Toyota Tacoma for every day use. It will be less costly to operate than the Ford F-250 (Truckzilla!). We will be using the F-250 for hauling the Argo ATV plus any heavy lifting that will need to be done, so she gets a well deserved rest and we will be rolling her out when needed. AND YES, of course the radios are now in the Tacoma. You can still track KE0VH-2 on APRS!
Don’t forget the Monday Night Broadcast Engineering
IRLP (and Echolink) Hamnet, every MONDAY EVENING
At 7pm Mountain time (9pm Eastern) for radio discussions, both
Broadcast engineering and amateur radio. The first and
3rd Mondays are also SBE NET nights. Details on how to
Join are at http://www.ke0vh.com/net/net.html. I hope
You will be able to join us and share your engineering and
Ham exploits!
73’ & God be with you. See you next time! De KEØVH