Topband: ARRL on 1802.5 Tuesday PM

[Charles Yahrling]

I've been chided for having early morning cw rag chews on 1826.5, yet I
heard ARRL code practice sessions Tuesday evening from 7PM and later on,
while waiting for a top band sprint to start.

Seems to me more egregious than having to work around ops trying to make
some WAS or DX contacts using FT8.

And how about the ARRL encouraging AM ops to expand their use of top band
in the latest ARRL promotional email?

$0.02
_
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Re: Topband: Topband Digest, Vol 173, Issue 22

[Charles Yahrling]

Meteor Strike on NOVA Website

You can always stream this or any other PBS re-run from the collection of
NOVA vids on the PBS NOVA website.

TIP: If your local station doesn't show this (or any other PBS vid) change
you local station to one in a big city.


On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 12:00 PM,  wrote:

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> than "Re: Contents of Topband digest..."
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
>1. propagation question. (K1FZ-Bruce)
>2. Re: propagation question. (Tim Shoppa)
>3. Re: propagation question. (K1FZ-Bruce)
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 16:20:36 -0400
> From: "K1FZ-Bruce" 
> To: "Topband" 
> Subject: Topband: propagation question.
> Message-ID: <201705242020.v4okka3s010...@mail23c26.carrierzone.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
>
> Watch " Meteor Strike" on some PBS TV stations tonight.Check your
> local TV listings for time and channel.
>
>  Did anyone notice an increase in low band propagation for awhile, after
> this rather large event ?
>
> 73
> Bruce-K1FZ
> http://www.qsl.net/k1fz/beverage_antenna.html
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 21:18:50 -0400
> From: Tim Shoppa 
> To: k...@myfairpoint.net
> Cc: Topband 
> Subject: Re: Topband: propagation question.
> Message-ID:
>  gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Bruce, I went and looked at reversebeacon statistics for the two nights
> before the Chelyabinsk meteor (that would be 13 Feb 2013 and 14 Feb 2013)
> as well as the night of the strike (15 Feb 2013). The strike was at 0320Z.
> I specifically looked for 160M EU-NA transatlantic reversebeacon spots and
> counted the number of such spots.
>
> On 13 Feb 2013, there were 636 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
> On 14 Feb 2013, there were 776 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
> On 15 Feb 2013, there were 1984 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
>
> HOWEVER, there is a confounding factor, which is that ARRL DX CW started on
> 16 Feb 2013. I think the pickup in spots on 15 Feb could be entirely
> explained by stations warming up and checking out the night before the
> night before the big contest.
>
> There was one station, LY7M, that was on 160M for several hours before and
> several hours after the meteor. I plotted a curve of its strength at a NA
> Skimmer and while there are a couple peak-ups, I don't think the peak-ups
> are necessarily tied to the meteor strike. You can see the curve I plotted
> here: http://n3qe.org/ly7m-meteor.png
>
> Tim N3QE
>
>
> On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 4:20 PM, K1FZ-Bruce  wrote:
>
> >
> > Watch " Meteor Strike" on some PBS TV stations tonight.Check your
> > local TV listings for time and channel.
> >
> >  Did anyone notice an increase in low band propagation for awhile, after
> > this rather large event ?
> >
> > 73
> > Bruce-K1FZ
> > http://www.qsl.net/k1fz/beverage_antenna.html
> > _
> > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
> >
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 22:14:11 -0400
> From: "K1FZ-Bruce" 
> To: tsho...@gmail.com, "Topband" 
> Subject: Re: Topband: propagation question.
> Message-ID: <201705250214.v4p2ebdc022...@mail22c26.carrierzone.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
>
> Tim,
>
> Many thanks for your research,
>
>  How do the numbers compare to other years,  the same contest ?.
>
> Bruce-k1fz
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, 24 May 2017 21:18:50 -0400, Tim Shoppa  wrote:
>
> Bruce, I went and looked at reversebeacon statistics for the two nights
> before the Chelyabinsk meteor (that would be 13 Feb 2013 and 14 Feb 2013)
> as well as the night of the strike (15 Feb 2013). The strike was at 0320Z.
> I specifically looked for 160M EU-NA transatlantic reversebeacon spots and
> counted the number of such spots.
>
> On 13 Feb 2013, there were 636 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
> On 14 Feb 2013, there were 776 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
> On 15 Feb 2013, there were 1984 EU-NA reversebeacon spots.
>
> HOWEVER, there is a confounding factor, which is that ARRL DX CW started on
> 16 Feb 2013. I think the pickup in spots on 15 Feb could be entirely
> explained by stations warming up and checking out the night before the
> night before the big 

Re: Topband: Topband Digest, Vol 173, Issue 8

[Charles Yahrling]

Waterproof Boxes

The orange waterproof boxes marine flare kits come in make good boxes too
as they are taller and have o-ring seals on the hinged lid.

You can get them up the road in Searsport, at Hamilton maine, Bruce.

They repack the flares (which come in 5-gal steel buckets) to make up kits
of various sizes, so i know they have the empty boxes there.

hamiltonmarine.com for on-line catalog

On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:00 PM,  wrote:

> Send Topband mailing list submissions to
> topband@contesting.com
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
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> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> topband-requ...@contesting.com
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> topband-ow...@contesting.com
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Topband digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>1. Out-door  antenna tuning boxes. (K1FZ-Bruce)
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 12 May 2017 11:02:43 -0400
> From: "K1FZ-Bruce" 
> To: Topband 
> Subject: Topband: Out-door  antenna tuning boxes.
> Message-ID: <201705121502.v4cf2hy9003...@mail23c26.carrierzone.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
>
> Finding a suitable plastic antenna tuning box is often not easy in local
> rural America.
>
> I have found that heavy duty black fishing tackle boxes work well.  Many
> are thick walled, and designed to be out in the hot sun on docks, and in
> boats for long periods, year after year.
>
> They come in various sizes with covers that open for easy mounting of
> components, and tuning.
>
> 73
> Bruce-K1FZ
> http://www.qsl.net/k1fz/beverage_antenna.html
>
>
> --
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> ___
> Topband mailing list
> Topband@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/topband
>
>
> --
>
> End of Topband Digest, Vol 173, Issue 8
> ***
>
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Topband: tnx for headphone tips

[Charles Yahrling]

now comes the laborious process of sifting through all the info to make a
choice

good info from lots of responses so tnx!
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: best headphones for cw

[Charles Yahrling]

Looking for tips for headphone types for K3, CW only, so need 1/4 inch
stereo jack.

Object is to isolate from ambient noise in the shack, such as relay clatter
from 1K-FA amp when keying.

Been using a cheap set that came with Yamaha keyboard - I like how they
attenuate hi freq band noise, but
tend to overdrive at high audio gain levels. Main problem is relay noise,
which throws off my keying at times.

tnx in advance

73, chuck AB1VL
_
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Topband: drift net buoy?

[Charles Yahrling]

Based on your audio of recurring beep and stated azimuth, my guess is a
fish gear beacon or Woods Hole research buoy. Georges Bank is WSW of
eastern mass and not far offshore.

If you want to see a good depiction of comb generator signal, check out
W2AEW's vid of the same name.  I've seen and heard true comb with NaP3 on
40M and 80M last fall and it looks very much like high duty cycle PWM;
sounds like a coarse grinding wheel on the edge of a big sheet metal
plate.  Unmistakable.
_
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Topband: tnx for replies

[Charles Yahrling]

tnx to all for info on vp8sgi srt.

Looks like I have a few days to get another band, which is what I was
curious about.

-- 
73, chuck

de AB1VL

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: vp8sgi

[Charles Yahrling]

anybody know when vp8sgi will go QRT? checked the website but did not see
any updates.

tnx

-- 
73, chuck

de AB1VL

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: get some old garden hose

[Charles Yahrling]

Get some old garden hose and use it as an above-the-ground conduit. beats
taking it to the transfer station.

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: tnx for adif tips

[Charles Yahrling]

tnx guys! BTW, OpenOffice *will* run the ADIF-to-spreadsheet converter Greg
mentioned.

73, chuck

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
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Topband: LOTW report downloads

[Charles Yahrling]

Looking for some tricks on getting LOTW download report into a more usable
format.

Yes, I can import the adif it generates into N1MM+ to get each QSL on one
line, then export another adif, then import to a spreadsheet or database.
But that's not so slick, and loses some detail. I guess I could get off my
duff and write a python program to generate a csv but I'm thinking somebody
has already worked this out.

tnx in advance
73, chuck
-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
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Topband: Salt Water QTH In Maine

[Charles Yahrling]

My QTH is about 6 miles inland and 500 MSL from the head of the Penobscot
Bay. I get great propagation to the East and South. IMHO unless you need to
get radials within a critical distance of Salt Water I would opt for
something a few miles inland and on a ridge.

More importantly, have you done any research on what your tax situation
would be?   There's a movement afoot in the state capital to abolish the
state income tax at the expense of higher property taxes, with a view to
tap vacation home owners, much as New Hampshire has done. Worse, buying a
waterfront property will pit you against nimbies and greenies who suffocate
any attempt to encourage businesses (e.g ratables) to help with soaring
school budgets.  Anything shore front will be along RT 1, which is where
all the cell towers are and accordingly where all the restrictive tower
legislation is. I deliberately bought my QTH in 2006 because it was close
to, but not on, the highly assessed shore front areas, long before I became
a ham.  So glad I made that decision.

Those same nimbies are determined to turn the entire state into a national
park, thus putting the final nail into the traditional wood mill industry
coffin and making the state next to last choice for economic development in
Forbes polls. The governor has done a lot to reverse profligate state
spending and senseless regulation, but in a few years that could all go
backwards, depending on who is in power after the elections.

Maine is a great state to be poor in but if you are well-heeled enough to
contemplate shore front property, you should ask a lot of questions before
you decide on a property. I would tend to favor any small town that has no
comprehensive development plan or ordinances to trip you up; there are
plenty around if you don't need to rub elbows with the beautiful people.

$0.02

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: ARRL abdication?

[Charles Yahrling]

FWIW I agree after reading the position email that the ARRL is in effect
saying the problem is too big to solve by leaving it up to the op to do
the right thing without giving more explicit guidance on what the right
thing ought to be. So what are 'the better principles of ham radio these
days? As a noob to radio and top band in particular the attraction for me
is the feeling of accomplishment I get making contacts, playing by the
rules.  If there are no rules then ultimately the argument could be why go
to all this bother?

Sounds too much to me like one of the general philosophical arguments the
marijuana legalization people use to justify their claims.

More ominous is the thought that if this problem is too big to solve, what
will be the likely outcome of efforts against BOPL and other spectrum
encroachments which IMHO ultimately pit the ARRL against the  best
government money can buy?

Guess we'll see sooner rather than later, eh?

$0.02

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
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Topband: why does it matter?

[Charles Yahrling]

The ARRL could take the lead in creating an Unlimited class where anything
goes, which would at least by implication
recognize the folks like me who would rather engineer around the
limitations of their QTH and get the DXCC awards
the old fashioned way.  Seems to me the awards are traditionally intended
to recognize stick-to-it-tive-ness, not my discretionary income.

If I can get K1N with a 100W, no sub-rx, a modest yagi, and good strategy
advice from my CWOPS advisor,
why should I compete in the same class as someone who pulls out all the
technology stops?  Bad enough he's in the pileup trying to out-shout me.

Paraphrasing N1MM's startup banner:  This advice is distributed in the hope
that it will be useful but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, not even the implication
that it will be useful for any particular purpose.

;^)
-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: Beverage guidance needed

[Charles Yahrling]

Hey guys,

I'm doing some winter antenna daydreaming based on Low Band DXing and other
sources.   Is
it safe to say that an E-W  Beverage or a BOG would be ineffective if the
wire were run through a wooded area,
with or without a narrow lane cut for it? or is try it and find out the
favored approach?

My only semi site would be N-S along a property line along a road, directly
across from power lines on conventional poles.

E-W,  reversible, would favor western europe and western US.  My lot is a 5
acre wooded trapezoid so 500-600 feet would be
max practical length.

tnx in advance

73, chuck

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: winding ON4UN braid breaker 1:1 balun

[Charles Yahrling]

All,

ON4UN lists optimum turns for binocular braid breaker baluns, but I have
not found similar info for toroidal baluns.

Using ft-106 type toroid and want to know if more is better or should I
limit bifilar turns to 2-3 as per binoculars?

I run qrp or 100W max, for now at least.

Just putting up a simple dipole at 50 feet to have a go at NAQCC QRP Sprint
and upcoming CQ 160.


73, 160
-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Topband: etiquette question

[Charles Yahrling]

I'm a 160M wanna-be that's read the ON4UN book and this list for a few
weeks.
So it occurs to me that before I pick a frequency for trying a cw QRS net,
I might want to ask
for guidance on the most gentlemanly place to run it.  I take it anything
between 1800-1830 would
be likely to QRM more serious ops trying for DX, but on the other hand it
would  be a low power thing an hour a week On Tuesday nights and not likely
to radiate much beyond the Northeast.  Yes, I appreciate that NE ops might
be subject to QRM in that slot.

Your thoughts, gents?

73, chuck

-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
_
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Topband: EZNEC 5.0 + return loss and another question

[Charles Yahrling]

Thanks for your explanations Charlie es Tom.  I guess return loss is the
opposite of what it sounded like to me. At any rate, you've explained why
it varies inversely with SWR.

Next question: in the manual the ALT IMPEDANCE explantion uses a 4:1
transformer example, which I get.  I've been toggling between RG213 50 ohm
and rg6/u 75 ohm to observe differences, reasoning that if I use a 75 ohm
feeder and get 2:0:1 or lower SWR  values, the 50 ohm system would start
(end) at the rig instead of the antenna feed point.  I noted that the SWR
bumped up a bit when I added a 120ft transmission line, which I would
expect.

Am I interpreting alt impedance feature and results correctly?

I don't have a single piece of 50 ohm  that long but have long pieces of
brand new CATV rg6/u from a hamfest jackpot.  In chapter six on
Transmission Lines in Low Band DXing the suggestion is to use a half-wave
section of 75 ohm to aid the match. I have enough rg6u and a 941E tuner if
needed to do this.

BTW this whole exercise is mostly intended as a lab session for me and a
way to get into top band quickly with a temporary antenna. I expected
before - and after looking at the FFT pattern have certainly confirmed -
that a flattop half wave dipole at 50 feet over rocky ground is not going
to work out as a DX antenna. But it might be good enough to allow me to NCS
a Tuesday night follow-on cw net after my regular net on 7.117, z
Tuesday nights. Hope to be in business by Stew Perry contest.

73, chuck
-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
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Topband: EZNEC 5.0 +

[Charles Yahrling]

Just getting started modelling and looking for answers to questions not
found in manual so far.  For example, what exactly is included in the
Return Loss figure shown in the SWR window?  Just ground reflection loss,
total system loss, something else?  Trying to understand why Return Loss is
greater for lower SWR curve values. e.g see this when toggling between std
and alt impedance. What is this suggesting, go with lower return loss or
lower swr curve?

An incomplete grasp of the fundamentals is admittedly likely here g.

73, chuck


-- 
de AB1VL
NAQCC #6799

ab1vl.com
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