Sea to Summit

 It started with an 11 hour drive. It actually started before that.  I had a wish to operate from Cape Hatteras.  During my EmComm years each season I would track hurricanes and create my own predictions.  Cape Hatteras because of its location appeared to be a hurricane magnet. Its location also had the allure of being “out there”.  The drive was uneventful, albeit a little long for these old bones. But the Cape was worth it.  I pulled in Friday evening and spent the night in a motel checking over my gear.

Saturday I started early with a stop at the Beads and Grinds Coffee shop for a fresh cup of coffee and a scone.  Scones aren’t on my menu anymore but this is a special occasion after- all. I decided to operate from the Cape Hatteras Light Station Parking Lot. I was going to try my new truck awning but it was too windy so I parked near some trees to make use of the natural shade. 

My antenna was a Chameleon 17” Whip attached to a Chameleon Blank Adapter which was attached to the crossbar on my camper shell. Counterpoise was a wire connected to my Pickup truck bed.  Radio for today was my new-to-me KX3 on its maiden voyage. I operated from a folding chair until the rains came.  It first is was a drizzle and then a downpour.  I retreated to the drivers seat and set my radio in the dash.  I was operating CW and managed 19 contacts before calling it quits. Band conditions were not that good and it was a struggle at times to make contacts especially QRP. The radio operated as expected.  It is always nice to have a good receiver.  Band conditions were rather poor and often I was working stations with a signal strength of S1 or less.  In general the bands seemed to be running short. Most of my contacts were on 20 meters. I am happy with the antenna setup.  It goes up and down easily with little fuss. With it I can operate 40 meters and up.  During most of my POTA activations I operate on 40, 30, 20, and 17. 

While I was there a local Ham club showed up for Field Day to setup.  Like me they retreated under cover to wait out the storm. After I packed up my station, I visited with them under their shelter for a while and we had a nice chat. I headed back to the motel to dry out myself and my gear.  Tomorrow is another day.

Last night (Saturday), a band of thunderstorms came through. I was glad to be staying in a motel this time. More rain is predicted for Sunday and hopefully I can get an activation in. Because of the band conditions,  I am going to run FT8.  I brought my IC-705 with me as a backup since this was the KX3’s first outing. I purchased the KX3 used so this was the maiden voyage/test flight.  It passed.  The 705 is a great radio.  One of the benefits is I can run FT8 on it using my iPhone or iPad and connect them via WiFi. No extra cables needed. I hope Icom is going to do this with their recently announced new radio.  That would be one of the things that would push me over the edge to buy it. 

Sunday morning brought clear skies and a nice off shore breeze. After a stop at Beads and Grinds (coffee with a Crème Brûlée donut and a Scone) I headed back to the Cape Hatteras Light Station.  I found a shady spot and set up my station.  I used the same antenna as yesterday, Chameleon 17’ SS whip, Blank Adapter and a truck bed counterpoise. 

Band conditions were not looking good with Solar Flux at 188. I decided this time to use the IC-705 and FT8.  This was a smart choice.  Throughout the activation, I was consistently hitting the reverse beacon network.  

Of course this was Field Day weekend so I pretty much stayed on 30 meters.  Pickings were slim, but I managed another 27 contacts. I deployed the awning and it was great to have some shade. 

By 1000 hrs, the sun was up and it was getting warm.  At this point I decided to call it a day and pursue other activities.  I am not a hot weather guy. Here is the QSO map from the activation.

It was a long drive getting up here and my bones aren’t up to those long hours behind the wheel.  I decided to split my trip home.  Early Monday morning I left Cape Hatteras and headed for Mt Michell State Park. Mt Mitchell is the highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. It’s about an 8 hour drive and I thought it would be cool to do a sea to summit activation. I will get there Monday PM and then spend the night nearby. The drive home from there is only about 4 hours. To me it will be worth the couple of extra hours spread out over 2 days. My plan is to operate FT8 again. I maybe too worn out to tackle CW.

At 0430 hrs  I was pulling out of Cape Hatteras heading toward Western North Carolina.  I had a lot of fun, ate good food and met some really nice people. All boxes were checked.  It was a long uneventful drive across NC finally reaching the summit of Mt Mitchell by 1300 hrs.

  There are still repairs/restoration effects ongoing in the area.  The parking lot was about half full and I didn’t really see a good place to set up.  I was not geared for hiking anywhere.  I decided to use the truck radio, an IC-7100 attached to an AH-730 tuner. I normally run a 108” whip but around town I keep it stowed in the bed.  For this instance I mounted  my Chameleon 17” SS whip again using the truck bed as a counterpoise. A quick tap of the tune button and everything was matched up. 

 Band conditions were still not good with QSB so mode of choice was FT8 and 20 watts.  It took over an hour to get 22 contacts.  Under normal condones and this being on the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, I should've been slammed.  

From there it was about an hour and a half drive to my motel room for the night.  Tomorrow it’s about a 4-4.5 hr drive home easy-peasy.

It was fun making the side trip to Mt Mitchell.  This is the stomping ground of my friend Thomas K4SWL so I had to make the pilgrimage. It was a fun trip.  It did put a little more wear and tear on the body than I figured.  I guess it’s time for me to start acting my age - dang. Future excursions will probably be shorter, I need to recalibrate, the fun is still there, still attainable, nothing a paradigm shift won’t solve.

Thanks to everyone who had the patience to work me, it was tough band conditions. We are having a heat wave this week so stay safe and hydrate. You old guys like me, take extra care.  I know, the mind is willing…73 de Scott

The Seasons of Life

 Over the past couple of days I have been pondering life, specifically my life in radio communications.  For many years I have practiced the art of portable operations both for fun and in preparation for a real world deployment.  I kept my gear ready, able to deploy quickly anywhere my truck and camper could take me. It was fun pulling into a strange campsite, setting up my station, and making it fit the situation.  I was able to work the world from my little camper.

I have taken many radios to the field to include an IC-7300, IC-7300MK2, IC-7100, IC-7200, IC-705, TS-590sg, Elecraft K3, FTDX-10, FT-710, Elecraft KX2 and KX3, Lab599 TX-500, Xeigu G90, Pentek TR-35 and TR-45. All fun radios. 

It was a lot of fun and I learned a whole lot about operating portable. It was the best learning experience making your station work while away from your support framework. If you want to test your equipment portable, go at least 20 miles away from home.  That is usually the point where it is too far to go back for something you forgot.

Where I am going with this is I am not young anymore.  The camper life has gotten "uncomfortable" and the aches and pains that are the result of youthful indiscretions are not getting any better. There is nothing to prepare you for getting older, it's like you wake up one day and BAM! there you are.  Where does this leave me? Life at this point is more of a paradigm shift.  I no longer imagine myself as going anywhere to support communications.  I feel camper life at least as I now camp is coming to a close.  There is still plenty for me to do.  

I have spent the past couple years rebuilding my home station and continue to practice running nets.  I can still work from home which allows me to take care of myself and my wife.  I have a pretty good setup to include emergency power.  

Am I quitting portable ops? No, but the format is changing.  Instead of camping out, I will probably stay in a motel near a park and only operate during the day.  I also plan to operate more locally.  This may mean fewer trips each year, but I still have plenty to do and still have opportunities to serve.  

As you climb that ladder into older age, think far enough ahead where your activities are still relevant to your age.  Sometimes you have to have a come to Jesus meeting with yourself and face reality.  Yeah, it hurts your feelings, but you will be better for it.  Take heart, it's just another unavoidable phase in life.  Accept it gracefully, and make the most of it. To quote a good friend Joe Fox "Do the best you can, with what you got, where you're at". 

 Life is good es 73 de Scott

By the Numbers, Rob’s Numbers

​I get angst every time I hear someone banter about Rob Sherwood’s receiver test data especially when taken out of context. There is something like 14 different categories to look at.  Rob organized the chart top to bottom based on only one parameter. He did it to give structure to the chart.  In other words, the top does not mean the best.  I have taken a lot of time reading what Rob has said about his test. No one parameter makes one radio better than another.  A wholistic view must be taken. But rather than listen to me, here is a video with Rob himself discussing his receiver test data. 

Goodbye to a Good Friend

 

The friend is a radio not a person. Yesterday I sold my Kenwood TS-590sg.  I've only had the radio a short while, but I became attached to it. I really liked this radio. It was built like a tank and very east to use. I enjoyed using it on CW.  the TX/RX relays were quiet and the QSK was very nice.  Operating this radio was like settling into your favorite chair.  So why did I sell it?  A couple of reasons.

The first is I have a lot of radios.  I have two very nice radios at the QTH, an IC-7610 and a TS-890s. I am very happy with these radios.  Between them, they do everything I need in the radio world. I have two 100 watt portable radios (IC-7300MK2 and an IC-7100) which scratch my itch when going mobile/portable.  I also have two QRP radios (IC-705 and a KX3).  All my bases are well covered.  So why the change?

I was doing a lot of camping and it was fun.  I camped enough that it was fun swapping out radios.  Over the past year, I have been camping less and for now if I go somewhere for a weekend I will probably spend the night in a motel.  I'm an old man with an old man's body; some things are just not fun anymore.  Running portable in this manner is a paradigm shift.  Fast easy setups and takedowns become more Important.  I will be going QRP more often. I still like to keep a couple of 100 watt portable radios for Field Days and EmComm though I'm not sure how much more EmComm is in my life.  So that being said, I sold the IC-7200 and the TS-590sg.  I live in a smallish house and space was also a consideration.

Going forward, I see myself doing more operating from home.  I am NCS on a couple of nets and I am well set up for that.  Besides me, I have a special needs daughter and a wife to care for plus 2 large dogs.  All is not lost, I am transitioning into another stage of my life and I am enjoying it as much as always.  I have nice radios, mainly from buying, selling, trading over the years.  When I started I had a 20 year old Ten Tec Omni D and later an Alinco DX-70TH.  

Are there more radios in my future?  Never say never! I have decided to learn more about electronics and may take a broke radio project on.  I am also curious about Icom's new radio that should be coming out soon.  So here I am, coasting through life.  

On the CW front, I decided to go back to squeeze keying Iambic Mode B. My poor brain was having a fit trying to decide if I should squeeze or not.  So for now I am back to Iambic keying and sending at around 30 wpm.  I can't copy that fast yet, but it is training my ears and brain.  It makes copying the slower speeds easier.  Always something to do, always something to explore, never a dull moment.  73 de Scott

KX3 - Operatioanlly Ready

 Often when you get a new or new to you radio, you have to make it yours.  Configuring or modifying it to your preference.  So it went with my new to me KX3.  I didn't have to do much really.  I made a power cable for it and bought a Tufteln 3D printed cover for the face.  From Elecraft I installed their enhanced heatsink and added the roofing filter.

Here is a picture of the Elecraft Enhanced Heatsink.  It is thicker than the original and wraps around the back of the radio. I like this version because it doesn't overly increase the size of the radio like some finned versions do.

Elecraft provided clear instructions for installing and in the case of the filter, calibrating it to the radio. Total time to install was about an hour. Fortunately for me, the radio came with the built-in Antenna Tuner.  All I had to do with it was secure it to the radio.

The Tufteln cover is held on to the radio via magnets. You have to replace the screws holding the clear screen cover to the radio with hexhead bolts.  The bolt heads fit into the Tufteln cover to prevent the cover from sliding on the radio.  It also keeps the radio getting too large.  

The final addition was a Begali adapter to mount the Begali Adventure Paddle to the radio.

For a tiny paddle the action is marvelous. 

After putting the radio back together, I gave it a test drive.  Setting the power to 5 watts, I was able to work Ontario Province Canada, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia. All with janky band conditions.  All the contacts were CW which is one of my preferred modes.

I am pleased with the KX3.  It is easy to use and the receiver is top notch.  I am looking forward to my next outing with it.  

Radios for sale

 I have a couple of radios for sale on QTH.com.  There is nothing wrong with them, I just have too many radios at this time.  I have an Icom IC-7200 and a Kenwood TS-590sg.  Both radios are in good shape.

Here is a video: Icom IC-7200 and TS-590sg

If you're interested contact me through the ad on QTH.com

The KX3 Has Arrived

Last week I purchased an Elecraft KX3 through QTH.com for what I thought was an incredibly good deal. It arrived a few days ago and I have been working on it.  It did have a couple of issues.  The first was the Antenna tuner wasn't working.  The radio was not recognizing it was there.  I took the radio apart and found the ATU flopping around inside the case.  It was missing 2 mounting screws.  I secured the tuner into its sockets, added two screws and all was well.  The second issue was the filters were not working properly.  This was an easier fix.  The KX3 as I bought it didn't come with the optional roofing filter.  It was a matter of changing the roofing filter setting from NOR to Not Installed.  At one time the radio probably had a filter but it was removed without changing the settings.  It may be the reason why the ATU was loose.  

I put the radio back together and went through all of the settings to set them to my preference.  I also checked to make sure the Firmware was up to date.  I hooked the radio up to my 270' OCF dipole and made a few POTA contacts.  I was pleased with the performance of the radio.  I ordered a Tufteln faceplate cover to protect knobs and buttons.  I also ordered the Roofing Filter and Heatsink from Elecraft.  They should be here on Friday.  I looked at the radio and I think I already have the heatsink installed (bonus).  I will compare the pieces when I get them.  I little more work and the KX3 will be as I like it.

I have an upcoming trip which I will be bringing the KX3 with me. As a CW op, I appreciate the quiet QSK switching that Elecraft is known for,  

As I get older, the days of lugging anything, any kind of distance are over.  Even though the KX3 is a little bigger and heavier than the KX2, it is a far better performer and the extra weight will be of no consequence.  I'll let my truck do the heavy lifting.  

I have been practicing my CW sending.  I am still trying to work squeeze keying out of my system.  I am much better now than I was a short while ago.  I still get the occasional muscle memory freeze when they can't decide which is right.  Nothing but continued practice will work that out.  I am also beginning to appreciate my HST MKIII. I am tempted to go all single lever even though I can use paddles without squeeze keying.  It's all fun right!  I hope everyone is having a fun summer.  Don't forget to take those radios out with you.  73 de Scott