| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| White Riot |
| The BEST punk rock band of all time. The Clash |
| W6ONV on Tuesday 09 March 2010 - 23:23:20 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Sad But True |
| This is one of those topics that usually turns nasty in a short period of time. I have written about this a few times in the past, but it is usually a subject I avoid. Why? Because nothing I write or say will sway those who feel strongly against it. I am talking about amateurs who complain about operators who participate in contests. It never fails to see a few different threads spring up around the Internet bashing operators, the bogus exchanges or any number of other contest related items. Some operators might consider a contest a "waste of time" as I have seen posted before. When ANY contest springs to life over the course of a weekend, there is a good chance it will be wall to wall signals on the main bands. Depending on the contest mode (CW/RTTY/SSB) different portions of the bands will be used, so enthusiasts who don't participate can use the remainder of the band. Take for example this past weekend and the ARRL International DX Contest, there were signals on 20M throughout the entire band! But I did hear a few non-contest QSOs taking place, one which was a rather rude exchange between two operators who were allegedly being QRM'ed by a contest station calling CQ. Their answer was to key up their linear amplifier on the contester. Sorry, but that should NEVER be the answer to any sort of problem, regardless of a contest weekend or not. Unfortunately not all operators are considerate and there seems to be some animosity between the contest and non-contest operators. Many question the "mindless" exchange which usually includes a "59" signal report. I'll admit that all of my contest QSOs have been 59(9) in every contest I have entered. But this past weekend I was able to pull out some "weak" (100w & 200w) signals with much louder stations around running a kilowatt plus. In my opinion I had to use skill in first finding the signal, tuning it and then making a valid exchange. During a contest weekend there is ALWAYS a portion of every band available to use for those who are not participating. Many operators either dismiss the WARC bands or don't want to break from their routine or a frequency/band they use daily, usually at a specific time. I will admit there are some practicing poor operating habits during a contest. Mindlessly calling with their call sign when a DX station is looking for a specific region. I forgot what station it was, but they were looking for West Coast stations only, when suddent W8 and W9 are calling. And yes, I did check QRZ and none of those stations were situated on the left coast of the USA. Then there are those that I eluded to earlier who tune up on a DX frequency for whatever reason. Then there is the CW only contester who enjoys to join in on the bashing as well. Why, I don't know. Contesting is contesting, the only thing that changes is the mode. The '599' exchanges end up occurring in CW and RTTY just as they do for SSB. I see no reason why a SSB contest needs to be referred to as a "cesspool." As for myself I am not in a chase to be the top contester or win awards in every contest I enter. I do it because I enjoy chasing DX. Contests give you that opportunity to add some "new ones" to the list. Out of 71 QSOs this past weekend I had 54 that I had never worked before on phone. So while I had no goals set for this contest I saw this as a successful contest from my standpoint. In conclusion, I don't favor participating in EMCOMM, but I won't be caught calling them derogatory names or bad mouthing their activities. I don't participate in daily nets, but I don't knock those individuals for their operating habits. Why? It does no good. Amateur radio is a extremely diverse hobby, there is room for everyone to participate and do what they enjoy. But to speak your mind on the Internet, which if I recall is NOT amateur radio, does nothing to promote what a great hobby we all participate in. Unfortunately no matter how much I ramble about this topic it will continue to rear its ugly head prior to and after a contest. |
| W6ONV on Tuesday 09 March 2010 - 19:45:46 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Where's the Salaries? |
| Prior to logging into my Yahoo mail account I saw one of their news pieces titled, Which Jobs Pay New Hires Best? I was quite surprised to see the results and the jobs which pay the best to start. I was quite surprised to find my starting salary would be considered excellent when put up against this list. While I may never top out at $166,000/year I am still in a very good job that has excellent pay and wonderful benefits. I loved my previous job at the airlines, in the operations environment. Unfortunately with the airlines in their current state and prior to 9-11, United was already in a tailspin and headed toward bankruptcy. Things at the airline have not improved, I would hesitate to say they have only gotten worse. The few individuals I still keep in touch with have only been given more responsibilities, received very little in terms of a raise (this after a nearly 35% pay cut from 2001-2005) but are expected to run an operation that continues to operate in the red. Thankfully I got very lucky hiring on a train controller in the Bay Area. While I am not a fan of Northern California, as the price of the area is just asinine, I must ride out my time here before I retire. Okay, so that is not for another 20-25 years. I know I am secure and will be able to provide for my family. |
| W6ONV on Tuesday 09 March 2010 - 15:59:19 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Mobile Install: Part 2 |
| With my weekend finally here I was able to spend about 4 hours in total to complete the installation of my Yaesu FT-857D along with a Diamond NR770HB (144/440) antenna. I am still amazed at how clean of install it was. All the wires are out of site so when sitting in the driver's seat you see the control head and the microphone. The base unit is bolted to bracket on the floor located behind the driver's seat. The location for the unit was selected because it would allow for good air flow, as well as easy access from the back wall of the cable through a speaker cover (since there is no rear speaker) that is screwed into the wall. As mentioned in the first update the 144/440 antenna is mounted to the back window just under the cab tail light. The wiring enters this light housing and was routed through the ceiling and down the side of the cab and into the open speaker area. There were two cables that needed to run the length of the cab from the base unit to the remote head and microphone connector. After removing the driver's seat access under the floor covering was a snap! I removed only one piece of trim that was bolted with 4 screws and was able to pull both wires under the floor covering without any problems. The ends of the wires came up behind the foot pedals, where they were zip tied together and placed out of the way for safety. A small piece of double sided tape allowed me to stick the microphone connect near the floor vent. Once the cables were run the microphone was mounted to the left of the center console, which is easily within reach while driving. I am still not fond of the final position of the control head it looks clean and is out of the way of other knobs and buttons. I suspect most of my time in the truck with the radio one will be monitoring HF rather than working contacts, so this position should work. If I find a better location that provides for easy mounting I might end up moving the control head. While the ATAS-120A is not the final piece of the equation, I am still considering a mount for the antenna. Everyone continues to rave about the K400 from Diamond. I was not all that impressed with it when I looked at it at HRO last week. If I knew I could mount it on the lip of the toolbox I might consider it. Currently I am still leaning towards a K540, which is for a rail mount, but the mount can be adjusted so I could use 4 bolts to attach it to the rear facing side of the toolbox. Once the antenna is installed it will be time to bond the pieces to the frame. I don't think this will be any issue at all. I have been looking over the areas I will be bonds and nothing looks too difficult to accomplish. So hopefully by Friday I will have the ATAS-120A in position and be listening to HF during my commute to and from work. |
| W6ONV on Monday 08 March 2010 - 20:43:22 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Mobile Install: Part 1 |
| Thursday began the installation of the Yaesu FT-857D into my 2007 Ford Ranger. It will be connected to a Yaesu ATAS-120A antenna for HF/6M work, while a Diamond NR770HB mounted to a Diamond HRKS will suffice for local 2M/440 work. I started by sitting in the drivers seat and placing the detachable radio head in numerous different locations. It was my attempt to find a reasonable area that I could attach a mount and have the control unit within reach. Since my Ranger is a manual, mounting it under the climate controls was out of the question. There was also an aftermarket Pioneer stereo installed that I did not want to remove. After locations a few potential positions I started removing the console that housed the stereo, climate controls and the vents. It was very easy to remove the faceplate and all the individuals pieces that were wired using simple harnesses. Once I was complete I was staring a big hole in the middle of the cable. I did notice that I had enough room in which to run the the necessary cable from the base unit to the control head, all of which will be out of sight. I decided to attach the mount just above the vents on the center console. While this is the most optimal position, it is one that is out of the way, easy to wire, within reach and one that will not impede my vision out the from windshield. Current plans call for the Diamond antenna to be mounted on the rear window. The RG-8X cable that connects the antenna to the radio will access the inside of the cable via the tail light that is on the top of the cab. The light was held by two screws, which once removed provided enough clearance into the roof of the top. I will need to remove the plastic clips holding the insulation on the interior of the cable in order run the cable around the rear window, down the side and to the base unit, which will be housed behind the driver's seat. I did a quick and dirty test by crimping some lugs to the electrical leads that power the unit. Thankfully this test worked and I won't have to attach the directly to the battery, but to the battery cables. This might cause undo noise, I am not quite sure and that is something I will need to check on. The only question mark still outstanding, what sort of mount will be used for the ATAS-120A. I talking to K6BY at HRO the other day and he gave me a few options. I had intended on mounting the antenna in the middle of the toolbox, but I might use a rail/rack mount and bolt it to the side or front (facing the tailgate) of the toolbox. By doing this, it would allow me to lower the antenna if needed. While there are a considerable amount of work today I should make some good progress this weekend. The 2M antenna will be operational, all the necessary cables will be run and out of sight. By Tuesday the only remaining piece of the install will be the antenna mount and the necessary bonding. |
| W6ONV on Saturday 06 March 2010 - 20:06:14 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| News Categories | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
