A Stealthy HOA HamStick directional Dipole

January 10, 2016 By ad 22 Comments

Over the next few weeks I will be updating this post with the details on my built, tuning and on air operation of my MFJ Ham Stick Dipole.

I built the basic setup today and got it tuned on 20 meters in about 1.5 hours

Here are some photos of the start of the project.

25 feet up on a painters pole

What the dipole looks like against a cloudy sky

Detail closeup of the MFJ-347 mini Dipole mount with 2 20 meter ham stick dipoles attached

The MFJ 259B(thanks Paul Anova for the loan of your analyzer) showing a SWR of 1.4 at the midpoint in the 20 meter band. It took about an hour and 4 different positioning of the stainless steel wips into the fiberglass base of the hamstick.

This is sneak peek at the project and I will follow up with a very detailed build, tune and operation on 20 and 40 meters bands using both Phone and digital PSK31.

Stay tuned……..

What You Need To Know: PWM and MPPT Solar Charge Controller.

December 23, 2015 By ad Leave a Comment

A good friend Chris Warren(of http://twentyfirstsummer.com/ and http://offgridham.com) , wrote a GREAT article about something all Amateur Radio Ops are interested in, Solar charging systems. Whether for off the grid living or running you radio remotely without a generator, capturing and converting solar energy into battery storage is a skill set every ham or prepper should know.

I will include a short piece of his article here and a link to his site so that you can read the entire article:

The solar charge controller is arguably the most important component of a solar energy system. Like the conductor of an orchestra, the solar charge controller makes it possible for all the other parts to work together. Understanding how a solar charge controller performs its task is important to planning for your own off grid energy needs.

Solar panels greater than 20 watts or so generally cannot be directly connected to a load because the voltages they produce are not compatible with most batteries and equipment: A “12 volt” panel can go as high as 17-19 volts in bright sunlight. And an obvious problem exists when you have a 24 or 48 volt solar array and a 12 volt load. A proper solar charge controller will take care of all these issues.

Why can’t they just make solar panels that produce the correct 12 volts? The nature of solar panels are that output can change quite a bit according to light levels, temperature, and many other factors. With current technology there is no such thing as a solar panel that will produce a stable voltage at all times, under all conditions. To get around this problem, solar panels are designed with a lot of extra wiggle room to allow for poor operating environments. Just as it would not be practical to have a car with the engine connected directly to the wheels, solar panels need a go-between to smooth everything out. The solar charge controller is to your off grid power system what the transmission is to your car.

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is the most common, least expensive, and easiest to deploy solar charge controller technology. Often incorrectly referred to as DC to DC converters, they are really switches similar to a switching power supply that match the source voltage (solar panel output) to the load voltage (usually a 12 volt battery).

PWM is relatively simple and has been around for decades. One disadvantage is that under most conditions a PWM solar charge controller will not take advantage of the full capacity of the panels. Ohm’s Law states that current is inversely proportional to voltage. Yet, a PWM solar controller will not do anything with current. When the high voltage from the panel is converted down to a useable 12 volt form, the current out will always be equal to or lesser than current in. This results in an unavoidable net loss of power. Here is an example of this idea from my own home solar power system:

I have 135 watt Kyocera panels with a rated output of 17.7 volts at 7.63 amps. Using Ohm’s Law:

17.7 volts x 7.63 amps = 135.051 watts

However, 17.7 volts is not useful to the amateur radio operator. The voltage needs to be converted down to approximately 13.5 volts to support a 12 volt battery and run amateur radio gear. Keep in mind that on a PWM solar controller, the output current will never exceed the input current:

13.5 volts x 7.63 amps = 103.005 watts.

In our real world example above, a standard PWM charge controller will give up over 30 watts of otherwise useable power. That is an immediate 24% loss before any other factors are included.

The chart below for a 12 volt system shows the main disadvantage of PWM devices. Notice that the maximum power point (MPP) of the panel is well outside the voltage range of the controller and is too high for amateur radio use. The strip of space between the left edge of the greyed area and the vertical dashed line represents throwaway power.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://offgridham.com/2015/12/solar-charge-controller/

For examples of these different types of controllers, check out some of them on Amazon

Amazon Solar Charge Controllers

Yaesu 857D little known Easter Eggs.

December 20, 2015 By ad Leave a Comment

One of the guys on my PreparedHam forum(see the link to the forum above in the Black Header bar) posted a link to a page that shows little known Easter Eggs on the Yeasu 857D radio.

I have had this radio for well over 5 years and never knew these things.

Example of whats there:
The Yaesu FT-857 has a number of undocumented features, some of which are very interesting. In no particular order, here are my favorite quirks.

XX Holding FAST for one second on the supplied microphone will toggle power.

XX The small wire on the power supply connector simulates the FT-897s internal battery sense line. When this wire is grounded, the FT-857 operation changes subtly.

With the display backlight in AUTO 2 (the default) and the sense wire grounded, the display light extinguishes after about three seconds, identically to AUTO 1 mode.

Also, the supply current drawn by the rig when it is turned OFF drops from about 8mA to about 2.5mA.

See more here:
http://members.cruzio.com/~k6xx/radio/quirk857.pdf

Easy way to get the word to your Representatives on the Amateur Parity Radio Act

December 15, 2015 By ad 1 Comment

Easy way to get to word to your representatives on the Amateur Parity Radio Act just add you zipcode and get an automated form, fill in your contact info and hit send. Please let all hams and non-hams know that those of us who live in HOA controlled communities, would like to get this past.

The law just asks for “reasonable accommodations” for antennas. Not a mandate to allow for 70 foot towers.

Ham radio operators are a vital part of disaster preparedness and response for everything from missing children to supplying communications for man-made and natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. We provide critical communication services when things go Tango Uniform, and we do it free of charge.

https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ctas/urge-congress-to-support-amateur-radio-parity-act

ARRL November Sweepstakes this weekend

November 18, 2015 By ad Leave a Comment

The ARRL November Sweepstakes is here again. It is a crazy contest for amateur/ham radio ops.

Take a look at this page for the “Rules of Engagement”.

http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes

Even if you dont want to be in the contest its a great time to pick up States or Countries you might need for awards.

If you plan to engage those that are contesting, please read the rules to learn the proper exchange.

I will post some more on that shortly.

Happy Hunting

EDIT:

Contest Exchange:

Contest Exchange: The required exchange consists of:

4.1. A consecutive serial number;(if you are just working a few stations, start with your first contact and give that one #1, the second contact #2, etc

4.2. Precedence;

4.2.1. “Q” for Single Op QRP (5 Watts output or less);

4.2.2. “A” for Single Op Low Power (up to 150 W output);

4.2.3. “B” for Single Op High Power (greater than 150 W output);

4.2.4. “U” for Single Op Unlimited Single-Op Unlimited High Power and Single-Op Unlimited Low Power both send “U”)

4.2.5. “M” for Multi-Op (Multiop High Power and Multiop Low Power both send “M”)

4.2.6. “S” for School Club;

4.3. Your Callsign

4.4. Check

4.4.1. The last 2 digits of the year of first license for either the operator or the station.

4.4.2. An entry must send the same Check throughout the entire contest.

If you have any questions post them here

Survival/Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Communications, CERT, Ham Radio