Marty's Web QTH – KJ4LQX

So what all have I been working on lately….

Well, as my last post described, I recently passed the General exam and wasted no time in making my first contact on the 40 meter band (using the call KJ4LQX /AG).  I explained to my contact that this was my first contact as a General.  It is nice to be able to start using my radio to more of its full potential.

I bought a Chameleon V1 antenna and am using it as my current base antenna.  I realize this is a compromise antenna, but since I currently do not have room nor the privilege of installing a better antenna (I currently live in an antenna –restricted community), this may have to do as my base antenna for the time being.  I’m working on building a few portable antennas (currently working on a PAC-12 design) and hope to do a lot of HF work while camping with our travel trailer.  I’m looking forward to some DXExpedition’ing with the camper and various antenna assortments.

I’m looking into several other antenna designs that I want to dive into.  Right now, portability is key, so I can set it up while camping.  I received a design from a club member that I want to work on soon, and I’m also interested in building some Carolina Windom and folded dipole designs.  All of these should be fairly easy to make and will give me a nice assortment of antennas when traveling.  I purchased an MFJ 259B antenna analyzer a couple of months ago; I expect this unit will more than pay for itself over time as I work on these various antenna designs.

It appears that my Kenwood TS440S is a bit sick.  I thought I might be having some problems with it a few weeks ago, but decided to hook it up again and give it a side-by-side comparison with my IC-7000.  The receiving side of the TS400S is working fine, but transmitting is way low on power.  Guess I’ll be finding a good Kenwood repair shop to send it off to.  I plan on using that radio a lot as my shack rig, and using the IC-7000 more as a portable rig between the camper and the shack.

Right now the shack asset list is:

• Icom IC-7000 with the Bob Nagy mic mod.
• LDG IT-100 antenna tuner for the IC-7000
• Kenwood TS440S/AT
• Yaesu FT-7800 (mobile radio)
• Icom IC-V8 HT (good camping/hamfest/hiking radio)
• Jetstream JTPS28M power supply (for the IC-7000)
• MFJ 259B antenna analyzer
• MFJ 931 artificial ground (not being used; got a great deal at a sale)
• Various mic & mixer items
• Chameleon V1 antenna
• G5RV Jr. (currently not in use)
• ICOM PCR-1000
• Realistic PRO-2005 (with the Optoelectronics interface)
• ICOM IC-R2
• National NC-57 boat anchor.  I just love the looks of this radio sitting in my shack.
• A few various other scanners, etc.

More later as I build my various antennas.

March 6, 2010:  I took and passed the general!  The location of my test was the Salvation Army building in Melbourne, Florida, and was hosted by PCARS (Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society).  I want to make a special thanks to my mentor while studying for the General, Curt Lochman (W4LVA).  I tried to study for the test on my own several times and never made it very far, Curt kept me on track and made it much more interesting.  Thanks Curt!

I gave the Extra exam a shot while I was there, but failed on that (as I expected).  I haven’t spent any time at all studying for that.  But even though I hadn’t picked up a single book and spent any time studying for the Extra, I still managed to score a 50% on the test.  I was very happy to hear that; it is the kind of encouragement I need to move on to the next and final level!

I’ve been placing lots of orders lately, getting some new items for the ham shack.  As you know, I have purchased a new Icom IC-7000 which just arrived today (picture below).

IC-7000

Since then I’ve buried some conduit so I can install a new antenna and have ordered some LMR-400 coax to run the 125′ to the antenna from the shack.  I decided to purchase a new antenna tuner as well, and took advantage of the special deal that LDG is offering; new tuners purchased for a specific period of time include a new balun.  That sounded like a pretty good deal to me, so I purchased an LDG IT-100 tuner and will be getting the 1:1 balun.

The antenna i’m planning on ordering is the Chameleon V1.  It will be clandestine enough to use around the house, yet make a good portable antenna for camping, DX events, etc.  The antenna seems to have received decent reviews, and I’m eager to give it a shot.

More reviews of all this equipment in the coming weeks.

As usual, it’s been a while since I’ve written.  But I’ve been busy around the ham shack.  I’m still holding a Tech license, but have made it a goal to get my General in the next two to three weeks.  I’ve strung a G5RV junior across the peak of my roof, and I purchased a use Hustler 5-BTV that I’m going to either make into a flagpole antenna or I’m going to bury it in some trees in my back yard.  I’ve added a Beheringer 802 mixer to the shack and I’m going to use a Shure SM-58 mic for my vocals.  I’ve got a Heil cable to connect my mic to my Kenwood TS-440S/AT radio, and I picked up a used footswitch that I’m going to modify to use as my mic key.  All was going well till…

I tried my TS-440S on 10 meters the other day on 28.400.  The power meter on the radio is only indicating about 10 watts out.  Uh-oh… looks like I’ll be taking it to someone to check the finals on the radio.  I love this radio and plan on using it regularly once I get my general ticket.

In the meantime, I’ve ordered an Icom IC-7000.  I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at getting a new mobile HF/VHF radio, and to be honest I had made up my mind to get the Yaesu FT-857D.  But the features of the Icom finally won me over, and I decided to spend the extra $500.00 for the IC-7000.  Once I get that radio in, I’ll use that as my shack radio for a while, getting to understand how to use it, and I’ll send the TS-440S in for service at that time.

I’ll also finish installing the Hustler 5-BTV over the next few days.  I’ve got an MFJ-259B analyzer on its way, which will make tuning the antenna much easier.  But before all that I’ve got to dig a trench to lay conduit for the coax, and I have a bunch of radials to lay down.  So I’ll be pretty busy over the next few days; plenty to keep me busy before the IC-7000 and the MFJ-259B arrive.

More later as everything starts to come together.  Merry Christmas!

The Fort Pierce Ham Fest is this Saturday, August 8th.  I’m planning on heading down and seeing what’s available.  Might take in a lecture or two… just rub elbows with fellow hams.  I’ll write on how it went after I return.

The link for more information is here.

TS-440S/AT with SP-430 Speaker

I just added a new radio to my shack, and I couldn’t be any happier!  Its the widely popular Kenwood TS-440S/AT.  My local ham club (PCARS) was offering up gear for sale to club members, and I jumped on it.  The rig is in excellent shape, and it included the matching PS-430 power supply and the SP-430 external speaker.

PS-430 Matching Power Supply

I had read about some of the issues with this rig (touchy buttons, VCO5 glue, etc.), but even with those issues, owners of this rig say its outstanding.  One of the first things I did when I got the rig home was to peek inside and see if the glue issue had been taken care of prior to my purchase or not.  I had already turned on the radio and spun it through all the bands, and I didn’t see any of the tell-tale signs of the glue issue (i.e. dots on the display on certain bands).  The radio seemed to be working perfectly.  However, I did notice the touchy button issue that others have talked about; switching bands will sometimes end up being a 2 or 3 band jump instead on one band at a time.

Closeup of the TS-440S

I then opened the rig and saw that indeed, the glue was still present.  So I removed the IF board, and begain scraping away the clue using a fine needle-pick and some tweezers.  As you can see in the photo’s below (sorry for the slight blurriness), the glue was present in two locations at VCO5.

VC05 Glue

After removing the shielding around VCO5, the amount of this junk is a bit more apparent.

Glue around the components

2.5 hours later I had it pretty well cleaned out, replaced the board, buttoned the radio back up, turned it on, and it passed the smoke test.  The radio was working as well as before (well, with the exception of the button issue, but that’s for another day).

So now all i gotta do is get my General license, and somehow figure out a way to get a decent antenna up in the air for this radio.  I briefly hooked the radio up to a 2-meter J-Pole that I have in the attic of my house, tuned around 20-meters for a bit, and picked up some guy calling CQ from his New Jersey mobile (i’m in central Florida).  Wish I could have answered his call!

I added a new radio to my collection yesterday.  I had been looking for an old boat anchor for a while now, and one radio continually caught my eye: the National NC-57.  I found one about a week ago and bought it, and it arrived over the weekend.  It fires up and seems to work, but the radio is in serious need of a restoration.  I’m going to start a page to track the restoration of this radio.  It is a popular radio, and hopefully my notes will help others.  And if you have restored one of the radios in the past, please send me your notes and opinions.  I am certainly going to need all the help I can get!

Update: the project page has been created and you can see my first entry on my National NC-57 here.

Got my FCC license in the mail today.  There are two sections; a larger section that can be framed, and a smaller section that is wallet sized.

Guess I gotta go shopping for a frame… and get my wallet-size section laminated while i’m at it!

Its official… my call letters showed up in the FCC database today.  KJ4LQX – doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue very easily.  But it’ll do.  Its been along time coming, but I’ve finally got my amateur license, even if it is only a Tech. class… for the time being.

Just got back from GARS.  We had a great time meeting many new people.  As I mentioned in my earlier message, I passed my Technician Exam, and now I’m waiting on my call sign.

I took a few pictures of the event while I was there.  Unfortunately I waited until late in the day on Saturday to take these photos and by that time many of the tailgaters had departed.  But still I managed to get some pictures from inside the event.