Scot, KA3DRR, had a great post on his blog today, VP6DX--The Greatest DXpedition Ever. I suppose the reason that I want to second his kudos are because I really feel that these guys are going above and beyond in order to dig out us little guys. By 'little guys', I'm talking about all of us running 100 watts or less, often to antennas that could be considered marginal. I listen to the pile-ups that often build when I'm able to hear them (which is almost all the time, by the way) and even though I'm hearing the signals from a totally different perspective, I KNOW that my signal is buried deep down in the muck by the time it reaches them. Yet, aside from 40 meters, which has eluded me, they've heard me every time I'm pursued them.
I'm not saying that I got through on the first call (or the second, or the third, or...). It often took a good sitting before I did sneak in. I'd like to say that a small portion of that is due to some fine equipment they toted with them (boy, I sure do love that K3). But I think the overwhelming reason that they heard me is because of some top-notch operators that were willing to dig down into the noise and work those faint signals.
Thanks guys!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Customer Service
I work for an outfit that manufactures lumber dry kilns. I won't bore you with what a dry kiln is, since it has nothing to do with ham radio, except to say that not only do we build the structures and the control systems, but we provide replacement parts, new parts, warranty parts, and troubleshooting. When our customers call and order a part it generally ships the same day - overnight if requested. In fact, since dry kilns run 24 hours a day, overnight shipments are more the norm, rather than the exception.
I've placed orders with several different ham radio vendors in the past few months and I've been really pleased with the response times and the followup communication from each. With all the tools available, it's ridiculous for a company to NOT respond to their customers. For instance, before I bought my ZeroFive antenna, I wrote the builder with several questions and generally not even an hour had elapsed before he'd replied. When I placed the order, the antenna arrived 3 days later - on a Saturday, I might add. I didn't pay extra for Saturday shipping. When I recently placed an order from W4RT, I received several followup emails confirming the purchase, shipment confirmation emails, and the items arrived 3 days later.
So why has it taken 4 weeks to get a stinking TVI filter from ICE (Industrial Communications Engineers)? I'm still waiting. When I placed the order back in mid-January, I received an email confirmation, but why haven't these guys at least taken the time to update me on my order since? I don't believe ICE is a couple of guys working out of their garage (I could be wrong, I guess), I've seen their products all over, especially their bandpass filters. They seem to have a pretty diverse lineup. Someone's working, or at least they were long enough to build what I saw.
So this morning, I sent them an email, referencing my order number, politely asking what the status of my order was. As I was referring to the original order, I noticed a statement on the email they'd sent when I placed the order:
* Our products can be backlogged for 1-3 weeks or more, if we do not have the product in stock. PLEASE BE PATIENT. No credit cards will be charged until the order is ready to ship.
What kind of crap is that? Yeah, I appreciate the fact that you won't charge my card until it ships, but they're basically saying, place your order and we'll get around to sending it...eventually...maybe...if you're lucky. And, if it is backlogged, how about telling me that, so I can either cancel or buy from someone else? I understand, maybe you've gotta build some, maybe you ran out, just let me know something. And answer me when I write you.
If the company I work for operated in this manner, we'd be out of business. As expected, I've not received a reply, and I probably won't. 2 months from now, after I've bought one from someone else and received it in 3 days, I'll hear a knock at my door and there it'll be...a package from ICE and a charge on my VISA bill.
I've placed orders with several different ham radio vendors in the past few months and I've been really pleased with the response times and the followup communication from each. With all the tools available, it's ridiculous for a company to NOT respond to their customers. For instance, before I bought my ZeroFive antenna, I wrote the builder with several questions and generally not even an hour had elapsed before he'd replied. When I placed the order, the antenna arrived 3 days later - on a Saturday, I might add. I didn't pay extra for Saturday shipping. When I recently placed an order from W4RT, I received several followup emails confirming the purchase, shipment confirmation emails, and the items arrived 3 days later.
So why has it taken 4 weeks to get a stinking TVI filter from ICE (Industrial Communications Engineers)? I'm still waiting. When I placed the order back in mid-January, I received an email confirmation, but why haven't these guys at least taken the time to update me on my order since? I don't believe ICE is a couple of guys working out of their garage (I could be wrong, I guess), I've seen their products all over, especially their bandpass filters. They seem to have a pretty diverse lineup. Someone's working, or at least they were long enough to build what I saw.
So this morning, I sent them an email, referencing my order number, politely asking what the status of my order was. As I was referring to the original order, I noticed a statement on the email they'd sent when I placed the order:
* Our products can be backlogged for 1-3 weeks or more, if we do not have the product in stock. PLEASE BE PATIENT. No credit cards will be charged until the order is ready to ship.
What kind of crap is that? Yeah, I appreciate the fact that you won't charge my card until it ships, but they're basically saying, place your order and we'll get around to sending it...eventually...maybe...if you're lucky. And, if it is backlogged, how about telling me that, so I can either cancel or buy from someone else? I understand, maybe you've gotta build some, maybe you ran out, just let me know something. And answer me when I write you.
If the company I work for operated in this manner, we'd be out of business. As expected, I've not received a reply, and I probably won't. 2 months from now, after I've bought one from someone else and received it in 3 days, I'll hear a knock at my door and there it'll be...a package from ICE and a charge on my VISA bill.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Flu bug
This past weekend, during the ARRL DX CW contest, my wife spent the better part of Friday evening, and both Saturday and Sunday sick in bed with an upper respiratory infection. And while that pretty much gave me the freedom to operate as much as I wanted, in the back of my mind I had that nagging suspicion that you get whenever you're around a sick person.
So, it came without surprise that I started to feel crummy Monday evening. By Tuesday morning I'd blown off work and decided to stay in bed. When my wife had gone to the doctor on Monday, she'd tested negative for the flu, so I figured a day or two, tops, and I'd be back in order.
Thursday morning I begged her to drive me to the doctor. And believe me, when I ask my wife to drive, I'm really sick.
Now get this, I tested positive for the flu. So to be safe, we're both taking Tamiflu. Let me say this, I'm kind of skeptical when it comes to flu prevention. When I was in the Air Force I was forced to take a yearly flu shot. What happened? Every year, I got the flu. When I got out, I quit taking the vaccinations...no flu...that is, until now. Not a bad run for nearly 18 years.
I'm sold on Tamiflu, however. Less than 24 hours later and I feel 100% better.
But, ultimately, by being sick, I've have 4 days off from work with no disturbances and I've not even felt good enough to turn on the radio, not even once. Let's hope that changes by the end of today. My shack is downstairs in the corner of two unfinished rooms, directly by a window. Concrete floor. It's cold, and not the best place for someone with the flu, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right?
Stay warm.
So, it came without surprise that I started to feel crummy Monday evening. By Tuesday morning I'd blown off work and decided to stay in bed. When my wife had gone to the doctor on Monday, she'd tested negative for the flu, so I figured a day or two, tops, and I'd be back in order.
Thursday morning I begged her to drive me to the doctor. And believe me, when I ask my wife to drive, I'm really sick.
Now get this, I tested positive for the flu. So to be safe, we're both taking Tamiflu. Let me say this, I'm kind of skeptical when it comes to flu prevention. When I was in the Air Force I was forced to take a yearly flu shot. What happened? Every year, I got the flu. When I got out, I quit taking the vaccinations...no flu...that is, until now. Not a bad run for nearly 18 years.
I'm sold on Tamiflu, however. Less than 24 hours later and I feel 100% better.
But, ultimately, by being sick, I've have 4 days off from work with no disturbances and I've not even felt good enough to turn on the radio, not even once. Let's hope that changes by the end of today. My shack is downstairs in the corner of two unfinished rooms, directly by a window. Concrete floor. It's cold, and not the best place for someone with the flu, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right?
Stay warm.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
25 hours into the contest
Ok, this is my first real contest, unless you want to count Novice Roundups from 30 years ago. And I'm using that phrase 'real contest' loosely. I won't be submitting anything. I don't think they bother keeping scores as low as mine will likely end up. This was merely a personal challenge. I set a goal to work 100 countries - that's it. I didn't care about which bands, just 100 countries.
I made it in under 18 hours, so my total is climbing and I'm up to 120 as of 8 o'clock Eastern time - slightly less than 24 hours to go.
Now, to a true contester, this goal (and my performance) is probably cause for laughter. I'll bet some fellows had 100 countries in less than 2 hours. But I'm actually sorta happy about it. 100 watts and a vertical, heck, not bad, I think. Especially when I consider that I went to bed about 2 am last night, and spent a good portion of today doing other tasks at home and checking the radio sporadically.
You know, this is more fun than I anticipated!
I made it in under 18 hours, so my total is climbing and I'm up to 120 as of 8 o'clock Eastern time - slightly less than 24 hours to go.
Now, to a true contester, this goal (and my performance) is probably cause for laughter. I'll bet some fellows had 100 countries in less than 2 hours. But I'm actually sorta happy about it. 100 watts and a vertical, heck, not bad, I think. Especially when I consider that I went to bed about 2 am last night, and spent a good portion of today doing other tasks at home and checking the radio sporadically.
You know, this is more fun than I anticipated!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Just a little pistol
I mentioned in my very first post that, until very recently, I've been away from ham radio for a long time. Nearly 30 years, in fact. I was licensed when I was 11 or 12, then mostly lost interest around 15 or 16. Imagine that. There were other priorities, I guess :)
I made a couple of feeble attempts to rekindle my interest, but after a few months I became distracted with other things, namely my family, raising kids, and working. I'm now 44 and I still have all of those things going on, maybe more than ever, but for whatever reason the hobby has taken over in a wicked way. A good way, that is. This time I can tell it isn't just a passing fancy. For one, the amount of money that I'm sinking into it. And, two, I'm starting to plan around contests and DXpeditions.
There's no question, I'm very much a 'little pistol' - 100 watts, vertical antenna - but I'm having a ball because, despite the odds, I'm getting through pileups by listening, being patient, and remembering the advice given by Bob Locher W9KNI in "The Complete DX'er", a wonderful book that's a real joy to read. You don't even realize that you're learning some important skills of the trade as you're reading.
So the other evening I was asking myself why I thought I was getting through on pileups on a regular basis, considering that a lot of the folks I was going up against probably had better radios, more power, better antennas, and had been doing it a lot longer than I had. Well, I think it's primarily due to listening. Listening how the DX operator works, does he tend to tune up or down? Is he working folks that are sending fast or slow? I'm surprised at how many DX operators are sending at 20 wpm or less and guys are coming back to them at 30-35. No wonder there's so many requests for repeats. Likewise, I'm surprised at how many folks either don't understand or hear when the DX operator sends "UP". Yet there they are, blasting away directly on the DX's frequency. If you listen, there's a pattern that the DX operator adheres to. Many are quite brief: signal report and that's all. Yet you still have these guys that answer with signal reports, QTH's, Names, and (of course) they repeat it all twice.
The thing is, I guess, since those same guys 'worked' the DX, they figure all is well, that's how to play the game. Nevermind that oodles of hams all over the world are fuming at the boneheads.
And that's another thing that's changed about the hobby compared to how I remember it back in the 70's and 80's. The exchanges are much shorter. I actually like this. It gives more people the chance to work the DX. Is it more impersonal? Sure, but at least I have a chance now.
So, again, why am I working these guys? I listen carefully to who they answer, provided I can hear them - most of the time I can. If the DX station works 3 or 4 guys in a row that are zerobeat on a single frequency, then I don't stand much of a chance - my 100 watts just won't bust through. But I'll still give it a chance by moving slightly to one side or another. Maybe he'll grow tired of the constant beeping and tune up or down just a hair? Or, I'll wait until the bitter end to send my call, hoping that I don't intrude on when he starts sending. If he's working split, then that's not really too much of a problem, a tailend call usually doesn't disrupt the frequency he's transmitting on if there's enough separation.
And, realistically, here's another reason that I'm working these guys...my expectations are low. What do I mean by that? Well, for me, being somewhat of a newbie again, I'm thrilled to work anyone in Europe, even the common ones. Serious DX'ers would scoff at me, I'm sure. But, at the same time, there seems to be an awful lot of guys trying to work the same ones that I am, so I'm not alone. And hopefully I'll hone my skills and continue to improve enough to nab some rare DX.
I was listening to the traffic jam over TI9KK last evening on 30 meters CW. For one, I've never heard so many people on 30 meters before, and, two, 200 watts sure sounds damn powerful. I wonder, are they all running a maximum of 200 watts? It was downright depressing to listen. I gave a few calls, but eventually gave up because of folks not adhering to the op's request for split and his growing frustration with everyone. He went QRT twice, but returned both times. I managed to work them on 17 mtrs USB on Sunday, so while I'd love to have them on CW, I don't see it happening until late in the game.
73's all.
I made a couple of feeble attempts to rekindle my interest, but after a few months I became distracted with other things, namely my family, raising kids, and working. I'm now 44 and I still have all of those things going on, maybe more than ever, but for whatever reason the hobby has taken over in a wicked way. A good way, that is. This time I can tell it isn't just a passing fancy. For one, the amount of money that I'm sinking into it. And, two, I'm starting to plan around contests and DXpeditions.
There's no question, I'm very much a 'little pistol' - 100 watts, vertical antenna - but I'm having a ball because, despite the odds, I'm getting through pileups by listening, being patient, and remembering the advice given by Bob Locher W9KNI in "The Complete DX'er", a wonderful book that's a real joy to read. You don't even realize that you're learning some important skills of the trade as you're reading.
So the other evening I was asking myself why I thought I was getting through on pileups on a regular basis, considering that a lot of the folks I was going up against probably had better radios, more power, better antennas, and had been doing it a lot longer than I had. Well, I think it's primarily due to listening. Listening how the DX operator works, does he tend to tune up or down? Is he working folks that are sending fast or slow? I'm surprised at how many DX operators are sending at 20 wpm or less and guys are coming back to them at 30-35. No wonder there's so many requests for repeats. Likewise, I'm surprised at how many folks either don't understand or hear when the DX operator sends "UP". Yet there they are, blasting away directly on the DX's frequency. If you listen, there's a pattern that the DX operator adheres to. Many are quite brief: signal report and that's all. Yet you still have these guys that answer with signal reports, QTH's, Names, and (of course) they repeat it all twice.
The thing is, I guess, since those same guys 'worked' the DX, they figure all is well, that's how to play the game. Nevermind that oodles of hams all over the world are fuming at the boneheads.
And that's another thing that's changed about the hobby compared to how I remember it back in the 70's and 80's. The exchanges are much shorter. I actually like this. It gives more people the chance to work the DX. Is it more impersonal? Sure, but at least I have a chance now.
So, again, why am I working these guys? I listen carefully to who they answer, provided I can hear them - most of the time I can. If the DX station works 3 or 4 guys in a row that are zerobeat on a single frequency, then I don't stand much of a chance - my 100 watts just won't bust through. But I'll still give it a chance by moving slightly to one side or another. Maybe he'll grow tired of the constant beeping and tune up or down just a hair? Or, I'll wait until the bitter end to send my call, hoping that I don't intrude on when he starts sending. If he's working split, then that's not really too much of a problem, a tailend call usually doesn't disrupt the frequency he's transmitting on if there's enough separation.
And, realistically, here's another reason that I'm working these guys...my expectations are low. What do I mean by that? Well, for me, being somewhat of a newbie again, I'm thrilled to work anyone in Europe, even the common ones. Serious DX'ers would scoff at me, I'm sure. But, at the same time, there seems to be an awful lot of guys trying to work the same ones that I am, so I'm not alone. And hopefully I'll hone my skills and continue to improve enough to nab some rare DX.
I was listening to the traffic jam over TI9KK last evening on 30 meters CW. For one, I've never heard so many people on 30 meters before, and, two, 200 watts sure sounds damn powerful. I wonder, are they all running a maximum of 200 watts? It was downright depressing to listen. I gave a few calls, but eventually gave up because of folks not adhering to the op's request for split and his growing frustration with everyone. He went QRT twice, but returned both times. I managed to work them on 17 mtrs USB on Sunday, so while I'd love to have them on CW, I don't see it happening until late in the game.
73's all.
Storm approaching
According to the wx experts, there's some rough stuff headed my way this evening. I had to go out of town on work and before leaving this morning I lowered my ZeroFive vertical by loosening one bolt and tipping it over. Hopefully that's a huge overreaction, but better safe than sorry. In my first post I probably sounded kind of critical of my new vertical. In the past few days, I must say, I'm growing quite fond of it. It's really working well for me, especially on 30 meters. Eventually I know I'll have to think about a beam, but for now this is all I can manage.
I've got a nagging problem with TVI in just one set out of five in the house. It's an older (circa 1995) Sony. Its a nice set, not HD of course, but a good TV for the living room above the fireplace at 32". The TVI is only on 40 meters and only when transmitting with more than, say, 30 watts. I've tried a Bencher lowpass filter - made no difference, and I didn't expect it to (but, hey, why not try?). I've tried a homemade choke at the feedpoint of the vertical...no change. And I've put a dozen ferrite clamps on the coax feeding the TV. I know the TVI is coming in through the coax and not the power line. My next step is to swap this TV out with another one - a step I've been delaying because of the weight of both sets. If that works, then the Sony will go in one of the bedrooms, where it won't be watched nearly as much. Reading through a lot of the posts on eHam it seems that finding and eliminating TVI can be a long, drawn-out process.
I never got around to putting in a computer interface on the TS-940. I intended to get a Piexx unit, and I may still get one eventually. But now that I have the FT-857D, I've been using Ham Radio Deluxe. For a fellow that's never used a computer interface (kind of ironic that I'm a programmer, huh?) to a rig, I'm learning all kinds of new things. I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions that might work well with the 857?
I've got a nagging problem with TVI in just one set out of five in the house. It's an older (circa 1995) Sony. Its a nice set, not HD of course, but a good TV for the living room above the fireplace at 32". The TVI is only on 40 meters and only when transmitting with more than, say, 30 watts. I've tried a Bencher lowpass filter - made no difference, and I didn't expect it to (but, hey, why not try?). I've tried a homemade choke at the feedpoint of the vertical...no change. And I've put a dozen ferrite clamps on the coax feeding the TV. I know the TVI is coming in through the coax and not the power line. My next step is to swap this TV out with another one - a step I've been delaying because of the weight of both sets. If that works, then the Sony will go in one of the bedrooms, where it won't be watched nearly as much. Reading through a lot of the posts on eHam it seems that finding and eliminating TVI can be a long, drawn-out process.
I never got around to putting in a computer interface on the TS-940. I intended to get a Piexx unit, and I may still get one eventually. But now that I have the FT-857D, I've been using Ham Radio Deluxe. For a fellow that's never used a computer interface (kind of ironic that I'm a programmer, huh?) to a rig, I'm learning all kinds of new things. I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions that might work well with the 857?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Having a blast
This past Saturday I drove up to Richmond, VA, for FrostFest, which is their local hamfest. I had a short shopping list - connectors, premade jumpers (I hate making up cables), and I wanted to look at a couple of items firsthand. I wanted to check out the Palstar AT1KP antenna tuner, and I also wanted to talk to the folks at Yaesu, which was the only bigtime radio vendor with a presence.
For the past few months I've been contemplating the purchase of a true mobile HF rig. I travel a good bit for work and spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, why not enjoy a little hamming while I'm away? I had a list of rigs that I'd looked into: Icom IC-706, Elecraft K2 (and the K1 as well), and the Yaesu FT-817 and FT-857D. I knew the reputation of the Elecraft rigs. I've been eyeballing a K2 for several months and I nearly start to drool when I see the new K3. But I wasn't so keen on the notion of dragging either of those around, not only from a potential damage standpoint, but what if the thing was stolen? Plus, I felt that either of those rigs would be possible base HF rigs, replacing (or retiring) my Kenwood TS-940SAT, which is a monster of a radio. I didn't really want to be carting my main rig around.
I'm sure the Icom is a nice radio, but they weren't at Richmond and the Yaesu folks were. It took awhile to speak with a representative (there were 2 on-hand), plus it seemed that most visitors wanted to talk about the beautiful FT-2000 they had on display (or score a nice free hat). But finally I was able to corner one guy and more or less steer him over to the 817 and 857. He was a nice fellow, and took the time to point out the features and usefulness of each radio. I had a few questions, mostly about interfacing to a computer. I took a quick look at the FT-450, since Austin Amateur Radio Supply had a demo for around $500.
When I left the Yaesu booth, I walked around for about 5 minutes, made a quick call to the XYL to get the official permission, and took my place in line. I was halfway debating about buying the FT-450 and was actually leaning in that direction when I noticed that it was missing from the table! A quick scan revealed a gentleman at the end of the booth taking it out of its box and checking it out. I begged the fellow behind me to save my place and I rushed over to ask him if he was checking it out or buying it. For whatever reason he didn't take kindly to my question and rudely informed me that he'd already bought it, to "find my own radio". Boy, that's the spirit of ham radio, huh?
I figured that I could stand there and give this guy a piece of my mind, or get back in line - I chose the later. So now it was settled, I was going to buy the 857. Or was I? The guy in front of me bought one! Oh Lord, was there another? Fortunately, yes. When you get all worked up and ready to buy a radio, you don't want Murphy to interfere. That would have made for a long ride home.
So I've had it on the air for roughly 2 days now. What do I think? In a word, "Wow!". It has exceeded my expectations. In order to force myself to learn how to use a menu-driven radio, I rearranged my shack's table and even removed the TS-940 from the room, leaving me no choice but to use the 857. Let me tell you, I don't even miss the 940. I'm serious. Yes, I fumbled a bit early on, trying to remember what button did what, which menu led me where, but after a couple of hours I felt at ease. What about contacts? Well, remember, I'm no expert, but I worked 13 different countries in about 4 hours of airtime on Sunday, mostly on 17 and 30 meters. Not to mention several stateside QSO's for getting signal reports. The DSP is fantastic and I've already ordered a CW filter. It took me a bit to figure out how to get full QSK, and I ended up opting for a bit of delay, rather than hear the relay chatter. That would be nice to have, but...oh well.
Thus far, I'm satisfied and quite happy - and it makes me feel much better about that antenna I bought too ;) My XYL keeps asking me if "that little radio is going to replace the big Kenwood"...at this point, I'd have to say I'm considering it. If anything, if I force myself to use this rig for a bit, perhaps when I spring for an Elecraft I won't miss the 940 at all.
For the past few months I've been contemplating the purchase of a true mobile HF rig. I travel a good bit for work and spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, why not enjoy a little hamming while I'm away? I had a list of rigs that I'd looked into: Icom IC-706, Elecraft K2 (and the K1 as well), and the Yaesu FT-817 and FT-857D. I knew the reputation of the Elecraft rigs. I've been eyeballing a K2 for several months and I nearly start to drool when I see the new K3. But I wasn't so keen on the notion of dragging either of those around, not only from a potential damage standpoint, but what if the thing was stolen? Plus, I felt that either of those rigs would be possible base HF rigs, replacing (or retiring) my Kenwood TS-940SAT, which is a monster of a radio. I didn't really want to be carting my main rig around.
I'm sure the Icom is a nice radio, but they weren't at Richmond and the Yaesu folks were. It took awhile to speak with a representative (there were 2 on-hand), plus it seemed that most visitors wanted to talk about the beautiful FT-2000 they had on display (or score a nice free hat). But finally I was able to corner one guy and more or less steer him over to the 817 and 857. He was a nice fellow, and took the time to point out the features and usefulness of each radio. I had a few questions, mostly about interfacing to a computer. I took a quick look at the FT-450, since Austin Amateur Radio Supply had a demo for around $500.
When I left the Yaesu booth, I walked around for about 5 minutes, made a quick call to the XYL to get the official permission, and took my place in line. I was halfway debating about buying the FT-450 and was actually leaning in that direction when I noticed that it was missing from the table! A quick scan revealed a gentleman at the end of the booth taking it out of its box and checking it out. I begged the fellow behind me to save my place and I rushed over to ask him if he was checking it out or buying it. For whatever reason he didn't take kindly to my question and rudely informed me that he'd already bought it, to "find my own radio". Boy, that's the spirit of ham radio, huh?
I figured that I could stand there and give this guy a piece of my mind, or get back in line - I chose the later. So now it was settled, I was going to buy the 857. Or was I? The guy in front of me bought one! Oh Lord, was there another? Fortunately, yes. When you get all worked up and ready to buy a radio, you don't want Murphy to interfere. That would have made for a long ride home.
So I've had it on the air for roughly 2 days now. What do I think? In a word, "Wow!". It has exceeded my expectations. In order to force myself to learn how to use a menu-driven radio, I rearranged my shack's table and even removed the TS-940 from the room, leaving me no choice but to use the 857. Let me tell you, I don't even miss the 940. I'm serious. Yes, I fumbled a bit early on, trying to remember what button did what, which menu led me where, but after a couple of hours I felt at ease. What about contacts? Well, remember, I'm no expert, but I worked 13 different countries in about 4 hours of airtime on Sunday, mostly on 17 and 30 meters. Not to mention several stateside QSO's for getting signal reports. The DSP is fantastic and I've already ordered a CW filter. It took me a bit to figure out how to get full QSK, and I ended up opting for a bit of delay, rather than hear the relay chatter. That would be nice to have, but...oh well.
Thus far, I'm satisfied and quite happy - and it makes me feel much better about that antenna I bought too ;) My XYL keeps asking me if "that little radio is going to replace the big Kenwood"...at this point, I'd have to say I'm considering it. If anything, if I force myself to use this rig for a bit, perhaps when I spring for an Elecraft I won't miss the 940 at all.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Patience was never one of my strong points
Never one to be satisfied, I usually end up bringing more heartache upon myself. I just wasn't satisfied with my Hustler 4BTV. Despite making a few DX contacts, frustration kept growing towards the end of last year because my signal reports were always crappy, even stateside. Having corrected my SWR problems, laying 40+ radials, and tuning the devil out of the antenna, I had a decision to make. Do I go ahead and spring for a beam or look at another vertical? In the meantime, I'd thrown up a G5RV and realized that, while it was a fine antenna, it had limitations as well. Plus, without some expenditure and more effort on my part, I wasn't going to be able to raise it above 35 ft or so.
So I researched the cost of towers and beams that I could afford. In the back of my mind, I also had to remember that I needed to be a 'good neighbor' and not erect some monster that would make me the target of everyone's ire. People already wondered what the heck the 4BTV was for...was I some sort of nut? I narrowed it down to a handful of beams, like a Hexbeam, a Cushcraft MA5B, a Mosley TA-33Jr, and a TGM Quad. The problem was, do I try and mount whatever I buy on a mast or spring for a tower? Well, a tower was pretty much out of the question, at least right now. And I was leery of using an aluminum mast - I didn't want to fool with guy wires and I really was nervous about whether or not it would safely support any of those offerings. Nevertheless I did my research and was sort of shocked to find out how much it would cost to put the package together.
Then, another thought crossed my mind. We're in the low point of sunspot activity, 20, 15, and 10m aren't going to be that great for another couple of years, am I jumping the gun? If the majority of my operating is going to be on 40, 80, and 160, wouldn't I be better off with an antenna that performed well on those bands for now? But stringing more wires was out, I didn't want to go that route.
Back to verticals. So I did more research, read countless reviews, and one vertical in particular caught my eye, the 43 foot ZeroFive multi-band vertical. One of the first things I noticed was it had received ALL 5's on eham.net reviews. That was unprecedented, especially for 40-something reviews. I read them carefully and decided to write Tom, the manufacturer. I told him that I was leery of the perfect reviews - all saying that it was "built like a tank" - they sounded too cookie-cutter, almost staged. He acknowledged that, yes, that might seem odd, but he told me that I would see a big performance gain over my 4BTV.
I mulled it over. And then mulled it over some more. Right after Christmas, I pulled the trigger and ordered one. It came in no time, about 3 or 4 days later. Unfortunately, the recommended balun from Array Solutions was backordered for a couple of weeks. Hastily I constructed one from PVC pipe and 10 AWG wire. It worked! I put down nearly 50 new radials and tried it out.
Well, what did I find? Honestly, at first it didn't blow me away. In fact, I wrote Tom several followup emails inquiring about not being able to "hear" as well as before. It was darn noisy. Tom recommended more radials, so I put even more. Over the next couple of weeks either the bands were lousy or something changed, because as of this week, I'm hearing a lot better and I'm working those that I do hear. My signal reports have dramatically improved and I'm working DX routinely. It's hard to get honest signal reports when the exchange only lasts a few seconds, but at least I'm working them, whereas before I didn't stand a chance.
So what do I think? Was it worth the cost (almost 4 times the cost of the 4BTV)? I guess the jury is still out. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I guess I thought I'd see a tremendous improvement, and I just haven't. Maybe the longer I use it, the more I'll start to appreciate it. It is definitely a nicely built antenna and it was much easier to put up, despite being twice as tall. Hopefully I'll see you on the bands.
So I researched the cost of towers and beams that I could afford. In the back of my mind, I also had to remember that I needed to be a 'good neighbor' and not erect some monster that would make me the target of everyone's ire. People already wondered what the heck the 4BTV was for...was I some sort of nut? I narrowed it down to a handful of beams, like a Hexbeam, a Cushcraft MA5B, a Mosley TA-33Jr, and a TGM Quad. The problem was, do I try and mount whatever I buy on a mast or spring for a tower? Well, a tower was pretty much out of the question, at least right now. And I was leery of using an aluminum mast - I didn't want to fool with guy wires and I really was nervous about whether or not it would safely support any of those offerings. Nevertheless I did my research and was sort of shocked to find out how much it would cost to put the package together.
Then, another thought crossed my mind. We're in the low point of sunspot activity, 20, 15, and 10m aren't going to be that great for another couple of years, am I jumping the gun? If the majority of my operating is going to be on 40, 80, and 160, wouldn't I be better off with an antenna that performed well on those bands for now? But stringing more wires was out, I didn't want to go that route.
Back to verticals. So I did more research, read countless reviews, and one vertical in particular caught my eye, the 43 foot ZeroFive multi-band vertical. One of the first things I noticed was it had received ALL 5's on eham.net reviews. That was unprecedented, especially for 40-something reviews. I read them carefully and decided to write Tom, the manufacturer. I told him that I was leery of the perfect reviews - all saying that it was "built like a tank" - they sounded too cookie-cutter, almost staged. He acknowledged that, yes, that might seem odd, but he told me that I would see a big performance gain over my 4BTV.
I mulled it over. And then mulled it over some more. Right after Christmas, I pulled the trigger and ordered one. It came in no time, about 3 or 4 days later. Unfortunately, the recommended balun from Array Solutions was backordered for a couple of weeks. Hastily I constructed one from PVC pipe and 10 AWG wire. It worked! I put down nearly 50 new radials and tried it out.
Well, what did I find? Honestly, at first it didn't blow me away. In fact, I wrote Tom several followup emails inquiring about not being able to "hear" as well as before. It was darn noisy. Tom recommended more radials, so I put even more. Over the next couple of weeks either the bands were lousy or something changed, because as of this week, I'm hearing a lot better and I'm working those that I do hear. My signal reports have dramatically improved and I'm working DX routinely. It's hard to get honest signal reports when the exchange only lasts a few seconds, but at least I'm working them, whereas before I didn't stand a chance.
So what do I think? Was it worth the cost (almost 4 times the cost of the 4BTV)? I guess the jury is still out. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I guess I thought I'd see a tremendous improvement, and I just haven't. Maybe the longer I use it, the more I'll start to appreciate it. It is definitely a nicely built antenna and it was much easier to put up, despite being twice as tall. Hopefully I'll see you on the bands.
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