Fun on the bands

As the propagation index continues to tease us, I've recently been noticing more paths opening for longer periods of time. In the past week after I've been getting home from work around 6pm Eastern time, I've heard some really good openings on 17 meters into the Far East and parts of Asia that I'm not accustomed to hearing at all. I worked JT5DX the other day and he was an honest S8-S9, banging the S-meter. Then a day or so later I heard XW1B from Laos build until he was an easy copy, maybe S5-S6. I didn't make the contact, but that was encouraging. Then, finally, I nabbed him over the weekend. Took a few attempts, but he finally got the call correct and I quickly entered him in the log.

Now, I realize, if you've got a 80 foot tower and a monster beam, those may be regular happenings. But for a hexbeam about 35 feet up, located down in a hole to begin with, that's reason to celebrate!

I worked JT5DX in mid-June on 20 meters. Or so I thought. It was one of those "iffy" contacts. He came back, but had my call wrong initially. I sent a couple of corrections and he returned with a "R 5NN TU" and moved on. So I was left wondering, "Did I or didn't I?". The timing was right. Turns out, I did. Sometimes when I have those iffy contacts, I won't even log them because I'm not 100% sure. But for some reason I went ahead that time, then uploaded to LOTW. The next day I'm sure I let out a little yelp because there was my confirmation. Nice.

Speaking of which, I've noticed several stations that I've had in the log for quite a while uploading to LOTW recently and receiving their confirmations. More and more using it, that's a good thing. I know the subject of LOTW can be somewhat polarizing, but it works well for me.

I'm also starting to make more use of the DSP on the K2. For the longest time I shied away from it. I preferred the crystal filters. I kept fiddling with it, changing the settings on the beta and decay. What I needed to do was set them where it sounds comfortable and then just use the darn thing. And not be afraid to twist the main tuning knob a tad. Now, finally, I'm starting to see where it really can help.

On a sidenote, have any of you ever wondered what it takes to get a license in a certain South American country that begins with "V" and ends in "A" and sounds like a pitcher's name that played for the Dodgers in the 80's? I run across more stations from there that really seem to have no clue on how to participate in a pileup. I'm sure there's plenty of fine hams from there, too, but for some reason I encounter a lot who seem to create more QRM than anything.

For all you K3 owners

Here's a question for all you lucky K3 owners. Given my financial situation right now - a daughter in high school, needs braces, two cars that need to be replaced soon, she'll need a car next year, a deck on the house that's about to fall down from rot, a yard that becomes a mudslide whenever it rains, and so on, my wife would pack up and hit the road if she heard me mention buying a new radio. Furthermore, she'd probably hit me over the head 4 or 5 times with a frying pan before slamming the door.

And I'd deserve it. That'd be irresponsible and us hams NEVER do anything irresponsible, right? OK, I'm exaggerating a little, I'm not in dire financial straits. If I was, I wouldn't even be concocting this hair-brained plan. Nevertheless, running out and buying a K3 is out of the question.

Or is it?

I've got two main radios that I currently use. I'm not set up as SO2R, but I can switch between the two rigs in seconds. One is an Elecraft K2 with about every option for HF they offer - 100 watt amp, 100 watt antenna tuner, SSB, Noise Blanker, 160m option, DSP, etc. I have the QRP top and tuner too. I've also got a Yaesu FT-1000MP with the TXCO option, 250 Hz Inrad CW filter, and it is in immaculate shape - not a scratch and works flawlessly. I've also got a Yaesu FT-857D that's been used about 100 hours, 500 Hz CW filter, pretty much like new. An impulse purchase when I had great aspirations of operating remotely. Never happened and isn't going to, at least not in the near future.

You know where I'm headed.

WHAT IF...

What if I sold all three of those radios, combined the take and put it towards a K3? The way I figure it, I just might have enough to get the K3 in kit...er..."assembly" form, with the 100 watt option, antenna tuner, and the second receiver. If not, I think I'd be pretty darn close. Close enough that I might just have to weather a lump or two on the head. An even Steven trade, in other words.

Now, for you K3 owners, some of you I know have moved up from K2's and 1000MP's (and other fine radios)...would it be worth it? Am I really going to be moving up enough to justify parting with both of those fine radios, or am really splitting hairs? If you've not followed my blog, I'm about 95% CW, 4% SSB, and 1% digital. I don't anticipate that changing either. I do some light contesting but my primary focus is CW DXing. Is the performance gain in "real world" usage going to justify that type of consideration? I don't need to know numbers and specs, I've read them, compared them, and I probably wouldn't understand them anymore than I already do. But I understand enough to know that the K3 blends a lot of features from both of those radios together and provides what I've perceived to be significant improvement at the same time. I'm sure that could apply to other combinations of radios too. Am I wrong about those real world gains?

So, I guess rather than a pro's and con's, if YOU had to do it over, or you were in my shoes (and it wouldn't impact your family's well-being and no knots on your head from frying pans), would you go for it?

The End

I have decided to pull the plug on my blog. The last posting that I made was nothing more than a bitchfest about poor customer service. The fact is, it has little to do with ham radio and when I started this blog, one of my goals was to stay on track and not let it turn into a diary of sorts or stray too far from important topics. Not become too personal, in other words. I think I was mostly failing.

I've not updated much this summer, I have always subscribed to the notion that it's better to say nothing than to write about something where it really shows that you're straining to come up with something. The weather and how hot or rainy it is, how many DX stations you've worked, your latest contest efforts, all of that is nice for a while, but it grows old. And that's the road I was headed down.

Plus, I've seen my blog disappearing from some of the blogrolls of people that I really respected and enjoyed reading. I figure if they don't enjoy reading my blog anymore to the point that they're going to remove it from their recommended list, then it's probably time to toss the towel in. I'm obviously not cutting it anymore.

Whether I leave it up or not, I've not decided. Probably not, not much point in it. I don't think there's much that would qualify as being important from a technical standpoint, it's mostly just my ramblings.

And that's where I hoped that I would be able to have enough to keep some interest, in my ramblings. But I just don't have that kind of gift, I'm not a good enough writer.

Thanks to everyone who made a comment. I can shut 'er down knowing that no one ever sent me an ugly comment and many of you that I've corresponded with I consider to be my friends. My "email friends" at least. Hopefully one day we can have an eyeball QSO too.

73 Ed

Listen to your internal voice

Some companies are just lousy at what they do. And while I don't put much faith in reviews at Eham - at least not until they demonstrate some legitimacy and remove reviews where the writer openly reveals that they've evaluated some piece of equipment for just one weekend - take a close look at some of the major ham manufacturers and tell me which one ends up with the worst reviews. It won't be hard.

It is a manufacturer that is routinely bashed and has earned a very unflattering nickname from its initials. You know who I'm talking about.

Take a look at their product line. Have you ever seen a more wasteful lineup? 75 different iterations of the same thing. Model 999A has an SWR meter 1-inch wide. Model 999B has an SWR meter 1-1/2 inches wide. Model 999C has an SWR meter 2 inches wide. All the way through model 999Z, which has an SWR meter 3 feet wide. It's idiotic.

Well, today they took it to a new level, at least for me. Not only are they manufacturing a bunch of cheap crap, but they're employing workers who make the sloth-like customer service at the US Post Office look like Jiffy Lube on meth.

For a couple of years I used an LDG antenna switcher. It was inexpensive, it worked, it interfaced via serial connection with my logging program. It was slick. I use the word 'was' because I was stupid enough to leave it connected during a freak lightning storm earlier this year and it got zapped. Dead. Worse, LDG no longer manufactures this model. I don't know why, but they don't. I didn't see a single one at the massive Shelby hamfest today, which must mean that folks are either holding on to them or they only manufactured three.

So, off I trek to Shelby...er...Dallas in search of a remote antenna switcher. I had done some research beforehand. I could spend gobs of money on a unit from DXEngineering that I had confidence in, but didn't figure would be at the hamfest. I was right. I could spend quite a bit less money on one from Array Solutions, but they wouldn't be there either. Or I could spend even less on one from Ameritron, which just happens to be part of the previously referenced but unmentioned company earlier.

So I arrive at their booth, which had no customers when I arrived and took a look at the offerings. I knew I either wanted the RCS-4L or the RCS-8L. The individual manning the booth saw me but made no effort to greet me or offer to assist. So finally I approached him and asked if he could help give me some information. Perhaps he was disappointed that I wasn't looking at an amplifier, but I asked him the difference between the two units. His reply? (Pointing) "This is the RCS-4 and this is the RCS-8."

That's it?

So I asked again, what's the difference? One has 4 inputs the other 5, I was told. Oooooookay...anything else? A little irritated, he asked, "What are you using it for?" What the hell? To switch antennas, you numbskull. But I politely explained that I had 3 HF antennas that I wanted to have a remote switch for. "OK, either will work."

Dumbfounded, I asked about the control method. "Doesn't one use a control cable and the other use the coax?" Without saying which one he says, "Any 5 conductor cable."

"Which one?"

"This one."

"What about lightning protection?"

"Yes."

"What is the lightning protection?"

"They both have lightning protection."

I gave up. I stepped back. While I did, another man came to the booth and asked some questions about an amplifier. I figured I'd done enough research on my own, so I decided to take the plunge. "OK, I'll take the RCS-8L."

Instead of going to get it, he turns around, grabs a stack of catalogs and begins fanning them out on the table. Checks his cell phone. Then finally goes and starts to sift through two or three large cardboard boxes.

Now, surely you've read about the poor solder joints of most of their products. Let me tell you so you'll know how it happens. As he took boxes out to read their descriptions, he tossed them onto a table. Not gently, mind you, he literally tossed them. After halfway rummaging through 2 boxes he walked back over and handed me an RCS-8. Not the RCS-8L. I took a look and said, "Does this have lightning protection?"

"No."

I handed it back to him. He put it back in the box but didn't look anymore. The third cardboard box was not searched.

He didn't even bother to come back over to me.

As I stood there like an idiot, contemplating whether to suggest he look in the third box while I squeezed my hands around his neck, my internal voice spoke up.

"Let's go."
"Why? I need this."
"No you don't. You're going to buy this, get it home, and something will be wrong with it. You know that."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
"Let's go."

Listen to your internal voice and don't buy crap.