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-Updated 10/27/08-
Station equipment photos (not current layout) found on homepage:
http://kc8vwm.qsl.nu/
Thank you for the many contacts during the 2008 CQWWSSB Contest!
- Pse QSL direct. I QSL 100% -
Current station equipment used during this years contest:
Yeasu FT 847. 100 watts max TX. - No amplifier.-
HF Contest Antenna Used:
Homebrew 135' OCF dipole made from #12 AWG stranded electrical wire. Elevated
33' at the apex and fed with a 4:1 WA2U balun. Ends attached to trees from
ceramic insulators using ordinary polyester rope and antenna ends are elevated
approx. 27 feet above the ground. Antenna connected to hamfest special 9913
feedline. A random length reflector wire (larger than the OCF antenna itself -
not critical) was placed on the ground directly below the antenna. Total
investment involved with parts and construction of this antenna is approx.
$45.00 Homebrew OCF antenna operates from 160-6 meters with a Ten Tec tuner.
Featured locations logged (not a list of all countries worked) using this
homebrew OCF antenna from my location in zone #4:
Virgin Islands, UK, Ireland, Morroco, Argentina, Spain, Russia, Australia,North
Pole - Alaska (NL7V) and contacts were made in Japan (JA3YBK, JR7WAB and
JH4UYB)
Try building an OCF or Windom antenna design yourself... You will not be a big
gun, yagi beam contester, but you will not be dissapointed either. You will
definetly work some serious DX with this antenna design!
My OCF was purely constructed and based on this diagram:
http://www.packetradio.com/images/80-10windom.gif
(A common mistake when building this antenna design is fussing over the VSWR
readings too much. Some seem to forget this design was never intended to
exhibit a picture perfect VSWR when it was originally developed in the days of
tube transmitters and lightbulb watt meters. After studying some older ham
related publications, it was universally understood in those days that anyone
using a 200 watt transmitter in combination with the orginal Windom antenna
design was often considered to be using a high powered station!
Just use the dimensions outlined in the diagram, simply throw it up in the
clear at exactly 33' above the ground (newer research suggests placing this
antenna higher is not always better) and use a tuner on your modern solid state
rig. Oh yes..., above all, enjoy working the DX!)
Other station information:
Current VHF Antenna System:
ON6MU 2 meter homebrew yagi located at 43' fed with LMR 400.
My homebrew 2m yagi is featured with contruction photos here:
http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/schemas/yagi_vhf_antenna.htm
UHF Side of Things:
2 x 11 element stacked UHF yagi's (originally intended for working EME, the
birds and ATV operation.) Homebrew ATV tranmitter - Max TX 25 watts.
About me: (KC8VWM)
SWL since 1974. Many years before becoming a licensed ham. Used to enjoy
listening to a 1940's dusty Stromberg Carlson floor model SW reciever (Model SW
55 - The one with the green colored magic tuning eye located in the center,
just above the main tuning dial.) It all started when the "junk
radio" my parents threw out in the garage became my source of interest on
many evenings. I went outside into the garage, plugged it in and listened to
the world when I was a youngster. (The garage became my hamshack and I didn't
know it yet?)
During my SWL activities, I eventually became interested in the diffferent
sounds I was hearing coming from around the world and learned CW out of sheer
curiosity and necessity. I never actually tested. As a young SWL I wanted to
"get in on the action" and had come up with this idea to proudly
build my own CW transmitter! I started by fabricating a square wooden block and
attached a very upscale and stylish looking metal spoon straight key. (Spoon
taken from the kitchen drawer without my parents consent of course....)
The entire -ahem- "CW transmitter" I was constructing to communicate
around the globe and beyond! :-) was fashioned using an ordinary door buzzer
connected to a chunky 6 volt electric fence "dry cell" battery. I
recall the battery had a strange graphic of an electrocuted stray cat on the
side of it, so naturally I was thinking it must be a very powerful battery to
suit my global communication needs! (In addition, I am now suspecting animal
activist groups probobly didn't exist back in '74 either. :-)
Seems the parents didn't share the same enthusiasm as I did when I completed my
new "project." They reported it did something to the TV set inside
the house when they were watching Adam -12, Kojak and Ironside.
When I am using a straight key these days (less the original door buzzer) I am
found operating on the lower ends of 2, 6 and 40m.
I also enjoy exploring EME, ATV, satellite and QRP communications.
QRP Equipment:
Solar powered FT-817 & homebrew portable multiband antenna system. HF invertedV
(Adjustable on a roll up reel from 6 - 80m), fold up portable 5 el. VHF 2m
yagi. Antennas are placed on a 20' telescopic pole. (Collapsing painters
extension pole in a lighweight folding tripod arrangement.)
QRP "Deep In the Trenches" War Story:
- During this years 2008 CQWWSSB contest I decided to throw up this solar
powered Yeasu FT 817 QRP setup described above in the outdoors and put it to a
live "test." About 10 minutes later, and after tweaking the solar
panel at just the right angle directed toward the sun, I started tuning the
dial around on 20 meters and heard a few 20+ db stations calling "CQ
Contest." I had very little difficulty returning a call and getting a
reply. One QRP contact was PJ2T located in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles and
the other was XE1CWJ in Mexico. Basically, these QRP contacts were accomplished
in approx. 3 calls, and contacts made under 5 minutes apart using only 5 watts
on 20 m SSB phone! So yes, this little demonstation once again proves that:
A: I don't need a block of wood, kitchen spoon and electric fence battery
connected to a doorbuzzer to make worldide contacts as I previously thought
back in 1974... :)
B: That it's entirely possible to make international contacts using a minimal
station setup at QRP power levels.
All this can be accomplished by anyone regardless if sunspot activity levels
are at it's lowest peak minimum seen in many years, big gun pileups occuring
everywhere during a world wide DX contest and when there is a bee hive of
adjacent QRN and competition occuring everywhere on the bands. It's funny how
the moment you start thinking you are up against all possible odds, that you
somehow manage to slice your way through it all, making successful
international DX contacts on SSB phone, using QRP!
...So, if "I" can somehow manage to overcome all these overwhelming
set of obstacles and circumstances when using a flea powered station, anyone
else can too, ...including you!
QRP International: http://www.qrparci.org/
Other Personal Oddities: (Only A Fellow Ham Could Possibly Understand...)
I collect and restore vintage military boatanchor equipment.
Recent heavy metal projects include:
BC 348Q, R, and P. EAC R 390a, R 1051, (not the "B" version)
Hammarlund HQ 170A(...Yes the analog clock actually still works!)
Working on:
T-827D military transmitter.
(Exact match for the R 1051 reciever) Intention is to set it up and use it
alongside the R-1051 reciever as a CW and/or AM station.
73 de Charles KC8VWM
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