Jerry’s Ham Radio Blog

Since becoming licensed in the Fall of 2007, I’ve participated in every ARRL Field Day event since becoming licensed (2008, 2009 and 2010) and can honestly say I’ve had fun each and every year.

Let me explain, my three field day weekends mention above are not my only field day weekends. As a child I attended at least one FD with my Uncle, K5SOR perhaps more…But one I remember really well.

Anyway, in 2008 I was honored to have the opportunity to spend my first field day as a licensed ham with my Uncle. He and I went down to his childhood home of Cleveland, Texas and participated with the SHARK (Sam Houston Amateur Radio Club). Many of my Uncles friends belong to this club and just about all have been licensed for over 50 years. The 2008 FD event with the SHARK club was a lot of fun. We operated as N5AF, a 1A station in STX.

Last year in 2009 I spent Field Day weekend with my local club here in Denver. We operated as W0TX, a 6A station in CO. We setup out near Hudson, CO at an old AT&T site. The site is literally in the middle of nowhere.   It was hot, it was dusty and dry.  The Rocky Mountains just west of Denver teased us with every glance.  But…it was fun. 

As I began thinking about what I wanted to do for Field Day 2010, the thought of a hot, dusty location just didn’t appeal to me.  After all, I live in one of the most beautiful states in the lower 48.  I kept thinking of all the advantages to having Field Day in the mountains.  First, the daytime temps could be anywhere from 10-20 degrees cooler than those down in the city.  Second, the elevation difference sure wouldn’t hurt from an operating position.  Third, the smell of pine is just incredible.  It was decided….my third Field Day….Field Day 2010 would be in the mountains. 

I discussed the idea with a few friends and back in the March/April timeframe all thought it was a great idea and everyone was in.  At that time there would be three operators.  Our number one goal was to have fun.  We weren’t out to win anything…just have fun and prove to ourselves we could pull something like this off.  We stayed in touch via email and every couple of weeks we would update logistics and add more to the overall planning checklist.  We would keep things simple and operate as a class 1 station.  The decision of power was yet to be determined.

As we got closer and closer to Field Day weekend, more and more issues began popping up for the three of us.  It was pretty clear we would only be able to operate on Saturday as we all started having scheduling issues with Sunday.  But that was OK.  We planned to operate for 6 hours or so and break down our operation and be back home before dark.  Remember, our number one goal was to have fun. 

Just a few days prior to Field Day I got the call.  One friend had to bail on the plans.  And then there were two.  But….no sooner as I even thought that….the second friend sent me an email saying he would be unavailable.  And then there was one…..ME!  Well I wasn’t going to let this ruin my plans and I wasn’t going to change my plans either.  I wanted to operate Field Day in the mountains….I wanted to have fun and I wanted to smell pine trees while doing all this. 

Now my wife is THE BEST wife a ham can have.  She supports me and my hobby and all that goes along with it.  She agreed to go with me.  Give her a picnic lunch, a comfy chair and a good book and she’s very happy.  We’ve gone on picnics before where I take my Yaesu FT-817 and Buddipole and she takes a book and we’re both happy doing what we enjoy for 2-3 hours.  I figured the same could be true for Field Day. 

All was set, the car was loaded and it was time to head up the hill.  We have a favorite little park just up from Evergreen, Colorado.  It’s a great site because there is almost no one there and it sits up overlooking the town of Evergreen.  We arrived just before 11 AM local time (1700 UTC) and I had an hour to get my station setup.  Field Day would start at High Noon. 

My wife the day before encouraged me to leave the generator at home and try operating “green” for field day.  Now understand, we’re not tree huggers or anything like that.  By the way….there is nothing wrong with being a tree hugger.  Yes we care about the environment and we do our part to make a difference.  I have batteries and I have solar panels.  What else do I need? 

So we arrived and I began setting up.  The forecast was calling for a beautiful day.  Of course, I checked the forecast the day before and didn’t bother checking again that morning.  Like other places….In Colorado, wait 5 minutes…the weather is sure to change and change it did.  We quickly had our meal just before noon and I was setup.  About 5 minutes before noon the clouds began to roll in.  Hmmmmm, solar panels not working.  No worries….this will blow over and as long as it doesn’t rain……

I managed to work about 5 stations and then I felt it.  Yep….one single, tiny little rain drop.  But you know….where there’s one.  Possibly the one piece of equipment I did not take with me (other than a portable sun) was a canopy.  So the rain drops turned from one to many and so the gear needed to be packed away.  Saint Maximilan Kolbe (the Patron Saint of ham radio operators) was truly looking out for me because no sooner did I close the back of the Ford Escape, the bottom fell out.  It rained and it rained some more.   Knowing the weather would not clear up for the next few hours, we decided to start heading back to Denver.  I finished out my Field Day fun for Saturday afternoon and even a few hours on Sunday morning from a local park with just my buddipole and my Yaesu FT-897. 

So….do I have a favorite Field Day weekend from the three?  Well…certainly nothing will ever top sharing field day with my Uncle.  But I still managed to have fun and as with the two years previous, I did learn a few things.  As for Field Day 2011, I’m not sure where or how it will turn out.  Field Day in the Rocky Mountains???  It will happen some day.

Until next time,

73 de KD0BIK

Jerry

Hello Everyone…

Yes, “operation ham shack” has been completed.  I’m not sure if I’ve really blogged much about this subject, but I have talked about it on my podcast from time to time.  What am I talking about when I say “operation ham shack”? 

The area that consists of my ham shack is a multi-purpose area in my basement.  In this relatively small space, I have my ham shack, my podcast studio and my home office.  All of this is area less than 6 x 10.  It is truly a small, cramped space that I have grown to hate.  I find it hard to get excited about spending any time in my shack. 

Now I know there are people less fortunate than I am.  I know I’m lucky in the fact that I have a lot of available space.  Part of the issue has been an on-going construction project I’ve been working on.  I started this project over 2 years ago and basically consists of finishing out a portion of my basement (approx. size is 24 x 80).  This area consists of a laundry room and the rest (approx. 24 x 24) was going to be turned into my hamshack, office and just general “man cave”.  I completed the framing in about 3-4 months and I’ve just stalled on doing the drywall.  The fault rests squarely on my shoulders.  Let me repeat….this is ALL MY FAULT!

I haven’t given up on the basement project.  Due to work schedule, my wife and I have decided to have the drywall and drywall finishing done by a contractor.  It’s not that I can’t do the drywall…it’s just the time it would take me versus the time it will take someone else (especially if they have a crew) will be so different.  As I’m sure you know, the drywall process (especially the finishing process) is incredibly messy.  The mess is unavoidable, but due to my available time to work on the project (weekends and evenings) the messy stage could take weeks, perhaps months.  A contractor will come in and do it and be done in a matter of days.   Anyway….the plan is to still have this done.  But we have a few other projects we want to have completed prior to this. 

So what am I doing?  50% of the basement is already finished as we had this done just after we purchased the house in 2004.  The size of this area is approx. 24 x 60 or so.  Most of this consists of storage and if I’m honest about it…it consists of un-organized storage.  The plan is to better organize the “junk” in this space and clear out an area to become the new ham shack. 

I was going to construct a desk/bench, but my wife had a much better idea and her idea saved me many hours of time.  She found on CraigsList someone who was selling two 8 foot folding plastic tables.  These tables retail for over $100 each at places like Costco and Sam’s Club.  Needless to say, I picked my two up for less than 50% of what new would have cost me.   Best of all, they are functional and saved me a lot of time.  I truly do have the best wife.  Thank you, Farah.

I setup the two tables in an “L” and positioned in the corner of the basement.  I was able to get my maps up on the wall and even framed some of the wallpaper I’ve collected over the past couple of years.  My operating position is in the corner of the “L” and within easy reach I have my pride and joy, HF rig the Yaesu FT-950.  This rig is truly amazing.  I’ve worked DX with this radio that I know I would have never been able to work with my FT-897.  But the FT-897 is not collecting dust.  It’s dedicated to the digital modes like PSK31 and RTTY.   While I don’t operate the two rigs simultaneous, it does come in handy to have them separated.   I can have the FT-897 running WSPR on the 6BTV vertical and listen to 20m on the FT-950 from the hamstick dipole.  

In addition to this space serving as my ham shack, it also provides a dedicated space for my podcast recording equipment.  I wanted to have an area free of clutter to setup my audio mixer and Heil PR40 microphone.   This area is perfect for this setup.  I can record an episode of The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast and then swing right over to my computer to edit and upload to the web.  If you haven’t had a chance to listen to my podcast, please check it out.  You may download The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast through iTunes or listen direct from the podcast website by visiting MyAmateurRadio.com. 

Finally, this space also serves as my home office setup.  I work from home a few times per month.  This new area allows me plenty of space to setup my laptop.  I have a land-line telephone and can also direct connect to my home network when I want to use our VoIP based telephone system at work. 

While a ham shack is anywhere you have a spot to setup a ham radio, do yourself a favor and pick an area where you have plenty of room and can spread out.  You’ll enjoy it…I promise.

Until next time,

Jerry

Over the past couple of days I’ve been sick with a cold or flu.  I’m still not 100%.  But it all started last weekend when I was cleaning up the shack to get it ready for the shack makeover project.  At first I thought it was just allergies flaring up.  Colorado is an extremely dry climate and I do suffer from seasonal allergies.  These allergies are kept in check in the Spring, Summer and Fall by medication and I’m typically able to drop the meds in the winter months pending we have adequate snow fall to keep the outside dust conditions in check. 

But since it doesn’t snow in the house (specifically the basement), and I had been crawling around on my hands and knees under my desks, I thought the sneezing and scratchy throat was just a dust bunnies revenge.  I was wrong…or at least partially wrong.  On Sunday I began feeling worn down and woke up on Monday morning with a sore throat and just generally feeling like I had been hit by a train.

I spent most of Monday and all day Tuesday in bed.  Yesterday (Wednesday) I did manage to work a full day from home and today I’m in the office for at least a half day.   Enough about that.  I don’t want this blog post to sound like some of the HF conversations taking place on 75 and 80 meters. 

I did manage to complete the shack move on schedule.  All the rigs have power and are connected to their appropriate antennas.  I will get all the details posted along with pictures of the new shack in the next few days.   I truly love this new shack layout and best of all it really works. 

What do I mean by “best of all it really works”?  Well…I’m not sure I can explain it.  Yes, the other shack layout worked.  Nothing has changed with regards to the radios or the antennas.  But I have more room and the layout is much, much nicer to work with.  I have my Yaesu FT-950 front and center and the FT-897 (which runs digital modes mainly) is also easy to access.  I have more than enough room for a notepad and am finally getting around to hanging up the little bit of wallpaper I’ve collected over the past couple of years.

Again…it’s hard to explain, but I just truly love this new setup.  My main goal will be to keep it operational and not cluttered.  In this same area is my podcast studio and a work area for my home office.  I also have ample room for bench projects.  It’s awesome and I’ll get photos posted soon.

The new setup has already paid off in the form of two DX contacts on the 15 meter band.  While I knew about the 15 meter band, I had really not paid much attention to it until just recently.  Over the past couple of weeks I’ve seen tweets on Twitter talking about various 15m band openings.  Since my Hustler 6BTV provides 15m coverage, I decided to tune around the band some on Sunday morning and boy am I glad I did.  Within just a few minutes I heard an Italian station calling CQ and within 5 minutes I was exchanging signal reports and getting him into my log.   15 meter once again paid off with a DX entry in my log book last night.  I was wrapping up my work day (worked from home) and decided to tune around 15m to see if I could catch some grey line activity.  Watching the DX spotting data in Ham Radio Deluxe I could see information being submitted by US amateurs who were hearing and working several Japanese amateurs on 15 meters.  As the grey line approached my QTH, the signals from the JA’s were becoming stronger and stronger.    I picked the strongest signal which happened to be JR3NZC.  Within 15 minutes or so I had him in my log for a second time (worked him last year on PSK31). 

If you haven’t checked out the 15 meter band (21MHz) lately, you should.  There could be some DX waiting for you out there.

Until next time,

73,

Jerry