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Every Monday Evening at 8pm Eastern Time, the W3GMS/R Crew get together on the repeater at 146.985Mhz and discuss technical questions and sometimes do lessons related to Ham Radio for newer Operators to learn from experienced Elmers. The Workbench was set up to be a safe place for any technical questions to get asked and good answers to be given.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening. Welcome to the 985 Workbench. I'm Ron. My call is WA3VEE, and I'll be your host for this edition of the 985 Workbench.
I'm located in Westchester, Pennsylvania. We meet every Monday night at 8 p.m. on the W3GMS Parksburg Repeater, 146.985 MHz. The PL tone to access the repeater is 100 Hz. For those who use tone squelch on receive, the repeater transmits a squelch tone of 94.8. Newcomers are very, very welcome.
We encourage all stations, however, to check in. Take a look at the repeater website located at www.w3gmsrepeater.com. It has lots of information including technical articles, pictures of 985 users in action, our events, photographs, and repeater etiquette and history.
Please be aware that on occasion, the repeater experiences intermod interference. Please run maximum power or be prepared to check in digitally through Echolink or AllStar. We want to hear you.
To be able to use Echolink and All Star on 985, you need to register with us.
Directions for doing so can be found on the website w3gmsrepeater.com.
Also, when your mod is present before starting a transmission, give a short call to me.
Hey, am I getting in okay?
Once the host, me, confirms that, then you can share your longer comments.
Here on the workbench, we focus on answering general questions of radio theory and operation.
Additionally, we invite each station to briefly comment on your amateur radio activity in the past week.
When checking in, please indicate if you have a question for the workbench.
If you don't have a question, still check in.
After all stations have checked in, we will first share what we've done this past week using a roundtable format.
Please write down the call of the station that checks in right after you.
Again, please write down the call of the station that checks in right after you.
When you have finished your comments, turn the mic over to that station.
Once we have made all of our comments, we will start the question and answer portion of the workbench,
and that portion is operated as a directed net.
I will call on a station that indicated that they have a question, then for stations who wish to respond to that question.
Wait to be recognized by net control before beginning a transmission.
It helps us to keep things under control and answer the questions efficiently and keep the net running smoothly.
Sometimes, however, it helps for two stations to pass the mic back and forth to help clarify a situation and pass information.
Feel free to do that as needed, then pass the mic back to net control.
Okay, some housekeeping before we get started.
Don't be too quick to talk.
Pause a couple seconds before hitting the press-to-talk switch.
This is good repeater etiquette, and the pauses are especially helpful to those on All Star and Echo Link.
When you do click the push-to-talk button, wait a second before starting to talk.
We don't want to miss what you have to say first.
It takes a moment for the repeater to process your PL tone.
Also, the repeater has a three-minute timer.
If you talk for more than three minutes without letting up on your mic button, the repeater completely shuts down until you release your push-to-talk button.
So if you're on RF, every two to three minutes, release the mic button just like this for a moment, and then you can continue.
There's no need to let the repeater carrier drop.
Before we begin, I want to say thanks to all of my fellow Workbench hosts.
They're the ones who make this happen, and for Jim AF3Z for herding all of us host cats together.
If you may be interested in hosting the Workbench, please contact Jim AF3Z or any one of us, and we will certainly help you get started.
Lastly, please join us this Thursday at 8 p.m. for the 985 Roundtable.
Before we start the check-in process, what I wanted to do is make a couple announcements here.
This is from our Winter Field Day Chair, Keith, KB3 ILS.
Winter Field Day is less than two weeks away.
People are still welcome to join us, and that includes active 985ers, those who have been inactive and want to become active again,
and most especially brand-new hams who have been licensed within the last year.
Please join us.
It is a lot of fun.
There will be heat up there.
Don't worry.
You know, we'll be trudging through the snow.
Joe, W3GMS, will be trudging through the snow.
The rest of us will be in heat.
Okay.
We are actively planning, and we'll have something to help people who are new or inexperienced in a particular mode,
including a demo of single sideband and CW operating for Field Day in the afternoon.
We'll be partnering people together to log and operate as a team.
It's a great way to get experience and also enjoy the event.
We may even see if we can get an evening demo of straight key mastery from Joe, W3GMS, on 80 meters on Saturday evening.
The dipole team did a great job of getting the lines and pulleys up, and all survived despite risking life and limb and tripping and all kinds of stuff, losing balance.
That's me and everybody else.
We will be meeting at the Field Day site on Saturday at 10 a.m. to install and test dipoles and the beams and to cut coax.
The more help, the better.
Many hands make light work, so please join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. up at the Field Day site.
At 964 Pottstown Pike, Chester Springs, 19425.
And finally, the next Field Day planning meeting is set for Wednesday, January 21st.
Zoom info and other details will be coming from Keith.
And again, Chuck, if I forgot anything, let me know, and I'll certainly welcome your input there for sure.
So begin.
What we're going to do is we're going to begin the check-in process here, and I'm going to start with digital stations.
Digital stations using Echo Link or All Star only.
This is WA3VE.
This is the 985 Workbench.
Digital stations only.
Please call now.
This is W1RC in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with no questions.
Good evening, Ron.
Whiskey 8, Charlie Romeo Whiskey.
No questions.
K3EMI.
K3EMI.
No questions.
K3EMI.
Randy, no questions.
K3EMI.
Randy, no questions.
K3EMI.
No questions.
K3EMI.
No questions.
K3EMI.
Very good. We'll stop there and we'll take RF check-ins. RF check-ins now for the 985 workbench. This is WA3VEE.
Kilo 9, Charlie, November, Chris in Eugene, Oregon, K9CAN.
K3SEY. Sorry about that, Ron. I'm on all ref. No questions.
Error here. K3EMI. Randy, no questions. NA3CW, no questions. KC300K, no questions.
W3KZG, no questions. W3QP, no questions.
FOXTRUT3ZU, no questions.
KC3SQI, no questions.
KC3SQI, no questions.
I'm going to turn it over to WHCRW, KD3EE, KC3EMI, I'm going to keep the same order, by the way, that's fine.
KC3SCY, I'll keep you in that same order again, Luke, that's no problem.
K9CAN in Eugene, Oregon, welcome.
What's the name there, by the way?
Yeah, thank you.
Sorry I didn't catch on to the format until later.
The name is Chris, Kilo Romeo India Sierra, and no questions so far.
Back to Nick.
Chris, welcome to the 985 repair.
I don't think we've had you join us before.
Maybe so, but I may have missed it.
But glad to have you on board.
Very warm welcome to you from Eugene, Oregon.
Warm spot in my heart, by the way, for Eugene, Corvallis.
I used to work for HP, so I know there's big stuff in Corvallis.
Okay.
NA3CW, KC3OOK, W3KZG, W3QP.
Tim, good to hear you tonight.
AF3Z and KC3SQI.
One more call before we go through the list again and get started.
This is WA3VEE.
Last call for check-ins, either digital or RF.
Please call now.
KC3SWC, listening on the side, mobile.
KC3NZT also on the side.
We added KC3SWC, Charles and Harvey, KC3NZT.
Very good to have you guys on board tonight.
All right.
Very, very good.
Here's the list.
And listening on the side.
KC3SWC, KC3NZT, and this is WA3VEE, and I actually have a question.
So, any corrections before we get started with our roundtable portion?
W3MFB, my second.
Mike, I got you.
There was a double with Mike.
Other station besides W3MFB.
Who was the double?
I'm seeing double.
AF3Z, I have a possible question slash discussion question if you need one relative to winter field day.
There's always one in the bunch.
Great to have you on board tonight, Jim.
Very good.
Well, I will entertain that, that's for sure.
And I wrote it down on my paper, but I wrote it lightly.
Since it's a question, discussion.
Very good.
Excellent.
Okay.
One last time with the list, so everybody knows who to turn the mic over to.
And then we'll get started.
W1RC, W8CRW, KD3EE, KC3EMI, KC3SCY, K9CAN Slant 7, NA3CW, KC3OOK, W3KZG, W3QP, AF3Z, KC3SQI, KC3SWC, on the side.
KC3NZT on the side.
KC3NZT on the side.
W3NFB.
So, Mr. Mike.
A minute to explain what you did in ham radio in the past week, and you turn it over to CR.
W1RC to start us off.
W1RC to start us off.
W-A3 VEE with the 985 workbench.
Yeah, W-A3 VEE and the workbench.
This is W1RC in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Now, what did I do this week in amateur radio?
Well, I did a little bit.
I've been snooping around trying to find a two-meter transverter for my Alicraft K3S that I picked up back in November.
And I found one, and good price, very good price.
Just looking at what I have to do to get it installed.
You know, it's very high-tech radio, and I'm a very low-tech guy.
But it looks like we'll probably get it done.
Also, I was able to get my Yaesu System Fusion working, checked into a net.
I don't particularly like the audio on it, but I'm just sort of playing around with it and seeing what it does.
And that's it, really.
Not a heck of a lot.
I'll turn it over to CR, who's probably done a lot more than I did this week.
Go ahead, CR.
This is W1RC.
I'll be standing by.
I've got stuff I'm doing here.
But I'll be listening so you guys don't talk about me, okay?
Very good, Mr. Mike.
I don't think I'm doing a whole lot.
Thank you, Ron, for taking the chair.
This week in ham radio, the highlight was helping Chuck and George up at the field day site last Thursday.
And the other regular 985 and other nets in the area.
With that, let's go to John.
KD3EE, WHCRW.
Thanks, CR.
WHCRW.
This is KD3EE.
John in Landisville.
The past week I was looking at QRZ and looking over the awards because I hadn't looked at them for a little bit.
And I found that the RIDI Roundup got me the last, got me Oregon, which was the last state I was waiting for to get the 50 states there again for this new call sign.
I had done it once with my old call sign, and now I did it again with the new one.
I strung up the 80-meter NFED half wave within the past couple weeks to replace the random wire.
SWR was running a little high.
I figured maybe it was just not quite tuned right.
But I was messing around with the counterpoise and found if I removed it, it got a lot better.
So now it's lining up pretty much everywhere for me.
So that's been nice, and I hit the tuner for, like, the weird ones, like 60 meters.
Let's see.
KC3EMI is next up.
This is KD3EE.
Correctional call.
It's K3EMI.
Kilo 3.
Echo mic, India.
We had a whole lot of KC calls in there tonight, so I understand Ron throwing another letter in.
No worries.
What's the next activity this past week?
Well, here in southeastern Pennsylvania, as some of us know, the weather was spectacular for a couple of days,
and so I decided it was time to go climb the roof, and finally got up a fixed two-meter, well, actually a tri-band antenna,
and pulled an off-center multi-band dipole.
Got out my Davis, I think it's the DRF 400 coax, and found out just how stiff that stuff is, especially when it's a little bit cold.
Tried to warm it up, but really didn't soften up much.
So I think I need to find some softer cable to hang on the dipole coming down out of the balance.
So other than that, you know, just enjoying January weather before it gets cold again.
So did manage to get it all in and get two antennas up and get the coax down into the house,
and that's what I'm on tonight.
So that's why I'm here on the workbench for the first time since I've gotten back on the air.
So let's see, I have to hand it off to KC3SCY.
KC3SCY.
Well, Ron, thanks for hosting the net tonight.
This week in ham radio, I haven't been super busy besides four.
We got the riser me and Joe have been working on for probably eight or nine months.
It's all set up here, and it's working great.
And it looks really good, too.
So I'm very happy that that's all done, and it's all set up here.
So I set some of my equipment up on it, and once we finish restoring some of my other stuff, I'll put it on there.
I've been working on building a transmitter and power supply, which is coming close to the end.
I finished all the staining, and that's for the power supply, and I've basically finished the transmitter, so that's good.
And I've been doing a little bit of CW here, and excited for Winter Field Day coming up in two weekends.
So over to Chris up in Oregon, K9, I think C-A-R.
I can't read my handwriting.
Over to you.
Yeah, thanks again.
First time I've joined up on that.
So sorry I didn't catch who the operator was after me, but I'll definitely know for next time.
I love the format.
Yeah, the name is Chris Kilo Romeo, India Sierra, up here in Oregon.
Eugene, yeah, getting ready for Winter Field Day?
We're hosting a site up here at Mountain up near Newburgh, Oregon.
We've got about 20 people so far that are, you know, in it to win it with us.
And so, yeah, so I'm actually, this week or last week, what have I done?
So I'm actually working on kind of a new antenna project.
Now you've got all these antennas which are multi-band.
They all operate on the multi-bands, if you will, right?
Whether they're best suited for each band.
So I'm actually working on kind of a modular antenna, kind of playing around with some different ideas.
So I picked up a 3D printer so that I could print my own parts for this kind of modular antenna project that I'm working on.
And printing some pieces for the doublets.
A couple people wanted to work with some doublet setups for Winter Field Day.
So printing off some pieces for that for each one of us.
And that's about it.
That's kind of taken up the week there so far.
Yeah, great night.
Looking forward to what everybody is doing.
Hope everybody has a fantastic start to their new year.
And again, sorry, I didn't catch the next station.
This is Kilo 9, Charlie, Alpha, November.
I'm turning back to Ned.
Very good, Chris.
Excellent.
Thanks again for coming on board with us.
Again, welcome for sure.
And the next station is NA3CW.
Chuck, go ahead.
It's all yours.
Thanks, Ron.
And my welcome as well to Chris.
And yeah, not often we hear from the other side of the country on two meters.
So glad you could make it on and be with us.
So as has been said, we had a work session Thursday up on the Field Day site.
And we spent from, well, most of us got there at 9.30.
We probably got down to real work at 10.
And we were there until almost dark, getting ropes and pulleys up in the trees.
And so we succeeded in doing that just.
And so the next step will be getting dipoles up and getting them trimmed and getting the beams serviced and getting coax cut.
Once the coax is cut up in various lengths, then Scott and I will split the job of putting connectors on them.
So we're looking forward to a good day Saturday.
It's going to be cold, but apparently dry.
So we'll take it.
Any other story in action news?
The tuner project I've been working on forever and ever for Joe.
It's coming live.
I hooked it all up.
Somebody keeps banging me.
I hooked it all up today.
And the stepper motors work correctly in the one direction, but they chatter and get unhappy in the reverse direction.
Which probably means I have a timing issue on some pulse strain.
So I've got to take some quality time with the scope and figure that one out.
But otherwise, it came up wanting to work.
The feedback pots read back to the panel meter is just fine.
And forward motion is fine.
Just got to fix that reverse motion.
So we're getting close.
It's probably something dumb, some signal inversion somewhere.
So enough of that and over to Mr. Bill, KC3OOK, NA3CW.
NA3CW, KC3OOK.
Well, Chuck, congratulations on that.
That is a major step.
A lot of projects coming to fruition.
And it's good to hear Chris on here tonight as well.
Welcome.
As well as everyone else.
Not too much for me this week.
Pretty much the same old, same old.
I did the SimplexNet Saturday night.
I was Central Control Sunday night.
For the WelfareNet, I was Net Control.
Other than that, I haven't been on the radio that much.
So that's about it here.
So I'll turn it over to Scott.
W3-KZG.
KC3OOK.
Thanks, Bill.
Thanks, Bill.
W3-KZG.
My week at ham radio has...
This past weekend, I was just working in the ham shack, still trying to get organized.
I was doing some repairs and upgrades to an old 10-meter export rake that I had that I want to keep.
But it needed some updated, so I put a...
Updated the power supply with a Hewlett-Packard server supply.
So it has plenty of amperage.
And they're cheap enough.
And when you modify them for higher voltage, they really put out some power.
And way quieter than the power supply that was in it, RF-wise.
Or noise-wise, I should say.
What else have I done?
Oh, tonight I backed the trailer that I'm going to use for field day into the garage.
Because I need to do a few things to the inside to get it prepped.
And I figured it would be nicer to work in the garage with the heat.
So I backed it in there tonight.
And I had to do some jogging around with some vehicles.
But that's pretty much all I did.
I just backed it in.
Got the door shut.
Said I'll continue tomorrow.
Ron, I did not write down who comes after me.
I was on the other side of the room doing something when the list went down.
So I'm very sorry.
So if you would please pass it to the next person.
It would be much appreciated.
This is W3KZG.
I knew that, Scott, but you owe me a ribeye steak dinner at the next Texas Roadhouse.
Glad to have you on.
Great to have you on board, Scott.
Absolutely.
And no problem in the least.
Tim, great to have you on board.
Take it away.
This is WA3VEE with the 985 Workbench.
WA3VEE and the Workbench.
This is W3QP.
I have really not done much with radio the last month between the holidays and working on Jeeps.
And work's been silly.
And, yeah, just really haven't done that much.
I do have a couple of summits on the air trips coming up.
I've got one planned for February, and work is sending me out to Vegas.
And so I am going to sneak away from the conference for a few days and go do some summits out there.
So I'm excited about both of those.
That is all for me.
Over to AF3Z.
This is W3QP.
All right, very good.
Thank you there, Tim.
Good to hear you.
And, yeah, Chris out in Oregon.
Good to hear you.
Randy, I don't know if I remember talking to you or not.
But welcome aboard there.
And everybody else, too.
AF3Z.
I forget if I said that.
My activity has been mainly around straight-key century clubs anniversary thing going on.
So a lot of it was working with the computer scheduling operators and that kind of stuff.
But I have gotten on.
I was on three hours on Saturday operating the special call for that.
And I got on two hours this afternoon.
And I don't know.
I'm up to about 118 contacts, I think, for that.
But hearing you from out there, Randy, I was on 10, 15, and 20 this afternoon when the well would run dry.
I'd switch bands and try another band.
So I think I might have been on 10 or 15, but I'm not sure.
But I did work Washington.
I didn't get to Oregon.
But I got Washington and California today.
But anyway, having some good fun with that.
My arm is gradually getting in shape for that much straight-key work.
But not much else besides that.
So I think, yep, over to Wayne, KC3SQIAF3Z.
Thank you, Jim.
And thanks, Ron, for taking the chair tonight.
And welcome to Chris.
Hope you join us more for this group.
Okay, as for what I'm doing with amateur radio, well, looks like I've got to drop the new mast again.
It seems that the storm, when it came through, left the mast alone.
Everything on the mast is fine with all of those big winds.
But the 10-meter vertical dipole decided to become two 5-meter monopoles.
So, going to have to do something to put the center feed on the dipole back together again.
But I've got to drop the whole mast to do that.
But we'll get that taken care of.
Do have to do some more work on the TV antenna, though.
Because the antenna preamp that's five years old is now starting to cut out.
And we're losing channels, all of them, from time to time.
So, for the XYL, I will be putting in a new channel master tube-an or dual output preamp on that.
And then, hopefully, I'll be able to get back to radio again one of these days.
So, with that, I'll turn it over to KC3SWC.
This is KC3SQI.
In and out.
He's listening on the side.
And so is Harvey.
KC3NZT.
So, Mike.
W3MFB.
It's all yours.
W3MFB.
Are you with us, Mike?
WA3VEE.
Sorry about that.
That's what happens when you're playing with other radios in the shack.
W3MFB.
Thank you, Ron.
I appreciate it.
Just, uh, Weekend Ham Radio.
Just listening a lot.
Shortwave, actually.
And, uh, AM broadcast.
Listening to the news.
Stuff like that.
Really, uh, sorry excuse for, uh, well, we'll leave that alone.
And, uh, yeah, just, uh, talking a little bit on the 80-minute show.
90-meters at night, in the evening.
And using the repeater, uh, here.
It was on EOC, uh, during last week.
Uh, Friday.
We're talking on 985.
So, yeah, that's about it, really.
So, I guess it's over to you, Ron.
Uh, I'm not sure.
I thought I was the tail gunner.
So, WA3VEE, the host.
W3MFB.
Mike, thank you so much.
Yes, you are a tail gunner.
But I will call for check-ins again here in a moment.
This is WA3VEE.
And you're listening to the 146-985-W3-GMS repeater.
Workbench for a Monday night.
So, all very good.
So, as I said, I also have a question.
But, Jim, we'll do yours first.
But, first of all, some comments.
Again, I want to welcome everybody to, um, uh, here on, on the net tonight.
Especially, uh, canine CAM from Eugene, Oregon.
Great to have you on board again, Chris.
And also, uh, my week in Ham Radio was very, very, uh, exciting and also very fulfilling.
We had a field day work.
I helped, helped with the, uh, the crew up at the field day site.
Um, George with his, I like to call it the potato gun.
Uh, shooting lines very, very, very high into the trees up there.
And he's getting to be a real marksman with that.
So, if you really want to see something, the next time we're shooting lines in trees, which I hope will be a while from now, uh, come up and, and join us.
For sure.
Again, many hands make light work.
And so on and so forth.
And, um, I don't think anything, anything except the coil of Dacron and the, uh, uh, I don't think anything else weighed more than five pounds.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to handle it.
Okay.
So, um, Saturday was really good.
Uh, met with a brand new ham.
And you'll hear her on, uh, 985 here.
And, uh, her name is Kiana and her call sign is KD3, uh, CJH.
I'm working with her as her Elmer.
Uh, she passed her exam at the Potsdam Amateur Radio Club a week ago Friday.
And already at the field day site on Saturday, I wanted to give the beam a good workout.
And we ended up working eight countries, including the Principality of Delaware as one.
So, her first contact was France.
So, when you hear her on the radio, uh, definitely give a shout out to her for sure.
And, um, we welcome all new hands for sure.
And especially people who have not been, uh, active for a while.
So, that's all very good.
And in the future, as soon as the weather, uh, starts to cooperate a little bit more towards the spring,
we will be operating at the field day site on the weekends.
And as the evenings get longer, maybe even in the, uh, evenings.
So, those with HOAs and those who are not able to really operate, uh, in their, in their home QTHs,
certainly think about coming up to the field day site to operate.
Make sure that we have HF, uh, HF gear available to do that.
And of course, power.
So, with that, I've got a question, but we'll go to, uh, but before we do questions, let me get one more call for any additional check-ins.
This is the 985 workbench.
This is WA3V, WA3, what's that call sign?
WA3VEE.
Uh, looking for check-ins before we go to the question portion.
Okay.
Nothing heard.
AF3Z, your question, discussion point.
This is WA3VEE.
Take it away, Jim.
Thank you, Ron.
AF3Z here.
And, uh, yeah, related to winter field day, right before the, uh, workbench, I was watching a video.
I didn't realize if a winter field day has been hosted now by, like, three or four different groups.
It keeps getting passed around.
But the current group, uh, Pack Rats or somebody, um, they had a video.
I guess the president of the group, or the president of winter field day, was, has a video on YouTube, and he was talking about it, and changes and stuff.
But I didn't get to see the whole thing yet.
But anyway, uh, that, and, uh, also I think it was Randy commented on the stiff coax.
The question is, since we're talking winter field day, uh, what are the, what do we think, what might we think, or what might experience, what experience might we have of how the winter weather could affect electronics and the associated related items?
Uh, you know, winter weather, uh, you know, winter weather, where are the points that, uh, we might not be as prepared as we think if, uh, we have some wind and real cold and that kind of stuff.
Uh, what things would be most likely to fail with radios if they get really cold?
That kind of stuff.
It's a pretty broad topic, but we might be able to work it for five minutes or something.
Back to you, Ron, AF3Z.
AF3Z, WA3VEE.
We'll take as long as we need, that's for sure.
It's a great question.
Winter field day, cold and electronics and preparedness.
Any comments for Jim?
This is WA3VEE.
AC3SQI.
AC3SQI, go ahead.
Okay, thank you, Ron.
Uh, as far as the electronics, uh, is concerned, Jim, probably we don't need to really worry about that, uh, here in Pennsylvania.
Now, where I grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and it would get 32, 60 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
Uh, yes, it did make a little bit of difference and a little trouble, uh, working at those.
Uh, wire also didn't, uh, kink very well or unkink very well to make antennas.
But, uh, it does, uh, on, uh, antennas, if you've gone from a solder on a, uh, stranded,
it will make it more brittle and tend to do what my, uh, vertical dipole did and separate from the center.
So, that's probably one of the, uh, more common problems that you're going to run into with that.
So, with that, I'll turn it back over to you, Ron, and see if there's anyone else that needs to, uh, get in here.
W-A-3-C-3-S-Q-I.
Wayne, thank you so much.
Uh, this is W-A-3-V-E-E.
Other comments for Jim's question on winter field day?
Cold, electronics, preparedness, and dangers.
W-A-3-C-W.
C-W.
Chuck, and I'll probably follow you.
W-A-3-C-W.
W-A-3-V-E-E.
Go ahead.
W-A-3-C-W.
Um, with modern equipment, there's less of a problem with this, but everything has a temperature coefficient,
um, including oscillators and crystals.
Um, the transistors will, in general, like the cold.
Um, put it this way, if it's warm enough for you to, to stand to operate it with your gloves off,
it's fine for the equipment.
But, uh, in the olden days, with, uh, things like LC oscillators, they could really take off in, uh, temperature extremes.
Modern equipment is crystal control, uh, timed.
Um, every, uh, every piece of equipment has a temperature range, whether it's, uh, consumer, commercial, or military, or industrial.
They're all different.
Most of them, uh, with regard to heat, more than cold.
Um, yeah, things are going to be stiff, including the operators.
Um, computers and LCD.
LCDs, uh, LCD screens do not like to be frozen.
Um, if you have, um, simple, uh, monochromatic LCD screens,
um, they can freeze and turn black if there is, uh, any air in them.
And I've seen that done.
Matter of fact, I have a, uh, bench meter here that, um, I think somewhere along the line got frozen,
so it's got some blackness around the edge of the LCD.
Um, but they, they get very ugly if they get cold and they have any air exposure.
Uh, like, they don't have a good, uh, gas-tight seal on them.
And that's permanent.
Um, yeah, so there's going to be odds and ends.
Uh, in general, I think if the, you know, the computers are rated for some travel and they should be okay.
Uh, let's see, uh, lithium-ion batteries don't like to be cold.
Rechargeable batteries, uh, whether they're, um, in computers or, you know, you got a lit, you know, a, a drill battery set up for a lamp or things like that.
They're going to have shorter lifespans, uh, charge spans anyway.
Not, not that they're going to die, but they, uh, won't hold as good a charge.
So stuff like that.
And, uh, or even just starting generators.
But I don't think we're, you know, since, as Wayne says, we're not talking about 40 below here.
We're talking about, you know, 20s and 30s.
But anyway, that is my thoughts.
Back to you, Ron.
NA3CW.
WWA3VEE.
I was going to comment on the batteries particularly, what Chuck said about those, for sure.
Other comments for, uh, Jim's concerns.
This is WA3VEE.
This is the 985 workbench.
Comments, please.
W3KZG.
Okay, Scott.
W3KZG.
WA3VEE.
Please proceed.
It's going to be interesting for me.
It's going to be kind of a test.
Since, uh, the way my trailer's set up, uh, we run solely on battery, um, with solar on the roof.
Um, I have a, it's a LifePo 4, um, 300 amp hour, uh, 13 volt battery.
And, um, it's been in the trailer since the summer, um, mounted.
and basically the solar controller trickle charges them every day when the sun's up from the solar panels.
So it'll be interesting to see how the cold affects the efficiency of that battery.
I know in summer field day, I ran it both days without charging it.
I didn't have anything hooked to it to charge it, and I just ran my rig off of it, my DX10,
and it lost 18% of its charge over the two days just running that rig.
So it'll be interesting to see what it does, and I'll have to track the diagnostics and the temperature on it.
The app has all that information on there.
But I don't have to look it up.
I don't know if that battery has a built-in heating system for itself or not.
And I'm not sure if LIFEPO4 batteries are as affected by super cold like lithium ions are or not.
Not sure, but it'll be a fun test for me anyway.
Back to you, Ron.
W3KZG.
Very good.
Excellent.
Good comments all the way around.
Any additional comments for Jim's question on the vulnerability of electronics, etc., with regard to cold at winter field day?
This is WA3VEE.
Additional comments?
WA3VEE.
WA3VEE.
John.
WA3VEE.
Go ahead.
I know Jim probably knows this already.
It all comes down to the batteries.
I've definitely been out photographing with my digital camera and been keeping a second battery in my inside pocket to keep it warm and then swap it out every once in a while.
Because the one that's out in the elements just dropped, like just plummeted its capacity.
So I'd have to swap it out and keep it warm it up again.
And Chuck mentioned the LCDs.
I've definitely seen my little handheld radios get almost unusable because the screen won't update.
You know, it's sitting there scanning and it's just sort of keeping every element lit that it ever lit.
So, yeah, it's interesting.
Like, you know, it's working, but it's hard to read.
Back to NET, KD3EE.
All very good comments all the way around.
Any additional comments for Jim's question?
This is WA3VEE.
WA3QP?
I kind of would know for sure.
WA3QP.
WA3VEE.
Tim, go ahead, please.
WA3VEE and the group.
WA3QP.
One other follow-on to the battery chemistry comment.
You cannot charge all batteries below freezing.
And I know, generically speaking, again, it depends on your battery, lipos do not want to be charged below freezing.
I am not honestly sure what happens if you do that, but I assume bad things happen.
Buyer beware of good luck.
That is all from me.
Back to group.
Very good.
Very good.
Yeah, I know we've got a few people who have temperature control for their batteries, so all very good.
And usually I've got 250 amp hour lipo batteries in the van, in the porcupine, and I usually heat it up before I even end up charging them.
So, yeah, they usually are never near freezing when I try to apply a charge.
Final comments for Jim's question before we get to mine over here.
WA3VEE and the workbench.
This is AlphaCharlie2EchoGolf.
Name is Eric.
Eric, welcome to the 985 workbench.
We are a question and answer net over here running on the Parksburg, Pennsylvania repeater.
And I don't know if you heard the question or not, but the question right now that's on deck is that are there any concerns?
We are operating winter field day.
Are there any concerns for any equipment, any electronics, anything that supports the electronics, anything connected to it with regard to coal?
Do you have any comments on that question?
Go ahead.
Yeah, I heard the whole discussion.
The only thing I can add, all the battery comments were spot on.
If you're using a commercial rated laptop, like not industrial or not military, but commercial,
I've had issues when the temperature falls below, say, 25, 20 degrees Fahrenheit, especially with boot up.
These were HP and Lenovo laptops.
And what I had to do was put them on the dashboard and run the defroster on them to warm them up so they would boot.
Once they were running, they were fine, but they were a little ornery getting started.
That's my only comment.
Eric, again, welcome to the 985 workbench.
Whereabouts are you located?
Oh, I'm in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania.
I used to be in New Jersey.
That's why I have the to call.
Again, welcome.
Absolutely good.
Final comments for Jim's question.
This is WA3VE.
W8CRW.
CR, I've been waiting for you.
Let your battery stop.
W8CRW, WA3VE.
Please go ahead.
Well, I was down working.
Lithium ion phosphate batteries, they, if they're built right and they have a good BMS, you can't charge them once they get down to that critical temperature.
Back to that.
Very good.
That's consistent with what we're hearing.
All very, very good.
Final comments for Jim.
This is WA3VE.
WA3VE.
Is that good enough, Jim?
Or do you need more?
I didn't come very needy, so no, that was excellent.
And stuff I never thought of, for sure.
Like the LCD screens.
And I knew batteries would get less efficient, but I never thought about charging and stuff like that.
So, yeah, very interesting.
The other thing, being a CW operator, and maybe it's gloves with, you know, batteries and warm, you know, warming gloves.
But I could see, at least hand-operated CW could get difficult in the cold.
It's hard for me when I'm warm, let alone cold.
So, that's my only other comment.
Some of those, you know, if you're really operating out in the cold.
I was wondering today, watching that little video, you know, it would be easier, I guess, to operate phone when you're actually out in the cold than it would be to operate CW, at least the way my hands are.
So, anyway, very good.
Thank you, Ron.
Back to you, AF3Z.
Okay, very, very good, Jim.
Good question, absolutely.
This is the 985 Workbench here on the W3GMS 146.985 Parksburg, Pennsylvania Repeater.
Your host tonight is me, Ron Medikevich, WA3VE, located in Westchester.
I do have a question.
My question tonight is for those in an HOA or anyone who knows anyone in an HOA, what might be a successful inside 10-meter antenna?
And including if you cannot get to the attic.
So, let me throw that question out there and see if there are any takers.
This is WA3VE, 10-meter indoor antenna, especially if you cannot get to the attic.
Go ahead.
First of all, mainly a question.
Do you really need to be horizontally polarized or vertically?
That could make a difference.
But what I'm thinking is a 10-meter dipole isn't that huge.
You could definitely maybe get one up horizontally inside.
And then there's the old sort of mobile ground plane things on a hunk of metal.
But I'm just curious what you're thinking if you are vertical or horizontal.
AF3Z.
Either one.
Judging from how 10 meters works, HF works, certainly horizontal would probably be best.
But I've heard things like antennas taped to ceilings and stuff like that.
So, I don't know how effective that is.
I don't have that issue here for sure.
I have a fan dipole out back, which spans the diagonally across the entire backyard.
But I just wanted to know, I guess either way, either way indeed.
Back to you, Jim.
AF3Z, WA3, VEE.
Okay.
I'm not sure if I have much more to add.
But, yeah, some kind of dipole could be hung up probably some way or another.
And, of course, shortened kinds of things.
But you're already going to be compromised inside.
And you're not getting to the attic.
I'm trying to think, what is that, 16 feet or so for a full-sized 10-meter dipole?
But, yeah, I'm not sure.
Well, one thing some people use for all kinds of bands is magnetic loops.
And they're kind of crunchy.
Is that the right word?
They're going to be a limited thing as well.
But they do get used inside by some people.
And 10 meters, that would not be too hard.
I don't know.
I don't have much more to add.
AF3Z.
Any additional comments on indoor 10-meter antennas?
This is WA3, VEE.
KZG.
KZG, WA3, VEE.
Scott, go ahead.
Back in the day, I made an 11-meter dipole.
And, of course, I had it hanging out in a tree.
But it was only about six feet off the ground, which would probably be about the same as if you hung it from the ceiling in your house or apartment or whatever,
depending on how, if the apartment's on the ground level.
And it worked pretty well.
And it was very cheap to make.
I literally took a piece of pre-made coax and just basically ran the right length of radiating off the shield and off the center and just made a little dipole.
And it talked out and received pretty well for what it was.
And it pretty much cost me nothing because I made it out of speaker wire and scrap stuff I had laying around.
So that could be something you could try that's cheap to build.
And just try it.
You're not going to know until you try it.
Your apartment might be made out of metal studs.
And you might not get anything.
Might be lots of interference.
You know, who knows?
The other thing is you could try a vertical.
But, yeah, a mag mount vertical.
Does she have a balcony?
Does somebody, whoever this is, do they have a balcony that they could put it out on?
Definitely in front of a window would be preferred.
I know we used magnetic loop in Ohio when we went to Hamvention.
And we had it in the window of the hotel.
And it was receiving well.
It didn't get out very well.
But I could receive stations on the HF bands.
But, yeah, just some thoughts.
Like I said, the dipole is cheap to make.
You can make it out of scrap wire and SO239.
And add some coax to it.
It'll function.
Back to you, Ron.
My thoughts, too.
Very, very good.
Excellent.
Additional comments for 10-meter inside antennas.
KC3SQI.
WA3VEE.
Okay.
Not too complex or anything.
But you can use the old 11-meter whip antennas that are for the other band.
And you can shorten it up a little bit.
And just run a wire across the wall.
They work fairly well.
Especially if you're not on a ground floor of an apartment.
So that you've got a little something.
If you've got a balcony that you can work off of.
Drop a piece of wire down off the side of the balcony.
And just pull it up when you're not using it.
That works probably about as good as anything that you can do.
And that will get it outside where you get a little less interference from all of the power lines and everything in the building.
Usually the problem is when you start making the stoves and the light bulbs malfunction.
Then people get a little bit on your case.
So that would be one that I would try.
You know, if I couldn't put a dipole in.
So just a couple of ideas.
KC3SQI.
Back to that.
Suggestions so far.
These are all things I thought of.
I wanted to hear from the brain trust.
The greater brain trust than me.
That's for sure.
Excellent.
Thank you so much, Wayne.
Final comments on this particular question.
This is WA3VE.
Ron, I might have a coveted 11 meter mag mount antenna floating around the shop out here.
That you could slightly modify or just run a tuner on it.
I would just give it to try.
And if it works, they can keep it.
You know, sort of deal.
I'll have to look around.
I might have something.
And maybe modify it slightly to make it for 10 meters.
Tune it right.
Or, like I said, you could run a tuner on it.
It would probably tune up just fine.
It's not that far off.
If that's an option.
Might have something we could donate to the cause.
Rolling around in the cobwebs of the shop.
I'm going to take you up on that offer because, if nothing else, I'm going to be able to demonstrate 10 meters to new techs.
Especially when you get their license.
Throw it right on the porcupine.
So, make it worth your while.
That's for sure.
So, we can make arrangements there.
Final comments.
Thanks so much.
Final comments.
This is WA3VE.
QNC.
WA3VE.
Please forgive me.
What's the name again?
This is Joe.
I'm calling from Gap.
Yeah, Joe.
Now I remember.
I'm sorry.
I have a feeble brain.
108 years old.
So, you know, it's a little tough sometimes.
Thank you so much.
Any comments on the question?
And welcome tonight.
Thank you.
Yes.
Well, when in doubt, just remember, I'm just your common everyday Joe.
Yeah.
So, I'm certainly not an antenna expert.
And I'm relatively new to HF.
I've spent a good deal of my time on VHF and UHF.
But I actually recycled an antenna that I had originally made for my POTA activations.
I'm going to second the use of scrap speaker wire.
I actually put them up with plastic insulators up in my attic.
And then just ran a piece of coax down.
I picked up this little thing.
We call them scorpion heads.
It has a little, two little screw down connections where you put the speaker wires in.
And it has a B and C connector on the other.
I think I paid $2 for it.
I actually had great luck with that out doing my POTA activations and stuck that up in the attic.
And it actually works really well because I rent to where I am right now.
And I'm a little rancher.
But, yeah.
So, I want to second that idea.
It worked out really well for me.
Excellent idea.
Excellent idea, Joe.
Absolutely.
And thanks for joining us tonight.
That makes 19 check-ins.
That's wonderful.
Excellent.
So, final comments on this question.
This is WA3VEE.
KD3EE.
KD3EE.
WA3VEE.
Sorry, my brain was moving slow.
I know I barely checked it or barely got my comment in.
Additionally, I've definitely done every compromised inside antenna along the way when I got started.
I had a loft, though, so it was easy to just string it down through the rest of the house.
But if you get a straight run, like, for that little 10-meter dipole or NFED wire, if you can run it down the hall, you know,
it might work.
But as people said, closer to the window is better.
And I think Scott had said, just try it.
I think that's my best advice.
I would have a loop antenna if you wanted to borrow and play around with that.
I could part with it for a couple days.
I think that's about it.
Oh, also, keep in mind the digital modes and CW and stuff, because you might not want to put that much power into the antenna that's next to your head.
So, you know, running some lower power, weak signal kind of modes might get you lots of results.
It did for me.
Back to net, to KD3EE.
Angle.
I like that.
Very, very good.
Excellent.
Good comments all the way around.
So, fourth final call for comments.
This is WA3EE.
Moisy kerchunk there, but I don't think you're going to make it, but let's give it a shot.
Person kerchunking.
Do you want to check into the net?
That was an RF kerchunk, so I'll just go ahead and say this.
Before we close down the workbench for the evening, let's see if anyone else wants to check into the net.
If you've been listening or just lurking or just tuned in, we'd like to hear from you.
So, one final, final call for check-ins before we shut down the workbench here.
This is WA3EE.
One final call for check-ins.
Kilo, Charlie, three.
Yankee, Tango, Delta.
Thanks for getting on the log here.
We're about ready to shut down, but that's fine.
We got you on the log.
It makes 20.
So, very, very good.
You're number 20 tonight.
Wonderful.
So, thanks very much.
Last call, check-ins.
WA3-VEE.
Okay.
Thanks for all stations for checking into the 985 workbench tonight.
And a big thank you to you, Joe, W3GMS, for making the 985 repeater available for the workbench.
You're invited.
You're all invited to use the repeater often.
It's a great way to show that you appreciate the gift of 985 to the amateur radio community.
Finally, we hope to hear you again on Thursday evening at 8 p.m. during the 985 roundtable.
This concludes the workbench for tonight.
Feel free, however, to stick around and continue any discussions or talk here on 985.
Have a good night.
Great week ahead.
See you all at field day, I hope.
Pause.
Think about it.
Think about it.
Let it sink in.
Hope to see you there.
Hope to see you there.
This is Ron, WA3-VEE in Westchester.
I will say 7-3 and I'll be clear.
Have a good night.
Have a good night.
Real quick one.
Quick one.
WA3-VEE.
Put a picture in your mind of a little amplifier somewhere in your domicile and think about getting
it to the breakfast.
I think we started lurking on this in September.
AF3-Z.
Yeah, I need to talk to you.
Yeah, Jim.
I'm having trouble finding that thing.
I'm going to have to buy you one.
I'm serious.
I don't know what happened to it.
It's around here somewhere.
I checked in my storage unit.
I cannot find it.
What brand?
Do you happen to know what?
Sincerely, what brand was it?
Harvey, are you listening?
I don't know.
Harvey would be the one who knows more about it.
Rallying the kids who put him to bed.
Tell you what I'll do.
I'm going to send him an email and I'm going to scour this place tomorrow.
I know I took the filters that he gave me up to the site.
I had speakers I took up there.
I had all kinds of stuff.
I looked around in George's trailer.
I didn't see it up there.
Maybe it got up there by chance.
I don't ever remember seeing it.
So I'm going to look around here again tomorrow.
And like I said, I'll shoot him an email.
Because if I know the make and model, it's like, oh, I remember seeing that.
I've never seen this before.
But I do remember he mentioned something to me about it.
But, again, this goes back to September.
So you just might be getting a brand new amplifier.
I'll tell you what.
If I can't find it, and he gave it to me, well, I take responsibility for losing it.
And full responsibility.
But I will certainly give it a good shot here tomorrow with a flashlight with at least a weak battery in it.
Go ahead.
Make sure the house is warm enough to support the weak battery.
Yeah, and there's no pressure here, Ron.
It doesn't have to be quick.
It hasn't been quick so far.
I think maybe the first time that was going to happen was the Kutztown antique radio meet.
Yeah, it might have been transferred to you right before then, or we talked about it before then with him.
I'm not sure.
But, yeah, let's not get too worried about it at the moment.
And I don't know.
You need to buy me anything.
But I just thought I'd throw that out.
But, yeah, I know how that goes.
And you can go crazy trying to find that something somewhere.
I found a lot of needles.
I don't know if that has anything to do with it.
A little hay or cat litter maybe, but I found some needles around here.
Maybe, I don't know.
Anyway, well, like I said, if I lost it, I own the responsibility for that.
That's not a problem, Jim, at all.
I'd like to see you not pass up a good DX contact because you didn't have an extra 45 watts.
Go ahead.
It's to beef up my little QRP rig, the Pentec TR-45L.
That's what it's to do to bring it up to, I forget how much, but make it almost a base station when you're out somewhere or whatever.
But very good, Ron.
Yeah, I forget what I was looking for here not too long ago.
I couldn't find it anywhere.
I finally figured I probably gave it away.
Oh, it was a book, but I don't think I have it anymore.
As you know, you've heard me talk about it.
I've been cleaning out stuff for a long time, so anything was suspect along the way.
Very good, Ron.
I'll let you go.
Hope to see you Friday, and please don't agonize over this thing too much.
AF3 is that.
It bothers me.
You know, when you lose something, it's like, well, you know, you lose something, you lose something.
It's like, well, what did I do with it?
You know, it's like, like I said, I don't ever remember seeing it, so I'll have to talk to Harvey and see what the story is there.
But it's rare that I lose something.
Usually something is here.
Well, I'll take that back.
It may be here, but it might be one of those things where it might be out of sight and plain view.
Who knows?
It could be right here on the console.
I don't know, but we'll see.
Anyway, I thought I'd mention that for sure.
By the way, what you were trying to look, those books didn't have to be photography books on composition or lighting, were they?
Because they're in the next room over.
I just had to joke with you a little bit about that.
AF3 is that.
W-A-3-V-E-E.
They're on the right subject, but no, not those books.
Ever hear of Jim Brandenburg?
He was a wildlife nature photographer and did a good bit for National Geographic and others.
Died in the last year or two, I think.
But anyway, it was a book.
He had a thing, now I'm not going to come up with the title, something about captured and light or captured by light or something like that.
But he did a series of photographs.
Late in his career, he had lost his zip in his zazz or whatever.
And he sort of came up with a thing for himself.
He was going to take one picture a day for maybe 90 days, 30 days.
I think it was more like 90.
And he lives up, you know, the boundary waters, northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, somewhere up that way.
He lives up in that area.
And he'd go out.
And when he said one picture a day, this was still film, I believe.
But anyway, he would actually click the shutter one time a day.
And these pictures became famous and got published, I guess, by National Geographic and stuff.
So the book was a collection of those pictures and stuff.
I had two copies of it, actually.
But I think I probably took them and donated them to the library.
So no problem, and my need for them is no longer here.
Jim Brandenburg, ever hear of him?
I did now.
I'm on the site.
Wow.
He has one photograph here, Jim.
The name is vaguely familiar.
I may have in passing years ago.
But, yeah, heaven forbid.
He's gone.
He has one photograph here.
It's phenomenal.
It says, day 10 wilderness loons on landscape.
But that is really nice.
Just no question about it.
So he actually has quite a story on it.
You go into Google and you put in Jim Brandenburg.
And this one thing he says, on landscape, looks like it's an article.
And it says, Jeff Kell chooses one of his favorite images.
And evidently, this was one by Jim Brandenburg.
And it's just really nice.
Very, very beautiful.
Oh, yeah.
It's like an early morning.
It's got to be an early morning because this lake is perfectly still.
And it looks like it's sunrise.
And there are a couple loons.
One is in the water floating.
The other is just about, it looks like he or she is spreading their wings.
Not in a takeoff, but just up vertical out of the water.
And there's a little island with what looks like pine trees.
And Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area.
How about Northern Tier High Adventure Camp?
June, or sorry, August 2006.
We had eight Eagle Scouts and eight leaders.
And we canoed that.
And we did about 60 or 70 miles by canoe and portaging.
And we had prepared for this for quite a while.
And we just chose to go right when black fly season was starting to wane.
And we made the right choice.
That's for sure.
There's one other radio story I have to tell you about that on the next go around.
It's a short one, but it's funny.
AF3Z, WA3VE, very familiar with the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area.
Very good.
AF3Z here.
Yeah, I had heard of it, but I don't know much about it.
But yeah, he lived up that way.
And he had his own, I forget he had a term for it.
There are some good videos and stuff, of course, on YouTube.
But he had like a base, an out camp or a base camp or something.
He'd go out.
But he was really fond of the wilderness and be walking around out there and stuff.
And very much into the environment and nature.
And he helped start a park, a national park, I think, in the prairies.
He grew up near, I guess, more near the prairies, and I don't know exactly where.
But yeah, very interesting person.
A slightly talented photographer.
I can almost picture that picture you're describing.
I have seen that.
And that might be one of the ones from his 90-day experiment or whatever.
But yeah, I took one picture a day.
And it did sort of revive him, and he got the spark back again.
But he had been a professional for years at that point,
for National Geographic and other folks.
And who knows how many thousands of pictures he had taken.
But he rediscovered his passion with that experiment, which is very interesting.
Some good stuff, obviously.
So your story, it'll be short, but funny, I think you said.
Funny, when you go to Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area, you get outfitted.
And of course, you're out there for 10 days.
So your packs, each one of us, all 16 of us, we had packs that weighed about 60 to 65 pounds.
Because we had to have enough food.
We had our utensils and everything else, tentage and everything else, to get through the entire trek that we mapped out on geomaps, etc., etc., etc.
Through the entire week and a couple days.
So one of the things that they gave us in the supply center were VHF radios.
And I looked at the guy and I said, of course, I was scoutmaster at the time.
Everybody in my troop knew who I was and what I did.
And they're looking at me and they said, uh-oh, here we go.
I said to the supply clerk, I said, you know, these aren't going to do much good.
I said, they're not fat radios.
They're not anything like that.
And he says, well, give them to people and make them feel good.
I said, well, they're not going to feel very good when they realize that they're not very helpful.
But nonetheless, we had Iridium, satellite communications anyway.
One of our adult leaders, one of my assistant scoutmasters, was very well equipped in that regard.
So we still had communication in case we really had an issue, which we didn't, thankfully.
But nonetheless, his VHF radios, it probably would be, as all simplex, of course.
You know, we're going out like 50, 60 miles, 70 miles from base camp.
So there's just not a chance.
I looked at that and I thought, somebody better rethink this or something.
Anyway, I thought you'd enjoy that story, Boundary Wilderness Canoe Area up there.
And it's the only time, you'll like this, Jim, because you've been to Canada, so just like we have over here.
It is the only time that I canoed into, with Chris, the only time I canoed into a foreign country.
There you go.
Did your canoe almost tip when you went over the boundary line there?
If it's on an angle of the canoe, it could catch on the keel, you know, and flip you.
Very good, Ron.
Yeah, when we were up in Canada, we had heavy packs and, you know, had to take everything with us.
And I don't remember how long we were in the park.
It might have been only a week.
I don't remember if any of the trips were longer or not.
But still, we had a lot of stuff.
So, yeah, very good.
Yeah, hearing him and seeing his pictures and stuff, it's like, ooh, I'd like to get up there.
So, maybe sometime.
Who knows?
But, anyway, I don't know where we were going then.
I guess you wanted to tell me the story.
That's how we got up there.
Oh, yeah.
Jim Brandenburg in Boundary Waters.
Interesting guy.
So, I guess that's it, Ron.
I've got to get some sleep.
I've got to get up and wash dishes in the morning.
Before the round table, I was tired and wanted to go to bed, or the workbench.
I was tired and wanted to go to bed then.
But now I'm parked up and ready to go a few more miles.
WA3VEEAF3Z.
Tell my students, absolutely, you know, my lectures will cure insomnia.
But if you're going to sleep, just don't do it in class.
That's for sure.
One last note.
Music at night up in Algonquin and up in the northern tier area there.
Common loons.
We were just, you probably know, we took a trip before all the sicknesses and stuff over here,
before the holidays, right after Thanksgiving, we took a trip up to Bar Harbor.
It was absolutely beautiful.
And so at night, and I made a recording of this for my son Chris.
At night, and it's been ages since I've heard this, common loons in the sound up there on Mount Desert Island.
And I think the last time I heard common loons was Boundary Waters, Canoe Wilderness Area, no doubt about it.
So I thought you'd appreciate that.
I remember staying at Pog Lake and Lake of Two Rivers and up in Brant and a few other places up there where we actually, we could sleep to that sound.
And I heard that about a month or so ago, a couple months ago now, up in Mount Desert Island there, just west of Bar Harbor in Acadia National Park.
So always wonderful, the wonders of nature, no doubt about it.
Have a good night, Jim.
I've got to get out of here, too, and go horizontally polarized.
We will talk to you later.
And very interesting information here on Jim Brandenburg.
May he rest in peace, indeed.
AF3Z-WA3-VEE.
All right, Ron, but you can't let me go without just saying, oh, that takes me back.
Yeah, up there in Canada in Hong Kong, hearing those loon calls echo around the lakes at night.
It's crazy.
It's just such an amazing sound, and it captured me, that's for sure.
And I have one of my canoe partners, my favorite canoe partner from up there, just moved up to Mount Desert Island in this past year.
I'm thinking of maybe heading up that way in my tent sometime.
I've never been there.
We stopped through there one time on our way up to Denysville, Maine.
But anyway, that's another longer story.
73 for the 100th time, right?
Is that like 5 to the 10th power or something?
AF3Z.
Good night, Ron.
Yeah, there you go, Jim, in the background here.
So, there you go.
That's not music.
That's a bird call, so I don't consider that music.
But nonetheless, yes, we're the repeater of 1,000 finals.
Have it going, Jim.
Always a pleasure.
And thanks again for herding all of us host cats together here.
It all works pretty well.
So I always look forward to this, definitely.
And usually also, not all the time, but usually ready to pitch hit if anyone can't make it.
So, have a good night.
Enjoy the dishwashing in the morning.
And I mean that sincerely.
It's a great service for performing.
I'm probably going to, at some point, I think slow down if they ever slow down.
Contact the breakfast mission down in Wilmington and see if I can get down there to serve some food as well to help those people out, for sure.
They have a really good program and certainly a great mission, no doubt about it.
Have a good one.
AF3Z, WA3VEQRT.
Have a good night.
7-3.
Good night.
AF3Z.
Good night.