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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.
This is AF3Z, Chuck, NA3CW, are you around? AF3Z.
Nothing heard. Well I will get started here with the workbench for tonight.
And if Chuck comes, we'll change or do whatever.
This is AF3Z. My name is Jim.
And I am located outside of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.
I'm shuffling papers looking for the workbench.
I'm free and we'll hold on a second.
Thanks Jim for picking it up. You're sounding good.
CD3.
Okay.
Um...
I operate by what I call the one-pile system.
Everything is in one pile and so you know where to look for it, but then you gotta dig to find it.
Welcome to the 985 workbench. As I said, I'm Jim, Alpha, Foxchop, 3, Zulu AF3 head.
And at the moment at least, I will be tonight's host for the workbench.
Uh, I am located outside of Mount Joy.
And we meet here on the 146.985 repeater every Monday evening at 8pm.
This is the W3 GMS Parksburg repeater.
The PL tone for getting into the repeater is 100 Hz.
And if you use tone squelch on receive, the repeater puts out a squelch tone of 94.8.
So PL is 100.
Squelch tone is 94.8 Hz.
If you're new to the repeater or new to the workbench, you are certainly welcome to join in.
We encourage you to check in.
We encourage you also to look at the repeater website.
The URL is www.w3gmsrepeater.com.
www.w3gmsrepeater.com.
Lots of information, articles, pictures, uh, repeater history, etiquette, and all kinds of good stuff.
So check that out.
Please be aware that sometimes we have intermod interference here on the repeater.
And usually one of us will mention it if you're not familiar with it when it comes on.
But in those cases, it's good to run full power, whatever you've got there.
Um, to try to get over the interference.
Also, another way to deal with it is to check in through Echolink or All Star.
Uh, and that way we'll be able to hear you even if the intermod cancels you out.
For me out here, I'm like 30 some miles away from the repeater.
I can't usually get in over the intermod.
So I go to Echolink.
One thing to note is to use Echolink and All Star, you need to be on, kind of registered with the repeater.
Uh, we just try to limit its use so it's not getting, uh, interfered with and tied up with repeaters all around the world.
Uh, so you need to register and get on the official list for the 985 repeater.
Look at the website.
Again, W3GMSrepeater.com.
And you will find there, uh, right on the front page, uh, link and information about how to sign up to use Echolink and All Star on the repeater.
Uh, something else good to know is when the intermod is present, before you start a transmission, it's good to, uh, give a short call.
If you have any question at all, just say something like, "Am I getting in okay?" and then I'll come back and let you know.
And if I didn't hear you, you will probably figure that out too.
Uh, but anyway, check first.
And then you can go ahead and, uh, give your longer comments, uh, once you're sure you're gonna be getting in.
On the workbench, we focus on answering general questions of radio theory and also operation.
Uh, so we invite each station at the beginning of the, uh, workbench here.
We go around, round table format. Uh, comment briefly on your amateur radio activity in the past week.
And when checking in, uh, please do indicate if you have a question for the workbench tonight.
If you don't have a question, still check in for sure.
But after all stations have checked in, we'll first do the thing of going around to share what we've done in the past week.
And so it's good to write down the call of the station that checks in right after you, at least.
Uh, a lot of us just jot down all the stations and we sort of have an idea of what's going on.
But at least the station that checks in right after you, because when you're done, your comments in that opening section,
you can just pass it along straight to that other station.
All right. After all of us have shared about our week on amateur radio,
then we will go to operating as a directed network. I will act as net control.
And I'll call on the station that indicated that they have a question during the roll call.
They indicated that. And then they can state their question.
And I will then direct our discussion as far as responding and answering, responding to and answering that question.
So during this time, please wait to be recognized by net control by me before beginning a transmission.
And then keep the net running smoothly.
Sometimes it's helpful.
Uh, somebody has a couple of questions, maybe to get more information or whatever, to find out really what the situation is.
It's helpful for the two stations to go back and forth without passing it to me in the middle.
Once you pass that little bit of traffic there, uh, and that's a good thing to do.
But then just pass it back to me and I will keep it moving from there.
One thing to remember is don't be too quick to talk.
Right after I encourage people to check in.
But what I mean by that is pause a couple seconds before you hit the press to talk switch.
It's good repeater etiquette because it leaves a little room for somebody who wants or needs to get in to break into the conversation.
And with Echo Link and All Star, there are extra delays involved there on the internet.
And so it's even more helpful to them for us to leave some good pauses.
So if they need to or want to check in, they can get in there.
And when you do click the press to talk switch on your mic, then wait a second while it's pushed before starting to talk.
Uh, if you don't, we may miss the first part of what you say because it takes a moment for the repeater to process your PL tone and then get you going.
And 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.
You can't get in anymore. We don't hear you. And also nobody else can get in.
So every two to three minutes, uh, release the mic button just for a moment.
And then you can continue talking. That resets the timer.
Now before we begin, I want to thank all the people who serve as workbench hosts.
Uh, those are the people that helped this happen.
And if you may be interested in trying hosting the workbench, you can contact myself, Jim AF3Z, or any of us here, and we'll get you started.
We have a... and you can also look under, on the website under the information for hosts.
Uh, but you can see what the, uh, the script we use is for, uh, getting things started.
And last, uh, be sure to join us Thursday evening for the round table. I mean, yeah, the round table at 8pm on Thursday.
And I believe this week, Joe W3GMS will be hosting. Uh, the, uh, reminder email came out yesterday, and, uh, it was an accident.
Uh, finger twitched, and one little twitch clicked, and it went off.
So anyway, I think it is Joe this, this Thursday night.
So, we'll start the check-in process.
And remember, as you're checking in, if you do have a question for the group, please just mention, I do say yes you have a question, or no I don't.
But, uh, we'll start with, uh, the, uh, Echolink and All-Star stations, digital stations, and I'll leave long pauses so, uh, you can have time to get in.
So, any digital stations wishing to check in to the workbench tonight, please call now. This is Jim AF3Z.
Whiskey 8, Charlie Romeo Whiskey, CR, no question.
Kilo Delta 3, Echo Echo.
John, no questions.
Whiskey 3, Juliet Alpha Mike, W3.
J-A-M, Jeff, no questions.
Okay, very good.
So, we have W8CRW, then KD3EE, and then W3JAM.
Any other digital stations wishing to check in to the workbench tonight?
Please call now.
All right, continuing on, we'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations in now.
So, we have W8CRW, then KD3EE, and then W3JAM.
So, we have W8CRW, then KD3EE, and then W3JAM.
Any other digital stations wishing to check in to the workbench tonight?
Please call now.
All right, continuing on.
We'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
All right, so, we'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
All right, we'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
Please call now.
All right, we'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
Please call now.
All right, continuing on.
We'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
Please call now.
All right, continuing on.
We'll let RF stations in now, as well as, uh, digital stations.
So, all others still wishing to check in to the workbench?
Please call now.
All right, continuing on.
All right, continuing on.
Alright, continuing on, we'll let RF stations in now as well as digital stations, so all
others still wishing to check in to the workbench, please call now.
Whiskey Alpha 3, Victor Echo Echo, WA3 VEE.
V3 ZIM.
Kilo Charlie 3, Yankee Sierra Mike, Steve, no questions.
WA3 King Fox Tango, WA3 KFT, John.
KC3, Mike Fox, Char, Bravo, no questions.
KC3OOK, no questions.
KC3SQI, no questions.
KC3SQI, no questions.
KC3AIS, no questions.
KC3AIS, no questions.
KC3AIS, no questions.
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Leon, good to hear you.
So after Paxton, I believe it is, KC3APR, we added LeonAA3LH.
Alright, so we will go to the round table part of this.
We'll pass the mic along in the order you guys have checked in.
And just give a brief.
We have so many questions tonight, keep it brief.
Just kidding.
But to give a brief summary of what you did in ham radio this week.
So over to you, CR.
And if somebody's not sure who's after you, just turn it back to me and we'll get it moving.
So WHCRWAF3Z.
Very good, Jim.
Thanks for taking the net.
And I too use the one-pile method.
I generally go through that one-pile once a month and sort things out.
But yeah, one-pile.
And this week at ham radio, not a whole lot unusual.
Regular 985 activities and a couple other nets.
And that's about it.
So let's go to John.
KC3EE, W-8-C-R-W.
Thanks, CR.
This is KC3EE, John in Landisville.
Over the past week, it's been a little light.
I did start noticing, watching FT8 stuff, I've got the waterfall on my radio.
So I've been seeing the alternate FT8 streams starting up, which means de-expeditions and contests.
You know, they move off of the normal frequencies so that they don't just bury everybody else.
So that's exciting to see.
It's always fun.
I'm seeing people chasing Palestine and St. Martin.
Though I've not, I only saw St. Martin myself.
I didn't see Palestine yet.
But I've seen lots of people trying.
I'm getting tempted recently to replace my old cheap coax that's going to the antenna that's supposed to get my RF out to the repeater.
They've got a 50 watts and a home-built Yagi and a hill in the way.
I almost get there.
I think in the winter I'll be better when there's not leaves, but I'm not sure.
I think maybe instead of, like maybe the coax is the next thing to try.
I could have a question if we need one around that stuff.
I will pass off to Jeff, W3JAM.
This is KD3EE.
Okay, very good.
John KD3EE from Whiskey3JulietAlpha.
Mike Jeff here in northern Chester County.
And, well, late week, but did get into a couple of nets.
Simplex net on Saturday night, of course, that I always like to check into.
And also Central PA Skywarn on Wednesday night.
I was able to get in on that net this week.
So there you go.
And as far as projects, I've been cleaning up here.
I think some know I've decommissioned the shack in the house
and been selling various pieces of equipment and things that I hadn't been using a lot
and continue to go through things.
My Heathkit SB102 is up on the workbench trying to get that back into operation.
It has a few minor issues.
I'm trying to get those cleaned up.
Decide if I'm going to keep or sell.
And I have an amplifier I may sell.
And some other odds and ends.
I'm also working a little bit on the little tower I'm going to put up on the roof,
bracketed to the chimney.
And I might put another .
I did get one.
I did get another .x510, but not sure if I'm going to use it or not, or put up a Comet CX333, which I also have,
which would give me .220 vertical for FM work.
Also working on a .220 Yagi, a 16-element directive systems Yagi that I'm rebuilding the driven element and T-match on that.
Kind of bringing that up to the modern version of the antenna.
It's a somewhat older version and used some kind of rod and number 12 wire for the T-match that you had to literally solder the shorting bars to.
So trying to bring that up to a little bit more current design.
And I'll deploy that for probably .222 sideband CW work.
Anyway, that's the story from Northern Chester County.
Over to Mr. Ron, WA3VE and any W3JAM.
Hi, Jeff. Thank you so much.
W3JAM and the group WA3VE.
Jim, not sure if Chuck had a phone call or not.
Sometimes that's usually, if I remember historically, that's what creeps in there.
So I don't have any emails from him.
So if he does show up, of course, I'm sure he'll be quite welcome, no doubt about it.
All very good.
And thanks, by the way, for picking it up.
I was just getting ready to.
I looked at the time.
I said, "Oh, my goodness, yes."
And then I heard you come on.
So, yeah, not a problem at all.
And we always say in the script that we're thankful for the other host.
Well, I'm thankful too, and you're very welcome.
You certainly know I enjoy it.
No doubt about it.
Okay, very good.
Over here real quick.
Not much going on.
I am getting ready for the, on Friday, I will not be at the breakfast, but I will be up in Kutztown at the antique radio show up there.
Mostly broadcast stuff.
But there are some hams there.
And so I'm checking out some things like some old scopes and stuff like that.
And whatever doesn't move there, I will bring to the next topic.
And that is the Red Rose Repeater Association Ham Fest on October 4th at the Radio Shack slash Fire Hall on, I guess it's Main Street in New Holland.
So that's always a nice cozy Ham Fest.
Smaller, of course.
But it's always nice to see some friends out there.
Great bunch of people out in that group as well as the ones up in Pottstown and ones in Delaware.
So, still checking out some equipment.
I'm getting a pretty good pile together.
So I'm hoping to offload everything on Friday.
I have some pieces also from Scott W3KZG.
I have a piece from N2HM, one of our main CW Ops at Winterfield Day, Bob Wick, who lives down in Manahawken, New Jersey.
So with that, let me see, let me pass it over to Bob.
KB3ZIM and the group WA3VEE.
GMS for a quick comment.
Good evening, everyone.
On the workbench tonight, this is KB3ZIM.
Bob calling out of East Fallowfield Township.
And good to hear everybody in there this evening.
Actually, I have no questions.
I didn't say that when I checked in.
So I don't have any questions this evening.
Although, if anybody wants to share any info about what, if anything, they use for antennas to get on 160 meters, I would appreciate your comments.
Yeah, that opens a whole can of worms.
But I've been meaning to put something up in the air this time of year, every year, for I don't know how many years.
But by golly, I think I'm going to get it done this time.
So, probably an inverted L or whatever.
But anyway, we'll see what we can accommodate MIQTH here.
Anyway, what I did in Ham Radio this past week is something that I had total enjoyment doing.
And I did it last night, and I did it for several hours yesterday evening.
Briefly, I'll try to explain this.
I have an ICOM IC7100.
And for those of you who are familiar with that, you'll know what that is if you're not.
It's a transceiver that has a control module, a remote control head, if you will.
You can hold it in the palm of your hand.
And it is connected by an Ethernet cable that is supplied, maybe, I don't know, 10 feet long, supplied with it.
And then the actual heavy lifting, the RF deck and the power amp and all the guts, if you will, are in a separate case.
And that's how it works.
So you can put that anywhere, attach the antenna and everything to it, and then use the control head, if you will, on the other end of an Ethernet cable.
Now ICOM doesn't recommend anything longer than the cable they supply, which is, I said, it's about, I don't know, I think, I don't think it's a 10 meter cable.
I think it's shorter than that.
But anyway, a lot of people put much longer cables on it.
I took it upon myself, and I did this a year or so ago.
I bought a 75 foot long CAT 8 cable, Category 8 Ethernet cable, which is shielded in its entire length and everything, Ethernet cables usually are not.
But I got a 75 foot length, and I have it, the main unit of the transceiver, upstairs of my second floor shack, and I feed it into my expert amp, 1.3 kilowatt expert amp, through one of the inputs on that.
But then I take the coax, the RF output, but then I take that 75 foot length of Ethernet cable, toss it out the window down onto the ground, and I string it over to my deck underneath my gazebo.
And simply with the control head and that single Ethernet cable plugged in, I can operate, and the amp is, I rigged the interface cables for the AFC and everything, so it follows the transceiver, whatever frequency it is and all that stuff.
But anyway, I can operate over a kilowatt if I want, I don't, I was only on low power last night.
But I can sit there with the control head and a hand mic in my hand, and the only thing connecting me to all that stuff is the 75 foot Ethernet cable going upstairs through the office window into my shack.
And man, I had a blast last night. I was 17 meters, 20 meters, there were a whole bunch of parks on the air stations. I don't know how long I sat out there, two hours or so maybe, maybe a little longer.
I just had a blast doing it. And that's why I came up with that whole scheme of wiring that all together.
So I could, when the weather's nice in the summer and spring and fall, I could just simply sit on the deck and enjoy a brew or a soda pop or whatever, something to eat under the gazebo or whatever.
Anyway, so I had a blast. I was sort of operating in the field, but not in the field per se, because I was on my own deck under my gazebo.
But it was really great. I really, really enjoyed doing it. I gotta tell you, I got a big kick out of it, which is exactly what I had designed, intended to do with that setup in the first place.
So that's what I did in hand radio. It was several hours last night, but it was a total blast.
So anyway, and I'm scratching my head about what I'm gonna do to get wires in the air for 160 meters during the fall and winter. Just to say I worked it.
I don't think I'll do it regularly, but anyway, there you go.
So with that, I've already taken up too darn much time, and I'll send it over to my neighbor, Steve, who's just an arm's length away, practically stone throw away.
So over to KC3YSM from KB3Zi.
3GMS for a very quick comment.
Hey, Joe.
The truck is sailing down at Long Beach Island, so he probably didn't get the word or whatever that he had the net tonight.
I'm sure he would have contacted you, Jim, and Phil, but that's where he is.
He's gallantly sailing in 17 mile-per-hour winds.
I talked to him this afternoon on the cell phone, and he's having a blast.
So that's where Mr. Chuck is tonight.
73-W3-GMS.
Okay, Joe, very good.
Two hams on a boat, and they're not checking in.
I don't know.
Yeah, I hadn't heard back from him when I sent out the reminder email,
so I had a feeling there might be something going on.
So I was sort of primed ahead of time.
Very good.
Thank you, Joe.
So, Steve, over to you.
KC3YSM AF3Z.
All right, Jim, thanks.
AF3Z, and also Bob, thank you.
And Chuck, or Chuck, I hope you're out enjoying your sailing.
This is KC3YSM, Steve here in Downingtown.
Yes, Bob, as the crow flies right around the corner here.
But I was gone most of last week out of town up in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to see my sister and family.
So that was a good time.
So not a lot of air time.
But I have started a little project for a little go box.
I picked up one of those Apache 4800s, and I'd like to be able to throw the 991 in and/or a smaller radio connected to the battery.
And I'm in pretty good shape.
I cut a piece of 3/8 ply and put a couple handles on it.
I can put it in the box, lift it out.
I also put a piece of 1/4" ply on the top as like a -- kind of like a workbench, if you will.
So I can lift the radio and the battery out, plop it on top of there.
All I've got to do is connect it to whatever I need, and I'm good to go.
So that's a fun little project that I've been working on.
So that's about it.
I'm going to toss it over to you, John, WA3KFT.
This is KC3YSM.
KC3YSM and the group WA3KFT.
Ah, well, we've been participating in the various nets, 6 meters, sideband, and Antique Wireless Association
on Sundays.
So we've been busy doing that.
And various 2 meter FM nets and so forth.
I'm usually on in the morning on the 147195 machine out of Newtown Square.
The net runs from about 8:30 to 9:30.
And it's been pretty good lately.
Check-ins up to around 15 or 20 every day.
So a lot of different voices.
Also, manicuring my rhubarb.
Man, I wound up with three batches of it the other day after I cooked it down.
So, we're storing that.
Over to you, Mike.
W3MFB.
WA3KFT.
W3MFB.
Howdy, howdy.
Let's see here.
Over the weekend, it looks like there was a VHF contest.
And it just so happened on the 991 I was hitting the band button for 2 meter.
And it went right over to, I think it was 144205 or something like that.
And there was somebody there calling CQ.
So, I know they're probably using a beam.
And I've talked to this guy before.
He's 88 miles in, uh, northwest of me.
Or northeast of me in New Jersey.
Uh, seems like with the VHF contest you always get the same folks.
Um, but anyway, so I was able to work him even though I was, you know, wrong polarization and all that jazz.
But, uh, had a good signal on his end.
I actually heard him better this time around than I did the last time around when the antenna was lower.
So, interesting.
Um, and then just hanging out, working a few photos and, uh, special events.
66, uh, special event stations were up on the air on, uh, 15 and, uh, 17 and, uh, 20 meters.
So, I worked three of them that I did hear.
I really wasn't hunting them, but it just happened to, happened to hear them.
So, that was fun.
Um, and then checked into a net on 80 meters.
Good group of folks.
Just chit-chatting.
And we were talking about, uh, honey bees and grape juice making and wine making.
And it was a good conversation.
So, I hung out there for a little bit on, uh, uh, Saturday evening.
So, but that's about it really.
Uh, so I pass it over to Bill.
KC3OOKW3MFB.
I'll be a three MFB.
KC3OOK.
Thanks, Mike.
And Jim, uh, thanks for taking the chair tonight.
Uh, I'll keep it brief.
Uh, most of my activities have been either on 985 or on the, uh, the simplex net or like Jeff, the, uh, the skyward net.
Uh, worked at Joe's last week.
Uh, gonna work out a schedule for this week.
Uh, gonna work out a schedule for this week.
See what we can get done this week as well.
Cause it's coming down to the wire.
We're getting close.
Uh, and I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I just got another, uh, side rail clamped and glued, uh, while the, uh, that was going on tonight.
I'm going to work out a schedule for this week.
Uh, I'm going to work out a schedule for this week.
See what we can get done this week as well.
Cause it's coming down to the wire.
We're getting close.
And I've been working in the shop during the day on the, uh, the table for the, uh, heat kick gear.
And I just got another, uh, side rail clamped and glued, uh, while the, uh, that was going on tonight.
I'll get one more done after this.
So, with that, I'll turn it over to Wayne.
KC3SQI.
KC3OOK.
KC3OOK.
Oh, thank you, Bill.
KC3OOK.
This is KC3SQI.
And thanks, Jim, for picking up the net.
I was about ready to, uh,
step in there as well.
So, not much going on right now with ham radio.
Um, going, I'm just in the process of moving all of my antennas over to the new mast.
And so, for right now, the only one that's operational is the two-meter antenna.
And that's the last thing that's coming down and the first thing that's going up when I get the new mast ready to go.
So, with that, I'll turn it over to Tim.
Tim, KD3AIS.
This is KC3SQI.
KC3SQI.
Thank you, Wayne.
This is KD3AIS.
Tim in Malvern.
I don't have very much to report in ham radio this week, other than the slow accumulation of equipment to put a ham radio in my new-to-me truck.
So far, I have the fender mount and that's it.
So, I will turn it over to Paxton KD3APR.
This is KD3AIS.
KD3AIS.
Thank you, this is KD3APR.
This is a question for neck control.
Am I getting an okay?
Currently on an HD.
Paxton, don't move.
Stay on that channel.
No, you're coming in quite well.
Go ahead.
All right, thank you.
I'll be sure not to move.
We were getting some intermod earlier, so I just wanted to make sure that you're going to be able to move.
My hand held, it's a hard battle for it.
But yeah, in terms of a ham radio activity for the week, not all too much.
The back to school season has been kind of consuming my life.
And I'm going to be able to move on to the back to school season.
I'm going to be able to move on to the back to school season.
I'm going to be able to move on to the back to school season.
I'm going to be able to move on to the back to school season.
I'm going to be able to move on to the back to school season.
I've been kind of consuming my life, but carved out the time to hop on the net tonight.
Just finishing up my geometry homework as it is.
You know, just try and get on as much as 985 and the other Delaware net activity as I can.
So, a lot of 2 meters, 70 centimeters stuff.
And yeah, not too much else for me.
So, I'm going to pass it on to AA3LH.
This is KD3APR.
Thank you, Paxton.
I wonder if this squeaky, weak station is actually making it in.
Or does it need another 100 watts and a power mic and a long periodic beam pointing right at the repeater.
I just kind of wonder.
Well, I know.
I know it's making it.
I can tell I'm feeling better today than I felt the last time.
This time under the bus, I got in and out before.
I got run over like I did Thursday night when I had to grab the bus axle and hang on and go for a ride on the creeper down to the stop sign there and then crawl out and under real quick.
Because that was slower last Thursday.
Today, I made sure I got under there and got the brakes adjusted, the exhaust pipe tightened on and making sure that the airbag bolts are tight and the brakes are looking good.
Brake lining is at 75% in the rear and the one and the other is at 70% in the back.
So we are good to go, Jim.
You put the fuel down then.
But what I did this morning, this morning about 5 o'clock at 80 meters, I got out and got in the radio 530.
And I was all out of water for about an hour and a half.
It was dead.
The band was long and I mean usually I listen to the Tennessee net.
That's fun to do.
But boy, no Tennessee net this morning.
It was long.
And I couldn't hear the guys I normally hang out with.
But that was what I did basically.
All week I didn't really have much of amateur radio activity.
The fact that I did not feel well.
And out of shape due to the fact that I had a hospital experience.
And now that experience is behind me, we know what is wrong.
And we plan on seeing you guys on Friday.
Talking to you guys on Thursday and seeing you guys on Friday.
So I guess I am the last guy to turn his weak radio back to AM3Z.
If he can hear me.
A3OH.
Can anybody give me a relay on that weak station?
Thank you, Leon.
AF3Z here.
Let's take a quick check here.
Is there anyone else out there?
Who would like to check in to the 985 workbench this evening?
Call now.
This is Jim.
AF3Z.
Alright.
Nothing heard there.
Very good.
Thank you all for your comments.
My comments are very short.
I did very little.
Some CW.
My normal stuff.
But nothing unusual or exciting or whatever.
So, very good.
Again, thanks everybody for your participation and your comments.
So I am shuffling papers once again.
So, now we will turn to the time for questions and answers.
And everybody is encouraged to make comments, observations, share experiences you had.
Please don't assume that your level of experience and knowledge isn't enough.
We can all share and learn from each other and contribute to the discussions.
So, feel free to pick up the mic and have some fun.
Now, I have one and a half or is it 1.35?
I am not sure.
Questions.
John had one.
If we need one, we will take it John.
And also Bob interested in information on 160 meter antennas that people are using.
So, we will do those too.
Is there anyone else that has come up with a question since we got started AF3's in?
W8CRW.
I have no question, but I have an announcement.
Alright, CR.
Would you like to make that announcement now?
You are certainly welcome to.
Very good, Jim.
I should have mentioned it during this week in ham radio.
But, I think you guys know Mr. Mike, W1RC.
And Mr. Mike is acquiring some WiresX equipment.
And he was looking for somebody down here to work with him.
And I volunteered to do that.
So, if anybody else is interested in doing WiresX again.
I know some people did that years ago.
But, maybe it's going for a return.
So, let me know and I'll pass it on to Mr. Mike.
W1RC.
Back to net.
W8CRW.
I love you.
You're doing very well.
Maybe I don't need my question.
But anyway, I've got my 50 watt mobile radio here.
I've got my home built Yagi up 30 feet on a flagpole pointing in the general direction of the repeater.
And I know that the directionality works.
It rejects off the back.
And I can watch the signal as I turn it.
So that's cool.
I've been using that for a while.
It's got about 75 feet of cheap coax going out there in a couple different sections.
You know, it just joined up.
It's got little SMA connectors on it.
So relatively lightweight.
I was thinking about replacing that with some KMR400, which is like a cheap version of LMR400,
so that it gets a better VHF performance.
I was wondering if anybody has any, like, what should I consider when testing this whole system?
Because I'm on the fringe.
I just need some marginal gains, and I think I'll do okay.
Radio to coax to directional home built antenna.
What am I?
How should I be testing this?
Thanks.
83EE.
Okay, very good, John.
Anybody respond to that?
How to test and check out an antenna system like that to see if you're doing what you can do or as best as you can do.
Anybody want to talk to that?
AF3Z.
WA3VE.
Go ahead, Ron.
Good.
And, Jim, with your indulgences, net control, and king of the net tonight,
let me go back and forth with John here.
John, do you have any test equipment?
I should have mentioned I have the tiny SA and the little attenuators to go with it,
because I did want to, like, test the power at the other end of the cable.
And I also have, like, one of these little digital inline power meters as well that's good to 100 watts,
so I should be able to use that as well.
And nanoVNA, but I don't know what that's worth in this case.
Thanks.
That's probably the one you want to start with.
In lieu of an antenna analyzer, first thing you want to do is make sure your antenna is matched.
So that's the first thing.
And what I would do is take a look at the SWR there once.
I don't know if your antenna is tunable or not, but if it's a directional, it might have a gamma match.
Usually they don't require tuning, but just may want to take a look at the SWR.
And the nanoVNA should be able to do that for you.
And the other part of it is if you're looking at receive, it's a directional antenna.
See if you can get somebody on.
If it's a repeater, see if you can get somebody on a repeater to talk to them as you try to rotate the antenna for maximum signal.
That would be the only thing that I'd recommend there for starters.
Jim, back to you. AF3Z WA3VE.
All right. Very good. Thank you, Ron.
Anybody else with comments for John?
KC3SQI.
Go ahead there, Wayne.
Okay. John, again, back to the nanoVNA.
If you've got a 50-ohm load that will work at the end of the coax, not just right at the nanoVNA,
what you'll do is calibrate at the adapter that's at the nanoVNA,
and get that so that you have a zero power level,
and then take that attenuator,
put it at the other end of the coax,
and do a through,
and you can actually look at how much attenuation you have in the coax
that will be robbing power before it gets to the antenna.
So that's the other test that you can do,
and especially if you're going to be going to a different type of coax,
that's the one that will tell you what it,
you know, how much you can expect to get an increase for.
So that's the other thing that I would be very seriously considering doing for tests.
It will also tell you if you've got any bad connectors or any other thing like that.
Okay, Jim, thank you.
Back to NAP.
KC3SQI.
Thank you, Wayne.
It would be interesting you had to test your thin old coax that you've got now to see how that looks.
All right, anybody else with comments for John?
This is AF3Z.
Thank you.
Okay, very good.
Yeah, testing to match with the antenna for SWR and checking the coax out to see how good that is.
Obviously, there are two key things there.
Otherwise, yeah, getting on the radio and seeing how people can hear you is an obvious test.
And with a repeater, you'll get a sense of, you know, relatively how you are compared to others and all that stuff.
One last check.
Anybody else with comments for John?
Please call now.
This is AF3Z.
All right, John, how did we do?
And back to you.
Thank you, Ron, for, oh, first, am I making it in?
You are very well.
Ron, great ideas on the checking SWR and checking the direction and stuff.
All right, since I've had the Nano VNA for a while, that's the one thing I know how to do with that.
So I did, when I built it, I tuned it.
It had a little view of wire that I tuned the length of that and how close it is in its turns.
I was able to get it down to a good SWR.
And then, yeah, definitely, like, when you guys are talking about things, I'm out there spinning the antenna around, watching the signal meter, and, you know, seeing how, what the, how, how many decibels I get.
And so that, yeah, so I definitely have it pointed in the right direction to maximize this.
That's what I'm trying to do is maximize.
And then, thank you, Wayne, for talking about using the Nano VNA to test the loss.
I didn't think of that.
I was going to go right for power and then deduce what kind of loss I was seeing.
But, yeah, I definitely want to, want to measure and see how much better is the new coax versus the old coax.
And I can do the old coax now before buying anything.
So that's, that's cool.
So I can definitely make sure that this is the weakest link there.
So, thank you.
This is KD3EE.
Okay, John, very good.
And I don't know if I, you had mentioned KMR400 versus LMR400.
And I don't know what I'm talking about, but the coax that we bought a bunch or several people did, the Beriflex cable from Davis RF, that's pretty good stuff, too.
And a lot cheaper than LMR400.
Very quickly, anybody have experience with the KMR400 or know about that?
Okay.
KC3SQI.
Go ahead there, Wayne.
Okay.
Okay.
And I'm going to thank Chuck for this one because he's the one that told me about it.
If you're going to go to an LMR type cable, you probably should go with the Beriflex because if you get the direct Beri LMR400, the way they make it, so that it doesn't have, so that the outside doesn't,
allow moisture into the coax is they put a glue type substance in between the outside braid and the shield.
And if you heat it up to be able to put the connector on, if you get a crimp type connector, it's a real mess to work with.
With the Beriflex, you will have to have a heat gun and heat the shield a little bit so that you can force the...
pinching part of the connector underneath the outside braid.
So, please do think more about the Beriflex, and if you want to find it locally, Ham Radio Outlet does carry it.
So, that would be my only suggestions on that.
Back to Nick, KC3SQI.
All right, very good, Wayne.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Just one quick call.
Any other comments around the antenna system checking to maximize it and all of that stuff, or coax AF3 is it?
All right, very good.
Bob, if you're still around, uh...
I'll just say a little... you can just re-voice your... you're looking for information on 160 meter antennas, and then we'll see what we can find.
Sorry, yeah, I'm still here.
23 is that I am, reading the mail.
You know, I don't have anything specific to say.
I posed a question like this once before, many months ago.
And, you know, it's one of those things like a list of, a wish list of things to do.
But every year around this time, September, I think, it's coming up on 160 season.
And, Bob, you ought to throw something up in the air, some kind of wire or something to get on,
just to have the experience of working it.
I do listen to 160, but I never have operated on it.
So I have some schemes in my head.
I have some ideas.
I have, you know, a little bit of flexibility in terms of space, in terms of outdoor space and tall trees and what have you.
But, you know, everyone knows.
If you know anything about it, you know it's a challenge because, you know, you need length and you need height and what have you.
But I'm going to try a few things.
More than likely, it's going to be an inverted L, which I can easily do.
But the thing is, the counterpoise leg, the radials or the ground or whatever is the challenge.
Because where I can get very high vertical run before I go horizontal is anywhere near where I have a usable ground,
unless I want to go 150 feet behind my house and drive a ground rod in and then do the radials and stuff.
So I have a couple of different schemes I'm going to try.
But if anybody says, hey, I do this.
I mean, I know Scott K3ZG, is it?
Scott, the last time I was talking to him at the breakfast, he said he's put wire up through trees, insulated wire, 14-gauge insulated wire,
and didn't sweat about going through tree limbs and branches and everything.
He said he worked 160 with it.
So, you know, I don't know.
I can put some fire in the wire, as Joe says.
Put kilowattish into it if I want.
And anyway, so if anybody says, hey, I do this or I did that like Scott did to me, said to me once,
and I said, really?
I mean, you weren't worried about, you know, avoiding tree limbs and everything?
And if I recall him correctly, he said, nope, I just shot it through all these notches in trees and all that stuff,
and it worked.
How well it worked, I don't know, but if I could make a few QSOs, I'd consider it a success.
So if anybody has anything to offer in that regard, I'm all ears.
This is KB3Z-IM.
All right, Bob, yeah, and I wouldn't worry too much about the trees either, especially with insulated wire.
All right, so who would like to speak to the 160-meter antenna question?
AF-3Z.
I guess I better come on since I operate a lot of 160.
Hi, Jim, W3GMS.
I read my mind.
I was just about to think all Joe could speak to this one.
Go ahead, Joe.
Thanks.
We can talk offline about some of the details, and I remember past conversations we've had,
and what I use is a 240-foot piece of horizontal wire up 60 feet at the apex in a form of an inverted V-FED with the open wire line,
but I know you can't do that.
So I would suggest, if you can, to help your ground radial system, that you use 3-8ths of a wavelength.
Because 3-8ths of a wavelength is not, you don't have to be as intensive with the ground radials because a quarter wave,
you know, you have a lot of ground current, so you've got to have a lot of radials to manage that efficiency.
When you get up to 3-8ths wave, it starts switching from a current-fed to somewhat of a voltage-fed antenna.
You still do need some radials, but not as extensive, and it'll be a lot more efficient.
The people that I work on 160-meter with 3-8th wavelength antennas do very, very well.
So now the topology, you can use just an ed-fed going out 3-8ths of a wave, or you can do an inverted L.
I ran an inverted L years and years ago, and I worked 78 countries on 160 meters on CW with 40 watts.
So they can be a very effective DX antenna due to the vertical component of the inverted L, because you get a lot of low-angle takeoff.
So that's the deal.
I think that's your best thing.
The disadvantage of an antenna like that, it's not a truly balanced antenna, so it tends to be a little bit noisier on receive
than like a dipole or something like that that's truly balanced.
But the noise level is the noise level, and I think in your situation, that would be the best way to go.
You can trim the antenna, so you do not need any matching at the, oh, I'm sorry.
With 3-8ths wave, you're going to need some matching.
A quarter wave, you don't need it.
But you're going to need some matching at the, where the feed point of the antenna is and where it connects to your coax.
So you have to have a little bit of inductance, a little bit of capacitance there in the form of an antenna tuner or whatever, whatever, whatever.
That's the, that's one of the things that makes it, I don't want to say more cumbersome, but it's another, something you else, that you need to do.
Because 3-8ths of a wavelength, a piece of wire does not look close to 50 ohms.
So that's where you have to have a matching device.
I like, for antennas like that, I like to use auto tuners.
There's plenty of auto tuners outside remote.
And that would make it very, very easy to do something like that.
So that's my first order suggestion.
And we can talk a lot more about it outside of the, of the workbench here.
Jim, I'm going to turn it back to, to, geez, I forgot his name, Bob ZIM, and see if that helps a little bit.
Go ahead.
Okay, Joe, KP3Z, I am here.
Yeah, thanks for your input.
For some reason, I don't remember you ever saying to me, anyway, that you worked 160.
And you say you work a lot.
So very good.
Very good.
Yeah, it's just a thing in the back of my mind and a list of things I'd like to try someday.
And, anyway, I said, this season, I think I'm going to get off my, off my duff and do it.
And my sentiments were just as you kind of confirmed.
Inverted L, especially.
Inverted L would be the easiest thing for me to do.
And I could do it relatively quickly, easily.
I mean, not, not that I want easy without effort.
But the inverted L, if I understand it correctly, an inverted L, the thing you want to try to get the most out of is, well, I think you might have mentioned inverted V.
But an inverted L, the thing that, if I understand it correctly, maximize it is to have the vertical component be as absolutely tall as possible.
An inverted L with, that I can do the easiest, actually off the peak of the roof of my house and then go horizontal.
That would give me the easiest way to put a radio field or two or three or whatever down.
Would actually be easiest, but it wouldn't be near as tall a vertical component as if I got it back to the big trees behind my house.
I could double that length.
And you've been here before, so you know the topography here.
So anyway, I'm going to play with it.
And, you know, I have a pretty good antenna analyzer.
Antenna analyzer and everything.
So I can certainly mess with a lot of different schemes before I put any fire in the wire, as you put it.
One thing that did cross my mind just the other day, previous owners of this house had an invisible fence for keeping their dog within the parameters of the property.
Well, I can't, that is, of course, I don't know if you're aware of this, that is a buried copper wire, bare copper wire that surrounds the entire property.
Boy, that has got to be super long.
I mean, hundreds of feet long.
And I'm thinking, gee, and there's a ground rod where on the one end of it and the other end was fed by the transmitter for the dog collar.
So I'm thinking, I wonder if I could cheat and hook into that.
So I might even give that a try as well.
So, okay.
Hardly critical.
Thank you for the input there.
Jim, I'll turn it back to you if Joe wants to jump in with further comments.
That'd be cool, too.
KB3 is that I am.
One quick comment, Jim.
Joe?
Forget about the ground rod.
A ground rod does nothing for RF grounds.
It's a good safety ground.
It's a good lightning ground.
But it does nothing for RF.
You used to work in broadcasting.
If you've ever been out to an AM radio station, an array there, they have a big ring around the base of the vertical.
And they have radials, a minimum the FCC requires in most installations, is 120 radials.
To give a certain efficiency on the vertical antenna.
And those radials just connect to the sheath of the coaxer.
In case of a broadcast station, a hard line coming up.
So forget the ground rod.
That's not going to do anything for you.
There's no RF ground.
Safety ground.
Lightning ground.
Yeah, but not an RF ground.
And that would be an excellent thing to tie in.
Just tie in as much stuff as you can as a counterpoise and go with it.
For DXing, depending on the angle of radiation that you're looking for, the higher you get the vertical component, the better.
And then you bend the wire over and it looks like kind of a capacitive top hat.
And you get extra loading with that and so forth and so on.
But I think that would be the best.
But all antennas are a compromise and you have to weigh out the things for your particular situation.
And, you know, you can try something and do it at the house and then you can do it down in the woods.
I would think you would have a lower noise level by having it down in the woods as compared to having the vertical component very, very close to the house.
I think that would be your noise level would be significantly higher because of all the digital stuff you have in your house.
So anyway, have fun.
160 is my favorite band.
I've been on 160 since 1967.
It was my first year on 160.
Truly a wonderful winter band.
Okay, thanks, Jim.
Hopefully I added a little bit to the conversation as far as inverted L antennas on 160 meters.
AF3Z, W3GMS clear and just going back to the listening mode.
3NZT comment.
Thank you, Joe.
And good evening, Harvey.
Yes, go ahead.
Jim, and good evening, all.
Hi, Bob.
One thing I wanted to throw out there, I heard you have a 7100 and it won't work with a kilowatt.
But one thing that's super easy that I wanted to throw out there is Icom makes an AH4 tuner.
It's an auto coupler.
So it's not like a remote antenna tuner.
It is an antenna tuner that's fed at the base of the antenna.
And they're very inexpensive in the used market.
I got mine used once with original box.
I think I paid 150 bucks.
But it will literally tune anything.
And I think the manual, you can look it up on the internet.
But I believe the manual says anything from 70 feet to like 400 or 500 feet will work well on 160 meters.
And I installed one at my property.
I buried the coax.
It's probably about 40 feet from my house.
And it has a small radial field under the grass.
And I ran an 80-foot wire that was probably only averaging about 80 feet.
I'm sorry, 8.
8 feet.
8 feet above the ground across my property.
And it tuned it up just fine and was able to make contacts.
I think it's limited to about 100 or 150 watts, something like that.
But with the 7100, it should run it.
And it is automatic.
So the second you key up, it finds the right tune on its own.
And if you wanted to go inverted L, that might be something that would be super cheap and easy to use.
And the benefit is because it's an automatic tuner that works with your radio.
It would just be a whole separate antenna for you.
So any band you wanted to, it will tune it right up.
So I used mine originally with a 25-foot-long piece of vertical wire.
And that worked 80 through 6.
And then once in a while, there's a contest that Phil, CIB, likes to work.
I forget the name of it.
But he mentions it usually in conversation when it's coming up that he likes to work.
And, yeah, when you throw an 80-foot, for me at least, when I threw an 80-foot piece of wire on it in a straight line,
just draped over some tree branches down low, very, very low, like I said, 8 feet, it tuned it up just fine.
So as far as cheap and easy goes, that might be something worth exploring.
Food for thought, KC3NZT.
Back to you, Jim.
All right.
Thank you, Harvey.
Very good.
Anybody else with comments on the 160 antenna before we close up shop here?
KC3SQI.
Go ahead, Wayne.
Yeah, on the buried dog fence, the invisible dog fence,
You will need to be able to hopefully find the wires in the house or whatever that were driving that,
and then do an impedance on it.
Make sure that it's not grounding in multiple places.
So, they do, unless it was put in professionally or the people knew something about RF,
they usually do not have thick enough shielding on the wires or large enough diameter to be able to keep it from breaking the wire with expansion and contraction while it's in the ground in summer and winter.
So, that's another one that you need to check if you're going to use that as part of your grounding system.
KC3SQI.
Back to net.
All right.
Thank you, Wayne.
All right, Bob.
Any additional response?
Not necessary, but anything else you want to say?
AF3Z.
AF3Z and the group KB3Z-IM.
No, just a couple of comments there.
The dog wires, Wayne just mentioned.
Yeah, I'm going to check all that out.
I just happen to know they are.
It is in the ground.
And, yes, I know it because I see where they were terminated, where the transmitting, you know, the injector, signal injector and everything was.
They're very accessible, and there is a ground rod there, too, which leads me over to Joe's comment.
Yeah, understood about the ground rod meaning nothing for RF, but I was thinking of it more.
At least the one I can access from the house is Tide Point, Tide Point, where I can, you know, fan some radios out from there.
That's what I was thinking about that.
And I believe it was Harvey talking about the AH4.
Yes, I'm very familiar with that, and I'm always keeping my eye out for one of them.
Yeah, it won't take a kilowatt.
I think it's limited to well below 200 watts, something like 150 or something.
But I am familiar with it, yeah, it will auto interface with most ICOM rigs, all ICOM rigs, I guess, that four conductor control connection there.
And, yeah, I've been looking for one of those, too, and I do understand they really work well.
But I don't think they're made anymore.
They may have supplanted it with a different model, but I don't think those are, like, commercially available new anymore.
So I've been keeping my eye out for that.
And, yeah, because I'm pretty sure it would do the job.
Anyway, okay, gentlemen, nothing more need be said.
Just was throwing that out there for the heck of it.
So I'll turn it back to you, Jim, and it sounds like you're ready to wrap it up.
KB-3, is that on?
Okay, thank you, Bob.
Okay, thank you, Bob.
And, yeah, be sure to report back.
We'll be curious to hear what you do and how it works.
Or how it doesn't work, as the case may be.
All right.
All right.
Before we do wrap it up here, anybody else want to check in who's been listening?
Or just any other comments for the group?
AF-3-Z.
Good evening.
Good evening, Mr. Mike.
W-1-RC.
Any comments for the group?
Good to hear you.
Have you been listening a while?
I just turned on the radio trying to figure out my daughter's work benefit plan, the health plan.
What a mess.
I don't know how anybody figures these things out.
It's terrible.
It's just absolutely terrible trying to figure it out.
She's got to sign up by tomorrow.
So, you know, 21 days to sign up from her first work date, and we put it off.
And here we are.
So, no, I've been concentrating.
My wife and I and my daughter have been trying to figure that out.
So we kind of didn't check in earlier.
So back to that.
W-1-RC.
Okay, Mr. Mike.
Good luck with that stuff.
There's a lot of legal gobbledygook that I'm not good at.
So good luck with that.
And thanks for checking in with us.
Anybody else want to check in or any other comments for the group before we close down?
Nothing here.
Well, thanks again.
Appreciate everybody who checked in and shared with us here tonight.
And big thanks to Joe for making the 985 repeater available for us to do the workbench.
And as you all know, I think you're very welcome to use a repeater often, not just at net times, but any time.
And it is a great way to show that we appreciate the time and everything that Joe pours in to keep in 985 working well.
So we do appreciate it.
Do use it often.
And remember, Thursday night at 8 p.m. is the round table.
Hope you can join us for that.
So this concludes the workbench for tonight.
And even now, you can feel free to stick around and keep talking and have some good discussion here.
So have a good night and a great week ahead.
73, this is AF3Z clear.
Thank you.
Thank you.