May Updates

By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

11 May 2021 at 15:00

Well we are only a week into May and work has been keeping me quite busy! Not much time to mess around on the radio.

I made a few changes to my setup since my last post. I now have a new L-shaped desk (more room for radios!). I picked up a new desk chair (way better for my back!) to go with the new desk. I've been working on cable management for the pat few days and I'm still not finished!

I was able to get a new G5rv up in the air with some help from Dad. This one I purchased from HRO. It is a Radiowavz brand G5. Seems to preform about the same as the old antenna. This one supposedly tunes on 6 meters. I haven't had a chance to try it out down there yet. But I was able to make several DX QSOs right off the bat. While I was placing and order I also picked up a pretty nice SWR/Power meter. It is a Daiwa CN-901. It makes a nice addition to my setup. I was using the LED bar graph on my LDG tuner for a wattmeter but it doesn't have the accuracy that I wanted. I also picked up a few short RG8x cables that are a little more flexible than what I was using. I wanted them to be more flexible to alleviate strain on the connectors on the equipment.

Now that I have an HF antenna back up in the air I've been working some FT8. I actually applied for a few more awards through the FT8DMC. Hopefully I'll get them soon.

I've started looking at options for a new desktop computer to replace my current PC. It's looking like it's going to cost about $1,000-1,800 to either build or buy a PC that meets my specifications. It's been hard to price components due to a LOT of electronic parts being out of stock. I'm looking forward to updating my setup.

I was able to attend the May KY4ARC meeting IN PERSON!! It was nice to actually be in a meeting with people instead of staring at a monitor. Hopefully I will be able to attend future meeting. It's hard to tell when I'll be able to go with my work schedule the way it is currently.

Lastly an administrative update for email subscribers. I was notified in the last month that FeedBurner, the service I use to automate email subscriptions will be shutting down in July 2021. I'm currently looking at a couple different options for a new service. I hope to have a solution in place next month.

Well no pictures in this one (again).

Hope to catch ya' down the log!

73

Cam

It's been a while...

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

28 March 2021 at 16:45

Well it's been a while since my last update. Things have been quite busy. First I now have a full-time job! My schedule hasn't been set yet so it's been quite hectic not know what times or days I'm working.

Now onto the radio stuff.

During the recent ice storms we had a few trees fall. One of them happened to take down my G5RV. One of the legs is completely broken into two pieces and frayed really badly. Haven't looked at the otherside but it's on the ground as well. I'm going to need to replace it. Right now I'm not sure if I want to get another G5RV or something else. I'll probably take the remnants of the current antenna and make some other dipole out of it. The VHF beam seems to have survived the ice buildup with no damage. Overall we were without power for about 6 days.

As you can guess without an HF antenna and a new job I haven't had much time to get on the air. Due to my chaotic schedule I've been missing local nets. I was able to make the March Zoom meeting of KY4ARC (I'm actually a member now). If I end up working nights I won't be able to attend any in-person meeting now that they are starting back. Hopefully I'll still be able to make field day.

I was hoping to work the KA6LMS Last Man Standing special event but that's not happening. If I get around to it before the event ends I may try and work them on Echolink or DMR.

Well that's all I've got for now! Hopefully I'll have more it the next one!

73

Cameron

New year, New Goals

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

1 February 2021 at 15:00

Well happy 2021 everyone! (I know I'm a month late 😂)

January started off with another meeting of KY4ARC via Zoom. I finally sent in my dues so I should now be a member.

This year I decided to set a goal of participating in as many contests as I can. I started off this month with the North American QSO Party, SSB. I didn't have as much time to operate as I originally expected. After operating for about 2 hours I only ended up with 15 QSOs. Noise seemed to really bad on 40m. 80 meters was a little better, though I had some trouble breaking through the pileups. Of the 15 QSOs 13 were on 80 meters and 2 were on 40 meters. Overall all I had 12 multipliers for a total score of 180.

Winter Field day was supposed to be my next contest, but thanks to a power outage the Friday before the start of the event my main shack computer shutdown and now fails to boot. So my logging and digital software were inaccessible. It's been on it's last leg for quite a while. It desperately needs to be replaced. I'll eventually finalize a parts list and start purchasing parts to build a new more powerful computer for the shack. Until then I'm going to try and nurse the current one back to health.

Other than a couple of DX FT8 contacts earlier in the month that is about all I've done radio wise. I did manage to make a contact with South Africa I think that's my first. I may send out a couple of QSL cards to stations from the NAQP. I haven't sent any out in a while.

Well that's all for now. Hope to catch ya' down the log!

73

Cam

Exciting News for December!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

19 December 2020 at 19:30

Well you haven't heard from me in a while. I've been super busy finishing up my EMT class. I'm proud to say I passed the class, skills test, AND National Registry exam! Glad that's over (even though the class was fun and I made friends)! now I can start looking for a job.

NREMT Certificate

Well that's enough about that, now on to radio.

I haven't had much time to operate but I have been playing around on FT8 here and there. I did qualify for another award through the FT8DMC, the Panamanian Stations Award. I know a lot of people don't like these awards because there's no absolute verification like with DXCC or WAS but I enjoy them. Eventually I'd like to have them made into a large collage to hang on the wall.

FT8DMC PASA

One of the things that I"ve been wanting to try, that I finally got around to, is remote operating. I had some free time after a test and decided to see if I could work some FT8 while remote at class. I connected to my desktop via Teamviewer and was able to control JTDX fairly well, though there seemed to be a slight lag. Everything worked and I was able to make a couple of contacts (there was a slight logging issue but I realized that I forgot to actually click "log" 😐). I'm looking foward to trying more of this in the future!

Recently I've been thinking alot about my mobile setup in the car. The Connect Systems BFD that I use with the 800D is taking up a LOT of space and makes it awkward for anyone sitting in the passenger seat. I haven't really used DMR in the car since I left WVU. I think I may switch back to the regular control head for the 800D and relocate them to the dashboard or CD slot if I can figure out how to route the wires.

Well that's all I've got for now!

Happy Holidays! Stay safe!

73

Cameron Hale, NREMT

(yes I'm using the postnominal. I earned it!)

Not so spooky October

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

9 November 2020 at 21:00

Well October flew by. I didn't get around to half of what I wanted to.

I worked some FT8 here and there. I qualified for a few awards from the FT8 Digital Mode Club. I got the Worked Prefix Award for working 100 prefixes on 40 meters. I got the Worked All South America Bronze award for working stations in all 10 South American Countries. The Worked All Members 100 Award was issued for working 100 members of the FT8DMC. I got the Worked United States Station 200 Award for working 200 US Stations. And lastly I got the Costa Rican Station Award for working 3 Costa Rican Station.

FT8DMC Awards

I was also able to attend a yard sale and acquire some equipment. I picked up a few sections of tower (with two toppers) along with a Alliance HD-73 Rotor (need to find a control box). Included with the towers was a 2m vertical and what I believe to be either a 2m or dual-band(2m/70cm) beam.

Equipment wise I was able to get the following:

Heathkit SB-401
Heathkit DX-40 Transmitter
Hammarlund SB-600
Knight Ocean Hopper
Signal Corp BC-342-N (Farnsworth Television & Radio)
Bendix Radio Type TA-12C Aircraft Transmitter
(2) Midland 75-764B
Uniden Pro 510XL
BIG BOX OF TUBES

Equipment, Antenna, Tower

I need to go through all of the equipment and see if it works or what parts it needs. A couple are in a little rough shape. Looks like most will need new tubes. One needs new knobs. I think the 401 needs crystals but that's as far as I've gotten 😁. I haven't even looked through the box of tubes yet, that's going to be a chore.

Looking ahead I've found a few things to update my room a little and picked out paint colors so hopefully I can get that started soon. Ham wise I'm thinking about trying to work the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes this month. We'll see what happens.

Well that's all for now! Kinda short, but there's pictures this time!!

73

Cam

Slow September

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

9 October 2020 at 14:00

Well September has come and gone in this crazy year. EMT Class has been keeping me pretty busy so not much has happened radio wise. I've made a few contacts on good ol' FT8, but that's about it operating wise.

I applied for several awards from the FT8 Digital Mode Club. Hope to hear back that they are approved soon!

Some home improvement projects have been completed so I can finally start looking for a new desk. Moving back from my apartment I lost a decent chunk of desk space so everything (radio and non-radio) is crammed on one desk with no storage, just a hutch on top of it. I forgot how hard it was to find a desk that fits both space and personal requirements 😁.

In other news I received my ARRL ballot for this years election of the Great Lakes Division Director and Vice Director. I hope all of my fellow members with elections in your division/section cast a vote!

I also made a few updates to the code plug in my 878UV. Eventually I'll get around to updating the radios in the car. Unfortunately my pi-star hot-spot has stopped working. Not sure what happened to it, seems like the MMDVM board is functioning but the Pi-zero is not. I've tried re-flashing the image and replacing the SD card. I've been wanting to upgrade to a duplex model, maybe this is a sign to pick up a duplex board!

I was able to attend KY4ARC's monthly (virtual) meeting for October. I'm looking forward to becoming a member in January when the dues are due!

Well that's all for now! No pictures this time!

See ya down the log!

Cam

Busy, Busy August

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

3 September 2020 at 14:00

Well not a lot has been going on radio wise the last month, except for a few FT8 QSOs here and there. I started an EMT class on the 17th that has been keeping me pretty busy! I may start trying to chat a little on my way to Ashland every now and then.

I've been working on updating the firmware and codeplugs on my radios (some were long overdue!). I've added a few repeaters to my Anytone 878, including a couple of DMR repeaters near Ashland that I didn't know were there (I still need to add them to the CS 800D in the car). Now I just need to use them!

I think the last of my QSL cards for the 13 Colonies Event came in. All of them should now be viewable in the QSL Archive. My Certificate came in as well. It looks great! I'm thinking about framing my certificates with their QSL cards for each year, I think it would be nice to hang up!

2020 13 Colonies Certificate

In my last post I mentioned waiting for full results from the Kentucky QSO Party. Well they were finally posted. My final score of 3,036 points put me at 19 out 35 in my category (Single Op-Low), 24th out of 44 for just Single Op and 33rd out of 54 overall. Not bad for my first showing! Next year I hope to do even better.

I been thinking about adding another antenna to my setup. A simple dipole for 10m. I know a lot of people in my area talk on 10 pretty regularly so I'd like to have a dedicated antenna to use. I have everything (I think) I need to build one. Plus the pulley on my mast is empty since I moved the G5RV. I just need the time to get around to it! Eventually I'll add a 2nd G5RV but that's not an option right now.

One last thing: Please feel free to share my blog and website to someone who may be interested!

Well that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more for the next update!

73

Cam

Slow July Updates

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

5 August 2020 at 13:00

Not much of an update this time.

After the 13 Colonies Special Event I took some time off from the radio to focus on organizing stuff after moving out of my apartment and updating the website.

I've added a few QSL cards from the KY QSO Party and the 13 Colonies event to the QSL archive (click link to view). I also added descriptions to each card so the album is now fully searchable (at least for me). The descriptions also allow the image to be accessible to people using screen readers. You can view the descriptions by clicking the (ℹ) after clicking on an image.

I also added descriptions to all of the awards on the awards page as well as alternate text to the awards and images on my QRZ page. I received and uploaded my certificate from the KY QSO Party. My score was higher than what I calculated. I ended up 3,036 points. I'm eagerly awaiting the full results!

2020 KYQP Certificate

I made a few check-ins on the nightly Friendship Net on the East Kentucky Link System (via the KY4ARC Paintsville repeater) after setting my Yaesu FT-2980 VHF radio back up. Not long after some work was done to the repeater and I can no longer hear it. I found out that I can usually hear the N4KJU UHF repeater in Paintsville, via ONLY my Anytone 878UV (my IC-706mkiig seems to be deaf on UHF). I don't have a UHF rig (or antenna) that can reach the UHF repeater so I came up with a different solution. I rigged up a manual antenna switch to the feedline coming from my VHF beam and split it between the FT-2980 and the 878. I use the 878 to receive the UHF repeater and switch to the 2980 to transmit to the Paintsville VHF repeater (it can hear me even though I can't hear it). It's crude, but it works!

I planned on attending the DX Engineering Virtual Event but ended up being away from home most of the day. I'm going to try and attend the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on August 8 & 9. Looks like they have a good list of speakers!

A few other "behind-the-scenes" things were updated on the site to make things work and look a little better. There was also a slight change to the way the automatic emails are formatted (you probably won't notice the change). The domain for the website was also renewed for another year.

I may have some new to share soon! It'll probably get it's own post!

Well that's all for now!

See ya down the log!!

73

Cam

2020 Field Day and More

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

10 July 2020 at 14:00

Since the Kentucky QSO Party I stayed off the air for a bit until Field Day. My local club KY4ARC decided to do an at home field day with 1D stations submitting for the aggregate score. I operated for a

FD 2020 Worked Sections

few hours and managed 32 contacts, all digital either FT8 or FT4. I was quite a struggle to say the least. I could not break through any pileups on SSB. I was able to receive the W1AW bulletin on 40m PSK31, my first attempt at trying PSK, I'll eventually get around to trying to transmit and make a few contacts.

In other new I was able to move from my apartment and now have all of my equipment in (mostly) one place! Over the next few days I'll be setting up some of the stuff I brought back so that I can hopefully use the local repeaters via RF.

I tried to work the 13 Colonies event for the second time but seemed to struggle a little (Even with a better radio/antenna setup). I ended up with 10 of the colony stations total. I worked all but K2I on FT8 (8 on 40 & 1 on 80). I managed to K2I in the last 20 minutes on 40 SSB in some of the worst noise I've had on the band. My received report was a 22, I sent a 33, but at least Andrea, K2EZ was able to pull me out of the noise! I missed both of bonus stations and the stations in VA, RI, and DE. It's a little disappointing considering last year I had a clean sweep plus 2 of the 3 bonus stations (there was one less this year). I've already sent off for my certificate and QSL cards from the stations I did work.

I was finally able to make a QSO with Hawaii (actually two). Hawaii has eluded me since I started working HF, even from W8CUL. I worked WH6S on 20m FT8 and WH6HI on 40m FT4. Not bad considering I usually can't even receive them when they're spotted.

FT8DMC WAC 20 Meter

A few more awards from the FT8DMC were earned since my last post. Including another Worked All Continents award, this time with a 20m endorsement and a Worked Region 2 Silver. You can view all of the awards on the Awards page of my website. In addition to the awards I also uploaded 3 new QSL cards to the QSL Archive (including a K2I card from last years 13 colonies event).

I've also been doing a little work on DMR hotspot. I tried to update it and instead I seem to have corrupted it (Oops!). So I had to re-re-flash the SD card. It seems to be working. I'd like to upgrade to a full-duplex hotspot for home and just use my simplex version for travel. But that's something for later.

My adventure of learning CW came to a stop almost as soon as it started after getting busy. I need to pick it back up. Hopefully soon!

My main desktop is still down and out. I need to start getting parts and build my new one. My laptop with an external monitor will do for now, but I miss the big computer!

I also found out that the Central KY Hamfest and the KY state convention were cancelled. I was hoping to attend at least the one of them this year. But I'll add both to my calendar for next year!

That's all for now.

Hope to catch you down the log!

And remember to wear the damn mask!!

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May blog in June....KY QSO Party plus AUSTRALIA??
11 June 2020 at 22:30

May blog in June....KY QSO Party plus AUSTRALIA??

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

11 June 2020 at 22:30

So I decided to hold off on the may blog until after the Kentucky QSO Party so I could share my score (and a few other things).

May was pretty quiet overall with not much going on ham radio wise.

I attended the virtual Contest University. It was a great event, plus you can't beat FREE!! I learned quite a bit from the different presenters. I think my favorite presentations were "Grounding & Bonding for Contest Stations" by the one and only Ward Silver (N0AX) and "Digital Contesting Hints & Kinks" by Ed Muns (W0KY). I figured out a few things I need to do for grounding whenever I get around to it.

I also graduated from WVU! It wasn't how I planned it or with the degree I originally intended to get, but I'm glad to have actually finished a degree!

KN4CFI KYQP

June started off with the Kentucky QSO Party. I operated from Lawrence County (LAW). I didn't do as well as I had originally hoped, but I'm still proud of my efforts. I ended up with 66 QSOs in 53 minutes total operating time. All were phone on 40 meters. I didn't do any hunting I decided to just work a frequency (or two). The 66 contacts plus 24 multipliers gave me a final score of 1,584. Overall, not bad for my first time!

The second week of June was really exciting. I FINALLY made my first QSO with AUSTRALIA!!! I've been looking for them for a while but never seemed to be able to receive them until now anyway! I couldn't sleep so I decided to work some FT8 & FT4 on 40m. I had pretty good luck with DX stations

VK7AC FT8 Contact

right off the bat working Spain, Panama, Barbados, Anguilla, Argentina, Belize, and the US Virgin Islands. Before working AUS I saw a New Zealand station pop up in WSJT-X. I tried to work him several times but even though PSK Reporter showed a few NZ stations were receiving my I never could get a QSO. I was getting ready to shut everything down and go to bed when I saw a couple VK stations popping up. After trying a few time VK7AC, Norm in Tasmania, finally came back to me!! I almost fell over!!

VK7AC LoTW Confirmation

The contact was made using WSJT-X (FT8), an IC-7300, and my G5RV. Based off of my calculations from Lawrence Co. (EM88na) to Tasmania (QE38mp) is roughly 9,867 miles (15,787 km)! It's already confirmed on LoTW too!!

With the confirmed contact in Australia I was able to apply for QRZ's Worked All Continents award. It was granted with an endorsement for Digital Mixed. I also applied for a couple of other awards from the FT8 Digital Mode Club.

Now to see what the rest of June holds!

73

Cam

Quarantine April: In Review

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

12 May 2020 at 12:00

Well I didn't get around to posting a blog in April. With all of my classes switching to online instruction, I didn't get around to writing an update so here it is (a lot late)!

I FINALLY moved my G5RV from the mast behind directly behind the house to two trees further up the hill. I used the antenna launcher to shoot the lines up into to trees and it worked amazingly! The antenna is now in a flattop configuration and is about 25 or 30 feet further up the hill. It's gained about 10 to 15 feet of elevation. The SWR is lower than when it was in the inverted-v on the mast.

I still need to drop the mast and tune the VHF yagi. I'd like to be able to get on the local repeaters via RF at some point! It shouldn't take long if I can get it on the ground.

I would like to get around to building a few antennas and working on some other projects but all of my electronic equipment and tools are currently stuck in my apartment in Morgantown along with some of my radios (like my FT-2980R). Hopefully I can get them back to Kentucky soon. I'd like to set up a semi-permanent shack/office in the upstairs of my house. But there's a lot of work to do before that happens.

I did pick up a MFJ-564B iambic paddle (I do have a straight key attached to a practice keyer but I prefer the feel of the paddles). I've decided to start learning CW. It's going to be a long journey but I'm excited to see where it takes me!

I'm planning on attending the virtual Contest University on May 14th. I was wanting to attend in person for the first time. I may also participate in the Hamvention QSO party or a few of the livestreams from vendors to see what they have to offer!

Well looks like this blog is a short one (without pictures)! Hopefully May's blog will have more content!

73
Cam

March Madness?

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

23 March 2020 at 16:00

Well this has definitely been an interesting month.

With COVID-19 spreading all over the place WVU has switched to online-only instruction for the remainder of the semester. They have also asked that students not return to Morgantown. This has pretty much put an end to all of W8CUL's projects. We are however, looking into possibly hosting an online version of our Tech In A Day course if there is enough interest. Classes are definitely going to be interesting transitioning to the online stuff.

Now that I’m homebound in Blaine I’ve set up my IC-7300 with my G5RV and have been working quite a bit of FT8 with a little bit of FT4 for fun. I haven’t really worked any SSB since I’ve been home. One thing that I noticed after using the 7300 for a bit (this is the first time I’ve had the 7300 at home) is that the interference that I had of 40 meters with the IC-706mkiig is no longer a problem! Sometimes at night I can just barely hear it but it seems like the 7300 is really taking care of business!

Since my last post I’ve earned a few new awards from the FT8 Digital Mode Club. I earned the Worked Brasilian Prefix Award (Class III) for making contacts with 5 station in Brazil, each one having a different prefix. The next two are both Worked US Grid Square Awards. On is for 25 grid

squares the other is for 50. I also got a second Worked Prefix Award. This one is specifically for working 100 different prefixes on 20 meters. Finally, the last award is the Worked Cuban Stations Award for working 5 Cuban amateur radio stations. It’s been fun trying to see what awards I can earn with the FT8DMC! It’s definitely an awesome, free club you should join if you like working FT8!

Speaking of awards I’ve added an Awards page on the website. It features a Google Photos album of all of my awards (except the ones from QRZ). I also added a few things to the Logbook page. There is now a log from HRDLOG.net at the top of the page. It’s a little larger than the ones from QRZ and Clublog. A interactive map of all of my QSOs is also on the page now as well. I found qsomap.org and immediately uploaded my log. It accepts an ADIF from my logging software and combines that info with a QRZ looking and displays everything on a nice map.

I made my 300th QSO on March 20th! It was on 40 meters using FT4. The QSO was with AB1WG in Chittenden county, VT. He was also my 200th confirmed contact on QRZ. I'll most likely send him a QSL card when i pick them up from Morgantown.

I decided to work on a project that I’ve wanted to do for a while last week, a pneumatic antenna launcher. I’m basing it off of Spence, WT8WV’s launcher he used at Field Day. It’s a pretty simple build made entirely out of supplies from my local Lowe’s and one part from O’Reilly Auto Parts. It

only took two days to build (with the exception of the projectiles, I haven’t decided what to fill them with). I was going to dedicate a blog post to the build but there is already so much out there about building one I decided not to. I’m already thinking up ideas for a version 2! I’m going to use the launcher to move my G5RV further up the hill behind my house and get it into a flattop configuration instead of the inverted v.

Well I guess that's all for now. Stay safe and wash your hands!

73

Cam

Busy February...so far

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

21 February 2020 at 20:30

Boy oh boy February has been busy. The first round of exams have started and a few class projects are starting to pick up. With all that my free time to play on the radio has substantially decreased.

I've had to put aside a few of my projects as my main PC's motherboard decided to fail. I've had plans to build a new more powerful, more capable PC for a while, I just didn't expect to start on it this soon. I'm going to be slowly buying the parts I need. I'll hopefully finish the build around March.

On the radio side of things my setup is a bit different. I'm using my Icom IC-7300 with an LDG AT-200ProII auto tuner. I'm also not using my Buddistick vertical any more, I've switched over to a hamstick dipole setup for 40m and 20m. It seems to work ok, but with all the interference around the apartment complex it still isn't going to work as well as I would like.

WVUARC is still going. We had our first meeting of the semester on January 30th. Attendance was pretty low, but it seems like other clubs on campus have been having that issue as well. We had a great presentation by ARRL WV Section Manager Dan Ringer, K8WV. He even donated a bunch of books to the new W8CUL Reference Library!

W8CUL was supposed to operate in the ARRL School Club Roundup, but of course something had to break. The fuse in our rotor controller blew, and it just had to be one that we didn't have a spare for. So, we only made two contacts. We'll eventually operate in a contest and do well!

Teaching @ WVUARC Tech In A Day (N8MDC Photo)

On February 15th WVUARC hosted our first Tech In A Day class. We had 19 people attend the full class. Of the 19, 11 passed their tech test. Overall we had 24 people take tests, of those 12 passed tech and one person upgraded to Extra! We ended up administering 49 tests. I actually had to close registration for the event, that's never happened before! I ended up running out of tech tests, thanks to a couple no shows I had just enough for the people who were there! We're already working on planning for the second one on April 18th.

In other news I got approved for three awards from the FT8 Digital mode club. I qualified for the
Worked Grid Award-100 for making contacts in 100 different grid squares. The next award was the
Worked Region 2 Award-Bronze for making contacts with 10 hams in region 2. The last award is the Worked Prefix Award for making contacts with 100 hams all of whom have different callsign prefixes.

I also got an award from QRZ.com. I got their Grid Squared Award for having confirmed contacts in 100 different grid squares. It goes nicely with the World Radio Friendship Awards (20m Mixed/20m Digital) I already had. I need to order my certificates.

I've decided to organize my QSL cards into a binder with photo pages of sorts. I also want to put all of my awards in there, at least until I have a permanent shack and can hang them on the wall.

On the Website I've updated the equipment lists and added an awards section to the logbook page. I might redo a little bit of the formatting. I think I still need to scan at least one QSL card and add it to the album on the site.

I think that is enough of an update for now!

See ya down the log!

New year new goals!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

14 January 2020 at 21:00

A lot has happened since my last post!

First, a few members of the WVU Amateur radio club, myself included, made our way onto the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building to work on and inspect antennas. Overall the work went well. We made sure our 10/15/20 Yagi was secured to it's mast and attempted to re-orient it so that it would be pointed the correct way based off of the rotor controllers reading. Well that was the intent anyway. Due to the lack of a decent compass (stupid iPhone compass) it's still not oriented the correct way. We also found out that there is a problem with our Yaesu G5500 Az/El rotor. It doesn't move when you push a button on the controller. Hopefully is just a problem with the cables. They were installed pretty quickly a few years ago for an ARISS contact at WVU, using ethernet cable instead of rotor cable so that seems like it could be the issue.

W8CUL also upgraded some equipment over the past few months. We switched out our old CDE rotor controller for a new Green Heron Engineering RT-21. It's such a nice controller with a USB interface. We also added a new rig to our Shack. An IC-9100 now sits on our bench acting as a 2nd HF rig and will hopefully be used with VHF and UHF satellites when we get the rotor system fixed. We are also upgrading our DC power distribution system on our main bench. We are switching from a horrendous Blue Sea distribution panel to a RigRunner. I'm also changing out all of the wires that were used to go from distribution panel to radio from 2 single wires to one piece of zip cord with Anderson PowerPoles (my favorite power connector). I'm also going to switch out our antenna patch panel. It's currently using a piece of steel plate that is showing some signs of oxidation. I'm going to switch it out with a piece of aluminium (that'll also be easier to drill through!).

WVUARC members worked with W8MWA Members to provide communications for a couple of parades. First the Morgantown Veterans day parade. The second parade was the annual Morgantown Christmas Parade. The Christmas parade is always fun to work!

Over my christmas break I played around on FT8 with the IC-706. I decided to try FT4 and WOW! It's extremely fast! I switched between FT8 and FT4 during break on 40m & 80m. I wanted to use 20m but something seems to be going on with either my antenna or my tuner. I'm no longer able to tune the G5RV on 20m. I'll have to look into it next time im home. Hopefully my ne ARRL Antenna Book will have some advice!

To close my first post of the year here are some of my ham radio goals for 2020:

Perfect my HF portable setup
Increase my understanding of antennas
Work HF mobile
Compete in a contest using my call (and hopefully do well)

Well that's all for now! Hopefully I'll get back on track with posting this year!

See ya down the log!

WACOM Hamfest, TIAD, ARES, and More!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

4 November 2019 at 18:30

It's been a month since my last post and quite a lot has gone on since then.

W8CUL participated in the ARRL School Club roundup in October. We didn't have as good of showing as I hoped for, but with only two people operating we still did pretty decent with about 3 hours of operating time and 50ish QSOs we did better than 11 during the spring SCR!

WVUARC also hosted our second Tech-In-A-Day class of the semester. We had about 8 people take the course. Of those 8 we had 6 successfully pass the Technician test. Two members of the club also upgraded from General to Extra!

I completed some ARES training this weekend as well. I took my final exam for the ARRL's ECC-001 Intro to Emergency Communication course. This course was the only thing I needed to finish all of the requirements for ARES Level 2!

ECC-001 Certificate

I made the drive up to Washington, PA on Sunday for the WACOM hamfest. Overall it was a decent hamfest, though attendance seemed lower and prices seemed higher compared to last year. I ended up grabbing a pair of QuickStick hamsticks from Quicksilver Radio. I grabbed one for 20m and one for 40m. I also bought a 5in magnet mount for the hamsticks (to use while stationary). Unfortunately there is a short in the power cord for my IC-706 so I did't get to try out my antennas yet.

I also found a Heil HTH-K headset for my HT. My last purchase was a pair of old boxes that were used for TV and radio repair. I thought they were a pretty cool find!

Well, that's all until next time!

See you down then log!

40m Hamstick on top of my car

Old Tube Cases

My 100th QSO!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

4 October 2019 at 17:37

So something special happened this week (spoiler it's in the title)!

I made made my 100th QSO!

On October 2nd I was working 20m FT8 from W8CUL's shack when I noticed a callsign in a format that I didn't recognize. I looked it up on QRZ and it turned out to be Johannes Hafkenscheid, 5T5PA, from Nouadhibou, Mauritania which is on the Northwest coast of Africa!

I immediately clicked his call to start a QSO and BAM! He responded on my first call. I was over the moon! Not only was it my 100th but it was also my first QSO with someone in Africa!

The next day the QSO was confirmed on QRZ and LoTW!

For the QSO I was using W8CUL's Elecraft K3s with 50 watts into a tri-band yagi. WSJT-X was running FT8, JTAlert was logging from WSJT-X to my N3FJP ACLog.

Below are a few screen grabs from My logbook, LoTW, and QRZ. I had a photo of the actual exchange but forgot to save it.

Definitely going to have to mail out a QSL Card for this one!

See you down the log!

N3FJP Log Entry

N3FJP Log Details

QRZ Logbook Record

LoTW QSL Record

Endnote: I feel like I should mention that the QSOs that I am counting are all HF with the exception of one UHF DMR contact with KA6LMS that is deserving of being in the log!

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Fall is coming!
27 September 2019 at 17:30

Fall is coming!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

27 September 2019 at 17:30

So it's been awhile. Again.

I don't have many updates this go around.

I received my digital interface from XGGComms. I was able to get it connected to the IC-706 and it seems to be functioning. I've tried making a few FT8 contacts with it but I haven't been successful. I was able to see my transmissions on a few PSKReporter stations so I'm sure it's working but one of the downsides of using the buddistick in my current setting is I don't get out very well. I can hear quite a few stations but they can't hear me.

Marathon station with MPD.

This past Sunday I worked with W8MWA and W8CUL to provide communications for the Morgantown Marathon. I was posted with a newer ham at a busy intersection where all 3 races cross a road. Overall it seemed like everything worked well, but there's always room to improve! We also had issues with one of the dreaded Baofeng sirens (some of you will know what I'm talking about) blaring over the W8CUL repeater.

Unfortunately due to commitments for a class on Saturday and the Marathon on Sunday W8CUL didn't participate in the Collegiate QSO Party. Maybe next year. However, we will be in the ARRL School Club Roundup (hopefully) next month!

This Saturday is WVUARC's first Tech-In-a-Day session of the semester. I'll be there all day teaching a few sections, VEing, and watching managing testing as the VE Team Lead. Hopefully, all goes well! We already have about 10 people registered!

Another officer in WVUARC and I had a meeting with one of the safety coordinators from the university to begin planning antenna repairs and maintenance on the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building. We'll be repairing our 10/15/20m Yagi, our VHF/UHF Satellite antennas, rehanging our G5RV, and adding antennas for our UHF repeater and our APRS Digipeater.

We also had another general club meeting. We changed the format a little for this one with a presentation before the meeting. I gave a short hands on presentation covering how to operate a Baofeng UV5R, the most popular radio in our club. Following our meeting the weekly W8CUL 2m net went well with 13 check ins, counting me as NCS. We are hoping to break 20 this semester!

I'm still working on the W8CUL digipeater. Hopefully it will be finished soon. The W8CUL DMR repeater is still not online. We are waiting for our duplexer to arrive from Bridgecom Systems. It should be on air soon!

HF wise I haven't been operating from my apartment much. I have spent some time operating from

W8CUL K3s with my ACLog.

the W8CUL Shack though. I was able to work part of Canada, Italy, Malta, France and an SES from Austria on 20m FT8 this week! I was also able to grab Slavko in Slovenia, a station in Italy and a station in St Pierre & Miquelon on 20m SSB. 20m was really hot the past few days!

Well I think I've rambled on enough till next time!

See you down the log!!

Another week in...(and some HF updates)

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

6 September 2019 at 17:30

Well, it looks like I'm posting on Friday now. Isn't it funny how your schedule schedule is set the all of a sudden BAM another change!

A few things have changed with the apartment HF setup since I last posted. I now have an HF antenna! I picked up a Buddistick Deluxe pack. It's a nice compact portable multiband vertical

Buddistick setup in front of my door

antenna. It can easily operate on 40m-10m at 250 watts! I haven't had much of a chance to try it out yet. I managed to set it up the night I got it and could receive the OMISS 40m net pretty well. Tried a transmission on low power (I haven't fully tuned the antenna yet) and wasn't heard. I'll work on getting it tuned over the weekend.

I also ordered a USB digital interface for the 706. I went with the XGGCOMMS Digimode-3-Icom. It shipped this week so I'm looking forward to working some digital modes (mainly FT8) from my apartment.

I have also be using the W8CUL Station to try and participate in the Hiram Percy Maxim Contest. Using a tri-band yagi and an Elecraft K3s makes it a little easier. Though I have been fighting band conditions I have only made 2 QSOs so far. I'm planning to operate a little over the weekend to finish out the contest.

This week I also completed the Heartsaver First Aid CPR and AED course. I've been wanting to do this for a while. I felt that it was a necessary training to take, given that I work a few public service events each year (Marathons, bike races, parades).

Ready for the W8CUL Net!

The WVU Amateur radio club held our first meeting of the semester this week! We had an awesome turnout! Quite a few people have already paid dues as well! Hopefully they all are active members! We also held the first W8CUL 2m net of the semester. I created a new net control script for this semester to better accommodate traffic handling, since we call it a "Traffic & Information Net". I acted as the net control station and took 10 check ins, including myself. Overall not too bad for the first net of the school year!

Well I think that's all I've got for now!

Back at WVU!

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By: noreply@blogger.com (Cameron， KN4CFI)

23 August 2019 at 17:30

So, I got a little off track with the posting schedule while moving back into my apartment in Morgantown and starting classes. Man it was a lot more work than I remember!

I finished my VHF FM setup at the apartment. I'm using my Yaesu FT-2980R (at about 30W). I have

Yaesu FT-2980r w/ MFJ power supply

it connected to a Nagoya UT-72 (1/4 wave VHF). I had to replace a connector on the end of the coax. It came loose a few years ago and just got around to fixing it!

The antenna is mounted using one of the suction cup mounts I made. With this setup I can reach the W8CUL & W8MWA repeaters (I use these two most often) and I can receive them with full quieting. I'm looking into a few options for a small indoor HF antenna for the apartment so I can get the IC-706MKiiG setup on HF.

Antenna on suction cup mount

This week I also attended Morgantown Wireless Association's monthly meeting. Always good to see this group! Unfortunately due to my class schedule it doesn't look like I'll be able to attend very few of their meetings this semester.

The officers of the WVU Amateur Radio Club had our pre-semester meeting on Tuesday as well. It looks like it's going to be an awesome year! I'll be posting more about our activities as the semester progresses.

In the next week or two I'll be checking out a small very affordable VNA. I may dedicate a whole post to a review of it.

This weekend is also the WV State ARRL Convention. I'm going to try and attend, and hopefully get a few people from WVUARC together and make the trip to Jackson's Mill.

On the website I added the last of the QSL cards that needed to be scanned (for now) to the QSL Archive. Eventually I'm going to go back through the Archive and add more details of the QSO to the description to make it easier to search. I'm really happy with how the site has turned out!

Well that's about all that i have for now. Short post this week.

73

Cameron

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