Not wanting to waste a glorious day, I had time for a quick activation in the morning and The Buck was the recommendation.

The route is pretty easy, not quite a straight line as I’ve drawn but I parked slightly east on the road and walked up until I met this fence line. A quick march and you can be at the top in 30 minutes. The sub-500m area is pretty boggy and wet, even today when it hasn’t rained in a while. It was a little slow in places, trying to avoid plunging my feet into ankle deep water. The path is also vague at this stage but then becomes more defined within about 1km of the summit.

The weather was amazing, brilliant sunshine, blue skies and not a breath of wind. I was roasting on the way up!

Even at the top the wind was minimal, and I’ve never seen my carbon-6 stand so straight at a summit before! I made use of the nice clear hole in the trig point and put the mast in it with the slim g on top. I could see for miles and miles!

I was hoping it would be a quick activation on 2m, as I needed to get back home by lunchtime, and this summit would cover a huge area. Back from his hols in Barbados, MM0EFI was first in the log. After 5 minutes, Bill in Aberdeen, GM0NRT, called back, and whilst we were talking I heard another station call. This time it was GM0UDL up in Fortrose, just north of Inverness who had seen my Lora tracker being picked up by GM4SJB (even further north!). He told me about his lora setup and how everyone around that area has setup iGates and DMR repeaters. Sounds like a great setup they have. Not long afterwards my fourth 2m contact, needed to qualify the summit, came from GM8ZKU across to the east by the coast. Again, another nice QSO with Simon for the first time. Time was getting on and I did need to be back home, I tried on more CQ but then called it a day.

I

had a quick look around for the ancient engravings but couldn’t find them. It was a quick walk back down the hill to the car. I’d forgotten about the sogginess but managed to escape with dry feet.

When I got home I looked up the Lora tracking on EA2RCF’s mapping page, and was surprised to see just how far away GM4SJB’s receiving igate was! It had also tracked me nearly the whole route up and down, which I then realised was me walking the county boundaries. The power on the tracker is tiny and the antenna isn’t amazing but this time it all worked well. I’ve been carrying it with me on most summits but there haven’t been any igates nearby that have picked me up.

A nice quick 4-pointer summit - I’m beginning to think Morven is a brutal 4-pointer! - although not for a wet day, or post a lot of rain. The summit is quite exposed, although maybe you could find some shelter depending on the wind direction. It’s a popular summit to do with Tap O’Noth, as that’s just a few miles away, however, I just didn’t have time on this occasion. Maybe they’ll be a good combo next year during the winter bonus period.

Michael “Mike” D. Valentine, W8MM, of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away on Monday, September 16, 2024. He was 74. Mike and his wife of 51 years, Margaret “Peg” K. Valentine, have been the most generous individual supporters of ARRL The National Association of Amateur Radio. Valentine earned his amateur radio license as a teenager. “I was first licensed as WN8MSF and WA8MSF, simultaneously in the sp...

Beginning January 1st, Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) will no longer offer paper based...

1611 1800 Mike Radio. SINPO 33433.
1621 1823 Radio Turftrekker. SINPO 34333.
1629 1940 Radio Spakenburg. SINPO 34433.
1633 1821 Radio Babylona. SINPO 34333.
1642 1812 Marskramer Radio. SINPO 24432.
1665 1828 Radio Tarzan. SINPO 44333.
1673 1931 Radio Armada. SINPO 34433.
4875 2002 Radio Akenzo. SINPO 54444.
5010 1745 Radio JVG. SINPO 24332.
5880 1954 Radio Rock Revolution. SINPO 54444.
6290 1730 Radio Lowland. SINPO 44333.
6895 1806 Zeppelin Radio (pres). SINPO 24332.

As mentioned before, one of the things I like about 365project (NOT at all connected with Microsoft) is seeing places I am never likely to visit, such as this view from a friend in these far-flung islands between Scotland and Iceland.

This article focus on the radiation angle of vertical antennas and the fundamentals ... - Listed in Antennas/Theory

Regarding current media reports Earlier today in worldwide media, there have been reports that two-way...

Please join us this evening at 7:00PM on the 147.090 repeater, for our monthly Meeting-on-the-Air!

On the agenda, we’ll be covering minutes from last week’s meeting, share some updates, and talk about some upcoming activities, such as the Maine QSO Party and Simulated Emergency Test (SET).

As always, if you have HF capabilities, you’re welcome to join us on 28.455 USB for the After Net, immediately following our net on the repeater.

See you there!

73,

Tim Watson KB1HNZ

The Japanese electronics manufacturer Icom said it stopped making the walkie-talkie model in 2014 and has warned about fake versions for several years

It  seems amazing that I have been retired from Sepura for 16 years now! These days I am totally out of touch, but they seemed to have moved on a lot. 

An update on the RSGB strategic priorities We have been reporting on the RSGB strategic priorities every month since January 2024. As well as appearing in RadCom, each update is published on the website so they can all be seen in one place. Head to RSGB strategic priority updates. RSGB members will be aware that […]

There are a lot of exciting things happening on the DX Engineering Facebook page and DX Engineering YouTube channel. Make sure to check in from time to time for product reviews, ham radio news, overviews of the latest equipment, and interviews put together by DX Engineering for the benefit of the ham radio community.

One of the most popular shows is the Manufacturer’s Showcase hosted by Tim Duffy, K3LR, CEO of DX Engineering. Tim has interviewed dozens of representatives from the manufacturers whose products you’ll find available at DXEngineering.com. You can listen to these insightful interviews live and send questions in real-time Thursdays at 2:30 pm ET or visit YouTube to watch the archived videos, along with hundreds of other videos from DX Engineering—everything from instructional presentations on weatherproofing coaxial connectors to FM satellite etiquette.

Also, don’t miss Tim’s Weekend Special on Facebook Fridays at 4 pm ET, featuring interviews with hams on rare DXpeditions, innovators in the amateur radio community, youth operators, and more.

Today, we’re excited to feature K3LR’s interview with Ray Novak, N9JA, senior sales manager at Icom America.

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Here are some of the highlights:

• Details about the upgraded Icom ID-52A PLUS VHF/UHF Multi-Function D-STAR Handheld Transceiver with enhanced Bluetooth, dual operation of terminal mode and simplex/repeater operations, and updated USB-C charging/data port for faster connections and charging.
• News about the very cool 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition model of the ID-52A PLUS with metallic-colored body, exclusive embossed hand strap, and commemorative box.

(Please check on the availability of the ID-52A PLUS and Limited Edition model at DXEngineering.com.)

• The plug-and-play reliability of the IC-905 VHF/UHF/SHF All Mode Base/Portable Transceiver for super high frequency operating and all the fun you can have on the microwave bands, POTA activations included. You can watch a great overview by Michael, KI8R, of the IC-905 on the DX Engineering YouTube channel.
• IC-905 accessories: 2.4 GHz, 5.6 GHz, and 10 GHz colinear antennas; and 10 GHz parabolic antenna

Visit DXEngineering.com for the full lineup of Icom products, including the IC-705 HF/50/144/430 MHz All Mode Portable Transceiver, AH-705 Antenna Tuner, SP-38 Base Station Speaker, and more.

The post Icom USA’s Ray Novak, N9JA, Discusses an Upgraded Icom HT and the Fun of the IC-905 (Video) appeared first on OnAllBands.

The Big Kansas Coil is a lightweight, portable, and durable base loaded vertical antenna system that when paired with a telescoping whip operates on the 6 through 80 meter ham radio bands. This coil offers some innovative features, including: 3D printed construction out of engineering grade materials, integrated coil scale, easy to use adjustment collar, and a wider diameter coil than anything else on the market.

The Big Kansas Coil: https://bigkansascoil.com/
HF Manpack Collapsible 7 Element Whip Antenna: https://amzn.to/4epr3zh
MFJ-1979 telescoping whip antenna: https://amzn.to/3Vv6Dfv

So what makes the big Kansas Coil different than other base loaded coils? First off is the construction. This coil is entirely 3D printed out of engineering grade Glass and Carbon Fiber filled Nylon material. This coil is lightweight and durable. The material is weather and heat resistant so this antenna is rated for up to 100 watts digital modes with a 50% duty cycle.

The second is its size, or diameter of the coil. This coil is wider than anything else on the market. In building loading or inductance coils, the diameter of the coil will affect the Q or quality factor. Narrow coils will have a very high Q and extremely sharp bandwidth on the lower bands. If you make the coil wider, the Q is reduced and you end up with more bandwidth. I’ll demonstrate what that means a bit later in this video.

As a bonus, patrons can view the unedited phone contacts for this POTA activation. Visit my page on Patreon for details: https://www.patreon.com/kb9vbrantennas

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Links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay.

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The post Is bigger better? The Big Kansas Coil Vertical Antenna System appeared first on KB9VBR Antennas.

N8DL will be active as VP2MMM from Montserrat Island, IOTA NA - 103, 23 - 29 October 2024.

IK8UND will be active again from Corsica Island, IOTA EU - 014, in CQ WW DX SSB Contest, 26 - 27 October 2024 as TK9R.

 

Just 5 English spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 so far today.  See map.

Having the KX3 out and in operation for a few days this week was a bad idea. Using it always reminds me of how good it is and how it could so easily anchor my ham shack. And it’s not even the best Elecraft radio I own. That title belongs to my old Elecraft K2, number 524 that I built and put into service in 1999. Yeah, it’s the finest receiver I own and I don’t mean to offend you and your new Yaesu, but I’ve found nothing that can carry its jock strap.

Let me qualify that a bit, it’s super power is as a simple CW transceiver.

It doesn’t have two-hundred knobs and buttons and a hundred selection deep menu system. The K2 doesn’t have multiple ways of connecting to a computer, and it doesn’t have a built-in sound card. Mine is the original 15 watt version. It no longer appears regularly in all the major contest stations and DXpeditions.

But for the CW purist without need of a million creature features, it contains the sweetest receiver this side of heaven. My family have strict instructions that I am to be buried with my K2 just in case heaven doesn’t yet have anything that sweet.

It doesn’t occupy the central position in my shack because of the desire for BRE (big rig energy), vanity, and knee-deep levels of marketing bullshit from various vendors compounded with amplified nonsense from Sherwood and as my buddy calls them, “these young guys with beards who look like they drink only craft beers with ham radio YouTube channels…”

I bring this up because using the KX3 created crazy notions of ordering a K4 and continuing the Elecraft tradition spinning in my head. I have owned and built everything they offered right up to the K3 and I’ve tried to own a few more, but grew weary waiting for them to deliver. Now I see they have the shipping time for the K4 down to around a week. I could order one today and be on the air sometime late next week. A recent announcement from Eric says prices are going up in October so no pressure, but a quick decision could save me some money.

That same announcement also said, “KX2 and KH1 wait times have also rapidly decreased and we hope to be shipping them within 1-10 business days after order in several weeks” which should make long-suffering fans happy.

If I buy anything new it will replace my IC-7610. That transceiver has performed well, but is getting a little long in the tooth especially now that ICOM has released an upgraded version of it making ‘right now’ the peak re-sale value season for the 7610. If I order anything I will be forced to unload at least $10k worth of other equipment or build onto the house. Unused gear is stacking up so high around here it will take a year or more to sell, box, and ship it all.

Is that a possibility? Maybe. A definite maybe.

RSGB Convention: 11-13 October 2024 To read this edition, tap or click cover image Regulars Advertisers’ index 85 Airband News, David Smith 44 Antennas, Steve Ireland, VK6VZ/G3ZZD and Kevin Smith, VK6LW/VK6T/G4EHF 18 Contest Calendar, Ian Pawson, G0FCT 43 Contesting, Chris Tran, GM3WOJ 54 Data, Andy Talbot, G4JNT 32 GHz Bands, Dr John Worsnop, G4BAO 60 […]