Saturday, January 31, 2009

The "Radio Closet"

And THIS....is where all the magic happens - my Radio Closet. You thought I was kidding, didn't you. :-) Sitting in the "command chair" I have the TS-570, an FT-817 (for VHF/UHF) and the Bencher paddles just to my left. Directly in front on me (not in view of the camera) is an old Dell that is hardwired to my network. Directly under each row of clothing is an obscured shelf - all of which are cluttered with some sort of radio related items. (Pens, QSLs, world clock, assorted cables, headphone adapters and scraps of meaningless paper). Innovation at its best!


73,
Paul - ND8N


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

My Stealth Vertical and some old QSLs

The vertical antenna is mounted about 25 feet from my shack. Here I've posted a close-up image of the vertical in its tilted-down position. (No need to show the "up" position since we all know what "that" looks like.) The two black leads run down the support post to just below the surface of the gravel where it connects to a metal plate and about 20 radials. The copper lead is an AWG 6 solid wire connected to four 8-foot ground rods spaced around my little backyard. I put the last ground rod right next to where all of the cabling enters the house. I have a lightning/static arrestor that I hope to install soon as well.



So, last night I went through a shoebox full of QSL cards that I have been moving around with me for the past 20 years or so. Comparing the cards to the current ARRL DXCC List I found that I have 128 confirmed "entities" from my activities between 1981 and 1985, all on CW. Looks like I'll be applying for DXCC soon! I snagged China last week which gave me Zone 24 and leaves me short only Zone 26 for WAZ. I heard HS1CKC the other day on 40m CW, so I think it's only a matter of time... :-)

73,

Paul - ND8N

Monday, January 26, 2009

Stealth set-up is working!

I'm happy to report that my stealth vertical in the backyard is working better than I had hoped. In the past few days I have snagged 9J2BO, FW8DX and BA5AN on 40m CW, among others. I'm not sure if its due to fact that I actually have radials on the vertical this time. But I've got a bad feeling that I won't be getting into Europe very often since the antenna can only be up at night. I do have a backpack antenna that I might setup for daylight activities, but its efficiency has to be in the single digits. :-(

My code still feels pretty rusty, but I guess that will come back in time.

73,

Paul - ND8N

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Back on the air!

So, after a 2o year absence, I am back on the air. My setup is not ideal being that I live in one of those awesome communities that are ruled by a set of CC&Rs that tend to choke any and all inspiration of you - but hey, I chose to live here, right? So, the antenna situation is not ideal.

To top it off, my radio shack is actually a "radio closet" - literally - complete with hanging clothes, shoes and other rarely worn articles of clothing. Fortunately, my desire to operate is greater than my frustration at my lack of space in the tiny little house that I own. (Think housing bubble.)

Pictures of the antennas and radio closet will be coming soon.

With all the complaints out of the way, I can say that I am very happy with the performance of my modest setup. I have a Kenwood TS-570 and a Hustler verical mounted on the ground - well, at least when the sun isn't up. ;-) Since finally powering-up the other day I have worked JA1NUT and YB4IR on 40m CW.

Anyway, more to come.

73,

Paul - ND8N
Tucson, AZ