MBA D-O-N-E!

I finished my MBA last weekend and it feels a little weird doing only fun stuff now. I always had the feeling of having to do homework hanging over my head, so I could never just enjoy what I was doing. Even cleaning the garage is done without the feeling of guilt...

I have upgraded my station to an actual "room" instead of the original "Radio Closet." I ran some cables up to a second floor bedroom and I'm typing this while sitting at an actual desk. Strange. I have three monitors on the desk and my keyer paddles. The radio is comfortably just to my right.

I worked the AZ QSO Party this weekend - although my new Outbacker mobile antenna that I use for daytime use didn't snag me many QSOs. I managed a whopping 18 QSOs. I did, however, get to use a proper station for several hours on Sunday at W7SA which was the sponsor of the contest (counted for an extra 100 points). I've decided being on the receiving end of a pile-up is really fun.

73,

Paul - ND8N

Back On the Air Soon

So, I'm wrapping up my MBA this weekend and I'm looking forward to having the time to repair my antenna and cable. I've been watching the DX Summit and have been a little frustrated at the DX that I am missing. Plus I just bought an FT-897, so I'll be testing that out as well.

73, Paul

Moonscape - Off the air!

So, my dog is destroying my backyard, along with my antennas and cables. Last summer I did a lot of work of re-landscaping the backyard - spreading rock (thats the Arizona equiv. to grass) and installing new plants in the rock hard ground they call "soil" here. But now, all but one plant has been chewed up. He even chewed down a small orange tree, leaving nothing but a 3 inch stump in the ground. His digging is making the backyard a safety hazard - its like walking on the moon but without the low gravity. But the worst of it is that he somehow got through the small fence that was protecting an exposed piece of LMR-400 cable running to my stealth vertical. It rained the next day and now the shielding of the cable is corroded and needs to be replaced. I'm picky about efficiency and I just "know" that I can hear the signal loss on the recieve side - sunspots be damned!
Pictured below is the proud beast and some of his handiwork. Notice the almost-dead rose bush to the left. You can't see it, but the bush is actually hanging above a large hole where the root system used to be. It's like he cut the plant's legs off just below the knee...

Jamming

So, what's with all this intentional jamming nowadays? I hear stations tuning over the top of DX stations, sending random CW, whatever they can do to bury the DX station. I don't ever recall hearing that back in the 80's when I was chasing DX. Sure, there were always LIDs, but that's just because they were idiots. LIDs never MEAN to be stupid, they just are.

73,

Paul - ND8N

Zone 26!

I was startled by the booming signal of XW1B this morning as he called CQ on 40m CW. Bruce was hitting 20dB over s9. I fortunately got through before the pileup started - giving me my last zone for WAZ. I also heard an HS0, but I couldn't get through the JA wall. Regardless, my QSL to XW1B's manager is already in the mail.

:-)

Paul - ND8N

Xu7XXX - Part 2

OK, this morning I did hear Xu7XXX and he did hear me. Unfortunately, he only got the "8N" part of my call and we couldn't exchange signal reports. Our "almost-QSO" went something like this:

him: 8N?
me: N D 8 N ... N D 8 N
him: 8N?
me: N D 8 N ... N D 8 N
him: CQ CQ CQ de XU7XXX

Next time if he only gets the "ND" part of my callsign does that mean I can send him a QSL???

73,
Paul - ND8N

XU7XXX

So, I think I heard XU7XXX this morning on 40m CW - and I think he heard me. But he was running a 339 at best, so I imagine I was in the 2's. He was calling CQ CQ and more CQs and nobody was answering. Bummer. But again I am hopeful. At least I am hearing 'entities' that I only dreamed of hearing. Since I am limited to evenings and early mornings I have to admit that I've been working a lot more of the ASIA/PACIFIC region of the world.

Can't wait for the ARRL DX Contest coming up at the end of the month!

73,

Paul - ND8N

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

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

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

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