Elevated Wire Radio Group: Brian Ward/KG4KGW - Viewing Profile - Elevated Wire Radio Group

This is intended to be a list of companies that give discounts, special pricing, or otherwise cater to ham radio operators. Please support these businesses. If you have someone to add to the list please make a detailed post and it will be added.


1. Gigavac -Gigavac High Voltage Relays for Amplifiers and RF Projects
http://www.gigavac.c...s/ham/index.htm

The following are the Official Rules for the FISTS SPRINT.

OBJECTIVE:
To exchange specified information with as many FISTS members as possible using Morse Code only, and within the time frame stipulated.

PARTICIPANTS:
Any properly licensed amateur radio operator, FISTS member or non-member is invited to take part in the contest. At least one of the two stations in each QSO must be a FISTS member.

DATE AND TIME: (subject to change, see main index page)
The Winter SPRINT will run from 1700 UTC to 2100 UTC on Second Saturday in February.
The Spring SPRINT will run from 1700 UTC to 2100 UTC on Second Saturday in May.
The Summer SPRINT will run from 2000 EDT to 2400 EDT on Second Friday in July.
The Fall SPRINT will run from 1700 UTC to 2100 UTC on Second Saturday in October.


BANDS:
Operation is limited to the following amateur bands: 3.5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz amateur bands.
Work stations only once per band.

ENTRY CLASSES:
There are three entry classes:
QRO: Over 5 watts -100 watts output power. 100 watts is the maximum output power allowed.
QRP: 5 watts output power or less.
Club: (regardless of power).
Entry class MUST be shown on logs to be considered for entry in a particular class, or will be assumed QRO.
An entry must be ONE class only, no combination of classes is allowed.

EXCHANGE:
The following information must be exchanged by both stations to count as a valid contest QSO:

For FISTS members:
RST, U.S. state/Canadian province/DXCC country, first name, FISTS number.

For non-FISTS members:
RST, U.S. state/Canadian province/DXCC country, first name, Power output.

DX COUNTRY STATUS:
U.S. states and Canadian provinces are those states and provinces that are contiguous and found within the North American continent. DX are those entities listed in the current ARRL DXCC publication, other than the above.

MULTIPLIERS:
Each U.S. State and Canadian province counts as 1 multiplier. Count each only once, no matter how many times worked.
Each DXCC entity counts as 1 multiplier. Count each no matter how many times worked.

SCORING:
Each QSO with a FISTS member: 5 points.
Each QSO with a non-FISTS member: 2 points.
Final score is total QSO points times multipliers.

CERTIFICATES:
U.S./VE:
Certificates will be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers in each Entry Class.

LOG SUBMISSIONS:
Sending the logs is what counts, and they will be spot checked for accuracy and correct scoring procedures. All log entries must be received 30 days after the Sprint to be considered valid. Logs not sent to the proper address will not be considered for entry.

All logs MUST contain the following information to be considered for entry;
Your name and call sign. Club name if entry is for a club. Your FISTS number if a member. Entry class. Your claimed score. List of claimed multipliers.
The entry form is the best way to record this information.

Download the entry form as a text file

ELECTRONIC LOGS:
We will accept E-logs in standard Cabrillo format, or ASCII text files. If you're not sure about your format, please contact me before the contest entry deadline.
E-logs are sent to wa1lad@cox.net ONLY.

PAPER LOGS:
Send log and forms to:

Gil Woodside, WA1LAD
30 Hilltop Ave.
West Warwick, RI 02893-2825

813 Amplifier Project
Rebirth of a Legend

It's been about five years since I sent off my amplifier case to my father's house for sand blasting. Now and again I'd pass the RF deck while looking for something in the office and wonder if he was ever going to get it done.

There is a neat story about this coming full circle. Last year I was struggling financially and couldn't afford a new truck for my business. My dad new this and although I didn't ask him to, he purchased a work truck and gave it to me with the promise I would pay him back as soon as I could. It was only a thousand dollars, as the truck wasn't new, but the truck was in great shape. When I filed my taxes I had enough coming back that I was able to pay him off on the truck and sent him the money. He had some projects that were waiting on the funding and went to the bank to withdraw the money. As he was leaving the parking lot he dropped an envelope with about three hundred dollars in it. Despite it also containing his name and address along with some receipts the money was picked up and never returned to him. Strangely enough the receipts were.

When I learned of his loss I sent him some more money to help lessen the blow and to show how thankful I was for his help when I too was down and out. This seemed to touch his heart and in return he went to work on the case for the amp that I'd left in his care nearly five years ago.

This week he came to town and brought the amplifier case with him on his trip to Pensacola. Although not the beauty that I'd hoped for the case was now rust free and had a nice coat of clear on it to boot. If I was going to be super picky about the finish I could always purchase a stainless steel case or build one.

This is the beginning of phase two of the amplifier project. Although I do not intend to do some of the original modifications, I do intend to add some safety features and modifications to improve the amps lifespan and performance.

The case as it is currently May 12, 2012.

Inside View of the case.

This is where the RF deck and power supply will both live. I have procured a large piece of aluminum to separate the RF deck from the supply for safety purposes. This will also help to keep my hands out of both!

Top view of case


I hope to put some warning labels on the top side of the case with information about the amplifier. When the lid is lifted I feel a safety interlock isn't too much to ask for interrupting the power supply and cutting the voltage until a safety reset switch has been pressed and the lid is closed. On the inside of the lid I intend to put a schematic of the amplifier so when I am long gone someone else will be able to make repairs on the amplifier if needed.



This is the inside of the case. The line of holes drilled in the center hold the full wave bridge rectifier in place. This may need to be relocated for the purpose of the bulkhead separating the RF deck from the high voltage supply.



You can still plainly see the outline of the high voltage transformer, swinging transformer, and the two large oil filled capacitors. I've purchased replacement capacitors and removed the PCB filled stuff from the amplifier.

I'll continue to post things as I get them done in hopes that all will go as planned. Anyone who attempts to work on such a project should be very certain that they are aware that they can be killed by the high voltages by a simple mistake. Always take these things seriously and work with extreme caution.

File Name: Physics of Radio Waves - The basics
File Submitter: Brian Ward/KG4KGW
File Submitted: 12 May 2012
File Category: Ham Radio Books

This is an excerpt from a physics book I stumbled upon while searching online. It isn't long, but gives a very interesting and easy to read description about the basic physics of radio and radio waves. It is written from the wireless networking point of view, but is still applicable to most all forms of radio.

Click here to download this file

Ten Tec Argonaut 509



This rig was a gift to me from a dear friend of mine KE4FMK, Lance Ropke. I can honestly credit him with sparking my interest in amateur radio. He has been an inspiration to me and a good friend for over 20 years.

I'm no stranger to QRP rigs as I've got three single band QRP radios in my collection. Somehow this one is different. This small box is a relic of the time before the WARC bands and a time when amateur radio was still that mysterious noise from the neighbors basement. A throw back to the time before cable television captivated our attention for endless hours of droning in front of the set and before cell phones became a necessary accoutrement to our attire before leaving the house.

I hurried through work after receiving the radio from Lance. I couldn't wait to hook up my new toy and bring back memories of my youth watching the string dial move in unison with the tuning knob. Even our terminology was different back then. Knobs, dials, switches, lamps, an entire culture lost to time and soft touch buttons. What happened to that positive feedback when you turned something on or off? That inevitable click and the hum of electricity as it came to life seemed to give everything a personality of it's own. I was moments away from re-living a part of history.

Carefully I put the set onto the dining room table. Each piece had a distinct order that seemed to flow in it's design. I positioned the power supply closest to the power outlet and carefully plugged the RCA connector into the 509. The CW filter, a very desirable accessory was placed on top and the din pin connector plugged into the accessory port in the back. An antenna, I needed an antenna to put on the rig. My HF station was too far away to borrow the antenna from it so I started to look around the shack for the materials to make a temporary antenna. My excitement was growing by the second as I skipped around the office gathering coax and then surplus magnetic wire left over from a filament choke I'd wound.

The anticipation was just too much. I couldn't waste valuable time as the sun set looking for a tape measure. Calculating the formula for an inverted vee, 468 divided by the frequency in megahertz, I factored the length for a twenty meter antenna; Thirty three feet, now divided by two is sixteen and a half. The wire whirled off the spool nearly tangling into a squirrel's nest on the floor. This was home brewing at its most basic. The door frames in the room made a perfect perch for the new antenna. Everything was in place and I sat down in front of the radio.

I powered the supply on and the radio came to life with a burst of static from the speaker. When I reached to spin the dial it wouldn't turn. I could hear the string dragging across the pulley inside, but it was frozen in place. I worked the knob back and forth until it came free, although not smooth and easy. This seemed more of a distraction than a setback. Slowly working the dial around the static slowly turned into signals that were distinguishable. A familiar CQ was pulsating from the radio from N2ESE, Gary, in Stanhope, NJ. Before he finished his second CQ I'd retrieved my Ten Tec 607 keyer and had it in place.

N2ESE de KG4KGW/QRP buzzed from the local speaker. Gary came back to me immediately. After a short exchange and a 449 signal report he said 73 and the QSO had ended. The band was fading for the night as twenty meters usually does. My mind now shifted to building a QRP tuner for the radio. That will have to wait for another day and another project. There were still kinks to work out of the 509, but in the first five minutes of operation it became one of my favorite radios.

It truly feels good working with a piece of history and I'm enjoying every minute of it!