No rare DX…

… But it was lots of fun…

This morning I decided to take my FT 817 out for some fresh air.  According to my log book the last time out was in the middle of Jan 2013 so we were due…

This time the Weather was much nicer although with the warmer temps the park was a bit soggy to walk through… The ground was saturated with all the melted snow…

above- pic shows the usual picnic table I operate from and the swamp surrounding it…

below- pic shows the usual picnic table with slightly dryer ground…

Below- pic shows the Parkbench I had to operate from.  The ground was almost dry as compared to other locations in the park…

The new 2013 version of my setup…  The Mic cord for the 817 is the bright yellow cable so I can’t lose it, the tablet which looks after the DX Cluster, the Logging program is infront of the FT 817,  the VX8GR for aprs and voice cms is beside the 817 and the battery and the solar panel is behind/beside the ft 817.

And yes all of it still fits in the old red backpack shown in the upper picture…

The antenna for today was my PAR QRP End Fed… and it operated with no issues… (sloper configuration)

The first contact was made with John VA3OW  who was the NCS for the TP Net on 7.055.  He gave me an honest 5-7 report and he was a 5-9 +.  Remember I was only using 5w… These contacts are always fun as they are longer than groundwave but extremely short distance.  65 km as the crow flies but…  it shows neighboring municipalities can talk on HF without all the fancy computer linking assistance such as IRLP, ECHOLINK or DSTAR.  We did it good old fashioned HF voice…

The next contact was with Bob AA4DY/9 Brownie as he likes to be called was operating Portable 9 from Indiana… Seeing the time of the year I would of thought he would of been in 4 land where its warmer but each to their own… The contact was made during the Retired Submariners net on 14.343 and again was made with 5w at my end  The reports were 5-5 for me and 5-9 for him…

Its always good to know that the rig is working…  In addition during the 1km walk from my place to Weston Park and back various contacts were made on the VE3ORF Repeater system.  I made contacts using  the 70cm side of the linked repeaters so my APRS signal could be heard on 144.390

It felt good to get out into the park for the start of another radio season..  I will be watching the water levels closely as I hope to operate from Weston Park for the Ontario QSO Party  later this month.  However it has to be dry for that to happen…

Enjoy your week and more operating news when it happens…

73bob

Issues with APRS and the Electric Vespa

Earlier this afternoon I put a 1/4 mobile antenna on the Electric Vespa, hooked up the Yaesu VX8gr and went out for a ride…  I was checking a couple of portable operating locations in my general neighborhood that I might be able to use in July and August.  The reason for that is because once school gets out my local parks are filled with Kids being kids…  It gets over crowded and I just don’t feel like sharing…  I have no real right to the parkland any more than they do and as there is more of them than there is of me I just figured on checking some other City Greenspaces that are not so structured. 

So far I have found nothing that meets my needs so I keep on looking…but…

I did notice that although the antenna is working fine, I am having a problem getting a signal into any of the IGATES in the south end of town.  As I followed my track this pm even though I was beaconing every 3 minutes I only got two into the APRS system.  One at the turn around point at 1834 and one at the end of the ride at 1850.  By my simple math we lost 5 beacons on the way back and about 7 beacons on the way there… 

 On the bright side of things I did get the Vespa up to 17kph on the way back…

So now I have two issues to look into.  The first is the quest for a quiet operating location and the second is trying to figure out how I am going to get a 5w aprs signal easily into a Digi…  I can bring up all the repeaters in town using 5w and the rubber resistor but…  it seems the closest Digi is a bit more of a challenge…

Wish me luck

73bob

Back on the air with APRS

I’ve got a bit more time on my hands these days…  Nothing to brag about or complain about for that matter…  Just re thinking some things I used to do and decided not to do them anymore…

So this morning I dug out all the parts and managed to get my home APRS Station back on the air.  If you live close to Ottawa you might have noticed VA3QV suddenly re appear on your screen after a long period of inactivity…

My home station (VA3QV) consists of my ACER Netbook running Windows XP.  I am using the free version of AGWPE along with a Regestered Version of UI View.  The radio talks to the computer with the help of a Rig Blaster NOMIC interface and the radio is my tried and true Yaesu FT 2400 which I have affectionalty called in the past my 2 meter beater…  I am using a copper J pole about 10 feet off the ground as my APRS antenna and so far everything is working fine…

Now that the home station is up and running you might see VA3QV-7 up and moving around.  This SSID belongs to my Yaesu VX8GR radio and is normally used either when I am out riding the Electric Vespa or out walking.  Walking around the neighborhood is a save bet as my doctor and also my XYL would like to see me shed more than a few pounds and if I walk with my APRS rig on my belt Liz can see how far I actually walk ( or where to send the paramedics if the Icon don’t move for a while)

As I don’t operate a car anymore if you see VA3QV-9 on the road…  Its probally a pirate… Unless you see me bragging about getting a new APRS Radio for the mobile I don’t have right now.

In addition you might also see VA3QV-4 on your screen.  That is my Dell Laptop running UIView using an internet connect only.  No RF through this setup as my Dell is using Windows 7 and I have had no luck getting the version of AGWPE I use to talk to the Dell (so far)…One of these days I hope to get this corrected…

Seeing that the temps for Ottawa are supposed to be in Double Digits (on the plus side) for the next week or so I am planning to spend a bit more time outside either walking or operating the FT817 from the park…

73bob

 

Welcome the VX1r to the shack

If you can read this… Thank A Teacher…

If you read this in English… Thank a Veteran!

“Lest we forget…”

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I forgot to mention earlier…

When I was at the OVMRC Meeting I picked up a “Gently Used”  Yaesu VX1r which is a dual band Handheld.  The radio came from the Estate of my old friend Larry whose call of VE3WEH has been assumed by his daughter Cindy  who also is an amateur radio operator.

This rig is a “tiny little thing… ” It is smaller than my Yaesu MH31 hand mich.   I have had Pagers that were larger.  It is low powered but falls into the  “No Excuse catagory”.  I now have “NO EXCUSE” for not listening to the repeater.  It fits into my pocket without issues…  Or comments…

“Is that a radio in your pocket or are you glad to see me?”

It came with two battery packs and a “AA” battery holder and seeing how little power it draws I don’t ever expect to get to use the excuse the batteries died…

Even got the box and the manual and the wall wart that charges the batteries.  Larry really took good care of his stuff…

SPECIFICATIONS

Type:	Amateur VHF/UHF transceiver
Frequency range:	TX: 144-146 / 430-440 MHz (Europe and Asia) RX: 0.5-1.7 / 76-999 MHz
Mode:	TX: FM RX: AM/FM/WFM
RF Power output:	0.5 / 0.5 W (1/1 W with external power)
Sensitivity:	N/A
Selectivity:	N/A
Image rejection:	N/A
Voltage:	3.6 VDC (3.2-7 VDC external)
Current drain:	RX: 16-150 mA TX: 0.4 A @ 500 mW TX output
Impedance:	50 ohms, SMA
Dimensions (W*H*D):	47*81*25 mm
Weight:	125 gr
Manufactured:	1997-19xx (Discontinued)
Other:	291 memories. CTCSS/DCS. ARTS. Alpha tags New price 1997 in Sweden: 2750:- SEK
Related documents:	User manual (2.1 MB)

Above picture and specs courtesy WWW.RIGPIX.com

In the picture that follows you will see how it stacks up compared to other newer Yaesu Radios with the VX1R on the right, the VX8GR in the middle and the FT60r on the left.  Underneath the VXGR in the middle is the MH31 mic without the cable.  The quality of the picture is not the best but you can at least get an indication of size.

Remember I never claimed to be a photographer…

One of the remarkable things about this radio is that it was built in 1997 and is in a smaller package than my current handhelds.  The scary part is even back in 1997 Yaesu had those annoying multi level menus which still confuse me today.

However the radio does fit in my pocket and will access both the vhf and uhf repeaters I would need to access from downtown but with the 0.5w output no long distance stuff.  It has an excellent rcvr and will do a good job on the local FM radio station when I’m taking a bus ride.  Its bigger than the IPOD but still smaller than my old Sony Walkman…

More on how it performs after I get time to play with it a bit more…

Get ready for the weekend…

73bob

 

PS…  If anyone at Yaesu is reading this…   The latest acquisition makes Yaesu Radio number 7 in the shack.  If you wanted to ship me down one of those new FT450 (d) up here so I could review it…  I would not argue with it…

Promise to ship it back after I finish with my “in depth review”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honest!!!

This way I could do review number 8

Heck I can dream can’t I???

73bob

What was I thinking…

==================================

UPDATED AS OF 2200 HRS OCTOBER 15TH

==================================

AS IT TURNS OUT MARTIN MIXED UP THE DATE FOR THE PBMME…  ITS NEXT WEEKEND…  SO THIS SATURDAYS (OCT 16) IS THE WARM UP FOR NEXT SATURDAYS EVENT.

REST OF THE TIMETABLE, APRS FI INFORMATION, AND SUGGESTED FRQUENCIES, REPEATER INFO REMAINS THE SAME

======================================

Anyway…  I’ll let Martin’s posting give the information so here goes:::

Hi, Bears (you know who you are!).

Bob VA3QV and I are planning an afternoon/evening hike in Gatineau Park for the October Polar Bear Moonlight Madness event:

http://www.n3epa.org/Pages/PolarBear.htm

Our plan is to coordinate on VE3MPC 147.150(+) and 444.4 (+) to meet up and drive together leaving Ottawa around 3:30pm, starting the hike at ~4:15pm, setup on the air ~5pm, on the air for an hour or two and then back to Ottawa.

Yes – this is a darkness hour operation   (It is called moonlight madness).

Forecast: Cloudy. Clearing in the afternoon. Wind northwest 30 km/h becoming light in the afternoon. High 12.

!! Anyone would like to join us would be very welcome to do so !!

We will both have our APRS trackers along for the ride so check:

http://aprs.fi/?call=VA3SIE-7%2C%20VA3QV-7&mt=terrain

We will be QRV on VHF and HF.

During the hike and during the operation we should be QRV on VE2CRA (146.940- 100hz CTCSS).

If you are unable to join us but will be QRV in the PBMME then please do look for us online, we will try to keep http://qrpspots.com up to date.

73!
Martin.
VA3SIE/P.

==================================

For my part of the trip…  I will be active on 50.125 and 144.200 (SSB Only) and once Martin has run out of Bears I hope to be active on 80m and announce my presence on the ONTARS Frequency of 3.755 and then slide up or down a bit from there.

I will be operating with my FT817 with a 6m dipole,  my W3EDP for HF and if I get it built and tuned in time an Arrow 3 element beam for VHF.

I will have my FT60R on the local VE2CRA Repeater (146.940 (-) with a CTCSS of 100.0hz) and my VX8GR will be beaconing as VA3QV-7.

Now I know this does not qualify for SOTA so perhaps if I make this hike with no issues I can dare to dream and try something bigger and better.  Either way I am looking forward to it.

Now from that location I should have clear line of sight… south east, south and south west so depending on how lucky I am with trees being in the right places I am expecting contacts between Montreal and Kingston if anyone is out there listening for me on 2m and/or on 6m.

Lets see what happens this time…

73bob

Its all about the antenna

How many time have we said that or heard that in the past???

“Its all about the antenna!!!”

Well I can confirm that its true…  And here is an easy to use example….

As you know from following this blog I dabble in APRS.

Recently I purchased at the Carp Hamfest a Yaesu VX8GR.

For the sake of a better way to describe it this radio is a “Turnkey APRS Radio”.

It has a built in TNC and GPS along with being a 5w dual band handheld.  Now so far with the help of Darrin VE3OIJ who also owns a Yaesu VX8r I (he) was able to get my callsign VA3QV-7 inserted in the right spot along with the standard path  “wide 1-1, wide 2-1″ working as well.  As I am able to make contacts on various voice repeaters around the region I can confirm that the rig is functioning.

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However if you look for me on APRS.fi and do the usual search for my callsign ssid of VA3QV-7 you will see that the rig is having more than a bit of trouble making it into the first digipeter and from there into any IGATE.

As the VX8GR is occasionally being heard by the digi as well as other APRS station in close proximity to my home I know that the APRS Settings are correct and the unit is functioning.

My home station of VA3QV (do the same APRS.fi search) which is an old 2m mobile running at the 5w setting has no trouble finding the closest digi (VE2RUH-3) which is just under 7 miles from my door.

FYI the antenna for my home aprs station is a larsen 5/8 2m mag mount antenna parked on my metal fence post with an exposure to the north east.  So with both rigs at 5w the only difference must be the gain of the antenna.

One rig has the standard Yaesu dual band Rubber Duck antenna and the other rig has a magmount 5/8w on a 4 foot high fencepost.    The VX8GR is normally in the front pocket of my windbreaker so it is also around 5 feet above the ground.

So there you have it…  A practical example of how the antenna makes the difference…  But then you already knew that…  didn’t you???

73bob

Almost “back” to normal…

The twinges are getting farther apart and less intense…  I think I have this thing finally beat…  Willing to bet that if I had avoided the Carp Hamfest I would be back to normal already but…  I shoulda known better…

Anywho…  I have been doing lots of listening and a bit of talking seeing that radio work was about all I could do…

I managed with the help of Darrin VE3OIJ (actually he did the work and I just smiled and noddded my head) to get the VX8GR beaconing as VA3QV-7 on APRS.

Its not really programmed fully yet but it is doing what I wanted it to do which is be active on APRS.

It makes a great companion to my FT60r and the eventual plan would be to use both radios as part of my portable station.

There will be more on the Portable Station in a future post as I now have all the bits together and the plan is to now package it in such a way that its easy to set up and also easy to carry.   The weight factor is important as I don’t own a vehicle so I have to pack it all…

Hows your week looking?

73bob

White Lake before Carp

As the title indicates I have decided to take Doug VE3DLJ up on his offer and I am heading over to White Lake for a few days of R & R (Radio and Radio) before the Carp Hamfest on Saturday.  Internet access is a bit sketchy for me there but I will have the FT817 along with a W3EDP set up there so I will be in touch…  Should be checking in the the OPN and the 3730 group in the evenings and if the band cooperates some ONTARS during the day…

After the Carp Hamfest on Saturday I hope to get home in time to test out the new arrivals…  I have ordered a Yaesu VX8GR and a Arrow Antenna handheld Satellite Beam (dual band) from Radioworld and they should be brought to Carp by Pierre VA3PM who will be manning the Radioworld booth along with Henry VA3OV. 

I figured having a Handheld with APRS Capabilities (built in TNC and GPS Unit) can’t hurt when I try and do some VE3SOTA operations and the Dual Band beam will work great with the FT817 for both SOTA and Satellites.  This Saturday and Sunday is also the September ARRL VHF Contest so it will be a great time to test out the beam on 2m and 70cm.  Pics and my reviews of both pieces of equipment will be following soon but anytime after Saturday take a look on APRS.FI for VA3QV-7 

Now I know I have an old camera tripod sitting somewhere in the basement that should support the beam…  If I could only find it…

Check Saturday evening for the next update from me here but if I can access the world through my cell phone there could be some Twitter updates (check the top right of the screen)  earlier…  However Doug’s campsite is not known for good cell service…

73bob