Eugene

OpenBeacons on the air

With the help of the M3 frequency counter Jason/NT7S sent me, I was able to set the transmit frequency for my two OpenBeacons. The 40m OpenBeacon I built is tuned to 7.0403 MHz while the 30m OpenBeacon from W2MDW is set for 10.139 MHz. Both of them transmit “AB4UG/B FM02AS” using QRSS with a 6 second dit.

I’ve had the 40m OpenBeacon on the air all night, but I’m not sure if anybody saw it. Most of the QRSS grabbers seem to be listening on 30m. There’s one grabber listed that’s on 40m, but it’s listening around 7.0008 MHz. I’d have to replace the crystal in the OpenBeacon to get down that low. I should put some pin headers in the crystal spot so I can change frequencies by replacing the crystal.

I think I’ll try the 30m OpenBeacon running today and see if it gets grabbed anywhere.

(Looks like I’ll have to tweak the frequency of the 30m beacon…most of the grabbers seem to be listening on a fairly narrow 100-500 Hz band around 10.140).

Update: Tweaked the 30m OpenBeacon to transmit at 10.1399 MHz. If you happen to see it, let me know.

Charleston Hamfest 2014

Coming up in a few weeks is the Charleston Hamfest and “Computer Show” (experienced hamfest goers will know the reason for “Computer Show”).

The Hamfest is February 1 at the Armory Park Community Center in North Charleston, just off East Montague Ave. Admission to the hamfest is $5 and doors open at 8AM. I’ll be helping out in the tailgating area this year. Hope the weather is a little warmer than last year and that there are more people tailgating this year than last year.

As with most hamfests, there are prize drawings: $400, $200 and $100 are the main prize drawings. There will also be other door prizes drawn as well. This year, one of the club members donated a Kenwood TM241 2m radio which will be given away as a door prize this year (I’m told you have to be present to win the radio and door prizes, but not the cash prizes).

VE testing will also be offered at the hamfest so if you’ve been thinking about getting your amateur radio license, start getting ready. Once you pass, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to buy everything you need to get on the air at the hamfest!

Charleston Hamfest is also looking for a forum presenter or two. If you feel like giving a presentation to a bunch of radio/electronics geeks drop a note and I’ll put you in touch with the People In Charge.

Last year I scored a lighted magnifier for the workbench that I’ve been getting a lot of use out of. Probably the best $5 I’ve spent in a long time. Hopefully I’ll find something equally good this year. I’ll have to think about what I want to acquire. Maybe some supplies for building antennas and some cable adapters.

Charleston Marathon radio support

This weekend (Jan 18) is the Charleston Marathon, and I signed up to help with the communication support with a bunch of my fellow hams. I have no idea where I’ll be stationed or moved to yet. This will be the first time I’ve done anything like this with my radio, and I’m looking forward to the experience. Not sure what to expect, but I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.

Worked All States progress

After a bit of poking around in ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LotW), I discovered that I’m a lot closer to getting Worked All States (Basic) than I thought. I only need to make contacts in three more states: Mississippi, Rhode Island ~~and West Virginia~~. Then I’ll have made contacts with at least one person in every state.

More wallpaper for the shack!

Update 2014-02-10: KB8BIP (WV) confirmed in LotW! Two more to go!

Curb salvage: Satellite dishes

As I pulled into the driveway after work today, I noticed one of the neighbours had placed a couple of satellite dishes by the curb for disposal. First thing to cross my mind was “Hmm, I wonder if I could do something with those…”. Mentioned it to Connie and she said “Grab them” so I did.

They also came with a mess of coax (probably 75 Ω stuff) that’s probably been sitting outside for who knows how long, so could be of questionable quality by now. It will give me something to start off working with though.

Not entirely sure what I’ll do with them yet. I’ve read in various places on the web about people using them for various simple science experiments/demonstrations, like recording solar radio emissions. It will probably take me a while to even do anything with them. I’ll have to spend some time researching different options and finding out what other people have done with them.