Spent the day running power cables to the future radio room. A 2-conductor #4 AWG Teck cable from my renewable energy backup power system will handle all of my 12 volt DC requirements. On the AC side, the house has a natural gas range so I "borrowed" the feeder cable for the electric range receptacle in the kitchen and re-routed it over to the shack. It was just the right length and when I get a chance I will install a four-circuit breaker panel to power a 220V receptacle for the amplifiers and a couple of standard 120V receptacles for everything else.
So far, so good!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
T-12 Days: Out With The Old
Next to actually putting up the new tower, the biggest item on the to-do list is taking down the big TH6DXX and tower from the old contest site up on the hill. This project had been on my radar ever since my last contest operation there. It was asking a lot of the rickety old light-duty tower to hold up that heavy TH6 and every time I drove past the site I peeked up somewhat apprehensively to see if the tower was still standing. It needed to come down and the weather forecast this morning was for sunny with a high of +4C so I knew this was the day. I didn't have anyone available to assist me but I remembered that four years ago I had put it up by myself with VE8DW on ground support so only a few extra trips up and down the ladder to tie and untie ropes would be required.
The forecast didn't lie and when I arrived on the hill the sun was shining and, more importantly, the wind was calm. Once the tower starts coming down the guy wires are no longer effective so it was critical to do it at just the right moment. As it turned out, everything went impossibly smoothly. For a while I was even working in my shirtsleeves! By late afternoon I had the TH6 in three pieces laying on the ground, all but the last two tower sections down, and all the cables and guy wires rolled up and ready to haul away. An hour and two trips later it was all safely at home in the yard.
I left the last two sections of tower standing and the main feedline in place so that I can install the 6m beacon and antenna there next spring.
The forecast didn't lie and when I arrived on the hill the sun was shining and, more importantly, the wind was calm. Once the tower starts coming down the guy wires are no longer effective so it was critical to do it at just the right moment. As it turned out, everything went impossibly smoothly. For a while I was even working in my shirtsleeves! By late afternoon I had the TH6 in three pieces laying on the ground, all but the last two tower sections down, and all the cables and guy wires rolled up and ready to haul away. An hour and two trips later it was all safely at home in the yard.
I left the last two sections of tower standing and the main feedline in place so that I can install the 6m beacon and antenna there next spring.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Time Has Come The Walrus Said...
Actually, it wasn't a walrus. It was the calendar. My original plan at the beginning of 2012 was to park the ham shack trailer, finish moving into the new house and complete the renovations. Then I planned to erect the tower and antennas and put together the station in time for the CQ World-Wide contest at the end of October. But when October 2012 came around, however, I realized that there hadn't been nearly enough progress on the house yet. If I got distracted playing radio I knew I would never get the renovations finished so I reluctantly put off the station building for just one more year.
This week I looked at the calendar and realized that if I really wanted to be on the air for CQWW 2013 I had less than two weeks to get everything prepared. There was no way I was going to miss another contest season so I decided to go for it. It isn't a lot of time (two weekends and eight evenings!) but there are a few things working in my favor. Number one is the fact that it is still autumn here. While that may not sound unusual for mid-October, in this neck of the woods mid-October is typically full-on winter! Think what you might about global warming but temperatures this month have been running 10-12 degrees above normal. Instead of snow and ice it is still above freezing here and the forecast is calling for more of the same. The second advantage is that most of the indoor stuff is already assembled and ready to move over from the old trailer shack.
With all this in mind I sat down and made up a task list of everything that had to be completed before Friday, October 25, and sorted and prioritized it. There doesn't seem to be any reason that I shouldn't be able to get it all done in the allotted time so let's go!
This week I looked at the calendar and realized that if I really wanted to be on the air for CQWW 2013 I had less than two weeks to get everything prepared. There was no way I was going to miss another contest season so I decided to go for it. It isn't a lot of time (two weekends and eight evenings!) but there are a few things working in my favor. Number one is the fact that it is still autumn here. While that may not sound unusual for mid-October, in this neck of the woods mid-October is typically full-on winter! Think what you might about global warming but temperatures this month have been running 10-12 degrees above normal. Instead of snow and ice it is still above freezing here and the forecast is calling for more of the same. The second advantage is that most of the indoor stuff is already assembled and ready to move over from the old trailer shack.
With all this in mind I sat down and made up a task list of everything that had to be completed before Friday, October 25, and sorted and prioritized it. There doesn't seem to be any reason that I shouldn't be able to get it all done in the allotted time so let's go!
Monday, January 28, 2013
VE8EV Missing?
I got an email the other day from someone checking on my health. They hadn't heard me on the air or seen anything on my blog recently and they just wanted to know if I was ok. The answer was yes and no. Yes, I'm fine, but no, I'm not ok: I miss my radios! You see, last June I moved into an old house that I've been remodeling. It sits on a very large lot and I have grand plans. There is a room dedicated to being "the shack". There is a roof mounted 80/160m vertical. There is a spot in the front yard assigned for a 70-foot tower with a TH6 and other assorted antennas. There's another spot in the backyard for a free-standing tower to hold up the 40m yagi. Lots of plans but I thought it prudent to finish the house renovations before I started on the important stuff. The fewer distractions the better and as anyone who has ever done any kind of home improvement project knows, it always takes longer and costs more money than planned. Right now, I still have lots to get finished before the towers go up, and my most recent forecast is to be back on the air in time for contest season in October. Coincidentally, that was my forecast last year as well...
Sunday, July 29, 2012
IOTA VE8EV/P SO24CW LP
Call:
VE8EV/P
Operator(s): VE8EV
Station: VE8EV/P
Class: SO24CW LP
QTH: Sachs Harbour, NT
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band CW Qs CW Mults Ph Qs Ph Mults
----------------------------------------
80:
40:
20: 167 6
15: 31 1
10:
----------------------------------------
Total: 198 7 Total Score = 7,490
Club:
Comments:
Island Expedition, NA-129 Banks Island
As predicted, the active geomagnetic conditions and solar flares made for dismal conditions from the polar region. Too much D-layer absorbtion for the low bands and too much aurora for the high bands. I started at 1600z and only made 6 qso's in the first four hours! 20m opened up for Eu sunrise, not strong but steady for a couple of hours and then closed up tight. Only worked a single JA station!
73
John VE8EV
Operator(s): VE8EV
Station: VE8EV/P
Class: SO24CW LP
QTH: Sachs Harbour, NT
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band CW Qs CW Mults Ph Qs Ph Mults
----------------------------------------
80:
40:
20: 167 6
15: 31 1
10:
----------------------------------------
Total: 198 7 Total Score = 7,490
Club:
Comments:
Island Expedition, NA-129 Banks Island
As predicted, the active geomagnetic conditions and solar flares made for dismal conditions from the polar region. Too much D-layer absorbtion for the low bands and too much aurora for the high bands. I started at 1600z and only made 6 qso's in the first four hours! 20m opened up for Eu sunrise, not strong but steady for a couple of hours and then closed up tight. Only worked a single JA station!
73
John VE8EV
Sunday, July 22, 2012
VE8EV/P - Instant Expedition
I'll be operating from Banks Island NA-129 this weekend during the IOTA contest and as time permits. I'm expecting conditions to be a bit rough so plan to be operating mostly CW. Hope to hear you!
Edit: operation was July 26-29, 2012
Edit: operation was July 26-29, 2012
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