Going Mobile!

I'm getting ready to take my youngest son to an all day Boy Scout Merit badge workshop in Charlottesville, VA tomorrow.  We have to be there at 8:00am and he's there until 6:00pm.  That means that I have the entire middle of the day to head west to the mountains and play radio!!!

I'll be traveling over to Afton Mountain and then I'll head up Skyline Drive for a few miles to a "scenic overlook" named Beagle Gap - it's about mile marker 100 on the map.  Here is a link to the map.

I'm taking a bunch of gear - maybe too much ;)

6m vertical for SSB/CW
2m/70cm vertical for FM/D-Star (car transceiver)
2m yagi for SSB/CW
70cm yagi for SSB/CW
33cm yagi for FM/P25
23cm yagi for SSB/CW

I'm hoping the weather holds out and is nice.

73 de KJ4WLH

P25 vs FM on 900Mhz

Since I've been using P25 with some 900Mhz gear, I thought it might be nice for those without the gear to hear the difference.  Check out the link to YouTube

Thanks to Dave (N4MW) and Fred (WB4KXS) for the great QSO :)

73 de KJ4WLH

Interesting Observations

Last summer I posted a YouTube video of a comparison between my IC-7000 and IC-9100.  Just listening to some VHF FM chatting going on; I thought I'd see what the difference between the 2 rigs would be - I re-cabled the antenna's to an Alpha Delta switch and was able to switch between them.  That's it, pretty simple.

YouTube Video

When I switched between the 2 rigs, I was pleased with the apparent sensitivity of the 9100 compared to the 7000.  The night was somewhat quiet and there was very little background noise anyway; but still - the 9100 S-Meter was reading S-5 or so with the 7000 having no S-Meter movement.

The interesting thing is that I received a number of comments/e-mails/suggestions that I turn the 7000's pre-amp ON in order to have a "fair comparison" between the 2 rigs.  Adam Farson (AB4OJ) has a FAQ which mentions the S-Meter is calibrated accurately when the Pre-Amp is ON.  Page 148 of the 7000 manual states "Sensitivity (at pre-amp ON)" - which I never noticed at all before this event occurred...

Anyway, I suppose I need to give it a try and see what the difference is - I'm also wondering if the 7000 actually has a 2m/70cm pre-amp built in.  It's on thing to turn on a setting, but it's another for the setting to do something useful.  The 2m/70cm/1.2ghz pre-amp setting for the 9100 is designed to power an external pre-amp - doesn't do anything for the VHF+ bands at all.

My 1st circuit design and implementation :)

I've decided to build a GPS receiver for my ICOM IC-9100.  No particular reason other than I was looking for an electronics project and this one seemed to have enough complexity (which would be VERY little to others, but a LOT for me!) to make it interesting and fun.

I created an account on Circuit Lab and designed my 1st circuit.  Actually, I really designed it on a sheet of paper and after editing, and editing, and editing...  I decided to look for an online way of designing a circuit - I Googled circuit design and Circuit Lab popped up - I created an account and started.  It seems pretty simple, which is exactly what I'm looking for right now.

Here is the schematic of my 1st design:

I needed a circuit that would take a 12 - 14vDC source and transform it to 5vDC.  I'm planning on using a Garmin 18x LVC, which needs about 100mA @ 5vDC.  Since I had most of the components already figured out, I thought that I'd add an LED - you know, just for fun!  So, I did :)

Here's my breadboard pic:

As you can see, the LED is lit and the voltages are all pretty much right where they are supposed to be!  I'm pretty excited - this is the first time that I actually designed a circuit with a voltage regulator, couple of capacitors, and an LED.  AND it WORKS!!!  Woo Hoo!!!

73 de KJ4WLH

A Very Begali Christmas

Merry Christmas 2012!

The Bates family had a great 2012 Christmas; it was really nice to have the whole family sitting around the Christmas tree, laughing, smiling, and opening gifts.

The Ham Radio gifts this year were very nice:  2 Begali's - A Sculpture and a Blade.  One for each type of CW - they are just beautiful, they look so much better than I can use them.  I can only hope that one day I'll be worthy of them.

73 de KJ4WLH

Boy Scout - Field Day with Skeet & Radio Fun

I'm back home after a wet, wet weekend.  The weather guys all week long said, "Beautiful weather - upper 50's during the day and possible rain late Sunday afternoon."

Well, they were partially right - Saturday afternoon the temp did warm up to the upper 50's.  However, around 1am on Sunday morning, the downpour that arrived was not very nice :(  Eventually, the tent decided to perform the same function as a river and little rivers flowed through.  There is just nothing like a wet sleeping back to ruin an otherwise pleasant sleep!

Anyway, Saturday was a really nice day - the Scouts had a great time shooting skeet; this year we only shot around 4,000 shells - down from 5,000 last year.  My youngest son ended up shooting 250 shells, has a HUGE bruise on his right shoulder and completed the Shooting Merit Badge requirements by hitting 39/50 skeet!  He (and I) was very excited.

I set up a radio station on Saturday morning and really had a great day!  I took my Icom IC-7000 and Buddipole with me.  The first thing I wanted to do was check in to the Central Virginia 6m Net (50.215) that run every day at 7am and 8am.  The Buddipole aluminum tubing was pretty chilly in the AM as the temp was around 35 degrees or so.  I managed to get the Buddipole set up with a 6m dipole configuration and I heard Ralph (WA4FEG) calling for check-in's to the net!  I was very excited!

(A note on the Buddipole configuration - if you decide to pick on up - you MUST own a antenna analyzer of some sort.  It's just not an option to try with your radio - there is so much variation in locations, coil tap locations, and antenna whip length that you start each band "excercise" in the "general ballpark" and spend a bit of time trying to find a good resonant config.  Takes some time, but I can't imagine how'd I accomplish it with a analyzer!)

Rig Setup at Scout Camp

I used the battery power from the car as the power source.  I had forgotten that I need to run the car when using the IC-7000 on full power - but remembered VERY quickly when I keyed up to check-in to the 6m net.  My IC-7000 immediately power cycled, I jumped out of the chair and started the car, and then tried to check in again - this time success!!!

Buddipole - Set up for 6m configuration

Field Day Setup

My youngest son came on over to visit later in the morning.

My Assistant - Will

 I made a few contacts during the day with folks around the US, Portugal, and heard quite a few from Europe, Canada, Australia, and Mexico - quite a variety.  I had about 8 - 10 scouts talk to other hams during the day; it was pretty fun for everybody involved!  When the day had about ended, I had the opportunity to share a bit of detail with 3 boys who seemed quite interested in obtaining their Tech license - I'll have to follow up with them later on and see if the interest remains.

So, other than some crappy, late Sat night rain, and a cold - it was a great field day!

73 de KJ4WLH (reporting from a nice, dry QTH!)

6m Dipole is complete - I'm finally back in business.

I took some time, but I finally made my 6m dipole.  Since I work for a plumbing company, I decided to use copper pipe and fittings :)  Here are some pics:

I did a bit of antenna modeling before I made this antenna.  I was hoping that it would be as good as the model suggested - the 1/2" copper pipe really gave it a nice bandwidth!

Since I was trying to get it resonant for weak signal work, you can see that it's really matched quite well for 50.125 - I'm quite happy!!!

73 de KJ4WLH

ICOM IC-7000 Low Power Output RESOLVED!

I've recently been using my Icom IC-7000 inside my house as a convenient way to listen to W1AW Morse Code practice sessions.  One afternoon, I was on 40 meters and decided to have a QSO with a fellow ham. I went to key and noticed that my power output level was peaking around 60 watts +/- or so.  Since I had the power output set at 100% (or 100 watts), I was concerned.  I knew that my antenna was good, the auto tuner had been successfully initiated and was operational.

Hmm, had I managed to break something?  Time to search the Internet for help!

It would seem that I'm not the only person who has had this issue.  The first answer was very common, something along the lines of:  "The IC-7000 needs 13.8 volts; anything less will affect power output."  I was already familiar with that problem - mostly due to my operation in my vehicle.  The IC-7000 worked great when the car was running, but when the car was stopped (engine not running), power output > 50 watts caused the unit to cycle off and back on.  Apparently, the solution for that problem is a "voltage booster."

On to the next "most likely" cause - bad fuses.  Really?  Bad fuses; corrosion?  Well, guess what - yep, that was actually the problem.  I found a good article by AB4OJ - Link Here -> Check out the heading "Low Power Output on Transmit."

I checked the 30 Amp ATC fuses and take a look:

IC-7000 30 Amp ATC Fuses

Notice the nice dark corrosion line across them?  Yeah, I noticed them also.  I took a pocket knife and scratched some of the oxidation off the fuses, put the back in the fuse holders and yep, the IC-7000 went back to transmitting all of 100 watts.

Next step:  get out my dremel and buff the oxidation off the fuses.

73 de KJ4WLH

1st CW QSO! Thank you KD2OY!

After many months, even years, I finally got up the courage to give a CQ using Morse Code.  Much to my terror, David Nadel - KD2OY, returned my call and we had a short QSO.  It was short, mostly because I was so nervous that I didn't know what to say!

I would really like to thank a couple of guys who have provided a LOT of encouragement and support:  Dave Meier (N4MW) and Armand Hamel (WA1UQO).  I would have abandoned CW long ago if it weren't for these 2 guys!

The 1st contact has been logged - onward and onward!!!

73 de KJ4WLH

Antenna Modeling – The Practical Use

What do these software products all have in common:  EZNec, cocoaNEC, NEC 2, and NEC-Win?

1. They are intimidating, obscure, and un-intelligible software programs somehow related to Amateur Radio.
2. They each provide a means to use mathematical sets of formulas to simulate antennas in the "real world."
3. Electrical Engineers, PhD's, Nerds, and the socially unacceptable are the only humans who know the "secret and arcane" art of antenna modeling using these software tools.
4. These are very expensive software products, well out of the reach of a typical Ham.

No, the answer is not "3"; the correct answer is "2"!  Yes, really - I'm not kidding…

One of my favorite things to do in Amateur Radio is trying to model the "perfect" antenna.  I've "invested" (or wasted depending upon whom you ask!) a lot of time with EZNec (on Windows) and cocoaNEC (on Mac) and I really enjoy them a lot.  I've often asked myself questions like:

• I wonder what that dipole would look like in my back yard?
• What does a 3 element, 2-meter yagi do at 8' above the ground?
• How does a j-pole really radiate?
• Can I make my own Buckmaster (and save a TON of $$)?

Recently, I was able to put my "investment" (of time) to good use.  I'd decided that I wanted to put up a 40m dipole and remove the doublet that was in its place.  Sure the doublet worked OK, but I'd recently discovered just how inefficient that antenna radiates on it non-harmonic frequencies.  It doesn't really matter what "it" is, but I like things that work efficiently and my doublet surely didn't.

I had to opportunity to "design" my own dipole.  How tricky can that be you ask?  As tricky as you want to make it.  Since I knew how to use EZNec and cocoaNEC, I didn't just want a flattop dipole with it's 70+ Ohm feedpoint and 1.8+ SWR across the frequency band for 40m (see Figure 1).  I used cocoaNEC to model a dipole, sized for 40m, about 45’ above the ground – which was very close to my QTH’s backyard setup – to see what a regular dipole would look like.

Figure 1 - 40m Dipole "Flat Top"

Since the 40m antenna is lower to the ground than the optimal height, I started changing my model by changing the legs of the dipole.  I started off by slightly raising the legs by 10 degrees at the insulator and saw the feedpoint resistance drop a little.  Eventually, I managed to find a nice combination of dipole leg “angle”, based upon the height over ground.  I was also able to adjust the length of the legs to get the lowest SWR across the lower part of the 40m band.  The SWR model is show in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - 40m "V" Dipole

During November of 2012, I managed to find some time to hang my 40m dipole based upon the calculations.  I hung the wires and balun, trimmed, re-hung, trimmed, re-hung, etc. for a few hours.  When I was finished, I used my analyzer to see just how close I was.  Figure 3 shows the graph based upon the numbers my analyzer showed.  The curve is about as close to a match (compare Figure 3 to Figure 2) as I could ever expect!  I was so pleased – it has been a while since a project that I’m working on has turned out so well!

Figure 3 - Actual Analyzer Measurements at my QTH

As I’m writing this, I still can’t believe just how accurate the EZNec and cocoaNEC programs are.  I know it’s not rocket science, but I was able to design an antenna based on my requirements, build the antenna, and finally, measure to see that it matches the antenna design.

Once all the measurements were complete, I got right on the air.  The ARRL was having a Sweepstakes competition and the contacts were rolling in!  Perhaps band conditions were great or my antenna worked even better than I’d dreamed ☺  Either way, there were many contacts to be made!  It was a great way to end a weekend!

If you think that you’d be interested in trying to model your own antenna, RARC will be offering a 3 or 4 week “Introduction to EZNec Antenna Modeling” class in the late winter/early spring.

73 de KJ4WLH

40m V Dipole - It's up and awesome!

Well, it sure has taken me a while, but I decided that I needed to remove my doublet.  I was doing some antenna modeling with EZNec and CocoaNec and saw just how horrible the actual antenna resonance was and realized that even though I could get my tuner to match; the doublet was still not exactly working very efficiently :(

So, those thoughts as well as the desire to run a little bit of power in the future and CW, caused me to re-think my antenna situation.  After much fun, deliberation, and consternation, I decided that I'd bite the bullet and build 1 - 40m dipole and 2 - 20m dipoles.  I went to Balun Designs and picked up a couple of baluns:  the 1116de (for 40m) and the 1115e (for 20m).  Wireman got the call for some more #531 wire and I was in business.

I'd be doing quite a bit of antenna modeling and decided that I did not want a flat-top dipole, I wanted a V that I could "control" the angles a little bit.  So, I came up with something of a compromise - I tied a 50' piece of rope between the insulators, hung the wire from the insulators, and the antenna balun hung down in the air between the wires.  It sounds more complicated than it really is - the rope just let me accurately define the length of the legs of the dipole.  It also meant that I could get the Impedance down to around 48 - 52 ohms or so :)

This afternoon I got to go outside and work on my latest adventure.  I think I dropped and raised the balun and wires about 7 or 8 times, but at the end, it was certainly worth it!  I was trying to get my lowest SWR around the 7.150 mark and was only just a little bit off.  I guess I could have kept cutting, but after a while you're just in the right ball park and it's time to call it a day :)

I wired it up, connected to some LMR 400 and listened around for a little while.  Perhaps conditions were just excellent today, but I had MANY, MANY stations around that were S9+40.  I listened to a contest running and gave a shout out, immediate response with a "Hey, your 60+ over here in Annapolis" - I replied with a "Thanks for the station report, new dipole and I'm very pleased!"  I'm also very pleased that my rig was pulling more amps than I'd ever seen - FINALLY, an antenna that is NOT a compromise - just works!

73 de KJ4WLH

2012 BSA Jamboree on the Air

2012 Boy Scout Jamboree on the Air (BS-JOTA)

Link to Pictures:

The BS-JOTA was held on Saturday, October 20th from 8:30 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. at the Cub Adventure Camp, located in Maidens, VA.  The BSA Heart of Virginia Council's Cardinal District held a Cub Scout "Cub Olympics" during the weekend of October 19th - 21st.  Approximately 1,200 Cub Scouts and their families camped during the weekend.

I'd like to thank the following individuals and sponsors:

• Richmond Amateur Radio Club (RARC)
• Sponsored the BS-JOTA station
• Provided HF equipment
• D-Star repeater access
• Richmond Amateur Telecommunication Society (RATS)
• UHF IRLP repeater access
• Cardinal District, Heart of Virginia Council
• Provided facilities for the BS-JOTA station
• Allowed the station to be part of the "Cub Olympics"
• Volunteers (in callsign order)
• KB4IQT - David Thomas - Troop 832
• KK4DWX - Bob Kendig
• N4CVA - Austin Thomas - Troop 832
• WA1UQO - Armand Hamel
• WA4SSG - Win Grant
• Mac McNeer(K4YEF)
• Use of the RARC Club callsign:  W4ZA

The BS-JOTA team set up an HF station, D-Star station, VHF/UHF station, and IRLP station over the day.  Contacts on HF were made all over the United States, Canada, and even over to Europe!  Austin Thomas (N4CVA), a Boy Scout was instrumental in showing the Cub Scouts how to make the "correct" contact - and MANY boys did make HF contacts throughout the day!  Austin did a fantastic job!

When large numbers of Cub Scouts showed up at the BS-JOTA station, Win Grant (WA4SSG) and David Thomas (KB4IQT) would take small groups a few dozen yards away from each other and they would use HT's to make contacts with each other.  Needless to say, a LOT of "local" contacts were made as well!

Armand Hamel (WA1UQO) brought one of the most fun instruments of the day - a key and code practice oscillator!  I believe Armand's key was the MOST USED piece of equipment - at least 100 scouts touched the key and the just LOVED making it squeak and squeal.  One "lesson" shared with the boys was teaching them how to say "HI" in Morse Code: ". . . .  . ."   The best part of having the boys learn to key "HI" was telling them that they could use their flashlights and do the SAME THING with the light - they could "talk" to each other in "secret code"!!  Big smiles, you could almost see the wheels turning in their heads as they figured out what they were going to do later that night.

The D-Star station was connected to the BS-JOTA reflector (REF033A) and occasionally to the Atlanta reflector (REF030C).  D-Star contacts were light as most of the operators were VERY busy helping the scouts talk either on HF or HT's in the small groups.  There were a lot of stations making contacts throughout the world on the BS-JOTA reflector:  Argentina, UK, New Zealand, and many others.  It was great hearing all the different countries and the accents of the stations were really interesting to the scouts as well.

As the afternoon wore on, the Scouts (and the operators) were getting tired!  The HF station was shut down and we linked the RATS UHF IRLP node to the BS-JOTA node (9091).  Scout after Scout after Scout made contacts primarily with other scouts in Canada and Texas.  At least 20 Scouts made contacts with other Scouts; and an occasional Ham as well - all over IRLP!

The day went great!  At least 50 - 60 Scouts made contacts with someone, mostly with other Scouts.  The day was beautiful.  The volunteers made the day go smoothly and were so generous with their time.  My final thoughts are these - I really enjoy ham radio and I also sharing my passion for this great hobby of ours with people who are open to new ideas!  We are the ones who make the entrance to our hobby "friendly" and "welcoming".  Get out there and "welcome" someone into your hobby today!

73 de KJ4WLH
Jim Bates, Troop 876, RARC Member, RATS Member

6m loop problem - BIOLOGICAL!!!

Wow, I guess I just live and learn...

I few weeks, perhaps months now I suppose, my 6m loop stopped being resonant on 50.125.  Really weird - I mean, it looked fine and was hanging right where it had been for a while and I hadn't done ANYTHING with it except use it.  I really didn't understand what was going on.

So, last weekend I dropped the antenna and tried to re-adjust it so that it would be resonant (again!) on 50.125 +/-.  It was really strange; I'd tune/adjust it, raise it up 20' or so, think that I'd just about got it and then it would change on me.  It was really frustrating.  So, I adjusted it "one last time" and hauled it up into the air.

Wouldn't you know; it wouldn't tune on my 9100!  My 7600 would tune it up, but that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  I used my antenna analyzer and it was around 3:1 match!!!  WHAT??!!??  ARGHH!!

(In case you haven't followed my rants recently, I've have a bad run of radio luck...)

Time passes...  And now it's this afternoon - beautiful day and I have about an hour to kill until my next activity kicks up; sounds like a good time to take a look at the 6m loop problem.  So, I dropped the antenna again, got out the M2 6m loop PDF and adjusted all the parts to the specs in the PDF.  HOWEVER, when I was banging on the metal trying to shift parts around, ants started crawling out of the aluminum tubing!  A LOT of ANTS - I mean, tons!!!  How strange?  Anyway, I kept on making noise and gave them a little while to clear out.

I went back later and it seemed like they'd moved on - I guess most of them did anyway.  So I hauled the antenna back up in the air and guess what - 1.2:1 match :)

My "moral of the story is this", there is always a reason - it just might be stranger than what you think it is!

73 de KJ4WLH

2m Stack Complete - Results, Hmmm...

Well, the 2m stack is hanging the back yard and I guess it's ok.  You know, I keep thinking that the effort will mean something substantial - though I know it isn't really.  So, here's what I figure out:

1. 3db gain for a pair of loops +/- is a LOT of trouble for half an S-Unit.
2. I think my 2m pre-amp is broken :(
3. My LMR-400 N connector pins don't fit my LMR-400 coax...
4. ARGHHH...

Sometimes I wonder why I do these things!  I'm super frustrated that the pre-amp isn't working.  I'm pretty much ready to stop purchasing anything used from folks I don't know.  I mean, it was working on the bench - so, one everything it cable'd up, tie wrapped in place, and hanging up in the air - it decides NOT to work?  What's up with that?

So, all the gear is done and I still hear the faint signals of N4MW's 2m beacon on 144.280.  Pre-amp doesn't help at all and I guess sometime I'll figure out what my "lesson learned" is.

All I know is that today, I'm really tired of failure...

73 de KJ4WLH

2m HO Loop Rebuild Project

I had a really high SWR on my 6m loop which meant that I needed to drop it to see what was going on. Since the loop mounting system also holds my 2m and 70cm loops, I decided to rebuild my 2m stack.

I have a 2m pre-amp that I've wanted to get in action for a while. I also have a M2 2m cable phasing set, which would be really great if I had a 2nd loop. So, I placed my order with HEO and ordered the final piece.

My goal is to have a pair if M2 2m HO loops, with a pre-amp mounted and up in the air by the end of the weekend.

Wish me luck!

73de KJ4WLH

D-Star DVAP with laptop tether to cell - Amazing!

Last night I was sitting in my hotel room, thinking about how ridiculous it is that any hotel would charge $20/day for internet access.  $35 for "fast" service.  What a joke...

So, for the first time, I decided to tether my phone to my laptop and just use my cell data connection for my internet access.  Seemed to work OK, actually was better than I thought it would work.  In fact, I'm using it right now to update this page :)

Anyway, when I travel I always take my IC-92AD and my DVAP (red).  So, I got it out, plugged it in, and connected to the internet.  Wow, that was easy - it just worked (like I've grown to expect!)

My local club, Richmond Amateur Radio Club (RARC), located in Richmond, VA has a D-Star net that runs on Wednesday evening at 8pm (EDT).  I took a break from my Morse Code practice to join the net and it WORKED GREAT!

I've heard of folks using their cell connection in their car traveling all around the country staying in D-Star contact, but this is the first time that I'd ever done it.  It's more fun than it sounds.

So, no R2D2 during the net and it was awesome being able to chat with my buddies - just like I was local.

73 de KJ4WLH

2m vertical antenna relocation worked!

I've been having difficulty over the past few months trying to hit my favorite D-Star repeater from my QTH.  It's weird, nothing in my "control" changed - but one day, out of the blue, I could no longer hit the repeater with 2-3 watts of power.

Anyway, over the past weekend, I just finally resolved to move "things" around and see how that might play out - and guess what!  Yeah, it worked.  I relocated my 2m/70cm vertical to another location in the back yard and I'm back to hitting the repeater with just a couple of watts of power.

Nice.

Sometimes I wonder how any of this stuff works at all...

73 de KJ4WLH

Last D-Star net control for a while...

I ran my last D-Star Net for a while.  Since my oldest son has headed off to college, it seems that I'm back on taxi driver duty :(  My XYL and I still have 2 children left here at home and they both have weekly activities that require drop-off/pick-up's.  It sure was nice having my oldest son around to do that kind of work, I miss it!

Anyway, since I didn't believe that I could both drive and run a net, it seemed like one of those family vs. hobby conflicts that inevitably arise.

Here's to hoping my daughter learns to drive quickly!!!

73 de KJ4WLH

My IC-9100's cousin is back!

What seems like a really long time ago, but I guess it wasn't, I had an Icom IC-7600.  I sure loved that rig.  It was what I called my 1st really nice rig.  My previous were good, but I purchased them with the intent of just learning what I like and dislike; then selling them and moving along.

When Icom released the IC-9100, I knew that the rig was for me.  There are just so few VHF+ multi-mode (SSB/CW) rigs available and it also covered HF.  So, the IC-9100 came on home.  For a few months I didn't do anything with the IC-7600 and since there were a couple of problems with that:  1 - it's not cheap, and 2 - I can't abide having gear that I don't use; I put it up for sale.

Problem was, I missed it.  A lot!  As much as I like the IC-9100, I really, really liked the IC-7600.

A buddy of mine "upgraded" his QTH with a IC-7800 and now he had a IC-7600 just "sitting around."  I knew his pain :), though, not in quite the same manner - an IC-9100 is NOT a IC-7800!!!  So, he decided to put it up for sale a few months ago.  I have to say, I've thought about it almost any time I think about Ham radio.  His price was very reasonable and I know how he takes care of his gear - so that part was pretty easy; no concerns about equipment condition...

Well, last week while talking with him, I just decided to see if he still had the rig and Yep.  He still did...  Now he doesn't :)

So, I casually call the rigs "cousins" and the pair of them are working well in my shack.  I must say, I really do enjoy working HF & 6m on the IC-7600 - it's just a joy!

73 de KJ4WLH

Morse Code - An Update

I have been upset, disappointed, frustrated, and pretty much any other words that I can find to describe how much like a failure I feel.  There are few things in my life that I have tried as hard as I'm trying now, but those other things have made progress - morse code seems to be a brick wall...

Anyway, last night I found a group of people who, like me, share the same feeling.  They almost universally  shared exactly what I was feeling.  It's just that feeling of failure, mostly (and not maliciously) as "kind advice & support" - "Hey, just keep trying, it's easy."; "I learned it when I was a Boy Scout at 9 years old, simple!" and on and on and on...

For me, it's not easy.  It's hard, very hard.  Like I just mentioned, there are few things that I have tried that require this level of concentration and continuous effort to see very poor results.

NOW, for the good news...

I AM making progress.  I do finally believe that I have the ability to learn morse code.  I also no longer think that it'll just be "20 quick hours to memorize the code and then get on the air - it's easy!"  I know that it'll take a while for me; but that's actually OK!  I know that I'm "slowly" getting there and that my pace will be MY pace.

I guess the "discouraging" reassurance of others has really made a difference for me.  I appreciate the honesty.

73 de KJ4WLH