Graphing RF Line of Sight

I have a few friends who live within a reasonable distance for 2M simplex communications, if there is line of sight. Today I found this tool that allows you to graph LOS between two points on a map:

https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/

Here's a plot between my house on the left and a friend's on the right, assuming an antenna height of 10M:

Back in 2015, we were able to hold a conversation on 2M simplex, with Yagi directional antennas on both ends. In that test my antenna was only about 1M above ground, while my friend went up the hill behind his house and hung his antenna from a stick, about 1M up. See my two posts on that test, here and here.

Since there is a ridge about halfway between us, it is likely that knife edge diffraction played a role in the success of our QSO.

Expedient 10M Dipole Antenna

I whipped this up in about 15 minutes this afternoon.

I used a wire stripper/cutter and the reamer on the Victorinox Pioneer Swiss Army Knife. I could have used just the SAK.

Bill of materials:

• BNC-to-Binding post adapter
• No.36 bank line for a center hang loop (optional)
• Two lengths of 20 AWG silicone insulated wire, cut to 8 feet and 1/4" each. You may want to go a little longer and trim to length to adjust SWR as needed.
• Insulators cut from plastic dividers from a plastic parts bin organizer

The build is simple:

1. Cut the wires to length
2. Strip about 1" of the insulation of one end of each wire, twist, and put the stripped end through the hole in the binding post, one to the red and one to the black. Snug down the screw on the binding posts.
3. Cut the wire end insulators and drill two holes large enough for the 20AWG wire near one end. Drill a single hole on the other end.
4. On the end with two holes, thread the end of the wire through the hole closest to the edge then down through the second hole. Tie an overhand knot to prevent it from coming back through, then pull the wire snug. Here's a closeup:

Notes:

• I was going to crimp a ring connector onto the ends of the wires where they attach to the binding posts, but the rings weren't quite large enough. You might be able to drill them out a little with a step drill.
• Depending on what size line I use to hold up the antenna, I may need to add a small loop of bank line to either end. I didn't want to drill the third hole too large because the plastic I used was thin.

I should be able to try this out later in the week and will post a follow up. If by chance I cut the wires too short I can replace them, then repurpose them for use on a 6M dipole.

My First Whack at a Homebrew Jungle Antenna

This afternoon I made a VHF jungle antenna for the first time. 

The jungle antenna is a field expedient ground plane antenna that can be made with limited supplies and tools, under austere conditions, though I built on my dining room table (the XYL is out of town).

This antenna design is featured in military manuals, survivalist videos on YouTube, and @NCScout has a great blog post on them on his site Brushbeater and in his book, The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio.

Materials Used:

• 18 AWG wire
• #36 bank line
• A BNC F-to-binding post adapter from Amazon
• Bamboo stakes garden stakes from Lowes, to spread out the ground plane radials.

The only tool I used for the initial build was a SOG PowerAccess multitool, leftmost in the above picture. It is 4.5" long, which I used to measure the wire and bamboo for cuts.

I first cut thee 22" long pieces of bamboo for the spreaders. These were tied into a triangle with bank line.

Three radials were cut to ~20" and one wire for the vertical radiator was cut to 18".

I attached a bank line hang loop to the end of the vertical with a sheet bend. The other end of the vertical was stripped and put into the red binding post. The three radiators were stripped on one end, combined, and attached to the black binding post. The other ends have a small overhand knot tied in them and then were tied to the corners of the triangle.

Unfortunately, SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) came out high on both VHF and UHF, measured with my NanoVNA. On 2M VHF, SWR was 2.29 at 146.5 MHz. On 70cm UHF it was a bit better, 1.86 at 450.2 MHz.

After dinner I made a couple changes. First, I replaced the 18" vertical element with one cut to 19.2", with an overhand knot tied at the top end, with my bank line hang loop tied under that with a couple half hitches.

I have it suspended from an uncut bamboo stake in my second floor home office. Yes, it's a bit cluttered.

I also improved the ground plane part by replacing the bank line securing the ends of the radials and bamboo pieces with a cable tie at each junction. This made the structure much stronger.

After reworking it I remeasured SWR with 29.5 feet of RG-174 coaxial feed line. It's much improved now.

On the 2M calling frequency of 146.52 MHz SWR is now at 1.36, and on the 446 MHz 70cm calling freq it's at 1.06.

Note that SWR will probably change some with the antenna hanging in free space but I cannot test that today because it's been raining off and on outside.

Reception of a couple local repeaters has been very good but I haven't transmitted with it yet.

Getting Comms Squared Away

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

After a couple years away from doing anything with ham radio, a coworker has rekindled my interest in the past couple of weeks. He has a GMRS license and is studying for his Technician license. His primary interest is backup comms with family and friends who are within a few miles.

That said, we're hoping that after he gets his Tech license we'll be able to communicate via simplex on 2M with the use of directional antennas at a distance of about 20 - 25 miles. Several years ago a ham friend and I did just that, over a similar distance. I may need to go to a higher elevation, however.

Aside from all that, the state of the country worries me and has had me wanting to setup emergency backup comms with my brother and mom, who live in the same subdivision that I do. It's unlikely that both our Internet and cell service would both go down, but the possibility is non-zero.

Since GMRS covers immediate family regardless of whether they live with you, I've set them up with an unlocked Baofeng UV-5R programmed for GMRS and MURS, for emergency use only. (I am well aware that the UV-5R is not type accepted for GMRS or MURS, so it will not be used for non-emergency commo.)

The variant of the UV-5R that I've owned for years is the discontinued UV-5RA. As far as I know the guts are the same but the case is shaped differently so some accessories like higher capacity batteries are incompatible.

Therefore, today I got a 2-pack of current production UV-5Rs. The package I ordered included:

• 2 radios with standard capacity batteries and antennas.
• 2 3800 mah extra capacity batteries.
• 2 antennas that are better than the regular OEM Baofeng antennas.
• 2 desktop chargers.
• 1 programming cable and a mini-disc with CHIRP on it. (I recommend downloading CHIRP directly from the developer's website.)
• 2 earpieces.

Additionally, I have order in with Amazon for an additional programming cable, 2 battery eliminators (that allow you to power the radio off a 12 VDC outlet), and a 4-pack of speaker/mics.

Much of this will go into a radio go-bag along with extended patch cables and various coax adapters. I'll keep one my old UV-5RAs in my truck, where I also have a Tram mag-mount antenna.

Earlier this week I received one of Ed Fong's J-Pole antennas to improve performance in static situations. J-Poles are one of the more popular options for HT users seeking to improve the performance of their radios, and Ed Fong's has been well-regarded for years. It's very well made. It worked well for reception in my brief test but I've yet to transmit on it. 

I also picked up a 1/4 wave 2M ground plane antenna from Zulu Delta Antennas on eBay. The "Jungle Antenna" is similar, except that this has 4 ground radials instead of the Jungle Antenna's 3. I bought it mainly as a curiosity but from my understanding, J-Poles and 1/4 ground planes perform roughly comparably.

As an aside when I've tried to build a J-Pole I always had problems stripping the twinlead without cutting the conductor. As long as you have a SO-239 bulkhead socket and the ability to solder, I'd find a ground plane antenna easier to build.

But gear only gets you so far. Technology without knowledge is useless. I therefore went over how to use the Baofeng with my brother and gave him a reference card for the 3-3-3 radio plan so that we're both on the same page if we need the radios.

For anyone looking to really improve their commo game, ham or not, I highly recommend the book, The Guerrilla's Guide To The Baofeng Radio, by NCScout. While the book contains a large amount of information that is Baofeng-specific, the meat of it is about technique. Beware of and avoid other similarly-titled guides that are knock-offs.

NCScout's other book, The Guerrilla's Guide to Signals Intelligence, is also worth reading. This knowledge may come in handy if there's unrest following this Fall's election.

I urge everyone to get their communication plans in order well before the election.

First Use of the Emtech ZM-2 Antenna Tuner

HF propagation conditions currently suck, but I wanted to try out the Emtech ZM-2 anyway. My first use would be with a random length antenna.

Earlier today I stopped at Harbor Freight and picked up a one pound spool of aluminum welding wire for ten bucks before the 20% off coupon. We've used such welding wire on our camping trips upstate with good results. In fact, my friend who owns the property we camp on built an 80M dipole with it and strung it about 5 feet off the ground, supporting it with fence insulators. Reception on that antenna is excellent and he's made some contacts as well. It's been there over a year and is still usable.

To support my random wire antenna today I used my 31 foot Jackite kite pole with about 50 feet of the welding wire. I also ran a ground line about 25 to 30 feet and held it down with a big screwdriver as a stake.

The wire was so light that the tip of the mast didn't noticeably droop. The antenna was running approximately East-West, and the ground ran out towards the NE.

Aluminum welding wire is light and easy to work with. As seen with my friend's 80M dipole, it'll last long if its not under much strain. It's cheap enough that if you needed to abandon a random wire antenna made from it, that wouldn't cause concern.

My back patio station today was my 2013 MacBook Pro running FLDIGI and WSJT-X, the ZM-2, Yaesu FT-817ND, and Signalink USB digital interface. I also had a CAT cable for rig control.

I followed the instructions in this video to work the tuner. I found it difficult to see the red LED even though it was overcast, so I need to verify that it's in fact working. Maybe it was luck, but by tuning for maximum noise I really didn't have to tweak anything. When I hit transmit, the rig didn't complain about high SWR.

I briefly tried 40M but had issues getting the antenna to tune on that band. It might be the length of the wire, but again I had issues seeing the LED SWR indicator light up.

As I mentioned, HF propagation is really in the crapper. Before setting up out back, I'd done some work inside using my Icom 7200 and the Ultimax 100 end fed on my roof. The random wire seemed more sensitive, based on the number of PSK31 stations that I saw. However, 20M was mostly dead.

After spotting a number of other stations on 20M PSK31 I closed out FLDIGI and fired up WSJT-X to do some WSPR. On 5 watts, I was in fact getting out.

The screenshot is from WSPR Watch running on my iPhone

This table shows the WSPR stations I received in about 10 minutes of listening.

Timestamp Call MHz SNR Drift Grid Pwr Reporter RGrid km az
 2017-09-17 19:28   8P9HA   14.097165   -17   0   GK03fb   0.1   KB3MNK   FN20ic   3378   336 
 2017-09-17 19:28   K7POF   14.097124   -8   0   DM34sr   10   KB3MNK   FN20ic   3312   68 
 2017-09-17 19:28   W6WGF   14.097119   -7   1   EM12rw   5   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2053   61 
 2017-09-17 19:28   VE4WSC   14.097103   -12   3   EN19ku   5   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2019   114 
 2017-09-17 19:26   WA5IWB   14.097094   -14   0   EM10qh   1   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2215   55 
 2017-09-17 19:26   K7RE   14.097146   -10   0   DN84am   1   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2395   92 
 2017-09-17 19:26   K5FRT   14.097012   -21   0   EM10td   0.2   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2206   54 
 2017-09-17 19:24   8P9HA   14.097137   -19   0   GK03fb   0.1   KB3MNK   FN20ic   3378   336 
 2017-09-17 19:24   K6KWI   14.097060   -21   0   DM13cu   20   KB3MNK   FN20ic   3802   67 
 2017-09-17 19:24   N0IJK   14.097052   -19   0   EL19ao   5   KB3MNK   FN20ic   2365   54

I am cautiously optimistic about the Emtech ZM-2 tuner but I need to figure out why I'm not seeing the LED SWR indicator light. My next experiment with it will be with a dipole to be constructed using some 450 Ohm window line that I bought yesterday at Ham Radio Outlet.

Emtech ZM-2 Antenna Tuner

Last Saturday I ordered a pre-built Emtech ZM-2 antenna tuner with UHF connectors and it arrived today.  I wanted something a bit smaller and lighter than my LDG YT-100 for use with my Yaesu FT-817ND. Additionally, I wanted a tuner that would work with either coax cable fed antennas, balanced line antennas, or even just a random length wire with a ground.

Unlike the LDG, the Emtech unit is a manual tuner using a Z-match circuit. However, based on several videos I've watched and reviews I've read, it's quick to tune and gives you a wide choice with antennas and feedlines. (See here for a good discussion of Z-match circuits.)

Weather permitting, I am hoping to try it out this coming weekend. In the interim, here's a good video from W2AEW on how to operate the ZM-2.

Baofeng Digital Interface Cable

Like a lot of hams and preppers, I own a Baofeng HT. Last week on Facebook, Baofeng Tech announced the APRS-K2 digital interface cable for their radios. Note that while BF advertises it as an APRS cable, in reality it's not limited to that. Other owners have reported that it works with DroidPSK, for example.

At $18.79 on Amazon Prime I had to order one to give it whirl. I have a 2012 Google Nexus 7 tablet that I can use for Android apps, but I'm primarily an iPhone/iPad user. So, after I got the cable I grabbed the aprs.fi app from iTunes and loaded it on my iPad Mini 2.

The BF APRS-K2 cable is like the KF5INZ Easy Digi interface for iPads, in that it relies on VOX to key the rig to transmit. I programmed UV-5RA with the 144.39 MHz APRS frequency, enabled VOX, and connected everything. Aprs.fi had no problems keying the rig with VOX sensitivity set to 2.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be within range of an I-Gate, so although the setup was beaconing, there was no way to port it to the aprs.fi website, other than the app's web connection.

I intend to try the cable with other modes and apps, for example PSKer on the iPad and Fldigi on the Nexus. I'm thinking it might work with the speaker/mic port on my later 2013 MacBook Pro, as well.

Finally, the APRS-K2 is not just useful for Baofeng owners. Since Baofeng radios use the same cables as Kenwood, HTs, the APRS-K2 cable can be used with those as well.

Camping Trip AAR

This weekend a couple friends and I went on a camping trip to Tioga County, PA. The main activity this time was ham radio. We went up on Friday and came home today.

I had to work on Friday but was able to cut out a little early. By the time I got on the road it was rush hour, so it took me a full four hours to get to my friend's land. By the time I arrived it was 9:30 PM. Before I got there, he'd put up an 80M dipole antenna made from aluminum welding wire, electric fence insulators, and some electric fence posts from Tractor Supply. The feed line was the welding wire, formed into an open ladder line held apart with pink duct tape.

This dipole worked well and pulling in signals on 20M, 40M, and 80M. A number of the calls we logged were from within Pennsylvania, demonstrating the viability of NVIS communications.

We're fans of the digital modes. He has an Icom 718 with which he uses a Donner Digital Interface at home. Since he's not going to schlepp a desktop PC with him, he used PSKdroid running on an LG Android tablet, using audio coupling. I also setup my Apple iPad Mini 2 running PSKer to try and pull some signals from the aether.

We were able to copy quite a few transmissions even without a digital interface between the tablets and the rig. We probably would've copied some more, but for the bourbon. ;)

On Saturday I setup my portable vertical antenna, Yaesu FT-817ND, and iPad.

As you can see, we setup inside his 16' x 24' pavilion, which was a godsend this weekend due to the weather. It rained on and off all weekend. There was little to no wind, so the open ends weren't a problem. We even setup my tent underneath the roof so it stayed mostly dry.

As you can see, I have my antenna feedline connected via the FT-817ND's front, BNC connector. As I understand it, using this instead of the SO-239 on the back reduces power consumption.  Also note that the feedline is connected straight to the rig, with no tuner. The vertical is resonant on 20M. Using a resonant antenna instead of one connected through a tuner increases your effective radiated power, and when operating QRP, every little bit helps.

The iPad is connected to the rig with one of KF5INZ's Easy Digi interfaces.

Pic of my vertical antenna:

The objects to the right of the antenna are steel gong targets set out at about 25 yards.

I mostly operated PSK31 and using the antenna above was able to reach the west coast.

I grabbed the above from pskreporter.info using my iPhone. Later, my signal was also reported in Washington state, but I forgot to get a screen shot.

After doing PSK31 for awhile I changed over to WSPR, using iWSPR. This was my first time trying this digital mode and it's amazing. The signal reports below are after transmitting for awhile on 5 watts.

Numerous hits in Great Britain, Western Europe, and Germany. WSPR basically acts like a beacon, transmitting your callsign so that other hams with Internet-connected rigs can upload signal reports. With some creativity I think it could have other applications.

We took time off from the radio to have a nice lunch of venison sausage and onions, sauteed in a red wine reduction. Yeah, we eat good when we go camping.

Saturday night's dinner was venison chili washed down with Yuengling Lager or Guiness Stout.

I also took a break from radio in the afternoon to do a little shooting. I first shot my Cowboy Pimp Gun, AKA a Ruger Single Six in .32 H&R Magnum which has a color case hardened frame and faux ivory grips. It's a fun little blaster but needs a trigger job. I put a bunch of Prvi Partizan .32 S&W Longs through it, which made a nice little tink when they hit our steel gongs.

I also put 70 rounds of .44-40 through my Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle.

Fifty of those were black powder loads with 35 grains of Goex 3Fg under a bullet cast in my Accurate Molds 43-215C bullet mold, and they really smacked the gongs around. If you click on the picture to view the full sized version, you can see some smoke coming out of the rifle's ejection port. I was doing an 1870s-style mag dump. Off to the left, you can also see the gong that I just shot swinging from the impact.

After I finished shooting my other friend put up about 500 feet of aluminum welding wire in a loop, all around our campsite. We got back to radio after nightfall and the loop turned out to work well for receiving 80M and 160M, and they both wound up getting 160M phone QSOs. Because the antenna height ranged from only a couple feet to a max of 5 feet, they were NVIS to other hams in northern PA and southern NY.

Finally, I took this picture of my iPad which looked like it was detecting Space Invaders on the waterfall.

Even though the weather this weekend was crappy we had a great trip. We got some good field radio practice in, plus a bit of fun shooting.

FT-817 Legs

The Yaesu FT-817 is a great all band, all mode QRP rig, but one feature it lacks is a set of legs to prop it up so the face is at a good viewing angle. My previous solution was a stand made from a CD jewel case. A nicer fix is to add folding legs.

Back on October 17th, I ordered a set of "Black Edition Carbon Fiber Sport Legs" from eBay seller radioshackus (not to be confused with Radio Shack). Anyway, they arrived today from Hong Kong and I installed them tonight.

They came sans instructions but after looking at the pic on the eBay listing I figured it out. I'll note that if you get these legs or something similar, you will need a good, properly fitting Phillips head screwdriver to remove the OEM Yaesu screws holding on the carry strap brackets. They are in tight.

A couple of pics of the legs as now installed on my radio:

If you prefer to order FT-817 legs from a US vendor, see here. Note that while the seller is American, these are made in Germany.

Compared with an external stand, the folding legs are a lot more convenient and add no noticeable weight to the radio.

A DIY Programming Cable for Baofeng Radios

One problem which has plagued many owners of Baofeng radios has been getting the programming cable, or more specifically the drivers, working properly under Windows. This may be a viable solution:

http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_ProgrCable.php

I mostly use a Mac to program my radio so it hasn't been much of a problem for me, but I have had to deal with troubleshooting this on a friend's PC, and it was a major PITA. Miklor's page on troubleshooting the drivers has been the best that I've found.

E-Book: Practical Antenna Design 140-150 MHz VHF Transceivers

Thanks to Fo Time on Facebook, I ran across this e-book on antenna construction, Practical Antenna Design 140-150 MHz VHF Transceivers, by Elipidio Latorilla. Included are a couple variations on the familiar VHF ground plane, but the details look like these would be easier to construct than most such designs.

This book is worth adding to your library.

Got Comms?

Sparks has recently posted  about Internet service interruptions, some of which are the result of intentional action. See this post, too (and my readers may recognize the picture of the FT-817).

Today, I ran across this story on Ars Technica, reporting a fiber optic cut near San Francisco which was the twelfth such interruption in that area this year.

A sufficiently motivated party could cut several such fiber optic lines, or take out a colo facility in which many such lines pass through, and thereby cut off comms for a large number of people for a significant period. Given our current dependence on the Internet and telecommunications, this could be disastrous for those affected.

BTW, from the viewpoint of someone who's worked for an ISP for nearly 15 years, if somebody takes out a colo facility, Shit Just Got Real.

The Internet was designed to route around breaks but as it has grown in the past 15 years, the level of overall redundancy has dropped in many areas. Too many parts of the infrastructure are vulnerable to intentional disruption. With Islamic terrorism happening more frequently on US soil, I am concerned that at some point they'll go for infrastructure.

This is why I highly recommend getting at least a General Class amateur radio license. The General Class license gives you operating privileges on most of the frequencies allocated to ham radio operators in the US, and isn't much more difficult to get than the entry level Technician license, now that there is no Morse Code requirement.

There's a lot of overlap in the Tech and General exams, but you get a lot more privileges on High Frequency (HF) with the General ticket. HF is what's needed for long distance communications, or certain kinds of regional comms (see, NVIS).

The ARRL maintains a web page with info on getting licensed, including training and finding an exam, here.

You need to get licensed now, before you need comms, because you need to know how to operate your radio, and understand on-the-air procedure. You cannot expect to be able to turn on a ham radio, press a button, and talk to someone like you're using walkie talkies. Just like having an AR-15 doesn't make you a Navy SEAL, having a radio doesn't make you a competent operator. It takes practice, and the only way to get it is to get on the air.

If you're not licensed, don't expect to be able to get on the air with a fake call sign. Not only will licensed hams not talk to you, they may very well track you down and sick the FCC on you. The penalties for unauthorized transmissions can include $10,000 fines.

It's not a bad idea to have unlicensed communications options available, as well. FRS and GMRS* are good for local comms, as is CB Radio. See Dialtone's posts on the "Jungle Telegraph," here and here.








* I know, GMRS requires a license. However, I'll bet that 90% or more of bubble pack FRS/GMRS radios are operated without one.

How To Make an Off-Center Fed Dipole AKA Windom Antenna

On Arfcom, here.

Plans for an Arrow Antenna

Over on Bushcraft USA, another member linked to this PDF version of an article from the April 1992 issue of 73 Amateur Radio Today by KA0VFF and N0IMW on how to build a 2M Yagi antenna using aluminum tubing and aluminum arrow shafts for the elements. In the thread discussing it, the poster mentioned being able to check into a repeater on Greens Peak in AZ, from Flagstaff, a distance of about 150 miles using 50 watts. Pretty damn good, IMO. (The thread is here, but I think you need to be registered with BCUSA to view it.)

As a 4-element design, it should have a little more gain than my 3-element Yagi from Arrow Antennas. This will manifest itself only under extreme conditions, however.

With suitable weather sealing, it looks like this design would be a good choice for a permanent mount.

Finally, N5DUX's site has a good collection of ham-related PDFs. It's worth checking out.

Nifty Ham Radio Guides

An accessory that I find indispensable for all of my ham radios is the appropriate Nifty Ham Radio Operating Guide. The Nifty guides are produced on laminated paper. For the more complex rigs like my Icom 7200 and Yaesu FT-817ND, they are spiral bound. Those for the HTs are foldable cards. Each of them contains the most important functions of the radio in an easy to find format. They aren't as comprehensive as the OEM operator's manuals, but they are a worthwhile supplement, especially for field use.

The Other End of my 2M Yagi Test

As I mentioned in a comment to my original post on testing the Arrow Antenna 2M Yagi, I was able to have a QSO on 2M FM simplex with a friend using this rig. Distance was about 22 - 25 miles. 5W on my end, while he was using 50W into a Kenwood 2M mobile with a home Yagi on his end. (He would've lowered power but forgot how and didn't have his rig's manual handy.) Here's a pic of his setup, with a very post-apocalyptic vibe going on.

We also tried it with a Baofeng HT connected to his tape measure Yagi, but all I could hear was static when he called me, even though he was able to hear my 5W transmissions clearly. 

At some point I'd like to try 2M SSB, which should punch through better than FM, but don't currently know anyone else relatively nearby with a 2M SSB capable rig.

A Ham Radio for SHTF Only?

My post yesterday, Testing the Arrow 146-BP3 Yagi Antenna, got picked up by a couple sites, including Sparks31 and Amateurradio.com. Thanks, guys! It also generated the following question:

Can you recommend a ham radio for emergency use only (hand held if available)?

There really isn't a good, quick, "Buy this radio," type answer.

Obviously, ham radios are a valuable addition to your preps, otherwise I wouldn't write about them so much. However, being able to effectively use a radio is more complicated than unboxing it, turning it on, speaking into the mic, and expecting someone to answer with useful information. You must learn something about radio operations and get some practice in before the SHTF. To do so, you must get licensed.

Piccolo summed up very well on Arfcom, here, why you need to get your ham license before the SHTF.

Getting a ham license is not hard for most people. Kids get licensed. Morse code is no longer required. The entry level Technician license requires you to pass a 35 question multiple choice test. This allows you to operate on VHF and UHF frequencies, which are good for local communications. The next level up, General class, gives you access to most of the HF (shortwave) frequencies, which depending on your setup, can give you regional to global communication capabilities. This is a second 35 question exam. There's a lot of overlap in the two exams, so it's not uncommon for someone to pass the Technician exam and then take and pass the General exam in one sitting, for one $14 fee.

The American Radio Relay League has info on how to get licensed, here.

After you've read some of the Technician level study material you'll have a better idea of the capabilities you need/want in your commo gear.

Now, if I've convinced you of the need to get licensed, I'll mention that no license is required to purchase a ham radio, and you can listen as much as you want. Just don't key the transmitter until you're licensed.

Testing the Arrow 146-3BP 2M Yagi Antenna

I tested out the Arrow 2M Yagi antenna that I got a couple weeks ago, by hitting the Pottstown repeater on 2.5 watts from my yard. The repeater is about 25 to 20 miles away. I spoke to another ham who said I had some background noise but was intelligible.

To attach the antenna to the camera tripod, I made an adapter from a piece of 5/8" aluminum rod. I turned one end down to fit into the antenna boom, and then drilled and tapped a 1/4"x20 hole in the other end.

There's about 2" of rod in the antenna boom, while there's about 1/2" of engagement with the mounting screw on the tripod head. This is a temporary, light duty setup, but it's easily portable.

Edit 6/22/15: Also see this post for details on the other end of my 2M FM simplex test.

Baofeng Battery Test Results

Over on amateurradio15.com (home of the Fo Time! podcast), the results of battery life tests for Baofeng BF-F8HP performed by one of the listeners is posted. This is good info both for that model of Baofeng radio, but also to compare different batteries.

Check it out.

A Little More Backyard Digital Work

I played around with the FT-817ND and digital some more today. I wanted to try my 20M MFJ-1620T hamstick antenna with the same base as my telescoping vertical. I figure that the hamstick would be good for situations where you need to be a little stealthier, or need to set it up more quickly. The hamstick is about 7' tall, in contrast to my MFJ-1979 telescoping whip, which is about 17' tall.

However, I got the high SWR warning on the rig when I transmitted. So, if I want to use it I'll need to tweak it some to reduce SWR, or use my LDG Z-817H tuner.

It's very difficult to get a clear picture of the hamstick when deployed in my yard. It blends very well into the background. Note that the antenna is nowhere near the power lines in the background.

Even with the high SWR and low power, my PSK31 signal got out as far west as Missouri and as far south as Florida.

I changed over to the MFJ-1979 telescoping vertical whip, which gives better performance and lower SWR.

Transmitting PSK31 on 20M using 5 watts, my signal was heard 2285 miles away in Washington state, and ~2100 miles away in Venezuela. I didn't have QSOs with those guys, but their PSK software uploaded the reception reports to pskreporter.info.

Pretty decent for QRP, IMHO.