MFJ-259B Antenna Analyzer

Hi,

Last week I purchased a MFJ-259B Antenna Analyzer from HRO. First and for most, remember that HRO (incidentally like West Marine for boating things), has an excellent price matching policy. So, remember prior to buying anything at HRO, do a Google or Froogle search for the best price. In my experience on the East Coast, I've found the Delaware store to be the most responsive via e-mail. In the end I got the MFJ-259B for $239.00.

So, to the 259B. First, this is probably the best piece of equipment I've bought yet. I quickly connected the 259B to my current antenna (20M dipole) and discovered I was way off with my SWR (the cutting will commence this weekend! However, I discovered that I had a perfect match on the MP-1 (SWR 1:1) on 20M using noise as my only source of tuning. 40M on the MP-1 was similar, however I could not get better than SWR ~2:1, most likely due to my counterpoise (the BBQ grill).

The 259B is a great addition and I'm looking forward to constructing some new antennas for 10M and 6Ms.

73s

--Chris

Field Day 2009

Hello All,

Well Field Day 2009 is behind us and fortunately I had just a little bit of time to get on the air and make a few contacts.  I started late on Saturday on 20M and then worked 40M in the morning and then 20M SSB voice in the afternoon.  All total I made 29 contacts (17 digital and 12 ssb) for a total of 92 Points with the power multiplier.  In the end I operated at 2D MDC (2=FT-817 and IC-735, D=Home Commercial Power, and MDC=Maryland District of Columbia).  I used both my 20M dipole, which I got up another ~6' to a total of 20' and the MP-1.  The MP-1 worked great both on 40M digital and 20M ssb.  I discovered that the low-pass filter I was using on the 20M has gone bad and was causing serious issues in my system (I've since removed and remedied the problems it was causing).

I must admit that I got bit by the contest bug with field day, especially with the ssb voice operations.  It's a great exercise of brain coordination given the amount of information you need to track.  I'm looking forward to the next contest event to give it a try again.

Although, not as elaborate as I envisioned, field day turned out to be a great experience.  I'll leave you with a flip video of a New England station calling Field Day CQ.

73s

--Chris

Ham on the Grill

Hello All,

It's been sometime since I last blog, just home after a great vacation, I found sometime this afternoon to turn on the radio.  With field day around the corner I want to make sure that everything is still functional.  

Late this afternoon, I  connected my FT-817 to my MP-1 vertical antenna.  Over the course of roughly 1.5 hours, I made 4 contacts Germany (DF1KBN), Brazil (ZY0F),  Italy (IZ1OQT) and Puerto Rico (KP4DXC).  Both the Laptop and FT-817 ran on battery power for ~ 1.5 hours.  The 817 was pushing 2.5W to the MP-1 with 25' of coax connecting the radio to the antenna.

The MP-1 Super Antenna has a MFJ 10' Telescoping whip attached to it, in lieu of the 4' whip that comes standard with the antenna.  I highly recommend purchasing a longer whip, it will make a world of difference in your SWR.

73s,

--Chris

 I shot the following videos with my Flip while operating:  

Sporadic E Link

Hi,

I came across a good link for a website that provides "real-time" Sporadic E reporting.

http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=AL2&Map=NA&mycall=&myloc=&freq=&prop=

73s

--Chris

Field Day 2009

Hello,

Field day is just around the corner, KG4JZM (Andrew) and I are preparing for operations on over the course of 27-28 June. For our field day activity, we are planning to "camp out" in my back yard in Stevensville, MD and run off of "generator power" during field day. We plan to operate as a Class A Non-Club / Emergency Power station operating on generator and battery power.

Station ID: KB3LMC 4A MDC

Our station will be made up of the following;

1. ICOM IC-735 HF Transciver
   
2. Yaseau FT-817 HF/VHF All Mode QRP Transciver
3. Yaseau VX-150 VHF HT
4. High Power VHF Rig

Based on ease of operation and points the plan is to operate 2 PSK-31 Stations and 2 FM VHF Voice stations.

Shopping List:
40M Dipole Antenna
PSK-31 Interface for FT-817

Stay tuned for more

73s

-Chris

IRLP Resources

Hi,

Well I'm down in NC at my in-laws for my sister-in-law's engagement party. I took my VX-150 HT with me to try to "phone home" using Internet Radio Linking Protocol (IRLP).

I looked up the local repeaters in Greensboro, NC and found that W4GSO had a 2M repeater online that was IRLP linked. After fiddiling with DTMF tones a few times a local ham called back and asked if I needed any help. It turns out that the computer attached to the repeater crashed and the IRLP link was down. So, better luck next time. Fourtantely, I did find some great links / resources on IRLP, my links are as follows:

http://www.irlp.net/ - Realtime list of IRLP nodes online (I wish I found this first)
http://www.echolinkmap.org/ - Map of IRLP nodes with radio interfaces (repeaters and simplex links)
http://www.rarchams.org/echolink.htm - Generic information on how to interface your radio with DTMF tones to the IRLP system

73s
--Chris

Kitchen Table Operating...

Greetings,

Last night I jumped on 40M with the FT-817 and Super Antenna MP-1.  Late yesterday afternoon I tuned the MP-1 by adjusting the screw driver portion to maximum noise from the receiver.  The band was fading somewhat as the evening went on, however I managed to make 3 contacts including 1DX all at ~5W of power.  All of this with a vertical compromise antenna and a QRP radio!

73s

--Chris