Here we go again. Time for ARRL Sweepstakes CW (SSCW) 2014. Same plan as always - main objective is to get a personal high score. Secondary objective is to get that elusive "clean sweep" - all US and Canada Sections in one weekend. I have been within 1 or 2 sections the last several years,... Continue Reading →
Mobile Antenna Testing
I was doing some testing of mobile antennas on my F-150 this weekend. I had a mag mount on the roof, and a door-edge mount on the rear door. Both had NMO mounts, so I could easily move antennas between the mounts. Here is what I found: I had an HT (Kenwood TH-F6A) connected to... Continue Reading →
LOTW – Stepping Up to the Challenge
I see the ARRL really is serious about making LOTW a user-friendly, main-stream QSO confirmation tool. Recent delays have been disconcerting, and the infrequent status reports have made it difficult to know what is happening when you submit a Log. As I recently asked (and I am sure many others did too), they are now... Continue Reading →
Sweepstakes Results for 2012
Well I kept up the time-honored tradition of missing 1 or 2 Sections in the CW SS contest this year. Had about 575 QSOs (a personal best) and all but 2 Sections - MB and NNY. I never had trouble with a New York section before. I guess the monster storm Sandy may have been... Continue Reading →
LOTW – Ready for Prime Time??
I have been using the ARRL Logbook of the World (LOTW) recently for confirmation of my radio contacts. I like the basic idea very much but I have been having some issues. After a recent contest, I uploaded a Log File. I waited 3 or 4 days and nothing happened. I uploaded again, waited a... Continue Reading →
ARRL CWSS 2012 – Preparation
Well, hurricane Sandy did no damage to my Chesapeake Bayside QTH. I am thankful for that and I wish a quick recovery to those that were ravaged by this nasty storm. The winds did leave one of my antennas needing attention. The winds pulled my anchor for the center of my ZS6BKW antenna out of ... Continue Reading →
ZS6BKW Antenna
The ZS6BKW Antenna is one of many HF multi-band wire antennas. It is similar to the famous G5RV antenna, which can cover multiple HF Bands but requires an antenna tuner on most bands. The ZS6BKW follows the design of the G5RV, but makes improvements. These improvements allow it to be used on more bands, and... Continue Reading →
Options for using the IC-7600 on RTTY with a PC
There has been a bit of discussion on the IC-7600 newsgroup about using FSK vs. AFSK when connecting a computer to the radio. Here is a summary that I posted in that group. Hopefully it will help some others get a kick-start on the process: I found what I think is a good summary of... Continue Reading →
Antenna Design: 20 meter 4-element Colinear
After looking at articles in the ARRL Antenna Book and on L.B. Cebick's web site, I thought a 4-element colinear wire antenna might be useful for my station. I currently use only wire antennas which work fine on 40 and 80 meters, but on the higher Bands, I need some gain. My main goal is... Continue Reading →
Logbook of the World – a Great QSL Tool
I recently started using the ARRL's logbook-of-the-world (LOTW) as my primary means of tallying QSO confirmations. The initial setup took a little time, but once you are setup it could not be easier. LOTW provides a nice user interface, making it easy to see your progress if you are chasing any awards. The LOTW page... Continue Reading →
Kg3v Ham Radio Blog 