I admit it, I’ve given up on antenna building– it’s not that I can’t hack up a dipole, because I do know how to do that. I’ve given up because it’s just too much work. Call me a card carrying member of the internet generation if you like, I just don’t have the motivation and time anymore. So when it came down to it, I got online and ordered a MFJ 6m twinlead jpole from AES and had that puppy shipped to my QTH.

As always, antenna placement is a problem. Today, I said to heck with it and nailed the end of a spool of string to a softball, pulled out a bunch of said string, tied one end to the jpole, and threw it up into a pine tree in front of my apartment building. I probably could have placed it higher, but my front yard is apparently a breeding ground for mosquitos who think Deep Woods Off! is just yummy. I had no problem getting to the local repeater, and after scanning for a few minutes I could hear a repeater on 53.73Mhz that wasn’t on my WAR listing.

After listening a bit, I discovered that the repeater I was hearing was the KQ2H repeater system in New York. I was able to get into the repeater, but so was the eastern half of the US at the time. I also made a few calls on 52.525 simplex; although I could hear that someone else was there, I couldn’t make out who. Which is OK– now I know the antenna works and I have a means for getting it into an operational position. Next time, I’ll see if I can get the jpole into the top of the tree instead of only halfway up.

Which brings up a few thoughts I’ve had rattling around about amateur radio in general– the first being, why does “everyone” say that the first radio you buy should be a 2m(/70cm) radio? I know, there are way more repeaters on 2m and 70cm, but that doesn’t mean you talk to more people. I’ve taken my dualband HT to work and let it scan the local repeaters for days. 80% of the time there’s just nothing there. I drop my callsign out, and no one responds (even though I know there are people who scan the local machines all the time). Yes, I use 2m for ARES/RACES, and I used 70cm for storm tracking when I was doing that– so having that radio isn’t a wasted resource. But that radio (lately) is just a tool for doing something, rather than something to have fun with.

I didn’t buy a 6m radio to talk on the local repeaters. I bought a 6m rig for those days and nights when the band, due to -insert propagation type here- just freakin’ opens up. I don’t wish 6m was congested (like that’s gonna happen), but I do wish more of the techs in the world would check it out– part of the mystique of ham radio (for me) is that you can talk to people in far away places. I’m wondering if maybe we should be selling new hams on the 10m and 6m bands more, and the 2m and 70cm bands less– higher VHF and UHF are used for things like public safety because they provide reliable communications, which is a good thing– but it’s not usually all that exciting.

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Here are some upcoming events that I plan on attending; if you’re going to be there and happen to see me, stop and say hi.

• March
  • 20: Dane County ARES/RACES meeting, UW Space Place, 7:00pm
  • 25: NWS Storm Spotter Training, Fitchburg Community Center, 6:30pm
  • 28, 29: AES Superfest, Milwaukee WI (Not sure which day I’m going, depends on work.)
• April
  • 26: Crazylegs Classic (running, not helping with comm support)

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I have (as usual) been rather busy with work and school, so I have not had much time to actually operate (vs listen to while I’m studying) the radios. I do occasionally have time to consider that I still haven’t learned the code, and I still don’t think I’ll ever find the time. I’m more interested in rewiring the microphone that arrived from MFJ so it works with my IC-735.

Side note: My experience with buying online direct from MFJ was great, and I have zero complaints. I wasn’t sure when I ordered it if the mike I bought would definitely work, but it’s much easier to rewire one that’s already got the right connector than have no mike in the first place. And, just as important, it gives me an excuse to get out the soldering iron.

Anyway, I came across this description of Morse Code skills on obsoleteskills.com:

Now that Morse skills are optional, the Code is increasingly popular on the Amateur Bands simply for relaxation and enjoyment.

Which is an answer to a lot of things that deal with amateur radio; there are a lot of reasons to buy certain types of equipment. You need emergency power so you can pass ARES/RACES traffic during a widespread power outage. You need a TNC so you can send and receive digital traffic; but these types of things are tools. A lumberjack needs a saw. A radio operator volunteering his/her services to an emergency management agency needs a VHF/UHF radio. No one needs to operate CW. Honestly, if an emergency situation is bad enough that CW is your only option, you probably should have bugged out 24 hours ago. People hang onto CW because they enjoy using it. And maybe that’s just the answer… Morse Code is just one of those things that some people like to do, because it’s unique and they enjoy it. I don’t need to learn Morse Code, but it’s there if I ever want to play with it.

I have made some purchases because I feel I need certain items; to be at all effective in ARES/RACES, you honestly need a certain amount of communications gear (and what that level is exactly, is a tough thing to pin down). Lately, I’m considering that I should make some purchases of equipment that’s meant to be used for fun. Specifically, I’m looking at 6 meter gear. No practical purpose for ARES/RACES, not useful for Skywarn, just a radio and band that’s there to play with when I do have time.

Cause yeah, it’s supposed to be fun.

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Current weather conditions here in Madison, WI: Heavy Snow Blowing Snow and Breezy

Yep, that about covers it. Madison Area Technical College is even closed today, which (I’m told) does not happen very often. A picture says a thousand words… see if you can see my street. So much for antenna work today… heh… that will have to wait a few months, I think.

Speaking of antennas… well, not specifically… let’s say speaking of 10 meters, and then we’ll get to the antennas part in a minute. I keep saying I’m going to find a way to learn morse code enough to actually be able to operate with it, but it just never happens. I might as well admit that I always have something else going on. So I’m looking at the chart of what bands I can operate SSB on as a Technician, and I’m looking at 10 meters– 28.3-28.5mhz. Which probably doesn’t generate much excitement for many people, because it’s the very beginning of a solar cycle and 10 meters tends to be kinda quiet these days (from what I’m hearing out of the speaker).

However, I can reasonably expect to fit a 1/4 wave 10 meter dipole inside my apartment (or on my patio, weather permitting). I’ve also found a reasonably priced replacement microphone for my IC-735; the MFJ-290I, which I just ordered. So once it arrives, I’ll be playing around on 10 meters a bit, when there’s time between classes and work.

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Long power outage a wake-up call to be better prepared (cnet)

I’ve just emerged from a brief visit to the 19th-century (via a storm-driven 36-hour power outage) and among all my other experiences and impressions during this odd weekend, none was more powerful than an extremely visceral understanding of just how fragile our modern infrastructures are.

Oddly, there was no Internet connection, and after a cursory check to see why, I realized that our power was out, a condition that had taken my Internet service and home phone–which comes in via Comcast cable–down.

…once home, my cell reception was extremely intermittent, far worse than usual, a condition that made it impossible for me to get online via Verizon’s EV-DO…

Hmm. No power, no cell phone, no internet connection, not safe to drive… but that’s California, you say. They have bad stuff happen out there all the time. (Which seems to be true, if you watch the evening news.)

However, in the past two days in my neighborhood (Wisconsin) we’ve had unusually high temperatures leading to fog… which led to the pileups described here More than 100 vehicles involved in I-90 pileups; two dead, 50 injured. We also had thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes associated with the same weather weirdness that brought the fog.

I’ll admit to slacking a little lately, due to being busy with school and the holidays. I think now might be a good time to make sure I have my gear in ready mode. Tornadoes in January? This could be an interesting year….

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