Strange and wonderful [064]
Greetings from the shack...
HERE
Just had a weekend of antenna watching. Storm Bert has come and gone and everything metal appears to be where it belongs. In the air.
I can’t help but get a little excited in these times. Especially when there is a power cut. I think there’s a little prepper in even the least adventurous radio operator.
In England, we don’t usually get massive storms like those in the US. Mostly remnants of hurricanes or tropical storms on their way out. I have experienced dangerous weather on my travels but thankfully for now hurricanes don’t form at our latitudes. That said, the highest windspeed reported in Great Britain was 134 miles an hour in Scotland. Not sure any antenna array is rated to survive that.
As it is, my wooden radio shack isn’t bolted down and very occasionally it will flex and rattle in the wind. Yesterday I couldn’t sit in the shack as the antenna masts bolted to the side resonated so loudly it was hard to concentrate.
No idea how hams around the world deal with the worse of it. Especially with the recent spate of extreme weather. If you have any stories you are happy to share let me know.
THERE
I get the sense that this news reporter enjoyed a moment of playing radio.
Spent a lot of time repeater hopping recently. If I’m working and don’t need to concentrate i’ll have the radio scanning about 20 repeaters that I can get into and a few I can hear but not chat on.
Sometimes there is a theme across the counties. On one Sunday everyone seemed to be talking about food. I think The Great British Bake Off was on TV and everyone was food focused. I made a note of some of the more interesting dishes I heard mentioned.
Welsh rarebit - Pease Pudding - Roast Goose - Jelly and condensed milk - Jam Roll Polly - Spotted Dick - Bubble and Squeak - Laver Bread.
It’s fun to google some of these dishes. I’d never heard of Stargazy Pie and although i’m willing to give anything a go, I’m not sure it’s something I’d cook for the family.
Ham Radio is nothing if not educational. I was always told that there are certain things to avoid talking about. But as long as you follow ‘operating procedures’ respect others opinions and are courteous to others, little seems out of bounds.
There is no shortage of small talk and chit-chat. Often covering the unexpected and tapping into a regional, national or an international subconscious.
It's also fun when it gets ridiculous. From weather conditions to equipment, onto pet flatulence and smoked salmon and dark chocolate sandwiches. Seriously. That is a real sandwich eaten by a fellow radio ham.
We are a strange and wonderful bunch.
GEAR
When I last minute decided to not take my iCom IC-705 to America I grabbed a telescopic antenna to stick on my Quangsheng handheld. I thought I’d just take it to listen to local FM radio stations, but the RH770 is a 2/70 antenna so I was able to use it for the local repeaters.
I have linked to it above but you never know what you are going to get. It’s telescopic though so easy to tune and mark if need be. I bought mine from a show and was lucky. It works great on 144 and 430 and has decent wideband receive.
Although I missed having my HF radio in the US, it took a few days for my lost luggage to catch up with me so I was happy to not have that to worry about.
After looking at upgrading my lead acid battery system in my shack I quickly realised that a LiFeP04 battery would need a new smart inverter designed for the different chemistry as well as a quiet inverter. So now I’m now looking at this portable all in one unit and a solar panel…
It’s the ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER 2 but bundles with a foldable 45W Type-C Solar Panel. Although I’m now thinking to buy the battery unit on its own and get a higher rated panel like this 160W one. The 45watt panel has usb out but I have panels like that and the larger one would keep the battery topped up and lighten the load should there be a fridge plugged in when camping.
It’s not the most compact of set ups, but great for car camping. The 256Wh LiFeP04 Battery would power my Icon IC-705 all day but i’m also interested in installing it in the shack as a solar supported UPS for my NAS drive.
Some uninterrupted power supplies only run for 10 minutes and can cost around £200 but if my calculations are correct, this would power a NAS for up to 8 hours. More if it was just in standby. I’d plug in my existing roof panels while in the shed.
I imagine this would be even cheaper in the USA but there are Black Friday deals here and I’m very tempted. I have included the Amazon links so if a few of you need this kind of solution and use the links, the small kickback Amazon might give me will surely have me hitting buy it now button ;-).
In an attempt to minimise the amount of paper in the shack I have splashed out on an e-notebook. For something so networked and customisable, it feels incredibly analogue. Like writing on paper.
It would be quite an extravagant purchase if I only used it for logging contacts and nets but thanks to the ability to side load any number of templates and layouts, I’m starting to integrate it into a a few of my workflows.
Obviously I could just use a phone but the larger screen really helps. Plus, having no distractions and a fantastic battery life’s a bonus over an iPad.
Research suggests the act of writing can reinforce learning. Taking notes by hand enables me to retain information better than when typing on a computer. Writing also helps me structure ideas and organise thoughts logically.
I also find writing a little more meditative and reflecting on what i’m writing helps me connect new knowledge with stuff buried in my brain.
Of course all these notes and scribblings will sync with my other devices should I need to incorporate the words and thoughts in other workflows.
I bought the A6X2 Nomad from Supernote and picked it up in the US. Much cheaper there. It’s not backlit but as a result is a higher resolution than others. It is also modular and can be upgraded. It will take me a while to figure out all it can do. Plus, the platform is still developing with new features being added all the time.
ONAIR
As I’m writing this I’m listening to the repeater GB3NP. Chatting at the moment are Chris M7LZR, (newly licensed and already working via satellites) and Graham M6GDQ (who managed to chat with the US three times one morning this week on 25 watts.
As I mentioned above, I recently paid a visit to the US. I flew in and out of Nevada but also got to explore Arizona and Utah.
I hiked up to Inspiration Point 8222ft and found the most amazing spot to do some radio.
The most perfect seat and a guard rail I could potentially tune in. …If I had remembered my radio. Doh! Another time perhaps.
Once back in a house I was staying in on the outskirts of Las Vegas I did find a repeater W7JCA run by a John Arto. It was connected to Wires-X and Allstar and right on the edge of my range. Thankfully I attached the telescopic shown above and even got to chat with John himself.
The other day I was messing with my FTM 500D in the shack and discovered what the Auto Range Transponder System (ARTS) is all about. I know i’m late to the party but i’d never used it before. Here is an old video I found on YouTube. Terrible audio but I like how keen this kid is and am wondering if he is still into radio…
…It looks like he is. I’ve just found his new callsign M0ZAH and if you check out his QRZ he looks like he looks after quite a few repeaters beacons and nodes not that far from me. Maybe even in range.
ELSEWHERE
Check out this virtual CW band.
There’s been a few meshtastic solar projects using garden lights but this one looks pretty simple.
A secret little adventure Ham Radio blog.
Weather forecasting is deadly for marine life.
The blog of M0XPD
This is my other more regular, slightly more eclectic email.
If you have a blog or newsletter you would like me to plug let me know.
FINALS
Thanks for reading and I hope subscribing.
Please share this wherever you think it might resonate. And if you hit the heart❤️ it’s like to responding to a radio check. Sometimes you just want to know someone’s there. Comments are of course just like starting a QSO and also very welcome.
I’ll share some audio in the next couple of days. A chat I had with a newly licensed radio operator.
You are some of the more curious people in radio ;-) And I thank you.
Over
73 de Christian G5DOC
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