Well, I registered on their site and followed some of the directions and designed my own QSL card, then I ordered a “sample” pack. I wanted to make sure I liked the card before I went “all-in”. Total time? One hour.

I dig the concept. Create my own card, upload my log file and then THEY laser print the log info on the individual card, then mail out my custom QSL Cards to the DX stations respective Bureau. Huh? Say that again?

THEY print out the two-sided custom QSL Card with the QSO information laser printed on it (taken from my log file), then THEY send it to the respective DX Bureau for me.

That in itself saves me all the hassle of buying QSL cards, label ink or even worse - writing out the cards, then packing them all up and paying bank to send a box of a thousand cards to the ARRL Outbound Bureau. I haven’t thought out how much time and money this will save me, but it’s always too much time and too much money for a supposed “hobby”.

Well, I received my $5 “sample” pack of QSL cards from GlobalQSL.com in the mail today and I have to say – I am impressed.

Really impressed!

The actual QSL card is double side printed (glossy front) on heavy card stock and my custom picture and design came out absolutely perfect. I’ve been through several QSL Card companies for over 35 years in this hobby, and I’ve never seen anything this sharp and EXACTLY the way I’ve wanted. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve always ordered the “generic” style cards from several different companies throughout the years and they’ve always done good by me, but they’re always exactly what I’ve ordered  - “generic” QSL Cards.

Almost all my received QSL Cards (99.99) get thrown into a box and forgotten about until I need one for DXCC or something. I do keep a couple good looking ones in the shack so when visitors come by and see the mad scientist at play, I show them a good looking card from Scarborough Reef or China. Whoo hoo! I’m tryin’ to  show the absolutely clueless visitor about what Ham Radio is about, ya’ know?

Most Hams will display a wall rack or two of QSL Cards in their shack and they’ll usually include only their best looking ones. What visitor wants to see some simple green card or a picture of some fat-ass sitting in his leather chair with his truck driving call sign hat on and a pencil holder sticking out of his top shirt pocket? Do you really think your visitor cares about a freq/report/call sign QSL Card? Nawhhh… They may look at a really good looking picture card and say, ”hey that’s a nice one” (even though they have no idea of what it is they’re looking at), but nobody will ever say that stinkin’ lime green card looks good. And pictures of your radio and antenna? Remember, they already think you’re a spy for the FBI or something. They don’t know what it is you do anyway, why would they care to see your FT-1000 or 60′ boom monobander? That’s why I did my QSL Card a little different. I had a picture of a sunset I took from my QTH a couple years ago and I built my custom GlobalQSL.com Card from that photo. Maybe,  just maybe it will make somebody’s shack wall, who knows?

Anyway, back to GlobalQSL.com. For 1,000 two-sided custom QSL Cards, all with laser printed QSO information already on’m, and THEM sending  all cards to the DX Bureau is ready…?

$99.

You can’t beat that with a stick. In the old days… I’d have to buy 1,000 QSL Cards, then I’d burn through a couple cartridges just printing the labels, then I still have to “work” the card (label/write), then I have to give up my beer money to mail the damn things to the ARRL via the US Postal Service (that ain’t cheap). Oh, at $3 a gallon of gas - I have to get them to the Post Office too.

I almost forgot to mention that instead of having to buy more QSL cards if/when you move (or for any other card info you’d like to change), you just go online and change your custom design. Takes all of a couple minutes. No more having to buy another batch of  QSL Cards ever again. All outbound cards in the query will be your new ones.

It’s my honest opinion that this product and service is an absolute no-brainer. The QSL Cards look better than I’ve ever had, and the service they provide frees me up to do other things, like make more Q’s. All in all GlobalQSL.com is a perfect “10″. And perfect 10’s are getting hard to find. I just finished ordering another 1,000 for my ADIF log file and 100 blank QSL Cards to have around the shack. You can visit their website at GlobalQSL.com for more information.

73,

N0UN

So I have a Cushcraft A3S up at about 60′ and I’ve always thought it plays pretty well. Before the A3S I operated a Force 12 C3 on the same tower but from a different QTH. The problem I’m having is some friends of mine (“seasoned” Hams mind you) are always giving me crap about my “rotatable dipole” and “lame tribander” when compared to their 20 Meter 204BA Monoband antennas.

So I figured I’d do a little homework, ask a few questions from knowledgable Hams and then try to figure out just what the real differences are between my Tribander and their Monobander(s). Here’s a little bit of what I’ve found and also a couple observations…

One “S” unit equals 6 db of gain (http://www.ve3fyn.ca/nvis/Decibel.htm)

Doubling power equals 3db of gain (http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.html)

The typical loss in a 100′ run of Belden 9913 (RG8) coax on 14 MHZ at 1,000 watts is .46 db (899 watts Effective Radiated Power) – (http://www.ocarc.ca/coax.htm)

The typical loss in a 100′ run of Belden 9258 (RG8X) coax on 14 MHZ at 1,000 watts is 1.087 db (779 watts Effective Radiated Power) – (http://www.ocarc.ca/coax.htm)

A Hy-Gain 4 Element MONOBAND Yagi model 204BA has 8.2 dbi (6.0dbd) of gain. (http://hy-gain.com/man/pdf/LJ-204BA.pdf)

And from the same manufacturer (with what I suspect are the same measuring techniques and formulas) the 3 Element TRIBAND Yagi (TH3MK4) has 8.0 dbi (5.8dbd) of gain. (http://hy-gain.com/man/pdf/TH-3MK4.pdf)

Very similar specs for the Cushcraft A3S vs. a Hy-gain TH3MK4 – (http://www.texastowers.com/cushcraft_a3s.htm)

Hmmmmm…

Maybe I should just switch my coax (from RG8X to 9913), pick up .63 db along the way and still have a solid db of gain more than a 20 meter 204BA Monobander fed with RG8X?

In the next few days/weeks I’ll gather information on a couple of other tribanders (namely the M2 KT34XA and Force 12 C3) and then I’ll compare those to their 204BA’s, but for now and until somebody can come along and prove me wrong, it seems to me that for a measly .2 db of gain and a little more directionality, I can’t justify erecting 3 towers, swinging 3 heavier, clumsier, larger and single band use antennas when you can have similar results on 3 bands and only one tower.

It’s a no-brainer in my opinion. Maybe someone can enlighten  me as to what I’m missing? Bring your best shot, but make sure you back it up with some kind of fact(s) or it’s just another worthless opinion.

73,

NØUN

I snagged a couple new countries in my quest for DXCC Honor Roll in the last few weeks/month. OYØ (Faroe Island), 9Q (Democratic Republic of Congo), SV9 (Crete), EK (Armenia), 8Q (Maldives), FO (Austral Island) and finally FO (Marquesas Island). I’ve probably worked a few of these DXCC countries several times over through the years, but I never received a QSL so we’ll just keep working until we confirm them, then we’ll keep working them well after too! That’s the fun of chasing DX and the the heartbreak of losing my old hard drive where I had thousands and thousands of contacts logged, but not backed up. Oh well, I still have all my QSL cards…

With these 7, that brings my total DXCC Countries worked to 300 with 293 confirmed. Only 38 more to go.

At this rate it may take me another 35 years to get them all!

In other news, I’ve really been having a rough time with line noise “interference”. Between the neighbors Christmas light displays, low sunspot numbers and a constantly freezing/thawing power transformer out back, it’s been making it tougher than usual to hear DX. And if you can’t hear DX, you can’t work DX.

I bought a MFJ 1026 Noise Canceling Signal Enhancer on eBay to assist with the noise and I have to say, once I figured it out (then got lucky with a noise antenna), it has helped tremendously. I was just about ready to give up on the damn thing, then I got lucky.

The principle behind the noise canceler is to hear the “noise” on a secondary antenna, then the unit can place the noise 180 degrees out of phase from the main receiving antenna – thus cancelling the noise but not the signals being received. The problem I was having with it was I couldn’t get a secondary receive antenna to “hear” the noise. It can’t cancel something it can’t hear. I tried UHF/VHF TV antennas, wires wrapped around the shack, the whip that’s supplied with the 1026 and even a couple lame-ass attempts at building an “indoor” directional noise antenna from coat hangers and odds & ends I had laying around the shack – no luck. I was just about to package the damn thing up and send it back – that’s when I got lucky.

I had a 144 MHZ BNC rubber duck whip laying around that hadn’t been used in 20 years that I wanted to try on the noise, but I didn’t have a way to connect it to the MFJ 1026 RCA or 239 coax connectors so I stopped in at a local Radio Shack and was checking out the BNC to coax adapters when I saw a $20 telescoping whip antenna with a BNC connector on it. Hmmmm. I figured I’d try the rubber duck first then as a last resort, try the 27 MHZ adjustable whip. I threw it in my bag with the adapters and bee-lined it home.

I never got to try the rubber whip. I installed the pre-amp jumper in the MFJ 1026 to the external antenna position, plugged the 27 MHZ telescoping antenna in, raised it and there it was – line noise on the secondary receive antenna! After a couple of “learning” passes on how to null the noise, it works perfectly. S-7 line noise completely wiped out without affecting the DX signals. Magic.

Anyway, enough rambling for now. I’m hungry.

I’ll post a couple .wav files soon with actual results of the noise canceller at work. It is amazing once you figure it out, and it’s much better than the noise “blanker” on the FT-990 because it doesn’t distort/overload or drag in loud signals close by.

More to come, 73 for now

NØUN

Here’s just a few things I’ve noticed that have changed considerably. First off, I miss some of my old friends that have left this world. K8MO, WA2HMY, WA4JTK, W2ONV, and W4MWT just to name a few. Rest in peace fella’s. Some like MWT and JTK were quite annoying for the most part, but they are still missed.

Another item that comes to mind is the difference in quality of some Ham Radio operations. I take it since the FCC dropped the Morse Code requirements and more than a couple license classes, many “Chicken Banders” have made their way to Amateur Radio without any type of proper training in “radio operation etiquette” like in the old days. When I get asked “what’s my 20″ on 14.226 or I get told “you’re hitting me with 30 pounds”, I have an issue with that. It must be the “lack of” a radio history lesson, or their “lack of” desire to learn the way many of us did years ago. Something’s been lost in the translation, that’s for sure. And what’s with these long tail DX call pile-ups? The DX station has made 3 contacts with decent ops by the time Joe Dumbass gets his KD6 call out 4 times over… Everybody is transmitting and nobody is listening – more CB bullshit has made its way here I guess.

Anyway, enough of my bitchin’. I’ve learned you just can’t change “stupid”.

Computers have come a long way in the last 10 years. Enough so that they’re actually reliable now and have proven themselves to have many worthwhile uses in Ham Radio. Rig Control, Remote Rig Control, Logging, Contesting and even Awards to name a few. A lot is done “electronically” now, and I’m still catching up with the many facets of “computer utilization”. I am using Logbook of The World (LoTW) and eQSL for awards which is much easier than waiting on mail for years through the Bureau or spending a small fortune on stamps, IRC’s and return postage. My Logging is now done through Ham Radio Deluxe (which I really like) versus old paper logs. Plus HRD is free and I like free. That’s what sealed the deal.

73 for now, more to come…

It took a while but the time spent was well worth it.

The tower and antenna are up and working well. Thanks again to Keith KØKE who found the used A3S, lent a hand and his truck to pull it up.

A3S @ 60 ft. / 6,100 (and 60') Above Sea Level

The FT-990 is back and working perfectly thanks to John, KI4NR. He’s an absolute first class technician, his rate for repairs is more that fair, and he’s faster than fast! Playing with the FT-990, I actually like it better than my old Ft-1000D I sold off last time I got out of Amateur Radio.

As far as the amp, I blew a 125μF/450V capacitor in the Heathkit SB-200, but no issues. Went down to Fistell’s and picked up another one and guess what? Blew that one too. Didn’t even last 15 seconds. Nothing like capacitors going off like firecrackers on the kitchen table to wake you up and remind you that there’s some high voltage in that case! After talking with Keith (KØKE) who figured I had a couple other shorted capacitors putting the high voltage load across that specific one, it would probably be cheaper to replace all 6 caps and the entire board with a $80 PM-200 Replacement Power Supply Module kit from Harbaugh Electronics than to try and replace just the electrolytics. And so that’s what I did. Took all of a couple hours to assemble, wire and solder up the new circuit board and about another 30 minutes to install it. The Harbaugh PM-200 Replacement Power Supply Module kit comes with 6 new caps, all bleeder resistors, diodes and a circuit board. All the buyer has to do is follow the simple instructions; assemble and solder the board, then install it into the SB-200. Felt good to have a soldering iron and electronic “pieces parts” in my hands again, but I can’t ever remember having such a difficult time seeing the small parts though. Almost had to get a friggin’ magnifying glass… almost I said! Anyway, the amp is working perfectly now.

As far as the antenna situation… We’re moving forward, slowly. My friend Joe came over yesterday with a TIG machine and touched up about 20 welds on the aluminum tower and Keith (KØKE) found a used Cushcraft A3S for a couple hundred bucks, so it’s coming together nicely. I played hell trying to get the A3S resonant on the old element “tuning” markings, but once I measured everything and adjusted the elements per Cushcraft’s dimensions, she fell right in line. For some reason I can’t seem to get the SWR below 1.5:1, but I’m hoping it’s only because it’s 3 feet off the ground and still in “assembly” mode. Once it’s up at 60′ hopefully the SWR will drop flat to 1.1:1. Like I said,  hopefully.

Next project is to get it on the mast and erected. This should be fun…

NØUN Tower

73 for now,

NØUN

In the last few hours of my latest foray into Ham Radio, my emotions have swung high to low to high again, all because of this DX.

The day started off great with news that KI4NR had fixed my FT-990 then proceeded to go into the dump quickly. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so humbled. I was minding my own business sitting on a 20 meter pileup listening to hundreds of Hams calling a station I couldn’t hear, when a local Ham just 3 miles from me threw in his call and worked the non-existent station on “one call”. Cool, right?

Nahhhh – after Keith (KØKE) work the “invisible” station, we jumped up the band and I asked him who it was. That’s when he broke my heart. Keith told me the “ordinary” Russian station was 10 over 9, then he played back the QSO from his recorder and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t LOUD over there.  Mind you, really loud. I couldn’t hear a peep from the Russian on my rooftop inverted-vee, but he was 10 over 9 on Keith’s KT34 at 100′. What a difference.

Emotions can only go “so low”, but this post has a good ending.

I heard another HUGE pileup on 14.180 this morning  (I could actually hear this DX station – 5B4AIF from the Island of Cyprus). And a pileup it was! LID operators, tuner-upers, and other idiot Hams in addition to hundreds of “good” Hams were pulling out all the stops trying to get Norman in their logs, and I really didn’t think I stood a chance against not only the US stations but also all the European stations that had propagation.  It took a hundred plus attempts, but then I realized why I sent in for a vanity call when I upgraded to Extra Class years ago. Seems that NØUN and my “United Nations” suffix can stick out from the DX masses occasionally! It was music to my ears to hear him come back and ask for my call again.  Maybe he just noticed the “noun” (think verb) he wrote down and had to verify, or maybe he heard the “United Nations” and thought he had some kinda’ special ops station on the hook, but whatever it was – he’s in the log.

73,

NØUN

The FT-990 arrived and all was well for about an hour before I remembered just how much I forgot. Seems the SB-200 uses 125V to key the amp and you just can’t key it off the FT-990’s PTT mic line, ooops. It didn’t dawn on me until it was too late.

Anyway, the FT-990 is down in Florida getting repaired and I borrowed a TS-820S from my Father-in-law in the mean time, so at least I’m back on the air.

Propagation during the Contest this last weekend was great. It felt good to hear Europe on 20 and I also worked a few South Pacific stations but it sure died off in the days after. I did manage to say hello to the guys on 14.240 yesterday and just got off the air with Randy in Hawaii (KH6IB) tonight. That good ole’ Ham Radio feeling has been re-lit! It’ll be just a matter of time before I start playing “antenna man” again, and I can say I’m looking forward to that this Autumn.

I was surprised to actually see power out of the SB-200 earlier. I picked up a PAL Watt/SWR meter from a nearby Ham (Eric, KØKE) – plugged’r in, and lo and behold – a rock solid 600W+ on 20 meters to an absolutely flat SWR on the dipole. That’s “progress“! Now I just have to choke some of the RF running around the shack – it’s more than ”annoying” when the computer locks up and the smoke (fire) sensor alarms keep going off…

Couple items of note. Bought and received a used (but mint) SP-6/LL5 speaker phone patch combo (found on eBay) that’ll match the FT-990; the “other” TS-820S made it to AK4AA (Old Ham Dave) who is refurbishing it; and the FT-990 also made it to tech (KI4NR). I made a couple Q’s; found out the SB-200 is rock solid; and oh – I ordered the HVN “Relay Saver” from Sultan Tronics yesterday, so that will take care of the SB-200 amp keying issue, “inexpensively” I should add…

Tomorrow’s another day, but at this rate of “progress” – hell, I should ‘prolly quit while I’m ahead, lol

73,

NØUN

I’m planning on updating this Blog at least once a week or so. We’ll see how it goes – as it goes. Maybe more, maybe less, who knows?

Today, I’m chomping at the bit for the UPS man to arrive. It would have been the perfect day to play radio as it’s overcast and a little cooler than yesterday, but no FT-990 yet, so no Ham Radio.

The New (Used) Rig:  I’ve been watching and searching for a decent used rig the last couple of weeks. I found a used Yeasu FT-990 on eBay a week or so ago and it seems to be just what I’m looking for. I’ve noticed that FT-990’s go anywhere from about $700 to as high as $1,200+ depending on whether they’re AC or DC, what filters and accessories they’re equipped with, and also what condition the rig is in. For some reason I found (and bought) this one (DC model, with MD-1 mic) for $550. What was weird about it, I was the only bidder. All the others I’ve seen (I mean ALL) have 10 – 20 bidders by the time they sell. I have no idea why this one didn’t attract bidders, but I’m not complaining. The Ham that I bought it from also took my offer of $75 for the 35A power supply he was using, so for $625 I’d say that’s a pretty good deal from the looks of it.

I found a SP-6 with LL-5 Phone Patch on eBay yesterday for $140 “Buy it Now”. So now we’ll have the matched set when everything finally arrives (IF everything arrives safely). Seems when the word “FRAGILE” is stamped on the box anymore, it must be some secret truck driver code meaning “kick the shit out of it” anymore. We’ll know Wednesday if the rig and PS make it in one piece (or not).  Next week on the SP-6 to learn its fate.

Thanks to my friend Eric (KØKE) who had a booth at the local Hamfest here a couple of weekends ago. He found a pristine Heathkit SB200 before the doors ever opened to the general public. He worked the deal and stashed the amp for me until I got in the door. In this world, It still pays to know people. It’s not what you know, but who you know.  Case in point, another friend Hank, WØZU had a brand new MD-1 at the shack and said to give him $30 for it. Well hell, brand new MD-1’s don’t grow on trees, so I gave him $50 and that was still a deal. I saw a comparable Kenwood microphone at the Hamfest and even though it was scratched up and obviously well worn, they wanted $100. Now I have two, go figure.

More on the FT-890 that made it here but never made it on the air (US Postal Service dropped it on it’s nose) and more on the antenna situation in the next post.

73,

NØUN