All posts by WD8RIF

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

WD8RIF takes his dog and his KX2 on a bicycle-portable POTA activation

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Many thanks to Eric (WD8RIF), who shares the following field report via his website WD8RIF.com:

by Eric (WD8RIF)

On Saturday, November 4, 2023, I performed a successful bicycle-portable two-fer activation of Lake Hope State Park (K-1968) and Zaleski State Forest (K-5455) in Ohio as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA) program.

On a beautiful and warm early November afternoon, I bicycled the Moonville Rail Trail, on what used to the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad (wikipedia article) right-of-way, from the tiny village of Mineral, through Zaleski State Forest, diverting from the rail trail near Lake Hope to ride to the Mountain Bike Trailhead overlooking Lake Hope within the state park, for my two-fer activation of the state park and state forest. I was carrying my KX2 Mini Travel Kit on the bicycle, and I was pulling my little dog Theo in a trailer behind the bicycle.

From the Moonville Rail Trail website:

This 10-mile rail trail takes visitors through the beautiful woodlands of southeast Ohio, including Zaleski State Forest; the communities of Zaleski and Mineral; and the Lake Hope State Park wetland areas. The corridor holds water on both sides of the trail, creating a wetland area that is home to numerous species of flora and fauna.

Additional points of interest along this trail are two unique and historic tunnels. King’s Hollow Tunnel (also known as King Switch Tunnel) is a 120-foot structure carved through the rock and lined by a series of 12×12 wooden beams. The Moonville Tunnel is brick-lined and has a long history of train accidents, earning the tunnel a reputation for being haunted.

After parking my car at Mineral, I began my ride on the leaf-covered Moonville Rail Trail at 1645 UTC and soon encountered the first landmark of the ride: the 120′ long, timber-lined King’s Hollow Tunnel.

Leaf-covered Moonville Rail Trail
The leaf-covered Moonville Rail Trail,near Mineral
King's Hollow Tunnel
Entering King’s Hollow Tunnel
King's Hollow Tunnel
Exiting King’s Hollow Tunnel

Riding through the very dark tunnel and continuing west on the Moonville Rail Trail, I soon came to a succession of ponds. Rumor has it that a pair of nesting bald eagles fish these ponds, but I have yet to see them.

Ponds along the Moonville Rail Trail

Ponds along the Moonville Rail Trail
Ponds along the Moonville Rail Trail
A small bit of railroad history along the Moonville Rail Trail.
A small bit of railroad history along the Moonville Rail Trail.
Leaf-covered Moonville Rail Trail
More leaf-covered Moonville Rail Trail

Continuing west, and now being well inside Zaleski State Forest, I soon came upon the brick-lined Moonville Tunnel.

Moonville Tunnel

Moonville Tunnel
Entering Moonville Tunnel

After passing through the Moonville Tunnel, I was forced to divert from the Moonville Rail Trail and follow a gravel road before re-joining the Moonville Rail Trail about a mile further on. (When CSX abandoned the rail line in the early 1990s, they took everything: rails, ties, ballast, and all the bridges. Two of the bridges west of Moonville Tunnel have yet to be replaced.) I was pleased that my new narrow knobby bicycle tires were reassuring on the rough gravel road, but I can’t say Theo in the trailer enjoyed this portion of the ride much.

Back on the Moonville Rail Trail, and continuing west, the rail trail was almost 100% leaf-covered. Continue reading WD8RIF takes his dog and his KX2 on a bicycle-portable POTA activation →

Antennas, Guest Posts, News, Portable, QRP, Radio Field Craft

Comparing Coaxial Loss in RG-58 and RG-316

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by Eric, WD8RIF

I recently decided that I would operate portable during the upcoming ARRL 10 Meter Contest and would combine this operation with a pair of Parks on the Air (POTA) activations, one on the Saturday of the contest and one on Sunday. While putting together my field station for this, I realized I wanted to see how lossy my RG-58 and RG-316 feedline cables were on 10m. Yes, I could have resorted to online charts of feedline losses, and I know that the RG-316 is lossier than the RG-58, but I thought it would be fun and more enlightening to make actual measurements, to empirically determine the losses in my particular coaxial cables.

The two coaxial cables in question are both 25′ in length and both are equipped with BNC male connectors on each end. The RG-58 cable is a high-quality cable that was originally manufactured to be a 10Base2 ethernet cable, but it’s probably now over twenty years old. The RG-316 cable was recently purchased from Tufteln (link) and includes an RF choke near one end.

To make my measurements, I used my Elecraft KX2 (link) to generate RF into an Elecraft DL1 dummy load with RF detector (link), using a digital multimeter to measure the voltage at the DL1’s measurement points. I used the formula that came with my DL1 assembly instructions to calculate the measured wattage:
P = (((V x 1.414) + 0.15))^2)/50

I made measurements in the CW portion of the 10, 15, 20, 40, and 80m bands, with the KX2 set at 5 Watts output.

My first set of measurements was made with the DL1 connected directly to the KX2’s antenna jack using a BNC union:

Direct (no feedline)
Band Volts Watts
10 11.62 5.498
15 11.59 5.470
20 11.61 5.489
40 11.63 5.508
80 11.63 5.508

My immediate observation was that the KX2 appears to be generating more than 5w when it is set to be producing 5w but also that the KX2 output is essentially same from 10m through 80m.

My second set of measurements was made with the DL1 connected to the KX2 through the RG-58 cable:

Direct RG-58
Band Watts Watts
10 5.498 4.809
15 5.470 4.844
20 5.489 5.004
40 5.508 5.184
80 5.508 5.276

My third set of measurements was made with the DL1 connected to the KX2 through the RG-316 cable:

Direct RG-316
Band Watts Watts
10 5.498 4.190
15 5.470 4.322
20 5.489 4.507
40 5.508 4.774
80 5.508 4.959

I was pleased to see to see that both the RG-58 and RG-316 behaved as I expected them to: the loss increased with increasing frequency.

Using the magic of MS-Excel, I created a table of Loss in Watts for both cables, relative to direct connection and to each other:

Direct Difference (Loss) (Watts)
Band Watts RG-58 vs
direct		 RG-316 vs
direct		 RG-316 vs
RG-58
10 5.498 0.690 1.309 0.619
15 5.470 0.626 1.148 0.522
20 5.489 0.485 0.982 0.497
40 5.508 0.324 0.734 0.410
80 5.508 0.232 0.549 0.317

In looking at this table, it was immediately obvious that RG-316 is much lossier than the RG-58, particularly on 10m. By looking at the row for 10m, one can see that I am losing nearly 0.7 watts in the RG-58 but I am losing over 1.3 watts in the RG-316.

For completeness, I added columns for Loss in dB to the spreadsheet:

Difference (Loss) (dB)
Band RG-58 vs direct RG-316 vs direct RG-316 vs RG-58
10 0.582 1.180 0.598
15 0.528 1.023 0.495
20 0.402 0.856 0.454
40 0.263 0.621 0.358
80 0.187 0.456 0.269

This exercise showed me that for my upcoming ARRL 10 Meter Contest POTA outings, I would do best by connecting my antenna directly to my transceiver, if possible, without using either coaxial feedline. If conditions at the operating site require me to use feedline, I will chose the RG-58 over the RG-316.

The tables also tell me that RG-316 is pretty lossy regardless of the band; for my regular field operating, unless I’m planning to do bicycle- or pedestrian-portable operations where weight and bulk is a consideration, I’ll carry RG-58 instead of RG-316. (I purchased the RG-316 specifically for bicycle- and pedestrian-portable operations, and I plan to continue to use the RG-316 for those applications.)

At some point, I will repeat this exercise with RG-8X, a feedline that is very close in size to RG-58, is less lossy, but is also heavier and stiffer.

Morse Code, Reviews

Guest Review: CW Morse Single-Lever Keyer Paddle

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On October 10, I took delivery of a CW Morse (https://cwmorse.us/) “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base” (https://cwmorse.us/product/red-single-paddle-morse-code-key-with-base/) which Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, had sent me to review for this website. CW Morse had sent Tom several keys to review and Tom, knowing I am a fan of single-lever paddles, sent me the CW Morse single-lever paddle to review.

CW Morse "Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base"

CW Morse "Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base", inside view

I will admit it: I wasn’t expecting much from a 3-D printed CW paddle, but I was very surprised by the quality of the build and the feel of the paddle.

The “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base” is a nice mix of 3-D printed frame, lever, fingerpiece, and cover with steel ball bearings, metal contacts, steel centering springs, and a heavy steel base. (See photos, above.)

The mailman delivered the paddle on October 10  and I started using it almost immediately as a cootie-key / sideswiper to hunt Parks on the Air (POTA) activations. (A cootie-key or sideswiper is a manual key in which the operator moves a paddle alternately side-to-side to manually create the dots and dashes of Morse Code.) The paddle worked very well as a cootie and I made six POTA QSOs using the paddle on the afternoon of the 10th. Unfortunately, when I tried to use the paddle for my nightly ragchew-QSO with K8RAT, the paddle stopped centering properly and I had to switch to another key to finish the QSO. A day or two later, I studied the CW Morse key and found that I was able to loosen the nut at the lever pivot-point a little bit to reduce drag. After this simple adjustment, the paddle has worked beautifully without further need for adjustment.

The “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base” features adjustable gaps on both sides of the lever. These gaps are easily adjusted using the supplied Allen wrench or with bare fingers. The spring tension is not adjustable and the paddle’s feel is pretty light.

The steel base, while small, is quite heavy and the four rubber feet provide excellent traction on my radio desk. I have a pretty heavy fist and this paddle is almost heavy enough that I can send with my right hand without holding the paddle with my left hand.

Now, a disclosure: I have been using semi-automatic bugs and fully-manual cootie keys so long now that my keyer fist is absolute rubbish. I did use the paddle to drive an electronic keyer for one ragchew-QSO and the paddle worked very well in that mode and it had a nice feel–any mistakes made in keying were not the fault of the paddle but of my own inability anymore to judge how long to hold the dash-paddle.

I’ve been using this paddle as my go-to cootie-key for over half a month now and as a cootie key the “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base” excels. The gaps were easily adjustable and the feel of the paddle as a cootie is just fantastic. This key has, at least for the moment, become my favorite hamshack cootie-key.

The “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key” can be removed from the steel base for field or portable use and I did remove the key from the base to try it in this configuration. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the feel of the paddle in my left hand, primarily because the two mounting rails make the key feel awkward in my hand. CW Morse does offer a dual-lever field paddle (https://cwmorse.us/product/pocket-double-paddle-morse-code-key/) and I think a similar design with a single lever would make an excellent field paddle or cootie key. (Read about Tom Witherspoon’s experience with the dual-lever field paddle here: https://qrper.com/2020/10/pota-field-report-pairing-the-icom-ic-705-with-the-elecraft-t1-and-cw-morse-pocket-paddles/.)

Bottom Line: I have been very pleased with the “Red Single Paddle Morse Code Key With Base” and I can recommend it for any CW operator who needs an inexpensive but well-made single-lever paddle.

News

A Photographic Tour of Universal Radio’s New Location

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In October, 2017, Universal Radio moved from their large Reynoldsburg, Ohio retail store and warehouse to a smaller retail store and warehouse at 651-B Lakeview Plaza, Worthington, Ohio. This is actually Universal Radio’s fourth location in its 75 year history. In 1942, Universal Service opened on North Third Street in downtown Columbus. In 1977, Universal Radio moved to Aida Drive in Reynoldsbutg. In 1992, Universal Radio moved to Americana Drive in Reynoldsburg. Finally, in 2017, Universal Radio moved to the current location in Worthington.

On Friday, November 17, I had the opportunity to visit the new location of Universal Radio  for the first time and I prepared a photographic tour of the new location.

The new location is smaller than the previous location and instead of consisting of one large showroom space, the new location consists of several smaller rooms. (Indeed, the new layout reminds me the layout of one of my all-time favorite bookstores, the Book Loft in Columbus’s German Village neighborhood, which now has 32 (!) rooms of books. No, Universal Radio’s new store does not have 32 rooms!) As can be seen in the following photographs, these rooms are densely stocked. Universal Radio still offers all the items that were available in the previous store location. Of course, just as at the previous, larger, location, some items aren’t on immediate display but are available upon request.

The new Universal Radio storefront at 651-B Lakeview Plaza Blvd, Worthington, Ohio
The new Universal Radio storefront at 651-B Lakeview Plaza Blvd, Worthington, Ohio. There’s more than ample parking.
The sign and entrance to the new Universal Radio store
The sign and entrance to the new Universal Radio store.
Books, with Barb stocking the shelves with the newest "The Worldwide Listening Guide"
Immediately upon entering the store, one will find hundreds of book titles. Here, Barb is stocking the shelves with the newest, just-released, “The Worldwide Listening Guide”.
Magazines
And, of course, Universal still offers several issues each of the two major American amateur radio magazines.
Antennas, shortwave receivers, HTs, scanners + VHF/UHF mobiles
In the main showroom: antennas, shortwave receivers, HTs, scanners, and VHF/UHF mobile transceivers.
HF transceivers
In the same showroom, the HF transceivers, available to operate.
The Heil microphone display
The Heil microphone and headset display.
Used equipment
The Used equipment display: HF transceivers, shortwave receivers, VHF/UHF transceivers, handhelds, and accessories.
Antennas!
Antennas!
More antennas!
And more antennas!
The warehouse area, with Barb and Cathy
Just as with nearly any other modern retailer, Universal Radio’s bread-and-butter is internet and telephone orders. This is just a small portion of the new warehouse and shipping area, with Barb and Cathy busily filling orders.
The warehouse area
A small portion of the warehouse and shipping area.
The well-equipped service area
Universal Radio still has a nicely-equipped service area.

Just as at the previous Reynoldsburg location (and at the even earlier Aida Drive location), the new Universal Radio store is home to several cats which, sadly, I neglected to photograph.

The new store is staffed by the same friendly and helpful people we’ve come to know from the Americana Drive location. During this visit, I saw and spoke with Josh, Eric, Barb, and Cathy.

Events, Portable, QRP, Uncategorized

Upcoming QRP Field Event:
“Freeze Your B___ Off”, Saturday, February 6

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The Arizona ScQRPions (link) annual winter QRP sprint, “Freeze Your B___ Off“, happens on Saturday, February 6 this year. FYBO is an event in which QRPers are encouraged to take their stations afield in the winter, and the colder it is “at the key”, the larger a score multiplier a participant gets.  Complete rules for FYBO can  be found here:

http://www.azscqrpions.org/FYBO2016_Rules.htm

My logbook tells me I first participated in FYBO in 1997 and that I had a blast, and I’ve participated in FYBO almost every year since then.

With this year’s strong El Niño and weird weather there’s no telling at this point whether a particular location will be unseasonably warm or bitterly cold, wet or dry, sunny or snowy but whatever the weather you find on February 6, take your station outdoors and have some wintertime radio fun!

Uncategorized

Upcoming Summer QRP Field Events

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With the arrival of summer weather, the outdoor ham radio season is upon us! Outdoor operating is an important part of my ham radio hobby and I plan to participate in the following field events in a big way.

Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28, 2015: ARRL Field Day

Field Day is the ARRL’s biggest operating event and, with a history going back to 1933, is one of the ARRL’s oldest operating events. Field Day is the “big daddy” of portable operating events and more than 40,000 hams are expected to participate this year. Operate QRP or QRO. Operate CW, SSB, or digital; operate with a local club, a group of friends, with a single friend, or alone. The important thing is to set up a station and operate!

Full rules and other materials can be found here:
http://www.arrl.org/field-day.

I will be participating with the Athens County Amateur Radio Association’s Class 1A, solar-powered operation at the Athens County (Ohio) Fairgrounds.

Sunday, July 26, 2015: The Adventure Radio Society’s Flight of the Bumblebees

The Adventure Radio Society’s Flight of the Bumblebees hasn’t been around since 1933 but it has been an annual event since 1997, which is a long time these days. Flight of the Bumblees is a four-hour event held annually on the last Sunday of July. Both home-based and portable operations are allowed but those who operate from the field are the Bumblebees and are worth a 3x multiplier. Bumblebees are encouraged to reach their operating locations principally under their own power by walking, bicycling, kayaking, etc.; the distance traveled using human-power is up to the individual operator’s discretion.

Full rules and instructions for receiving a Bumblebee Number can be found here: http://www.arsqrp.blogspot.com/.

I have participated in Flight of the Bumblebees most years since 1997 and look forward to participating again in 2015. I plan to bicycle with my KX3 Travel Kit (info) from my home to my operating location somewhere in Athens County, Ohio.

Sunday, August 9, 2015: New Jersey QRP Club’s Skeeter Hunt

This year marks the 4th annual running of the Skeeter Hunt, a four-hour sprint-type event whose objective is to get QRPers out of their shacks for the day and into fresh air and sunshine. Those who operate outdoors qualify as “Skeeters”.

Full rules and instructions on receiving a Skeeter Number can be found here: http://w2lj.blogspot.com/p/njqrp-skeeter-hunt.html.

WD8RIF has participated in every Skeeter Hunt since the first one in 2012 and has enjoyed the event every year.

 

Events, News

Application for ARRL Centennial Awards Now Available

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The application window for the ARRL Centennial Points Challenge and the W1AW Worked All States Award is now open. Read the ARRL press release here:

http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-centennial-points-challenge-w1aw-was-awards-application-window-open

Uncategorized

July & August QRP Field Operating Events

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Over the next thirty days there are three QRP field operating events to take part in.

This coming Sunday, July 13,  is the second annual Scorch Your Butt Off event. This six-hour event is like the more familiar wintertime Freeze Your B___ Off event except for this event the score multiplier goes up the hotter the temperature recorded at the key or microphone. The rules for Scorch Your Butt Off can be found here:

http://www.qsl.net/sybo/Scorch_Your_Butt_Off/SYBO.html

Sunday, July 27, is the date of the Adventure Radio Society’s Flight of the Bumblebees, an event with a long and storied history. For this four-hour sprint, those who use human-power to get to their operating locations earn the right to a “bumblebee number”; each contact with a “bumblebee” counts as a score multiplier. The rules for Flight of the Bumblebees will be posted here Friday, July 11:

http://www.arsqrp.blogspot.com/

Sunday, August 10, is the date of the 3rd annual New Jersey QRP Club Skeeter Hunt. Those who operate in the field can request a “skeeter number” and are worth more points than “non-skeeters”. This year there’s a score multiplier for using homebrew or kit-built equipment. The announcement and rules for the Skeeter Hunt can be found here:

http://w2lj.blogspot.com/p/njqrp-skeeter-hunt.html (announcement)
http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/ (rules)

So—three good reasons to take a QRP rig and field-antenna outdoors and have some fun!

Uncategorized

Once in while…

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… one hears behavior on the air that reminds one that courtesy can still, occasionally, be heard on the HF bands.

I’ve made it a goal this year to earn a Worked All States (WAS) certificate working only the ARRL Centennial Celebration W1AW/portable stations using CW and QRP power levels. I’ve managed to work W1AW/portable stations in 27 states so far–I started a few weeks late and missed the first few states but will pick them up in the second half of the year–but I’ve heard some atrocious pile-up behavior while doing so.

This evening, while trying to work W1AW/1 (NH) or W1AW/2 (NJ)–I can’t remember which because I  eventually worked each on several bands before turning the rig off for the night–I neglected to put my KX3 back into split-mode after changing bands, so on my first call to the W1AW/portable station I was transmitting on his frequency, not up as I was supposed to be. Before I could even realize my mistake, I heard someone send a simple “IF UP”–the last two letters of my callsign and “UP”–just once, on the W1AW/portable station’s frequency. Not the “UP UP UP” we  hear far too frequently these days or even “UP UP UP LID“. Just one transmission of “IF UP” to tell me, WD8RIF, that I had made an error. One short, polite, courteous transmission.

I have no idea who this polite ham was. If I did, I would send him an email thanking him for his short, polite message to me.  Maybe he’ll stumble upon this posting on QRPer.com and learn how much I appreciated his simple transmission to me.

Announcements, Events, Hams, News

April 18 is World Radio Day

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IARU logo

Friday, April 18, is the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) “World Radio Day”. The theme for World Radio Day 2014 is “Amateur Radio: Your Gateway to Wireless Communication”.

World Radio Day is celebrated each year on April 18 to recognize the anniversary of the founding of the IARU in 1925. The first president of the IARU was Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW.

Learn more about World Radio Day:

http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-your-gateway-to-wireless-communication-is-world-amateur-radio-day-2014-theme

http://www.iaru.org/world-amateur-radio-day.html

Learn more about the IARU:

http://www.iaru.org/