The best antenna for 40 meters is made out of magnet wire and has director and reflector elements that stretch across a huge field behind the fire station.
My first participation in ARRL Field Day was in 2015 with WA5JRS Mansfield/ Johnson Amateur Radio Service. They make a huge effort and setup many big antenna systems.
See more details on their web site:
https://mjars.org/field-day/16-field-day-2015
The best antenna for 40 meters is made out of magnet wire and has director and reflector elements that stretch across a huge field behind the fire station.
This is Bill KF5YIV holding the magnet wire which is carefully wound to prevent kinks
The 40 meter antenna uses irrigation pipe as a boom mounted on top of a push up mast. Each end of the boom holds the center of a dipole. One dipole is the driven element and the other dipole is the reflector. We pointed the broad side of the antenna towards the northeast where most of the population is concentrated
Here's the quad antenna being assembled on the ground
Jim KB0DBJ and Dave KD5DK climbed the tower to mount the 40 meter quad
A Mosley tri-band 40, 20, 10 antenna is on the tower in the foreground on the right. A stack of three beam antennas is on the middle tower. The quad antenna is on the left tower.
These three beam antennas are stacked on top of each other.
Gary WA5FWC has a tower mounted on a trailer that raises with a winch
Jason KF5VSM, Cevan K5ORN and Randy W8FN are operating the 20 meter, 40 meter and CW stations
Here I'm listening and logging at the Get On The Air (GOTA) station while Bill KF5YIV is tuning around the bands
I'm pretty sure this is the first time I ever made contacts on HF at the Get On The Air (GOTA) station
I participated in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party on August 21, 2017 before and after the total eclipse. We made a trip to Murfreesboro, TN so we could be in the path where we could experience the total eclipse.
Here I'm making contacts in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party on August 21, 2017 shortly before the total eclipse. I monitored and communicate with many stations from my location in Murfreesboro, TN and noticed significant changes in propagation before and after total eclipse.
From left to right are Danae, my dad Leonard, my mom Janet and my sister Elaine watching the eclipse.
From left to right are my sister Elaine, Danae (N5QLI), my dad Leonard and my mom Janet and watching the eclipse
WA5JRS Mansfield / Johnson Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the Bike Out Hunger bike ride. Barry KG5TBA and I served as a net control operators. The Mansfield Fire Safety Palooza was held at the same time and location as the start / finish for the bike ride.
Barry KG5TBA and I served as Net control operators for the Bike Out Hunger Bike Ride. Our operating position was located at the booth for the Mansfield / Johnson Amateur Radio Service at the
We're chatting at the MJARS booth and net control station.
I volunteered as a Support And Guidance (SAG) vehicle during the 2017 Tour d' Italia Bike Ride. Communications support is provided by volunteers from the WD5DDH Ellis County Amateur Radio Club and other radio operators from surrounding counties.
This was my Support And Guidance (SAG) vehicle during the 2017 Tour d' Italia Bike Ride. I had a bicycle carrier mounted in the receiver hitch. My mobile transceiver was connected to the tri-band antenna on the NMO mount drilled into the roof to monitor the primary repeater and simplex frequency. I had a handy-talkie connected to a 5/8 wave antenna on the hood lip mount for APRS tracking and monitoring Athena backup repeater frequency. With this setup, I was able to monitor three frequencies and beacon my position via APRS.
Justin KF5IVJ and Allison KG5BHY served as net control operators in the Ellis County Emergency Command Van.
The Ellis County Emergency Command Van served as the operating position for the net controllers.
Ellis County has an excellent Emergency Command Van that can serve as the operating position for net controllers during public service events
An AREDN Mesh Node was deployed with a camera on top of a TV Van with a telescoping mast. Several AREDN mesh nodes provide 2.4 GHz connectivity to the Command Van where the cameras and data from weather stations can be viewed.
This is the start / finish area where the riders are brought if they breakdown.
Every year, the Wings over Dallas air show features "FiFi", the only flying Boeing B-29 Super Fortress.
I have had the opportunity to help as a volunteer for the special event activation of the ART-13 (ATC-1) transmitter during the air show. The ART-13 is the most advanced HF communications aircraft transmitter of WWII.
Features include:
-10 preset auto-tune channels selected from the radio position in the cockpit.
- Highly accurate frequency setting with
permeability tuning oscillator
- Modern beam power tetrode vacuum tubes at that time
- Covers 2-18Mlz with excellent frequency stability
-100 watts AM and CW.
- Collins radio built 90,000 and 60,000 were installed in aircraft.
The Rockwell Collins Amateur Radio Clubs are
working to preserve the legacy of those that served,
and that of the equipment they used, by recreating
an operational Radio Operator position in "FiFi" the only flying Boeing B-29 Super Fortress.
"FiFi" is the only flying Boeing B-29 Super Fortress.
Most phone (voice) amateur radio contacts use the single sideband mode (SSB), but the World War II era radios were not capable of operating in that mode. So, I called CQ using the SSB mode and asked the responding stations if they wanted to switch to AM mode. Gary WA5FWC operated the ART-13 transmitter whenever an operator had the capability to make a contact using the AM mode.
This is the Image used on the KM4RC special event QSL cards featuring "FiFi" the only flying Boeing B-29 Super fortress.
These special event activations are sponsored by and made possible by volunteers and the Rockwell Collins Amateur Radio Clubs.
We setup the ART-13 transmitter and other radios and equipment just inside the hanger door. A ladder line antenna is hung from poles out in front of the hanger.
Large laminated poster boards are hung near our operating position with information about "FiFi" and the ART-13 transmitter.
"Today we are honoring our living WWII B-29
crew friends, and the memory of those now gone.
The Rockwell Collins Amateur Radio Clubs are
working to preserve the legacy of those that served,
and that of the equipment they used, by recreating
an operational Radio Operator position in "FiFi", the only flying Boeing B-29 Super fortress.
"
BC-348
- aircraft receiver during WWII / Korea
-1930's design superheterodyne with dynamotor
- Over 100,000 built 80% by Belmont
Radio and Wells Gardener
- Installation in multi-engine aircraft such as the B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, B-29 bombers and C-47 and C-54 cargo planes
- Rugged and reliable
- Combined with ART-13 to form the ARC-8 radio system for the B-29
Laminated posters are hung near the operating position to provide information about the radios.
Here's a look inside the ART-13 transmitter
I'm calling CQ for the KM4RC special event Station and logging contacts
"FiFi" is the only flying Boeing B-29 Super Fortress
I participated in ARRL Field Day 2019. I helped with setup at the K5SLD Arlington Amateur Radio Club and operated the radios for several hours on Saturday.
I also visited the W5FC Dallas Amateur Radio Club operating site for a few hours.
The K5SLD Arlington Amateur Radio Club used a 3-Element Beam Antenna for one of their radios. Here are several volunteers assembling the antenna in the parking lot
A man lift is rented for easy deployment of a beam antenna. A rope is used to pull from the ground and rotate the direction of the beam periodically throughout the contest.
The W5FC Dallas Amateur Radio Club parked their communications trailer and erected towers outside of Alford Media Services in Coppell TX
The W5FC Dallas Amateur Radio Club was able to take advantage of a huge projection screen at Alford Media Services during their Field Day operations.
Here's David KG5EIU and Roger KE5YTA operating the FT8 digital station during the W5FC Dallas Amateur Radio Club Field Day activation at Alford Media Services.
Here's the phone station at the W5FC Dallas Amateur Radio Club Field Day event.
I had the privilege of helping with the activation of the N5VET special event station in Godley, TX to thank all the Veterans who have served in our military. I operated the radio for a few hours and made 167 contacts, many of whom were vets.
Here's what it looks when the Mansfield Johnson Amateur Radio Service WA5JRS deploys the tower on the trailer that was designed by Gary WA5FWC. I've also included photos of the portable towers, Emergency Command Center, and communications trailers that were deployed by volunteers of Johnson County ARES and the KC5NX Special Event club. It's always fun to work with these guys.
I had the opportunity to call CQ for a while using the N5VET special event station call sign in Godley, TX.
Photo courtesy of Dave N3BUO
I had the opportunity to help with maintenance of the 448.775 repeater in Mansfield on Feb 18, 2017. While Jim KB0DBJ and Kim K3JAR climbed to the top of the water tower, Steve KM5HT, Bill KF5YIV and Dave KD5DK worked on improving the feedline to the radios in the Yaesu DR-1X repeater. The stock coax appears to be LMR-240 or RG-8 and the reception was significantly improved by running LMR-400 all the way to the radios.
The stock coax jumpers appear to be LMR-240 or RG-8 and we hoped to reduce loss by running LMR-400 feedline through the hole in the chassis all the way to the radios.
We removed the stock coax jumpers and the reception was significantly improved by running LMR-400 all the way to the radios.
Here you can see the LMR-400 passing through the hole in the chassis to the TX radio inside the DR-1X repeater.
Steve KM5HT is connecting LMR-400 feedline directly to the RX radio in the repeater.
This is the relay that cuts power if the appropriate DTMF tones are sent to the control radio
This is the control radio and power supply for the repeater
These are the cavity filters that serve as the duplexer. Each notch filter is carefully tuned to allow only narrow transmit or receive frequencies to pass so that the transmitting and receiving radios can share the same antenna with minimal desense.
This is what it looks like inside the water tower looking up.
This is an image that I captured from my drone near the top of the water tower using my drone.
ARRL Field Day 2020 was a strange experience because of the pandemic. Like most participants, I decided to operate from home instead of setting up in a public location with a local ham club. I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed the experience.
My lovely YL, Danae (N5QLI) took time to operate my station during ARRL Field Day.
This is a map of the ARRL and RAC sections in which I was able to make contacts during the 24 hours of the Field Day contest.
I use a Goal Zero Yeti 1250 solar generator to provide backup power in case we lose power from the utility. It provides a 100Ah AGM deep cycle battery, solar charger and inverter nicely contained in a box with wheels. I normally keep it connected to the commercial mains power to provide uninterrupted power to my two main transceivers, internet routers and Mac Mini in my office. But It's easy to connect my folding solar panels and deploy it for portable operations.
After several years, the AGM deep cycle battery stopped holding a charge. So, I bought a replacement from Batteries Plus and swapped it out. I took photos of the innards during replacement.
This is what it looks like with the lid removed and the control panel dangling out of the way so I could remove and replace the battery.
There are two small screws on the left-hand side of this photo that I had trouble locating and removing before the Anderson Power SB175 connector could be removed. It was mounted above and prevented removal of the battery until I figured out where those two little screws were located.
This is the view inside with the control panel and Anderson Power SB175 connector moved out of the way so I could replace the battery.
This is a view of the connections from the battery and Anderson Power SB175 connector
There are many possibilities with the Flex-6000. These are screenshots of working configurations for different use cases I have tested.
These are the USB FTDI cable settings for my Q5signal 5BVUX Multi-Band transverter
These are the settings for my Q5signal 5BVUX Multi-Band transverter
These are the 2M settings for my Q5signal 5BVUX Multi-Band transverter
These are the 1.25M settings for my Q5signal 5BVUX Multi-Band transverter
These are 70cm settings settings that work my Q5signal 5BVUX Multi-Band.
I use memories to mark the bottom and top of the frequency allocations for the General Class
The "G>" marks the frequency 7.175 at the start of the General Class privileges on the 40 meter band
I use memories to mark the frequencies for active satellites.
Here is an example of an FM simplex QSO in the DFW area that is splattering across the allocated frequency for the XW-2B satellite beacon telemetry and part of the downlink linear transponder.
I use memories to mark the ISM band centered on 433.92 MHz where we see packets from weather stations, key fobs and other low powered transmitters that are licensed by rule within the 70cm Amateur Radio band.