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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on October 17, 2010 at 11:36pm

CQ CQ CQ de KF4ZGZ, Matt in NC.

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Permalink Reply by Andy "Cracka" Duplay on October 18, 2010 at 7:04am

Ah ha! I KNEW there would be others! NC... I am in NW OH, we probably could have a 40m pipeline almost all day, every day! If we find a few more of us, perhaps we could start a net... there must be a couple hams in the UK... Hand crafted instruments fall right inline with the Amateur culture... make it from parts in your junk box.

What modes to your play with? When I got my Novice, there was no choices but CW, but as soon as I got my General, I pretty much abandoned it for SSB and FM. I have also experimented with most digital modes... packet... RTTY... AMTOR... SSTV. I have come full circle, and am back refreshing myself on CW, and muddling my way through that again :)

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on October 18, 2010 at 8:01am

Yeah ... I had the 10m voice with a slice of cw everywhere else Novice. ( 5 wpm)
After working the world and all states on 10m ..... love for the sunspots .... I realized I was missing out on half of my privileges, so I broke down and actually used cw. After working all states on the cw novice bands, a friend mentioned we were running around 15 wpm, so I took the next step. I am a 13 wpm Extra ... yes, I waited til they dropped the 20 whatever requirement.
I was extremely active on the digi-modes, HF voice and nets and ARES stuff until both daughters started playing 3 sports.
Between them, church, and CBG's, my HF antenna was on the ground for 2 months before I realized it. Still is.
I've only been on the air once in 8 months .... for a 2m contact.
But I have been meaning to get an HF antenna back up ..... I'll probably build ( yes I never buy anything but mobile antennas) a multiband vertical and bury a dozen enemies ... I mean radials! And just leave it at that so I can have HF and not eat up the back yard until I get active again.
Funny thing is, I usta be so hardcore, I had a 160m monster delta loop up for a few years. 3/4 of an acre under wire ... WOW.

73 de Matt, kf4zgz

Maybe you can be my reason to get back on the air and CW.

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Permalink Reply by Andy "Cracka" Duplay on October 18, 2010 at 8:24am

I gave it up about 9 years ago, having maybe 2 or 3 mobile 10m contacts in all of that time. A friend who I have known for years started writing on Facebook that he was studying for his Novice, or whatever the new entry level license is, and I commented. He didn't know I was into radio. He got me re-ignited, much to my wife's dismay... before we moved to our current house, we had an 80x120 city lot and I had wires and poles and towers all over. Now we live on 3 acres, and I had NOTHING up!

I currently have a fan dipole cut for 40, 20 and 10. It also loads up real nicely on 15 as a 1 1/2 wave antenna. It does ok on 10 and 20, but screams on 40. I have an old Kenwood TS820S, and it only puts out about 30 w on 40, but I have worked all over the US and DX ... the antenna has to make the difference! It needs to backend alignment, and I don't have the equipment to do it any longer, so I limp along at 30 watts.

I have the extinct Adanced class license. I am studying for the Extra now... man, it has gotten easier over time. I could probably do it now, with minimal studying.

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