Lament Of A Ragchewer

     My, my!  How things have changed in the digital world of Ham Radio.  It used to be that the 14.070 frequency was crowded with hams having  meaningful conversations with other hams around the world.  Now, you are lucky to see 2 or 3 traces.

     Everybody has left town and gone to the gold fields of FT-8 and JS8Call where they just exchange callsigns and 599s then move on to the next contact.  That saddens me because they are missing out on the real meaning of communication.  What is communication?  It is the exchange of thoughts and ideas between humans.  In having an exchange of thoughts and ideas, we usually tend to learn something from it.  I don't see that happening with FT-8 or JS8Call.  I have done both and neither one appeals to me at all.  JS8Call sends out 13 words at a time and takes 15 seconds to send a string.  You can take a power nap in that time.  It is my hope that  perhaps FT8 and JS8Call will eventually die out and more hams will come to realize what they have been missing.

     We are supposed to be trained communicators according to Part 97 of the rules.  Are we doing that?  My answer, for the most part, is "no"...at least not in the digital world from my experience.

      Whenever someone tries to get by with a "hit and run" contact with me, I do my best to not let them get away with it.  I ask them why they want to quit so soon.  If they tell me that their English is not so good, I tell them that they won't get better at it if they don't practice using it.  Usually, they do engage in conversation and in by the time we are done, they tell me how much they enjoyed it. Then I say to myself , "Well another one bites the dust."

     Pretty soon, we are going to forget how to communicate effectively.  Just take a look at some of the phone texting that goes on.  It is replete with poor spelling and grammar.  Almost nothing is spelled out.  It is all abbreviated or somehow butchered in one way or another.

     Try listening to a TV news program.  My wife cringes every time she hears the local TV news....poor grammar everywhere!  Don't they have anyone who proof reads the script?  My wife taught 6th grade for 35 years, so she knows her stuff about spelling and grammar.

Setting Up The SignaLink USB Interface For Digital Ham Radio

     I have noticed quite a few hams on the air having trouble configuring their radios and interfaces to get a good looking signal out.  I am hoping these tips will help.  I have been doing digital ham radio since the 1980s when the Commodore computers were popular.  I was doing Pactor and RTTY quite a bit.  Then in Sept. 1999 I got into PSK31 and other digital modes as they were developed.
     My digital program of choice is MixW 3.2.105 but most programs are pretty much set up the same way.  They all have a drop-down menu called Configure where you can set up the program and the SignaLink USB.
     Make sure that you have your digital program up and running and your SignaLink is plugged in and turned on.  Turn on the rig, too, because you will need to set up the CAT (Computer Aided Tuning) parameters.
     Go up to the top edge of the program screen and find the word Configure and click on it.  A drop-down menu will appear.  Now find TRANSCEIVER CAT/PTT and click on it.  At the top you will see 2 windows labeled CAT and MODEL.  Click on the little black arrow to the right of CAT and choose which radio you have and click on it.  Now go down to the MODEL window and click on that little black arrow and choose what model number of rig you have.
     Now go further down where it says PTT & CAT Interface and click on the label called DETAILS.  You will see 7 windows labeled Port, Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity, Stop Bits, RTS and DTR.  Click on Port and you will see port numbers listed there and some will have an asterisk (*) by them.  These are the ones that have COM ports assigned to them.  Choose one.  Now, the numbers that go into the rest of the 7 windows should be as follows: Baud Rate: 9600, Data Bits: 8, Parity: None, Stop Bits: 1, RTS: Always On, DTR: Always Off.  These parameters are for an Icom radio.  If you have a different brand of rig, you might have to check the manual or you could go to the Tigertronics website to see what the parameters for your rig are. Yaesu rigs use a baud rate of 4800.  Once you have those 7 windows filled in, click OK.  There are other things in the menu box that need to be checked: Save frequency on exit can be checked in the little box beside it and CW out via Soundcard can be checked.  Also, AFSK in place of FSK can be checked.  Default digital mode should be USB.  You are now done with this part.  Click OK.  If you do not get an error message saying that the CAT interface Com port is in use or not functioning, this means that it is the correct Com port for your radio.  If you get an error message, you might have to go back to Configure and choose a different Com port number.
     Now go back to Configure and this time we will set up the PTT, sometimes called Secondary PTT Port.  Click on it then click on Port Settings.  You will see a little box with 5 windows in it.  They are labeled: Port, Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity, Stop Bits, RTS and DTR.  The port number you choose should NOT be the one you chose for CAT.  Baud rate should be 9600, Data bits 8, Parity None, Stop Bits 1.  RTS should be PTT and DTR should be Always Off.  The boxes beside Echo, Disable and Hardware Flow Control should NOT be checked.  Now click OK.
     Now we go back to Configure again and click on Sound Device Settings.  At the top of this box, you will see Device, Input and Output.  Click on the little black arrow and you should see Sound Card (Internal or External, Rig Expert S/D, and Eye Of The Needle.  Click on Sound Card.  Then on the next two windows, click on the little black arrow.  In the Input window, choose Microphone (USB Audio Codec).  In the Output window, choose Speakers (USB Audio Codec).  Next, there is a window called Sample rate.  Type in 12000.  The default is 11025 but having a higher sample rate keeps your TX  signal from drifting. You don't have to do anything with Clock Adjustment or Sound History.  The next 3 windows down are Spectrum Speed, DSP filter and FFT Window.  Spectrum Speed adjusts how fast the waterfall display travels downward.  I like mine at X3.  DSP filter should be: None.  FFT Window should be: Hamming.  I have my DSP filter turned off because I have an outboard MFJ-784B tunable DSP filter hooked up to my rig.  Audio Processing window should be "Message-based (standard).  Now click OK and see if you have a waterfall display.  Tune your rig to 14.070 Mhz and see if you find some signals.  They should be traces that are about 1/4" wide.  Click on one with your mouse and see if the signal is being decoded by the software.
     The volume on the rig should be at about 9:00 and the volume (RX) on the SignaLink should be at about 8:00.  I have my volume set so I just see some slight speckling in the waterfall from the noise floor.
     Here is how I have my waterfall display set up for color display:  Click on View, then find Spectrum and click on it.  Now find Colors then find Waterfall Pallet.  You will see a bar with little squares of color.  You can change these colors by left clicking on each bar and choosing the color you like.  Here is how I have mine configured: black, black black, blue blue, yellow yellow yellow yellow.  This configuration gives me yellow traces on a blue background.  Click Apply then  click Save.  This will let you save your colors to a folder.  I use a file name called 3blk2blu4yellow.pal .  This tells me what the colors are.  I keep a folder called Waterfall Colors within the MixW folder where I keep my waterfall pallet files.
     Here is how you need to set up the rig for best signal output.  First, set the RF power to 100 watts.  My Icom rig uses a port in the back to connect to the SignaLink, so I don't need to mess with the Mic Gain.  TX output is set by the TX control on the front of the SignaLink.  When you transmit with the software, watch your ALC reading!  It should be at ZERO, showing NO reading at all.  If it does, your TX level is too high.  This is the most common mistake that hams make.  You don't need to drive the TX audio nearly as hard with digital as opposed to SSB voice.

Coax Jumper Tester

     This is a Coax Jumper Tester for testing those short lengths of coax cable that we ham radio operators use to connect our equipment such as connecting the radio to the tuner, the radio to a coax switch, the radio to an oscilloscope, etc.  Testing with a multi-meter can be difficult because the alligator clips on the test leads tend to fall off very easily and they don't provide a solid connection.  This tester eliminates that problem and gives you a more complete test.
     Operating this unit is quite simple.  Take the coax jumper that you want to test and screw the coax connectors to each of the two connectors on the front of the box.  Connect the red/black zip cord to a 12 VDC power source.  First, flip the power switch on, then flip the test switch to the UP position.  This tests the center conductor for continuity.  While this part of the coax is under test, wiggle the coax to see if the indicator light blinks or flickers.  If it does, then you have a bad solder connection.  If the light remains solidly on, then your solder connection is good.  Now flip the test switch to the DOWN position.  Again, wiggle the coax around and see if the indicator light flickers or blinks.  If the light flickers or blinks, the solder connection is bad.  You will have to repair the bad solder connection on the jumper then test it again.
     Here is the list of components:

2    SO-239 chassis-mount coax connectors
1    DPDT toggle switch
1    SPST toggle switch
2    12 VDC incandescent pilot lamps (You can use LEDs if you like.)
1     Fuse holder
1     3-amp glass tube fuse
1     6 x 4 x 2" plastic project box
3 ft.  #18 red/black zip cord (You can make the cord as long as you need.)
5     6-32 x 1/2" Philips head screws
5     6-32 nuts
Various lengths of #18 hook-up wire
4     red fork terminals

     This blogger does not accept PDF files, so I had to take a photo of the schematic in order to get it posted. 
     Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

73,

John Gercken, AA9UF

Getting Back To CW After 8 Years.

     For many years I had doggedly kept trying to improve my skills as a CW (Morse Code) operator in Ham Radio.  It seemed that the more I practiced the worse I got at copying.  Sending was not an issue, but my copy of anything beyond 12 wpm was beyond what my feeble brain could do.
     I did manage to pass my 20 wpm code test to qualify for my Extra Class ham radio license, but it took 3 tries to get there.  I finally passed on the 3rd try.  After jumping that hurdle, I never tried keeping up the 20 wpm speed because I was just not comfortable copying at that speed.  My brain was just not wired for it.  I tried some QSOs at speeds approaching 20 wpm but I felt exhausted once I got done.  I thought to myself..."Is why we say we "work" a station?  This is not my idea of fun!"
     So, I went back to my old comfortable speed of 12 wpm.  Much to my chagrin, I kept running into high-speed operators coming back to me at the speed of light, expecting me to copy.  I refused to even try and either signed off or went to another  part of the band.  Sometimes I would say "NO QRS, NO QSO." but they still came back at their speed of light, ignoring my request.  At one point I even joined a CW club called FISTS who claimed that they would slow down for slower operators.  I quickly found out that they fell into the same bad habit of creeping up to the speed of light just like all the other hot-shot operators.
     In frustration, I finally sold all 3 of my CW keys and automatic keyers and concentrated my efforts in the digital modes such as PSK31, RTTY, Feld Hell and whatever others I could find on the air.  I was a much happier camper.
     But now, things have changed again.  My oldest granddaughter, Julianna, age 9, is studying for her Technician License and seems to have a keen interest in CW.  Well, like a good grandpa, I bought her the MFJ Morse Tutor so she could practice.  Since I had been CW-free for 8 years, I knew that my CW skills were pretty rusty by this time.  So, I bought a Vibroplex iambic key and started listening to CW signals on the air and I did some keying with the rig power turned way down and the tuner on the dummy load setting to get my fist and brain used to the idea of CW again.
     I decided that the best thing to do would be to stay the hell out of the Extra Class portion of the CW band on 40 meters.  That way the chances of me running into a speed-of-light operator would be minimized.  So far, after 4 QSOs, I have been pleasantly surprised and pleased at my progress and I actually ENJOYED it! GASP!  I have no intention to attempt 20 wpm, tho.  I will stay right where I am comfortable.

A Better Way To Anchor The MFJ-2990 Vertical Antenna.

     I have 2 of the MFJ-2990 Vertical HF antennas and here is my method of anchoring them.  First, I use the MFJ-1903 Tilt-Over base.  This allows me to raise and lower the antenna without any help.  Don't try to raise it by trying to balance it vertically unless you have a second man to help position it on your mast.  Using the Tilt-Over base is the way to go.
     Here are my suggestions on guy ropes.  Use 3/16" black dacron rope.  Tie one end of it at an anchor point about 2/3 of the way up the antenna.  Tie the other end to a clothes line rope tensioner

     Next, I inserted a carabiner into the end of the screen door spring and attached the carabiner to the rope tensioner.  At the bottom of the screen door spring I looped a 4 ft. length of 1/8" wire rope through it and fastened it with small u-bolts specifically made for wire rope.  At the other end of the wire rope, I looped it through the ring on the anchor stake and secured it with u-bolts.

     Why do I use the 4 ft. of wire rope?  I have had rabbits, birds and even mice chew through the dacron rope if it is tied at the ground stake.  The critters can't chew through stainless steel. I have seen Robins peck at the dacron rope thinking it is a worm.

     This is the anchor that I use on the antenna.  It is available from DX Engineering.

    This is a close-up of the tensioner and spring assembly.  This setup works well because the spring keeps tension on the rope and also lets the vertical sway in the wind to some degree.  In the past, I had problems with guy ropes breaking when the wind got too strong because the antenna would jerk on the guy rope.  The spring prevents that from happening.

     One little tip...an easy way to thread the dacron rope through the tensioner is to take a piece of #12 copper wire about 8" long and make a 1/4" diameter loop in one end, just enough to get the dacron rope through.  Don't tie the dacron rope to the copper wire because the knot will not go through the tensioner. Poke the end without the loop down through the top end of the tensioner while keeping a hold of the end of the dacron rope to keep it from slipping through the loop on the copper wire.  You might need a vice-grip to grab onto the copper wire and pull it through.

     Adjusting the tension on the rope is easy.  To make it tighter, just pull the rope through the tensioner.  To loosen it, pull on the insert inside the steel loop of the tensioner to release the tensioner's grip on the rope.  The rope is held in place by 3 ball bearings in the top of it.

     The only downside of the tensioner is that the ball bearings are not stainless steel and tend to rust.  I don't know how hard those bearings are to remove, but I would like to find some stainless steel bearings to replace them with.

73,

John, AA9UF