XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

Amateur/Ham Radio

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Weekly Information / Mentor / New License Thread

Posted: 23 May 2022 06:00 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uvznb9/weekly_information_mentor_new_license_thread/


This thread is used for those who just passed their tests to introduce themselves, a place to ask questions that you think dont deserve its own
thread and a place to brag!
Posts will be sorted by new!
Before posting, please make sure to read our Rules, FAQs, and look over our Wiki Page as your question might have already been answered. Also, check
out our guidelines about posting personal information.

Weekly Nets And Chat Rooms: DMR Net: 0000 UTC Tuesday (Monday night US,
8pm Eastern). No net control. Brandmeister TG 98003. Also linked via
echolink. More info can be found here. HF Net: 01:30 UTC Monday Morning
(Sunday night US). Coordinate via IRC, no net control. Information can be
found here CW Noob Net: 02:30 UTC Saturday Morning (Friday night US). Coordinate via IRC, no net control. Information can be found here Official
IRC Channel - #amateurradio on Geekshed. Link to web-based client is here
but feel free to use whatever client you like. Official Discord Server - /r/amateurradio is on discord. Click here to join Collegiate Ham Radio
Groupme is here Young Amateurs Communications Ham Team EchoLink Net 19:00 Central Saturday Night /r/amateurradio group on the Brandmeister network -
TG 98003 - Listen Live - This talkgroup is bridged to AllStarLink node
48224 and Echolink node W5RI-L and on D-Star via XLX216 Module E North
American Traffic and Awards Net Nightly at 22:30Z on 7.185. If youd like to join a weekly net for new and returning amateurs, check out the details at http://ftroop.vk6flab.com, the net runs every week on Saturday, from 00:00
to 01:00 UTC on Echolink, IRLP, AllStar Link and 2m FM via various
repeaters. You can also listen via the brandmeister hoseline! Link on
homepage. submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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What is the Net on 7.268?

Posted: 25 May 2022 07:49 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxj21n/what_is_the_net_on_7268/


Last Tuesday 5/17 around 20:00-21:00 Eastern (00:00 UTC) I heard a net and
I cannot figure out what it was.
There was one centralized net control operator who could call on specific people, they in turn would read off a number and call on a secondary
station. Many were mobile. When they got a response they would report it
back to the primary net control operator. Her name was Katie but I missed
her call.
It was the most professional and well organized net Ive ever heard and the number of people involved was huge. I heard at least 50 operators all
across the country in just a few minutes listening.
It almost seemed like they were playing a game, with a bingo sheet in front
of them or something.
Searching google
- I do not think it was the "68group", wrong time of day
- I do not think it was Waterways group - again wrong time of day
-Nothing was said about Hurricanes or anything like that, so I didnt think
it was the HWN.
Anybody know this group? submitted by /u/Thetanir
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Why doesn't my amplifier work?

Posted: 25 May 2022 05:29 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxganf/why_doesnt_my_amplifier_work/

submitted by /u/_pluscrafter
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FT8 Reception Question:

Posted: 25 May 2022 06:29 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxhey5/ft8_reception_question/


I hope you dont mind answering these at times these noobie questions, but I find the responses and information very helpful here, (much more than I get with a search engine.. LOL!) With that, here goes, Understanding I have a
attic longwire cut for 10 meters only, How is it that I can see lots of DX station in QSO with other "close by" stations in the Band Activity column
of WSJT-X but never see them highlight or call CQ? I attempt to reach them
by calling CQ (Station Specific) but never get answered. Are these stations just way out of my range? Is the receive signal more attainable than transmission signal? I would love to upgrade antennas to an outside stick
or radial, but need something to comform to a HOF regulated antenna or
stealth like appearence. Thx for listening once again! submitted by /u/N2PKT5004
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Could someone help identify

Posted: 24 May 2022 01:04 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwznv2/could_someone_help_identify/

submitted by /u/saffysaff
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Used tower or roof tower on a shed?

Posted: 25 May 2022 08:12 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxjjlp/used_tower_or_roof_tower_on_a_shed/


Moved to a new house and want to put up a hexbeam.
The two methods I am considering are: Using a Glen Martin RT-1832 17.5
foot roof tower on top of my 10 X 12 shed roof. Not exactly a whole lot of weight to hold the tower down but I would certainly follow the mounting/blocking instructions as well as beef up the roof in any way I
could. I had an RT-424 4.5 foot tower installed at my old house on the roof with some satellite antennas and never had any issues, but it was a much smaller tower on a much larger roof. I have a friend who has offered to
give me a used tower, but Im not sure how I feel about digging a large hole
and adding concrete to support a tower that I have been told is at least "a
bit rusty". Hes also not sure of exactly what brand it is, nor its age.
Either way, the antenna will be about 35 feet above ground (shed is 11
feet, and 17.5 feet of tower plus a few feet of mast, OR, a ~30 foot ground mounted tower). Also, the antennas position relative to my transceiver will
be about the same, as I had planned on mounting the used tower right near
the shed with a wall brace. So, feedline length wont change (about 250 feet total).
I am planning on using the RT-424 on the houses roof again for satellite antennas in order to keep the feedlines short. Theres less of a horizon
view from the house, but its not critical once the satellite gets overhead.
I cant use the RT-424 on the shed and the RT-1832 on the house because the township says 15 feet above a roof is the max. I dont really care about exceeding that on the shed though because they dont have any rules about mounting anything to an accessory structure and I think they would care
about a large tower on the house more so than way in the backyard where the shed is.
I would like to go the roof tower route because its easy to install and
tilting the tower over to install/check on stuff would be easy. I could use
a rope and snatch block to a nearby fence and would be able to reach the antenna with a step ladder on the ground.
Although the used tower is free, I am hesitant to do all the required installation work for a tower that is "a little rusty". In addition, it
will be difficult to tilt over and raise because it has to tilt downhill,
and I dont have any good places to install a winch or anything. While I
will live in this new house for a long time, I just dont feel like pumping
9000 lbs of concrete into the ground is a good idea if I ever did wish to
move.
So what do you think? Is this a good recipe for liberating my sheds roof
from its Earthly mounting? submitted by /u/helihammer
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Learning from my screwups

Posted: 24 May 2022 02:00 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux0yna/learning_from_my_screwups/


This is not a plug and play hobby.
In the less than two months Ive been licensed Ive made plenty of mistakes. Among the things Ive learned are...
-Buying a cheap mobile antenna on Amazon (that doesnt even bother listing a wattage rating), hooking it to an 80 watt radio, and then ragchewing for 30 minutes, can make things stop working. Luckily it was the cheap antenna
that broke, and not the expensive radio.
-Its important to check the specs before you buy equipment. For example, if
you buy a radio that needs 20 amps during transmit, you probably should not
buy a power supply that outputs 7 amps. (thankfully I noticed this foul up before I actually hooked up anything)
-When tuning a dipole dont cut the wire until you are sure you wont need to make it longer. I figured that part out on my own. What I learned the hard
way is that you cant just wrap the extra wire a couple times, create a
pigtail hanging down, and expect the SWR to change much. It turns out that pigtail is still connected, and electrons are perfectly capable of making a
90 degree turn.
There were moments during all of these that I wondered what the heck I was doing and if I should just give it all up. Im glad I didnt do that. The learning and fun has been worth the frustration.
What fun foul ups have you all made? submitted by /u/beardedpeteusa
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APRS message group filters (Yaesu)

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:39 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxldut/aprs_message_group_filters_yaesu/


Im trying to wrap my head around how the APRS message group filters work on Yaesu HTs, and the manuals are really brief and cryptic about this. By
default, you have these groups configured on the FT5D: G1: ALL****** G2: CQ******* G3: QST****** G4: YAESU**** G5: (blank) B1: BLN****** B2: BLN*
B3: BLN*
From what Ive gathered, messages or bulletins matching any of these filters will be accepted by the radio. Is that correct? The big lingering question
is how the asterisks behave here. Are they wildcards that match any zero or more characters? e.g. if someone sends a hypothetical message to ALLHAM,
would the ALL****** filter match that group ID? What if the filter were configured as ALL*, would it still match? Is it possible to use a question
mark (or some other symbol) to match exactly one character? Im assuming if
you configure a group filter for "CLUB" and someone sends a message
to "CLUB", it would match, but a message to "CLUB2" would not. Correct? submitted by /u/davidbrit2
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Persistence pays dividends when working with antennas.

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:38 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxld24/persistence_pays_dividends_when_working_with/


Ive been thinking of building a Lazy H antenna for 10m now that the sunspot number is rising. So I did what I normally do, read everything I could find regarding the Lazy H. Books first then forums.
I found this hams struggle with the Lazy H fascinating. https://groups.google.com/g/rec.radio.amateur.antenna/c/H_S7ntAP3tA The breakthrough is described in a July 8th and July 12th posts.
A less persistent person would have given up in the first month and cursed
the Lazy H. Draw your own parallels to some hams opinions regarding types
of vertical or end fed antennas.
So many times Ive built an antenna that by all accounts should work but
didnt work. Thats almost always due to the antenna in its environment or
the antenna system not the antenna in isolation. Problems that modeling, at least to the extent Im willing to invest in, isnt much help in solving. Sometimes Im not persistent enough and learn nothing from my efforts.
Why a lazy H, I believe it performs slightly better at low elevation than a Yagi due to the driven vertically stacked elements. submitted by /u/ArmstrongRotor
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How to use CW Skimmer with no VFO control? | Rockmite 40

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:31 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxl7yg/how_to_use_cw_skimmer_with_no_vfo_control/


I just purchased a copy of CW skimmer and want to use it with my Rockmite
QRP CW. However, I cant figure out how to focus the software on any CW Im seeing.
Instructions say to adjust the vfo knob, but this radio doesnt have one. It allows swapping between 7.030Mhz and 7.040Mhz. There is no granular
adjustment. Does CW Skimmer really have no way to adjust where it is
focusing on a radio with one frequency? submitted by /u/LinuxIsFree
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Noob Question About Range

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:24 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxl29p/noob_question_about_range/


I just got a Baofeng BF F8HP for emergency preparedness purposes. I’m considering getting my family one as well. I was wondering if any of you
could explain to me if it would be possible to reach family in Texas from
my home in Maryland through any means such as repeaters? The purpose of
this would be to send status updates to them if the grid collapsed (which
it has, recently in TX). Thanks in advance! submitted by
/u/EmergencyNarcan
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Earth magnetic waves

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:10 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxks0z/earth_magnetic_waves/


https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-magnetic-waves-have-been-discovered-oscillating-around-earth-s-core
submitted
by /u/flyingelvisesss
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What to look for at the hardware store

Posted: 25 May 2022 09:04 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxkndv/what_to_look_for_at_the_hardware_store/


So when I was newly licensed I loved going to the local hardware store,
Home Depot, Lowes, etc. walking through the store and trying to figure out
what I could use.
For me some good finds was a 25 ft painters pole that I found on discount
and 550 cord. I was able to get on the air with my EFHW with that setup.
I’ve also had some really good luck at places like Salvation Army and Goodwill, Habitat For Humanity restore, found about 50 ft of 50ohm coax,
Spools of RG-6, and other tools.
What places have you all had luck with and what do you look for when
going? submitted by /u/AltuveBuzzerBeater
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CP5-NMO install help

Posted: 25 May 2022 08:43 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uxk6u5/cp5nmo_install_help/


Hello, Im still a Pretty need ham and I just need some help on where to
install my new antenna mount on a 2019 Hyundai Tucson submitted by /u/blackbetty17766
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Abbree antenna...

Posted: 24 May 2022 01:34 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux0d7j/abbree_antenna/

submitted by /u/Technical-Ad6091
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Can I use my magloop antenna in the rain?

Posted: 24 May 2022 02:41 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux1u68/can_i_use_my_magloop_antenna_in_the_rain/


I picked up a magloop so that I could get on HF (at least without my mom
having a stroke about a huge antenna in her yard, haha). I tried it out
today, and heard myself on a WebSDR about 1,000 miles away! The only bummer
is that right after this, it started raining, and it looks like it’s going
to for the next couple of days.
My magloop seemed to get finicky on the network analyzer when people (and obviously metal) get near it. Does this mean that I should be wary about
using it in the rain?
I’m on the verge of actually making contacts with my first ever HF setup,
and the suspense is killing me, lol.
On another note, if you happen to catch K0XAS on the air, could you let me
know how it sounds? I’m using a Swan SW-240 because it was cheap, and I’m still trying to make sure it’s working well 😁 submitted by /u/Professor_Stank
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is it bad to tighten an sma to bnc adapter alot

Posted: 24 May 2022 07:18 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux74ng/is_it_bad_to_tighten_an_sma_to_bnc_adapter_alot/


I have a yaesu with a diamond sma male to bnc adapter and the only way i
can make it not turn when unlatching the antenna is keeping the bnc adapter very tight. Is this bad for the sma connector to do this or are bnc
adapters supposed to be very tight? submitted by /u/ZER0675
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100 watts on 26 gauge EFHW wire

Posted: 24 May 2022 06:11 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux5wmj/100_watts_on_26_gauge_efhw_wire/


With my 20 watt G90, Ive been using an EFHW made from 26 gauge copper-clad steel stealth antenna wire and a small loading coil (a few turns of wire wrapped around a tube). Im planning to upgrade to a 100W radio, and Id
prefer not to pull down and replace the wire since it was difficult to get
up there. If I replace the 49:1 matching unit with a 200W-rated LDG 49:1 matching unit, should this be OK? Or do I need heavier gauge wire? Ill be operating mostly SSB, but some CW and FT8 too. submitted by /u/blinkybit
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Great Pics from Dayton Hamfest 2022 (courtesy of Nick England)

Posted: 24 May 2022 11:03 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwwy2l/great_pics_from_dayton_hamfest_2022_courtesy_of/

submitted by /u/FlummoxedOne
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Hams

Posted: 23 May 2022 05:01 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwdy9a/hams/

submitted by /u/meagain52
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ARRL website still messed up? Can't log in, then I can, but it still thinks
I'm not?

Posted: 24 May 2022 08:17 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwt75h/arrl_website_still_messed_up_cant_log_in_then_i/


Ive never had an ARRL account, but Im trying to learn how to use EZNEC and
I read that there are a few good QST articles from 2000 that cover the
topic for beginners, and I needed an account to get access to the PDFs on
the ARRL website. Ok, no problem. Create and account, save the password,
try to log in, and... Nope. "Login failed".
So I click register again, and Im taken to my account page where Im very clearly logged in and can change settings. So I go back to the page with
the PDFs, nope, still not logged in. I click the login button so I can
enter my credentials, and instead of bringing up entry boxes, the page
simply refreshes and says login failed. Cue me refreshing the page,
clearing the cache, doing all the things to no avail.
Im running chrome, so I decide to try edge. Go to the page, click login, actually get a chance to enter my credentials, and it says login failed. Bummer, refresh the page, and hey wait! Im actually logged in!
Click the PDF, and Im redirected to a page that says I need to log in, and
it gives me the boxes to do so.. but if I look in the top bar of the
website, I see my name and a logout button, because Im already logged in.
Just so very broken. I dont know whats going on there, but I managed to
find an archive of QST articles from the era somewhere else. submitted
by /u/Beastlykings
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Where to read a coherent explanation of CW theory?

Posted: 24 May 2022 09:36 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwv00f/where_to_read_a_coherent_explanation_of_cw_theory/


So this seems super basic and Im embarrased that I cant find good
resources. Looking on youtube I found KE0OGs explaination bewildering and
other explanations seems to follow a similar glossing over of the details.
I literally cant find info on google, its mostly forum posts, half of which
you need a subscription to access.
Theres so much I dont understand that I think a detailed treatment is what
I need to read, but Ill just throw some questions out here if people want
to engage with my ignorance.
(1) How do offsets work, generally, and why are they needed?
(2) Since offset is a function of your tone setting (I think!), wouldnt a person tuning your CQ naturally transmit either off-frequency or off-tone
from your perspective unless their tone is set identical to yours? Wouldnt offset need to be a fixed quantity in order for operators to be able to faithfully tune to the CQ frequency?
Example of caller/responder being off frequency: caller ▼ tone ▼carrier ----------------------------------- response ▲ tone ▲ carrier
(3) Ive heard from multiple places that you transmit at an offset from your listen frequency, but that would imply that operators need to determine the offset direction of the sending station or risk transmitting waaay off-band from the CQ caller. Am I missing something here, or is this just bad info. Example of caller/responder being offset-direction mismatched: caller ▼
send ▼ listen ------------------------------------------------- response ▲ send ▲ listen
(4) What is the carrier and how does it differ from whatever is transmitted
by the BFO? If the BFO is transmiting a tone on a different frequency, why
do we even need a carrier? Cant we just tune to whatever frequency has the tone?
(5) What is the bandwidth of a CW signal? Do they differ on different bands
or equipment?
Edit: Is this explanation by KE0OG misleading or wrong? It describes a
tx/rx offset that is a function of your preferred listening tone pitch and
I think its the source of many of my misconceptions. submitted by /u/had_had_had_had
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hot glue and antenna components: yes or no?

Posted: 24 May 2022 05:44 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux5eja/hot_glue_and_antenna_components_yes_or_no/


Ive got one of K6ARKs ultra tiny portable antenna kits. Its basically a connector with a circuit board and a torroid ring. Its really fucking cool
and about 1/2 the length of my pinkie.
I want to secure the torroid to be the circuit board a little better, would
hot glue work, or would it be conductive? I just got this set up and I dont want to short it out before getting to enjoy it. submitted by
/u/ReadyButNot
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Good starter HT?

Posted: 24 May 2022 01:52 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux0rzq/good_starter_ht/


Looking to buy my first HT, and was just wondering if anyone had
suggestions. From what I gather, the Yaesu FT60 seems to be a really solid choice. I think Im OK with analog. I am interested in possibly using echolink/IRLP/etc, but it seems I dont need digital for that. I read the
FT70 is newer, but the battery life sucks. General wisdom seems to be to
stick with the big three--Yaesu, Icom or Kenwood. Thanks! submitted by /u/physical_kid
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Non JT8 digital on HF?

Posted: 24 May 2022 08:01 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/uwsuai/non_jt8_digital_on_hf/


After a bit of a hiatus I’ve gotten back into digital modes on HF, namely JT8.
Last time I used such modes was a few years ago when JT65 was big (JT9
having never really taken off, though I preferred it due to my small
apartment and compromise antenna at the time making every dB count). There
was some PSK31 traffic, as well as some other modes for other purposes like WSPR.
These days, it seems like FT8 is the big game in town. While it’s fun, variety is the spice of life and I like to mix things up. However, where I
am (an hour outside of San Francisco) it seems like non-FT8 digital modes
on 20m (my favorite HF band) are pretty much dead.
Band conditions are nice and I’m making FT8 contacts as far as Australia
and Europe, as well as North and South America, but the usual frequencies
for PSK31 are silent. Even JS8call, based on FT8, seems to be completely
quiet here.
Am I missing something, or has FT8 essentially borged all the other digital traffic on HF? submitted by /u/heypete1
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EB55 PSA/help

Posted: 24 May 2022 08:47 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ux8okt/eb55_psahelp/


Hey all, Picked up a Bluetti EB55 about a month ago or so, works great.
Until today. Wanted to reprogram some channels in my AT-778uv, and instead
of dragging the laptop to the truck, figured I could bring the radio inside
to mess with it. Crimped up an adapter, plugged it into the DC output, got
it reprogrammed, messed around a bit on a dummy load, worked fine.
Hooked up the roll-up Ed-Fong hanging about 5ish feet away in the window,
keyed up on low power for all of ~2 seconds and the DC output of the
Bluetti shut itself off, and the screen froze.
That was about a half-hour ago, none of the buttons work, and the screen
that normally blanks after a minute or less is still on.
Anybody know of a secret reset code for this thing? I get nothing on any of
the outputs, and nothing if I plug it in to charge.
Waiting to hear back from their support.
Ive used the Ed-Fong with a handheld plenty of times while the Bluetti was
in the same room powering other things and never had a problem.
Guessing a radio-power supply ground problem of some kind? submitted by /u/WhoStoleHallic
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