I'm still here.

I have been neglecting the blog. It has been one month since my last post. Various things of interest have occurred during that time but I haven't made the time to post anything about them. I've done several SOTA activations and chases. I've also been looking into my HF options. I'm going to try and make myself sit down and write about them this weekend.

24 Easy SOTA Chaser Points

Phil, KK6YYD, activated three summits today: W6/NS-179 (Signal Peak), W6/NS-389 (Buzzard Roost), and W6/NS-155 (Sand Ridge). I logged contacts with him on all three summits, which are in the northern Sierra Nevada and well over 90 miles away from my home QTH (station). Each of them was worth 8 points; I was able to more than double my chaser points, from 15 to 39. He was working 146.520 MHz FM.

The Shack: A Work in Progress

Shown are my awesome Yaesu FT-857D transceiver and a Diamond SX-1100 SWR meter. The antenna cable is connected via an MFJ-4601 FeedThru Window Panel. An MFJ-4125 switching power supply powers the radio. My rig is very simple because I'm only set up for VHF and UHF so far. Once I add an HF antenna (for long-distance "DX" contacts), an antenna tuner will be added to the equipment on the table.

To the left, on the window ledge, is my trusty Radio Shack PRO-651 handheld scanner. Posted on the bulletin board is my first  QSL card (!).

When I get around to finishing the shack, there will be a small bookshelf next to the table for my growing collection of amateur radio literature, and the bulletin board and various certificates will be on the wall.

The First Antenna is Up

The mast--a 10-foot length of galvanized conduit--is mounted to the 4x4 railing corner post of the landing, which is just under 10 feet above the ground. I attached it with two large screw-type hose clamps, one at the top and one at the bottom of the post. It seems secure and has held up well, so far, in the winds that are common here. The cable runs through a window on the far side of the building; I used an MFJ window pass-through.

My ham shack is located on the upper floor of a detached garage to the rear of our house. My rig consists of a Yaesu FT-857D HF/6m/2m/70cm transceiver, along with an MF-4125 switching power supply and an LDG Z-11 Pro II antenna tuner. Photos of the inside of the shack to come soon (hopefully).

The antenna is a KB9VBR J-Pole, tuned for the 2-meter band (VHF); it also works well on the 70-cm band (UHF). I'm still researching HF antennas for those long-distance (DX) contacts.

The two satellite TV dishes are inactive.

My First QSL Card!

I just received the first of what I hope will be many QSL cards over the coming years. It confirms this Summits-on-the-Air (SOTA) QSO (contact) with Phil, KK6YYD, of Placerville, California.

Along with this card comes the realization that I should start thinking about designing my own card.

5 Watts, Nearly 100 Miles

Today, I logged a Summits-on-the-Air contact with Philip, KK6YYD (my role was that of "chaser"). He was activating Mt. Price (W6/NS-377), near South Lake Tahoe, California. We were on 2 meters (146.520 MHz) FM. I find this contact to be especially noteworthy because we were both operating at 5 watts (indoors on a handheld, in my case) and were approximately 98 miles (158 km) away from each other. It was a clear, hot, sunny day of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37+ degrees Celsius); could that have been a factor in helping the propagation?

Ham Shack Progress

I have been slowly putting together my home radio station. I hope to have it operational by the end of this week.

The shack is going into a room above the detached garage to the rear of the house. The room is finished, with carpeting and central heat and air. The Yaesu FT-857D is connected to the power supply and the 2-meter J-pole antenna. The antenna's 10-foot mast is mounted to the corner 4 x 4 railing post of the deck at the top of the stairs to the entrance. The deck is just over 9 feet above the ground, so the top of the antenna is just shy of 25 feet high. The radio is essentially operational, although I'm still learning how to use it. I plan to add an additional, HF (high frequency) antenna for long-distance ("DX") contacts. I'm still wading through the many options to decide which antenna is best for my situation. We are renting the house, so everything needs to be able to be removed easily, plus space is somewhat limited; I'm leaning toward some sort of vertical antenna with a simple mast-mount like the 2-meter antenna.

Soon to come--hopefully--will be photos of the (almost) finished shack.