Hey all, just got back in from the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. This year was an absolute blast and I would say attendance was much higher this year.

For our 2nd excursion to Dayton, we left on Wednesday morning to make the early Thursday morning start to Contest University (CTU) coordinated by K3LR. If you have never been, I highly recommend attending CTU. Much information is to be had as well as networking with fellow contesters but here and abroad. The material was fairly technical, although it applied directly to my operating methods and will hopefully help me work towards optimizing my time contesting. For the price ($50~$90) it was well worth the experience. More information including webinars are on their site http://www.contestuniversity.com/

Since Dave (NB3R) scored us Flea Market vendor spaces, we had to make the 7:30AM cutoff to get in the area to park. All three days consisted of 5AM wake-up calls, which I seemed to have no problem doing at Dayton.

More updates and photos to come later tonight.

73
–jeff
N3QO

This weekend Laurie and I visited the Trenton Computer Festival where there was some hamfest-like activity in a computer dominate show, but there were a few interesting things. It seemed like a typical computer show, flashing lights, techno music playing from cheap computer speakers and questionable software being sold, but there were some talks on various computer and amateur radio topics. One of the talks I sat in on was presented by two members of the Packrats VHF club on VHF communications.

While I sat in on the discussion, Laurie took her Extra exam, which I’m glad to report, she passed! Obtaining her Extra has been something she’s been working towards on and off over the course of the last year, bringing her up with the top ranks of amateur radio operators, more importantly being a woman with an Extra class amateur radio license. While she awaits the update to the FCC ULS (Universal Licensing System), she’s scoping out vanity callsigns.

While I’m on the topic of Amateur License exams (VE sessions), something that has been a big concern of mine has been the way these VE sessions have been carried out. When Laurie went to take her exam last year at the Wrightstown Hamfest (2010), the session ended up being loud and disruptive with people talking during the exam. Unfortunately she found that the Sunday session at this year’s Trenton computer show was almost just as bad.

I do believe the ARRL has set guidelines on how a VE session should be operated, of which one being a suitably quiet location for someone to take their exam. When I took exams with the Lehigh Valley Amateur Radio (LVARC) and Delaware-Lehigh Amateur radio (DLARC) clubs, sessions were run professionally and in environments appropriate for taking exams. Just something to keep in mind for VE’s running their own exam sessions.

Another Timonium hamfest has come and gone.
Buyer turnout seemed pretty good, vendor turnout was slightly thinner than last year, although there seems to have been more tailgating than years past. Most likely due to better weather. I didn’t see too many capital expenses being made although I heard someone talking on the local repeater net saying he sold an entire silent key’s vintage Collins station. Laurie got a chance to use her new HT, which I was sure she really enjoyed keeping up with everyone. No large purchases this year, simple odds and ends and new antennas for our HT’s, but we got a chance to meet up with the 1900 guys from as far out as Pittsburgh and South NJ. Overall another successful hamfest! Can’t wait till next year!

View at Picasa The 1900 Group. Timonium Hamfest 2011

View at Picasa Laurie and I. 2011 Timonium Hamfest.

The following day, Laurie and I made some adjustments to our 2 meter stack by adding a tilt-over base which allowed me to change the polarity on the cubical quad. Now I can get into N2KEJ’s repeater in South Jersey.

View at Picasa Make shift tilt-over for aluminum military mastNIKON COOLPIX L100 , 4.7, 19.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 211

View at Picasa Cubex 2m Cubical Quad and Diamond CP22E verticalNIKON COOLPIX L100 , 4.3, 12.2mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 80

I recently decided to migrate all the photo content from the website from Yahoo’s Flickr to Google’s Picasa. Most of the content has been updated with some 2009 posts remaining.

Throughout the migration, I was able to see how the station has changed over the course of the last 2 years and where it’s going in the near future. More changes are coming!

It’s a new year, even though we’re 3 months in and Hamfest season has begun. This last weekend as I mentioned in my 160m mobile post, was the 2011 Cherryville hamfest. Public turnout was good, although vendor turnout was a little thin. I made a few purchases primarily from Kathy at Sauder Electronics and found an older Daiwa SWR / wattmeter to replace the MFJ that was toasted late last year.

The Timonium hamfest is just around the corner, this weekend. Timonium is a major show that I highly recommend visiting. The major retail vendors are usually there and weather permitting has an excellent outdoor tailgating section and a large inside flea market area. More hamfest posts to come.

As I’m thinking about what to write about 2011, I’m realizing that 2010 was a pretty kick ass year in the hobby for me and I’m starting to realize I’ve done too much. Here’s a summary.

In February I was introduced to 160m and found a great group located in the PA/NJ/DE/MD area who are on 1900khz every night at 8pm. I would finally get to meet them face to face at the Timonium Hamfest in Maryland which would start an every other Saturday tradition of breakfast in Delaware with the guys.

The hexbeam I built back in the previous October (2009) survived the 2ft of snow we saw in March. I would find myself being invited to operate the ARRL DX contest at NE3F’s, which is always fun but also quite an endurance run. I also started operating HF mobile and ended up working VK7ZE on our way to our club station with 100w in a screwdriver antenna on 20m. He was working the states long-path, some 14k miles.

Early in April, I decided to try a 3 element Mosley TA-33 tribander and ended up selling my Hexbeam to Dave (K3GMT). Also in April, I went QRO with a Dentron Clipperton which would be a requirement for 160m in the summer. 1200watts with a set of 4 572B’s. The transformer makes a menacing growl when it’s cranked on 40m, truely a welcomed addition to the shack.

Early in May, Jon (N3INJ) called to tell me 6m was open, of which I didn’t have an antenna for. Within about 45 minutes, I had a 6m delta loop up in the air and started making first 6m contacts. Later that month Laurie and I made it to Dayton. This was our first and plan to make it a yearly event.

I started off the month of June by rotating the polarity of my 2m cubical quad to horizontal and start working 2m sideband. So far it’s been slow, but my furthest stations I’ve worked was Pittsburgh and Connecticut, but the ARRL VHF contest was a blast!

The 1900 guys and I would end up doing a Field Day Expedition to Assateague Island in Maryland. It took a fair bit of planning, governmental politics and a little bit of cash, but we pulled it off. We also pulled off toasting an Alpha amplifier and an Icom 7000. But we all made it out alive with a new experience under our belts and I experienced a pileup the night before on PSK from the beach.

Early in July, I installed the trapped 40/80/160 antenna and start getting S9+40-50 signal reports on 160m, something no G5RV would do. Later that month I would end up in,out and then back in the hospital for a perforated appendix, which made for good rest time for DX at home, but no HT’s in the hospital. I also missed out on IoTA weekend, bummer.

In August I started playing around with satellites and sold the Icom 746 and purchased a Yaesu 847. Just as quickly as I got into this mode, I was out of it, but I walked away with a QSO with Commander Doug Wheelock aboard the ISS while we were mobile.

September my HF configuration came full circle. I ended swapping out the Mosley for my previously rebuilt hexbeam. Luckily for me, K3GMT’s plans for it didn’t work out, and I have my creation back on the roof and working DX like a mad man. At the same time we relocated the 2 meter antennas to a newly installed guyed mast just behind the garage.

October 1st I would wake to find my shack in the basement flooded due to a large rainfall. A normally quiet sump pump would awaken in the night, but a tripped GFI breaker caused it to stop and leave me with a foot of water. No ham equipment was harmed, but the shack ended up being relocated to the dining room. Luckily for me I have a loving, understanding and licensed (general) YL. Speaking of which She and I worked the PA QSO party, but she has not yet given up my Icom 706. I don’t have the heart to take it back, and not that I need it, but it gives me an excuse to buy another rig.

The last quarter of 2010 has been fairly quiet. I’ve been voted into the board for my radio club, working towards DXCC, working more CW and playing around with APRS.

Laurie and I are both looking forward to a prosperous 2011, with me hopefully working HF mobile once again. Hi Hi.

While we were at Dayton Hamvention 2010, I saw an old Collins AM transmitter for sale on the back of someone’s pick-up truck. While doing a little googl’ing today I found Mike, W8BAC who has one in his basement collection.

Here’s Mike’s website.

View at Picasa

This past weekend I had the chance to make it out to Dayton, OH for Hamvention 2010. Dayton turned out to be a blast! I was able to find the Dentron MT-3000A tuner I’ve been looking for as well as found a hardly used Icom 91AD handheld. Meeting the vendors face to face was great until I encountered AES, which I will explain in another post. I heard that turnout was better than the past few years and just when I thought we had seen it all, there was yet another room to explore. Enjoy some photos.

View at Picasa Collins AM transmitter with Icom transceiver.	View at Picasa Elecraft K3 with the new P3 panadapter	View at Picasa Hara Arena. Aka Mecca.	View at Picasa Yaesu booth and Hank Williams mobile.	View at Picasa A very blurry Kenwood TS-590	View at Picasa Yaesu FT-9000
View at Picasa New Kenwood TS-590	View at Picasa Ben (KB3CTX), Dave (K3GMT), Me (N3QO), Laurie (KB3SIK)	View at Picasa Some form of clock.	View at Picasa Little did I know this would be my future radio. Kenwood TS-480SAT	View at Picasa The main floor of Dayton 2010	View at Picasa TenTec Orion II
View at Picasa Laurie (KB3SIK) and I	View at Picasa The new Icom IC9100	View at Picasa Dinner before we head home.	View at Picasa Linux in the Ham Shack Podcast

Sept. 12 – Pocono Area Hamfest – Stroudsburg, PA