N3QO

Just like Frampton…

jeff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:22:31 +0000

…it’s alive!!!

Yesterday, since I ran out of room in a 1 car garage, we finished assembling the Mosley in the backyard. All that’s left is to install the feedpoint and run some frequency sweeps on it. And No, that isn’t a miniature picnic table.

Rotor swap

jeff — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:21:53 +0000

While the weather was clear today, I swapped out the existing rotor with the new Yaesu G-800SA I recently acquired. The mounting went well and it turns a good degree faster than the Channel Master rotor that was up there.

Vintage / Modern convergence

jeff — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:58:10 +0000

I just had to do it… I had a spare D104 and an Icom microphone connector.

This mic rocks on the air!

QSL Card Collection

jeff — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:08:00 +0000

If you haven’t noticed already, a new section on the right column called QSL Cards. This is a “live” collection of QSL and eQSL cards as they come in. Click the QSL Cards link above for a bigger version.

Almost there….

jeff — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:04:34 +0000

We’re just about ready to do an new antenna installation within the next week or so here at N3QO. This project was a chance in opportunity with everything lining up completely unexpectedly. The Yaesu G800SA rotor just arrived today. I’m still waiting on the mast mount bracket for it and the shipment of replacement parts from Mosley for the beam. Weather permitting I’m planning on the installation next weekend.

Soon the homebrew hexbeam and light duty rotor will be available to the highest bidder. I’m also looking forward to the days when the “large” expenses are over to get this station to where I want it. Almost there!

Free Laptops College Students

The Mosley has arrived.

jeff — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Laurie and I drove down to Fredrick, Maryland this morning to pick up the Mosley TA-33. It’s in good shape, except for a few trap covers here and there. Counting the days until I can get it in the air.

A quick advertisement…

jeff — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:50:32 +0000

I had to stop and mention this one..
On Tuesday night I ordered a 4u blank rack panel from rackmount.com. It ended up arriving Thursday. How awesome is that? I mean, yeah I know I can order stuff from HRO and if I get the order in by 3:30pm or so, I get it next day via UPS ground. Also very cool, but I wanted to give rackmount.com a plug.

Good job guys!

A conversion to the conventional

jeff — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:15:04 +0000

A new addition is on it’s way to the N3QO station, a used Mosley TA-33 beam. I’ve been told about Mosley antennas over the course of the last year, but much like the hexbeam, I overlooked it. Probably because I didn’t see them in the magazines or supply catalogs. Most recently after speaking with a local ham on 160m and assuming his beam was a Cushcraft A3S, I was again re-introduced to the Mosley TA-33. From what I’ve been hearing, this particular design has been around 40-50 years and it’s the one design other vendors seem to copy.

So this weekend, we travel down to Maryland to pickup our new addition. It needs a few little parts here and there, but I’m anticipating a large jump in performance from the ever popular hexbeam that graces these pages. Of course I’ll post my findings once the new antenna is installed.

This also creates the requirement to replace the existing TV style rotor with a Yaesu G800SA or better. I’m choosing the 800 as my baseline because of the planned additions to grace the mast that the Mosley is expected to populate.

More updates soon..

160m Inverted L

jeff — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:08:38 +0000

Saturday we threw 123 feet of wire in the air in an “L” configuration for 160m. The “pin” side connects to the L while the shield connects to the existing radial field for the other vertical antenna. Signal reports are slightly better. We’re waiting for the snow to melt to shoot new lines through the trees to hopefully get it to it’s permanent location. Below is the interface box. Seeing about 40 ohms at the feedpoint.

Got snow???

jeff — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:53:18 +0000

Blizzard of 2010 in Pottstown, PA