Amateur Radio Station WA2BSW

A two land call in four land

2012-01-29T06:04:00.000-05:00

Since 1988 I have been operating in four land with a two land call. Although perfectly with in the rules, I believe a station call should carry the call area of its permanent location. So after 53 years with the same call, in March 2011 I started a quest to obtain a four land 1X2 call sign. My first 11 request ended in failure with my twelfth still pending (failure). At this point I have to decide whether or not I should stop trying at an even dozen.

2 Meter SSB Part 2

2011-11-24T09:06:00.000-05:00

On the last two Wednesday nights I tuned to the frequency of a long distance 2 meter SSB net. It was surprising that I could hear the net control station in South Central Ohio, 367 miles from my QTH. He was not very loud, but my little old 7 element beam is still on a pole on our back deck not very high above ground. It is obvious that 2 meter activity is different that I recall from yesteryear and could prove to be very interesting. I will remain on the outside looking in as it is highly unlikely that I will put together an antenna system capable of working such distances on 2 meters.

2 meter SSB

2011-11-18T07:24:00.000-05:00

Having failed at my efforts to find local 6 meter AM activity in the Atlanta area I decided to try looking for some local 2 meter AM or SSB activity. I operated 2 meter AM in the early 1960's and later in the mid 1980's I operated some 2 meter SSB from Central Jersey. I have not heard any AM, but met two friendly local operators on SSB. I am still on the hunt for more local RF. However, it would have to be within 100 miles from 270 degrees West of my QTH through north to about 80 degrees East for me to have a chance. In true form my 2 meter antenna is a very old 7 element yagi on a pole on our back deck and unless earthworms are on 2 meter SSB I am out of luck in the other directions.

Elecraft P3

2011-09-19T07:38:00.000-04:00

The Elecraft P3 Panadapter has been on line for a little over a week. I have never used a scope of any kind with my radios so I can not compare it to any other product. My thoughts about the P3 are strictly a judgement of the unit itself.

The P3 has been a great addition to the K3 and has changed the way I operate. Early in the morning I can see the desired portion of the 30 meter band at a glance. I can jump on a DX signal before it hits the spots and the onslaught begins. This is important when you run 50 watts into a ground mounted dipole (aka low). I do not operate SSB very often, but a few days ago 15 meters was like a pipeline to Europe. The Panadapter was great giving me a visual of the band and the strength of the signals received. I would like to make comments about the sound of some SSB signals (in this case US signals) and their bandwidth, but I will have to do some research first.

Ubuntu 11.04 - two issues

2011-09-02T07:51:00.000-04:00

If one of my thousands of followers (okay so you are the only one who has read this post) can shed some light on these issues it would be appreciated.

Ubuntu 11.04 issue - about 40% of the time Ubuntu 11.04 boots it displays a message that a certain script did not run. It appears to be the code for the tabs on the bottom of screen to select the various programs that are open. Any ideas?

A non Ubuntu 11.04 issue - the system locks once in a while. It appears to be the wireless mouse I am using. When the system locks, I shut off the mouse and the system unlocks. I have searched for a specific driver for my mouse. So far nothing has been found.

Saved by a selection during log in

2011-07-31T20:32:00.000-04:00

I was saved from the new Unity Desktop by switching back to "Ubuntu Classic" on the log in screen. Thanks ubuntu-news.net.

Ubuntu - 10.04 to 11.04

2011-07-31T16:19:00.000-04:00

As I updated my version of Ubuntu (10.04) over the last few months it appeared to lockup less frequently and handled my Ham Radio needs adequately. I still used my old logging and spotting Windows programs via Wine, but shifted to Chrome for my browser.

Not being able to leave well enough alone, I upgraded to version 11.04 yesterday. So far no lockups, but that silly bar came across the left side of the screen at least 25 time as I typed this posting. I know...operator error, but whose bright ideas was that bar anyway? I will give it some time and make changes if I can to the way the version operates, but so far the bar is an example of form over function in a big way.

6 Meters

2011-07-02T07:08:00.001-04:00

My 6 meter experience goes back to the late 50's and early 60's with crystal frequency control and AM. So I am certainly not an expert on current 6 meter operations, but I did have some fun over the last few weeks on the band. I do not know much about magic, but with 50 watts (both CW and SSB) and my M2 loop at about 10 feet above the deck I worked a several states (grids) and four entities.

I wish there was some local rag-chewing on the band in the Atlanta area (that I can hear with my limited ground wave coverage). I guess it is true, "you can't go home again."

Great CW Operator

2011-02-11T06:52:00.004-05:00

There is no question that running lower power and compromise antennas can add to the challenge of DX chasing. The good new is there will always be many new entities to put in the log.

Last evening there was a station from Sudan (ST2AR) on 30 meter CW working the pileup. It was some pileup and I am sure at his end it was even bigger. He was efficiently knocking the station off at a rapid but reasonable pace. He is a really good operator. I tried for over an hour with no luck. I went away for about 45 minutes and when I returned to the shack he was still at it. I called him about three or four time and he came back. I know what you are thinking, the pileup was smaller so I got through. No, it was skill all the way!

Ubuntu - a big mistake

2011-01-31T07:46:00.000-05:00

I can only say one thing - it was a big mistake switching to Ubuntu. I will go back to Windows once I have to replace my shack PC. The first thing to go will be the on/off button.

Two more Ubuntu Posts - #2 (Only Ubuntu)

2011-01-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

Well I did it. My shack computer is only running Ubuntu 10.04. Everything else is gone.

Oh yes, as I was typing this post Ubuntu locked up and I had to reboot. I hope I made the right decision.

Two more Ubuntu Posts - #1

2011-01-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well the dual boot process failed again this morning. This appears to be a side effect of a system upgrade (per a web search). So far two solutions were found. Reinstall Ubuntu and lose all the data (this is what I did last time there was a catastrophic failure of the boot process) or make some small code changes somewhere on the planet. This should be a red flag to me that Ubuntu is too technical for me.

I have four options:

Go back to Vista - Blue Screens and all
Try to reinstall Vista and hope it finally works
Buy and install a copy Windows 7
Reinstall Ubuntu under the dual boot system and never upgrade
Blow away Vista and install and run Ubuntu by itself and hope for the best

Hopefully just one more Ubuntu Post to come.

BTW I backup my log every time I shut down the PC so no more log data has been lost.

Final comments about Ubuntu (maybe)

2011-01-24T08:42:00.000-05:00

Just my thoughts -

As a basic user, Ubuntu calls for a bit more attention then I care to give to an operating system. This may be because I am use to the old and only want to use the software and not think too much. It does run better then the operating system that came with my laptop (Vista), but not as well as XP and so far 7. It locks up way too much on both programs running under Wine and native programs. I consider a lockup better then the Vista Blue Screen, but unacceptable.

The bottom line -

At this point, I will continue to use Ubuntu as long as my current shack laptop is in use. Also. I will not purchase another laptop until I am sure its operating system is not another ME or Vista.

Ubuntu Update

2011-01-09T07:51:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu 10.04 has been running okay. I have had a few system locks, but survived without a data loss. The locks were on a program running under Wine, but I can not say that was the issue. I am reading a book on Ubuntu so I do things correctly. Once I am deep enough into my reading I will try a native logging program to see if the locking is eliminated. This may take some time as the Ubuntu book is competing with several others for my reading time.

Note 1: Early on I tried a native logging program with no success. I followed the trouble shooting tips, but still it would not launch. I am hopeful that my book will shed some light on the problem.

Note 2: Is Ubuntu worth the effort.? The jury is still out, but I will say that if my Radio PC was on XP or Windows 7 I would not be writing these posts.

Ubuntu - friend or foe

2010-12-22T06:56:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu is not always friendly.

I am using joint operating systems by selecting between Ubuntu and Windows as the system boots up. Yesterday after Ubuntu was selected the system just went to a reboot. I tried the process over and over again with the same results. I realize this issue is most likely with the startup script and not Ubuntu itself, but guess who supplied the code? I reloaded Ubuntu and lost logging data in the process. Yes I do backups, but only every few days. It looks like it better be multiple times a day. The jury is still out on Ubuntu, but if I have to pick between blue screens and lost data, I think I will stick with the blue screens.

Ubuntu on the shack computer

2010-12-18T06:42:00.000-05:00

For the past several months I have been considering the use of Linux on the shack computer so I am trying Ubuntu 10.04. In my opinion, Linux is not simple to use and requires a level of knowledge I do not possess (yet). For starters, I am using Chrome as my web browser and for the radio I am using my windows apps for logging (N3FJP's Contact Log) and DX spotting (CC Cluster) running under Wine. I will keep up the process for a while and see how it goes.

That DX station from yesterday

2010-11-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

Well.....do you remember the DX station I talked about yesterday? Well maybe they are not so bad. They hung around 30 meters longer this morning working NA and they are in the log.

Tnx
gud DX es 73

Working DX with low power and meager antennas

2010-11-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

I enjoy chasing DX on CW. I only run 50 watts and minimal antennas so a little help from the propagation gods is always appreciated. I respect and follow the DX station's instructions to the pileup and realize it is totally in their hands.

I had an interesting situation on 30 meters this morning. A rare station was on, but very weak working another part of the world. Per his/her instructions I just stood by and waited their call for NA. Also, I knew as the gray line approached conditions would improve for my little 50 watts (so would the competition). As expected the DX station's signal improved and really was loud. Finally after two hours of waiting, he/she called for NA. After only about 10 minutes the station QSY'd......that was it. Once again it is up to the DX station to work anyone he/she wishes and I realize that is the way it is. However, that was rude.

The HQ-140-X is alive

2010-09-03T17:13:00.000-04:00

After an examination of the components/wiring of the HQ-140-X power was applied. It worked. It needs cleanup and I am sure it has weak tubes and caps that are about ready to give way, but signals can be heard (especially two feet from the dummy load). More work to be done, but all is on the right track (I hope).

Hammarlund HQ-140-X

2010-08-27T15:51:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I passed up an opportunity to purchase a Hallicrafter S 22 R receiver that would have been my first attempt at bringing a boat anchor back to life. Well - today I received another opportunity to revive an old receiver. A friend gave me a mid 1950's Hammarlund HQ-140-X. This should be an interesting project.

Called a lid

2010-08-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

I was called a lid today at 20:39 UTC on 14021.61 Mhz by an unidentified station. I was calling Val UT7NY and I assume the unidentified station was also calling him. I heard Val send my call so I responded and at that point the unidentified station jumped on (QRMing Val) and called me a lid. Hearing this I apologized and told Val what happened. I got the impression from him that I was the station he was calling all along.

I would not knowingly QRM anyone for any contact no matter how rare ( it is nice to work the Ukraine but it is not rare). I believe calling someone a lid is a very strong statement. Before doing so one should take into account band conditions, QRM/QRN, like call signs, sending/receiving ability and human error.

If the unidentified station happens to read this I apologize again and remind the individual that we are all human.