Where Did He Go?

Thought for the day:  The more we learn about the people around the world, the smaller and friendlier the world becomes.

[THEME: Amateur radio]

I like UZBEKISTAN.

Can't say that I knew much about it before I got into amateur radio, but my experiences on the air have taught me more about world geography than I ever learned in school.

But my reasons for liking Uzbekistan in particular?

 Story time.



My husband and I often operated on the air at the same time. Not that big a deal, really. He'd be on one side of the room,  I'd be on the other, and we simply didn't operate on the same part of the radio spectrum at the same time.

But we DID use antennas that were mounted on the same tower.

HIS tower. Matter of fact, HIS antennas, too.

So, one day, I was at my station operating 20 meters, (great for worldwide contacts) and my hubby was on the other side of the room at his station operating 6 meters. (AKA "the magic band" because of its unpredictable behavior) I was chatting with a gentleman in Uzbekistan, and copying down his information, when all of a sudden, the signal disappeared. Just, BOOM! Now ya hear him, now ya don't.

You see, even though we were using two different antennas, they were both controlled by a single rotator. Which my husband happened to rotate. So, he was able to tune in the station he was chasing, but I lost mine.

But it was HIS tower. HIS antennas. HIS rotator.

So I was outta luck. Not happy about it, but I couldn't very well complain. (Did I mention it was HIS tower?)

AHEM...

This is MY tower, and MY antennas, which my sweet husband put up soon after that incident.








                                  So, yes ...  I'm rather fond of good ol' Uzbekistan.

Brewing Up Some Fun

Thought for the day:  Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.  [Mary Lou Cook]

[THEME: Amateur radio]

Today, it's all about HOMEBREW.

Um, not THIS kind.

Well, yeah, I suppose amateur radio operators could brew their own adult beverages, but the kind of homebrew I'm talking about is equipment ... equipment they build with a healthy dollop of ingenuity, odds and ends from their junk boxes, and their own two hands. (Or perhaps with an all-parts-included kit, and a keen ability to follow instructions.)

In the early days of radio, amateurs had little recourse but to build their own stuff. Very little was available commercially, and what was available was too high-dollar for most to afford. So amateur radio enthusiasts started out with a can-do do-it-yourself attitude that remains with many in the hobby today. 

I'm no master builder, but I've even built a few things.

Like this simple crystal set. And I only bloodied my fingers a little bit while unkinking and winding the wire around that piece of PVC pipe, too. (My helpful hubby told me after the fact that I should've fed the wire through a vice.) Anyhow, a crystal set is easy enough for a child to build, and hey! It's "free radio!" (Man, I need to get the "maid" to dust that thing!)

I've also built a 20M CW receiver and matching transmitter. That was a lot of fun, too, because I had to learn how to differentiate the components, and even got to be pretty darned good with a soldering iron. Once they were completed, and we verified that they actually worked (!) I set them aside. Where they are now? Beats me. For me, the fun was in the building. The only other thing I've ever built was a really neat antenna to use for fox hunting. That was fun, too, but I ended up donating it to an auction to raise money for a scholarship. Surprised me. Once the guys learned I was the one who built it, some of them actually WANTED it. How cool is that? A "bidding war" just because their "illustrious" Section Manager built the thing. Still amazes me.

But my husband is the REAL builder in the family. He can build darned near anything, and has an extensive collection of  equipment and parts. (A junk box extraordinaire.) When a visiting South African ham toured our house,  his eyes got bigger and bigger, and he kept saying, "Holy cow!"  Finally he declared, "Radio Shack must send people to YOU!" 

At left is an antenna tuner my hubby built. Cool, huh? That's a shot of it from the front.










                                                  And here's a picture of it from the TOP ...

Yeah, he built it on a wooden toilet seat lid. (He has a wacky sense of humor, too, which is one of the reasons we get along so well.)

This is a less-than-stellar shot of one of the more-than-stellar amplifiers he built. It is B-I-G and with the tubes he put in it, should pretty much last forever.

But amateur radio projects don't have to be B-I-G. Many hams enjoy building tiny CW transmitters inside of Altoids cans, and if you can believe it,  in even smaller containers than that. These little transmitters are for operating QRP, or low power. (around 5 watts) Some transmit on even less power, and that's called  QRPP. (I know. Makes me giggle, too.)

Amateurs love to build and experiment with antennas, too. This picture appeared on our radio club's Facebook page, and the fella who posted it gave me permission to use it. It was taken in the '50s of his wife's uncle, playing with an antenna he'd built and designed.

Today's amateurs have access to all kinds of equipment, both new and used. Some radio clubs even have loaner radios to help new hams get on the air. So, bottom line is, nobody HAS to build his own equipment nowadays. But then again, nobody HAS to make his own wine, either. But for a lot of people, homebrewing is too darned much fun to resist.

In Pursuit of Immaculate Reception

Thought for the day:  Two antennas fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was exceptional.

[THEME: Amateur radio]

Unless you're talking about packing on a passel of pounds before your weekly weigh-in at the Overeaters Anonymous meeting, the word GAIN generally has a positive connotation. When talking about antennas, the word refers to its directionality, as compared to another antenna, like a dipole. (a very basic antenna consisting of center-fed wire or tubing)

In simplest terms, when it comes to antennas, size does matter, and bigger is generally better. The larger the antenna, the higher the gain, and the higher the gain, the better you can send and receive signals in a specific direction.

At left is a simple wire dipole, center-fed with ladder line. The closer the length of the wire is to a full wave length of the desired frequency, the higher the gain. Therefore, a 1/2 or 5/8 wavelength antenna will outperform a 1/4 wave one.

One of the most popular high gain antennas used by amateur radio operators all over the world is the Yagi, or beam. See the three parallel elements? The one in the center is the driven element, and it's actually a dipole. The longer element to the left is the reflector, and the shorter one to the right is the director. By using a rotor to turn the antenna, the signal can be directed in the direction of the director. (Try saying THAT fast three times!)

Adding additional directors to a Yagi increases its gain. That's why the antennas used for such things as moonbounce and direction finding have so many elements. Same for cell tower, and TV antennas.

So to amateur radio operators, GAIN is a very good thing. (Don't even bring up that nasty word loss.)

     Oooh, such fuzzy reception! I think that guy needs a higher gain antenna.

Like A Big Pizza Pie

Thought for the day:  Do you think electrons have a negative influence on society?

[THEME: Amateur radio]

Amateur radio operators employ a wide range of methods to get their radio signals from one place to another. Today, I'm gonna tell you about one of  the more unusual ones.


Now, I don't know exactly what prompted the first contact of this kind, but I like to imagine it went something like this:





Amateur radio operator Harvey Ham and his long-time girlfriend Hope were enjoying a romantic evening together ...

Hope:  (batting her eyelashes) Beautiful night, isn't it?
Harvey: (pensively) Especially that moon.
Hope: Almost looks like you can touch it.
Harvey: Hmmmm.
Hope:(fanning herself to blow whiffs of fragrance his way) Getting any ideas?
Harvey: (still pensive) I sure am.
Hope: (smiling) I've been waiting a long time for this.
Harvey: Really? Just came to me. (distracted and mumbling) ... a lot of directionality ...
Hope: Direction? Yes, I think this is definitely the right direction for us.
Harvey: (still distracted and mumbling) ... a heckuva lot of gain ...
Hope: (growing impatient) Yes, gain! We have a lot to gain! So, pop the question already!
Harvey: Um, okay. (He turns to her and peers intently into her eyes.) Do you think I could bounce a radio signal off the moon?

That's right. Believe it or not, EME stands for EARTH-MOON-EARTH.


And although Harvey may be lacking in the romance department, he's absolutely right about requiring a heckuva lot of gain (and power) to finesse a moonbounce. But that's exactly what some amateur radio operators do. With the use of impressive antenna systems, they focus a high-powered signal directly at the moon. The signal then bounces back to earth, where another EME operator can receive it.

Here's a peek at some of the antennas at the home of Georgia's own EME guru, Ray Rector, WA4NJP.

Here's Ray with some of his EME dishes, which he designs and builds himself.

And here's a better look at some of those stacked beams.










Yup, no telling what an amateur radio might use to send a signal, or what he might use as an antenna, either. That's only part of what makes the hobby so doggone ... romantic.