2011 IOTA Contest

Hear back from the IOTA contest people a few weeks ago.  I place eleventh again this year.  Not great.  But, no bad too considering the rfi problems I had.  With the RFI problems, and troubleshooting time I only worked approximately ten and half hours out of the twelve hours.  So, overall, I guess I am satisfied with the result.
But, I will do better next yeear!
I should have the rfi issues behind me and have the recieve only antenna working for 40 meters.  This will help me a lot.

Still waiting on the results of the 2011 US Island QSO Party.  They are really running late this year.  aLst year they announced results in January.  Maybe soon.

Until next time
73 and good dx
Leslie, ad5wb
Galveston Island, Texas

Winters day

A really windy day on the island.  A cold front moving in.  Gusts from the north to 43 miles per hour.  The BigIr antenna doing exactly what is designed to do in the wind.  Sway and bend.

Until next time.

73 and Good DX
Leslie, AD5WB
Galveston Island, Texas

Vertical Antenna Installation

Oftentimes, when I am on the air, people will ask me about my antenna.  This post will detail what I have done for my primary antenna, a ground mounted vertical.  On Qrz.com my primary antenna is described as follows:  a BigIr vertical planted on about 335 square feet of hardware cloth and approximately 700 ft of wire. 

The following information will help you understand what I have done.  I am sure that there are things I could have done better.  But, this is the best install of this antenna yet.  And yes there is at least one thing I would change.

Setting

I live in a suburb with a very small backyard.  The grassy area of the yard is 16 feet wide by 18 feet long.  There is a sixteen foot wide by four foot deep garden bed at the end of the 18 foot length.  This effectively makes the total length of the backyard to be 22 feet long.  The yard is bound by a six foot high wood fence.  There is a concrete driveway on the other side of the left hand fence.  There is also a six foot wide grass easement strip on the other side of the fence at the garden bed end of the yard.

Equipment

BigIr Vertical by SteppIr

Radial plate by DX Engineering

Approximately 335 square feet of hardware cloth, in rolls that are 3 feet wide by 25 feet long.

Approximately 700 feet of insulated wire,

Lawn staples

The original concept was to lay down three strips of hardware cloth and tie them together with insulated wire radials.  This evolved to include two more strips of hardware cloth that were “stitched” onto the original three strips using some of the insulated wire.  I do not have any photos showing the five strips but there are photos showing the original three strips stapled down on the ground.  I used the additional strips to fill in the gaps.  The additional strips do not go under the fence like the originals do.

The first photo shows, the view from the house of, the antenna installation.  The driveway is on the other side of the left hand fence.  The six foot grass easement strip is on the other side of the fence behind the antenna.  You can see the original three strips of hard ware cloth on the ground.  You can also see the bricks used to define the edge of the garden bed.  The bricks were set in place after the three original strips of hardware cloth was run.  The deck sits on the edge of a concrete patio.  The original three strips of hardware cloth start approximately 2 feet out from the deck and run the length of the yard and under the fence.  When I added the overlapping strips they also started at the two foot mark and ran to the brick border. 

I originally planned on only the three strips to clear unmovable things such as plants, fence posts etc.

 

This photo shows the base of the antenna.  Note the service head in the forefront of the photo.  The coax and antenna control cable run through buried conduit to this location.  Also in the forefront is one of the three guys.  This one runs to an earth anchor.  On the back right of the photo and front right you can just see two of the four three feet long pieces of all threads sunk into the ground as ground rods.  Heavy insulated stranded wire runs from each piece of all thread to the radial plate.

On top of the EHU is a one to one unun.  The goal is keep all of the rf out of the shack.

The mulch was laid after the hardware cloth was run through the garden bed and under the fence.  The mulch is laid down on top of layer of weed cloth.

The next couple of photos will show the path of the conduit, housing the control cable and coax, and entry into the house.

 

In the photo above, you can see the trench the conduit is buried in.  Before I put the conduit in the trench, I placed a layer of gravel in the bottom of it to raise the conduit off of the dirt and to allow water to drain.  

 

This photo shows the end of the trench and where the conduit comes out of the ground starting the run to the house.  Also pictured is that infamous party guy the party poodle checking out the scene.

 

This photo shows the continuation of the above ground run towards the house.  The conduit is held up with plastic pipe hanger tape.

 

The conduit runs diagonally under the deck to the far side of the drive way.  It then starts down to the entryway.

 

This photo shows the final stretches of the exterior conduit to where it terminates into the work box.  The box is screwed into the foundation and sealed around the edges with silicone caulking.

 

This photo shows the entry way for the conduit and control cable.  You can see some holes drilled and plugged with silicone caulking as well as one piece of coax and the antenna control cable.  I had to use a hammer drill to get through the foundation, note the concrete dust on the ground.  I drilled more holes than needed at this time to allow for possible future expansion of the antenna farm.

Subsequent work on the entry included: 

Drilling weep holes in the bottom of the box and gluing green nylon scrub pad over the holes.

Adding an access hole on the right side of the box to run in the coax from my wire antenna.

The work box seals with a cover with rubber gasket.

In the garage the coax and control cable run through conduit, along the base of the slab, to the wall at the front of the garage.  My shack is located on the other side of the wall.  I cut through the wall to mount two gang boxes, back to back with the backs cut out and the boxes, glued together.  I covered each box with an appropriate cover and used six inch bulk head connectors to go from the garage to the shack.

So far we have looked at the overall antenna installation and the coax / control cable run.  Let’s take a look at the hardware cloth and radial wires.  You have previously seen a photo that showed the three primary strips of hardware cloth in the yard.  I mentioned earlier that I used approximately 700 feet of insulated wire in the installation.  The wire is used in two ways; as radials and to “stitch” the hard ware cloth together.  Let’s take a look.

 

This photo shows some of the actual radial wires.  Note they are laid out in straight lines and thread their way through the hardware cloth. The next two photos will show how the strips of hardware cloth are “stitched” together.

 

Some of the stitching, across a wide expanse of lawn.  I later laid down overlapping strips of hardware cloth to cover the open ground and used a similar stitching to tie them to the original three strips.

 

Another shot showing some of the stitching.  At this time all of the strips of hardware cloth have radial run through them and are subsequently tied together.

Earlier in the post I mentioned a grass easement strip and the location of the driveway.  The next photos will look at this area.

 

This photo shows some the edge of the drive way, some of the radials running through the hardware cloth, and some of the stitching binding the strips of hardware cloth together.  You can also see how the hardware cloth was run under the fence.

Same basic shot but showing the detail of the radials and stitching in a closer shot.

Another shot showing the “stitching”.

 

And the last photo shows the original three strips of hardware cloth.  Again you can see how the hardware cloth runs under the fence, the radials and some stitching.  These strips also had overlapping strips of hardware cloth stitched onto them.  You can also see the concrete alleyway that borders one side of the easement.

In doing this installation I did not bond each layer of hardware cloth to each other.  There is practical limit to how much time I have and physical limitations as to how much time I can spend bent over.  I did solder ring terminals to the ends of each radial.  Right or wrong; I did rely on skin effect and proximity effect for the ground screen and wires to interact with each other.  Most but not all of the wires used for stitching attach directly to the radial plate.

I mentioned at the beginning that there is one thing I would have done different.  When I tied everything into the radial plate I used ring terminals for the wires and tried to bolt as many of the squares of hardware cloth to radial plate as I could.  Next time I will come up with metal clamps to tie the hardware cloth to the radial plate in an attempt to get greater bonding. 

Final thoughts

There were no measurements take of ground conductivity or anything else. I can tune the BirIr to 1:1.1 swr on all bands, 40 through 6 meters, except for 17 and 6 meters.  I may need to lay down a couple of dedicated radials for these bands.  17 and 6 meters currently run approximately 1:1.4 to 1:1.6 swr.

I have read and heard comments that hardware cloth will rust.  I am sure it will in time.  I can only say I previously used some hardware cloth in a similar installation and it was still good four years later.  The current installation was completed in April 2010 and is still going strong.

I do not claim by any stretch of the imagination to be an antenna guru or have a great deal of knowledge.  I am still learning.

If you should use any of this information, your mileage may vary.  I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

If I can answer any questions please do not hesitate.

If you can share any observations good or bad about this install, please do.

Until next time.

Good DX and 73

Leslie, AD5WB

Galveston Island, Texas

time to catch up

Well it has been quite a while and quite few QSOs since I last made an entry in this blog.  So I will try to catch it up in one post that covers a few subjects.

Let me see..............

Let's start with the gas plug "lightning arrestor" that failed.  I had an SWR problem that started with random high SWR that would throw my amplifier into fault.  At first it happened radomly and on was not band specific.  It started the day before the December 2011 ARRL 10 meter contest.  No matter what I did,,,,,,HIGH SWR.  I hadn;t changed anything so it seemed it had to be something variable.  I also had high swr with just the radio and no amp..  One a whim I started at the shack side of the coax run where it enters the shack from the garage.  I pulled the lightning arrestor and hooked up the coax directly and no problem!  I inspected the gas cartridge and did not see any issues.  Replaced the complete arrestor and off we went.  Everything functioning fine.  So, the moral is.............. I don't know........... if you have not changed anything, check the things that are variable.  In my case I could receive signals and hear the difference when I would extend the BigIr and contract it.  So I knew the motor was running and the tape moving.  I replaced all the coax labor day weekend.  So that pointed at a link somewhere in the system.  The easiest link to check was the gas plug lightnening arrestor.

Texas QSO Party:
I think I wrote about playing in the Texas Qso Party.  Turned out I did pretty well this year, I took 2nd in my category.  Up one place from last year.  The lack of multipliers held me back.  I did not make too many DX contacts this year and did not work as many counties as would have been nice.  I am not complaining, don't get me wrong.  I am quite happy with the the results.  I hope to do better next year.

Hawaii Qso Party:  I don't think I wrote about this one.  Having lived on Maui two different times this contest has a special place in my heart.  This year I managed to take first place in my class. 

U.S. Island QSO Party:
This year a local ham Jeremy k0jcc came over and helped me operate the contest.  This was a nice break.  It gave me a chance to do some normal things along with contesting.  Jeremy did a great job.  Don't know the results of this contest yet or the results of the IOTA contest.

Speaking of the IOTA contest, this evening, December 20, 2011 (Texas Time) I worked quite a few Japanese stations on 15 meters including some that I worked during the 2011 IOTA. 
Arigato for the opportunity to meet you again.


The ARRL 10 meter contest was held earlier this month.  I hate to say it, but I can't spend 36 hours of 48 working a contest.  I think I managed 10 hours.  It was lots of fun.  I alternated between holding a frequency and search and pounce.  I think I made 600 plus contacts.  The bands were great.  Lots of stations.  Much DX. 
I wish the ARRL would do a 12 hour (cumulative time) category for this contest.

If you are reading this blog, you are probably aware that the upper bands have been wide open.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to work many new countries, in some cases band fills but in others, all time new ones, including South Korea and India.  What a thrill! 
I know many people have worked these countries.  But, I am doing this with a vertical, in the southern middle section of the US, Texas.  Yes I run an amp, usually at 500 watts, but it does not help me hear the stations.  Hearing them is often the most difficult part.  The old saying is true, you cannot work them if you cannot hear them.

I am slowly working on QSL cards from the 10 meter contest.  I need some of those countries I worked on 10 meters.  I have replied to all QSL requests, except for six that came in this week.
I really wish the RSGBIOTA would accept LOTW and that more stations used it.  It is refreshing to see that a number of stations that were in the 10 meter contest have already posted their logs to LOTW.  I try to post mine every 1 - 2 weeks depending on how active I have been.

Well that is all there is time to write about tonight.
I am experiencing another HRD deluxe logging issue that I cannot get on top of.  I think it is caused by an update to office.  I will try to post it here this week with a screen shot.  It surfaced in the last two months.

Until next time.
Good DX and 73
Leslie, AD5WB
Galveston Island, Texas

qsl cards and DX

All qsl requests for N5I and Ad5WB have been responded to as of today.
Unfortunately, there a were a couple of requests that could not be verified.  Sorry.   

I hope you have had a chance to get on 10, and 12 meters.  They have been WIDE OPEN.
What fun indeed.  DX from most directions of the globe!

Until next time.
73 and Good DX
Leslie ad5wb
Galveston Island, Texas

RFI revisited, N5I and TXQP

Where to start?  If you read my earlier post about having RFI on my transmitted signal on 40 meters, I led you astray.  I said it was my receive antenna that was causing the issue.  Truth be known, after replacing every piece of coax in the system, most of it needed replacing anyway, the problem turned out to be the connection from my transceiver to my signalink usb unit.  When I would run the amplifier on 40 meters rfi was king!  I disconnected the usb unit based on a suggestion I received over the air one night and low and behold the issue is behind me.  So nice to have this learning experience resolved.

N5I
The 3rd annual observance of the land fall of hurricane Ike and the rebirth of Galveston Island is behind us.  I did not get to operate as much as last year.  The four letter word, work, got in the way.
 The first batch of qsl cards went out in today's mail.  I hope to have them all mailed in the next few days.  Thanks to all of you who responded to my calls.

Texas Qso Party
The Texas QSO party was last weekend.  (I am glad that the 40 meter rfi issue was resolved.)  As always it was a lot of fun.  Even visiting with the Troll who commented about my audio on 20 meters was, all things considered, fun.  I made over 900 contacts during the contest for my best ever finish.  But, we will see how it looks when the contest robot finishes looking at my log. I had a surprising number of duplicate contacts call me.  But what the heck.  Into the log they went.  Surprising openings on 15 and 10 meters.
I hope I had the chance to give you Galveston County.

Until next time.
73 and Good dx
Leslie, ad5wb
Galveston Island, Texas

Museum Ship Weekend Revisited

In July, I attended the Texas City hamfest put on the the Tidelands Amateur Radio club, TARS.  I think this year was the 20th year for the hamfest.
While there, I ran into some of the group from BVARC, the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club.  They are the group that activated the USS Stewart and the USS Cavala for at least the last two years of the Museum Ship Weekend.
Bill was kind enough to give me copies of the qsl cards that were used for this years activation.
I want to share those cards with you. 

The radio room on the sub is incredibly small.

So, if you did not have a chance to work either the USS Stewart or the Cavalla this year, these are the cards.  If all goes as planned, you should have the opportunity to work them next year.

73, Good DX, and Good Propagation
Leslie, AD5WB
Galveston Island, Texas