Countdown to the RaDAR Contest on November 1st 2014

The next Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio (RaDAR) Contest is less than a week away. It is the first Saturday in November that being November 1st this year. I think an alternate name would a "RaDAR Experience".  There will be international participation.  A sampling plans being made follows:

Eddie ZS6BNE outlines his plans:

I'll be on the Molopo river about 35km from home. It's a safe and clean environment. My concerns are for safekeeping of the equipment and how to get an antenna into the air. I will feel much like Roger, ZR3RC who is a wheelchair user.

The plan is to start operating from the start point and after 5 QSO's, pack up and walk a km and deploy again close to a jetty where the canoe will be waiting. After another 5 QSO's climb into the canoe and paddle a km and deploy somewhere on the water and try to make another 5 QSO's. If effective, dismantle and move another km and deploy again and another 5 QSO's - on the water. Thereafter make my way back to the jetty, another deployment and 5 QSO's before walking back to "base camp". This is a tall order but with much activity on the bands it could be possible.

I think Eddie's grandson is at the bow of the canoe

 Tom G0SBW has been preparing a RaDAR bike.

Julian OE8JEG says:

I'll be participating man-portable either X-country skiing or on foot. The weather will tell. I also have new antennas coming from the UK. I'm certain I can make the trip to North America this time around. VE and Lake Michigan operators, have been very strong in OH for three weeks now. It will be interesting to see how I can manage portable in arctic conditions. :) See http://www.survivaltechnology.net/

My RaDAR experience (N4KGL) usually is on the Northwest Florida beaches. However, since the RaDAR contest coincides with the SEARS Samson Alabama Rocket Launch I will be on the farm where we launch from. Here is an aerial photo of the farm.

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I plan to be on foot unless I catch a ride on a passing four-wheeler. I have a game plan to start portable at the flight line. I may use a 40 meter dipole as I usually start out with 40 meter NVIS. I will be at 7.029 at 1400 UTC. After five QSOs I'll depart on foot for one kilometre.  Then I'll go to 20 meters. I'll be on the lookout for Tom G0SWB on SSB. I have contacted him on 20 SSB on the field before. After five more, it is another walk. I'll setup on 15 meters and maybe I will hear Eddie ZS6BNE. I have heard Eddie from the field but he did not hear me. Of course I'll look for all RaDAR ops. It is a long shot but I usually work one or two during the contest.

As you can tell RaDAR is amateur radio in motion. You will deal with the terrain and climate of your chosen area. It can be fun to expand the modes of transportation as Eddie and Tom are doing. Read up on the rules and see if you would enjoy a unique challenge.

The next RaDAR Contest is Nov 1st 2014 1400 UTC to 1800 UTC. In addition to on foot and vehicle categories, there are also portable and at home categories. Each category has a multiplier. Power is your choice QRP and up with multipliers. All amateur bands, besides the WARC bands, are allowed including cross band contacts via amateur radio satellites. Modes – CW, SSB, AM, FM or any digital mode. QSOs via terrestrial repeaters will NOT be allowed. Call sign, Name, RS(T) Report, QTH and grid locator at least 6 characters and 10 preferred. There is a bonus for your first satellite or digital mode QSO. Also there is a bonus for your first RaDAR to RaDAR intercontinental QSO.

There are two contest managers:
Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE for IARU 1 see http://zs6bne.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/radar-the-new-contest-april-2014/
and Marcus Kessler NX5MK for RaDAR America http://radar-america.blogspot.com/2014/02/radar-america-contest-april-2014.html You will find the contest details at those links.

RaDAR originated in South Africa headed up by Eddie ZS6BNE. It has spread to the Americas with the efforts of Marcus NX5MK. There is a growing worldwide participation with the RaDAR Community on Google+ See https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109283065808971118728

 

 

October 25th Wiregrass ARC Headland Alabama Tailgate

I always look forward to the Headland Alabama Tailgates. They are sponsored by the Wiregrass ARC. They are on the last Saturday of April and October. The site is the town square of Headland which is a small town about twelve miles North of Dothan, AL The dates are a good choice as April and October are awesome weather months in this part of the USA.

There  are sometimes a portable operating setup at the tailgate. Tom WD0HBR and I have done that in the past with QRP.  This year I brought my portable 100 watt setup. It consists of my Icom 7100 transceiver and a 30 AH LifePO4 battery. I like to call it my Field Day/Special Event station. I also brought a 100 watt solar panel. Field Day is just about the only time it would be needed. During Field day the panel replenishes the battery as I use it in the day time.  Solar panels always spark some good conversation.

A new addition to my cadre of antennas is the Bravo 7K vertical dipole from N6BT. It is self supporting which is a good fit for operations in a park. I added some Styrofoam balls at the ends of the radials. The radials end up at eye level. Tom timed me at 15 minutes for set assembly of the antenna. Later I changed bands from 15 to 10 meters. That took 5 minutes.

 Of course, any gathering of hams includes some good conversation about equipment and operating. I am beginning to get to know the regulars at the tailgate including James, Don, Robert, Glen, Stan and others. I did have a pleasant surprise as schoolmate of mine from Dothan High School recognized me and said hello. He is Danny Corley WB4PBT. He is living in Dothan and owns the Mattress USA store. Hey high school was only forty something years ago.

I did get in a few QSOs the CQ WW DX contest was under-way. On 15 meters SSB I worked  contest stations NW2K and P40L. I answered a CQ from WA0DQR John in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was not interested in the contest. So we had a good rag chew.  John loves the vintage gear. On 10 meters SSB I worked SP8R and OK7K.

I also brought an antique radio I inherited. It is a Philco Model 50 cathedral style AM radio. It was the first time for Tom WD0HDR to see it. Tom gave me a guided tour of its features and some ideas about bringing it back to life. It is a 1930s era radio.

Don K1DC had a look at the Philco Model 50.

The AlexLoop Made My Day Again!

The Alexloop portable magnetic loop never ceases to amaze me.  In June of 2012, I opened the box from RT Systems and I was making QSOs right out of the living room for starters.

I have had success several times from inside hotel rooms and once on my Brother-In-Laws coffee table.

Then there was the time on a California Beach a JA answered my CQ on 17 meters SSB.

I often deploy my Alexloop at lunch. At one lunch I worked ZS6JBJ with 5 watts on 10 meters CW.

For RaDAR Contests, The Alexloop has been the best choice for setting up quickly and moving to the next location.

In the last RaDAR Contest, I carried the Alexloop deployed to do what I call Semi-Pedestrian Mobile.

This post was brought on from my weekend trip to Jacksonville, Florida. I had a brief time to operate in the courtyard of the hotel.  I set up the KX3 for 10 watts feeding the Alexloop on a tripod, On CW, I worked France and Mexico on 12 meters, Germany and New York on 15 Meters, Ohio on 17 meters, Tennessee on 15 meters, Florida on 30 meters and Hawaii on 10 meters. Yes the Hawaii contact Made My Day!

I just have to be in awe of what something so small compared to wavelength and made mostly of coax (and a capacitor) can do. You can build your own if you like. However, I have gotten a lots of fun for the dollar with the one Alex PY1AHD sells. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in Alexloop and your results may vary!

RaDAR Contest November 1st 2014

Are you ready for a exciting amateur radio challenge? Deploy as a portable station make five contacts walk one kilometre deploy again and make five contacts. Continue for the four hour period. You could do the same moving three kilometres via car, motorcycle, bicycle or other vehicle. Mix transportation modes if you like. You have entered the world of Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio aka RaDAR. You will enjoy making tradeoffs in radio, antennas, and choice of operating frequencies. The four hour period puts you under a little stress to manage all the factors in real time. Hams worldwide practice RaDAR any time they can but there is the four hour RaDAR contest the first Saturday of April and November. The next RaDAR Contest is Nov 1st 2014 1400 UTC to 1800 UTC.

In addition to on foot and vehicle categories, there are also portable and at home categories. Each category has a multiplier. Power is your choice QRP and up with multipliers. All amateur bands, besides the WARC bands, are allowed including cross band contacts via amateur radio satellites. Modes – CW, SSB, AM, FM or any digital mode. QSOs via terrestrial repeaters will NOT be allowed. Call sign, Name, RS(T) Report, QTH and grid locator at least 6 characters and 10 preferred. There is a bonus for your first satellite or digital mode QSO. Also there is a bonus for your first RaDAR to RaDAR intercontinental QSO.

There are two contest managers:
Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE for IARU 1 see http://zs6bne.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/radar-the-new-contest-april-2014/
and Marcus Kessler NX5MK for RaDAR America http://radar-america.blogspot.com/2014/02/radar-america-contest-april-2014.html You will find the contest details at those links.

RaDAR originated in South Africa headed up by Eddie ZS6BNE. It has spread to the Americas with the efforts of Marcus NX5MK. There is a growing worldwide participation with the RaDAR Community on Google+ See https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109283065808971118728

 

 

A Taste of SOTA: Dowdell Knob Activation by N4KGL

My first Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation was Saturday, October 11th. The summit was Dowdell Knob WG4/CE-004 near Pine Mountain in Central Georgia. I was nearby on family visit with relatives in Columbus Georgia and had a day pass. This summit is a one point activation. It is easy access using a road takes you to the peak. At the top there is a scenic overlook and a picnic area.

I had a debate with myself during the planning stage on what power to use; QRP verses 100 watts. I chose the Elecraft KX3 at QRP power. I had fifty-nine contacts all together. With SOTA, QRP power seems to be enough as there are ample SOTA chasers who want to work you. They show up as soon you are spotted on the SOTA Watch web site. Of course, light weight QRP gear would be helpful for the more challenging activations that require a hike.

Greg N4KGL

As for the antenna it made sense to use the trees available.  I hoisted the center of a 40/20 fan dipole on a line I threw over a limb. I stretched the ends out to other trees with long cords. I used the KX3 tuner to match the 40/20 fan dipole on 15 meters.

the center of 40/20 fan dipole

My first contact was sweet. I had given Tom WD0HBR in Dothan, Alabama a heads up to meet me on 40 CW. We were both 599 at QRP power.  I think propagation was just right between the summit and Tom's QTH.  Tom runs a MFJ 9040 and a simple wire in his backyard.

40 CW continued to be good with a string of fifteen contacts. Then, I switched to SSB and picked up five more. 20 CW yielded twenty on CW and only two on SSB.  I was getting some weak reports for a time and a fellow tapped my shoulder and said a wire fell down. Hey that makes sense. He even put it back up for me. The end of the 20 meter dipole had fallen straight down.

The tree I used in the picnic area.

I had been emailing with Carlton K2CMH recently who lives in Columbus and I invited him up. He and his wife came and we had a nice chat about gear for portable ops. He has a KX3 and we had a 40 meter QSO before he left Columbus. I was also was monitoring 146.52 FM simplex. I caught a K4SCS mobile on and was very pleased to have a 2 meter contact.


I am always looking out for ops from the RaDAR group. I worked Fred VE3FAL on 20 CW and later on 15 CW. On 15 meters he was running his PRC 104 man-pack.  I also worked Pat NQ0N on 20 CW and did not realize he was as RaDAR buddy until later. I got some DX; M0BKV in England, CU3EJ in the Azores on 20 meters , GA8VL in Scotland on 17 meters, and Bert F6HKA on 15 meters. Bert is a awesome SKCC DX operator.

I used the Bravo 7K on 17 meters

A pleasant surprise was three operators from the Atlanta area that came in the afternoon. They were K2UFT Dick, KB4KFT Bill and KF4UPO Mike . Dick was the first activator of Dowdell Knob. Mike had a pelican case of Elecraft gear  including the KXPA100 amplifier and the PX3 panadapter. Now that is two items I don't have. Dick made some contacts on 30 CW while I went on to 17 meters. On 17 meters I used the N6BT Bravo 7K.

K2UFT Dick, KB4KFT Bill and KF4UPO Mike

So fifty-nine contacts makes for a lot of fun and the visitors were a great bonus. The weather was perfect.  I now have taste of SOTA. The SOTA operators and the web sites are very helpful. I may find my way to some other Georgia or Alabama summits in the future. There is lots of cross-over between doing RaDAR and doing SOTA. Both focus on light weight gear and adapting antennas to outdoor sites.  With RaDAR you can use any interesting site rather than specific summits.

N4KGL SOTA Activation is planned for October 11th

Summits on the Air (SOTA) is an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas. SOTA has been carefully designed to make participation possible for everyone - this is not just for mountaineers! There are awards for activators (those who ascend to the summits) and chasers (who either operate from home, a local hilltop or are even Activators on other summits).

I am not positioned well to be a SOTA activator as I live in Florida. However, the Dowdell Knob summit W4G/CE-004 is not too far from relatives in Columbus, Georgia. I will attempt to activate W4G/CE-004 Saturday October 11th. Since it is my first activation I am sure I have lots to learn. Access to the summit is easy from the looks of it. So It will not entail a long hike. I hope the skills I have learned from RaDAR will come in handy.

My start time is 13:00 UTC or 9 AM Georgia time. Likely frequencies are 14.061-cw,14.285-ssb,7.031-cw,7.285-ssb. I will start out on 40 and move on to 20 later. I may operate into the afternoon.

SOTA has a spotting page at http://www.sotawatch.org/spots.php There are many chasers in SOTA. Checkout the SOTA site for details on activators and chasers. See http://www.sota.org.uk/ I also enjoy contacts with the many friends from The RaDAR community and the Panama City ARC. So give it a shot. All contacts welcome!

The summit is in F. D. Roosevelt State Park. In fact FDR is right there at the lookout on Dowdell Knob enjoying the view.

RaDAR & Rockets in Southeast Alabama

The RaDAR Community On-The-Air Meetup coincided with the Southeast Alabama Rocketry Society Launch on Saturday October 4th in Samson, Alabama.  I have to be on my game to participate both events. RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio.

I used my Icom 7100 and the Bravo 7K vertical for the two hour meetup. I had a RaDAR to RaDAR QSO with Don KK4QAM on 40 meters SSB. It was S2 on both sides.  I could hear John VA3KOT on 40 meters. It was better on 20 meters CW and we claimed a RaDAR to RaDAR contact. I copied his grid as EN93XX66, I also worked Jason N4JTC in Panama City, FL on 40 meters SSB. Jason was about S4. He copied me well at first but there was some QSB. I did not have big expectations with the Bravo 7K on 40 meters. So it was a surprise I got through to Panama City 85 miles away on a non NVIS antenna. I had a few other contacts including AE7AP operating SOTA at W7M/CL114. My best report was a 589 from W0CMLon 20 CW.

N6BT Bravo 7K on the rocket launch field

The Icom 7100 is a fixed portable rig for RaDAR.

It was a pleasant surprise when Bob WB8PAF from Panama City arrived at the launch site. He brought a brand new FT 817. It is nice to have another Panama City ham doing portable ops. Bob pulled off a good one when he put his MFJ portable antenna  (see photo) out on the dirt. He worked California on 10 meters CW with the short whip on the box. He says he has done pretty well with the box in his early ham days running 100 watts. I launched one of my more unusual rockets for Bob, It was a 18 inch diameter saucer. Bob caught the launch on his cell phone camera. See below.

Bob WB8PAF operating his FT 817

Bob's MFJ portable antenna.

The 18 inch saucer launch on a J sparky motor

I spent Saturday night in Dothan with my parents. Sunday afternoon I invited Tom WD0HBR over. I We did test drive of the X1M rig Marv KK4DKT has for sale. We used the Bravo 7K vertical on the driveway.  It was tough going initially on 20 CW but switched to 20 SSB and worked New Jersey and Canada. Then we went back to 20 CW and worked Massachusetts.

Tom WB0HBR and my Dad.

The X1M QRP rig

So it was nice to spend time outdoors with my rocket and ham friends. The weather was awesome in Southeast Alabama this weekend.