Hi Alex and All:
Steve here. My NU7B call is in QRZ. This past fall my wife and I moved to the province of Pescara, Italy. I'm presently applying for my I*6*** callsign - not sure what the turnaround time will be for that. This is our new home.
I've been a ham since 1973. Made a career in RF IC design. Radio is main hobby - but also do solar photography, and side projects. Haven't set a new station up yet but that should be soon.
GA Everyone! Next week my YL and I will be in Chile. I plan on doing some POTA from Torres de Paine National Park (CL-0092), which has 0 POTA Activations, while we backpack there. Grid Squares FD93.
We'll finish up our trip in Santiago, Chile where I plan on activating Cerro San Cristobal (https://sotl.as/summits/CE3/SA-019)
Please add CE/N7KOM and CE3/N7KOM to your HamAlerts!
I'll have my KX2, so I plan on doing some high bands!
Building a shack: Part 3 - the ingress of coaxial cable http://podcasts.itmaze.com.au/foundations/20251228.foundations-of-amateur-radio.mp3 #weekly Foundations of #Amateur #Radio #podcast
For more information and past episodes, including text, RSS, email and YouTube versions of this podcast, visit https://podcasts.vk6flab.com/podcasts/foundations
Connecticut recently rolled out “The Pizza State” license plates. I asked the DMV if they could combine it with the amateur radio license plate, and they did. This might be the state’s only combination pizza/amateur radio plate.
If anyone wants to make a QSO at the nearest Frank Pepe’s, you know where to find me.
#Connecticut #ThePizzaState #NewHavenPizza #cars #AmateurRadio #HamRadio #pizza #apizza #WeirdIntersectionOfInterests
A half-wave dipole for 20 m also covers 30 and 40 m with a tuner. Use it for 60 or 80 m? Bad things start to happen.
Short dipoles are attractive for city dwellers like myself! But to feed them, high voltages AND fairly high currents are required. Losses become an issue.
I developed FLOSS Python code to run nec2 antenna simulations automatically. I showcased it studying relevant aspects of dipoles as they become shorter and shorter.
Good fun. I learned a thing or two.
https://dj3ei.famsik.de/blog/antennas/antenna_simulation_driver_showcase/
4 years later, my 3D printed ball bearing protectors are still in excellent shape. #hamr #amateurradio #3dprinting
Here is the detailed writeup:
https://dh1tw.de/2024/02/protector-for-skf-ball-bearings-on-antenna-masts/
At ED1R we use industrial ball bearings on our towers to turn the antennas. The ball bearings are reliable IF you protect them properly. We learned this lesson the hard way. After almost three years in service, I feel confident sharing our solution for adequately protecting the SKF bearings on antenna towers.