Extreme NVIS Antenna

(You can click on the pics to enlarge.)

There's more than one way to get on the air ... some good, some bad, and some just get by and there is something to be said for "Makin' do" with what you have.

I knew my neighborhood had antenna restrictions when we bought the house. We liked the house, so we took the bad with the good. I like it that there are restrictions to protect home values and no junk cars in the driveways. So you have to realize that those restrictions cut both ways but hopefully with a common good in mind.

Here is my HF antenna I have used successfully to work 80M and 40M. I am able to check in with the Sooner Traffic Net (3845 khz) on a regular basis as well as the weekly ARES Net (3900 khz). On 40M, I am able to check in with the 7290 Traffic Net on a daily basis.

During the Route 66 Special Event, I was able to make over 200 contacts on 80M to support the club's effort to participate in this fun special event.

Anyway, if you need an antenna for 80M or 40M, a G5RV is a good choice. While the G5RV is designed for 20M, it will work 80M and 40M with a tuner. The full-size G5RV is 102 feet long and fits nicely along my backyard wood fence. I do have a "wrap" on each end of about 10 feet, but the rest of the antenna is pretty much horizontal at about 5 1/2 feet off the ground.

The G5RV has a twin lead section that (ideally) should be vertical when the antenna is mounted 25 to 30 feet high. In my Extreme NVIS Antenna, I have the twin lead vertical for about 5 feet but then curved along the wood fence about a foot off the ground.

All I can say is that it works most of the time and I'm very glad for that!

... AR

NTS Rule Number One: Deliver The Message!

If I have received a National Traffic System message from any source (usually an NTS net) then I am obligated to deliver that message to the recipient by whatever means at my disposal. This seems to me to be the "Golden Rule" of handling NTS traffic.

Recently, I had a Field Day message to be delivered to my Section Manager. I tried to send the message on three different nets but, due to band conditions, I was not successful. As a last resort, I sent the message by email.

Wow, did I get slammed! One of the more experienced message-handlers listening on the net complained to the Section Manager that I was cheating! Evidently, he was listening to my attempt to send the message but made no effort to help with a relay. He did complain strenuously enough that I was asked to send the message via another net when possible.

Fortunately, conditions were better the day after Field Day and I was able to successfully send the message to the Section Manager. So, there was no harm done other than to my reputation and my ego.

Needless to say, I gave this some thought and went back and forth over some of the issues. Does it really matter HOW I deliver an NTS message? The "purist" might say that it does matter, but let's talk about this a little bit.

Delivery Methods:

The accepted practice is to PHONE the recipient via the phone number included in the message and read the message text (translating the ARRL Codes if needed).

If the received message has a bad phone number, then what do I do?

If the recipient is not a ham, then I research the phone number in the phone book (or online) to see if there is a new number listed. Then I call and deliver the message after making sure I'm talking to the intended recipient. If there is no phone number, I return the message as undeliverable (ARL FORTY SEVEN).

If the recipient is a ham and there is no new listing in the phone book, I look the recipient up on QRZ to verify the street address and see if there is an email listed. If there is, then I email the recipient the message; if not, then I return the message as not deliverable.

And, at times, I have even MAILed a message via postcard to the recipient's address on the message.

But I get the message delivered to the best of my ability!

Just so you'll know (especially if you're a Monday Morning Quarterback}, I'll use email delivery when I have to.

PS - Get off the sidelines and into the game - its FUN!

...AR

Versatile Yaesu Microphone - MD100A8X

I've used the MD100A8X for the last 6 or so years on my FT840 HF rig. The FT840 is no longer offered by Yaesu.

I've made tons of contacts using it and I have always received good signal and audio reports.

The same mic is available for the FT857 and FT897 as well. Yaesu made the mic cord reversable to fit multiple radios.

From the pic at the top you can see the dual connectors on the base of the mic. On the mic cable, the 8 pin modular connector is on the left (top pic) and the 8 pin round connector is on the right (bottom pic). Also shown in the bottom pic is the HEIL AD100 cable. More on this one later.

For my FT840, the 8 pin modular connector is plugged into the mic and the 8 pin round connector is plugged into the radio. This also works for the FT1000, FT920, FT950, FT990, FT2000 and the FTdx9000 radios.

If the mic cord is reversed and the 8 pin round connector is plugged into the microphone, then the modular connector end is plugged into the radio. This works on the FT450, FT817, FT857 or FT897.

Very clever design. But, wait, there's more to the story.

For the last year or so I have been running a local 2M net on Thursdays using my FT1500 mobile unit. I use it as a base unit with a RS 3 amp power supply for power with a MFJ Ultralight antenna on the guttering outside my window. While this works fine, the mobile mic gets to me after a while because you have to hold the mic ptt down while talking ... my hand cramps.

I have often looked over at my nice base station microphone and wished I could use it with my FT1500 - they're both Yaesu, right? I have finally found an answer!

The HEIL company sells an interface cable for use with their microphones and headsets. They have a cable (the AD100) that connects a 8 pin round connector to a 6 pin modular connector.

Guess what? Yep, the FT1500 has a 6 pin modular connector! I ordered the cable and it works great! I can now connect my MD100 microphone to my FT1500 mobile for the nets.

I have an excellent quality microphone with a PTT that I don't have to hold down all the time. I should have a much better sound on the nets now and I son't have hand cramps to contend with -- a long search but well worth it!

This will also work with the FT8800, FT8900, FT2800M, the FT7800 radios. The HEIL conversion chart shows these radios also have the 6 pin modular connector as well.

Yes, there is a down-side ... my mobile mic has function keys that I use for DTMF tones, so I will lose that ability with the new mic. My workaround, however, is I can use my ICOM T7H hand-held for sending DTMF codes if needed.

... AR