N0SS Field Day Operation (3 K2's)
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N0SS Field Day Operation (3 K2's)
 
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This year, the Mid-MO ARC decided to go "back to nature"... well, as far
'back' as some would allow us to go anyway... We operated N0SS/0 using three (3) K2's, all at 5W output (SLA battery-powered), into 80/40/20 dipoles at 30' (and all string end-to-end, to take advantage of the nulls off the ends of the dipoles), in the CW, SSB, and GOTA stations. We also had a non-Elecraft rig on 6M QRP as well. Oh, we also operated from tents... almost forgot that part of the 'back -to-nature' theme. For the past 6-8 years, we've been fortunate to have been located in the capitol city of the state of MO, and had ample access to enclosed (and air-conditioned) emergency comm. vans with generators and several crank-up (or pneumatic) towers. Giving them up was part of the back-to-nature thang... <G> The K2's performed flawlessly... at least I've not heard any complaints as of this writing. The CW station made 380 (duped) Q's SSB 130 Q's GOTA 26 Q's Since we'd previously decided that this was gonna be a 'fun' operation (as opposed to our usual "out for blood" operations), little heavy emphasis was placed on maximizing contacts and more on training of operators and having FUN, which can be difficult in 97 degrees (F) and 95% humidity!!! The only even close to 'negative' comments I heard about the K2s were that the SSB station 'heard' us a bit when they were operating down toward the bottom of the 40M phone band, and we (the CW station) were operating up toward to top end of the CW band (probably near 7075 or thereabout). The CW station NEVER heard either of the other two K2s, and there are numerous extended periods of time where all three stations were operating on the same (usually 40M) band simultaneously. Our chosen FD site this year was different from that used in the previous 10-12 years... much closer to highway traffic (and noise), and we were bothered by continuous line noise... fortunately the KNB2 COMPLETELY ELIMINATED all traces of the line noise. And, I must say that we had very few instances of intermod from using the NB in the presence of very strong nearby signals. This can be a problem for just about any NB, but the KNB2 held its ground well. As in years past, we were very pleased with the performance of the K2s... this is the first time we've been an all-K2-HF operation... and it was very satisfactory. 73, Tom N0SS Mid-MO ARC Jefferson City MO _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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I picked up K2/100 #4760 on eBay a few weeks before field day - it was
built but not properly aligned (only one of the filters worked on CW), so I went through the receiver alignment (Spectrogram was a real help) several times and got the receiver working well. I operated 1E from home, using a fairly big marine battery, running 100 watts on CW. 351 Qs over Sat and Sun, with the K2 left on at all times, and the battery still had plenty of juice. I must say the K2 is certainly efficient ... The only glitch I'm having right now is that I'm getting reports of FM/Chirp, and I can hear this when I transmit into a dummy load, listening on a TS-940. I thought it might be voltage drop under load, but reducing power doesn't change it. I haven't gone through the TX alignment so maybe this is an alignment thing(?). Anyway, I'm loving the K2, and just received the KAT100-1 and KSB2 kits, so at least I'll have built part of it :-) -- Paul Heller W3PH [hidden email] _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In a message dated 27/06/05 16:37:10 GMT Daylight Time, [hidden email] writes: The only glitch I'm having right now is that I'm getting reports of FM/Chirp, and I can hear this when I transmit into a dummy load, listening on a TS-940. I thought it might be voltage drop under load, but reducing power doesn't change it. I haven't gone through the TX alignment so maybe this is an alignment thing(?). Reply:----------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Paul, Check that RFC15 the 100uH choke that feeds the 5V supply to the PLL chip U4 pin 16 on the RF board is not O/C. Apparently a common cause of this problem as it is very easily damaged during installation. Need to check it with a DVM for a low through resistance as voltage tests can be misleading. Can be temporarily replaced with a wire link until a new choke is obtained if it is faulty. When installing a new choke carefully hold the wires next to the body of the choke with a small pair of needle nose pliers and bend the free end of the wire with your fingers only. This helps to keep mechanical stress off the choke body. Bob, G3VVT _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Paul Heller-2
ARRL Field Day
Call: K7EAR Operator(s): MANY Station: K7EAR Class: 3A QRP QTH: DM52, SE Arizona Operating Time (hrs): 24 Summary: Band CW Qs Ph Qs ---------------------------- 80: 60 40: 303 70 20: 565 370 15: 264 323 10: 1 27 6: 32 GOTA: 67 ---------------------------- Total: 1193 889 Total Score = 16,375 The Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society, Inc. (EAARS) participated in the ARRL Field Day from the Clark Peak campground in the Pinaleno Mountains of SE Arizona. Fortunately no forest closures or fires caused a premature ending of this year's excercise. The weather at nearly 9,000' of elevation was nice and cool with temperatures 30 degrees lower than on the desert floor below the mountain. The 16,375 points does not include the bonus points but does include the 335 GOTA station points. The station lineup for the EAARS solar powered QRP effort was as follows. SSB -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40', and a double extended Zepp. CW 20 & 80 -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40' and 1/4 WL vertical. CW 15 & 40 -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40' and a double extended Zepp. GOTA -- Elecraft K-2, G5RV. 6 Meters -- Yaesu FT-817, homemade 3 element Yagi at 12'. The band conditions from DM52 were poor overall. Propagation was either non-existent or short lived to most areas. Ten Meters never opened at all. Fifteen Meters opened late and closed early with no strong, prolonged openings. Twenty Meters was the money band for both modes, especially CW. Forty Meters was fair on CW but extremely rough for the SSB ops. Eighty Meters was a fill in when 20 closed for that CW station during the early morning hours. 80 yielded 60 Q's in a bit over 6 hours of operation. The best DX to the east was W3AO in MDC and to the west it was KH6J. Many thanks to W7KQZ, Ernie, for his dedication to this mind numbing drudgery. Six Meters never had a real opening and the 32 Q's were spaced over 3 hours Saturday evening and 3 hours Sunday morning. Best DX on 6 was W0AA in MN with K9ZO in IL coming in 2nd and K7LAD in WWA at 3rd. Joe, K7JEM, and his home made beam are to be commended for the VHF success. He was assisted by Ernie, KD7IOG and Dave, WB7ONJ with the GOTA and VHF stations. Two kids were able to make contacts, helping the score and adding a few bonus points. Despite the poor conditions the SSB station had a run of 101 Q's during the 0200 hour. The other 23 hours yielded 689 Q's for a rate of 30/hour, or one Q every 2 minutes. Team leader Larry, W7MCO, is to be commended for his diligence and persistance when the digital voice keyer quit before Field Day even started. The 20/80 Meter CW station had a two hour run at the 0100 and 0200 hours where it worked 57 Q's per hour. The average for the other 22 hours was 23.2 Q's/hour. Warren, NI5L, was the team leader of this effort. Invited guest operator Bill, WB0O, enjoyed his first Field Day since he was in High School some 25 years ago. He was the operator during the two peak hours on 20 Meters. The 15/40 Meter CW station had two peak hours also; the 1500 & 1700 hours, when it rang up a mighty 41 Q's for each hour. The average for the other 22 hours was 22 Q's/hour. Steve, N2IC, provided the leadership and expertise for this grueling challenge, especially on 40 Meters. All in all, a very good time was had by everyone. The Saturday evening beef steaks and the Sunday morning sausage and hotcakes, all cooked over open flames, were superb. Many thanks to KB7CSE, Grace, and her crew. The EAARS bus peformed its function well, hosting all 5 stations inside while it sported a brand new paint job on the outside. The unsung heros of the EAARS FD operation were Lon, K7LON, and his family of indentured servants; Richard, N7XEU, leading the tower erection crew; Dave WB7ONJ handling the bonus points facilities and recording the bulletin from ARRL; and the many other members of EAARS who assisted with moral support and a bit of their efforts and talents as time allowed. This year's score is the best ever for EAARS and reflects the improvement in both station capability and the operating skill of the whole group. Milt, N5IA EAARS Field Day Chairman _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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