All posts by Fred Kemmerer

I enjoy station building, contesting and helping new folks to join and have fun with our hobby.
Featured, General, Newsletter, Station Equipment

Plans for Enhancing Our Ham Station This Fall

Source: Plans for 2017 Station Upgrades – Radio, Shared Amplifier, and Remote Op Enhancements

We are planning a number of enhancements at our Ham Station this fall. Our plans include:

We try to do some station upgrades in the fall of each year to maximize our operating fun during the winter months. We are at the design stage on these projects and I wanted to share some information about what we are planning from our Stationproject Blog.  We always welcome members who want to join in on our projects as a means to learn about station building. More to come as we make progress with these projects.

Special thanks to Dave, K1DLM who has helped us with ideas for several aspects of this project.

Fred, AB1OC

Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

Amazing DX Opening on the 12m Band

Today proved out some simple, tried and true advice for me – it pays to take some time and tune through the bands. I just got a Maestro Remote Control Device for our FlexRadio SDR and I took a break around lunchtime to tune through the higher HF bands to see what I could hear. We use a Flex SDR as a Remote Operating Gateway into our station and the Maestro allows me to run our station over our home network with going down to the shack.

I am not sure why but I decided to give the 12m band a look today. When I did, I was stunned! It is about noon time and the 12m band is wide open between Africa and the US!

12m DX - XT2AW Burkina Faso
12m DX – XT2AW Burkina Faso

I worked two DX stations on 12m SSB. The first was XT2AW, Harald in Burkina Faso. Harald was working split and was not real loud but I had no trouble completing the contact with him. Excited, I tuned across 12m some more and found an old friend – Theo, ZS6TVB in South Africa. I had a very nice QSO with him. We both marveled over the propagation on the 12m band that we were experiencing. He was 57-58 here in New Hampshire!

The sunspot conditions are pretty weak (SFI 85, SN 26) to create such a good opening on 12m. I believe that we may be experiencing Transequatorial Propagation (TEP) which can provide a significant propagation enhancement on paths with traverse the equator. Anita and I experienced similar TEP propagation on 10m when we were on Bora Bora Island early in 2012 with similar solar conditions.

It just goes to show that it pays to tune the upper HF bands. Especially on days when “they are not open”. Also, 10m also appears to be open to Africa right now – I am hearing a station in Mauritania…

Fred, AB1OC

 

Activities, Antennas, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter

Tower Climbing Demo and Open House at AB1OC/AB1QB

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Several folks have suggested that it would be interesting to see a tower climbing demonstration. It turns out that we need to climb our tower to do some routine maintenance before winter comes. This seems like a good opportunity for folks who are interested in learning how to climb a tower and work on it safely.

A View From Our Tower
A View From Our Tower as Anita, AB1QB Looks On

Ever wonder what’s involved in safely climbing and working on an Amateur Radio tower? Here’s your chance. On Sunday, October 15th at 1 pm we will be holding an open house and tower climbing demonstration at our station.

Climbing Safety Gear
Climbing Safety Gear

We have two sets of climbing safety gear and we’ll provide the opportunity for those who want to try it on to do so. I am going to climb our tower to the 45-foot level to do some maintenance on our weather station. Anita and I will be explaining how to safely climb and work on an Amateur Radio tower.

Invitation to Operate Our Station

AB1OC-AB1QB Shack
AB1OC-AB1QB Shack

We will also provide an opportunity for folks to get on the air at our station and make some contacts as part of our open house. Our station will be configured for you to try SSB Phone, CW, and digital modes including the new FT8 mode. You can try any or all of these modes. We’ll be QRV on all bands from 160m – 70 cm. Power levels will be from QRP up to the legal limit.

We hope that our club members and friends will join us for our open house. It should be fun!

Fred, AB1OC

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