All posts by Ed Deichler

I recently moved to FL after 30 years in NH and a member of NARC during the whole time. To all the newbees in the club, I say welcome to a renaissance in ham radio as the "old stuff" adapts to the 21st century's "connected" world. I was proud to be involved in the club in many capacities over the years, especially Field Day. Everyone will be hearing from me from time to time as the Tiny Elephant lumbers on!
Activities, Antennas, Featured, General, Newsletter

Tower Horror Story

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Greetings fellow NARS members! I hope everyone is well and safely ensconced in the shack chair and on the air. I’m sorry that I missed K1IR’s presentation on tower safety. I’ve known Jim for many years from the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC) and the Billerica Amateur Radio Society (BARS). Jim has built a competitive station and he introduced me to the “star” method of guying a tower that is more robust than the usual turnbuckle 3-point approach many of us use. While making sure a tower is stable and well-engineered, there is much more to tower safety, as I’m sure Jim pointed out. My story is how things can go terribly wrong.

I had an incident ten years ago while doing tower work that was very serious. Long-time members of NARS may remember what happened but, given the huge growth of new members in the club, I thought it would be worthwhile to retell my tower story. In mid-May 2011, Jerry, K0TV (SK) asked me to help with an ambitious project to install several beams on one of his towers. Jerry was an avid contester who believed that hams should use ALL the bands available to them. This means 432 MHz, 928 MHz, 1296 MHz, and other nose bleed bands. To that end, Jerry wanted to install a 432 MHz quad yagi, a 1296 corkscrew quad yagi, a pair of 928 yagis and a good old 144 MHz yagi. The plan was to install them in a tree fashion on the mast above his 15-meter monobander. As if this wasn’t enough, there was a junction box near the top of the tower with a Medusan tangle of coax jumpers for routing signals to the beams.

I was well-known in the club for readily climbing towers and working on beams in all kinds of weather. I often wonder if I qualified for the 1,000,000 climbing feet award. Just ask anyone who worked with me during years of Field Day installations. Along the way, I picked up a lot of necessary safety habits for working on towers. Contrary to what one might think, I am NOT comfortable at heights. I may be wiry and fit but my heightened awareness of where I am has made me conscious of being careful and deliberate. (This is an axiom everyone should follow in tower work.) So I climb with two belts, always have three points of contact with the tower, and make sure I’m secure before freeing both hands. Sounds simple but complacency can be fatal.

So back to the story. I had been at the top of the tower for over an hour having worked on the junction box cabling and re-positioning the box so I could work on the beams. The weather was a sunny and warm NH day and I was getting hot. I was also getting hot emotionally after having wrestled one of the new antennas in place above the 15-meter beam. It was now time to raise the mast and lower the 15-meter beam to install the next antenna. In order to raise the mast, we installed a lifting plate below the loosened 15-meter beam so that the Ginpole could raise everything once the thrust bearings were loosened. By now I was sweating from the warmth and getting more irritated with the close quarters. I secured the Ginpole hook to what I thought was the lifting plate. It was the 15-meter boom instead. I called down for tension on the Ginpole rope as I loosened the thrust bearing bolts. Down like a guillotine came the mast. The lifting plate slammed on my right index finger, crushing it against the top of the tower platform.

My screams made everyone jump, including the neighborhood. I frantically yelled for more tension on the rope, not realizing it would accomplish nothing. I had to somehow raise the mast to free my hand so I yelled for a crowbar. I managed to lower the Ginpole rope and have the bar sent up. I was able to leverage the lifting plate enough to get my hand out. Now I had to use my damaged hand to unbelt and re-belt myself and get down from 90 feet. It was a slow and agonizing descent but I made it. An ambulance crew was waiting for me and cut off my work glove before taking me to the hospital in Nashua.

The attending physician said there was little he could do and may have to amputate my finger. THAT did not sit well with me. He made some calls and miraculously found surgeons at Mass General willing to come in on a Saturday to see what could be done. It was off to Boston in the ambulance that bobbed and weaved with Siren going in the wonderful maze that is downtown Boston. (I remember the driver saying he was only flipped off twice.)

I went through the usual endless questioning and note-taking that an emergency room requires. I met with the two surgeons still in their weekend attire who examined my finger while ordering an operating room preparation. What struck me was that both looked like they were younger than 30. I had heard of Mass General’s reputation as a top-notch hospital so I wasn’t worried. These two had to be really good at microsurgery.

After seven hours or so in surgery, I came to and saw my right arm covered from the elbow to my hand. The doctors said everything went well (don’t they always say that?) and the covering was to allow warm air from a heater to aid blood flow to my finger while I recovered. I spent the next three days in a hot room to keep the blood flowing. It so happens that an early heat wave rolled through Boston as Memorial Day approached so I don’t why they could not just open the windows. Finally, I was moved to a semi-private room with normal temperatures. Another doctor (also young) came by to unveil the bandages and examine my finger. Seeing it for the first time since my accident, it looked like an ugly pickle. He whipped out his cell phone and took a picture of “how nice it looked”. I could pass up the chance – I asked him if he was going to use it for a pick-up line when off-duty.

Jerry came by to see me while I was in the hospital. Jerry, being Jerry, quipped that it was a good thing it was not my middle finger. People would think twice about asking me what happened. I was able to regain the use of my index finger thanks to the skill of the surgeons. I can’t close my right hand in a fist but I’m left-handed anyway. I look at my finger and have an idea of what my digits will look like in another 20 years.

While I was convalescing I learned that my accident was one of the worse things to happen during tower work, falling being the absolute worst. What can I say about it all? It is this (1) climb with a buddy if possible; (2) take your HT or phone up with you and stay in communication with the ground to avoid yelling and a miscommunication; and (3) keep a lid on your emotions and QUIT if getting irritated or tired.

73 de Ed, K2TE

Antennas, DX, Featured, General, Newsletter, On The Air

Being DX – Again

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Back at the turn of the century, I had the opportunity to travel to Grenada as part of a contest DXpedition organized by the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC). The club targeted the CQ Worldwide CW contest in November to participate, one of the “grand slam” of DX contesting. Don, K2KQ who was president of YCCC at the time, coordinated with another club to use their resources at the station site located in the Emergency Operations Center in Grenada. I had the privilege to operate three years running as part of the J3A team. Being the only station in the country allowed us to continuously run stations. The highlight of our multi-multi DX operation was placing third in the WORLD in 2001. What a rush!

Fast forward to 2019. There are several of us aging contesters here in The Villages that still yearn to be on the business end of a DX Operation. George, K2DM has been making pilgrimages to Montserrat for a number of years, each time adding to his station at a guest house on the island. Not long after his last sojourn for the ARRL DX contests, I asked about joining him for the CQ CW event in the fall. He agreed it would be a good idea if we could round up a couple more operators. It did not take long before George convinced Pete, K2PS, and Wayne, N4FP to join in. George and Pete are veteran contesters from the Frankfort Radio Club, the perennial rival to YCCC for the top spot in the unlimited club contest category. Wayne is a former fighter pilot who loves CW; he prefers to stick with a keyer paddle in lieu of pushing a keyboard. He can hum along at 30+ WPM.

I soon discovered that getting to Montserrat to do a DX Operation would not be as easy as my trips to Grenada. The country was nearly destroyed in 1995 when the Soufriere Hills volcano came to life after 500 years. By 1997, after multiple eruptions and pyroclastic flows, the capital of Plymouth was no more. The volcano is on the southern part of the pear-shaped island while the northern end was largely a rain forest. In the aftermath of the destruction, the population went from 12,000 down to 5000 people, as many left to find jobs elsewhere in the Caribbean. Prior to the eruption, Montserrat had been a typical tourist spot with its claim to fame being recording studios for the biggest rock stars of the 60s and 70s. The performers welcomed the anonymity of the island without hoards of autograph seekers. The island is making a comeback now that the ash clouds have stopped and the rains have washed the landscape.

I packed my bags for an EARLY pickup for the Orlando airport. I greeted the transport driver with my beautiful mug at 3:00 AM. The other members of our team in various stages of wakefulness greeted me at the airport for our flight to Miami. We had time for a quick lunch at the airport before boarding our flight to Anguilla. Our gear included two Elecraft K3 transceivers, two laptops, and an Expert 1.3 amplifier all courtesy of K2DM. George had another Expert amplifier already at the Montserrat station that he was going to bring back home since it was MUCH lighter than the analog power supply built into the 1.3 model. (The hefty weight meant a hefty $130 overweight fee in baggage.)

We arrived in Montserrat in the late afternoon after a 20-minute flight from Anguilla and were greeted by Dave, owner of the Gingerbread Hill guest house where we would be staying (Figure 1). Dave and

Figure 1: Gingerbread Hill House
Figure 1: Gingerbread Hill House

his family has lived in Montserrat for 40 years and has welcomed many hams since he discovered an outlet for his guest house. The crank-up tower is courtesy of George. Our operating positions were on the third floor with access to the roof so we could install our antennas.

The tower cranks up to fifty feet which is more than adequate from our perch on the hillside. Figure 2 shows the view toward Europe from the roof and Figure 3 shows the view toward the west and the US.

Figure 2: View to the Northeast
Figure 2: View to the Northeast
Figure 3: View toward the US
Figure 3: View toward the US

The first order of business the next day was to visit the telecommunications office to get our licenses. I was hoping for VP2MTE but it was already taken so I settled for VP2MED to use outside the contest. George managed to change his license to VP2MDM after years of being VP2MDG. We would be using VP2MDM throughout the contest. (Well, it is his station.)

We spent the rest of the day hauling the antennas down from Dave’s home further up the driveway and getting them assembled. Our antenna farm consisted of a 40-2CD 40-meter beam, TH6DXX, and CL33 triband beams, and inverted Vees for 80 and 160 meters. The 40-meter and TH6DXX beams were mounted on the tower while the CL33 was installed on a mast dropped into a convenient hole in one of the railing posts off the roof deck. Completing the layout were the inverted V antennas strung just below the beams. Figure 4 shows the completed antennas ready to roll.

Figure 4: VP2MDM Antenna Farm
Figure 4: VP2MDM Antenna Farm

We set up the K3s to operate as a multi-2 category, each with an amplifier to make sure we would be heard through the pileups. George and Pete operated as a team while Wayne and I worked the next shift. Hours were staggered to allow for some sleep and give each team a chance to operate all bands. Each operator was assured 24 hours of on-the-air time.

So, how did we do during our DX Operation? Our raw score tallied up to 11,015,275 points, good for 10th place worldwide at this time, and 3rd in North America. Not bad for the aging Fab Four. The only downside was 10 meters where we managed just 11 QSOs. Perhaps we were too close to the US to rake in stations.

Would I do it again? I’m still on the fence. I got spoiled in Grenada with restaurants and established accommodations. Montserrat does not have many restaurants and grocery stores are limited as to what is available for stocking up. Furthermore, CQ CW typically falls on Thanksgiving weekend. This year was an exception so I was able to ensure domestic tranquility by being home for the holiday. However, the itch never goes away…

Ed, K2TE

Digital, Featured, General, Newsletter

FT8 and Ghost Decodes

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The FT8 digital mode that Joe, K1JT, and company rolled out a little over a year ago has become a game changer in ham radio. The mode is a modification of the JT9 & JT65 weak-signal modes that have been around for nearly ten years, an eternity in the digital world. These modes, while great for modest stations (read: apartment and condo dwellers; CC&R prisoners; and those with an iron-willed spouse who does not like antennas), suffered from a SLLOOOW exchange cycle. A rapid QSO with a signal report, acknowledgment and 73 might make it in four minutes. FT8 cuts the time to less than half that. The migration to FT8 has left the JT9 & JT65 band segments virtually deserted today.

The burgeoning success of FT8 has led to the development of a DXpedition mode that uses a “fox and the hound” model with the DX being the “fox” and the rest of the world being the “hounds”. The mode enables the DX station to transmit simultaneously in up to five slots at the low end of the FT8 band segment and work hounds operating in the rest of the segment, racking up several hundred QSOs/hour. Still another version is in beta testing that will be used for the RTTY Roundup contest in a couple months. Support for Field Day 2019 is just around the corner.

I’ve found FT8 a great way to keep chasing DX that I just cannot hear on CW let alone SSB. I’ve amassed 1300 QSOs to date and over 140 countries which says a lot with the disappearance of sunspots. All this time watching calls scroll by has given me a chance to observe operating habits good and bad. Good operating is being able to call a DX station off-frequency to increase the probability of being decoded. Bad operating practice is cranking up the power to spill over into another slot and even desense the station you are trying to decode.

Recently, I noticed a strange phenomenon from stations presumably running high power. Signals in FT8 usually have a received level from -2 to -22 dB that is adequate for decoding. Strong signals such as local stations or stations in the first skip zone with levels of 0 to +5 dB obviously are not hard to decode. However, I’ve seen some stations with a received signal level of +4 to +15 dB or more have a second decoded slot with a signal level of -13 dB or lower. Furthermore, this second decoded slot is always 120 Hz below the primary decoded slot.

I first noticed this behavior with a local station. I sent him an email wondering if his sound card went south and he was experiencing some kind of digital splattering. He was surprised that his ICOM 7610 would create a messy signal and insisted that everything checked out OK. A few days later, he sent me an email with a screen capture of another station in The Villages showing the same behavior. This led to the three of us batting around possible causes. Excessive power due to proximity was one possibility in spite of our lack of an aluminum forest. Another suggestion was to try another computer, the thought being that a dated machine would be a bit over-worked at decoding and “bit-draggled” in the presence of strong signals. One fellow switched to a laptop and saw the same thing so nix the computer. The 120 Hz separation made me wonder if power regulation went haywire but then everything in town would have gone south.

One night on 30 meters I logged ten stations that showed these “ghost” decodes. The station locations ranged from IL, IN, KY, PA/NJ and VA based on their grid squares. All of the stations showed a received signal level greater than +4 dB. Another odd thing was the tendency for the ghost decode to occur only during a CQ. When the station was in a QSO, I did not see the ghost. In addition, received levels often fluctuated as much as 12 dB while in a QSO. Like a real ghost, the secondary decode does not consistently appear for any strong station I happen to find.

For the record, I have an Elecraft K3 with the K3S synthesizer upgrade. My antenna is a multiband Hygain 6BTV vertical that has a gain of 3 dB over a wet noodle. I set my RF gain around 25% to avoid clipping received signals. Not a hyper-sensitive setup; just your average CC&R station.

Since FT8 is driven by a computer, I decided to subscribe to the WSJT-X reflector to post what I observed and inquire if anyone else had seen the phenomenon. I figured most FT8 users would be far more bit-savvy than I am and might have an idea what is happening. I have not had any bites after several weeks as to what it might be.

As I pondered over this oddity, I came back to the Fox/Hound version of FT8. Each slot that the fox uses is adjacent to the next one. The FT8 software juggles a response to a hound such that the hound is automatically switched to the fox’s transmit slot to complete the QSO. I view it kind of like the carnival kid’s game of fishing for a specific duck in a tub full of rubber ducks circling around. He hooks the duck and pulls it out to try for another one. In a sense, this is similar to the multiple receiver windows that a software-defined radio can implement.

So, where does this leave me? Simple answer: stumped. Therefore, I am inviting those in the NARS community who have experience with FT8 or any of the WSJT-X modes to open up the FT8 program and see if the ghosts appear and look for some common cause.

Disclaimer: Any correlation between occurrences of this phenomenon and October 31 is purely coincidental.

Ed, K2TE

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