EME - Is it raining? Antenna Time!

The one thing that I've been dreading is figuring out what to do for an antenna. I had a good time playing around with building my own 1.2 GHz Yagi antenna. But the reality is, if it's less than 40 elements, I don't think it's going to do much in terms of getting any signal to the Moon, or even receiving for that matter.

Here are a couple of pictures of what I was doing, and frankly I really wanted to put this together so I could do some testing at a smaller scale without the antenna that I'm eventually going to be using. 

I tried a couple of different matches, and had the most trouble with the gamma match - I think the beta match was the best for what ever reason.  The elements were purchased as 3ft rod from home depot and sawed down to size with a band saw.  Fun project, but it was extremely short lived... because I needed a REAL antenna.

So what is that antenna? Well, let's just say that it's the most expensive umbrella I've ever purchased... in orders of magnitude. 

I ordered two of these umbrellas from Paul from sub lunar https://sub-lunar.com/  He was able to get them out to me rather quickly, and they were packed extremely well. 

Super excited to open it up, I had a dilemma because I had difficulty determining how and where I was going to do this without damaging anything. 

So what's one to do? Put it on your hitch Mount of your truck of course!

Paul recommends Scotchgard on to protect the fabric, so I took the opportunity before I got too deep into this project to order some and get the antenna sprayed down. I used one can, but realistically probably should have used a second canned because I think my spray pattern was a little light. 

The other challenge was, how am I going to rotate this thing. Yes, we need to rotate it left and right on the azimuth plane as well as elevation. The Yaesu 5500 was my first choice, but when Eric saw what Paul had in his arsenal of possibilities, Eric and myself both ordered one for each of us.

The more adventurous one, Eric ended up replacing the motors and the encoders. He's got quite a stout operation going. I'm going to continue with the ones that came with the antenna rotator for now, but may do some upgrading in the future.

Hey you might be asking, how in the world am I going to program this rotator to do what it needs to do. There certainly are a lot of electronics on this rotator, and Paul did a really great job with these circuit boards that show some LED indications on what the rotator element is doing. 

Fast forward, and we ended up ordering some Arduino boards and downloaded the k3ng rotator program.

Because we are a professional operation here, Eric wound up whipping up a daughter board to pop onto the Arduino mega. This allowed us to have quick disconnects for anything onto the rotator, and also gave us the ability to connect in a couple of other accessories like a GPS clock source. 

The rotator project is taken on a life of its own, and there will be a separate post for this because... You know... Modifications!

EME - Power, Power, and More Power

Gear acquisition mode continues...

As you can imagine, trying to get a signal to the Moon is going to take some power. I can't remember what the distance is, but it's so far, that your classic 10w 1.2 GHz transmitter is probably not going to make a mark. 

Additionally, as we start to try to listen for signals, the reflected signals coming back from the Moon are going to be rather weak, so... Again, probably going to need a amplifier for that. 

So here we are, trying to figure out how much power we need on the transmit side, and also looking at options for low noise amplifiers, or pre-amplifiers on the receive side. 

The fact that we have to have both of these in line with the transmit and receive is going to add some complication and require some switching, which I will talk about in a later post....  Particularly, if we have a low noise amplifier in line with the transmit sequence, And we don't switch it out of line, it will more than likely burn it out. 

So, where do we go for amplification at the 1.2 GHz range?  Seems like the no-brainer approach might be to get one of those really cool, well made, finally machined amplifiers (and Low noise amplifier for the receive) from Kuhne. 

One of the challenges was to determine how much power on the transmit side we would need. I think that was easily calculated by the amount of money that would need to be spent, and how complicated things may need to be with a power supply to support very high power output - so both Eric and myself went with the 250 w power amplifier - the MKU PA 23CM-250: https://shop.kuhne-electronic.com/kuhne/en/shop/power-amplifiers/MKU+PA+23CM250W+CU++Power+Amplifier/?card=971

This amplifier gave us what I think will give us enough power to reach the moon, and at least allow some of the big gun stations that are already doing Moon bounce a chance to catch our signal.  It was also considerably cheaper than the next step up which was 1.5 KW. (Although, as you can tell it really was pretty expensive)

On the receive side, we chose the MKU LNA 132-ah: https://shop.kuhne-electronic.com/kuhne/en/shop/MKU+LNA+132+AH+SMA++Low+Noise+Amplifier/?card=316

Looks like this is the super low noise pre-amplifier that will go near the antenna feed point.

Eric is going to explore a little bit about building his own amplifier at some point in time, but this gives us a quick method to entry into the EME space.

We do have 12 volt power supplies available, but with this power amplifier using LDMOS technology, it's going to require about 50 volts.  We were able to jump on amazon.com and find plenty of options (like Meanwell) that will give us 48 volts DC, which should be plenty - and if luck has it, there are probably some adjustments we can make to get that 48 volts closer to 50 if we want.

EME - The beginning of going broke

 I have always held an interest in continuing to explore the edges of ham radio, and what better Edge to explore is one of bouncing radio waves off of the moon!

I've always had an interest in this, but I know that in order to do something really effective with a Suburban lot, I really needed to get on 1.2 GHz. While there is certainly a lot of activity on 2 m, the real estate I probably would need for something like this with a multi-yagi array, would be somewhat prohibitive, especially from a spousal standpoint, so an idea of getting on 1.2 GHz with either a couple of yagi antennas, or even a dish made a lot of sense to me. But this whole idea had taken a backseat for quite a few years.

I can't remember who really started to kick off this whole journey, but my partner in crime, Eric, KC9QLO was definitely a trigger for me, and maybe I was a trigger for him, because before I knew it, we both bought Icom 905 radios, and started to build our own 1.2 GHz yagi antennas.

So here we are, in gear acquisition mode... At this point purchasing the Icom 905 to at least start with capabilities in the 1.2 GHz range. 

I will say, we do have aspirations of playing around with 10 GHz at some point in time, and maybe even some of the intermediate frequencies like 2.4 and 5 GHz.  Maybe those might be terrestrial explorations, we will eventually see.

My Youtube Channel - Dedicated to Morse Code / CW

Partly because of my Instagram page I get a lot of questions about Morse Code - learning, operating and what to buy.

I started a YouTube Channel that explores this very subject and I will upload the lowest quality non-graphic-coolness videos you have ever seen in my effort to help those that are embarking on the journey of learning Morse Code, or looking to improve where they are at already.  Don't worry, I'm not trying to monetize here (By the way, see below on what you need to do to monetize on YouTube).

Since I have virtually no subscribers, I get a really crappy URL for my channel. I'm hoping to get some subscribers in order to get a better URL.  … but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwBmOrGQHHCvA9htO7qROEw

Have fun and let me know what you think.

TJ - K9KJ

P.S. So - if you want to make money on YouTube --> According to YouTube, to qualify for monetization, you must have: 4,000 watch hours over the last 12 months. at least 1,000 subscribers on your channel.

Yaesu FT-891 Display Issue

About a month earlier, I purchased a Yaesu FT-891 for my new mobile rig.  The current radio was an FT-100D that was getting old and long in the tooth and while I was really happy with the radio, some things started happening that made me think its time to switch it out with something newer.

Being that I have been very happy with Yaesu mobile radio products, it only made sense to try out the FT-891.  I bought one used, and played with it on my work bench - it worked great and I really liked the interface, look and feel.  So... now its time to do the mobile install.

Since I already had the FT-100D mounted, it didn't seem like it was going to take much to do the install of the FT-891.  This whole installation process will be the subject of another post, but I wanted to share something that happened to me when doing the remote head installation.

The installation went generally well, but when I went to turn on the radio one evening after re-running one of the cables, the detachable face would not light up.

Hmm....  Ok, lets just put that detachable face back on the radio and see what happens...

Nothing.

More troubleshooting - Lets take it out of the truck and get this on a solid power supply - maybe something was odd with the power.  

Still Nothing.

My heart sank.  What the heck happened!?!?

A glimmer of hope?

After getting it on the bench, what I found was that when the power button was pushed, you could hear a couple of relays clicking, then there would be a faint beeping (6 beeps in rapid succession). So, the unit was getting power, but it wasn't happy about something.  See a quick video of what it sounded like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vVa3cbGCcAt1Wcvt9

On some suggestions I found on the internet, I reseated the cable attaching the body to the detachable face, and tried some master reset routine - still nothing.  I even attached the USB cable to do the firmware update, and was able to see that the radio was responding -- so, at least it wasn't dead.

I even messaged my master troubleshooter buddy K9XR at 11pm to see if he can help in the search!

This is what I found

I will spare you all of the details of troubleshooting (I actually just miraculously stumbled across it), and go right to the details.

Watch what kind of extension cable you use for the remote head.  This needs to be a RJ-12 cable, and it has to be a straight through cable.  I accidentally bought a reverse cable or a "roll over" cable.  If you will notice in the snippet of the schematic of the FT-891 main board, the jack for the remote head carries 13v to the remote head.  If you use a "roll over" or reverse cable, pin 4  connects to pin 3 on the remote head (ground pin) - and will then blow the fuse (F1002).  What a major mistake on my part and has me kicking myself for not just buying the YSK-891... But I really didn't need anything from the kit except for the RJ12 cable.

Here it is on the board:

Let the fun begin

So, replacing this fuse is not for the faint of heart. First - Part availability. Looking it up at Digi Key, its only available by a roll of 5000.  I found a place called Radio Parts that has them by the piece for a whopping $0.36 (So, I ordered 10!!). Website here: https://www.radioparts.com/vertex-q0000109 

With that on order, I decided to pull the old fuse.  Unfortunately its a 0603 SMD component, and its tucked nicely (I'm being sarcastic) behind the big RJ12 jack:

A bit more of a close up here:

I really wouldn't recommend doing this with a soldering iron, and would cautiously use your master skills with your Hot Air SMD rework station.  This thing is small, and very fine tweezers are a must:

Replaced the fuse, and now I am a happy camper!

A Code Convert

The following was submitted to the ARRL magazine - QST - for publication in their "Celebrating our Legacy" column.

The Morse Code requirement to be a ham had kept me away from the hobby until the early 90’s when they added the Technician No-Code license.  When I heard the code requirement was dropped, I quickly started studying for the test.  I was very content with being a “no-code tech” and I enjoyed the benefits of 2-meter FM and a little segment of 10-meter phone.  I had never been interested in learning code.

 It was only a few months after receiving my amateur radio license, when I was invited to my Uncle Al’s house where a bunch of hams crowded around equipment in the lower level.  The smell of warm electronics and the sharp tones of Morse code filled the room. Yes, it was a CW contest – the first I ever experienced. 

 I didn’t know how to decipher the dits and dahs jumping out of the speaker and was intrigued by the fact that these folks were communicating and using a whole other language to do so! After watching the intensity of the operation, the pile up of stations trying to call, and the fast pace of contacts, I was suddenly motivated and wanted to join in on the action!  In the next 20 months, I eventually passed my 5, 13 and then 20 WPM test and have been enjoying CW ever since.  I owe it all to K9XR for exposing me to this aspect of the hobby and have had some of the most enjoyable experiences with CW. 

Indiana QSO Party Portable Operation - 2021

This year I wanted to try to put in some extra effort into the Indiana QSO party. In prior years I've only done marginal effort, with only maybe a couple of hours of time dedicated to it - typically not even submitting my log. This year I wanted to activate a rare county in Indiana where there are either inactive hams, or maybe no hams residing in those counties. I decided to choose Newton county because it was relatively close and was only one county south of my home county of Lake.

I put a lot of effort into my mobile setup on my recently acquired a new vehicle, so I really wanted to use this as an opportunity to give the whole system a shake out and try everything to make sure it works for future mobile ops. A couple of weeks before the QSO party, I had a chance to make a couple of contacts, even picking up some DX, so it seemed like the system was working perfectly.

I wanted to maintain a portable designation, because I was really looking forward to making an attempt at activating one of these rare counties and potentially winning a major award for doing so. There are two possible awards that will be issued for stations that set up as portable and embark on significant effort for activating these counties.  Well, we will see, but I think its safe to say I likely didn't win anything except for a good time!

So, where to go?  I decided to make use of the LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area, a nature preserve located just over the border in Newton County.  I reached out to the Department of Natural Resources for the State of Indiana, and I found out that I didn't need a permit and I only needed to fill out some basic paperwork.

In order to go portable, I made use of my BuddiPole antenna and strapped it to the rear of my truck. I needed to assemble guy lines and support in order to battle some of the strongest winds we have had in a while. I found out later that peak winds were reported at 51 MPH. In this setup, it would not be possible to drive, which would force my category into the portable class. I did take an opportunity to do some antenna testing between the BuddiPole dipole, and my Yaesu ATAS120. It seems like the dipole did much better, which was to be expected. I was listening to a couple of stations that came in at S5 or S7, and when I switched over to the ATAS120, they were more like S2, S3.

I spent a significant effort calling CQ, but I did go up and down the band looking for a stations for contacts. I even moved to phone and grabbed a couple of QSOs, but since I'm really not a phone operator, I didn't do very well and I'm really out of practice tuning up SSB signals.... Besides, with my marginal setup, CW was probably the best route - I only heard about 10 stations on USB.

I tried different positions in the parking lot giving me different exposures with my dipole. I wanted to see how it would perform when it was further away from the tree line, or closer up against the tree line. I needed to rotate it manually, which this seemed to help only a little bit.

After some time, I got bored and there were not many stations responding to my calls, and it seemed like I worked just about everybody I could hear up and down the band. I even got a call from another station - in Newton County - WA9LEY -how fun! He parked in another part of the same park, but we never saw each other. He did mention his excitement for activating a POTA (Parks on the air) Park - I didn't even think about that.  I looked it up and it looks like this park is K-4213.

All in all, I made 99 QSOs - had a good time and will do it again next year now that I have more experience with portable operations. I wanted to crack 100 QSOs, but when I reviewed the log, there was ONE dupe.  Oh well, next year I have a new target - DOUBLE my score this year.  Should absolutely be doable based on my new experiences and the fact that I will likely go Mobile or Rover.  

My final score was 5,539.