ARRL NTX Section Manager June News Letter

North Texas Newsletter June 2019

·       Ham Com a Huge Success

·       Notes from Katherine KT5KMF, our SYC

·       Ham of The Year Nominations - closing date announced

·       New Assistant SM / Ambassador John Hamilton KD5INM

·       Notes from Greg Evans K5GTX our SEC

·       Planned ARRL FD Site Visits

·       The 90 Days of Danger

·       Public Information Officer –WANTED-

Ham Com a Huge Success

Ham Com at the Plano site just seems right on so many levels,
from the large outside Flea Market area to the ease of parking and no confusing Mix master highways to get back on the road.

            What a wonderful crowd of enthusiastic Amateur radio operators we had at the ARRL tables, from the 9 year old to the 87 years young amateurs I got to visit with it was indeed an honor to meet each and every one of you.

            Unfortunately on Saturday I was not often at the tables, but at one of the three ARRL forums, presenting one personal forum “Logging & QSLing for the 21 Century” or at the DFWCG sponsored Luncheon listening to the Guest Speaker Bryant Rascoll KG5HVO, a 15 year old from Alabama who won the Young Ham of The Year award (WA6ITF)  this past year.

            We were honored to have many distinguished guest, from The President of the ARRL Rick Roderick K5UR, and The CEO Howard Michel WB2ITX, to The Hudson Division Director Ria Jairam N2RJ and neighboring Delta Division Director David Norris K5UZ

            Section Managers from all corners of Texas and Oklahoma were also present,
Oklahoma’s SM Kevin O’Dell N0IRW, South Texas SM Paul Gilbert KE5ZW, West Texas SM Dale Durham W5WI and your SM myself were in attendance.

            The West Gulf Director John Stratton N5AUS, Our Vice Director Lee Cooper W5LHC and myself stayed incredibly busy visiting fellow ARRL members and either attending or doing presentations at the Four ARRL Forums.
     Greg Evans our SEC K5GTX, manned a separate ARES booth and was assisted by John Hamilton KD5INM our newest Assistant Section Manager and District 1 SM Ambassador.

     I unfortunately, missed introducing the New Mexico Section Manager Bill Mader K8TE, apologies.

 

Notes from Katherine KT5KMF Our Section Youth Coordinator

I’m Katherine Forson, KT5KMF, and this is my first newsletter article since accepting the position of Section Youth Coordinator. I’m excited about this position and am working on several ideas about getting youth interested in radio.

After surviving my high school final exams, I assisted members of my home club, the Plano Amateur Radio Klub (PARK), when they did a (water) tower climb to do maintenance on the repeater.

I also attended HamCom in Plano this past weekend. I helped man the North Texas Section table and the PARK table. I also visited with members from the Dallas Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Denton County Amateur Radio Association (DCARA), the McKinney Amateur Radio Club (MARC), the Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK), and the Sachse Amateur Radio Association (SARA). We discussed the possibility of my driver (Rob, K5WFR) and me visiting some of their meetings this summer. I also hope to visit some local clubs that were not at HamCom

While talking to members of DCARA, I heard something I thought was very interesting. Coppell High School is planning to set up an antenna and repeater on top of their building, as well as offering a summer class for students interested in ham radio. While at HamCom, I was also surprised when I heard about some individuals that occasionally used to set up and operate behind my school, Shepton High School in Plano, due to HOA restrictions in their own neighborhoods.

I was fortunate to have met a lot of people this weekend, including the ARRL Hudson Division Director Ria Jairam, N2RJ, and Dr. Thomas Hays, KI5AIF, Assistant Professor of Engineering Practice, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.

While at HamCom, I attended several sessions. I was especially impressed by Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO, 2018 Young Ham of the Year. He talked during the luncheon about getting youth involved in contesting. I hope to collaborate with him in the future about getting more youth involved and interested in our hobby.

The best part of HamCom? I “won” an ICOM IC-7300 radio! Of course, I only won it after my driver paid the nice lady from MTC. I also picked up a portable antenna. I intend to try these out this weekend for ARRL Kids Day, and I plan to share my opinions on them in the next newsletter.

I am scheduled to attend several Field Day sites with my driver (backseat for that day!) and Steve, KG5VK, including Plano, McKinney, Richardson, Garland, Allen/Wylie/Lucas, and Sachse. I look forward to visiting with members of those clubs!

I hope you all have a great summer and hope to see you on the air!

Katherine KT5KMF

Ham of the Year Nominations Closing Date Announced

 I announced the deadline for ARRL NTX Section Ham of The Year Nominations at the Section Manager forum during Ham Com.

The deadline is 2359 Local time on the 22^nd of this month,  details on submission of nominations may be found in the prior News Letter, On the ARRL NTX Groups.IO reflector, The Face Book Groups page “ARRL – North Texas Section” and on my Blog…. http://sdxa.blogspot.com
            Or simply email me for instructions   kG5VK@ARRL.ORG

New Assistant Section Manager,  Ambassador appointed

I appointed John Hamilton KD5INM who is our current Technical Coordinator

John remains our Technical Coordinator and is now also a SM Ambassador for district 1.

He will be making many ARRL FD visits in District 1 on my behalf.
            John was and is a valued asset to our members, he proved so during HamCom, even though he had a full plate with the MARS program HamCom week-end John spent much time assisting myself and Greg Evans at the ARRL and ARES tables, thanks John !

Greg Evans K5GTX SEC

Summer Field Day is a great opportunity to practice your problem-solving skills.  I had never participated in a field day where something didn’t go wrong.  Maybe it is RFI or QRM from a neighboring station.  Maybe a cable end went bad while stored in the shed from the last Field Day.  Or worse yet, an amplifier, tuner or radio failed.  There are always new challenges during field day; it’s how you choose to handle them that is key.

Situational Awareness is key for our ability to respond.  In the past month, I asked the Section to go into Standby twice.  The first time was due to the Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) notice issued by the NWS for the panhandle of Texas.  For the following 48 hours since that notice, most of the weather was north of our section.  The second Standby request was due to the potential for severe weather throughout the Section.  NWS reported eight confirmed tornadoes.  On Sunday, June 9, winds exceeding 70 MPH hit the DFW area.  The storms occurred earlier than expected.  One Dallas resident lost their life due to a crane accident.  While the NWS does an excellent job predicting the weather, unexpected events do occur.  Maintaining our vigilance of situational awareness helps us be prepared to serve our communities in their time of need.

Planned ARRL Site Visits

Several members of the Section management staff and I, will be out and about

on ARRL Field Day week-end visiting the sites.
Katherine KT5KMF Section Youth Coordinator, myself and her dad will visit....

Plano K5PRK, McKinney W5MRC,
Richardson K5RWK, Garland K5QHD,
Allen/Wylie/Lucas W5AWL and Saches K5S

I will visit....
K5RKW in Rockwall, Grayson County (Sherman) and Paris WB5RDD
on the way back home if I can catch about four hours of sleep Saturday evening in
Plano

Ken Mitchell KD2KW  SM Ambassador
LAARK
DCARA
LARA

Army Curtis AE5P

Nacogdoches W5NAC and
Rusk County N5RCA in Henderson

Ken Hansen N2VIP   SM Ambassador
KB5A Metrocrest ARC
and Coppell Hams W5CPL


John Hamilton KD5INM
Section Technical Coordinator & New Assistant SM Ambassador District 1

John will be visiting FD sites within District
One (North West of Ft Worth) and down
into Districts 2 and 4

John is looking at visiting Six sites,
possibly a few more

Greg Evans K5GTX  SEC

DARC (Dallas ARC)

Ham Association of Mesquite (HAM)

Ellis County Amateur Radio Club

Mansfield Johnson Amatuer Radio Service (MJARS)

Tri County ARC

Northeast Tarrant Amateur Radio Club

Public Information Officer Wanted

We need a Public Information Officer for our Section.
If you have the skill to help me get the word out to our members using different Media Tools,
please contact me and let’s talk. 
You must be a current ARRL member to hold any position in section management and willing to spend a few hours each month on this project,
Giving a little of your time to our fellow ARRL members is very rewarding, the team could use some help, so call or email me now.   Steve   KG5VK@ARRL.ORG
Telephone 318-470-9806

The 90 Days of summer can be deadly

Summer is a lot of fun, kids are out of school and there are a lot of outdoor activities.

We have ARRL Field Day with a lot of inherent risk, especially the heat, stay hydrated !
Keep an eye on those around you and pay attention to the Heat and its effect on your body and others, know the signs of Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke.
Watch out for kids near water, it only takes a minute for a child to drown
being distracted with your nose in a cell phone when you should be monitoring children in or near water is cause for disaster.  Do you know CPR, you should – you may save the life of a stranger or a Loved one.

Parking lots are probably the most dangerous place any of us travel
I am amazed every time I enter and leave any parking area that I escape alive.

If your shooting a line over a tree with a projectile for ARRL FD, please consider where that projectile may land, especially if the line comes untethered.

Have Fun but be Safe and a reminder ARRL  Kids Day is today

15 June 2019

Steve

KG5VK

ARRL North Texas Ham of The Year Nominations are still being accepted

ARRL NTX Ham of The Year Nominations should be more than just a call sign sent to the section manager

A good nomination package might look something like this......

What follows is nomination example

Everyone of the following lines are Bullet statements........


I want to nominate Name and Call sign for NTX Ham of the year.
Is an ARRL member
Was licensed in xxxx, has lived in NTX section X years
Currently is a member of xxxx and xxxx
Received a personal award from for work during weather event on xx date and year for doing XXXX
Presented XXXXXX at xxxx Ham Fest during xxxx and again in xxxx.
Does on-the-air traffic handling on XXX Net
Was instrumental in development of xxxx
Was honored by being the recipient of xxx group or club award
Inducted into the xxxxx
Directly responsible for organizing such and such events this passed year
Passed President of the XXX Amateur Radio club, and Current member of the Board of Directors
Served as a hospital volunteer during XXXXX in xxx of xxxx, at XXXX hospital
Works as a Volunteer doing xxx at their local church on such and such street in no where Texas
Is a VEC and has administered exams during the following club meetings and Ham Fest
Volunteered and assisted our club during it's support of  Mentor Fest (or other event)
Personally Elmer x number of new Amateur Radio operators last year
Assisted HamCom members with x hours of volunteer work in 2018 placing Barricades Thursday evening 

 (following is a sample closing paragraph)
I highly recommend XXXXXX for the award of North Texas Ham of the Year.
A closing paragraph such as this is appropriate to help underline
any of the Bullet statements that are above
You can also include copies of certificates, awards etc
And your closing with your name and call sign

You might not have as many bullet statements listed in the sample above
Those are listed to give you an idea of what a Nomination should look like

Closing date of Nominations will be announced at HamCom on the 8th of June 2019

Email your nominations to KG5VK@ARRL.ORG

Subject title needs to be ARRL NTX Ham of the Year Nomination

Steve
KG5VK

Emory Texas Ham Fest Tail Gate Party

The Emory Ham Fest Tail Gate Party

May 11. 2019

Was a success in my book !
While it rained all day, the turn out considering it was an outside venue was great.
Many of the Rains County Amateurs brought pop up tents for Vendors to use

My Mom has always said that I would not melt if I got wet
and that was true

The fellowship from club members was warm and friendly
I am already looking forward to their next venue !

Steve
KG5VK

I'm in Rockwall, Texas tonight and bright and early head to Garland for Mentor Fest 2019 at the Hella Shrine

April 26,  2019

I'm on the road (Pit Stop) is Rockwall Texas

Tomorrow is Mentor Fest 2019
April 27, 2019

Garland, Texas at the Hella Shrine

Schedule

TIME	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Session 4	Session 5	Session 6
6:00 - 8:45	Setup
9:00 - 9:45	Do you need an antenna tuner?	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Anderson power poles	AREDN
10:00 - 10:45	Do you need an antenna tuner?	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Coax Connectors	FSQ
11:00 - 11:45	Do you need an antenna tuner?	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Soldering 100, An Intro	Hands On AREDN/FSQ
11:45 - 1:00	Lunch
1:00 - 1:45	Practical BaoFeng HT Radio Programming 101	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Anderson power poles	AREDN
2:00 - 2:45	Practical BaoFeng HT Radio Programming 101	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Coax Connectors	FSQ
3:00 - 3:45	Practical BaoFeng HT Radio Programming 101	DMR- Digital Mobile Radio	Digital HF modes- FT-8 digital on HF	Raspberry Pi and Ham Radio	Soldering 100, An Intro	Hands On AREDN/FSQ
3:45 - 5:00	Tear Down and Clean Up

We have Ten Mentors covering a wide range of Topics in Formal Seminars (listed above)
There will also be a lot of casual mentoring sessions at one of over six different club tables

Our ARRL West Gulf Division Director John Stratton will join my self and many others at the ARRL table
I encourage everyone to come meet our director, myself and many other talented Ham radio members
that are eager to share with others.

What I love about sharing in a learning Environment is that we all learn
Come on out and lets have some fun learning about our great hobby !

Steve
KG5VK

Irving Ham Fest on the 2nd of March

I will be at the Irving Ham Fest on the 2nd of March
Please stop by the ARRL Table and say hello

Steve
KG5VK

North Texas ARRL members Vote for Steven Lott Smith KG5VK as the new Section Manager

News Flash !   (February 19,2019)

Fellow North Texas ARRL members voted me into office as the next ARRL NTX Section Manager !

A big Thank You to each and every one that Voted, 
not just those that voted for me personally, 
but everyone that took a few minutes to mark their Ballot and get it in the mail !

I am very thankful that I won the confidence of the majority of my fellow North Texas ARRL members and you have given me a chance to work for you !!!

Even though, I do not take office tell the First of April, 2019
I am hitting the ground running, answering phone calls, email and text messages

Please, if I do not answer the phone...
leave a short message with a topic, or at least your call sign and phone number.

This will allow me to get back to you with the info you need and not have to call you back after I research the solutions or answers to your question(s)

This simply helps me, help more members faster and more efficiently.

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

KG5VK at ARRL dot Net
Tel 318-470-9806

Some of My Goals as your new ARRL North Texas Section Manager, if elected

• Fix a few things......
  
  
  1. The Broken or Incomplete Profiles on the http://ARRLNTX.org website
     
  2. The Broken NTX Feeds to the Division website  http://arrlwgd.org/sections
     
  3. More Active Communication from SM to members with a request that they provide feedback, emphasis on the routine of a Monthly Section News Letter
     
     
     
     
     • Create some new tools to promote Active communication
       
       
       1. Monthly Pod Casts
       2. Quarterly Emails, Pod Castings and / or Face Book postings of...
       State of The Section Reports
       
       
       • Education of members to the tools at hand to solve problems and communicate with the Section Manager and his Station level appointees
         aside from the ARRLNTX.org website for example use of the NTX Email reflector http://www.arrlntx.org/
         
       • Insure that fellow North Texans are aware of the many programs that are in place for our Section and Division members. Such as....
         
         
         1. Scholarships
         2. Encourage nominations to the Division Awards program for Young Ham of the Year, Ham of the Year etc.
         3. Seek Nominations for ARRL NTX Section Ham of the Year
            and provide the award to one of those nominated once a year per my term in office.
         4. ARRL special club of the year award for the club that recruits the greatest number of new ARRL members within the last 12 months
            I will obviously have to work out some details on this one so it is fair to lower populated clubs as well as large member clubs.
            
            
            
            •  Ensure that the ARRL Section Table is Manned on both Friday & Saturday at Cowtown & HamCom, not just Saturday
              
              These are just a few of the things that I want to do and see done better, others will come once in office if elected to serve
              
              Cheers!
              Steven Lott Smith
              KG5VK
              
              
              

My ARRL NTX Section Manager Campaign stop at The Garland Amateur Radio Club

Last night myself (KG5VK) and Ken KD2KW were at the Garland ARC meeting
we were invited by the GARC Club to introduce ourselves as the current Candidates for your Section Manager (ARRL NTX) and take questions from the members.

We received many great questions !

One question I had for the members was...

When was the last time a North Texas ARRL member was awarded Ham of The Year ?

Unfortunately,  no one could recall
To me that means it has been way to long ago and I expressed that
Maybe it is because none of the recent SM's have asked the members to nominate someone ???
I found nothing on this in the current NTX section searches I did,
why, could be many reasons.

I do plan on if elected to seek Nominations for a section Ham of the year from our section

and award one accordingly each year I am in office, if elected.

I also encourage members of North Texas to submit a nomination to our Division

This is easily done by following the instructions found at the following link...
http://arrlwgd.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/WGD-Awards-Full-Nominating-Package.pdf
We have Many deserving Hams in our section that have been over looked for far too long !

I have another question for those reading this..........

Can you name Ten great things that have happened in our Section in the last year and a half ?
Now how many of those things were generated at the Section manager level ????
Regardless of the answer, those numbers (both of those answers) needs to be much higher 

and that is but One of my goals if elected as your Section Manager

As always you can contact me with questions via email
KG5VK@ARRL.net
Tele 318-470-9806

Cheers!
Steve

KG5VK

My Campaign Journey for ARRL Section Manager

When I decided to run as the new Section Manager for the North Texas Section of the ARRL
I was faced with the question of how do I get the word out to the Forty Four Thousand plus fellow North Texas ARRL members

My Game plan became to do a small limited Mail out to approximately a fourth of the members,
The first week of this month One Thousand Letters were mailed
both letting members know who I am and why I am running as well as asking for their Vote.

I wish I could have mailed a letter to every member in North Texas
but my budget could not support that.

How to spread the word to an even wider audience?
I decided to give Jason KC5HWB of Ham Radio 2.0 a call
and I asked if he could help spread the word that there was actually an Election this year
for a new NTX section manager

He agreed and was all in, and in fact did an interview a few days later with Jay Urish the current SM
and this past week-end did an interview of both myself and Ken KD2KW the other Candidate

I received a lot of emails and even a few phone calls after that interview.
Every one of those contacts were positive and several had some great ideas on how to improve our section.

We have 68 counties in the North Texas ARRL Section
it is a big area and I will need lots of help, to make our section a roll model for other sections.
So keep the ideas and phone calls coming !

Telephone 318-470-9806
Email KG5VK@ARRL.net
I can also be reached on FB & Messenger
My FB ID is Steven Lott Smith KG5VK

Here are the links to the interviews that Jason of Ham Radio 2.0 did.........

Jason's Interview with Jay Urish W5GM our current Section manager

Interview with 2019 Candidates of North Texas Section by Jason of Ham Radio 2.0

The Closing Statements from the Interview of Candidates

You will be receiving Section manager Ballots from the ARRL
soon, please educate yourself on both Candidates and Vote
for who you feel will do the most work for all ARRL members in North Texas

I hit the ground on this campaign with a sprint to get the word out
Before the first of the year I attended two Amateur Radio Club Christmas parties
one in Paris Texas (RRVARC) and one in Atlanta, Texas (LETARS)

Then it was the RRVARC club meeting (Paris, TX),  The MJARS club meeting (Atlanta, TX),
Ham Radio 2.0 Interview at the Hunt County EOC in Hurst, Texas  and The Dallas Amateur Radio Club DARC meeting  Tuesday the 8th of January.
Tonight I will be at the MARS Club meeting in Carrollton, Texas

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

A good friend asked me today why I want to be the ARRL Section Manager for North Texas

A good friend of mine asked me, 

why I want to be the Section manager of North Texas

Do you know who our current station appointees are ? ( I did not, until recently)
Are they doing a great job ?

Have you told the current Section Manager that they are doing an Excellent job ?

My phone number is 318-470-9806 my Email address is KG5VK@arrl.net
I am available for you to call and chat with, now and in the future
 

Are you in need of help with something in your station, you read the book and are still struggling to find the answer ?

Are you struggling to find someone to help you put up an antenna, call me 318-470-9806
I recently traveled to Howe Texas to put up two antennas for a fellow Ham (K5FO Jay) that I did not even know (does this mean I will personally put up everyone's antennas of course not, but I will certainly make every effort I can to muster help)

I have always been able to motivate from within, by giving fellow Hams inspiration and courage to tackle the task at hand.
I motivate in a positive manner thru Education.
We need more education in all aspects of our hobby
Why should we learn proper phonetics?
I live in an HOA, how can I get on the air?
Do you have a license and have yet to get on the air?

I may not know the answer to every thing, but I can find the person that does know and we can all learn from that.
I have a track record of Motivating others through my passion and enthusiasm

Please call or email me now, if the line is busy as they say please leave a message or drop me that email and I will get back to you ASAP
I want to earn your vote!

Steve
KG5VK

I am seeking the position of ARRL Section Manager for North Texas

Following the recent announcement by Jay Urish that he is not accepting another term as our SM for NTX and now that I am again retired, I am seeking the position.

For those that would like to know a bit more about me...

KG5VK 
Steven Lott Smith

Born Miami Florida September 1955

First Licensed in 1972 as WN0FOI
Graduate of Parkway High School Manchester Missouri 1974 (But I’m class of 75)
Entered Active Duty with The United States Air Force September 1974
Met my Wife who is from North Texas, while we were both stationed in California
We lived in West Texas from 1981 - 1985 (Dyess AFB)
During that time, I was twice president of the Key City Amateur Radio Club in Abilene, Texas.
Following that assignment we were at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, where I was the President of the Shreveport Amateur Radio Association for 3 years consecutively and two more years later on.
I served in Desert Shield / Storm from December of 1990, through March of 1991 with the 801 Bomb Wing (B-52's)
Retired from the USAF October 1st 1993 and started a Professional Photography Business (Lott's Photo), continued that line of work and also began teaching photography at Bossier Parish Community College in 2001 to late 2014
In 2015 My wife and I moved from Louisiana to North Texas
In 2016 I started work at Main Trading Co. Paris, Texas.
I just retired again and want to spend time supporting fellow North Texas ARRL members with communication to the ARRL.
I greatly look forward to hearing your concerns and accolades on what the league can and has done, for you my fellow ARRL members as well as recruiting new ARRL members.
Many of you have probably seen one or more of the many presentations I have given on a wide range of topics at Ham Com over the past 6 years.
I pledge to be Transparent and available to your communications
KG5VK@ARRL.net

Your Candidate for North Texas Section Manager

Steven Lott Smith
KG5VK

ARRL SS Phone 2018 at my QTH in North Texas

Guest OPS
at
KG5VK

K5PS Scott

Victor WB0TEV

With the extraordinary help of  Scott & Victor

We managed a very respectful entry in this years running of the ARRL SS Phone Contest from my modest shack and even more modest and still maturing antenna farm.

With only three OPS, we had a lot of Butt In the chair time, however we managed to have some fun as well !

With a tad over 4 hours left before the end of the contest tonight, were nudging at over 900 Q's

we managed a sweep first thing Sunday morning on Twenty meters when VO1YY answered my CQ SS Call - What a Thrill !

I will follow-up with another post of the results and try and add some pixs of my very modest atnenna farm

Cheers!
Steve

KG5VK

Rain, Rain and yes More Rain and a few other topics for the post...

Wow !

Have we had enough rain for the the last 30 days or what !
Hard to get anything done outside, it is so wet
Sure would be nice if we had a break and allowed the ground to get a little dry for a change
I guess it's better than a drought :)

Mean while on the health side of things........
Finally relief from my neck pain
Been to see the Nero Surgical guys again and got the second (other side of the Neck)
worked on and I have feeling great again !
It is so nice to now just have the occasional headache, versus the dehabilitating pain I was constantly having.

Go a bit more work done on the antenna Farm (Ham Radio)
even though it is so wet we need hip wanders (wel almost that bad)
I managed to get out on the tractor on the back 18 acres and found that the 80 meter Rhombic is down
Broken pulley allowed the fed point end to fall from the pole

Mean while here is the current antenna Inventory

6 el 20 m monobander
4 el 40m Four Square vertical array
80/160 meter Vertical
8 el wire Sturba Curtain Array (works good on 80 thru ten meters)

2 el Hex Beam for 10/15/20m
80 meter Full size Rhombic (out of commission for now)

Two low band Receive arrays: 

One is the 9 ele YCCC Low band Receive array 

Second is a 3el Hi-Z vertical Array

The 20m OWA M2 is still only at 26 feet above the ground,
which will probably work great for ARRL SS Next week-end
But sure looks way too close to the ground when you see it
Heck the boom is Sixty feet long, so it is barely a third as high as the boom is long !
Goal is to have it at 130 feet on the Tic Ring Rotor, eventually

The 40 m Four square is working great towards the North East
but else where it is only fair....
So I waded out in the water the other day and inspected it
Two of the feed points are broken, hogs chewed on them !!!
Yes we have wild Feral Hogs in these parts of Texas

I still need to get the 80m Four square built
of course priority is to get the 150 feet of Rohn 55g up

Meanwhile I bought an MFJ 1846 antenna (2 ele Hex beam or CobWeb 6 thru 20m)
got it assembled in the cold wx yesterday
plan on putting her up if the rain stops later today
for now she will goon a tilt over pole at about 30 feet
and will be fixed towards West Coast as the 20m monoband is currently fixed towards the East Coast
Long term plans are to have this 2el antenna stay below 30 feet but rotator added

I need to do some work on the 9el YCCC Low Band Receive array
lots of lightning last week and I think I lost several preamps at the base of the verticals
yupp more boards to build and replace !
This antenna system (YCCC Vert Array) requires a lot on maintenance but when she works she is worth it !

Decided I needed to stay close to home for several reasons and not trek to Louisiana for the anual
Multiop get together for ARRL SS Phone, I hope the team does great at W5WZ's QTH this year

Since I am home for ARRL SS Phone, I decided we need to see if a couple of the local guys want to come play....

So far I have two OPS coming
I am greatly looking forward to hoisting an ARRL team again
last time was in Louisiana way back in 2013

Never would have thought it had been that long, but I looked it up
on the http://3830scores.com/ website

I am looking forward to getting to know the guys that are coming over to play
Hope we are able to post a respectable score, Top ten would be nice
but mainly want the ops to have fun and look fwd to coming back again

That's it for now!
Still raining

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

September is Here...

While I have been undergoing a lot of pain from a neck injury I sustained many many years ago
I am still staying very busy

Between working at MTC (Yes the Ham Radio Candy Store in Paris Texas)
and maintaining 57 acres of land

I now have my 150 feet of Rohn 55G assembled and ready for the crane to come lift it in place
just need to add some finishing touches on the 4 Element 40 Meter beam She will be mounted at 155 feet.

The Big 6 el 20 Meter OWA yagi is ready to be hoisted up and placed on the TIC Ring Rotor which will be at 130 feet.

Been a long time since I took my last tower down at the old QTH in Louisiana
and I am looking forward to once again having a commanding signal into EU and JA
during the DX contests and Expeditions

Currently I am only 4 away from DXCC Honor Roll
anxious to get there but as KR5D says enjoy the journey,  I am :)

Steve
KG5VK

Enjoyed the limited amount of Time I got to play in WRTC this year

Only 9 hours of Butt in the Chair
20m Beam only at 24 feet
40m Four Square
43 foot vertical for 80M
Had Fun !
Steve KG5VK

Software Tools for Today's DX OP by Steven Lott smith Presented at HamCom 2018

Here is the Link to the PP File that I used in my Presentation at HamCom 2018

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1h2yLaOqXz4eNCR2jRbdCIZcmdeVbNaiyuaKQ3nfRXy0/edit?usp=sharing

Any feedback is welcome

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

Friends Meet at Dayton 2018

K8KI  &  KG5VK

Bob and I first met while we were serving in the United States Air Force, back in 1979
We have stayed in touch and seen each other at a few Ham Fest over the Years at Dayton.
I had been absent from Dayton for the last 8 years. it was great to run into Bob in the Flea Market Saturday afternoon.

2018 Dayton here I come !!!

Looking forward to another long over do trip to Dayton Ham Fest
I also signed up for the DX Dinner as well as Contest University.
I ave been neglect in posting the the Ole Sundown DX Association Blog
let's see if I can start posting now that Spring is around the corner :)
By the way if your an ARRL member, and if not why not !!!
Check out page 125 of the March QST.....
How about that guy in the Red ICOM Shirt and next to me is my better half.
I am off from the shop here at MTC tomorrow to sleep in and get ready for some major Butt in the Chair time for this week-end's edition of the ARRL Phone DX Contest
Lately most of my Q's have been either FT8 or CW.....

Cheers!    Steve

QUICK MSK144 and JT9 Fast Modes Setup

QUICK MSK144 and JT9 Fast Modes Setup

Stud Mounts by BreedLove

Stud Mounts



https://www.breedlovemounts.com/stud-mounts.html

N1MM+ MACRO Cat commands to FTdx5000 with a DVS-6

Another way for sending voice messages is to use the optional DVS-6. 
With the macro {CAT1ASC PB0#;} 
in the N1MM F-keys you can send the 5 available voice messages.

also a Note from K3CT on this......

Make sure you check “Internal Radio Codec” in the Logger+ Audio, Playback tab. This will cause the program to send commands to the radio to switch between the MIC and radio codec. It should not be necessary to change radio menu items to perform this switching.

John, K3CT

Cheers!

Steve

KG5VK

A thought on the Mining WSPR transmissions

http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/spots

Click on "Specify query parameters" and specify your callsign or callsign of a particular spotting station.

Copy the screen data to a text file then import the data into MS Excel (or equiv.) and plot like shown further on down on this webpage:

http://www.qsl.net/wb5wpa/EHantenna/EH_Mark_2_Vert/

A Presentation on DX LABS Suite Logging Software by KG5VK

click here to download my powerpoint presentation on DXlabsSuite

Any questions you are welcome to email me

LottsPhoto at Gmail  dot com

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

Setting Up Ve7CC User Filtering and use with N1MM+

http://kg5vk.com/Setting up ve7cc user Filtering.ppt

Clicking The above Link will down load a power point file I created on the topic KG5VK

My newest antenna at Area 57 aka 125 Contest Ln An 8el Sterba Curtain Array

It's just a wire antenna
But it has an estimated 8db of gain over a dipole
Mine is ladder line fed from a home made 9:1 Balun
It appears to work much better than my 20m ground mounted vertical that has 32 radials
Very few trees here and what we do have are short scrub brushes
So I installed two surplus Telephone poles

The LA QSO PArty is coming..........

LOUISIANA QSO PARTY March 18, 2017

14:00 UTC, March 18, 2017 to 02:00 UTC, March 19, 2017 

(Nine AM to nine PM CDT Saturday, March 18, 2017)

Sponsored by

LOUISIANA CONTEST CLUB

https://louisianacontestclub.org/

Louisiana Qso Party – March 18th 2017

A New Tool for Propagation forecasting

http://www.predtest.uk/index.html

Cheers!
steve
KG5VK

Work at Area 57 AKA 125 Contest lane begins on the holes for the Two Towers

Follow up 4 December 2016

Rented a very large CAT Backhoe with supposedly rock teeth
got a bit deeper on all the holes but the north Guy anchor needs to go Four more feet
yup I am in solid rock at only two feet down

Ordered a large SDS MAX Hammer Drill and a couple of bags of some stuff called DexPan
which is supposed to go in the drilled holes in the rock and twenty four hours later will have expanded enough to break the rock

We shall see if this works, at this point I have my doubts
and may need to move my Northern Guy anchor out fusrther and pary I don't hit another Vein of the same rock !

I guess this is my real welcome to North Texas :)

-------------------------------------------

Rented a small back hoe got most of the holes dug for the front tower Then at the front Guy anchor point I hit shale rock while only down 2 feet So now I am on hold to find a much bigger track hoe and or a jack hammer !!!                                       

Mean while I now have started on wiring for the
new Ham Shack building

I also received delivery of 8 utility poles that are
begging for my attention I plan on using these for
a large Rhombic antenna on the back 24 acres

All nine elements of the YCCC low band Receive
array are now up however the electronics are not
mounted as of now as they were getting destroyed
by lightning.
So I am building some rather large RF chokes to
go in parallel with some inexpensive lightning
arrestors I bought from Mouser Electronics

This image taken before I had all the elements up
wife like to call this one the Wagon Wheel

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

W4ZV's Pile Up buster Technique..........(For the K3 with cw skimmer)

KQ5S wrote I looked at this. The reason I want to use SKIMMER is to help locate where an OP is listening. By having my own SKIMMER I am able to see 599 or a call sign almost instantly and can click on the call or 599 and QSY to where it OP is listening (a little RIT helps to move off the exact frequency). The RBN only shows calls and there is the obvious internet latency. I am not sure this would work for my intended purposes.

That's exactly how I use Skimmer for pileup busting. You need the following: 1. K3 with KXV3 and KRX3. 2. LP-PAN ~$200...probably don't need the preamp option. 3. LP-Bridge free...allows running Skimmer and N1MM simultaneously 3. CW Skimmer software $75 4. A decent soundcard $100...see http://www.telepostinc.com/soundcards.html 5. P4 2.5 GHz computer...mine cost $90 on eBay.

You do NOT need: HamRadioDeluxe PowerSDR NaP3 (I haven't tried it but it's not necessary for what you described) CW Skimmer includes OmniRig which is all that's needed to drive the K3 directly (none of the above is needed).

The only limitation is that you're limited to 24 kHz bandwidth, which is a limit Alex VE3NEA imposes on the "Softrock on IF" mode. However I haven't found any pileups wider than 24 kHz! You do need to set the Sub RX on the DX station because Skimmer only sees IF OUT for Main and because the K3 always transmits on Main (VFO A).

The procedure is:

1. Tune in the DX station. If you prefer using the Main knob, double tap A>B to copy everything to the Sub RX. If you want to listen to the pileup and the DX station simultaneously you can set L-R MIX audio options in CONFIG. I use a Pileup Buster Macro to set everything up with a single button press.

2. Next set Main (VFO A) to the approximate center of the pileup. Skimmer will then see +/- 12 kHz around VFO A.

3. Listen to the DX station. When he answers N6KR, look for the "N6KR 599" decoder dot on the display.

4. Click the dot and you're ready to transmit.

I usually crank in ~50 Hz XIT so I'm not dead zero beat with others doing the same thing. :-)

Believe it or not, I've actually busted some huge pileups without even listening to them. One I recall vividly was the ST0R pileup on 160 in August. 73, Bill ---------------------

transmit and other Macros for the k3 with many thoughts and thanks to Alan K2ACK

K3

1 RAGCHEW TE+06+06+00+06+00+04+08+12;MN110;SWT12;SWH45;MN255;

2 DX TE+00+00+00-06+00+04+08+12;MN110;SWT13;SWH45;MN255;

3 VERYDX TE-06-06+00-06+00+04+08+12;MN110;SWT24;SWH45;MN255;

4 FLAT TE+00+00+00+00+00+00+00+00;MN110;SWT11;SWH45;MN255;

as found on the following website

Also see his Chaining of Macros discussion...

Thanks to Alana K2ACK for the posts at his site.

Cheers!

Steve

KG5VK

AGC settings for the K3 explained rather well...

http://www.w3fpr.com/K3_AGC.htmhttp://www.w3fpr.com/K3_AGC.htm

connectors for VXL5-50

connectors for VXL5-50

Excellent info from K9YC

click here

Propagation Tools a Presentation by KG5VK centered on ViewProp

Click here for the HTML version of my power point as Presented at the LCC (Louisiana Contest Club) meeting at the Shreveport Ham Fest this summer Any questions or comments may be directed to KG5VK at ARRL dot Net Cheers! Steve KG5VK

N3FJP's Amateur Radio Software

N3FJP's Amateur Radio Software



http://www.n3fjp.com/clubscore.html

W8TN's Ramblings: Building a K2AV FCP 160-M Antenna

W8TN's Ramblings: Building a K2AV FCP 160-M Antenna



This one has some excellent diagrams

FCP Info by DL2OBO - www.DM9EE.de

FCP Info by DL2OBO - www.DM9EE.de



Make sure you look at the Notes from Tom W8JI in this one

he makes some very good points,  just like he always does !

Bottom line is instead of folded radials FCP use short radials

made electrically longer with coils - however the difference is small

and as Tom said unless you really screw it up

These things just plain work !



Also the W0UCE.net page is broken



cheers!

Steve

W1UJ Folded Counterpoise (FCP) Project

W1UJ Folded Counterpoise (FCP) Project

Trouble shooting tips for the YCCC array

Did you check each of the 9 preamps? Disconnect all of the antenna feedlines from the combiner and reconnect each one to the CTR port, one at a time, and power up the system. (Leave the 2 delay lines connected). Note the signal level with the one antenna connected, using a local BCB station if you can tune there. Remove the feedline when you finish testing one preamp and then repeat the same test on the next antenna preamp. They should all have the same signal level. If one is down, you have another bad preamp. Next thing to check is the 9 RF chokes on the combiner board. These are fragile devices that can fail under excessive current. With DC power removed from the system, put an ohmmeter across each of the chokes. You should see 6 ohms +/-1 ohm. If you see an open circuit or a short circuit (close to zero ohms), you have a failed choke. Finally, in the switch box unit, test the RF choke in there with the ohmmeter. Also test each of the 12 diodes with an ohmmeter. Measure the resistance across each diode with the ohmmeter leads connected one way and then reversed. One of the ohmmeter connections should show much higher resistance than the other way. If it doesn’t you have a failed diode. Do you use your array in the summer? I disconnect all cables and feedlines from mine for the duration of the summer to avoid lightning damage. I learned this the hard way. Of course, it means I don’t operate 160 or 80 in the summer, so that’s the downside.

The official documentary video for WRTC2014 is now available!

The official documentary video for WRTC2014 is now available! The video was produced by James Brooks, 9V1YC, and runs approximately 59 minutes. James took advantage of 9 roving video teams to capture high definition footage of action at headquarters and out in the field, artfully telling the WRTC2014 story using the participants’ own words. View the video at: https://vimeo.com/119947598 Funding for video production was provided by a generous grant from the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF).

Antenna Resistance a very good dicussion by W8JI

http://www.w8ji.com/radiation_resistance.htm

More from N4JTE This time Two pairs of phased Verticals, no it is not a true Four Square

Scroll down to where he says "Poor Man's Four Square" More from N4JTE This time a pair of 40m Phased verticals Not a Four Square but Two pair of separate Phased verticals

Phasing Short HF Vertical Antennas - The Clark County Amateur Radio Association, Springfield, OH

Phasing Short HF Vertical Antennas - The Clark County Amateur Radio Association, Springfield, OH

N4JTE Vertical Array - Phased Verticals on 40 Meters!

N4JTE Vertical Array - Phased Verticals on 40 Meters!

VA7ST.ca » Blog Archive » Phased 40M Wire Verticals

VA7ST.ca » Blog Archive » Phased 40M Wire Verticals

VA7ST Christman phasing calculator

VA7ST Christman phasing calculator

W8WWV gives us S-Meter Lite

http://nk7z.net/review-of-s-meter-lite/

DX-World.net Featured DXPeditions timeline

DX-World.net Featured DXPeditions timeline

AB0X and the KCDX Club offer a great pdf file on Receive antennas

AB0X Low Band Receive antennas for small lots.... Click Here Cheers! steve KG5VK

NK7Z very useful Blog

KF5EYY Tech site

http://kf5eyy.info/technical.htm

Optimize Windows for DXlabs Spot Collector

http://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxlabwiki/OptimizeWindowsForSpotCollector

YCCC Articles Index Link

http://yccc.org/Articles/index.htm

An On Line Simple Air Coil Calculator mentioned in the Feb 2016 QSR Article by Ward Silver

Simple Air Coil Calculator
http://www.k7mem.com/Electronic_Notebook/inductors/coildsgn.html

The Impedance Matching designer link is here
http://home.sandiego.edu/~ekim/e194rfs01/jwmatcher/matcher2.html

Thanks to Ward for another great effective article

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

YCCC 9 element Low band Vertical RCV Array

Here is a very short Video of the performance of this array....

Note I have only finished 3 of the 9 elements
They are in a line N.E.  / S.W.
The control cable was only two lines for power, none for switching

So the only switching in this first use

is The Array (RX ANT) Versus the Transmit antenna (which is a long legged Vee Beam)
I will be posting more Videos of this very impressive antenna soon.

Cheers!

Steve

KG5VK

Vee Beam a simple wire antenna with very long legs

Vee Beam fed with Ladder line
Forground 3 el 17m beam being assembled

at

Area 57

Nearly end of the day at "Area 57"

Nearly End of The daylight Hours

at

"Area 57"

Finished up the roughed in plumbing and started hooking up a few appliances like a whirlpool tub
HVAC system will get installed in a couple of weeks

Tomorrow I spend a little more time perfecting the three elements of the 9 ele YCC low band receive array, while we have another day of sunshine here.

Mean while I just worked a new one on 80m cw
ES3AX  August in Estonia

Cheers!

Steve

KG5VK

40m Yagi Antennas CQ Contest

40m Yagi Antennas CQ Contest by Jay WX0B  make sure we notice the difference in TOA when the two antennas are 180 deg out of phase, prob an awesome tool for ARRL SS de steve KG5VK

AutoEZ: Transmission Lines - Tuners - Stacks - Stubs

AutoEZ: Transmission Lines - Tuners - Stacks - Stubs



Wow !!!  This is an awesome tool set !

I am far from a EZNEC Guru

but AutoEZ makes using the software so much easier AND Brings much more to the table
Like telling me where my stub should be placed in the line for harmonic suppression !
Very versatile tool !



Many thanks to Dan for developing this app !



Cheers!

Steve

KG5VK

A tip for CW contesting.......

In ARRL SS CW many ops just send ss de their call
it is short , fast and efficient

However the Reverse Beacon Network will not spot you !!!

Butt, if you send Test de yourcall

You will quickly and accurately get spotted by the RVBN Robot

cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

Announced DX Operations

Announced DX Operations

Beverages by N0AX

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B50hZYOcfCiPNDB2Mm1ZdVBJZDA/view?usp=sharing

WRTC2018_WWQR_Award_HowToParticipate.pdf

WRTC2018_WWQR_Award_HowToParticipate.pdf

Comparison of Beverage antenna,magnetic loop antenna,and phased vertical receiving antennas

Comparison of Beverage antenna,magnetic loop antenna,and phased vertical receiving antennas

2004 Station Renovation | AA5AU

2004 Station Renovation | AA5AU

Antenna Modeling for Beginners

Antenna Modeling for Beginners

VOACAP DX Charts

VOACAP DX Charts

A30 Minute Phone contest On Tuesday Evenings in NA

Phone_Fray_Contest_Rules.pdf

This looks like fun !

A phone version of the weekly CW Test The SSB Fray....

I like where he is going with this
as the CWT have been fun the few I have entered
But I am def more of a phone op that a cw type :)

Cheers!
steve
 
The proposed rules for a weekly SSB event are listed below.  While the start date is TBD, please send me an email (NW2K@arrl.net) with comments/suggestions and let me know if you're inclined to participate.  Should be great for fast-paced NAQP practice and welcoming new contesters of all skill levels.
Thank you, 73, Dean, NW2K
------------------------------

--------------------------------------Phone Fray
The NCCC NS and CWops CWT are enjoyable and challenging weekday CW events.  The Phone Fray is a 30-minute weekday SSB event that is based on NAQP and NS.
Time
Wednesday, 0230-0300 UTC (Tuesday evening, in NA)
Bands
15, 20, 40, 80, 160
Suggested:  21275 to 21375, 14200 to 14275, 7125 to 7225, 3700 to 3790, 1845 to 1925
Power & Mode
100 watts, SSB
Exchange
Operator name and station location (S/P/C)
Multipliers
Per band.  50 US states, 13 Canadian provinces/territories (AB, BC, NL, MB, NB, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT) and other NA entities as defined by the ARRL DXCC List.  DC counts as MD.
Scoring
Multiply total valid contacts by the sum of the number of multipliers worked on each band.  Use the NAQP SSB module in your logging software.
Reporting
Post to 3830scores.com within 48 hours.  Scores will be accumlated at the Phone Fray website (TBD).
Divisions
    East (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, NY, NJ, DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, QC, NF, LB, NB, NS, PE, VP9, OX, FP, CY0, CY9, 4U)
    E. Central (MI, OH, WV, IL, IN, WI, KY, TN, AL, MS, ON)
    W. Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, OK, TX, AR, LA, MB, SK, NU)
    West (CA, AZ, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, UT, WY, AK, CO, NM, HI, AB, BC, NT, YT)
    South (Southern NA DXCC)
Competitions
Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn (approximately 10 weeks each).  Keep best 7 out of 10.  Prizes TBD.
Nominal Rules
Single op, no amps, no assistance, no logs.  When in doubt, check NAQP rules or email NW2K.  Special Frays will be held on occasion and may have different rules, which will be communicated in advance.
Version
0.1 May 18 2015, 0.2 July 7 2015, NW2K@arrl.net