Let me try this update a second time … damn computers, anyway!
I've been looking foward to Straight Key Night for weeks, and its been interesting.
I turned the Heathkit HW-16 on about 7 p.m. to give it plenty of time to warm up and stabilize. The HG-10B VFO is pretty stable, the receiverr, no matter how long its on, tends to drift. Part of that is probably just the heat generated by the transmitter section when you're in a QSO. Not bad, but after using a modern rig, its noticeable.
I had my Speed-X rectangular base straight key already hooked to my Icom IC-746PRO, so I headed for 40 meters. The band was crowded with signals, and I was looking for a CQ SKN to answer.
At the higher end of the band, about 7065 kHz, I found a CQ. Ironically, it was big DX for me — N4IN, David Shelton, off Poplar Flat Road near Botland. He and I had a nice QSO, though in the middle of one of his transmission I heard the wind really pick up, then I heard something rake against the shack window.
On my next transmission, my SWR jumped dramatically. I asked David to standby and retuned. The tuning changed and I cut it a little short to try to take a look at what had happened to my antenna.
It was rainy and windy and the only good view was out the bathroom window. From my vantage point, the coax line from my shack window to the 6 meter j-pole had been pulled from its tie points that supported it overhead. The inverted vee feedline had been secured at the same pointt and the feedline was blowing in the wind, which probably explains part of the reason the SWR was changing.
I suspect one leg of the vee is down, but I'll have to wait until morning to check. My next QSOs confirmed there's probably something amiss outside.
I checked in to the KSN tonight at 10 p.m. and it was a busy net. Apparently New Year's Eve brings out old friends who were looking to check in to the net.
Later I was going to use my McElroy Mac Key Deluxe with my HW-16 when I encountered a problem. The key had a bit of leakage from the “hot” side to ground. Attached to the key, the HW-16 would growl — not quit a good enough ground to key, but enough to almost activate the sidetone.
The Mac Key had worked beautifully on my Icom, why not the Heathkit?? The answer has to be the keying voltages. The differential on the solid state rig isn't that much; all it needs is a good ground on the keying line to key the rig. On the Heathkit, there's DC voltage on the keying line, and some of it was leaking to ground.
After careful investigation, I found that the key was missing two fiber washers. The paint was enough insulation between the “hot” contact and ground to allow the key to work with the solid state rig, but not quite enough for the HW-16. I found a nylon washer and an old fiber washer from a Vibroplex and reassembled the key with these. Does it work? Like butter!!
I finally got the HW-16 on 80 cw, and found a 5-lander calling CQ SKN. He was in Galveston, running a J-37 straight key. My signal report was terrible, a 449, the worst I've received. He had a lot of QRN he said, but part of it had to be my antenna problem. I'll investigate further tomorrow.
I hope any damage is minimal, I hate to spend SKN on antenna repairs! Does Murphy's Law have a SKN corrolary? I'm beginning to think so.
73 es HNY … de KY4Z … dit dit