Thursday, Oct. 23, 2019 — I keep waiting for band conditions on 80 CW to improve, but perhaps its a little too early to think that winter-time conditions will prevail.
The good news is I’ve checked in on my CW net a few times when conditions were favorable. The bad news is that 80 percent of the time I can barely hear the NCS, or only catch a character here at there. Of course, on my CW nets, you know the regular check-ins, and you know who the NCS is, and if they can copy a letter or two of your call, they can check you in. But as far as passing traffic — forget that. I can copy most of the regulars better than the NCS.
I’m still using my “emergency” Field Day dipole hung up in the maple tree outside the window behind me. I’ve had to put enough slack in the legs so that swaying tree that supports the middle won’t break one the wire on one leg or the other. It plays pretty well and meets my needs.
My main shack still needs its antenna repaired. A windstorm broke one end, and then my wife drove around that side of the house and snagged the 300 ohm feedline, breaking it apart at an previous repair point.
I still have a couple hundred feet of 300 ohm twinlead from a roll I bought probably 20 years ago at a hamfest. Its TV twinlead, so it isn’t ideal. A lot of hams look down their noses at TV twinlead, but this is the beefier stuff, not the paper thin junk.
I have used 450-ohm ladder line over the years, but if you’ve used it you know how it tends to degrade over time. The plastic separating the two conductors will split, leaving you with two conductors flapping in the breeze.
In the years I’ve used the 300-ohm feedline, I have NEVER had a failure of the line due to flexing or exposure to sunlight. The feedline out there now is just as flexible and solid as it was the day I put it up. If I was using 450-ohm ladder line, I couldn’t say that.
NEW TO ME KEY. I’ve been watching eBay closely over the past weeks and seen some just fantastic keys pass through its portals. But alas, I’m not in the financial situation to afford to bid on those super nice keys. They’re sure fun to follow though.
I did pick up a Brown Brothers BTL iambic key in good, unmolested condition for a decent price recently. The BTL — with its traditional lever arm and pivots and tension springs — is one of my all-time favorite iambic keys. It’s built like a tank, holds its adjustment well, and stays where you put it.
I’m not sure why, but I have never really been a fan of the Brown Bros. BTL-A iambic key. Oh, I know the advantage the key offers, and it was innovative in its discarding of pivots by using the leaf spring for mounting the keying levers. The BTL-A feels fine, but I simply prefer the look of the earlier key. And my all-time favorite combination key is the CTL, which has both the BTL and the ST key on one base.
CURRENTLY IN USE IN STUDIO B. I’m still using the early Kent iambic paddle that I cleaned up as my iambic key of choice here in the library shack. Next to the Kent is my old standby Bencher BY-1 and my Vibroplex Vibrocube Standard. I have an early Brass Racer on the shelf below the rig, and two Square Racers, one standard finish and one in deluxe.
I have two bugs here two, both are Cedar Rapids bugs, one is telegraph model, the other is a radio version without the circuit closer. Because I’m not operating from a desk per se (see photo at right), what I use as my Studio B “desk” (which consists of a hospital-type over-the-bed table with tilt feature) is not bug friendly because its not very steady. My trials with a bug produced half-dits or an extra dit if the table shifted (its on wheels to boot).
I do a lot of writing at this table, with my monitor actually mounted on a mount attached to a bookcase on my left. I can swing the monitor back flat against the bookcase, and then swing it back forward for my writing duties. The monitor arm also does double duty; I have my Heil mic boom mounted on the same mount.
Enough rambling for now, time to break out my CW key and prep for the CW net. Wish me favorable band conditions!
73 es CUL de KY4Z …. 73 … SK …. (dit dit) …