Field Day 2010 - QRP Class

Last weekend was the annual "Field Day" event. Ham radio stations all over the country get on the air to test their emergency radio skills and equipment. Some are very elaborate operations, with major antenna systems, large generators and multiple stations -- all set up on Saturday just prior to the 24 hour event.

My Field Day participation was based on using a small radio with low output (QRP) and battery power. The HW-8 transceiver (the small green radio pictured above) puts out about 4 watts -- the same as a small night light! The battery is charged with a small solar panel.

During this years Field Day I operated between chores, shopping and sleeping, with about 8 hours of total operation. Even so, I made 82 contacts with stations as far away as Hawaii, Alaska, Texas, Ohio and Illinois.

Ham Radio From The Past...

This should bring a smile to anyone who played around with radios back in the "good old days"...

I received this today via email. It's a page from a 1960 issue of Electronics Illustrated showing a home-made, 4-tube transmitter/receiver project.

This is the "stuff" that we did as kids back in the mid-20th century and, amazingly, a simple set like this could communicate all over the world.

(Click on the photos for 
an enlarged view)

Pictured below is a 3-tube set that I made back in the mid-1960's. It had three tubes (6L6 transmitter, 6SN7 receiver and 5U4 power supply), and fit in the attache' case shown in the photo.

On The Air With The GRC-109...


Today I finally got the old GRC-109 military "spy" radio on the air, and made two contacts right away! One of the contacts was with John (N4HBH) located on the east coast in Virginia who gave me a nice signal report. The other contact was with a station in Oregon.

The video above shows me calling CQ (calling for any station). Sorry there's no sound, but it shows the lights on the transmitter blinking as I send the call.

This was about the easiest set up I can remember. Just hook the transmitter to the power supply, hook up an antenna, and start transmitting. This radio is about 50 years old, and puts out about 25 watts of power. There is a matching receiver that I would like to add to this setup.

In the video you can see me using the little key that is built right on top of the transmitter.

Solar Power Ham Radio...

It's about time for some ham radio news!

Last week I dug out the old (1970's) Heathkit HW-8 rig, in preparation for Field Day, a communications test held in June. During the weekend event, stations from all over the country try to work each other using a variety of portable, emergency and home powered equipment.

The HW-8 (smaller green radio in photo) puts out 4 watts, and last year I worked over 80 stations. In my testing this week, I worked stations in Japan, Australia, Alaska, and South America.

To give you some idea of the power level, a 4 watt radio is the same power as a night light bulb. My regular station is the equivalent of a 100 watt light bulb, while the maximum power allowed is the same as 15 light bulbs, 100 watts each!

For hams reading this, I use a solar panel and 5 ah battery for power. The keyer (blue box next to clock) is an old MFJ model that runs forever on one 9 volt battery. Antenna is a 40m Ham Stick with 2 radials. Everything but the antenna fits into a plastic tool box.