Gerald yeah that’s correct, Learning on the job and I’ve done “no bad. I reckon, considering it was starting at the beginning
I like to make my own antennas and am always trying to better my transmissions,
It’s disappointing to get low reports all the time as I’m sure u are aware
But with the help I get on here, it’s always been Sorted.
I will take a look into the Inverness club and see what’s happening,
Iain
I think I read that the Inverness club is providing exams.
The only reason I’ve stuck with MM6 is that I only operate 5 watts
But I bet I would get more answers to my cq calls if I were a 2M
As for the book Neil that be another 35£ wasted for me,
Maybe I could get a swap for my 2 Anthony nailer books
Technical for the terrified 1 and 2 Brand new
Any takers?
Iain
Looking on the bright side at least your low reports are consistent. Intermittent faults are often the hardest ones to find.
Dear Iain:
I think the biggest jump in success rate would come if you learned CW. It is not that difficult, in particular since SOTA QSOs are very repetitive and simplistic. And even slow operators often attract a pile-up. With 5 W CW you will almost certainly make contacts, whereas 5W SSB requires a bit more of luck and skills; a better antenna and decent propagation.
As for learning electronics and the physical backgrounds: I think you need to integrate the learning into practical challenges so that you immediately apply what you have learned. Reading a book alone will be much more frustrating, and you will forgot most of it immediately.
73 de Martin, DK3IT
There are many different purposes for using ferrites on the cabling of an amateur radio rig: On the antenna side, you often want to block RF from floating back to the rig. This is a topic in its own right, and you might have seen RG-174 wound through a toroid.
However, this is not what I meant. With the FT817, the other connectors, like headphone, mike, power, and the two CAT connectors can be barn-doors to stray RF picked up by the cabling. If you add ferrites to those, ideally close to the FT817 enclosure, you introduce a barrier to stray RF, because inductors (and any piece of wire, even more so with a ferrite is one) have a reactance that increases with frequency - DC voltages and slow signals can pass, but for high frequencies it is as if a large resistor would be inserted (a bit simplified).
One major German distributor adds leaflets with respective advice to each and every FT817 shipped.
73 de Martin, DK3IT
Seems to be ok with the ALC now moving and I can hear myself loud and proud all over Europe
I’ve also made and I am using the linked dipole kit today
No reports of qsb while I’m talking, which I always had with EFHW
Seems linked centre fed may be quieter? For me anyhow
Iain
Yes I have learned with cw academy, but I’m counting the dit dah,s
My head copy is slow and I’ve missed letters by the timely head decides
Iain
Today I built the sotabeams linked dipole kit
20/40 and I have a balun in-line.
Seems to be quieter than EFHW but that may only be me
Many thanx
Iain