Today, it was a small project to understand how simple machines (pulleys) work.
Cheers,
Guru
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Hi Colin,
Please check out the latest RSGB Radcom - free as a sample edition for non-members here: Sample RadCom : Radio Society of Great Britain ā Main Site
The RSGB is asking for all UK amateurs with VDSL interference to report it to Ofcom and all the details of how to confirm it is VDSL interference that you have and how to report it, are in this free edition of the societyās monthly magazine.
73 Ed.
Just click on the picture of the magazine and go through until you get here:
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Iāve just entirely watched the 3 videos and I assure you that I enjoyed them very, very much. Congrats to Liam & his great band for their very good performance, but also congrats to you, Tom, for the great matching video and music work youāve done with your elderly PC. Very well done!
73,
Guru
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Thank you for those very kind words Guru. Iām very happy with the music tracks. Iām not completely happy with the video, but it was probably as good as I could achieve with my obsolete equipment hi!
YES!!! I still work (the governor thinks Iām āessentialā) 
But, for the most part, been working on some QRP projects since the family and I are pretty much staying at home. Hereās one Iāve been working on:
Getting the itch to go to a park and play radio, but the governor thinks thatās just wayyyy too dangerous to do, even if youāre by yourself 
I just donāt know how Iāve lived so long without her protection!
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YES. i finally got some time to assemble my ubitx, that hangs arounf th elast wo years.
73 de hb9fvk (ruedi)
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I finally got around to making some 60m extensions for my SOTAbeams 20/30/40 linked dipole. Since they donāt make the 20/40/60 anymore I decided to try my hand and my first antenna mod since I wanted to be able to work SOTA/POTA chasers that are normally in my 40m skip zone, but too far for 2m Simplex.
I didnāt want to muck with the original antenna by adding the 60m links and possibly throwing off the 40m SWR, so I made them as additions which would connect to the existing antenna where the 30 and 40m links connect. They are two completely separate wires with gator clips and guy ropes, each stored on itās own wire winderā¦ I basically hook together the original and new plastic joints with a twist tie, let the 40m section hang lose, clip the black 60m clip to the blue existing clip, and then guy out the new 60m section. So in effect, I am completely replacing the 40m link with a 60m link.
I was able to tune down to 1.25 SWR at the middle of 60m and maintain less than 1.7 on both ends. The NanoVNA was invaluable during the tuning.
I got a decent number of 59 reports from people as close as 55 miles out to 400 miles.
This is a close up of the joint. You can see the black gator clip of the existing 40m section disconnected and the associated wire dangling.
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Ruedi, you live in THE MOST BEAUTIFUL place in the world! Iāve spent most of my time in Sankt Gallen. In my next life, I want to be SWISS!!!
73,
Pete
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Due to the lockdown I used some of the extra time at home to cross reference my 250 SOTA activations with their corresponding WWFF references, US counties, grid locators, ITU Zones and CQ Zones. I created a separate location for each unique SOTA reference in tSQL and uploaded 10,000 SOTA and WWFF QSOs to LotW.
I downloaded N1MM+ contest logger and figured out how to interface it with my FT-891. I downloaded LOG4OM logger, converted 5 years of QSOs in Excel to ADIF format and imported them into LOG4OM. Iām still coming up to speed on the programās many features. Currently working on how to make N1MM+ and LOG4OM work together with my FT-891, and how to integrate WSJT-X as well.
I joined the CWops group and began participating in weekly CWT mini contests to help sharpen my cw skills. I figured out where to find and how to import a customized Function Key File for the CWTs into N1MM+.
Iāve been participating in some of the groups.io and Facebook groups I enjoy.
Iāve been spending more time with my wife who happens to be my best friend. We spend time together in activities like grocery shopping, cooking, eating meals, watching movies, going for walks on the beach and hanging out together. Iāve been in contact with friends I havenāt seen in years. I chat with my 11 brothers and sisters on a monthly conference callāsomething weāve done for more than 20 years.
Thereās more I would like to do but I donāt seem to have enough time to do it!
73 de CT7/K9PM Paul
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Iāve started doing my 2019/20 Self Assessment tax return. Desperation or what ?!?
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Thereās a new and rather unanticipated advantage to having your tax affairs up-to-date, and bills paid in a timely fashion!
I spent a day earlier this week getting my IC-7300, iMac, RUMlogNG and WSJT-X to play nicely together, and getting a few general FT8 contacts in my log. If Iād been awake early enough yesterday I might even have tried chasing via WSJT-X. Yesterday evening I did see some of the far end of Tomās activity on G/SP-015 passing by.
In previous weeks I have spent a while getting my hexbeam up and usable, and itās usefulness is now beginning to show in my SOTA chasing, bringing quite a few 20 metres (and up) activations within range.
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Today, I finally got around to something Iāve been putting off for a few weeks.
Personally, I can think of more enjoyable pastimes than untangling 180m of wire for a home antenna project. However, itās done now - measured, cut and carefully wound on tangle-proof winders (I hope), ready for deployment asap. I hope to be able to chase some of you very soon from home!
Iām now in trouble for not helping in the garden - every cloud has a silver lining 
Hi Andy,
What kind of an antenna is that 180 metres of wire going to turn into?
Tasks in the garden - Grrr - I mowed the lawn just over a week ago, it now needs doing again! The same process happens with weeding as soon as youāve cleared them all out, they appear again from somewhere - how do they do it I ask! Concrete the whole area I say, but even then the weeds find a way to come up through cracks! Gardening is not a hobby, itās a torture! 
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It was originally going to be an OCF Dipole for 160m. However, I decided that 80m would do me better. It should tune up on all bands down to 10m and is supposed to be ok on 6 and 2m (though I doubt Iāll be trying those - I have a vertical for them). My garden shed has finally fallen apart and my wife has allowed me into the house (well, my radios; I was always allowed in!). So Iām upgrading the antenna to go with a better radio 
.
Crikey your garden must be large to fit a 160m OCF into!
Even an 80m one isnāt āsmallā. I presume youāll be looking mostly at NVIS on 80m (when the critical frequency is high enough). On the other bands it should act as a normal dipole so itāll have āsome directivityā. Iād be interested to hear how it works out. Will it also work on 60m ?
73 Ed.
So will I!
The short leg will be running almost due E/W. The long leg will be NE/SW.
N America is NW from me; Australia NE-E; Europe E-S.
So I should get good coverage of Europe and Africa, hopefully OK to N America and a wing and a prayer to Australia!
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I am still 100% employed, but we have gone to minimum crews. A full crew is now only 4 operators. The lead operator is the transmission desk (100 kV and above). Under that operator is the distribution desk (below 100 kV to the end user meters). And two operators sharing the Balance and Interchange (generation and energy scheduling) desk. We work 4 x 12-hour days, 2 x 8-hour training days from home, and 6 days off. Then 4 x 12-hour nights and 8 days off, and back to day shift.
The garage got a really good cleaning, the shelves have been restocked with fluids and filters for all the vehicles and other necessities.
The JEEP project is moving right along also. It will be ready for our next expedition, Sedona Arizona in mid-July. I am trying to make use of every day, soon enough all this minimum crew off-time will be over.
Vy73 ā MikeāKD5KC ā El Paso, TX.
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Hi Andy,
Donāt forget long-path to Australia / New Zealand - in my experience I make more contacts long path than short path. You just need to be on at the right time of day when conditions are good. just ā¦ thatās a big word in this case.
OK on the legs not being in a straight line - my experience is that an OCF, it doesnāt make a lot of difference as (if the centre is high enough) what directivity you get is not precise and on lower frequeny bands you can reckon the antenna being nearly omni-directional - less any obstructions like the house of course.
Good luck.
73 Ed.
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Update on re-opening of mountain access in Bavaria from https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/coronavirus-in-bavaria-assistance-in-english,RtO8eS2
Theme parks, cable cars, shipping and castles open
After weeks of a forced corona break, tourist offers and facilities in Bavaria will be allowed to reopen just in time for the start of the Whitsun holidays on May 30, 2020. These include amusement parks, cable cars, guided city tours as well as river and lake shipping companies. The Munich Residence is scheduled to reopen on June 2, 2020. This schedule was decided by the cabinet in Munich on Tuesday.
I donāt want to be anywhere near these attractions or the roads to them on Whitsun Weekend - it will be CHAOS!
But this does open up many SOTA summits from June onwards, that have been difficult to access with the lifts closed over the last months.
73 Ed.