The AM Forum

Recently got the 75 and 40 M ants back up after the lightning strike. I hear a few PW Eastern Time Zone stations on 75 and that's about it.

Yes, I have been working the tractor and veggie garden all late summer, got a bushel of chilies, Habaneros sun-dried 'matoes and those lethal Thai peppers for the rest of the year. All I am suggesting is to light 'em up this coming weekend! And then on.

See y'all on 75? 3885, 3880, 3705, 3710? A real Manly experience, for sure, for this time of year and sunspot cycle. Where's Don? JJ? Steve? The Tron? BrenTina?

Bill

Yes, we'll be back!  Speaking for myself, I've been spending much of my time up at Rattlesnake Island (only 400 watts and an antenna up at about 70 feet).  But, closing up the Island place soon, so back on at night using a real antenna and transmitter  8)  Ready for fall/winter conditions!

It would be interesting to work you from the Island, but conditions would have to be pretty good I would think.

Bill,

Fantastic on the Habaneros!  They are my favorite type of hot pepper.  We did not have a garden this year so now we are paying the price. 

I hope to get a 3/8 wave inverted L up for 160M soon for some good low angle work.  You might hear GMS radio out your way this winter. 

Joe, GMS 

Check out 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. The AM world doesn't just revolve around 75 meters.

I was inquiring about 75 and 40 meter activity, Pete. To dial in the new antennas.

Thanks

Bill

I wish I had 400 watts and a 70' high antenna. Right now I'm fighting away with 150 watts and a 25' high antenna.

I'm lot size limited... to a 43' vertical with base matching, and a ricebox into an Alpha 78. I probably could push the Alpha to the legal limit, but I'll probably keep it at 250W carrier. Those 3cx400's are expensive and this amp has three of them. I'm hoping to get a nice BA xmtr soon.. There's a Johnson 500 on qth.com that is within easy driving distance...just don't know if I'd give up that much coin...

Bob, W2ICQ was the former long time owner of the Johnson 500 that is over on QTH.com. Bob takes very good care of his gear and I am sure the rig works great. He sold it just about a month ago to the guy that is flipping it on QTH.com.   In my opinion its way to much money, but that is just my opinion. I have a Johnson 500 and its a good rig.    

With 1200W of plate dissipation you should be able to run legal limit with your amplifier.

Joe, W3GMS    

he said he wanted "A real Manly experience" not some sissy little plastic rig 10 meter experience.  "Whoops, ya faded out; band must have closed; 73 OM"

He wants to work torch strappers, big bottles, broadcast high tap PA; enough audio for two stations; 100 foot or more high dipoles, dig?
When you 1000 miles from anywhere the DX100 and 40 foot dipole doesn't make the trip in armchair style.
Unfortunately the genuine blow torch setup is limited to only a few in this day, for a variety of reasons.

I would think mostly due to lack of antenna space or physical plant (or wife!) issues. 

Otherwise, high power is quite achievable - at least on 40, 75 and 160 meters on a small budget.  That aspect hasn't changed all that much in the past 40 years or so (got into ham radio 40 years ago, so only have that span of time from which to draw on).  There was the expensive way of getting on the air, and then there was the cheap path (and then the REAL cheap path, which is the preferred and only practical path for me!).

It *CAN* be done  ;)

If all the static will go away!

What do you define as high power?  I define it for ham AM as the old legal limit, i.e. around 600 w. or more output.  300 to 600 medium, 100 to 200 somewhat low, < 100 low, < 50 qrp.

There was a ham down south that called his big transmitter the "Static Eliminator".  I guess he was a Tall Ship.

"Well, I CAN hear 'ya up here, but yer kinda piss weak!"  Who dat? Who dat?

So, hypothetically, suppose a fellow had the hots for one of these newfangled Class-E transmitters, and hypothetically, had most of his parts, PS, chassis, etc.
What would be the best way to obtain a set of PWM and related boards, ?   :)

Chris

Too bad the kw limit wasn't still in effect. kilowatt input to a class E final, 900 to 950 watts out........ :o

Good question! There are different levels of "high power."   ;)

Just remember ego (ie. ultra QRO) can't change physics. What I mean to say is you have to quadruple RF power to gain one lousy S-unit. Thus the signal difference on the other end of 150 watts carrier versus 1KW is less than two S-units in difference.

One does need to emit more than 375 watts to be heard and not considered to need Flomax or a surgical TURP. (PW)

I agree.  375 is nice. The beauty of AM is, with sufficient carrier, one can have full quieting signals, very natural sounding without digital audio, squelch, modern noise blanker, etc.  

One or two S units is all that's required in a lot of cases to have an enjoyable qso vs. a tiring one.  A hint of atmospheric, E-line or ignition noise or the complete lack of all except a melofluous voice is music to my ears.

If only one S unit is the criteria, why even have a definition of Tall Ship?  What stations does one gravitate to when scanning or tuning across the bands?

Those with that additional S unit also usually tend to improve their antenna and audio lash-ups too.  

AH, yes.................... That most famous greeting a newcomer gets his first time on AM!

Timmy at his finest! ! ! !  ;D  ;D

My spectrum analyzer showed the same power level at legal limit with the "old" limit measurement (I.E. 1KW DC Input to the final) back then, as it does with the "new" limit measurement (1500 Watts PEP) today.  The analyzer shows, quite clearly, a 750 watt carrier that never varies and  2  375 (PEAK) watt sidebands when the transmitter is modulated 100%.  All of that adds up to 1500 watts (peak).

High power for amateurs is this power level.  It is legal limit.

About half of this power level is "medium" power, and really, anything under 100 watts is pretty low.  Of course there's the so-called PW power level of 10 watts and under, and flea power might be in the milliwatts range, etc, etc.

Funny thread, especially how it's changed path....

OK, this may sound arrogant, but WTF:

Being a tall ship is all about relativity - Einstein was right....  :D

A tall ship is the ressult of doing everything right RELATIVE to MOST other stations.

If everyone ran 50 watts with a Gotham vertical on 75M, then the guy with 200 watts and a G5RV at 40' would be the whirl-wide channelmaster tall ship.

But if everyone ran a 5KW broadcash transmitter with a 3el Yagi on 75M, even if we ran a 375 watt class E rig with a dipole at 60', it's a different ball game.

A few db gained here and there all add up. A 6db difference is tremendous when you realize how much more voltage must be created in the receiving antenna. A ten db difference is stellar.

Now that the AM crowd (mostly baby boomers) has had the time to advance and refine their games, it takes a lot more to be channelmaster or a tall ship than it ever did.  

Being a tall ship is also a matter of attitude.  We can have the best station in the whirl, but we still need to say something into the mike.

There are guys who do everything "right," like Tron for instance. He has a multi-element array at 180' high, can run 1KW+ out if he wants, has beautiful audio that has punch and density if need be, has hardline feedline and good connectors, a well matched antenna... He also knows how to operate the rig for maximum advantage: When condix are poor he knows what antennas to use, how to best tune his RX, when to call and when to listen, etc.   He also has an AM rap second to none.

It's a whole package, being a tall ship  -  and the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher.

A new $10,000 ricebox and big Alpha linear is not the ticket and might even retard our growth.  

Then there are the special cases... newcomers on the fast track. These learners pay their dues and focus on what it takes to do the job right. They listen well. Some even build their gear right away. These guys become tall ships quickly due to their dedication to AM and watching what the big dogs do.  Brandon/ K5IIA comes to mind here.

T

Sounds more like a cult Tom; it's great we have other bands where amateurs are not being measured or judged.

AM IS a cult and a way of life for some.

Cheezz... sometimes you take all the fun out of it with a splash of cold water, Pete.

T

For most budding AM'ers, making the most of what you got is about the best we can do. And yes, that always involves learning how to do it. Some of us will never have the real estate to put the antennas the tall ships have, nor be able to run at the legal limit, or let's face it, above it,  because of the surrounding neighbors and their cheap poorly shielded consumer electronics. Those two factors, more often that not, go hand in hand.
You CAN sound quite respectable WITH a ricebox and a big amp, provided you have a proper audio front end and measuring equipment to make sure you have the best quality signal possible, in both in power and cleanliness.

You can also skip the ricebox and go with exciter class AM like a Ranger, or mod a T4x and use a amp to sound pretty darned good.

Personally, it's been years since I've worried about "fitting in", that's probably why I still have what my son calls, the "Radio Moscow" antenna in the back yard.

But what is significant at the other end is signal/noise ratio, not the S-meter reading.  Sure, if your signal is already many dB above the background QRM and noise crud, quadrupling power isn't going to make a significant difference, and may not even be noticeable except by a slight bump in the S-meter indication. But if, due to your distance away or due to lousy band conditions, your signal is right in there at the noise level, riding at the ragged edge of readability, quadrupling power can make the difference between a comfortably readable signal and a pissweaker nobody wants to bother with trying to copy. Under marginal conditions, even 3 dB or less  can make the difference between readability and non-readability.

Sometimes 10-25 watts can strap under ideal band conditions, and yet a KW-plus may be marginal when propagation is poor. Remember, the primary definition of the legal limit under the FCC rules is minimum power necessary to maintain the desired level of communication - and under some conditions that could be a fraction of a watt.

Sure, we all do what we can with what we have available - and we all have limitations. This is how it is in real life.

But there's no denying that ham radio, for the most part, is very competitive. The contesters spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours. The DXers are legendary. Every sub group has it.

Even AMers - many AMers have spent a lifetime building big stations, moving BC transmitters, putting up towers - even getting divorced in the process.

Ham radio, like everything, is a bell curve. We have every possible combination of skills, proficiency and equipment levels. It will always be this way.

The thread and subject seemed to be going to "What is a tall ship?"  Like it or not, we will always have a group in any hobby that has the means, desire and money to grow their hobby.  It doesn't mean guys who don't are regarded any less. In fact many of us are in hobbies where we just don't care enuff to go all the way. Should we beat up the ones who do - or don't?  No.

If radio was not competitive, then we would all be on cell phones right now talking to one another.  There would be no competition at all.. just what we say would mean everything. But we choose to build stations and exchange ideas and some even compete in their own ways.

We could just join hands and sing Kum Ba Yah instead.... ;D

Don't mind me - the BB has been so quiet lately I'm looking to create some controversy to liven things up....  caw mawn...

T

But what would that be in "bird watts"?

Being quiet isn't a bad thing. It could mean that more members are spending their free time playing radio rather then banging the keyboard.

FYI: Just saw Tim's call pop up on the 15 meter DX map cluster.

[/quote]

But what would that be in "bird watts"?

[/quote]

Please, don't go any farther; everybody knows that the bird is the word.

klc

Working EI9JF. 15 appears to be open to Europe.

Anyway, I'm hoping in the next 5 to 10 years to have a bigger transmitter either in progress or already built and on the air, along with a better antenna than what I got. I'm thinking something along the lines of a class D/E transmitter running close to a kilowatt input and an inverted L.

To me a tall ship is someone that when they are on the air you want to and enjoy listening to them. no matter if you are in the qso or not.

when i got my general in 2010 i had a list of tall ship stations i wanted to work. and they were not the 10 or 15 strongest signals i had heard that is for sure.

Actually, if you based the definition of a tall ship on how strong they are to everyone else, then trying to define that physically (on the basis of power output/signal strength) would change depending on what band they were on. Someone running 100 watts and a dipole on 75 might not be a tall ship, but put that same setup on 10 meters when the band is hot and you sure could be a tall ship on there.

Some people are just competitive in nature regardless if they are a Ham or not.  If you are competitive person then that likely surface in your Ham Radio en-devours.  

Personally for me, I enjoy building and restoring large transmitters mainly to get them working and have fun with them, but not in an attempt to be the strongest signal on the band.  If I felt I was in competition with everyone and had to try and have the biggest and best signal with the best subjects to discuss on the air I would not be in this hobby.  I look for people that are enjoyable to chat with while on the air.  Sometimes they may be a "tall ship" whatever that is, but often times they are not.    

The hobby has room for everyone and you pick and choose what floats your boat but I personally don't agree with some of the generalizations given.  

Joe, W3GMS

A tall ship is someone who can hold a frequency on the low bands.

Well, I've got some more generalizations for ya Joe.... ;D

One of the most important things (most) hams wants to know is, "How am I coming in?"   How does my signal compare to the rest of the world?  (We love those S meter reports)  

As we get older we lose this competitive desire and really don't care as much. The line, "It doesn't matter how loud I am, as long as you can hear me"  really becomes true as we get elderly.

Once given (ANY) a report, some will then answer, "Well, I'm only running 100 watts and a G5RV"  Answer they want to hear: "Well, you sure are doing a GOOD JOB with that, OM! Congrats! "

More:  

Most Amer's (as well as ssb operators) are keenly interested in how they sound. We thrive on hearing ourselves on recordings and will usually think we sound lousy. But that is human nature.  A report of sounding like crap will ruin someone's day and might even cause us to tear down the audio gear looking for the problem. It's unusual for someone to be satisfied with 300-3000 hz audio, but there certainly are some who are.

And more:
Pileups occur on AM during hot nights, just as well as in other parts of the band. Most of us want to see how well our stations compare to others, when cutting thru the crud.

More later...   ;)

T

Is that happening to you Tom  :) 

Joe, W3GMS

+1

73DG

That is exactly what I have been doing for the past two years, and it works. The FT-102 has three 6146s that produce extremely low IMD. That goes into an AL-82 with a total carrier output between 100 and 150 watts depending on the band. I use an RE-20 microphone with outboard audio rack.

Again it works.......

heheheh....  good one, Joe.

Well, to tell ya the truth, it was actually happening to me.  I was recently diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and my health was starting to go south. I stopped breathing for up to 90 seconds during sleep. Oxygen % was low, etc.

I bought the best CPAP machine I could afford and within a few weeks I feel like an athlete again. Absolutely amazing difference. Climbing towers again, etc.

I hate to admit it, but this is probably the reason I'm on here raising hell, I'm feeling so cocky.  So Lord help me when I fire up the rig soon.  I'll probably be looking for a hi hi FB signal report, OM.  And tell me I'm doing a good job, OK?  ;D


T

If you want to let FCC arbitrarily define high power for yourself be my guest.  I make no claim whatsoever to be any kind of power measuring or calculating expert and have no interest in the PEP numbers but I congratulate you on getting your FET rig up to 750 watts.    

You know it's High Power when:

You get a hot flash and you are not a female

You feel the temperature in the shack rise....and your shack is on the receiving end

You hear the other guy FB but your rx is on standby

73

Rob

Where have you been listening, Pete? ? ? ? ? ?

After all, we can't all sound like we have a clothespin on our nose.............. ;D  ;D  ;D

Well said Rob. I would add my own observation that it really doesn't seems like the FCC at this time is paying much attention. When they do pay attention, their effectiveness is questionable, which is very evident from the eternal blathering of the K1MAN broadcasts on 3890 up here in the northeast. It's kinda like the old wild west out there...

Rob W1AEX

Just remember Tom, someday you will be in an old age home with someone else feeding you while your trying to be heard with an inside slinky antenna looking for someone to talk to  ;) While some young kid tall ship "squashes you like a little bug" :)
How do I sound, how do I sound.....

We all need to make the best of our days since they are fading away ;D   The ultimate QSB fade never to return!

Joe, W3GMS
    

That is sure the case with me.  Look at the setup on Rattlesnake Island: 400 watts and a not-too-high 75 meter coax fed dipole.  Hey, it WORKS and mostly people can hear me.  35 years ago, that would have been an unacceptable (too weak) setup!  How we mellow with time (usually)   :)

Yep, you're morphing into a tall ship has-been, Steve. Who is ever going to take your place when you are "elderly?"   ;)


Here's the harsh reality. I know this will cause some looks in the mirror...  I filled out a medical form the other day.  Here's what I saw:


15-19  young adult
20-29   adult
30-39   middle aged
40-49   upper middle aged
50-59   older adult
60+      elderly

So I'm now a 60 year old elderly stud warrior.  I thought like 95 was elderly? Unfrickin believable.


As promised, another ham generalization:

Most hams love it when other hams have heard their calls before. I think some (especially young newer hams) would send their call out on the air day and night if they could. The ultimate compliment to a ham: "Hey I've heard you on before - W1XXX - you're the guy running the pair of 813's into the 3 element Yagi, right?  Beautiful signal, OM. "

T

Yep, this may happen to many of us.

Though, with some planning and some extra money, it could be a much different scene...

Assuming we need to stay in a nursing home due to special care, maybe they will permit us to have a laptop. Probably so, especially in the future with computers tied to the hip.

An "elderly" gentleman could make a deal with another ham or even a 2-way radio site on a hill to lease some space in their radio cabinet. Set up a remote rig via the internet and hook it to an ass kicking antenna on the tower.  This will probably become more common as the baby boomers retire but just HAVE to keep their fingers in radio.

I know W6RJ, the owner of Ham Radio Outlet, lives in a hi hi FB   LA, Calif upper crust home with his FB XYL. But remote controlled 20 miles away is his tower system on a high hill with a rotary 75M Yagi. He holds court in the 75M DX window when he's on and works Eu like a pro. The XYL just sees him at his FB desk in the den and smiles like June Lockhart.


T

Tom,

Yes, with the great technology we have today and going into the future a lot of options will be available to us.   That is a major advantage of being an OT'er today as compared to years ago when simple full feature remote technology was not readily available.  Look at what Dave, W9AD does while he is south of the border in Mexico.  Complete full feature remote control of his home station.  Basically all you need is an internet connection and your good to go.  Out in Lancaster just a little west of me there is a retirement facility that has a separate building set up as a full feature Ham Shack.  I think they have 4 or 5 towers on the property and all the gear to hoist up new antennas whenever required.   

Picture the Tron working a big remote located transmitter while in a retirement facility saying, "wire array" ---- "shaded dipole"----"wire array"----etc... ;)  standby...its medication time...ahhhhhh

Joe, W3GMS 

Never trust anyone over 30. What ever happened to that one?

All of us that used to preach that are now well over 50  :o  :o

Wowsers! Been away for a few days. Came back to a board full of activity about actually getting on the air, as if folks are awaking from hibernation. Cool!

A lot of good points and counterpoints made, but since it's a thread about "tall ship" (BIG signal)stations, it makes arguments about running a 100 watt rig a moot point. From my perspective related to old gear, it breaks down something like...

Low Power: 32V, Apache, DX-100, etc

Medium Power: Johnson 500, Globe King, 30K, T-368 etc.

High Power: GPT-750, KW-1, BC transmitters (1KW+ range), etc

Homebrew tube & Class E rigs according to power output as well.

From my experience, you need at least a medium power signal on the low bands at night to be heard well & reliably. Low power can work, but it's nowhere near reliable unless you're close by. This is a lesson taught to me by the likes of K1JJ, WA1EKV(now K1KW) and others back in the late 80s/early 90s.

Just as bad are the large carriers that are poorly modulated. I can't make sense of this one. S9+5 or 10, and I'm getting 40% of what they're saying.

As far as age goes, the numbers have been 'scaled' a bit. 60 is the new 40, etc etc. My dad is in his mid 70s and still riding his Harley every chance he gets. When I was a little whipper, 65 yr old people were OLD and they looked and acted old. Not so today. You've got a few more good years in you, Tom.  ;)

To the operating part, I must admit that the move south has opened my eyes to why you don't hear more 4 & 5 Land stations on in spring/summer months: the static is loud and constant. If I'm on at night it takes a signal like Steve/HX or similar to silence the noise, otherwise a headache develops. Stations I can work easily in fall/winter are tough or impossible copy these months(this is when the 100 watt stations any distance away are RF-invisible). I can hear Pete/CWA and Rich/N2RY pretty reliably on 75/80, along with Joe/PJP who is solid. But he's running a big signal most nights. Jeff/NBC is another beacon on 75. And of course, Robert/Voice Modulated Carrier.

I did work Bill a month or so back during a quiet night, and heard Rob/UJ last week for the first time this season. Conditions will continue to improve as the WX cools and the storms settle down.

In the meantime, newcomer or OT, it's a great time to upgrade the station from 'barely readable' to 'loud 'n proud' if that's the kind of thing you dig. If not, you can always talk locally and enjoy early evenings on 75/80/160. When I was in that position, it was never discouraging; always encouraging to improve my station. The big signals served as my goal to shoot for.

Tom's medical age chart is for Federal reimbursement purposes only.  Actually if you look on pp's. 16, 235, 343, 1245, 2045 and appendicies I, 2ii and 15g  of the current Affordable Care Act, you'll find that at age 70 you are no longer a person, but a UNIT.

Yes, 70 year old "Carbon Units"  according to Veeja.


T

I have a unit for you!

Whew!
Heavy man.

Which leads to a question often pondered and discussed in the medical field:

"What happens when the drug-crazed hippies of the 60's and 70's become geriatric patients?"

Hang on a few more years and I'll let you know.........................

5-10-5 slow release fertilizer ;)

Joe, W3GMS

Exactly the point I'm trying to make with a local well-respected ham in my neighborhood, Ted W1ALE.  He had a couple of scares recently where he got stuck in the snow on his 500 foot driveway that has a 13% grade to his much to be envied QTH. He gets around using a walker and (can you imagine this) had to crawl his way up his house.  He has decided to move into an assisted living facility and thinks he will get by by throwing a wire out the window.  I don't think it will work for several reasons that probably aren't germane to your comment.  I am trying to convince him that there is a way to enjoy his excellent location from the relative comfort of an assisted living room but he just cannot get over the idea that he will be doing this from a computer.  "I just cannot get used to a computer."  I've known Ted for over 50 years and will be miss his voice from the HF bands.

I intend to use technology to get me past this difficulty if I get too old (infirm) to stay at my present QTH (if, indeed, that becomes a problem).  There just is NO LONGER a reason to not be a tall ship on the air these days if one has to live with any restrictions.  In Ted's case I've always admired him and although he does not operate QRO I always look at him as a tall ship if not in power, in spirit and on-the-air presence.  In my case, my hope is that my friends would come to my rescue and help me get past any technological hurdles so I can keep in touch with my friends.  It really is a shame to miss anyone's presence on the air for any reason whether it be health or advanced age problems.

Al

Perhaps the ARRL could open an assisted living center, complete with decent ham station(s), much like some church groups and professional organizations operate...

Bill

I have been on 160 sporadically, hanging out on 1885. Due to the job situation, I have been limiting my operating to keep the electric bill down. I did land another job, but it is a temporary, rather low-paying position as an office clerk. Nothing in broadcasting around here...Cumulus killed that industry when they acquired the place where I used to work.

I operate mostly CW on 40 and 80...no AM "tall ships" on those bands here.

Uh....then why are you posting on an AM board to a thread about AM powerhouse stations?

Many powerful AM stations on 40 & 80, but you won't hear them if you're operating CW. Obvious to most.

I have heard that individuals with "good locations" were thinking about starting to lease out time with their internet controlled rigs.  The remote op would be billed based on the time he uses.  It would be like server farms where you pay based on what system capability you need.  If you did not need the big legal limit broadband amp and wanted to run only 100W your bill would be lower.  SSB charges would be less than AM ops.  If you wanted a multi-band speech compression and limiting that would be an option that you would pay for.  If you selected the HLR style wire array, that would be extra bucks over a dipole.  The pay for performance model would be the guiding principle ;). 

Joe, W3GMS 

Kind of negates the charter of ham radio doesn't it?  For starters even a horrible lawyer could say it was pay for commercial service.  Remember when we couldn't even mention a price on the air?

No use damaging our case further at this time with FCC, ETc.

That bridge may have already been crossed. There are numerous places around the world that have a ham station. You can rent out the station (along with accommodations, etc) for your own DX vacation or similar.

Yep, just like Budget-Rent-a-Shack.

Here's a small list of ham vacation rentals around the whirl. Since Hawaii is included, looks like the FCC has not jumped on it.


Actual links:
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=14359


Listing:
Palau Rental Shack
P49V ham rental in Aruba
6Y1V Contest Superstation
CX Uruguay Ham Radio Rental
6Y1V Jamaica
Kennedy Safaris
OM0A Rental DX shack
Radio Syd in The Gambia
KP2M Virgin Islands
FM5BH shack rental


Considering the Caribbean is possibly the BEST ham QTH in the whirl, it would be an interesting experience.

T

Mr T,


Makes me feel better about the place I have in mind.. Here's an example of one of the groundskeepers..

TALL Ships need only apply:

ps. for a fee I can get you in..

Yeah, now that's my kind of babe. I'm in love.

But what's with those Hulk Hogan arms? Someone trying to fool me with photoshop?

Youse gots good taste, Jeff.

T

Ha! 'Hulk' never looked so good.. (She climbs towers too!!)

The point is, (as I try and relate to Bill's original post), that ACTIVITY defines "Tall Ships"..  I remember first starting out just listening to voices on my Drake 2C that I spent the whole summer saving money for.. Those voices are still on da air today.. It's a warm and fuzzy feeling making contacts with folks that were the impetus just to get a license in the first place.. If you don't get on with an ever present voice, you ain't no "tall ship".. You become a footnote in   " Yes Sonny, remember how loud he was?"

Make a piss-weaker from New Joisey proud.. and GET ON THE AIR, static or NOT!!

I'm turning on da filaments right now.. now where is my groundskeeper to help me??

Legally you renting the real estate and accoutrements, not air time in your South Sea.paradise.

Interesting twist so maybe not push for an interpretation or judgement.

Phil,

Nice to hear that you DO have a job now,  even if it is not in your primary field.

What happened to you,  could have/can happen to any of us.

Your 21E on 160M,  certainly  puts you in the Tall Ship category in my book.  Have heard you on 1885 some Winter past.

Nice to hear from you,  had wondered how you were doing. 72,  Vic

I'm with Tom - that's a great groundskeeper/keeper of the Johnson, Jeff. Always keeps things interesting when you have well-qualified help.

A few weeks back I tried to fire up on 75 when you were on with the gang but could barely hear you through the static at times. I think Kerri might've been in there too, not sure. That's how bad it gets down here when there are a lot of storms around. Hot, humid wx results in S9+40 static levels. Not crashes, either. Niagara Falls static. Amazing, but true. I thought the same thing when I lived up north. Tain't the same! I need to make a video of the S-meter sometime. Steve is about the only one who can crush it, and on bad nights it takes out words here and there on his signal.

Been busy here on other projects but have some radio time scheduled next week including repairs to the big rigs. Joe/PJP will be down Tuesday PM for a BC transmitter tear down Wednesday. Maybe we'll catch you guys on 75, God willin' and the river don't rise.

You seem to have overlooked Beachwood NJ.

Because I DO operate an AM powerhouse station on 160. In fact, I had it on the air last night.

Tom Vu  Look at you Now!!!
www.larc.ca/BIG-GUNS.ppt

Rook at you with new antenna falm!

I'm slowly getting the station back on the higher bands, so will catch you on 10M maybe.   It's a slow process cuz I don't want to space out and pop anything.

BTW, I can't read your ".ppt" link.  The computer says I gots to buy a special program from Billy Gates to do so.

T

Tom,
I worked a number of stations on 10M yesterday running 25 Watts. The band was open all day long with strong signals. At 6:00PM I even work Dave W2VW in Jerseeeeey he was 20+.
Joe
 here in Idaho   

Get one of the free readers or Open Office.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13

LibreOffice is the new fork of OpenOffice that's being developed and improved. I guess Sun put a whoa to OpenOffice either being a freebie or open source, not sure exactly. But, a bunch of the OpenOffice team jumped ship and started LibreOffice. So, Libre is the one to get for the latest upgrades and features. It's free, it's open source and it works great. I use it every day at work to interact with a whole bunch of MS Office folks.

http://www.libreoffice.org/ (http://www.libreoffice.org/)

Apache OpenOffice is still being updated.

http://www.openoffice.org

The whole story behind the two was some members of the OpenOffice project staerted LibreOffice after Oracle bought out Sun, because they feared Oracle would discontinue OpenOffice. Well, they almost did, but then decided to give the code and name over to Apache. The biggest difference I know of is LibreOffice is supposed to be less dependent on Java compared to OpenOffice.

Thanks for that background. I didn't know the whole story.

Tnx for the info Al and Steve.   I'll see what I can do.

I just hate fooling with these add-ons. When they start axing questions like, "Do you want to make this your default program"  or "You will automatically install Google gold-homo bar with this free software" -   That's when I start to get nervous.   ;)

T

Attached are the four power point slides with Tom's stuff. I converted all the ppt slides to gif's and then pulled Tom's 4 slides and made two pdf's. Not great resolution, but this is ham radio. Converting the entire side presentation to pdf blossoms the file to 286 MB.

Tom-JJ,

Very impressive antenna farm.  I had seem some pictures before but not the complete set.  I can certainly appreciate all the effort it took in building the JJ super station!  I am sure your log book shows the results of your efforts!

Have you ever ran into Jon, AA1K on 160M ?  I think Jon is pretty much a CW only op but not sure about that.  He is touted to be a big gun on 160 within the DX circles. A friend and I helped him many years ago put up his first 1/4 wave vertical on that band.  Not sure what antennas he is using now.  I hear him very early many mornings  on Top Band calling CQ DX with his keyer.   I am not sure what his DXCC country list is up to on top band but its pretty darn good.

Joe, W3GMS

The JJ antenna setup is a sight to behold in person. The work or detail that's gone into it to make it is amazing too. Tom gave me a tour of his shack and ant. farm a couple of years ago.  He even demonstrated various ant. performance.  It's truly an amazing setup.  Glad I got that tour.   If there was a model to use to build a setup like that, it's his.  It beats the pants off of that Newington setup, not that theirs is bad but the comparison is different.

Haven't heard him on, Joe, though, I don't get on 160M much.


Thanks for the kind comments, guys. Yep, antennas, towers and stations are like a snapshot in time.  We spend lots of time and effort building them and then suddenly they are torn down and gone. There are countless thousands of beautiful ham and commercial installations that are no longer. I wish there was a way to appreciate everything we have more intensely each day, but we take most of it for granted.

I'm feeling a little down and nostalgic today after burying one of our cats.  Buried him right under one of the towers - next to Yaz I and Yaz II.  Great monument for them all.  Coony was 16 years old and was born here. Great ratter and knew the forest well.  Yaz III keeps looking around for him. Life goes on. [sigh]


T

I'm feeling a little down and nostalgic today after burying one of our cats.  Buried him right under one of the towers - next to Yaz I and Yaz II.  Great monument for them all.  Coony was 16 years old and was born here. Great ratter and knew the forest well.  Yaz III keeps looking around for him. Life goes on. [sigh]

T
[/quote]

Tom,

So sorry to hear about loosing Coony.  We have 2 cats here, Luci an Lottie and as much as we prepare mentally for when its their time, its always very difficult when they pass.  Usually after loosing one of our beloved animals we say, "that's it, no more pets"  but then after a little time we find another great pet and continue the enjoyable journey. 

Joe, GMS

Jon was on last night and most every other nite, CW of course; a real nice guy. He is still running the single vertical with a ton of radials and has improved the hearing end. Also has a very quiet location. Big gun but 2nd tier to many and comes in usually in the top 5 in a 160 only or single band 160 in an all band contest; dont think he ever won.

Entered the CQ 160 CW twice, won once here, that was enough pain. I do get on at times in the ARRL and try for WAS, made it several times but at least I got to sleep. Now with huge stations up in VE1/VY1 land its no sense to compete since they are lumped into US scores.

Carl

Thanks for the update on Jon, Carl.  He is a good guy and we go way back.  Glad to hear that his vertical is still up.  I remember he had built and amp using I believe a pair of 813's.  A good friend of mine, W3TTW who is now 96 did most of the climbing when that vertical was put up.  It was a fun day.

Joe, GMS