Almost on the air!

[KG7EXG]

I have that general license, a couple of radios, a couple of antennas and lots of ham shack STUFF to put together into a working shack. I got a 4 foot hole dug and concrete poured around an aluminum mast last Saturday. Actually two mast bases were installed. One for a 2 meter antenna and one for the 6 to 80 meter zero five. I have installed a single point entry box where all coax will be run through lightning arresters prior to entering the house. A ground rod has been placed at each mast base and at the shack entry point. I'll be connecting them all together this weekend with #4 copper bare wire. The main ground right below the shack entry point will be grounded to the box through use of 1 1/2 " copper strap. Concrete should be set so if the weather holds out I may be able the assemble and erect the zero five. Still planning a bit to see if I've forgotten anything big. Any suggestions? What have I missed or doing wrong.

[N7YO]

Hi Tim,
Uhhhh let's see, do you have a desk to put your radios on?

It sounds to me like you have though about almost everything, If there is anything missing however it will probably become apparent at some point. But as I said it sounds to me like you have everything you need to get on the air. We are all waiting patiently to hear you on the air and to be the first contact with KG7EXG!

If you need any help with the antenna installation etc. all you have to do is ask! I'm sure there will be someone around to help out.

Let us know.

[KG7EXG]

Yep, I have a desk. I have enough coax to get connected and an AC power strip surge protector in place. DC power supplies ready. Got a 3 day weekend off work so I'll just keep plugging away until I am at least able to power up a radio and recieve a signal.

[KA2ODP/7]

Hi Tim,

How did your weekend go? Were you able to get all your radio equipment hooked up and operating?

[KG7EXG]

I did accomplish some of what I intended. I was out in the garage early Saturday and missed the group breakfast but I did get the Zero-Five 6-80M ground plane assembled, erected, grounded and connected to the radio. I still have some ground wire to run to the 2M antenna pole. I didn't put up the 2M antenna yet as I am waiting on an item I ordered to come in. I finally got into the house Saturday evening and was able to do a little listening that night. It was surprising that I heard far more folks on 80M than anywhere else, but that was after 11 PM. I was getting lots of noise on every other band. I had to have the Noise Blanker on and the volume all the way up to hear anyone conversing. Listened a bit more Sunday but wasn't hearing near as much as I thought I should be. Tried adjusting some of the radio settings which helped a little. N7YO came to help me out Monday as I was having trouble getting the external tuner to work at all and I found signals were weak when connected to the tuner but better when bypassed. I wasn't sure what I might be doing wrong but decided I needed a second opinion. Jim was able to stop by for a few minutes. He quickly found that the brand spanky new pre-made coax jumper between the tuner and TXR was bad. I should have checked the simple stuff first but I just didn't think about that jumper being bad out of the box. Bottom line is that I did spend an afternoon Monday listening to various band chatter. Heard conversation from Honolulu, California, Canada, alot of AZ and TX, Ohio, Massachusetts and couple of places I couldn't understand the language. I finally had to break silence and did converse with a fellow in Cleveland, OH and his father in Mesa, AZ. I was nervous and still need to learn more of the lingo and ettiquite but it was very cool. Matt and Tom were very friendly and tolerant of my Newbie status.

[N7YO]

Well Tim,
How many contacts do you have so far?

[KG7EXG]

Only 2. I did a lot of listening. Then I was out of town Friday through Sunday. I have time. I'll get there.

[KG7EXG]

Well, I made a few contacts today. I think I'm gonna enjoy this hobby more as I learn more about it. 20 meters was working pretty good for the contests. I had contacts with Toronto, Ontario, Quebec, Canary Islands, Finland, Sweden, and Cape Verde. . Woohoo! I had some fun.

[N7YO]

That's great news Tim, it is in deed a great hobby!Ten meters was hopping all day yesterday as well. It looks like good conditions will continue for awhile too as the sunspot numbers are way up. To check out the numbers and propagation check out this website: http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/

[KA2ODP/7]

Hi Tim!

Just a reminder that we have our weekly ARES net on the 146.740 MHz repeater every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM. It is a good way to keep up with the latest happenings here in Great Falls and the surrounding area.

[KG7EXG]

Thanks for the reminder. I will check it out.