KD3Y

Yesterdays project was a tri-band fan dipole made from 12 gauge THHN copper wire. The top dipole (black) tuned to 40 meters, which also resonates at 15 meters, and the bottom dipole (Red) tuned to 20 meters. Three bands for the price of one! This'll hang in the tree for some nice POTA work. Tuning Instructions PDF_DualBandFanDipole.pdf Building instructions PDF_DualBandFanDiple2.pdf

I finally got around to building my fold-up 20 meter portable dipole. Tuned it up to 14.175 and made my first contact to 20 meters. Long Island NY.

PER ARRL 08/30/2023: RE: Hurricane Idalia The FCC has issued a temporary 60-day waiver to allow amateur radio use of Pactor 4 data speeds for items related to this event. All sandbagged up here waiting for Hurricane Idalia here in Coastal North Carolina. I reckon she'll be arriving sometime overnight. I'm all ready! Generator in place, gas bought, solar panel in place with battery charged, and sandbagged the garage and HVAC today. County says the EOC won't be activated so apparently they are expecting it to be pretty much a non-event. Anthony, KD3Y

The Harkers Island fire department is now on air! Attached are the share-approved photos of the antenna, and screen grabs of the SWR charts and TDR. As a part of Carteret County Amateur Radio Society partnership with the County Emergency Services, an amateur station was installed at the Harkers Island Fire Department last week by members of our eComs team. Now the FD has the ability to talk with the Emergency Operations Center in Morehead City via the local repeater or via simplex during an emergency if the county system goes down. The Fire Department was able to give us a lift to the top of the 50 foot mast with their fire truck. One of the missions of the Carteret County Amateur Radio Society's missions is to place a ham station at all our rural fire departments as a "Plan B" communications in the event of a catastrophic storm. Many areas of our community are rural and/or remote. In the case f the Harers Island Station, the Island is connected to the mainline by a two lane bridge across the sound. In the event of a major storm, that bridge may be washed out and flooded, leaving the only helicopter to get supplies/aid to the Island for awhile. An additional communication capabilities with the mainland and the EOC will benefit the Island if County Communications are overwhelmed or down.

You get married then learn how to be a spouse. You have a kid then learn how to be a parent. All a ham license does is confirm you know enough hopefully not to electrocute yourself and are familiar enough with the regulations not to be a butthole on the radio. A ham license doesn't make you a ham anymore than getting your first drivers license when you're 16 makes you a driver. "Here's your ham license. Now go and learn." ~ KD3Y

Congratulations Lind. Quite and accomplishment and awesome photo. Looks like you were pretty close or was it a zoom lens? I'm sort of published as well. If you count the wanted posters at your local post office. 🙂

Hi Jim, No not water resistant. The panel is sealed and weather proof rated for outdoor use but the controller and box accessories arent. But I'm already a step ahead of you. I was thinking of one of those plastic tubs like they sell at WalMart with the snap-on lid to use as a storage box when not in use. Especially since in the garage where my sanding and sawing and other work generates a lot of dust. Then in the field I can just flip the plastic tub bottom upside down for an emergency cover. Yes? No? Maybe? I see no need to reinvent the wheel when a clear plastic tub would be cheaper than anything I could build and just as functional.

I made my battery box from a type 27 box. It has the charge controller mounted on top. The pigtail for the solar panel is on the left, a 6-foot cable for the go box on the right, and three 12 volt cigarette plugs on the left side . The cigarette plugs are fused and turned on/off with the illuminated rocker switch on top. With the bluetooth adapter I can control the solar charger and monitor the volts/amps/watts with the app on my phone.

My typo. 20 watt panel not 20 amp. 🙂 Real convenient with my 16 ft mobile mast.

Johnston Amateur Radio Society "LID of the Month" Award (LOM). (Toilet Seat Lid) 🙂

Aw geez, would you look at this here. I just found these for sale at my local Grocery store...If they can get gift cards now, we're in for some deep doo-doo. Apparently they already got their own locker room too.

Thanks for the detailed information answer Jim. Makes it easy for me! I googled the charge controller you posted. Looks like there is a marina in Oriental that is a dealer and sells them. I might take the ferry across in the next few days. I like seeing in person and handling things before buying VS dealing with the ordering online and delivery mess. Anthony, KD3Y

Hi fellas, Anyone know stuff about solar panels? I know enough about them to know I don't know much about them. I have one I bought at a flea market. I googled it to make sure I was getting a killer deal and it's sold as a 20 amp, 12 V polycrystalline panel. Now when I got it home and put my meter on it, at night in the garage with two lightbulbs on the ceiling it measured 11 volts which is pretty darned good for just a couple of 60 watt bulbs 20 feet away. When I checked in in the full sunlight today the meter read 21 volts. I went online hunting a charge controller for it, and I see similar panels that are 20 amp/24 volts. I just want to make sure it't actually a 12 volt panel so I don't ruin a battery or fry a 20 amp/12 v charge controller. I don't understand all the tech stuff but the sticker on it says, NOMINAL POWER: 20W POWER OUTPUT TOLERANCE: -0/+3% LSC: 1.30A VOC: 21.7 V IMPP: 1.20A VMPP: 17.3V MAXIMUM SYSTEM VOLTAGE: 600V MAXIMUM SERIES FUSE RATING: 15 A NORMAL OPERATING CELL TEMP: 45+/- *C I don't know what any of those acronyms mean, but I see 20 amp charge controllers range in price from fifty bucks to a hundred and fifty bucks. Am I right in thinking this is a "regular" solar panel similar to my little 8 watt panel that I can connect to a 20 amp charge controller like this one here https://www.renogy.com/new-edition-voyager-20a-pwm-waterproof-solar-charge-controller/ and charge a regular old 12VDC flooded deep cycle battery? I'd rather ask VS buying a $100 charge controller just to connect it up and "poof" it in a cloud of white smoke.

http://www.kd3y.com/qslcards.html Nine pages and growing.

Ireland! 40 meters was wide open last night.