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With the risk, that you might say, I can’t do that, I say YES YOU CAN!
The other day, I was looking around for a cheap and simple antenna for my brother in-law. You see, he was asking me if it’s hard to get a amateur radio license, and if the equipment is expensive, so I told him that he could borrow a radio and coax from me, but, I didn’t have any antenna that he could use.
That’s when I got to think about a neighbor of mine, a few years ago, he asked me if I wanted an old CB antenna that had been laying outside for the last 20-25 years, and at the time, I had what I needed, so I said no thank you, but now it might be a good idea to ask him, and guess what, it was still laying out there, he said, all he used it for was to knock down hornets nests. So I got the “antenna” for free, took it all apart, cleaned it up, and put it together again.
From what I could figure out, it was 11′ tall, and once it did have 3 ground plane-rods. Further more, it also had a coil of some sorts, connecting the center of the PL connector with the 11′ radiator, and since I had no clue of size, or number of turns, I started to look on the net for a similar antenna, but it was still just guesswork. As you can see, on the picture at the right, I used what I had sitting around, so its about 1 1/2 turns. Then of coarse I didn’t know how long the ground-plane-rods originally were, so I came up with a “one of a kind” solution. Since I didn’t have any aluminum pipes that would fit, I went another route, if you look close, I put “inserts” into the 3/4″ holes, then 3 pieces of 6′ fiber-glass rods were inserted, and on the rods, I wound about 7′ 22 gauge insulated copper-wire. The fiber-glass rods can be found at Lowe’s, they are used as “driveway” markers. I used electrical tape, to hold the wires in place, but shrink-tubes would be nicer.
Now too the fun part, would this contraption work?? As I said earlier, this was an old CB antenna once upon a time, but what is it now?? I hooked up my trusty TS-440 sat, it has its own antenna-tuner, so I tuned in 28,500 and hit tune, well it showed SWR about 1-1:3, so I moved down to 28,020 and low and behold, it showed SWR 1-1:2! Well I thought, just because it shows low SWR, it doesn’t have to be a good antenna, so I tuned over the 10m band, and heard a station in El Paso Tx I had worked before, he was about S 5-5, so I called him, and he did answer, and gave me a solid S 5-9!! This told me that it was not just a pile of junk sitting on my back porch, so then I tried to tune it on 12m, and there it showed about SWR 1-1:3, which is not to bad!! This antenna turned out to work all bands, except 17m, and I guess 160m!! Not to bad of a pile of scrap!!
So now, I’m asking all of you, go out and “save” old CB antennas, give them a second chance, and put them to work on our HAM-bands! When you are done, tell us how good it works, and how you managed to save it from the “scrapyard” Good luck, and hope to see your article here soon!
Lars KB3WBT the Antennafarmer
Congratulations to newly licensed and upgraded hams. The following hams earned new licenses and privileges at the recent VE session following 6 weeks of classes held at the Red Cross in DuBois.
Bill Latta, Punxsutawney, KA3MKY – General
Steven Caltagarone, Reynoldsville, KB3ZKI – Technician
Roger McEachron, Treasure Lake, KB3ZKJ – Technician
Paul Murphy, Punxsutawney, AB3RB – Extra
THE QUAD-COUNTY Amateur Radio Club, Inc. proudly presents our 2012 Annual Report, detailing the activities of the past 12 months in this, our 38th year. You may view or download it here:
2012 Annual Report
CQ World Wide DX Contest (SSB) — 0000 UTC Saturday October 27 to 2359 UTC Sunday, October 28, 2012 (Friday evening at 8 until Sunday evening at 8). |
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work 100 countries in one weekend? Would you like to sharpen your operating skill? Do you want to try your hand at contesting and see if you have what it takes?
Well, this weekend is a great opportunity for you to do all that and more! And not only that… there’s food! Peach AB3OG has invited everyone back to Hummingbird Speedway this weekend to take part in the CQ WW DX contest. W3BC and W3TM are providing the radios and other equipment, and Peach will make the racetrack food concession available for our use.
This will be a multi-operator, multi-transmitter station, and will be pretty much like another Field Day, except everybody will be trying to work DX. That should be pretty easy, since the bands have been very good, and the solar forecast calls for continued good DX conditions, day and night. You are invited to come out and stay as long as you want. Take your turn on the air, or just sit back and watch — we’re not in it to win it, instead, our reason for doing this is to give our members and other interested hams the chance to learn how to become a successful contester.
Think of it as “On-the-Air Training.”
Our goal is to make 1 million points, but more importantly we hope to have fun, food and friendship! Please plan to take part if you can, and don’t feel obligated to do anything except have a good time!
Want to become a ham? Here’s some good news!
The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club will conduct free, entry-level licensing classes for those wishing to obtain Amateur Radio licenses, beginning September 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the American Red Cross PA Heartland Chapter offices at 209 N. Brady Street, DuBois. Classes will continue on the following Thursday evenings: Sep. 10, Sep. 27, Oct. 4, Oct. 18, and a test session on Oct. 25. Please note there will not be a class on October 11!
Classes are suitable for all ages. We suggest parents accompany children under 14. A study manual is recommended (under $20) and students should make every effort to attend each class.
For more information, contact Joe Shupienis W3BC at 371-3235.
We have scheduled a VE Test Session for Thursday, October 25 at 6:00 pm. Walk-ins are welcome and all classes of exam will be given.
This is an ARRL VEC session, and there will be a $15.00 fee to take as many different exams as you can, including instant upgrades.
Place: American Red Cross PA Heartland Chapter, 209 N. Brady Street, 2nd Floor (above Planet Bike.) Use the rear entrance from the parking lot and take the elevator.
For more information, please contact Joe W3BC at 814-371-3235.
WWe hit the road once again on Saturday, August 11; this time to set up a public demo booth at the Super 322 Drive-In Car Show between Woodland and Bigler. Lars KB3WBT, Ed KB3VWX, Don KB3LES and Joe W3BC strung a G5RV from the 50-foot peak of the screen to a similarly high tree. Lars and Don set up the radios and some portable antennas, and we hit the airwaves.
Sam KA3USM sat in at the operating position, and Herb W3TM and guest made the rounds and pointed us to the best car displays.
Lars worked DX station after DX station and tuned higher and higher bands as the day progressed and the MUF increased. He agreed that sunspots are a good thing. The weather was very pleasant with scattered clouds and nary a drop of rain. We handed out information packets to those who stopped by, and got the chance to browse through the car show at our own pace.
Theater owner Bill Frankhouser was very appreciative of our efforts, and hopes to have us back again next year.
Photo Gallery
The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club will sponsor an ARRL VE Exam session at 6:00 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012 in the meeting room of the PA Heartland Chapter, American Red Cross, 109 North Brady Street, in DuBois. Exams for all classes of license will be offered. The ARRL exam fee is $15.00, which covers all exams taken by an applicant at that session. (Retaking a failed exam element at the same session will require an additional $15.00 fee.)
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 The Community House on the Clearfield Fairgrounds
The Quad-County ARC would be delighted to welcome you to our Field Day operation. We are located in the Community Building on the Clearfield County Fairgrounds. Here is a map and directions.
Directions:
From US-322 turn onto Weaver Street at (A).
Drive to the Fairgrounds Gate at 700 Weaver Street (B).
Say the magic words “Ham Radio” to get in free, then…
Turn left immediately and park near (C).
Our Field Day operation is in the yellow brick house immediately in front of you!
Hope to see you there!
On Saturday, June 2, 15 QCARC members and guests set up a demonstration station and and gave a public exhibition of foxhunting at the American Red Cross PA Heartland Chapter’s “First Bash of Summer” carnival in the DuBois City Park. Don Jewell KB3LES was the project leader, and provided the HF radio, VHF/UHF J-Pole, antenna analyzer, hardware and know-how. The Punxsutawney Area Amateur Radio Club provided the tent, which turned out to be very much needed when Mother Nature showed everyone who was boss.
Jeff Rowles KA3FHV held down the fort on the HF rig, and the HF antenna system built by Joe W3BC was given a thorough workout. The results were good, and Jeff reported that he was able to work every station he heard. The entire operation was set up in under an hour and it was great to see so many hands make light work of all the heavy lifting. In a Quad-County first, at no time did anyone discover they had left something important at home!
Joe Rouse K3JLR drove in from Strattanville and brought Deirdre and Magi who gave us a special treat: Homemade Ham Radio cookies!
Technology Specialist Lars KB3WBT/SM7FYW led several teams on foxhunts, and fielded questions from curious fairgoers. There seems to be a growing interest in foxhunting locally, and it’s a great opportunity to show the public another side of Amateur Radio they probably didn’t know existed. It’s an activity for the whole family, and participants don’t even need a license to have some ham radio fun!
Jefferson County ARES EC Kevin Snyder KA3YCB, along with assistant EC and Punxsutawney Area Amateur Radio Club President Steve Waltman KB3FPN were both on hand to help out and take part in the activities. Kevin also serves as the Quad-County ARC Public Service Officer, and brought portable tables and chairs for the event. Red Cross Liaison Greg Donahue KB3WKD made sure we had everything we needed, and connected us to the electrical power system for the duration. He also set up PA announcements directing fairgoers to our location.
Before the rainstorm hit, we discussed how much fun it was, and our desire to do more events like these. We look forward to the next events: Field Day, Race Day, Car Show, and Baker Trail Marathon.
Participants:
W3BC, KB3WBT and Kay, KA3FHV, W3DWR, KB3WKD, K3JLR, Deirdre, Magi, W3TM, Jeff, KA3YCB, KB3FPN, KB3LES, JoAnn
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- The crew makes short work of putting up the tent. Now where is that missing part???
The crew makes short work of putting up the tent. Now where is that missing part???
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- KA3YCB, W3TM and KB3WBT check out W3BC's portable antenna
The crew checks out the antennas.
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- Getting on the air, Don Jewell KB3LES and Kevin Snyder KA3YCB check the operation of the just-installed equipment, as Gref Donahue KB3WKD looks on.
Getting on the air, Don Jewell KB3LES and Kevin Snyder KA3YCB check the operation of the just-installed equipment, as Gref Donahue KB3WKD looks on.
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- Deirdre, Magi and Joe K3JLR brought Ham Radio snacks for everybody.
Deirdre, Magi and Joe K3JLR brought Ham Radio snacks for everybody.
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- Joe K3JLR and family,and Lars Kvant SM7FYW, foxhunting at the Red Cross Carnival in the DuBois City Park.
Joe K3JLR and family,and Lars Kvant SM7FYW, foxhunting at the Red Cross Carnival in the DuBois City Park.
Total vehicle-miles traveled by the subjects: 80 on the left and 40 on the right.
 NEW Baofeng UV-3R Dual-Band HT I will be ordering 5-unit lots of Baofeng UV-3R HTs from China as orders come in. The cost is $46.00 per radio, shipped. I will program them with all the local ham radio frequencies of interest free of charge. (If you prefer to do it yourself, here’s the file: QC-Ham)
I can also obtain spare batteries at $3.95 each. Better deal: I found a supplier of 1800 mAH batteries for $4.00 each, which gives 20% longer battery life for a nickel more!!!
These prices are for 5 units or more, so orders will be held until I get at least 5.
Please note, these are the improved “Mark II” version with the dual frequency display and 19 menu functions. Color (red, blue, yellow or camo) units are $49.00 each and take longer to ship (two weeks). The regular ones take a few days. The first group order was for 8, I expect them to be here in time for the Meeting Friday.
The winter air was filled with the happy shouting of nearly 400 Cub Scouts at Camp Mountain Run on Saturday, February 11th, as they gathered for their annual Klondike Derby. “It’s a great way for them to enjoy winter activities in the great outdoors,” explained District Director Carl Hall.
This year, there was a new activity that captured the interest of the Cub Scouts from the north-central Pennsylvania region served by the Bucktail Council. That activity was an Amateur Radio station and exhibit set up by members of the Quad-County Amateur Radio Club. Nearly 400 Cub Scouts got on the air to experience Amateur Radio first hand, as Quad-County hams volunteered to help.
Club President Joe Shupienis W3BC led the hams in greeting each 50-60 Scout unit as they entered the room. Quad-County members Don Jewell KB3LES and Lars Kvant KB3WBT/SM7FYW demonstrated VHF antennas they built, and answered questions from the Scouts and their parents. Jesse Tucker KG4ZXC and President Shupienis W3BC discussed how Amateur Radio is a lifelong activity which can lead to careers in engineering, science and technology.
Club Member Kevin Hoynoski W3PIG showed the Scouts his “Go Box”–a portable amateur radio station in an easily carried container.
Next, the Go-Box was put into action on the Quad-County 147.315 repeater, and each and every Cub Scout got to speak on the air with Phil K3PJ at his home in Clymer. They learned from talking with him that he is a Scoutmaster for a unit in Indiana County.
After putting 381 Cub Scouts on the air, both groups were very happy with the operation and look forward to working together again!
Photo Gallery:
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- Kevin demonstrates his Go Box as the Cub Scouts eagerly await their turn at the controls!
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- Show and Tell. Lars and Don exhibit their antenna craftsmanship for the surprisingly interested Cub Scouts!
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- Jesse and Club Technology Coordinator Lars ready the equipment for flawless operation before using it to put hundreds of Cub Scouts on the air!
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- Don KB3LES, Lars KB3WBT, Jesse KG4ZXC and Kevin W3PIG prepare displays and handouts.
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- Cub Scouts gather around the radio and await their turn to say "Hello" on the air!
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