Hotspot – VA3QV Listening more than talking

Wires “X” Node update

Well as I mentioned almost a month ago I was having “issues” with the VA3RCS Wires X Personal Digital Node. After a Windows 11 update the node was no longer functioning….

The picture on the left is my Yaesu FTDM 100 (UHF/VHF/FM/C4FM) radio that serves as the host for the VA3RCS PDN and also a radio for my mobile operations when I use a rental car.

After trying a few different things I found out that the USB cable that goes from the computer to my node radio is at fault. The Yaesu PC Connection Cable SCU-20 has a chip in it that is not supported by Windows 11. Although according to the internet…. there is a way to force an old driver into Windows 11 which will work until Windows realizes the old driver needs updating and then we have crashed again.

According to the internet (and they were right the first time) the easiest (painless) way to fix the problem is replace the SCU-20 cable with the SCU58 WIRES-X Connection Cable Kit for Yaesu Mobile Radios. This in effect is the same interface cable but the 58 has a chip in it that Windows 11 will play nice with.

The cable is available from Yaesu thru Radioworld in Toronto for a modest price plus shipping and taxes etc. I am not going to order one YET but once I finish up (complete) my Yaesu FT891 Portable Station project it will be the next project on my list….

Other options would be to find an older computer with an older version of Windows on it but…. As I hate messing with setting up a computer,just replacing the interface cable seems to be a more enjoyable way to do things.

So that’s it for now… I can go back to chasing POTA and getting ready for the spring when I can warmly activate the local parks.

73bob

The weekend update

For me it was a 4 day weekend (Friday to Monday) as I managed to spend lots of time in the shack. To be realistic as I’m retired its a 7 day weekend but on the Tuesday to Thursday time frame less people seem to be on the air.

Although I try not to be as obsessive about POTA as I was in the old days, it seems that most of my 65 HF Contacts on the weekend had a POTA designation for their location. My park numbers also jumped with 12 new parks confirmed in my Hunter log…

For the times that the HF bands were not cooperating I did manage to make a few C4FM Wires X contacts around North America. Its never going to replace HF SSB but the band was up and down this past weekend and it was enjoyable to have a long QSO without repeats due to QSB. Its just another feature we have the choice to use in our hobby.

Thats how my weekend went (Radio wise). How was yours?

73bob

Still reading the manual

Well two weeks later and 100 new POTA parks in my log and I am still learning “new stuff”….

The FT991a is living up to all its hype and is a dream to operate… If you use it right out of the box with the default settings its a good radio…

If you RTFM and customize your Transmit audio settings and your Receive filter settings its a FANTASTIC radio to use.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post…

So far I have added 100 unique parks to my Parks list… A few in CW but most of them in SSB.

This would also include the K7K DXPedition to Kiska Island in SSB (95w ssb and CW (40w). Both contacts were made on 17m

No digital at this time but until I’m sure that my NUE PSK Modem that works well my my older Yaesu Radios will also work well with the 991a I am not going to take a chance on bricking the rig…

As I mentioned above I have even made a few CW contacts. The 991a has a very good built in Contest Keyer and when I use it with my IPAD and the HotPawz Decoding app I can “5nn TU” with the best of them. My contacts have all been Search and Pounce and I use an app to fill in the blanks but… Its still a contact…

Now before the flames start let me remind you of my post back in December where I described the Pro’s and Con’s of the setup. It can’t decode a bad fist but as most of the people I am contacting are also using keyers… It works for me… And for the record (full disclosure here) my XIEGU X5105 has a contest keyer built in along with a fairly good decoder also built in…. Still nothing but S&P but still much better than nothing.

For now I am still very pleased with my purchase and looking forward to more DXPeditions and POTA contacts. It will be the perfect way to finish the summer along with starting of the fall season…

73bob

Changes in the #hamradio shack

Its not really spring cleaning or adding to the collection but more aiming my Amateur Radio gear towards a goal….

That goal is to prepare for the eventual move that we are planning in about a years time. We are not sure where we will end up but…. We need a place that is “Senior Friendly” which loosely translates to no stairs… The Condo Garden home we are renting is the right size (in sq feet) but that is shared between 4 floors and the stairs are killing us… Also having to be a bit “stealthy and creative” in my antenna systems here is making me believe a move would mostly be a good thing… With any luck we will find a small bungalow that has a yard that’s antenna friendly at a price that’s pension friendly. Failing that then I guess it will be Seniors Apartment (top floor please) with balcony antennas.

VHF/UHF on the left with the loop in the center

I was thinking that Mag Loop for the HF bands and the existing Arrow GP would be acceptable if I had some altitude…

So getting back to the big change… Where the Yaesu FT950 and the FT7250d used to sit on my desk has been now given over to my new Yaesu FT991A.

It has a much smaller footprint and the radio can operate on 70CM, 2M ,6m and the full HF bands of 10m to 160m including 60m. Its modes are FM,C4FM,SSB and CW with provisions for the various Digital Modes

So far its working fine with the SGC237 autotuner I have mounted outside on my fence. I do have an Arrow dual band (70cm/2m) groundplane outside as well but I would prefer at least a couple of horizontal loops for 2m and 6m SSB but they will have to wait for now.

Its really a radio that you should read the manual for so for now its working fine for me and once I actually RTFM it will be even better. So far my received signal reports are almost identical to those I received when using the FT950 so I am more than pleased.

I am still active on HF and C4FM (PiStar Hotspot) so its all good…

A much better review of the FT991a will be posted once I RTFM and figure out what I am doing

73bob

ps…. and IF I have the urge to activate a POTA Park or just work the world from my neighborhood park I do have my XIEGU X5105 along with my choices of the EFHW antenna or the SOTA Beams 6-60m antenna

Back again

Don’t pay the ransom ….. I escaped…..

Two years of camping just had me at the point that there was nothing to talk about in the RV Life. We just used the trailer like a cottage and outside of the 75 km that was me towing the trailer from the Dealer’s lot to Varty Lake it actually never turned a wheel until it left being towed by its new owner on its way to its new home.

It also seemed that my Ham Radio activites seemed to take a backseat to just about everything else so once again I had little to talk about….

I guess you could day that in reality “COVID won” because at the end of the two years we were not able to travel like we wanted to (and bought the trailer for) and that is a sad thing. However we did keep our sanity (for the most part) and we did keep COVID at bay and therefor still have our health.

So here I am…. trying to remember how to use the WordPress software on a new laptop so I can tell you about how I got my FT950 up and running again (if I could remember what all the buttons do) and once I get the software up and running also getting my “Node” working again so I make some YSF contacts when the HF bands are not playing nice.

This is almost like starting fresh again like I did so many years ago… Lets hope that this time I can or am able to finish what I started way back then.

Once I get things figured out I still have to work a bit on my WAS (voice/CW/Digital ) from Kingston and my DXCC totals (voice/CW/Digital) have not changed in 2 years and that is my plan for the winter months. Lots of time in the shack and get those totals to rise.

Lets hope things happen this time….

More Later

73bob

VA3QV/m (UHF/VHF/HF)

The result of having way too much time on my hands but as of right now VA3QV/m is as good as I see it being….

VHF/UHF communications provided by my Yaesu FTM7250D which along with being dual band its also dual mode (FM/C4FM) with output power being up to 50w. If the repeater I am on at the time is part of the Wires X network I can also access that network as well

wirexgraphic

HF Communications (15m/17m/20m/40m/60m/80m) with my Yaesu FT450d along with a Wolf River coil. The FT 450 has a built in Auto Tuner which I plan to use to extend the bandwidth of the antenna system but so far it has not been needed

IMG_0746 (1)

In addition I have a hotspot that I tether to my cell phone that interfaces the 7250 with the System Fusion system for Wires X style linking

But getting back to HF Mobile operating…

In anticipation of next year being better than this year is turning out I decided to outfit my truck with a good selection of communications gear so that if we are allowed to travel unrestricted next year communications “home” from wherever we were visiting would be possible

It did take a few remakes but the Wolf River 10-80m coil along with a 90 inch stainless steel whip is working better than expected. I am making contacts (on a daily basis) with stations across Ontario/Quebec and the Maritimes on 40m and 80m ssb. I have also make contacts into Canada’s western provinces using 20m and 40m ssb. In eastern Ontario the guys say that my mobile is almost as strong as my fixed station setup seeing that I have to use a stealth antenna here at home to keep the condo board guessing.

Left pic shows the mount that failed and the one that is stronger is on the right

Now if you decide to go this route for your mobile I do recommend going with a very strong mount on your vehicle. My first mount failed due to the flexing issue with the 102 inch whip (I later cut it down to 90 inches due to height restrictions) and a 16 inch coil driving around the streets of Kingston. Before then the coil was working fine and then the mount failed. After replacing the mount with one more robust it is working just fantastic. I still have some filtering to add to my ignition and charging systems as there is some alternator whine and ignition noise there but I’ve got time before 2021 to get that figured out

The next part of the package will now to get the trailer set up and then make it “Radio Active” in time for Field Day and the RAC Canada Day Contest. The next 2 weeks are going to be a busy time.

73bob

Has it been 2 months already?

Well look back…. On March 14th 2020 Liz and myself drove to Oshawa, bought my 2nd Yaesu FT 450 from VE3FJC…. Looked at a new trailer , but did not sign on the line and had supper at the Belleville Casino….

A day later it all hit the fan…. Pandemic City and the worst two months in our lives…. Fortunately we kept our health and financial security (many lost both) but its changed life as we know it…. and two months later its not getting much better….

As things pertain to Ontario (VE3) the public parks are just starting to open up but right now its only for day use….. Don’t make any plans for Field Day yet…..

I am still planning to operate Field Day but most likely as a 1A station.

ft450_JetStream25wps

Yaseu FT 450, 43 foot vertical, 25 amp power supply and my Champion 1.5k Gas Generator.

Overnight won’t happen but will (should)operate for both days but will be operating under Day Use restrictions.

Now as plans were made to be broken… I will be fairly flexible if the parks suddenly open for general use

However as of today’s date the private campgrounds that cater to the permanent campers will be allowed to start their season… In addition many more businesses are going to able to open up but with some restrictions….

A biggie for me is that the Provincal Parks remaining day use only…. We were still strongly debating the new trailer but we also want to travel with it so…… Hard to travel if there are no Provincal Parks to travel to…. Not really wanting to make the payments with no where to go with it….

Radio wise it might be the year of the Contests or QSO Parties…. DXPeditions for the most part are not going to happen…. Just can’t see some remote area inviting a bunch of old people from a country or countries that have had serious issues with COVID19 to welcome us with open arms….. However I will be the first to admit that sitting in the shack in the evenings and having some chats have taken most (if not all) of the stress from my daily life till the next day when it builds up again…

Hoping you are staying safe and sane through our search for the “new normal”

73bob

Pleased with the new purchase

Well after the help of a few local (Kingston) hams and the computer skills of my daughter Erika its working fine

The hotspot has found a place in VA3QV/m and I have it set up in such a way that I do not need a computer to control it …. However I am also not using it to its full potentinal.

But it is doing exactly what I wanted it to so…. it works for me… And heres how I am using it so far….

I use it to connect to the Canada Wide Room which is part of the VE3ORF/3730 linked Repeater system This lets me keep track with the “home town” when I am not within VHF/UHF RF range although most nites I can contact them on 80m SSB on the 3730 group.

Here in Kingston the local Fusion Group has just (in the process of)set up a hotspot on the the Fusion repeater here in town. This (once all is finished) will let me call into my new home town when I am on the road. Once again YES I could do this on HF but its nice to have some communications options.

Now if I was to add a tablet to the system I could use the hotspot to its full potential but for now I don’t want to introduce any more distactions to VA3QV/m and the video display would be doing that. All I need to do is fill in a few gaps in communications (for now). I am planning to get a 2nd hotspot to put in the trailer and that will have more computer control but for now its the KISS principal.

I’m still a newby at this but it is a great communications tool

73bob

PS…. as I write this according to the USPS tracking site my 10-80m Wolf River Coil is somewhere between Chicago and Kingston. It passed through Chicago and so far has not be scanned anywhere since. I am hoping it makes it to Toronto where it will clear customs and then on to me in Kingston

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