Par End Fedz 10/20/40 Review

My first HF antenna was a ladder-line fed 40m dipole. My QTH had didn't have many trees to hold up an antenna and it was quite a chore to get it up in the air. Once I did get it up, the weight of the ladder line made it look more like a sloppy "V" than a neat "T"...and everyone knows an antenna that looks good can give you 3db gain under the right conditions :) It was also hard to string the antenna so the feedline came down in a convenient location over the house so I didn't have to run excessive lengths of coax or ladder-line to it. So I started to look for alternatives. I needed an antenna that was shorter than a full size dipole, required minimal supports, was easy to set up when portable, was well built to stand up to the elements, and performed as well (or nearly as well ) as full size dipole.

I looked into the Buddipole & Buddistick (too expensive), folded dipoles (short, but still need well placed supports),  the Miracle MMD (expensive and too long), and others, but none struck my fancy.

Par End Fedz 10/20/40 on 4ft pole.

I came across the Par Electronics End Fedz 10/20/40 and I knew that it was the antenna for me. It's nice and short at a mere 33ft., resonant on 3 bands without the use of a tuner, has a replaceable wire element that can be swapped for any band from 40m-10m, it's end fed so no need for long feedlines, coils up neatly into a Ziploc bag, it's strong and durable, and it only costs $75.

I had my Yaesu FT-817 with me while I was visiting my parents in Lakewood, CO when I received the antenna. I was excited to get it on the air and rather haphazardly strung the antenna about 6ft off the ground between two trees in the backyard. I started to trim the wire element for a minimum SWR as indicated by the meter on the FT-817. The FT-817 doesn't have a very precise internal SWR meter, but it worked well enough in the absence of a quality external meter. It took about 2 minutes to trim the wire before the SWR meter dropped down, and then I was in business! It was still early in the morning, but I spun the dial around the 20m band and stopped at 14.300 during the Maritime Mobile Net. They were taking check-in's so I called with 2.5w from the internal batteries on the FT-817 and the net controller in Washington State immediately came back to me! Needless to say I was very please with initial results from the antenna!

Back at my home I mounted the antenna to a strong hook on the eave of my house, about 8ft high, directly outside the window where I had my radio located. I only needed a short 6-8ft. length of RG-8/U coax to feed the antenna, which helped keep the cost, and feedline losses to a minimum. I then stretched the 33ft wire element into the yard and found that a random 4ft. post that the previous owners had installed was about 35ft away, and was perfect for keeping the wire element tightly stretched. Ah, isn't it good when things work out just so? In this low sloping configuration the antenna continued to amaze me and I was able to work many stations in the U.S. and DX (Aruba, Hawaii, etc.) on SSB w/ 5w or less. It didn't work very well for nearby contacts (0-200 miles) but it when I pushed it up a little higher to around 15ft, it seemed to perform better with NVIS contacts.

Par End Fedz 10/20/40 on 15ft pole

The antenna is great for Hams who don't have a lot of space to erect antennas but still need strong performance. It's also great for stealth operations because of the black wire element and flexibility of ways you can put it up. It works equally well horizontal, vertical, or sloping. I use the antenna quite a bit while camping and it only takes a few minutes to throw the antenna over a tree limb and get on the air. There are no multiples wires to get tangled up, no baluns to mess around with, no excessively long feedlines. It's simple and works great. For the price and performance, I would strongly recommend the antenna to anyone.

The Par End Fedz 10/20/40 antenna (left) with it's matching box (center) and the RG-174 feedline (right)

MFJ 1899T Review

Yaesu FT-817 w/ MFJ 1899T antenna

 

Another old post from my wordpress site:

March 28, 2011

My wife and I conveniently had last week off of school and work for Spring Break, so we were able to do some traveling and relaxing. My wife brought her sewing machine along to work on a few projects from the hotel room, but I didn’t bring my radio gear because I knew I had limited antenna options from inside a hotel room. I have used speaker wire dipoles with great success but I try not to bother my wife with those on vacation because she is patient enough with my variously strung wires around our home. The weather wasn’t exactly balmy either so I ruled out any outdoor portable work. I decided next time we travel I would have something capable of operating indoors! I’ve looked into magnetic loops and while they’re excellent antennas considering their small size I decided to go with a more conventional and compact vertical whip antenna.

I ordered a MFJ 1899T from Gigaparts and had it here on my doorstep in less than week. There’s not much to this antenna and I’m not convinced that it’s all that sturdy but with a little care I don’t see it breaking too easily… I  hooked it up to the rear PL-259 jack on the FT-817 with a right angle and BNC adaptor. Using the supplied tuning guide I tried it on various bands and found that it doesn’t even come close to the recommended settings -  but with a little trial and error the correct jumper and whip length can be found for minimal SWR. I had my Par End Fedz hooked up to the front BNC connection so I was able to readily switch back and forth to compare signal strengths. When tuned correctly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the little whip was very close to the Par antenna. Definitely a little quieter, but not enough to lose a station unless they were right on the noise floor to begin with. Even tuned correctly I had couple bars on the SWR meter but was easily rectified with a 3ft counterpoise attached to the ground screw on the rear of the FT-817. Now I still hadn’t transmitted with it yet so I wasn’t setting my hopes to high on this little antenna. I figured the fastest and easiest way to get some signal reports was to run it with WSPR, so I set up the software and let it whisper it’s little whistle into the ether for about 15-20 minutes. Came back to check on reports and….wow! I had hoped it could at least net a couple stateside stations but was quite happy to see the little whip chucking the little signal across the pond into Europe! Here’s the WSPR Map: 

20m WSPR w/ MFJ 1899T

I realize using WSPR is kinda “cheating” because you could probably go outside, holler your call sign, and with the capabilities of the software someone in Madagascar would see you on their waterfall… but I feel it’s a good way to really get a feel of where your signal is going. I will be doing some more extensive operating with this antenna in the future but so far so good! I will keep everyone posted on how it works out… On a side note I’ve been noticing the rear heat sink on the FT-817 gets quite hot with even minimal use, my FT-817ND barely got warm even with heavy use…curious….

29 March UPDATE:
This morning I checked into the New Mexico Breakfast Club on 3.939 mhz using the 1899T and 5 watts. It took a couple tries to get through but I was able to get in there none the less… This antenna is pretty slick. In no way will it ever perform as well as a full size antenna and I would never recommend it as a primary antenna but if your traveling or due to size constraints this is the only thing you can fit, it will get your signal out there reasonably well. Last night I did some listening on 40m and there were times when a station was 100% copy on the Par 10/20/40 and then was completely gone when I switched to the 1899T -  so in some circumstances it can be quite deaf, but if you’re just having fun and don’t mind missing a few stations here and there it won’t be a bother.

Last night I also ran some WSPR on 40m. Was happy with the results on that band as well:

40m WSPR w/ MFJ 1899T

Winter's Day WSPR

Another old post from my wordpress site:
January 31, 2011

Today the teacher is sick. Today also happens to look like this:

 Which then entails this:

 

Which means it's a perfect day for this:

 I can't complain!

First 15 minutes using WSPR on 20m with 2.5w

Countries & States Worked

Another old post from my wordpress site:

January 12, 2011

From here in Colorado, operating casually for 6 months (since August 2010), using a stock Yaesu FT-817ND, Par End Fedz 10/20/40, 5 watts or less, SSB voice, I have made contacts in:
40 states (still need: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia)
Canada
Aruba
Turks & Caicos Is.
Dominican Republic
Mexico
Slovenia
Poland
Russia
Germany
France
Hungary
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Sweden
Portugal
Austria
Venezuela
Norway
Azore Is.
Argentina
Brazil
Costa Rica
Bogota
Kermedec Is.
St. Maarten
Japan
28 March 2011 Update:
Yesterday was the CQ WW contest and was yet another example that even  a mere 5 watts can provide reliable worldwide communications. Taking my time and cruising the bands, in 1hr and 20min I made contacts in:
Brazil, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Netherlands, Bosnia, Slovenia, Italy, and Curacao.
The Brazilian station was noteworthy in that it was my first 10m DX contact. 10m doesn’t seem to be open very much (at least when I’m operating) so I was happy to make the contact with PR5D.

Have you SSB QRP'd lately???

Another old post from my wordpress site:
November 4th, 2010 
Conditions have been excellent for QRP SSB on 20m the past few days. My latest contact was with K2QNU in New York with a 5×6 signal report with 0.5w (500mw) on 20 meters. If you have your 817 sitting on the shelf gathering dust, get it fired up and on the air!

A note on NVIS...

This is an old post from my wordpress site:

September 21, 2010

For operating at home I strung the Par End Fedz 10/20/40 from the top of my dining room window (about 8ft high) to a fence pole (~4ft) that is randomly placed in our yard, but happened to be nearly the perfect distance away to pull the wire tight. I had good DX success with the antenna on both 20, and 40m with the low configuration and didn’t have any problem contacting stations from both coasts and even the Caribbean and Hawaii. It did however lack greatly for contacts into Colorado and surrounding states. I have 2 pieces of electrical conduit that I had bolted together to act as a mast for a 40m, ladder-line fed dipole that I had strung over the house the previous year but has been unused since I took down that antenna. I lashed this mast (about 15ft high?) to the fence post in the yard and pulled the end of the antenna to the top of it. With the new, higher configuration I tested it by checking into the High Noon Net on 7.240mhz. Previously with the low wire, I had a hard time checking into the net with many repeats of my call sign and often garnering no response at all. However, with the new high wire, I have checked into the net 2 days in a row without a problem at all. One net control station was located in southern New Mexico, quite nearly in the null of my antenna, and the other near Salt Lake City, Utah, thus indicating I am getting a good vertical signal out for NVIS work. This is encouraging as previously I couldn’t contact anyone at all if they were within a few hundred miles. I have not had much opportunity to check how the antenna work for low-angle DX stuff but have had a couple of contacts into CA and MO. The hummingbirds don’t care either way and enjoy perching on the wire in any configuration…

Par End Fedz 10/20/40 on 4ft pole

Par End Fedz 10/20/40 on ~15ft pole

Wouxun KG-UV3D Review

Wouxun KG-UV3D in dual RX mode

I've owned three different handheld radios since becoming a Ham. The first was a Yaesu VX-1, which a very compact little radio, but being only 1w output is best suited for around town where repeaters aren't too far away.
The second radio was a Yaesu VX-7R. This is a great 5w tri-band handheld radio with a plethora of features, and I would recommend it to anybody. The VX-7R is built like a tank, and I wouldn't hesitate to use one in the wilderness or a combat zone, which says a lot about it's quality. The problem was I rarely used it and had a lot of money tied up in it. I still like to have a handheld 2m/70cm radio around the house so I can jump on repeaters or listen to the local public service frequencies, so I set out to find something that was easy on the pocket book but still met my needs. A couple friends, AB5ZR and K0BV had played around with the Wouxun radios and had good things to say about them, so that's where I started to look for a replacement for the VX-7R.
What I needed was: 2m & 70cm coverage, 5w output, waterproof, inexpensive.
The Wouxun KG-UV3D can be bought new for about $120, but used ones come up for sale now and again, so I watched the For Sale forums and was able to snag one. Someday when I'm rich I'd like to own a Yaesu VX-8 with APRS and all the bells and whistles, but the KG-UV3D fills the current need of a simple, inexpensive, and quality handheld radio.

Observations of the Wouxun KG-UV3D:

• For anyone who wants a full featured handheld (i.e. repeater offsets, DCS and CTSS, dual receive etc.) without any extras to clutter up the menu and front panel this radio is ideal. It's has the essential features and nothing more. I think it would be a great radio for new Hams just starting out who want repeater & satellite access, but don't want to break the bank.
• The speaker is of good quality and is very loud. It works well for listening to FM broadcast stations, or if you like to moniter the radio while you work around the house, the speaker is plenty loud to hear it throughout the house.
• The filtering is a little less than great, and it tends to pick up a lot of stray RF hash around the house and in the car. I rarely had that problem with the VX-7R. It really only poses a problem when scanning because it tends to stop on all the strong static, and is just plain annoying. You can fix this by turning the squelch up to a higher level, but I do wish it had a little better filtering.
•  When the radio receives a signal, a bright green LED illuminates near the top of the radio. This is just plain annoying, especially when it's just picking up static and is flashing on and off. It's especially annoying at night, because the green LED is very bright. The VX-7R had the option to turn off all periphery indicator lights, and the KG-UV3D does not. I think a small piece of black tape will fix the problem.
• I like the dual receive feature. You can easily monitor two different repeaters, or listen to FM broadcast stations while monitoring a repeater at the same time.
• There is a single LED flashlight built into the top of the case which I think is a clever feature. In a power outage you can use it to find your way around the house, etc.
• The radio carries an IP55 rating which translates into: Limited dust ingress protection & protected against low pressure water jets from any direction. I wouldn't use the radio while boating or where it might get a good dunking, but it should be fine if you work with it out in the rain and elements. The case seems pretty durable as well and looks like it could take a fall without any damage. The VX-7R feels like it could probably be driven over with a truck and still function, but I think the KG-UV3D wouldn't hold up quite as well under severe abuse.
• The programming software that was included with the radio is not worth your time. It is hard to use and everything has to be entered manually. I would highly recommend the KG-UV Commander Software provided by KC8UNJ. I encourage you to drop him a donation if his software has been a benefit to you. 
• Overall, for the cost of these radios, I think it's a good value. No, it's not as good of quality or has the same features as the VX-7R, but that's why the VX-7R is a good $200 more expensive. So if you need a light to medium duty handheld, or are a newbie looking for a good starter radio, I think the KG-UV3D is worth considering.

The annoying super-bright RX light

Relative size

Yaesu FT-817 Review

I've owned a couple Yaesu FT-817's so I thought I'd do a quick write-up that might help someone else interested in buying one. First of all, for a larger variety of reviews for anything ham radio related I would strongly suggest the reviews found on www.eHam.net.

The Yaesu FT-817 is Yaesu's compact, portable, QRP (5w), all mode, all band transceiver. There are quite a few used ones on the market and can be had for ~$400-$600 USD. Now, QRP isn't for everybody. I think a lot of guys buy them, wanting a portable radio for picnic table operation, but when they get frustrated with the low power, they sell them off again. If you use this radio with an understanding of what it is, and within the realm of it's capabilities, it is a grand little piece of equipment. If you are expecting a contest grade radio, with high-end performance, and antenna melting power, you will be sadly disappointed.

I have owned 2 of these radios. One was a stock FT-817ND, and the other was a Yaesu FT-817 with the W4RT OBF (One Board Filter for CW & SSB), and the BHI DSP installed.

Some observations on the FT-817

•  Compact & simple: The size of this radio is perfect for the operator who lives in an apartment or just needs to keep a small footprint. I especially liked it because I could leave it set up on a small end table in our dining room and it was discreet enough that it didn't bother my wife :)
• Minimal power supply: You don't need a giant power supply to run the radio. I for one do not like the "old school" convention of having huge power supplies and rigs around my 'ham shack'. I like compact, simple, and practical. I often ran the radio off of a small sealed lead acid battery (SLAB) or a small "wall wart" power supply. You could even run the radio off of a small solar panel if you wanted.
• All mode/All band: With a radio the size of a small hardback book you can jump from 160m all the way up to 70cm with a push of a button. You can play around on HF or talk on repeaters and satellites. You aren't restricted to any one mode either. It will do AM/FM/SSB/CW/RTTY/Digital modes. For the digital modes you'll have to build yourself a radio-to-PC interface or purchase one like the Rigblaster Plug&Play.
• QRP is FUN!: For a wimpy 5w QRP rig you can do quite well on the HF bands. Using a mere 5w or less on SSB, with very casual operating I was able to make hundreds of contacts over the span of about 6 months from Colorado, including 40 U.S. States, and 33 DX stations (Including Italy, Russia, Hungary, Brazil, Japan, Germany, etc.). If you use the FT-817 with WSPR the entire world is within reach.
• Price point: $500-$600 is a lot of money for a radio, but when you compare it to other rigs that can easily sell for $1000+, it's pretty affordable. If you're internet savvy and bide your time I have seen FT-817's sell for as little as $350 on the different ham radio forums.
• The ability to add the W4RT filters and BHI DSP are a nice feature, but they are quite an expensive accessory. However, the BHI DSP does wonders to reduce the "white noise" on the HF bands. If my budget was tight I wouldn't mind putting up with some static noise, but if I had the extra cash laying around I would go for the DSP option. Unless you're an advanced user with a soldering iron I would leave it to W4RT to install any options for you. There are quite a few small surface mount parts and tricky bits to get the BHI DSP and OBF installed inside the case. Better to spend the extra cash to have it done right the first time around.
• Menu driven features: I like menu driven radios. It gives you a great deal of added features without cluttered dials and buttons on the faceplate of the radio. For older hams who grew up on dials and switches the menus might be a little ungainly. Growing up around computers I find the menus are second nature to me, and pretty easy to navigate.
• Internal batteries: I like the idea of using internal batteries to power the FT-817 but in reality it's not very practical. The FT-817 isn't the most power efficient and quickly burns up the eight AA batteries it holds. Even with minimal use, you'd be lucky to get 4-6 hours out of them. I wish Yaesu would either supply the FT-817 with a high capacity rechargeable battery or use the internal battery compartment to house an antenna auto-tuner.

I used my FT-817's for low profile operating at home, and for portable operation while camping and motorcycling, and it's a fantastic rig for those uses. If you have a larger budget it appears the forthcoming Elecraft KX3 will blow the FT-817 out of the water, but for the price point, and availability the FT-817 is a great buy.

Below are a few video I made when I owned the FT-817's. Excuse the poor quality video!

Operating portable near Trinidad, CO contacting the DXpedition ZL8X to Kermadec Island with 5 watts from the Yaesu FT-817ND with Par End Fedz 10/20/40 antenna with a 22ft. #26 wire element cut for 15m. 

Operating with the Yaesu FT-817ND from 11,950ft on Trinchera Peak in the Sangre De Cristo mountains in southern Colorado. Antenna is a Par End Fedz 10/20/40. Listening to a pile-up for UW5ZM in Ukraine.

Here's a short video of my Yaesu FT-817 doing a side by side antenna comparison on recieve. The rear antenna is a MFJ 1899T and the front antenna is a Par End Fedz 10/20/40 via 25' of RG-174 coax, horizontal at about 15ft. The frequency is 7.205 LSB. You can see how strong stations are very close in signal strength while weaker stations drop out quickly with the MFJ antenna. You can also see the effectiveness of the W4RT installed BHI DSP unit.

Crystal Sets To Sideband

I have recently been reading the book Crystal Sets To Sideband by Frank W. Harris K0IYE. The book is available for free in PDF format. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any new Hams or anyone wanting to learn more about electricity and radios. Frank explains some very complex principles in easy to understand, and practical ways. Either I wasn't taught any of this stuff in school, or I wasn't paying attention, but page after page the light bulb would click on in my head "Ooooh so that's how it works...". The book goes into a lot of DIY radio projects so it's also a must read for anyone who enjoys building things from scratch. So search Google for Crystal Sets To Sideband by Frank W. Hariis K0IYE. Whether you're a newbie or an expert I'm sure you'll find it worth your time. By the way, you can upload the book PDF files to your Kindle or other e-reader and enjoy the book on that device. Many thanks to Mr. Harris for providing this great resource free of charge!

Download the book here: Crystal Sets To Sideband

Kindle 3 Review

For an early Christmas gift my wonderful wife bought me an Amazon Kindle 3 w/3g. The past few years the idea of an e-reader didn't interest me in the slightest. They were expensive, limited in what books were available, and I had boxes of books in storage that I had never read anyway. I had a few books on my short list that I wanted to buy and read, but after checking for them on Amazon.com I discovered that the majority of them were old enough that they were available for free in e-reader format. If I had bought the hardbacks, for the same price I could have the Kindle with the books loaded for free, and have access to the thousands of other free books available in e-reader and PDF format.

So who is the Kindle for? I think it's ideal for folks who are trying to simplify their life and don't want to keep a lot of books around their house, either on shelves or in storage. Will it replace all your books? I doubt it...there are many books not yet available in digital format, and there's something to be said about having a real, solid book in your hand. It's a great tool for those who read a lot while they travel, and don't want to lug multiple books around with them. If you're an avid reader with a limited budget most digital books are at least 50% less expensive than their printed counterparts, not to mention all the free content available. If you can afford to spend $100 on books, I think you should look into a Kindle.

Here's a few features that I think are worth mentioning:

• Compact and lightweight: I can easily throw it into my pants cargo pocket and go about my day. It's not going to survive a severe drop, so some caution must be used when deciding where you're going to store it. Although I wouldn't hesitate to weather-proof it with a Ziploc bag and take it camping with me.
• Easy to read screen: Like the ads say, it really does read just like a book. In fact due to the high contrast of the screen I feel quite comfortable reading it in low light where it might be a little too dark for a conventional book. New users comment that the screen flashes whenever you turn a page. After a little while you completely ignore the screen flashing, it's not an issue.
• Internet accessibility: It's actually quite fast when checking email and forums. Mobile web site are advised when possible since media intensive web sites tend to slow down the browser quite a bit. I wouldn't hesitate to use it to check email or do some light internet browsing from a coffee shop etc. I have had the browser freeze when trying to access Facebook, so it's not the most stable or inclusive feature, but it will do light duty stuff without too much trouble.
• Battery life: The battery last a long time in comparison to all the other mobile electronics we use these days. I usually plug the Kindle in to charge overnight every few days and have never had the battery less then 3/4 full. You can read all you want and not have to keep your eye on the battery level. Having wireless on tends to drain the battery much more quickly so if you're just reading books or expect to be away from a power source for awhile, go ahead and keep the wireless switched off.
• Availability of content: I can find 99% of all the book I want in Kindle (or PDF) format. I tend to like old books, and fortunately most of them end up being free due to their age. The availability of old, free books has expanded my library considerably and I've been enjoying a great number of books I never would have even heard of hadn't it been for the Kindle.
• 3G access: I can access Amazon and Wikipedia anywhere there is a cell phone signal, and not have to worry about finding a WiFi hotspot. If you plan on using the Kindle exclusively from home, the extra cost of the 3G may not be worthwhile to you, but if you're like me and are out and about quite often, I think it's worth it. I have even been able to access the internet via 3G to check email etc. but I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon negates that feature with future software updates.
• Speaker quality: There are two small speakers imbedded in the back of the Kindle case. For their size I was expecting low quality, tinny, or flat sound, but I was happy to find they are actually quite good speakers. I downloaded a free classical album from Amazon and the sound is very deep and full. No complaints there. You can also use the Text to Speech option to turn nearly any book into an audiobook. This works okay, but the computerized speech lacks the inflection a human reader would have and can quickly become boring. Granted, it's a great feature none the less.

 Overall I would highly recommend the Kindle to anyone considering one. If you plan on doing a fair amount of internet browsing with it, definitely jump for the Kindle 3 (with keyboard), or the Kindle Touch. The lowest cost Kindle (currently $79) requires you to navigate the on-screen keyboard with the 5-way controller button, which can make entering text quite a chore. I opted for the physical keyboard because I have large fumbly fingers and always seem to press the wrong keys on touch screens.

UPDATE: After using the Kindle for a couple weeks I have a couple more observations:

• There isn't any way to edit website bookmark titles. Try to Bookmark Google Maps and it wants to overwrite the default Google bookmark because they have the same title.
• No way to view and select MP3 files. You have no way to select which files you want to listen to other than by manually skipping with the Alt-F shortcut.
• I personally wouldn't mind giving up a little on size to have a larger capacity battery and memory. Even though the battery life and 3500 book capacity is great, it wouldn't hurt for it to be better.
• I have big hands and the case is pretty thin and dainty. I need a case/cover to give me something thicker to hold onto. 
• The downside to having access to thousands of free books is you want to read them all at the same time! I need to prioritize my reading list :)