Pacific Coast Electronics

In the 50s/60s my grandfather owned a couple businesses on First Avenue, downtown Seattle (First and Univeristy).

One was the electronics store "Pacific Coast Electronics" and the other was "Pacific Coast Hardware" (old name was Sullivan Electric/Hardware).

They were located where the Harbor Steps are today.  I remember the wrecking ball that destroyed the old brick building where the Steps are now.

Today, the last remaining visible part of the building is the stone (granite?) wall with arches on the higher edge of the Steps.  Within the arches of the wall were colored glass with words like "Tubes" "Radios", and other things that were sold at the store.

Here is a copy of the article from the publication "The Northwest Electronic World" (February 1970)

Small Article that appeared with the cover.  John Wandling is my father.

At First and University (Across street from the Seattle Art Museum)

The Hardware store was up the street from the Electronics store and the last remaining part of the hardware store is the wall for the Lief Erikson Building.

The DX-Aku

I kept my plans close-hold for a long time.  Perhaps too long and perhaps too close.

But I am going to finalize the outline of the DX-pedition I've wanted to do soon.  I'll post those details here and make the release when it's ready.

All I can say is that it is an Island and it is in the Pacific.

My muse (mentor at a time) and driving force was (and is, I suppose) my DX-Aku.  Although he has been slumbering (or distracted, or disappointed), I think he (it?) has turned around and started to take notice of what I'm doing.  (Thanks to Bob Schmieder, KK6EK)

A hint:

Going to Visalia

Big trip in April 2023: Going to Visalia.

https://www.dxconvention.com

Looking forward to connecting with DX folks!

Sky Loop is Back

Glad to Have the Sky Loop "Pentabus" Up

After some tramping through the forest with a flashlight, field soldering, and assorted comical behavior, I managed to get the Super Sky Loop back in the trees.

Dimensions

This time, a five-sided rhombus sort-of-shaped thing.  A Pentabus?   Total wire this time about 470 feet, just shy of the 500' spool.   If I added more wire it would droop a bit.  The wire here is taunt between trees.    Plain 14 AWG insulated wire.  Green to hide among the trees.

Anchored in each corner with a guy-line and PVC insulator.  I can bring each corner down as needed for servicing the antenna.

Fed at the N-W Corner with 450 window line to a (legacy 2010) Palstar AT-AUTO (the version pre-Palstar split. So this would be the Kessler design).

Cost of antenna

$40 worth of guy line.

$60 worth of wire

$2 worth of zip-tie.

Surplus Window Line (I've had it for 10+ years, probably 120 feet involved here)

$8 worth of SCH-40 PVC

Performance

It tunes the following bands quite easily:

10 m

12 m

15 m

30 m

40 m

80 m

Issues

I cannot get a 1:1 VSWR on 17 or 20 m.    As close as I can get is about 1.2 VSWR on 20m and 1.8 on 17 meters.

I'm not sure why yet.  I did make some coax changes in the shack between radio and amplifier and antenna switches and so on, so the add-up of coax between Rig/Tuner/Amp has changed some since the last time I had the Loop running.   I will be experimenting with a quick fix with different lengths of coax in the shack before I look further. 

Loading

No balun/unun at all.  The AT-AUTO (for lack of a better case) is the tuner and the pi-network in the tuner does what it needs to do.

It's brilliant on 40m and 30m.  I can drive 35W on the Elecraft K3 and deliver 700W via the homebrew linear amplifier (4kV Plate voltage, Class AB-2, Grounded Grid, Pair 3-500ZG -- new valves just got 'em!)

Anyway, this is a vast improvement over the 43 foot vertical I was running.  Although the vertical was fine for 80, 40, 30, and 10, it also could not load for 20/17 either via AT-AUTO.

But the Loop is back in action.

I will making use of it to reach 40m contacts as before, DX and W's.    When I get the 20 meter load figured out better, I will reach out on 20 meters also.

Just glad it's back.

Postage for QSL

I had to send some long-overdue QSL cards and I was amazed at how much postage has gone up.

To most EU countries, the postage for air-mail letter is $1.40.

In the US, first class post-card is 44 cents and first class letter is 60 cents.

Well, for some DX it's worth it.

Walking the Plank

It was disappointing to not find my call in the FT8WW log, and yet I had some clear evidence that the QSO happened.   I had never once before contacted a QSL manager to ask if there was any sign of the QSO?

After some back and forth with the QSL manager for Thierry's DXpedition to Crozet Island it finally resolved itself.

I (along with a lot of others) were just calling a Pirate.  It wasn't to be surprised, but the signal had to be worked (and worry later).  Well, what else is there to do?

Keep working them and see what happens.  If the DX is that rare, working-first and worry-later still applies.

I sincerely appreciate the effort the QSL manager Paul, F6EXV. 

The Candy Store

HRO wants a new store.

Help them pick Seattle area!  hi hi.

https://www.hamradio.com/newstore.cfm

UX5UO

I was out of cards (or else I just cannot find them).  I wanted new cards anyway, so I had some designed.

I use a printer in Ukraine.  UX5UO

Checking with him I got this response, from Gennedy Treus UX5UO

In spite of the war in Ukraine we can design / print / send any QSL cards.
You may call us now. Orders help me personally and for economics of Ukraine of course.   Please spread this info in US, thanks.

So, I am letting you know.

https://www.ux5uoqsl.com/

Do not expect a rush service, for obvious reasons.  But it will help a small amount.

FYI

Let's try FT/W again...

It turns out that my QSO with FT8WW may not have been logged because I made a mistake during the QSO.

I sent the RR73 but now it is clear that Thierry (FT8WW) did not Rx it.  I don't know why I didn't wait for his 73.  I expected he was handling the pile up and overlooked it as a nice-to-have but didn't feel it was required.

Technically it was a QSO because of a two-way exchange of signal reports, but alas not in the domain of FT-8 if we treat it as "two way exchange and two way 73" more or less.

So, I will have to try to re-work his DXpedition, again.  If I can do it once I can do it again, right?

How to check his log (it is not updated very often, but seems to be updated about once every day or so, perhaps).

https://clublog.org/charts/?c=FT8WW

I got a response from his QSL manager and he wrote:

Thierry himself is not involved in any scientific work there, he is on a ham radio DXpedition... And he is trying his best under harsh conditions and environment...

That's the lesson here.  This is not a run-of-the-mill DXpedition.

Good luck and remember to send sig-report not grid-square, and TX split, and ODD cycle (15/45 seconds).

Nice Valves

 After the linear amplifier was cleaned up, I took some pictures.  Thought I'd open up the baby book and share some.

The parasitic suppression is a newer design I picked up somewhere. 

If I could do anything, it would be to refactor the layout of the tank.

Pound the Brass

 

Back to CW

I can send CW fairly well.   17-20 WPM.  I can think the CW and send the CW that fast.  But I cannot copy the CW that fast.   If I hear it 17 WPM I get a bit bogged down.  I can understand the letters but my brain needs a bit more time to organize things before the next letter arrives.

I have read and been told that is why it is important to not focus on the invididual letters but to recognie the groups of letters.  The words.   That's good and that works, especially during the QSO, for the most part.  But there is still a need to copy the actual call sign.   It's a dilemma.   I do have a work-around though that will resolve the problem.

1.  Just work CW.   I found back in 2009-2011 when I forced myself to just work CW (as painful as it was when I was trying to copy), that I gained confidence to keep going.  I remember even getting in a heated debate with another ham about this very topic and we were having the debate in CW.  The irony police gave me a ticket.

2.  Listen and perform the job that the ARRL has provided -- the CW Practice Test and Qualifying Run.   Every day (mostly), the ARRL transmits practice text in different speeds.  Then, once per month the ARRL will transmit a qualifying run of text in CW.  If you can copy one minute worth, and vouch that you didn't cheat (use aids, etc..) then you can get another piece of paper for your shack wall.

So that is what I'm going to do.

RR73

Giving up FT-8 (yeah right)

My mind is worn down by FT-8.

For those who are unaware, FT-8 is a digital mode used in amateur radio where by a signal is encoded in a very limited amount of bandwidth.   The technique to decode the signal is left to a DSP algorithm that is implemented in software (although, the time may be near where firmware might be available, and then again, there is an opportunity for Machine Learning to be involved, but that's for another discussion).

The dominant software used is a package called WSJT-X.  There are countless YouTube videos and web sites that document how to get started and use FT-8.  I won't waste time doing that here.

What is infuriating about the mode is that it's too easy.  It's literally point and click QSO.  There is some skill involved prior to getting started -- you need a decent antenna system, and a decent (or equivalent) audio chain so that you can decode as much bandwidth cleanly as possible.   Technically, a laptop and a HF radio and antenna system is about all you need.  I throw in some audio-chain equipment to enhance my capabilities in hardware to decode and transmit.

Still, it's just too easy.  Maybe that's why it's popular?   Another reason for its popularity is that a lot of DX are using it, especially when band conditions are poor.   When propagation is suffering or in a poor state, then there is something positive to be written about FT-8 (but the same can be said for CW too).  Yet, you don't see a lot of people rushing to buy iambic paddles and learn CW when band conditions are poor.  Instead you find their ringing signals on the digital mode (FT-x) allocations in the band.

Not a stich of code necessary to work FT-8.  All you need is a mouse pointer and a preference.  Truly.

Having put that out, I have used it.   I used it a lot since 2020 and I regret doing so.   I have no issue with people who use it.  Heck, I'm going to end up using it again, soon! FT8WW is in FT8 and everyone needs Crozet Island!  So, I'm not throwing stones from the deck of my glass house.  I am just pointing out that it is wearing me down.

It's also nice to have QSO over SSB and not be looking at the clock to see when my 15 seconds are up.

QRV

After a long hiatus from the radio, I've decided that the time away from the hobby was too long.   I surely do miss working DX stations and tinkering with the station.

It is a huge regret that I stepped away from the radio for years, but I'm glad that most everything still works.  

Just after the new year began I dusted off the equipment and took inventory of what I still had ready to work.

The base station is still comprised of an Elecraft K3 (an older model that is no longer in production) and a basic tuner (Palstar AT-AUTO, the version before the split-up of the Palstar company) and finally the home-brew linear amplifier that I re-designed from parts from a fellow I used to talk to regularly, Jim Fish (K7NCG).

The antenna situation is another matter.

I used to have a very long horizontal loop antenna that was about 100 feet up off the ground and had a circumference of about 500-550 feet.  This made it ideal for the low bands, especially 40 meters.  I used it primarily for 20m through 80m.   It might have been a wee bit too short for 160m.    But, on 40m it was ideal and I loved working DX and W's on that antenna for a long time.

Since the antenna was held up by guy lines looped over very tall tree branches, the antenna was eventually brought down in heavy storms that we get time to time.  Some years, it was fine, and then all at once a very terrible winter storm would knock it all down.   There's not much I can do to avoid it.

At present time Janurary 2023, I don't have the loop installed, so I am waiting for the weather to clear a bit before replacing it.  

The other bits are still in the shack - the Bencher BY-1 paddle which I enjoy using.   I also seem to have collected a fair number of smaller base-station radios and some mobile antennas that I should re-mount and re-install.

My original HF radio, the FT-897D (long since out of production) is still here too and I look forward to using it when I resume a full station operation.

The other part of the shack that I intend to deal with is the satellite operations.   I used to have a IC-910H  with the 1.2Ghz module, but I sold it to a friend.   I've replaced the IC-910 with an older model, but it's still not the same.  I have my eye on the new IC-9700.  It has all the things I used to have in the IC-910H with the 1.2 Ghz module and includes some more useful features and display.

But, that needs to be put behind other tasks at the moment -- the big loop and also repairing the rotators that are part of the satellite antenna rig.  The elevation rotator seems to be stuck in position.

Finally, a few more notes to relay -- to all of the hams that I used to regularly talk to on the HF bands, I regret leaving the hobby and missing out on the news and activities.

The other item to relay is that I'm intending to work a lot more CW than SSB than I did before.   The strange thing is that I can send much faster than I can copy, so it will take some time getting up to speed again, literally.

Take care, good DX and I look forward to hearing your station.   You can reach me via e-mail quite easily.    jdw  at my callsign dot com.

73's

Jeff, W7BRS