I competed in the CQ WPX SSB contest during the last weekend of March 2025. This was my first time running an international contest by myself (I have previously run regional and international contests as multi-op). This was also my first time contesting with my Yaesu FT-710. My final count was 208 QSOs on 10m,…
Author: nate
Hamstick Camera Tripod Adapter
I typically will use hamsticks (40m, 20m, 10m) for POTA activations. Until now, I have been using a large aluminum roof tripod and a 5ft steel pole to mount the antennas. This has been rather cumbersome to transport out into parks. My idea to solve this problem was to adapt the 3/8-24 mount to work…
Common Mode Choke for 80m EFHW
Since setting up my Yaesu FT-710, I’ve been fighting with a problem. When transmitting over 20w on 30m/40m, I will lose CAT control on my computer. I have no problems transmitting 100w on all other bands. My theory is that RFI is making it back into my shack and causing interference with the USB connection…
80m-10m Backyard EFHW “L” Antenna
For my common mode choke addition to this antenna, see HERE. My first semi-permanent antenna was a 40m EFHW in my backyard. the wire was strung E-W, and propagated mostly N-S. After that antenna came down over the winter, I looked into designing a new antenna. The requirements were: The design I came up with…
QRP-Labs QMX+ Build
This is intended to be a summary of my QMX+ build with some notes, suggestions, and solutions I may have found. The QMX+ is a 6m-160m CW/Digital transceiver from QRP-Labs.com. I purchased this as a kit, but you can also pay around $60 USD to have it assembled for you, although you’ll have to wait…
Peoria ARC Midwest Superfest – 2024/09/21
Calvin (KE0DIT), Ed (K9QW), and myself drove down to Chillicothe, IL on Saturday, September 21st to attend the first day of Midwest Superfest. While there, I took my Amateur Extra exam (which a passed!), and we attended a POTA Forum. At the flea market, I was able to secure a Kenwood VFO-120, a matching external…
POTA Go-Box
The goal of this project was to create a sort of go-box for my ham radio. I was getting tired of filling my back seat with my radio equipment and lugging everything out one by one. I used an Apache 4800 weatherproof padded case from Harbor Freight. I got the extra large one to accommodate…
2024/09/06 – POTA Activation at US-1024, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
This was just a quick activation at US-1024 after work on a Friday. This was my first activation on SSB using my Kenwood TS-120V radio and a 20m hamstick antenna. Logging was done through HAMRS. The Kenwood only draws about 3-4 amps, so I was able to easily use my EV for power. I was…
Building an EFHW Antenna
This build is for an End Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna. There are already many pages that go into details of EFHWs so I won’t go into that here. First is the balun. I used a clear top project box to house the components. The balun is wound for 49:1. On the top is a 5/16″…
Rewinding a 64:1 Balun
I had purchased a 64:1 balun from amazon, however I paired it with a length of wire meant for a 49:1 EFHW. Instead of changing the length of wire, I decided to rewind the balun to accommodate the existing wire length. Below are pictures of this short project.