Homebrew ladder line spacers

It never ceases to amaze me what wisdom is simmering away amongst those email discussion groups I read.

Out of the blue today - prompted by mention of a commercial solution on the Elecraft list - came a sequence of brilliant ideas about making effective and easy on the budget ladder line spacers.

The commercial spacers from K&S Ham Radio Parts look great, but the fact they're made of nylon prompted concerns about their survival against UV. At 25 cents a piece I think they look fine!

In response there was a pointer to a YouTube video showing how to turn a box of ballpoints into very neat and secure spacers using black cable ties.

And then a pointer to another commercial solution from True Ladder Line, and a hint about how to replicate the effect at home using 'drip sprinkler tubing' which is the right size and and has just the right amount of rigidity for the job. And there's Dave ZL1BJQ with his approach based on those plastc chopping boards you can buy at any $2 shop, cut into spacer pieces, notched then pushed on to wires and held in place with hot glue.

And then there's this approach by VK2YE using plastic coat hangers, cut to length (5cms) and drilled to fit wire, and then glued to stay in place. In fact this is just one of 138 videos on his YouTube channel.

Fabric antenna

Via Southgate News and MAKE magazine news of a collapsible fabric yagi antenna developed by Diana Eng KC2UHB who has combined two craft skills in a stylish way, electronics and sewing. It's a design for a Yagi for portable amateur radio satellite operation.

Her MAKE magazine article is well-written, comprehensive and brilliantly illustrated.
Diana Eng has also written an earlier article aimed at newcomers to amateur satellites for MAKE that covers:

• Finding out when to listen
• Finding the frequency
• Aiming a whip antenna
• Following the pass with the antenna
• Tuning the radio for the Doppler effect

Check the size of the antenna in that earlier piece and you'll understand why she aimed at something more portable!

KGD antenna translation

I'm keen to have a go at building a 40m version of the KGD short vertical dipole that used to be sold by QRPprojects.

Step one will be to translate whatever information I can find. It's happening here.

CW Operator's QRP Club Inc

I rejoined the CW Operator's QRP Club Inc. after a long absence. I was surprised to discover I'm entitled to my original membership no #56. It's probably been almost two decades.

I have fond memories of the Lo-Key magazine, but I'm also keen to have a go at the club's Milliwatts per Kilometre Award! 10,000km on 5W or 1,000km on 500mW!

Two of my favourite magazines

This afternoon I found the latest copies of MAKE and the QRP Quarterly in my letterbox.

    

The Lost Tribes of Radio Shack

An article appeared on the WIRED site recently about the re-branding of RadioShack, a mirror of the same change happening to Australia's iconic Dick Smith Electronics stores. The subtitle sums it up: 'Tinkerers Search for New Spiritual Home'.

" The new bosses want to turn RadioShack into a hipper, more mainstream place for “mobility” — which is what they insist on calling the cell phone market. (In an interview, RadioShack’s marketing chief used the word mobility an average of once every 105 seconds.) Selling phones is central to the new RadioShack. And so far, it seems to be working. Per-store sales are up, and corporate profits jumped 26 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009." 

The article identifies 'a small subculture of RadioShack nostalgics' and their feelings of betrayal and loss. The author asserts that 

"in a single generation, the American who built, repaired, and tinkered with technology has evolved into an entirely new species: the American who prefers to slip that technology out of his pocket and show off its killer apps. Once, we were makers. Now most of us are users."

It sketches the history of the brand, the importance of the high profit margin and how in a way the introduction of the TRS-80 the first mass-produced PC was the beginning of the end for the DIY mission of owner Charles Tandy. The up to 500% markup of tiny electronic components has been replaced by the cell phone which is "like a tiny slot machine that pays off month after month."

The WIRED piece features eight pages of old Radio Shack catalogues scanned by fan Mike D'Alessio.

In Australia the Tandy chain was established in 1973 and finally purchased by Woolworths in 2001. Woolworths also own Tandy's one-time competitor Dick Smith Electronics (fully owned as of 1982). In 2009 Tandy stores began morphing into DSE outlets. Jaycar now remains as the most likely place to purchase electronic bits and pieces, with a wide network of stores across the country. Hunting down rarer semiconductors, components like toroids, hardware and even wire is often easier via US speciality suppliers like 'The Wireman' etc.

Digging out useful info on gear

Spent a bit of time visiting WW2PT's site and reading the thread of messages tagged with 'K3'. It's great when you discover someone who has followed a similar path to the one you're on and can write about with a combo of wisdom and wit.

A key post is this one 'Concerning computers' about getting his K3 to talk with his MacBook Pro.

This has to be the great difference to doing ham radio now compared to when I first got the bug back in the 1960s and 70s. The sheer volume of experience and overwhelmingly good will that's materialised on the net has created an always available knowledge bank that's transformed the most enjoyable part of hamming for me at least - troubleshooting. Sure there's nonsense out there but it's not too hard to discern. And then there's the user communities!

 

I bought the KX1 and K3 partly due to the solid community of users on the main reflector, lead in the best way by gurus like Don W3FPR who are so generous with their experience and don't hesitate to share it, as well as the active involvement of Elecraft principals, Eric WA6HHQ & Wayne N6KR and others. Other purchases are informed as much as possible by getting a taste of the user community - aside for the occasional eBay impulse of course. Buddipole's BUG has a similar shared spirit. It's probably no accident that both lists are well moderated.

As an example of what I'm talking about here's an excerpt from Don's reply to a recent query about whether or not to build the 80/30m option kit as part of the initial build of the KX1 or to do it later:

"...there are pieces of the KXB3080 that can be installed during the initial build so you do not have to remove any more than 2 toroids. At one time, I created a "cheat-sheet" telling a couple of builders how to do it - I can try to find that email if you would like to try. I would only recommend doing that to an expert and confident builder. OTOH, an expert and confident builder would have no problem removing components from the PC board without damaging the board or burning the relay cases either.

The KXB3080 is difficult to install because of the small space available in the KX1, and the instructions must be followed exactly, particularly the LPF board - if not done exactly like the instructions, it will interfere with the tuner."

Maybe this impresses me so much because I never was lucky enough to have an Elmer when I started out!