Michelle Taylor

JS8Call is genuinely worth trying if you actually want to exchange information rather than just log a grid square. the relay functionality does work but you kind of need to be patient and understand that the network is sparse compared to FT8 — you're not going to fire it up and immediately have 40 stations decoding you. on a good evening on 40m i usually see maybe 15-20 stations in the activity window, sometimes more during a net, and ive had actual back and forth conversations that lasted 20-30 minutes which honestly felt more like ham radio to me than FT8 ever did. the SNR thing is real, JS8Call runs at something like -24dB versus FT8's -21dB or so, so you do give up a little but in practice on 40m with your setup i doubt you'd notice it most of the time. where it starts to matter is on marginal paths or really weak DX type stuff, for that FT8 is still king. but for domestic rag chewing or store-and-forward messaging it's hard to beat. KN4CRD wrote a pretty good summary of the different speed modes (normal, slow, turbo) and when to use each if you search the JS8Call groups.io list. PSK31 — honestly still some activity on 14.070 area during the day, i worked a handful of stations last month just scanning around. not what it was in like 2010 but not completely dead either. RTTY contest weekends still bring people out too.

You can request a new sequential call sign at no extra cost when upgrading your license class or during renewal every 10 years. That might be a better option than paying for vanity if you just want something different.

yeah dx summit and dxwatch are pulling from different cluster nodes so you'll sometimes see spots on one that dont show up on the other, at least not right away. worth having both open if you're serious about not missing stuff. for combining the lookup part, a lot of people use log4om or dxkeeper and those will do an automatic qrz lookup when you click a spot in the bandmap — saves a ton of tab switching. if you're on android, ham radio deluxe has a companion app but honestly i've had mixed results with it. DX Toolkit was decent last i checked but i havent used it in about a year so no idea if its still maintained. the workflow you're describing isnt wrong, it's just a bit manual. once you get logging software that talks to a cluster feed directly it kind of all clicks into place. took me a while to get there too.

yeah i was in the same spot not that long ago. honestly just lurk on a net a few times before you check in, just listen to how it flows and youll figure out the rythm pretty quick. the OMISS net was one of the first i checked into and people were really patient. also some clubs run their own weekly nets and those tend to be pretty low pressure since its a smaller group who all kind of know each other

im in kind of the same boat, narrow lot and all. what i ended up doing was a compromise — kept the inverted V but added a loading coil arrangement to try and lower the resonant frequency a bit and experiment with the pattern. didnt really work the way i hoped lol. anyway the point is dont overthink it too much. 40m is forgiving. if you really want to improve things on dx the bigger win is probably a better feedline situation or getting the apex up another 10 feet somehow rather than fussing over flat vs inverted.

I'm kind of in the same boat, just got my license a few months ago and have been doing POTA activations with a QCX+ on 20m. the kit building part is half the fun for me, sitting there with the instructions and soldering each component in knowing exactly whats in the radio is really satisfying compared to just buying a box off the shelf. one thing I didn't expect was how much patience CW QRP requires, like you really have to be willing to call CQ a few times and wait. but the pileups when people are hunting you for POTA are actually kind of manageable at low power which is nice, not totally overwhelmed the way i imagine ssb would be. still figuring everything out but yeah the hobby feels way more real to me operating this way than it did just scanning around on a handheld.

yeah i was in the same boat about a year ago. lotw setup was annoying but once its done its done, i just leave tqsl running and upload every few weeks. one thing i'll add — some dx stations only upload to lotw like once a year or even less so dont panic if a confirmation doesnt show up right away, sometimes you're waiting months for the other guy to get around to it eqsl i use too mostly because its instant and its kind of fun to see the confirmations roll in same day. different people use different things thats really the bottom line

the 857 is a solid rig for modding, good choice. i did mine years ago and also added the CAT interface wiring at the same time since i had it open anyway, saved having to go back in later. if you havent set up CAT control with it yet its worth doing, makes it way more useful for logging and digital mode software.

oh man i remember feeling exactly the same way my first few months. honestly just jump in. the worst that happens is net control asks you to repeat yourself and thats genuinely not a big deal, they deal with new folks all the time and most net controls are pretty patient about it. for a typical check-in you usually just say your callsign once clearly when they ask for check-ins, or sometimes twice phonetically depending on the net. some nets ask if you have traffic (meaning a message to pass) or if you have anything for the group, but if you dont just say your call and maybe your name and location and thats it. the QRZ thing means someone is asking whos calling or waiting — its basically like saying who else is out there. dont overthink it. just listen for a few more weeks if you want, but honestly one of the elmers on the net will probably help you out if you just explain youre new when you check in. most hams love a new face on the air

honestly 800 QSOs in 24 hrs is decent and yeah SO2R will help you but the setup pain is real. the biggest thing people underestimate is the interlocking — you absolutely need something to keep both radios from transmitting at the same time or you will hear a very bad sound and have a very bad day. look at the YCCC SO2R box or build something with the microHAM stuff, its not cheap but its way less expensive than replacing finals for what its worth i ran a similar setup with a K3 and an old Icom for a couple years before i upgraded and the biggest gain wasnt even the mult hunting, it was being able to keep a run frequency on one radio while the other one calls CQ during the slow periods. you hold your run freq and still pull in a few extra Qs, adds up over a 48 hour contest more than youd think the filtering question depends on your antennas more than anything. if theyre close together and on similar bands youre going to need bandpass filters, W3NQN design is the classic choice, lots of guys build them. if your antennas are far apart or youre only doing 40/15 combo type stuff you might get away with less

I was in the same boat not too long ago, kind of paralyzed by all the different awards and not sure where to start. what helped me was just picking one — I went for WAS first actually because working all 50 states felt more achievable than trying to hunt down obscure Pacific islands lol. got that done in about 8 months mostly on 40 and 20, then started going after DXCC with some confidence one thing nobody told me early on — keep uploading to LoTW consistently, dont wait. and when you do work a rare DX station, send a direct QSL card too if the DX info page shows they respond. some of those cards take months to come back but they're worth it when they do

N1MM+ provides superior duplicate checking, multiplier tracking, and scoring capabilities that WSJT-X lacks on its own. For serious contesting, there's no comparison - N1MM+ is the gold standard. Many ops use Log4OM for daily logging and N1MM+ for contests.

so i finally pulled the trigger on one of those QSK-40 kits ive been eyeing for like two years. got it all soldered up last weekend and honestly the build process was way more satisfying than i expected, took me about 4 hours spread over two evenings. its putting out right around 4 watts on 40m which i think is about right for the design. anyway my question is about efficiency — im running it off a 3s lipo pack i had leftover from an RC car project and i keep reading that QRP rigs can be pretty picky about supply voltage. the kit manual says 12v nominal but ive seen guys run these down to like 9v without too much issue. does the output power drop significantly or is it more of a gradual thing? im trying to figure out how long i can run this thing from the battery before i lose a noticeable amount of signal. also just curious what antennas people are using for portable ops with low power rigs. i have a random wire i throw up in trees when im out but ive been wondering if an end fed halfwave would be worth building. seems like every QRP guy i see on youtube has one but i dont know if thats just because theyre easy or if they actually perform better for this kind of thing.

so i've been chasing T32C for the better part of a week and kept getting stomped in the pileup every single time. running a K3 into a 2el yagi at about 50ft, 100w, so not exactly a pistol station but not terrible either. i finally got through last night and i think i figured out a few things that actually made a difference. the big one for me was really listening to where the DX was actually pulling — like not just the split they announced but where in the spread they kept coming back. seemed like they were fishing maybe 2-3 up from the bottom of the spread pretty consistently and everyone else was stacking up around +5. so i started tail-ending callers right at the end of their transmission, just a quick one-two punch call, and that seemed to get me in the window at the right time. took a couple tries but it worked. also noticed if i called during the DX's actual transmission i was just burying myself in QRM so i stopped doing that. seems obvious but when youre frustrated you do dumb stuff. anyone else have tricks that actually work? im not talking about the usual 'just be patient' stuff i see everywhere, actual techniques. and does power really matter as much as people say? feels like timing is way more important but maybe im wrong on that

yeah that's pretty much how most people run it honestly. N1MM is just so purpose-built for contesting that trying to force Log4OM into that role doesnt really make sense, the exchange logging and rate tracking and all that just isnt the same. i've tried doing contests in other software and you end up fighting the tool instead of working the pile. the ADIF import thing after the fact is annoying but its not that bad once you set up a filter to check for dupes before you merge. what i do is export from N1MM right after the contest ends, open it in a text editor real quick and check the header info is clean, then import into Log4OM with the duplicate detection set to strict. havent had a serious problem with it in a while. the only time it got weird for me was when i had some FT8 QSOs in Log4OM that also showed up in the contest log because i was running both modes during the same event, that confused things for a bit.

Had the exact same failure on my TS-440S two years ago. Turned out to be the low-pass filter relay sticking in receive position. That means using a variable transformer where needed and possibly a "dim bulb" tester. Direct coupled power amplifiers are notorious for "chain failures" Easy fix once you find it - don't assume it's the expensive parts first!

so ive had my FT-857D for probably 6 years now and never really touched it beyond the basics. did the TX mod a while back to open up the transmit range which was pretty straightforward but thats about it. lately ive been reading about the Collins filter mod and also swapping out the stock DSP with better filtering and i'm wondering if anyone has actually done this and noticed a real difference on crowded bands. my main use is HF portable ops and occasional SSB contests so noise floor and adjacent channel rejection matters a lot to me. the stock filter setup has always bothered me a little bit, especially when things get busy around 14.225 and the broadcast splatter is coming in. i know the 857 isnt exactly a high end rig but i feel like theres more in it than yaesu gave us stock. also considering adding the TCXO-9 if i can find one used, i know some people say it doesnt matter much but for digital modes and working weak signal stuff it seems like it would help. anyway curious what mods people have actually done and whether the juice is worth the squeeze on a rig this old at this point

so im about 8 months into this hobby and ive been making contacts pretty regularly now, mostly on 40m and some 2m local stuff. my elmer mentioned i should start confirming my contacts but now im down a rabbit hole and honestly more confused than when i started. from what i can tell theres LoTW which is the ARRL thing, and then theres eQSL which is a different website, and then people still actually mail physical cards through the bureau or direct? and some awards only accept certain ones? i set up a LoTW account like two weeks ago but i havent uploaded anything yet because i got confused about the certificate process and kind of gave up halfway through. do most people do all three or do you just pick one. and is it worth getting physical cards printed if youre just starting out or is that overkill. my logging software is log4om if that matters

ok so ive been licensed about 4 months now (tech) and ive been checking into the local 2m net on tuesday nights pretty regularly which has been fun. but last week something happened that kind of confused me and i want to make sure im not being rude without knowing it. so the net control called for check-ins and i gave my call sign and said i had a comment. they acknowledged me and i started talking but i guess i went on a bit long? like maybe 2-3 minutes just sharing something i thought was interesting about a kit i was building. nobody said anything but afterward one of the older guys messaged me on the club email list and said i should keep comments brief during a net. i wasnt sure if he was being helpful or telling me off lol. is there like an unwritten rule about how long you're supposed to talk during a net check-in? i genuinely didnt know and i dont want to be that guy who hogs the frequency. also is it rude to just say your callsign and nothing else, like no name or location? some people do that and some people add a bunch of info and i cant figure out what the standard is supposed to be.

Just remember that lithium performance can drop significantly below freezing, even LiFePO4. Keep your batteries inside your jacket if possible during winter activations. I learned this the hard way during a January POTA activation!

oh man i went through exactly this about two years ago and i'll just tell you what i wish someone told me — dont overthink the container to start. i spent like two months researching cases and meanwhile had zero kit. grabbed a medium sized Stanley tool tote from home depot for like 30 bucks and it works great, fits the radio, power cables, a small antenna kit, logbook, all of it. if you want something more rugged later you can upgrade but just get something in a bag first. on the battery question, AGM is totally fine to learn on and figure out your power budget before spending the money on LiFePO4. i run a 35ah AGM right now and it gets me through a 12 hour deployment no problem if im not transmitting constantly. the LiFePO4 stuff is genuinely lighter and better but its not like the AGM will fail you. as for what you actually do at deployments — around here its probably 60% voice nets on the county repeater and 40% Winlink for message traffic. some of the served agencies have really started leaning on Winlink hard for ICS forms so if you dont have that set up yet i'd put it on the list. its not that hard to get going with a signalink or even JS8Call if you want something a little more flexible.

so ive been at this for a few weeks now and i cant figure out if its me or the keyer. im using an old bencher paddle hooked up to a MFJ keyer, the 493 i think, and most of the time it sounds decent but then ill be sending along and suddenly the dits start running together or i get an extra dah thrown in that i definitely didnt squeeze for. happens more when i try to speed up past like 18 wpm. i went back and slowed everything down to 12 wpm and practiced a bunch and it sounds clean at that speed. so maybe its just my technique and im rushing? or could it be the keyer settings, like the dit/dah ratio or the weight adjustment? i messed with the weight a little and honestly couldnt tell much difference. would love to hear if anyone else went through this learning curve or has tips for getting past that wall where faster = sloppy

just passed mine like two weeks ago so this is fresh for me lol. the propagation questions tripped me up at first but once you get the basic idea of what the different bands do and why it kind of clicks. 40m at night goes way further than during the day, 10m does weird stuff during solar max, etc. dont overthink it. i think i studied for maybe 2 and a half weeks total and passed with a comfortable margin. the hardest part for me was honestly just scheduling the VE session, took a while to find one that wasnt too far away

so I finally got my first real activation last weekend, not a drill but an actual callout for the flooding over in the eastern part of the county. I've been doing the monthly nets and the SET exercise last fall but nothing quite prepares you for the real thing I guess. got the page around 6am saturday and had to hustle over to the EOC with my go-kit. main thing that threw me off was they had us on a different frequency than what we normally use for training because there was some interference issue on the primary, and I had to dig around in my memory for the alternate. lesson learned, I'm going to laminate a freq card and stick it right on the radio from now on. also the ICS stuff they always hammer on in training actually mattered. like I actually had to check in with the served agency liaison and log everything properly. felt weird at first but once things got busy I understood why the structure exists. anyway just thought I'd share since I know a few folks here are newer to ARES and wondering what an actual activation feels like. it's low-key a lot of hurry up and wait but when you're needed you're really needed.

so we ran a simulated disaster exercise last saturday with our local ARES group and honestly it was kind of humbling. the scenario was a major flood event that knocked out cell infrastructure and we had to establish comms between the EOC and three shelter locations using only what we had available. sounded simple enough on paper. first thing that went wrong was nobody had the same go-bag setup, like we had talked about standardizing our kits for months but nobody actually did it. one guy showed up with a ft-817 and a random wire antenna and another had a full IC-7300 in a pelican case which, great, but he had no way to power it for more than a couple hours. we managed to get everything running eventually but it took way longer than it should have and in a real event that delay could matter a lot. the net control thing was also kind of a mess early on. people were doubling up, stepping on each other, and one station just kept calling in status updates without being prompted which cluttered the frequency. after about an hour things settled down and the ICS structure started actually working but getting there was rough. curious if anyone else does these drills regularly and what lessons you've taken away from them. feels like the only way to really find out where your gaps are is to run the exercise and see what breaks. we're planning to debrief next week and i want to bring some ideas for improving things.