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Why it is so important to disconnect our antennas when not in use

October 6, 2021 by Dale Henninger 2 Comments

Below are two great examples of why grounding, draining static, and disconnecting our antennas from our rigs when not in use are SO important!

In both videos, we can see the end of the coax arcing between the center conductor and the shield. Electrical energy in the air and/or the wind can contribute to a buildup of static on the driven element of the antenna that can flow back through the cable until it can find a place to jump to ground.

This is a great reason to make sure that your antennas are removed from your rig when not in use.

I use the Palomar Engineers Maxi-Choker with the static bleeder option on my outdoor antennas. In addition to providing 30db of common-mode noise reduction, the static bleeder option will dump any static building out the ground stud. I place this filter at the feed point of my antenna and attach the ground stud to an 8-foot ground rod.

Ham Radio Contact Logging

October 3, 2021 by Dale Henninger Leave a Comment

One of the things that I find interesting about ham radio is how many different approaches to logging QSOs there are. I guess I should not be surprised as we all know that everyone in this hobby has a strong opinion about how things should be. But this is an area that I found very confusing when I first joined the hobby and I wanted to share how I have developed my personal approach to logging.

Although the FCC dropped the requirement to formally log your general contacts back in 1983, I still feel that keeping a station log is a good practice. Below are a few of the reasons that I still keep a formal log of all of my contacts.

Awards

I do enjoy chasing awards. The ARRL Worked All States and DXCC are both awards that I am working towards. I also like the QRZ tags/certificates that you can earn. These are both great ways that you can get some recognition for all of the time that you put into making contacts.

Helping Others

Even if you are not chasing those awards, logging your contacts is crucial for those who are chasing the awards. The other operator will not be able to log a successful QSL without your QSO confirmation. Even if you are not chasing awards, please still consider formally logging your contacts to help others who are chasing those awards.

Performance of my Rigs/Setups

I like to record my contacts and which antenna/rig I was using so that I can track the performance of my equipment. Down deep, I am a data nerd and I like to track my contacts so I can see how effective my setups are. You may not notice it at the time, but looking back on hundreds of contacts, you can begin to see patterns in how rigs/setups work.

Good Operating Practice

If you are ever questioned by the FCC or other legal entity, having a log is a great way to defend your good operating practices. You never know when you may be challenged on the impact your operations have on others, and having information that is easy to produce may help clear your operations of any wrongdoing. Check out this recent example of where a ham was accused of interfering with a neighbor: Ham was told to remove his antenna after suspected interference with insulin pump.

How-To: Quickly Determine Your Grid Square/CQ Zone/ITU Zone

September 16, 2020 by Dale Henninger 1 Comment

As someone who does a lot of portable operations, I find myself trying to determine what Grid Square I might be operating from. Although I do not change CQ/ITU Zones frequently, sometimes I like to look at those as well.

I have some mobile tools on my phone for when I am on-site, but when scouting out locations, I prefer to use a web based tool on my computer.

The best tool that I have found for determining these is located at: https://zone-check.eu/

This website allows you to click anywhere on the map and it will tell you what the Grid Square, CQ Zone, and ITU Zone is. On the top right-hand side (Options), you can also choose to see the zone boundaries. In this example, I have turned on the CQ Zone boundaries.