High Efficiency Plate Caps for the Eimac 3-500Z Tubes

While chatting with some friends this morning, The topic came up in regards to aluminum plate caps. So this is what I was taught;
These Precision machined 6061 aluminum Plate Caps remove an incredible amount of heat from the plate pin of the Eimac 3-500Z tube as compared with the original style Plate Cap (Anode Cap for our friends in the UK). This gives the operator a comfortable margin of safety regarding the Plate Pin Seal Temperature when operating his amplifier at elevated continuous duty output.
These plate caps are not intended to increase the original ratings of the tube or amplifier, always use good engineering practices and follow the recommendations of the tube and amplifier manufacture when in use.






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Yaesu FT-8900

I have been asked several times by new and old hams, what is my favorite rig?
My answer is always my FT-8900.
Yes, it is a mobile rig yet it makes for a nice base station also. Mine is in the shack mounted just above my FT-897D.
The FT-8900 has many features that I enjoy such as the separation kit, dual receive, operating FM Satellites and Cross Band Repeat.
The Cross Band Repeat is helpful when I am rag-chewing while sitting around the fire pit in the back yard or in other areas of the house.
My HT is unable to make the trip to many distant stations, but it will receive them well, so I set up the cross band on the FT-8900, grab the HT and take my friends with me.
The other nice feature about the FT-8900 is that it is a Quad Band FM transceiver, able to work 70cm, 2m, 6m and 10 meter bands. If you hold only a Technician Licensee the great thing about this rig is you can operate on all bands.
Did I mention the Hyper Memory? Another great feature.

Check out the Yaesu FT-8900.

ANTENNA ROMANCE

Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married.
The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.
Since they were a perfect match, soon they generated harmonics.
Wrapped the harmonics in dipoles.
But later the harmonics turned out to be parasitic elements.

The true story -- she was a tri-bander and he felt trapped, so they went on separate beam headings

Contest Opportunities this Weekend

We have a few contest to chose from this weekend. I do not plan on taking part in any of these however I do plan on listening to them. Many different web-sites to choose from to get info on these contest. The site I used today is here.

* NCCC Sprint Ladder 0230Z-0300Z, Sep 24
* CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY 0000Z, Sep 25 to 2400Z, Sep 26
* AGCW VHF/UHF Contest 1400Z-1659Z, Sep 25 (144) and
1700Z-1759Z, Sep 25 (432)
* Texas QSO Party 1400Z, Sep 25 to 0200Z, Sep 26 and
1400Z-2000Z, Sep 26
* UBA ON Contest, 6m 0600Z-1000Z, Sep 26

An Electrifying Job

The tower climb to heaven was seen by many last week and the week before. I posted the video in late August. I am still seeing it come across on twitter and e-mails. I do not think the Tower Climb is scary. What would make me nervous is this guys job, watch the video. It has been around for a while but is still cool.

Getting Old

My friend Todd sent me this. Thanks for the laugh Todd
-------------------------------------------------
An elderly ham driver was going down the highway when suddenly his 2 meter rig crackled his call...Answering...he heard a fellow ham's urgent warning.....
"Hey Mark, just heard on the news that there's a car going down US-31 the wrong way, please be careful"!!

Mark replied, "Well I'll declare, it's not just one.......
there's hundreds of them'!!!!!!!!!

Fall is in the Air

I have a few trees starting to change color. Wow, hard to believe that fall starts tonight at 11:09pm.
I am so happy that summer has come to an end. Don't get me wrong, I like summer, hate the heat and humidity and we had lots of that this summer here in Michigan.
In the next few weeks the color tours will begin, my wife and I are looking forward to a small getaway.

Graph obtained from The Fall Foliage Network
http://www.foliagenetwork.com/
A great site with lots of info so you can plan your color tours.

"New" ~ Elecraft Custom K3

Now this is a nice looking rig. I have never operated a Elecraft, heck, I have never seen one. I guess I should try and get out more. This is a beauty and would look nice in my shack. If anyone out there wants to donate one to me that would be awesome. hi hi.
BTW, although this rig is not new, to me the addition of the knobs makes it a new rig. Maybe I should had said the Custom K3 for a title.
--------------------------------------------

Now available: A New Weighted dimple type VFO Knob made just for the Elecraft K3

The original K3 knob weighs in around 3.5 ounces. These premium USA made knobs weigh 14 ounces and they tune just wonderful. This knob is made from solid high strength Bronze. There is something about this bearing grade material that feels ultra slick in the hand. It has to be felt in person to appreciate. Smooth as glass is a good description and the color while being quite different from stock, really grows on you the more you use it.

Installation is easy and all hardware is Stainless Steel. Everything is CNC Machined from billet stock right here in the USA. The set screw that holds the knob in place is a flat tip style (no marring of your VFO shaft). Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed 30 days or you may return it for a full refund.

LINK

Kenwood TS-590

I'm a major fan of Yaesu, however this looks to be a Gem....

The new Kenwood TS-590 that created a buzz at Dayton this year is finally being released WW in October 2010.

Kenwood in Japan has released the final specifications. It looks like it’s going to be a superb receiver but the pricing looks to be well over 2K USD. Kenwood’s Japan site lists it at 228,900.00 JPY=2,679.41 USD.

Related links at Kenwood Japan:

LINK (1)

LINK (2) Versions of New KENWOOD: “TS590S” “TS590V” and “TS590D”

2 Meter Fall Sprint Tonight

I'm a day off today. Was laid up yesterday and spent today getting things on track.
Got this e-mail from Todd KC9BQA in regards to the 2 meter sprint tonight.
I might get into it, then again, might not~not feeling to good yet.
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2 Meter Fall Sprint Tonight -- Monday -- 7-11pm

If you enjoy activity on 2m SSB, then tonight's your night.
There will be multiple stations on from WI and N ILL and I'm sure
from MI, too.

80-90% of VHF/UHF contesting activity takes place on the SSB portions of the bands (talking 144.160-144.240, with more activity centered closer to 144.200 MHz) using horizontally-polarized
antennas -- typically directional yagis for maximum gain. If contesting interests you, that's where you want to go with your station. Well -- not just contesting, but for general ragchewing
and working band openings. On Sat. morning, TN stations were working 1000-mile paths into the Northeast on/near 144.200 MHz.

If you're FM-only, then you want to use 146.550 tonight. I'm sure if you CQ for a while, it'll get the ball rolling.

If you want more info about the fall sprints, all the relevant
info is easily found at kc9bqa.com.

I also will try to help anyone with questions via email.

73,
Todd KC9BQA EN63ao 40 N of Milwaukee
www.kc9bqa.com For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
www.wivuch.com WI VHF/UHF County Hunters Award

TechNet Report

We had the 3rd MAARC TechNet today, 09-18-10.
We had 8 check-ins
The net lasted 72 minutes. Wow.
Topics discussed; J-Poles;
*How to mount them
*How high is to high
*Should the be painted or not? Paint prevents corrosion.
* Stacked J-Poles
*Dose a J-Pole require a Balun?
We talked briefly about PSK and QPSK.

The TechNet Topic was about the K-Index.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]
* 0 or 1 is BEST
* 2 is OK
* 3 or more is BAD
* 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

W8ZHO/ MAARC TechNet

The MAARC 146.94 repeater is gaining another net! Called the TechNet, participants will focus on issues that relate to digital modes of communication and many other topics.
These might involve rockets, satellites, computer hardware and programming, astronomy events, contacting the International Space Station, working Amateur Radio Satellites, EME (Moonbounce) and how to use Orbital Plotting software.
Outside of Space topics we will also discuss;
How to use your radio, Radio Orienteering, building mini transmitters for ROCA, Antenna Construction, Sound Card-to-Rig Interfaces, Cables and Connectors, DSP Manufacturers, Interfaces Manufacturers, Radio Manufacturers, Packet Radio, PSK31, Radio Programming Cables, RTTY, Ham Radio Software, Networking issues, Operating System issues and many other High Tech Radio-Computer related issues and the list goes on. Check in Saturdays at 11:00 AM on 146.940 (-) (94.8PL)
Hope to hear you.

A Busy Day

I do not have anything exciting to post today. I wanted to work some DX but that fell through.
I managed to get in a very nice nap from mid morning to about 1pm, yep, the most important part of the day.
I did have an offer to swap some amateur radio gear for 2 autographed footballs and some stamps. I think I may do trade.
I’m looking to acquire a DR-235T MKII (220MHz) rig with a Comet CX-333.

Saturday is loaded with a lot of DX contest and Special Event Stations on HF, so the bands will be busy.

I am NCS for the MAARC TechNet is on Saturday, at 11:00 AM on 146.940 (-) (94.8PL) I am hoping for several check-ins.
Sorry for the late post. Feel free to look me up on Twitter. I am there often through-out the day.
73,
De KD8BIG

2 Meter Fall Sprint

E-mailed to me from Todd KC9BQA
I might jump into this one. Monday is a long way away at the moment.
___________________________________________

The 2m Fall Sprint is on Monday, Sept. 20th, from 7-11pm.
http://www.svhfs.org/2010fallsprintrules.pdf These sprints get
pretty good participation in our part of the world. (HINT: you
gotta talk them up ahead of time so guys will know to get on.)
I have more Sprint info at kc9bqa.com -- post dated Sept 12.
Or go here: http://kc9bqa.com/?p=3470 If you have questions,
email me.
Another link gives 6 reasons why the Sprints are enjoyable --
those 6 reasons are at: http://kc9bqa.com/?p=953

Make plans to get on, and start working toward your WIVUCH
award. Work at least 20 WI counties on any/all VHF/UHF bands
and you receive a nice certificate. This is an ongoing program that
started Jan 1, 2010. All amateurs are welcome, and we need more
counties to work so get on and join in the fun. Out-of-state hams are definitely welcome. I hope other states will start up VHF/UHF county award programs in time.

Click on the WIVUCH link below for more info.

73,
Todd KC9BQA EN63ao 40 N of Milwaukee
www.kc9bqa.com For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
www.wivuch.com WI VHF/UHF County Hunters Award

New Sun Spot

A new sunspot is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb, and its magnetic canopy is seething with activity. Click on the image to watch 90 minutes of action recorded during the late hours of Sept. 15th by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:

movie formats: 2.5 MB mpeg, 1.0 MB iPad, 2.2 MB avi

Because the sunspot's dark core is visible only in profile, its characteristics are a matter of guesswork. NOAA forecasters say that "C-class events are likely." If so, the eruptions will blow into space over the sun's limb--a nice photo-op for readers with solar telescopes. Stay tuned for updates and better views as the sunspot turns toward Earth
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