Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

[SoupOrMan]

I was hoping 10m SSB would be pretty crowded, but I suppose not. Same with 6m. Oh well, time to keep chugging along.

[randy]

I heard on a local VHF net this evening that 10 had been opened up today towards South America.

I also saw a report on a MeWe ham group that someone had a QSO on 146.520 FM from Lima Ohio to St. Louis early this morning.

So openings are happening, and I think getting more frequent, you just need to be there at the right place and time.

[randy]

You might check out the 10-10 International page: https://www.ten-ten.org/

They have daily nets Mon - Sat at 1800Z

Also check the ARRL site for contests and other events. If your antenna will tune up on 6M there's a VHF Roundup this weekend and a 10M Roundup in December.

The thing about contests is that you should be willing to make sure you upload your logs after the contest or it's not fair to the folks you contacted. One reason I don't really bother.

I can't remember if you have my e-mail, but we can always try to set up a Sked.

[SoupOrMan]

At the moment, I'm trying to get out past my roof. I tried a couple of 6m repeaters on my 7100 without any luck, and even the local repeaters weren't responding when I switched over to VHF & UHF. I'll have to dive deeper into those problems. I'll add more pictures as I go, too.

[randy]

Do you have a dummy load? Might be worth it to cross check your analyzer. Make sure it shows a good match at 50 Ohms using the dummy load.

I assume the 7100 has internal SWR and power meters (since my 90's designed 706 does). Run it into a dummy load to ensure it shows the same as the analyzer, and then run it into the antenna to see what the radio is actually seeing and what it is putting out.

Here's the one I use: https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-260c

[randy]

I don't know if you are interested in digital modes, but a great way to see what your antenna is really putting out is to transmit on something like FT-8 and then see what spot reports from your station show up on a site like PSK Reporter.

I know it really helped with my paranoia about whether I was actually getting out when I didn't get any bites on CQ or trying to contact a station.

Another mode that folks use for propagation analysis is WSPR. Haven't played with it much myself, but you can use the same software/hardware as FT-8 (WSJT-X)

[SoupOrMan]

I don't have a computer for the shack yet. Looks like I'll be picking up that cheapo laptop at Walmart. $200 for a Windows 10 machine that will only be used for radio software.

I also found the SWR checker built into the 7100. It's very useful.

My SWR on my homemade dipole is 1.1 - 1.3 for 10m in the frequencies from 28.000 to about 28.800MHz. It then jumps rapidly from 2 at 28.900 to above 3 at 29.700.

The Compactenna is okay for 2m, does great for 70cm, and is questionable for 6m. I've been trying to hit repeaters with it, and getting no answers back. I may need to switch to a regular vertical for 6m. I have plenty of wire and sheet metal for a ground plane antenna for it.

[randy]

That kind of behavior on 10 is pretty common, On my Hexbeam the SWR is 1:1 at 28MHz to 28.3 and is up to 1.8 by the time I hit 29.7

I would be very surprised if an antenna built for 2M/440 was at all useful on 6M. You really do need a separate antenna for it. I would think the 10M dipole would be more likely to tune up on 6M.

All of my 6M so far has been SSB voice or FT8. I don't even know if there are any repeaters around here.

A computer in the shack has a lot of uses other than digital modes; Logging, rig control; rig programming, easily searchable reference material, propagation websites... Having a laptop gives you options for portable operations.

The good news is I think the 7100 has a built in sound card, so you can do digital without the need of an interface box (such as the SignaLink USB I use with my 706). Just a USB cable

[SoupOrMan]

I checked the dipole for 6m with both the NanoVNA and the SWR meter on the 7100. Well over 3 for both of them. I'll probably have to build a 6m specific antenna for that. There's no internal antenna tuner on the 7100 from everything I've read.

With the space I have in my attic, I may be able to get something up for 12, 15 and 17, maybe even 20. It'll be a tight fit for the last two, though.

[SoupOrMan]

Well, I finally heard a HF net going last night.

On 20m... in in the Extra portion of the band... on my 10m dipole.

Today is supposed the first day of the Route 66 Radio Festival, so I'm going to try my luck on 6 and 10.