For a couple of years I’ve had problems with the CMP/PWR encoder on my K3. When I needed to reduce power to use my amp or increase power back to 100 watts I’d have to twist and twist the power control. Recently there was a thread on the Elecraft reflector of someone else having problems with one of their encoders. That prompted me to finally replace my faulty encoder.
Continue reading2015 Ford Powerstroke 6.7L Diesel Amateur Radio Interference (RFI)
I recently purchased a 2015 Ford SuperDuty with a 6.7L Powerstroke diesel. The day after I picked up the truck I headed to AR and SC to visit family but also operate in those state’s QSO parties. I installed my Scorpion SA-680 on the bottom part of my 5th wheel hitch and ran the coax and antenna control cables from the bed through the back doors. The only grounding I had time to do was a strap from the bed to the cab. I quickly found the fuel injectors are apparently tuned to 20m as the RFI into my Elecraft K3 was terrible. Amazingly all the other bands are fairly quiet.
Continue readingReplacing RV Incandescent Bulbs with LED’s
We have a Keystone Cougar Xlite 26SAB 5th wheel. I decided to jump on the band wagon and replace the incandescent bulbs with LED’s.
Continue readingWatch Out for Crappy Chinese Cables!
At the beginning of the ARRL 10M Contest a couple of weeks ago I noticed several “squalling” noises across the band. I had heard these before but hadn’t investigated. I thought it was probably from the Ethernet cabling in my house I decided to see if I could do something about it.
Continue reading4nec2 Antenna Modeling Software
Earlier this week K5HCT emailed me asking if I could model an antenna design he was thinking of building. I didn’t have an antenna modeling program and had never done any modeling so I referred him to W5AJ. However, K5HCT’s inquiry piqued my interest so I did a search for antenna modeling software.
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