The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Rastus on March 29, 2025, 10:33:51 AM
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OK, here's your two months heads up for the June 7 start of Museum Ships Weekend this year (2025). So if you are not a ham you can still listen in on shortwave but you need single sideband (SSB). SSB units are becoming inexpensive these days.
https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ (https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/)
So far there are 69 ships participating internationally. Most of the ships are here in the US but there are participants from Greece, Russia, Spain, Nova Scotia, Germany and Canada. As the date gets closer we should be well over 100 ships participating.
At $170 one of the best shortwave radios: https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-PL880-Conversion-Shortwave-Reception/dp/B00GJ51NVA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1H170LC5D1MPL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.stI690RMuLZ-jmYqOWJAk7N-tN402nZxOafIE47NBCLlhFsQHfhjF45D51dl_wWa8OjFN6-7WCVOKG5wyUjLD26BFxoJF2ROA9Hpqua2vo4gf0Q0gf7-nN1CJy6HIrBm2HL8kN2ClPc0wv2gjOsqthFxM9xko8se9MgQmDv52-KIW0L1eNcIHbbAhKD28TtPCJTrFhFOlfd3RTUtWztW-XVrlsGjPT_W97KcghZRIiY.yHP35_DaoCYao6aJIdKxWWym2Fmq-XvPRhMAA37D5F8&dib_tag=se&keywords=tecsun+shortwave&qid=1743261639&sprefix=tecsun+shortwave%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-3 (https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-PL880-Conversion-Shortwave-Reception/dp/B00GJ51NVA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1H170LC5D1MPL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.stI690RMuLZ-jmYqOWJAk7N-tN402nZxOafIE47NBCLlhFsQHfhjF45D51dl_wWa8OjFN6-7WCVOKG5wyUjLD26BFxoJF2ROA9Hpqua2vo4gf0Q0gf7-nN1CJy6HIrBm2HL8kN2ClPc0wv2gjOsqthFxM9xko8se9MgQmDv52-KIW0L1eNcIHbbAhKD28TtPCJTrFhFOlfd3RTUtWztW-XVrlsGjPT_W97KcghZRIiY.yHP35_DaoCYao6aJIdKxWWym2Fmq-XvPRhMAA37D5F8&dib_tag=se&keywords=tecsun+shortwave&qid=1743261639&sprefix=tecsun+shortwave%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-3)
At $88 right now a pretty good unit that has sideband is this one: https://www.amazon.com/XHDATA-Portable-Speaker-Display-External/dp/B0DPHTFHF7?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 (https://www.amazon.com/XHDATA-Portable-Speaker-Display-External/dp/B0DPHTFHF7?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1)
You can spend $500-$600 and not get much of a benefit over the $170 Tecsun. The XH Data at $88 is about at low as you can go on a sideband model and not be disappointed and infuriated about it's performance.
Plan on getting a wire shortwave antenna to hear just about all that can be heard....or just wrap at least 23 or more feet of any wire on your antenna and lay it out. You can get a commercial windup antenna for $7 here: https://www.amazon.com/Wenpzeray-Shortwave-Telescopic-External-Reception/dp/B0CG9VXYQ1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1B9CRT6USHONM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fKTnEqcKrK7oWXU3v3d64FUiryCotRectd4Rj9bpHA8zXyerUiHHMjiQur9py1qgXAU5Yc2nREWST_hJFtt4M2QbwaNS7O6W1RVq2qlXB--SMkPQspyfQnwdD8CzPqAn8lt7LbIvuT6c_z5SJ3lbdLHvtVAoPDDL-FNPdet9CZ2bRWhyAEM33izu4hy80Hr7EHANwLHoZeD1TNDyOVstlK8zmBjfdThkKGrrZ4pSyIk.qeBhZ5rxQoV3yJc3mpVP4gAELtRNf5U40ZV7HLYbNAM&dib_tag=se&keywords=shortwave+antenna&qid=1743262065&sprefix=shortwave+antenna%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-5 (https://www.amazon.com/Wenpzeray-Shortwave-Telescopic-External-Reception/dp/B0CG9VXYQ1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1B9CRT6USHONM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fKTnEqcKrK7oWXU3v3d64FUiryCotRectd4Rj9bpHA8zXyerUiHHMjiQur9py1qgXAU5Yc2nREWST_hJFtt4M2QbwaNS7O6W1RVq2qlXB--SMkPQspyfQnwdD8CzPqAn8lt7LbIvuT6c_z5SJ3lbdLHvtVAoPDDL-FNPdet9CZ2bRWhyAEM33izu4hy80Hr7EHANwLHoZeD1TNDyOVstlK8zmBjfdThkKGrrZ4pSyIk.qeBhZ5rxQoV3yJc3mpVP4gAELtRNf5U40ZV7HLYbNAM&dib_tag=se&keywords=shortwave+antenna&qid=1743262065&sprefix=shortwave+antenna%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-5)
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Thanks for the heads up. What's really bugging me right now is 10m. I need SC and TN to completed WAS on 10m, maybe that weekend will see at least SC. I'm going to juggle my antenna tree around by then, I hope, which should produce different patterns, not just on 10 but on 20 and 40 as well. I seem to have a dead spot on both of those bands to the NW. California, Oregon and Washington are good but AK and HI are dead to me. Yet no problem on 15m, go figure.
I do question the radio history of the Hunley though. ;)
All sorts of SDR options for radios out there. I've been leaving my 20yo (or more) ICOM 706 turned on all day for several years now. When it dies I'll have to take a serious look at replacement.
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I contacted the Hunley guys the first time they activated for MSWE. They activated on the grounds near the ship so that is "legal".
The Icom 706 is a legendary unit. I always wanted one but ended up with the cheaper 857d (which I wish I could find now). I'm running the FTDX-3000 and a 991A. Lots of new options out there since purchasing those 5-6 years ago.
And yes, you probably have lobes...but wait...is that a vertical antenna you are talking about? If so maybe turning isn't the best thing? Add some ground radials if it is vertical?????
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Yes the main antenna is a 5 band vertical and no I know rotating it won't change anything. The problem is that there is a 6m vertical right next to it. Then there's a 10m rigid dipole on the other side along with a weather station.
The Plan:
1) Relocate the weather station somewhere else, away from the tower.
2) Remove the 6m vertical.
3) Raise the 10m dipole about a foot and turn it more easterly.
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Depending on the number of radials, if you have any, then you may have lobes. You may try redirecting any radials you have??? And depending on the number of your radials and location of them (off the ground?).
It may be a takeoff angle thing as much or more than a lobe. Radials, I think, tend to lower the lobe. I'm going to have to check that.
Addition: So when I check your location with a great circle kind of a thing (Google Maps Measurement) I see you are around 1,800-2100 miles from Washington, Oregon and Washington. Fairbanks is like 3,300 miles and Honolulu is 4,500 miles from you.
But then...verticals usually have low takeoff angles and do well on distance. But...if you don't have radials on the antenna then you are transmitting through a "dummy load" as some put it...which is overly harsh but you would be losing db's.
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Sale on PL-880: https://www.anon-co.com/product/tecsun-pl-880-radio (https://www.anon-co.com/product/tecsun-pl-880-radio)
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Sale on PL-880: https://www.anon-co.com/product/tecsun-pl-880-radio (https://www.anon-co.com/product/tecsun-pl-880-radio)
That model number sounded very familiar to me but when I looked at the radio I didn't know why since I never owned anything like it. But I have a Pioneer PL-990 Turntable. It's been made since since July 1996 and is a step up from the old PL-880. That and the PL-980 were made in Japan from 1988 - 1990. I had a Pioneer PL-L800 Turntable and may have replaced it with a PL-880 before I got the PL-990, or replaced it directly with the 990, I don't know, but PL-880 sounds familiar anyway. Here's how the linear tracking worked on the old one. A turntable with a linear tracking tonearm is designed to play vinyl records with exceptional accuracy. Unlike traditional tonearms that move in an arc, a linear tracking turntable tonearm moves in a straight line across the record. This design mimics the original way records are cut, providing precise playback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZkkKJpYKKE
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Thanks for the heads up. What's really bugging me right now is 10m. I need SC and TN to completed WAS on 10m, maybe that weekend will see at least SC. I'm going to juggle my antenna tree around by then, I hope, which should produce different patterns, not just on 10 but on 20 and 40 as well. I seem to have a dead spot on both of those bands to the NW. California, Oregon and Washington are good but AK and HI are dead to me. Yet no problem on 15m, go figure.
<snip>
Have you had a chance and inclination to move the antenna about?
https://antennasimulator.com/ (https://antennasimulator.com/)
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Also, the list is up to 86 ships for MSWE.
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As of May 16 now up to 96 ships for Museum Ships Weekend.
https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ (https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/)
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Haven’t done anything to the antennas, but I’ve set a goal to get the reconfiguration done by 6/6
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I am going to focus on antenna building as well. All I have up now is a 6 meter dipole and it's sick in need of a good cleaning. My 265 ft of wire vertical loop was pulled down by a FedEx truck (another reason to hate on FedEx). After I finish up with gardening, repairing or replacing two washing machines and taking care of a little over an acre of sunflowers and corn then I work on antennas.
I have a 5 element ready-to-go Bobtail curtain for 20 meters that I've had for years and have not put up. It's very directional and I hope to set it up to catch some of those European ships this time. The good thing about the Bobtail is that it doesn't need to be more than a few feet above the ground so if I set it up where I can pivot it on one end then I can cover from Spain to Russia.
Beyond that the 4BTV is calling my name along with a 75' vertical loop to work 20 meters.
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After a couple of experiences we had with FedEx trucks, did you have any luck with their insurance covering the damage?
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No. My cameras were not pointed that way to record the deed.
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Haven’t done anything to the antennas, but I’ve set a goal to get the reconfiguration done by 6/6
I hope your reconfiguration is going better than my implementation.
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My middle son is a licensed roof inspector and he's coming over next week. Miss Kitty won't let me work on the big ladder or on roofs without a safety spotter.
It's going to be quick. All the cross arms, the 6m vertical, the 10m dipole and the weather station come down. An 18" 2m mobile vertical on a bracket will be mounted to the tower below the HF vertical. A short 18" cross arm will be used to hold the security lights. Shouldn't take long.
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As of 26-May there were 101 ships participating.
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My middle son is a licensed roof inspector and he's coming over next week. Miss Kitty won't let me work on the big ladder or on roofs without a safety spotter.
It's going to be quick. All the cross arms, the 6m vertical, the 10m dipole and the weather station come down. An 18" 2m mobile vertical on a bracket will be mounted to the tower below the HF vertical. A short 18" cross arm will be used to hold the security lights. Shouldn't take long.
My life changed, for the worse, four years ago. Our s-i-l was in a golf cart accident. They live in a gated community in FL, and on the way from the clubhouse home he missed a turn, rolled the cart, and was flown to a trauma center. Three months later a friend of theirs was working on a light in the entry of their home and fell off the ladder. He was flown to the same trauma center. This prompted a very stern phone call from daughter that I am forbidden to drive golf carts for non-golf activities or climb ladders. Golf carts are only an issue when we visit them. I am allowed to drive but is always comes with a lecture. But the ladder thing. I still use ladders but being obedient I do not get my feet more than three feet off the ground.
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I only have a 6' step ladder, and you're not supposed to stand on the top 2 steps of a ladder, so I rarely get more than 4' off the ground. I can touch all my ceilings anyway, because none are over 8' high, and lots of times I change light bulbs standing flat on the floor. I have an old chair without a back on it in my kitchen to use as a stool. It's pushed up against the cupboard right in front of the light fixture. I stand on that to change the kitchen lights, since it's there. But the rest of the house, I'm usually standing on the floor to change light bulbs. I sometimes take the backless chair outside to work on stuff, but I think I'm done with that. Maybe I'll post what I made.
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Got the clutter off the tower. No great change in coverage pattern noticed yet.
MSW was a bust for me. Only spent about 2 hours at my desk over the weekend. Busy rescuing stranded motorist and shooting in Steel Challenge competition.
I only saw one MWS station on FT8 - 20m. Unfortunately no response from my call. Did look at DXSummit but everything was SSB or CW. Maybe next year
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It was a total bust for this year. My wife got sick on top of her chemo so for the last two weeks it's been healthcare. I think Friday and Saturday there were pretty good conditions and a fair amount of activity.
Oh well. Lighthouses is coming up which is OK. Then Route 66 activation...which is my #2 event..is Sept. 6-14 this year. I'm going to miss that this year too....
I just checked my logbook...with all of the illnesses over the last couple of years the last calls I logged were from June 2023. Oh well....