MSWE 2021 -- Heads Up

[Rastus]

I got a late start yesterday but I did get the 80M vertical loop up.  265' of wire in a rectangle. 

So...I managed to contact the USS Nautilus, USS Alabama, USS Montrose Memorial and the USCG Ingham.  Not good....

I heard the USS Missouri but some Canadians were polluting the band with spurious signals and I couldn't make the contact.  Also heard the USS Midway but could not make that contact either. 

Looks like the European Museum Ships primarily broadcast in the Extra approved spectrum of the band...motivation to study I suppose.

[Rastus]

Conditions are poor on 20M but improving.  Logged a contact with the USS Massachusetts @ 12:32 UTC.

[Rastus]

USS Drum in the logbook.

[Rastus]

USS New Jersey and USS North Carolina both in the logbook.

[alfsauve]

Saturday:  Of course I didn't get on until mid-day.  Of course I only have a 20m antenna.  So not a lot of stations responding to me, MSWE or otherwise.  This pm I've made one stateside contact and maybe one DX.  Zero contest.

[Sponsor]

[Pathfinder]

Cleated shoes, (If they still use metal ) .
You'll be grounded, it'll be fine.
Ben Franklin did it, are you a wuss ?   

I am NOT a wuss! The sky looked ominous, but I put on my Dad's old golf shoes, with the steel cleats like you suggested, and started to set up the antenna when the lightning hit. But you knew that was going to happen, didn't you TOM??

Anyhow, I managed to pick up the NSS Savannah in Baltimore fairly clearly, and 2-3 other ships barely, couldn't quite get the call letters except for one that wasn't on the list  - K8A was all I heard. Did pick up a guy in Council Bluffs, IA, clear like he was standing outside my window; and another in central TX. No actual contacts, though, interference was pretty tough from mid-morning on, and I think I still need to test the transmission part of my station.

Not bad though for a 17' vertical on a 4' steel pipe (old satellite TV mount) in Savannah, GA surrounded by houses and trees. The NVIS random end-fed was near worthless, even with a counterpoise, which really surprised me. I figured I would at least get the ships in Charleston, SC with that one.

[tombogan03884]

That's why radio died out, it was to finicky.
Operation Market /Garden would have been a success with modern communications.
The radio's didn't work between ground units and were the wrong frequency to talk to aircraft overhead.
2 Panzer divisions sitting on the LZ was a real problem, but communications would have allowed coordinated reactions.
As it was, the commanders spent most of their time running around trying to connect instead of commanding.

[Rastus]

Antennas are a most important part of the system.  Also managing the band conditions and knowing when to switch bands due to atmospheric conditions.  I picked up one of the contacts in Galveston Bay on 6 meters. 

I managed 20 MSW ships this time.  Conditions weren't great and there was a lot of interference from NPOTA operators.  Also maybe 1/2 of the operators were on location but weren't able to use the gear in the ships because of people being scared of the Wuhan/Chinamen flu still has a lot of people pissing down both legs...so they had to set up temporary systems which were a lot less robust than the normal equipment.

I started late Friday night and ended it early due to thunderstorms in the area. 

So the best I had for an antenna was the 80 meter vertical loop.  If performed well on all the bands except 6 meters....but that's because I have an antenna tuner separate of the radio and I run ladder line not coax.  No way I could have run that with coax because of the high SWR's which drove up the voltage...coax may have failed and for certain would have lost 20-40% of the energy intended for the antenna.  I wish I had the 5BTV vertical up but I didn't have time to get it up...and my 20 meter loop has evidently lost some insulation making it less than adequately functional. 

I also contacted the Netherlands, a few guys in Toronto and some dude named Julian in the Congo...but for the most part I ignored anyone but MSW operators. 

And....oh yeah, zeroed out a turtle in the pond with the 22. 

[tombogan03884]

And....oh yeah, zeroed out a turtle in the pond with the 22.

Did you log that contact ?   

[Rastus]

Yep.  With a sharp report I logged that action into the dog's.  They then did what dogs do..