Live Mobile Feed      2009 ARRL VHF QSO Party Pix

I've been licensed since fall 2006 and hold US Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator's license AF6AV. I have an Icom 746Pro at the shack feeding a G5RV wire antenna. I have a Comet CA-52HB4 6m beam and Cushcraft A27010S 144/440 beam which I sometimes have on the roof at home but right now they're on the ground waiting for mountaintop-mobile use - I used them for the 2008 June ARRL VHF Contest from DM12 and DM13 and had a blast and landed in the Top 10 Limited Rover group nationwide. I have a RigExpert Plus digital interface connected to MixW2 software running on a MAC in an XP virtual machine, for logging, digital modes (PSK31, MFSK, RTTY, etc), and rig control.

The mobile setup is an IC-7000 feeding an AH-4 tuner and a 12ft whip, both mounted on Lexan plastic (remants obtained cheap thanks to Brittany at Ridout Plastics in San Diego) sandwiched across the roofrack sliders and grounded to the chassis inside the back door.

I get pretty good reports with this setup and I like not having to switch tuned whips or wait for a motorized antenna to tune. The AH-4 works from 40m to 6m and randomly on 60m and on 80m I have to tune up 20kc low then tune back to the desired frequency. For 2m and 70cm I use a Diamond NR770H fold-over whip on a Radiall-Larsen mag mount. I still have my MFJ tri-magmount on the roof for occasional use with Hamsticks (6/20), ProAm hamsticks (17/40), and Hustler standard resonators (10/12 and the base mast is resonant at 6m). I recently bought a Heil Dual Traveller headset and get nothing but positive comments about the sound. I found that you can rotate the mic 180 degrees so that you can have it on the right (so the CHP sees that you have the left earpiece off of your ear) and can even make it so that it doesn't over-rotate and break the wire. The only downside is that, this way, the boom's joint is a little farther aft than designed but this doesn't seem to make much difference. I have Heil cables for the 7000, the 746Pro and the VX-7r.

I often have the RigExpertPlus in the car with me so I can log more easily using my laptop (Ham Radio Deluxe does the logging AND can do rig control) AND I use it with RUMTrol7000 to manage memories and settings on the 7000 (and exchange memories with the 746Pro). These days I'm QRV mobile 95% of the time and some of my work takes me to 4 mountaintops in San Diego County (11MB movie of the view from Mt San Miguel) which really aid transmission, especially on 10m and 6m.  I have recently tested a pair of Hustler 10m standard resonators w/ a Valor dipole clamp (two 3/8-24 sockets on a bar with a pipe clamp) and they gave a couple S-units of improvement for steeper angle DX (Oregon) but not much change on longer contacts (Colorado). I'm experimenting with streaming video of myself live, on the air, when mobile and at Field Day. This involves my "smartphone" connecting Verizon's EVDO Internet via USB to my laptop - The Samsung Omnia I have now is not very smart and the tethering fails more often than works, so don't hold your breath. When I'm mobile and have my laptop running, I will feed my built-in web cam to Ustream.tv which then makes it available either via http://www.ustream.tv/channel/af6av-live or you should be able to see it here. Please let me know if you see me picking my nose. I will probably have the audio off because I want all QSOs to be validated over the air and not over the web. I enjoyed the 2008 E-skip season 6m openings and have been enjoying Es openings on 10m too (I've very little 10m F2 experience since I got into all this at the nadir of the sunspot cycle). The 2009 season got off to an early start and proceed to sputter here in DM12 but 6m stepped up to the plate for the 2009 VHF QSO Party (see below). I also enjoy 6m and 10m FM simplex (during good openings the other guy is FULL quieting and sounds awesome!). I've been having fun w/ Narrow-band FM Simplex (+/- 2.5kc, MI <1.0), also, which is legal on ALL phone subbands while "Wideband FM" (+/- 5kc, MI < 1.667) is only legal above 29Mc (thanks, Will, AA6DD). It's very pleasant to have an FM QSO, assuming there's enough signal, leaving behind the noise and whistles and not knowing what the other guy really sounds like. Try it! Most modern radios will do FM-N.

My Tahoe w/ roofmount whip, AH-4, and 100' trailer-mounted microwave tower. Mt San Marcos, DM13

I also have a Yaesu VX-7r 6/2/220/440 HT which I bought for use with ARES and CERT - it's nice but has a very confusing front panel. I wish it did SSB. It doesn't get much use but it's charging 24/7 for emergenies. I have an SMA-to-UHF adaptor with it along with the stock whip so I can use it with a better antenna if need be.

In 2008 I bought a TW2010 multiband vertical and while it's very well built, light and easy to carry, it's pretty expensive and underperformed my G5RV 90% of the time. Tests at Fiesta Island, near the bay, comparing this to hamsticks favored the 2010 in most cases (tested on 20m and 17m) by about 1 S-unit. For $400 they could have included the 12v wall wart or a connector for the major current radios (to steal 12v). It was not what I needed for a rooftop alternative to the G5RV. I must say that the folks at TW Antennas were very helpful when I first got it and it didn't tune up properly - they shipped me another center-section at their cost (even shipping). I was impressed with the customer service. I hope this antenna will find a good home for someone who can put its design and portability to use. I am now experimenting with W6/SM0KQM's R7000 but am finding the noise to be much higher than the G5RV.

I started my mobile career with a Yaesu FT-857D (with optional remote mic and extension kit) with hamsticks. I added an LDG-Z11Pro tuner to see if I could get by with a few 'sticks and no motorized antenna. It was nice to not have to change antennas all the time and it worked well with a Radio Shack stainless steel 102" whip for 10/12/15 but my current setup is better. I also added a Better RF interface to make the 857D look like a 7000 to take advantage of the LDG's interface. This enabled me to have the LDG tune up using the TUNE button on the 857D but it didn't work quite as expected (there was some problem such that if you set the radio so the TUNE function worked it would not TX on 2m). After the 2008 Es-skip season presented some major adjacent-channel QRM on 6m, I decided I needed some narrower RX SSB filters for the 857D. When I considered the cost of these vs the fact that a 7000 has them "built-in" via DSP, plus the added value of the 7000's digital playback which is ideal for mobile ops, I sold the whole 857D setup to my friend K6JSV and bought the 7000 used on eBay (and also bought a new AH-4 at HRO). After 3 months, the 7000 stopped talking to the AH-4 so I had to spend another $200 in shipping and repair costs - there's that old gamble of new vs used - and now all's well except for the fact that the AH-4 stopped tuning 80m.  The 857D was a great radio (I'm told its 2m/400 RX is much better than the 7000 but to me they are just a convenience) and I only sold because I wanted the DSP and digital audio. I am happy with the 7000 but don't think it's worth the (new) selling price of almost twice that of an 857D and it has some drawbacks:

• Unlike the 857D's optional remote mic, the 7000's included remote mic does not do DTMF, useful for IRLP, Echlink, AllStarLink, phone patches, etc. Seems like an easy feature to include and if you want DTMF, you must buy another mic that has none of the other advanced features.
• I am told that the HF Rx performance is better than that of the 857D. I'd hope so for a $700+ premium. I'm also told that the 7000's 2m and 70cm performance is much worse that that of the 857D. I have not compared this things myself but, if they are true, I think the 144/440 section was just an old HT stuffed in the chassis so the 7000 could be marketed as having HF +6/144/440.
• Sync buzz from the video gets in to the audio when recording "CQ" for digital playback
• Can't map any of the mic's programmable buttons to the digital playback memories
• Can't watch other screens, like the main excellent full-featured metering display, when using digital playback
• Audio starts to get hollow, as if ringing close to feedback, if you use the most narrow TBW settings. Why include them if they sound awful? I think I could get (if I wanted it) narrower TX audio bandwidth on the 857D with a good mechanical filter, if I wanted it. It's sad when people know what rig you're running by its "sound".
• The digital recording feature which lets you record audio off the air (vs from your mic) cannot play back its contents over the air. If you want someone to hear how they sound, you must transfer the audio to a tape machine or PC audio editor via the speaker output (or you'll have to eyeball QSO so they can hear thru your speaker or else mail your radio to them!) because you can't play it back when transmitting and you can't output the files via CAT, or whatever, to your PC.
• I paid for the ability to watch TV on it. They should have made this an option. Really - if I want to watch (now obsolete in the USA) NTSC TV, I'd have bought a portable TV with a bigger screen.
• The 857D has a useful voltmeter. The 7000 replaced that with a fairly useful temperature gauge but it's not smart enough to shut off the radio when it gets into the red. Ol' lambrane here has accidentally had his jacket fall on the radio, when the rear seat was up, blocking all airflow. I only knew because the AH-4 stopped talking to the 7000 and remained this way even once the temperature had dropped back to normal. I had to do a FULL RESET - 4 times in a row - to get the thing to clear something in the flash memory so it would tune again.
• Unlike on the 857D which can always display them, the labels for MEMORY locations (text) only displays when you're in the MEM menu. You’ll get a list of memory locations and can see the names there.  When you have the main metering screen up, all you can see are the RX freq (in large font) and the TX freq (in small font down the bottom) but not the text. With all that screen real estate you’d think they let us opt to see the “machine” names.

I hope someone will come out with an even more powerful, software-based (like an FT-2000 so it can be upgraded) radio with a removable front panel. I hear good things about the Kenwood TS-480HX which makes 200w on all HF bands but it doesn't have digital playback and I'm told the DSP is not as good as that of the 7000. Personally, I would not mind a larger panel than what the 7000 has.  In fact, I wouldn't mind a 746Pro under the back seat with an optional mobile display (like the TS-2000 offers) mounted for the driver to see.

Free TV : Ustream

2009 ARRL VHF QSO Party

It's really hard wielding that mast & 2 yagis myself. Next year it might just be whips and luck. See summary at the end.

Vertically Polarized for a Brief Stretch on Black Mtn (DM12kx, 1500' ASL)	A Brief Stop On The Way Down Black Mtn	Finally Set up on Mt San Marcos (DM13jf  1600' ASL) This is BEFORE the whole thing fell over and got bent up (see pix below)
Looking North From Mt San Marcos	After 2 Days of Mountaintopping I'm a Shadow of My Former Self (Sorry)	Only time for a few more QSOs - Where ARE Those KL7s?
Still Life: Cockpit View From AF6AV/R (DM13) Thanks to Tom Mayo for RoverLog	At 5 mins till 0300z, I landed CM95 on 432.1mc! at >225miles, my first 70cm Tropo! BTW, that's the Pacific Ocean at the horizon

With 27000 points as a Limited Rover (single op, 4 lowest bands only) I'm hoping I can show in the Top 10 again nationally, and #4 regionally, like I did for my rookie year, 2008, with 12000 points.  Let's not talk about the fact that a total of 25 stations actually ENTERED in the catagory, nationwide, last year! With the addition of a couple of 6m openings of which the Sunday AM one I MISSED :^(  plus a few 300mw QSOs on 222mc thanks to my VX-7r, I might be able to at least maintain my "lofty" status despite more ops getting wise to this new category. Thanks, all, for the fun and the points, and thanks Carol, John, Mats, Bruce, Tom, Wild Bill, & Dean for humor and moral support.

Solar Cycle 24

California's Handsfree Law & Ham Operators

On July 1 2008, CA joined other states in requiring handsfree operation of cell phones while driving (a knee jerk response instead of what should probably be a total ban on cellphone usage while driving which is something I would not like!). There's some question as to whether this law applies to ham radio equipment, handi-talkies, CB radios, etc. I maintain that these items are not classified as wireless telephones but, rather, radio telephones, and the CA DMV rule applies to mobile telephones; I looked up the actual Vehicular Code (ftp://leginfo.public.ca.gov/pub/code/veh/23001-24000/23100-23135) and it says:

23123.  (a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.

As far as I'm concerned, since a ham radio is not a wireless telephone, it’s exempted. Also, the CA DMV web site HAD a Q&A comment confirming this (subsequently removed) and there's still (7/21/08) an orphaned PDF there http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/dl208_03cell_phone.pdf that says the same thing:

The PDF is not referred to by any hyperlinks but it's present and when I called the DMV, the agent agreed that the FAQ’s on the web site don’t address the 2-way radio issue and yet he read from an internal memo specifically excluding CB, etc.  I asked for a copy of the internal memo and he said he couldn't. Then I pointed him to the PDF referenced below and he sounded like his jaw dropped and said “well that’s our internal memo”.

An unknown area ham got this letter from the DMV in response to a request to clear this up:

Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 07:48:20 -0700
From: Fran Clader <FClader@chp.ca.gov>
Subject: Re: New Cell Phone Laws - July 1, 2008

The new cell phone laws involve only wireless telephones. They
do not concern radios such as your (Amateur Radios), unless they
are also wireless  telephones.

Again, the law only applies to wireless telephones.

Thanks for your inquiry.  If you have any further questions, please
give us a call.  Or, you can call your local San Diego area CHP office.

Fran Clader
Commander
Office of Media Relations
California Highway Patrol

I also wrote to the DMV for written clarification. After a month, I got this reply.

My comment about the “wireless telephone” point is also mentioned in Tozer's http://www.tozerlaw.com/cell_phone_laws_driving_new_california.html :

May a person use a dedicated two-way radio while driving? Yes. You may use a dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies and Citizen Band (CB) radios, which are not part of a wireless telephone.

Like Clader, they say “...CB radios which are not part of a wireless telephone”. I've never heard of such a thing before but maybe someone makes a CB/Cellphone unit. Regardless, Tozer, Clader, and 23123 all say that the law applies to “wireless telephones” [ “(a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone”] which is not what a ham radio or CB is. So, between 23123(a), the Clader letter, and the DMV PDF, I'm covered, as far as I'm concerned. I'll keep a copy of them in the car. If I get a ticket, I'll welcome the opportunity to defend myself AND make the DMV issue a statement specifically addressing ham radios.

For additional reading see the following ARRL articles:

• http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/08/0314/
• http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SNJ
• http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/legis/2007c198_law.pdf
• http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/01/0706/
• http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09280&sh=t
• http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/07/0216/

Important Addendum, Aug 2008:

I received this voice message from the Office of Media Relations at the CHP. This clinches it. If you still need more proof in order to use your mobile rig you migth as well sell it:  WAV File of Voice Message 500k    I don't know why the CHP won't add this simple point to their handsfree Q & A PDF.

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