Author Archives: robert

Satellite RX Offsets for AO-07, VO-52, and FO-29

Posted on June 19, 2013 by robert

Field day for NCRC is right around the corner, and its a busy one for me.  I’m responsible for the GOTA station, am acting as the Public Information Officer, and am setting up the 2m SSB and Linear Satellite station. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, Contests, From the OM, Operating, Public Service, Satellite | Leave a comment

Want to grow your club? A technique that works.

Posted on May 24, 2013 by robert

My club, Newport County Radio Club, has been teetering back and forth between being the largest or second largest club in the state.   This year we decided that we wanted to undertake a plan of serious growth, to clearly … Continue reading →

Posted in From the OM, Public Service | Leave a comment

DX Update 701 band-countries and 184 confirmed.

Posted on May 17, 2013 by robert

Solar Cycle 24 seems destined to be a double peak (the first occurring in 2011), and solar activity has been up substantially, which is good for DX. I just completed 700 LotW band-countries yesterday with a confirmation from Maldives.  That … Continue reading →

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What a different 3 feet can make…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by robert

I had been using a Diamond X510 antenna mounted to a six foot pole attached to my deck (10 feet above ground) and had pretty good luck with 2m and 70cm repeaters.  However, when I used it as an antenna … Continue reading →

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An AC Charger for the 60 AH Battery

Posted on May 1, 2013 by robert

After shopping around a bit, I decided to use a Tenergy 10 Amp Charger for 4S LiFePO4 batteries.  The charger output cable is a pair of alligator clips just begging to be shorted out, and I wanted to replace them with Power … Continue reading →

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Battery In A Box

Posted on April 28, 2013 by robert

I finally found the time to complete my 60AH LiFePO4 battery by building it into a box this weekend between sporting events for my daughter. I had checked the size of the four battery cells prior to ordering them and … Continue reading →

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PCM Doing Good Job

Posted on April 23, 2013 by robert

The PCM LO4S30 Power Control Module that I used with the the four-series 60 AH LiFePO4 battery (LFP-G60 cells)  is doing a great job keeping the cells balanced on recharge.  After the 3rd PCM charge, the largest difference is now 12 … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, From the OM, Gear | 2 Comments

65.78 AH, 10h58m

Posted on April 21, 2013 by robert

And the Test Results are in… 65.78 AH capacity from 14.35 volts down to 12.00 volts, at a C/10 rate of 6.00 Amps.  This is 9.6% more than the name plate capacity. Measured individual cell voltages were very close, ranging … Continue reading →

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Note to self…

Posted on April 21, 2013 by robert

So the bewitching hour has struck, and the capacity test continues on. Testing high capacity batteries takes a lot of time.   Note to self for future tests:  Start earlier in the day! The 60AH battery has been under a … Continue reading →

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60AH LiFePO4 Battery for Field Day

Posted on April 19, 2013 by robert

After monitoring my K3 power consumption during the SSB WPX Contest, I determined that I could run the K3 continuously set to full power in contest mode for about 30 hours with a 60 AH battery.  So my plan is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, From the OM, History | 3 Comments