Der Beitrag Comparison of amateur radio bands by day and night and influences for band openings and overreaches erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Not such a good idea: silicone or hot glue

A few years ago, I once tried to protect the SMA connectors of an outdoor WiFi aerial with silicone and then later with hot glue. First the silicone crumbled off, then the hot glue crumbled off after about a year. Both solutions become porous over time and then no longer sit firmly where they should. Based on my own experience, I would therefore advise against this.

Self-sealing adhesive tape is the solution

Special ” self-amalgamating” or “self-sealing adhesive tapes” are much more reliable and designed precisely for this application. These are available from various suppliers, for example “Coax-Seal” *, which is specially designed for antenna connections. This is also used in maritime applications to protect connection ports from aggressive salt water. It holds rock solid. A little tip: If you plan to undo the connection later, you can first stick a layer of normal insulating tape underneath before applying the “Coax-Sealer” tape. This makes it easier to remove the coax sealer later.

Weitere Produkte, die in die gleiche Richtung gehen, sind “Jimator Tape” * und das “3M Scotch 23 Selbtsverschweißendes Isolierband” *.

Other products that go in the same direction are “Jimator Tape” * and the “3M Scotch 23 Self-Welding Insulating Tape” *.

Der Beitrag Protect outdoor coax connections against weather and moisture erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

There is a contest going on. What now?

I remember when I first stumbled upon a contest on 10m one saturday morning that was running in Sout America. I accidentally called a contest station that was calling CQ before and didn’t mention he’s participating in that contest by calling “CQ contest”.

So I called him, got answered, but at the end the station said „Sorry, not in the log“. As the station seemed quite busy and the connection wasn’t the best, I didn’t ask for details and was left with a lot of questions in my head. So I observed the frequency then and I noticed this station was CQing for the contest. I heard other stations giving another number to the CQing station, like „11“.

What’s that number? A region locator, or something I have to obtain somewhere else before?
And anyways, can I participate in that contest at all? Does it make sense to contact the participating stations just for fun, even if I’m not taking the contest too serious but like to get some stations in my own logbook or some QSLs on qrz.com, eqsl.cc or lotw.org? Do the other South American stations get points for a contact with me and am I of benefit for them, or am I just disturbing them?

Well, to be honest, the answers to these questions vary from contest to contest, but let me explain…

Know the contest

There is a great way to find out about any running contest: https://www.contestcalendar.com/

There you can find out about any ongoing or upcoming contests. This site will also provide you with some details like timeframe, frequencies, rules and parts of the exchange. You can also see a link to the contests detailed web pages for further information. In my case, I found the following contest online for what I heard that day on 10m: https://sa10m.com.ar/wp/rules/

Possible parts of the exchange

Each contest is different, so this is just for orientation. Some contests run a progressive serial number after each contact. In some contests it’s the CQ zone added to the 5/9 report. Some contests demand to go by year of birth or the year first licensed. On VHF/UHF contests it’s mainly the exchange of the maidenhead locator grid square because the scoring on those is often based on distance between stations. To find out, check the calendar mentioned above.

How does a contest work?

In most cases, there are two types of stations involved: The national stations and the DX stations from outside the contest region. Both can take part in a contest and both try to make as many contacts with others as possible. In many contests far away DX contacts count more than a short ranged contact to the same country.
Often special callsigns, like maritime mobile or aerospitale mobile stations qualify for extra points.

Can I contact a few stations just for fun?

When I stumbled upon that South American contest, I just wanted to get some cool contacts with South American stations in my own personal logbook and on LoTW, EQSL and QRZ.com. The chances to get a confirmation on these ways is high as most radio amateurs are logging or exporting to one or more of these platforms. But keep in mind, that the other stations are taking the contest much more serious and therefore hope to get your own confirmation not only on the portals above or via direct QSL, but also by the contest itself.

Most contests are organized by clubs and associations and depending on the contest rules, you would have to send in your contest log to these organizations as well. In terms of the individual contest, the exchange between two stations may only qualify for counting, when the exchange is confirmed by both parties. So just keep that in mind and maybe upload your contest related log to the association running the contest. In doing so, you might help the other station to gain more points and so make somebodies day a little brighter.

A few practical tips for contesting

As mentioned before, you would have to send your log to the association running that contest later. Do yourself a favour and do it with a software that will support you in entering and storing the QSO data. If you do it on paper, you would have to digitalize the log first before sending it in. That’s a pain in the ass, so get your logging software up and running before.

Der Beitrag How to contest in HAM radio erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

I ordered a cockpit shelf from Amazon. The storage space, which is actually of no use below the center console, has always been an annoyance to me. Therefore, it was the ideal location for me to install a radio.

Since I didn’t really want to make any changes to the car itself, I decided to install it in a removable compartment. This compartment is available at a low cost on Amazon:

DIYUCAR Mittelkonsole Aufbewahrungsbox für LR Defender 90 110 2020 2021 Mittelkonsole ABS Schwarz (Mittelkonsole)*

• 【Perfekte Kompatibilität】Passt perfekt zu Land Rover Defender 90 110 2020-2024. (Bitte bestätigen Sie Ihre Auto-Version, bevor...
• Nutzen Sie den Platz voll aus: Organisieren Sie Ihr Handy, Karten, Schlüssel, Münzen und andere kleine Dinge, einfach zu erkennen und...

18,99 EUR

Amazon

There, I cut out the outlines of my radio in the bottom left corner.

Using a pipe wrench, I bent the left support bracket slightly outward so that it holds the radio in place on the left side.

On the right side, I removed the support bracket and instead attached a homemade angle bracket. This holds the radio in position on the right side by propping it up on the floor of the shelf.

In doing so, I naturally had to keep the cutouts for the microphone, connection, and the jack connection clear.

Additionally, I needed longer screws, in my case 10mm M2.5*.

The device now holds firmly in the mount, if worked on cleanly, and is easy to operate. The display of the radio is clearly visible, and all controls are accessible. Since the device is held in position solely by its own weight and the brackets, removal is easy. Therefore, if I want to remove my radio and operate it outside on a table in front of the car, it can be done in just a few seconds with a few simple steps.

Even my wife likes the installation, because now the hole in the center console finally has a purpose.

Der Beitrag Install radio / mobile radio transceiver in the new Defender (2020) erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

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Der Beitrag Germany missing in LOTW registration / certification DXCC entity list erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.