AmateurRadio.com

A few days ago, someone told me that a rumor is circulating that I don’t own any gear capable of operating on the high-frequency (HF) bands. I laughed out loud, wondering where this came from.

Actually, I know where this comes from: most of my postings here at k0nr.com are oriented towards VHF operating, often from the top of a summit. I fully admit that VHF/UHF has always been my favorite part of the amateur radio spectrum.

And I do operate on the HF bands.

Home Station

The photo above shows my ham shack set up at home. The primary transceiver is an ICOM IC-7610, which covers the HF bands and 6 meters. To the left is an ICOM IC-9700 that I use for 2m, 70cm, and 23cm. An ACOM 1000 linear amplifier sits at the far left. It is usually configured for 6m, just waiting for the band to open.

Here is a closer look at the two transceivers. Hey, look at that, the IC-7610 is listening to 20m CW. Yes, I even operate CW.

My antenna farm includes two towers but they are used for VHF/UHF antennas. For the HF bands, I use wire antennas. This article describes the end-fed wire antenna I have been using for the past 5 years. It covers 40m through 6m with one antenna.

Operating Results

I run hot and cold on chasing DX, but over time, I have made many DX contacts and worked quite a few countries. I favor the DX potential of the higher bands: 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, and 10m. Recently, I discovered that the 30m band can be a lot of fun, too. My current stats are: 205 DXCC Entities and 39 (out of 40) CQ Zones. Still looking to work Zone 34, Northeastern Africa. I’ve also been working on Worked All States (WAS) for each band, having completed 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, and 6m.

Going Portable with HF

Joyce/K0JJW and I often operate portable on the HF bands, almost always a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation. Our favorite radio for POTA is a Yaesu FT-991, which covers the HF bands along with VHF/UHF. Almost all of the POTA work is on HF but sometimes we do make a few VHF contacts.

We also have an ICOM IC-705, also covering all bands, and is especially useful for backpack portability. We favor VHF/UHF for SOTA but sometimes we will use the IC-705 to make some HF SOTA contacts.  We have a variety of wire antennas, all different types of end-fed designs. The IC-705 does not have a built-in antenna tuner, so we take along a small manual tuner.

Wrap Up

So there you have it, I do have some HF gear and I do use it!

Remember, the universal purpose of amateur radio is to have fun messing around with radios. Using whatever amateur band you choose.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Confirming K0NR Does Have HF Equipment appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

 Jeff welcome back to the blog sphere I for one have missed your insight, my morning coffee has been enhanced by your read on things....even though at this end I may be to much tech.....:) 

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Chris Howard (M0TCH), Martin Rothwell (M0SGL), Frank Howell (K4FMH) and Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Going to Bouvet Island.

We would like to thank Koos Van Den Hout (PE4KH), Anonymous Donor, Dave Renton (G1REN), Michael Nutt (K3LOE) and Michael Currier-Casavant (N1XRR) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

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AmateurLogic.TV Episode 211 is now available for download.

Fixing a transmitter with a rubber mallet (it’s not what you think). Installing Windows 11 on a Raspberry Pi could be worth it. HackRF firmware goodies. Mike’s new toy.

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In my first post regarding my Python adventure, I shared how I wanted
to use python coding in the shack. As my readers know I am an avid CW
contester and before a contest begins I have 5 programs that need to be
launched. The issue is if I launch them out of order or if one program has an issue things get all
screwed up, and I have to start all over again. In doing so, most of the

time I need to go into some programs and reconnect some com ports and
clear lots of error messages. My first Python project will be one
double-click on a desktop icon that will get all my contest stuff up and

running smoothly in the right order.

The approach I am using is
to write python code to start each individual program. Then save those in a file. This will get my whistle wet with python coding, both
with success and some head scratching. At this point I have coded out
most of my programs so they start. Once that is fully completed, it will
be grouping them all together into one process. 

In a nutshell, here is the plan:

– Turn on a Wi-Fi plug which powers on my power supply and Pi4B power supply

– Start my VSPE virtual com port program and minimize it.

– Start my Wn4icom program which also starts my Icom 7610 radio. 

– Start my N1MM contest software.

–
Then finally Firefox will start, open Reverse Beacon Network, log me
in, set up search for my call and set it to refresh my call sign spots
every 10 minutes.   

Lets take a fast look at the python coding for the WiFi plug. 

 import asyncio
from kasa import SmartPlug

async def main():
plug = SmartPlug(“10.0.0.71”)  # Replace with your plug’s IP address
await plug.update()
await plug.turn_on()
print(“Plug turned on”

asyncio.run(main())

For the Kasa smart WiFi plug by TP link to work I had to first download into python the kasa library. I opened up python and entered the code below…well actually cut and paste. 

 pip install python-kasa

Now below in a nut shell is what the code is all about for the Kasa WiFi plug to turn on. 

1. Python loads the  needed modules. (asyncio and SmartPlug)

2. Program defines async functions or in English connecting to the wifi plug could take time and this allows things not to freeze if the process takes time. 

So now modules are loaded and it knows some actions could take time. 

3. Now asyncio.run(main()) runs  and this is what happens.

Smart plug is created for IP address 10.0.071

The plugs state is defined (on or off)

The plug is turned on via network command 

A message printed in python code window “plug turned on” 

Program closes. 

In closing I am not by any means a pythonista regarding code and I am sure many who are can poke holes in the coding or what I left out regarding what to explain. This is my first attempt at this game and I was actually shocked that it worked. BUT your input will and always is welcomed. 

Next post is about the learning curve, hiccups and added lines of code for smoothness and reliable start up.