KN6NJU Playground

I learned this word "counterpoise" from the user manuals of my antennas. Out of curiosity, I Googled for "counterpoise" and find a lot of information about this. According to the wiki entry, "counterpoise" is defined as following: In  electronics  and  radio communication , a  counterpoise  is a network of suspended horizontal wires or cables (or a metal screen), used as a substitute for an  earth  ( ground ) connection in a radio  antenna  system. It is used with radio transmitters or receivers when a normal earth ground cannot be used because of high soil  resistance [1]  or when an antenna is mounted above ground level, for example, on a building. It usually consists of a single wire or network of horizontal wires, parallel to the ground, suspended above the ground under the antenna, connected to the receiver or transmitter's "ground" wire. [2]  The counterpoise functions as one plate of a large  capacitor , with the...

After making my first batch of QSO's using FT8 mode with a number of DXCC entities thousands miles away (e.g. Fiji Islands, Japan, Canada, etc), it's a natural question about how to ensure my QSO log entries can be recognized by other HAMs. Fortunately there are a lot of experienced HAMs in this community to help. According to WU6P, there are a number of choices like LOTW, QRZ, eQSL, CubLog, etc. As a starting point, I decided to try out LOTW first. After that, I will try to get others mentioned above working.  Step by Step Instructions The ARRL LOTW Tutorial is a great starting point before anything is stared. Install TrustedQSL software One can follow the instructions on www.arrl.org/TQSL‐Download to download and install the free TrustedQSL software. I picked the shortcut by running the command " s udo apt install trustedqsl " Starting TrustedQSL When TrustedQSL is started for the first time, it will ask the user if a new certificate for the call sign shall be requ...

  So it starts... from the point my ICOM 7300 arrived. The first thing to try? The famous FT8 that has been discussed a lot, really a lot, by the HAMs around me, and the journey started. Equipment Radio: ICOM IC-7300 (bought from dxengineering.com) ICOM IC-7300 & MFJ-4230 Antenna: Portable HF Antenna ( CHA EMCOMM II )  Matching Transformer of CHA EMCOMM II Power supply: MFJ-4230MV 50 feet RG8X cable with PL-259 self made ~16feet mast from dissembled analog TV antenna from 10 years ago. The set up can be easily setup or put down because I put a 8 feet pole into the ground with ~3 feet buried in the dirt and ~5 feet above the dirt so that I can insert the mast into the pole when I need the antenna to be ready and I can relatively easily put down the mast when the weather is not so safe to operate. Self Made Mast (~16ft) for the CHA EMCOMM II  Antenna Configuration According to the manual (available on the product site linked above), the CHA ECOMM II can have 3 different...