Attendees (8 hams):
A small but dedicated group of QRP devotees!
Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ - Kingston, NJ
Gary Wilson, K2GW - Hamilton Square, NJ
Ray Sills, K2ULR - Warrington, PA
Jim Disco, K2SZ - Barnegat, NJ
Vojtech Bubnick, AB2ZA - Plainsboro, NJ
Mike Ardovino, Jr. N2EAB - Peekskill, NY
Joe Jesson KC2VGL - Hamilton Square, NJ
Richard Bitzer, WB2ZKW - Flemington, NJ
Meeting notes:
K2ULR brought his very interesting loop antenna for "show-and-tell" from www.alexloop.com (designed and sold by Brazilian radio amateur Alexandre Grimber PY1AHD, price on his website $179 right now) It's designed for QRP (20 watts max.) and Ray reports that it's "comparable in performance to the Buddistick."
A discussion followed about getting parts for a homebrew version, including mention of a new Tractor Supply Company store in the Flemington area.
AB2ZA gave a very informative presentation on PSK31 and the modifications he made to a stock ATS-3B to optimize its waveforms for this mode. He produced a slide presentation that compared and contrasted different strategies for generating this digital mode. He listed the pros and cons and showed many photos of his highly-modified rig. He also brought the radio with him, installed very neatly in an Altoids tin (of course!) He plans to fine-tune the presentation into an article for "QEX" - the ARRL "Forum for Communications Experimenters."
Vojtech also brought his Medusa Research "Power Analyzer Pro" - a small device that had everyone saying "Wow!".
K2SZ led a discussion about reusing discarded batteries (including alkalines) which may have life enough for some applications even though they may not have enough power for digital devices. He also reported that he had recently purchased a Yaesu FT-817ND from HRO and that he was just learning how to use it. N2GJ recommended he visit HB9DRV's site to download the excellent, free, FT-817 Commander program
KC2VGL spoke briefly about WebSDR and mentioned that he would be very interested in getting source code to port the program to Linux.
N2EAB has had a lot of success recently on 6 meters. He was listening to beacons the other day, early afternoon, and ended up working a station in the Canary Islands. He recommends keeping a receiver tuned to 6M during the day.
K2GW recently hurt his ankle, stumbling on stairs, and was hobbling around on crutches. He described the W0IPL "not so random length long wire" antenna. He also joined N2GJ in describing the American Red Cross N2ARC Satellite Trailer Upgrade Project. Mark R. Smith KC2SMS is project managing upgrades to the comms trailer including the installation of ham radio equipment in the unit. We will be soliciting help (especially those who have any carpentry and/or electrician-type experience) to help with the project. More info will follow.
The meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM and adjourned at 11:15 AM.
Additions/corrections welcome!
Respectfully submitted, 73,
Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ
See you all at the next meeting! (See the NJQRP Event Calendar for the full set of meeting dates.)
Last updated: July 28, 2009
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